Discourse Production Research Articles

Eating in a Neoliberal Environment: Daily Disjunctures and “Wicked Subjectivities”

ABSTRACT Hunger is referred to as a “wicked problem” because it cannot be solved easily and is connected to other complex problems such as climate change, racism, and health equity. Bringing together food and environmental communication, this paper illuminates how the mundane act of eating is shaped by the hegemonic organizing logics of neoliberalism. Grounded in qualitative interviews, the analysis uncovers three common sense discourses linked to eating within an inequitable food system: (1) Feeling, watching, and calculating: anxiety about what goes in and around the body; (2) Navigating diverse worldviews: cultural food traditions versus western nutricentric norms, and (3) Snacking, fast food, and corner stores: the pressure to choose between health and survival. Drawing on biopolitical theory, I offer the term “wicked subjectivities” as a container for the cognitive, affective, and embodied insecurities people experience at the intersection of discourse, lived experience, and political economic realities surrounding food and health. Neoliberalism impacts not only the built environment, but shapes personal subjectivities through the privatization of health and the production of hegemonic consumer-citizen identities. Wicked subjectivities are biopolitical to the extent that they impinge upon bodies from the outside-in (i.e., environments) and the inside-out (i.e., subjectivities) advantaging some populations and disadvantaging others. Expanding beyond hunger, the concept of wicked subjectivities can potentially apply to other wicked problems, where cultural, biological, moral, and market-based discourses intersect with lived experiences, producing contradictory and “wicked” feelings and orientations for which no right or wrong solutions exist at the personal level – just better or worse ones.

Word class deficits in individuals with aphasia: A syntactic analysis at discourse and single word production in the Kannada language

Aphasia commonly leads to word retrieval issues, particularly with nouns and verbs. Traditional assessments often focus on single-word. This study uses qualitative and quantitative methods to assess word class deficits in Kannada-speaking Individuals with Aphasia (IWA) compared to Neurotypical Individuals (NTI) in single-word production and discourse production. Twenty IWAs (aged 20-50) and twenty age/gender-matched NTIs were recruited. Confrontation naming evaluated single-word production, while structured picture description (picnic scene) assessed discourse. Both tasks included a fixed set of nouns and verbs for comparison. The results were that IWAs performed poorer than NTIs in both tasks. Statistically significant noun and verb usage differences were observed between IWAs and NTIs in the picture description task (p<0.05). However, word class differences in the IWA group were insignificant across tasks. NTIs showed significant differences only in the picture description task. This study underscores word class deficits in aphasia, particularly at the discourse level. Discourse analysis is crucial for understanding language characteristics in aphasia and should be integrated into routine assessments.

Examination of local and global coherence in the impaired discourse of patients diagnosed with mixed aphasia

The study aimed to investigate the hypothesis indicating that the type of discourse influences the macro- and microstructure of the language used by Polish speakers diagnosed with mixed aphasia, and to demonstrate the discourse-specific linguistic properties in two groups of patients with mixed aphasia with either motor or sensory components compared to the neurotypical control group. The study aimed to investigate the hypothesis indicating that the type of discourse influences the macro- and microstructure of the language used by Polish speakers diagnosed with mixed aphasia, and to demonstrate the discourse-specific linguistic properties in two groups of patients with mixed aphasia with either motor or sensory components compared to the neurotypical control group.Language samples were collected from people with mixed aphasia with motor component (10 subjects), sensory component (10 subjects) and the control group (10 subjects), matched in terms of age and education. Discursive tasks (a description of experiences related to the disease, a description of an important life event, sequential image description, single image description, fairy tale narrative, procedural discourse) were taken from the Aphasia Bank protocol for discourse tasks. The discourse samples were analyzed within the general terms of cohesion and coherence, the relations between them, and the influence of discourse genre on cohesion. Language samples were analyzed for consistency and coded. To obtain qualitative data SALT software was used. Then, a statistical analysis was performed.A greater number of utterances were recorded in mixed aphasia with sensory component, something which may occur due to difficulties in selecting the appropriate vocabulary and overproduction which does not affect the coherence of the elements, but results in grammatical and semantic breakdown. Research has shown that for those with mixed aphasia it is easier to achieve a higher degree of local coherence than global coherence. Analysis has shown that the statements of people with mixed aphasia are characterized by lower local and global coherence.There is a necessity to continue the research to demonstrate the differences within other types of aphasia in Polish. Additionally, it is necessary for therapeutic activities to be undertaken so that those with aphasia could improve their linguistic functioning on a daily basis, especially in discourse production.

Relationship among Story-retelling Ability, Naming and Memory in Healthy Elderly Adults

Objectives: Cognitive decline due to aging is known to decrease discourse production in healthy elderly adults. The purpose of this study was to analyze the correlation among story retelling, naming, and memory abilities in healthy elderly adults, and to investigate the influence of these abilities on story retelling ability. Methods: Fifty-four healthy elderly people participated in the study and performed tests of story retelling, confrontational naming, verbal fluency, subjective memory, and verbal memory. Results: First, the percentage of correct responses in the confrontational naming task and the number of correct responses in the supermarket items and letter categories of the verbal fluency task were significantly correlated with the information unit (IU) analysis scale of story retelling. Second, the score of subjective memory, as well as the immediate and delayed recall scores of the verbal memory tasks were significantly correlated with all scales of the IU analysis. Finally, the regression analysis confirmed that the number of correct responses of the supermarket items, subjective memory, and delayed recall scores had a significant effect on story retelling ability. Conclusion: The present study utilized IU analysis to identify the association between story retelling, naming and memory abilities, and these results are significant in that they provide an important basis for clinical assessment and intervention strategy development.

REFORMA DO ENSINO MÉDIO DE 2017: AS CONTRADIÇÕES DO DISCURSO DE MODERNIDADE E SEUS IMPACTOS

The present work aims to unveil what is behind the discourse of modernity propagated with the new reform of High School, through law No. 13.415 of February 16, 2017, which modified the Law of Guidelines and Bases of National Education of 1996 and, consequently, the school curriculum. In view of this, in order to understand the dangers brought by the new law to the schooling of high school students, we resorted to the analysis of the French discourse, affiliated with Michel Pêcheux, in which it is possible to consider discourse as human praxis, as it is constituted in historical and social relations, materializing in language. Therefore, in order to understand its meanings, it is necessary to have a process of analysis that considers the relations between language, history and ideology. To achieve this intent, the conditions of discourse production that enabled the constitution of this discourse will be investigated, here the constitution of neoliberalism is considered as an important factor to understand this process. For analysis, the research corpus was constituted from a discursive sequence of the text of the law that discusses the contents, methodologies and forms of evaluation of High School so that at the end of this stage the students begin to demonstrate mastery of the technological and scientific precepts that guide modern production. From this analysis it was possible to understand that other reforms of High School have already been carried out, in similar contexts, and it is interesting to note that there is a return to other discourses. However, we now see a deeper, neo-fascist and authoritarian neoliberalism, which uses the term "modernity" to succumb more and more to the right to life of the working class. For this reason, students in the last stage of basic education are directed to a superficial education that has as its "focus" a false scientific and technological training based on modernity, to disqualify future workers and consolidate the ideology of non-employment.

Exploring the production of discourse particles by persons with aphasia

ABSTRACT Background Discourse production is a fundamental aspect of everyday life. There is a growing body of research on discourse production in persons with aphasia (PWA) but one understudied aspect of discourse production is the use of discourse particles. Understanding the role of discourse particles in PWA is crucial given the recent shift in clinical practice towards therapy at discourse level, addressing functional communication in everyday life situations. The limited available literature does not provide clear answers on how Dutch PWA use discourse particles. Because in Dutch discourse particles are more frequent and have other types of functions compared to, for example, English, studying the use of Dutch discourse particles by PWA can provide valuable insights in their discourse production. Aims This study aims to compare the proportion of produced discourse particles between Dutch-speaking persons with and without aphasia, to investigate the distributions of the discourse particles produced, and to explore the functions of the discourse particles of interest. Methods & Procedures Discourse samples elicited by the adapted version of the Amsterdam Nijmegen Everyday Language Test from 27 persons with aphasia and 23 neurotypically healthy speakers were analysed for the use of discourse particles. Proportions of discourse particles were contrasted between persons with and without aphasia using a Wilcoxon non-parametric test. The distributions of the discourse particles were analysed using a linear mixed-effects model, and the functions of the discourse particles were examined qualitatively. Outcomes & Results The results show that persons with aphasia produce a larger proportion of discourse particles compared to neurotypically healthy speakers. The distribution of the discourse particles differs between the two groups, and we find that at least some discourse particles are used differently. Conclusions This study reveals that Dutch-speaking persons with aphasia still employ some discourse particles effectively despite language difficulties. It furthermore shows that the frequency and manner in which these particles are used, as well as their role in communication, may differ significantly among the different discourse particles. This insight may inform therapeutic approaches.

Preliminary findings of expository discourse in older adults

Aims: The purpose of this study was to: 1) examine older adults' ability to deliver coherent discourse in expository discourse elicitation tasks; and 2) explore whether cognitive ability and social behavior activity predict coherent discourse production in healthy older adults, separately by gender. Methods: Study participants included 58 neurologically healthy older adults–male (n\,=\,19) and female (n\,=\,39). For the discourse elicitation task, participants provided their opinion in response to four controversial topics. They also completed executive function measures and social engagement questionnaires. Results: Years of education significantly differed between the two groups; thus, education was used as a covariate. A 2 × 4 mixed analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was conducted. Main effect differences for gender and topic for discourse coherence were not found. In order to examine the contributions of executive function and social engagement on discourse coherence by gender, multiple regression analysis was conducted. For the male group, social activity and social network were significant predictors of the ability to convey coherent discourse on the healthcare topic. For the female group, only executive function was a significant predictor of the coherent discourse production on the marriage topic. Conclusions: The findings suggest that in the same type of discourse elicitation task, the nature of topic influences performance in elicited expository discourse. Moreover, results indicated that the influence of cognitive ability and social engagement on discourse coherence differed between the two gender groups.

CLILing and Multiliteracing with very young learners: The case of English language‐enriched programme in Greek preschool

AbstractThis research paper investigates the effects of integrating multiliteracies in a Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) programme on language development and content understanding among preschoolers in an urban city of Greece. The case study focuses on early literacy skills, spoken discourse and vocabulary. The research questions, which guided the study, aims to explore the impact of multiliteracies integration in the CLIL programme on early literacy skills and to understand how it influences spoken discourse, and vocabulary skills among preschoolers. A convenient sampling method was employed, and the study was conducted during the school year 2022–2023 in a preschool involving 40 preschoolers. The programme followed a structured process involving experience, conceptualization, critical thinking and real‐life application. Data collection methods included pre‐tests, post‐tests and classroom observations. The findings revealed the positive effects of integrating multiliteracies in the CLIL programme on their language skills. The preschoolers saw an observable enhancement in fluency, vocabulary usage and oral communication abilities. Observations highlighted increased language engagement, oral discourse production, interaction and collaboration, multimodal learning experiences, motivation and engagement and the development of critical thinking skills, emphasizing the effectiveness of the CLIL programme in fostering oral communication skills and creating an immersive educational environment.

Media construction of pseudo-events: Lula da Silva at the Portugal’s parliament during a historic annual celebration

The Carnation Revolution (25th April 1974) has changed the course of Portugal, leading it to transition from an autocratic to a democratic Government. Every year, celebrations are conducted at the national Parliament. In 2023, it counted with another guest: Lula da Silva, Brazil’s ongoing president. Considering the notion of cultural memory and media construction of social reality through media events, this article notes Lula da Silva’s presence and exceptional address was portrayed on newspaper front pages of several journalistic media outlets. Therefore, it aims at understanding meaning and discourse production with Lula da Silva’s visit to Portugal on the 25th April 2023 through media coverage and first page highlight. Lula da Silva is noticed by the front pages under analysis as a controversial, entertaining, and eventful celebrity linked to specific positioned actors that is invited to the Parliament and prompts indirectly and directly discontentment and, at the same time, support. Also, it discusses how such spotlight over Lula da Silva turned that visit and Parliament’s address it into a pseudo-event. Adopting a Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis approach, this research work intends to offer a multimodal eye upon those front pages and critically reflect on populism, coloniality, cultural memory, and journalism.

Distort, post, repeat: Laundering antisemitism on "cliquey networks" during COVID-19.

Today, in the age of the internet, during recent epidemics such as H1N1, Ebola and Covid-19, it is striking to see how old accusatory scripts are circulated and perpetuated via social media, which serve as new channels for discrimination and blame directed at traditional figures who have been scapegoated at different moments in the history of European epidemics. The article shows how the laundering of information into a cliquey network takes empirical shape during a health crisis. We do so by focusing on VKontakte, a Russian social network similar to Facebook and the 15th largest website in the world in terms of traffic. Using an ethnographic approach to social media, we show how borderline information from an open and easily accessible website is reappropriated, made explicit, and transformed into legally prohibited hate content. It also documents the ability of conspiracy theorists to use the full range of discourse production channels in a country-in this case France-that has very strict laws on hate speech, including that published on social networks. These laws are circumvented by anti-Semitic communities that spread false information in marginal, open and legal networks, thus avoiding legal proceedings.

Queering COVID-19: A Synergistic Approach to Theorizing Pandemic Inequalities

COVID-19 has amplified social, economic, racial, gendered and sexual inequalities from its earliest days, yet distinct contemporary experiences of COVID-related inequalities around the globe warrant further analysis. Social scientists have theorized COVID-19 and its stratifications through various analytic axes, including critical race theory, decolonial thought and queer theory, and have identified the disparate impact of COVID-19 on LGBTQ+ communities in varied global contexts. However, the ‘queering’ of COVID-19 remains a timely project. In this article, we assess how the production and (re)production of discourses and practices that further pathologize people outside the hetero-patriarchal norm is an integral part of the ways in which a queering of COVID should be conceptualized. We understand queering COVID-19 as a theoretical stance that de-centres heteronormative and binary-gendered social structures and brings a critical eye to the normative political, biomedical and economic projects therein.

(Un)deserving victims: the race-gender-geopolitics nexus of migration discourses in Poland

ABSTRACT What makes some displaced populations deserving protection more than others? I discuss this complex problem in a critical analysis of discursive narratives, presented by Polish authorities about the situation on its two Eastern borders between 2021 and 2023. I propose the race-gender-geopolitics nexus of intersectional analysis to reveal how and why migrants on the Polish-Belarusian border were presented as threatening and ingenuine as asylum-seekers, and Ukrainians became real ‘war refugees’. While the identified narratives corresponded with the existing studies on the influence of race and gender on perceived deservingness and victimisation, considering geopolitics offers a novel, context-specific analytical layer of discourse production. I thus move beyond the ‘deserving/undeserving’ binary, complicating the picture with other groups of displaced people, often silenced in the analysed representations. I demonstrate how the widespread post-colonial, racializing and patriarchal attitudes have been intertwined with regional geopolitical goals and relations with neighbouring countries. For Poland, these are the aspirations to anchor its position within the West, as well as its complicated history with Russia and Belarus but also Ukraine. I argue that all of that, coupled with the long-standing antimigrant attitudes, resulted in particular discourses about the incoming people.

Naturalization of work accidents through political dynamics: A discursive analysis

Over the last two decades a number of devastating work accidents have occurred in Turkey that have resulted in massacre-like deaths and destructions. Although dramatic consequences forced all actors to promise for betterment, no significant improvement has been achieved yet and one accident followed the other. Apart from social and economic factors, political power tends to be attributed to having the most critical responsibility in all incidents. The present government, which has been in power since 2002, has aimed and achieved to create a pro-government capitalist class who can dominate specific sectors, such as construction, energy and mining in which most of the serious accidents occur. By taking the control of media, the government not only attained the majority of communicative channels but also created a manipulative discourse potential that has enabled to shade reality concerning the accidents. In this regard, the purpose of this study is to analyze how these accidents are normalized by the government’s discourses. A multi-stage naturalization model is employed to reveal the production and circulation of discourses in public sphere during the framing process of the accidents. The model can also be used to propose a solution for de-naturalization, which is also one of the aims of this study.

“Every idea made life easier:” A critical discourse analysis of creative employee-driven innovation in the Italian healthcare system

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to scrutinize the connection between creativity and innovation in the context of public healthcare. This is achieved by applying the theoretical concept of employee-driven innovation (EDI) to explore employees’ perceptions of their creative engagement in innovation processes, as well as to capture the managerial implications of setting up such processes in the sector.Design/methodology/approachA critical discourse analysis (CDA) is applied as a methodological lens to capture the interaction between the macro-level production and meso-level distribution of innovation discourse (top-down), and the micro-level perception of, and response to, the same (bottom-up). This study is based on a qualitative approach and is set in the public healthcare system of the Autonomous Province of Trento, Northeast Italy. In total, 26 semi-structured interviews were conducted with 22 healthcare professionals. For triangulation purposes, observation and document analysis were also performed.FindingsThe findings of this study reveal that tensions are present between the macro-level discourses and the meso-level strategies around innovation, and the micro-level perceptions of employees’ creative engagement in innovation processes. Healthcare professionals’ creative efforts are not easily recognized and supported by top management, which in turn does not receive a framework of reference in policies acknowledging the importance of human skills and creativity in innovation processes.Research limitations/implicationsThat this is a single case study implies a limitation on the generalizability of its results, but the results may nevertheless be transferable to similar empirical contexts. Therefore, a multiple case study design would be preferable in future studies in order to study EDI strategies and policies across various types of organizations in the public sector. Moreover, apart from CDA, other theoretical and methodological lenses can be applied to investigate the interaction between top-down organizing and bottom-up responses to innovation.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the EDI literature by providing a more integrative understanding of EDI in the public sector, demonstrating the importance of scrutinizing the interactions between employees and top-level management.

Towards an aesthetic commoning

This text detects a current context collapse within the independent scene of dance and choreography. It looks at the political potential of artist-driven spaces and asks if and how they could provide a forum for debate and collective articulation. With the platform and space höjden studios in Stockholm as the main example, the text connects it to other practical initiatives such as PAF (Performing Arts Forum), ICC (Imaginative Choreographic Center and PIM (Para Institutional Models). The text briefly touches on theories of the commons and aesthetic autonomy in order to raise a concern about the collective attention to art works and artistic practices, and propose a direction where the production of discourse within common spaces centres it.

Despair and Hope in Nonsense: A Study of the Subcultural Ritual of YouthTaking "Crazy Literature" as an Example

In the era of intelligent communication, the phenomenon of folk discourse production in online society is increasingly common. From the initial roaring style to the prevalent crazy literature today, various so-called internet literature emerges endlessly, becoming a media spectacle and also giving various forms of expression to the subculture of despair. Although crazy literature belongs to the category of the subcultural ritual of despair, those who are despairing are not despairing. Young people release emotions in despair through hysterical nonsense, and seek hope by establishing emotional connections with others in the same circle. This paper analyzes crazy literature from the perspective of interactive ritual chains, explores the formation mechanism of discourse carnival, and reveals the cultural symptoms behind crazy literature, providing a pathway for understanding crazy literature and the culture of despair.

Despair and Hope in Nonsense: A Study of the Subcultural Ritual of YouthTaking "Crazy Literature" as an Example

In the era of intelligent communication, the phenomenon of folk discourse production in online society is increasingly common. From the initial roaring style to the prevalent crazy literature today, various so-called internet literature emerges endlessly, becoming a media spectacle and also giving various forms of expression to the subculture of despair. Although crazy literature belongs to the category of the subcultural ritual of despair, those who are despairing are not despairing. Young people release emotions in despair through hysterical nonsense, and seek hope by establishing emotional connections with others in the same circle. This paper analyzes crazy literature from the perspective of interactive ritual chains, explores the formation mechanism of discourse carnival, and reveals the cultural symptoms behind crazy literature, providing a pathway for understanding crazy literature and the culture of despair.

Navigating the Uncertainties of Post‐disruption Dynamics in Discourse: A Case Study of the EU–UK Security Relationship After Brexit

AbstractThe article presents a model that conceptualizes the discursive construction of post‐disruption dynamics endorsed and reproduced by the affected parties and its potential to (not) contribute to future co‐operation. Conceiving of Brexit as a prime case of a broader phenomenon of post‐disruption contexts, this paper applies this model to the empirical case of the post‐Brexit European Union (EU)–United Kingdom (UK) security co‐operation in order to reveal how considerations on Brexit‐related re‐engagement and de‐engagement in the context of the EU–UK security relationship were discursively articulated by the UK government and the European Commission in the 2016–2023 period. The findings show that despite the lack of tangible actions and a seemingly continuous string of missed opportunities, the institutional discourse production has largely fulfilled an enabling function vis‐à‐vis potential future co‐operation. At the same time, this article highlights the lingering effects of Brexit‐triggered discord.

Typing Versus Handwriting: A Preliminary Investigation of Modality Effects in the Writing Output of People With Aphasia.

Handwriting and typing have different cognitive and motor demands; however, questions remain as to whether performance in people with aphasia varies based on modality. This study compares written discourse production across handwritten and onscreen typed modalities for a large sample of people with aphasia. We also aimed to explore potential variables that predict the number of written words generated by participants and determine if modality differences emerge when these variables are included as predictors. Writing samples, via handwriting and onscreen typing, elicited in a picture description task were collected from 52 participants with chronic aphasia and coded for number of words. Generalized linear mixed-effects models were used to model the data. Aphasia type, severity of aphasia, writing severity, and use of nondominant hand for writing or onscreen typing were included as predictor variables. There were no significant differences between the number of words generated in the typed modality versus handwritten modality for the sample. Of the predictor variables examined, Western Aphasia Battery-Revised writing scores significantly predicted the number of words produced (p < .001). However, the interaction of writing severity with modality was not significant. This preliminary study suggests that there was no effect of modality on one measure of written production, number of words. Future research is needed to evaluate if there are meaningful differences between modalities when additional measures, such as writing informativeness, are considered. https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.26506144.

Narrative Discourse Performance in Traumatic Brain Injury: Does Story Comprehension Predict Story Retelling?

Little is known about the relationship between discourse comprehension and production in traumatic brain injury (TBI), especially for spoken language. This study examined to what extent narrative discourse comprehension accounts for narrative discourse production outcomes (story grammar, story completeness). A secondary aim was to provisionally test an assumption of a discourse model, the structure building framework (SBF), that discourse comprehension and production share cognitive processes by investigating the strength of the relationship between them. Twenty-one individuals with TBI completed story comprehension and story retelling tasks. Discourse measures included the Discourse Comprehension Test, a picture story comprehension task, story grammar, and story completeness. Correlational and multiple regression analyses were performed using comprehension measures as predictors for production measures. There were significant moderate-to-large correlations between all comprehension and production measures. Comprehension measures approached but did not reach significance for predicting story grammar performance but strongly predicted story completeness outcomes. The story comprehension measures likely tapped content aspects of discourse more so than organization. Results provided support for a link between content-focused discourse comprehension measures and discourse production outcomes, which may have clinical implications for approaches to discourse intervention. Findings were interpreted as providing preliminary support for the SBF's claim that discourse production deploys the same processes involved in discourse comprehension. https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.26338045.