The Habermas/Foucault debate: Implications for rhetoric and composition

This thesis sheds light on (1) the extent to which composition has fallen short in its efforts to examine Habermasian discourse in the public sphere/politicized classroom; and (2) whether, through a careful and explicit exploration of the Habermas/Foucault debate and the competing concepts of discourse contained therein, we might make use of those concepts in the politicized classroom to inform student writing in the public sphere

Development and emancipation: The information society and decision support systems in local authorities in Egypt.

The published version of this article can be found at Emerald publishing http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/menuNavigation.do?hdAction=InsightHomePurpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the emancipatory promises and realities of information and communication technology (ICT) in Egypt. Design/methodology/approach – The combination of Habermasian and Foucauldian ideas implemented by a critical discourse analysis of the Egyptian Information Society Policy and interviews with employees of local decision support systems employees. Promises and rhetoric are contrasted with findings and questioned with regards to their validity. Findings – On the policy level, analysis shows that the emancipating rhetoric of ICT is not followed through. ICT is mostly seen as a means of attracting foreign direct investment. Neither political participation nor educational benefits are promoted seriously. On the local level, culture and organisational realities prevent individuals from exploiting the emancipatory potential of the technology. Originality/value – The combination of the Habermasian and Foucauldian approach exposes the problems of ICT use in developing countries. It shows that emancipation is used to legitimise ICT policies but is not taken seriously on a policy level in Egypt. Local implementations also fail to deliver on their promise. In order to have emancipatory effects, ICT policy and use will need to be reconsidered

It's about Power Stupid! - The interpretive study of environmental governance.

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Broadcasting regulation and the public-private dichotomy

This thesis is a theoretical and methodological engagement with the extent to which the public-private dichotomy is an appropriate and effective framework within which to critically approach the history of broadcasting regulation in the UK. The critical literature on the subject tends to present a narrative of decline, from an ethos of public service and citizenship, which is presumed to have enabled the public sphere, to a neoliberal faith in market logic and consumer choice, which is accused of undermining it. Much of this discussion is theoretically weakened, however, by a lack of engagement with the relevant literatures, and by the reduction to unitary oppositions between commonsensical terms of what are actually protean distinctions between contentious concepts. Taking this claim as its starting point, the thesis will attempt to clarify the ambiguity of the key concepts of debate on broadcasting regulation, recognising the need for the complexification of distinctions rather than their simplification or abandonment

Planning with Civicness: Grounding the Public Interest Rationale for the Planning Profession

Within the planning profession, the public interest is enshrined as a core rationale for practice even as academic literature continues to question the existence and function of this rationale. Concrete outcomes of the public interest are rarely considered in planning structures and processes, resulting in the perception that the term is a tangential, or lip-service, consideration within the profession. A lack of explicit acknowledgement can be contrasted with consideration of the concept of ‘civicness’ – arguably a more tangible indicator of public interest concerns within the profession. This research focuses on how the planning system approaches ‘civicness’, exploring how this can be read discursively as representative of a contextualised public interest. Drawing on the paradigmatic framework of Habermas and Foucault, both utopian and cynical representations of the public interest are challenged. Discourse analysis techniques, particularly a dialectic Critical Discourse Analysis framework, are used to critically explore key civic concepts as they relate to planning, considering broader contextual themes and rendering conceptions of ‘the public interest’ as legible and interpretable. Australian urban civic conceptions are explored, with the city of Newcastle (New South Wales) as context owing to its scale and history within the state, its contemporary reinvention following decades of ‘Steel City’ neglect and economic malaise, and its unmistakable manifestations of ‘civicness’ in institutions, processes and designed/material outcomes. Applying the Critical Discourse Analysis framework to three case studies – Newcastle City Council, the preparation of the Greater Newcastle Metropolitan Plan 2036, and Newcastle’s ‘Civic Precinct’ – the research is then utilised to explore a specific representation of action toward and manifestations of ‘civicness’. This in turn contributes to the legibility of public interest manifestations in differing scales of planning practice and within broader, more theoretical, paradigms. While more exploratory than definitive, this thesis proposes that considering ‘civicness’ within the urban environment is a means by which to contextualise and ground the public interest within planning, ensuring this key professional and theoretical rationale retains its relevance and richness in an increasingly complex and challenging planning environment

Redefining the identity of old age through telecare: a Foucauldian inquiry into national care policies and practices at local social care authorities

Since the 19th Century, UK governments have introduced policies to address the problem of old age. These rely upon and reinforce the construction of an ‘old age’ demographic, as a distinct kind of identity based on the knowledge produced about older people across different scientific disciplines. Meanwhile, advancements in medicine and technology, as well as shifts in the political and economic landscape, have had marked impacts on the provision of health and social care. Today, the care information systems technologies known as telecare – increasingly offered by local authorities in accordance with national governmental policies – have been claimed to increase ‘independence’, ‘choice’, and ‘quality of life’ for older people. This thesis makes an enquiry into policies surrounding old age and telecare and into the practices of Surrey’s local telecare initiative as a case study. It contextualises telecare within the wider history of social/health care policy in England to build the case that there are grand narratives of old age embedded in these sociotechnical practices that merit recognition - namely: 1) The biomedical model, which perceives ageing as a pathological problem associated with abnormality, deterioration, and dependency; 2) consumer culture, which perceives older people as a new group of homogenous, financially secure and powerful consumers; and 3) managerialism in social work, which perceives older people in terms of risk. This study utilises critical theory, discourse analysis, and Foucault’s Modes of Objectification to reveal these grand discourses and other discourses of old age, discuss their implications, and explain how they have been perpetuated yet also transformed in the context of telecare. Collectively, their manifestation in the scientific classifications and dividing practices enacted by governments, institutions, and telecare professionals are seen to play a role in the construction of an identity of old age, which has been redefined within the context of telecare information systems

Discursive Construction of Usability Work in the Cultural Context of Software Product Development

Users should be involved in the interactive systems development. However, involving users is often difficult and rare, especially in the product development context, referring to the development of commercial software products or systems. This paper critically examines user involvement in the cultural context of three software product development organizations. User involvement is indirect and labeled as usability work. Empirical, qualitative material has been gathered from the organizations during three years time. A set of discourses constructing usability work and its cultural context are identified by following a poststructuralist, Foucauldian approach. Both theoretical and practical implications are discussed

MXit it up in the media: Media discourse analysis on a mobile instant messaging system

Mobile instant messaging has the potential of providing the youth not only with a social space where they can interact and bond but also with a learning environment. MXit is the most popular mobile instant messaging application in South Africa. Due to its nascency, little academic research has been done on the application. The application has drawn considerable local media interest; however, most of the media coverage has been negative. Media discourse of the application is of academic interest, since media discourse is one of the many ways through which reality is constructed. This means there is a relationship between media discourse and public opinion. Distortions in the media may misinform and engender impaired decision making amongst policymakers as well as members of the public. Discourse analysis can reveal distortions in media communication and counter misinformation. Using critical discourse analysis, we have analysed the media discourse on MXit by employing the Habermasian concept of the ideal speech situation and its validity claims as a conceptual tool. The analysis shows that (i) the media discourse is fraught with distortions; (ii) the media have mainly used the voice of adults to legitimise the discourse and the voices of the youth who are the main users of the application are missing; and (iii) there seems to be a moral panic developing around the use of MXit

Zones of indistinction: bio-political contestations in the urban arena

This essay explores the idea of ‘bio-politics’ in relation to the modern city. The concept is traced through its original Foucauldian formulation to more recent explorations of the relationship between the body and the city. We explore the idea through the emergence of discourses on hygiene, public health and differing conceptions of ‘urban order’. We find that the bio-political dynamics of urban space encompass both juridical and dispersed sources of power in modern societies. It is concluded that existing conceptions of power in urban space need to take account of those diffuse sources of power that enable the modern city to function in spite of its contradictory dynamics. We also need to contend with those ‘zones of indistinction’ which appear to lie outside conventional urban discourse yet reveal much about the hidden dimensions of urban modernity