Phenomenological research focuses on the meaning of lived experience, or “ the world as we immediately experience it pre-reflectively rather than as we conceptualize, categorize, or reflect on it” (1). Hermeneutic phenomenology involves a process in which the researcher and participants work together to explore and develop their understanding of the phenomenon being studied. According to Gadamer, this co-construction of understanding, or fusion of horizons, occurs through a circle of reading, reflective writing, and interpretation (2). What is essential to this process is the collecting of data representative of the experience being researched (3). . . .

This paper examines the use of figures of speech and the communicative intentions underlying such stylistic choices in contemporary British political interviews. Drawing on a qualitative stylistic framework informed by the analytical models of Simpson (2004) and Leech and Short (2007), the study offers a systematic exploration of how language is manipulated for persuasive and ideological purposes. Specifically, the research investigates the deployment of metaphors, similes, and analogies by British politicians across a fifteen-year period spanning 2009 to 2024. The data were drawn from a range of televised and published political interviews representing diverse political affiliations and communicative settings. The analysis reveals that these rhetorical devices are strategically employed to reduce conceptual complexity, generate emotional resonance, and project authority. One major finding indicates that metaphors play a central role in framing policies in an accessible, simplified, and often positively evaluative manner. Similes, by contrast, are frequently used to reinforce political positionality and establish alignment or contrast with opponents, values, or public expectations. Analogies are shown to function as tools for projecting competence, rationality, and trustworthiness by linking political arguments to familiar experiences. This focus addresses a significant lacuna in the existing literature, as previous research has predominantly concentrated on rhetorical devices in American speeches. By shifting attention to British political interviews, the study broadens the scope of political stylistics and enhances understanding for linguists and analysts. Overall, the findings highlight language as central to shaping public perception

Repair is a common phenomenon in everyday speech of all languages including Persian. Repair is an utterance uttered by the speaker himself or the listener to substitute a previously uttered speech in conversation. Repair organization is studied within conversation analysis which examines everyday talk in the form of audio and visual data. The present study aims at studying different types of repairs, their positions within the sequence of turns, the frequency of the occurrence of different types of repairs, and the accompanying lexical and non-lexical initiator techniques in 426 minutes of recorded Persian live television interviews. The findings of the study reveals that in general, the turns and the positions in which different types of repairs occur in Persian television interviews are the same as those described by Schegloff, Jefferson, and Sacks (1977) for American English everyday conversations. Moreover, in line with their observation for American English, it is realized that self- repair predominates over other-repair in the data and non-lexical initiators are more frequently used than lexical ones. Finally, with regard to the interactional function of repairs in conversation, the analysis of the data indicates that there are some factors outside the language that can affect the type and position of repairs in Persian television interviews. Some such factors include commitment to using Persian vocabulary, giving more information to viewers about the topic of the interview, and to shorten the conversation either because of the shortage of time or because of taking viewers' beliefs and susceptibilities into consideration.

Background: The rise of COVID-19 has made changes in medical education and residency preparedness as residency interviews have shifted from an in person to virtual platform. This study looks at the differences between confidence scores based on the number of preparation events attended by the students in order to assess fourth year student confidence. Method: Survey research was conducted for this study using a non-experimental research design with an invited sample size of 125 medical students in their fourth year. The independent variable was the number of training sessions attended. The dependent variable was the confidence score of the student. Our team gathered data on the confidence of fourth year medical students as they prepared for virtual interviews and determined the differences, if any, in confidence in their ability to interview based on the amount of preparation. Results: The overall response rate was 28 percent out of a total of 124 possible participants. A total of 30 participants were used in analysis. Using linear regression, results demonstrate a statistically significant (p<. 05) result and a strong moderate correlation (r=. 549) of how many interview assignments and activities the students completed correlated positively with the overall confidence the student had in their interview performance. Conclusion: The findings of this study show a strong correlation between the level of participation in virtual interview preparedness events and the level of confidence in students preparing for interviews, demonstrating the importance of residency interview preparedness for virtual platforms.