Discourse

On Foucault's Discourse

by Karl Rogers

Amazon Digital Services

Values & the Environment (Lancaster University, 1996)

Establishing Causal Coherence across Sentences: An ERP Study

by Martin Paczynski

Kuperberg, G.R., Paczynski, M., and Ditman, T. (2011) Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience. 23(5), 1230–1246

This study examined neural activity associated with establishing causal relationships across sentences during on-line... more This study examined neural activity associated with establishing causal relationships across sentences during on-line comprehension. ERPs were measured while participants read and judged the relatedness of three-sentence scenarios in which the final sentence was highly causally related, intermediately related, and causally unrelated to its context. Lexico-semantic co-occurrence was matched across the three conditions using a Latent Semantic Analysis. Critical words in causally unrelated scenarios evoked a larger N400 than words in both highly causally related and intermediately related scenarios, regardless of whether they appeared before or at the sentence-final position. At midline sites, the N400 to intermediately related sentence-final words was attenuated to the same degree as to highly causally related words, but otherwise the N400 to intermediately related words fell in between that evoked by highly causally related and intermediately related words. No modulation of the late positivity/P600 component was observed across conditions. These results indicate that both simple and complex causal inferences can influence the earliest stages of semantically processing an incoming word. Further, they suggest that causal coherence, at the situation level, can influence incremental word-by-word discourse comprehension, even when semantic relationships between individual words are matched.

Misyurov D.A. Dialectical formulas based on the binary notation as the development formulas // Credo New. 2012. №2

by Dmitry Misyurov

The article suggests dialectical formulas based on the binary notation as the development formulas: formula with... more The article suggests dialectical formulas based on the binary notation as the development formulas: formula with dominant and the non-dominant elements; universal formula; formula with symbolic weight of elements; tautological formula. For example, it suggests an opportunity to use the dialectical formulas for modeling and artificial intelligence creation, etc.

Discursive enactment of power in Iranian high school EFL classrooms

by Faiz Sathi Abdullah

Co-authored with Kobra Hosseini; published in GEMA Online Journal of Language Studies, Volume 12(2), Special Section, May 2012, pp. 375-392.

Teachers’ dominance in teaching environments has been criticized as an oppressive educational practice by critical... more Teachers’ dominance in teaching environments has been criticized as an oppressive educational practice by critical theories of education. While critical pedagogy that espouses a problem-posing model of education has sought to promote a more equitable and dialogical teacher-student partnership and to transform the oppressive conditions of the ESL/EFL classroom, the claimed potential of the approach has had only limited success in practice. Drawing upon Fairclough’s approach to critical discourse analysis to make for a principled analysis of EFL classroom practice, this study investigated the discoursal features of unequal power relations in Iranian high school EFL classes. The data was collected via observation of two classrooms, one located in an urban area and the other in a semi-urban area of Iran. The analysis of the observation data, which included transcripts of classroom lessons as well as field notes, indicated that teachers played a disproportionately dominant role to the extent that the students were kept
apparently passive and powerless via a range of discursive strategies including maximizing teacher-controlled talking time, turn-taking, topic control, modes of meaning-construction, and elicitation strategies. The findings of this study are expected
to provide critical and emancipatory insights into ESL/EFL classroom practice and contribute to the transformation of its status quo.

Gender Differences In The Language Use Of Malaysian Teen Bloggers

by Saadiyah Darus

Zaini Amir, Hazirah Abidin, Saadiyah Darus, Kemboja Ismail. 2012. Published in GEMA Online Journal of Language Studies. 12(1), Special Section, 105-124, January.

Past researches have shown that there is a difference in language use between males and females attributed by their... more Past researches have shown that there is a difference in language use between males and females attributed by their roles and society’s stereotyping or perceptions. Fast changing technology has provided another means for young people to express themselves using language as a tool. This study investigates the differences in language use by female and male Malaysian teenage bloggers who use blogs as a diary to express their daily issues about life. The language used is informal and similar to spoken language. Using a qualitative approach, this study aims to examine gender differences observed in the language features used by male and female teenagers in their blogs. The findings show that there are differences between male and female bloggers in the frequencies of five language features which are ‘intensifiers’, ‘hedging’, ‘tag questions’, ‘empty adjectives’ and ‘adverbs’. The results of the study show that differences in language use among teenage bloggers may largely be attributed to gender.

Review of 'Management Writing Out of Bounds: Writing after postcolonialism.' Alexander Styhre. Liber and Copenhagen Business School Press, Malmö (2005).

by Jerzy Kociatkiewicz

Published (2007) in Scandinavian Journal of Management 23/2: 225-227
Unformatted copy
DOI: 10.1016/j.scaman.2007.02.002

Whatever the form of academic research, the results are almost invariably presented as a written text. Indeed, even... more Whatever the form of academic research, the results are almost invariably presented as a written text. Indeed, even when the means of presentation are non-traditional, the result can still be interpreted as text. Its creation can thus also be perceived as writing. There is no doubt that academic writing is a topic worthy of detailed discussion and, appropriately, it has received a fair amount of attention over the previous few decades. Alexander Styhre’s Management writing out of bounds, a recent contribution to that debate, couples the idea of multiplicity of possible academic writing styles and strategies to the notion of postcolonialism, i.e. the breakdown of the universalist claims of the Western civilization.

Warum die „zweite Historizität“ eben doch die zweite ist – von der Bedeutung von Diskurstraditionen für die Sprachbetrachtung

by Johannes Kabatek

Some general reflections on the notion of Discourse Traditions. Some general reflections on the notion of Discourse Traditions.

"Text Organizing": el espacio social de la ciudad

by Hugo Gaggiotti

published in Journal Imagen, (34 (1), 72-77, 2001.

Young single motherhood: contested notions of motherhood and sexuality in policy discourses/program interventions

by Elizabeth Ngutuku

Causal connectives or causal prepositions? Discursive constraints* 1

by Liesbeth Degand

Degand, Liesbeth (2000). Causal connectives or causal prepositions? Discursive constraints. In : Journal of Pragmatics (2000), p. 687-707. doi: 10.1016/S0378-2166(99)00066-1.

L’analyse en unités discursives de base : pourquoi et comment ?

by Liesbeth Degand

Simon, Anne-Catherine; Degand, Liesbeth (2011). L’analyse en unités discursives de base : pourquoi et comment ?. In : Langue Française (2011), p. 45-59

"Kurzschlüsse und Abbrüche in der musikästhetischen Argumentation in der DDR", in: Die unerträgliche Leichtigkeit der Kunst – Künste und Kunstwissenschaften in der DDR, hg. v. Michael Berg, Knut Holtsträter u. Albrecht von Massow, Köln u.a. 2007, S. 193-205.

by Knut Holtstraeter

"Gottfried Webers Einfluss auf die Funktions- und Stufenharmonik – eine Bestandsaufnahme", in: Tagungsbericht Dresden 2006 sowie weitere Aufsätze und Quellenstudien, hg. v. Manuel Gervink, Frank Heidlberger u. Joachim Veit (=Weber-Studien 8), Mainz 2007, S. 381-432.

by Knut Holtstraeter

Out of Mind, Out of Sight: Language Affects Perceptual Vividness in Memory

by Rolf Zwaan

Neoliberalism as discourse: between Foucauldian political economy and Marxian poststructuralism

by Simon Springer

Springer, S. Forthcoming. Neoliberalism as discourse: between Foucauldian political economy and Marxian poststructuralism. Critical Discourse Studies.

Contemporary theorizations of neoliberalism are framed by a false dichotomy between, on the one hand, studies... more Contemporary theorizations of neoliberalism are framed by a false dichotomy between, on the one hand, studies influenced by Foucault in emphasizing neoliberalism as a form of governmentality, and on the other hand, inquiries influenced by Marx in foregrounding neoliberalism as a hegemonic ideology. This article seeks to shine some light on this division in an effort to open up new debates and recast existing ones in such a way that might lead to more flexible understandings of neoliberalism as a discourse. A discourse approach moves theorizations forward by recognizing neoliberalism is neither a ‘top down’ nor ‘bottom up’ phenomena, but rather a circuitous process of socio-spatial transformation.

Mark of Cain(ada): Racialized Security Discourse in Canada's National Newspapers

by Naava Smolash

This essay compares coverage in two of Canada's national newspapers, the Globe and Mail and the National Post, of two... more This essay compares coverage in two of Canada's national newspapers, the Globe and Mail and the National Post, of two high-profile anti-terrorism cases: Project Thread (2003) and the Toronto 18 (2006). I read these media stories as narratives, open to literary analysis, that allow us to pry open and critique Canada's dominant national security discourse. These national newspaper narratives, I argue, mobilize racialized signs of otherness that legitimate and naturalize national security discourses, even when accusations are withdrawn by officials. This raises urgent questions about the ways in which media may naturalize state violence against Muslim, Arab, and South Asian citizens and non-citizens within Canada's borders.

The iron cage re-revisited: Institutional isomorphism in non-profit organisations in South Africa

by Frederik Claeyé

co-authored with Terence Jackson

accepted for publication in Journal of International Development, 12(5)

Non-profit organisations (NPOs) are being pushed to become ‘more business-like’, reflecting global discourse on ‘aid... more Non-profit organisations (NPOs) are being pushed to become ‘more business-like’, reflecting global discourse on ‘aid effectiveness’ underpinned by managerialist modes of thinking that may be inappropriate to local contexts. We examine the nature of the tendency towards institutional isomorphism empirically investigating this with fourteen NPOs in South Africa’s Eastern Cape, using a conceptual framework derived from Institutional Theory. This suggests that institutional isomorphism is shaping management in NPOs. However, this theory seems inadequate in explaining resistance to these forces. We go on to explain the limitations of using a purely institutionalist lens and suggest how the integration of Postcolonial Theory may benefit further research.

Governing the Karimojong: Tradition, Modernity and Power in Contemporary Karamoja

by Karol Czuba

The complex gerontocratic governance system of the Karimojong, the largest ethnic group in Karamoja, was challenged in... more The complex gerontocratic governance system of the Karimojong, the largest ethnic group in Karamoja, was challenged in the second half of the twentieth century by the combined forces of the modernising Ugandan nation-state and undisciplined young men. The paper demonstrates that, although Karimojong power structures were substantially weakened during the period of great disequilibrium between the late 1970s and 2000s, recent years have seen their gradual reconstruction. Some traditional institutions have disappeared or declined, but the position of elders has been largely restored. Ekokwa, or an informal assembly, has partially integrated the state-imposed Local Council 1 structure and emerged as the new central political forum of the Karimojong. Karimojong culture remains in a state of flux and significant changes can be expected in the near future.

Eerland, A., Post, L.S., Rassin, E., Bouwmeester, S., & Zwaan, R.A. (2012). Out of sight, out of mind: the presence of forensic evidence counts more than its absence. Acta Psychologica, 140, 96-100.

by Rolf Zwaan

Recent evidence suggests that decision makers in criminal procedures are susceptible to biases. We previouslymore Recent evidence suggests that decision makers in criminal procedures are susceptible to biases. We previously
found support for the presence of a feature positive effect (FPE, i.e., people attach more meaning to present
than to absent information) in legal-decision making. In this study, we tried to uncover the mechanisms behind
the FPE. Taking a cue from the literature on situation models in language comprehension, we investigated
whether a FPE manifests itself in the memorization and use of forensic evidence. Students read a case file
about a fistfight as well as additional evidence. The forensic evidence was manipulated such that a FPE on
guilt estimation and conviction rate could be assessed. While subjects read additional forensic evidence,
their eye movements were recorded to explore the presence of FPE in online processing. Afterwards, subjects
were asked to decide on the suspect's guilt. They had to recall all information they remembered from the case
file and indicate which parts of information they considered relevant to this decision. The results provided
evidence for the occurrence of FPE in memorization and use of information and can be explained by the theoretical
construct of situation models.

Goodness Is Elsewhere: The Rule of European Difference

by József Böröcz

published in Comparative Studies in Society and History, 2006, January (48,1:110-38)

Reflecting on European colonialism in 1950 - at a time when discussions about what we now know as the European Union... more Reflecting on European colonialism in 1950 - at a time when discussions about what we now know as the European Union emerged in western Europe, Aimé Césaire wrote, . . . Europe is morally, spiritually indefensible. This idea is fairly commonplace in much of the post-colonial world and it has some purchase within certain academic and intellectual circles elsewhere. And yet, in the process of denouncing the widely noted presence of racism in Hungary, thirty-six leading Hungarian intellectuals have, in a recent public document, felt compelled to thank France, and through France, a generic, trans-historical notion of Europe, for what they saw as the latter's profound, longue-durée goodness. It is partly my concern for the economic hardship, political marginality, cultural discrimination, and social exclusion faced by the Romanies of eastern Europe and partly the precision with which the Letter articulates the topos of west European moral superiority - a central pattern of European identity discourse - that prompts me to raise the following initial questions: How is it possible to denounce racism by referring to Europe, especially western Europe, the main historic source and promoter of racism as we know it today? What purpose does the genre of the open letter serve and how does it function? How does the signatories' implicit project of geopolitical self-positioning relate to the theme of the West as an object to be emulated, long dominant in the modern history of east-central European ideas of emancipation?