This dissertation analyzes Life’s early coverage of the Cold War (1945-1954) in order to explicate this publication’s creation and reinforcement of prescriptive attitudes about this ideological engagement through photographically illustrated news. By uncovering Life’s editorial approach this project proposes a new diagnostic for evaluating documentary images by re-configuring Hayden White’s incisive theory of emplotment—the process of engendering historical narratives with meaning— through semiotic models proposed by Louis Hjelmslev and Roland Barthes, thereby offering a useful tool for future scholars to re-examine modern media’s transition towards prizing visual immediacy over critical engagement. Life’s editors’ link narrative devices and rhetoric with photographs to make these images appear as first-hand experience and function as objective conclusions. Life characterizes the Cold War as an epic moral struggle between the US and USSR, and its 1943 special issue on Russia acts as the comedic prologue to this narrative by distinguishing these ideologically disparate wartime allies. After post-war agreements fail, this congenial atmosphere swiftly transitions into another battle between democracy and tyranny, defined through literary conventions. Life employs synecdoche and allegory to encode photographs of individuals as icons of valorous populations (Americans and Eastern Europeans) and to symbolize concepts (democracy and charity). Metonymy and irony transform photographs into direct signs of Communism and visual evidence of its degeneracy. Life’s comic presentation of Marshal Josip Tito contrasts with its satiric coverage of Senator Joseph McCarthy to direct readers’ attention towards the best and worst possible courses of action regarding the Communist menace, at home and abroad.

This essay examines the persuasive side of music and its affect on consumer behavior when utilized in television commercials. It includes an interpretation of twelve study cases, in which three groups of four people is presented the same commercial, with different music being the only item dividing the groups. This is followed by a few questions about the product. The aim is then to see how the answers differ from one group to another, and how they match the music’s presupposed connotations suggested in the theory part of the essay, thus, observing the communicative, and eventually persuasive, power of music in television commercials. The main question is: how might music utilized in a television commercial power people’s opinions about the product in that commercial. The results show how music may alter people’s opinions about the product in the commercial, and that the interviewees’ opinions, in most cases, match the music’s presupposed connotations. The study’s results confirm what was previously found by Adolfsson in 2007. By comparing results from then and now it adds to the understanding of musical meaning in everyday life.

This essay focuses on style-related challenges that translators may face when translating from German to Swedish. The translated source text stems from the biography Kafka: The Years of Insight. Its literary style and its use of less frequent words make it particularly suitable for a study of the translation of stylistic traits. The essay raises the question whether the style of the source text can be reproduced or not. The analysis is limited to the stylistic aspects of words and includes the area of metaphors and word choice, in particular the translation of foreign words and elevated or archaic style. The study is qualitative and based on Koller's (2011) theory of connotative equivalence and the theories of linguistic and cognitive aspects of metaphors as defined by Lakoff and Johnson (1980) and Schäffner (2004). The analysis reveals that style-related translation challenges are caused by the limitations of the target language, yet, the translator is expected to reproduce the style of the source text. Thus, this essay argues that translation has more to do with recreating the style of the source text. This goes against the general view that the style of the target text is merely a reproduction of the source text.

Typefaces contain explicit and implicit character in their appearance. They are valuable to the designer to convey an appropriate rhetorical voice. Typefaces can be powerful expressions for the persona of user groups and their specialized information. This interpretive exploratory study looked at design as research. Textual data was collected from several sources that revealed typeface trends. As a precedent, Helvetica and Times used on National Park plans forecasted Parks Canada’s preference for Helvetica Neue as the current display font family. The second case study revealed several recurrent typefaces used for titles and headings on Canadian Society of Landscape Architects’ professional journals. Lastly, survey data about landscape architects’ current typeface preferences showed a trend for certain styles and persistent connotations. The personality and physical characteristics of these preferences were synthesized into design guidelines and a typeface concept. This representative landscape architecture typeface is intended to promote professional salience and unity. / The continuity of this thesis will generate a digital design resulting in the release of a typeface taking approximately two years. The author will engage with professionals within landscape architecture and typography to ensure that the typeface development and assessment is holistic and fulfills the recommendations outlined by the key informant and popular literature. / Landscape Architecture Alumni Award

The present study was undertaken (1) to compare the connotative meanings criminals attach to a sampling of concepts with those meanings attached by noncriminals, and (2) to examine the possible relationship between moral development and criminal behavior. One hundred thirty four male subjects completed the Wide Range Achievement Test- Revised (Reading Section); a personal data sheet; the Ammons Quick Test-Form I; the Criminal Semantic Inventory; the Test for Criminal Cognitions; and the Sociomoral Reflection Questionnaire. Subjects were divided into four groups (Noncriminals, Against Person Group, Against Property Group, and Against Statute Group) on the basis of history of criminal conviction. A one-way MANOVA was conducted on each of the 16 concepts under investigation. Significant differences were found for five concepts. In addition, criminals were found to differ significantly from noncriminals on level of moral development.

This experimental study investigates the connotative meaning of the concept “cash”, as it relates to the cash flow statement, held by the three key parties to the accounting communication process: preparers, auditors and users. Concerns raised in the accounting profession regarding the susceptibility of the cash flow statement to manipulation, coupled with the recent introduction of NZ IAS 7 (cash flow statement) provide the motivation for investigating the potential for miscommunication (either intentional or unintentional) between the main parties to the financial reporting process. The study investigates inter and intra group differences in measured connotative meaning of the old and new definitions of “cash”, and determines the effect of connotative meaning on decision outcomes. Further, the study considers the overall quality of the two definitions, as perceived by the three financial reporting groups. Three key findings are indicated. The first is that the three financial reporting groups do not share the same cognitive structure in which the meaning of the concept “cash” is held. An important implication is that comparisons between the connotative meanings held by the three financial reporting groups cannot be validly made. Secondly, significant differences in the measured meaning were observed across the two definitions within each of the three subject groups. Thirdly, the decision outcomes for each of the three subject groups were significantly different under the two definitions. Also there was some evidence that the differences in the decision outcomes were linked to the differences in the measured connotative meaning. These results raised several concerns regarding the potential for miscommunication between the three key parties to the accounting communication process and highlighted the importance of standard-setters assessing the effect on connotative meaning of possible changes in wording to key concepts within the cash flow statement.

This diploma thesis analyses the occurrence of synonymy in the texts of academic prose and fiction. The topic of synonymy has been in the centre of attention for a long time and it still deserves much attention. The aim of this thesis is to approach to the topic from a different perspective. Theoretical part describes the theoretical background of synonymy from the upper layers of the system of language. These theories are used as analytical tool in analysing the collected samples with the focus on similarities and differences in connotation of pairs of synonyms. The diploma thesis should particularly contribute to study of partial synonymy and the components of associative meaning that vary in dependence on functional style. This thesis should also marginally refer to the topic of absolute synonymy. The frequency of the components of associative meaning and findings are described in the conclusion of the thesis.

На основе исследований теории перевода, теории культурных различий и принципов перевода литературных произведений изучается влияние культурных различий на перевод литературных произведений, анализируется методы разрешения культурных различий при переводе. / Based on the study of translation theory, cultural difference theory and literary works translation principles, study the influence of cultural differences on the translation of literary works, analyze the methods to resolve cultural differences in translation.

This study sought to investigate and to record any recurring patterns in the form and communicative impact of Shona advertisements. Motivation to carry out the study came from a realisation of a growing interest in using the Shona language for advertising and the fact that very few studies have been done on Shona advertisements. For methodology, examples of Shona advertisements were qualitatively analysed using some communications and discourse analysis approaches of the speech act theory and text linguistics. A structured interview with advertising agencies randomly selected and a questionnaire on the impact of advertisements were also used. The findings of the research included that Shona was used in advertisements in order to reach out to the majority of the Zimbabwean population. In addition, Shona was also found to have been developed enough to handle formal issues like advertisements. This finding further shows that Shona advertisements reflect an instance of diglossia leakage from Shona L(ow) to Shona H(igh). Another finding is that Shona advertisements reflect some characteristics of the Shona speech community in form. These include code-switching, slang and word- division problems. An innovation in code-switching noted in some Shona advertisements is the use of three languages, namely, English, Shona and Ndebele in one advertisement. It was also established that everything about the elements of Shona advertisements communicate. For instance, the message may be visual, tactile and olfactory. It also emerged that the Shona commercial advertisements had a presenting and a hidden agenda at the same time. To achieve this the advertisements used persuasive techniques such as advertising claims, cultural hooks and personalities as spokespersons. It was also noted that most readers of advertisements do not interpret them up to the hidden persuaders but end with the direct meaning. On the other hand the Shona advertisements that gave information such as health issues have no hidden agenda. One recommendation made is that advertisements be read and studied to raise the level of awareness about the persuasive techniques used in order to distinguish between misleading advertising and those that give useful information. Some recommendations were made for future research such as carrying out similar studies of informal Shona advertisements, advertisements by n'angas/inyangas (traditional healers), prophets and political campaigns. / African Languages / M.A. (African Languages)

This essay aims to analyse how the exposedness is constructed in the Swedish contemporary artist Nathalie Djurberg’s two stop motion-films Greed and Cave. Five stills from Greed and three stills from Cave will be examined from a feminist perspective with a theoretical viewpoint based on theories from both art history and film studies. The method applied is visual semiotics which focuses on how meaning is created within an artwork rather than what the meaning is. The stills from Djurberg’s films are analysed first on a denotative level and then on a connotative level. Furthermore, visual semiotics theorises that everything is made up of systems of signs which allows this essay to study how the women in Djurberg’s movies functions as signs. The essay demonstrated that the women in Djurberg’s films can be seen as passive objects under the power of the male gaze. However, the analysis also displayed that the woman in Cave can be perceived as someone who defies the patriarchal norms for how a woman should behave and look. Nonetheless, the exposedness of these women seems to be constructed firstly in their bodies and how they are represented, both in looks but also how they are posed to reinforce patriarchal conventions in the female representation, and secondly in their relation to male characters - or the implied male gaze from a spectator - in the films. The women in Djurberg’s films can thus be understood as signs for male sexual desires, as signs for the Woman posing as the Man’s opposite, as the objective for His gaze.