Discursive Influence Research Articles

Through the backdoor – questioning the transformative impact of Social Start-Ups within the digitalization discourse of social services

The aim of this article is to take an analytical look at Social Start-Ups as organizational discourse actors of a digitalization discourse in the field of social services. The digital transformation is understood as an all-encompassing socio-cultural phenomenon that gives rise to new discourse arenas in the field of social services, in which Social Start-Ups occupy a special position. So far, however, little is known about the actual role of Social Start-Ups in the digitization discourse of social service work, although they differ from established social services and thus occupy a special spokesperson position. Firstly, Social Start-Ups are characterized by a hybrid organizational structure in that they want to realize social services as commercial enterprises and thus reconcile economic and social goals. Secondly, their entire organizational structure and service practice is a priori based on digital tools and practices that established social services tend to negotiate critically for themselves. Against this background, the article empirically discusses and critically examines the discursive influence of Social Start-Ups on the digitization discourse of social work. The article contributes to understanding how Social Start-Ups influence the digitalization discourse in social services, offering new insights into their unique role as hybrid organizations balancing economic and social goals. By examining their use of digital tools, the research sheds light on alternative models that challenge traditional service providers. This is crucial for advancing research on the evolving role of digitalization in social services and its practical implications for improving service delivery.

Discursive Influence in the Dialectal Geography of Spanish In The United States

Discursive Influence in the Dialectal Geography of Spanish In The United States

Community media, digital participation and the geographical question in Malaysia: Notes and observations from the field

Tactical deployments of a variety of digital community media for fostering social change and participation in the Malaysian context have been extensively explored and continue to be explored. These include peripheral discursive influences during and beyond election periods, community-building and disaster relief amidst nationwide epidemiological and flooding disasters, and creative political socialization amongst the (eastern and peninsular) Malaysian youth forbidden from political participation by the legal state apparatus. By bringing into this scholarship a geographical perspective, this report notes down preliminary insights from the pilot phase of a study on how and why the study of community (social, digital) media in a historically habitually diverse Malaysia (and South East Asia) could and should be geographically and developmentally (de)limited.

Advocacy coalitions, soft power, and policy change in Mexican electricity policy: a discourse network analysis

This research explores the influence of discourse power on policy change in the Mexican electricity sector, using the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF). Drawing on Discourse Network Analysis, it examines the discursive dynamics and power relations between competing advocacy coalitions from 1994 to 2018. This 24-year period encompasses three significant reform proposals that aimed to liberalise Mexico’s electricity generation sector, representing major potential policy changes. Specifically, the study tests the second policy change hypothesis proposed by the ACF, which suggests that major policy change is unlikely as long as the advocacy coalition defending the status quo remains in power. To operationalise the notion of which coalition is in power, the study employs Discourse Network Analysis to examine the discursive power of each coalition. This allows an exploration of how the interplay between coalition discursive power and the extent of belief differences shape policy outcomes. The findings align with the ACF’s second hypothesis on policy change. They also suggest the potential for enhancing the ACF by incorporating a nuanced understanding of the multiple dimensions of power, with a particular emphasis on the discursive influence of advocacy coalitions.

“The human face of the UN plastics treaty”? The role of waste pickers in intergovernmental negotiations to end plastic pollution and ensure a just transition

Abstract Waste pickers are recognised as a key stakeholder in the ongoing negotiations towards an international legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution. Up to 34 million waste pickers contribute to recovering close to 60% of recycled post-consumer plastic waste globally. The International Alliance of Waste Pickers (IAWP) has actively engaged in the negotiations to safeguard a just transition for these important but vulnerable and frequently overlooked workers. This article explores how the IAWP has gained prominence in the plastics treaty negotiations through three iterative processes. First, the reiterative naming of “waste pickers” has constituted a symbolic practice and discursive influence that heightened recognition of waste pickers’ role as knowledge and rights holders in a just transition to end plastic pollution. Second, the performative dimension of waste picker advocacy has influenced official and informal events. Third, by engaging in “scale work”, waste pickers have influenced and leveraged their alliances to work towards a just transition across national, regional and international levels. By examining the role and influence of waste pickers in the plastics treaty through the frames of naming, performance and scale, the article contributes to advance the scholarly literature on just transition and grassroots movements in global environmental governance (GEG).

Studying Breastfeeding Discourse in Armenia: A Sociological Insight

This paper discusses the role of the societal discourse in the construction of breastfeeding practices. It argues that societal discourse is crucial to the constitution of those practices, and that understanding the underlying circumstances of the breastfeeding situation anywhere in the world requires looking not only at the social reality itself but at the discourse that represents, reflects and constructs it. Proposing Armenia as a study case, the paper outlines the various sources of modern discursive practices around the feeding of children in Armenia, including pre-industrial customs, soviet political ideology, and modern Western values. Doing so, it proposes a new approach to studying breastfeeding practices through the prism of various discursive influences.

The unhomed data subject: negotiating datafication in Latin America

ABSTRACT Critical scholarship about datafication reveals the implications of algorithmically driven digital transformations for both social processes and human experiences of subjectivity. Digital transformations embed ontological beliefs in the information systems that drive new organizational processes and are accompanied by techno-positivist discourses that promote the benefits of these schemes. The dual power of new information systems plus strong discursive influences has led to fears that data subjects will come to be defined by data and information systems – that their subjectivity will be subordinated by the algorithm. However, in this paper, we argue that real experiences of data sharing offer a means to reveal actual experiences with subjectification, and that often these experiences are multiple and complex. Drawing on the results of five digital literacy interventions carried out by partner organizations in Chile, Colombia, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay in 2021, we consider participants’ lived experiences with datafication. Our work reveals how people experience, negotiate, reject, and accept data power’s multiple manifestations in ways that strategically mobilize data resources, constituting a fractured data subjectivity that overlaps the bounds of any one information system. This leads us to suggest the idea of the ‘unhomed’ as a useful concept for understanding data subjectification in the contemporary moment.

“I need to continually study and broaden my horizons”: a narrative inquiry of a novice teacher's induction experience in China

PurposeAlthough the importance of teacher induction is widely acknowledged, how teachers experience inductions, particularly those conducted in under-resourced areas, remains underexplored.Design/methodology/approachThis study narrates a novice teacher's induction experience in a Chinese high school, from the perspectives of professional capital and community, social realist theory, practice architecture and teacher agency. The participant, Ming, reflected on a broad array of formal and informal induction activities and participated during the induction period.FindingsThrough the three-dimensional narrative space, namely broadening, burrowing and storying and re-storying, five themes emerged from Ming's induction experience: (1) heightened awareness of the meaning of teaching, (2) interacting with various professional communities, (3) professional identity tension and development, (4) the discursive influence of various aspects of culture and (5) the influence on future professional development. Overall, this narrative study shows that teacher expertise and identity development play central roles in teacher induction, and context acts as an important mediating factor in teacher induction. These findings echo the importance of teachers' agency in inductions. The implications for facilitating novice teacher induction are also discussed.Originality/valueThis study contributes to a nuanced understanding of a novice teacher's induction experience in China from the perspectives of practice architectures, professional capital and professional community. The conclusion highlights the importance of professional capital and agency during Ming's induction period. This paper unpacks the complexity of teacher induction by revealing new ways of thinking about induction.

Educators’ perceptions of Australia’s early childhood education and care quality assurance rating system

ABSTRACT High-quality early childhood education and care is of critical importance to children’s optimal development and wellbeing, and to a nation’s social and economic capital. Consequently, assessing and monitoring quality through regulatory mechanisms has become increasingly significant across the world. Yet, literature pertaining to the impact of regulatory and quality assurance systems is contentious, and there is a paucity of research that has investigated educators’ perceptions of the use and effectiveness of such systems. This article presents findings from a doctoral study that was the first to investigate educators’ perceptions of the Australian quality assessment and rating process. Ball’s theorisation of ‘policy as discourse’, ‘policy as text’ and ‘policy as effects’ provided a conceptual lens to consider the discursive influence of the assessment and rating process on educators’ practice, the limitations of how quality is conceptualised and assessed, and how educators can ‘play the game’ to attain high-quality ratings.

The formation of sensory life discourse in the conditions of “Other” sociocultural experience

The article discusses the study of discourse related to sensual life within the context of a different sociocultural experience. The formation of this discourse is said to be influenced by legitimizing the horizontal principle in social relations, which is mainly constituted by research and developmental epistemic and discur-sive influences on the social, political, and cultural situation in society. The author employs a methodological procedure to differentiate between sensory perception and sensory understanding at the level of emotional intellect, highlighting the indi-vidual contributions of each in shaping the discourse on sensual life. It is conclud-ed що the request for the constitution of the existential meanings of the organization of life is growing under the influence of the growth of the degree of individual freedom of human beings and the formation of an open communicative space of life. They are formed in the field of voluntary horizontal actions, prompting the person to self-activation and sense finding. Sense is associated with human sensation, sensitivity and perception “at the level of the senses” and physicality "at the level of intelligence”. Meaning at the “sense level” is manifested by “common sense” and the right direction in life, and “at the intellectual level,” meaning is determined by reflective thinking, relevant discursive ethical practices and worldviews as well as cognitive orientations.

China beyond China, establishing a digital order with Chinese characteristics: China's growing discursive power and the Digital Silk Road

AbstractThis article examines China's discursive power, placing it in the broader context of China's increasing assertiveness in the global arena. I argue that exporting the China model farther afield is the key for China to exert its discursive power. The mechanism to do this lies in two essential and decisive auxiliaries that “flank” China's soft discursive power: technological development/innovation and the role of the Chinese private sector. Theoretically, the study adopts a tripartite framework to examine China's discursive power: power facts, shared rules, and social practices, with the help of the “affective sticking points” to analyze China's Belt and Road Initiative and Digital Silk Road discourses. Empirically, the article investigates the case of Transsion Holdings, a Chinese giant smart‐device maker in Africa, to study China's discursive influences in Africa. To conclude, I reflect on the role of the private sector and the meaning of “China beyond China.”Related ArticlesDuggan, Niall. 2020. “China—The Champion of the Developing World: A Study of China's New Development Model and its Role in Changing Global Economic Governance.” Politics & Policy 48(5): 836–58. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12377.Fong, Ware, and Nazmus Sakib. 2021. “A ‘Good’ Country without Democracy: Can China's Outward FDI Buy a Positive State Image Overseas?” Politics & Policy 49(5): 1146–91. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12428.Zeng, Jinghan, Tim Stevens, and Yaru Chen. 2017. “China's Solution to Global Cyber Governance: Unpacking the Domestic Discourse of ‘Internet Sovereignty.” Politics & Policy 45(3): 432–64. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12202.

“Me? At this age?”: A narrative analysis of older South Asian Muslim immigrant women’s subjectivity-formations in migration arrangements

Abstract Critical and feminist ageing scholarship has drawn attention to how dominant discourses of ageing negatively impact older women's identities and social lives. While research intersecting migration and ageing has broadly focused on older immigrants' settlement experiences, very little is known about the discursive influences over older immigrant women's sense of agency and social relations. To address this knowledge gap, this study explores the subjectivity-formations of older South Asian Muslim women engaged in transnational migration. Narrative and discourse analysis principles were used to conduct and analyse life story-based interviews with 15 South Asian Muslim older women who recently migrated to Toronto, Canada. Findings indicate that participant subjectivity-formations are shaped by: (a) discourses of ageing; (b) socio-cultural–religious discourses; and (c) discourses of transnational migration. In response, participants engaged in dynamic strategies including conforming, negotiating, creating alternative narratives and/or resisting these discourses to organise their lives. These findings reinforce the continued need to trace the governmentality of structural conditions over ageing migrant women's lives and their responsive strategies to manage these impacts.

WhatsApp in Sierra Leone Politics: Burning Bridges or Building Them?

The text messaging application WhatsApp has been heavily criticized for acting as a vehicle for the spread of misinformation and unsubstantiated rumor, leading, in some parts of the world, to violence and even death. But the closed nature of WhatsApp groups has presented a structural problem as a subject for credible social science research. A collaborative project between the Universities of Bedfordshire (UK) and Sierra Leone has tracked messaging in an experimental student WhatsApp group using critical discourse analysis in order to generate a deeper understanding of discursive influences in a fragile society. It asks whether the affordance of a WhatsApp group necessarily amplifies offline polarizations and explores routes to consensuality in a divided post-conflict state. It concludes that more robust interventions by group administrators could foster free speech while avoiding the need for intrusive regulation from outside agencies.

Chinese Influence through Technical Standardization Power

ABSTRACT Geo-economic rivalry is back on the international agenda, particularly in the field of high technology. Very often, technical standards are regarded as being a central arena of this competition. Surprisingly ignored is the question, how precisely technical standard-setting (such as Wi-Fi or 5G) empowers China. Based on the analysis of quantitative data, primary sources, and in-depth interviews, this article substantiates the widespread hypothesis that China’s growing footprint in technical standardization empowers the Chinese party-state. It introduces seven proxies to measure influence on standard-setting. Next, it explains how technical standards can be utilized by states to gain economic, legal, political, and discursive influence. Finally, it shows thatChina’s growing footprint in technical standardization is the result of party-state engagement, which provides leverage to China’s political leadership.

Tweeting and Retweeting: Gender Discrepancies in Discursive Political Engagement and Influence on Twitter

ABSTRACT Two studies were conducted to examine gender differences in the discursive political engagement on Twitter. Study 1 analysed about 5.6 million English tweets regarding nine political issues and one non-political issue. It found that, compared with men’s tweets, a higher proportion of women’s tweets are retweets, and that the majority of women’s retweets originate from men. The results may indicate that women have arelatively lower level of political efficacy and/or sense a higher level of environmental risk than men when participating in political discussions on Twitter. They may also indicate that men have a more significant influence than women on Twitter. Study 2 collected 225 survey responses from the adults in the U.S. via Qualtrics’s online panel. The results partly support the findings of study 1, showing that on average, women have a lower level of perceived political efficacy than men, which affects the likelihood of their political expression along with a feeling of communal support.

Breaking free from patriarchal appropriation of sacred texts: An Islamic feminist critique of Bol

ABSTRACT This paper is focused on Shoaib Mansoor’s feminist film, Bol (2011), seen as a commentary on religious “absolute explanatory schemes.” 1 Arguing that the film demonstrates how Pakistani patriarchy maneuvers sacred texts to construct comforting illusions for women, this paper uses the theory of Islamic Feminism to unravel the politics of religious interpretation and the discursive influence of Islamic fundamentalism. It notes that the protagonist’s inner conflict is a transgressional act and dragoons her into disrupting socio-religious boundaries. The paper also examines the film's confessional nature, exposing gender inequalities and injustices exercised through self-authorized religious dogma. Viewers of Bol enter a journey not only through the nodi that confront women and plague contemporary enunciations of Islam, but also through heterogeneous forms of iniquitous oppression, systematic bigotry, forced marriage, and endemic violence. The article concludes that by bridging the gulf between Islam and feminism, women’s rights movements can be effective in the Islamic world.

The Discursive Influence of Spiritual‐Sexual Desire in The Young Pope (2017)

The Journal of Popular CultureVolume 54, Issue 4 p. 848-867 Original ArticleToken Access The Discursive Influence of Spiritual-Sexual Desire in The Young Pope (2017) Mark Bond, Corresponding Author Mark Bond markwaynebond@gmail.com Search for more papers by this author Mark Bond, Corresponding Author Mark Bond markwaynebond@gmail.com Search for more papers by this author First published: 28 July 2021 https://doi.org/10.1111/jpcu.13052Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Volume54, Issue4August 2021Pages 848-867 RelatedInformation

APPEAL TO EMOTIONS AS A WAY OF INFLUENCING IN COURT (LINGUISTIC ASPECT)

Appealing to emotions from the point of its discursive influence on recipients is researched in the paper. The relevance of the article is due to the dearth of research and lack in-depth analysis done on the subject in the context of importance of influencing in court.
 In this article, the author in detail sets out the differences between such notions as emotions and feelings. The views of leading scientists dealing with the phenomena are carefully analysed. Considerable attention is given to the applied nature of the research.
 The primary purpose of this piece of research is to investigate appeal to emotions in Anglophone court discourse from the point of its influence on litigants. The following objectives have been set: to clarify the terminological apparatus involved in the article; to find out the way of influencing emotions on litigants; to establish the language means expressing stratagemеs of appeal to emotions in Anglophone court discourse.
 Mention should be made of the following methods that were used here to achieve the aim: linguistic observation and analysis, as well as cognitive method, critical discourse analysis method, pragmatic analysis method.
 It has been proven that the advocate can generate a new emotional perception of the circumstances of the lawsuit, focusing the decision-maker's attention on certain points of the known information or throwing in a new piece of information, which in turn can change the mind of the judge and the jury. With this point in mind, the prosecution also appeals to emotion, albeit as an ability that awakens ethical/moral intelligence. In terms of linguistic representation, the appeal to emotion is realised through the discursive activation of the thematic sphere «emotional state». It has been established that the ultimate goal of an advocate is to provoke a certain emotional response that causes the recipient to have certain feelings. Specific thematic groups with a common seme "intuitive perception", "sensory perception", which realise the appeal to feelings have been identified.

Exploring the influence of agricultural actors on water quality policy: the role of discourse and framing

ABSTRACT Policy processes traditionally dominated by government increasingly are open to participation by diverse non-governmental actors. This can result in more inclusive policy making, but undue influence that undermines democratic processes is also possible. We use insights from critical discourse analysis and framing theory to assess the discursive influence of non-state actors in the context of a government-led policy process to address eutrophication problems in the Lake Erie basin, shared by Canada and the United States. We analyze the actions of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture and the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation within the policy process to develop Domestic Action Plans to deal with nutrient runoffs. This research provides novel insights into how policy influence may occur in a process with multiplicity of stakeholders. In the context of efforts towards inclusive resource governance, this approach helps us reveal hurdles to the achievement of goals for sustainable resource use.

“Those were Grand Days”: A New Zealand Teenager Writes her Own Life, 1928–1946

This article considers an “autobiography” written by a New Zealand school girl in 1946. This document is a family history artefact that, while possibly unique in terms of genre, has value for broader histories of childhood and youth, of adolescent writing and particularly for understanding the historicised educational experiences of girls in the interwar period. It provides a case study of how such sources can be used or interpreted, arguing in particular for a contextual and relational approach that considers the issues of historical setting, voice versus agency, and discursive influences. In the process it suggests that semi-autonomy rather than full autonomy emerges as a more useful interpretive concept when reading such adolescent life histories.