Full metadata record
| DC Field | Value | Language |
|---|---|---|
| dc.contributor | Faculty of Humanities | en_US |
| dc.contributor.advisor | Feng, William (ENGL) | en_US |
| dc.creator | Gui, Ling | - |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://theses.lib.polyu.edu.hk/handle/200/13601 | - |
| dc.language | English | en_US |
| dc.publisher | Hong Kong Polytechnic University | en_US |
| dc.rights | All rights reserved | en_US |
| dc.title | Interdiscursivity, multimodality and professional identity construction : a social semiotic analysis of Chinese social work agencies’ social media posts during the COVID-19 pandemic | en_US |
| dcterms.abstract | Social work, a relatively less recognized profession in China, was a crucial helping force during the COVID-19 pandemic. To improve their professional status in social governance, Chinese social work agencies have been trying to promote their identity through social media. Based on the assumption that organizational identity emerges out of social semiotic activities (registers) and is socially and symbolically constructed through discourse, this thesis considers social work agencies' professional identity as a set of evaluative attributes and explores the interdiscursive and multimodal discourse strategies of identity construction in the unique social context of contemporary Chinese social work sector. | en_US |
| dcterms.abstract | Drawing on the register typology (Matthiessen, 2009, 2015) and the framework for identity construction (Feng, 2016b, 2023), this study develops a social semiotic framework to examine the identity construction of ten top-ranked Shenzhen social work agencies' 694 WeChat posts during the period of COVID-19. The manual multimodal discourse analysis draws attention to the interdiscursive and multimodal discursive features; whereas the corpus-assisted lexical bundle analysis focuses on the more formulaic lexicogrammatical characteristics of social semiotic activities in identity construction. | en_US |
| dcterms.abstract | The manual multimodal discourse analysis identifies four types of professional identity constructed mainly through reporting, sharing, recommending, and enabling activities. In reporting activities, Chinese social work agencies draw on the logic of "social work legitimacy" and highlight their professional identity as provider of legitimate health social services. Sharing activities portray social work agencies as disseminator of positive values toward the pandemic. The positive values of solidarity and altruism shared in the WeChat posts are a reflection of the collectivist ideology, bringing hope for controlling the pandemic and signaling the Chinese government's humanistic mission of a "harmonious society". Recommending activities build up Chinese social work agencies as advocator of engaging social work activities during the pandemic. The promoting posts demonstrate features of managerial practices, promoting both social work activities and organizational image. Enabling activities depict Chinese social work agencies as educator of public-friendly health knowledge, designating their mission of valuing people's livelihood and the collective society's interests. | en_US |
| dcterms.abstract | The corpus-assisted lexical bundle analysis further validates the discursive strategies in social work agencies' identity construction and reveals the trigram signals for reporting, promoting, and enabling activities. Focusing on the functional characteristics (referential, discourse organizing, and stance expressing functions) (Biber et al., 2004), the lexical bundle analysis presents the social work agencies' professional identity in a positive light: trigram signals for the reporting activity highlight the legitimacy in service providing by designating objectivity and rationality in the reports; trigram signals for the promoting activity emphasize the engagement of readers by showing clarity, intimacy and efficacy to the readers; trigram signals for the enabling activity foreground public-friendly strategies in public health education using explanatory, introductory and stance taking discourses. | en_US |
| dcterms.abstract | This study reveals social work identity with Chinese characteristics, which has been constantly influenced by the interwoven neoliberalism and governmentality in the social-political, social-economic, social-cultural, and social-technical contexts of contemporary China. It provides a framework to explicate the multimodal interdiscursive discourse on social media and sheds light on the improvement of social work's professional status and the evolving social work indigenization in the Chinese path to modernization. | en_US |
| dcterms.extent | ix, 243 pages : color illustrations | en_US |
| dcterms.isPartOf | PolyU Electronic Theses | en_US |
| dcterms.issued | 2024 | en_US |
| dcterms.educationalLevel | DALS | en_US |
| dcterms.educationalLevel | All Doctorate | en_US |
| dcterms.LCSH | Social service -- China | en_US |
| dcterms.LCSH | Social media | en_US |
| dcterms.LCSH | Identity (Psychology) | en_US |
| dcterms.LCSH | Multimodal discourse analysis | en_US |
| dcterms.LCSH | COVID-19 (Disease) -- Social aspects | en_US |
| dcterms.LCSH | Hong Kong Polytechnic University -- Dissertations | en_US |
| dcterms.accessRights | restricted access | en_US |
Files in This Item:
| File | Description | Size | Format | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8060.pdf | For All Users (off-campus access for PolyU Staff & Students only) | 2.15 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
Copyright Undertaking
As a bona fide Library user, I declare that:
- I will abide by the rules and legal ordinances governing copyright regarding the use of the Database.
- I will use the Database for the purpose of my research or private study only and not for circulation or further reproduction or any other purpose.
- I agree to indemnify and hold the University harmless from and against any loss, damage, cost, liability or expenses arising from copyright infringement or unauthorized usage.
By downloading any item(s) listed above, you acknowledge that you have read and understood the copyright undertaking as stated above, and agree to be bound by all of its terms.
Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
https://theses.lib.polyu.edu.hk/handle/200/13601