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Exploring Pragmatic Strategies in Energy Drink Advertisements: A Comparative Gricean Analysis of Pakistani and Indian Sting Ads
Get PDFThe marketing of energy drinks in the global markets is often based on dramatic and hyperbolic messages targeting the youthful consumers in the fast-growing markets in regions like Pakistan and India. This paper has used comparative pragmatic and multimodal study of ten advertisements of Sting energy drinks; five advertisements of Sting energy drinks in Pakistan and five advertisements of Sting energy drinks in India. Based on an interpretivist paradigm and a qualitative approach, the study explores the relationship between verbal and visual elements and the way in which these elements of communicative messages strategically comply or do not align with the Cooperative Principle introduced by Grice (1975), including the Maxims of Quality, Quantity, Relevance and Manner. The results reveal that both Pakistani and Indian adverts are overly dramatizing, and violate the Maxim of Quality, building on their use of fantastical and hyperbolic imagery to form aspirational meaning. However, Indian adverts are more traditional and more willing to include declarations regarding the health of their products, and are overt in regard to product details, which serves to curb the possibility of misunderstanding and indicates a stronger level of regulatory and corporate accountability. In Pakistani advertisements, however, emphasis is placed more on foregrounded real-life situations and culturally identifiable metaphors, like witches, exam success, and transformation in the workplace, but there is often a lack of disclosure in terms of health, so Pakistani youth viewers are more likely to be ethically troubled. Combining semiotic analysis (Barthes, 1977; Kress and van Leeuwen, 2006), with Relevance Theory (Sperber and Wilson, 1995), the paper contends that seemingly irrelevant or exaggerated visual features serve to create cognitive salience and produce implicatures that help advertisements to get remembered and persuade audiences. Such comparative analysis would develop a global discourse as it provides a Gricean pragmatics approach to the multimodal advertisement in the South Asian region and, in the process, would explain how the regulatory cultures and repertoires influence pragmatic choices, applied when creating marketing practices of health-sensitive products, that reach younger customers. Policy implications and future work related to the experimental work are outlined
The Nexus between Socio-Economic Deprivation, Perceived Police Legitimacy and Effectiveness, and Public Willingness to Report Crime: A Quantitative Study of Residents in Karachi
Get PDFThis quantitative study examined interrelationships between socio-economic deprivation, perceived police legitimacy and effectiveness (PPLE), and public willingness to report crime in Karachi, Pakistan. The primary objectives were to measure these variables and test a theoretical model proposing that PPLE mediates the effect of deprivation on reporting intentions. A cross-sectional survey using a stratified multi-stage sampling design collected data from 585 adult residents across diverse Karachi neighborhoods. The survey instrument included a Socio-Economic Deprivation Index, subscales measuring Perceived Police Effectiveness and Perceived Police Legitimacy (combined into a PPLE composite), and a Willingness to Report scale. Items were 5-point Likert responses; subscale reliabilities were satisfactory (Socio-economic deprivation a = .74; Perceived Police Effectiveness a = .82; Perceived Police Legitimacy a = .84; Willingness to Report a = .79). Data were analyzed using Spearman correlations and mediation analysis (Hayes’ PROCESS). Results show that greater socio-economic deprivation is associated with lower willingness to report and more negative PPLE; higher PPLE is associated with greater willingness to report. Mediation analysis indicated that PPLE is a significant partial mediator of the deprivation --> reporting relationship. Findings suggest that deficits in police legitimacy and effectiveness are an important mechanism by which structural inequality suppresses public cooperation. Implications include prioritizing procedural-justice reforms and integrating social development into policing strategies
Role of Translation in the Globalization of Literature: Challenges and Opportunities
Get PDFTranslation plays a pivotal role in the globalization of literature by enabling the exchange of ideas, narratives, and cultural values across linguistic and geographical boundaries. This paper examines the opportunities and challenges of literary translation in the context of the globalization process. Based on a literature survey of various sources and interviews with professional translators and academics, the study reveals opportunities such as translator’s role as a cultural and knowledge brokers, its capacity to amplify marginalized voices, and its function within the global publishing industry. Nevertheless, it also defines significant challenges including linguistic barriers, cultural differences, ethical issues, and biases favoring dominant world languages such as English. The analysis underscores the growing adoption of hybrid translation models that integrate AI tools with human expertise. To address these challenges and enhance the functions of translation in shaping the diverse global literary space, it is suggested to utilize methods like collaborative translation processes, the use of ethical codes, and the emphasis on the profession’s diversity. The study concludes that translation is not only a technical process but also a transformative cultural act that sustains linguistic diversity and shapes a more complete global literary space
Subaltern Silencing in Megha Majumdar’s A Burning: A Critical Re-Reading of Jivan’s Marginalization
Get PDFIn recent years, contemporary South Asian fiction has increasingly foregrounded questions of voice, marginalization, and state power; within this context, Megha Majumdar’s A Burning (2020) offers a compelling narrative of subaltern silencing in a neoliberal, digitally mediated society. Against this background, the present study critically re-reads the marginalization of Jivan, a poor Muslim woman whose attempt at political expression leads to criminalization and erasure. Accordingly, the primary objective of this research is to examine how intersecting structures of class, gender, religion, media discourse, and state authority operate to silence subaltern voices, while also assessing whether meaningful forms of resistance are possible within such hegemonic frameworks. To achieve these objectives, the study adopts a qualitative, interpretive methodology grounded in close textual analysis and informed by Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak’s theory of the subaltern, supplemented by insights from postcolonial feminism and discourse theory. The findings reveal that Jivan’s silencing is systematic rather than incidental, produced through overlapping mechanisms of economic precocity, gendered violence, communal othering, judicial coercion, and digital surveillance. Moreover, the analysis demonstrates that subaltern speech—particularly when articulated through social media—is not merely ignored but actively re-coded as threat and sedition. Consequently, while moments of resistance and agency do emerge in fragmented and symbolic forms, they remain structurally constrained and ultimately ineffective. In conclusion, the study affirms Spivak’s central thesis that the subaltern may speak but cannot be heard within dominant epistemic and institutional structures without distortion or suppression. Therefore, the paper recommends a critical rethinking of narratives surrounding free speech, digital democracy, and justice in contemporary societies, and calls for further interdisciplinary research that bridges literary studies with media studies, surveillance theory, and human rights discourse to better understand and challenge ongoing practices of subaltern silencing
Resource Dimensions Influencing Technological Appropriation in ESP Writing Instruction
Get PDFThe objective of this study is to investigate the role of the material and immaterial, social, and educational resources in the appropriation of digital and AI during English to Specific Purposes (ESP) writing instructions. Informed by van Dijk’s Resource and Appropriation Theory (RAT), the study will employ quantitative correlational survey research design and target ESP writing instructors who responded to a structured Likert-scale questionnaire. The findings reveal that motivation and teacher’s autonomy are not the only factor to define technological appropriation in ESP settings but is also shaped by the access to institutional infrastructural resources, training facilities, and participatory decision-making environments. Material and social resources emerged as central facilitators, where immaterial resources like autonomy and flexibility remained in the periphery, but played a significant supporting role. It was demonstrated that educational abilities like the ability to adapt writing instruction through the usage of the digital tools are dependent on the access of materials and the collaborative institutional cultures. This paper reiterates that ESP writing training that necessitates task-specific and discipline-relevant instruction cannot be simply a matter of individual ingenuity it must be backed up by systemic support. The results support an integrated approach to digital integration in ESP, which is based on balanced infrastructure, empowerment, and professional development to provide technological equity in the process
From Royal Courts to Poetic Hearts: The Eternal Romance of Yousuf Shah Chak and Habba Khatoon
Get PDFA timeless romance: Yousuf Shah Chak, last of the independent Kashmir rulers, and Habba Khatoon, poetess, presents a rich and historical saga on love, poetry, and revolt set against the context of 16th-century Kashmir that had been portrayed to be "paradise on earth". This paper explores the lives of these two iconic figures, their poetic exchanges, and the lasting impact of their union on Kashmiri literature and cultural identity. By weaving their original Kashmiri verses alongside English translations, this study clearly outlines the paper’s key arguments, methodology, and main findings, demonstrating how their poetic expressions of love, loss, and defiance transcend time and culture of their emotions and their enduring relevance. Their love and poetry, forged in the crucible of political turmoil and personal longing, demonstrates how their poetry serves as both personal expression and political resistance, portraying resilience in exile, deep emotional devotion, and the use of creative expression to preserve Kashmiri cultural identity
Cognitive and Affective Mechanisms of Discrimination and Subsequent Effects on Religious Minorities: A Psychosocial Analysis
Get PDFDiscrimination is an umbrella term for varying systematic beliefs that cause people to act questionably against certain social groups or individuals belonging to a select community. In the context of this paper, discrimination refers to any behavior that ostracizes and/or treats a social group or an individual belonging to it with either verbal, non-verbal, physical, and/or emotional attacks which can be social or political in nature. While the basis of discrimination can be of variable; ethnic, gender-based, related to disability, or race, the following study assesses the commonly occurring religious discrimination and its effects on minorities living in Pakistan. This study ties social convention to psychological presentations of behaviors that are diagnosable through thorough investigation, and thus making it easier to characterize traits that are treatable by thorough unlearning and resocialization. This study examines the psychological impact of religious identity, focusing on trauma symptoms among individuals from minority faith groups in a predominantly Muslim context. Using self-reported data from a structured questionnaire, trauma symptoms counts were compared between respondents from religious minority backgrounds and those identifying with majority faith. A one-way ANOVA revealed a statistically significant difference in trauma symptoms between the two groups, with minority participants reporting markedly higher levels of distress (F=50.4, p < .05). These results suggest that faith-based discrimination may be a contributing factor to trauma and psychological distress in minority populations. The findings highlight the urgent need for trauma-informed mental health interventions and underscore the broader implications of systemic exclusion on minority wellbeing. Furthermore, this study addresses the gaps in disciplinary research and suggests further evaluation of empirical data collected through mix method study. Further investigation is warranted to explore intersecting variables such as gender, socioeconomic status, and prior trauma exposure
The Cinderella Complex: Investigating the Subversive Fairytale in Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion And Charles Perrault’s Cinderella
Get PDFFairytales act as a cultural repository for societies. This repository does not just contain motifs of just one society, but binds various cultures together. The Cinderella character type is no exception. Cinderella does not remain a simple fairytale character, but becomes a symbol for how patriarchal societies treat a victim of abuse. I argue that such a character type, a woman’s rags to riches story, not only fascinates Western countries like France and England, but also Eastern countries like Pakistan. I compare Eliza from Bernard Shaw’s English play Pygmalion with Cinderella from Charles Perrault’s French fairytale, all the while arguing how this fairytale relates to Pakistani women. This is done by using Stith Thompson’s Motif Index of Folk Literature. By drawing on fairytale stock characters like Cinderella, Shaw creates certain expectations for the audience before flipping them. Perrault’s Cinderella may have escaped her abusive family by following patriarchal standards, but Shaw’s Eliza rebels against them. This comparative analysis aims to see how certain fairytale motifs transcend borders, subversively criticizing each society they visit. Such a study becomes pertinent to patriarchal societies like Pakistan’s where women may relate their own struggles to a character like Cinderella. In this fashion, the fairytale can even empower marginalized communities like abuse victims
Fanonian Neo-Colonial Insights in Bhattacharya's One Small Voice: Exploring Economic and Religious Exploitation in Postcolonial India
Get PDFIn general, the term "neo-colonialism" refers to the developed world's indirect connection with the developing world. Even after gaining independence, post-colonial studies demonstrate that colonialism and its agents continue to have a significant impact on the lives of the majority of former colonies in many ways. This paper uses Fanon's theory of neocolonialism in the setting of post-colonial India to examine economic and religious exploitation presented in Santanu Bhattacharya's novel One Small Voice. In accordance to Fanon’s perspective it examines how the national bourgeoisie uses deliberate economic and religious hardships as instruments of social and political hegemony, exposing their effects on people's mentalities and social beings within communities. The novel centers on Shubhankar, a young Hindu Brahmin who grew up in the early 1990s and witnessed inter communal violence precipitated by the demolishing of the Babri Mosque. He is profoundly affected by this tragedy and begins to doubt the economic and religious norms of his country. So this paper indicates that there is religious exploitation in the form of dividing communities for political purposes, as well as economic exploitation through resource scarcity, corruption, and structural inequality in post-colonial India
Fear Risk transmission to AI Stocks, Tokens and Energy Investments: Connectedness in pre and post availability of COVID-19 Vaccine
Get PDFThe study aims to explore the COVID-19 risk transmission to AI, Tokens, AI stocks, and Fossil fuels during the vaccine non-availability and availability periods using the extended GFI. The outcomes of the GARCH-BEKK model reveal that lag shocks in the extended GFI significantly enhance the conditional volatility of FET-Fetch in both pre- and post-vaccine periods, and also enhance the conditional volatilities of Ocean-protocol, AMZN-Amazon, and all fossil fuel markets in the post-vaccine period. However, AGIX-Singularity NET and MSFT-Microsoft remain unaffected during both periods. With the application of the TVP-VAR model, the study uncovers the extent of connectedness. Similar spillovers are observed between GFI and AI tokens, AI stocks, and fossil fuel markets. The risk transmission character of such investments helps investors to avoid uncertainties during trading. The connectedness of GFI with AI tokens, stocks, and fossil fuel investments may uncover diversification opportunities for investors, especially during ups and downs in markets