Using 80 short video examples about refusal language strategies on Douyin short videos as a corpus,this study explores the commonality and individuality,as well as the contradictory relationship between Chinese and British countries in the use of refusal language strategies by combining manual and graphical data analyses.It is found that Chinese people use more indirect ways of using refusal speech acts,and British and American countries use more direct ways of using refusal speech acts.In addition to this,both Chinese and British countries use non-verbal behavior to reject speech as a way of protecting the positive face of the addressee and reducing the threatening behavior to the face of the other party.This study also found that the ambivalent relationship between the emergence of refusal language strategies in both China and Britain is related to their personal psychological state,social values,and personal face.The results of this study have some values for sociology as well as pragmatics,which is conducive to the maintenance of interpersonal relationships.
Introduction: Vaccination plays a pivotal role in mitigating the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, vaccination campaigns encounter obstacles, especially in developing countries like the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). This study aimed at investigating the roles of vaccine hesitancy, refusal, and access barriers, while identifying individual-level factors associated with non-vaccination in Mbujimayi, DRC. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional survey was conducted in three health districts and included 1496 residents. Attitudes and behaviors related to seeking COVID-19 vaccination were assessed using a standardized questionnaire. Hierarchical logistic regression modeling was used to assess factors potentially affecting non-compliance with vaccination. Results: Among participants (median age = 33, IQR = 23.3, M/F sex ratio = 0.7), 60% displayed misconceptions about COVID-19 or its vaccine, while only 35.2% perceived COVID-19 as a significant health threat. Vaccination coverage was estimated at 49.1% (95% CI: 47.5;52.6), with 71.8% of vaccinated individuals having received one dose. Among the unvaccinated individuals, 50.9% expressed no intention to be vaccinated in the future, citing hesitation (30.4%) or refusal (39.6%) mainly due to side effects or distrust of vaccines. Conversely, 32.7% of the unvaccinated persons expressed access barriers despite willingness to be vaccinated. Misconceptions about COVID-19 and its vaccines were the main drivers of vaccination non-compliance. Conclusion: These findings demonstrate significant vaccine non-compliance driven by hesitancy, refusal, and access barriers. Strategies to enhance vaccination coverage and pandemic preparedness should address misconceptions, sociodemographic barriers, and geographic disparities.