Discussion Of Theory Research Articles

Integrating relational and intentional theories of discourse coherence

This paper explores the ways in which insights from the two influential formal pragmatic theories of discourse coherence, namely, Question Under Discussion (QUD) and Rhetorical Relation (RR) models, can be integrated to build a more inclusive theory of discourse coherence. It proposes a simple and concrete procedure to derive the hierarchical structure of discourse from the subquestion relations between implicit QUDs reconstructed using informational structural principles (Riester, 2019; Reyle & Riester, 2016) and contextual entailment relations (Roberts, 2012). It applies the procedure to discourse examples involving various RRs to determine subordinating and coordinating relations and to create a parsimonious feature-based inventory of RRs with formal definitions. The resulting theory shows that establishing the QUD-RR correspondence is possible, contrary to what has been claimed (Hunter & Abrusán, 2017; Onea, 2019; Riester, 2019).

Health information-seeking on Reddit, by people who use opioids

Introduction. In the most recent year that data is available, 101,035 people died from drug overdoses in the United States. For people who use drugs, obtaining treatment remains a significant barrier due to issues of fear, stigmatisation, and illegality. Some people turn to the anonymous social media site, Reddit, for obtaining health and harm reduction information. Method. In this study we analysed 2,748 health-related posts on the subreddit r/opiates over a three-month period. Analysis. Using a thematic analysis grounded in social constructivism, we categorised the data to determine the most frequent types of health questions asked by people who use opioids. We then used the text analysis software Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count to determine the emotional content of the posts. Results. Most of the posts were asking about harm reduction strategies and methods to reduce or quit opioid use. Conclusion. The text analysis demonstrated evidence of Foucault’s discourse theory. People who use opioids need more information on harm reduction strategies, and especially safely administering and withdrawing from them.

Representation of social actors in The Straits Times and The Independent Singapore: A comparative critical discourse analysis of the repeal of Section 377A in Singapore

Section 377A was a decades-old law introduced in Singapore in 1938, which had made sexual intimacy between gay men, even when consensual, punishable by a maximum sentence of two years in prison. In Aug 2022, in what many considered as a historic moment in Singapore, the Prime Minister announced its repeal. Following the announcement, several related news articles were published by the news outlets The Straits Times and The Independent Singapore. This study, therefore, sets out to undertake a critical discourse analysis of these news articles, focusing on the representation of two groups of social actors, namely the Singapore government and gay people. Guided by a framework that constitutes the theoretical approach of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), Fairclough, Van Dijk and Wodak’s perspectives on power relations as discursive, as well as Van Leeuwen's theories on discourse construction and representations of social actors, the analysis of the textual data reveals distinct patterns in how the Singapore government and gay people are represented. In an area where there is little comparative critical discourse research on how more powerful groups and less powerful groups are represented in news coverage following significant legal and sociopolitical changes in a society, this article aims to deepen readers’ understanding of such discursive patterns and foster media literacy, thereby attaining the practical result of pointing readers in the direction of change – a desired outcome that CDA seeks through its research.

Iqbal's Spiritual Democracy and Habermas's Deliberative Democracy: A Comparative Study

The current study is written in the context of the civilizational dialogue between the West and the Muslim world with reference to Jürgen Habermas and Muhammad Iqbal's political views. It explores the congruence and contrasts between Habermas's discourse theory of democracy or deliberative democracy and Iqbal's theory of spiritual democracy. This research strives to find out the extent to which the core values of Habermas's theory and that of Iqbal’s are compatible. For Habermas, the core values of social order are liberty and equality, whereas Iqbal upholds liberty, equality, and solidarity. It has been investigated whether they both mean the same phenomena by the same terms or not. For Habermas and Iqbal, democracy is the best form of government but neither one is satisfied with the existing democratic practices. In principle, they accept democracy as the best political system. The research paper also sheds light on the historical and cultural influences that have shaped the political ideologies of both Habermas and Iqbal, considering the impact of Western Enlightenment ideals on Habermas and the role of Islamic jurisprudence and spirituality in shaping Iqbal's democratic theory. Through critical analysis, this study aims to deepen the understanding of complexities inherent in the dialogue between Western and Muslim civilizations and offers insights into potential avenues for collaboration in political theory and practice.

A Disability Studies Analysis of Alcohol Use: Understanding Personal Experiences through Dominant Discourses on Addiction

This paper describes my experiences with coming to understand my own relationship with alcohol dependency and addiction. Disability studies has offered me a lens and guide through which I have critically interrogated discourses about addiction, while examining the ways dominant and counter-narratives have impacted my own recovery process. In this paper, I review historical information about the emergence of culturally accepted recovery ideologies in the United States that have led to a dominant disease model perspective. Then, I explain the disability studies-informed theoretical underpinnings of this paper, which include discourse theory and disability studies as applied to alcohol addiction. Using disability studies and autoethnography as a guide, the body of the paper uses examples from my own journals to elucidate salient themes that emerged about my experiences in early recovery. The paper uncovers the ways I came to understand my own identity related to addiction, how I navigated feelings of stigma and shame, the ways I found recovery spaces that embraced empowering frameworks aligned to a disability studies ethos, and how I discovered community and pride through this experience.

Hegemonic struggles and the role of contemporary ‘organic intellectuals’: A different perspective for the analysis of discourses

The ‘populist moment’ and the growing number of non-liberal discourses indicate that we are in the presence of a counter-hegemonic phase against the established liberal order involving several sites of ideological production. However, the analysis of these counter-revolutions still focuses on agency, looking mainly at political parties or leaders. This article tries to reverse this picture suggesting to look first at discourses as such to understand the contestation of the dominant worldview. Thus, it proposes a methodological platform for studying (counter-)hegemonic discourses that abandons agent-centrism. To achieve this goal, it introduces the notion of ‘ organic intellectuals of a discourse-coalition’, linking two concepts developed respectively by Antonio Gramsci and Maarten Hajer. This formula allows focusing on all actors articulating and propagating the same demands and discourse, regardless of their affiliation. Using this approach, a discourse-coalition may include parties or politicians as well as journalists or influencers as long as they exert an intellectual function, that is, they are able to mould common sense. By developing this formula, the article is aimed at researchers that use Poststructuralist Discourse Theory in the study of hegemonic discourses as it provides a sound justification for the selection of a valid and representative discourse-coalition.

Commentary on “Look up! Five research proposals for rethinking marketing in a post-growth society”: Contribution of lacanian discourse to a more responsible marketing

In this article, we comment on the reflection of Rémy et al. on marketing in a “post-growth” society, where the exchange partners encompass all the stakeholders with which the organization interacts, including its natural environment. We share the idea of Rémy et al. that marketing must radically evolve. We extend their point of view by adopting a Lacanian perspective. According to Lacan, discourse is what creates the “social bond.” We then propose, based on the Lacanian theory of discourse, to question what the discourse of a responsible marketing would be in a post-growth and therefore post-jouissance society.

A critical discourse analysis of NAEYC's developmentally appropriate practice texts: Shifting rhetoric and implications for advancing equity in family-school partnerships

ABSTRACT The most recent iteration of NAEYC’s key Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP) texts (the 2020 Position Statement and the fourth edition of the DAP book) reflect a more robust stance on family educator-relationships and attention to issues of equity as reflected in linguistic shifts. This article analyses NAEYC’s rhetorical moves between the 2009 texts and the present versions, presenting a mixed-methods critical discourse analysis (CDA) of the changes in the texts drawing on critical theory, Doucet’s framework for anti-racist practice, discourse theory and critical linguistics. The findings reveal meaningful changes in the language and framing of family-educator relationships, highlighting a move towards more inclusive, reciprocal partnerships. And while the current editions of NAEYC’s key DAP texts show greater attention to cultural inclusivity and anti-bias approaches, we make a case to push for explicitly anti-racist reciprocal partnerships with families and communities within the DAP texts. We discuss the implications of these changes for policy and practice in early childhood education, as well as suggestions for future research in diverse cultural contexts, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. This analysis contributes to the ongoing conversation about equity and social justice in educational partnerships and practices.

Abusive Metajournalistic Discourse Towards Journalists on Social Media

ABSTRACT In this study, we used a mixed method approach to investigate online abuse mostly targeting journalists, by focusing on the use of the term presstitute. We inductively analyzed the professional categories of the targeted people, whether be journalists, news organizations, politicians, etc., and the countries where these professionals live. Our findings show that Twitter was the most active platform for attacking journalists, and that the top targeted groups were Indian journalists followed by American and Filipino ones. Building on Metajournalistic Discourse theory, we introduce the concept of Abusive Metajournalistic Discourse (AMD) as a form of reactive discourse, and we argue that using the term presstitute is one manifestation of AMD. To corroborate our findings, we used the collected datasets to identify the journalists who are being trolled with different types of abusive content and interviewed 12 journalists through semi-structured interviews in order to elicit their views on the abusive content targeting them. Five themes emerged from these interviews including: (1) cloaked coordinated AMD; (2) hyper-nationalist, racist and sexist AMD; (3) state-sanctioned AMD and disinformation; (4) journalists’ resolve and resilience; and (5) sinister AMD outcomes, which help shed light on the impact of AMD on journalism practice.

Re-interpreting basic values underlying social security law in times of climate change and ecological crisis

Shaping solidarity, guaranteeing basic subsistence, maintaining income and employment activation can be seen as basic values underlying social security law in many European welfare states. This article argues that the meaning of these values or concepts is determined by legitimating discourses within which they are interpreted. While so far Rawls's theory of justice and related egalitarian liberal philosophies have had a great impact on these discourses, the ecological crisis has given rise to new discourses which are inspired by neo-republican theory and green republicanism. Instead of legitimising a capitalist economy based on economic growth, these discourses promote a post-productive society that seeks to realise human flourishing and meaningful lives. The aim of this article is to contribute to the emerging debate on social security reform by explaining how neo-republican theory and green republicanism can fill social security law's basic values or concepts with meaning that is more in line with current ecological concerns. In contrast to previous contributions that have sought to rethink labour and social security law (‘social law’) in a way that is more compatible with our ecological and climate crisis, this article builds on Poststructuralist Discourse Theory to develop its argument.

Drag story hour at public libraries: the reading child and the construction of fear and othering in Swedish cultural policy debate

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to produce new knowledge about the positions that public libraries both take and are given in the conflicts over politics and identity that play out in contemporary cultural and library policy debates. Using conflicts over drag story hour at public libraries as case, the study seeks to contribute to an emerging body of research that delves into the challenges that public libraries as promoters of democracy are confronting in the conflictual political landscape of today.Design/methodology/approachThe paper presents an analysis of debates reported in news articles concerning Drag story hour events held at Swedish public libraries. Utilizing the analytical lenses of discourse theory and plural agonistics, the analysis serves to make visible the lines of conflicts drawn in these debates – particularly focusing on the intersection of different meanings ascribed to the notion of the reading child, and how fear is constructed and used as an othering devise in these conflicts.FindingsDifferent imaginings of the reading child and the construction and imagination of fear and safety shapes the Drag story hour debates. The controversies can be understood as a challenge to the previous hegemony regarding the direction and goals of Swedish cultural and library policy and the pluralistic democratic society these policies are meant to promote.Originality/valueThe paper offers new insights into the consequences of the revival of radical right politics, populism and societal polarization, and the different responses from public libraries.

Does algorithmic content moderation promote democratic discourse? Radical democratic critique of toxic language AI

ABSTRACT Algorithmic content moderation is becoming a common practice employed by many social media platforms to regulate ‘toxic’ language and to promote democratic public conversations. This paper provides a normative critique of politically liberal assumption of civility embedded in algorithmic moderation, illustrated by Google’s Perspective API. From a radical democratic standpoint, this paper normatively and empirically distinguishes between incivility and intolerance because they have different implications for democratic discourse. The paper recognises the potential political, expressive, and symbolic values of incivility, especially for the socially marginalised. We, therefore, argue against regulation of incivility using AI. There are, however, good reasons to regulate hate speech but it is incumbent upon the users of AI moderation to show that this can be done reliably. The paper emphasises the importance of detecting diverse forms of hate speech that convey intolerant and exclusionary ideas without using explicitly hateful or extremely emotional wording. The paper then empirically evaluates the performance of the current algorithmic moderation to see whether it can discern incivility and intolerance and whether it can detect diverse forms of intolerance. Empirical findings reveal that the current algorithmic moderation does not promote democratic discourse, but rather deters it by silencing the uncivil but pro-democratic voices of the marginalised as well as by failing to detect intolerant messages whose meanings are embedded in nuances and rhetoric. New algorithmic moderation should focus on the reliable and transparent identification of hate speech and be in line with the feminist, anti-racist, and critical theories of democratic discourse.

To copy verbatim, paraphrase or summarize – listeners’ methods of discourse representation while recalling academic lectures

Abstract It is unanimously agreed that comprehension of academic lectures is cognitively demanding; however, few studies have focused on a listener’s real-time discourse representation of a lecture. Based on the qualitative analysis of the verbal protocols, the present study investigated sixteen Chinese university students’ verbal recall of an academic mini-lecture to explore how they made sense of the lecture and represented its discourse when they recalled it episode by episode, and to what extent they differed in discourse representation. The results show that listeners’ discourse representation involved a range of cognitive processes such as paraphrasing, summarizing, and verbatim copying. Paraphrasing and summarizing were the main methods of discourse representation used by the participants when they verbally recalled the lecture. Those who correctly paraphrased more idea units recalled more content of the lecture. They were able to select and retain more idea units in their short-term memory, build more associations between the selected idea units, integrate them with the existing discourse structures and ensure contextual coherence in the construction of the local discourse structures. The findings of the study contribute to a better understanding of how listeners comprehend academic lectures and confirm that improving students’ paraphrasing skills and hierarchical discourse construction in recall are conducive to better comprehension of academic lectures.

( I M ) M A T E R ( I A L I T Y ) and the Black-Box Theatre as an ‘Empty Space’ of Re-production

This paper examines a paradigmatic interior from the 20th century, the ‘black-box theatre’, associated with a fundamental rejection of the potential role played by the built-form within the art-form. Material space is denied in order to establish an apparent void-space. This perceived emptiness is reflected in a paucity of architectural and theatrical discourse surrounding the model. However an investigation of its physical and discursive absences suggests its apparent ‘lack’ veils a surplus of meaning. Such gaps and their associations with theatrical production reveal complicated links to the space of human reproduction and its attendant excesses which, in turn, leads to a distinctive link between the black-box and Plato’s notion of ‘chora’. This uncovering of material through the im-material, proposes a more embodied and performative approach to theatre space and to readings of the interior.

Образные единицы в коммуникативных практиках медиатизированного политического дискурса

The article is dedicated to the communicative features of mediatized political discourse, which remain insufficiently explored. Using the example of the use of figurative means of language in the genres of media-political communications, it is demonstrated that the mediatized form of communication possesses not only the basic functions of professional discourse but also additional functions: amplifying or softening content, saving linguistic means, emotional and attractive functions. Each of these functions plays a significant role in shaping audience perception and influencing public opinion on political issues. With the help of contextual and semantic analysis, as well as the corpus method, the following results were obtained: in the studied context, figurative units are important linguistic means used for the effective conveyance of specific political views and emotions. These units include figurative metaphors and comparisons, phraseology, proverb, precedent phenomena and colloquial expressions. The novelty of the research lies in the analysis of communicative features and functions of figurative units in various genres of mediatized political discourse: political talk shows, political interviews, and internet texts of politicians. The research results can be applied in the practice of media communication, communicative linguistics, and discourse theory.

From Social Clubs to Champions for Sports Journalistic Identity and Integrity

Taking the FIFA World Cup in Qatar as a point of departure, this article analyses the changing role of national associations of sports journalists in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Introducing the concept of meta-journalistic discourse and well-established media system theories, it is argued that Nordic sports journalism’s negotiations of professional practices and standards are shaped by a particular media systemic context with distinct Nordic welfare state-oriented features. One such feature is a tradition of using collective, organized social groups, like democratically based voluntary associations, as instruments for social change. The empirical study explores this through a qualitative thematic analysis of the changing structures, identities, and practices of the national associations of sports journalists across the three countries. This illustrates how the organizations in particular during the last two decades have started very similar processes of transformation away from being mainly social clubs. The associations have used their collective frameworks and bargaining power to ensure independent journalists’ access to sports organizations and athletes, and they have engaged in negotiations of what sports journalism is and what constitutes sports journalism in a sports media landscape shaped by strong combined forces of digitization and politicization.

Art, science and inclusion: multisensory Sciart of immunology for blind, low-vision and diverse-needs audiences.

Art is a powerful tool for conveying scientific discovery. Despite the perceived gap between art and science, as highlighted by CP Snow and others, examples of art communicating science can be found in the ancient world, the Renaissance and contemporary data visualization, demonstrating an enduring and historic connection. However, much of science relies on visual elements, excluding those with blindness, low vision and diverse needs, resulting in their low representation in STEM discourse. This paper introduces a novel science and art collaboration in the form of an exhibition program exploring the concepts of Immunology and Biomedicine to blind and vision-impaired audiences, capitalizing on the lived experience of a legally blind artist. Employing multisensory design, art and co-creation methodologies, it transcends traditional vision-based science communication, showcasing the potential for multisensory art to bridge the gap at the intersection of science and inclusion.

The Feminist Refusal of I May Destroy You

Abstract Michaela Coel's I May Destroy You (HBO, BBC One, 2020) chronicles a first-generation Black woman's struggles in the aftermath of her sexual assault. Set in the United Kingdom, I May Destroy You was well-received by US critics and audiences alike, who rallied around the series as a positive, cohesive, and ultimately feminist example of how a woman productively deals with sexual trauma. These discourses of positive representation used to frame I May Destroy You, however, focus on reinforcing liberal feminist ideals of assimilation, legibility, and respectability in the service of an unexamined “womanhood.” In reality, I May Destroy You uses both plot—as Arabella and her friends attempt to make sense of her rape—and narrative form to deconstruct the identity of “woman,” the term that most television series on “women's issues” and with feminist modes of address have attempted to represent and stabilize since the medium's foundations in the mid-twentieth century. In resisting stable, positive identity categories in a story of sexual violence, Coel's I May Destroy You presents an aberration and an important intervention in a televisual landscape that often relies on access to distinct binaries of male/female, Black/white, and victim/perpetrator to make claims of “accurate” representation—both for sexual assault on television and for women's experience more broadly.

Informing research on generative artificial intelligence from a language and literacy perspective: A meta‐synthesis of studies in science education

AbstractResearch in languages and literacies in science education (LLSE) has developed substantial theoretical and pedagogical insights into how students learn science through language, discourse, and multimodal representations. At the same time, language is central to the functioning of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI). On this common basis concerning the role of language, this paper explores how foundational ideas from LLSE studies can inform the use of GenAI in science education. A bibliometric analysis of 412 journal articles from Web of Science provided the initial step to identify major themes and relationships in the LLSE literature. The analysis revealed four clusters of research in LLSE: reading and writing scientific text, science discourse and interaction, multilingual science classroom, and multimodality and representations. Each cluster was further analyzed through close reading of selected articles to identify and connect key constructs to the potential use of GenAI. These constructs include the interactive‐constructive reading model, text genre, reading‐writing integration, dialogic interaction, critical questioning, argumentation, translanguaging, hybridity, thematic pattern, modal affordance, and transduction. From these ideas and connections, the paper recommends several pedagogical principles for science educators to guide the use of GenAI. It concludes that LLSE research offers valuable insights for researchers and teachers to investigate and design the use of GenAI in science education. In turn, the impending use of GenAI also calls for a rethinking of literacy that will shape future research in LLSE.

Analysing and evaluating the bilingual adaptation of English graded readers in China: A social semiotic multimodal discourse study

International English-graded readers have been increasingly adapted, rewritten, and localised to cater to the specific needs of learners in different regions. This cross-cultural adaptation of materials has not attracted much scholarly attention, although it is an essential dimension of research on materials for language learning and teaching. The present study explores the textual transformations that occur in the bilingual adaptation of Cambridge English Readers, a series of original fiction books for learners of English, by a Chinese publisher. The analysis is underpinned by social semiotic multimodal discourse theory. Based on the analysis, the study evaluates the pedagogic potential of the bilingual edition of Cambridge English Readers as materials for English language learning and teaching. In doing so, it demonstrates a novel approach to evaluating bilingual adaptations of graded readers. It also shows that the original and bilingually adapted editions reflect different cultures of learning.