Volume 3, Issue 2

This study explores how news media in different countries, varying in Hofstede’s cultural dimension of uncertainty avoidance, frame traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). It also examines how news framing of TCM differs between the two main news genres: news reports and editorials. A comparative content analysis of 196 news pieces on TCM from seven countries was conducted. The results indicate that a country’s uncertainty avoidance index (UAI) influences the use of factual information and professional qualification frames. Additionally, news reports on TCM use more human interest and leadership frames than editorials, while editorials surprisingly use more factual information and curative effect frames than news reports.

Considerable exploration of the manufacture of counterfeit goods exists in literature, however very little can be found on their consumption. In part due to its location at the confluence between the Atlantic and Indian Ocean sea routes, South Africa finds itself awash in counterfeit products. Constrained by corruption that drives undue enrichment, spiraling wealth inequality, and enforcement that cannot stem the influx of counterfeit goods, South African consumers face an ever-increasing likelihood of unknowingly purchasing counterfeit goods. This paper explores the research gap by leveraging a blend of media theory, semiotics, economic models, Fisherian hauntology, and personal qualitative interviews to better add to this under-researched area. By mapping both the market for counterfeits and the dangers that make research prohibitive, this paper is able to reveal the modes of counterfeit consumption; subsistence consumption and resistance consumption. Key findings indicate that an inflection point where subsistence consumption might become resistance consumption, and vice versa. These same key findings further suggest an as-yet unnoticed tension between the Kuznets Curve and the Easterlin Paradox. In this regard, this paper forges an opportunity for the field of public relations to become a significant voice in currently pressing issues of socioeconomic and geopolitical importance.

This study investigates the strategies used by Iranians to express sympathy to the bereaved via social media. A total of 211 authentic condolence messages for the loss of a contemporary Iranian actor were selected from Instagram and Facebook. The researcher analyzed the data and identified six strategies, which were then evaluated by two external raters. Cohen’s κ result showed substantial agreement between the raters ( κ  = 0.855). The strategies were categorized into major and minor groups. Praising the deceased and expressing sorrow were major strategies, while poetic expressions, emoticons, prayers, and complaints about the current situation were minor strategies based on their frequency.

This paper delves into the intricate relationship between Large Language Models (LLMs) and cultural bias. It underscores the significant impact LLMs can have on shaping a more equitable and culturally sensitive digital landscape, while also addressing the challenges that arise when integrating these powerful AI tools. The paper emphasizes the immense significance of LLMs in contemporary AI research and applications, underpinning many systems and algorithms. However, their potential role in perpetuating or mitigating cultural bias remains a pressing issue warranting extensive analysis. Cultural bias stems from various intertwined factors; the following analysis categorizes cultural bias shaping LLMs into three dimensions: data quality, algorithm design, and user interaction dynamics. Furthermore, the impacts of LLMs on cultural identity and linguistic diversity are scrutinized, highlighting the interplay between technology and culture. The paper advocates responsible AI development, outlining mitigation strategies such as ethical guidelines, diverse training data, user feedback mechanisms, and transparency measures. In conclusion, the paper emphasizes that cultural bias in LLMs is not solely a problem but also presents an opportunity. It can enhance our awareness and critical understanding of our own cultural biases while fostering curiosity and respect for diverse cultural perspectives.

In recent years, with the advancement of the Belt and Road initiative (BRI) there has been an increasing number of students from participating countries coming to China for study and exchange. This trend provides a practical pathway for global cooperation in transcultural communication research. Social media has emerged as a crucial platform for the collaborative development of the BRI and as a primary channel for understanding China in the context of transcultural communication. Thus, investigating how social media facilitates transcultural communication within the BRI framework is a key area of current research. International students often face challenges in adapting to new environments during their transcultural communication process. Understanding how these students in China manage adaptation stress, comprehend the BRI policies for mutual development, and improve their adjustment to Chinese society are urgent questions in transcultural communication research. Social media offers a multifaceted platform for communication that can help alleviate these adaptation challenges. However, existing research predominantly emphasises the potential of social media in aiding the adaptability of international students, lacking a comprehensive explanation of how it alleviates stress and promotes gradual adaptation. Therefore, this study aims to critically analyse relevant empirical research, theoretical frameworks, and conceptual models to address this gap. The research findings offer general conclusions regarding the adaptation of international students using social media in the process of transcultural communication, further providing a theoretical basis for the adaptation of students from BRI countries to China. Through the research findings, it is observed that international students may predominantly use social media to escape the adaptation stress of a new environment rather than genuinely alleviate stress and better adapt to the local society. Additionally, students from different countries exhibit varying attitudes towards using social media to cope with stress, warranting further investigation. This research contributes to understanding the genuine adaptation of students from BRI countries in the process of transcultural communication in China, promoting mutual cultural cooperation and shared development.

Chinese animation, which originated in the 1920s, has undergone over a hundred years of historical evolution and has become an important medium for the transcultural communication of Chinese culture. This study is based on Debray’s mediology, using multimodal discourse analysis as the research method. From three dimensions: morphological changes, dynamic structures, and cultural approaches, it explores why Chinese animation has experienced innovation, inheritance, and renewal, as well as the media logic that assists in the transcultural communication of Chinese culture. In the dual context of globalization and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, Chinese animation must overcome the rigid binary opposition between China and the West under the protection of cultural policies, media technology, and industrial economy. Based on Chinese culture and guided by the concept of “plural civilization,” Chinese animation should exchange, learn from other cultures, and enhance its transcultural communication ability.

This paper came out of a research seminar at Tsinghua University. On November 16, 2023, Yuezhi Zhao, a communication scholar who studies the political economy of communication from a transcultural context, invited Dan Schiller, a critical political economy scholar and historian of information and communications to her doctoral course entitled A Global History of Journalism and Communication Theory at Tsinghua University, for an open dialogue. In this lively scholarly exchange, professors and student participants explored a wide range of issues at the nexus of communication, labor, and geopolitical dynamics from both historical and contemporary perspectives. In part 1 and 2, Yuezhi Zhao invited Dan Schiller to reflect on the intersections of communication and labor in the digital age; In Part 3, Dan Schiller responded to a list of questions submitted anonymously by the class ahead of time and identified by students on the spot.