Corina Sirb | West University of Timisoara (original) (raw)
Papers by Corina Sirb
Revista românească pentru educaţie multidimensională, Mar 1, 2024
This study innovates the way in which digital ethnography techniques can be applied in the analys... more This study innovates the way in which digital ethnography techniques can be applied in the analysis of complex phenomena, in this case the wave of migrants and refugees at the border between Romania, Serbia, Hungary and Ukraine, in the last two years (2021-2022). Thus, we regard this paper as an example of multidimensional education for both students and practitioners of media studies that struggle to address broad, transdisciplinary topics. The present research aims to present a multidimensional approach of the manner in which journalistic materials portray people who have arrived at the border between the three states in their attempt to travel further to the countries of Western Europe. Our methods consist of non-participatory content analysis on some communication products in the mass media from Great Britain and Romania, sentiment analysis and critique of professional practice. We used digital ethnography to reveal interesting data for a comparative analysis of the way different types of migrants are portrayed in British and Romanian media. The comparative analysis was conducted by using data provided by Dchipher Analytics and ZeList Monitor, ensuring a high degree of confidence in the results.
Postmodern Openings, 2019
Active citizenship is one of the most interesting characteristics of young generations worldwide ... more Active citizenship is one of the most interesting characteristics of young generations worldwide and is strongly connected to digital media usage. Internet gives people a voice to speak up about stressing community problems, unite in groups with the same views for a stronger impact and conduct true lobby campaigns to promote and sustain their ideas. However tangible, utopic or doubtful this democratic way of civic involvement may appear for a global digital community, its manifestation is still problematic, as it nurtures, in some cases, hate speech and extreme polarization of opinions. To support this idea, we conducted a study that analysed civic activism and the values promoted in the context of Romanian Family Referendum. Using a qualitative methodology based on communication sciences techniques and semiotic investigation, we analysed the type of discourse used in social media and the frequency of hate speech and undemocratic behaviour. At the end of this study, we will outline some concluding ideas regarding the discussed topic.
Postmodern Openings, 2021
In traditional journalism, sensationalism was a characteristic of tabloid press. The main instrum... more In traditional journalism, sensationalism was a characteristic of tabloid press. The main instruments used in sensationalistic headlines were bombastic epithets (awesome, amazing, greatest etc), and exaggerations used to increase the impact by curiosity. In the last decade, transformation with society and online media consumption behaviour have triggered a change of paradigm: we believe that we are facing a post-sensationalism media narrative, defined by catastrophism and the fight paradigm. In the context of a huge news feed overloaded with information, in the purpose of increasing the number of views of online media, the journalistic discourse has transformed radically and switched from informative to a more aggressive approach. The study shows that in Romania, the pursuit for clicks has generated a new discursive paradigm, a sort of post-sensationalism era, which we referred to as catastrophism and fight paradigm. This conclusion is based on quantitative and qualitative research ...
A study we conducted in 2018 revealed that Romanian digital media is migrating towards catastroph... more A study we conducted in 2018 revealed that Romanian digital media is migrating towards catastrophism and fight paradigm, as far as its content is concerned. We made a quantitative analysis of almost a half a million headlines published in the first months of 2018 that showed the dominance of fight paradigm and catastrophic headlines versus common, oldschool sensationalistic ones, appealing to excitement. We concluded that this tendency towards fight and catastrophism is a specific kind of sensationalism, that could either reflect the inner conflicts and tensions of the Romanian nowadays society or/and function as clickbait tactics to generate more views. The present paper is a follow-up to the above-mentioned study that has three main purposes: a) to observe and analyze the tendencies in digital media after one year; b) to see which areas of the society are more frequently presented as scandalous and dramatic by the media; and c) to see if there is a connection between this tendency...
Revista românească pentru educaţie multidimensională, Mar 1, 2024
This study innovates the way in which digital ethnography techniques can be applied in the analys... more This study innovates the way in which digital ethnography techniques can be applied in the analysis of complex phenomena, in this case the wave of migrants and refugees at the border between Romania, Serbia, Hungary and Ukraine, in the last two years (2021-2022). Thus, we regard this paper as an example of multidimensional education for both students and practitioners of media studies that struggle to address broad, transdisciplinary topics. The present research aims to present a multidimensional approach of the manner in which journalistic materials portray people who have arrived at the border between the three states in their attempt to travel further to the countries of Western Europe. Our methods consist of non-participatory content analysis on some communication products in the mass media from Great Britain and Romania, sentiment analysis and critique of professional practice. We used digital ethnography to reveal interesting data for a comparative analysis of the way different types of migrants are portrayed in British and Romanian media. The comparative analysis was conducted by using data provided by Dchipher Analytics and ZeList Monitor, ensuring a high degree of confidence in the results.
Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2013
at Searle called brute facts, but rather the social acts and institutional facts, whose existence... more at Searle called brute facts, but rather the social acts and institutional facts, whose existence is observer-dependent. As Searle himself put it more than ten years ago, philosophy needs to break the recurring bifurcation of the mental and physical, as they are both part of the same single world. This theory, which is recurrent in most of his recent work and is at the foundations of his social ontology, is stated from an evolutionary perspective; whereas the philosophy of the 20th century revolved mainly around language and logic both as methods and subjects the 21st century will bring about a series of changes, namely the transmutation of focus towards social interactions. d be a subject of interest for contemporary philosophers.
Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2013
Revista de ştiinţe ale educaţiei, Jul 25, 2018
Using the internet for research is common practice. And it’s hard to tell whether this is right o... more Using the internet for research is common practice. And it’s hard to tell whether this is right or wrong, if we take into consideration the fact that one of the main challenges the internet has brought about, as far as self-education and open knowledge are concerned, is setting apart valuable information from speculations; scholars from bloggers; researchers from attention seekers. This is why in the first part of my article I give my full ¬attention to putting together a set of criteria that could help users make the difference between the two. But establishing some criteria and following a set of principles does not solve this problem entirely, because things are not just black and white. Not all knowledge is institutionalized, especially in emerging subjects like those concerning the digital industry, such as social media, online communication or web and mobile development. I will collectively refer to them as underground knowledge and give them a dedicated place in this paper¬ T...
Journal of Educational Sciences, 2018
A study we conducted in 2018 revealed that Romanian digital media is migrating towards catastroph... more A study we conducted in 2018 revealed that Romanian digital media is migrating towards catastrophism and fight paradigm, as far as its content is concerned. We made a quantitative analysis of almost a half a million headlines published in the first months of 2018 that showed the dominance of fight paradigm and catastrophic headlines versus common, oldschool sensationalistic ones, appealing to excitement. We concluded that this tendency towards fight and catastrophism is a specific kind of sensationalism, that could either reflect the inner conflicts and tensions of the Romanian nowadays society or/and function as clickbait tactics to generate more views. The present paper is a follow-up to the above-mentioned study that has three main purposes: a) to observe and analyze the tendencies in digital media after one year; b) to see which areas of the society are more frequently presented as scandalous and dramatic by the media; and c) to see if there is a connection between this tendency...
Postmodern Openings, 2021
In traditional journalism, sensationalism was a characteristic of tabloid press. The main instrum... more In traditional journalism, sensationalism was a characteristic of tabloid press. The main instruments used in sensationalistic headlines were bombastic epithets (awesome, amazing, greatest etc), and exaggerations used to increase the impact by curiosity. In the last decade, transformation with society and online media consumption behaviour have triggered a change of paradigm: we believe that we are facing a post-sensationalism media narrative, defined by catastrophism and the fight paradigm. In the context of a huge news feed overloaded with information, in the purpose of increasing the number of views of online media, the journalistic discourse has transformed radically and switched from informative to a more aggressive approach. The study shows that in Romania, the pursuit for clicks has generated a new discursive paradigm, a sort of post-sensationalism era, which we referred to as catastrophism and fight paradigm. This conclusion is based on quantitative and qualitative research ...
Journal of Educational Sciences
Postmodern Openings
Active citizenship is one of the most interesting characteristics of young generations worldwide ... more Active citizenship is one of the most interesting characteristics of young generations worldwide and is strongly connected to digital media usage. Internet gives people a voice to speak up about stressing community problems, unite in groups with the same views for a stronger impact and conduct true lobby campaigns to promote and sustain their ideas. However tangible, utopic or doubtful this democratic way of civic involvement may appear for a global digital community, its manifestation is still problematic, as it nurtures, in some cases, hate speech and extreme polarization of opinions. To support this idea, we conducted a study that analysed civic activism and the values promoted in the context of Romanian Family Referendum. Using a qualitative methodology based on communication sciences techniques and semiotic investigation, we analysed the type of discourse used in social media and the frequency of hate speech and undemocratic behaviour. At the end of this study, we will outline some concluding ideas regarding the discussed topic.
Abstract Nowadays society is a web of status functions, roles and power. People's main concer... more Abstract Nowadays society is a web of status functions, roles and power. People's main concerns no longer regard what Searle called brute facts, but rather the social acts and institutional facts, whose existence is observer-dependent. As Searle himself put it more than ten years ago, philosophy needs to break the recurring bifurcation of the mental and physical, as they are both part of the same single world. This theory, which is recurrent in most of his recent work and is at the foundations of his social ontology, is stated from an evolutionary perspective; whereas the philosophy of the 20th century revolved mainly around language and logic – both as methods and subjects – the 21st century will bring about a series of changes, namely the transmutation of focus towards social interactions. This paper aims to reflect John Searle's view regarding social institutions’ role and ontology and the reasons why this should be a subject of interest for contemporary philosophers.
Postmodern Openings, 2020
In what way were the messages conveyed in Romanian advertisements influenced by the state of emer... more In what way were the messages conveyed in Romanian advertisements influenced by the state of emergency declared due to COVID-19 pandemic? What kind of visual and textual messages did advertisements deliver to the target audience in this unique social context? Were there any specifics regarding their narrative or visuals? Based on the aforementioned questions, our hypothesis is that some Romanian advertisements that were distributed during the state of emergency had a social responsibility message, which is rather uncommon in commercials. The first part of our study will underline the theoretical framework of this problem: defining and explaining social responsibility and its implications. The second part of the study will present our research. Its aim is to conduct a qualitative analysis of the advertising discourse from pragmatic, rhetoric and semiotic perspectives. The corpus of our research consists of several advertisements and campaigns that were most visible in the public sphe...
Revista românească pentru educaţie multidimensională, Mar 1, 2024
This study innovates the way in which digital ethnography techniques can be applied in the analys... more This study innovates the way in which digital ethnography techniques can be applied in the analysis of complex phenomena, in this case the wave of migrants and refugees at the border between Romania, Serbia, Hungary and Ukraine, in the last two years (2021-2022). Thus, we regard this paper as an example of multidimensional education for both students and practitioners of media studies that struggle to address broad, transdisciplinary topics. The present research aims to present a multidimensional approach of the manner in which journalistic materials portray people who have arrived at the border between the three states in their attempt to travel further to the countries of Western Europe. Our methods consist of non-participatory content analysis on some communication products in the mass media from Great Britain and Romania, sentiment analysis and critique of professional practice. We used digital ethnography to reveal interesting data for a comparative analysis of the way different types of migrants are portrayed in British and Romanian media. The comparative analysis was conducted by using data provided by Dchipher Analytics and ZeList Monitor, ensuring a high degree of confidence in the results.
Postmodern Openings, 2019
Active citizenship is one of the most interesting characteristics of young generations worldwide ... more Active citizenship is one of the most interesting characteristics of young generations worldwide and is strongly connected to digital media usage. Internet gives people a voice to speak up about stressing community problems, unite in groups with the same views for a stronger impact and conduct true lobby campaigns to promote and sustain their ideas. However tangible, utopic or doubtful this democratic way of civic involvement may appear for a global digital community, its manifestation is still problematic, as it nurtures, in some cases, hate speech and extreme polarization of opinions. To support this idea, we conducted a study that analysed civic activism and the values promoted in the context of Romanian Family Referendum. Using a qualitative methodology based on communication sciences techniques and semiotic investigation, we analysed the type of discourse used in social media and the frequency of hate speech and undemocratic behaviour. At the end of this study, we will outline some concluding ideas regarding the discussed topic.
Postmodern Openings, 2021
In traditional journalism, sensationalism was a characteristic of tabloid press. The main instrum... more In traditional journalism, sensationalism was a characteristic of tabloid press. The main instruments used in sensationalistic headlines were bombastic epithets (awesome, amazing, greatest etc), and exaggerations used to increase the impact by curiosity. In the last decade, transformation with society and online media consumption behaviour have triggered a change of paradigm: we believe that we are facing a post-sensationalism media narrative, defined by catastrophism and the fight paradigm. In the context of a huge news feed overloaded with information, in the purpose of increasing the number of views of online media, the journalistic discourse has transformed radically and switched from informative to a more aggressive approach. The study shows that in Romania, the pursuit for clicks has generated a new discursive paradigm, a sort of post-sensationalism era, which we referred to as catastrophism and fight paradigm. This conclusion is based on quantitative and qualitative research ...
A study we conducted in 2018 revealed that Romanian digital media is migrating towards catastroph... more A study we conducted in 2018 revealed that Romanian digital media is migrating towards catastrophism and fight paradigm, as far as its content is concerned. We made a quantitative analysis of almost a half a million headlines published in the first months of 2018 that showed the dominance of fight paradigm and catastrophic headlines versus common, oldschool sensationalistic ones, appealing to excitement. We concluded that this tendency towards fight and catastrophism is a specific kind of sensationalism, that could either reflect the inner conflicts and tensions of the Romanian nowadays society or/and function as clickbait tactics to generate more views. The present paper is a follow-up to the above-mentioned study that has three main purposes: a) to observe and analyze the tendencies in digital media after one year; b) to see which areas of the society are more frequently presented as scandalous and dramatic by the media; and c) to see if there is a connection between this tendency...
Revista românească pentru educaţie multidimensională, Mar 1, 2024
This study innovates the way in which digital ethnography techniques can be applied in the analys... more This study innovates the way in which digital ethnography techniques can be applied in the analysis of complex phenomena, in this case the wave of migrants and refugees at the border between Romania, Serbia, Hungary and Ukraine, in the last two years (2021-2022). Thus, we regard this paper as an example of multidimensional education for both students and practitioners of media studies that struggle to address broad, transdisciplinary topics. The present research aims to present a multidimensional approach of the manner in which journalistic materials portray people who have arrived at the border between the three states in their attempt to travel further to the countries of Western Europe. Our methods consist of non-participatory content analysis on some communication products in the mass media from Great Britain and Romania, sentiment analysis and critique of professional practice. We used digital ethnography to reveal interesting data for a comparative analysis of the way different types of migrants are portrayed in British and Romanian media. The comparative analysis was conducted by using data provided by Dchipher Analytics and ZeList Monitor, ensuring a high degree of confidence in the results.
Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2013
at Searle called brute facts, but rather the social acts and institutional facts, whose existence... more at Searle called brute facts, but rather the social acts and institutional facts, whose existence is observer-dependent. As Searle himself put it more than ten years ago, philosophy needs to break the recurring bifurcation of the mental and physical, as they are both part of the same single world. This theory, which is recurrent in most of his recent work and is at the foundations of his social ontology, is stated from an evolutionary perspective; whereas the philosophy of the 20th century revolved mainly around language and logic both as methods and subjects the 21st century will bring about a series of changes, namely the transmutation of focus towards social interactions. d be a subject of interest for contemporary philosophers.
Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2013
Revista de ştiinţe ale educaţiei, Jul 25, 2018
Using the internet for research is common practice. And it’s hard to tell whether this is right o... more Using the internet for research is common practice. And it’s hard to tell whether this is right or wrong, if we take into consideration the fact that one of the main challenges the internet has brought about, as far as self-education and open knowledge are concerned, is setting apart valuable information from speculations; scholars from bloggers; researchers from attention seekers. This is why in the first part of my article I give my full ¬attention to putting together a set of criteria that could help users make the difference between the two. But establishing some criteria and following a set of principles does not solve this problem entirely, because things are not just black and white. Not all knowledge is institutionalized, especially in emerging subjects like those concerning the digital industry, such as social media, online communication or web and mobile development. I will collectively refer to them as underground knowledge and give them a dedicated place in this paper¬ T...
Journal of Educational Sciences, 2018
A study we conducted in 2018 revealed that Romanian digital media is migrating towards catastroph... more A study we conducted in 2018 revealed that Romanian digital media is migrating towards catastrophism and fight paradigm, as far as its content is concerned. We made a quantitative analysis of almost a half a million headlines published in the first months of 2018 that showed the dominance of fight paradigm and catastrophic headlines versus common, oldschool sensationalistic ones, appealing to excitement. We concluded that this tendency towards fight and catastrophism is a specific kind of sensationalism, that could either reflect the inner conflicts and tensions of the Romanian nowadays society or/and function as clickbait tactics to generate more views. The present paper is a follow-up to the above-mentioned study that has three main purposes: a) to observe and analyze the tendencies in digital media after one year; b) to see which areas of the society are more frequently presented as scandalous and dramatic by the media; and c) to see if there is a connection between this tendency...
Postmodern Openings, 2021
In traditional journalism, sensationalism was a characteristic of tabloid press. The main instrum... more In traditional journalism, sensationalism was a characteristic of tabloid press. The main instruments used in sensationalistic headlines were bombastic epithets (awesome, amazing, greatest etc), and exaggerations used to increase the impact by curiosity. In the last decade, transformation with society and online media consumption behaviour have triggered a change of paradigm: we believe that we are facing a post-sensationalism media narrative, defined by catastrophism and the fight paradigm. In the context of a huge news feed overloaded with information, in the purpose of increasing the number of views of online media, the journalistic discourse has transformed radically and switched from informative to a more aggressive approach. The study shows that in Romania, the pursuit for clicks has generated a new discursive paradigm, a sort of post-sensationalism era, which we referred to as catastrophism and fight paradigm. This conclusion is based on quantitative and qualitative research ...
Journal of Educational Sciences
Postmodern Openings
Active citizenship is one of the most interesting characteristics of young generations worldwide ... more Active citizenship is one of the most interesting characteristics of young generations worldwide and is strongly connected to digital media usage. Internet gives people a voice to speak up about stressing community problems, unite in groups with the same views for a stronger impact and conduct true lobby campaigns to promote and sustain their ideas. However tangible, utopic or doubtful this democratic way of civic involvement may appear for a global digital community, its manifestation is still problematic, as it nurtures, in some cases, hate speech and extreme polarization of opinions. To support this idea, we conducted a study that analysed civic activism and the values promoted in the context of Romanian Family Referendum. Using a qualitative methodology based on communication sciences techniques and semiotic investigation, we analysed the type of discourse used in social media and the frequency of hate speech and undemocratic behaviour. At the end of this study, we will outline some concluding ideas regarding the discussed topic.
Abstract Nowadays society is a web of status functions, roles and power. People's main concer... more Abstract Nowadays society is a web of status functions, roles and power. People's main concerns no longer regard what Searle called brute facts, but rather the social acts and institutional facts, whose existence is observer-dependent. As Searle himself put it more than ten years ago, philosophy needs to break the recurring bifurcation of the mental and physical, as they are both part of the same single world. This theory, which is recurrent in most of his recent work and is at the foundations of his social ontology, is stated from an evolutionary perspective; whereas the philosophy of the 20th century revolved mainly around language and logic – both as methods and subjects – the 21st century will bring about a series of changes, namely the transmutation of focus towards social interactions. This paper aims to reflect John Searle's view regarding social institutions’ role and ontology and the reasons why this should be a subject of interest for contemporary philosophers.
Postmodern Openings, 2020
In what way were the messages conveyed in Romanian advertisements influenced by the state of emer... more In what way were the messages conveyed in Romanian advertisements influenced by the state of emergency declared due to COVID-19 pandemic? What kind of visual and textual messages did advertisements deliver to the target audience in this unique social context? Were there any specifics regarding their narrative or visuals? Based on the aforementioned questions, our hypothesis is that some Romanian advertisements that were distributed during the state of emergency had a social responsibility message, which is rather uncommon in commercials. The first part of our study will underline the theoretical framework of this problem: defining and explaining social responsibility and its implications. The second part of the study will present our research. Its aim is to conduct a qualitative analysis of the advertising discourse from pragmatic, rhetoric and semiotic perspectives. The corpus of our research consists of several advertisements and campaigns that were most visible in the public sphe...