Narrative Discourse Analysis Research Articles

Narrative Discourse in Persian-speaking Patients With Multiple Sclerosis

Introduction: Narrative discourse is a crucial subset of discourse production that can be used to assess high levels of language processing like microlinguistic and macrolinguistic structures. Because patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) have more problems at high levels of language processing, this study aims to analyze narrative discourse in MS patients and compare it with healthy people. Materials and Methods: This research was a descriptive-analytic study. The study participants included 15 patients with MS and 15 healthy controls matched for age and education level. For investigating the narrative discourse, we used the Persian Narrative Discourse Test (PNDT). Data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics and the independent t-test in SPSS-24. Results: The mean values of syntactic complexity, verbal error ratio, cohesion ratio, and coherence in Persian-speaking patients with MS were 1.40, 0.42, 1.18, 2.32, respectively. Our findings indicated that regarding the macrolinguistic measures, there is a significant difference between MS patients and healthy subjects (P<0.05). However, there was no significant difference in the microlinguistic measures (P>0.05). Conclusion: This study showed that narrative discourse analysis could help identify linguistic and communication problems in MS patients. Patients with MS had pragmatic language disorder.

“Pragmatic, Complacent, Critical–Cynical, or Empathetic?” Youth Civic Engagement as Social Appraisal

Background/Context: Many studies have systematized the wide range of youth civic engagement mechanisms identified to date; however, how young people deal with a complex flux of sociocultural and personal variables which condition their scope of engagement has received less attention. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study: This article analyzes youths’ appraisal of social issues and how this assessment influences the ways in which they engage with those issues. It also examines the elements of their inner worlds and their cultural settings that they consider deciding whether to get involved in one way or another. Research Design: A narrative discourse analysis is completed on two hundred Mexican and Spanish adolescents’ explanations of an advertisement that sparked discussion on issues of undocumented immigration, discrimination, and past territorial disputes between the U.S.A. and Mexico. Youth civic engagement is categorized through ‘ways of engagement,’ a category that comprises the assessment of social issues performed by adolescents based on four constructs: civic knowledge, morals, discourse, and positioning. The analysis shows that four ‘ways of engagement’ are common to all the participants: pragmatic, complacent, critical-cynical, and empathetic. Findings/Results: The findings show how the participants assess the advertisement’s possible intentions, positioning, and moral implications; at the same time, they explain the potential solutions they see possible while taking their own stands toward the advertisement. This type of personal appraisal makes them decide in what way they engage with this issue. Conclusions: Finally, reflections on the possible implications of the four ‘ways of engagement’ for citizenship education are presented.

Refugee-background students and the institutional responsibility of schools: a narrative discourse analysis of US education news media

ABSTRACT Necessitated by a heightened focus on global migration and its impact on educational realities across the globe, this study examined how educational experiences of students with refugee backgrounds are characterized in US educational news outlets. 385 articles from three online education news sites in the US were examined using a narrative-discursive approach. Analysis demonstrated how mutually dependent narrative patterns constructed students as resilient survivors, while schools were positioned as safe havens designed to support them. We show how these narrative patterns were accomplished through the use of common discursive features, positioning refugee student populations and the institutional responsibility of schools in bounded ways. We consider these findings in light of how broader discourses visible in news media narratives shape and reflect the reality of refugee-background students’ educational experiences in the US.

Listening for silences: Discursive constructions of class within reflections of black male study abroad travelers from the USA

This article features a critical discourse analysis of narratives gathered from Black men reflecting upon their travel experiences. Though the participants consistently referenced their race and gender through explicit mention and self-naming, ideas concerning the identity marker of class were most often communicated through silence characterized by imprecise, obfuscating language and indirect, euphemistic word choices. Using the tools of critical discourse studies, I explored the nature of these silences and the understandings they revealed in spite of being only indirectly spoken. The implications of this work are both conceptual and applied in nature. Conceptually, the analysis offers a model for considering, grappling with and ultimately mobilizing a data corpus’ instances of silence. The insights gained about the self-understandings of this underrepresented subgroup of study abroad travelers provide helpful information for student affairs and international education practitioners seeking to attract and better serve Black male students.

Chronology of The Time of The Narrative Discourse in The Novel – Gahishtineka Waki Mirne

Since ancient times, man has struggled with time, in order to organize his life and overcome the obstacles of life, so he has always resorted to glorifying events and experiences that happened to him in order to record his heroism in order to become a solid motivation for him to advance in the future, without any doubt the narration of events has a feature or a chronological feature of his three temporal verbs (past, present, future). This is why time has become an important topic, as many scholars and critics have undertaken studies in order to determine the sequence and chronological organization in the historical and literary fields. Novel as a narrative genre took time as an artistic feature of a fundamental role in the field of narration, and therefore time took a place especially in the field of novel writing, while when (Gerard Genet) studied the novel from the chronological aspect of the story in the narrator’s speech and the events of the novel according to the recognized chronological organization, he reached a stage It is developed in the analysis of narrative discourse, making the novel a part of the double time (the time of the story and the time of the speech) with three levels (order, duration, frequency) and this by determining the real time or referring to it. This research is an attempt to define the chronology of the narrative discourse under the title (Chronology of the Time of the Narrator's Speech in the Novel Gahishtineka waki mirne). According to the opinions of (Gerard Genet).

The concept of Focalization in Sahar Khalifeh's Muðakirat Imra'atin ɣeiru Waqeatin: A Narrative Discourse Analysis

The concept of Focalization in Sahar Khalifeh's Muðakirat Imra'atin ɣeiru Waqeatin: A Narrative Discourse Analysis

Consumption of Substances in Nightlife Settings: A Qualitative Approach in Young Andalusians (Spain).

Adolescence and youth are stages of exploration and experimentation, when the consumption of psychoactive substances for recreational or experimental purposes often begins. The general objective of this study was to explore youth consumption habits in nightlife settings and associated factors in Andalusia (Spain). To this end, we took into account young people’s perceptions about patterns of drug polyconsumption in nightlife settings and the perceptions and actions of health and teaching professionals towards this issue. We carried out a qualitative methodology with 24 in-depth interviews and 3 discussion groups with Andalusian girls and boys aged between 16 and 22 (n = 45) and 13 in-depth interviews with social agents (health and teaching professionals). We performed narrative discourse analysis and triangulation of identified categories and measured the units of analysis. The results show information relating to gender, age of initiation, most commonly consumed substances, motivation and effects, peer group pressure and how they obtained the substances, and the perceptions held and main activities carried out in the educational institutions and health centers.

A Narrative Discourse Analysis of Poe's Short Story "The Tell-Tale Heart": Implications for Language Teaching

This paper employs narrative discourse analysis to analyze Edger Allen Poe's short story "The Tell-Tale Heart" by using two narrative analysis frameworks that focus on the macrostructure (Stein, 1982) and microstructure (Halliday & Hasan, 1976) aspects of the story. The analysis covers the story's purpose, generic structure, and lexicogrammatical cohesion. Findings show that the writer follows a series of structural moves and uses a variety of narrative strategies (e.g. high level of involvement and a wide range of lexical and grammatical cohesive ties) which contribute to the creation of a well-formed text that has effectively achieved its purpose and made its intended effect. This paper argues that there are many ways in which this macro- and microstructure analysis of the story may be exploited in the English language classroom. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of the analysis and offers some suggestions and engaging activities for language teaching purposes.

\u201cWe all have a responsibility\u201d: a narrative discourse analysis of an information campaign targeting help-seeking in first episode psychosis

BackgroundIntervening at an early stage of psychosis improves the chances of recovery from first-episode psychosis. However, people who are experiencing distress and early psychotic symptoms generally seem to delay seeking help. Therefore, multifaced information campaigns targeting help-seeking behavior of potential patients and their network are considered important tools within early detection and intervention strategies. In this study, we aimed to explore which discursive meaning content, including roles and actors, such information campaigns build on and construct. Our intention was not to provide objective answers, but to contribute to a discursive debate about potential conflicts in messages conveyed in such campaigns.MethodsA broad sample of information material utilized by TIPS Stavanger University Hospital (Norway) was examined. The material consisted of posters, booklets and brochures, newspaper ads, Facebook ads, and TIPS Info’s website, representing various campaigns from 1996 to April 2018. A narrative discursive approach was applied at an epistemological level. At a practical level, a team-based thematic analysis was utilized to identify patterns across data.ResultsDiversity and several changes in strategy were recognized throughout the information material. Furthermore, three main themes and four subthemes were found to constitute the meaning content built in the information campaigns: knowledge is key; (almost) an illness among illnesses; and we all have a responsibility (comprising of the subthemes; to respond quickly; to step in; to provide an answer; and to tag along).ConclusionOur findings pointed to common dilemmas in mental health services: How to combine professional expert knowledge with collaborative practices that emphasize shared decision-making and active roles on behalf of patients? How to combine a focus on symptoms and illness and simultaneously express the importance of addressing patients’ recourses? And how can we ask for societal responsibility in help-seeking when professionals are placed in expert positions which may not be optimal for dialogue with potential patients or their network? We discuss whether highlighting practices with more weight on resources and active roles for patients and their surroundings in information campaigns could promote earlier help-seeking.

Follow-Up on the Story Goodness Index for Characterizing Discourse Deficits Following Traumatic Brain Injury.

Purpose The Story Goodness Index (SGI) is a hybrid analysis of narrative discourse combining 2 macrostructural measures: story grammar and story completeness. Initially proposed by Lê and colleagues ( Lê, Coelho, Mozeiko, & Grafman, 2011 ), the SGI is intended to characterize the discourse performance of individuals with cognitive-communication disorders. In this study, the SGI was utilized to examine the discourse of 2 groups, one with closed head injuries and another with non-brain injured (NBI) peers. The intent of this study was to ascertain whether the SGI could differentiate the discourse performance of the 2 groups, as was previously reported for individuals with penetrating traumatic brain injury and an NBI comparison group ( Lê, Coelho, Mozeiko, Krueger, & Grafman, 2012 ). Because of the retrospective nature of this study, the wordless visual narrative used to elicit discourse was different from the narrative used by Lê and colleagues (2012) . Method A retrospective analysis of discourse was performed on 55 individuals with a history of closed head injury and 47 NBI socioeconomically matched peers. During the initial assessment, participants were engaged in a narrative retell task. Each participant was shown a wordless picture story and then asked to retell the story to the examiner. Story narratives were reanalyzed for story grammar (organization) and completeness (critical content). Results A significant group difference was noted for the story grammar measure, but not for story completeness. Although the SGI plots depicted the heterogeneity in discourse performance of the 2 groups, a chi-square test of independence revealed no significant association between group membership and SGI quadrant. Conclusions Findings from this study were inconsistent with those of Lê and colleagues. The studies did not use identical SGI protocols; specifically, different picture stimuli were used to elicit the story retells. Therefore, this study cannot be considered a replication. The story used by Lê and colleagues was judged to be more complex, requiring more inference for story interpretation. Future studies should interpret findings within the context of the story stimuli presented.

Narrative discourse in Persian-speaking patients with mild Alzheimer's disease.

ABSTRACT.Despite the significance of discourse impairments, they have not been thoroughly investigated in Persian-speaking patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD).Objective:the aim of this study was to perform a multi-level analysis of narrative discourse in Persian-speaking patients with mild AD and to compare them with healthy elderly.Methods:the study included 14 older adults with mild AD and a matched group of 14 healthy elderly. Using a storytelling task based on serial pictures, both macro- and micro-linguistic aspects of narrative discourse were assessed. Cohesion ratio and coherence were investigated as macrolinguistic dimensions of discourse. The studied microlinguistic features included syntactic complexity and verbal errors (mostly involving phonological and semantic paraphasias and mazes). Severity of AD was determined using the Cognitive Dementia Rating (CDR).Results:there were significant differences between the groups regarding cohesion ratio (0.9 ± 0.34 vs. 1.29 ± 0.45, p = 0.02) and coherence scores (2.43 ± 0.41 vs. 3.02 ± 0.81, p = 0.03). Verbal errors and syntactic complexity did not differ significantly between the groups.Conclusion:Persian-speaking patients with mild AD show macrolinguistic impairments in producing discourses based on picture description. Therefore, intervention protocols should focus on the ability to organize information on a specific subject and also to connect sentences produced using appropriate cohesive ties.

Beyond elocution: Multimodal narrative discourse analysis of L2 storytelling

AbstractDrawing upon research on narrative and speech styles and on digital and multimodal communication, the author proposes multimodal narrative discourse analysis (MNDA) with associated pedagogical and analytical procedures to teach and study storytelling. The second language (L2) students first participated in multimodal narrative simulations in the virtual world of Second Life. The university students then presented, evaluated, and revised stories in both face-to-face and digital contexts through multiple modalities and technologies. MNDA further provided tools and methods for analyzing the students’ discursive processes and agentive experiences of L2 storytelling. The results of MNDA showed that the proper use of narrative elements, discourse structures, and stylistic devices, as well as bodily, visual, and video resources, assisted the students in developing multimodal designs and storytelling styles. This technology-mediated discourse approach to L2 storytelling suggests the importance of teaching and researching broader narrative contexts and activities other than simply elocution in multimodal communicative activities.

"Do not draw attention to yourself" - Is the integration of migrants important, and for whom is it important? Gorani people in Belgrade

In this paper, I discuss the question of the process of integration of the Gorani people who moved to Belgrade during or immediately after 1999, or during the war in Kosovo. I consider the process of integration of members of the Gorani community particularly important because it is a relatively small community not officially recognized as a minority in Serbia. Members of the Gorani community were turned into a category of internally displaced persons because they came from a territory that constituted a part of the same state (FR Yugoslavia). Integration is often referred to as a complex and multi-dimensional postmigration process. In this paper, I proceed from the fact that the integration process does not represent a sui generis phenomenon. In that sense, I support the critical attitude towards understanding this process. This has partly contributed to the fact that in the research I focused on the perception of the integration process resulting from the experience of the migrants themselves. Through analysis of narrative discourse, I present the specificities of the process of integration of members of the Gorani community in Belgrade. At the same time, I point out to the shortcomings of the integration policy implemented by the state.

‘We have education, I can say that’: worldview and access to education for adult refugees

We present a discourse analysis of narratives from two adult Congolese refugees, focused on the influence of worldview (including cultural mindset, personal world, and perspective) on thinking about accessing higher education. We examined narrative structure (Gee 2011), subject statements, and Underhill's (2009) three elements of worldview in the narratives. Both participants held a cultural mindset that highly valued education, but their personal worlds and perspectives differed, perhaps explaining their different decisions about accessing higher education. Findings suggest implications for supporting adult refugee education, particularly their aspirations for accessing higher education.

The Narrative Discourse in Facebook Electronic Communication

This article is the result of research conducted about analysis of narrative discourse in interpersonal communication conducted in Hebrew in private Facebook conversations between adolescents. Different narrative discourse models are presented the process of adolescents’ formation of personal identity is revealed. It appears that Facebook discourse is of great significance for adolescents, mainly with regard to issues such as attitudes to school, to social activities, military service and issues that have to do with interpersonal and inter-gender relationships. The research findings and ensuing conclusions can teach educators about the world of adolescents at this stage of their life.

‘Jew Age’ among Israeli celebs: Jewish spirituality as discourse of citizenship

During the past few decades, the decline in citizenship solidarity and legitimacy within democracies has been under debate. This crisis has been brought about by empowered separatist identity-politics. With a unique approach in mind, using narrative discourse analysis of 12 interviews with Israeli celebrities, this study reveals a new model of inclusive discourse of citizenship. By publicly sharing their personal stories and political ideas, and using their public images as role models in the national consensus, the celebrities act as agents of political discursive change. They express disappointment in celebrity life and separatist, Israeli, identity-politics, and, in reaction, formulate an alternative construction of the concept of citizenship, one that is based upon their personal, spiritual story and ‘Jew Age’ identity. By redefining Israeli-ness on a common, spiritual basis, the celebrities are forging an inclusive, democratic discourse of citizenship, which combines both primordial-local, Jewish, communal traditions, and global, western-orientated, New Age culture. This article thus offers a new perspective on the relations between celebrity politics, contemporary spirituality, and citizenship studies, by re-examining the ability of contemporary democracies to create a reliable and inclusive concept of citizenship, under post-secular, identity politics, through celebrity action in civil society as discourse agents.

Constructing Cultural Identities: Venezia, <i>Venezia Nativa</i>, Venissa

The article examines the social and cultural co-production of representations of a place addressing the role of tourism in this process. Conceiving narratives as sets of imageries and related performing practices, I aim at exploring the case of Venice, focusing on Burano/Mazzorbo context. This focus becomes central to understanding tourism as an everyday dimension of the locality, showing the interplay between different narratives constantly produced by a wide range of social actors involved in creating place identities. In this process each subject I consider, i.e. the hospitality company Venissa and other local actors, negotiates multiple senses of place and the related practices by which the place is experienced. In a first stage the article presents a discourse analysis of narratives produced by Venissa, the wine resort set in Mazzorbo, a small island connected by a bridge to the better-known island of Burano in the Venice Lagoon. Starting from the core meanings of the company’s identity, I consider some of the touristic imageries strategically employed or simply evoked by the firm. In a second stage, the perspective was extended to the residents’ perceptions and experiences of tourism in the broader sense. Exploring their senses of place and the ongoing, selective, multi-situated process of identity making, tourism emerges as a central and critical dimension for their identity/alterity issues. The focus on the residents reveals multiple processes of sensing tourism and making sense of it, and highlights the power of touristic rhetoric, embedded and negotiated by the residents themselves. Finally, the articles concludes by suggesting how a dialectical analysis of the different processes which develop between contextual metanarratives produced around a place could offer insights into the cultural production of identities, of the related meanings, and of the ways by which a place is experienced.

Brandscapes: contrasting corporate-generated versus consumer-generated media in the creation of brand meaning

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to add to the growing literature addressing whether, and to what extent, brand meaning is determined by corporate and consumer-generated processes. To do this, the authors compared the expression of brand meaning across three key sources i.e. first, brand strategy (i.e. traditional marketing mix); second, corporate-generated media (i.e. web site); and third, consumer-generated media (Facebook). Design/methodology/approach – To address the research question of this study, the authors conducted an in-depth investigation into consumer co-creation experiences in the context of Facebook brand communities. The authors then interpreted the findings in relation to the brand strategy (i.e. marketing mix) and brand meaning expressed via corporate-generated online media (i.e. corporate web site). The authors achieved this by applying a narrative discourse analysis to textual data. To effectively handle the high quantity of textual data spawned via consumer-generated media (i.e. Facebook), the authors used a computer-assisted content analysis application (i.e. Leximancer). Findings – In the analyses the authors found that brand expressions varied considerably across the chosen retail brands, but in all cases strong integration and alignment were present between the corporate and consumer-generated media. Specifically, the authors found that Facebook interactions echoed the brand meanings espoused on the corporate web sites. The findings indicate that online marketers can define the nature of brand co-creation, especially in the context of Facebook interactions. Practical implications – For marketers who are eager to take advantage of Web 2.0 to build their brand, the findings of this research are highly significant. The authors showed that the brands developed their own interaction profiles, which allowed them to align the Facebook content with their core brand values. The results indicate that sound brand governance is articulated through the effective management of social media touchpoints by providing interactive, content rich, and relevant Facebook sites that echo core brand values. Originality/value – Even though businesses have now started to penetrate the online social networks and offer direct links from corporate web sites to social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, little is known regarding the relationship between social media and traditional media in brand building. This research addresses this gap by undertaking an exploratory study of Facebook brand communities with implications for brand co-creation and brand governance.

Turning Ideologies Inside Out: Developing Young Readers’ Empathy for Critical Voices in Narrative Fiction

This article is located at the crossroads between two distinctive human traits, empathy and rational thought, with narrative emerging as a particularly powerful means to enable young readers to bring them together. Specifically, we discuss the role that critical literary exegesis plays in the development of empathic consciousness in literary readers. The discussion is conducted through the critical narrative discourse analysis of a short story that is widely read by Portuguese young students. The story deals with what has become a living experience for many students – emigration – and puts opposing social ideologies about this experience in a subtle dialogue. Narratological critical analysis provides an essential tool for readers to turn those ideologies inside out. It enables them to escape the main character’s conformist positioning and develop a liberating empathy, and hence a more sensitive perspective about the social reality that the narrator offers for our consideration.

“My dad is samurai”: Positioning of race and ethnicity surrounding a transnational Colombian Japanese high school student

From sociocultural, interactional and critical perspectives, this study investigates the practices and ideologies of racial and ethnic identities and relationships surrounding Jun, a Colombian Japanese high school student, within a transnational Japanese student community at Pearl High School (pseudonym) in California. In particular, the analysis focuses on how Jun's racial and ethnic positioning is interpreted and represented by others and himself through examining their labeling and categorization practices. I utilized the analysis of two-year ethnography, in-depth discourse analysis of narratives and conversations and mental map analysis. The study shows how Jun and other participants interactionally negotiated their racial and ethnic identities and relationships by strategically positioning each other in an attempt to survive in the environment where they were marginalized. The study illuminates the dynamics and politics of inter-/intraracial and ethnic relations and identities as well as the circulation of a persisting Whiteness ideology in a global context.