Materialities
Foreign Products Sold Here: Visual Cues from an Imported Visual Language
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Mike Oustamanolakis
This study assesses the significance of reading and interpreting non-textual, visual imagery in packaging, specifically in Hong Kong. Some chain stores in the city sell numerous imported products in their original packaging (stores such as 759, 360, Prizemart). However, the packaging of those products still carries the visual and textual language that was not intended for the Hong Kong audience. Despite the fact that most Hong Kong citizens do not read Japanese, Indonesian, Polish and other languages where these products come from, these products are popular and keep selling. This paper examines the visual cues or non-textual properties that make Hong Kong consumers select one product over another despite the fact that the packaging has not been tailored for the Hong Kong consumer market. This phenomenological research will be pursued with a qualitative approach. The main aim is to explore how media and visual communication work, out of place in a different consumer context.
The Template Model: Putting Meaning at the Centre of Film Education
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Marc Barrett
Despite decades of progress in academic thought about the social semiotic system of meaning generation in filmic texts, film making and viewing text books, written for schools and institutions in Australia, still regard the filmic medium more as a mechanical construct, in which its meaning is somehow separate from the medium itself. The aim of this paper is to propose a method of placing the inherent meaning of the filmic medium at the centre of the film education discourse. It aims to bridge the gap between the specialist understandings of filmic texts possessed by academics, and the universal understandings of mainstream consumers and creators of such texts, a move essential at a time when students’ lives are increasingly governed by image based information. This paper aims to achieve this goal by introducing a new way of talking about film making and viewing in an educational setting, called "The Template Model." The Template Model proposes a simple shift in the focus and language of film education, in order to make it more akin to teaching a language, and less akin to teaching woodwork.
Enduring Image: When Shared Image of First Mention becomes Image of Permanence
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Augustine Pang, Alton Chua
In an era where an organization’s image and reputation assume heightened importance because stakeholders are increasingly scrutinizing them (Coombs, 2015), it is critical for organizations to maintain a positive image. A strong corporate image generates goodwill, good relations with stakeholders and good organizational outcomes (Benoit & Pang, 2008). One concept about organizational image is what Pang (2012) coined as “enduring image”, which is defined as the “shared image of first mention: When stakeholders think of the organization, what is the image that comes to mind? This can be formed from their last experience, consistent experience, or what they know of the organization through the media” (p. 372). Enduring images are usually engendered in times of, and as a result of crises. Building on Ho, Pang, Auyong and Lau’s (2014) assertion that enduring images may linger after the crisis, this study seeks to examine how transient and fleeting impressions can evolve into images of permanence by analyzing five cases. Using established method of selection (Shin, Cheng, Jin & Cameron, 2005), the cases were selected based on their media visibility, magnitude, impact, frequency of mention and association with the organization/individual across crisis types and cultures. The questions asked are first, when was the image first engendered; second, how did the image become entrenched. The third was if there were attempts made to reverse this image. In this digital age where there is ease of propagation of images, it is hoped that this paper inspires research on enduring images that have become entrenched.
