Anti-depressant effect of Paeonia lactiflora Pall extract in rats

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Anti-depressant effect of Paeonia lactiflora Pall extract in rats. Xiao-hui ... PLPE, at a dose ≥ 150 mg/kg significantly inhibited MAO A activity in rat whole brain in a dose-dependent manner .... (pH 7.4) upto a final volume of 1 ml. The reaction.

Economic Objects: How Policy Discourse in the United Kingdom Represents International Students

Science.gov (United States)

Lomer, Sylvie

2014-01-01

Despite the significant and increasing presence of international students in the United Kingdom, on a national level there has been a lack of formal policy towards international students. Instead, in policy discourse, international students are represented in economic terms to the exclusion of other dimensions of experience and action. This…

Discourses, Decisions, Designs: "Special" Education Policy-Making in New South Wales, Scotland, Finland and Malaysia

Science.gov (United States)

Chong, Pei Wen; Graham, Linda J.

2017-01-01

This comparative analysis investigates the influence of neo-liberal and inclusive discourses in "special" education policy-making in New South Wales, Scotland, Finland and Malaysia. The centrality of competition, selectivity and accountability in the discourses used in New South Wales and Malaysia suggests a system preference for…

Equity and REDD+ in the Media: a Comparative Analysis of Policy Discourses

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Monica Di Gregorio

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+ is primarily a market-based mechanism for achieving the effective reduction of carbon emissions from forests. Increasingly, however, concerns are being raised about the implications of REDD+ for equity, including the importance of equity for achieving effective carbon emission reductions from forests. Equity is a multifaceted concept that is understood differently by different actors and at different scales, and public discourse helps determine which equity concerns reach the national policy agenda. Results from a comparative media analysis of REDD+ public discourse in four countries show that policy makers focus more on international than national equity concerns, and that they neglect both the need for increased participation in decision making and recognition of local and indigenous rights. To move from addressing the symptoms to addressing the causes of inequality in REDD+, policy actors need to address issues related to contextual equity, that is, the social and political root causes of inequality.

The role of discourse and linguistic framing effects in sustaining high carbon energy policy-An accessible introduction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scrase, J. Ivan; Ockwell, David G.

2010-01-01

This paper seeks to provide an accessible introduction to the relevance to energy policy of a fundamental insight from the policy sciences. This concerns the role that the linguistic framing of policy problems and solutions can play in sustaining the dominance of existing policy positions. The paper introduces a discourse perspective to understanding the policy process and uses it to analyse four central goals pursued in energy policy: access, security, efficiency and environmental acceptability, drawing on examples from UK policy documents. It introduces readers to how, as well as requiring technical and economic solutions, a transition to a low carbon energy system will also require a 'reframing' of energy policy problems and solutions in a way that either connects with, or overrides the powerful discourses that shape energy policy today.

Critical Discourse Analysis from Public Policy of Sexual Diversity in Chile

OpenAIRE

Echeverría, Genoveva; Universidad Academia de Humanismo Cristiano; Maturana, José Martín; Universidad Academia de Humanismo Cristiano

2016-01-01

This research analyzes recent public policy measures related to sexual diversity generated in Chile in the last five years. Power positions, versions of sexuality, normativity and gender stereotypes that remain present in this policies are reviewed. From a qualitative perspective, the Critical Discourse Analysis is used to analyze four initiatives generated in the health sector, in the education sector, and in the citizen rights sector. The results show the clear presence of the heteronormati...

Re-establishing an ecological discourse in the policy debate over how to value ecosystems and biodiversity.

Science.gov (United States)

Spash, Clive L; Aslaksen, Iulie

2015-08-15

In this paper we explore the discourses of ecology, environmental economics, new environmental pragmatism and social ecological economics as they relate to the value of ecosystems and biodiversity. Conceptualizing biodiversity and ecosystems as goods and services that can be represented by monetary values in policy processes is an economic discourse being increasingly championed by ecologists and conservation biologists. The latter promote a new environmental pragmatism internationally as hardwiring biodiversity and ecosystems services into finance. The approach adopts a narrow instrumentalism, denies value pluralism and incommensurability, and downplays the role of scientific knowledge. Re-establishing an ecological discourse in biodiversity policy implies a crucial role for biophysical indicators as independent policy targets, exemplified in this paper by the Nature Index for Norway. Yet, there is a recognisable need to go beyond a traditional ecological approach to one recognising the interconnections of social, ecological and economic problems. This requires reviving and relating to a range of alternative ecologically informed discourses, including an ecofeminist perspective, in order to transform the increasingly dominant and destructive relationship of humans separated from and domineering over Nature. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

'Debating' nature conservation : policy, law and practice in Indonesia : a discourse analysis of history and present

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Arnscheidt, Julia

2009-01-01

This book is about the politics of nature conservation in late New Order and early Reformasi Indonesia. It approaches the subject through discourse analysis. Understanding politics as a struggle for discourse hegemony it analyses both processes of policy- and lawmaking in Jakarta and of

Alkaloids from Mongolian species Berberis sibirica Pall

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Istatkova, R.; Philipov, S.; Tuleva, P.; Amgalan, A.; Samdan, J.; Dangaa, S.

2007-01-01

From the aerial parts of Berberis sibirica Pall. 6 isoquinoline alkaloids of protoberberine, protopine, benzphenanthridine and proaporphine type were isolated. The known alkaloids (-)-tetrahydropseudocoptisine, pseudoprotopine, (+)-chelidonine and (+)-glaziovine are new for the family Berberidaceae. From the roots of B. sibirica 10 isoquinoline alkaloids of protoberberine, benzylisoquinoline, bisbenzylisoquinoline, aporphine-benzylisoquinoline and proaporphine-benzylisoquinoline type were isolated. 1,10-Di-O-methylpakistanine has been reported for the first time as a natural alkaloid. The known alkaloids (-)-isothalidezine and (+)-armepavine have been found for the first time in the family Berberidaceae. All structures were determined by physical and spectral data. (authors)

Official Bilingualism and Field Narratives: Does School Practice Echo Policy Discourse?

Science.gov (United States)

Nana, Genevoix

2013-01-01

This research builds on several layers of meaning representing views from education officials, head teachers, teachers and pupils to investigate the discourse and implementation of official bilingualism policy in primary schools in Cameroon. While at the macro-level, the celebration of the "National Bilingualism Day" in schools has…

The hair of the common hare (Lepus europaeus Pall.) and of the common vole (Microtus arvalis Pall.) as indicator of the environmental pollution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Paukert, J.

1986-01-01

Hairs of common hare (Lepus europaeus Pall.) and of common vole (Microtus arvalis Pall.) living in immission zones were investigated by INAA. Both the hare and the vole are almost exclusively herbivores; they consume relatively large amounts of contaminated food and reflect reliably the contamination degree of the respective ecosystem. The use of free-living animals for assessing environmental quality may complete effectively the information obtained by the examination of population. Though free-living animals lead a rather different way of existence it has been found that analyses of their hairs correlate very well with analyses of human hair. It may be expected that the changes in concentrations of heavy metals will manifest themselves earlier in animals than in men because the animals are strictly tied to local food sources. The hair samples of hares contained increased concentrations of Sm, La, Au, As, Se, Cr, Sc, Fe, Ce, Th and Co. The hairs of voles showed increased concentrations of Sm, La, Zn, As, Se, Cr, Sc, Fe, Sb, Ce, Cs and Co. A marked trend towards cumulation in hair was observed for the following elements: As, Se, Sc and Fe. The increase of their concentrations in the hairs of animals from the immission regions amounted to as much as 10 3 %. (author)

Transgender People at Four Big Ten Campuses: A Policy Discourse Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Dirks, Doris Andrea

2016-01-01

This article examines the language used to discuss transgender people on university campuses. This study asks how, despite seemingly benefitting transgender people, the discourses carried by the documents that discuss trans people may actually undermine the intended goals of policy initiatives. For example, a report on the status of transgender…

Policies and practices of parental involvement and parent-teacher relations in Irish primary education: a critical discourse analysis

OpenAIRE

Bennett, Brigid

2015-01-01

This thesis presents a critical discourse analysis of policies of parental involvement in Irish education from the past decade. It explores three questions: Do discourses of parental involvement and teacher professionalism construct parent-teacher relations in Irish primary education?; What implications do these constructions have for policies and practices of parent-teacher relationships, particularly parent-teacher partnerships, in Irish primary education?; How can these constructions be ch...

ETV REPORT: REMOVAL OF ARSENIC IN DRINKING WATER - PALL CORPORATION MICROZA. MICROFILTRATION SYSTEM

Science.gov (United States)

Verification testing of the Pall Corporation Microza. Microfiltration System for arsenic removal was conducted at the Oakland County Drain Commissioner (OCDC) Plum Creek Development well station located in Oakland County, Michigan from August 19 through October 8, 2004. The sourc...

Comparison of the anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects of Gentiana macrophylla Pall. and Gentiana straminea Maxim., and identification of their active constituents.

Science.gov (United States)

Jia, Na; Li, Yuwen; Wu, Yin; Xi, Miaomiao; Hur, Gangmin; Zhang, Xinxin; Cui, Jia; Sun, Wenji; Wen, Aidong

2012-12-18

Tibetan medicine get used to use the flowers of Gentiana straminea Maxim. to cure inflammation of stomach and intestines, hepatitis, cholecystitis, etc. The flowers of Gentiana macrophylla Pall. have been traditionally treated as an anti-inflammatory agent to clear heat in Mongolian medicine. In traditional Chinese medicine, Gentiana macrophylla Pall. and Gentiana straminea Maxim. have also been used under the name "Gentianae Macrophyllae Radix" and prescribed for the treatment of pain and inflammatory conditions. The present study evaluated the pharmacological effects of two species of "Radix Gentianae Macrophyllae" in experimental inflammation and pain models, and determined the chemical compounds that may correlate with their pharmacological activities. The comparison is needed to identify whether the two related plants can be used interchangeably. We evaluated the pharmacological effects of the flowers of Gentiana macrophylla Pall. and Gentiana straminea Maxim. in experimental inflammation and pain models. An HPLC-MS method was developed to analyze the chemical composition. The effects of Gentiana macrophylla Pall. and Gentiana straminea Maxim. on the p65 and p50 phosphorylation were examined by immunblotting. NF-κB transcriptional activity was measured using the luciferase assay, in vitro kinase assay and Griess reaction. The extracts of Gentiana macrophylla Pall. and Gentiana straminea Maxim. possessed significant antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory activities. Flavonoids, secoiridoid glycosides and triterpines were determined in the extracts and may be the basis of the observed pharmacological effects. Nuclear translocation of p65, p50 and NF-κB transcriptional activity induced by LPS were suppressed by Gentiana macrophylla Pall. and Gentiana straminea Maxim. The results clearly demonstrated that the chemical composition and pharmacological activities of the two herbs were similar, which support the interchangeability among the two herbs when using them

Public Discourse versus Public Policy: Latinas/os, Affirmative Action, and the Court of Public Opinion

Science.gov (United States)

Ledesma, María C.

2015-01-01

The purpose of this article is to highlight the power of popular discourse in shaping public policy debates concerning educational access and opportunity for historically marginalized and minoritized students, especially for Latinas/os. I argue that proponents of race-conscious policies would do well to challenge the elimination of affirmative…

Scientific advice and public policy: expert advisers' and policymakers' discourses on boundary work

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hoppe, Robertus

2008-01-01

This article reports on considerable variety and diversity among discourses on their own jobs of boundary workers of several major Dutch institutes for science-based policy advice. Except for enlightenment, all types of boundary arrangements/work in the Wittrock-typology (Social knowledge and public

A Critical Discourse Analysis of Provincial Policies Impacting Shelter Service Delivery to Women Exposed to Violence.

Science.gov (United States)

Burnett, Camille; Ford-Gilboe, Marilyn; Berman, Helene; Ward-Griffin, Cathy; Wathen, Nadine

2015-01-01

Shelters for abused women function within a broad context that includes intersecting social structures, policies, and resources, which may constrain and limit the options available to abused women and tacitly reinforce the cycle of abuse. This feminist, qualitative study combined in-depth interviews and focus groups conducted with 37 staff and four executive directors from four shelters in Ontario, Canada, along with a critical discourse analysis of salient policy texts. Together, the interviews and critical discourse analysis formed an integrated analysis of the dialectic between policy as written and enacted. The study findings illuminate the complexity of the system and its impact on women, shelters, and the community and highlight how specific types of social policies and various social system subsystems and structures, and system configuration, shape the day to day reality of shelter service delivery and impact outcomes for abused women and their children. Collectively, these findings offer direction regarding where these policies could be improved and provide a basis for shelters, policy makers, advocates, and the community to strengthen current services and policies, potentially enhancing outcomes for women. © The Author(s) 2015.

Linking Discourse and Space

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Richardson, Tim; Jensen, Ole B.

2003-01-01

The aim of the paper is to explore how spatialities are contructed in spatial policy discourses and to explore how these construction processes might be conceptualised and analysed.......The aim of the paper is to explore how spatialities are contructed in spatial policy discourses and to explore how these construction processes might be conceptualised and analysed....

Päike ja pall : [luuletused] / Ott Arder

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Arder, Ott

2001-01-01

Sisu: Päike ja pall ; Õuna ja lõuna ; Kõige ilusam asi ; Emajõgi ; Väikemehe probleem ; Küünal ; Kapten ; Kaksteist kilu ja kaks teist kilu ; Suur ja seisev, ripub seinal ; Laul tagumisest vagunist ; Ultimaatum ; Ilus algus ; Pliiat(siga) ; Mure ja Amour ; kodust ja loomadest ; Eesli jõulupuu ; Aja saapad ; Lendav järv ; Unenäolaul ; Tere hommikust ja õhtust ; Kõik, mis juhtub ja ei juhtu ; Kas panna päkka või visata varvast ; Lihtne mees ; Väljaütlev ; Külm sõda ; Ohkav kruvi ; Metsa all ; Lauluke ; Unemetsades ; Suur rõõm ja väike mure ; Hea muusika ; Koer poiss ja plika ; Kes mängida veel ei oska ; Raske lumi ; Mere kaldal ; Unenäoukse taga

Organ donation as transition work: policy discourse and clinical practice in The Netherlands.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Paul, K.T.; Avezaat, C.J.J.; Friele, R.D.; IJzermans, J.N.; Bal, R.A.

2014-01-01

An increasing number of patients become eligible for organ transplants. In the Netherlands, at the level of policy discourse, growing waiting lists are often referred to as a persistent “shortage” of organs, producing a “public health crisis.” In this way, organ donation is presented as an ethical,

The Grand Challenges Discourse: Transforming Identity Work in Science and Science Policy.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaldewey, David

2018-01-01

This article analyzes the concept of "grand challenges" as part of a shift in how scientists and policymakers frame and communicate their respective agendas. The history of the grand challenges discourse helps to understand how identity work in science and science policy has been transformed in recent decades. Furthermore, the question is raised whether this discourse is only an indicator, or also a factor in this transformation. Building on conceptual history and historical semantics, the two parts of the article reconstruct two discursive shifts. First, the observation that in scientific communication references to "problems" are increasingly substituted by references to "challenges" indicates a broader cultural trend of how attitudes towards what is problematic have shifted in the last decades. Second, as the grand challenges discourse is rooted in the sphere of sports and competition, it introduces a specific new set of societal values and practices into the spheres of science and technology. The article concludes that this process can be characterized as the sportification of science, which contributes to self-mobilization and, ultimately, to self-optimization of the participating scientists, engineers, and policymakers.

Governing citizens and health professionals at a distance: A critical discourse analysis of policies of intersectorial collaboration in Danish health-care

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Anne Bendix; Frederiksen, Kirsten; Kolbæk, Raymond

2017-01-01

of intersectorial collaboration. The premises of intersectorial collaboration are maintained through a specific presentation of actors leaving little room for discussion, where professionals are constructed as actors who are expected to develop ways of collaborating according to the Triple Aim approach in order...... policies as powerful actors and explores how effects of a concrete policy are adapted for intersectorial collaboration in Danish healthcare. The paper is based on a critical discourse analysis of a central policy document in Danish health-care known as the ‘Health Agreements’. Using Fairclough’s three......-dimensional model for discourse analysis, we explored the document to clarify the construction of actors participating in intersectorial collaboration. The analysis revealed the Health Agreement as a ‘negotiated text’, appearing as an overriding document legitimising one possible discourse regarding the premises...

Trading Quality across Borders: Colonial Discourse and International Quality Assurance Policies in Higher Education

Science.gov (United States)

Blanco Ramírez, Gerardo

2014-01-01

Accountability and quality assurance have become central discourses in higher education policy throughout the world. However, accountability and quality assurance involve power and control. Practices and ideas about quality developed in the Global North are spreading rapidly across the Global South, leading to increased uniformity in the…

Troubling Discourses on Gender and Education

Science.gov (United States)

Lahelma, Elina

2014-01-01

Background: In educational policies, two discourses on gender have existed since the 1980s. I call them the "gender equality discourse" and the "boy discourse". The gender equality discourse in education is based on international and national declarations and plans, and is focused predominantly on the position of girls and…

Studies of Discourse and Governmentality

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

have attempted to critically rethink Foucault’s ideas. This is the first volume that attempts to revisit and expand studies of governmentality by connecting it to the theories and methods of discourse analysis. The volume draws on different theoretical stances and methodological approaches including...... critical discourse analysis, conversation analysis, dialogic analysis, multimodal discourse analysis, the discourse-historical approach, corpus analysis and French discourse analysis. The volume is relevant to students and scholars in the fields of critical discourse studies, conversation analysis......, international studies, environmental studies, political science, public policy and organisation studies....

One or two nation projects? Discourse on inequalities and equality-related policies in South Africa and Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bernhard Leubolt

2015-09-01

Full Text Available AbstractThis contribution focuses on the social production and reproduction of social inequalities in Brazil and South Africa. It aims at interlinking different theoretical perspectives and applying them to a comparative analysis of inequality-related policies. Resorting to strategic-relational institutionalism, the historical heritage of discourse formation and the institutionalization of inequality regimes in the two countries to inform the analysis of the more recent conjuncture will be analysed. While South Africa is an example of formal racist discrimination, the Brazilian inequality regime worked on more informal patterns. The different historical heritage influences current foci of equality-related policies, which tend to be dominantly anti-racist in South Africa, while focusing on poverty reduction in Brazil during the recent years. The latter experience tended more towards a discourse of a ‘common interest’ and was better able to institutionalize policies to reduce income inequalities. South Africa is still discursively divided into ‘two nations’. Social uplifting for Africans linked to the governing parties was only partially accompanied by improved living conditions for the poor majority of Africans. Both countries are significantly structured by the respective historical heritage concerning both the creation and the reduction of inequalities. The Brazilian ‘one nation’ discourse was more successful in promoting equality-related policies than its ‘two nations’ counterpart in South Africa. Despite important improvements, both countries are now in critical junctures and societal contradictions are beginning to create new crisis tendencies.

ETV REPORT: REMOVAL OF CHEMICAL CONTAMINANTS IN DRINKING WATER — PALL/KINETICO PUREFECTA DRINKING WATER TREATMENT SYSTEM

Science.gov (United States)

The Pall/Kinetico Purefecta™ POU drinking water treatment system was tested for removal of aldicarb, benzene, cadmium, carbofuran, cesium, chloroform, dichlorvos, dicrotophos, fenamiphos, mercury, mevinphos, oxamyl, strontium, and strychnine. The Purefecta™ employs several compon...

ICT Capacity Building: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Rwandan Policies from Higher Education Perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Byungura, Jean Claude; Hansson, Henrik; Masengesho, Kamuzinzi; Karunaratne, Thashmee

2016-01-01

With the development of technology in the 21st Century, education systems attempt to integrate technology-based tools to improve experiences in pedagogy and administration. It is becoming increasingly prominent to build human and ICT infrastructure capacities at universities from policy to implementation level. Using a critical discourse analysis,…

The EU vs. Russia in the foreign policy discourse of Armenia: the fragility of normative power or the power of Russian coercion?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aram TERZYAN

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Constructivist-driven conventional wisdom posits that ideas and beliefs are pivotal to shaping foreign policy trajectories. Thus, the explanatory power ascribed to material forces falls back on ideas and cultural practices (Wendt, 1999. Whereas the case of Armenia, characterized by the co-existence of European foreign policy identity with Russia-led foreign policy preferences suggests that identity and beliefs may well be outweighed by material forces. This paper seeks to explain the evolution of how the European Union (EU and Russia have been conceptualised within the foreign policy discourse of Armenia. The study relies on the critical discourse analysis of relevant speeches and statements of Armenia’s foreign policy-makers and, particularly, on those of the President. It scrutinizes the core notions and discursive structures, employed in the Armenian foreign policy discourse for justifying the choice of the Russia-led path. It suggests that Armenia’s deviation from the identity driven path towards the EU has been broadly justified in terms of the country’s economic and, particularly, security needs, which prompted to treat Russia as an indispensable ally. Yet, a closer scrutiny of external constraints indicates that Russian coercive policy left little room for Armenia to achieve a Russian-European balance.

The framing of unconventional natural gas resources in the foreign energy policy discourse of the Russian Federation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ocelík, Petr; Osička, Jan

2014-01-01

The advent of unconventional resources of natural gas has altered the order on global as well as continental gas markets. With rising liquidity, the position of established dominant suppliers is eroding. We focus on the initial response of Russia, the leading supplier of natural gas to Europe, to the new situation, building the research on unit-level constructivism and discourse analysis. We use frame analysis to reveal what image of unconventional resources was constructed in Russian foreign energy policy discourse (FEPD) in the period between 2009 and 2011, when the “unconventional revolution” did not yet have any sharp contours. We conclude that in Russian FEPD the unconventionals are considered as a distinctive and inferior source of energy compared to conventional natural gas. Emphasis is put on their economic irrationality and environmental hazards. The bottom line of the discourse is the idea that there is a choice between conventional and unconventional sources, with this choice being framed as one between good and bad, or right and wrong. - Highlights: • We examine the image of “unconventional gas” in Russian foreign energy policy discourse. • Two main frames (reliable supplier and triumphant natural gas) were identified. • Two main argumentation schemes (economic and environmental) were identified. • The “unconventional gas” is defined as a mistaken and inferior source of energy

Phytochemical study on Berberis sibirica Pall.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A Solongo

2014-09-01

Full Text Available From the aerial parts (700g of berberis sibirica pall. 6 isoquinoline alkaloids of protoberberine, protopine, benzophenantridine and proaporphine type were isolated. The known alkaloids (--tetrahydropseudocoptisine, pseudoprotopine, (+-chelidonine and (+-glaziovine are new for the family berberidaceae. from the aerial part ii (3.9 kg 14 isoquinoline alkaloids of aporphine, proaporphine, protoberberine, protopine, benzylisoquinoline, bisbenzylisoquinoline,proaporphine-benzylisoquinoline and simple isoquinolin type were isolated and identified. The aporphine alkaloid 1-o-methylisotebaidine and simple isoquinoline dehydrocorypalline have been found for the first time in the family of berberidaceae. From the roots of b. sibirica 10 isoquinoline alkaloids of protoberberine, benzylisoquinoline, bisbenzylisoquinoline, aporphine-benzylisoquinoline and proaporphine-benzylisoquinoline type were isolated. 1,10-di-omethylpakistanine has been reported for the first time as a natural alkaloid. The known alkaloids (- -isothalidezine and (+-armepavine have been found for the first time in the family berberidaceae. All structures were determined by physical and spectral data.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5564/mjc.v12i0.185 Mongolian Journal of Chemistry Vol.12 2011: 117-122

Contextualising diversity in TV drama: Policies, practices and discourses

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexander Dhoest

2015-12-01

Full Text Available This paper discusses the representation of social minority groups in Flemish TV drama. After a brief review of academic literature on the topic, three questions are asked. First, 'How should diversity be represented?', discussing broadcasting policies on diversity as well as the opinions of minority groups. Second, 'How is diversity actually represented?' Beside quantitative data, this analysis includes a qualitative assessment of six recent TV drama productions on Flemish television. Third, 'Why is diversity represented this way' Here, production practices and discourses are analysed, using in-depth interviews with production staff in order to better understand their reasons and motivations. The findings show that diversity is addressed by public broadcasting policies, but that minority groups are unhappy about their portrayal. Indeed, quantitative research shows that they are generally under-represented, while qualitative research discloses a lack of diversity in these portrayals. Based on the interviews with producers, these representational patterns can be connected to a number of practical and dramatic considerations, which however do not excuse the lack of on screen diversity.

Haematological studies on micropopulations of Clethrionomys rutilus Pall under different radioecological conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Borodkin, P.A.; Testov, B.V.

1980-01-01

The effect of low dose ionizing radiation on living organisms is studied. The blood of Clethrionomys rutilus Pall which habitates under various radioecological conditions is studied. It is taken into account that hematologic indices reflex the general state of the organism and prove to be a sensitive test of physiological alterations in the organism. The animals were taken on the territory with the increased amount of uranium and thorium in the underlying original rock. Average radiation doses from external gamma radiation on experimental and control territories constitute 0.86 and 0.1 rem/year, respectively. Radiation from thoron, radon and products of their decay condition the dose of 2 rem/year on the experimental territory and 0.1 rem/year on the control territory. Blood for investigation is taken with the method of decapitation. A 5% level of importance of differences is taken for the statistic processing of results obtained. The investigation has revealed no considerable differences between micropopulations of Clethrionomys rutilus Pall habitating different radioecological conditions over all indices of the red blood studied. As considers the composition of white blood, statistically considerable excess of the general amount of leukocytes in wintered males from the radioactive territory is found. An insignificant excess of this index has been noted in other groups of animals, as well

The '"[H]unt for New Canadians Begins in the Classroom": The Construction and Contradictions of Canadian Policy Discourse on International Education

Science.gov (United States)

Trilokekar, Roopa Desai; El Masri, Amira

2017-01-01

In Canada's first-ever strategy, international education (IE) is linked to immigration policy with international students (IS) recruited as "ideal" immigrants. This paper engages in policy sociology and Ball's concepts of "policy as text" and "policy as discourse" (10). It follows three stages of critical policy…

The (Bio)politics of Engagement: Shifts in Singapore's Policy and Public Discourse on Civics Education

Science.gov (United States)

Weninger, Csilla; Kho, Ee Moi

2014-01-01

This article provides a historical overview of civic educational policy and political discourse in Singapore from 1959 to 2011, focusing on changes in the role attributed to students in the education process. A review of educational programmes and analysis of political speeches reveals that an earlier transmissionist approach that focused on value…

Exposing Ideology within University Policies: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Faculty Hiring, Promotion and Remuneration Practices

Science.gov (United States)

Uzuner-Smith, Sedef; Englander, Karen

2015-01-01

Using critical discourse analysis (CDA), this paper exposes the neoliberal ideology of the knowledge-based economy embedded within university policies, specifically those that regulate faculty hiring, promotion, and remuneration in two national contexts: Turkey and Mexico. The paper follows four stages of CDA: (1) focus upon a social wrong in its…

Legitimising Emerging Power Diplomacy: an Analysis of Government and Media Discourses on Brazilian Foreign Policy under Lula

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rafael Mesquita

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract This study analyses whether Brazilian foreign policy under Lula successfully legitimised the country's international identity as a rising power in the eyes of the domestic and international media. Based on a constructivist framework, we have applied French Discourse Analysis to a corpus of 36 official addresses by the President of the Republic and the Minister of Foreign Relations and 137 news articles from four news outlets, two Brazilian and two international, concerning two diplomatic episodes deemed representative of Brazil's quest for greater pre-eminence: the leadership of MINUSTAH (2004 and the Nuclear Deal signed with Iran and Turkey (2010. Results show that official discourse characterises Brazil's identity as a rising power chiefly by South-South diplomacy, while media discourse was more heterogeneous, being the discursive formation of each news outlet determinant in explaining their interpretation of Brazil's international identity.

Envisioning the Third Sector's Welfare Role: Critical Discourse Analysis of 'Post-Devolution' Public Policy in the UK 1998-2012.

Science.gov (United States)

Chaney, Paul; Wincott, Daniel

2014-12-01

Welfare state theory has struggled to come to terms with the role of the third sector. It has often categorized welfare states in terms of the pattern of interplay between state social policies and the structure of the labour market. Moreover, it has frequently offered an exclusive focus on state policy - thereby failing to substantially recognize the role of the formally organized third sector. This study offers a corrective view. Against the backdrop of the international shift to multi-level governance, it analyses the policy discourse of third sector involvement in welfare governance following devolution in the UK. It reveals the changing and contrasting ways in which post-devolution territorial politics envisions the sector's role as a welfare provider. The mixed methods analysis compares policy framing and the structural narratives associated with the development of the third sector across the four constituent polities of the UK since 1998. The findings reveal how devolution has introduced a new spatial policy dynamic. Whilst there are elements of continuity between polities - such as the increasing salience of the third sector in welfare provision - policy narratives also provide evidence of the territorialization of third sector policy. From a methodological standpoint, this underlines the distinctive and complementary role discourse-based analysis can play in understanding contemporary patterns and processes shaping welfare governance.

Among cosmopolitan values and strategic interests: liberal and realist discourses of canada’s international security policy during post- cold war

OpenAIRE

Rodríguez M., Federmán

2014-01-01

The purpose of the article is to explain the liberal and realist discourses that underpinned the Canadian International Security Policy (CISP) during the post-Cold War. In particular, it offers evidence to show that Canadian governments inevitably debate between cosmopolitan values and strategic interests in formulating their respective policies of international security. After considering how liberal and realist orientations of this policy have been studied in the literature on CISP, it expl...

The Role of PISA in Shaping Hegemonic Educational Discourses, Policies and Practices: The Case of Spain

Science.gov (United States)

Bonal, Xavier; Tarabini, Aina

2013-01-01

The aim of this article is to analyse the direct and indirect effects that PISA generates in the orientation of educational policies and reforms in Spain and the ways in which PISA data and results are used in political discourses, at both national and sub-national levels. The main hypothesis of the article is that PISA results have played a key…

The construction of ‘geopolitical spaces’ in Russian foreign policy discourse before and after the Ukraine crisis

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David Svarin

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Focusing on discourses by the ruling elite, this article examines the construction of ‘geopolitical spaces’ in Russian foreign policy. Based on a critical geopolitical analysis, suggesting that territory, space and geographies are being actively (reformulated by those in power, this article analyzes how policy-makers define and articulate the importance of a particular geographical region for their foreign policy. It analyzes how the three ‘geopolitical spaces’ – Eurasia, the Euro-Atlantic and the Asia-Pacific – are defined by Russia's political leaders and how each space fulfils a particular function for the pursuit of Russian interests abroad. In a second part, this article takes into account the events in and around Ukraine starting in late 2013 and analyzes how Russia's discourse toward the traditional ‘geopolitical spaces’ changed as a result. It is argued, that while Russia previously strived for membership in each of the three ‘geopolitical spaces’, the Ukraine crisis and its impact on Moscow's relation with the West led to a reorientation of Russia's geopolitical vision toward the East and most importantly toward Eurasia. The establishment of the Eurasian Economic Union was instrumental for the promotion of a new vision of wider Eurasian integration.

Antihyperlipidemic Activities of Common Garden Peony ( Paeonia lactifl ora Pall.

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Tserenlkham Tserendejid

2013-12-01

Full Text Available We studied different extracts of aboveground and underground parts of Paeonia lactifl ora Pall.in experiment. For doing so this research needs to start up with total cholesterol. Total cholesterol is a direct cholesterol measurement that measures all cholesterol molecules in the blood, including low density lipoproteins (LDL, high density lipoproteins (HDL, and very low density lipoproteins (VLDL. The serum total cholesterol (TC and low density lipoproteins (LDL levels were signifi cantly different in the experimentally-induced hypercholesterolemia rats. Effect on serum triglyceride (TG level compared to control group, simvastatin and hypercholesterolemia diet (HD, but almost all were similar with simvastatin. Effect on serum high density lipoproteins (HDL level compared between those. Extracts (PL1, PL2 were lower, almost the same with hypercholesterolemia diet (HD.

The EC discourse on vocational training

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cort, Pia

2009-01-01

This article traces the EC vocational training policy historically and describes the discursive alignments which brought the policy from a ‘common vocational training policy' as laid down in Article 128, in the Treaty of Rome to the Lisbon Lifelong Learning strategy. The argument is that vocational...... EC vocational training policy (Ball, What is policy? Texts, trajectories and toolboxes. Discourse, 13(2), 1993)....

Envisioning the Third Sector's Welfare Role: Critical Discourse Analysis of ‘Post-Devolution’ Public Policy in the UK 1998–2012

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Chaney, Paul; Wincott, Daniel

2014-01-01

Welfare state theory has struggled to come to terms with the role of the third sector. It has often categorized welfare states in terms of the pattern of interplay between state social policies and the structure of the labour market. Moreover, it has frequently offered an exclusive focus on state policy – thereby failing to substantially recognize the role of the formally organized third sector. This study offers a corrective view. Against the backdrop of the international shift to multi-level governance, it analyses the policy discourse of third sector involvement in welfare governance following devolution in the UK. It reveals the changing and contrasting ways in which post-devolution territorial politics envisions the sector's role as a welfare provider. The mixed methods analysis compares policy framing and the structural narratives associated with the development of the third sector across the four constituent polities of the UK since 1998. The findings reveal how devolution has introduced a new spatial policy dynamic. Whilst there are elements of continuity between polities – such as the increasing salience of the third sector in welfare provision – policy narratives also provide evidence of the territorialization of third sector policy. From a methodological standpoint, this underlines the distinctive and complementary role discourse-based analysis can play in understanding contemporary patterns and processes shaping welfare governance. PMID:25574063

Choice and compassion at the end of life: A critical analysis of recent English policy discourse.

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Borgstrom, Erica; Walter, Tony

2015-07-01

End of life care in England has recently been framed by two very different discourses. One (connected to advance care planning) promotes personal choice, the other promotes compassionate care; both are prominent in professional, policy and media settings. The article outlines the history of who promoted each discourse from 2008 to early 2015, when, why and how and this was done. Each discourse is then critically analysed from a standpoint that takes account of bodily decline, structural constraints, and human relationality. We focus on the biggest group of those nearing the end of their life, namely frail very old people suffering multiple conditions. In their care within contemporary healthcare organisations, choice becomes a tick box and compassion a commodity. Informed choice, whether at the end of life or in advance of it, does not guarantee the death the person wants, especially for those dying of conditions other than cancer and in the absence of universally available skilled and compassionate care. Enabling healthcare staff to provide compassionate, relational care, however, implies reversing the philosophical, political and financial direction of healthcare in the UK and most other Anglophone countries. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

What did the Go4Health policy research project contribute to the policy discourse on the sustainable development goals? A reflexive review.

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Te, Vannarath; Floden, Nadia; Hussain, Sameera; Brolan, Claire E; Hill, Peter S

2018-05-16

In 2012, the European Commission funded Go4Health-Goals and Governance for Global Health, a consortium of 13 academic research and human rights institutions from both Global North and South-to track the evolution of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and provide ongoing policy advice. This paper reviews the research outputs published between 2012 and 2016, analyzing the thematic content of the publications, and the influence on global health and development discourse through citation metrics. Analysis of the 54 published papers showed 6 dominant themes related to the SDGs: the formulation process for the SDG health goal; the right to health; Universal Health Coverage; voices of marginalized peoples; global health governance; and the integration of health across the other SDGs. The papers combined advocacy---particularly for the right to health and its potential embodiment in Universal Health Coverage-with qualitative research and analysis of policy and stakeholders. Go4Health's publications on the right to health, global health governance and the voices of marginalized peoples in relation to the SDGs represented a substantial proportion of papers published for these topics. Go4Health analysis of the right to health clarified its elements and their application to Universal Health Coverage, global health governance, financing the SDGs and access to medicines. Qualitative research identified correspondence between perceptions of marginalized peoples and right to health principles, and reluctance among multilateral organizations to explicitly represent the right to health in the goals, despite their acknowledgement of their importance. Citation metrics analysis confirmed an average of 5.5 citations per paper, with a field-weighted citation impact of 2.24 for the 43 peer reviewed publications. Citations in the academic literature and UN policy documents confirmed the impact of Go4Health on the global discourse around the SDGs, but within the Go4Health consortium

Effect of increased natural radiation background on glycogen content of peripheral blood leukocytes of microtus oeconomus Pall

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Materij, L.D.; Maslova, K.I.

1984-01-01

In experiments on Microtus oeconomus Pall, living in natural conditions with normal (0.72-1.08 pA/kg) and increased (3.6-1440 pA/kg) levels of external gamma-radiation and affected by numerous incorporated radionuclides, the differences were detected, by the cytochemical method, both in the total glycogen content of eucocytes and in the type of grouping of cells depending on the cegre of their saturation with polysaccharide

U.S. Foreign Policy in Clinton and Trump’s presidential campaign. Discourses on ISIS in the media

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Isabel Rodríguez Toribio

2017-11-01

Full Text Available During the last Race for the White House in the United States of America, ISIS terrorism has become the main concern among public opinion (Gallup, 2015. This issue has also been the most significant topic addressed in the campaign speeches on foreign policy. This article analyses Trump and Clinton’s discourses on ISIS within the media framework, as well as how this terrorist group and its acts are social constructed in the speeches. A qualitative methodology has been used. News published in the U.S. digital media, between November 2015 and February 2016, have been analysed through the critical discourse analysis theory. The main results of this research show how Trump has practiced a strategy based on provocation, discrimination and populism while Clinton has followed a much more argumentative and emotional path.

The Shifting Discourses of Educational Leadership: International Trends and Scotland's Response

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Torrance, Deirdre; Humes, Walter

2015-01-01

Increasing emphasis has been placed on leadership within educational theory, policy and practice. Drawing on a wide range of academic literature and policy documents, this paper explores how the discourse of leadership has shifted and for what purposes. The authors are critical of the lack of conceptual underpinning for that discourse, evident…

Equal, global, local: discourses in Taiwan's international medical graduate debate.

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Ho, Ming-Jung; Shaw, Kevin; Liu, Tzu-Hung; Norris, Jessie; Chiu, Yu-Ting

2015-01-01

With the globalisation of medicine, the role of international medical graduates (IMGs) has expanded. Nonetheless, the experiences of native-born IMGs remain under-researched. In Taiwan, public controversy has unfolded around IMGs educated in Poland, calling into question the meaning(s) of equality in policy and medicine. In focusing on the return of IMGs to their countries of origin, this study adds to the growing literature concerning equality and globalisation in medical education. The primary research aim was to analyse how stakeholders in the IMG debate use equality in their arguments. The authors set out to frame the dispute within the recent history of Taiwanese medical governance. An overarching objective was to contribute a critical, historical view of how discourses of globalisation and equality construct different policy approaches to international medical education. The authors performed a critical discourse analysis of a public policy dispute in Taiwan, assembling an archive from online interactions, government reports and news articles. Coding focused on stakeholders' uses of equality to generate broader discourses. International and domestic Taiwanese students conceived of equality differently, referencing both 'equality of opportunity' and 'equality of outcome' within localisation and globalisation frameworks, respectively. The dominance of localisation discourse is reflected in hostile online rhetoric towards Poland-educated IMGs. Rhetorical disagreements over equality in medical education trace shifting state policies, from earlier attempts to remove barriers for IMGs to the present-day push to regulate IMGs for acculturation and quality assurance. The global Internet had a double-sided influence, facilitating both democratic political mobilization and the spread of hate speech. The policy debate in Taiwan mirrors discourses in Canada, where IMGs are likewise conceived either as globally competent physicians or as lacking in merit and technical

Unpacking the social construction of 'natural' disaster through policy discourses and institutional responses in Mexico: the case of Chalco Valley's floods, State of Mexico

OpenAIRE

Aragón-Durand, F. d. J.

2009-01-01

This research analyses 'natural' disaster policies for Mexico. The objective is to demonstrate that 'natural' disaster and the policies oriented to prevent them are socially constructed. It adopts a constructionist perspective because it is concerned with the understanding of collective social constructions of meaning and knowledge that are determined by political and social processes. This study focuses on the relation between the discourses of disaster causality, policy problem construction...

Human Rights, Human Needs, Human Development, Human Security - Relationships between four international human discourses.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

D.R. Gasper (Des)

2007-01-01

markdownabstractAbstract: Human rights, human development and human security form increasingly important, partly interconnected, partly competitive and misunderstood ethical and policy discourses. Each tries to humanize a pre-existing and unavoidable major discourse of everyday life, policy and

Wind deployment in the United States: states, resources, policy, and discourse.

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Wilson, Elizabeth J; Stephens, Jennie C

2009-12-15

A transformation in the way the United States produces and uses energy is needed to achieve greenhouse gas reduction targets for climate change mitigation. Wind power is an important low-carbon technology and the most rapidly growing renewable energy technology in the U.S. Despite recent advances in wind deployment, significant state-by-state variation in wind power distribution cannot be explained solely by wind resource patterns nor by state policy. Other factors embedded within the state-level socio-political context also contribute to wind deployment patterns. We explore this socio-political context in four U.S. states by integrating multiple research methods. Through comparative state-level analysis of the energy system, energy policy, and public discourse as represented in the media, we examine variation in the context for wind deployment in Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, and Texas. Our results demonstrate that these states have different patterns of wind deployment, are engaged in different debates about wind power, and appear to frame the risks and benefits of wind power in different ways. This comparative assessment highlights the complex variation of the state-level socio-political context and contributes depth to our understanding of energy technology deployment processes, decision-making, and outcomes.

Human Rights, Human Needs, Human Development, Human Security : Relationships between four international 'human' discourses

NARCIS (Netherlands)

D.R. Gasper (Des)

2007-01-01

textabstractHuman rights, human development and human security form increasingly important, partly interconnected, partly competitive and misunderstood ethical and policy discourses. Each tries to humanize a pre-existing and unavoidable major discourse of everyday life, policy and politics; each

Whose Education Policies in Aid-Receiving Countries? A Critical Discourse Analysis of Quality and Normative Transfer through Cambodia and Laos

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McCormick, Alexandra

2012-01-01

Critical discourse analysis of policy contexts and documents has been employed in this research to analyze the role of language in promoting normative positions affecting the quality of education in Cambodia and Laos. The article examines the ways institutional normative influences at multiple levels within the Education for All (EFA) program have…

"No one has yet properly articulated what we are trying to achieve": a discourse analysis of interviews with revalidation policy leaders in the United Kingdom.

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Archer, Julian; Regan de Bere, Sam; Nunn, Suzanne; Clark, Jonathan; Corrigan, Oonagh

2015-01-01

To analyze prevailing definitions of revalidation (i.e., a recently instituted system of ongoing review for all physicians in the United Kingdom), the circumstances of their origin, and proposed applications, after a protracted and sometimes difficult decade in development. This was to support a more consensual approach to revalidation policy before its launch in 2012. In 2010 and 2011, the authors carried out a critical discourse analysis of interviews with 31 medical and legal revalidation policy makers. These individuals represented the main stakeholder bodies, including the General Medical Council, Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, British Medical Association, National Health Service Employers, and the departments of health from across the United Kingdom. The authors identified two overarching discourses: regulation and professionalism, held together by patients as "discursive glue." Regulation frames revalidation as a way to identify "bad apples," requiring a summative approach and minimum standards. Professionalism looks to revalidation as a process by which all doctors improve, requiring evolving standards and a developmental model. These two discourses were not mutually exclusive; indeed, most interviewees used them interchangeably. However, they are in some regards at odds. Their coexistence has been supported by a shared discursive formation around patients. Yet the authors found little patient-centered policy in revalidation in its current form. The authors concluded that patients need to be recognized, making them present with an active voice. They also stressed the importance of established and ongoing evaluation of medical regulation as a policy and process.

Obama’s Dual Discourse on American Exceptionalism

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Hrnjaz Miloš

2015-08-01

Full Text Available This paper analyses the highly contested concept of American exceptionalism, as described in the speeches of Barak Obama. The authors of the paper use discourse analysis to show that Obama is using the idea of American exceptionalism on two levels: US foreign policy and the US stance towards international law. Our conclusion is that Obama uses an implicit dual discourse in both these fields. Obama favours active US foreign policy, based on soft power instruments and multilateralism. He insists that American exceptionalism does not mean that the US can exempt itself from the norms of international law, however, he does not think the US should always have a very active foreign policy. He makes room for unilateral acting and the use of hard power instruments in foreign policy. He allows for the use of force even if is not in accordance with the norms of international law, when US national interests are threatened.

Features structuring image of Ukraine in socio-political and socio-cultural discourse

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A. O. Pocelujko

2015-08-01

Layers of socio-political discourse under defined-State officially and historically historiographical discourses. These discourses present the image of the state in the context of national history as the source, where by means of targeted public policy is formed and implemented state identity as the language of institutional communication. Images states that officially created in-state and historically historiographic discourses as a set of ethnic myths, frames, stereotypes intended to create mechanisms of perception and interpretation of the past of the country, used in educational policy as a tool for national identity with the corresponding identity discourse. Socio-cultural discourse and the corresponding image of the state is characterized by a strong plurality, conceptuality, multyparadyhmality. In the socio-cultural discourse is conceptualization image of the state as part of the living world as opposed to social and political discourse, in which the image of the state appears more like dogmatic ideological construct, which tends to uniqueness. In the scientific discourse in constructing the image of the state is dominated intellectual and conceptual component, while in the state mediadyskurs-image formed on the basis of emotional and social representations stained. Latest distributed in makroteksts designed to create appropriate social attitudes, sensatsion, mobilizing different social groups on a variety of events and more

Challenging Anti-Immigration Discourses in School and Community Contexts

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Allexsaht-Snider, Martha; Buxton, Cory A.; Harman, Ruth

2012-01-01

Rapid migration shifts, anti-immigrant discourses in the public sphere, and harsh immigration policies have posed daunting challenges for immigrant students, their families, their teachers, and their communities in the 21st century. Trends in public discourse and law enforcement in the United States mirror developments in European countries with…

Overlapping consensus versus discourse in climate change policy: The case of Norway's Sovereign Wealth Fund

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nilsen, Heidi Rapp

2010-01-01

This paper is motivated by the mismatch between emission of greenhouse gases and effective mitigation policies. Science now calls for every tool to be considered in order for radical changes to mitigate the situation more effectively. This paper considers Norway's huge Sovereign Wealth Fund which, although withdrawing investment from firms causing severe environmental damage, does not categorize climate change as 'severe environmental damage'. The main reason is a basis of overlapping consensus, which also hinders argumentation for this practice. Overlapping consensus is part of the broader theory 'Justice as Fairness' as conceived by John Rawls. The consensus is with regard to having a socially just system. The word 'overlapping' refers to people having different reasons for supporting the system. However using overlapping consensus for investment-strategies represents an extension beyond its original intention, and moreover, removes mitigating climate change from the agenda. Removing the basis of overlapping consensus opens up scope for value-based discourse conceived by Habermas' communicative action and discourse ethics. The immense severity of climate change demands value-based and substantial arguments from powerful sovereign wealth funds, to consider the acceptability of their practice.

Production of space and discourse in a multicultural society

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Miodragović Bojana R.

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The main idea in this paper is based on two theories: first, it follows Lefebvre's idea of social space production, and accordingly, his concept of social praxis, which connects physical and material flows with existing social reproduction model; second, there is a Foucault's theory of feedback effects of language and social discourse. The hypothesis of this paper is based on these and similar theories, such as Touraine's theory of new cultural paradigm for understanding today's world: concept of multiculturalism and discourse of multicultural society is reflected in production of social institutions (material and linguistic. If intercultural or assimilating discourse is present, institutional and capacitive resources will reflect that. Discourse potential enriches the linguistic creations, which are a clear reflection of the concept that prevails. By state control, an economic and cultural space coexists with political space. In this paper, the deconstruction of the enumerated theory and separation of regularity proves the hypothesis that, as final goal, shows reflection of real concept and policy of multiculturalism in the public social space, no matter what commonsensical manifestation of this policy indicate.

Theological ethics, moral philosophy, and public moral discourse.

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Jonsen, Albert R

1994-03-01

The advent and growth of bioethics in the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s precipitated an era of public moral discourse, that is, the deliberate attempt to analyze and formulate moral argument for use in public policy. The language for rational discussion of moral matters evolved from the parent disciplines of moral philosophy and theological ethics, as well as from the idioms of a secular, pluralistic world that was searching for policy answers to difficult bioethical questions. This article explores the basis and content of the unique contributions of both theological and philosophical ethics to the development of public moral discourse.

Transnationalisation and adult education: A comparison of the UNESCO’s and the EU’s policy discourses

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Milana, Marcella

as a policy response to the challenges posed by globalization processes. Each of these policy constructs assigns specific values and meanings to globalization processes, which not only reflect diverse institutional aims, but also partial understandings of the complexity embedded in contemporary globalization......This paper makes the case that supranational and inter-states entities represent not only the outcome of political globalization processes but contribute to the discursive patterns of globalization. In particular, I illustrates as the UNESCO and the EU put forward specific ‘problematizations’ of AE...... processes. Further, I argue that both discourses produce effects. One (the liability-effect) raises the quest for who is accountable to citizens in modern nation-states, while the other (the morality-effect) addresses the quest for who decide what is good or bad conduct, and for whose rights and obligations...

對師資培育政策中市場化論述的批判反省 The Critical Reflection on the Market Discourse in Teacher Education Policy

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謝卓君 Chuo-Chun Hsieh

2005-06-01

Full Text Available 本文從政策社會學的觀點出發，首先說明市場化論述的特徵，分析我國師資培育政策文本內含之市場化論述，之後再借重英國的改革經驗和國外學者對其之批判，作為反思我國師資培育改革之能量。研究結果指出，我國的師資培育市場化論述是由「多元開放」、「需求」、「專業」三股政策論述彼此妥協和互動下的產物，而修訂通過的師資培育法即是這些政策論述互動下的共同產物。最後，本文指出運用市場邏輯於師資培育政策時的警惕：(1容易忽略民主協商的價值。(2確保教育市場機制健全運作的困難。(3無法保證多元師資的培育。 This paper discussing the market discourse from the view of policy sociology can be divided into three parts. Firstly, the researcher illustrates the features of the market discourse and reviews the critiques about the education reform affected by the market discourse. After that, the paper synthesizes the recent reform in teacher education policy in Taiwan and reviews market discourse in the official documents. Finally, it shows that the policy discourses－diversity, demand, and specialty－merged into the market discourse. The Teacher Education Policy is the effect of the market discourse and the critical reflections on that are: (1 the democratic deliberation is likely to be ignored; (2 the regular operation of the market mechanism is difficult to be assured; (3 the diversification of teacher quality cannot be guaranteed.

In the shadow of a new smoke free policy: A discourse analysis of health care providers' engagement in tobacco control in community mental health

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Malchy Leslie A

2010-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The prevalence of tobacco use among individuals with mental illness remains a serious public health concern. Tobacco control has received little attention in community mental health despite the fact that many individuals with mental illness are heavy smokers and experience undue tobacco-related health consequences. Methods This qualitative study used methods of discourse analysis to examine the perceptions of health care providers, both professionals and paraprofessionals, in relation to their roles in tobacco control in the community mental health system. Tobacco control is best conceptualised as a suite of policies and practices directed at supporting smoke free premises, smoking cessation counselling and limiting access to tobacco products. The study took place following the establishment of a new policy that restricted tobacco smoking inside all mental health facilities and on their grounds. Ninety one health care providers participated in open-ended interviews in which they described their role in tobacco control. The interview data were analyzed discursively by asking questions such as: what assumptions underlie what is being said about tobacco? Results Five separate yet overlapping discursive frames were identified in which providers described their roles. Managing a smoke free environment emphasised the need to police and monitor the smoke free environment. Tobacco is therapeutic was a discourse that underscored the putative value of smoking for clients. Tobacco use is an individual choice located the decision to smoke with individual clients thereby negating a role in tobacco control for providers. It's someone else's role was a discourse that placed responsibility for tobacco control with others. Finally, the discourse of tobacco control as health promotion located tobacco control in a range of activities that are used to support the health of clients. Conclusions This study provides insights into the complex

Discourse, More Discourse!

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Lara N. Sinelnikova

2017-10-01

Full Text Available The article is an analytical review of three volumes of the Bulletin of the Russian University of Friendship of Peoples on the problem of discourse. The author has formed a number of headings, the complex of which allows to judge the priority areas of modern scientific knowledge, an essential part of which is discourse. The heading «Pragmatics and metapragmatics of discourse» was formed mainly on the basis of the articles of famous foreign researchers. In each article there are curious ideas, and the generalization of the thesis can be as follows: the evaluation category has a direct relation to the pragmatics, and the estimated semantics of the word is manifested in communication. In the section «Synchronization of paradigmatic relations: text, discourse, style, utterance, speech act, genre» the articles are presented, the material of which is important for revealing the paradigmatic relations between the phenomena named in the heading, including the culturally conditioned features. In the heading “Institutional discourses and problems of hybridization of discourses”, the material of articles of both Russian and foreign researchers is summarized, which makes it possible to identify both the general (even universal orientation of discourse studies and specific approaches and characteristics due to the peculiarities of social processes and national cultural codes . The heading «Identity in its relation to the language / discursive personality» focuses on understanding the close relationship of the category of identity with the problems of discourse and various types of communication. Many authors of the articles present a retrospective of the development of the concepts under consideration, describe the path of their development from the moment they enter the scientific space to the present. At the same time, ways of coordination and integration of methods and approaches are outlined, which is necessary for understanding the prospects

Institutional discourse analysis: educational discourse

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Б В Пеньков

2009-12-01

Full Text Available The author examines discourse parameters for the administrative, teachers and students discourse varieties in American high school. The study identifies the discourse markers, their relationships and functions.

The Grit in the Oyster:Professionalism, Managerialism and Leaderism as Discourses of UK Public Services Modernization

OpenAIRE

O'Reilly, Dermot; Reed, Michael

2011-01-01

The representation of organizational agency in UK policy discourse on public service modernization is analysed in order to disclose the legitimation of elite organizational centres and the structuring of organizational peripheries and their potential for resistance. Three discourses are identified and explored: the residual, but still potent, discourse of professionalism; the dominant discourse of managerialism; and the emergent discourse of leaderism. The emergent discourse of leaderism is s...

Diffusion of Policy Discourse into Rural Spheres Through Co-Management of State Forestlands: Two Cases from West Java, Indonesia

Science.gov (United States)

Kubo, Hideyuki

2008-07-01

In the context of state forestland management in tropical regions, the implementation of a co-management approach has been widely advocated in order to include the voices of local people and accommodate their interests in management decision-making. Most co-management literatures, however, underestimate the significance of statutory authority held by state to control forestlands and resources. By clarifying the implications of state ownership of forestland, this article aims to critically examine co-management processes with reference to Foucault’s notion of power and subject. Case studies were conducted at two co-management pilot sites in Gunung Halimun-Salak National Park, West Java, Indonesia. Findings demonstrate that co-management processes actually materialize shared decision-making arrangements between state forest bureaucracy and rural people through the application of equity approaches, such as deliberation, negotiation, and experimentation. At the same time, these processes can also function to diffuse state policy discourse in rural spheres, which makes rural subjects who accept and practice the policy discourse. The research also reveals that the diffusion process is complex and does not necessarily make a durable subject unless they are pertinently organized. The results of this research indicate that co-management of state forestlands is a double-edged process for local people who risk becoming a proxy of state bureaucracy in the implementation of state policy. Proponents of co-management should, therefore, critically examine whether new institutional arrangements, which are developed through co-management, truly reflect values and needs of local people and assist them to develop a pertinent subject to deal with it.

Managerial and Organizational Discourses of Workplace Bullying.

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Johnson, Susan L; Boutain, Doris M; Tsai, Jenny H-C; de Castro, Arnold B

2015-09-01

To explore how workplace bullying is addressed by hospital nursing unit managers and organizational policies. Although workplace bullying is costly to organizations, nurses report that managers do not consistently address the issue. This study used discourse analysis to analyze interview data and policy documents. There were differences in the manner in which managers and the policy documents labeled bullying-type behaviors and discussed the roles and responsibilities of staff and managers. Policies did not clearly delineate how managers should respond to workplace bullying. These differences can allow management variation, not sanctioned by policy. Unclear policy language can also offer insufficient guidance to managers, resulting in differential enforcement of policies.

Improving the Quality of Early Childhood Education in Chile: Tensions between Public Policy and Teacher Discourses over the Schoolarisation of Early Childhood Education

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Pardo, Marcela; Woodrow, Christine

2014-01-01

This article problematises emerging tensions in Chile, in relation to the discourses of early childhood teachers and public policies aimed at improving the quality of early childhood education. The aim of the analysis is to contribute to developing more nuanced understandings of these tensions, through the analytical lenses provided by the…

Dance Education in Singapore: Policy, Discourse, and Practice

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Chua, Joey

2018-01-01

This article provides an overview of dance education in schools in Singapore with regard to physical education, co-curricular activity, initiatives by the National Arts Council's Arts Education unit, and pre-tertiary and tertiary dance programs. In an effort to gain a better understanding of how well the official discourse and the reality of…

Invoking “The Family” to Legitimize Gender- and Sexuality-Based Public Policies in the United States: A Critical Discourse Analysis of the 2012 Democratic and Republican National Party Conventions

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Andrew Pilecki

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Women and sexual minorities in the United States continue to experience subordinate status, and the policy gains they have made in areas such as reproductive rights and marriage equality continue to be challenged in political discourse. We conducted a critical discourse analysis of texts from the 2012 Democratic and Republican national conventions in order to examine the extent to which ideological representations of the family were employed to legitimize public policy positions related to gender (e.g., abortion and sexuality (e.g., same-sex marriage. We analyzed two forms of text (official party platform document, transcripts of speeches with distinct intended audiences (i.e., party members, general audience. Findings revealed that an ideological representation of the traditional family ideal—featuring a heterosexual couple, their children, and asymmetric gender relations—was present within speeches given by both parties, particularly by the spouses of the presidential candidates (Michelle Obama and Ann Romney. Although this ideological representation was subsequently used within the Republican Party platform to legitimize positions against same-sex marriage and abortion, the Democratic Party platform challenged this representation of the family to instead advocate for policy positions in favor of same-sex marriage and women’s reproductive rights. We discuss this ambivalence within Democratic texts in light of the different audiences that party convention texts seek. Implications for gender- and sexuality-based policies are discussed, as well as the importance of examining political discourse across diverse forms and settings.

Energy, economic and environmental discourses and their policy impact: The case of Ontario's Green Energy and Green Economy Act

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Winfield, Mark; Dolter, Brett

2014-01-01

This paper examines the debates around the Ontario's Green Energy and Green Economy Act (GEGEA) as an energy and economic development strategy through comparative public policy and discourse analysis approaches. The evidence regarding the economic impacts of the GEGEA is found to be almost entirely based on the results of economic modeling exercises. Critics and supporters of the legislation have arrived at very different conclusions through such exercises. These outcomes are similar to those seen in other jurisdictions pursuing renewable energy initiatives, such as Feed In Tariffs (FITs), renewables obligations and portfolio standards. A discourse analysis approach is employed to examine the reasons for the different conclusions being reached over the impacts of renewable energy initiatives. Differences in modeling approaches and assumptions are found to reflect differences in ideational perspectives on the part of the modelers with respect to the appropriate roles of markets and the state and the relationship between economic development and environmental sustainability in public policy. The paper concludes with suggestions regarding the gathering and availability of information regarding economic development in the renewable energy sector, and a discussion of potential ways to strengthen future efforts to understand the economic and environmental impact of renewable energy initiatives. - Highlights: • The discourse surrounding renewable energy initiatives is embedded within wider ideological debates. • The information that underpins the debates in Ontario is the result of economic modelling, not empirical data. • All of the existing modelling efforts suffer from significant shortcomings. • FITS are seen as politically feasible mechanisms for correcting biases in favour of conventional technologies. • The province's long-term commitment of renewable energy development is now uncertain

Proyecto Canaima educativo: ¿ilusiones discursivas? / Education policy and Canaima program: discourse illusions?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marina Polo de Rebillou

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Este artículo proviene de una investigación más amplia. Lo que se presenta, aborda el Proyecto Canaima como discurso planificador, desde los discursos político, técnico y pedagógico. Los objetivos formulados fueron: a Interpretar el discurso político generado en el transcurso del desarrollo del Proyecto Canaima entre los años 2009 y 2012; b Desentrañar del Proyecto Canaima sus componentes discursivos técnico y pedagógico y c Contrastar los contenidos teórico-pedagógicos desarrollados en el computador portátil Canaima Educativo, para el sexto grado de Educación Primaria en el área de Geohistoria Cultura, con las Orientaciones establecidas en los Manuales para docentes y representantes. Para llevar a cabo esta tarea, se trabajó con el Análisis del Discurso (AD, que resultó ser una muy útil herramienta metodológica. El análisis realizado puso de manifiesto que el discurso político infiltra el discurso técnico y el discurso pedagógico, atribuyendo a la tecnología el poder de solucionar todos los problemas de la educación primaria. Aunque el discurso pedagógico transmite propósitos humanísticos que suscitan interés, la realidad didáctica contenida en la Canaima neutraliza totalmente los propósitos del discurso pedagógico, dejando así la tecnología sin los efectos esperados. Sólo quedan fragmentos de discurso político. This paper issued from a more far-reaching investigation. This section provided information about political, technical and pedagogical discourses, as components of Canaima Project, approached as planning discourse. The objectives were: a To interpret the political discourse of the Canaima –Educational Project, from 2009 to 2012; b To make evident the Canaima Project, technical and theoretical-pedagogical discursive components; c To contrast the contents loaded in the Canaima Educational laptop, for the sixth grade of Primary Education, GeohistoryCulture area, and the Directions for Use expressed

Constructions of Identity and Threat in North Korea’s “Diplomatic War” Discourse

OpenAIRE

Ballbach, Eric J.

2015-01-01

This paper analyzes North Korea’s most central foreign policy discourse in the post-Cold War era: the discourse of the Diplomatic War. Embedding North Korea’s nuclear strive and its conflictual relations with a significant Other – the U.S. – the analysis of this discourse provides crucial insights into the immaterial factors driving North Korea’s foreign relations in the post-Cold War era. In specific, the study focusses on two central characteristics of the discourse, i.e. the writing of ide...

Hunger, Discourse and the Policy Process: How do Conceptualizations of the Problem of ‘Hunger’ Affect its Measurement and Solution?

OpenAIRE

Ian MacAuslan

2009-01-01

This paper applies ‘policy processes’ literature to constructions of hunger. Problem conceptualization and associated solutions are understood as shaped by discourse, rhetoric and interests. Two constructions of the problem of ‘hunger’ are analysed: hunger as lack of food, associated with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and hunger as malnutrition, associated with the World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). While both conceptualizations agree h...

Discourse coalitions in Swiss waste management: gridlock or winds of change?

Science.gov (United States)

Duygan, Mert; Stauffacher, Michael; Meylan, Grégoire

2018-02-01

As a complex socio-technical system, waste management is crucially important for the sustainable management of material and energy flows. Transition to better performing waste management systems requires not only determining what needs to be changed but also finding out how this change can be realized. Without understanding the political context, insights from decision support tools such as life cycle assessment (LCA) are likely to be lost in translation to decision and policy making. This study strives to provide a first insight into the political context and address the opportunities and barriers pertinent to initiating a change in Swiss waste management. For this purpose, the discourses around a major policy process are analysed to uncover the policy beliefs and preferences of actors. Discourse coalitions are delineated by referring to the Advocacy Coalition Framework (Sabatier, 1998) and using the Discourse Network Analysis (Leifeld and Haunss, 2012) method. The results display an incoherent regime (Fuenfschilling and Truffer, 2014) with divergent belief clusters on core issues in waste management. Yet, some actors holding different beliefs appear to have overlapping interests on secondary issues such as the treatment of biogenic waste or plastics. Although the current political context hinders a system-wide disruptive change, transitions can be initiated at local or regional scale by utilizing the shared interest across different discourse coalitions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Early Career Teachers in Australia: A Critical Policy Historiography

Science.gov (United States)

Mockler, Nicole

2018-01-01

Amid the growing "teacher quality" discourse, early career teachers have increasingly been positioned as problematic in Australian education policy discourses over the past decade. This paper uses a critical policy historiography approach to compare representations of early career teachers in two key education policy documents, from the…

Putting SEA in context: A discourse perspective on how SEA contributes to decision-making

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Runhaar, Hens

2009-01-01

Over the last couple of years there is an ongoing debate in the environmental assessment literature about the contribution of Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) to public decision-making and how this can be understood and enhanced by better incorporating insights from policy analysis, planning theory and political sciences. By explicitly framing SEA as an element in a process where stakeholders with diverging interests struggle, acceptability of SEA processes and results by stakeholders has become an important element in SEA evaluation. In addition, the importance of other context variables, such as the institutional organisation, and the need for SEA to adapt to this context, is stressed. Thus far, publications in this area have been dealing with the operationalisation of SEA's 'contribution', typologies of roles that SEA can or should play in different policy settings and on factors that stimulate or impede SEA to play these roles. In this paper an alternative approach is suggested that starts from the deliberative processes around a particular policy issue or decision supported by SEA. Of particular interest are 'discourses': the frames through which groups of actors give meaning to aspects of the policy issues and decisions that are supported by SEA. Discourses do not only reflect conflicts of interests and power play, but also the ways in which actors perceive and understand aspects of the world. Decision-making is conceptualised as a 'system of competing discourse coalitions and their struggles to 'control shared meanings' and to gain acceptance of their framing of a policy issue' [Durning D. A review of Fischer and Forrester (1993) The argumentative turn in policy analysis and planning. Policy Sci 1995;28(1):102-8]. SEA is one of the events in this process that may impact upon dominant discourses. Discourse analysis allows for an understanding of arguments that are considered legitimate for (not) incorporating particular elements of SEA. In addition it

Adolescent pregnancies and girls' sexual and reproductive rights in the amazon basin of Ecuador: an analysis of providers' and policy makers' discourses

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Sebastian Miguel

2010-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Adolescent pregnancies are a common phenomenon that can have both positive and negative consequences. The rights framework allows us to explore adolescent pregnancies not just as isolated events, but in relation to girls' sexual and reproductive freedom and their entitlement to a system of health protection that includes both health services and the so called social determinants of health. The aim of this study was to explore policy makers' and service providers' discourses concerning adolescent pregnancies, and discuss the consequences that those discourses have for the exercise of girls' sexual and reproductive rights' in the province of Orellana, located in the amazon basin of Ecuador. Methods We held six focus-group discussions and eleven in-depth interviews with 41 Orellana's service providers and policy makers. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed using discourse analysis, specifically looking for interpretative repertoires. Results Four interpretative repertoires emerged from the interviews. The first repertoire identified was "sex is not for fun" and reflected a moralistic construction of girls' sexual and reproductive health that emphasized abstinence, and sent contradictory messages regarding contraceptive use. The second repertoire -"gendered sexuality and parenthood"-constructed women as sexually uninterested and responsible mothers, while men were constructed as sexually driven and unreliable. The third repertoire was "professionalizing adolescent pregnancies" and lead to patronizing attitudes towards adolescents and disregard of the importance of non-medical expertise. The final repertoire -"idealization of traditional family"-constructed family as the proper space for the raising of adolescents while at the same time acknowledging that sexual abuse and violence within families was common. Conclusions Providers' and policy makers' repertoires determined the areas that the array of sexual and reproductive

Legality, Quality Assurance and Learning: Competing Discourses of Plagiarism Management in Higher Education

Science.gov (United States)

Sutherland-Smith, Wendy

2014-01-01

In universities around the world, plagiarism management is an ongoing issue of quality assurance and risk management. Plagiarism management discourses are often framed by legal concepts of authorial rights, and plagiarism policies outline penalties for infringement. Learning and teaching discourses argue that plagiarism management is, and should…

The EU Sustainable Development Discourse - An Analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boissiere, Bruno

2009-01-01

Sustainable development seems now clearly defined, as a concept and for its policies implications. Its use in political discourse has developed over the years to such an extent that some do not hesitate to abuse the word 'sustainable', without giving up the productivist dogma. The analysis of significant discourses of the institutions of the European Union on sustainable development shows that the evolution of the concept itself has changed the decision-making process of the European institutions, since the?rst strategy defined at the Gothenburg European Council (June 2001). However, if the concept is well introduced into the discourses of the institutions, its operationalisation and the adaptation of organisational structures appear extremely slow and often incomplete. It is far from an overhaul of the general functioning in accordance with what was announced as a political priority, including the 3 main areas: economic, social and environmental. But the coherence between discourses and practice appears at the level of the Commission, where coordination and supervision of sustainable development have been entrusted to the General Secretariat in direct contact with the President of the Commission

Chemical Constituents and Antioxidant, Anti-Inflammatory and Anti-Tumor Activities of Melilotus officinalis (Linn. Pall

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Yu-Ting Liu

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Two new p-hydroxybenzoic acid glycosides, namely p-hydroxybenzoic acid-4-O-α-d-manopyranosyl-(1 → 3-α-l-rhamnopyranoside (compound 1 and 4-O-α-l-rhamnopyran-osyl-(1 → 6-α-d-manopyranosyl-(1 → 3-α-l-rhamnopyranoside (compound 2, and seven known compounds, compound 3, 6, 7 (acid components, compound 8, 9 (flavonoids, compound 4 (a coumarin and compound 5 (an alkaloid, were isolated from the 70% ethanol aqueous extract of the aerial parts of Melilotus officinalis (Linn. Pall. The structures of all compounds were elucidated by use of extensive spectroscopic methods Infrared Spectroscopy (IR, High resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (HR-ESI-MS, and 1H and 13C-NMR. Sugar residues obtained after acid hydrolysis were identified by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC. The antioxidant activity of all the compounds was evaluated by 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS+ and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH. The anti-inflammatory effects of the compounds were also evaluated in lipopolysaccharide (LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages. All compounds were shown to inhibit LPS-induced nitric oxide (NO and prostaglandin E 2 (PGE 2 production by suppressing the expression of inducible NO synthase (iNOS and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2, respectively, in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. The inhibitory effect of all the compounds on MCF-7 cells was determined by Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8 method. The results showed that compounds 1, 2, 7, 8, 9 exhibited better antioxidant activity compared to the other compounds. compounds 1–9 had different inhibitory effects on the release of NO, TNF-α and IL-6 in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells by LPS, of which compound 7 was the most effective against inflammatory factors. compounds 1 and 2 have better antitumor activity compared to other compounds. Further research to elucidate the chemical composition and pharmacological effects of Melilotus officinalis (Linn. Pall is

Discourses in stroke rehabilitation as they present themselves in current physiotherapy and occupational therapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Kristensen, Hanne Kaae; Præstegaard, Jeanette; Ytterberg, Charlotte

2017-02-01

Aim This study aims to discuss current perceptions of rehabilitation and how present rehabilitation practice is affected by dominating discourses in Danish society by exploring discourses expressed in official publications and the constructed journal notes of occupational and physiotherapists' practice of stroke rehabilitation. Method The frame of reference is Fairclough's critical discourse analysis. The analysis comprises seven official documents relevant to stroke rehabilitation provided in Danish health services in 2012-2013. Also, notes written by occupational therapists and physiotherapists in medical records of 10 patients with a stroke diagnosis admitted to hospital in 2012. The documents included were read thoroughly. The texts were analyzed deductively, focusing on discursive practice on articulated understandings of rehabilitation, health practice approaches, and social practice. Results The dominating discourses seem to be Western neoliberalism organizational, medical and ethical discourses. The macro level of discourses consisted of political documents addressing rehabilitation nationally. The meso level mainly concerned medical discourses within stroke rehabilitation whereas the micro level represented local medical and ethical discourses. Conclusion The neoliberal discourse supports the medical discourse with strong emphasis on evidence-based interventions. In contrast to ethical discourses, documentation of rehabilitation practice marked more attention being paid to facilitating the patient's independence than to enabling the regaining of meaningful activities and participation. Implications for Rehabilitation Individualized rehabilitation must be organized with flexibility as it is a complex process Critical reflectiveness among health professionals is needed to provide individualized rehabilitation of high quality A broader range of stake holders, including patient organizations, are in demand within health policy making The discourses that

Approaches to gene pool conservation of medicinal plant Oxytropis lanata (Pall. DC. (Fabaceae

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A. B. Kholina

2015-05-01

Full Text Available In order to preserve the gene pool of medicinal plant Oxytropis lanata (Pall. DC. we analyzed allozyme polymorphism and identified reliable and informative marker enzyme systems of this species; also we studied the response of seeds to deep freezing in liquid nitrogen (–196 ºС. Population has an average level of polymorphism (P95 = 41,2 %, P99 = 52,9 %, A = 1,58, Ho = 0,158, He = 0,171 in general typical for herbaceous legumes, and can serve as a source of material for gene pool conservation of the species. Deep freezing has not led to the death of the seeds; it was marked stimulatory effect of ultralow temperatures, expressed as an acceleration of germination and sharp increase of germinability (98,6 ± 2,3 % compared to the control (12,0 ± 3,5 % that is associated with overcoming physical dormancy. There were no abnormalities in the development of seedlings from seeds passed cryopreservation.

The Grenelle de l'Environnement - actors, discourses, effects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boy, Daniel; Brugidou, Mathieu; Halpern, Charlotte; Lascoumes, Pierre

2012-01-01

This document proposes an abstract of a collective publication which aimed at assessing the effects of the French environmental policy 'Grenelle de l'Environnement', its methodological originality and its consequences in terms of environmental public policies. The authors propose a sociological analysis of the about thousand five hundred involved actors, a thorough analysis of discourses, and an inventory of effects in three specific fields

An Investigation of Organizational and Regulatory Discourses of Workplace Bullying

OpenAIRE

Johnson, Susan L.; Boutain, Doris M.; Tsai, Jenny H.-C.; de Castro, Arnold B.

2015-01-01

Organizations use policies to set standards for employee behaviors. Although many organizations have policies that address workplace bullying, previous studies have found that these policies affect neither workplace bullying for targets who are seeking assistance in ending the behaviors nor managers who must address incidents of bullying. This article presents the findings of a study that used critical discourse analysis to examine the language used in policies written by health care organiza...

Exploring voices, exploring appropriate education. A practitioners’ discourse'

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Grol, C.E.J.

2012-01-01

My thesis describes an exploratory process into a practitioners’ discourse on appropriate education. Chapter one: Appropriate Education is about the Dutch educational policy called Passend onderwijs. The chapter positions the appropriate education in national and international educational and

Power and resistance in early childhood education: From dominant discourse to democratic experimentalism

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Moss Peter

2017-08-01

Full Text Available The field of early childhood education is increasingly dominated by a strongly positivistic and regulatory discourse, the story of quality and high returns, which has spread from its local origins in the favourable environment provided by a global regime of neoliberalism. But though dominant, this is not the only discourse in early childhood education, there are alternatives that are varied, vibrant and vocal; not silenced but readily heard by those who listen and forming a resistance movement. The article argues that this movement needs to confront a number of questions. Do its members want to influence and shape policy and practice? If so, what might a transformed and commensurate policy and practice look like? What are the possibilities that such transformation might be achieved, especially given the apparent unassailability of the current dominant discourse, and the force of the power relations that have enabled this discourse, local in origin and parochial in outlook, to aspire to global hegemony? And if such transformation were to occur, is it possible to avoid simply replacing one dominant discourse with another? Some partial and provisional answers are offered to these questions.

Sustainability assessment of nuclear power: Discourse analysis of IAEA and IPCC frameworks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Verbruggen, Aviel; Laes, Erik

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Sustainability assessments (SAs) are methodologically precarious. • Discourse analysis reveals how the meaning of sustainability is constructed in SAs. • Discourse analysis is applied on the SAs of nuclear power of IAEA and IPCC. • For IAEA ‘sustainable’ equals ‘complying with best international practices’. • The IAEA framework largely inspires IPCC Fifth Assessment Report. - Abstract: Sustainability assessments (SAs) are methodologically precarious. Value-based judgments inevitably play a role in setting the scope of the SA, selecting assessment criteria and indicators, collecting adequate data, and developing and using models of considered systems. Discourse analysis can reveal how the meaning and operationalization of sustainability is constructed in and through SAs. Our discourse-analytical approach investigates how sustainability is channeled from ‘manifest image’ (broad but shallow), to ‘vision’, to ‘policy targets’ (specific and practical). This approach is applied on the SA frameworks used by IAEA and IPCC to assess the sustainability of the nuclear power option. The essentially problematic conclusion is that both SA frameworks are constructed in order to obtain answers that do not conflict with prior commitments adopted by the two institutes. For IAEA ‘sustainable’ equals ‘complying with best international practices and standards’. IPCC wrestles with its mission as a provider of “policy-relevant and yet policy-neutral, never policy-prescriptive” knowledge to decision-makers. IPCC avoids the assessment of different visions on the role of nuclear power in a low-carbon energy future, and skips most literature critical of nuclear power. The IAEA framework largely inspires IPCC AR5

臺灣原住民族語教育政策之批判論述分析The Critical Discourse Analysis of Taiwan Indigenous Language Education Policy

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趙素貞Su-Chen Chao

2014-09-01

Full Text Available 本研究是以Fairclough的批判論述分析模式為架構，探討臺灣原住民族語教育的論述文本、論述實踐及社會實踐，分別進行文本分析、過程分析及社會分析。本研究的結論如下：一、現行族語教育政策制定與執行過程欠缺評估與監督；二、族語教育隱含我族中心主義的意識形態與權力鬥爭；三、原住民主體性論述是主宰當今族語教育政策的霸權；四、族語論述實踐與臺灣族群意識和政治存在辯證關係；五、族語政策論述體系重構原住民族社會的知識信仰；六、族語教育政策和原住民的族群認同應解構。This research followed Fairclough’s critical discourse analysis model to explore the discourse text, discourse practice, and social practice of Taiwan indigenous language education. It conducted text analysis, processing analysis, and social analysis. The conclusions are as follows: (1 The existing decision making and execution process for indigenous language education policy are lack of evaluation and monitoring. (2The Indigenous language education has concealed ethnocentrism and power conflicts. (3 The indigenous subjectivism discourse has become the hegemony that manipulates present indigenous language education policy. (4 The existence of dialectic relationship among indigenous discourse practice, Taiwan ethnic consciousness and politics. (5The indigenous language policyscourse system rebuilds the knowledge and belief of indigenous society. (6 Indigenous language education policy and indigenous ethnic identity should be detached from each other.

Political Discourse on Higher Education in Denmark: From Enlightened Citizen to Homo Economicus

Science.gov (United States)

Vingaard Johansen, Ulrik; Knudsen, Frederik B.; Engelbrecht Kristoffersen, Christian; Stellfeld Rasmussen, Joakim; Saaby Steffen, Emil; Sund, Kristian J.

2017-01-01

The literature on higher education policy points to changes in the dominant discourse over the years. In particular, the ascendance of a discourse marked by concepts of new public management, using language inspired by neoclassical economic theory which characterizes education as a marketplace where students are customers, has led scholars to…

Alise's Small Stories: Indices of Identity Construction and of Resistance to the Discourse of Cognitive Impairment

Science.gov (United States)

Lenchuk, Iryna; Swain, Merrill

2010-01-01

In this paper, we discuss two types of discourse: the first one--the discourse of cognitive impairment of a long-term care facility (LTCF) reflected in the institution's language policy and in the language use of several caregivers of the LTCF; and the second one, the discourse of "small" stories (Bamberg and Georgakopoulou 2008) told by Alise, a…

A comparison in vivo dacron wool (Swank) and polyester mesh (Pall) micropore blood transfusion filters in the prevention of pulmonary microembolism associated with massive transfusion.

Science.gov (United States)

Barrett, J; Dhurandhar, H N; Miller, E; Litwin, M S

1975-01-01

Experiments were performed to compare the effectiveness in vivo of the two most widely used micropore blood transfusion filters in preventing detrimental physiologic changes associated with transfusion of microaggregate-containing blood. Exchange transfusion with stored blood having an elevated screen filtration pressure (SFP) through polyester mesh (Pall) filters (Group PM) was followed by decreases in arterial blood pH and O2 consumption, increases in arterial blood pyruvate and lactate concentrations, and a decrease in pulmonary DO2. The lungs of 5 of 6 animals revealed emboli far out in the pulmonary microcirculation. These changes did not occur in animals transfused through dacron wool (Swank) filters (Group DW). Even though an increase after transfusion in pulmonary Qs/Qt in Group PM did not achieve statistical significance when compared to pretransfusion Qs/Qt, it was significantly higher than that in animals in Group DW. Both filters removed considerable quantities of microaggregates; however, the polyester mesh (Pall) filters permitted passage of small microaggregates and development of ditrimental physiologic changes. Dacron wool (Swank) filters completely removed measurable microaggregates and detrimental changes did not occur. Images Fig. 1. Fig. 2. Fig. 3. PMID:242282

The formation of ‘policy truths’: Foucault and social policy discourse

OpenAIRE

Pickerden, Alex; Evans, Donna; Piggott, David

2015-01-01

Discuss current approaches to policy analysis Illustrate an alternative method for policy analysis influenced by the theoretical concepts of Michel Foucault Briefly analyse current research which has focused upon education policy and education reform in the United Kingdom (UK) Introduce the concept of ‘policy truths’ and explain how this idea can aid in the critique of neoliberal policies and neoliberal governmentality

The ‘Fear of Falling Behind Regime’ Embraces School Policy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Krejsler, John Benedicto

2018-01-01

This article maps key trajectories of how California and Texas have dealt with school policy since the 1990s. The twin purpose is, first, to shed light on the dynamics governing the formation of K-12 education policy in two influential but very different states, and second, to visualize...... the intensification of state–federal interaction that evolved into a national school discourse. The argument is that an overarching ‘fear of falling behind’ regime was a driving force in establishing a national school discourse by amalgamating standards-based education discourse with the previously dominant civil......-rights discourse. Drawing upon post-Foucauldian theory, the author demonstrates in analyses of policy documents, policy literature and other empirical material how documenting very different state contexts can shed light upon the forces at work in shaping the ambiguous balances between federal and state levels...

Civil Discourse in the Age of Social Media

Science.gov (United States)

Junco, Reynol; Chickering, Arthur W.

2010-01-01

For centuries, issues of civil discourse only arose concerning written and oral communication. But now, new technologies for communication and social interaction, particularly social media, have dramatically expanded the potential for human interaction. They generate significant challenges for institutional policies and practices to encourage and…

Identity-Forming Discourses: A Critical Discourse Analysis on Policy Making Processes Concerning English Language Teaching in Colombia

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Escobar Alméciga Wilder Yesid

2013-04-01

Full Text Available This article addresses a critical problem about asymmetrical power relationships and uneven conditions in English language education exerted via identity shaping discourses in the document Educación: Visión 2019 issued by the Colombian Ministry of National Education. The study follows the critical discourse analysis method. It characterizes discursive strategies which, in turn, unveil power structures, means of control, and subject positioning of submission and dominance inherent in three main categories: Being bilingual, being successful, and being Colombian. It concludes that discourses are being strategically employed by the Colombian Ministry of National Education to change or preserveideologies and to widen gaps between socio-economic groups to protect the interests of only a small segment of the population.Este reporte postula una problemática de relaciones desequilibradas de dominio, poder, control y de la desproporcionada distribución de recursos en la enseñanza del inglés en Colombia, lo cual es perpetrado por discursos que moldean la identidad, en el documento Educación: Visión 2019 publicado por el Ministerio de Educación Nacional de Colombia. El estudio sigue los principios del análisis crítico del discurso. Esta investigación caracteriza estrategias discursivas que a su vez develan estructuras de poder, medios de control, y posicionamiento de sumisión y dominio en tres categorías: ser bilingüe, ser exitoso y ser colombiano. El estudio sugiere que el Ministerio de Educación Nacional está empleando discursos para manipular ideologías y generar inequidad entre grupos sociales en tanto que protege los intereses de un segmento de la población exclusivamente. 

A dawning demand for a new cannabis policy: A study of Swedish online drug discussions.

Science.gov (United States)

Månsson, Josefin

2014-07-01

This study examines how online discussions on drug policy are formulating an oppositional cannabis discourse in an otherwise prohibitionist country like Sweden. The focus of the paper is to identify demands for an alternative cannabis policy as well as analysing how these demands are linked to governance. The empirical material is 56 discussion-threads from the online message-board Flashback Forum that were active during the first eight months of 2012. Discourse theory was used to locate the discourse, and governmentality theory was used to locate the political belonging of the discourse. On Flashback Forum demands for a new cannabis policy are articulated in opposition to Swedish prohibitionist discourse. The oppositional discourse is constructed around the nodal points cannabis, harm, state and freedom that fill legalisation/decriminalisation/liberalisation with meaning. The nodal points are surrounded by policy demands that get their meaning through the particular nodal. These demands originate from neo-liberal and welfarist political rationalities. Neo-liberal and welfarist demands are mixed, and participants are simultaneously asking for state and individual approaches to handle the cannabis issue. Swedish online discourse on cannabis widens the scope beyond the confines of drug policy to broader demands such as social justice, individual choice and increased welfare. These demands are not essentially linked together and many are politically contradictory. This is also significant for the discourse; it is not hegemonised by a political ideology. The discourse is negotiated between the neo-liberal version of an alternative policy demanding individual freedom, and the welfarist version demanding social responsibility. This implies the influence of the heritage from the social-democratic discourse, centred on state responsibility, which have been dominating Swedish politics in modern times. Consequently, this study refutes that the demand for a new cannabis

Environmental justice in Scotland: policy, pedagogy and praxis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scandrett, Eurig

2007-01-01

In the first decade of Scottish devolution, environmental justice became a significant component of environmental policy for the Scottish Executive, especially under First Minister Jack McConnell. This paper analyses how a discourse developed within policy narratives which separated environmental justice from economic growth and the interests of capital. In particular, it explores the role which research has played in justifying this discourse. By contrast, an alternative discourse has developed through reflexive and dialogical research associated with the praxis of the environmental organization Friends of the Earth Scotland. This alternative discourse is embedded in the embryonic environmental justice movement in Scotland, and identifies environmental justice as a social conflict which exposes negative externalities at the heart of economic development

Environmental justice in Scotland: policy, pedagogy and praxis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Scandrett, Eurig [Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh (United Kingdom)

2007-10-15

In the first decade of Scottish devolution, environmental justice became a significant component of environmental policy for the Scottish Executive, especially under First Minister Jack McConnell. This paper analyses how a discourse developed within policy narratives which separated environmental justice from economic growth and the interests of capital. In particular, it explores the role which research has played in justifying this discourse. By contrast, an alternative discourse has developed through reflexive and dialogical research associated with the praxis of the environmental organization Friends of the Earth Scotland. This alternative discourse is embedded in the embryonic environmental justice movement in Scotland, and identifies environmental justice as a social conflict which exposes negative externalities at the heart of economic development.

Lost in Translation: Tracing the Erasure of the Critical Dimension of a Radical Educational Discourse

Science.gov (United States)

Ackland, Aileen

2014-01-01

This article demonstrates that the presence of radical discourse in an educational field is not necessarily evidence of criticality in practice. Appropriated by policy and practitioners within a web of power relations, radical discourse may come to act on practice in ways which are antithetical to its theoretical origins. To illustrate this…

Canadian Drug Policy and the Reproduction of Indigenous Inequities

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Shelley G. Marshall

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Canada’s federal drug policy under the Harper government (2006 to present is “tough on crime” and dismissive of public health and harm reduction approaches to problematic drug use. Drawing on insights from discourse and critical race theories, and Bacchi’s (2009 poststructural policy analysis framework, problematic representations in Canada’s federal drug policy discourse are examined through proposed and passed legislation, government documents, and parliamentary speaker notes. These problem representations are situated within their social, historical, and colonial context to demonstrate how this policy is poised to intersect with persistent racial inequalities that position Indigenous peoples for involvement with illicit substances and markets, and racialized discourses and practices within law and law enforcement that perpetuate Indigenous over-representation in the criminal justice system.

Social mix policies in Paris: discourses, policies and social effects.

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Bacqué, Marie-Hélène; Fijalkow, Yankel; Launay, Lydie; Vermeersch, Stéphanie

2011-01-01

Since the 1980s, the issue of social mix has become a public policy category in France. Enshrined in legislation, yet remaining controversial, it represents a major premise on which housing policies have been reconfigured. The concept of social mix is essentially based on who lives where, but it is also evoked in the context of urban renewal schemes for social housing estates, as well as in relation to new-build developments. A study of the bases of social mix policies conducted in Paris since 2001 in the context of the embourgeoisement of the capital shows the fundamental role of social housing stock. The City Council has become involved in policy decisions about both the location and the allocation of social housing. Particular attention has been paid to the middle classes in the name of the principle of ‘balancing the population’. In order to measure the effects of the policy, this article relies on an analysis of two City of Paris schemes that have the stated intent of creating social mix. One of these schemes consists of redeveloping a working-class neighbourhood, Goutte d'Or, while the other involves the new acquisition of social housing in various more affluent neighbourhoods in the capital. This comparative study of the population shows that, whether in a neighbourhood poised for gentrification or in a more affluent neighbourhood, this policy has major effects on forms of local social cohesion, setting in motion individual trajectories and reshaping social and/or ethnic identities.

Discursos curriculares na disciplina escolar Química Curriculum discourses in school Chemistry

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Alice Casimiro Lopes

2005-08-01

Full Text Available Neste artigo, é defendido que a disciplina escolar é um híbrido de discursos curriculares. Para argumentar em favor dessa idéia, é analisado como textos na área de ensino de Química influenciam nas políticas de currículo, hibridizando discursos oficiais e outros discursos curriculares. São articuladas as discussões teóricas de Ball, sobre políticas de currículo, de Goodson, sobre disciplinas escolares, de Bernstein, sobre recontextualização, e de Canclini, sobre hibridismo.This paper defends the hybridism of curricular discourses in school subjects. To argue in favor of this idea, chemistry education's texts are analyzed to show the influence of curriculum policy in hybridizing the official discourses and other curricular discourses. The text draws on the analysis of Ball about curriculum policy, on Goodson's school subjects, on Bernsteins's recontextualization and Canclini's hybridism.

The Power of Discourse: Reflections on the Obstacles to Social Inclusion of Roma in Serbia

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Jelena Vidojević

2015-09-01

Full Text Available The authors explore the discourses around the exclusion of the Roma in Serbia in two dimensions: social welfare sector and media reports. The paper is structured around the presentation of dimensions contributing to multiple deprivation of Roma in society (from education to labor market participation, social welfare and health care, as well as housing; a review of public policies directed toward the improvement of their position; and analysis of the discourses on Roma within the contexts of the social welfare sector and media reporting. A review of related literature and public policy documents was followed by a qualitative analysis of media reports as well as a review of the secondary sources regarding media discourses on the Roma. This was followed by evidence gathered from semi-structured interviews and discussions with stakeholders in the social welfare sector. The main conclusions of the paper point to the mutual reinforcement of the discourses on the Roma in the social welfare sector and media reports, with their subsequent mutual contribution to social exclusion.

(MOthering: Feminist Motherhood, Neoliberal Discourses and the Other’

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Marianna Leite

2013-07-01

Full Text Available Feminist theory often gravitates around the rejection and recuperation of motherhood. The recuperation of feminist motherhood demonstrates the importance of understanding the duality between feminist motherhood and the patriarchal concept of motherhood. Here, I will argue that in recuperating motherhood, feminists and non-feminists alike should also acknowledge the coexisting realities that reject it. I am specifically thinking of feminist non-motherhood but also of feminist notions of pregnancy that reject motherhood. The mother without the maternal bond or even the 'falling out of motherhood after motherhood'. These, I think, as opposed to submissive realities and resistance strategies, represent a move away from patriarchal values and create a social reality that uses something else as a parameter. In order support my argument, I will rely on a case study analysing maternal health policies and strategies, in particular feminist activists' discourses related to maternal mortality in Brazil. The data collected during this fieldwork demonstrates the importance of acknowledging non-motherhood as crucial to radical constructions of feminist motherhood. The article concludes that, sadly, there is not such thing as a post-feminist society in Brazil. The Brazilian case study demonstrates that, in fact, public policies, and the discourses built around them, are still oriented towards a neoliberal re-packaging of patriarchy that partially co-opts feminist motherhood. That is, neoliberalism partially accepts feminist motherhood as a way to reject all other feminist claims. In this sense, it its crucial for feminists and non-feminists alike to acknowledge and accept all concepts of motherhood, positive and negative. That is, it is absolutely necessary to recognise '''the 'other' ' in order not to contribute to further marginalisation of non-motherhood attitudes as promoted by neoliberal policies and discourses.

The Root Extract of Gentiana macrophylla Pall. Alleviates Cardiac Apoptosis in Lupus Prone Mice.

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Chih-Yang Huang

Full Text Available The roots of the perennial herb Gentiana macrophylla Pall. (GM are known as Qinjiao, which has been used for centuries to treat systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE. However, little is known about the effects of GM on cholesterol-aggravated cardiac abnormalities in SLE, and the mechanisms thereof. This study investigates whether GM exhibits anti-apoptotic effects, focusing on the left ventricle (LV of NZB/W F1 mice fed with high-cholesterol diet. The morphology and apoptotic status of ventricular tissues were determined by microscopy and Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL assay. Levels of apoptotic biomarkers were determined by immunoblotting. The results thus obtained revealed that GM significantly reduced the cholesterol-aggravated apoptosis of LV in NZB/W F1 mice by suppressing both intrinsic and extrinsic apoptotic pathways. Additionally, GM significantly increased the cardiac insulin-like growth factors (IGF-1 survival signaling and anti-apoptotic proteins in LV tissues. Accordingly, GM is considered to be beneficial in alleviating cholesterol-aggravated cardiac damage in SLE, and therefore constitute an alternative treatment for SLE patients with cardiac abnormalities.

Total glucosides of Paeonia lactiflora Pall inhibit vascular endothelial growth factor-induced angiogenesis.

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Deng, Hui; Yan, Chunlin; Xiao, Tian; Yuan, Dingfen; Xu, Jinhua

2010-02-17

To evaluate the anti-angiogenesis effect of total glucosides of Paeonia lactiflora Pall. In this study, we determined the effect of TGP on the proliferation of human vascular endothelial cells through 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and fluorescence-activated cell sorting analysis. A migration assay and a tube formation assay were used to investigate the migration properties and tube formation abilities of human vascular endothelial cells after being treated with TGP. Furthermore, the in vivo anti-angiogenic ability of TGP was determined through a chick chorioallantoic membrane assay. TGP (12.5, 62.5, and 312.5 microg/ml) resulted in a dose-dependent reduction in the proliferation of endothelial cells. This inhibition effect began 6h after treatment and lasted at least 24h. Fluorescence-activated cell sorting analysis data showed an accumulation of cells in the G0/G1 phase of the cell cycle, which exhibited apoptotic features indicative of cell death. The migration properties and tube forming abilities of endothelial cells were dramatically inhibited by the TGP extract. Our results show that TGP can inhibit angiogenesis in vitro and in vivo. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Food for thought: Conditions for discourse reflection in the light of environmental assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Runhaar, Hens; Runhaar, Piety R.; Oegema, Tammo

2010-01-01

People tend to take notice of what is happening around them selectively. Discourses-frames through which actors give meaning to aspects of the world-act as built-in filters that distinguish relevant from irrelevant data. Use of knowledge generated by environmental assessments (EAs) in decision-making may be understood from this perspective. Environmental knowledge that is inconsistent with dominant discourses runs the risk of being ignored. Discourses on the value of EA as a tool for decision-making may have a similar effect. Stimulating decision-makers and stakeholders to critically reflect on and reconsider their discourses in the light of EAs-also known as frame reflection or policy learning-may enhance the probability that these assessments and the knowledge that they generate impact upon decision-making. Up to now little has been written about how discourse reflection in the context of EA can be promoted. Valuable inputs are fragmented over different bodies of literature. In this paper we draw from these bodies to identify favourable conditions for discourse reflection.

EXPLORING IMPLICIT META-DISCOURSE IN LEGAL DISCOURSE: AN ANALYSIS OF THE CHINESE AND AMERICAN CONSTITUTIONS

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Mengyu He

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Research in meta-discourse, particularly explicit meta-discourse or meta-discourse markers has contributed much knowledge on the discourse features of specialised genres. However, there are very few studies on implicit meta-discourse. The current study explores implicit meta-discourse in legal discourse by comparing the implicit interpersonal meta-discourse in the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China with the Constitution of the United States. The focus of the study is the use of implicit meta-discourse, particularly the grammatical meta-discourse in the legal discourse of two different languages and cultural groups. The findings demonstrate that there are similarities and differences in the use of implicit meta-discourse in the two constitutions. Within the context of language discourse, the findings of the current study suggest that legal discourse is distinctive in the use of implicit interpersonal meta-discourse, particularly in the way writers intrude into the discourse implicitly by certain key grammatical forms of meta-discourse. Despite the objectivity and rigour of legal discourse, the current study found that there is some level of subjectivity in such discourse, evident from the use of implicit meta-discourse.

Gender, Discourse, and "Gender and Discourse."

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Davis, Hayley

1997-01-01

A critic of Deborah Tannen's book "Gender and Discourse" responds to comments made about her critique, arguing that the book's analysis of the relationship of gender and discourse tends to seek, and perhaps force, explanations only in those terms. Another linguist's analysis of similar phenomena is found to be more rigorous. (MSE)

Disclosing discourses: biomedical and hospitality discourses in patient education materials.

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Öresland, Stina; Friberg, Febe; Määttä, Sylvia; Öhlen, Joakim

2015-09-01

Patient education materials have the potential to strengthen the health literacy of patients. Previous studies indicate that readability and suitability may be improved. The aim of this study was to explore and analyze discourses inherent in patient education materials since analysis of discourses could illuminate values and norms inherent in them. Clinics in Sweden that provided colorectal cancer surgery allowed access to written information and 'welcome letters' sent to patients. The material was analysed by means of discourse analysis, embedded in Derrida's approach of deconstruction. The analysis revealed a biomedical discourse and a hospitality discourse. In the biomedical discourse, the subject position of the personnel was interpreted as the messenger of medical information while that of the patients as the carrier of diagnoses and recipients of biomedical information. In the hospitality discourse, the subject position of the personnel was interpreted as hosts who invite and welcome the patients as guests. The study highlights the need to eliminate paternalism and fosters a critical reflective stance among professionals regarding power and paternalism inherent in health care communication. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Globalization, the Strong State and Education Policy: The Politics of Policy in Asia

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Lim, Leonel

2016-01-01

Much of the scholarship around the workings of education policy has focused on the global West and has taken for granted the state's limited abilities in the control of policies as both text and discourse. Drawing upon policy texts from the Singapore Ministry of Education and ethnographic data collected in a Singapore school, this paper explores…

Mediatizing Higher Education Policies: Discourses about Quality Education in the Media

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Cabalin, Cristian

2015-01-01

This article presents a critical-political discourse analysis of the media debate over quality assurance in higher education, which occurred in Chile after the 2011 student movement. Students criticized the privatization of higher education and the multiple flaws of this sector, which included corruption scandals during the process of quality…

Nutrition and sustainability: an emerging food policy discourse.

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Lang, Tim; Barling, David

2013-02-01

It is well known that food has a considerable environmental impact. Less attention has been given to mapping and analysing the emergence of policy responses. This paper contributes to that process. It summarises emerging policy development on nutrition and sustainability, and explores difficulties in their integration. The paper describes some policy thinking at national, European and international levels of governance. It points to the existence of particular policy hotspots such as meat and dairy, sustainable diets and waste. Understanding the environmental impact of food systems challenges nutrition science to draw upon traditions of thinking which have recently been fragmented. These perspectives (life sciences, social and environmental) are all required if policy engagement and clarification is to occur. Sustainability issues offer opportunities for nutrition science and scientists to play a more central role in the policy analysis of future food systems. The task of revising current nutrition policy advice to become sustainable diet advice needs to begin at national and international levels.

'Why don’t they just do what we tell them?’ Different alcohol prevention discourses in Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Elmeland, Karen; Kolind, Torsten

2012-01-01

In recent decades great focus has been placed on the excessive consumption of alcohol by young Danes. In this connection, Danish parents have been called upon by the national health authorities to function as prevention workers with a view to reducing their children’s alcohol intake. Parallel...... the prevention field: a public alcohol prevention discourse and an everyday discourse, respectively. The analysis is based on alcohol legislation, public health programmes and national alcohol recommendations, as well as on a qualitative study of a special Danish phenomenon: parties for young people organized...... by parents. In the two discourses alcohol consumption is presented differently. However, traditionally liberal Danish alcohol policy plays an important role in both: the central feature of this policy relies on individual control rather than on public regulation....

"Essential Cogs in the Innovation Machine": The Discourse of Innovation in Ontario Educational Reform

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Moffatt, Ken; Panitch, Melanie; Parada, Henry; Todd, Sarah; Barnoff, Lisa; Aslett, Jordan

2016-01-01

In this article the authors explore a Canadian example of how the language of innovation reproduces discourses of neoliberalism in postsecondary education policy documents. How innovation is defined and used in postsecondary education is explored through the analysis of international and regional policy documents. Through their research they ask…

Maintaining class, producing gender: enhancement discourses about amphetamine in entertainment media.

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McKenna, Stacey A

2011-11-01

Since the 1930s, amphetamine has been used for a variety of socially and medically condoned purposes including personal and performance enhancement. In the contemporary U.S., although amphetamine and its derivatives share a history, similar chemical composition, and physiological and psychiatric effects, they are typically treated and researched as two distinct groups: illegally produced methamphetamine and prescription amphetamine. This study is an examination of the social meanings of these categories and their users as represented in popular media. To complement existing research on drug discourses in popular news media, this study analysed entertainment media: ten novels, three seasons of Breaking Bad, six television episodes, and eight movies. Media were coded inductively and deductively using tenets of critical discourse analysis and rhetorical criticism. The author identified discourses about user subject positions and ideologies pertaining to enhancement-related motivations for use. Two important themes emerged from this analysis that construct amphetamine use and users in ways that reflect, legitimize and reproduce class and gender ideologies. First, discourses illustrate that distinct meanings of methamphetamine versus prescription amphetamine are linked to expectations about the respective socioeconomic class and social status of their users. Second, the discourses reflect gendered values and ideals about productivity and sexuality. In reality, American cultural and political-economic contexts may encourage the use of amphetamine to meet a variety of social expectations and economic needs. However, many policy and prevention efforts surrounding amphetamine use disproportionately target methamphetamine users and women. Because policy and prevention efforts can be influenced as much by social values as by data, it is important to examine the many arenas in which social values are produced and disseminated. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights

Net Neutrality: Media Discourses and Public Perception

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Christine Quail

2010-01-01

Full Text Available This paper analyzes media and public discourses surrounding net neutrality, with particular attention to public utility philosophy, from a critical perspective. The article suggests that further public education about net neutrality would be beneficial. The first portion of this paper provides a survey of the existing literature surrounding net neutrality, highlighting the contentious debate between market-based and public interest perspectives. In order to contextualize the debate, an overview of public utility philosophy is provided, shedding light on how the Internet can be conceptualized as a public good. Following this discussion, an analysis of mainstream media is presented, exploring how the media represents the issue of net neutrality and whether or not the Internet is discussed through the lens of public utility. To further examine how the net neutrality debate is being addressed, and to see the potential impacts of media discourses on the general public, the results of a focus group are reported and analyzed. Finally, a discussion assesses the implications of the net neutrality debate as presented through media discourses, highlighting the future of net neutrality as an important policy issue.

Why consider patients' preferences? A discourse analysis of clinical practice guideline developers.

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Boivin, Antoine; Green, Judith; van der Meulen, Jan; Légaré, France; Nolte, Ellen

2009-08-01

Several organizations are advocating for patients' preferences to be considered in clinical practice guideline development and implementation. However, lack of agreement on the goal and meaning of this policy curtails evaluation and development of patient involvement programs. To describe guideline developers' discourses on the goal of considering patients' preferences. Qualitative study using discourse analysis. 18 participants (patients, health professionals, and public health experts) from 2 groups of British guideline developers. Template analysis of semi-structured individual interviews was strengthened by active search for deviant cases, team debriefing, and member checking. All respondents supported the idea of taking account of patients' preferences in guidelines. Divergences with the goal and meaning of considering preferences were structured in 4 discourses: (1) The Governance discourse constructs guideline development as a rational process of synthesizing population data-including evidence on patients' preferences-to maximize public health within the constraints of available resources; (2) the Informed Decision discourse aims at fostering patients' choice by providing tailored information on the risks and benefits of interventions; (3) the Professional Care discourse insists on basing professionals' recommendations on the individual characteristics of patients; (4) The Consumer Advocacy discourse argues for greater political power and influence over guideline development and clinical decision making. The identified discourses provide a set of hypothesis on how patient involvement programs are expected to work, which could help clarify the goals pursued by guideline organizations and anchor further evaluation efforts.

‘Communities are where it all happens’: Tracing discourses of sustainability in the destatisation of adult literacy education in British Columbia, Canada

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Suzanne Smythe

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Using tools of critical discourse analysis and the concept of ‘strategic ambiguity’ (Eisenburg, 1984; Leitch & Davenport, 2007, the author traces the keyword ‘sustainability’ across the textual landscape of a literacy policy project in British Columbia, arguing that the ambiguity of the term sustainability allowed for consensus to coalesce around a policy project oriented to the destatisation (Jessop, 2002 of adult literacy education. The case suggests implications for how policy networks are “discourse-driven” and the importance for literacy educators and those in less powerful positions in a policy network to attend carefully to how words are used to gain consensus for controversial policy projects.

The Discourse on Multicultural Education in Finland: Education for Whom?

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Holm, Gunilla; Londen, Monica

2010-01-01

Finland is experiencing increased immigration and therefore increased cultural diversity in its schools. This paper examines the multicultural education discourse in Finland by analysing the national and municipal curricula for the comprehensive school, educational policy documents and teacher education curricula. The focus is on how multicultural…

Global Gender Discourses in Education: Evidence from Post-Genocide Rwanda

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Russell, Susan Garnett

2016-01-01

This paper investigates global gender policy discourses within the education realm in post-genocide Rwanda. Drawing on interview data from students in seven secondary schools and Unterhalter's gender framework (Unterhalter, Elaine. 2007. "Gender, Schooling and Global Social Justice." New York, NY: Routledge), I analyse the extent global…

People's opinion of climate policy. Popular support for climate policy alternatives in Norway

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marino, Sjoevaag Marit; Bjoerge, Nils Erik; Ericson, Torgeir; Garnaasjordet, Per Arild; Karlsen, Haakon T.; Randers; Joergen; Rees, Daniel

2012-01-01

How can we evaluate whether national climate policies are sufficient? Which moral principles should be the basis of our policy efforts? The answers to these questions are central to the development of any climate policy framework, but not always made explicit in daily political discourse. In this article we seek to redress this imbalance through a survey of popular opinion in Norway.(Author)

Discourse Futures and Discourse-to-Come

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

McIlvenny, Paul

assemblages, and ‘the future’, in order to develop a prefigurative discourse studies for social change that is relevant to the turbulent twenty first century. This exploration of key issues is illustrated with three case studies: (a) reality TV parenting programmes, (b) the “Earth Hour” global media campaign......, implementing and managing democratic social change and transformation, with an explicit focus on shaping a just future. Work in discourse studies will be compared and contrasted with contemporary ideas about governmentality, mobility, infrastructure, social movements, consumption practices, sociotechnical...... to profile in future research. This includes mapping the mediated discourses and social interactional encounters interleaved with the ever changing practices and powers of, for example, control, freedom, access, mobility, cleanliness, comfort, convenience, consumption, waste, recycling and reuse...

The organising vision for telehealth and telecare: discourse analysis.

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Greenhalgh, Trisha; Procter, Rob; Wherton, Joe; Sugarhood, Paul; Shaw, Sara

2012-01-01

To (1) map how different stakeholders understand telehealth and telecare technologies and (2) explore the implications for development and implementation of telehealth and telecare services. Discourse analysis. 68 publications representing diverse perspectives (academic, policy, service, commercial and lay) on telehealth and telecare plus field notes from 10 knowledge-sharing events. Following a familiarisation phase (browsing and informal interviews), we studied a systematic sample of texts in detail. Through repeated close reading, we identified assumptions, metaphors, storylines, scenarios, practices and rhetorical positions. We added successive findings to an emerging picture of the whole. Telehealth and telecare technologies featured prominently in texts on chronic illness and ageing. There was no coherent organising vision. Rather, four conflicting discourses were evident and engaged only minimally with one another's arguments. Modernist discourse presented a futuristic utopian vision in which assistive technologies, implemented at scale, would enable society to meet its moral obligations to older people by creating a safe 'smart' home environment where help was always at hand, while generating efficiency savings. Humanist discourse emphasised the uniqueness and moral worth of the individual and tailoring to personal and family context; it considered that technologies were only sometimes fit for purpose and could create as well as solve problems. Political economy discourse envisaged a techno-economic complex of powerful vested interests driving commodification of healthcare and diversion of public funds into private business. Change management discourse recognised the complicatedness of large-scale technology programmes and emphasised good project management and organisational processes. Introduction of telehealth and telecare is hampered because different stakeholders hold different assumptions, values and world views, 'talk past' each other and compete for

Critical Discourse Analysis. The Elaboration of a Problem Oriented Discourse Analytic Approach After Foucault

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Rainer Diaz-Bone

2006-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract: The German discourse researcher Siegfried JÄGER from Duisburg is the first to have published a German-language book about the methodology of discourse analysis after FOUCAULT. JÄGER integrates in his work the discourse analytic work of Jürgen LINK as well as the interdisciplinary discussion carried on in the discourse analytic journal "kultuRRevolution" (Journal for Applied Discourse Analysis. JÄGER and his co-workers were associated with the Duisburger Institute for Language Research and Social Research (DISS, see http://www.diss-duisburg.de/ for 20 years, developing discourse theory and the methodology of discourse analysis. The interview was done via e-mail. It depicts the discourse analytic approach of JÄGER and his co-workers following the works of FOUCAULT and LINK. The interview reconstructs JÄGERs vita and his academic career. Further topics of the interview are the agenda of JÄGERs discourse studies, methodological considerations, the (problematic relationship between FOUCAULDian discourse analysis and (discourses, linguistics, styles and organization of research and questions concerning applied discourse analytic research as a form of critical intervention. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs0603219

On discourse space modeling

OpenAIRE

Казыдуб, Надежда

2013-01-01

Discourse space is a complex structure that incorporates different levels and dimensions. The paper focuses on developing a multidisciplinary approach that is congruent to the complex character of the modern discourse. Two models of discourse space are proposed here. The Integrated Model reveals the interaction of different categorical mechanisms in the construction of the discourse space. The Evolutionary Model describes the historical roots of the modern discourse. It also reveals historica...

Social inclusion policy: Producing justice or retribution?

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Kym Macfarlane

2010-10-01

Full Text Available The notion of social inclusion has currently gained extraordinary credence in Australia. Policy incorporating social inclusion abounds across all discipline areas with the federal government for the first time instituting a government portfolio for this area, headed by the Deputy Prime Minister. Such a move indicates the importance of managing aspects of inclusion across all sectors, in a country where diversity abounds. However, this focus on inclusion can prove highly problematic, when it becomes such an integral part of policy formulation and of the assumptions, omissions and contradictions that policy produces. This paper examines how policy discourse produces ways of thinking about inclusion/exclusion. Using three vignettes, the author applies the theories of Michel Foucault to argue that the discursive production of such inclusive policy works to simultaneously exclude by categorising particular types of individuals and families as “proper” participants in society. The author contends that understandings of propriety relating to the inclusion/exclusion binary reinscribe each other, in ways that situate particular citizens outside of possibilities for “success” in social and systemic participation. Such understanding is highlighted by a conceptual examination of the ways in which discursively produced notions of propriety become normalised. Keywords: bricolage, discourse, authorised knowledge, imperative discourse, regimes of truth

"A good spot": Health promotion discourse, healthy cities and heterogeneity in contemporary Denmark.

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Larsen, Eva Ladekjaer; Manderson, Lenore

2009-06-01

Health promotion at a community level has gained popularity in recent decades within and outside academic environments. The health promotion discourse is part of a wider political discourse, aimed at empowering individuals to take control of their own lives and enabling them to be engaged, responsible and active citizens in their own communities. Key values of the discourse, deriving from a democratic and individualistic culture, are evident in how local authorities develop and implement policies aimed at promoting population health and wellbeing. In this article, we draw on data from a relatively poor multicultural Danish community incorporated in the WHO Healthy Cities Programme. We explore how key terms of the health promoting discourse are constructed, operationalized and resisted by different subgroups. The contradictions that emerge challenge how we comprehend communities in relation to safety and harmony, and how people within defined communities are involved in common community life.

Media Peace Discourse: Constraints, Concepts and Building Blocks

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Dov Shinar

2004-07-01

powerful status of the media in international relations to overcome negative peace-related attitudes; on increasing the news-value of peace coverage rather than undertaking missionary efforts to change media structures and professional codes of conduct; on devising professional policies that might reduce media self-manipulation and similar pressures; and on creating and “marketing” a media peace discourse with satisfactory news value based on innovative projects, and on the appropriate application of existing findings.

Commentary: Does a linear-received policy of condom promotion ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

-prevention policies that promote condoms. I examine how discourse on condom policy has been used to depict condom-promotion policies as inherently simple and rational, scientifically and economically sound, and, by implication, neutral ...

[Why are we the way we are? Discourses and power relations in nurses' professional identity in Spain (1956-1976)].

Science.gov (United States)

Miró-Bonet, Margalida; Gastaldo, Denise; Gallego-Camineroa, Gloria

2008-01-01

To explore the continuities, transformations and ruptures in the discourses building the social identity of nurses in Spain between 1956 and 1976. From a poststructuralist and postfeminist perspective, we carried out a genealogical discourse analysis of the manuals of professional morals used during the training of nurses. Analysis of the manuals revealed that the professional identity of nurses was constituted by a discoursive matrix and power relations, in which a residual Christian moral discourse and other dominant gender, technical and biomedical discourses can be identified. These discourses fundamentally highlight power relations of a disciplinary and pastoral nature. Some of these discourses have brought about a symbolic matrix which remains in the foundations of professional practice, health policies, social image, etc. The hegemony of these discourses for 20 years and the observation of current reality allow us to infer that nurses in Spain have managed to transform and break many of these elements and to propose other ways of viewing the profession.

People's opinion of climate policy. Popular support for climate policy alternatives in Norway

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Marino, Sjoevaag Marit; Bjoerge, Nils Erik; Ericson, Torgeir; Garnaasjordet, Per Arild; Karlsen, Haakon T.; Randers; Joergen; Rees, Daniel

2012-07-01

How can we evaluate whether national climate policies are sufficient? Which moral principles should be the basis of our policy efforts? The answers to these questions are central to the development of any climate policy framework, but not always made explicit in daily political discourse. In this article we seek to redress this imbalance through a survey of popular opinion in Norway.(Author)

Decolonializing Discourse

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Alvesson, Mats; Kärreman, Dan

2011-01-01

identifies three particular problems prevalent in the current organizational discourse literature: reductionism, overpacking, and colonization and suggests three analytical strategies to overcome these problems: counter-balancing concepts — aiming to avoid seeing ‘everything’ as discourse — relativizing...

The 2011 Estonian High School Language Reform in the Context of Critical Language Policy and Planning

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Skerrett, Delaney Michael

2014-01-01

This paper seeks to situate Estonian language use and policy within the emerging field of critical language policy and planning (CLPP) by investigating the discourses that frame linguistic behaviour. This done by way of an analysis of a series of interviews carried out with key actors in language policy in Estonia. The discourses framing language…

[Preclinical study of immunocorrection action of the sum of active substances of Coluria geoides (Pall.) Ledeb. (Rosaceae)].

Science.gov (United States)

Dutova, S V; Karpova, M R; Myadelets, M A; Myasnaya, N V; Sherstoboev, E Yu

2015-01-01

A preclinical study of the immunocorrection action of the sum of active substances isolated from ethereal-oil plants Coluria geoides (Pall.) Ledeb. (Rosaceae family) with respect to experimental immunodeficiency showed that preparations relieve symptoms of immunodeficiency caused by the administration of cyclophosphan: suppressed synthesis of anti-erythrocyte antibodies (agglutinine) and proliferative processes in the spleen. Under the influence of C. geoides preparations, the absolute numbers of cariocytes and antibody forming cells in spleen significantly increased (compared to the group of animals with experimental immunodeficiency) and in some cases reached the background level. The drugs studied produced a more pronounced stimulating effect on the synthesis of specific immunoglobulins and proliferation of antibody forming cells of spleen as compared to the effect of Echinacea tincture. Preparation C-2 (extract from underground organs and grass of C. geoides obtained by percolation method with 70% ethanol) is most promising for in-depth research and the development of new effective drugs with immunocorrecting properties.

The Role of Policy in Constructing the Peripheral Scientist in the Era of Globalization

Science.gov (United States)

Englander, Karen; Uzuner-Smith, Sedef

2013-01-01

This study explores how the logic and values of globalization are manifested in international discourses of higher education in relation to scientific knowledge production and how those values are appropriated in national and institutional policies. This study also explores how this confluence of discourses and policies construct scientists in two…

EuroVisions in School Policy and the Knowledge Economy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Krejsler, John Benedicto

2018-01-01

by means of discursive imaginaries – the Knowledge Economy discourse in particular. As a result, discourses about the purpose of school, what counts as public good, and – by implication – teacher education, are fundamentally transformed. The transnational turn in European school and education policy...

Governance and Development: Changing EU Policies

NARCIS (Netherlands)

W. Hout (Wil)

2010-01-01

textabstractAbstract This introductory article to the special issue on European Union, development policies and governance discusses how notions of ('good') governance have come to dominate development discourses and policies since the mid-1990s. The article argues that governance was part of the

The joint discourse 'reflexive sustainable development'. From weak towards strong sustainable development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nilsen, Heidi Rapp

2010-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to contribute towards moving the predominant situation of weak sustainable development (WSD) in the direction of strong sustainable development (SSD). More people - academics, politicians, bureaucrats and laymen alike - need to recognize SSD as an alternative to WSD. A joint discourse of WSD and SSD is suggested, called reflexive sustainable development. Here, advocates of WSD and SSD must argue for each specific case why their solution is better. This will expose, amongst other things, the ethical foundations which form part of resulting policy advice. Reflexive sustainable development is to be framed in discourse ethics, thereby remedying the power imbalance and allowing for substantial discussion. Reflexive sustainable development builds on a common theoretical base but will not lead to consensus in all matters. A family metaphor is introduced to inspire a discourse of both consensus and compromise. (author)

Analysis of European Discourses on Adult Education and Training and Lifelong Learning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Manuela Terrasêca

2011-10-01

Full Text Available In the most recent years, the European Union published a set of documents with diverse statutes that have been setting the agenda of the so-called "European dimension of education", in particular concerning to education, training and lifelong learning. Several analyses are being produced on these European discourses with emphasis on the criticism about: i its political pragmatism (Canário, R., 2003, ii its vocational bias, iii the transformation of State, Work and Citizenship relations induced by these European texts (Lima, L., 2003, Medina, T., 2002. In this article the authors intend to identify and to characterize the “profiles” of Citizen, State and Labor that emerge from the European discourses. The aim is to highlight how these discourses produce and induce a legitimate framework and meaning for the field and policies on adult education.

FRAMING OF JOURNALISM DISCOURSE TO IMPROVE DISCOURSE COMPETENCE OF SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

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Dadang S. Anshori

2017-12-01

Full Text Available This study aims to describe the analysis model of framing on journalism discourse in Indonesian textbooks in Senior High School to be used in language learning. This research used qualitative method with framing theory from Pan and Kosicki as an tool of analysis. The research data is journalism discourse in textbook amounted to 30 pieces of discourse taken from 10 text books of class X, XI, and XII in Senior High School. The results show the following: (1 The discourse of journalism has received acceptance in the world of education, especially in textbooks. The use of journalism discourse in 10 textbooks is very high and very diverse in terms of number, topic, source, and usage. (2 The journalism discourse in the textbook meets the criteria of reporting value, even if not all reporting value is fulfilled. (3 The frame construction of the journalism discourse in Indonesian textbooks is packaged in different angles according to news topics and facts. (4 The analysis model of journalism discourse framing is developed by focusing on the structural analysis of category, syntax, script, thematic, diction/phrase, and rhetoric.

TEACHER-STUDENTS DISCOURSE IN ENGLISH TEACHING AT HIGH SCHOOL (CLASSROOM DISCOURSE ANALYSIS

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Alamsyah Harahap

2015-12-01

Full Text Available English classroom's process of teaching and learning is an important aspect of successful English teaching and learning. The analysis of classroom discourse is a very important form which the classroom process research has taken place. The present study focuses on SMA (high school English classroom discourse. The microethnography of Spradley was the research method deployed. Through a detailed description and analysis of the collected data referring to Sinclair and Coulthard’s classroom discourse analysis model, the problem of patterns of the classroom discourse is made clear. On the basis of the discourse patterns' problem found, a few strategies for high school English teachers are put forward through the teacher training in order to improve English teaching and learning at high school in Indonesia. The research results showed that teacher talk highly dominated the English classroom discourse; 94% of teacher-students talk. IRF Model of Sinclair and Coulthard was not found in the English classroom (only IF pattern and no lesson achieved.

Public Discourse in Energy Policy Decision-Making: Final Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Idaho Citizen; Eileen DeShazo; John Freemuth; Tina Giannini; Troy Hall; Ann Hunter; Jeffrey C. Joe; Michael Louis; Carole Nemnich; Jennie Newman; Steven J. Piet; Stephen Sorensen; Paulina Starkey; Kendelle Vogt; Patrick Wilson

2010-08-01

The ground is littered with projects that failed because of strong public opposition, including natural gas and coal power plants proposed in Idaho over the past several years. This joint project , of the Idaho National Laboratory, Boise State University, Idaho State University and University of Idaho has aimed to add to the tool box to reduce project risk through encouraging the public to engage in more critical thought and be more actively involved in public or social issues. Early in a project, project managers and decision-makers can talk with no one, pro and con stakeholder groups, or members of the public. Experience has shown that talking with no one outside of the project incurs high risk because opposition stakeholders have many means to stop most (if not all) energy projects. Talking with organized stakeholder groups provides some risk reduction from mutual learning, but organized groups tend not to change positions except under conditions of a negotiated settlement. Achieving a negotiated settlement may be impossible. Furthermore, opposition often arises outside pre-existing groups. Standard public polling provides some information but does not reveal underlying motivations, intensity of attitudes, etc. Improved methods are needed that probe deeper into stakeholder (organized groups and members of the public) values and beliefs/heuristics to increase the potential for change of opinions and/or out-of-box solutions. The term “heuristics” refers to the mental short-cuts, underlying beliefs, and paradigms that everyone uses to filter and interpret information, to interpret what is around us, and to guide our actions and decisions. This document is the final report of a 3-year effort to test different public discourse methods in the subject area of energy policy decision-making. We analyzed 504 mail-in surveys and 80 participants in groups on the Boise State University campus for their preference, financial support, and evaluations of eight attributes

Media discourses of low carbon housing: The marginalisation of social and behavioural dimensions within the British broadsheet press.

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Cherry, Catherine; Hopfe, Christina; MacGillivray, Brian; Pidgeon, Nick

2015-04-01

Decarbonising housing is a key UK government policy to mitigate climate change. Using discourse analysis, we assess how low carbon housing is portrayed within British broadsheet media. Three distinct storylines were identified. Dominating the discourse, Zero carbon housing promotes new-build, low carbon houses as offering high technology solutions to the climate problem. Retrofitting homes emphasises the need to reduce emissions within existing housing, tackling both climate change and rising fuel prices. A more marginal discourse, Sustainable living, frames low carbon houses as related to individual identities and 'off-grid' or greener lifestyles. Our analysis demonstrates that technical and economic paradigms dominate media discourse on low carbon housing, marginalising social and behavioural aspects. © The Author(s) 2013.

Information Flow and Health Policy Literacy: The Role of the Media

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Sophya Yumakulov

2012-08-01

Full Text Available People increasingly can and want to obtain and generate health information themselves. With the increasing do-it-yourself sentiment comes also the desire to be more involved in one’s health care decisions. Patient driven health-care and health research models are emerging; terms such as participatory medicine and quantified-self are visible increasingly. Given the health consumer’s desire to be more involved in health data generation and health care decision making processes the authors submit that it is important to be health policy literate, to understanding how health policies are developed, what themes are discussed among health policy researchers and policy makers, to understand how ones demands would be discussed within health policy discourses. The public increasingly obtains their knowledge through the internet by searching web browsers for keywords. Question is whether the “health consumer” to come has knowledge of key terms defining key health policy discourses which would enable them to perform targeted searches for health policy literature relevant to their situation. The authors found that key health policy terms are virtually absent from printed and online news media which begs the question how the “health consumer” might learn about key health policy terms needed for web based searches that would allow the “health consumer” to access health policy discourses relevant to them.

Worship Discourse and White Race-based Policy Attitudes

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Brown, R. Khari; Kaiser, Angela; Jackson, James S.

2014-01-01

The current study relies upon the 2004 National Politics Study to examine the association between exposure to race-based messages within places of worship and White race-based policy attitudes. The present study challenges the notion that, for White Americans, religiosity inevitably leads to racial prejudice. Rather, we argue, as others have, that religion exists on a continuum that spans from reinforcing to challenging the status quo of social inequality. Our findings suggests that the extent to which Whites discuss race along with the potential need for public policy solutions to address racial inequality within worship spaces, worship attendance contributes to support for public policies aimed at reducing racial inequality. On the other hand, apolitical and non-structural racial discussions within worship settings do seemingly little to move many Whites to challenge dominant idealistic perceptions of race that eschews public policy interventions as solutions to racial inequality. PMID:25324579

Religious Discrimination Discourse in the Mono-Cultural School: The Case of Poland

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Anczyk, Adam; Grzymala-Moszczynska, Joanna

2018-01-01

The article forms an analysis of the religious discrimination discourse in Polish public schools, with special attention paid to the culturally specific, Polish understanding of the notion of religious discrimination. The introductory part presents the concept of religious discrimination as present in anti-discriminatory policies. The following…

State risk discourse and the regulatory preservation of traditional medicine knowledge: The case of acupuncture in Ontario, Canada.

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Ijaz, Nadine; Boon, Heather; Muzzin, Linda; Welsh, Sandy

2016-12-01

Several United Nations bodies have advised countries to actively preserve Traditional Medicine (TM) knowledge and prevent its misappropriation in regulatory structures. To help advance decision-making around this complex regulatory issue, we examine the relationship between risk discourse, epistemology and policy. This study presents a critical, postcolonial analysis of divergent risk discourses elaborated in two contrasting Ontario (Canada) government reports preceding that jurisdiction's regulation of acupuncture, the world's most widely practised TM therapy. The earlier (1996) report, produced when Ontario's regulatory lobby was largely comprised of Chinese medicine practitioners, presents a risk discourse inclusive of biomedical and TM knowledge claims, emphasizing the principle of regulatory 'equity' as well as historical and sociocultural considerations. Reflecting the interests of an increasingly biomedical practitioner lobby, the later (2001) report uses implicit discursive means to exclusively privilege Western scientific perspectives on risk. This report's policy recommendations, we argue, suggest misappropriation of TM knowledge. We advise regulators to consider equitable adaptations to existing policy structures, and to explicitly include TM evidentiary perspectives in their pre-regulatory assessments. Copyright © 2016 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

A Critique of Water Scarcity Discourses in Educational Policy and Textbooks in Jordan

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Hussein, Hussam

2018-01-01

This article investigates the representation of water scarcity in Jordanian textbooks to understand its role on improving education on environmental sustainability. People's understanding of an issue guides their actions toward finding and implementing appropriate solutions to what they perceive as a problem. Discourses are key in constructing…

Policies and Practices in Educational Gerontology in Taiwan

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Lin, Yi-Yin; Huang, Chin-Shan

2013-01-01

Policy on educational gerontology seems a relatively recent subfield in most countries' social policies. The concept of education for older adults did not appear in Taiwan's political discourse until 1980. The purposes of this paper are to provide an overall introduction to the development of educational gerontology policies and practices in…

Exclusive Minilateralism: An Emerging Discourse within International Climate Change Governance?

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Jeffrey Scott McGee

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Over the past five years there have been a series of significant international climate change agreements involving only elite state actors. The Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate, APEC Sydney Leaders Declaration and US Major Economies Process all displayed a shift towards a model of international climate change governance involving a small group of economically powerful states, to the exclusion of less powerful states and environmental NGOs. The modest result from the UNFCCC COP 15 meeting in Copenhagen in December 2009 and subsequent UNFCCC meetings has strengthened calls for international climate governance to be pared down to smaller decision making forums of key states only. This article argues that these developments evidence an emerging discourse of ‘exclusive minilateralism’ in international climate policy that is challenging the inclusive multilateral discourse that has formed the bedrock of international climate change governance since the inception of UN climate regime in the early 1990s. The exclusive minilateralism discourse offers a significant challenge to both the cosmopolitan and discursive democratic aspirations of international climate change governance. One response to the exclusive minilateral discourse is to reform the UNFCCC consensus-based decision making rule to provide the COP with greater ease of decision making on key issues relating to mitigation and adaptation. Another response is to more formally include the exclusive minilateralism discourse within the UNFCCC COP process. This could be achieved by forming a small peak body of states and key NGO groups to act as an influential advisor to the COP process on key issues requiring expedition and resolution.

Negotiating Discourses: Sixth-Grade Students' Use of Multiple Science Discourses during a Science Fair Presentation

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Gomez, Kimberley

2007-01-01

This study offers important insights into the coexistence of multiple discourses and the link between these discourses and science understanding. It offers concrete examples of students' movement between multiple discourses in sixth-grade science fair presentations, and shows how those multiple discourses in science practices illuminate students'…

Compromising Composition: Articulating Quality and Practice in Distance Education Policy.

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Carnegie, Teena A. M.

Policies exist in every aspect of people's lives from the landlord's policy on pets to the government's policy on literacy. As such, policy becomes the ideal place to begin to examine the articulation of distance education because policy inevitably marks the site where different kinds of political discourses and social practices intersect. By…

The intrusion of the discourse of economics into the clinical space III: economic rationalism and clinical effects.

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Plastow, Michael

2010-10-01

Language has always been a means of imposing political and economic dominance. The ascendancy of the discourse of economics is examined in the context of economic rationalism. Some of the effects of this discourse, both upon our services, as well as upon different modes of conceptualizing the therapeutic relationship, will be examined in this paper. The intensification of the use of terms from economics and management can be dated from the introduction of neo-liberal policies in our Western democracies, but the economic discourse circulates with a life of its own. The use of the language of economics and management has spread generally through our society. Thus, if the economic discourse is the language utilized by some clinicians, it is also to some degree the language adopted by our patients. It is proposed that the extension of the economic discourse into the clinical field is re-shaping the therapeutic relationship with our patients.

Use of the discourse analysis method to study current political practice (by the example of representation of the political leader image

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Frolova Nadezhda

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The potentialities in the application of the discourse analysis method to study a political discourse as a current political practice are shown. The authors, using the Foucault methodology, offer a sociological definition for the political discourse. It is the authors’ opinion that the approach mentioned allows investigating a political discourse as a practice for the formation of a certain reality, specific agents, institutions and organizations. A political discourse is a simulative dynamic model of political area where various subdiscourses interact, thus creating their own ideas of policy, symbols and images. Subdiscourses of political leaders become dominating. Inasmuch as a political discourse in a current political system is carried out with the aid of mass media, it could be considered as a media discourse of policy. The authors consider the representation as a basic mechanism for the formation of a political discourse, by the example of the representation of the image of V.V. Putin, the President of the Russian Federation. The representation of a political leader image in a political discourse has a number of peculiarities. It is carried out on the basis of certain principles with the aid of the system of political codes. Empiric investigations allowed making a conclusion that the main symbolic image for the Russian President is an image of a super-hero. It is the authors’ opinion, the image of V.V. Putin as a leader super-hero is determined by the specificity of the Russian political culture within the limits of which a leader is a center of power establishing an authoritarian style of ruling. The authors show the process of the political legitimacy displacement from the institutional level to the personal one by means of mass media. A political leader gains a status of a subject establishing moral, social and value reference points for the whole of the society.

Capitalist Discourse, Subjectivity and Lacanian Psychoanalysis

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Vanheule, Stijn

2016-01-01

This paper studies how subjectivity in capitalist culture can be characterized. Building on Lacan's later seminars XVI, XVII, XVIII, and XIX, the author first outlines Lacan's general discourse theory, which includes four characteristic discourses: the discourse of the master, the discourse of the university, the discourse of the hysteric and the discourse of the analyst. Next, the author explores the subjectivity and the mode of dealing with jouissance and semblance, which is entailed in a fifth type of discourse, the capitalist discourse, discussed by Lacan (1972). Indeed, like the other discourses that Lacan discerns, the discourse of the capitalist can be thought of as a mode of dealing with the sexual non-rapport. It is argued that in the case of neurosis the discourse of the capitalist functions as an attempt to ignore the sexual non-rapport and the dimension of the unconscious. Psychosis, by contrast, is marked by an a priori exclusion from discourse. In that case, consumerist ways of relating to the other might offer a semblance, and thus the possibility of inventing a mode of relating to the other. Two clinical vignettes are presented to illustrate this perspective: one concerning the neurotic structure and one concerning the psychotic structure. PMID:28018280

Critical discourse analysis of social justice in nursing's foundational documents.

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Valderama-Wallace, Claire P

2017-07-01

Social inequities threaten the health of the global population. A superficial acknowledgement of social justice by nursing's foundational documents may limit the degree to which nurses view injustice as relevant to nursing practice and education. The purpose was to examine conceptualizations of social justice and connections to broader contexts in the most recent editions. Critical discourse analysis examines and uncovers dynamics related to power, language, and inequality within the American Nurses Association's Code of Ethics, Scope and Standards of Practice, and Social Policy Statement. This analysis found ongoing inconsistencies in conceptualizations of social justice. Although the Code of Ethics integrates concepts related to social justice far more than the other two, tension between professionalism and social change emerges. The discourse of professionalism renders interrelated cultural, social, economic, historical, and political contexts nearly invisible. Greater consistency would provide a clearer path for nurses to mobilize and engage in the courageous work necessary to address social injustice. These findings also call for an examination of how nurses can critique and use the power and privilege of professionalism to amplify the connection between social institutions and health equity in nursing education, practice, and policy development. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

DISCOURSE STYLISTICS AS CONTEXTUALIZED STYLISTICS

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Marina Katnić-Bakaršić

2003-01-01

The focus of the paper is on discourse stylistics, viewed as contextualized discipline. Context includes various factors (sociohistorical, cognitive, cultural and intertextual). The paper investigates the most important approaches to discourse stylistics: pragmatic stylistics, discourse and/ or conversational analysis, cognitive stylistics, critical stylistics, feminists stylistics. In discourse stylistics analysis is always combined with interpretation, and description is followed by explana...

The Soviet discourse on the origin and class character of Islam, 1923-1933

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kemper, M.

2009-01-01

The article examines the growing radicalization of the Marxist anti-Islamic discourse in the USSR as a case-study of "Soviet Orientalism". To which of Marx’s five socio-economic formations should Muslim society be assigned? During the relatively pluralistic period of the New Economic Policy

Lifelong Education and Lifelong Learning with Chinese Characteristics: A Critical Policy Discourse Analysis

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Shan, Hongxia

2017-01-01

Researchers in China have keenly explored how lifelong education and lifelong learning, as imports from "the West," may become localized in China, although a small chorus has also tried to revitalize Confucianism to bear on the field. This paper adds to this domain of discussion with a critical discourse analysis of Chinese lifelong…

Social Justice and Human Rights in Education Policy Discourse: Assessing Nelson Mandela's Legacy

Science.gov (United States)

Gebremedhin, Abrehet; Joshi, Devin

2016-01-01

Twenty years after South Africa's democratisation, Nelson Mandela's passing has prompted scholars to examine his legacy in various domains. Here we take a look at his legacy in education discourse. Tracing Mandela's thoughts and pronouncements on education we find two major emphases: a view of education as a practical means to economic…

Curriculum policies and teaching evaluation in the Ibero-American context

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Rosanne Evangelista Dias

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Teaching has become a central issue in the Ibero-American discourses for basic education, in order to attribute, as a privilege, to the teaching work the guarantee of students‟ school success and, consequently, reach quality in education. From such discourses, the policy texts have defended the production of evaluation policies aiming at controlling the curriculums of teaching education (initial and continuous development and action. In this paper, which is theoretically and methodologically guided by Ernesto Laclau‟s and Chantal Mouffe‟s Discourse Theory, I analyze the processes of discourse articulation present in the texts by Organização dos Estados Iberoamericanos – OEI (Ibero-American States Organization and UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, highlighting the significant performance as the focus of evaluation. In the analysis of discourses regarding teachers‟ education and work established as a target for the Ibero-American region, with focus on the professional performance, the competences gain importance as a model of curricular organization. I conclude pointing out that the attempts to control the teaching professional community regarding their education and work assign new roles, marked by accountability, to the teachers.

Sociology of Discourse

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Agustin, Oscar Garcia

Sociology of Discourse takes the perspective that collective actors like social movements are capable of creating social change from below by creating new institutions through alternative discourses. Institutionalization becomes a process of moving away from existing institutions towards creating...

DISCOURSE STYLISTICS AS CONTEXTUALIZED STYLISTICS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marina Katnić-Bakaršić

2003-01-01

Full Text Available The focus of the paper is on discourse stylistics, viewed as contextualized discipline. Context includes various factors (sociohistorical, cognitive, cultural and intertextual. The paper investigates the most important approaches to discourse stylistics: pragmatic stylistics, discourse and/ or conversational analysis, cognitive stylistics, critical stylistics, feminists stylistics. In discourse stylistics analysis is always combined with interpretation, and description is followed by explanation and critique.

"Indigenising" or "Interculturalising" Universities in Mexico?: Towards an Ethnography of Diversity Discourses and Practices inside the "Universidad Veracruzana Intercultural"

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Dietz, Gunther; Cortes, Laura Mateos

2011-01-01

Multicultural discourse has reached Latin American higher education in the form of a set of policies targeting indigenous peoples. These policies are strongly influenced by the transfer of European notions of "interculturality", which, in the Mexican context, are understood as positive interactions between members of minority and…

The national identities of the ‘death of multiculturalism’ discourse in Western Europe

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Ossewaarde, Marinus R.R.

2014-01-01

Since the late 1990s, multiculturalism is discussed, in newspapers more than in scientific discourses, as a public policy failure in West European nations. The Netherlands was one of the first to have declared multiculturalism ‘dead’. In the UK, the death of multiculturalism followed mainly from the

Outrage without Consequences? Post-Snowden Discourses and Governmental Practice in Germany

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Stefan Steiger

2017-03-01

Full Text Available In 2013 Edward Snowden’s disclosures of mass surveillance performed by US intelligence agencies seriously irritated politicians and citizens around the globe. This holds particularly true for privacy-sensitive communities in Germany. However, while the public was outraged, intelligence and security cooperation between the United States and Germany has been marked by continuity instead of disruption. The rather insubstantial debate over a so-called “No-Spy-Agreement” between the United States and Germany is just one telling example of the disconnect between public discourse and governmental action, as is the recent intelligence service regulation. This article considers why and where the “Snowden effect” has been lost on different discursive levels. We analyze and compare parliamentary and governmental discourses in the two years after the Snowden revelations by using the Sociology of Knowledge Approach to Discourse (SKAD to dissect the group-specific statements and interpretive schemes in 287 official documents by the German Bundestag, selected ministries and agencies within the policy subsystem. These will be analyzed in reference to actual governmental practice.

Human Rights Discourse in the Sustainable Development Agenda Avoids Obligations and Entitlements

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, Carmel; Blaiklock, Alison

2016-01-01

Our commentary on Forman et al paper explores their thesis that right to health language can frame global health policy responses. We examined human rights discourse in the outcome documents from three 2015 United Nations (UN) summits and found rights-related terms are used in all three. However, a deeper examination of the discourse finds the documents do not convey the obligations and entitlements of human rights and international human rights law. The documents contain little that can be used to empower the participation of those already left behind and to hold States and the private sector to account for their human rights duties. This is especially worrying in a neoliberal era. PMID:27285518

The Discourse of Parent Involvement in Special Education: A Critical Analysis Linking Policy Documents to the Experiences of Mothers

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Lai, Yuan; Vadeboncoeur, Jennifer A.

2013-01-01

Parent involvement is acknowledged as a crucial aspect of the education of students with special needs. However, the discourse of parent involvement represents parent involvement in limited ways, thereby controlling how and the extent to which parents can be involved in the education of their children. In this article, critical discourse analysis…

Discourse of 'transformational leadership' in infection control.

Science.gov (United States)

Koteyko, Nelya; Carter, Ronald

2008-10-01

The article explores the impact of the ;transformational leadership' style in the role of modern matron with regards to infection control practices. Policy and guidance on the modern matron role suggest that it is distinctive in its combination of management and clinical components, and in its reliance on transformational leadership. Senior nurses are therefore expected to motivate staff by creating high expectations, modelling appropriate behaviour, and providing personal attention to followers by giving respect and responsibility. In this article, we draw on policy documents and interview data to explore the potential impact of this new management style on infection control practices. Combining the techniques of discourse analysis and corpus linguistics, we identify examples where matrons appear to disassociate themselves from the role of ;an empowered manager' who has control over human and financial resources to resolve problems in infection control efficiently.

Transformation of Croatian Disabled Policy: Analysis of Policy Goals

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Ana Petek

2010-01-01

Full Text Available The article is based on the idea of transformation of the policy-making mode of Croatian disabled policy, from the medical model, through the social model to the human rights model. The paper highlights 7 elements according to which these models differ, and which are structured into categories of problem-definition, goal-determination and then implementation of disabled policy. The analysis is focused on the goals of Croatian disabled policy, and is based on an interdisciplinary research project of political science, special education and social work. Empirical data were collected by document analysis, by interviewing relevant policy actors and by a survey with the members of representative bodies on all government levels. With the discourse analysis of documents, open coding of interviews and statistical analysis of data collected in the survey, the paper attempts, through the indicator of activity of persons with disability, to answer to what extent Croatian disabled policy is transformed into human rights policy.

Implicit Discourse: Contributions to a Sociological Analysis

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Josep Espluga Trenc

2014-01-01

Full Text Available This article discusses the variety of types or dimensions of implicit discourse. Specifically, a typological characterisation is proposed, based on the intentions of the producer of the discourse, including a distinction between four basic dimensions: insinuated discourse, hidden discourse, ?failed? discourse and underlying discourse. Some examples are provided of each dimension, and then it is held that the proposed typology is useful for the sociological analysis of implicit discourse, that is, for its detection and interpretation.

School Curriculum, Globalisation and the Constitution of Policy Problems and Solutions

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Winter, Christine

2012-01-01

To varying degrees, education policy reforms around the world are driven by educational discourses relating to globalisation. At the same time, national and local histories, cultures and politics mediate the effects of globalisation discourses. This paper employs methods of analysis that draw on the concepts of "vernacular globalization"…

RHIZOME AND DISCOURSE OF INTERMEDIALITY

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Л Н Синельникова

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Rhizomaticity is a strategy and a regularity of text creation in a lot of modern commu-nicative discourse practices. What remains urgent is the problem of the systematic interdisciplinary de-scription of texts whose structure and language qualities are determined by the signs of the rhizome - a concept of post-modern philosophy introduced into the scientific field by the French philosopher Gilles Deleuze and the psychotherapist Félix Guattari (Deleuze, Guattari 1996. The rhizome (Fr. rhizome - rootstock, tuber, bulb, mycelium possesses the following qualities: it is non-linear, open and directed towards the unpredictability of discourse transformations through the possibilities of structure development in any direction; there is no centre or periphery in the rhizome, and any discourse element can become ‘a vital structure’ for text-creation. The rhizome does not have non-intersecting boundaries; and in the space of the rhizomatic discourse environment, an increase of reality facets takes place, non-standard associative con-nections appear, multiplication effects are formed, which create new meanings. Rhizomaticity is the quality of texts being organised by the laws of rhizomatic logic (V.F. Sharkov 2007, by the terms of which ‘su-perposition’ of discourses can take place, a transition from one semiotic system to another. The article makes an attempt to correlate the qualities of the rhizome with the signs of the intermedia discourse, which is built on the semiotic interaction of different media. The moving lines of the rhizome, its ‘branch-ing’ qualities can be found in poetic texts, in the evaluating segments of political discourse, in advertising discourse, in internet communications, which represent rhizomorphic environments. An analysis of examples from these spheres has shown that the rhizomatic approach opens new facets of intermediality. The author uses the methods of discourse analysis to prove that the openness and non

Discourse analysis and personal/professional development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boyes, C.

2004-01-01

The article discusses discourse analysis and its relevance to personal and professional development, drawing on elements of social theory. Related terms such as text, discourse and genre are defined and social theoretical implications explored. Practical application of discourse analysis to CPD is illustrated. A case is developed for understanding contemporary practice and the construction of personal and professional identity through discourse. Understanding discourse is presented as an enabling structure for personal and professional development

An Investigation of Organizational and Regulatory Discourses of Workplace Bullying.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Susan L; Boutain, Doris M; Tsai, Jenny H-C; de Castro, Arnold B

2015-10-01

Organizations use policies to set standards for employee behaviors. Although many organizations have policies that address workplace bullying, previous studies have found that these policies affect neither workplace bullying for targets who are seeking assistance in ending the behaviors nor managers who must address incidents of bullying. This article presents the findings of a study that used critical discourse analysis to examine the language used in policies written by health care organizations and regulatory agencies to regulate workplace bullying. The findings suggest that the discussion of workplace bullying overlaps with discussions of disruptive behaviors and harassment. This lack of conceptual clarity can create difficulty for managers in identifying, naming, and disciplining incidents of workplace bullying. The documents also primarily discussed workplace bullying as a patient safety concern. This language is in conflict with organizations attending to worker well-being with regard to workplace bullying. © 2015 The Author(s).

Ontario's Poverty Reduction Strategy: A Critical Discourse Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Benbow, Sarah; Gorlick, Carolyne; Forchuk, Cheryl; Ward-Griffin, Catherine; Berman, Helene

2016-01-01

This article overviews the second phase of a two-phase study which examined experiences of health and social exclusion among mothers experiencing homelessness in Ontario, Canada. A critical discourse analysis was employed to analyze the policy document, Realizing Our Potential: Ontario's Poverty Reduction Strategy, 2014-2019. In nursing, analysis of policy is an emerging form of scholarship, one that draws attention to the macro levels influencing health and health promotion, such as the social determinants of health, and the policies that impact them. The clear neo-liberal underpinnings, within the strategy, with a focus on productivity and labor market participation leave little room for an understanding of poverty reduction from a human rights perspective. Further, gender-neutrality rendered the poverty experienced by women, and mothers, invisible. Notably, there were a lack of deadlines, target dates, and thorough action and evaluation plans. Such absence troubles whether poverty reduction is truly a priority for the government, and society as a whole.

A glass half empty: Latina reproduction and public discourse

OpenAIRE

Chavez, LR

2004-01-01

Latina reproduction and fertility have become ground zero in a political war-not just of words, but of public policies and laws. This article builds on a theoretical framework that includes issues of stratified reproduction, which characterize some women as reproductive threats to society. From an examination of the discourse found in 10 national magazines over a 35-year period, beginning in 1965, emerge three interrelated themes concerning Latina reproductive threat: 1) high fertility and po...

Scientific discourse in educational research in Latin America: the case of Mexico

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Sara Julia Castellanos Quintero

2011-08-01

Full Text Available In this article it is presented the state of arts of the analysis of the scientific discourse in educational research in Mexico, particularly, in the curriculum design and development research. The development of the research in the area of university curricula started seriously in the decade of 80´s.The scientific discourse was oriented towards the searching of models and methods of teaching and evaluation, of the best way of the implementation of practicum and the correspondence between the professional formation and employment in the national context. In the other hand, the decade of 90´s is characterized by the influence of international educational policies, the use of CIT in the teaching-learning process, the appearance of more competitive occupational market, where professionals should be inserted. The scientific discourse was oriented towards the searching of curricular models that guarantee the correspondence between the professional formation and employment in the international framework. Nowadays an integral educational reform (RIE is taking place in Mexico where the competence approach is considered the guideline of the curriculum design in primary and secondary levels. Nevertheless, at the university level, different curriculum models are being implemented. This speaks about the diversity of the scientific discourse used in the curriculum research in Mexico.

Modeling Narrative Discourse

Science.gov (United States)

Elson, David K.

2012-01-01

This thesis describes new approaches to the formal modeling of narrative discourse. Although narratives of all kinds are ubiquitous in daily life, contemporary text processing techniques typically do not leverage the aspects that separate narrative from expository discourse. We describe two approaches to the problem. The first approach considers…

The Naivasha Language Policy: The Language of Politics and the Politics of Language in the Sudan

Science.gov (United States)

Abdelhay, Ashraf Kamal; Makoni, Busi; Makoni, Sinfree Bullock

2011-01-01

This article provides a textual analysis of the Naivasha language provisions in Sudan in an attempt to explore how political discourse is manifested in each policy statement. Using Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) as an analytic and interpretive framework, the article argues that the Naivasha language provisions as political discourse are shaped…

Italy - A sustainable development discourse analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leconte, Arnaud; Lallemand, Xavier

2009-01-01

This paper investigates the Italian Discourse on Sustainable Development (SD). The 'mainstream political discourse', in line with the European guidelines, encompasses the three key SD dimensions (social, economic, and environmental dimensions), at least in theory. But, in practice, Italy is the country with the highest open infringements on EU environmental laws, as recently reflected by the scandalous waste management crises in the region of Naples. In the wake of the economic crises, the mainstream SD discourse is challenged by the environmentalist discourse, led by NGOs, the 'socio-religious discourse', focusing on a human SD, and by the 'alternative development' discourse, which opposes the capitalist system

The Framing of Abortion in the Czech Republic: How the Continuity of Discourse Prevents Institutional Change

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Dudová, Radka

2010-01-01

Roč. 46, č. 6 (2010), s. 945-975 ISSN 0038-0288 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z70280505 Keywords : abortion policy * body discourse * frame analysis Subject RIV: AO - Sociology, Demography Impact factor: 0.389, year: 2010

Discourse Analysis in Ethnographic Research.

Science.gov (United States)

Poole, Deborah

1990-01-01

Reviews the contribution of ethnographic research to discourse analysis, focusing on discourse practices as a reflection of cultural context; educational applications and the discontinuity issue; literacy as a focus of discourse-oriented ethnographic research; and implications for applied linguistics. A 9-citation annotated and a 50-citation…

Sociological Discourse(s) on Freedom

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bertilsson, Margareta

The concept of freedom is often thought of as antithetical to sociology. The discipline is more prone to detect and unveil forms of unfreedom, as Zygmunt Bauman (1988) has pointed out. The question remains if any academic discipline, however, including sociology can do away with the concept...... of freedom al together! In matters of science, the problem of determinism vs. chance and spontaneity is essential. Hence, freedom, in one sense or the other, is necessarily at bottom also of sociological discourse. This text is an attempt to map the predominant forms of freedom found in sociological...... discourses. While starting out with the classic liberal concept informing theories of modernity followed by the various critiques directed against liberalism, not the least the most recently occurring (Lyotard, Agamben), the aim here is to spot possible trajectories in our comprehension of freedom, also...

Discourse Functions of Kama in Arabic Journalistic Discourse from the Perspective of Rhetorical Structure Theory

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Asem Ayed Al-Khawaldeh

2018-05-01

Full Text Available The study aims at examining the functions of the discourse marker Kama in the Arabic journalistic discourse in the light of Rhetorical Structure Theory (RST proposed by Mann and Thompson (1987. To this end, the study compiled a small-scale corpus of journalistic discourse taken from two prominent Arabic news websites:  Aljazeera.net and Alarabia.net. The corpus covers three distinct sub-genres of journalistic discourse: opinion articles, news reports, and sport reports. The journalistic discourse is chosen on the basis that it is considered as the best representative of the contemporary written Arabic and it receives a wide readership in the Arabic-speaking countries. The motivation for the study is that although it is frequently used in the written form of Arabic (particularly in the language of Arabic media, the discourse marker kama is largely neglected and very few has been said about it in the present literature on Arabic discourse markers. The current findings show that kama is found to achieve 290 occurrences in the corpus under investigation. This obviously indicates that kama is commonly used in the language of Arabic journalistic discourse, which calls for paying attention to its usage in such a type of discourse. In the light of Rhetorical Structure Theory (RST proposed by Mann and Thompson (1987, kama was found to serve four common functions: elaboration (around 50 %, similarity (around 19 %, evidence (16 %, and exemplification (13 %. Two functions of kama (similarity and   exemplification are listed in RST while the other two are incorporated.

Inclusive Education Policies: Discourses of Difference, Diversity and Deficit

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Hardy, Ian; Woodcock, Stuart

2015-01-01

This paper provides an analysis of inclusive education policies across international, and Anglo-American national and provincial/state jurisdictions to reveal how policies discursively construct inclusion under current, increasingly neoliberal conditions. In making this case, the paper draws upon primary UNESCO and Organisation for Economic…

Discourse Communities--Local and Global.

Science.gov (United States)

Killingsworth, M. Jimmie

1992-01-01

Argues that rhetorical theory needs to keep alive competing concepts of discourse communities, so that alternatives exist in the description and analysis of discourse practices. Proposes distinguishing between two kinds of discourse communities--the local and the global--so that rhetorical analysis can achieve the necessary critical edge,…

E-Policy and higher education: from formulation to implementation ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

In so doing, I provide a basis for discourse about current international trends influencing e-policy in higher education. In conclusion an analysis of the government's (South Africa) e-policy and its impact on the e-policy of higher education is also provided. South African Journal of Higher Education Vol. 21 (6) 2008: pp. 643- ...

Lexical Discourse Analysis in Translation

Science.gov (United States)

Al Khotaba, Eissa; Al Tarawneh, Khaled

2015-01-01

Lexical Discourse very often depend on lexis. Lexical Discourse analysis, however, has not yet been given enough consideration of the phenomenon of translation. This paper investigates lexical discourse analysis in translation from one language to another. This qualitative study comprises 15 text translated by M.A. students at the Department of…

Hackathons, data and discourse: Convolutions of the data (logical

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Helen Thornham

2016-11-01

Full Text Available This paper draws together empirical findings from our study of hackathons in the UK with literature on big data through three interconnected frameworks: data as discourse, data as datalogical and data as materiality. We suggest not only that hackathons resonate the wider socio-technical and political constructions of (big data that are currently enacted in policy, education and the corporate sector (to name a few, but also that an investigation of hackathons reveals the extent to which ‘data’ operates as a powerful discursive tool; how the discourses (and politics of data mask and reveal a series of tropes pertaining to data; that the politics of data are routinely and simultaneously obscured and claimed with serious implications for expertise and knowledge; and that ultimately, and for the vast majority of hackathons we have attended, the discursive and material constructions of data serve to underpin rather than challenge existing power relations and politics.

CONSTRUCTING SERVICE DISCOURSES IN LITHUANIAN FAMILY SOCIAL WORK

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Roberta Motiečienė

2016-09-01

Full Text Available In this paper, family social work is constructed through the analysis of social service discourses from the social workers’ perspective. Recent research shows how social workers are dealing with complex and fluid issues, as well as the societal uncertainty in their work with families (e.g., Spratt, 2009; Menéndez et al., 2015. Based on earlier studies, it is vital to analyse family social work in different contextual settings. Societal, political and organisational contexts affect the preconditions of social work, but social work also needs to operate within structures (e.g., Pohjola et al., 2014. This paper provides insights into the Lithuanian family social work. The focus is on what kinds of features construct Socialinis darbas su šeima Roberta Motiečienė, Merja Laitinen 12 family social work by analysing social workers’ discourses. This analysis continues the research of Eidukevičiūtė (2013, who analysed family social work practices in transitional Lithuanian society. This researcher aimed to deepen the knowledge about child protection services in Lithuania, the father’s role in child care and the mother’s performance in it. According to Eidukevičiūtė (2013, social workers are still struggling in the field of family social work. This study continues the research tradition in the field of family social work, paying attention to the different contextual settings where family social work is conducted. The Lithuanian government has stated that family policy is a key component of its mandate where (Social Report, 2014. The Council of Social Work plays a very important role in providing guidance on how to implement the government’s policy in the field of family social work. The European Commission Council (2015 provides recommendations for the implementation of the 2015 National Reform Programme, which should concentrate on the people (30% of the total population who are at risk of poverty. The council recommends working on

Questioning the No-Touch Discourse in Physical Education from a Children's Rights Perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Öhman, Marie; Quennerstedt, Ann

2017-01-01

In this paper we question the rationality of "no-touch policies" and offer an alternative approach to the matter of physical contact between teachers and students in the context of physical education (PE) in schools. Earlier research has drawn attention to how a discourse of child protection is starting to affect how physical contact is…

Discourse analysis and Foucault's

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Jansen I.

2008-01-01

Full Text Available Discourse analysis is a method with up to now was less recognized in nursing science, althoughmore recently nursing scientists are discovering it for their purposes. However, several authors have criticized thatdiscourse analysis is often misinterpreted because of a lack of understanding of its theoretical backgrounds. In thisarticle, I reconstruct Foucault’s writings in his “Archaeology of Knowledge” to provide a theoretical base for futurearchaeological discourse analysis, which can be categorized as a socio-linguistic discourse analysis.

Destructiveness in Political Discourse

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Яна Александровна Волкова

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Destructiveness is among the fundamental discourse categories that play a significant role in the organization of communicative interaction and define the pragmatics of discourse; its study helps to understand some mechanisms and principles of communication, identify strategies and tactics used by a destructive communicative personality. The relevance of this study is determined by the increasing aggressiveness in various types of discourse, and, accordingly, by the need to extend the knowledge of destructive behavior of a communicative personality. The study is based on the theory of discourse-analysis and theory of destructiveness (Z. Harris, T. van Dijk, A. Buss, E. Fromm, D. Ponton, K. Hacker, R. Wodak. N. Arutyunova, V. Karasik, M. Makarov, E. Sheigal et al. Developing the theory of destructiveness and relying on Erich Fromm’s research (1973, we specify the concept of “destructiveness” in relation to the political discourse and compare it with the related concept of aggressiveness. The paper analyses the category of destructiveness in modern US political discourse, using excerpts from the speeches of the candidates for presidency of 2016. Particular attention is paid to the dominant destructive intention - to harm the reputation of the opponent and reduce his political chances, as well as to the functions of verbal aggression: on the one hand - to discredit the opponent, bring accusations, on the other hand - to poison the audience mind against him/her and arouse the feeling of danger posed by a political opponent. The analysis of verbal and nonverbal means of destructiveness in the US political discourse is carried out. The article concludes that abusive remarks of politicians do not result from spontaneous emotional outburst, but from an elaborated destructive strategy where the agonistic nature of political discourse stipulates the use of instrumental aggression (Buss, 1971 for the sake of the conquest of power, lowering the

Global and Local Discourses on Climate Change: A Perspective from the Concept of Embeddedness

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Jailab Kumar Rai

2011-04-01

Full Text Available Climate change has been becoming a major order of business of all including researchers and academics. This is known that global, national and local organizations, institutions and even the individuals are partaking into the issues with their own perspectives and skills of negotiations. Despite the series of international efforts and attempts, there are also a series of national concerns, efforts and attempts in combating against the effects of global climate change. This paper is an attempt to draw on the overview of contexts and concerns of international communities for combating global climate change and its discursive influence in national policy discourses. Moreover, the paper attempts to assess the local socio-cultural discourses and dynamics of climate change in relation to global and national discourses. Finally the paper highlights on how global and local climate change knowledge networks and epistemic communities either from political processes or the socio-economic fabrics are interrelated and determinant to each other. Keywords: climate change; discourses; embeddeness; dynamics; global; local DOI: 10.3126/dsaj.v4i0.4518 Dhaulagiri Journal of Sociology and Anthropology Vol.4 2010 pp.143-180

Discourse(s) of emotion within medical education: the ever-present absence.

Science.gov (United States)

McNaughton, Nancy

2013-01-01

Emotion in medical education rests between the idealised and the invisible, sitting uneasily at the intersection between objective fact and subjective values. Examining the different ways in which emotion is theorised within medical education is important for a number of reasons. Most significant is the possibility that ideas about emotion can inform a broader understanding of issues related to competency and professionalism. The current paper provides an overview of three prevailing discourses of emotion in medical education and the ways in which they activate particular professional expectations about emotion in practice. A Foucauldian critical discourse analysis of the medical education literature was carried out. Keywords, phrases and metaphors related to emotion were examined for their effects in shaping medical socialisation processes. Despite the increasing recognition over the last two decades of emotion as 'socially constructed', the view of emotion as individualised is deeply embedded in our language and conceptual frameworks. The discourses that inform our emotion talk and practice as teachers and health care professionals are important to consider for the effects they have on competence and professional identity, as well as on practitioner and patient well-being. Expanded knowledge of how emotion is 'put to work' within medical education can make visible the invisible and unexamined emotion schemas that serve to reproduce problematic professional behaviours. For this discussion, three main discourses of emotion will be identified: a physiological discourse in which emotion is described as located inside the individual as bodily states which are universally experienced; emotion as a form of competence related to skills and abilities, and a socio-cultural discourse which calls on conceptions from the humanities and social sciences and directs our attention to emotion's function in social exchanges and its role as a social, political and cultural mediator

Energy policy in Germany upon Fukushima. The impact of the nuclear accident on the German energy policy; Energiepolitik in Deutschland nach Fukushima. Der Einfluss des Atomungluecks auf die deutsche Energiepolitik

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wellnhofer, Martin

2012-11-01

The author of the book under consideration analyzes the media reports of the daily newspapers ''Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung'', ''Sueddeutsche Zeitung'' and ''Die Zeit'' with respect to the influence of the nuclear accident in Fukushima on the German energy policy. The author examines the background to the current energy policy debate. A holistic approach is used to understand the political decisions. The holistic approach describes the energy policy discourse since the beginning of the planned nuclear phase-out in the year 1998. Thus, the holistic approach is a prerequisite for a comparative analysis of the discourses.

The biomedical discourse relation bank

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Joshi Aravind

2011-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Identification of discourse relations, such as causal and contrastive relations, between situations mentioned in text is an important task for biomedical text-mining. A biomedical text corpus annotated with discourse relations would be very useful for developing and evaluating methods for biomedical discourse processing. However, little effort has been made to develop such an annotated resource. Results We have developed the Biomedical Discourse Relation Bank (BioDRB, in which we have annotated explicit and implicit discourse relations in 24 open-access full-text biomedical articles from the GENIA corpus. Guidelines for the annotation were adapted from the Penn Discourse TreeBank (PDTB, which has discourse relations annotated over open-domain news articles. We introduced new conventions and modifications to the sense classification. We report reliable inter-annotator agreement of over 80% for all sub-tasks. Experiments for identifying the sense of explicit discourse connectives show the connective itself as a highly reliable indicator for coarse sense classification (accuracy 90.9% and F1 score 0.89. These results are comparable to results obtained with the same classifier on the PDTB data. With more refined sense classification, there is degradation in performance (accuracy 69.2% and F1 score 0.28, mainly due to sparsity in the data. The size of the corpus was found to be sufficient for identifying the sense of explicit connectives, with classifier performance stabilizing at about 1900 training instances. Finally, the classifier performs poorly when trained on PDTB and tested on BioDRB (accuracy 54.5% and F1 score 0.57. Conclusion Our work shows that discourse relations can be reliably annotated in biomedical text. Coarse sense disambiguation of explicit connectives can be done with high reliability by using just the connective as a feature, but more refined sense classification requires either richer features or more

The Discourse of Chemistry (and Beyond)

OpenAIRE

Jesper Sjöström

2007-01-01

This paper discusses the mainstream discourse of chemistry and suggests a complementary discourse. On a disciplinary level, the discourse of chemistry is based on objectivism, rationalism, and molecular reductionism. On a societal level, the discourse is based on modernism. The aims of chemical research and education are often unclear, which nowadays often leads to an emphasis on the needs from industry. Integrating meta-perspectives (philosophical, historical, and socio-cultural) within chem...

Indigenous Languages and the Racial Hierarchisation of Language Policy in Canada

Science.gov (United States)

Haque, Eve; Patrick, Donna

2015-01-01

This paper addresses language policy and policy-making in Canada as forms of discourse produced and reproduced within systems of power and racial hierarchies. The analysis of indigenous language policy to be addressed here focuses on the historical, political and legal processes stemming from the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism…

A fully feminist foreign policy? : A postcolonial feminist analysis of Sweden's Feminist Foreign Policy

OpenAIRE

Nylund, Mia-Lie

2017-01-01

This thesis is a postcolonial feminist discourse analysis of Sweden’s Feminist Foreign Policy. Sweden’s Feminist Foreign Policy is unique to the world, but it is not the only case of incorporating a gender perspective as a central part of national or international politics. Feminism and gender perspectives are increasingly receiving attention and space in global politics. The Swedish case could therefore inform us about where politics are heading. Previous research on the Feminist Foreign Pol...

Seeking inclusion in an exclusive process: discourses of medical school student selection.

Science.gov (United States)

Razack, Saleem; Hodges, Brian; Steinert, Yvonne; Maguire, Mary

2015-01-01

Calls to increase medical class representativeness to better reflect the diversity of society represent a growing international trend. There is an inherent tension between these calls and competitive student selection processes driven by academic achievement. How is this tension manifested? Our three-phase interdisciplinary research programme focused on the discourses of excellence, equity and diversity in the medical school selection process, as conveyed by key stakeholders: (i) institutions and regulatory bodies (the websites of 17 medical schools and 15 policy documents from national regulatory bodies); (ii) admissions committee members (ACMs) (according to semi-structured interviews [n = 9]), and (iii) successful applicants (according to semi-structured interviews [n = 14]). The work is theoretically situated within the works of Foucault, Bourdieu and Bakhtin. The conceptual framework is supplemented by critical hermeneutics and the performance theories of Goffman. Academic excellence discourses consistently predominate over discourses calling for greater representativeness in medical classes. Policy addressing demographic representativeness in medicine may unwittingly contribute to the reproduction of historical patterns of exclusion of under-represented groups. In ACM selection practices, another discursive tension is exposed as the inherent privilege in the process is marked, challenging the ideal of medicine as a meritocracy. Applicants' representations of self in the 'performance' of interviewing demonstrate implicit recognition of the power inherent in the act of selection and are manifested in the use of explicit strategies to 'fit in'. How can this critical discourse analysis inform improved inclusiveness in student selection? Policymakers addressing diversity and equity issues in medical school admissions should explicitly recognise the power dynamics at play between the profession and marginalised groups. For greater inclusion and to avoid one

Architectural discourse

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Boeriis, Morten; Nørgaard, Nina

2013-01-01

Using a multimodal social semiotic perspective, this article presents an analysis of the University of Southern Denmark as a text with particular focus on discourse and framing (cf. van Leeuwen 2005). The university consists of an original part and more recent extensions. The article examines how...... the original and the new parts of the buildings respectively realize different discourses related to education and the educational system more generally, and in particular how framing plays an important role in this respect. While employing van Leeuwen’s system network for framing (2005: 18) for the analysis...

Fragmentation in Australian Commonwealth and South Australian State policy on mental health and older people: A governmentality analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Oster, Candice; Henderson, Julie; Lawn, Sharon; Reed, Richard; Dawson, Suzanne; Muir-Cochrane, Eimear; Fuller, Jeffrey

2016-01-01

Mental health care for older people is a significant and growing issue in Australia and internationally. This article describes how older people’s mental health is governed through policy discourse by examining Australian Commonwealth and South Australian State government policy documents, and commentaries from professional groups, advocacy groups and non-governmental organisations. Documents published between 2009 and 2014 were analysed using a governmentality approach, informed by Foucault. Discourses of ‘risk’, ‘ageing as decline/dependence’ and ‘healthy ageing’ were identified. Through these discourses, different neo-liberal governmental strategies are applied to ‘target’ groups according to varying risk judgements. Three policy approaches were identified where older people are (1) absent from policy, (2) governed as responsible, active citizens or (3) governed as passive recipients of health care. This fragmented policy response to older people’s mental health reflects fragmentation in the Australian policy environment. It constructs an ambiguous place for older people within neo-liberal governmental rationality, with significant effects on the health system, older people and their carers. PMID:27147440

Immense changes in traffic - Considerable stability in discourses. Road speed in Danish parliamentary documents 1900-2010

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Siren, Anu Kristiina; Sørensen, Claus Hedegaard

2015-01-01

: speed, individual rights and responsibilities; speed and safety; speed, policy measures, and law enforcement; and speed and other societal goals. While the transport system has undergone a massive change during the last 100 years, we found a considerable stability in the discourses regarding speed...

Environmental assessment in The Netherlands: Effectively governing environmental protection? A discourse analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Runhaar, Hens, E-mail: h.a.c.runhaar@uu.nl [Utrecht University, Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, P.O. Box 80,115, 3508 TC Utrecht (Netherlands); Laerhoven, Frank van, E-mail: vanLaerhoven@uu.nl [Utrecht University, Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, P.O. Box 80,115, 3508 TC Utrecht (Netherlands); Driessen, Peter, E-mail: p.driessen@uu.nl [Utrecht University, Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, P.O. Box 80,115, 3508 TC Utrecht (Netherlands); Arts, Jos, E-mail: e.j.m.m.arts@rug.nl [University of Groningen, Faculty of Planning, P.O. Box 800, 9700 AV Groningen (Netherlands)

2013-02-15

less consensual political cultures we may expect more extreme discourses on EA, the consequences of which are reflected upon in this paper. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The effectiveness of environmental assessment (EA) depends in part on meanings associated with EA (i.e., discourse). Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Our results suggest that the general discourse in The Netherlands is that EA is a legal requirement, nothing more. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer This discourse makes EA effective in protecting the environment, but not in the optimisation of environmental values. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer EA has a limited contribution to the development of policy alternatives or innovative solutions to environmental problems. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer There is a high consensus among EA professionals, providing a common ground for working with EA.

Environmental assessment in The Netherlands: Effectively governing environmental protection? A discourse analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Runhaar, Hens; Laerhoven, Frank van; Driessen, Peter; Arts, Jos

2013-01-01

consensual political cultures we may expect more extreme discourses on EA, the consequences of which are reflected upon in this paper. - Highlights: ►The effectiveness of environmental assessment (EA) depends in part on meanings associated with EA (i.e., discourse). ►Our results suggest that the general discourse in The Netherlands is that EA is a legal requirement, nothing more. ►This discourse makes EA effective in protecting the environment, but not in the optimisation of environmental values. ►EA has a limited contribution to the development of policy alternatives or innovative solutions to environmental problems. ►There is a high consensus among EA professionals, providing a common ground for working with EA.

Additional Workload or a Part of the Job? Icelandic Teachers' Discourse on Inclusive Education

Science.gov (United States)

Gunnþórsdóttir, Hermína; Jóhannesson, Ingólfur Ásgeir

2014-01-01

The aim of this article is to examine the discourse of Icelandic compulsory school teachers on inclusive education. From 1974 and onwards, the education policy in Iceland has been towards inclusion, and Iceland is considered to be an example of a highly inclusive education system with few segregated resources for students with special educational…

Discourses of Technology

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sommer, Jannek K.; Knudsen, Gry Høngsmark

In this poster we address consumption of technology from the perspective of failure. A large body of studies of consumption of technology have focused on consumer acceptance (Kozinets, 2008). These studies have identified particular narratives about social and economic progress, and pleasure...... (Kozinets, 2008) as drivers of consumer acceptance of new technology. Similarly, Giesler (2008) has conceptualized consumer acceptance of technology as a form of marketplace drama, in which market ideologies are negotiated between consumers and media discourses. We suggest to study discourses around failed...... technology products to explore the negotiation of the familiar and alien that makes consumers reject or embrace a new technology. Thus, this particular project sets out to analyze consumer discourses surrounding the Google Glass video “How it Feels [through Google Glass]” on YouTube, because we want...

Cultural Keywords in Discourse

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

contributes to a global turn in cultural keyword studies by exploring keywords from discourse communities in Australia, Brazil, Hong Kong, Japan, Melanesia, Mexico and Scandinavia. Providing new case studies, the volume showcases the diversity of ways in which cultural logics form and shape discourse...

Human Rights Discourse in the Sustainable Development Agenda Avoids Obligations and Entitlements Comment on "Rights Language in the Sustainable Development Agenda: Has Right to Health Discourse and Norms Shaped Health Goals?".

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, Carmel; Blaiklock, Alison

2016-03-05

Our commentary on Forman et al paper explores their thesis that right to health language can frame global health policy responses. We examined human rights discourse in the outcome documents from three 2015 United Nations (UN) summits and found rights-related terms are used in all three. However, a deeper examination of the discourse finds the documents do not convey the obligations and entitlements of human rights and international human rights law. The documents contain little that can be used to empower the participation of those already left behind and to hold States and the private sector to account for their human rights duties. This is especially worrying in a neoliberal era. © 2016 by Kerman University of Medical Sciences.

Human Rights Discourse in the Sustainable Development Agenda Avoids Obligations and Entitlements Comment on “Rights Language in the Sustainable Development Agenda: Has Right to Health Discourse and Norms Shaped Health Goals?”

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carmel Williams

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Our commentary on Forman et al paper explores their thesis that right to health language can frame global health policy responses. We examined human rights discourse in the outcome documents from three 2015 United Nations (UN summits and found rights-related terms are used in all three. However, a deeper examination of the discourse finds the documents do not convey the obligations and entitlements of human rights and international human rights law. The documents contain little that can be used to empower the participation of those already left behind and to hold States and the private sector to account for their human rights duties. This is especially worrying in a neoliberal era.

Discourse, Complexity, Normativity: Tracing the Elaboration of Foucault's Materialist Concept of Discourse

Science.gov (United States)

Olssen, Mark

2014-01-01

In this article, I want to suggest that it is through the elaboration of the concept of discourse that the differences between Foucault and thinkers like Habermas, Hegel and Marx can best be understood. Foucault progressively develops a conception of discourse as a purely historical category that resists all reference to transcendental principles…

Constructions of Social Inclusion within Australian Early Childhood Education and Care Policy Documents

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, Sandie; Turner, Kay

2014-01-01

Social inclusion discourses have been powerful in informing early childhood policy contexts, both internationally and in Australia (the context of the current study) for the past decade or so. But little research has examined the productive aspects of social inclusion discourses particularly within early childhood education and care (ECEC) policy…

Language shifts in free indirect discourse

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Maier, Emar

Free indirect discourse is a way of reporting what a protagonist thinks or says that is distinct from both direct and indirect discourse. In particular, while pronouns and tenses are presented from the narrator's perspective, as in indirect discourse, other indexical and expressive elements reflect

Forest policy and the global portrayal of forest-dwellers: Understanding the role of environmentalist discourses in Brazil and Malaysia

OpenAIRE

Bending, Tim; Rosendo, Sergio

2003-01-01

Critical development theory has understood development and global environ-mental management practice to be the expression of euro-centric discourse that constructs objects such as development and sustainability. Such discourse is presented as a Western or Northern creation and as something imposed on the South. In keeping with the imagery of North/South, centre/margins, top-down/ bottom-up, post-development work has seen marginalised people in the South as passive objects of this process but ...

Regulative environmental policy. Regulative Umweltpolitik

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Goerlitz, A; Voigt, R [Universitaet der Bundeswehr Muenchen, Neubiberg (Germany, F.R.). Fakultaet fuer Sozialwissenschaften; eds.

1991-01-01

Regulative policy means those governmental attempts to steer the course of things which can fall back on a certain repertoire of instruments for actions in order to warrant the causal and temporal connection between the making available and the employment of means. The fact that environmental protection needs regulative policy is substantiated by the thesis that the market has failed; consequently only government can manage the public goods 'environment' in a suitable way, and it is a matter of fact that environmental protection at present is operated preferably via regulative policy. The problems of regulative enviromental policy are manifold. Its implementation often miscarries because of limited administrative resources on the one hand - making sufficient control impossible for instance -, and because of poor quality regulative instruments on the other hand. One way out would be to increase the efficiency of regulative policy by sophisticating judicial techniques. Other ways out point to the executing level and aim at improving implementation strategies or are concerned with post-regulative law. The latter refers to a new legal quality which demonstrates itself already in corporatistical crisis regulation or in induction programs such as pollution limits. A final way out favours deregulation strategies which includes the introduction of environmental levies or the allocation of environmental licences. An interdisciplinary discourse is to find out what would happen if these ways were taken. Pointers to solutions from varying scientific disciplines resulting from this discourse are to be found in this volume. (orig./HSCH).

Arab Media Discourse: Breaking Taboos

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El Mustapha Lahlali

2016-01-01

Full Text Available This paper examines the development and change of Arab media discourse since mid-1990s. The paper looks at how the production and consumption of media discourse have changed dramatically in the Arab world over the last decade or so, notably in relation to taboos such as religion, governance and gender. The paper argues that transnational Arab media, particularly al-Jazeera, have contributed to this change by adopting a liberal and critical approach when dealing with Arab taboos. This change is clearly reflected in the new discourse adopted by both the Arab public and Arab media. Such a discourse practice shapes and is shaped by a new Arab social, cultural and political practice.

EXPLORING INTENTIONALITY. IDEOLOGICAL ROMANIAN MEDIA DISCOURSE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

LUMINIŢA ROŞCA

2014-05-01

Full Text Available This study examines the discursive practices of media “transition” from Romania 80’s and early 90’s in order to identify a pattern of the ideological discourse of transition. The pragmatic analysis is in line with recent studies that discuss media discourses in post-communist countries or “in transition” which led to new approaches and nuances of classical theories of the public sphere which we consider very important in the context of contemporary Romanian social discourse. The analysis of how to make the transition from “wooden language” to “informative discourse” of the Romanian media discourse focuses on intentionality describe in text linguistic as discursive component able to realize thematic choices, media discourse and attitude of media instances during the media process production. We also consider intentionality because it introduces in the discourse the component of journalist personality, with all that this may include: attitudes, training, professional conscience, and moral values. Understanding the mechanisms of intentionality in the media discourse production can lead to a more nuanced an complex understanding of the role of media in the production of meanings and the role of the journalist’s personality in media production

The opioid crisis: past, present and future policy climate in Ontario, Canada.

Science.gov (United States)

Morin, Kristen A; Eibl, Joseph K; Franklyn, Alexandra M; Marsh, David C

2017-11-02

Addressing opioid use disorder has become a priority in Ontario, Canada, because of its high economic, social and health burden. There continues to be stigma and criticism relating to opioid use disorder and treatment options. The result has been unsystematic, partial, reactive policies and programs developed based on divergent points of view. The aim of this manuscript is to describe how past and present understandings, narratives, ideologies and discourse of opioid use, have impacted policies over the course of the growing opioid crisis. Assessing the impact of policy is complex. It involves consideration of conceptual issues of what impacts policy change. In this manuscript we argue that the development of polices and initiatives regarding opioids, opioid use disorder and opioid agonist treatment in the last decade, have been more strongly associated with the evolution of ideas, narratives and discourses rather than research relating to opioids. We formulate our argument using a framework by Sumner, Crichton, Theobald, Zulu, and Parkhurs. We use examples from the Canadian context to outline our argument such as: the anti- drug legislation from the Canadian Federal Conservative government in 2007; the removal of OxyContin™ from the drug formulary in 2012; the rapid expansion of opioid agonist treatment beginning in the early 2000s, the unilateral decision made regarding fee cuts for physicians providing opioid agonist treatment in 2015; and the most recent implementation of a narcotics monitoring system, which are all closely linked with the shifts in public opinion and discourse at the time of which these policies and programs are implemented. We conclude with recommendations to consider a multifactorial response using evidence and stakeholder engagement to address the opioid crisis, rather than a reactive policy approach. We suggest that researchers have an important role in shaping future policy by reframing ideas through knowledge translation, formation of

Economic Subjectivities in Higher Education: Self, Policy and Practice in the Knowledge Economy

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Sue Saltmarsh

2011-09-01

Full Text Available This article considers higher education in the context of global knowledge economy policies as a site for the production of economic subjectivities. Drawing insights from poststructuralist theory and feminist economics, it explores how the incorporation of economic discourse and market metaphors into education policy and practice functions as a disciplinary technique of governmentality. The article argues that while economic discourse displaces, disciplines and disrupts educational discourse, there is a need for greater acknowledgement of the productive potential of the intersection of education and economy as a means through which agency is in part accomplished. Implications for university learning and labour are considered, with a view to contributing to dialogues about new ways of undisciplining economic subjectivities, through which new ways of doing and being might enact alternative educational economies.

Constructing the “Arab Spring”: News Discourses in Turkish Newspapers

OpenAIRE

Banu Dağtaş

2013-01-01

Originating in Tunisia and spreading rapidly to Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain, and Libya, the recent wave of popular movements that the Western media have dubbed the “Arab Spring” has been closely monitored by the whole world including in Turkey. This country is geographically close to the region and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has been active in developing foreign policies in relation to the key countries involved. This paper analyzes the news discourses in the reports published b...

A Telecommunications Policy Agenda for Latinos en la Edad de Informacion.

Science.gov (United States)

Schement, Jorge Reina

2001-01-01

Discusses telecommunications developments affecting Latino access and participation. Examines telecommunications policy as political discourse. Presents elements of a telecommunications policy agenda drawn from that of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and focusing on access to services, education for digital literacy, needs of small businesses…

Discursive Policy Webs in a Globalisation Era: A Discussion of Access to Professions and Trades for Immigrant Professionals in Ontario, Canada

Science.gov (United States)

Goldberg, Michelle P.

2006-01-01

This article explores the link between discourse and policy using a discursive web metaphor. It develops the notion of policy as a discursive web based on a post-positivist framework that recognises the way multiple discourses from multiple voices interact in a complex web of power relationships to influence reality. Using Ontario's Access to…

Paradox place: discourse line of nuclear sector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ponce, Iona

2002-05-01

This thesis examines the relationship between the public acceptance and image of nuclear energy and the discourse and arguments commonly employed by the nuclear institutions. In doing so, the Critical Discourse Analysis, the French Discourse Analysis and Pragmatics theories were used to evaluate important variables involved in the construction of the nuclear discourse such as social memory, intertextualilty and image construction. The analysis performed shows that the discourse in favor of the nuclear energy is in fact imbedded by the anti-nuclear discourse. As a consequence, the negative image of the nuclear sector is being reinforced at the same time that its public acceptance becomes more difficult. The core of this analysis consists of two sets of information. The first one is the Internet site of the Brazilian National Nuclear Energy Commission (CNEN). CNEN is the federal nuclear regulatory and research and development agency of Brazil. In this analysis it represents the discourse in favor of nuclear energy. The second set of information used in this thesis is composed by a number of texts displayed in the open literature such as newspapers, magazines and Internet sites, all of them expressing anti-nuclear positions. A careful comparison of both sets shows that the discourse of CNEN, instead of showing new ideas and issues related to nuclear energy, in fact, stays mainly in a reactive position as if it were trying to defend itself from the arguments posed by the anti-nuclear discourse. It was concluded that the discourse of CNEN is constrained within a complex field of non positive expressions, arguments and ideas mostly encountered in the anti-nuclear discourse which brings obvious difficulties to explain the benefits of nuclear energy as a whole. To overcome such situation a more detailed study of the CNEN discourse is suggested. (author)

Discourses and Models of Intermediality

OpenAIRE

Schröter, Jens

2011-01-01

In his article "Discourses and Models of Intermediality" Jens Schröter discusses the question as to what relations do different discourses pose between different "media." Schröter identifies four models of discourse: 1) synthetic intermediality: a "fusion" of different media to super-media, a model with roots in the Wagnerian concept of Gesamtkunstwerk with political connotations, 2) formal (or transmedial) intermediality: a concept based on formal structures not "specific" to one medium but ...

Anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects of Paeonia lactiflora Pall., a traditional Chinese herbal medicine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dong-Yi eHe

2011-02-01

Full Text Available In China, Korea and Japan, a decoction of the dried root without bark of Paeonia lactiflora Pall. has been used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, hepatitis, dysmenorrhea, muscle cramping and spasms, and fever for more than 1200 years. A water/ethanol extract of the root is now known as total glucosides of paeony (TGP, which contains more than 15 components. Paeoniflorin is the most abundant ingredient and accounts for the pharmacological effects observed with TGP in both in vitro and in vivo studies. The analgesic effect of TGP was confirmed in various animal models of pain, which may be mediated partly by adenosine A1 receptor. The direct anti-inflammatory effects of TGP were observed in animal models of both acute and subacute inflammation, by inhibiting the production of prostaglandin E2, leukotrience B4, and nitric oxide, and by suppressing the increase of intracellular calcium ion concentration. TGP was also reported to have protective effects of cells against oxidative stress. In vitro, dual effects of TGP were noted on the proliferation of lymphocytes, differentiation of Th/Ts lymphocytes, and the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and antibodies. In vivo, TGP inhibited the delayed-type hypersensitivity in immuno-activated mice, and enhanced the delayed-type hypersensitivity in immuno-suppressed mice. In adjuvant arthritis rats, paeoniflorin exerted immunosuppressive effects. The beneficial effects of TGP in treating rheumatoid arthritis were verified by randomized controlled trials. The adverse events of TGP were mainly gastrointestinal tract disturbances, mostly mild diarrhea.

Anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects of paeonia lactiflora pall., a traditional chinese herbal medicine.

Science.gov (United States)

He, Dong-Yi; Dai, Sheng-Ming

2011-01-01

In China, Korea, and Japan, a decoction of the dried root without bark of Paeonia lactiflora Pall. has been used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, hepatitis, dysmenorrhea, muscle cramping and spasms, and fever for more than 1200 years. A water/ethanol extract of the root is now known as total glucosides of peony (TGP), which contains more than 15 components. Paeoniflorin is the most abundant ingredient and accounts for the pharmacological effects observed with TGP in both in vitro and in vivo studies. The analgesic effect of TGP was confirmed in various animal models of pain, which may be mediated partly by adenosine A1 receptor. The direct anti-inflammatory effects of TGP were observed in animal models of both acute and subacute inflammation, by inhibiting the production of prostaglandin E2, leukotriene B4, and nitric oxide, and by suppressing the increase of intracellular calcium ion concentration. TGP was also reported to have protective effects of cells against oxidative stress. In vitro, dual effects of TGP were noted on the proliferation of lymphocytes, differentiation of Th/Ts lymphocytes, and the production of proinflammatory cytokines and antibodies. In vivo, TGP inhibited the delayed-type hypersensitivity in immuno-activated mice, and enhanced the delayed-type hypersensitivity in immuno-suppressed mice. In adjuvant arthritis rats, paeoniflorin exerted immunosuppressive effects. The beneficial effects of TGP in treating rheumatoid arthritis were verified by randomized controlled trials. The adverse events of TGP were mainly gastrointestinal tract disturbances, mostly mild diarrhea.

Constructing Israeli and Palestinian Identity: A Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis of World History Textbooks and Teacher Discourse

Science.gov (United States)

Osborn, Daniel

2017-01-01

This research critically evaluates the depiction of Israelis and Palestinians in World History textbooks and World History teachers' instructional discourse. Employing a Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis methodology, this study offers a comparison between written narratives and spoken discourse in order to analyze the portrayals found in…

Representations of people with HIV and hepatitis C in editorials of medical journals: discourses and interdiscursive relations.

Science.gov (United States)

Körner, Henrike; Treloar, Carla

2006-01-01

HIV and hepatitis C are blood-borne viruses that cause chronic diseases and affect (in parts of the developed world) predominantly groups that are marginalized and discriminated against: gay men and injecting drug users, respectively. This paper compares the representation of people with HIV and hepatitis C in editorials of medical journals between 1989 and 2001. Analysis is informed by critical discourse analysis and systemic functional linguistics. Hepatitis C editorials draw almost exclusively on the discourse of biomedicine, and patients are either absent or objects in medical procedures. In HIV editorials, a variety of other discourses are integrated into the discourse of biomedicine, thereby creating multidimensional representations of people with HIV as patients and agents in medical procedures, involved in decision making, affected by economic factors, social and cultural issues. The paper discusses the role of the gay community in discursive change and argues that discursive diversity in the representation of people infected with HIV and hepatitis C in medical journals is necessary for health policy, the professional development of healthcare providers, and media reporting to the general public.

Discourse abilities in the structure of intelligence

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Voronin A. N.

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Background. This article is devoted to empirical research on discourse abilities within the structure of cognitive abilities. Discourse abilities, as well as linguistic abilities, are part of language abilities, but they are directly linked with discourse practices and a certain communicative situation. Discourse abilities allow a person to effectively initiate, keep, expand, and complete the process of communication, using language appropriate to any given situation. These abilities contribute to making communication more effective and achieving mutual understanding between partners, while at the same time they speed up the process of forming an interaction strategy. the empirical verification of the construct “discourse abilities,” and the design of original diagnostic tests on them, led us to differentiate linguistic and discourse abilities. Objective. However, it is not yet clear what place discourse abilities occupy in the structure of cognitive abilities. This is the primary goal of our research. Method. The design of the study involved group testing (in groups of 15-35 people using the following methods: a discourse abilities test; a short selection test; a social intelligence test, and short variations of Torrance’s and Mednick’s tests. In total, 208 people (133 women and 75 men, ages 17 to 21 years participated in the study, all of them either first year humanities students or high school students from Moscow. Results and Discussion. The research results revealed that discourse abilities relevantly correlate with the majority of indicators of general and social intelligence and creativity (except non-verbal intelligence. Discourse abilities as part of the structure of cognitive capabilities form a discrete factor, and include relevant components such as verbal and general intelligence and indicators of social intelligence, such as the ability to group expressions. Structures indicative of cognitive abilities varied within the

Biobanking human embryonic stem cell lines: policy, ethics and efficiency.

Science.gov (United States)

Holm, Søren

2015-12-01

Stem cell banks curating and distributing human embryonic stem cells have been established in a number of countries and by a number of private institutions. This paper identifies and critically discusses a number of arguments that are used to justify the importance of such banks in policy discussions relating to their establishment or maintenance. It is argued (1) that 'ethical arguments' are often more important in the establishment phase and 'efficiency arguments' more important in the maintenance phase, and (2) that arguments relating to the interests of embryo and gamete donors are curiously absent from the particular stem cell banking policy discourse. This to some extent artificially isolates this discourse from the broader discussions about the flows of reproductive materials and tissues in modern society, and such isolation may lead to the interests of important actors being ignored in the policy making process.

From Global Jobs to Safe Spaces: The Diverse Discourses That Sell Multilingual Schooling in the USA

Science.gov (United States)

Dorner, Lisa M.

2015-01-01

While much research has demonstrated that English-only rhetoric negatively affects bilingual education for the children of US immigrants, few studies have examined the local negotiations and discourses that shape the development of multilingual programming for English-speaking students. Across the USA, educational leaders and policy-makers today…

Discrimination, Performance and Recuperation: How Teachers and Pupils Challenge and Recover Discourses of Sexualities in Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Nixon, David

2010-01-01

This article seeks to examine the ways in which a heteronormative discourse dominates the practice and policies of schools in respect of sexualities. Such heteronormativity produces discrimination both direct and indirect against those who fall outside a narrow descriptive band. However, there is increasing evidence of teachers, trainees and…

Mediating argumentative deconstruction of advertising discourses

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Maier, Carmen Daniela

exposes how the advertising discourse of various companies is articulated when promoting well known products and services in their commercials. The original advertising discourse is deconstructed and reconstructed with additional visual material in front of the viewers' eyes who are instructed by a voice......-over narrator what to look at and how to identify and decode the persuasive strategies employed. The present multimodal analysis focuses on the characteristic features of these Media Bites argumentative discourses that challenge the legitimacy of the original advertising discourses. Looking specifically...... the deceptive advertising messages.    ...

Governance and Development: Changing EU Policies

OpenAIRE

Hout, Wil

2010-01-01

textabstractAbstract This introductory article to the special issue on European Union, development policies and governance discusses how notions of ('good') governance have come to dominate development discourses and policies since the mid-1990s. The article argues that governance was part of the so-called Post-Washington Consensus, which understands governance reform as part of the creation of market societies. Although academics have commonly emphasised the fact that governance concerns the...

Statistical Compilation of the ICT Sector and Policy Analysis | Page 2 ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

... to widen and deepen, so too does its impact on economic development. ... The outcomes of such efforts will subsequently inform policy discourse and ... Studies. Statistical Compilation of the ICT Sector and Policy Analysis project : country experiences; Malaysia ... Asian outlook: New growth dependent on new productivity.

Dialogic Spaces: A Critical Policy Development Perspective of Educational Leadership Qualifications

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Déirdre; Kelly, Darron; Allard, Carson

2017-01-01

The critical exploration of policy development processes employed to construct leadership qualifications is the focus of this inquiry. This exploration is made through specific application of the necessary conditions of Habermasian "practical discourse" to current dialogic procedures used to develop policies for principal, supervisory…

Discourse Interpretation: A Deconstructive, Reader-oriented Approach to Critical Discourse Analysis

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Ayman Farid Khafaga

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This paper is based on the premise that discourse is always under the influence of different ideological readings which not only formulate its meaning but inspire various interpretations as well; hence, it needs a theoretical cover that could justify its multiplicity of meaning. This paper, therefore, discusses the possibility of introducing a deconstructive, reader-oriented approach (DRA to Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA as a model of discourse interpretation. The paper tries to appraise the theoretical framework of CDA and to offer an overview of the fundamental propels of its interpretative task in the light of two poststructuralist literary theories: the deconstruction theory and the reception theory. The paper also endeavours to emphasize the deconstructive nature of CDA by shedding lights on its relationship with the above mentioned theories. The conclusion drawn from this paper shows that introducing a deconstructive, reader-oriented approach to CDA is relevant to the latter's interpretative nature enough to diminish a part of the criticism levelled against its interpretative framework concerning plurality of meaning; and to establish some sort of exoneration for its theoretical shortcomings. The paper recommends that DRA will bridge the gap between theory and practice as it offers a theoretical base to discourse which could advocate its critiques regarding diversity of interpretation.

Introduction: Family migration as an integration issue? Policy perspectives and academic insights

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bonjour, S.; Kraler, A.

2015-01-01

"Family migration" and "integration" are intimately related concepts in policy discourses in Europe today. Assumptions about the relation between "family migration" and "integration" play a crucial role in shaping policies. This special issue aims to examine the axis between "family migration,"

Health care policy at a crossroads?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lassen, Inger Marie; Strunck, Jeanne; Ottesen, Aase Marie

2018-01-01

analyse and discuss how political discourse moments (Rancière 1999; Gamson 1992; Carvalho 2008) influence the contents of the national health quality strategies and how variation in the construal of patient roles and agency indicate discursive struggle in Danish national health care policy. Underlying...

REPRESENTATION OF DIFFERENCES IN BRAZILIAN JOURNALISTIC DISCOURSE

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Fernando Resende

2011-02-01

Full Text Available Considering the technological advance, which enhances the
production of mediatic discourses, and the notion of a libidinal power installed in our globalized societies, reflecting upon representation of differences seems to be a major issue. This essay discusses the production of journalistic discourses from an epistemological perspective. The field of media is taken as constituted by a triple component – discourse/narrative/machines – and we suggest that this triad has proved to be incomplete: discourse and narrative, once they really are vertexes of the triangle, are absences. Two journalistic-documentary productions – which intend to represent life in the slums of Brazil – are compared in order to reflect upon representation of differences in Brazilian journalistic discourse. In view of the up-to-date polarization and pulverization of discourses, we suggest that in the perspective of the journalistic discourse, one can only speak about alterity if one tries to comprehend the ways news is staged.

Representation of differences in Brazilian journalistic discourse

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fernando Resende

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Considering the technological advance, which enhances the production of mediatic discourses, and the notion of a libidinal power installed in our globalized societies, reflecting upon representation of differences seems to be a major issue. This essay discusses the production of journalistic discourses from an epistemological perspective. The field of media is taken as constituted by a triple component – discourse/narrative/machines – and we suggest that this triad has proved to be incomplete: discourse and narrative, once they really are vertexes of the triangle, are absences. Two journalistic-documentary productions – which intend to represent life in the slums of Brazil – are compared in order to reflect upon representation of differences in Brazilian journalistic discourse. In view of the up-to-date polarization and pulverization of discourses, we suggest that in the perspective of the journalistic discourse, one can only speak about alterity if one tries to comprehend the ways news is staged.

Inter-Korean Forest Cooperation 1998–2012: A Policy Arrangement Approach

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Mi Sun Park

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Despite political obstacles, South and North Korea have a history of conducting cooperative forest activities. Since 1999, the two Koreas have taken part in implementing cooperative forest projects, including reforestation, construction of tree nurseries, and control of insect pests, to achieve sustainability of the forests on the Korean Peninsula. This paper analyzes South Korean policies for inter-Korean forest cooperation, using a policy arrangement approach (PAA with four dimensions: discourse, actors, rules of the game, and power. Policy changes by three South Korean administrations are analyzed: that of Kim Dae Jung (1998–2002, Roh Moo Hyun (2003–2007 and Lee Myoung Bak (2008–2012. The analysis focuses on an examination of the interactions among the four dimensions of policy arrangement and the policies of the administrations. This research indicates that change of the South Korean policy discourse to North Korea by the various administrations has fundamentally influenced actors and their resources, as well as the rules, in the field of inter-Korean forest cooperation. Insights from this analysis can contribute to the design of bilateral forest cooperation policies on the Korean Peninsula.

Sustainable Development for Whom and How? Exploring the Gaps between Popular Discourses and Ground Reality Using the Mexican Jatropha Biodiesel Case

Science.gov (United States)

Banerjee, Aparajita; Halvorsen, Kathleen E.; Eastmond-Spencer, Amarella; Sweitz, Sam R.

2017-06-01

In the last decade, jatropha-based bioenergy projects have gotten significant attention as a solution to various social, economic, and environmental problems. Jatropha's popularity stemmed out from different discourses, some real and some perceived, in scientific and non-scientific literature. These discourses positioned jatropha as a crop helpful in producing biodiesel and protecting sustainability by reducing greenhouse gas emissions compared to fossil fuels and increasing local, rural development by creating jobs. Consequently, many countries established national policies that incentivized the establishment of jatropha as a bioenergy feedstock crop. In this paper, we explore the case of jatropha bioenergy development in Yucatan, Mexico and argue that the popular discourse around jatropha as a sustainability and rural development tool is flawed. Analyzing our results from 70 semi-structured interviews with community members belonging to a region where plantation-scale jatropha projects were introduced, we found that these projects did not have many significant social sustainability benefits. We conclude from our case that by just adding bioenergy projects cannot help achieve social sustainability in rural areas alone. In ensuring social sustainability of bioenergy projects, future policymaking processes should have a more comprehensive understanding of the rural socioeconomic problems where such projects are promoted and use bioenergy projects as one of the many solutions to local problems rather than creating such policies based just on popular discourses.

Sustainable Development for Whom and How? Exploring the Gaps between Popular Discourses and Ground Reality Using the Mexican Jatropha Biodiesel Case.

Science.gov (United States)

Banerjee, Aparajita; Halvorsen, Kathleen E; Eastmond-Spencer, Amarella; Sweitz, Sam R

2017-06-01

In the last decade, jatropha-based bioenergy projects have gotten significant attention as a solution to various social, economic, and environmental problems. Jatropha's popularity stemmed out from different discourses, some real and some perceived, in scientific and non-scientific literature. These discourses positioned jatropha as a crop helpful in producing biodiesel and protecting sustainability by reducing greenhouse gas emissions compared to fossil fuels and increasing local, rural development by creating jobs. Consequently, many countries established national policies that incentivized the establishment of jatropha as a bioenergy feedstock crop. In this paper, we explore the case of jatropha bioenergy development in Yucatan, Mexico and argue that the popular discourse around jatropha as a sustainability and rural development tool is flawed. Analyzing our results from 70 semi-structured interviews with community members belonging to a region where plantation-scale jatropha projects were introduced, we found that these projects did not have many significant social sustainability benefits. We conclude from our case that by just adding bioenergy projects cannot help achieve social sustainability in rural areas alone. In ensuring social sustainability of bioenergy projects, future policymaking processes should have a more comprehensive understanding of the rural socioeconomic problems where such projects are promoted and use bioenergy projects as one of the many solutions to local problems rather than creating such policies based just on popular discourses.

Same-Sex Marriages inside the Closet: Deconstruction of Subjects of Gay and Lesbian Discourses in Russia

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Alexander Kondakov

2011-01-01

Full Text Available This work aims to analyse LGBT discourse in Russia conducted by human rights non-governmental organisations concerned with the protection of gay and lesbian rights in the country. The main emphasis is given to deconstruction of subjectivities of the discourse with tools of Foucaultian and critical discourse-analyses. One of the most evident examples is provided in the last section of the work. It is concerned with strategies employed by the organisations under research to guarantee marriage opportunities to homosexuals in Russia. It was also important for the purposes of the research to uncover the meanings of discursive practices employed by the officials in their discussion of gay and lesbian issues. In this regard, a brief analysis of relevant legal norms and public policies is included in the work. The attitude of state power towards LGBT problems is described in the terms of environment where the human rights organisations have to perform their activities. The role of state power turns out to be important in organising and correcting the strategies of the organisations so long as the strategies are influenced by governmentality of the discourses. It results into a situation where the non-governmental organisations are to some extent governed through workings of political discourses where the power of the authorities sets the scene.

People out of place: Allochthony and autochthony in Netherlands identity discourse – metaphors and categories in action

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Yanow, D.; Haar, van der M.

2013-01-01

As with much of Europe, the Netherlands has no explicit ‘race’ discourse; however, the state, through its public policy and administrative practices, does categorise its population along ‘ethnic’ lines, using birthplace — one's own or one's (grand-) parent's — as the surrogate determining factor.

Does syntax help discourse segmentation? Not so much

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Braud, Chloé Elodie; Lacroix, Ophélie; Søgaard, Anders

2017-01-01

Discourse segmentation is the first step in building discourse parsers. Most work on discourse segmentation does not scale to real-world discourse parsing across languages, for two reasons: (i) models rely on constituent trees, and (ii) experiments have relied on gold standard identification...

Exploring the Complex Interplay of National Learning and Teaching Policy and Academic Development Practice

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Karen

2016-01-01

Academic developers are important interpreters of policy, yet little research has focussed on the interplay of policy and academic development practice. Using methods from critical discourse analysis, this article analyses a national learning and teaching policy, charts its development, and explores its interpretation by the academic development…

Cultural Policy of Difference in the Representation of Women in Western Media

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hassan Bashir

2012-04-01

Full Text Available Hijab is a sign, a sign of cultural differences which has various emergences in different communities. In this article the Islamic veil among Muslims in the West is discussed as an “Islamic Identity” and as a phenomenon of “Cultural Difference” with the Western societies. This sign has represented the Muslim not only as a religious group, a minority which belongs to the East, and a group of people that their culture is different with the dominant culture of the West, but also is different from Westerners how does not accept the culture of veil for women in general. Furthermore, it is emerging different cultural and religious discourses in the Western societies which could be assumed as a challenge to the dominant culture of freedom, liberalism and feminism discourse. This paper aims to clarify the approaches of cultural semiotics, especially, the cultural policy of difference as a new approach to strengthen the neo-orientalism and neo-colonialism approaches and how the discourse of the veil and the otherness is developed in the Western societies. Discourse analysis of various news and reports in Western Media demonstrate the emergence of new methods of discourse on issues related to Islam and Muslims in general and the “Islamic veil” as a special way of life to put the “Islamic Identity” in opposition to the “Western Identity” which is affected by the orientalism discourse on its old and new approaches. This new way of discourse is trying to institutionalize the idea of “I and the other” based on the new understanding of “otherness” and “the cultural policies of difference”.

Centrifugal and centripetal forces in the discourse of early years reading instruction

OpenAIRE

Hunt, Christopher George

2010-01-01

This thesis reports on a research project investigating how a sample of eight teachers of P2 children in Scotland encouraged dialogic interaction in their reading groups while following prescriptive policy. The research is based on a detailed analysis of the discourse of reading sessions conducted by the eight teachers, and is informed by previous research on oral language development, the role of dialogue in children’s learning, and the relationships between reading developmen...

Public values and public failure in US science policy

OpenAIRE

Barry Bozeman; Daniel Sarewitz

2005-01-01

Domestic science policy in the United States is linked inextricably to economic thinking. We seek to develop a practical analytical framework that confronts the manifest problems of economic valuing for science and technology activities. We argue that pervasive use of market valuation, market-failure assumptions and economic metaphors shapes the structure of science policy in undesirable ways. In particular, reliance on economic reasoning tends to shift the discourse about science policy away...

New arrangements in climate policy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arts, B.J.M.

2000-01-01

Climate policy, its content and the way it is being organised, is changing, both nationally and internationally. The Kyoto Protocol and its effects form an important catalyst for this process. The focus in climate discourse is increasingly on 'differentiation' and 'flexibilisation', while the role of the industrial sectors involved has changed since 1997, among other things expressed in the increasing influence exerted by the business community and the declining power of the environmental movement. There is a transition underway, from pluralist to private policy arrangements

[Discourse analysis: research potentialities to gender violence].

Science.gov (United States)

de Azambuja, Mariana Porto Ruwer; Nogueira, Conceição

2009-01-01

In the last few years we see the growing use of the terms 'discourse' and 'discourses analysis' in academic and research contexts, frequently without a precise definition. This fact opens space for critics and mistakes. The aim of this paper is to show a brief contextualization of discursive studies, as well as tasks/steps to Discourse Analysis process by the Social Construcionism perspective. As examples we used fragments of an interview with a Family Doctor about gender violence. In the results we detach the potential of Discourse Analysis to deconstruct the existing discourses to subsequently (re)construction in the way to a more holistic view about gender violence problem.

An investigation of environmental and sustainability discourses associated with the substantive purposes of environmental assessment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rozema, Jaap G., E-mail: j.rozema@uea.ac.uk [Science, Society and Sustainability Research Group, School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia (UEA), Norwich, NR4 7TJ (United Kingdom); Bond, Alan J., E-mail: alan.bond@uea.ac.uk [Science, Society and Sustainability Research Group, School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia (UEA), Norwich, NR4 7TJ (United Kingdom); Cashmore, Matthew, E-mail: cashmore@plan.aau.dk [Danish Centre for Environmental Assessment, Department of Development and Planning, Aalborg University, Fibigerstraede 13, 9220 Aalborg O (Denmark); Chilvers, Jason, E-mail: jason.chilvers@uea.ac.uk [Science, Society and Sustainability Research Group, School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia (UEA), Norwich, NR4 7TJ (United Kingdom)

2012-02-15

This paper investigates the discursive construction of the substantive purposes of environmental assessment (EA). It addresses these purposes by exploring the complex and often multifaceted linkages between political factors and plural views of democracy, public participation, and the role of science that are embedded in environmental and sustainability discourses. The interaction between policy-making and public actors leads to the formulation of divergent and potentially competing rationales for public participation, and for social appraisal more generally. Participatory approaches have also given impetus to the development of several interpretations on the role of science in assessment procedures. Science is important in mediating public participation and the two are therefore reciprocally linked. This leads to discourses that become manifest in the construction of substantive purposes. Discourse analysis in EA is a relevant method for examining trends and patterns in sustainable development. It is argued that public participation is an important, if not decisive, variable in the articulation and civil legitimacy of certain purposes. A general proposition that results from this paper is that EA, although typically presented as an objective scientific tool, is an intrinsically normative process. Enhanced knowledge on the construction, and reconstruction over time, of substantive purposes is required if environmental and sustainability discourses are to be used and understood as meaningful analytical instruments to assess the socio-political implications of EA. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Substantive purposes related to environmental assessment may be best analyzed through discourse analysis. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Environmental and sustainability discourses are contingent on the level of participatory democracy and civic science. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Public participation is a decisive variable in the construction of the substantive

An investigation of environmental and sustainability discourses associated with the substantive purposes of environmental assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rozema, Jaap G.; Bond, Alan J.; Cashmore, Matthew; Chilvers, Jason

2012-01-01

This paper investigates the discursive construction of the substantive purposes of environmental assessment (EA). It addresses these purposes by exploring the complex and often multifaceted linkages between political factors and plural views of democracy, public participation, and the role of science that are embedded in environmental and sustainability discourses. The interaction between policy-making and public actors leads to the formulation of divergent and potentially competing rationales for public participation, and for social appraisal more generally. Participatory approaches have also given impetus to the development of several interpretations on the role of science in assessment procedures. Science is important in mediating public participation and the two are therefore reciprocally linked. This leads to discourses that become manifest in the construction of substantive purposes. Discourse analysis in EA is a relevant method for examining trends and patterns in sustainable development. It is argued that public participation is an important, if not decisive, variable in the articulation and civil legitimacy of certain purposes. A general proposition that results from this paper is that EA, although typically presented as an objective scientific tool, is an intrinsically normative process. Enhanced knowledge on the construction, and reconstruction over time, of substantive purposes is required if environmental and sustainability discourses are to be used and understood as meaningful analytical instruments to assess the socio-political implications of EA. - Highlights: ► Substantive purposes related to environmental assessment may be best analyzed through discourse analysis. ► Environmental and sustainability discourses are contingent on the level of participatory democracy and civic science. ► Public participation is a decisive variable in the construction of the substantive purpose of environmental assessment.

A discourse analysis methodology based on semantic principles - an application to brands, journalists and consumers discourses

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luc Grivel

2011-12-01

Full Text Available This is a R&D Paper. It describes an analysis coming from a research project about opinion measurement and monitoring on the Internet. This research is realized within "Paragraphe" laboratory, in partnership with the market research institute Harris Interactive (CIFRE grant beginning July 2010. The purpose of the study was to define CRM possibilities. The targets of the study were self-employed workers and very small businesses. The discourses analysis is linked to a qualitative study. It turns around three types of discourses: brands, journalists and clients’ discourses. In the brand discourses analysis we benchmarked brand websites belonging to several businesses. In this first step, we tried to identify the most used words and promises by brands to the target we were studying. For that benchmark, we downloaded "Professionals" sections of the websites. Clients’ discourses analysis is based on opened answers coming from satisfaction questionnaires. The questions we are studying have been asked after a call to a hot line or after a technician intervention. Journalists’ discourses analysis is based on articles, published on information websites specialized in Harris Interactive's client sector. These websites were chosen because we considered them to be representative of information sources, which the target could consult.

Discourse of globalization

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Balažić Milan

2006-01-01

Full Text Available Since the fall of the Berlin wall, the process of globalization has been understood as a necessary fate. The myth of the almightiness of the market economy, liberalization and deregulation is revitalized. Before us, there is a phenomenon Lacan’s discourse of University, which in 20 century was firstly given as a Stalinist discourse and today is given as a neo-liberal discourse of globalization. From underneath og a seeming objectivity, a Master insists-either the Party and the Capital. Just as the utopia of the world proletarian revolution has fallen apart, the utopia of globalize capitalism and liberal democracy is also falling apart. The 9/11 event is opening opportunities for a construction of the field of social and political, out of the contour of the status quo. The coordinates of the possibility has changed and if we take the non-existence of the grand Autre on ourselves, then the contingence interference in the existent socio-symbolic order is possible.

Pedagogical discourses in Bhutanese upper secondary schools

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Keller, Hanne Dauer; Utha, Karma

2017-01-01

two pedagogical discourses in our analysis of the Bhutanese school system: The traditional cognitive learning discourse and an alternative, experience-based discourse. The theoretical framework is then used in our analysis of empirical data from classroom observations and semi-structured interviews...

Pedagogical discourses in Bhutanese school system

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Keller, Hanne Dauer; Utha, Karma

2013-01-01

In this article we distinguish between three pedagogical discourses in our analysis of the Bhutanese school system. The results point to the dominance of the traditional cognitive discourse, but occasionally the teacher's unilateral control of the teaching-learning process is shared with the stud......In this article we distinguish between three pedagogical discourses in our analysis of the Bhutanese school system. The results point to the dominance of the traditional cognitive discourse, but occasionally the teacher's unilateral control of the teaching-learning process is shared...... with the students. On a value basis the teachers agree with the pedagogical ideal of student centered learning which is in line with an experiential learning discourse. In addition students tell about how they go to the better students, rather than to the teacher, for help. This behavior, where peers are used...... as ‘teachers’, points to a third understanding of how learning is undertaken, which builds on the social ressources of the local community of practice. Despite these smaller variations, the overall picture is that the underlying discourse of the Bhutaneese school system is in accordance with a traditional...

English Computer Discourse: Some Characteristic Features

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Tatjana Rusko

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The problem of virtual discourse is coming into focus of linguistic research. This interest results from the rapid spread of information technology, modern Internet culture incipience, a symbol of information revolution, new opportunities and threats that accompany computer civilization. The emergence of the communicative environment as a particular sphere of language actualization, necessitates new language means of communication or transformation and reframing the already existing ones. Obviously, it’s time to talk about the formation of a new discourse in the new communicative space – computer (electronic, virtual discourse, which subsequently may considerably affect the speech behavior of society. The present article makes an attempt to identify some linguistic and communicative features of virtual discourse. Computer discourse, being a sub-language of hybrid character, combines elements of oral and written discourse with its own specific features. It should be noted that in the context of information culture the problem of communication interaction is among the most topical issues in science and education. There is hardly any doubt that the study and advancement of virtual communication culture is one of higher education distinctive mission components.

Health discourse, sexual slang and ideological contradictions among Mozambican youth: implications for method.

Science.gov (United States)

Groes-Green, Christian

2009-08-01

Despite the urgency of improving an understanding of sexual cultures in the face of a globally devastating HIV epidemic, methodological reflection and innovation has been conspicuously absent from qualitative research in recent years. Findings from fieldwork on condom use among young people in Mozambique confirm the need to remain alert to the ideological and linguistic bias of applied methods. Interviewing young people about their sexuality using a conventional health discourse resulted in incorrect or socially acceptable answers rather than accurate information about their sexual behaviour. Young people's resistance to enquiry, the paper argues, is due to ideological contradictions between their sexual culture and slang, on the one hand, and Western health discourses associated with colonial and post-colonial opposition to traditional culture and languages, on the other. Mixing colloquial Portuguese and changana sexual slang is constructed around ideas of safedeza and pleasure, while dominant health discourses address sexuality as both 'risky' and 'dangerous'. In order to gain a deeper understanding of sexual cultures and to make HIV prevention efforts relevant to young people, it is suggested that researchers and policy makers approach respondents with a language that is sensitive to the local ideological and linguistic context.

Credibility Discourse of PR Agencies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Isaksson, Maria; Jørgensen, Poul Erik Flyvholm

2008-01-01

to giving assurance of their expertise, trustworthiness and empathy, thus confirming our overall expectation that corporate credibility discourse is relatively uniform from a European perspective. However, contrary to our assumptions, the results of our study show that PR credibility discourse demonstrates...

From translation to navigation of different discourses

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Livonen, Mirja; Sonnenwald, Diane H.

1998-01-01

' own search experience. Data further suggest that searchers navigate these discourses dynamically and have preferences for certain discourses. Conceptualizing the selection of search terms as a meeting place of different discourses provides new insights into the complex nature of the search term...

Herbaceous Peony (Paeonia lactiflora Pall. as an Alternative Source of Oleanolic and Ursolic Acids

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Jun Tao

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Oleanolic acid (OA and ursolic acid (UA have been proven to possess many biological activities, and much attention is focused on the search for plants which are rich in OA and UA. In this report, the OA and UA accumulation characteristics were investigated in 47 cultivars of Chinese herbaceous peony (Paeonia lactiflora Pall. and were followed in three cultivars over different developmental stages as measured by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC. OA and UA levels in leaves and stems demonstrated an overall upward trend from May 1 to September 15 except for UA in the leaves of “Hong Feng”. The maximum values of OA and UA in leaves of “Yangfei Chu Yu”, “Fen Zhu Pan” and “Hong Feng” were 852.98, 575.60, 290.48 μg/g FW and 924.94, 827.36, 432.67 μg/g FW, respectively. The maximum values of OA and UA in stems of “Yangfei Chu Yu”, “Fen Zhu Pan” and “Hong Feng” were 359.28, 90.49, 43.90 μg/g FW and 326.86, 82.25, 56.63 μg/g FW, respectively. OA and UA contents in leaves of 47 different herbaceous peony cultivars ranged from 66.73–618.12 and 36.23–665.14 μg/g FW, respectively, with average values of 171.62 and 227.57 μg/g FW, respectively. The results suggested that the aboveground parts of herbaceous peony may be used as an alternative source of OA and UA for medicinal purposes in addition to its ornamental purposes.

Post-ecological discourse in the making.

Science.gov (United States)

Zeyer, Albert; Roth, Wolff-Michael

2013-01-01

This article analyses the discourse of 15- to16-year-old Swiss junior high school students in order to understand public discourse on the environment and environmental protection. Discourse analysis reveals four interpretive repertoires as the building blocks for the so-called post-ecological discourse, which can be used to describe important aspects of current ways of talking about ecological issues in Europe. We show that 10 theoretically identifiable dimensions of this discourse can be understood in terms of a mutual interplay between the four interpretive repertoires. Post-ecological discourse in today's (Swiss) society appears to be at its core a loss-of-control-discourse, which leads (in our students) to a latent eco-depression. Thus, the public understanding of science can be affected by unintended consequences of the talk itself (in this case an unintended environmental depression), that is, by the inherent characteristics of the involved repertoires, here especially the so-called folk science repertoire. Fostering public understanding of science is thus not merely a question of providing the public with scientific 'facts'. It is also an issue of paying attention to the available discursive repertoires. If necessary, viable alternative repertoires may have to be offered. In school, for example, conversations about the nature of science, and about complexity and applied ethics might help students learn new interpretive repertoires and how to mobilize these in talking about the environment and environmental protection.

The affective discourse dynamics of metaphor clustering The affective discourse dynamics of metaphor clustering

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Lynne Cameron

2010-05-01

Full Text Available

Metaphor is examined in the very different iscourse contexts of the classroom and of reconciliation talk to highlight the neglected affective dimension. The distribution of metaphors across discourse shows clustering at certain points, often where speakers are engaged in critical interpersonal discourse activity. Clusters in classroom talk co-occur with sequences of agenda management where teachers prepare students for upcoming lessons and with giving feedback to students, both of which require careful management of interpersonal and affective issues. Clusters in reconciliation talk co-occur with discourse management and with two situations with significant affective dynamics: appropriation of metaphor and exploration of alternative scenarios.

Metaphor is examined in the very different iscourse contexts of the classroom and of reconciliation talk to highlight the neglected affective dimension. The distribution of metaphors across discourse shows clustering at certain points, often where speakers are engaged in critical interpersonal discourse activity. Clusters in classroom talk co-occur with sequences of agenda management where teachers prepare students for upcoming lessons and with giving feedback to students, both of which require careful management of interpersonal and affective issues. Clusters in reconciliation talk co-occur with discourse management and with two situations with significant affective dynamics: appropriation of metaphor and exploration of alternative scenarios.

Perspectives on Language Sustainability in a Performance Era: Discourses, Policies, and Practices in a Digital and Social Media Campaign to Revitalise Irish

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Kelly-Holmes Helen

2017-08-01

Full Text Available The poststructuralist turn has been widely acknowledged in contemporary applied and sociolinguistics (Rampton 2006, Blommaert 2010. While for many this paradigmatic shift has been a welcome challenge to segregationalist approaches (Mühlhäusler 1996, Makoni and Pennycook 2007 and deficit discourses in relation to multilingualism (Jacquemet 2005, Jaffe 2007, it is not an unproblematic concept for minority language media and language sustainability. For those committed to activism and engagement with policy makers, the current paradigmatic shift, which has been described in terms of a performance era for minority language media (Pietikäinen and Kelly-Holmes 2011, presents particular challenges which have the potential to undermine gains made in previous eras in relation to media rights for minority language speakers. Using the example of a recent multi-media campaign to revitalise Irish, the Bród Club, this paper explores the opportunities and problems presented by the contemporary performance era for minority language media.

Critical Analysis of Multimodal Discourse

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

van Leeuwen, Theo

2013-01-01

This is an encyclopaedia article which defines the fields of critical discourse analysis and multimodality studies, argues that within critical discourse analysis more attention should be paid to multimodality, and within multimodality to critical analysis, and ends reviewing a few examples of re...

Transformation and Regulation: A Century of Continuity in Nursery School and Welfare Policy Rhetoric

Science.gov (United States)

Read, Jane

2015-01-01

This article explores policy development for under-fives and its implementation in nursery schools in the first two decades of the twentieth century and draws parallels with current policy initiatives such as Sure Start and the "Troubled Families" programme. It interrogates how discourse on British racial health shaped policy and…

Synthetic Biology between Self-Regulation and Public Discourse: Ethical Issues and the Many Roles of the Ethicist.

Science.gov (United States)

Arnason, Gardar

2017-04-01

This article discusses the roles of ethicists in the governance of synthetic biology. I am particularly concerned with the idea of self-regulation of bioscience and its relationship to public discourse about ethical issues in bioscience. I will look at the role of philosophical ethicists at different levels and loci, from the "embedded ethicist" in the laboratory or research project, to ethicists' impact on policy and public discourse. In a democratic society, the development of governance frameworks for emerging technologies, such as synthetic biology, needs to be guided by a well-informed public discourse. In the case of synthetic biology, the public discourse has to go further than merely considering technical issues of biosafety and biosecurity, or risk management, to consider more philosophical issues concerning the meaning and value of "life" between the natural and the synthetic. I argue that ethicists have moral expertise to bring to the public arena, which consists not only in guiding the debate but also in evaluating arguments and moral positions and making normative judgments. When ethicists make normative claims or moral judgments, they must be transparent about their theoretical positions and basic moral standpoints.

Constructing the “Arab Spring”: News Discourses in Turkish Newspapers

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Banu Dağtaş

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Originating in Tunisia and spreading rapidly to Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain, and Libya, the recent wave of popular movements that the Western media have dubbed the “Arab Spring” has been closely monitored by the whole world including in Turkey. This country is geographically close to the region and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP has been active in developing foreign policies in relation to the key countries involved. This paper analyzes the news discourses in the reports published between January 25th and February 25th, 2011, in six Turkish national newspapers. This is the period when upheaval reached its peak in Tahrir Square in Cairo, the most potent symbol of “Arab Spring”. The newspapers sampled fall into two categories, those supporting the AKP government (Star, Zaman, and Sabah and those not supporting the AKP government (Cumhuriyet, Hürriyet, and Taraf. To map the discursive fields employed in the news reports, this paper draws on methods from critical discourse analysis and examines news actors and their quotation patterns, lexicalization, overlexicalization and syntactic preferences.

The Stories They Tell: Understanding International Student Mobility through Higher Education Policy

Science.gov (United States)

Abdullah, Doria; Abd Aziz, Mohd Ismail; Mohd Ibrahim, Abdul Latiff

2017-01-01

The movement of students across borders has had profound impact on higher education policy development. This article seeks to unpack international student mobility through a discourse approach, using five policy documents on international student mobility from well-established recruiters of international students. Eight headline findings are…

"Here, without English, You Are Dead": Ideologies of Language and Discourses of Neoliberalism in Adult English Language Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Warriner, Doris S.

2016-01-01

Ideologies of language (and language learning)--in concert with discourses of individualism and meritocracy that characterize neoliberalism--shape pedagogical policies and practices in ways that are consequential for multilingual students all over the developing and developed world. To investigate how such intersections and influences work in…

People out of place: allochthony and autochthony in the Netherlands' identity discourse — metaphors and categories in action

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Yanow, D.; Haar, M. van der

2013-01-01

As with much of Europe, the Netherlands has no explicit ‘race’ discourse; however, the state, through its public policy and administrative practices, does categorise its population along ‘ethnic’ lines, using birthplace — one's own or one's (grand-) parent's — as the surrogate determining factor.

Metaphor Analysis and Discursive Cycle of Iran's Foreign Policy: “Justice” through the lenses of US-IRAN Presidents

OpenAIRE

SADEGHI, Bahador; TABATABAI, Seyed Mohammad

2015-01-01

Abstract. The purpose of the present paper is twofold. It mainly aims at determining and defining different foreign policy discourses in Islamic republic of Iran as well as their developmental trend in the past three decades through explanation and elucidation of their particulars, components and nodal points. Actually, it seeks to explore what kind of discourses have been emerged in Iran's foreign policy during the lifetime of Islamic republic of Iran and what discursive developments have be...

Mapping Mathematics in Classroom Discourse

Science.gov (United States)

Herbel-Eisenmann, Beth A.; Otten, Samuel

2011-01-01

This article offers a particular analytic method from systemic functional linguistics, "thematic analysis," which reveals the mathematical meaning potentials construed in discourse. Addressing concerns that discourse analysis is too often content-free, thematic analysis provides a way to represent semantic structures of mathematical content,…

Counter-discourse in Zimbabwean literature

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mangena, Tendai

2015-01-01

Counter-Discourse in Zimbabwean Literature is a study of specific aspects of counter-discursive Zimbabwean narratives in English. In discussing the selected texts, my thesis is based on Terdiman’s (1989) the postcolonial concept of counter-discourse. In Zimbabwean literature challenges to a dominant

Discourse of power as a subject of philosophical inquiry: between discursive practices and linguistic discourse

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C. R. Karpenko

2014-07-01

Demonstrated the discrepancy between verbal and textual content of discussions between public and non­public meaning of utterances government entities, which serves a key feature of the power discourse regarding mass consciousness and pragmatic discourse in practical situations of the masses being.

Policies of transnational Moroccan television station

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Fathallah DAGHMI

2011-01-01

Full Text Available This work analyses the different televisions stations accessible to Moroccans living outside the country (Diaspora. It is particularly concerned with the discourse and representation of the managers of the stations. The objective is to understand the media available and the political and economic policies that guide them.

Multimodal Discourse Analysis of the Movie "Argo"

Science.gov (United States)

Bo, Xu

2018-01-01

Based on multimodal discourse theory, this paper makes a multimodal discourse analysis of some shots in the movie "Argo" from the perspective of context of culture, context of situation and meaning of image. Results show that this movie constructs multimodal discourse through particular context, language and image, and successfully…

Comparison of Welfare Discourse Representation in Taiwanese and Singaporean Newspapers: The National Pension Act and CPF LIFE as Examples

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Yu-Ming Chen

2014-10-01

Full Text Available A discourse analysis was used in this study to examine the processes of social welfare ideology construction in Taiwanese and Singaporean newspapers. The National Pension Act and CPF LIFE were used as examples. The research conclusion is as follows: 1. Because of democratization, Taiwanese newspapers are liberal and diverse. 2. Singaporean newspapers support the government and the ruling party’s soft authoritarian policies. 3. Taiwanese newspapers pay considerable attention to universal citizenship and human rights, and contain discourses of parties from both the left and right. However, conversation is lacking between newspapers. 4. Singaporean newspapers are enthusiastic in constructing the right antiwelfarism in emphasizing the failure of Western welfare, and in accentuating the importance of self-reliance and family responsibility. The conclusion shows that differences in discourse reflect various needs of welfare ideologies and value construction. Hence, this study demonstrated the media’s role as a tool for culture hegemony and political socialization, and also the positive influence of democratization on creating diversity in media discourse.

Gendered Discourse about Family Business

Science.gov (United States)

Danes, Sharon M.; Haberman, Heather R.; McTavish, Donald

2005-01-01

Language patterns of family business owners were explored by identifying discourse styles and emphasized ideas in four presenting contexts: business, family, intersection of family and business, and business success. The content analysis supports the existence of a general discourse style within family businesses and of similarities and…

Techniques for Small-Group Discourse

Science.gov (United States)

Kilic, Hulya; Cross, Dionne I.; Ersoz, Filyet A.; Mewborn, Denise S.; Swanagan, Diana; Kim, Jisun

2010-01-01

The nature of mathematical discourse and its influence on the development of students' mathematical understanding has received much attention from researchers in recent years. Engaging students in discursive practices can be difficult; teachers can increase their competence in facilitating discourse through greater awareness of the impact of…

Suffragism and italianità : political and literary discourses of women's citizenship in Italy, 1900-1923

OpenAIRE

Delaney, Emer

2014-01-01

The present research sets out to trace distinctive patterns of language use around the issue of women’s suffrage in early-twentieth-century Liberal Italy. In particular, the question of how women’s identities were constructed in suffrage-related discourse is addressed. TARA (Trinity’s Access to Research Archive) has a robust takedown policy. Please contact us if you have any concerns:

The discourses on induced abortion in Ugandan daily newspapers: a discourse analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Larsson, Sofia; Eliasson, Miriam; Klingberg Allvin, Marie; Faxelid, Elisabeth; Atuyambe, Lynn; Fritzell, Sara

2015-06-25

Ugandan law prohibits abortion under all circumstances except where there is a risk for the woman's life. However, it has been estimated that over 250 000 illegal abortions are being performed in the country yearly. Many of these abortions are carried out under unsafe conditions, being one of the most common reasons behind the nearly 5000 maternal deaths per year in Uganda. Little research has been conducted in relation to societal views on abortion within the Ugandan society. This study aims to analyze the discourse on abortion as expressed in the two main daily Ugandan newspapers. The conceptual content of 59 articles on abortion between years 2006-2012, from the two main daily English-speaking newspapers in Uganda, was studied using principles from critical discourse analysis. A religious discourse and a human rights discourse, together with medical and legal sub discourses frame the subject of abortion in Uganda, with consequences for who is portrayed as a victim and who is to blame for abortions taking place. It shows the strong presence of the Catholic Church within the medial debate on abortion. The results also demonstrate the absence of medial statements related to abortion made by political stakeholders. The Catholic Church has a strong position within the Ugandan society and their stance on abortion tends to have great influence on the way other actors and their activities are presented within the media, as well as how stakeholders choose to convey their message, or choose not to publicly debate the issue in question at all. To decrease the number of maternal deaths, we highlight the need for a more inclusive and varied debate that problematizes the current situation, especially from a gender perspective.

Advice on cultural policy matters: changing times for the Council for Culture

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lelieveldt, Philomeen; Minnaert, Toine

The central question is the changing role of advisory councils in Dutch cultural policy and the subsequent change in discourse on culture and the arts within cultural policy. Our working hypothesis is that the role of the Council for Culture (Raad voor Cultuur), the formal advisory council, is

Diversity, Equality and Higher Education: A Critical Reflection on the Ab/uses of Equity Discourse within Widening Participation

Science.gov (United States)

Archer, Louise

2007-01-01

This paper discusses how the rhetoric of "diversity" is mobilised within New Labour HE policy discourse around widening participation (WP). The paper argues that these constructions of diversity derive an important element of their symbolic power from an association with notions of "equality"--and yet the radical/egalitarian…

Developing Foucault's Discourse Analytic Methodology

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Rainer Diaz-Bone

2006-01-01

Full Text Available A methodological position for a FOUCAULTian discourse analysis is presented. A sequence of analytical steps is introduced and an illustrating example is offered. It is emphasized that discourse analysis has to discover the system-level of discursive rules and the deeper structure of the discursive formation. Otherwise the analysis will be unfinished. Michel FOUCAULTs work is theoretically grounded in French structuralism and (the so called post-structuralism. In this paper, post-structuralism is not conceived as a means for overcoming of structuralism, but as a way of critically continuing the structural perspective. In this way, discursive structures can be related to discursive practices and the concept of structure can be disclosed (e. g. to inter-discourse or DERRIDAs concept of structurality. In this way, the structural methodology is continued and radicalized, but not given up. In this paper, FOUCAULTs theory is combined with the works of Michel PÊCHEUX and (especially for the sociology of knowledge and the sociology of culture Pierre BOURDIEU. The practice of discourse analysis is theoretically grounded. This practice can be conceived as a reflexive coupling of deconstruction and reconstruction in the material to be analyzed. This methodology therefore can be characterized as a reconstructive qualitative methodology. At the end of the article, forms of discourse analysis are criticized that do not intend to recover the system level of discursive rules and that do not intend to discover the deeper structure of the discursive formation (i. e. episteme, socio-episteme. These forms merely are commentaries of discourses (not their analyses, they remain phenomenological and are therefore: pre-structuralist. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs060168

Toward a computer-aided methodology for discourse analysis

African Journals Online (AJOL)

aided methods to discourse ... Multilingual Concordancer, NLTK (Natural Language Tool Kit), Simple .... "media discourse" or "learner discourse". ..... The pair 'active euthanasia' occurs seven times in the text used for this .... New York: Pantheon.

Emotions in political discourse. Kirchnerism's"Phatogram"

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Nicolás Bermúdez

2015-06-01

Full Text Available This article relies on a broader research on the kirchnerista discourse operations. Nowadays, Argentinean political language is full of terms that designate emotions and full of thrill seeking resources. This indicates the intensity of the emotional dimension of political discourse. Therefore, it seems important to analyze what are the emotions that kirchnerista discourse really develops. Concretely, the objective of this paper is to present an analysis about discursive procedures developed by the presidential speaker in order to produce certain emotion in the audience. Although the main thesis of the research is that there are determinable emotional cycles in the history of kirchnerista presidential discourse, in this article the analysis is limited to a corpus of commemoration messages pronounced between 2003 and 2007. This election demonstrates the importance to be given to genre between restrictions affecting the formation of the sense. This analysis was made according to the theoretical and methodological foundations of the social discourses theory. However, the descriptive phase calls for the contributions of rhetoric and philosophy, disciplines that long ago think about the emotions.

Economies of Racism: Grounding Education Policy Research in the Complex Dialectic of Race, Class, and Capital

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Anthony L.; De Lissovoy, Noah

2011-01-01

The intent of this paper is to interrogate the current theoretical discourse in education concerning issues of race and class. The authors maintain that in recent years educational theory and critical policy discourse have unintentionally become splintered in such a way that race and class theories are employed separately, without much analysis of…

The New Development of the Study of Discourse Anaphora ------Review of Discourse Anaphora: A Cognitive-Functional Approach

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Meixia Li

2012-09-01

Full Text Available The English word anaphora is derived from the Greek word ἀναφορά, meaning carrying back. For a long time anaphora has been the object of research in a wide range of disciplines, such as rhetoric, philosophy, theoretical linguistics and so on. A great number of remarkable achievements have been made in these fields. In the 1970’s there was a “discourse turn” in the domain of the humanities and the social sciences, which marked the birth and flourishing of such cross-disciplines as psycholinguistics, computational linguistics, cognitive linguistics, corpus linguistics, discourse studies and so on, and which also paved the way for the turn of the study of anaphora from focusing on intrasentential anaphora to intersentential anaphora. Intrasentential anaphora refers to the relationship between a pronoun and its antecedent being contained within one sentence, while intersentential anaphora can also be called discourse anaphora, which refers to “the relationship between a pronoun and its antecedent earlier in the discourse” (Clark & Parikh, 2006, p. 1. From the late 20th century on, discourse anaphora has become one of the hot topics in several fields such as psychology, cognitive science, artificial intelligence, etc. Many fruitful research results (i.e. Huang, 2002; Clark & Parikh, 2006, etc. have been obtained. Ming-Ming Pu’s monograph Discourse Anaphora: A Cognitive-Functional Approach, published by LINCOM GmbH in Muenchen, Germany in 2011 is another important work of the study of discourse anaphora. In this book, the author first proposes a cognitive-functional model to account for how the construction of mental structures determines the use and resolution of discourse anaphora. Afterwards he does a comparative quantitative study of both English and Chinese empirical and text data, which demonstrates that on the one hand the occurrence and distribution of discourse anaphora is more universal in nature than language

Historical continuities in the education policy discourses of the ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Hennie

Keywords: academic education; African National Congress; Bantu Education Act; education policy ... Political and Educational Involvement of the ANC within South Africa from 1912 to 1960 ...... OR Tambo - Teacher, Lawyer and Freedom.

Tri-sector partnerships in social entrepreneurship: discourse and practice of the actors from the circles of action and reflection

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Carla Bronzo

2012-09-01

Full Text Available This article discusses the construction of tri-sector partnerships in three projects conducted in Brazil in different fields of intervention of public policy (access to water, basic education and performance of boards of rights of children and adolescents. Collaborative articulations involving the players from three sectors (the State, civil society and the market are practices that are little studied in the Brazilian and even in the international context, as tri-sector partnerships are rare, despite the proliferation of lines of discourse in support of alliances between governments and civil society or between companies and NGOs in the management of public policy. As a research strategy, this study resorted to cooperative inquiry, a method that involves breaking down the boundaries between the subjects and the objects of the analysis. Besides working toward a better understanding of the challenges of building tri-sector partnerships in the Brazilian context, the article also tries to show the relevance to public policy studies of investigative methods based on the subjects studied, as a means of developing an understanding of the practices, lines of discourse and dilemmas linked to social action in social programs.

Digitalizing the welfare state: citizenship discourses in Danish digitalization strategies from 2002 to 2015

OpenAIRE

Schou, Jannick; Hjelholt, Morten

2017-01-01

As governments worldwide become increasingly reliant on digital technologies and e-government, ‘digital citizenship’ has become an important topic for research and policy-makers alike. While often described as the contemporary ‘ideal’ of citizenship, research has tended to downplay the normative dimensions of digital citizenship. Counter to such depoliticized approaches, this article argues that the digital citizen is a deeply political figure. Through a discourse-theoretical analysis of Dani...

Discourses of State identity and Post-Lisbon National Foreign Policy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsen, Henrik

2014-01-01

The political system of the EU and its member states is frequently seen as postWestphalian within constructivist-inspired research. This is based on the view that political authority and legitimacy are to be found both at the EU level and the national level with no clear borders between them....... The question raised in this article is how the member states conceive of themselves as foreign policy actors in this situation where they are both politically embedded in EU foreign policy structures and, in most cases, formally able to act outside the EU structures in the field of foreign policy. The overall...... argument is that a pertinent answer to this question can be provided by looking at how (or whether) state identity is articulated in relation to the EU. The paper first presents theoretical considerations relating to discursive articulations of state identity in an EU context. The relevance...

Ontological and epistemological discourse(s) on sustainable ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This article addresses philosophical discourses (ontology and epistemology) that have framed researchers' position on topical issues relating to sustainable development, particularly in relation to Sierra Leone. The country is a nation full of memories; that which has brought lasting pain in the minds of people and the use of ...

The organization and logic of doctrinary discourse

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Maria Nicolescu

2007-01-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to point out the main characteristics of doctrinary discourse in terms of structure and organization, as well as the type of argumentation used (conventions, subject matter, persuasive techniques, emphasizing the similarities with scientific discourse. Doctrinary discourse offers an abstract and partial view of divinity, as conceived by a particular religious group. It is a referential discourse, its statements constantly targeting the divine nature of God and His manifestations. The proof takes the form of Biblical evidence, which has the role of axioms in mathematics: truth taken as granted and used as such.

Management accounting versus medical profession discourse

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Malmmose, Margit

2015-01-01

This study uses discourse, ideology and hegemony as a theoretical foundation to investigate the development of the polarised discourses of management accounting and the medical profession during the introduction of a NPM reform in the public health care debate, using Denmark as a case study. 194...... newspaper articles and 73 medical profession articles from 2002 to 2008 are analysed, using critical discourse analysis. The analysis shows that the management accounting discourse becomes the dominating ideology which is embedded in the public rhetorical debate. There are three peculiar outcomes...... perspective of a patient oriented focus to a quantitative focus through strong rationalised arguments. This puts the medical profession in a dilemma concerning their ideological Hippocratic Oath versus the NPM efficiency focus. However, they choose to gradually adopt management accounting terms in their own...

Pragmatics in discourse performance: insights from aphasiology.

Science.gov (United States)

Ulatowska, Hanna K; Olness, Gloria Streit

2007-05-01

This article examines the preservation of pragmatic abilities of individuals with aphasia, as manifested in the discourse they produce. The construct of coherence is used as a framework for understanding this pragmatic preservation. Discourse coherence is largely derived from the structure, selection, and highlighting of information expressed in a discourse. Personal narratives, as one type of discourse, represent an extended turn-in-conversation on a topic of personal relevance to the speaker, common in everyday life. As such, they provide a valuable source of information about a speaker's pragmatic ability. Examples of personal narratives told by individuals with aphasia are used to illustrate and discuss the means by which discourse coherence is achieved. These include a tightly structured temporal-causal event line, development of theme, and evaluation of information. Possible approaches to clinical assessment are considered, including use of global rating systems.

Promoting Civil Discourse on Campus

Science.gov (United States)

Bornstein, Rita

2010-01-01

During the past several decades, off campus and on, much of the discourse on controversial issues has been personal, vicious, and divisive. On the national scene, politics has become permeated with incivility. It now appears that Americans have been naive about their ability and willingness to engage in civil discourse and compromise. How can…

DISCOURSE, REFERENCIATION AND CONSTRUCTION OF POLITICAL IDENTITY: THE CASE OF OCCUPY WALL STREET

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Thaysa Maria Braide de Moraes Cavalcante

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This article aims to undertake an analysis of identity construction of the Occupy Wall Street (OWS, North American movement that opposed the financial policy of capitalism and, consequently, the strong influence of the capital of the State. Thus, we aim to answer the question of how does the discursive construction of identity of this object of discourse, from the referential strategies mobilized in the text of the Statement of Autonomy, document approved by the General Assembly of movement. Our theoretical and methodological support consists of a link between the theory of discourse, the political scientist Ernesto Laclau (1990, 2011; LACLAU; MOUFFE, 2001 – especially his remarks about the relationship between discourse, antagonism and construction of political identities through an equivalence of logic –, and studies of referentiation from the perspective of authors such as Apothéloz e Reichler-Béguelin (1995, Koch (2005, 2015, Marcuschi (2007 e Ciulla e Silva (2008. Using as textual analysis category anaphoric expressions – without neglecting other elements, like some deictics, that interfere in the construction process of the discourse object in question – we attention to the fact that this construction sets the OWS as what Laclau calls empty significant whose identity is carved through the formation and expansion of a chain of equivalence, which is established from an antagonistic relationship. Finally, we discuss some issues concerning this identity construction mode in order to face the language not only as a way of materialization of social tensions but as the privileged place of social struggles brought about by these tensions.

CONSTRUCTING ORGANIZATIONAL DISCOURSE. A SYMBOLIC ACTION IN IMPROVING WORK

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Alexandra GALBIN

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Social constructionism, a postmodern approach with epistemological assumptions, brings new resources for organizational interventions. A key element in organizational development, the discourse plays an important role in fashioning the future of this. This article presents the organizational discourse as a symbolic action in which discourse influence behavior of members and reinforces mindsets. Discourse shapes the relations between individuals, and creates mental frames. Create change by changing the discourse generates fresh new possibilities and innovative forms to look at a situation. Constructing a positive organizational discourse offers a great potential for social change and address challenges and advances thinking in the organizational field.

The Discourse of a Preschool Education Curriculum

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Lidija Miškeljin

2016-02-01

Full Text Available The paper presents a critical analysis of the discourse of a preschool education curriculum. Its starting point is Foucault’s concept of discourse as language in use, which not only reflects the social order, but also shapes it through a network of conventions, knowledge and practices determining man’s – or, in this case, the reader’s – perception of reality. The analysis is based on identifying the discourse strategies and/or systems of rules laid out in the text The basic principles of the preschool education curriculum for three- to seven-year-old children – model A which make possible certain statements and insights regarding children and thus position the child and the preschool teacher by means of discourse repertoires. This approach helps contextualize the text and leads to an understanding of the basic discourse mechanism involved in the creation of specific versions of preschool education. As discourse analysis itself is related to interpretation and narratology, with the story as a constant, so is this paper a story about a preschool curriculum, for, like any other text, it tells an unfinished story that can yet evolve in different directions.

Mostly empty words--what the discourse of "choice" in health care does.

Science.gov (United States)

Nordgren, Lars

2010-01-01

This paper has two purposes: one is to analyse how the policy of freedom of choice emerged and was formed in the Swedish health care discourse; the second is related to how free choice influences the discourse in health care and how subjects are formed within the field, i.e. what the language of choice in health care does. The research strategy is inspired by a combined theoretical framework borrowed from Michel Foucault's concepts of "discursive formation" and "subjectivization" completed with Judith Butler's concept of performativity. The language of "freedom of choice" calls to mind the rhetoric of promises, i.e. that the patient should be free and responsible, in his or her relation to health care. Since patients seem to be insufficiently informed and supported about the actual benefits of possibilities and limitations associated with the severely restricted reform of free choice, the statements concerning opportunities to make personal health decisions will lose their significance. The advocacy of discourses of freedom of choice seems therefore mostly like empty words, as they are producing weak patients instead of free and empowered people. As the reform was initiated in the beginning of 2000 it is rather fresh. The paper produces insights into the rhetoric of political promises and the limitations of the reform dealing with freedom of choice in health care.

Public Interest Activism in Canadian ICT Policy: Blowin’ in the Policy Winds

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Leslie Regan Shade

2008-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper the catalyzing influence of Bill C-61—a proposed amendment to the Canadian Copyright Act—and other recent ICT-related policy developments on activism in Canada is examined. The discussion expounds upon the role of academics and activists in fostering a broader public discourse about ICT policy, with attention being given to three key moments in Canadian communication policy: the development of the “information highway” in the mid-1990s and, in particular, the activities of the Information Highway Advisory Council (IHAC; the creation of the Telecommunications Policy Review Panel (TPRP in 2005; and the current debates regarding the issue of net neutrality. The analysis demonstrates how “esoteric” digital policy issues are now seen by many Canadians as worthy of their energies. This suggests that politicians cannot afford to ignore their constituents’ concerns about such policy issues as traffic shaping, throttling, fair dealings, and anti-circumvention measures. And, likewise, that academics working in the realm of communication policy domain would do well not to overlook the role of citizens, grassroots groups and non-profit organizations in actively seeking a voice in the various structures of policymaking.

Stigma stories: four discourses about teen mothers, welfare, and poverty.

Science.gov (United States)

Kelly, D M

1996-06-01

This study uses a pragmatic model of discourse theory to analyze more than 700 articles about adolescent mothers published in the Canadian printed media in 1980-92. The introduction notes that feminist research has challenged the view that adolescent motherhood is caused by and perpetrates poverty and that a strong social stigma is still associated with teen pregnancy. After describing the methodology and theoretical framework used in this analysis, academic research on adolescent mothers, welfare, and poverty is criticized for using teen motherhood as a conventional scapegoat which allows the structural causes of poverty to be ignored. Discourses about teenage mothers are then described as a "stigma contest." Thus, discussion centers on 1) the bureaucratic notion that the "wrong" girls are keeping their babies, 2) the conservative framework which holds that an unwed teenager who relies on welfare and refuses to give her baby up for adoption (having properly rejected abortion) serves as the epitome of a "wrong family," and 3) oppositional discourse which provides a "wrong society" framework and is articulated in the alternative media. A "stigma-is-wrong" framework is then provided by the self-interpretation of the teen mothers who hold that the right to choose is essential and that it is inappropriate to stigmatize any choice. The bureaucratic viewpoint is the most common winner in this media contest and helps to frame the public debate and public policy about teenage motherhood and, thus, profoundly influences the daily lives of young mothers and their children by perpetuating negative stereotypes.

Twenty-Year Evolution of Discourse System of China's Educational Economics

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Li Guirong

2006-01-01

Although the discourse system of China's educational economics has a short history of only 20 years,it has gained an important position in the discourse system of pedagogy.This system consists of rich discourse branches including the relations between education and economy,educational investment and educational finance,educational cost and educational benefit.changes and innovation in education system and utilization and efficiency of educational resources.All the above discourse branches show various characteristics in different stages.From theif development and changes.the following features Of diScoursc system of educational economics can be drawn:the specialty of discourse,the trend of time of discourse themes.the positivism of discourse expressions and the applicability of discourse nature and contention of Chinese perspectives.To further improve the quality of the discourse system.the emphasis of educational economic studies should be laid upon the improvement of research attitude,theoretical basis,content and methodology.

Local Interpretations of Degrowth—Actors, Arenas and Attempts to Influence Policy

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Katarina Buhr

2018-06-01

Full Text Available During the last decade, degrowth has developed into a central research theme within sustainability science. A significant proportion of previous works on degrowth has focused on macro-level units of analysis, such as global or national economies. Less is known about local interpretations of degrowth. This study explored interpretations of growth and degrowth in a local setting and attempts to integrate degrowth ideas into local policy. The work was carried out as a qualitative single-case study of the small town of Alingsås, Sweden. The results revealed two different, yet interrelated, local growth discourses in Alingsås: one relating to population growth and one relating to economic growth. Individuals participating in the degrowth discourse tend to have a sustainability-related profession and/or background in civil society. Arenas for local degrowth discussions are few and temporary and, despite some signs of influence, degrowth-related ideas have not had any significant overall impact on local policy and planning. In practice, degrowth-interested individuals tend to adjust their arguments to the mainstream sustainability discourse and turn to arenas beyond the formal municipal organization when discussing transformative ideas about development, progress, and quality of life. Based on these findings, the conditions for a further integration of degrowth into local policy and planning are discussed. Suggested themes for further research are institutional change and the role of local politicians.

Promotional discourse in the websites of two Australian universities: A discourse analytic approach

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Thi Van Yen Hoang

2015-12-01

Full Text Available This article shows how universities represent themselves through the use of language on their institutional websites. Specifically, it compares and contrasts how a long established university, the University of Melbourne and a young university, Macquarie University construct their institutional identities and build up a relationship with potential students. A three-dimensional framework developed by Fairclough is utilised for three stages of discourse analysis. The analysis reveals that the websites of the two universities exhibit a promotional discourse which reflects the impacts of globalisation and the trend of academic marketing on higher education. This type of discourse is utilised by the universities to promote themselves in order attract more students and other resources. A comparison and contrast of the two university websites show that the representation of the two universities is not only determined by the social trends, but also their own tradition and reputation.

Analyzing Counsel/Witness Discourse in Nnewi, Anambra State ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This paper analyzed counsel/witness discourse using the High Court in. Nnewi Municipal Council. Specifically, it described the structure and organization of counsel/witness discourse in the courtroom context highlighting some discourse features inherent in them, and observed the communication strategies and motivation ...

Discourses of Consumption in US-American Culture

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Rita Turner

2010-07-01

Full Text Available This paper explores varieties and examples of discourses of consumption, focusing primarily on US-American cultural discourses. The international community has in recent years developed an extremely valuable body of literature examining strategies for facilitating sustainable consumption; economic ramifications of varying consumption behaviors; attitudes and social structures that encourage or discourage sustainable consumption; approaches to consumption as a component of a sustainable or “green” lifestyle; and considerations of consumption practices in relation to inequities between North and South. The United States has made relatively few contributions to this body of literature thus far. But although the U.S. has not been one of the primary sources of academic literature on sustainable consumption, several types of discourses on consumption have become prominent in U.S. popular culture. These types of discourses include examinations of the moral status of consumption; investigations of the environmental or health consequences of modern consumption behaviors; explorations and critiques of green consumerism; and discourses that either construct or critique the commodification of the nonhuman world to produce objects for consumption. Throughout this paper I outline and offer examples of these strains of popular discourse, drawing on a newly-emerging body of U.S. literature and critically analyzing instances of discourse about sustainable consumption in film, television, internet, and print media. I conclude by examining new perspectives on sustainable coexistence that offer transformative possibilities for establishing relationships with the more-than-human world that are not based primarily on consumption.

From the Totalitarian Language to the Informative Discourse. A Romanian Media Discourse Analysis During the '90s

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LUMINIŢA ROŞCA

2013-05-01

Full Text Available This study aims at emphasizing the institutional transformations that occurred in the public environment following the events in December 1989 in Romania, focusing on the dismantling of mechanisms that marked the transition from the national-communist propaganda discourse to the informative discourse, which laid the foundation of the public sphere in post-totalitarian Romania. The hypothesis we start from is that Romanian media was slow in abandoning the communist press model, which explains the manichaeist discourse of nowadays media, the involvement of politics in media business and, last but not least, the extremely poor market - the poorest in Eastern Europe, as showed by the latest studies. The analysis has two components: the context analysis (historical, political, ideological and the media discourse analysis (cf. P. Charaudeau, R. Fowler, John Hartley, in line with the view of certain authors (C. Sparks with respect to the transitions in Eastern Europe and the role media played in these processes. Also, we permanently referred to the theories of the public sphere explained by J. Habermas. The discourse procedures of the totalitarian language were emphasized by investigating a corpus formed of the main publications of the printed press before and after 1989.

"Big Society" in the UK: A Policy Review

Science.gov (United States)

Evans, Kathy

2011-01-01

Alongside the UK Coalition Government's historic public spending cuts, the "Big Society" has become a major narrative in UK political discourse. This article reviews key features of Big Society policies against their aims of rebalancing the economy and mending "Broken Britain", with particular reference to their implications…

Competing discourses of the “Maya Past”

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Denise Fay Brown

2010-12-01

Full Text Available The use of the "Maya past" for tourism marketing purposes has been a successful tool for attracting international visitors to Mexico for decades. Images of the Maya zone emerge, in part, from an academic focus on the "Maya past" that includes curiosity about the so-called "collapse" of the Classic Maya civilization. The Ancient Maya are seen as “mysterious" and their society as "enigmatic". But the voices of the almost thirty million Maya people who live in Mexico and Guatemala are only vaguely heard in the discourses of tourism and of academia. This paper examines three competing discourses of the Maya and proposes that these discourses represent epistemologies that are nested in relationships of power, such that the Maya discourse is silenced. As such, the dominant discourses of the Maya past can undermine the Maya understanding of their own past, and become a self-fulfilling prophecy regarding the “collapse” of the contemporary Maya.

FROM THE TOTALITARIAN LANGUAGE TO THE INFORMATIVE DISCOURSE. A ROMANIAN MEDIA DISCOURSE ANALYSIS DURING THE ’90S

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LUMINIŢA ROŞCA

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This study aims at emphasizing the institutional transformations that occurred in the public environment following the events in December 1989 in Romania, focusing on the dismantling of mechanisms that marked the transition from the national communist propaganda discourse to the informative discourse, which laid the foundation of the public sphere in post-totalitarian Romania. The hypothesis is that Romanian media was slow in abandoning the communist press model, which explains the manichaeist discourse of nowadays media, the involvement of politics in media business and, last but not least, the extremely poor market – the poorest in Eastern Europe, as showed by the latest studies. The analysis has two components: the context analysis (historical, political, and ideological and the media discourse analysis, in line with the view of certain authors (C. Sparks with respect to the transitions in Eastern Europe and the role the media played in these processes. The discourse procedures of the totalitarian language were emphasized by investigating a corpus formed of the main publications of the printed press before and after 1989.

'With the best of reasons': cervical cancer prevention policy and the suppression of sexual risk factor information.

Science.gov (United States)

Braun, V; Gavey, N

1999-05-01

Cervical cancer is a very common but largely preventable cancer. Despite considerable medical knowledge of risk and even causal factors, possible social-behavioural strategies for the primary prevention of cervical cancer have rarely been explored as a viable addition to cervical screening. We examine key policy documents and interview 18 key informants on cervical cancer prevention in New Zealand. Using a discourse analytic approach we identify and discuss two discourses (which we have labelled 'protectionism' and 'right to know') which inform positions on whether or not women should be provided with information regarding sexual risk factors for cervical cancer. Cervical cancer prevention policy in New Zealand, which largely reflects a protectionist discourse, suppresses sexual risk factor information and focuses exclusively on cervical screening. The right to know discourse informs an alternative position, which contends that women have a right to be informed about risk factors. We discuss these positions in relation to questions about women's rights, the principle of informed choice, and attempts to judge what is in women's 'best interests.'

Institutional discourses and ascribed disability identities

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Mukta Kulkarni

2017-09-01

Full Text Available In the present study we asked: how do institutional discourses, as represented in mass media such as newspapers, confer identities upon a traditionally marginalised collective such as those with a disability? To answer our question, we examined Indian newspaper discourse from 2001 to 2010, the time period between two census counts. We observed that disability identities—that of a welfare recipient, a collective with human rights, a collective that is vulnerable, and that engages in miscreancy—were ascribed through selective highlighting of certain aspects of the collective, thereby socially positioning the collective, and through the associated signalling of institutional subject positions. Present observations indicate that identities of a collective can be governed by institutional discourse, that those “labelled” can themselves reinforce institutionally ascribed identities, and that as institutional discourses confer identities onto the marginalised, they simultaneously also signal who the relatively more powerful institutional actors are.

The acquisition of the Dutch discourse particle wel

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hogeweg, L.; Gerrevink, R.

2015-01-01

Dutch is known for its large inventory of discourse particles. Discourse particles are very frequent and highly important in conversation. Yet, not much research has been conducted on how children acquire them. In this paper we focus on the acquisition of the Dutch discourse particle wel. In earlier

The Logic of Equivalence in Academic Discourse?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Madsen, Dorte

2017-01-01

of discourse to distinguish between the scientific field, where interrelationships among academic disciplines are taken as an object of research, and the widespread uses of ‘interdisciplinary’ and ‘interdisciplinarity’ in academic discourse more generally, typically for legitimation purposes. The assumption......-discourses meet. It is suggested that the logics of signification, and the tension between difference and equivalence, may be important tools for theorizing this borderland. It is argued that whereas the logic of equivalence and the production of empty signifiers appears to be of marginal interest...... to the scientific field, the logic of difference as a more complex articulation of elements, seems to be more in line with the ideals of academic discourse....

Bollywoodization of foreign policy: How film discourse portrays tension between states

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Azmat Rasul

2015-07-01

Full Text Available As the nexus between film industry and state apparatus has grown critical and complex in the wake of war on terror, academic circle have paid attention to identify the patterns of relationship between entertainment industry of a country and its foreign policy. To understand the role of the soft power in assisting governments to secure their interests at international level, this article examines the relationship between Bollywood and the Indian foreign policy through the lens of critical political economy of communication approach. Popular films portraying tension and cooperation between the South Asian neighbors were critically analyzed, and the results indicated that Bollywood closely followed the foreign policy initiative of the Indian government.

Evaluation and Policy Analysis: A Communicative Framework

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Cynthia Wallat

1997-07-01

Full Text Available A major challenge for the next generation of students of human development is to help shape the paradigms by which we analyze and evaluate public policies for children and families. Advocates of building research and policy connections point to health care and stress experiences across home, school, and community as critical policy issues that expand the scope of contexts and outcomes studied. At a minimum, development researchers and practitioners will need to be well versed in available methods of inquiry; they will need to be "methodologically multilingual" when conducting evaluation and policy analysis, producing reports, and reporting their interpretations to consumer and policy audiences. This article suggests how traditional approaches to policy inquiry can be reconsidered in light of these research inquiry and communicative skills needed by all policy researchers. A fifteen year review of both policy and discourse processes research is presented to suggest ways to conduct policy studies within a communicative framework.

Marginalization and challenge: the production of knowledge and landscape in Canadian nuclear waste management policy making

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stanley, A.E.

2006-01-01

Aboriginal peoples have recently become politically significant in Canadian nuclear fuel waste (NFW) management policy making. Their newfound significance comes on the heels of an important challenge to the knowledge and authority of the nuclear industry with respect to its plans for NFW lead by a number of public groups and Aboriginal peoples from across Canada, including the Serpent River First Nation. This dissertation examines the relationships between the discourses of the Serpent River First Nation (SRFN) about their experiences of the nuclear fuel chain and the discourses of the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) about the management of NFW. Two trends are found to characterize these relationships: marginalization and challenge. The discourses of the NWMO marginalize the SRFN, excluding their experiences of the nuclear fuel chain, radioactivity, and the effects of nuclear industries from the policy making process. The discourses of the SRFN challenge the claims of the NWMO about the effects of nuclear wastes and radioactivity, as well as about the safe and beneficial development of the nuclear fuel chain. I identify discourses of 'modern risk' and 'citizenship' found in the work of the NWMO as instrumental for maintaining the nuclear industry's control over the production of knowledge about NFW and its effects and subjugating the knowledge of the SRFN. I also identify discourses of identity, oppression, and 'situated knowledge' as important challenges to the content, method and premises of the claims of the nuclear industry about the management of NFW. While I conclude that the NWMO's discourses of risk and citizenship constitute a colonial politics of exclusion, I note that their discourses are contingent on the exclusion of the experiences of the SRFN with the fuel chain. For their accounts to be coherent, the NWMO need to maintain a strategic silence on the overwhelming implication Aboriginal peoples, as a category, in the nuclear fuel chain

We only talk about breast feeding: a discourse analysis of infant feeding messages in antenatal group-based education.

Science.gov (United States)

Jennifer, Fenwick; Elaine, Burns; Athena, Sheehan; Virginia, Schmied

2013-05-01

the aim of the study was to examine the dominant discourses that midwives draw on to present information on breast feeding in group-based antenatal education sessions. breast-feeding initiation rates are high among Australian women however, duration rates are low. Antenatal breast-feeding education is considered a key strategy in promoting breast feeding to childbearing women. The efficacy and effectiveness of such a strategy is equivocal and there is little qualitative work examining group-based antenatal breast-feeding education. discourse analysis was used to explore the language and practises of midwives facilitating group antenatal breast-feeding education sessions at two Australian maternity facilities. Nine sessions were observed and tape recorded over a 12 month period. Each session lasted between 60 and 140 mins. the analysis revealed four dominate discourses midwives used to promote breast feeding during group-based antenatal education session. The predominant discourses 'There is only one feeding option': breast feeding' and 'Selling the 'breast is best' reflected how midwives used their personal and professional commitment to breast feeding, within supportive and protective policy frameworks, to convince as many pregnant women as possible to commit to breast feeding. Sessions were organised to ensure women and their partners were 'armed' with as much information as possible about the value of breastmilk, successful positioning and attachment and practical strategies to deal with early breast-feeding problems. Antenatal commitment to breast feeding was deemed necessary if women were to overcome potential hurdles and maintain a commitment to the supply of breast milk. The latter two discourses, drawn upon to promote the breast-feeding message, presented infants as 'hard wired' to breast feed and male partners as 'protectors' of breast feeding. midwives clearly demonstrated a passion and enthusiasm for breast-feeding education. Examining the dominant

Discourse Analysis and the Study of Educational Leadership

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Gary; Mungal, Angus Shiva

2015-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the current and past work using discourse analysis in the field of educational administration and of discourse analysis as a methodology. Design/Methodology/Approach: Authors reviewed research in educational leadership that uses discourse analysis as a methodology. Findings: While…

Analysis and evaluation of argumentative discourse

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Eemeren, F.H.; Garssen, B.; van Eemeren, F.H.

2015-01-01

Although Renkema’s Introduction to Discourse Studies (2004: Chap. 12) provides a useful introduction to the study of argumentation, this brief account does not provide a full characterization of the field. Among the dominant approaches to argumentative discourse a general distinction can be made

Is prophetic discourse adequate to address global economic justice?

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Piet J. Naudé

2011-04-01

Full Text Available This article outlined key features of prophetic discourse and investigated whether this form of moral discourse adequately addresses issues of economic injustice. It is shown that the strength of prophetic discourse is its ability to denounce instances of injustice whilst at the same time announcing a God-willed alternative future. The ‘preferential option for the poor’ in Latin American liberation theologies is treated as a case study of the influence of prophetic discourse in contexts of perceived economic injustice. Also the core weaknesses of prophetic discourse are investigated, specifically its incomplete moral argument, weak moral analyses, silence on transition measures, and its inability to take a positive stance on reforms in the system from which itself benefits. In the final section it is concluded that prophetic discourse plays an indispensable role in addressing issues of global economic justice, but – taken by itself – it is not an adequate form of moral discourse to address concrete matters of justice.

Contemporary journalistic texts of Latvia in the discoursively cognitive aspect

OpenAIRE

Milevich, I.

2010-01-01

In article the questions devoted to methods of studying of modern publicism of Latvia are considered. The most effective method now admits discoursive various versions – discoursive functional, discoursive cognitive, and comparative discoursive cognitive a method of studying which answers problems of cognitive and pragmatical linguistics. The research of contrastive cognitive journalistic discourse corresponds with the assignments of the cognitive and pragmatic linguistic direction in describ...

Tensions in Constructions of Quality in Australian Early Childhood Education and Care Policy History

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Logan, Helen

2017-01-01

In pronouncements of early childhood education and care (ECEC) policy the importance of quality appears as a seemingly irrefutable concept. Yet, attention to ECEC policy history reveals tensions between discourses that construct quality in ways that endure whereas other ways are ostensibly forgotten. Drawing on a Foucauldian-influenced…

Inclusive Education and ELT Policies in Colombia: Views from Some "PROFILE" Journal Authors

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Robayo Acuña, Lina María; Cárdenas, Melba Libia

2017-01-01

This article reports on a study aimed at exploring inclusive policies in the teaching of English as a foreign language in Colombia, as evidenced in the articles published in the "PROFILE" Journal by Colombian authors. The use of the documentary research method and critical discourse analysis showed that some policies--mainly The National…

New perspectives on discourse and governmentality

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

McIlvenny, Paul; Klausen, Julia Zhukova; Lindegaard, Laura Bang

2016-01-01

in English (and French). We review the narrow impact that Foucault’s ideas have had on discourse studies and summarise the scant literature on discourse and governmentality across different disciplines. Then, we elucidate the new scholarly understandings of Foucault’s later work, as well as engage...

Understanding Iranian Foreign Policy - The Case of Iranian Nuclear Program

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Emir Hadzikadunic

2015-01-01

Full Text Available This paper examines the complexity of the Iranian foreign policy through the case of Iranian nuclear program. The paper aims to assess foreign policy orientations and compares actions of the last three Iranian presidents, Mohammad Khatami, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and current Hassan Rouhani in dealing with the international community (IC in pursuing its nuclear program. This assessment would not be complete without reference to the Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei who is actual head of the state and the most powerful political authority. This paper also relates Iranian foreign policy expectation to competing theories of international relations to identify the most dominant or the most consistent policy orientation. Its aim is to strengthen realist and power-based explanations that have dominated the discourse on Middle Eastern in general and Iranian foreign policy in particular. In this context, a number of questions will be addressed here. To what extend was Iranian negotiation with the IC over its nuclear program consistent throughout these three presidencies? What has changed, if anything, from Iranian foreign policy perspective and why? Can Iranian foreign policy behavior on this specific topic and in this specific time be explained through any international relations theory? As there are many other questions, so there are many theories to examine and explain true Iranian intentions, those below the surface of declared goals (Hadzikadunic, 2014. The methods employed in answering these questions are largely structured around a chronological account and comparative approach. It is also based on the analysis of foreign policy discourse and the assessment of key decision makers.

National Identity: Conceptual models, discourses and political change

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Harder, Peter

2014-01-01

of conceptual models or discourses. This is especially important in cases that involve conflictive political issues such as national and ethnic identity. The article reports on a historical project with a linguistic dimension in my department (PI Stuart Ward, cf. Ward 2004), which aims to throw light......Cognitive Linguistics has demonstrated the applicability of a conceptual approach to the understanding of political issues, cf. Lakoff (2008) and many others. From a different perspective, critical discourse analysis has approached political concepts with a focus on issues involving potentially...... divisive features such as race, class, gender and ethnic identity. Although discourses are not identical to conceptual models, conceptual models are typically manifested in discourse, and discourses are typically reflections of conceptualizations, a theme explored e.g. in Hart and Lukes (2007). As argued...

A Discourse of Transformative Islam within Curriculum Transformation at State Institute for Islamic Studies of Purwokerto (IAIN Purwokerto

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Sabarudin

2017-06-01

Full Text Available This research is aimed to trace the thoughts and actions as efforts to achieve vision and mission of state institute for Islamic studies of Purwokerto (IAIN. The study is directed to answer following questions. Firstly, why transformative Islam becomes a discourse on curriculum development. Secondly, how a discourse of transformative Islam implicates in curriculum development at state institute for Islamic studies of Purwokerto (IAIN. Then, the findings show that a discourse of Islam tranformative in curriculum development at state institute for Islamic studies of Purwokerto (IAIN emerges as a result of an incapability of traditional and modern Islam perspective to resolve people’s problem due to lack of critical understanding of the meaning and message of the Qur’an and Hadith. Then, implication of Islamic transformative discourse in curriculum development at state institute for Islamic studies of Purwokerto can be seen in its intra curricular activities, co-curricular, and extra curricular activities. Through intra-curricular activities, transformative Islam is embodied in Islamic building lectures. In co-curricular program, Islam is indigenized through activity of knowledge and practice of worship (nationally abbreviated PPI, while within extra-curricular activities transformative Islamic values come into student activities which are strongly supported by policies of university leaders.

Language Policy and Language Ideology: Ecological Perspectives on Language and Education in the Himalayan Foothills

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Groff, Cynthia

2018-01-01

Ethnographic research in the Kumaun region of North India highlights different perspectives on this multilingual context and on national-level policies. Language policies that explicitly or implicitly minoritize certain linguistic varieties influence local discourses about language and education but are also interpreted through the lens of local…

Eye Movement Evidence for Hierarchy Effects on Memory Representation of Discourses.

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Yingying Wu

Full Text Available In this study, we applied the text-change paradigm to investigate whether and how discourse hierarchy affected the memory representation of a discourse. Three kinds of three-sentence discourses were constructed. In the hierarchy-high condition and the hierarchy-low condition, the three sentences of the discourses were hierarchically organized and the last sentence of each discourse was located at the high level and the low level of the discourse hierarchy, respectively. In the linear condition, the three sentences of the discourses were linearly organized. Critical words were always located at the last sentence of the discourses. These discourses were successively presented twice and the critical words were changed to semantically related words in the second presentation. The results showed that during the early processing stage, the critical words were read for longer times when they were changed in the hierarchy-high and the linear conditions, but not in the hierarchy-low condition. During the late processing stage, the changed-critical words were again found to induce longer reading times only when they were in the hierarchy-high condition. These results suggest that words in a discourse have better memory representation when they are located at the higher rather than at the lower level of the discourse hierarchy. Global discourse hierarchy is established as an important factor in constructing the mental representation of a discourse.

Eye Movement Evidence for Hierarchy Effects on Memory Representation of Discourses.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Yingying; Yang, Xiaohong; Yang, Yufang

2016-01-01

In this study, we applied the text-change paradigm to investigate whether and how discourse hierarchy affected the memory representation of a discourse. Three kinds of three-sentence discourses were constructed. In the hierarchy-high condition and the hierarchy-low condition, the three sentences of the discourses were hierarchically organized and the last sentence of each discourse was located at the high level and the low level of the discourse hierarchy, respectively. In the linear condition, the three sentences of the discourses were linearly organized. Critical words were always located at the last sentence of the discourses. These discourses were successively presented twice and the critical words were changed to semantically related words in the second presentation. The results showed that during the early processing stage, the critical words were read for longer times when they were changed in the hierarchy-high and the linear conditions, but not in the hierarchy-low condition. During the late processing stage, the changed-critical words were again found to induce longer reading times only when they were in the hierarchy-high condition. These results suggest that words in a discourse have better memory representation when they are located at the higher rather than at the lower level of the discourse hierarchy. Global discourse hierarchy is established as an important factor in constructing the mental representation of a discourse.

"It's not my business": Exploring heteronormativity in young people's discourses about lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer issues and their implications for youth health and wellbeing.

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Ng, Cara Ky; Haines-Saah, Rebecca J; Knight, Rodney E; Shoveller, Jean A; Johnson, Joy L

2017-06-01

In Canada, the issue of creating safe and inclusive school environments for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer students has been in the spotlight. Several researchers and advocates have pointed out the positive effects of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer-positive policy frameworks on the health and wellbeing of all young people. In this article, we take a critical approach to analyzing narrative findings from qualitative interviews conducted with youth in three communities in British Columbia, Canada: "the North," Vancouver, and Abbotsford. Using a Foucauldian Discourse Analytic Approach and Butler's concept of Citationality, our analysis suggested that although explicit homophobia was largely absent from youth discussions, young people discursively constructed lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer identities and "communities" in ways that reified heteronormativity. Youth made references to sociopolitical discourses of libertarianism and liberalism and to homonormative stereotypes regarding gay masculinity. A few young people also alluded to egalitarian, queer-positive discourses, which appeared to interrogate structures of heteronormativity. Since studies suggest a connection between the existence of institutional supports for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer students in schools and their mental and physical wellbeing, we conclude by considering the limitations and possibilities of these sociopolitical discourses in the struggle for sexual and gender equity, and how they might help frame future health-related, anti-homophobia policy frameworks in educational settings.

The birth and spread of IWRM - A case study of global policy diffusion and translation

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Jeremy Allouche

2016-10-01

Full Text Available How did the idea of IWRM emerge at the global level? Why has IWRM become so popular and so resilient, at least in discourse and policy? What has caused IWRM policies to diffuse across time and space? The principal goal of this article is to identify a set of concepts and mechanisms to study the global diffusion and translation of IWRM through coercion, cooperation, or learning from the ground. The article will also highlight the extent to which this global diffusion was contested and translated into different meanings in terms of policy orientation. Overall, IWRM was a mindset of a particular period where the water policy paradigm was evolving in the same direction as sustainable development and other related paradigms in a post-Rio moment. There were no clear alternatives at the time but now IWRM is being questioned. This IWRM fatigue is leading to other framings and discourses around the water-food-energy nexus and the green economy.

Assessing the validity of discourse analysis: transdisciplinary convergence

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Jaipal-Jamani, Kamini

2014-12-01

Research studies using discourse analysis approaches make claims about phenomena or issues based on interpretation of written or spoken text, which includes images and gestures. How are findings/interpretations from discourse analysis validated? This paper proposes transdisciplinary convergence as a way to validate discourse analysis approaches to research. The argument is made that discourse analysis explicitly grounded in semiotics, systemic functional linguistics, and critical theory, offers a credible research methodology. The underlying assumptions, constructs, and techniques of analysis of these three theoretical disciplines can be drawn on to show convergence of data at multiple levels, validating interpretations from text analysis.

Discourse Markers s Sentence Openers in Legal English

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Onorina Botezat

2010-06-01

Full Text Available Discourse markers can be defined as linguistic expressions of different length which carry pragmatic and propositional meaning, they are used to combine clauses or to connect sentence elements andthey appear in both speech and writing, and facilitate the discourse. Each discourse marker indicates a particular meaning relationship between two or more clauses. English is predominantly the language ofinternational legal practice and its importance to lawyers cannot be over-emphasized. The way in which one uses legal English can therefore be crucial to professional success. This paper stresses the importance of good usage of discourse markers in legal English.

Debated agronomy: public discourse and the future of biotechnology policy in Ghana.

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Braimah, Joseph A; Atuoye, Kilian N; Vercillo, Siera; Warring, Carrie; Luginaah, Isaac

2017-01-01

This paper examines the highly contested and ongoing biotechnology (Bt) policy-making process in Ghana. We analyse media content on how Bt is viewed in the context of Ghana's parliamentary debate on the Plant Breeders Bill and within the broader public policy-making literature. This paper does not seek to take a position on Bt or the Bill, but to understand how policy actors influence the debate with political and scientific rhetoric in Ghana. The study reveals that in the midst of scientific uncertainties of Bt's potential for sustainable agriculture production and food security, policy decisions that encourage its future adoption are heavily influenced by health, scientific, economic, environmental and political factors dictated by different ideologies, values and norms. While locally pioneered plant breeding is visible and common in the Ghanaian food chain, plant breeding/GMOs/Bt from international corporations is strongly resisted by anti-GMO coalitions. Understanding the complex and messy nature of Bt policy-making is critical for future development of agricultural technology in Ghana and elsewhere.

FOREIGN ACCENT PERCEPTION IN PROFESSIONAL DISCOURSE

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Tyurina, S.Yu.

2017-09-01

Full Text Available This paper examines the attitude to the accent in professional discourse. The paper focuses on linguistic approach to accent, thus, the communicative effect of accent in professional discourse is evaluated. Discourse is considered as one of the key concepts of contemporary thinking. The key goal is to study how native speaking and non-native speaking people evaluate the accents in professional sphere. The study is considered to have important implications due to academic and professional mobility. Both quantitative and qualitative methods to collect and analyze data were used. The results of the research may be interesting for phoneticians and ESP teachers.

Transformed Understanding or Enlightened Ableism? The Gap between Policy and Practice for Children with Disabilities in Aotearoa New Zealand

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Lyons, Lesley

2013-01-01

The concept of inclusion in the New Zealand legislative and policy environment is articulated in a liberal human rights discourse intended to redress past practices of segregation and exclusion. Such discourse has provided the early childhood sector with new ways to speak about disability and inclusion. There is, however, a growing body of…

Building a Discourse Community: Initial Practices

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Hodge, Lynn Liao; Walther, Ashley

2017-01-01

Although it is not a new idea, discourse continues to be a topic of discussion among teachers, teacher educators, and researchers in mathematics education. The National Council of Teachers (NCTM) and the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM 2010) describe mathematics classrooms as discourse communities in which whole-class…

Supportive Discourse Moves in Persian Requests

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Nodoushan, Mohammad Ali Salmani; Allami, Hamid

2011-01-01

This paper reports the findings of a study designed to investigate the types of supportive discourse moves employed by Persian speakers in their Requestive Speech Acts. 372 respondents took a Discourse Completion Test (DCT) with six scenarios ranging from formal to informal degrees of Perceived Situational Seriousness, and returned 2232 Requestive…

Discourse Approaches to Oral Language Assessment.

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Young, Richard F.

2002-01-01

Looks at a sample conversation and examines layers of interpretation that different academic traditions have constructed to interpret it. Reviews studies that have compared the discourse of oral interaction in assessment with oral discourse in contexts outside the assessment. Discusses studies that related ways of speaking to cultural values of…

Interprofessional collaborative patient-centred care: a critical exploration of two related discourses.

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Fox, Ann; Reeves, Scott

2015-03-01

There has been sustained international interest from health care policy makers, practitioners, and researchers in developing interprofessional approaches to delivering patient-centred care. In this paper, we offer a critical exploration of a selection of professional discourses related to these practice paradigms, including interprofessional collaboration, patient-centred care, and the combination of the two. We argue that for some groups of patients, inequalities between different health and social care professions and between professionals and patients challenge the successful realization of the positive aims associated with these discourses. Specifically, we argue that interprofessional and professional-patient hierarchies raise a number of key questions about the nature of professions, their relationships with one another as well as their relationship with patients. We explore how the focus on interprofessional collaboration and patient-centred care have the potential to reinforce a patient compliance model by shifting responsibility to patients to do the "right thing" and by extending the reach of medical power across other groups of professionals. Our goal is to stimulate debate that leads to enhanced practice opportunities for health professionals and improved care for patients.

Constructing osteoarthritis through discourse – a qualitative analysis of six patient information leaflets on osteoarthritis

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Ong Bie

2007-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Health service policy in the United Kingdom emphasises the importance of self-care by patients with chronic conditions. Written information for patients about their condition is seen as an important aid to help patients look after themselves. From a discourse analysis perspective written texts such as patient information leaflets do not simply describe the reality of a medical condition and its management but by drawing on some sorts of knowledge and evidence rather than others help construct the reality of that condition. This study explored patient information leaflets on osteoarthritis (OA to see how OA was constructed and to consider the implications for self-care. Methods Systematic and repeated readings of six patient information leaflets on osteoarthritis to look for similarities and differences across leaflets, contradictions within leaflets and the resources called on to make claims about the nature of OA and its management. Results Biomedical discourse of OA as a joint disease dominated. Only one leaflet included an illness discourse albeit limited, and was also the only one to feature patient experiences of living with OA. The leaflets had different views on the causes of OA including the role of lifestyle and ageing. Most emphasised patient responsibility for preventing the progression of OA. Advice about changing behaviour such as diet and exercise was not grounded in lived experience. There were inconsistent messages about using painkillers, exercise and the need to involve professionals when making changes to lifestyle. Conclusion The nature of the discourse impacted on how OA and the respective roles of patients and professionals were depicted. Limited discourse on illness meant that the complexity of living with OA and its consequences was underestimated. Written information needs to shift from joint biology to helping patients live with osteoarthritis. Written information should incorporate patient

Climate policy: Transparency for Loss and Damage

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Mechler, Reinhard

2017-10-01

Loss and Damage (L&D) has been gaining traction since the Paris Agreement took the issue on as a separate article, arguably creating a third pillar of international climate policy. Debate so far has led to vague definitions of the remit of the L&D mechanism; research on actor perspectives may help to propel this discourse forward.

The discourse of causal explanations in school science

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Slater, Tammy Jayne Anne

Researchers and educators working from a systemic functional linguistic perspective have provided a body of work on science discourse which offers an excellent starting point for examining the linguistic aspects of the development of causal discourse in school science, discourse which Derewianka (1995) claimed is critical to success in secondary school. No work has yet described the development of causal language by identifying the linguistic features present in oral discourse or by comparing the causal discourse of native and non-native (ESL) speakers of English. The current research responds to this gap by examining the oral discourse collected from ESL and non-ESL students at the primary and high school grades. Specifically, it asks the following questions: (1) How do the teachers and students in these four contexts develop causal explanations and their relevant taxonomies through classroom interactions? (2) What are the causal discourse features being used by the students in these four contexts to construct oral causal explanations? The findings of the social practice analysis showed that the teachers in the four contexts differed in their approaches to teaching, with the primary school mainstream teacher focusing largely on the hands-on practice , the primary school ESL teacher moving from practice to theory, the high school mainstream teacher moving from theory to practice, and the high school ESL teacher relying primarily on theory. The findings from the quantitative, small corpus approach suggest that the developmental path of cause which has been identified in the writing of experts shows up not only in written texts but also in the oral texts which learners construct. Moreover, this move appears when the discourse of high school ESL and non-ESL students is compared, suggesting a developmental progression in the acquisition of these features by these students. The findings also reveal that the knowledge constructed, as shown by the concept maps created

Effects of total glucosides from paeony (Paeonia lactiflora Pall) roots on experimental atherosclerosis in rats.

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Li, Jing; Chen, Chang Xun; Shen, Yun Hui

2011-05-17

Total glucosides of paeony (TGP), compounds extracted from the roots of Paeonia lactiflora Pall, have been used as an anti-inflammatory drug for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in China. Inflammation plays a critical role in the development of atherosclerotic vascular disease. Risk of cardiovascular diseases is significantly higher in patients with RA than in normal population. It has a great significance to study the effects of TGP on atherosclerosis. To investigate the effects of TGP on atherosclerosis induced by excessive administration of vitamin D and cholesterol in rats and study the mechanisms involved. Atherosclerosis was induced by excessive administration of vitamin D and cholesterol in rats. TGP was intragastrically administered for 15 weeks. The serum concentrations of total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) and high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) were measured by automatic biochemistry analyzer. Apolipoprotein A1 (ApoA1) and apolipoprotein B (ApoB) were determined by immunoturbidimetry method, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and C-reactive protein (CRP) were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. The morphological changes of aorta were observed with optical microscopy. Compared to controls, TGP significantly lowered the serum level of TC, TG, LDL-C, ApoB, TNF-alpha, IL-6 and CRP, increased the ratios of HDL-C/LDL-C and ApoA1/ApoB, decreased the intima-media thickness (IMT) of abdominal aortal wall and improved the morphological change of the aorta. TGP may attenuate the development of atherosclerotic disease. The beneficial effects are associated with its lowering blood lipids and inhibiting the expression of inflammatory cytokines. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Signal to noise : listening for democracy and environment in climate change discourse

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Glover, L. [Delaware Univ., Newark, DE (United States)

2000-06-01

This paper discussed the importance of active involvement by civic society in achieving long term greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction targets to stabilize atmospheric GHG gas concentrations. On the basis of the attempted GHG reductions by Annex I nations in the first reporting period under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC), climate change policy was generally a failure. Few developed nations managed to return annual emissions to anywhere near 1990 levels. This paper focused on the failures in national climate change policy in the United States and Australia in reducing GHG emissions. The author stated that the cause of these failures was not due to communication inadequacies between governments and the general public. National policy formulation processes have been characterized by minimal community input and low discourse over the ethical and practical implications of ecological justice. It was emphasized that civic society should be engaged in longer-term policy formulations to effectively overcome the limitations currently imposed by liberal-democratic nation states and ecological modernisation policy approaches. It was cautioned that until civic society is involved, progress will be bound by the contradictions of seeking to create ecologically-minded communities through governance that fails to explain the relationships between social behaviour and global ecology. 45 refs.

Disrupting the Continuities Among Residential Schools, the Sixties Scoop, and Child Welfare: An Analysis of Colonial and Neocolonial Discourses

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Holly A. McKenzie

2016-04-01

Full Text Available In Canada, it is estimated that 3 times as many Indigenous children are currently in the care of the state compared to when the residential schools’ populations were at their peak. It is imperative that action be taken. This article explores the continuities among residential schools, the Sixties Scoop, and child welfare in Canada today. In particular, we examine how colonial and neocolonial discourses operate through and justify these policies and practices. We propose nine policy recommendations, which aim to transform child welfare and support Indigenous families to care for their children. Although transformative policy change is unlikely within this neocolonial and neoliberal climate, the recent change in federal leadership has made it more possible to move these policy recommendations forward.

Learning connective-based word representations for implicit discourse relation identification

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Braud, Chloé Elodie; Denis, Pascal

2016-01-01

We introduce a simple semi-supervised ap-proach to improve implicit discourse relation identification. This approach harnesses large amounts of automatically extracted discourse connectives along with their arguments to con-struct new distributional word representations. Specifically, we represen...... their simplicity, these connective-based rep-resentations outperform various off-the-shelf word embeddings, and achieve state-of-the-art performance on this problem.......We introduce a simple semi-supervised ap-proach to improve implicit discourse relation identification. This approach harnesses large amounts of automatically extracted discourse connectives along with their arguments to con-struct new distributional word representations. Specifically, we represent...... words in the space of discourse connectives as a way to directly encode their rhetorical function. Experiments on the Penn Discourse Treebank demonstrate the effectiveness of these task-tailored repre-sentations in predicting implicit discourse re-lations. Our results indeed show that, despite...

Two Decades of E-Learning Policy Evolution at EU Level: Motivations, Institutions and Instruments

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Salajan, Florin D.; Roumell, Elizabeth A.

2016-01-01

This article records and documents the historical development of e-learning policies at EU level by conducting a discourse and content analysis of four key e-learning policy documents drafted and implemented by the European Commission over the past 20 years: "Learning in the Information Society: Action Plan for a European Education…

Whose Quality? The (Mis)Uses of Quality Reform in Early Childhood and Education Policy

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Hunkin, Elise

2018-01-01

This paper reports on the findings of an in-depth genealogical study of the discourse of quality in Australian Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) policy. Quality reform has become the foremost global policy agenda for ECEC due to assumptions about the economic potentials of quality services. In Australia, the recent National Quality…

Debated agronomy: public discourse and the future of biotechnology policy in Ghana

OpenAIRE

Braimah, Joseph A.; Atuoye, Kilian N.; Vercillo, Siera; Warring, Carrie; Luginaah, Isaac

2017-01-01

ABSTRACT This paper examines the highly contested and ongoing biotechnology (Bt) policy-making process in Ghana. We analyse media content on how Bt is viewed in the context of Ghana’s parliamentary debate on the Plant Breeders Bill and within the broader public policy-making literature. This paper does not seek to take a position on Bt or the Bill, but to understand how policy actors influence the debate with political and scientific rhetoric in Ghana. The study reveals that in the midst of s...

Reflections on Female Circumcision Discourse in Hargeysa ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

AJRH Managing Editor

This study aimed to explore diverse discourses on female circumcision and the relationship between discourses .... 'Halalays' has the stem halal in Arabic – referring to what is permitted in ...... Strand T, Norsk rikskringkasting. Suaads reise: en.

State Civilisation: The Statist Core of Vladimir Putin’s Civilisational Discourse and Its Implications for Russian Foreign Policy

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Linde Fabian

2016-04-01

Full Text Available The essay examines Vladimir Putin’s civilisational discourse, which arose in earnest with the publication of his presidential campaign articles in 2012. It argues that what makes Putin’s rendering of Russia’s civilisational identity distinctive is its strongly emphasized Statism, understood as a belief in the primacy of the state. This suggests that while his endorsement of a distinct civilisational identity represents an important conceptual turn as regards how national identity is articulated, there are also significant lines of continuity with previous presidential periods, given that state primacy has been at the heart of Putin’s political agenda since the very beginning of his presidential career. This detail also reveals a great deal about the political rationale behind Putin’s commitment to a Russian civilisational identity. It provides the government with a theoretical justification of an illiberal political course. There are important implications for foreign policy-making as well. In relation to the West, there is an attempt to limit its normative reach by depicting liberal values as less than universal. In regional affairs, Russia is attempting to legitimate its involvement in the near abroad on civilisational grounds. The loose definition of ‘co-patriots’ as foreign nationals experiencing some affinity with Russia gives it plenty of leeway in this regard. Lastly, Russia has petitioned for Ukraine’s neutrality based on the argument that the country is straddling a civilisational fault line.

Shaping innovation in health care: A content analysis of innovation policies in the English NHS, 1948-2015.

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Farchi, Tomas; Salge, Torsten-Oliver

2017-11-01

Governments around the world seek to design policies that enhance the innovative capacity of public service. Hence, identifying the underlying meanings attributed to innovation concepts in public policies is critical, as these very understandings inform not only the policy discourses, but also the overall institutional landscape regulating innovation activities. This paper examines such fundamental definitional aspects in the specific context of the National Health Service in England. For this purpose, it traces the evolution of the innovation concept in policy discourse based on the analysis of 21 key policy documents published or commissioned by the English Department of Health between 1948 and 2015. Systematic analysis of these texts reveals that policymakers' conception of healthcare innovation broadened considerably over time. English health innovation policy initially focused on basic biomedical research. Subsequently, it entered a transitional period, zeroing in on science- and technology-based innovation. Finally, this focus gradually shifted to a broader conception of innovation translating into health, economic, and service design benefits. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ross-Cultural Aspects of Metaphorical Framing in Political Discourse

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Tatyana V. Andryukhina

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The article examines cross-cultural aspects of metaphorical framing in political discourse. The author notes the importance of conceptual metaphor in framing the conceptual domain of politics, political discourse as a whole, its perception as well as political reality itself. The author shares an opinion that the metaphorical structure of basic concepts of a nation always correlates with its fundamental cultural values. However, the examination of political discourse from the cross-cultural perspective reveals the cases of metaphor uses that don't meet the requirements of cultural coherence and may lead to negative cognitive and communicative consequences. Along with admitting a wide discrepancy between metaphorical models in western and oriental political discourse, the author gives some examples of metaphorical coherence as well as its violation in a number of basic metaphors in American, British and Russian political discourse. To illustrate how cross-cultural factors determine the specific character of metaphorical framing, the article analyses the dynamic character of metaphorical models that can realize diverse scenarios in different national varieties of political discourse. An observation is made about the dependence of metaphoric scenarios in different national varieties of political discourse on the cultural, historical, social and political components of the national cultural cognitive map. The latter is heterogeneous as it is structured by the objectified individual, group, and national verbal and nonverbal experience. This explains, for instance, why there are examples of similarity as well as discrepancy between metaphorical framing in ideologically different party varieties of political discourse within the national political discourse as well as in the rhetoric of politicians belonging to different generations. The observations are illustrated by cross-linguistic data proving the dynamic character of metaphorical models, their

PHILOSOPHIC AND CLINICAL DISCOURSE OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY

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V. M. Skyrtach

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The purpose is to identify common and distinctive features of concepts and methodology of the problem of subject within different discourses, implicitly or explicitly relevant to the definition of "clinical" mode of human existence. The research methodology combines techniques of discourse analysis and basic principles of historical and philosophical studies. Originality of the research lies in definition of the clinical philosophical discourse as a special communicative process, where utterances not only focus on disease syndromes, and reveal phenomenology of inner experience of a pathological self, but also structure a certain type of sociality. Clinical discourse represents the space where the patient is treated not as a subject but as an object of disease. Ontology of clinical discourse prevails over ontology of disease, since its structures determine the notion of disease as such. Categorization of the disease, the idea of disease as a phenomenon subdued to professional authority leads to the idea of the need for patient’s isolation from the natural environment and removing him to special social institutions. The clinicist doctrines share the intention to reduce the patient’s self to its bodily dimension, while ignoring social determinants of psychological deviations. Conclusions of the study are summarized in the following positions: the current clinical discourse is based on the positivist-biological trend in humanitarian knowledge and it is the basis for the production and reproduction of medical and pharmaceutical repressive ideology; criticism of philosophical clinical discourse opens the possibility of overcoming the dominance of purely clinicist discourse; such a transformation is possible only after a paradigm shift in understanding the category of subject.

Factors influencing the implicitation of discourse relations across languages

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hoek, Jet; Zufferey, Sandrine

2015-01-01

Relations that hold between discourse segments can, but need not, be made explicit by means of discourse connectives. Even though the explicit signaling of discourse relations is optional, not all relations can be easily conveyed implicitly. It has been proposed that readers and listeners have

Try to be healthy, but don't forgo your masculinity: deconstructing men's health discourse in the media.

Science.gov (United States)

Gough, Brendan

2006-11-01

The emergence of discourse around men's health has been evident now for at least 10 years across academic, policy and media texts. However, recent research has begun to question some of the assumptions presented concerning masculinity and men's health, particularly within popular media representations. The present paper builds on previous research by interrogating the construction of men's health presented in a recent special feature of a UK national newspaper (The Observer, November 27, 2005). The dataset was subjected to intensive scrutiny using techniques from discourse analysis. Several inter-related discursive patterns were identified which drew upon essentialist notions of masculinity, unquestioned differences between men and women, and constructions of men as naïve, passive and in need of dedicated help. The implications of such representations for health promotion are discussed.

Workplace bullying prevention: a critical discourse analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Susan L

2015-10-01

The aim of this study was to analyse the discourses of workplace bullying prevention of hospital nursing unit managers and in the official documents of the organizations where they worked. Workplace bullying can be a self-perpetuating problem in nursing units. As such, efforts to prevent this behaviour may be more effective than efforts to stop ongoing bullying. There is limited research on how healthcare organizations characterize their efforts to prevent workplace bullying. This was a qualitative study. Critical discourse analysis and Foucault's writings on governmentality and discipline were used to analyse data from interviews with hospital nursing unit managers (n = 15) and organizational documents (n = 22). Data were collected in 2012. The discourse of workplace bullying prevention centred around three themes: prevention of workplace bullying through managerial presence, normalizing behaviours and controlling behaviours. All three are individual level discourses of workplace bullying prevention. Current research indicates that workplace bullying is a complex issue with antecedents at the individual, departmental and organizational level. However, the discourse of the participants in this study only focused on prevention of bullying by moulding the behaviours of individuals. The effective prevention of workplace bullying will require departmental and organizational initiatives. Leaders in all types of organizations can use the results of this study to examine their organizations' discourses of workplace bullying prevention to determine where change is needed. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Examining emotional expressions in discourse: methodological considerations

Science.gov (United States)

Hufnagel, Elizabeth; Kelly, Gregory J.

2017-10-01

This methodological paper presents an approach for examining emotional expressions through discourse analysis and ethnographic methods. Drawing on trends in the current literature in science education, we briefly explain the importance of emotions in science education and examine the current research methodologies used in interactional emotion studies. We put forth and substantiate a methodological approach that attends to the interactional, contextual, intertextual, and consequential aspects of emotional expressions. By examining emotional expressions in the discourse in which they are constructed, emotional expressions are identified through semantics, contextualization, and linguistic features. These features make salient four dimensions of emotional expressions: aboutness, frequency, type, and ownership. Drawing on data from a large empirical study of pre-service elementary teachers' emotional expressions about climate change in a science course, we provide illustrative examples to describe what counts as emotional expressions in situ. In doing so we explain how our approach makes salient the nuanced nature of such expressions as well as the broader discourse in which they are constructed and the implications for researching emotional expressions in science education discourse. We suggest reasons why this discourse orientated research methodology can contribute to the interactional study of emotions in science education contexts.

Japan’s Supreme Court Discourse and Lifetime Employment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tackney, Charles T.; Sato, Toyoko

to employee participation in managerial prerogative. The comparative social policy aim is to examine and account for observed employment relations variance in the U.S. and Japan, given their similar labor legislation. Japan’s Supreme Court recognizes lifetime employment as an institutionalized practice and we......Our study explores cultural cognition in comparative U.S. – Japan employment relations through interdisciplinary analysis of Japanese Supreme Court regulation of the post-World War II lifetime employment system and the latest data available on Japan's collective bargaining-based approach...... on the Court's discourse. Causally related to this recognition, management councils (a form of employee participation in managerial prerogative) are also a defining feature of Japanese employment relations at the enterprise level. Despite unionization rate declines in both nations, the persistence of Japan...

Paradox place by nuclear sector discourse line

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pereira, Iona Ponce

2002-01-01

This article, taking into consideration the Critical Discourse Analysis and the French Discourse Analysis, examines the relationship between the public image and the acceptance of nuclear energy and the discourse and arguments commonly employed by the nuclear institutions, in Brazil, in favor of a widespread use of nuclear energy by the society. In doing so, the article discusses aspects such as the social memory, intertextuality and image construction and shows that the pro-nuclear arguments and the discourse produced by the institutions of the nuclear sector, in its essence, carries much of the ideas and concepts frequently utilized by the anti-nuclear entities. This fact, instead of providing a positive view, or even a correct understanding of the nuclear area, reinforces the negative image of nuclear energy witch is reflected in its public acceptance by the society. (author)

Video Game Discourses and Implications for Game-Based Education

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Whitton, Nicola; Maclure, Maggie

2017-01-01

Increasingly prevalent educational discourses promote the use of video games in schools and universities. At the same time, populist discourses persist, particularly in print media, which condemn video games because of putative negative effects on behaviour and socialisation. These contested discourses, we suggest, influence the acceptability of…

Discourses on Gender Diversity on Corporate Websites

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Villeseche, Florence

In this article, we seek to contribute to the scholarship on organizational communication and on gender and diversity in organizations by identifying the influences from different streams of feminism in organizational discourses about gender diversity. In order to provide an in-depth exploratory...... study, we propose a discourse analysis, performed with tools from systemic functional linguistics, of the websites of the 14 corporate sponsors of a Swiss women’s business network. We show that there is both heterogeneity of discourses that are drawn from, but also the apparent dominance of what can...

Identification of miRNAs Responsive to Botrytis cinerea in Herbaceous Peony (Paeonia lactiflora Pall. by High-Throughput Sequencing

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Daqiu Zhao

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Herbaceous peony (Paeonia lactiflora Pall., one of the world’s most important ornamental plants, is highly susceptible to Botrytis cinerea, and improving resistance to this pathogenic fungus is a problem yet to be solved. MicroRNAs (miRNAs play an essential role in resistance to B. cinerea, but until now, no studies have been reported concerning miRNAs induction in P. lactiflora. Here, we constructed and sequenced two small RNA (sRNA libraries from two B. cinerea-infected P. lactiflora cultivars (“Zifengyu” and “Dafugui” with significantly different levels of resistance to B. cinerea, using the Illumina HiSeq 2000 platform. From the raw reads generated, 4,592,881 and 5,809,796 sRNAs were obtained, and 280 and 306 miRNAs were identified from “Zifengyu” and “Dafugui”, respectively. A total of 237 conserved and 7 novel sequences of miRNAs were differentially expressed between the two cultivars, and we predicted and annotated their potential target genes. Subsequently, 7 differentially expressed candidate miRNAs were screened according to their target genes annotated in KEGG pathways, and the expression patterns of miRNAs and corresponding target genes were elucidated. We found that miR5254, miR165a-3p, miR3897-3p and miR6450a might be involved in the P. lactiflora response to B. cinerea infection. These results provide insight into the molecular mechanisms responsible for resistance to B. cinerea in P. lactiflora.

On the plurality of discourses

OpenAIRE

Stewart-Wallace, Adam

2010-01-01

We talk about the world in different ways; by better understanding the ways we talk, we can better understand the world. Anyone who can appreciate this thought can appreciate the position here called discourse pluralism, or 'pluralism' for short. This covers a family of views in the realism debate, notably those of Michael Dummett (in one guise at least), Crispin Wright and Simon Blackburn. They believe that language is divided up into discourses corresponding to traditional areas of philosop...

The global reproductive health market: U.S. media framings and public discourses about transnational surrogacy.

Science.gov (United States)

Markens, Susan

2012-06-01

During the first decade of the 21st century a new "dramatic story" about the growing global surrogacy industry brought renewed attention to surrogacy as a social problem and a health policy issue. This paper asks: What cultural assumptions about gender, family and the global reproductive health market are revealed in current U.S. media coverage of and public discourses about surrogacy? From a qualitative analysis of prominent news accounts of surrogacy that were published in 2008, New York Times articles and blogs published on the topic between 2006 and 2010, and over 1000 online reader comments to these articles, I identify key frames used to discursively construct and debate the international surrogacy market. This study reveals the distinct contrast between the occasions when reproductive labor is rhetorically distanced from commodification processes and when it is linked to those processes. The findings contribute to intersectional analyses of assisted reproductive practices and women's health/bodies/gametes. In particular, this study's analysis of recent media framings of and public discourses about surrogacy across the globe serves as another illustration that national/classed/racialized bodies continue to be reproductively stratified via differently gendered discourses about women, motherhood and family. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Science teacher's discourse about reading

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Isabel Martins

2006-08-01

Full Text Available In this research we start from the assumption that teachers act as mediators of reading practices in school and problematise their practices, meanings and representations of reading. We have investigated meanings constructed by a group of teachers of Physics, Chemistry and Biology, working at a federal technical school. Having French discourse analysis as our theoretical-methodological framework, we considered that meanings, concepts and conceptions of reading are built historically through discourses, which produce meanings that determine ideological practices. Our results show that, for that group of teachers, there were no opportunities during either initial training or on-going education for reflecting upon the role of reading in science teaching and learning. Moreover, there seems to be an association between the type of discourse and modes of reading, so that unique meanings are attributed to scientific texts and their reading are linked to search and assimilation of information.

Nudges, shoves and budges: Behavioural economic policy frameworks.

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Oliver, Adam

2018-01-01

Behavioural economics-the study of human decision making and how it sometimes deviates systematically from the assumptions of standard economic theory-has attracted a lot of attention in the health policy discourse over recent years. Many appear to believe that behavioural economic findings can be used only to help inform policies that manipulate the choices made by citizens, ie, the so-called nudge policy. However, these findings can be used to inform several different policy frameworks, from seemingly innocuous liberty-preserving changes to the contexts people operate in, to the outlawing of certain corporate behaviours. This article depicts diagrammatically, with the aid of a "behavioural policy cube" and in relation to smoking cessation interventions, the conceptual parameters of several behavioural economic-informed policy frameworks, which could be easily extended to other areas of health, and indeed broader public, policy. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Hate Speech or Genocidal Discourse? An Examination of Anti-Roma Sentiment in Contemporary Europe

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Emma Townsend

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Roma in contemporary Europe are the frequent targets of hate speech and discriminatory state policies. Despite being the largest minority in the European Union with a population of 10-12 million, they are frequently denied a space in European society, and are widely perceived to be unchangeable and inherently ‘other’. As a result, Roma experience substantially inferior life conditions when compared to majority European populations. Despite the many recent European Union initiatives and action plans, such as the Decade of Roma Inclusion (2005-2015, the situation of Roma in contemporary Europe is not improving, and in some cases is actually worsening. This persecution is not a modern phenomenon; Roma have suffered stigmatisation and exclusion throughout their history in Europe. The severity and continuity of the persecution of Roma at the hands of a multitude of European authorities suggests the presence of an underlying motivation or intent that informs both the rhetoric about and treatment of Romani people. This paper will examine if the persecution of Roma in contemporary Europe is guided by a genocidal discourse. To this end, the boundaries between hate speech, genocidal discourse, and incitement to genocide will be scrutinised. It will be argued that both the way the Roma are spoken about and the treatment they receive are informed by a genocidal discourse that has endured relatively unchanged throughout their history in Europe. Roma are not just racially vilified, rather their culture as well as their physical presence in contemporary Europe are widely devalued in both words and in state action. Any improvement in their situation is therefore unlikely while this discourse continues.

POLITICAL DISCOURSE – A SYNTACTIC AND SEMANTIC ANALYSIS

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Miodarka Tepavcevic

2014-11-01

Full Text Available The language of politics is commonly studied within discourse analysis, whereby its linguistic features relating to vocabulary, grammar structures, textual and intertextual aspects are investigated using various methodologies. This paper presents an analysis of political discourse from a syntactic-semantic point of view. The corpus studied has been extracted from five. Montenegrin dailies and the analysis attempts to describe the genre as effectuated in the Montenegrin political discourse. As a result, the functions of political language are extrapolated and illustrated and its style is described in terms of intertextuality and other linguistic strategies commonly employed in political discourse. The paper aims to give a contribution to the understanding and linguistic profiling of political language.

Exploring the Role of `Gendered' Discourse Styles in Online Science Discussions

Science.gov (United States)

Sullivan, Florence R.; Kapur, Manu; Madden, Sandra; Shipe, Stefanie

2015-02-01

In this study, we examined whether gendered discourse styles were evidenced in online, synchronous, physics collaborative learning group discussions, and the extent to which such discourse patterns were related to the uptake of ideas within the group. We defined two discourse styles: the oppositional/direct style, theorized to be the socialized discourse pattern typically used by males, and the aligned/indirect style, theorized to be the socialized discourse pattern typically used by females. Our analysis indicates the presence of both styles in these chats and the styles were generally utilized along theorized, gendered lines. However, we also observed male use of the stereotypically 'feminine' discourse style and female use of the stereotypically 'masculine' discourse style. Moreover, we found no main effect for discourse style on the uptake of ideas. The findings indicate that, contrary to prior research in both face-to-face science classroom settings and online physics settings, ideas were taken up at relatively similar rates regardless of the gendered discourse style employed. Design implications of this study are discussed and suggestions for future research are made.

IDEOLOGICAL DISCOURSES ON ENVIRONMENT IN BALI TOURISM DEVELOPMENT

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Ni Gst Nym Suci Murni

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The environment is increasingly occupying important issues in all aspects of life including the tourism business that is often highlighted to ignore  the environment. Because it is so crucial, it is constantly discoursed not only in local and national contexts but more globally. In these evolving discourses, it turns out that there are a number of ideologies that show the interests of those who discoursing  them. This research uses qualitative approach, and scientifi cultural studies paradigm. The purpose of this research is to know the ideologies of global, national and local environmental discourse. Research results show that based on the global ideology of sustainable development, there are ecological sustainability, economic sustainability, and social sustainability. Ideology of national environmental discourse which is a transformation from developmentalism ideology (modernization can also hegemonize company industry, society, with legitimizing by law and regulations issued about tourism and environment, so that the sustainability of development can be achieved. The ideology of local environmental discourse there are various local knowledge (local genius related to the environment that has been practiced by certain countries, especially the developing countries, where tourist destination areas such as Bali have run it through religious ritual, as well as  through the daily life of the community .

Manipulation Impact through Metaphors in Political Discourse

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Руслан Ирикович Зарипов

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The article covers the metaphorical modeling in a political discourse as one of linguistic manipulation impact means. Political speech exercising a motivation function use symbols in order to link concepts which are not often even adjoined. And it’s a metaphor that plays one of leading roles in this process. Communication needs stable metaphors. It’s very important to use this linguistic means in a political discourse as it’s able to form a positive stock phrase and a negative figure. The summation of metaphors in a definitive conceptual domaine of a political discourse form part of a metaphorical model that is an universal epistemological category expressing a general discourse semantics and organizing special mentality stereotypes for a message recipient. The article is designed for students and post-graduate students specialized in philology, lecturers and professors of linguistics and foreign languages, scientists and amateurs.

Climate change discourses and citizen participation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lassen, Inger; Horsbøl, Anders; Bonnen, Kersten

2011-01-01

of Denmark. We analyze how central actors are called upon to act, and how citizens are addressed in the call for action in the two sets of data. Paving the way for the empirical analysis, the first part of the article gives a review of contemporary literature on climate change typologies and discourses......Citizen participation is a recurrent and democratically important issue in the ongoing debate about climate change. However, different meanings are ascribed to citizen participation in different contexts and discourses, ranging from top-down involvement to bottom-up engagement. This article...... within different research fields, assessing how citizen participation is articulated within these discourses. Finally, we address some needs for increased citizen participation in the climate change debate....

Paeonia lactiflora Pall. protects against ANIT-induced cholestasis by activating Nrf2 via PI3K/Akt signaling pathway

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Ma X

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Xiao Ma,1,2 Yan-ling Zhao,2 Yun Zhu,3 Zhe Chen,1,2 Jia-bo Wang,4 Rui-yu Li,1,4 Chang Chen,1,2 Shi-zhang Wei,1,2 Jian-yu Li,3 Bing Liu,5 Rui-lin Wang,3 Yong-gang Li,3 Li-fu Wang,3 Xiao-he Xiao4 1Pharmacy College, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Pharmacy, 302 Military Hospital of People’s Liberation Army, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Integrative Medical Center, 302 Military Hospital of People’s Liberation Army, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 4China Military Institute of Chinese Medicine, 302 Military Hospital of People’s Liberation Army, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 5School of Chinese Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Background: Paeonia lactiflora Pall. (PLP, a traditional Chinese herbal medicine, has been used for hepatic disease treatment over thousands of years. In our previous study, PLP was shown to demonstrate therapeutic effect on hepatitis with severe cholestasis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antioxidative effect of PLP on alpha-naphthylisothiocyanate (ANIT-induced cholestasis by activating NF-E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2 via phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. Materials and methods: Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS was performed to identify the main compounds present in PLP. The mechanism of action of PLP and its therapeutic effect on cholestasis, induced by ANIT, were further investigated. Serum indices such as total bilirubin (TBIL, direct bilirubin (DBIL, aspartate aminotransferase (AST, alanine aminotransferase (ALT, alkaline phosphatase (ALP, γ-glutamyl transpeptidase (γ-GT, and total bile acid (TBA were measured, and histopathology of liver was also performed to determine the efficacy of treatment with PLP. Moreover, in order to illustrate the underlying signaling pathway, liver glutathione (GSH content and mRNA or protein levels of glutamate

Grammar and Context in Functional Discourse Grammar

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hengeveld, K.; Mackenzie, J.L.

2014-01-01

This article presents a proposal for the organization of the Contextual Component in Functional Discourse Grammar. A guiding principle in this proposal is that, given the fact that Functional Discourse Grammar is a theory of grammar, the Contextual Component should provide the information that is

Speaking of users: on user discourses in the field of public libraries

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Ase Hedemark

2005-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction. The aim of the study reported is to examine user discourses identified in the Swedish public library field. The following questions are posed: What user discourses can be found and what characterises them? How are users categorised and what does this categorisation imply? The departure point in this paper is that the ways users are categorised influence their information behaviour. Plausible consequences for the relation between the interest of the public library and the users are discussed. Method. The empirical focus of the paper is a discourse analysis with a starting-point in Ernesto Laclaus and Chantal Mouffes discourse theory. Analysis. Sixty-two articles from three established Swedish library journals are analysed through a model in four phases. These phases include designations of users, user categories, themes within which users are described and user discourses. Results. Four user discourses are revealed: a general education discourse, a pedagogical discourse, an information technology discourse and an information management discourse. Conclusion. The discourses hold both levels of idealizing and experience related rhetoric. The dominant general education discourse is based on a tradition of fostering and refining as well as educating the general public and thereby reproduces inequality between the user and the library.

Practical Elaborations. About the Development of Foucauldian Discourse Analysis in Germany

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Rainer Diaz-Bone

2006-05-01

Full Text Available The German researcher of discourse Jürgen LINK and his team in the Bochumer (later Dortmunder "discourse workshop" are among the pioneers in the field of discourse analytic research in the social sciences. LINK founded the journal "kultuRRevolution" (Journal for Applied Discourse Analysis which has been in publication for 25 years contributions that discuss topics as Foucauldian discourse theory or the interdiscourse theory of PÊCHEUX as applied discourse analytic studies. In this interview LINK's own interdiscourse theory is portrayed; its uniqueness and distinction are discussed vis-à-vis the interdiscourse theory of PÊCHEUX. The interview was done via e-mail. It includes a discussion of the early stages of discourse research subsequent to FOUCAULT and PÊCHEUX. The interview begins with an overview of the academic career of Jürgen LINK, followed by an update on the current state of discourse analytic research in the area of the social sciences and the humanities. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs0603208

Civil Society Participation in EU Gender Policy-Making

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Agustin, Lise Rolandsen

2008-01-01

The participation of transnational advocacy networks (TANs) in the policy processes of the European Union (EU) is a potential site of substantial representation of women (SRW). In the article, it is argued that the institutional context can both enable and constrain civil society actors’ claims......-making. TANs employ framing strategies to make their claims resonate with or challenge the dominant discourse of the EU policies. The institutions use contested frames to constitute legitimate claims-makers, by recognising certain claims as more valid than others. The possibilities of SRW are delimited, since...

臺灣「邁向頂尖大學」政策之論述分析：後結構主義觀點 A Discourse Analysis on “Stepping Towards Premier University” Policy in Taiwan: The Perspective of Post-structuralism

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劉國兆 Kuo-Chao Liu

2014-12-01

Full Text Available 近年來受到國際大學評比及世界各國追求大學卓越政策的國際競爭趨勢影響，臺灣自2011年起推動「邁向頂尖大學計畫」。為了深入探討此政策背後潛藏的意識形態及價值預設，本研究採取後結構主義的理論觀點，並以論述分析的研究方法，以解構本政策中理所當然的本質性思維，並發掘政策論述中「權力／知識」的形構歷程，從而以位置性的概念，重新探索「邁向頂尖大學計畫」中的政策主體，並從不同位置去思考「邁向頂尖大學計畫」對於政策主體所具有的意義，進而反思主體突破結構限制的可能。 After being influenced in recent years by international university appraisals and the competitive trend toward the pursuit of excellence in countries all over the world, Taiwan has promoted a policy entitled the “Stepping towards Premier University Plan” since 2011. In order to thoroughly explore the underlying ideology behind this policy and its default values, this study takes a post-structuralism theoretical perspective, and uses discourse analysis to deconstruct the rationale of the policy. We uncover the process of construction of the “power / knowledge” discourse described in the policy, and thus from the positional concept, re-explore the policy body of the “Stepping towards Premier University Plan”. We consider the significance the “Stepping towards Premier University Plan” holds toward the policy body from different positions, and then reflect on the possibility of the policy body breaking through structural constraints.

Environmental Protection Theme at Discourses of Corporative Social Responsibility

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Alfredo Rodrigues Leite da Silva

2009-01-01

Full Text Available This paper views and discusses discourses on social responsibility in organizations and their use of the environmental theme. We suppose that strategies are used to disseminate some discourses concerning these matters. The ambiguities of themes within organizations point to a fragmented discourse (Fineman, 1996, revealing practices of openness and dissimulation. The theoretical discussion starts with the theme of social responsibility, confronting it with an environmental theme and discusses discourses with ambiguities of organizational practice stemming from two themes. At the end, a case study of Antena completes the discussion. Data was collected with documental research and semi-structured interviews. We made use of Discourse Analysis methodology (Fiorin, 1989. In conclusion, the concern with social responsibility and its environmental thematic lie within the organization. It is found in the discourse and actions at a high administration level including managers and a high number of technical workers. The silence about the limits of this responsibility is fulfilled by a technical workers group that reveals dissimulation when openness menaces some objectives.

Producing the 'problem of drugs': A cross national-comparison of 'recovery' discourse in two Australian and British reports.

Science.gov (United States)

Lancaster, Kari; Duke, Karen; Ritter, Alison

2015-07-01

The notion of 'recovery' as an overarching approach to drug policy remains controversial. This cross-national analysis considers how the problem of drugs was constructed and represented in two key reports on the place of 'recovery' in drug policy, critically examining how the problem of drugs (and the people who use them) are constituted in recovery discourse, and how these problematisations are shaped and disseminated. Bacchi's poststructuralist approach is applied to two documents (one in Britain and one in Australia) to analyse how the 'problem of drugs' and the people who use them are constituted: as problematic users, constraining alternative understandings of the shifting nature of drug use; as responsibilised individuals (in Britain) and as patients (in Australia); as worthy of citizenship in the context of treatment and recovery, silencing the assumption of unworthiness and the loss of rights for those who continue to use drugs in 'problematic' ways. The position of the organisations which produced the reports is considered, with the authority of both organisations resting on their status as independent, apolitical bodies providing 'evidence-based' advice. There is a need to carefully weigh up the desirable and undesirable political effects of these constructions. The meaning of 'recovery' and how it could be realised in policy and practice is still being negotiated. By comparatively analysing how the problem of drugs was produced in 'recovery' discourse in two jurisdictions, at two specific points in the policy debate, we are reminded that ways of thinking about 'problems' reflect specific contexts, and how we are invoked to think about policy responses will be dependent upon these conditions. As 'recovery' continues to evolve, opening up spaces to discuss its contested meanings and effects will be an ongoing endeavour. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Emerging Therapeutic Enhancement Enabling Health Technologies and Their Discourses: What Is Discussed within the Health Domain?

Science.gov (United States)

Wolbring, Gregor; Diep, Lucy; Yumakulov, Sophya; Ball, Natalie; Leopatra, Verlyn; Yergens, Dean

2013-01-01

So far, the very meaning of health and therefore, treatment and rehabilitation is benchmarked to the normal or species-typical body. We expect certain abilities in members of a species; we expect humans to walk but not to fly, but a bird we expect to fly. However, increasingly therapeutic interventions have the potential to give recipients beyond species-typical body related abilities (therapeutic enhancements, TE). We believe that the perfect storm of TE, the shift in ability expectations toward beyond species-typical body abilities, and the increasing desire of health consumers to shape the health system will increasingly influence various aspects of health care practice, policy, and scholarship. We employed qualitative and quantitative methods to investigate among others how human enhancement, neuro/cognitive enhancement, brain machine interfaces, and social robot discourses cover (a) healthcare, healthcare policy, and healthcare ethics, (b) disability and (c) health consumers and how visible various assessment fields are within Neuro/Cogno/Human enhancement and within the BMI and social robotics discourse. We found that health care, as such, is little discussed, as are health care policy and ethics; that the term consumers (but not health consumers) is used; that technology, impact and needs assessment is absent; and that the imagery of disabled people is primarily a medical one. We submit that now, at this early stage, is the time to gain a good understanding of what drives the push for the enhancement agenda and enhancement-enabling devices, and the dynamics around acceptance and diffusion of therapeutic enhancements. PMID:27429129

Emerging Therapeutic Enhancement Enabling Health Technologies and Their Discourses: What Is Discussed within the Health Domain?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gregor Wolbring

2013-07-01

Full Text Available So far, the very meaning of health and therefore, treatment and rehabilitation is benchmarked to the normal or species-typical body. We expect certain abilities in members of a species; we expect humans to walk but not to fly, but a bird we expect to fly. However, increasingly therapeutic interventions have the potential to give recipients beyond species-typical body related abilities (therapeutic enhancements, TE. We believe that the perfect storm of TE, the shift in ability expectations toward beyond species-typical body abilities, and the increasing desire of health consumers to shape the health system will increasingly influence various aspects of health care practice, policy, and scholarship. We employed qualitative and quantitative methods to investigate among others how human enhancement, neuro/cognitive enhancement, brain machine interfaces, and social robot discourses cover (a healthcare, healthcare policy, and healthcare ethics, (b disability and (c health consumers and how visible various assessment fields are within Neuro/Cogno/ Human enhancement and within the BMI and social robotics discourse. We found that health care, as such, is little discussed, as are health care policy and ethics; that the term consumers (but not health consumers is used; that technology, impact and needs assessment is absent; and that the imagery of disabled people is primarily a medical one. We submit that now, at this early stage, is the time to gain a good understanding of what drives the push for the enhancement agenda and enhancement-enabling devices, and the dynamics around acceptance and diffusion of therapeutic enhancements.

Subnormality under debate: discourses and policies on intellectual disability during the late Franco regime.

Science.gov (United States)

Del Cura, Mercedes

2016-01-01

During the last two decades of the Franco dictatorship, intellectually disabled people became an object of concern on the part of Spanish society and the center of a debate involving the state, the church, certain professional groups and families of those affected. This debate was stoked by ideas circulating in the international setting about the right of the intellectually disabled to integrate into society and enjoy the same opportunities as other individuals. This article seeks to identify the circumstances that led to the emergence of this concern and to note the elements that helped construct the discourses and govern the practices on intellectual disability that developed during the later years of the Franco regime.

Language, Cognition, and Manipulation in Advertising Discourse

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Egorova, Veronika

2013-01-01

This research examines advertising discourse in Russian and English as acts of communicative exchange and interpersonal relationship between advertising discourse participants. The purpose was to identify and describe the way that viewers process information contained in television commercials and how they become consumers moving from getting…

The appropriation and dismembering of development intervention : policy, discourse and practice in the field of rural development in Benin

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mongbo, R.L.

1995-01-01

This book concerns a Community Development Programme which provides a vehicle for a theoretical discussion of the reproduction of the discourse and practice of development intervention in general, and the concept of rural development as a field of social interaction in particular. The

Exploring the Dominant Discourse of Baccalaureate Nursing Education in Iran

Science.gov (United States)

Yazdannik, Ahmadreza; Yousefy, Alireza; Mohammadi, Sepideh

2017-01-01

Introduction: Understanding how academic dominant discourse is implicated in the shaping of nursing identity, professional aspirations and socialization of nursing students is useful as it can lead to strategies that promote nursing profession. Materials and Methods: This is a qualitative research conducted through discourse analysis approach. Semi-structured interviews, focus group, and direct observation of undergraduate theoretical and clinical courses were used to collect the data. Participants were 71 nursing students, 20 nursing educators, and 5 nursing board staffs from five universities in Iran. Results: Data analysis resulted in the development of four main themes that represent essential discourses of nursing education. The discourses explored are theoretical and scientific nursing, domination of biomedical paradigm, caring as an empty signifier, and more than expected role of research in nursing education discourse. Conclusions: The results indicated that academics attempt to define itself based on “scientific knowledge” and faculties seek to socialize students by emphasizing the scientific/theoretical basis of nursing and research, with the dominance of biomedical discourse. It fails to conceptually grasp the reality of nursing practice, and the result is an untested and impoverished theoretical discourse. The analysis highlights the need for the formation of a strong and new discourse, which contains articulation of signifiers extracted from the nature of the profession. PMID:28382053

A study of identity construction in political discourse

OpenAIRE

Qaiwer, Shatha Naiyf

2016-01-01

This thesis interrogates the construction of identity and self-presentation strategies in the discourse of the current President of the United States of America, Barack Hussein Obama. The study seeks to answer questions about how the President constructs the various identities evident in his discourse, what kinds of resources are drawn upon, and how the resulting identities contribute to gain the support of the audience and the progression of political discourse in general. The present s...

Developing a Connective Feminine Discourse

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rahbek, Ulla

2015-01-01

This paper discusses the work of the Australian writer and historian Drusilla Modjeska through a focus on the intersections between women‟s lives, love and art, which constitute the central triptych of Modjeska‟s writing. It argues that Modjeska's oeuvre unfolds a connective feminine discourse...... through a development of what the paper calls hinging tropes, discursive connectors that join life, love and art, such as weaving, folding and talking. That connective feminine discourse is indeed central to Modjeska‟s personal and sometimes idiosyncratic feminism...

A discourse-analytical approach to intertextual advertisements: a ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

A discourse-analytical approach to intertextual advertisements: a model to describe a dominant world-view. ... The intertextual messages in advertising discourse can be regarded as generallyaccepted shared ... AJOL African Journals Online.

Perspectives on contextual vulnerability in discourses of climate conflict

Science.gov (United States)

Okpara, U. T.; Stringer, L. C.; Dougill, A. J.

2016-02-01

The science of climate security and conflict is replete with controversies. Yet the increasing vulnerability of politically fragile countries to the security consequences of climate change is widely acknowledged. Although climate conflict reflects a continuum of conditional forces that coalesce around the notion of vulnerability, how different portrayals of vulnerability influence the discursive formation of climate conflict relations remains an exceptional but under-researched issue. This paper combines a systematic discourse analysis with a vulnerability interpretation diagnostic tool to explore (i) how discourses of climate conflict are constructed and represented, (ii) how vulnerability is communicated across discourse lines, and (iii) the strength of contextual vulnerability against a deterministic narrative of scarcity-induced conflict, such as that pertaining to land. Systematically characterising climate conflict discourses based on the central issues constructed, assumptions about mechanistic relationships, implicit normative judgements and vulnerability portrayals, provides a useful way of understanding where discourses differ. While discourses show a wide range of opinions "for" and "against" climate conflict relations, engagement with vulnerability has been less pronounced - except for the dominant context centrism discourse concerned about human security (particularly in Africa). In exploring this discourse, we observe an increasing sense of contextual vulnerability that is oriented towards a concern for complexity rather than predictability. The article concludes by illustrating that a turn towards contextual vulnerability thinking will help advance a constructivist theory-informed climate conflict scholarship that recognises historicity, specificity, and variability as crucial elements of contextual totalities of any area affected by climate conflict.

Analyzing Public Discourse: Using Media Content Analysis to Understand the Policy Process

Science.gov (United States)

Saraisky, Nancy Green

2016-01-01

One of the most basic and obvious sources of data for education policy analysis is text. This article discusses content analysis as an important part of the methodological toolbox for elucidating patterns and trends about education policy. Focusing specifically on media, I show how media content analysis can produce nuanced insights about the ways…

The Field of Foucaultian Discourse Analysis: Structures, Developments and Perspectives

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Rainer Diaz-Bone

2007-05-01

Full Text Available The article outlines the field of FOUCAULTian discourse analysis. The FOUCAULTian concept of discourse is introduced, and methodological positions and methodological developments are sketched. Compared to other qualitative social research approaches, the different researchers and research groups that have adopted the FOUCAULTian concept of discourse are not linked by a fully integrated common research paradigm. However, they share common methodological problems and areas of methodological research resulting from various references to FOUCAULTian positions. In the last decade, different research groups have become aware of these shared commonalities, so that one can speak of an emerging field of FOUCAULTian discourse analysis rather than an emerging paradigm. The article gives insight into the discourse analytic research in selected countries, discusses the internationalisation of FOUCAULTian discourse analysis and highlights current trends and perspectives. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs0702305

Consensus and Cognitivism in Habermas's Discourse | Moellendorf ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Habermas asserts that his discourse ethics rests on two main commitments: 1) Moral judgements have cognitive content analogous to truth value; and 2) moral justification requires real- life discourse. Habermas elaborates on the second claim by making actual consensus a necessary condition of normative validity. I argue ...

A tentative map of discourse studies and their place in Linguistics A tentative map of discourse studies and their place in Linguistics

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Michael Hoey

2008-04-01

Full Text Available In this paper I want to look at a range of approaches to discourse analysis with a view not to describing any of them in detail but to seeing how they relate to each other in the discipline. Surveys are a necessary evil at best; they inevitably offend by simplification and omission and ometimes by distortion as well. Despite my best endeavours, this survey is unlikely to be any exception. By way of compensation the latter part of the paper attempts a tentative characterisation of the place of discourse studies within linguistics in general and seeks to suggest why there are differences in focus between such studies; if this part of the paper offends, it will at least offend by commission. Discourse analysis has become over the past few years one of the growth areas of modern linguistics. As a result there is now far more being written every year than any person could possibly read. In estimates prepared for an inter-University working party on a computerised bibliography of ESP and Discourse Analysis, Hoey & de Escorcia reported that in 1981 an estimated 5,000 papers and 200 books were published on discourse. A consequence of this growth has been a parallel growth in terminological distinctions, reflected most schismatically perhaps in the two labels given to the sub-discipline(s we study - discourse analysis and textlinguistics. In this paper I want to look at a range of approaches to discourse analysis with a view not to describing any of them in detail but to seeing how they relate to each other in the discipline. Surveys are a necessary evil at best; they inevitably offend by simplification and omission and ometimes by distortion as well. Despite my best endeavours, this survey is unlikely to be any exception. By way of compensation the latter part of the paper attempts a tentative characterisation of the place of discourse studies within linguistics in general and seeks to suggest why there are differences in focus between such studies

An investigation of environmental and sustainability discourses associated with the substantive purposes of environmental assessment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rozema, Jaap G.; Bond, Alan J.; Cashmore, Matthew Asa

2012-01-01

This paper investigates the discursive construction of the substantive purposes of environmental assessment (EA). It addresses these purposes by exploring the complex and often multifaceted linkages between political factors and plural views of democracy, public participation, and the role...... of science that are embedded in environmental and sustainability discourses. The interaction between policy-making and public actors leads to the formulation of divergent and potentially competing rationales for public participation, and for social appraisal more generally. Participatory approaches have also...

Starry white trek: Science fiction and racial discourse

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Krstić Predrag

2012-01-01

Full Text Available This article demonstrates that the science fiction’s visions of the future are not exempt from problems of rasism even when openly opposed it. Film and TV Star Trek production is commonly regarded as a significant example of courageous and effective intervention of mass culture on the widespread racial prejudices legitimized by the public policy. Subsequent interpretations, however, in its ‘emancipatory text’ finds smuggled recurrences of the same racial discourse against which it acted, whether it concerns other ‘races’ on Earth or space aliens. A fair interpretation would have to conclude that the white male norm requires effort of its ‘deconstruction’ that would be more extensive then involvement in the program the non-white characters - if we do not want to extend his exclusive and discriminatory rule, in mitigated or disguised form, to the galaxy.

How do policy advisors and practitioners prioritise the protection of children from secondhand smoke exposure in a country with advanced tobacco control policy?

Science.gov (United States)

Ritchie, Deborah Doreen; Amos, Amanda; Shaw, April; O'Donnell, Rachel; Semple, Sean; Turner, Steve; Martin, Claudia

2015-01-01

The aim is to extend understanding of the policy and practice discourses that inform the development of national tobacco control policy to protect children from secondhand smoke exposure (SHSE) in the home, particularly in a country with successful implementation of smoke-free public places legislation. The Scottish experience will contribute to the tobacco control community, particularly those countries at a similar level of tobacco control, as normalising discourses about protecting children from SHSE are becoming more widespread. Case study design using qualitative interviews and focus groups (FGs) with policy makers, health and childcare practitioners during which they were presented with the findings of the Reducing Families' Exposure to Secondhand Smoke (REFRESH) intervention and discussed the implications for their policy and practice priorities. Scotland, UK PARTICIPANTS: Qualitative interviews and FGs were conducted with 30 policy makers and practitioners who were purposively recruited. Participants accepted the harm of SHSE to children; however, action is limited by political expedience due to-the perception of a shift of the public health priority from smoking to alcohol, current financial constraints, more immediate child protection concerns and continuing unresolved ethical arguments. In a country, such as Scotland, with advanced tobacco control strategies, there continue to be challenges to policy and practice development in the more contentious arena of the home. Children's SHSE in their homes is unequivocally accepted as an important health priority, but it is not currently perceived to be a top public health priority in Scotland. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Pedophilia discourses in Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Landstrøm, Eva Koblauch; Jeppesen, Sofie Høj; Demant, Jakob Johan

2017-01-01

This study contributes novel digital mixed methods and findings on how fear of pedophilia affects parents and children’s bodily relations. We explore how norms for appropriate behavior between parents and children are constructed in the public debate on a specific case, where a mom has playful...... innocence. However, we find openness within the discourses on how to define respectively healthy and damaging parental behavior towards children....... contact with her son’s genitals. The case triggered a public debate with both negative and positive reactions. A Laclau and Mouffe-inspired analytical framework and Internet-specific tools for data collection as well as processing contribute to the development of a new form of discourse analysis. This new...

A distinction of two discourses concerning wellbeing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wistoft, Karen; Qvortrup, Lars

2017-01-01

and behavioral mental health interventions, while the latter defines wellbeing in positive terms with a focus on wellbeing as the result of learning and with pedagogical interventions that only indirectly can support the individual’s learning activity. The former sees wellbeing as the result of a “wellbeing cure......The article concerns the current discourses concerning well-being with the point that it is important to make a distinction between a healthcare oriented discourse and a learning oriented discourse. The former defines wellbeing in negative terms and looks at causally oriented aspects of wellbeing......”, while the latter sees wellbeing as the result of wellbeing learning processes....

Discourse swings in understanding audiences:

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Reinhard, CarrieLynn D.

Traditional discourses of the relationship between media producers and consumers have been challenged as of late in post-industrialized countries.  The blurring of established consumer/producer identities due to changes in the mediascape, forecasted for decades, has changed how both academics......’s cooptation of these consumers, conceptualizing the people who engage with their media products as a combination of the previous two, or "audience-as-pusher".  This paper is an account of this discourse swing through the description of case studies that demonstrate the utilization of interactive marketing...

Drug addiction and social discourses

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Rita de Cássia dos Santos Canabarro

2012-09-01

Full Text Available This article analyzes the various discursive positions found in the phenomenon of addiction. The relations these discursive positions establish with the discourses of the master, the hysteric, the university and the capitalist are discussed. By analyzing material from clinical listening at a public outpatient drug and alcohol rehab center, it was seen that addiction can be described in different discourses. This article shows that the shift of focus from the symptom to the discursive position of the subject is an indicator for the clinical treatment of addiction.

Development and appropriation of an integration policy for sport

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Agergaard, Sine

2011-01-01

the history and culture of the society in which it is created. Second, policy is seen as discourses that are articulated by specific institutions, and third, the anthropological perspective focuses on the ways in which policy is a applied and interpreted in practice. The first part of this article therefore...... explores Danish immigration history and the development of an integration policy that currently focuses on adaptation of the cultural values and norms of immigrants. The second part of this article looks at current state funds that aim to promote this kind of adaptation through sports. It becomes clear......-Danish ethnic background) appropriate these political assumptions....

Cue Effectiveness in Communicatively Efficient Discourse Production

Science.gov (United States)

Qian, Ting; Jaeger, T. Florian

2012-01-01

Recent years have seen a surge in accounts motivated by information theory that consider language production to be partially driven by a preference for communicative efficiency. Evidence from discourse production (i.e., production beyond the sentence level) has been argued to suggest that speakers distribute information across discourse so as to…

Framing the Framework: Discourses in Australia's National Values Education Policy

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, Tiffany Mary

2009-01-01

In the past, many Australian state schools avoided teaching about values explicitly. However, the Australian government released Australia's first official values education policy in 2005: the "National Framework for Values Education in Australian Schools" (NFVEAS). This framework represents a local manifestation of the recent…

The Design of Migrant Integration Policies in Spain: Discourses and Social Actors

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Belén Fernández Suárez

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Spain is one of the countries with the lowest social spending within the EU-15, and its welfare state has developed later and with less intensity. At the end of the 20th century, Spain became an immigration country, reaching 5.7 million immigrants in 2011. This article explores how the definition of migrant ‘integration’ is based more on a concept of universal rights and social cohesion by the main actors (political parties, trade unions, third sector organizations and immigrant associations than on a notion of a cultural type. We will also analyze how the influence of European policies and restrictive liberalism have led to the implementation of programmes which aim to make civic integration compulsory for the renewal of residence and work permits. The empirical evidence for this article stems from 60 qualitative interviews with social actors in migrant integration policies during 2010 and 2011. The impact of the economic crisis on the foreign population, especially regarding its position in the labor market, will also be considered, explaining the reduction of specific and general policies targeting the migrant population. This cut in social spending has involved a deinstitutionalization of this particular policy field.

Discourse-Centric Learning Analytics: Mapping the Terrain

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Knight, Simon; Littleton, Karen

2015-01-01

There is an increasing interest in developing learning analytic techniques for the analysis, and support of, high-quality learning discourse. This paper maps the terrain of discourse-centric learning analytics (DCLA), outlining the distinctive contribution of DCLA and outlining a definition for the field moving forwards. It is our claim that DCLA…

[The War on "Red Drugs": Anticommunism and Drug Policy in Republic of Korea, 1945-1960].

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Ji-Young

2016-04-01

This paper investigates the discourses and policies on narcotics in Republic of Korea from 1945 to 1960. Since the Liberation the narcotic problem was regarded as the vestige of Japanese imperialism. which was expected to be cleaned up. The image of narcotic crimes as the legacy of the colonial past was turned into as the result of the Red Army's tactics to attack on the liberalist camp around the Korean war. The government of ROK represented the source of the illegal drugs as the Red army and the spy from North Korea. The anticommunist discourse about narcotics described the spies, who introduced the enormous amount of poppies into ROK and brought about the addicts, as the social evil. Through this discourse on poppies from North Korea, the government of ROK emphasized the immorality of the communists reinforcing the anticommunist regime, which was inevitable for the government of ROK to legitimize the division of Korea and the establishment of the government alone. This paper examines how the discourses and policies on narcotics in ROK was shaped and transformed from 1945 to 1960 focusing the relationship between the them and the political context such as anticommunism, Korean war, the division of Korea, and etc. This approach would be helpful to reveal the effect of the ROK's own political situation to the public health system involving the management for drugs.

Counselor-Advocate-Scholar Model: Changing the Dominant Discourse in Counseling

Science.gov (United States)

Ratts, Manivong J.; Greenleaf, Arie T.

2018-01-01

Discourse represents the languages, ideas, and images that together shape one's understanding of the world. In counseling, discourse determines clinical practice. The authors posit that dominant discourse in counseling promotes an intrapsychic status quo that discounts the relationship between individuals and their environment, which often leads…

H.G. Wells's Science Fiction: The Cyborg Visual Dromological Discourse

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Ehsaneh Eshaghi

2015-01-01

Full Text Available H. G. Wells, as the forefather of science fiction, has used the relative notion of time in his stories such as Time Machine (1895. Speed is the initiator of a discourse in which humans are floating and moving ahead and has become one of the main “discourses” of the human being. Paul Virilio's theory of “dromology”, "vision machine" and “virtual reality”, along with "the aesthetics of disappearance" are applied in criticizing the novel scientific discourse by Wells who engenders a machinic, in the Deleuzian sense, and a cyborg discourse, through which he connotes the imperial narratives and the dromocratic powers. The usage of the Cyborg discourse by Wells in his science fiction stories has been to emphasize how the dromological and vision discourses are the prerequisite to the panoptical discourse through the microscopic and telescopic visions. It is concluded that the splintering frame is the created visual frame in the Wellsian science fiction.

Information and Communication Technologies in International Education: A Canadian Policy Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Aucoin, Robert C.

2011-01-01

The rhetoric surrounding the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in international education speaks of providing education access for all. However, an examination of actual policies reveals an emphasis not on creating an educated population, but on improving economic opportunities using discourses such as globalization,…

Constructing Realities: Bullying Usages in Chilean Discourses

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Rodrigo Bassaletti-Contreras

2013-07-01

Full Text Available The article reports an exploratory research on the uses given in Chile to the Anglicism bullying. In order to do so, its evolution is reviewed from the early studies in the Nordic countries, to the treatment of the topic in the Chilean context. The focus of this work is based on socioconstructionism and in turn promotes the consideration of the characteristics of the socio-cultural and historical context of knowledge production with a postcolonial intention. To review the constructions on the subject, we selected Chilean videos at the YouTube virtual platform, using as methodology discourse analysis and dense description. In results can be observed two meanings of bullying: (i to refer to any kind of aggression and (ii as a homologous of abuse among schoolchildren. In response, it is realized the discrepancy with the proposed definitions from general academia and those used in the local environment in investigations, interventions, public policy and mass media in Chile.

The importance of causal connections in the comprehension of spontaneous spoken discourse.

Science.gov (United States)

Cevasco, Jazmin; van den Broek, Paul

2008-11-01

In this study, we investigated the psychological processes in spontaneous discourse comprehension through a network theory of discourse representation. Existing models of narrative comprehension describe the importance of causality processing for forming a representation of a text, but usually in the context of deliberately composed texts rather than in spontaneous, unplanned discourse. Our aim was to determine whether spontaneous discourse components with many causal connections are represented more strongly than components with few connections--similar to the findings in text comprehension literature--and whether any such effects depend on the medium in which the spontaneous discourse is presented (oral vs. written). Participants either listened to or read a transcription of a section of a radio transmission. They then recalled the spontaneous discourse material and answered comprehension questions. Results indicate that the processing of causal connections plays an important role in the comprehension of spontaneous spoken discourse, and do not indicate that their effects on recall are weaker in the comprehension of oral discourse than in the comprehension of written discourse.

Polarized Discourse in the Egyptian News: Critical Discourse Analysis Perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Eissa, Mohammed Mahmoud

2015-01-01

The aim of this study is to investigate ideological structures of polarized discourse coded in the reports of two online news websites: egyptindependent and ikwanweb. The study focuses on online news reports relating to three interrelated events: the issuing of a constitutional declaration by Egyptian president, the aftermath clashes outside…

Discourse-Level Implicature: A Case for QUD

Science.gov (United States)

Jasinskaja, Katja; Salfner, Fabienne; Freitag, Constantin

2017-01-01

This article argues that multisentence discourses give rise to Gricean quantity implicatures that go beyond the mere sum of the implicatures of the sentences they consist of. We formulate two theories of discourse-level implicature: the null theory, which only has a mechanism for sentence-level implicature and does not rely on any specific notion…

Continuing Inequity through Neoliberalism: The Conveyance of White Dominance in the Educational Policy Speeches of President Barack Obama

Science.gov (United States)

Hairston, Thomas W.

2013-01-01

The purpose of this critical discourse analysis is to examine how the political speeches and statements of President Barack Obama knowingly or unknowingly continue practices and policies of White privilege within educational policy and practice by constructing education in a neoliberal frame. With presidents having the ability to communicate…

A Sexuality Education Discourses Framework: Conservative, Liberal, Critical, and Postmodern

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, Tiffany

2011-01-01

Sexuality education debates are layered with discourses based on markedly different constructions of sexuality. Rather than seeing these discourses as purely oppositional, this article frames them as complex and varied. It provides a new framework for understanding sexuality education which differentiates 28 discourses by orientation to education,…

Multidisciplinary critical discourse analysis: a plea for diversity

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Teun A. van Dijk

2013-12-01

Full Text Available This text is a Brazilian Portuguese version of the chapter from the book “Methods of Critical Discourse Analysis”. The author outlines a Critical Discourse Analysis framework while presents a synthesis of its thinking about the some possible relations between Discourse and Society. The author’s theorical horizon embraces features since the structuralist paradigm to the socio-cognitivo one. At last, the reader can realize an early presentation of the author’s Theory of Context (2001 categories of a theory of context which was published seven years later.

Phonological Analysis of University Students’ Spoken Discourse

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Clara Herlina

2011-04-01

Full Text Available The study of discourse is the study of using language in actual use. In this article, the writer is trying to investigate the phonological features, either segmental or supra-segmental, in the spoken discourse of Indonesian university students. The data were taken from the recordings of 15 conversations by 30 students of Bina Nusantara University who are taking English Entrant subject (TOEFL –IBT. Finally, the writer is in opinion that the students are still influenced by their first language in their spoken discourse. This results in English with Indonesian accent. Even though it does not cause misunderstanding at the moment, this may become problematic if they have to communicate in the real world.  

IRONIC METAPHORS IN POLITICAL DISCOURSE

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А А Горностаева

2018-12-01

Full Text Available The article is aimed at revealing the current trends in the usage of ironic metaphors in Russian, British and American political discourse. Given the diversity of political genres, which makes it difficult to classify them, the article draws on the division into primary, secondary and folklore genres (Bazylev 2005, Sheigal 2000. The study focuses on secondary and folklore genres, as, being informal, they presuppose the use of irony. The data was taken from the speeches of Russian, American and British political leaders (V. Putin, S. Lavrov, D. Trump, B. Obama, N. Farage, B. Johnson and others. Drawing on the works on po-litical discourse (Beard 2001, Budaev 2010, Charteris-Black 2005, Chudinov 2001, Lakoff 2003, Ponton 2016, Van Dijk 2009 and developing a discursive approach to the study of irony which is often conveyed through metaphor (Shilikhina 2008, Alba-Juez 2014, Attardo 2007, Giora 2003, Hutcheon 2005, we have identified the conceptual spheres that are the most active sources of modern metaphors. We have traced the link between the new political trends and new metaphors, as well as existing metaphors which acquire a new ironic meaning. The results of the conducted analysis show the frequency of ironic metaphors, includ-ing aggressive ones, and the diversity of their functions in modern political discourse. The comparative analysis made it possible to reveal some peculiarities of the usage of ironic metaphors in Russian, English and American political discourse, which are presupposed by the speakers’ individual characteristics as well as culture specific discursive features.

Demarketing fear: Bring the nuclear issue back to rational discourse

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Han, Charles C.

2014-01-01

This paper attempts to explore the strategies for breaking the deadlock between the demand for resolving climate crisis and the resistance to deploying nuclear power. Since our present renewable technology is not advanced enough to replace fossil fuel power plants, nuclear power becomes the only available means that can buy us more time to explore better energy sources for coping with the dilemma of global warming and energy security. Therefore, this paper proposes an elaborated fear appeal framework that may shed light on the intervention points for mitigating fear. By examining the influence of fear appeal on the nuclear issue, three strategies for demarketing the nuclear fear of the public are recommended. The paper concludes that only when energy policy makers and the nuclear industry recognize the significance of minimizing fear and begin to work on removing the sources of fear, can we then expect to bring the nuclear issue back to rational discourse. - Highlights: • Both cognition and emotion are critical in decision-making processes. • Dealing with the emotion of fear is essential for resolving the nuclear issue. • Fear should be mitigated to make rational discourses on nuclear power happen. • Fear can be mitigated by manipulating issue familiarity and response feasibility. • Using equivalency and issue framing may alter public perceptions of nuclear power

Framing health and foreign policy: lessons for global health diplomacy.

Science.gov (United States)

Labonté, Ronald; Gagnon, Michelle L

2010-08-22

Global health financing has increased dramatically in recent years, indicative of a rise in health as a foreign policy issue. Several governments have issued specific foreign policy statements on global health and a new term, global health diplomacy, has been coined to describe the processes by which state and non-state actors engage to position health issues more prominently in foreign policy decision-making. Their ability to do so is important to advancing international cooperation in health. In this paper we review the arguments for health in foreign policy that inform global health diplomacy. These are organized into six policy frames: security, development, global public goods, trade, human rights and ethical/moral reasoning. Each of these frames has implications for how global health as a foreign policy issue is conceptualized. Differing arguments within and between these policy frames, while overlapping, can also be contradictory. This raises an important question about which arguments prevail in actual state decision-making. This question is addressed through an analysis of policy or policy-related documents and academic literature pertinent to each policy framing with some assessment of policy practice. The reference point for this analysis is the explicit goal of improving global health equity. This goal has increasing national traction within national public health discourse and decision-making and, through the Millennium Development Goals and other multilateral reports and declarations, is entering global health policy discussion. Initial findings support conventional international relations theory that most states, even when committed to health as a foreign policy goal, still make decisions primarily on the basis of the 'high politics' of national security and economic material interests. Development, human rights and ethical/moral arguments for global health assistance, the traditional 'low politics' of foreign policy, are present in discourse but do

Framing health and foreign policy: lessons for global health diplomacy

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Labonté Ronald

2010-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Global health financing has increased dramatically in recent years, indicative of a rise in health as a foreign policy issue. Several governments have issued specific foreign policy statements on global health and a new term, global health diplomacy, has been coined to describe the processes by which state and non-state actors engage to position health issues more prominently in foreign policy decision-making. Their ability to do so is important to advancing international cooperation in health. In this paper we review the arguments for health in foreign policy that inform global health diplomacy. These are organized into six policy frames: security, development, global public goods, trade, human rights and ethical/moral reasoning. Each of these frames has implications for how global health as a foreign policy issue is conceptualized. Differing arguments within and between these policy frames, while overlapping, can also be contradictory. This raises an important question about which arguments prevail in actual state decision-making. This question is addressed through an analysis of policy or policy-related documents and academic literature pertinent to each policy framing with some assessment of policy practice. The reference point for this analysis is the explicit goal of improving global health equity. This goal has increasing national traction within national public health discourse and decision-making and, through the Millennium Development Goals and other multilateral reports and declarations, is entering global health policy discussion. Initial findings support conventional international relations theory that most states, even when committed to health as a foreign policy goal, still make decisions primarily on the basis of the 'high politics' of national security and economic material interests. Development, human rights and ethical/moral arguments for global health assistance, the traditional 'low politics' of foreign policy, are

Moving Policy Forward: "Brain Drain" as a Wicked Problem

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Logue, Danielle

2009-01-01

The mobility of scientists and the concerns surrounding "brain drain" are not new. Even in the Ptolemic dynasty, the first king set out to attract and influence the movements of scholars to shift the centre of learning from Athens to Alexandria. Yet after all this time, there is still much policy discourse and debate focused on attempting to…

Using Multidimensional Methods to Understand the Development, Interpretation and Enactment of Quality Assurance Policy within the Educational Development Community

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Smith, Karen

2018-01-01

Policy texts are representations of practice that both reflect and shape the world around them. There is, however, little higher education research that critically analyses the impact of higher education policy on educational developers and educational development practice. Extending methods from critical discourse analysis by combining textual…

A Theoretical Account on the Study of Metaphor in Didactic Discourse

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Ahmad El-Sharif

2016-04-01

Full Text Available This article makes a literary review to the linguistic research in the use of metaphor in didactic discourse; especially the religious one. Acknowledging Conceptual Metaphor Theory as the primary theory in the field, the researcher embarks upon how metaphor is perceived and analysed in discourse in order to pertain its persuasive function. The article presents different approaches to metaphor analysis and their interconnection. The implications of these approaches are later deduced and interpreted within the scope of Islamic religious discourse as an example of didactic discourses. Keywords: Metaphors, Metaphor Analysis, Didactic Discourse, Persuasion

“Homeland security” as a State policy in 1970’s Argentina

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Marina Franco

2009-12-01

Full Text Available This article analyses a series of legal and illegal state policies and ruling-party strategies, of a repressive nature or involving political persecution, which were implemented by Peronist governments between 1973 and 1976, in the period prior to the military dictatorship that imposed State terrorism in Argentina. The observation of these practices is combined with the study of the discourses of diverse members of the political system from the period. The study reveals the gradual establishment of a discourse about “national security”, that is to say, based on the idea of a subversive enemy of a domestic nature and alien to the “national spirit”. The Argentinian case study shows that this type of discourse, which is generally associated with the military regimes of the Southern Cone, also existed and was put into practice in constitutional regimes

Laconism in the advertisement discourse

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João Marcos Mateus Kogawa

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Current paper investigates the construction of a particular kind of statement called laconism. The discursive form is constructed by an enunciation modality that aggregates military, religious and economic spaces, and is characterized by ‘tell more in fewer words’. It is the hallmark of Greek civilization and typical of Christ’s universal phrases. The enunciation structure is basic and omnipresent in the myth construction within consumer society. Current investigation deals with the advertising discourse, more particularly, Coca-Cola advertisings, as a contemporary myth. French Discourse Analysis coupled to Foucault’s and Barthes’s works foreground the essay.

Excluding parental grief: A critical discourse analysis of bereavement accommodation in Canadian labour standards.

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Macdonald, Mary Ellen; Kennedy, Kimberly; Moll, Sandra; Pineda, Carolina; Mitchell, Lisa M; Stephenson, Peter H; Cadell, Susan

2015-01-01

Grief following child loss is profoundly destabilizing with serious long-term repercussions for bereaved parents. Employed parents may need time away from work to deal with this loss. The purpose of this study was to reflect upon the ways labour policies and practices respond to parental bereavement. Critical discourse analysis was used to examine labour policies and practices related to employment leave for bereaved parents in Canada. Results were compared to international labour standards. Universally, employment policies provide only for the practical issues of bereavement. Commonly, leave is three days, unpaid, and meant to enable ceremonial obligations. Policies do not acknowledge the long-term suffering caused by grief or the variable intensity of different kinds of loss. Managerial, moral, normative and neoliberal values embedded in these policies efface the intensely personal experience of grief, thereby leaving employees at risk for serious health and workplace safety issues. Bereavement leave currently understands grief as a generic, time-limited state with instrumental tasks and ceremonial obligations. In contrast, research characterizes responses to child loss as intense, highly personal experiences for which healing and recovery can take years. This disconnect is especially problematic when viewed through the lens of employee wellbeing, reintegration and workplace productivity.

Discourse and Assessment.

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McNamara, Tim; Hill, Kathryn; May, Lynette

2002-01-01

Focuses on the increase in discourse-based studies of oral proficiency assessment techniques. Discusses research carried out on a number of factors in the assessment setting, including the role of interlocutor, candidate, and rater, and the impact of tasks, task performance conditions, and rating criteria. (Author/VWL)

The Study of Critical Eco-Linguistic in Green Discourse: Prospective Eco-Linguistic Analysis

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Tommi Yuniawan

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Eco-linguistic studies are influenced by one of the other interdisciplinary sciences, namely critical discourse analysis. The combination of these two sciences is called critical eco-linguistic studies. Critical eco-linguistic examines the discourse about the environment and various forms of discourse and their ideology which concerns people and the environment. The environmental discourse with all its manifestations (oral text, written text is called green discourse. To that end, critical eco-linguistic dictates the linguistic aspects contained in the green discourse. Utilization of lingual units in green discourse will affect the sense and logic of people involved in the discourse, ie the writers and readers or the speakers and the speakers. What is recorded in their cognition, will affect their attitudes and actions to the environment. If green discourse is constructive, then their attitude and actions to the environment are constructive. Conversely, if green discourse is more destructive and exploitative, then their attitudes and actions towards the environment will also be affected towards destruction and exploitation. For this reason, critical eco-linguistic studies in green discourse deserve to be given space as a form of prospective eco-linguistic analysis.

Does Social Media Benefit Dominant or Alternative Water Discourses?

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María Mancilla-García

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Political ecology and cognate fields have highlighted the social constructedness of different water discourses, exposing them as the product of a particular view of nature with underpinning interests and political consequences. Integrated Water Resources Management, technical approaches, or the privatisation of drinking water services have enjoyed dominant positions, being able to determine what constitutes common sense. This has excluded numerous other alternative approaches, such as those championed by indigenous peoples. Social media, through its easy accessibility and its emphasis on visual, interactive, and short communication forms, bears the promise to challenge dominant discourses. Whether social media benefits dominant or alternative discourses has not yet been explored by the political ecology literature to which this article contributes. The article conducts a qualitative analysis of the use of two of the main social networking services (Facebook and Twitter by nine organisations working on water. Organisations were selected considering their likelihood to champion different water discourses. The article analyses the formats used, the place of communities, and the kind of language employed. It argues that while social media presents an interesting potential for alternative discourses, it also offers important tools for dominant discourses to consolidate themselves. The article concludes that social media does not structurally challenge the status quo and suggests avenues for future research.

Analyzing the Advertising Discourse- A Journey from Sight to Mind

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Mahrukh Baig

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This research paper sets out to project an in-depth study of the advertising discourse by applying methodological approaches of Discourse Analysis and Critical Discourse Analysis to the chosen “advertisements”. It aims at examining the ‘power relations and struggles’ among product-producers and product-consumers, to gauge the level of psychological dominance exercised through the advertising discourse. The study, fundamentally, presents a counter-analysis of ‘advertising strategies’, as to how far they influence the consumers’ attitudes and to what extent the consumers direct their ‘discourse’. In other words, this research attempts to answer the question: ‘who turns out to be more powerful by controlling the other’s mind, in advertiser-consumer relationship?’, whether it is the consumer who shapes the discourse of advertisements through their demands, or the advertiser who affects the consumers’ beliefs through their ‘discourse’! Thus, the current paper presents a comprehensive review of the relevant literature leading towards a theoretical framework of preferred DA and CDA approaches to be further applied on the discourse of advertisements. And towards the end, it states the final remarks concluding the entire discussion and reflecting upon the effectiveness of Critical Discourse Analysis in its application on the advertising phenomena.

The Influence of Values and Policy Vocabularies on Understandings of Leadership Effectiveness

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Carpenter, Bradley W.; Diem, Sarah; Young, Michelle D.

2014-01-01

During the past two decades, shifting discourses have significantly altered professional expectations for educational leaders. Driven by a globalized reconfiguration of the values defining educational purpose, definitions of effective leadership, processes for evaluating them, and the very boundaries of educational policy have narrowed and…

Competing motivational discourses for weight loss: means to ends and the nexus of beauty and health.

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Kwan, Samantha

2009-09-01

Western cultural discourses generally deem fat unhealthy and unattractive, providing strong motivation for body nonconformists to lose weight. Semistructured interviews with 42 overweight and obese participants illuminate how individuals understand health and beauty weight-loss motivations and the relationship between the two. Interviews indicate that health and beauty motivate because they are seen as means to various ends. Specifically, participants aspire to health to fulfill various social roles and to live long, meaningful lives. Moreover, they aspire to conventional beauty ideals hoping that aesthetic conformity will elicit benefits, both psychological and social. Interviews also illustrate an intertwining of discourses in which participants conflate beauty and health in three ways: indicating that depictions of the beauty ideal are depictions of the health ideal; using beauty indicators as health indicators; and employing beauty as a motivator for health goals. This article concludes with a discussion of the health, social, and policy implications of these findings.

Representations of women and drug use in policy: A critical policy analysis.

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Thomas, Natalie; Bull, Melissa

2018-06-01

Contemporary research in the drugs field has demonstrated a number of gender differences in patterns and experiences of substance use, and the design and provision of gender-responsive interventions has been identified as an important policy issue. Consequently, whether and how domestic drug policies attend to women and gender issues is an important question for investigation. This article presents a policy audit and critical analysis of Australian national and state and territory policy documents. It identifies and discusses two key styles of problematisation of women's drug use in policy: 1) drug use and its effect on women's reproductive role (including a focus on pregnant women and women who are mothers), and 2) drug use and its relationship to women's vulnerability to harm (including violent and sexual victimisation, trauma, and mental health issues). Whilst these are important areas for policy to address, we argue that such representations of women who use drugs tend to reinforce particular understandings of women and drug use, while at the same time contributing to areas of 'policy silence' or neglect. In particular, the policy documents analysed are largely silent about the harm reduction needs of all women, as well as the needs of women who are not mothers, young women, older women, transwomen or other women deemed to be outside of dominant normative reproductive discourse. This analysis is important because understanding how women's drug use is problematised and identifying areas of policy silence provides a foundation for redressing gaps in policy, and for assessing the likely effectiveness of current and future policy approaches. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Paternalism and the paradox of work-life balance: Discourse and practice

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Rajan-Rankin, S

2015-01-01

Drawing on Lewis et al’s (2007) critical treatment of ‘work-life balance’ (WLB) as a western, neo-liberal discourse with problematic assumptions of gender and culture neutrality; this study examines the ways in which WLB discourse(s) are translated and adopted within transnational call centres in India. Discursive understandings suggest that work-life balance negotiations are filtered through two dominant discourses: neo-liberalism/individualism and collectivism-paternalism. The contradiction...

Tetragonia tetragonioides (Pall.) Kuntze protects estrogen-deficient rats against disturbances of energy and glucose metabolism and decreases proinflammatory cytokines.

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Ryuk, Jin Ah; Ko, Byoung-Seob; Lee, Hye Won; Kim, Da Sol; Kang, Suna; Lee, Yong Hyen; Park, Sunmin

2017-03-01

Tetragonia tetragonioides (Pall.) Kuntze (TTK) and JakYakGamCho-Tang (JGT) have been used for improving women's health and treating inflammatory diseases. We determined that the long-term consumption of these herbal extracts alleviates the progression of postmenopausal symptoms in high-fat-diet fed ovariectomized (OVX) rats, and further explored the mechanisms involved. Five groups of OVX rats were fed high fat diets that were supplemented with either 2% dextrin (control), 2% TTK (70% ethanol extract), 2% JGT (water extract), 1% JGT + 1% TTK (JGTT), or 30 µg/kg body weight/day of 17β-estradiol (positive control). After eight weeks of dietary intervention, the herbal treatments did not change the serum concentrations of 17β-estradiol or uterine weight in control rats, but they were higher in the positive-control group. TTK rats exhibited higher daily energy expenditure, particularly fat oxidation, without modifying the energy intake than the controls. TTK lowered the fat mass but lean body mass of the abdomen and leg were increased. JGT decreased periuterine fat mass and lean body mass more than the control but the decrease was not as much as TTK. TTK resulted in substantially lower serum concentrations of the proinflammatory cytokines, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, than the control and JGT had lesser effect than TTK. Insulin resistance, determined by homeostasis model assessment estimate for assessing insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and insulin tolerance test, was reduced in the decreasing order of control, JGT, JGTT, and TTK and the HOMA-IR of TTK was similar to the positive control. TTK, but not JGT, enhanced glucose tolerance compared with the control, although the serum insulin levels in TTK were lower compared to the control. Interestingly, the β-cell masses were much greater in the TTK and JGTT groups than in the control, and they were comparable to the positive control. The increases in β-cell masses in TTK and

Successful online course design: Virtual frameworks for discourse construction

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Anita Pincas

1998-10-01

Full Text Available A mental representation of the virtual context is a necessary basis of successful online conversations. Such a representation is impossible to create without a method of reference back to previous parts of the discussion in order to develop cohesive discourse. The paper surveys the way two different groups of students in recent online courses handled referencing conventions in asynchronous discourse and suggests a way of providing the scaffolding for virtual discourse construction.

Social Inclusion and Active Citizenship under the Prism of Neoliberalism: A Critical Analysis of the European Union's Discourse of Lifelong Learning

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Mikelatou, Angeliki; Arvanitis, Eugenia

2018-01-01

The aim of this article is to investigate the impact neoliberalism has in shaping the discourse of the European Union's policy of Lifelong Learning. The literature review initially presents the theoretical framework of neoliberalism as the dominant ideological and economic paradigm of our time. Thereafter, it takes a view on how neoliberalism…

Analysing Discourse. An Approach From the Sociology of Knowledge

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