Rethinking Context

Rethinking Context

Author: Alessandro Duranti

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 1992-05-21

Total Pages: 376

ISBN-13: 9780521422888

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The last decade has seen a fundamental rethinking of the concept of context. Rather than functioning solely as a constraint on linguistic performance, context is now also analysed as a product of language use. In this new perspective, language and context are seen as interactively achieved phenomena, rather than predefined sets of forms and contents. The essays in this collection, written by many of the leading figures in the social sciences, critically reexamine the concept of context from a variety of different angles and propose new ways of thinking about it with reference to specific human activities such as face-to-face interaction, radio talk, medical diagnosis, political encounters and socialisation practices. Each essay is prefaced by an introduction by the editors which provides relevant theoretical and methodological background and demonstrates its relation to other essays in the volume. The editors' general introduction provides a lucid overview of the issues currently debated. Rethinking Context will be required reading for everyone working within the fields of linguistic anthropology, sociolinguistics, discourse analysis, pragmatics, conversation analysis and the sociology of language.


Context and Contexts

Context and Contexts

Author: Anita Fetzer

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 249

ISBN-13: 9027256136

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Based on papers from the IPrA Conference, which was held in Melbourne in 2009.


The Content and Context of Hate Speech

The Content and Context of Hate Speech

Author: Michael Herz

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2012-04-09

Total Pages: 569

ISBN-13: 1107375614

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The contributors to this volume consider whether it is possible to establish carefully tailored hate speech policies that are cognizant of the varying traditions, histories and values of different countries. Throughout, there is a strong comparative emphasis, with examples (and authors) drawn from around the world. All the authors explore whether or when different cultural and historical settings justify different substantive rules given that such cultural relativism can be used to justify content-based restrictions and so endanger freedom of expression. Essays address the following questions, among others: is hate speech in fact so dangerous or harmful to vulnerable minorities or communities as to justify a lower standard of constitutional protection? What harms and benefits accrue from laws that criminalize hate speech in particular contexts? Are there circumstances in which everyone would agree that hate speech should be criminally punished? What lessons can be learned from international case law?


Context and Appropriateness

Context and Appropriateness

Author: Anita Fetzer

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 280

ISBN-13: 9789027254061

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This book departs from the premise that context and appropriateness represent complex relational configurations which can no longer be conceived as analytic primes but rather require the accommodation of micro and macro perspectives to capture their inherent dynamism. The edited volume presents a collection of papers which examine the connectedness between context and appropriateness from interdisciplinary perspectives. The papers use different theoretical frameworks, such as situation theory, speech act theory, cognitive pragmatics, sociopragmatics, discourse analysis, argumentation theory and functional linguistics. They reflect current moves in pragmatics and discourse analysis to cross disciplinary and methodological boundaries by integrating relevant premises and insights, in particular cognition, negotiation of meaning, sequentiality, recipient design and genre.


The Problem of Context

The Problem of Context

Author: Roy Dilley

Publisher: Berghahn Books

Published: 1999

Total Pages: 260

ISBN-13: 9781571817730

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Various disciplines use context to elucidate and interpret objects and events, but rarely is the idea of "context" itself examined. What meanings are evoked by this term? How do social anthropologists and those in related disciplines construe this idea? What analytical strategies are adopted in order to suggest that the relevant context is "self-evident"?


Rethinking Gamification

Rethinking Gamification

Author: Mathias Fuchs

Publisher: Meson Press Eg

Published: 2014

Total Pages: 346

ISBN-13: 9783957960009

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Gamification marks a major change to everyday life. It describes the permeation of economic, political, and social contexts by game-elements such as awards, rule structures, and interfaces that are inspired by video games. Sometimes the term is reduced to the implementation of points, badges, and leaderboards as incentives and motivations to be productive. Sometimes it is envisioned as a universal remedy to deeply transform society toward more humane and playful ends. Despite its use by corporations to manage brand communities and personnel, however, gamification is more than just a marketing buzzword. States are beginning to use it as a new tool for governing populations more effectively. It promises to fix what is wrong with reality by making every single one of us fitter, happier, and healthier. Indeed, it seems like all of society is up for being transformed into one massive game. The contributions in this book offer a candid assessment of the gamification hype. They trace back the historical roots of the phenomenon and explore novel design practices and methods. They critically discuss its social implications and even present artistic tactics for resistance. It is time to rethink gamification!


Rethinking Evidence

Rethinking Evidence

Author: William Twining

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2006-06-01

Total Pages: 37

ISBN-13: 1139453211

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The Law of Evidence has traditionally been perceived as a dry, highly technical, and mysterious subject. This book argues that problems of evidence in law are closely related to the handling of evidence in other kinds of practical decision-making and other academic disciplines, that it is closely related to common sense and that it is an interesting, lively and accessible subject. These essays develop a readable, coherent historical and theoretical perspective about problems of proof, evidence, and inferential reasoning in law. Although each essay is self-standing, they are woven together to present a sustained argument for a broad inter-disciplinary approach to evidence in litigation, in which the rules of evidence play a subordinate, though significant, role. This revised and enlarged edition includes a revised introduction, the best-known essays in the first edition, and chapters on narrative and argumentation, teaching evidence, and evidence as a multi-disciplinary subject.


Reconsidering Context in Language Assessment

Reconsidering Context in Language Assessment

Author: Janna Fox

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2022-04-06

Total Pages: 296

ISBN-13: 1351184555

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This volume reconsiders the problem of context in language testing and other modes of assessment from the perspective of transdisciplinarity. Transdisciplinary assessment research brings together collaborators who draw on the strengths of their differing backgrounds and expertise in order to address high-stakes complex socially-relevant problems. Traditional treatments of context in language assessment research have generally been informed by individualist cognitive theories within measurement and psychometrics. The additive potential of alternative social theories, including theories of genre, situated learning, distributed cognition, and intercultural communication, has largely been overlooked. In this book, the benefits of socio-theoretical reconsiderations of context are discussed and further exemplified in transdisciplinary research studies that investigate the use of assessment in classroom and workplace settings. The book offers a renewed view of context in arguments for the validity of assessment practices, and will be of interest to assessment researchers, practitioners, and students in applied linguistics, education, educational psychology, language testing, and other related disciplines and fields.