Construction Of Discourse Research Articles

Picturebooks and reader training in the 21st century. An ecocritical reading of canonical works of children’s literature

The recent proliferation of environmental children’s literature and the growing interest in this type of books by researchers and proponents of ecocriticism could be deemed a byproduct of contemporary concerns regarding environmental sustainability. Considering books for children as more than mere tools for environmental awareness-raising prompts an approach to canonical picturebooks that reveals their ecocritical nature based on the esthetic, multimodal and literary dimensions of these works. This study proposes the analysis of 25 picturebooks by five influential female authors to identify the keys to their ecocritical reading. Indeed, the elements that define literary discourse construction in children’s books (paratextuality, illustration and design, character development and focalization) are precisely those that have proved to be fundamental in this sense. Interpreting these seminal works from an ecocritical vantage point updates them in step with current ecocentric paradigms by promoting a sense of wonder in young readers that leads them to delight in and reflect on nature and the environment.

Actualization of interdisciplinary integration at mathematics lessons

AbstractThe relevance of the published research on the actualization of interdisciplinary integration at mathematics lessons is due to the need for conceptual clarification of what is included in the concept of an academic discipline, and, consequently, interdisciplinary integration. Currently, there is no uniformly consistent interdisciplinary terminology, moreover, interdisciplinary boundaries are often difficult to overcome. In pedagogical practice, intersubject is only rhetorically praised, but its practical implementation is often very difficult. This publication aims at studying the role and potential of the actualization of interdisciplinary integration at mathematics lessons. Mathematics is widely recognized as central to human development. However, there are not enough research concerning teaching mathematics in various contexts of educational systems. The object of the study is interdisciplinary integration at mathematics lessons within the framework of holistic learning concepts. Consideration of interdisciplinary integration at mathematics lessons gives researchers the key to education of the XXI century. Nevertheless, few studies are published concerning the proposed object that can serve as a basis for practice in the actualization of interdisciplinary integration at mathematics lessons. Qualitative critical phenomenology was used as a research methodology, since the logic of the actualization of interdisciplinary integration at mathematics lessons reflects a system of historically determined values transmitted by institutionalized models of behaviour, thinking and speech. The application of critical phenomenology allowed us to come to an understanding of how the social and pedagogical aspects of the actualization of interdisciplinary integration at mathematics lessons affect the ways in which students construct reality. Critical phenomenology has made it possible to identify various approaches to the study of the actualization of interdisciplinary integration at mathematics lessons, to study the impact of social interactions in the construction of interdisciplinary discourse by students, the possible impact that interdisciplinary discourse can have on learning. Since the research was of a qualitative nature, it was inevitably influenced by the interpretative methodological paradigm, which recognizes that individual life experience is formed by context, and ideas about knowledge are socially constructed.

Literature citation and writer identity construction in linguistic academic discourse

This study revealed the distributional features of literature citation and writer identity in linguistic academic discourse, and further explored how writer identity is constructed through literature citation. Based on Petrić’s citation typology and Ivanič’s writer identity framework, the study investigated various types of citations and identities in thirty journal articles published in the Journal of English for Academic Purposes from 2017 to 2021. The results showed that there are a total of 1637 citation instances, among which the dominant type is attribution citation (36.59 %). Besides, the study revealed that 80.45 % of the total citations construct discoursal self only and 19.55 % reveal both discoursal self and authorial self. In terms of discoursal self, writers present themselves as a member of academic community, a contributor to a field of knowledge, a knowledgeable and professional scholar, and a reliable and credible writer. As for authorial self, they would like to position themselves to be a writer with authority and an evaluator. It is expected that the current study can help novice writers use citations strategically and establish their desired identity accordingly.

Attitudes Toward Women in Media Discourse -- Discourse Construction with "Leftover Women" as an Example

The media first proposed the term leftover women and then spread it on the Internet. Ex-isting studies on leftover women mainly focus on traditional media, such as newspapers and TV, and rarely involve we media. Through text analysis and comparative research method, this paper conducts a comparative study on the discourse attitudes of official me-dia and private media towards women and the media images they construct. According to the data citation and case analysis, the following results are concluded: the official medias construction of the image of leftover women is relatively rigid and simple, and the report-ing plate mainly focuses on the entertainment part. Due to the relative freedom of speech, private media create a more diversified image, and the mode is mainly personal Posting, re-lying on traffic to spread. To a certain extent, this paper fills in the research of leftover women in the field of we media and puts forward suggestions on how to create the me-dia image of leftover women more objectively.

Metaphor of Nation and Nationalism

This study extends prior theoretical discussions on metaphor as a rhetorical topos, a discourse statement, and a cognitive tool, with a particular focus on the metaphor of nation due to its enduring relevance in contemporary discourse. It explores the intricate role of metaphor in shaping, perpetuating, and challenging nationalist discourse, recognizing that metaphors possess a dual capacity to both wield power and constrain truths. The metaphors of the nation, contextualized within the CONTAINMENT metaphor framework, play a pivotal role in the construction and reinforcement of nationalist discourse. From a feminist perspective, nationalist discourse and its associated metaphors are deeply rooted in patriarchal ideals, leading to the marginalization of women and the portrayal of the nation as a patriarchal family or brotherhood. When viewed through colonial and postcolonial lenses, these metaphors reveal concepts of hierarchy and equality between nations. For instance, Rabindranath Tagore metaphorically characterizes the nation as a soulless monster, emphasizing the imperative to reject this notion in favor of fostering a more balanced community that harmonizes both body and spirit. In contrast, Thomas Hobbes employs the metaphor of the commonwealth as a Leviathan, firmly establishing a hierarchical structure that underscores the significance of obedience in the relationship between the soul and the body of the commonwealth, with the soul positioned as superior to its constituent elements. Tagore’s perspective aligns with notions of equality, anti-nationalism, and postcolonialism, whereas Hobbes’ hierarchical view could potentially justify the legitimacy of colonialism.

The Necessity for Auditory Training with Idiomatic Expressions

The goal of auditory training is to improve comprehensive listening skills for the hearing impaired. Listening ability does not simply mean the level of recognizing speech sounds by distinguishing them, but also includes predicting the speaker’s intention according to the situation and context, and responding appropriately. Speakers create their utterances in a way that tries to convey their intended meaning with minimal effort under the economic principle, resulting in concise expressions that are contingent on the context and situation. Therefore, correct listening education and training should be structured to have the ability to fully understand the omitted implications and implications contained in the speaker’s speech. For auditory training for those with hearing impaired to be effective, speech perception training must extend beyond simple phonological perception by integrating one's background knowledge and communication schema within various situations and contexts. Therefore, auditory training using idiomatic expressions plays a crucial role in improving the ability to construct discourse meanings as well as comprehend the speech patterns encountered by hearing-impaired individuals in their daily communication. It is necessary to select idiomatic expressions frequently encountered in real-world communication situations and conduct auditory training by presenting transparent expressions to opaque expressions, facilitating the hearing-impaired's grasp of meaning with ease.

Discourse Analysis of the 2022 Australian Tennis Open: A Multimodal Appraisal Perspective

This article presents a preliminary analysis of a corpus of texts relating to the 2022 Australian Tennis Open using a multimodal appraisal framework. The study utilises quantitative and qualitative content analysis to examine media reports, official statements, and public reactions to the incident, which centred around Novak Djokovic's vaccination status. The analysis focusses on assessing how evaluative language contributes to community-building and identifies the underlying values, beliefs, and evaluations that shape stakeholders' emotional, cognitive, and behavioural responses.The appraisal framework, encompassing attitude, engagement, and graduation, serves as a comprehensive tool for categorising resources that express evaluation. Furthermore, the article delves into the application of appraisal analysis within the context of multimodal and online discourse, encompassing various platforms such as newspapers, television, radio, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, blogs, official political statements, and court rulings. By examining these diverse media, the study seeks to investigate the dynamic discourse interplay surrounding the 2022 Australian Open, highlighting the pivotal role of evaluative communication in fostering alignment among readers through shared values and attitudes.The preliminary findings suggest that access to greater semiotic recourses increases consensus. The gains from using this interpretative framework are an asset, facilitating the coding of a large data set and attending the different manifestations of discourses around the player’s participation. As discourse continues to shape societal narratives, this multimodal appraisal investigation contributes to our understanding of the complex dynamics inherent in discourse construction and the influence of evaluative language in shaping collective perception.

A Community of Shared Future for Mankind: A study on the news discourse of environmental cooperation in countries along the Belt and Road Initiative.

'The Belt and Road Initiative' (B&R) was proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in September and October 2013 and is now actively supported and participated by more than 100 countries and international organizations. B&R has become a hot topic all over the world since its inception. However, the environmental issues arising from this Initiative should not be underestimated. The concept of 'A Community of Shared Future for Mankind' is being promoted under the context of globalization, and there has been a lot of coverage in the mainstream media from various countries on the topic of environmental cooperation along B&R. This study takes a sample of reports on the 'Belt and Road Environmental Cooperation' from July 2021 to August 2022 and uses Van Dijk's theory of news discourse analysis to analyze 20 articles in depth. This study attempts to explore the kind of thematic structure and lexical style that the mainstream newspapers from different countries use to report the environmental cooperation among the countries along B&R, also the implications of such a thematic structure and lexical style, and the characteristics of the discourse construction of mainstream newspapers in different countries. The research has found that B&R countries are used to holding a positive attitude to make a report and seek international cooperation. The headlines are mostly made up of nouns, and both direct and indirect quotations are used. Besides, to enhance the truth of the report, different number types are also involved; the theme structures are often made up of a two-level hierarchy.

Neo-Exoticism Discourses in Indonesian Online Media: Normalizing Cultural Tourism Regime amid Market Economy

This article explores the construction of neo-exoticism discourses in Indonesian online news media. Drawing on online news media research, we show how the transformation of ethnic cultures in Banyuwangi, East Java, Indonesia were positioned as the basis of various tourism events using the representation theory with the discursive constructionist approach. We focus on how some Indonesian online news media reported and positioned Banyuwangi Festival through quotations of government’s official’s statements and descriptions of cultural events that emphasize the transformation of ethnic cultures to meet national and global tourism markets. In doing so, Indonesian online news media actively produced, promoted, and distributed discourses of neo exoticism by emphasizing the beauty of certain of traditional rites, fashions, and arts in various carnivals and festivals. In addition, the media constructed neo-exoticism discourses as a formulas to popularize cultural and touristic events which proved to be beneficial, economically, for local people. However, we argue that broadcasting neo-exotic narratives also created online news media discursive subjects that normalize tourism regimes as managed by the cooperation of government and investors.

Not Necessarily Existential Threats: Identity-Constitutive Role of the Foreign Policy Discourse on Distant Humanitarian Crises

The depiction of identity in foreign policy analysis is typically presented as inherent or predetermined. However, discursive approaches within the field, particularly poststructuralism, have emphasized foreign policy discourse's influence on identity formation. The main aim of this paper is to elucidate the performative relationship between identity and foreign policy through a poststructuralist lens, even in situations that are not existential or geographically proximate crises. This study employs a critical discourse analysis methodology to examine the performative dynamics between foreign policy discourse by the Justice and Development Party (AKP) policymakers and officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) about distant natural disasters and the construction of the Turkish national identity. The study presents three primary findings: firstly, the AKP's foreign policy discourse recognizes the Indonesia and Pakistan disasters as significant events, in contrast to the case of Haiti; secondly, this discourse constructs a homogenous Turkish identity; and thirdly, this homogeneous Turkish identity qualifies by several signifiers and is distinguished from external others.

Nationalist versus Populist Constructions of “the People”: Eastern Europe and Latin America in Comparative Perspective

This article argues that while nationalist discourses construct “the people” through positive identity practices, populist discourses articulate it through negative identity practices. Nationalism emphasizes who “the people” are, by identifying a number of core positive characteristics that they share, such as ethnicity, language, culture, history, religion, or political rights and civic traditions. Populism, on the other hand, defines “the people” primarily in a negative fashion in opposition to the elites. Here, “the people” do not share any positive characteristics beyond their oppression, exclusion, and marginalization by the elites. In order to empirically demonstrate the above distinction, I compare the political discourse of Rafael Correa in Ecuador during his first term in office (2007–2012) with that of Viktor Orbán in Hungary, primarily during his second term in office (2010–2014). The comparison between these two political projects not only spells out important differences between populist and nationalist articulations of “the people” but also highlights different types of anti-system politics that have emerged in Latin America and eastern Europe.

Consumer Morality Formation on Social Media Platforms: The Case of Guns in Brazil

Moral disputes regarding consumption issues are increasingly mediated by social media platforms. Nevertheless, there is a lack of research explaining how social media platforms shape consumer morality. Thus, this article combines large-scale quantitative text analysis with qualitative methods to explain the construction of moral discourses concerning guns on YouTube and Twitter among Brazilian users. We contribute to theory on consumer morality by proposing the Process of Morality Formation on Social Media Platforms, which explains how moral discourses are fueled by social actors displaying and commenting about news pieces and political events; how the expressive and connective affordances of social media platforms mediate the dynamics of moral discourses; and how social actors differently appropriate content, frame and justify their public positions by adopting different “worlds of justification” (Boltanski and Thévenot 2006). The implications of this work for marketing and society are discussed, and government and corporate initiatives are suggested.

The Construction of Moderate Islamic Discourse and the Filmmaker’s Political Bias in Ayat- ayat Cinta 2

The Construction of Moderate Islamic Discourse and the Filmmaker’s Political Bias in Ayat- ayat Cinta 2

Narratives to identities: Japanese graduate teaching assistants as language teachers

Abstract The present study explores Japanese student teachers’ identity construction and transition with focuses on contexts both inside and outside the classroom in the online environment during the COVID-19 pandemic. By integrating language teacher identities as a complex and dynamic entirety rather than detached pieces, this qualitative research study utilizes both narrative inquiry and positioning analysis to examine four Japanese student teacher identities through both discursive construction in discourse and momentary behavior in talk-in-interaction. The data collected from the surveys, class observations, interviews and weekly meetings revealed four aspects of Japanese student teacher identities: (1) beliefs on foreign language education in and beyond the classroom, (2) self-perceptions of not only language teachers but also future supporters and life helpers, (3) perceptions of teaching Japanese live-online during the COVID-19 pandemic and (4) beliefs on successful language teaching relying on bidirectional cooperation of both teachers and students. The article concludes with a discussion about how the possible directions for future research in terms of the contextual narrative exploration in languages other than English and the integration of both narrative inquiry and positioning analysis methods.

Visual Analysis of Discursive Construction of Identity from the Perspective of Interactive Sociolinguistics

Using CNKI as the database, this paper uses CiteSpace 5.8.R3, a bibliometric tool, to make a visual analysis of journals related to the topic of identity discourse construction in Chinese language and literature, aiming to clarify the development context and observe the new development of identity discourse construction from the perspective of interactive sociolinguistics. This paper mainly analyzes the issues such as circulation over the years, topic attention, research hotspots and research frontiers. The visualization results show that the number of papers on the topic of “identity discourse construction” shows an increasing trend in general, and the growth has been particularly significant in recent years; The topic discussion mainly focused on “identity”, “discourse analysis”, “pragmatics” and so on. Future research can be further combined with new theories such as interactive sociolinguistics to make changes and increase the degree of discussion on other topics.

‘My body tells me to stay here’: Materiality, identity and everyday politics in Wentang Town, China

This paper explores the relations of materiality, identity formation and everyday politics in the governance of geothermal resource in contemporary China. Drawing on ethnographic data, we found that the materiality of geothermal water in its lively and dynamic forms plays agentic roles in discourse constructions, embodied experiences and material practices, shaping the socio-natural politics. The social relations, contestations and conflicts are rooted in the ontological differences of geothermal water as understood by the competing actors. The study of geothermal water contributes to recent debates on the agency of materials in urban political ecology studies as well as exploring everyday politics by highlighting the multiplicity and heterogeneity of actors and the ways in which identity formations are mobilized in everyday governance. This paper sheds light on the heterogeneous configurations of urbanization processes and resource governance.

ON DISCURSIVE CONSTRUCTION OF THE FUTURE WORLD: AXIOLOGICAL ASPECT

The article considers the axiological aspect of the future world construction in the English political discourse. The image of the future is regarded as a mental structure shaped by linguoaxiological operations. Its content is predetermined by the axiological scenario of the present, encoded by language units. The critical role of the concept “innovation” in the construal of the future world image has been revealed. The tool kit of the future world construal consists of: 1) a cognitive script of the future; 2) means of its verbalization; 3) discourse illocutions. Axiologems that model the future world image are identified: “progressiveness”, “importance”, “necessity”, “completeness”, “fantasticality”.

Common Progress in Harmony and Cooperation: A Study on the Reference Significance of Discourse Construction in Beijing Winter Olympics for Future Global Cooperation

Faced with the complex international situation nowadays, humanity will need to explore new international communication mechanisms to exchange information and reach consensus to jointly address future risks and challenges. The Beijing Winter Olympics provided a good paradigm and experience for future international communication. This paper will discuss three aspects of the Winter Olympics coverage: reconstructing the "metaphorical" setting, discourse exchange and cooperation, and breaking through cultural discounts to analyse how China has achieved innovation in international communication discourse during the Winter Olympics. The paper argues that the innovation of China's narrative metaphor for the Winter Olympics conveys China's national thinking on the harmonious relationship between humans and nature and responds to the question of how humans should face nature in the post-epidemic era. At the same time, China's inclusion of national discourses in the narrative highlights the internationalist spirit of the Games in promoting equality and collaboration between countries, and sets a good model for international cooperation in the post-epidemic era. At the same time, it also allows for communication content to be more effectively mitigated to break through cultural discounts and be more widely disseminated. Therefore, the study of the external communication discourse of the Winter Olympics will help to explore the future of China's more active position in international communication.

Multimodality and the expression of mathematical ideas through videos by Mathematics undergraduates

The research reported in this article sought to understand how Mathematics undergraduates in Distance Education combine semiotic resources when using videos to express mathematical ideas. Adopting the qualitative methodology, the research was developed with students of the Analytical Geometry discipline and the participant observation in forums of the virtual learning environment was used in the monitoring of the video productions by the participants. Functional Systemic — Multimodal Discourse Analysis supported the analysis of the strategies used in the combinations of semiotic resources in the produced videos. In this article, the analysis of one of the videos produced in the research is discussed. As a result, it was found that the multimodal nature of the video encourages the use of contextualization in the construction of digital mathematical discourse. However, the concepts are formalized from a recontextualization referring to the classroom, which shows the influence of the experience in this environment in the construction of the mathematical discourse shared in the online environment in the context of this research.

Critical Discourse Analysis and Political Facebook Posts in Bangsamoro Tapatan Lane

This study examined political posts in the Facebook Group, Bangsamoro Tapatan Lane. More specifically, it investigated (1) the ways political posts in the Bangsamoro Tapatan Lane constructed social inequalities; (2) the ways Facebook contributed to represent public opinion; (3) the ways the Facebook posts impacted beliefs and value systems; and (4) the possible actions to mitigate the issue. To determine these, the paper employed Norman Fairclough’s Critical Discourse Analysis, which was a qualitative analytical approach to critically describe, interpret, and explain the ways in which discourses construct, maintain, and legitimize social inequalities. It asserted that discourses could be used to resist power, criticize and assert power, and express knowledge and identity. The findings revealed that political posts on the Facebook Group, Bangsamoro Tapatan Lane, constructed social inequities through the effective use of language. The language in the posts was purposeful, conscious, measured, manipulative, and persuasive. Important findings were: (1) derogative adjectives were used in the posts to call for reform in the government and expose erroneous actions done by the government. The choice of adjectives communicated that something was wrong with the administration, which required the public to correct or fix the government system. They were used as a political ploy to rule the public. That is, they were used to subtly influence the audience to take the side of the writer; (2) passive voice was used in the posts to hide agents or to hide lack of information; (3) intertextuality was used to strengthen the argument of the writer and/or for the writer to emphasize a point; (4) modals were used as a mode of persuasion; (5) pronouns were used to show inclusivity; (6) Facebook was used as a platform to influence the public through the effective use of language and the media. It had become a platform to let people know of one’s knowledge, thoughts, and opinions in just in a few clicks of a button; (7) Facebook became a platform where people could reach a large number of audience and freely talk about their political ideologies and convince other people to adapt their way of thinking; (8) the posts were made to try and turn the audience against their government by feeding their sense of insecurity; (9) political beliefs and ideologies could be hidden underneath the simple structure of language choices in text, thereby changing the audiences’ perspective, attitude, and even beliefs; and (10) raising awareness through webinars and seminar-workshops among the youth and all social media users about critical reading and critical discourse analysis is important as indeed, with the use of simple personal pronouns and adjectives, people could be persuaded to accept and even embrace another person’s political ideologies.