1,117 research outputs found
Local political leadership and the modernisation of local government
Political leadership has been a key element of central governmentâs attempts to âmoderniseâ local government over the past decade, within a discourse that emphasised âstrongâ and âvisibleâ leadership and the role of leaders and leadership in driving change within local authorities. In the context of such an approach, and also taking account of academic discourse, this article draws upon interviews with nearly thirty individuals in leadership positions in local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales to assess their experiences of leadership and their views of some aspects of the role and work of councils. It suggests that whilst there is broad convergence between the aspirations of government and the narratives that emerge from these leaders on some aspects of local political leadership, there are also differences, perhaps most notably over the relationship between changes to decision making structures and the loci of political power
Open borders, closed minds: the discursive construction of national identity in North Cyprus
The article investigates the discursive construction of a Turkish Cypriot national
identity by the newspapers in North Cyprus. It questions the representation and
reconstruction processes of national identity within the press and examines the
various practices employed to mobilize readers around certain national imaginings.
Using Critical Discourse Analysis, the article analyses news reports of the opening of
border crossings in Cyprus in 2003, based on their content, the strategies used in the
production of national identity and the linguistic means employed in the process. In this
way, the nationalist tendencies embedded in news discourses, as well as discriminatory
and exclusive practices, are sought out
Influence of correlations on molecular recognition
The influence of the patchiness and correlations in the distribution of
hydrophobic and polar residues at the interface between two rigid biomolecules
on their recognition ability is investigated in idealised coarse-grained
lattice models. A general two-stage approach is utilised where an ensemble of
probe molecules is designed first and the recognition ability of the probe
ensemble is related to the free energy of association with both the target
molecule and a different rival molecule in a second step. The influence of
correlation effects are investigated using numerical Monte Carlo techniques and
mean field methods. Correlations lead to different optimum characteristic
lengths of the hydrophobic and polar patches for the mutual design of the two
biomolecules on the one hand and their recognition ability in the presence of
other molecules on the other hand.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figure
The role of metaphor in shaping the identity and agenda of the United Nations: the imagining of an international community and international threat
This article examines the representation of the United Nations in speeches delivered by its Secretary General. It focuses on the role of metaphor in constructing a common âimaginingâ of international diplomacy and legitimising an international organisational identity. The SG legitimises the organisation, in part, through the delegitimisation of agents/actions/events constructed as threatening to the international community and to the well-being of mankind. It is a desire to combat the forces of menace or evil which are argued to motivate and determine the organisational agenda. This is predicated upon an international ideology of humanity in which difference is silenced and âworking towards the common goodâ is emphasised. This is exploited to rouse emotions and legitimise institutional power. Polarisation and antithesis are achieved through the employment of metaphors designed to enhance positive and negative evaluations. The article further points to the constitutive, persuasive and edifying power of topic and situationally-motivated metaphors in speech-making
Fantasies of subjugation: a discourse theoretical account of British policy on the European Union
The decision by the UK government to hold a referendum on Britainâs membership of the European Union (EU) marks an important development in policy towards the EU. Policy changes of this kind must be understood in the historical and political context in which they occur. This includes the framing of the policy issues within public discourse. In the UK, policies are formed in a discursive environment which is overwhelmingly hostile towards the EU. Debates are structured by a predominantly Euroskeptic discourse which emphasizes the UKâs separation and heterogeneity from the rest of the EU. Drawing on the logics of critical explanation, this article examines the structure and affective power of Euroskeptic discourses which dictate the terms of the EU debate. It presents a case study of the recent EU treaty revision process, culminating in the Treaty of Lisbon. In so doing, it enables a deeper understanding of recent policy developments
Practical reasoning in political discourse: The UK government's response to the economic crisis in the 2008 Pre-Budget Report
This article focuses on practical reasoning in political discourse and argues for a better integration of argumentation theory with critical discourse analysis (CDA). Political discourse and its specific genres (for example, deliberation) primarily involve forms of practical reasoning, typically oriented towards finding solutions to problems and deciding on future courses of action. Practical reasoning is a form of inference from cognitive and motivational premises: from what we believe (about the situation or about meansâend relations) and what we want or desire (our goals and values), leading to a normative judgement (and often a decision) concerning action. We offer an analysis of the main argument in the UK governmentâs 2008 Pre-Budget Report (HM Treasury, 2008) and suggest how a critical evaluation of the argument from the perspective of a normative theory of argumentation (particularly the informal logic developed by Douglas Walton) can provide the basis for an evaluation in terms of characteristic CDA concerns. We are advancing this analysis as a contribution to CDA, aimed at increasing the rigour and systematicity of its analyses of political discourse, and as a contribution to the normative concerns of critical social science
Gendered Representations of Male and Female Social Actors in Iranian Educational Materials
This research investigates the representations of gendered social actors within the subversionary discourse of equal educational opportunities for males and females in Iranian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) books. Using critical discourse analysis (CDA) as the theoretical framework, the authors blend van Leeuwenâs (Texts and practices: Readings in critical discourse analysis, Routledge, London, 2003) âSocial Actor Network Modelâ and Sunderlandâs (Gendered discourses, Palgrave Macmillan, Hampshire, 2004) âGendered Discourses Modelâ in order to examine the depictions of male and female social actors within this gendered discourse. The gendered discourse of equal opportunities was buttressed by such representations within a tight perspective in proportion to gender ideologies prevailing in Iran. Resorting to CDA, we can claim that resistance against such gendered discourse in Iranian EFL textbooks militates against such gender norms. These representations of male and female social actors in school books are indicative of an all-encompassing education, reinforcing that the discourse of equal opportunities is yet to be realized in the education system of Iran
The study of metaphor as part of Critical Discourse Analysis
This article discusses how the study of metaphoric and more generally, figurative language use contributes to critical discourse analysis (CDA). It shows how cognitive linguistsâ recognition of metaphor as a fundamental means of concept- and argument-building can add to CDA's account of meaning constitution in the social context. It then discusses discrepancies between the early model of conceptual metaphor theory and empirical data and argues that discursive-pragmatic factors as well as sociolinguistic variation have to be taken into account in order to make cognitive analyses more empirically and socially relevant. In conclusion, we sketch a modified cognitive approach informed by Relevance Theory within CDA
'Foreigners are stealing our birth right': Moral panics and the discursive construction of Zimbabwean immigrants in South African media
We examine 575 randomly selected articles on Zimbabwean immigrants from the South African
Media (SAM) database to expose discourses of exclusion and the production of the psycho-social
condition - moral panic. We use critical discourse analysis, notions of remediation and immediacy
to scrutinize discourse structures and other discursive strategies designed to conceal mediation
and authorial prejudices, and to make the reader 'experience' the actual content. In addition to
making the anti-immigrant rhetoric appear legitimate, and the danger immediate and real, we
argue that the apparent seamless content is often biased by selection and structured in such a way
as to deny voice to immigrants and their advocates. Among other things, we conclude that since
the readers' interpretations are filtered through lenses of subjectivities defined by communicative
contexts characterized by job scarcity, poverty, crime and wanting healthcare, the news content
heightens anxiety and miseducates more than it enlightens readers on migration issues. Hence
there is a danger of SAM becoming unwitting conveyors of the same vices they preach against.IS
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