Semiotic Analysis and Public Policy evaluates several key areas of public policy that are dependent on narrative, naming, sign, and branding to create meaning. Semiotic analysis, drawing on the work of Saussure, Peirce, and others, allows for creation of a case-oriented model of brand versus product, and of medium compared with message. Using a critical Habermasian lens, Atkinson convincingly exposes approaches focusing too heavily on instrumentality and rhetoric that claims a resolution of complex societal dilemmas. Rooted in the literature on public policy and semiotics, Atkinson creates an opportunity to delve more fully into the creation of narratives and meaning in policy, and the origins and maintenance of public programs. Evaluation of such programs shows various levels of disconnect between popular understanding of public considerations, political outcomes, and what results from the administrative/regulatory process in support of the law. This book will be of interest for scholars and researchers of public policy, policy analysis, public administration, public management, and policy implementation.

Introduces and gives examples of some interpretive techniques for analyzing qualitative data that derive from four theories: ethnomethodology, semiotics, dramaturgy and deconstruction.

The Handbook of Visual Analysis is a rich methodological resource for students, academics, researchers and professionals interested in investigating the visual representation of socially significant issues. The Handbook: Offers a wide-range of methods for visual analysis: content analysis, historical analysis, structuralist analysis, iconography, psychoanalysis, social semiotic analysis, film analysis and ethnomethodology Shows how each method can be applied for the purposes of specific research projects Exemplifies each approach through detailed analyses of a variety of data, including, newspaper images, family photos, drawings, art works and cartoons Includes examples from the authors' own research and professional practice The Handbook of Visual Analysis, which demonstrates the importance of visual data within the social sciences offers an essential guide to those working in a range of disciplines including: media and communication studies, sociology, anthropology, education, psychoanalysis, and health studies.

This concise and highly accessible textbook outlines the principles and techniques of storytelling. It is intended as a high-school and college-level introduction to the central concepts of narrative theory – concepts that will aid students in developing their competence not only in analysing and interpreting short stories and novels, but also in writing them. This textbook prioritises clarity over intricacy of theory, equipping its readers with the necessary tools to embark on further study of literature, literary theory and creative writing. Building on a ‘semiotic model of narrative,’ it is structured around the key elements of narratological theory, with chapters on plot, setting, characterisation, and narration, as well as on language and theme – elements which are underrepresented in existing textbooks on narrative theory. The chapter on language constitutes essential reading for those students unfamiliar with rhetoric, while the chapter on theme draws together significant perspectives from contemporary critical theory (including feminism and postcolonialism). This textbook is engaging and easily navigable, with key concepts highlighted and clearly explained, both in the text and in a full glossary located at the end of the book. Throughout the textbook the reader is aided by diagrams, images, quotes from prominent theorists, and instructive examples from classical and popular short stories and novels (such as Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Franz Kafka’s ‘The Metamorphosis,’ J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter, or Dostoyevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov, amongst many others). Prose Fiction: An Introduction to the Semiotics of Narrative can either be incorporated as the main textbook into a wider syllabus on narrative theory and creative writing, or it can be used as a supplementary reference book for readers interested in narrative fiction. The textbook is a must-read for beginning students of narratology, especially those with no or limited prior experience in this area. It is of especial relevance to English and Humanities major students in Asia, for whom it was conceived and written.

This book advances the understanding and modelling of sensemaking and cultural processes as being crucial to the scientific study of contemporary complex societies. It outlines a dynamic, processual conception of culture and a general view of the role of cultural dynamics in policy-making, drawing three significant methodological implications: pluralism, performativity, and semiotic capital. It focuses on the theoretical and methodological aspects of the analysis of culture and its dynamics that could be applied to the developing of policymaking and, in general, to the understanding of social phenomena. It draws from the experience and data of a large-scale project, RECRIRE, funded by the H2020 program that mapped the symbolic universes across Europe after the economic crisis. It further develops the relationship between culture and policy-making discussed in two previous volumes in this series, and constitutes the ideal third and final element of this trilogy. The book is a useful tool for academics involved in studying cultural dynamics and for policy-oriented researchers and decision-makers attentive to the cultural dimensions of the design, implementation and reception of public policies.

This book introduces relational thinking to political analysis. Instead of merely providing an overview of possible trajectories for articulating a relational political analysis, Peeter Selg and Andreas Ventsel put forth a concrete relational theory of the political, which has implications for research methodology, culminating in a concrete method they call political form analysis. In addition, they sketch out several applications of this theory, methodology and method. They call their approach “political semiotics” and argue that it is a fruitful way of conducting research on power, governance and democracy – the core dimensions of the political – in a manner that is envisioned in numerous discussions of the “relational turn” in the social sciences. It is the first monograph that attempts to outline an approach to the political that would be relational throughout, from its meta theoretical and theoretical premises through to its methodological implications, methods and empirical applications.

`This excellent text will introduce advanced students - and remind senior researchers - of the availability of a broad range of techniques available for the systematic analysis of social data that is not numeric. It makes the key point that neither quantitative nor qualitative methods are interpretive and at the same time demonstrates once and for all that neither a constructivist perspective nor a qualitative approach needs to imply abandonment of rigor. That the chapters are written by different authors makes possible a depth of expertise within each that is unusually strong' - Susanna Hornig Priest, Texas A&M University; Author of `Doing Media Research' Qualitative Researching with Text, Image and Sound off

Everyday consumers buy into the concept of brands and their associated meanings - the perception of quality, a symbolic relationship, a vicarious experience, or even a sense of identity. Marketing Semiotics suggests that the extent to which consumers recognize, internalize, and relate to brand meanings is not only an academic question. These meanings contribute to 'brand equity', the financial value of intangible brand benefits that exceed the use value of goods, and impacts upon a firm's financial performance. Therefore, the management of brand equity demands first and foremost the management of brand meanings, or semiotics. The book uses structural semiotics, a discipline that extends the laws of structural linguistics to the analysis of verbal, visual, and spatial sign systems, to shed light on the cultural codes and discourse of brands. It proposes that semiotic research should form the cornerstone of brand equity management, since brands rely so heavily on sign systems that contribute to profitability by distinguishing brands from simple commodities, from competitors, and engaging consumers in the brand world. The book includes dozens of global business cases where semiotics has been used to refocus, reposition, or extend the brand to new products, customers, and markets. Drawing upon twenty years of academic and consulting experience, the book provides actionable direction for steering brands through technological and cultural change, differentiating brands in the competitive environment, and counteracting the natural depletion of brand meaning over time.

Original, fresh and relevant this is a theoretically-informed practical guide to researching social relations. The text provides a mixed methods approach that challenges historical divisions between quantitative and qualitative research. It adopts a multidisciplinary approach to social science research, drawing from areas such as sociology, social psychology and social anthropology. Explicitly addressing the concerns of emergent researchers it provides both a ′how to′ account of social research and an understanding of the main factors that contextualize research by discussing ′why do′ social scientists work this way. Throughout the twelve comprehensive chapters procedural (how to) accounts and contextual (why do) issues are usefully applied to major themes and substantive questions. These key themes include: (1) Research design (2) The practices of research and emergent researchers: Beyond ontology, epistemology and methodology (3) The impact of technology on research (4) Putting the research approach in context. A superb teaching text this book will be relished by lecturers seeking an authoritative introduction to social research and by students who want an accessible, enriching text to guide and inspire them.

The Semiotics of Happiness examines the rise of 'happiness' (and its various satellite terminologies) as a social and political semiotic, exploring its origins in the US and subsequent spread into the UK and across the globe. The research takes as its starting point the development of discussions about happiness in UK newspapers in which dedicated advocates began to claim that a new 'science of happiness' had been discovered and argued for social and political change on its behalf. Through an in-depth analysis of the written and visual rhetoric and subsequent activities of these influential 'claims-makers', Frawley argues that happiness became a serious political issue not because of a growing unhappiness in society nor a demand 'on the ground' for new knowledge about it, but rather because influential and dedicated 'insiders' took the issue on at a cultural moment when problems cast in emotional terms were particularly likely to make an impact. Emerging from the analysis is the observation that, while apparently positive and light-hearted, the concern with happiness implicitly affirms a 'vulnerability' model of human functioning, encourages a morality of low expectations, and in spite of the radical language used to describe it, is ultimately conservative and ideally suited to an era of 'no alternative' (to capitalism).