CONFERENCECorpus Analysis
Lecturer: Sergejs Kruks
The course provides an insight into the use of Latvian language corpora, paying special attention to the interpretation of word meanings in large volumes of texts. Students acquire both theoretical foundations and practical skills in working with corpus tools and statistical methods.
The aim of the course is to develop students' ability to work independently with Latvian language corpora, analyze regularities in language use and interpret word meanings based on quantitative and qualitative data.
Objectives of the study course:
- to introduce the concept of language corpora, principles of formation and application in research;
- to develop skills in using corpus analysis tools (e.g. Sketch Engine);
- to teach how to determine word frequency, analyze concordances and collocations;
- to develop an understanding of the importance of statistical methods in language data analysis;
- to develop the ability to formulate a research problem, put forward a hypothesis and interpret the obtained results;
- to promote the ability to present research results and draw justified conclusions.
Media Audiences
Lecturer: Anda Rožukalne
The study course aims to promote understanding of the use of artificial intelligence-based language technologies in media audience research.
During the course, an understanding of audience formation and transformation under the influence of social networking platforms, the concept of mass audience, audience research methods and approaches will be studied, with the help of which the effectiveness of journalism, public relations and advertising can be clarified. The course offers a broad analysis of the processes of the modern communication environment, evaluating traditional media, social media, the impact of algorithms, commercial and socially significant information from the audience's perspective
The aim of the study course is to familiarize students with the processes of interaction between media, public relations messages and advertising audience communication, highlighting the theory of media use and gratification among communication theories, which explains the regularities of media use and audience behavior.
Objectives of the study course:
- to introduce the concept, typology and theoretical approaches to analysis of media and social media audiences;
- to develop an understanding of the development of media audiences, historical aspects and modern trends;
- develop skills in analyzing audience behavior, interactivity, and levels of engagement in multimedia environments;
- develop skills in analyzing and interpreting media usage habits and the factors influencing them;
- introduce the importance of language technologies and data processing in audience research;
- develop the ability to process and analyze data sets, including preparing them for artificial intelligence solutions;
- promote responsible and justified use of technology in researching and reaching media audiences.
Discourse Analysis
Lecturer: Sergejs Kruks
The study course provides insights into the theoretical foundations and methodology of discourse analysis, focusing on the relationship between language and reality. Students acquire both classical and contemporary approaches to discourse analysis, as well as practical skills in the processing and interpretation of language data.
The aim of the study course is to acquire the basic concepts, theoretical approaches and methodology of discourse analysis, developing the ability to analyze language as a tool for shaping social reality and power relations.
Objectives of the study course:
- to introduce theories of language meaning and the main approaches to discourse analysis;
- to develop skills in collecting, processing and analyzing language data by creating mini-corpora;
- to teach the use of digital tools (such as corpus programs and Bash) in discourse analysis;
- to develop an understanding of the importance of discourse in the formation of social relations and power structures;
- to develop the ability to interpret the results of discourse analysis and apply them in case studies.