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The metaphor is a pervasive linguistic device that has become an active research topic in the computer field because of its essential role in language's cognitive and communicative processes. Currently, the rapid expansion of social media encourages the development of multimodal. As the most popular communication method in social media, memes have attracted the attention of many linguists, who believe that metaphors contain rich metaphorical information. However, multimodal metaphor detection suffers from insufficient information due to the short text of memes and lacks effective multimodal fusion methods. To address these problems, we utilize a single-pass non-autoregressive text generation method to convert images into text to provide additional textual information for the model. In addition, the information of different modes is fused by a multi-layer fusion module consisting of a prefix guide module and a similarity-aware aggregator. The module can reduce the heterogeneity between modes, learn fine-grained information, and better integrate the characteristic information of different modes. We conducted many experiments on the Met-Meme dataset. Compared with the strong baseline model in the experiment, the weighted F1 of our model on three data types of the MET-Meme dataset improved by 1.95%, 1.55%, and 1.72%, respectively. To further demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method, we also conducted experiments on a multimodal sarcasm dataset and obtained competitive results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Angiotropism/perivascular invasion (PVI) is an emerging topic in various types of cancer, with studies primarily focusing on melanoma. However, limited data are available on the significance of PVI in breast cancer. This study aimed to assess the prognostic significance of PVI in breast cancer and its correlation with traditional clinicopathological prognostic parameters. Methods: A total of 150 patients with breast cancer diagnosed between July 2020 and January 2022 were included. Clinicopathological data were retrieved from the hospital records. The presence of PVI was evaluated on hematoxylin&eosin stained slides, and the association between PVI and clinicopathological parameters was statistically analyzed. A p-value of <0.05 was regarded as statistically significant. Results: All patients were female. The mean age was 54.0±13.6 years (range 26-97 years). PVI was significantly more common in patients with =2.5 cm tumors and the absence of PVI showed a significant correlation with a lower histologic grade (p=0.004 and p=0.040, respectively). Lymphovascular invasion (LVI) and perineural invasion (PNI) were also significantly more frequent in tumors with PVI (p=0.001 and 0.02, respectively). There was a statistically significant association between the absence of both PVI and extranodal extension (ENE) (p=0.035). Conclusions: The specific role of PVI in different types of cancer has not yet been clarified. Our findings showed that PVI was significantly associated with tumor size, histological grade, LVI, PNI, and ENE, all of which are well-known negative prognostic factors in breast cancer. The presence of PVI is a promising topic in breast cancer research, and the PVI status in pathology reports may help oncologists perform better risk assessments for patients with breast carcinoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital humor expressed through memes plays a vital role in facilitating social interaction in online environments. This paper reports on age and gender-related differences in multimodal digital meme humor from users aged 14 to 93. Its aim is to investigate how visual and textual elements, psychological humor types and digital humor types vary among smartphone users of different age and gender groups. The multimodal corpus was compiled from memes that were shared by 250 BA English and senior citizen students at a German university and their relatives and friends. The memes were annotated with the Covid-19 topic (e.g. lockdown, mask requirement, vaccination) and the sources of visual origin (e.g. cartoon characters, animals, politicians). Also, a previously non-multimodal psychological humor framework (Martin, Rod A., Patricia Puhlik-Doris, Gwen Larsen, Jeanette Gray & Kelly Weir. 2003. Individual differences in uses of humor and their relation to psychological well-being: Development of the Humor Styles Questionnaire. Journal of Research in Personality 37(1) 48–75) was applied to the memes. To determine the linguistic multimodal digital humor types, Vásquez, C. 2019. Language, creativity and humour online. London). Terminology was employed for annotation. The statistical analysis reveals only slight gender differences concerning all variables. Significant differences were found concerning both multimodal humor frameworks, language usage, canvas and humor themes across all age groups. The interconnectedness of the codes is captured in a qualitative analysis of select memes to underscore the semiotic dynamics of multimodal humor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of sharing has undergone significant transformations with the advent of digital technologies and social media. From online forums to social media platforms, the practice of sharing has become increasingly nuanced and multifaceted, which underscores the complexity of online communication. This editorial provides a broad overview of the complexities and dynamics of sharing practices on social media, drawing on insights from relevant literature and the field of pragmatics, and discusses the potential factors that may influence individuals' sharing practices and pragmatic strategies. Finally, it summarizes the key contributions of each article, highlighting its theoretical and empirical significance. • Sharing practices on social media are complex and multifaceted. • Sharing shapes information dissemination, identity construction, and social cohesion. • Socio-cultural, technological, and individual motivations influence sharing behaviors. • The studies in this special issue contribute to understanding the pragmatics of sharing in contemporary digital cultures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Osmangazi Journal of Medicine / Osmangazi Tip Dergisi is the property of Eskisehir Osmangazi University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Memes have become an important medium for expressing multiple intentions on the internet. Social media has advanced increasingly, making memes a contestation zone, an active hook for delivering information, and an expression of counterradicalism. Memes are a very effective way to take a jab at radicalism in a laid-back or even humorous manner so the public can refreshingly capture the messages. As a part of the digital way, the counterradical group also benefits from the same medium and feature. This research aims to investigate the data on the field on how the memes spreading on social media fight against radicalism in their ways. Therefore, the antiradicalism movement through memes is conducted to look for the patterns, forms, and meanings, especially on X and Instagram accounts of NU Garis Lucu (NUGL) and Muhammadiyah Garis Lucu (MuGL). Using a qualitative approach with the content analysis method, the memes posted in the two accounts were collected between August and December 2022. We found that NUGL and MuGL are actively plotting the antiradicalism movement by criticizing radicalism and fighting against religious indoctrination. Apart from that, for those two accounts, memes function as a medium to raise awareness on multiculturalism and nurture nationalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article correlates in content with the previous article in the journal. Internet microformats (short stories, gifs, pics, memes, demotivators, etc.) have a short life compared to “monumental” content, but are characterized by a high speed of circulation and reproduction. Metaphorically, this allows us to designate their life cycle and the specifics of penetration into the information environment, and from there to the consumer, as “virulent”. However, unlike the previous publication, this article has a different specialization. We have shifted our focus from considering trending memes in 2024 to the topic of corporeality and immortality. The correction of the focus is due to several reasons: firstly, immortality does not have a clearly established status (science / parascience / philosophical concept). At the same time, immortological ideas are integrated into the current agenda of intellectual communities and cultural spheres (business, intelligentsia, politics, religion, science), and claim to implement reformist projects (letters from “Russia 2045” to the president, the organization of the part «Evolution 2045», etc.). Secondly, immortality is associated with a deep desire, an archetypal mode of human existence, reproduced in mythology (search for a source in nature), religion (afterlife), art (religious and mythological plots), philosophy (cosmism), and science (?). The role of the latter is claimed by the often identified immortality and transhumanism, operating with the concept of “practical immortality”. In microformats, the topic is diffracted, falling into different contexts. The goal of this article is not to reduce it to some common semantic denominator, but to provide a working assembly of popular patterns of immortality in tags and memes.

This study explores the evaluative perception of memes and demotivators among youth internet audiences within the framework of a pilot psycholinguistic experiment. The research identifies the specifics of evaluative opinions, verbal reactions, and the components of multimodal texts that effectively capture attention. Data collection was conducted using the online service Yandex Forms, with a sample of 100 participants aged 18 to 22 years. The stimulus materials comprised a heterogeneous set of multimodal texts, including 26 memes and demotivators featuring static images. The results and statistical analyses reveal the ambiguity in evaluative perceptions and the breadth of preferences among participants. Analysis of evaluative opinions indicates a strong preference among youth audiences for humorous, contemporary, and original multimodal texts that accurately reflect life realities, including those related to their social status. Conversely, outdated and irrelevant memes, both in form and content, elicited negative reactions, being perceived as unfunny and foolish, and contrary to their viewpoints. The study also highlights distinctive features in the evaluative perception and interpretation of meme content elements by participants, including variability in interest distribution, polarization of opinions regarding the same content element, and the influence of individual preferences and personal experiences.

Abstract The metaphor is a pervasive linguistic device that has become an active research topic in the computer field because of its essential role in language's cognitive and communicative processes. Currently, the rapid expansion of social media encourages the development of multimodal. As the most popular communication method in social media, memes have attracted the attention of many linguists, who believe that metaphors contain rich metaphorical information. However, multimodal metaphor detection suffers from insufficient information due to the short text of memes and lacks effective multimodal fusion methods. To address these problems, we utilize a single-pass non-autoregressive text generation method to convert images into text to provide additional textual information for the model. In addition, the information of different modes is fused by a multi-layer fusion module consisting of a prefix guide module and a similarity-aware aggregator. The module can reduce the heterogeneity between modes, learn fine-grained information, and better integrate the characteristic information of different modes. We conducted many experiments on the Met-Meme dataset. Compared with the strong baseline model in the experiment, the weighted F1 of our model on three data types of the MET-Meme dataset improved by 1.95%, 1.55%, and 1.72%, respectively. To further demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method, we also conducted experiments on a multimodal sarcasm dataset and obtained competitive results.

This article explores acts of humour that enact citizens as political subjects in the face of state violence and practices of controlled incorporation of racialised Afro-Brazilian others. To do this I analyse hitherto unstudied material from the online memes that followed the forced disappearance of Mr Amarildo de Souza by the 'pacifying' police in Rio de Janeiro. Doing this I show how multi-modal online memes that take an ironic stance towards state-violence can be understood as enacting a radical equality which subverts the state-sanctioned racialised and gendered distribution of unequal functions and places that serves to 'pacify' threatening racialised others. Thus, I argue that the act of joking is an act of citizenship because it presupposes equality while enacting an incongruity between this equality and the reality of racist state violence, and its ostensible purpose of 'saving' racialised victims. In this way ironic memes can provide an important contribution to theory of citizenship, which hitherto has not involved the study of humour as a political act. Thus, if the political nature of humour involves incongruity between conceptualisation and experience, abstract and sensory/objective, sanctity and profanity, dignity and baseness, acts that ironically enact these incongruities as existing in and between state-discourse and practice are deeply political acts and need to be studied as such. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the activism of Silent Megaphone, a Korean feminist artist group. By examining the experiences of Silent Megaphone members, their artworks, and exhibitions, this study argues that the sexist regulations of online platforms drove the meme-producers to enter the realm of feminist art, transforming them from anonymous women to feminist artists with authorship. This transition allowed them to rearrange the aims and styles of their activism, appropriate the practices of online and offline realms, and connect with the broader feminist artist community, establishing a network encompassing both their online feminist group and an unexpected cohort of feminist artists spanning generations, and creating a safe space for their fellow feminists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, I discuss the reconfigurations of the phenomenon known as culture jamming, characteristic of the communicative dimension of political consumption, based on the appropriation of Internet memes as a tool to criticize consumption. Through the ethnography of the creation and implementation of the #antiblackfriday campaign, held in 2020 in Brazil as a planned process which deliberately made use of memes, I explore recent reflections on memes as a creative political strategic tool that escapes institutional formalism and is an expression of the politics of everyday life in digital space; I analyze the rhetorical resources mobilized in a polysemic semantic set, and the reactions to the campaign in digital social networks. I argue that the use of Internet memes updates the tactics of culture jamming by appropriating a media format that, in itself, already consists in a remix of the images of the dominant media; and, also, allows a space for the recording of opinions and light conversations, enabling the advancement to a more dialogical dimension that reinforces the political characteristic of the phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Every morning, images carrying greetings and pictures of girls, cute animals, or beautiful flowers are circulated among Taiwanese older people on the messaging app LINE. These "good morning images" (GM images) are building a new social network for seniors, and its ritual of exchange has produced a digital subculture. In this article, I will be considering these images as "memes of care." While memes for younger people are usually humorous and meant to raise a laugh, for older people, GM images are about care and connection. However, care is never innocent and not always desirable, and GM images have joined a sharing culture within LINE that precipitates the spread of unverified, authorless rumors. By examining the "care-ful" feelings, doings, and obligations of GM images, I show how older people actively participate in the practice of digital care so as to open up to "as well as possible" reconfigurations engaged with troubled presents—that is, the pandemic and social isolation on the one hand, and the proliferation of false and misleading information on the other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

En la primavera de 2022 tuvo lugar la segunda edición de un evento internacional colaborativo en línea de Pixel Art, Reddit Place, dentro de la red social Reddit. Durante los cuatro días de actividad se representaron numerosas manifestaciones nacionalistas de distinta índole y escala, que se ofrecieron como un interesante laboratorio de exploración de este concepto identitario en el siglo XXI. La metodología utilizada en el estudio ha consistido en la digitalización de la imagen resultante y en la clasificación de las expresiones patrióticas que aparecen en ella, considerando la escala territorial, la inclusión de memes y las relaciones internacionales que se expresan, para su posterior cuantificación. Los resultados no se pueden tomar como plenamente representativos del Zeitgeist mundial, pero ofrecen una ventana para la reflexión y el planteamiento de hipótesis en torno al papel del nacionalismo en el siglo XXI y la evolución de los símbolos en los que se apoya.

The information challenges faced by liberal democracies in the post-truth era are largely related to the concept of freedom. While freedom and security are often positioned as dichotomous concepts, striking a delicate balance between them for democratic country becomes a challenge. Autocracies, meanwhile, have adeptly engaged in information warfare, exploiting both the asymmetric nature of sharp power and the obligation of democracies to uphold freedom.This is particularly evident in the realm of the Internet and social media, where the nature of communication amplifies opportunities for malicious actors. Additionally, the visual power of the Internet, largely embodied in memes, emotionally resonates with audiences. Memes act as agents of influence and change, shaping values and perceptions, and become instruments of information disorder by simplifying complex issues through emotionally charged content. They spread rapidly and are difficult to trace. Through this process, memes contribute to identity creation and transformation, advancing broader political aims, popularizing political leaders and regimes, exploiting sensitive topics from both the present and the past, and heightening the sense of social inequality.This article aims at comprehending how meme as an information warfare tool functions in the democratic and autocratic contexts. We find that while well-coordinated dissemination of pro-authoritarian content could make open media markets in democracies vulnerable to manipulation, and state controlled in the autocracies makes the latter more resilient. However, we argue that this asymmetry should not lead liberal democracies to prioritize physical resilience methods over cognitive ones, as the mid-term effectiveness of the cognitive approach (“teaching people how to fish”) may ultimately prove more sustainable. Over-reliance on stricter measures in liberal democracies may have drawbacks, potentially undermining the very freedoms they aim to protect.

Virality plays on the emotion that drives people to quickly retransmit a message, without really analysing it or subjecting it to criticism. The more emotional the message is, the more appropriate it seems to go viral, which is one of the premises of viral marketing. This explains the virality of violent content on the Internet. From this pint of view can the fight against hate speech use virality when its aim is to call for reflection? We show that virality can serve as a catalyst for reflection, and that emotion can also be positive (Danblon, 2013). From this point of view, we take a look at the Council of Europe's Youth Campaign against Hate Speech, which uses social media to bring together and share in a community also made up of real-life interactions. We then analyse more particularly some visuals, memes, a community semiotic form which allows to start from emotions to reflect on the stereotypes which underlie hate speech.

Internet microformats (short stories, gifs, pics, memes, demotivators, etc.) have a short life compared to “monumental” content, but are characterized by a high speed of circulation and reproduction. Metaphorically, this allows us to designate their life cycle and the specifics of penetration into the information environment, and from there to the consumer, as “virulent”. Memes are short messages, usually combining visual and verbal levels. Their social functions (not to mention cognitive ones), the nature of the impact on the values ​​of generations, the formation and catalysis of worldviews, are usually underestimated. In a dialogic format, representatives of different generations discuss current memes of 2024. The participants in the conversation (authors) talk about what memes broadcast new memes and how they do it. The focus is on corporeality and body representation in memes. The conversations also touch on “peripheral” topics – soviet and post-soviet culture, scandalous events in the media, etc. The dialogues perform at least two functions: first, they are the result of understanding significant microformats and transmitted meanings; second, the texts of the conversations can serve as material for understanding the values ​​of representatives of different generations, understanding patterns and stereotypes of thought. The authors hope that the texts offered to the reader will play at least one of these roles.

A meme as a cultural and semiotic phenomenon has been actively studied within the framework of humor research; however, the question why memes may not elicit a humorous response remains unanswered. This article examines the causes of typical cognitive errors in the perception of humor in the so-called morphed units (memes, image macros, photoshopped images and virals) characterized by a combination of signals of one or different modalities and potentially capable of eliciting a humorous response in the meme consumer. The goal of the study is to describe and classify such errors on the example of a morphed unit from the sad keanu meme cycle. The conducted survey yielded empirical data permitting further qualitative analysis of the respondents' answers regarding the perception of the proposed meme. The obtained results show that in an ideal situation a stimulus image should metonymically activate script structures essential for the understanding of a morphed unit; a script may include allusive experiences which correlate with previously appropriated culture-specific situations. The paper defines meme interpretation errors as related either to the process of perceiving a stimulus at the level of the i consume memes metascript or а cognitive failure occurring during the activation of the scripts constituting the humorous opposition if only the relevant scripts are conceptualized and internalized by the individual. Any type of interpretation failure may be attributed to partial or zero cultural literacy in the meme consumer. A failed humorous response in the situations of sufficient cultural literacy of the subject may be explained by social and pragmatic factors, such as the consumer’s norms and values which may differ from those of the meme originator. The study claims that the main source of cognitive errors lies in the inability of a meme consumer to activate the scripts (or their parts) relevant to the understanding of humor. This methodology can be applied for any multimodal humour research.

The study concerns the organisation and content of both the visual and verbal elements within the polycode text of French-language memes that pertain to medical discourse. The meme’s connection to medical discourse is established through its subject matter, the incorporation of medical symbols in its visual elements, and the inclusion of medical terminology in its written content. It also involves depicting communication scenarios between doctors, between doctors and patients, and between nursing staff and patients at both the image and text levels. The study’s novelty lies in its dual approach: firstly, it examines French memes as subjects for linguistic analysis, and secondly, it explores them as a genre of polycode text within medical discourse. The research material comprises 100 French memes centred on medical themes, obtained through continuous sampling from the internet. Study results revealed that memes pertaining to medical discourse are dynamic, viral, and eclectic texts that encapsulate the distinctive elements of institutional medical discourse. Thematically, the meme encompasses various medical topics and addresses social issues prevalent in France. Deciphering the author’s intention behind the meme relies on a layer-by-layer examination of how the idea is expressed through the polycode text, as well as an understanding of the sociocultural context that informs the text, which requires presuppositional knowledge on the part of the recipient. Linguo-cultural characteristics observed in the verbal component, as identified through the analysis, include the use of language play at phonetic and lexical levels, inclusion of colloquial and slang vocabulary alongside emotionally charged expressions within doctor-patient communication contexts, and the utilisation of phonetic spelling. The visual component of the polycode text in French medical memes is distinguished by the incorporation of elements from civilisational phenomena, such as political figures from the country, film protagonists, and globally recognised actors. The analysis revealed that the meme serves various functions including comedic, informative, compensatory, and appellative roles. The article constitutes a segment of a broader study examining polycode texts within medical discourse across multiple genres including memes, medical posters, and demotivators in languages such as Russian, French, English, Chinese, and Arabic.

In this digital age, the presence of internet memes becomes a common way to share information online. People may use different stylistic and rhetoric elements to communicate their ideas and convey a particular meaning. This paper aimed to analyze stylistic and rhetoric elements employed in the selected memes in education context by using Van Dijk Critical Discourse Analysis. The data were forty memes related to education which were collected from four Instagram groups, namely itb.receh, school_life memoriess, 9gag.com, and memeindonesia.real. This research utilized descriptive qualitative method. The result showed that in stylistic, the most dominant dictions used were slang and denotative. The high frequency of using slang is done as a strategy to express a sense of familiarity to audiences and to show portrait of daily basis situation in students’ lives, while the use of denotative dictions conveys clear understanding and avoid misinterpretation toward these memes. Furthermore, in rhetoric elements, no metaphor is found in the selected memes while graphics is mostly used in the memes to highlight important parts. It was delivered through the production of words in bigger size, bold, different colour, different type of fonts, words which are crossed out, and the use of emoticon. Graphic provides a visual representation for audiences and these highlighted words help them comprehend messages and values which the writer is trying to deliver.

Introduction. The article studies features of encoding precedent names (PNs) and precedent images in modern polycode texts with account of their semiotically complicated nature and the characteristics of visual / verbal / auditory forms of precedence involved in the process. Several research tasks were set: 1) description of a set of Soviet-era PNs referred to in polycode texts; 2) analysis of semiotic forms of encoding PN in polycode texts; 3) identification of forms and combinations of interaction between PN representatives and other precedent phenomena (PP) within the text; 4) defining a set of values that are appealed to via PN in a polycode text. Materials and Methods. The research material consisted of 450 Russian-language Internet memes selected through a target sample from the Russian-language segment of the Internet, containing a verbal and / or non-verbal representative of a PN or image of a person related to the USSR. The research methodology rests on basic principles of the theory of precedence and multimodal analysis, semiotic, structural-semantic and discursive methods of analysis. Analysis. The main semiotic representative of Soviet-era PN in polycode texts is a visual element, which can be accompanied by additional verbalized references (full, transformed or pseudo-quote, typical rhyme, etc.) or form some prototype model of a polycode text. Polycode PN representatives come in the following combinations: a) verbalization of the PN of the Soviet era – a visual representative of the PP of the modern image; b) a visual representative of the PN of the Soviet era – verbalization of the collective characteristic of the PN; c) a visual representative of the PN of the Soviet era – verbalization of role archetypes, patterns of behavior that conditionally correlate with the PN; d) visual representative of the PN – a verbal component, the semantics of which correlates and contrasts with the PN; e) visual representative of the PN – a text with a quote / reminiscent reference / rhyme / etc. Results. The analysis allows us to draw a conclusion about the polycode variability of PN representatives. A potential basis for the reference to a PN at one time or another can be values, a behavioral stereotype, a personality type, the most representative traits, skills or achievements of a person / character that meet the cultural context.

Introduction: Internet memes are a ubiquitous part of internet culture and a common communication tool among students. Because they are a good medium for expressing ideas and concepts in a concise and fun manner, memes are a potentially valuable tool for teaching and engaging students. Statement of the Problem: Instructors may not know how to use memes in classroom assignments or activities to support learning objectives. Literature Review: Students finding or creating their own class-related content is an empirically supported way to enhance learning. Instructors can enhance learning by using multimedia approaches (pictures/videos in addition to words), which is a good fit for the use of memes. We include examples of ways that memes have already been used in psychology classrooms. Teaching Implications: Incorporating meme assignments or activities in the classroom could be beneficial. Conclusion: We describe how students can explain or generate memes that illustrate concepts related to course material. Instructions and supporting information and resources, as well as calls for research into the effectiveness of the use of memes in the classroom, are included. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Temas de Comunicacion is the property of Biblioteca Central de la Universidad Catolica Andres Bello (UCAB) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista Anagramas is the property of Editorial Universidad de Medellin and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This study aims to explore the moderator role of popular and iconic coolness dimensions on the relationship between hedonic versus utilitarian beauty product brands and high-status perceptions, using internet memes as stimuli. An experimental study was conducted to analyse whether two dimensions of brand coolness (popular and iconic) moderate the relationship between type of internet meme (utilitarian versus hedonic) and high-status. After conducting a pre-test, two internet memes were created for each condition, utilitarian and hedonic. In total, 428 completely answers were collected from an online MTurk panel, and the hypotheses were tested using moderation analysis. The results indicate that (i) hedonic brands are perceived as being high-status in the presence of both moderators (iconic and popular); (ii) utilitarian brands can be associated with high-status perceptions, if moderated by the popular dimension. Findings demonstrate that the popularity of the brand plays an important role in consumers perceptions. This study contributes to the marketing literature by analysing the relationship between three core dimensions of brand coolness, namely, iconic, popular, and high-status, regarding brands associated with hedonics and utilitarian products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the interplay between the creation of 'meme factories' by political elites, and their operationalisation through WhatsApp. It uses the case study of Indonesian President Joko Widodo's (Jokowi's) bid for re-election in 2019 to argue that political elites are leveraging meme culture's association with popular voice to 'astroturf' public discourse, and that WhatsApp's unique infrastructure advances that project. Drawing on interview data, we offer a holistic picture of the processes and structures implicated in this instance of astroturfing, with a focus on how WhatsApp is positioned within them. The authors' access to campaigners affords a rare inside view of these processes and structures, and contributes to a growing body of work on the WhatsAppification of election campaigns globally. In addition, the article builds on scholarship on social media election campaigning in Indonesia by drawing attention to the role WhatsApp's unique features play in surreptitiously influencing public discourse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study discusses stereotypical distinguishing traits of the Slavs, making up their image that is created by Polish memes. A qualitative analysis of the memes covered their potential to indicate traits and behaviours that are being considered at present as typically Slavic. The analysis is focused on Slavic autostereotypes, showing how today's Polish Slavs perceive the group with which they identify. The study is aimed to identify the traits defined by the Poles as typically Slavic, and thus to explain who is classified as a stereotypical Slav today. A qualitative analysis of memes depicting the Slavs led to the identification of eight traits attributed to that group of people, namely: the Slav squat, Slavic imagination, the Slavic drinking culture, Slavic culinary preferences, Slavic impulsiveness and tendency to argue, Slavic style, Slavic "technical achievements" and Slavic femininity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Using memes enhances the student perception of fun within taught content. • Creating and using memes improves the perception of knowledge retention. • Students' demographics did not appear to affect students' experiences of using memes as a learning tool. Meme-making is an effective method for engaging students and enhancing the learning environment. Memes are a social media cultural phenomenon that the majority of those in Higher Education are exposed to on an almost daily occurrence. This research examined the use of meme-making within the forensic sciences to allow students to reflect on their knowledge. Students studying modules in forensic science across six universities in the UK and USA participated in the study. At the end of a teaching session, students produced a meme (using Meme Generator) to reflect on what they had learned; memes were then shared with the class anonymously via Padlet. This allowed all class members to see and engage with the memes created. At the end of the activity students were anonymously surveyed on their experience using Microsoft Forms and analysis of the results were undertaken using SPSS software. Meme-making was found to be an inclusive learning activity with no limitations, including age (part-time, distance learning and visually impaired students were not part of the study parameters). Results showed that not only did students find the practice fun, but it also helped with the retention of the class content suggesting that the meme-making process is an effective way to enhance the learning environment while engaging students. Student feedback suggests that to maximise participation the educator should stress reflection and learning as the key purpose of generating a meme, rather than being witty or entertaining. The forensic science educator should be mindful of selecting appropriate subject matter for this often-humorous activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Hamidiye Medical Journal is the property of Galenos Yayinevi Tic. LTD. STI and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Phyllodes tumors are rare fibroepithelial neoplasms and comprise less than 1% of all breast tumors. Heterologous sarcomatous differentiation is rarely observed in phyllodes tumors and in this study, a case of phyllodes tumor containing heterologous liposarcoma component is presented. A rapidly expanding mass in the left breast of an 86-year-old woman led to her admission to the general surgery outpatient clinic. A BI-RADS 4 nodular lesion was detected in the mammographic examination and was evaluated as suspicious for phyllodes tumor. Left modified radical mastectomy material was sent to our laboratory. Macroscopic examination revealed a nodular mass measuring 9.5x9x8 cm with focal infiltrative borders in breast tissue sections. In histological sections, the tumoral lesion was noted to have hypercellular, pleomorphic stroma and in some places the typical leaf-like architecture of phyllodes tumor. A well-differentiated liposarcoma component was observed in the tumor, containing lipoblast-like cells with single and multiple vacuoles, clear cytoplasm, and hyperchromatic nuclei. In the light of all the findings, the case was reported as malignant phyllodes tumor containing heterologous liposarcoma component. Phyllodes tumors showing heterologous sarcomatous differentiation are quite rare and when sarcomatous neoplasia is seen in the breast, phyllodes tumor ought to be taken into account while making a differential diagnosis. In order to distinguish phyllodes tumor with sarcomatous differentiation from primary breast sarcomas, it is very important to show the benign epithelial component of the tumor by taking multiple samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A rich appreciation of Mother Earth--in the entwined contexts of Native American, Australian Aboriginal, Western intellectual, and contemporary ecological movements--is accomplished in this paper using new perspectives and strategies: Mother Earth as name, meme, and conspiracy. This approach is developed and illustrated to offer insight into the dynamics of identity formation of individual cultures, amalgams of cultures, academic approaches, and ecological movements that span the globe, always occurring in the context of threatening, yet creative, encounters. Projecting beyond the Mother Earth example, the paper proposes a vision of the academic study of cultures and religions that focuses on gesture and repetition demonstrating that conditions of coherence, in the presence of the constant threat of incoherence, may be more valuable than discerning meaning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article investigates the humorous reactions to two important controversies that received a great deal of attention in the Estonian public sphere during the summer of the year 2023. These are the Wagner group rebellion and the scandal involving Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas. Building on theories of the public sphere and observations on how humour functions in such a context, by comparing the two cases, we tested the hypothesis that the content, form, humour mechanisms, and the comments on humour can be influenced by the nature of the controversy and by the psychological distance to the source of the initial triggering controversy. We used the data collected and coded within the CELSA1 network project "Humour and Conflict in the Public Sphere: An Interdisciplinary Analysis of Humour Controversies and Contested Freedoms in Contemporary Europe". The analysis revealed that 1) the most popular forms of humour in the online public sphere (primarily memes) are shaped by the patterns of the online communication in general and not by the particular cases or controversies; 2) humour mechanisms depend moderately on the nature of the controversy and their distance from the meme-makers; 3) content is most dependent on the nature of the controversy, and is affected by the tension between globalisation and localisation trends; and 4) the distance to the controversy influences the humorousness of the comments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study concerns the organisation and content of both the visual and verbal elements within the polycode text of French-language memes that pertain to medical discourse. The meme’s connection to medical discourse is established through its subject matter, the incorporation of medical symbols in its visual elements, and the inclusion of medical terminology in its written content. It also involves depicting communication scenarios between doctors, between doctors and patients, and between nursing staff and patients at both the image and text levels. The study’s novelty lies in its dual approach: firstly, it examines French memes as subjects for linguistic analysis, and secondly, it explores them as a genre of polycode text within medical discourse. The research material comprises 100 French memes centred on medical themes, obtained through continuous sampling from the internet. Study results revealed that memes pertaining to medical discourse are dynamic, viral, and eclectic texts that encapsulate the distinctive elements of institutional medical discourse. Thematically, the meme encompasses various medical topics and addresses social issues prevalent in France. Deciphering the author’s intention behind the meme relies on a layer-bylayer examination of how the idea is expressed through the polycode text, as well as an understanding of the sociocultural context that informs the text, which requires presuppositional knowledge on the part of the recipient. Linguo-cultural characteristics observed in the verbal component, as identified through the analysis, include the use of language play at phonetic and lexical levels, inclusion of colloquial and slang vocabulary alongside emotionally charged expressions within doctor-patient communication contexts, and the utilisation of phonetic spelling. The visual component of the polycode text in French medical memes is distinguished by the incorporation of elements from civilisational phenomena, such as political figures from the country, film protagonists, and globally recognised actors. The analysis revealed that the meme serves various functions including comedic, informative, compensatory, and appellative roles. The article constitutes a segment of a broader study examining polycode texts within medical discourse across multiple genres including memes, medical posters, and demotivators in languages such as Russian, French, English, Chinese, and Arabic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Memes are not new concepts, but they have garnered popularity recently. They are a prevalent form of communication on various social media platforms. However, due to a lack of concrete literature (Al Rashdi, 2020), there is still some initial scepticism surrounding them. This paper uses a systematic literature review to create a pool of research papers to be examined to chart the conceptual development of memes, determine how they are used in different fields, and present a vision of memes in the near future. It identifies eleven areas which were studied in parallel to memes, suggesting possible meme applications and development. It adopts the PRISMA 2020 framework to ensure systematic screening and reporting of relevant papers from various databases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The division of glycolysis into two separate pathways, aerobic and anaerobic, depending on the presence or absence of oxygen, respectively, was formulated over eight decades ago. The former ends with pyruvate, while the latter ends with lactate. Today, this division is confusing and misleading as research over the past 35 years clearly has demonstrated that glycolysis ends with lactate not only in cancerous cells but also in healthy tissues and cells. The present essay offers a review of the history of said division and the more recent knowledge that has been gained about glycolysis and its end-product, lactate. Then, it presents arguments in an attempt to explain why separating glycolysis into aerobic and anaerobic pathways persists among scientists, clinicians and teachers alike, despite convincing evidence that such division is not only wrong scientifically but also hinders progress in the field of energy metabolism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research proposes a content and cross-modal discourse analysis of memes (n=191) alluding to the Spanish Minister for Equality, Irene Montero, with a focus on the representation of violence. Hatred appears as a constant (90.8%) in the social network X, ridiculing her personal life and criticising her political management through insults and comparisons. It is confirmed that misogynist hatred has permeated the meme, demonstrating its capacity to interfere in the public image of women, resorting to classic strategies such as dehumanisation, the exposure of private aspects and questioning of physical appearance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Este artigo busca explorar as características, as implicações e os desafios das imagens técnicas como forma de comunicação e expressão no digital. Imagens técnicas, segundo Flusser (2002), são imagens fabricadas a partir de textos científicos e técnicas cujo significado é projetado, são produzidas por aparelhos. Pretende-se explorar como as mediações digitais podem criar formas de expressão e interação que são geradas ou alteradas pela técnica, pela utilização de filtros ou programas de edição. Por meio de revisão bibliográfica a partir de Flusser (2011, 2010, 2002, 1994), Deleuze (2017, 2000, 1999) entre outros, pretende-se mostrar como a linguagem tecnoimagética pode ampliar as possibilidades de diálogo e interação entre os indivíduos e os grupos sociais, alterando o processo de significação e comunicação, contribuindo assim para os estudos comunicacionais na contemporaneidade.

El objetivo del artículo es describir las operaciones que transforman al meme en arte. Para ello, se da cuenta de los antecedentes artísticos y mediáticos del género y se analizan tres obras de la artista argentina, Luciana Ponte, que se apropian del meme. Con el estudio se pretende contribuir al conocimiento de los vínculos contemporáneos del arte argentino con el nuevo sistema mediático y lo risible. La perspectiva analítica se desarrolla en una lectura semiótica de las teorías del arte de Goodman y Danto.

Many people have attempted to criminalize the LGBT community. This study aims to examine how @WhatIsUpIndonesia negotiates the supported ideology with the dominant ideology in their Instagram posts about criminalizing LGBT people through two different cases; the proposed revision of Indonesia's Criminal Code (RKUHP) and Bogor’s Regional Regulation on the Prevention and Countermeasures Against Sexually Deviant Behavior. A corpus of two posts about the two cases is analyzed using social semiotic multimodal analysis in two steps: textual analysis and visual analysis. This study finds that WIUI negotiates its relatively liberal values with the dominant conservative ideology in Indonesia by choosing ambivalence through the shifting focus and overgeneralizing the issue using recontextualization and memes. In conclusion, two opposing ideologies in social media activism can be negotiated using ambivalence instead of leaning towards only one. However, the limitations of this research prevented a thorough examination of how WIUI interacts with its audience.

Copyright of Journal of Veterinary Case Reports is the property of Ataturk University Coordinatorship of Scientific Journals and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Resumo: O objetivo deste estudo é analisar como humor é utilizado como estratégia de propagação de mensagens políticas no Twitter. A discussão de literatura foca em estudos sobre câmaras de eco nas mídias sociais e no uso de humor e memes em contextos políticos. Para nossa análise, selecionamos dois tweets de Ciro Gomes, candidato nas eleições presidenciais brasileiras de 2018, postados durante o período de campanha. O método utilizado foi a Análise de Discurso Mediada por Computador ( HERRING, 2004). Os nossos principais resultados são (1) que a característica de replicabilidade dos memes é fundamental na propagação das mensagens e (2) que o uso do humor é capaz de suavizar o discurso político, possibilitando maior circulação das mensagens.