From A Flower Girl to A Lady: The Change of Discourse and Power

The theory of discourse and power, which was put forward by the French philosophy Michel Foucault, is more and more frequently employed in literary criticism. As one kind of discourse, conversation plays an essential role in understanding drama, Pygmalion is no exception. Applying the method of stylistic analysis, this paper aims at analyzing the change of power relationships through examining the discourses in Act I and Act V of Pygmalion, and then presents how Eliza changes from a flower girl to a lady through discourse. Key words: discourse, power, relation, Pygmalion, change Résumé: La théorie de discours et pouvoir, élaborée par le philosophe français Michel Foucault, est de plus en plus employée dans la critique littéraire. Comme une sorte de discours, la conversation joue un rôle essentiel dans la compréhension du drame, Pygmalion ne fait pas exception. Appliquant la méthode d’analyse stylistique, le présent article vise à étudier le changement de la relation de pouvoir à travers l’examination des discours dans l’Acte I and l’Acte V de Pygmalion, et montre comment Eliza, d’une jeune fille, devient une dame à travers le discours. Mots-Clés: discours, pouvoir, relation, Pygmalion, changemen

Uniting Through Humour: Navigating Interreligious Dialogue in Indonesia's Cyberspace During Elections

Purpose: This study explores the role of humour in fostering interreligious dialogue and cooperation within Indonesia’s digital spaces, particularly during the politically charged atmosphere of the 2024 general election. Methodology: Employing netnography, this research focuses on the 'Garis Lucu' (GL) cyberculture, analysing interactions on platforms like Twitter and Instagram to understand how humour mediates religious and political discourse. Findings: The study identifies three main themes: political engagement, political communication, and religious humour. Humour was found to significantly enhance civic engagement and function as a bridge in interreligious communication, easing tensions and fostering a culture of mutual respect and understanding. Research Implications: The findings suggest that digital platforms can serve as effective forums for promoting societal harmony and tolerance through humour, particularly in diverse societies facing political and religious tensions. Originality/Value: This research contributes to the understanding of cyberculture and interreligious dialogue by illustrating how humour can transform potentially divisive political interactions into opportunities for constructive and harmonious exchanges

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

Communication distortions in reporting about the implementation of Consolidated ICT Regulatory Management System in Malawi

The paper presents a critical analysis of media reports about the implementation of an ICT Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector regulatory system called Consolidated ICT Regulatory Management System (CIRMS). The study draws upon Habermas’ Theory of Communicative Action to analyse media reports on CIRMS implementation using the case of Malawi. The findings showed that there were potential benefits for implementing the CIRMS to address challenges of regulating the ICT sector including supporting billing, revenue collection and quality of ICT services. However, there were also communication distortions on CIRMS in the media that affected the processes and decisions of implementing the system that had wider implications beyond the ICT sector regulator. The study contributes towards literature on implementation of ICT sector regulatory systems in the context of developing countries

Politics, power and ideology in American comedy late night talk shows: A critical discourse analysis

There appears to be a new trend in transferring political issues through late night talk shows (LNTSs). The President of the United States, Barack Obama, displayed different types of power relations and political ideologies during the interviews despite the comedic nature of LNTSs. Although studies have been done on the relation between LNTSs and political discourse, only a limited number of studies have looked at theportrayal of power in LNTSs. The purpose of this study is to investigate Obama's bases of power, his power relations and his use of deixis to present his political ideologies in the two American LNTSs; The Late Show with David Letterman and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. This study focuses on Obama's portrayal of power in his political discourse (PD) using critical discourse analyses (CDA) approachthat incorporates multimodal aspects. The study analyzes Obama's linguistic and gestural variables in the transcripts collected through interviews in the two shows. The analysis of the linguistic data applies the systemic functional linguistics approach (SFL) while the analysis of the gestural ones is done inassociation with eclectic models of non-verbal behaviors.This study has revealed the different bases of power which Obama used in his PD, the influence tactics and the types of power relations which he employed in relation to the shows’ hosts; David Letterman and Jay Leno. The study has also identified the personal, temporal and spatial deixis which Obama used to present his ideologies on domestic and international politics.The study conceptualizes frameworks in which power and ideology in PD can fit into a non-traditional context such as LNTSs in order to transfer political information to a much wider audience

The role of educational technology in design and delivery of curricula programmes: A case of STEPS at a University of Technology

While Universities of Technologies (UoTs) regard the adoption of educational technology for the creation of effective learning environments as one of their defining features, there is limited research on these universities’ innovative use of technologies to transform their curricula design and delivery. This research explores the extent to which educational technology has been integrated into the implementation of new and recurriculated educational programmes under the Strategic Transformation of Educational Programmes and Structures (STEPS) at a UoT. The research employed document analysis and interview data from middle level managers (Deans), curriculum designers and educational technologists. The findings suggest that, except for one faculty where educational technology was an enduring feature of the design and delivery of curricula programmes, technology played a peripheral role in the design and recurriculation phases although it featured more in the implementation of curricula programmes under STEPS. The paper concludes that the innovative use of technology, a holistic teaching and learning strategy and training of educators on technology integration are critical in achieving total integration of educational technology into curricula programmes

The role of educational technology in design and delivery of curricula programmes: A case of STEPS at a University of Technology

Published ArticleWhile Universities of Technologies (UoTs) regard the adoption of educational technology for the creation of effective learning environments as one of their defining features, there is limited research on these universities’ innovative use of technologies to transform their curricula design and delivery. This research explores the extent to which educational technology has been integrated into the implementation of new and revised educational programs under the Strategic Transformation of Educational Programs and Structures (STEPS) at a UoT. The research employed document analysis and interview data from middle level managers (deans), curriculum designers and educational technologists. The findings suggest that, except for one faculty where educational technology was an enduring feature of the design and delivery of curricula programs, technology played a peripheral role in the design and reorganization phases although it featured more in the implementation of curricula programs under STEPS. The paper concludes that the innovative use of technology, a holistic teaching and learning strategy, and training of educators on technology integration are critical in achieving total integration of educational technology into curricula programs

Exploring the Use and Adoption of Workplace Automation through Metaphors: A Discourse Dynamics Analysis

Organizational metaphors represent an important study area in the information systems (IS) field. In this paper, I review previous work on organizational metaphors in IS research and build on this work by proposing a discourse dynamics approach to metaphors as an alternative lens for conceptualizing and studying IS metaphors. With this approach, one can recast organizational metaphors from something that researchers commonly perceive as detached from the subjects they investigate—a view fixed in much IS thinking—to something that results from both language and the mind, that has a situational nature, and that individuals can deploy in flexible and dynamic ways. Drawing on in-depth focus group studies, I illustrate the discourse dynamics approach via analyzing metaphors that individuals made in describing workplace automation. With this study, I not only raise new questions in relation to theorizing about and analyzing organizational metaphors in IS research but also illustrate metaphors’ usefulness as a form of sense making to generate fresh insights into the implications that arise from adopting and using workplace automation that remain unnoticed if one used more conventional methods

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