Applied Semiotics

In his monograph on Educational Semiotics, Francois Tochon (along with a number of research colleagues) has produced a work that is truly groundbreaking on a number of fronts.  First of all, in his concise but brilliant introductory comments, Tochon clearly debunks the potential notion that semiotics might provide yet another methodological tool in the toolkit of educational researchers.  Drawing skillfully on the work of Peirce, Deely, Sebeok, Merrell, and others, Tochon shows us just how fundamentally different semiotic research can be when compared to the modes and techniques that have dominated educational research for many decades.  That is, he points out how semiotic methods can provide the capability for both students and researchers to look at this basic and fundamental human process in inescapably transformational ways, by acknowledging and accepting that the path to knowledge is, in his words “through the fixation of belief.”
    But he does not stop there – instead, in four brilliantly conceived studies, he shows us how semiotic concepts in general, and semiotic mapping in particular, can allow both student teachers and researchers alike insights in these students’ development of insights and concepts into the very heart of the teaching and learning process.  By tackling both theoretical and practical research considerations, Tochon has provided the rest of us the beginnings of a blueprint that, if adopted, can push educational research out of (in the words of Deely) its entrenchment in the Age of Ideas into the new and exciting frontiers of the Age of Signs.
- Gary Shank, Duquesne University

This study examines the textual and visual resources of shopfront advertising signs in two different linguistic and cultural contexts, namely, American English and Iraqi Arabic from a semiotics perspective. A multi-analytic semiotics model has been used to examine forty Iraqi and American café and restaurant signs, divided equally into twenty signs for each language. The corpus analysis has revealed that the verbal and visual resources work in parallel in the shop advertising discourse of the two linguistic landscapes under investigation. That is, the discourse of shop advertising signs of the two linguistic landscapes generally tends to use the same textual and visual resources. Moreover, American and Iraqi advertising shop signs are laden with the socio-cultural practices and assumptions of the American and Iraqi societies. Finally, a number of conclusions are presented.

The future we need to explore is more abstract than it is concrete. As designers, we are constantly conjuring ideas based on a concrete world to improve what we have already seen. Within these predetermined frameworks, we unintentionally bring our own biases to planning the future based on what we know and what we consider safe. However, methods of gathering evidence must reveal the essential dynamics and tensions of the individual in the context of society. The cultural system that represents this process of adaptation can be plotted as a system of language that reflects the dynamics between the concrete and abstract worlds. A craving for such emotional intelligence requires that we expand our binary world into an abstract space for which only the human brain has the capacity. We need such a systematic view in order to think intuitively on multiple levels at the same time.

Luca Marchetti, HEAD – Genève

workshop “Before insights: working on trends forecasting”.
chaired by Priyanka Sharma, University of Texas.
lecture: “Fashion Curating in the Fields of Design. Issues in theory and practice”
@
THE VALUE OF DESIGN RESEARCH
11th international European Academy of Design conference
Paris, 24th April 2015 10h-13h30

http://thevalueofdesignresearch.com
http://www.hesge.ch/head/

The contribution to the workshop will be focussed on cultural-semiotic approaches to trends-forecasting, from cross-cultural analysis, artistic and fashion-design creation to market research.
The lecture will discuss the practice of fashion exhibitions as a deeper understanding of contemporary design disciplines and aesthetics.

Explicates the Semiotic Paradigm and devotes a chapter to each subparadigm, such as Philosophy of Semiotics; Experimental Semiotics; Search for Invariant Patterns; Theoretical Semiotics; Applied Semiotics; Mathematical Semiotics; and New Ways of Thinking - New Worldviews.

Abstract
As a result of the rise of the consumer societies mainly in the group of so called Western countries new types of ritualization of the everyday activities could be observed. This article aims to analyze rituals of spending free time out of home from the semiotic perspective and to outline specific patters of behavior and/or motivation among young people who belong to different cultural and market areas. Since the history of social and anthropological research in consumer behavior is a quite short, any reasonable attempt for cross-cultural and/or interdisciplinary approach sheds light on the topic.   
The paper presents also results from an empirical study among young individuals from different European countries in order to compare and analyze their attitude, behavior and notion towards the act of going out. Main findings show that the act of socializing is rather habitual and usually follows well-established scheme of actions and elements that ensure the overall positive experience.
The acts of socializing are analyzed also through the structural semiotic paradigm of Algirdas Gremias, which as later adopted by authors like Jean-Marie Floch and Andrea Semprini. The results show a series of typologies, based on the young people’s preferences or behavioural patterns. 
Key words: secular rituals, consumption, habit(us), semiotic square, typology of consumers.

The future we need to explore is more abstract than it is concrete. As designers, we are constantly conjuring ideas based on a concrete world to improve what we have already seen. Within these predetermined frameworks, we unintentionally bring our own biases to planning the future based on what we know and what we consider safe. However, methods of gathering evidence must reveal the essential dynamics and tensions of the individual in the context of society. The cultural system that represents this process of adaptation can be plotted as a system of language that reflects the dynamics between the concrete and abstract worlds. A craving for such emotional intelligence requires that we expand our binary world into an abstract space for which only the human brain has the capacity. We need such a systematic view in order to think intuitively on multiple levels at the same time.

L’adaptation du théâtre au cinéma, tout comme celle qui opère entre n’importe quels media, a souvent été étudiée sous l’angle de la matérialité propre à chaque moyen d’expression, à la lumière des limitations qu’implique cette dernière. Or, cet article emprunte une voie différente et propose une conception figurale du medium inspirée du pragmatisme peircéen. Comment, aujourd’hui, poser la question « qu’est-ce que le cinéma ? ». Dans ce texte, nous aborderons d’abord les difficultés que soulève une telle interrogation, après quoi nous élaborerons une définition du medium. Puis, nous exemplifierons sa contribution à l’épistémologie des études cinématographiques en nous penchant sur la comédie romantique américaine, genre des plus significatifs pour l’histoire du cinéma, qui continue la tradition théâtrale tout en rompant avec elle. Nous conclurons par un examen de Nô, un film de Robert Lepage, adapté d’une pièce du même auteur.

Medium and figure in adaptation

As for all translations from a given medium to another, adapting a play for the silver screen is often studied from the inherently limited physical viewpoint peculiar to each medium. Yet, this essay adopts a different tack, drawing on Charles Sanders Peirce’s pragmatism to focus instead on the figures that characterise each medium. How is one to ask about the nature of cinema nowadays ? Beginning with this difficult question, this essay will then define the medium before illustrating its contribution to cinematic epistemology through, for example, the all-important American romantic comedy, a genre firmly rooted in, yet now freed from, the stage. This essay will end with a study of the Robert Lepage movie Nô, adapted from his namesake play.

This article focuses on the creation of instructional materials that serve as a personal environment for learning a less-commonly-taught language. The study aims to raise awareness of ways in which digital personal learning environments can be used in tandem with more formal learning strategies. The study explores self-regulated language learning within personal environments created for intermediate and advanced Turkish. We reviewed the conceptual background for the approach as well as the project-based learning strategies scaffolded in the online thematic materials. Through a 3-year longitudinal inquiry and semi-structured interviews with eight instructors who implemented the approach in four universities, the authors analyze the impact of personalized learning in developing deeper levels of language apprenticeship. The instructors we interviewed report increased growth in proficiency and accuracy in linguistic and cultural learning, as experienced in their courses through their fo...

This study examines the textual and visual resources of shopfront advertising signs in two different linguistic and cultural contexts, namely, American English and Iraqi Arabic from a semiotics perspective. A multi-analytic semiotics model has been used to examine forty Iraqi and American café and restaurant signs, divided equally into twenty signs for each language.  The corpus analysis has revealed that the verbal and visual resources work in parallel in the shop advertising discourse of the two linguistic landscapes under investigation. That is, the discourse of shop advertising signs of the two linguistic landscapes generally tends to use the same textual and visual resources. Moreover, American and Iraqi advertising shop signs are laden with the socio-cultural practices and assumptions of the American and Iraqi societies. Finally, a number of conclusions are presented.                                                                                               

Now as eBook!  Educational Semiotics is a highly original work of scholarship. In four ingeniously designed studies, Tochon demonstrates how semiotic analysis can be used to deconstruct the professional learning experiences of preservice teachers. These studies offer startling insights into the creative application of semiotic methods and the understanding of long standing issues in teacher education. See here for a free sample:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/521243

ABSTRACT In his monograph on Educational Semiotics, Francois Tochon (along with a number of research colleagues) has produced a work that is truly groundbreaking on a number of fronts. First of all, in his concise but brilliant introductory comments, Tochon clearly debunks the potential notion that semiotics might provide yet another methodological tool in the toolkit of educational researchers. Drawing skillfully on the work of Peirce, Deely, Sebeok, Merrell, and others, Tochon shows us just how fundamentally different semiotic research can be when compared to the modes and techniques that have dominated educational research for many decades. That is, he points out how semiotic methods can provide the capability for both students and researchers to look at this basic and fundamental human process in inescapably transformational ways, by acknowledging and accepting that the path to knowledge is, in his words “through the fixation of belief.” But he does not stop there – instead, in four brilliantly conceived studies, he shows us how semiotic concepts in general, and semiotic mapping in particular, can allow both student teachers and researchers alike insights in these students’ development of insights and concepts into the very heart of the teaching and learning process. By tackling both theoretical and practical research considerations, Tochon has provided the rest of us the beginnings of a blueprint that, if adopted, can push educational research out of (in the words of Deely) its entrenchment in the Age of Ideas into the new and exciting frontiers of the Age of Signs. - Gary Shank, Duquesne University

L’adaptation du théâtre au cinéma, tout comme celle qui opère entre n’importe quels media, a souvent été étudiée sous l’angle de la matérialité propre à chaque moyen d’expression, à la lumière des limitations qu’implique cette dernière. Or, cet article emprunte une voie différente et propose une conception figurale du medium inspirée du pragmatisme peircéen. Comment, aujourd’hui, poser la question « qu’est-ce que le cinéma ? ». Dans ce texte, nous aborderons d’abord les difficultés que soulève une telle interrogation, après quoi nous élaborerons une définition du medium. Puis, nous exemplifierons sa contribution à l’épistémologie des études cinématographiques en nous penchant sur la comédie romantique américaine, genre des plus significatifs pour l’histoire du cinéma, qui continue la tradition théâtrale tout en rompant avec elle. Nous conclurons par un examen de Nô, un film de Robert Lepage, adapté d’une pièce du même auteur. Medium and figure in adaptation As for all translations f...

This paper examines the relationship between verbal and visual semiotic cues by analyzing how semiotic cues position speakers interactionally and communicate implicit evaluative messages in one television news story. The paper summarizes an analysis of this news story that my collaborator and I have done based solely on verbal cues (Wortham & Locher, 1996). Then the paper analyzes the visual cues that accompany this television news report. The research question is: Do the visual cues contribute to the interactional positioning accomplished by the verbal cues? The analysis shows that visual cues in this case both reinforce the interactional positioning that gets done by verbal cues and create a pattern of interactional positioning that is independent of the verbal cues. Comments Reprinted from International Journal of Applied Semiotics, Volume 2, Issue 1-2, 2000, pages 131-141. Publisher URL: http://www.atwoodpublishing.com/journals/journal.htm This journal article is available at Sc...

This article focuses on the creation of instructional materials that serve as a personal environment for learning a less-commonly-taught language. The study aims to raise awareness of ways in which digital personal learning environments can be used in tandem
with more formal learning strategies. The study explores self-regulated language learning within personal environments created for intermediate and advanced Turkish. We reviewed the conceptual background for the approach as well as the project-based learning strategies scaffolded in the online thematic materials. Through a 3-year longitudinal inquiry and semistructured interviews with eight instructors who implemented the approach in four universities, the authors analyze the impact of personalized learning in developing deeper levels of language apprenticeship. The instructors we interviewed report increased growth in proficiency and accuracy in linguistic and cultural learning, as experienced in their courses through their formative and summative assessments, as well as the realization of most pedagogical goals related to language acquisition in a rich format. In light of the needs for teacher education adapted to new technologies, the paper highlights the difficulties of pedagogy for autonomy.

L’adaptation du théâtre au cinéma, tout comme celle qui opère entre n’importe quels media, a souvent été étudiée sous l’angle de la matérialité propre à chaque moyen d’expression, à la lumière des limitations qu’implique cette dernière. Or, cet article emprunte une voie différente et propose une conception figurale du medium inspirée du pragmatisme peircéen. Comment, aujourd’hui, poser la question « qu’est-ce que le cinéma ? ». Dans ce texte, nous aborderons d’abord les difficultés que soulève une telle interrogation, après quoi nous élaborerons une définition du medium. Puis, nous exemplifierons sa contribution à l’épistémologie des études cinématographiques en nous penchant sur la comédie romantique américaine, genre des plus significatifs pour l’histoire du cinéma, qui continue la tradition théâtrale tout en rompant avec elle. Nous conclurons par un examen de Nô, un film de Robert Lepage, adapté d’une pièce du même auteur.

... Record Details - EJ641242. Title: Metareference. A Bakhtinian View of Academic Dialogue. Full-Text Availability Options: ... Related Items: Show Related Items. Click on any of the links below to perform a new search. Title: Metareference. A Bakhtinian View of Academic Dialogue. ...

The future we need to explore is more abstract than it is concrete. As designers, we are constantly conjuring ideas based on a concrete world to improve what we have already seen. Within these predetermined frameworks, we unintentionally bring our own biases to planning the future based on what we know and what we consider safe. However, methods of gathering evidence must reveal the essential dynamics and tensions of the individual in the context of society. The cultural system that represents this process of adaptation can be plotted as a system of language that reflects the dynamics between the concrete and abstract worlds. A craving for such emotional intelligence requires that we expand our binary world into an abstract space for which only the human brain has the capacity. We need such a systematic view in order to think intuitively on multiple levels at the same time.

This paper examines the relationship between verbal and visual semiotic cues by analyzing how semiotic cues position speakers interactionally and communicate implicit evaluative messages in one television news story. The paper summarizes an analysis of ...