Social inclusion for whom and towards what end? A critical discourse analysis of youth and sport policies in Turkey

This article examines the social inclusion policy strategies of the Turkish Ministry of Youth and Sport (MYS). Using a critical discourse analysis, based on Norman Fairclough’s work (2012), the aim is to analyse the discourses used within policy-related documents regarding social inclusion, youth, and sport. In order to achieve this objective, we analysed 15 key documents, including annual activity reports, national youth and sport policy documents, and strategic plans produced by the Ministry. Findings revealed that the dominant discourses about young people seem to be embedded within neoliberal and neoconservative ideologies in which depoliticised notions of ‘employment/apprenticeship’ and ‘the family’ are put forward as solutions for the social inclusion of young people. However, such a discourse risks further sustaining the social exclusion of youth, denying their full citizenship.     

Dictating the boundaries of ab/normality: a critical discourse analysis of the diagnostic criteria for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and hyperkinetic disorder

In this article we report the findings of a critical discourse analysis of the diagnostic criteria for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and hyperkinetic disorder (HD) in two clinical manuals – Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition and International Classification of Diseases, 10th edition. We examine the actions (behaviors) that are said to indicate the presence of ADHD/HD and analyze what the inclusion of these actions reveals about the relationship between ADHD/HD, cultural knowledge, and values. Our analysis reveals that both manuals use subjective, value-laden language to construct a mentally ill individual in opposition to an unseen, supposedly ‘normal’ person. We argue that the current criteria draw into question whether ADHD/HD meets the manuals’ own definitions of a disorder, and further that the discourse of the manuals is intertwined with the everyday practices of schools and serve to legitimize status quo educational practices.     

Public relations and strategic issues management challenges in Venezuela: A discourse analysis of Crystallex International Corporation in Las Cristinas

This investigation, using critical discourse analysis (CDA), seeks to develop an understanding of strategic issues management through Crystallex International Corporation’s discursive construction and management of legitimacy in the Las Cristinas mine in Venezuela. This analysis of the Las Cristinas case unearths elements that could provide useful insights about the Latin American environment in general and public relations efforts in that region specifically. Additionally, this analysis contributes to ongoing efforts of finding the most effective public relations practices for this particular part of the world, as well as help to highlight what constitutes a “fully functioning society” [Heath, R. (2006). A rhetorical theory approach to issues management. In C. Botan & V. Hazelton (Eds.), Public relations theory II (pp. 63–99). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates: Mahwah, NJ] in developing countries.     

The representation of multicultural values in the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture-Endorsed EFL textbook: a critical discourse analysis

In transcultural and transnational communication settings, English learners have to be able to communicate with people from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds. For this reason, English as a foreign language (EFL) textbooks, for instance, not only promote Anglo-American and British cultures but also include both EFL learners’ home and international cultures. The present discourse study looks at the cultural content of a nationally adopted EFL textbook in Indonesia. It particularly investigates multicultural values represented in the EFL textbook geared for senior high school students. Findings of the study reveal that four themes of multicultural values emerge from the textbook, such as: (1) respect for cultures of different ethnic and religious groups; (2) respect for cultures of indigenous people; (3) conflict avoidance and peace with all forms of life and nature; and (4) appreciation of creative cultural products. The implications of this textual study suggest that as English plays an increasingly important role as a global lingua franca, multicultural materials from outer and expanding circle countries need to be added to English language teaching (ELT) textbooks. Therefore, English teachers should creatively teach multicultural aspects and use multimodal materials to engage students in culturally laden language-learning tasks.     

Lived experience of Iranian bisexual women: a thematic analysis

Abstract

Normative homo-sociality, physical sex-segregation and other oppressive gender politics in Iran raise questions about the development of bisexuality as an “identity” among Iranian women. This study examines the lived experience of Iranian bisexual women. Six self-identified bisexual women were recruited by two announcements in Iranian LGBTI community social media. After in-depth online interviews, data were coded and analyzed by inductive thematic analysis method. Seventeen themes in three broad patterns (identity, social structure and relationship) are found across and within the data. Themes such as biphobia, confusion and self-definition are in concordance with studies of the western bisexual population. Themes related to social structure are unique and reflect the particular socio-cultural condition of non-heterosexual women in Iran.     

Critical discourse analysis of perspectives on knowledge and the knowledge society within the Sustainable Development Goals

Critical discourse analysis (CDA) is employed to analyze discourses of knowledge and the knowledge society in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Discourse analysis is a collective name for a number of scientific methodologies for analyzing semiosis, namely how meaning is created and communicated though written, vocal or sign language. Employing a genealogical approach which locates discourses in the field of prior discourses, two prior discourses of the knowledge society are identified in the key document of the SDGs. The concepts knowledge and knowledge society are found to have a marginal position within the main policy document “Transforming our world,” adopted by the United Nations in September 2015. The techno‐scientific‐economic discourse is found to be dominant at the level of implementation and of goals, while there is some evidence of the pluralist‐participatory discourse at the level of vision and strategy. Analysis of some of the policy advice provided by international organizations and civil society indicates that more pluralist‐participatory discourses on knowledge were represented when the SDGs were being formulated. Developed countries and the corporate sector were very influential in determining the final text and were probably instrumental in excluding more transformational discourses and maintaining the status quo.     

Discourse of segregation and inclusion: a discourse analysis of a Russian newspaper for teachers

In Russia, children with disabilities have limited access to inclusive education. This article presents the findings of a discourse analysis of 32 newspaper articles focused on the education of children with disabilities, all of which appeared in a Russian newspaper for teachers. We identified two discursive patterns about the education of children with disabilities: preserving a special approach and removing barriers. These patterns highlighted the tensions that exist between the long-standing medical approach to special education and the emergent, inclusive initiatives. Our findings emphasize the need to create space for the perspectives of people with disabilities to be heard, while also serving to shape the future direction of the educational systems within Russia.     

Corporate sustainability as a hegemonic discourse of globalization: The discourse-historical approach as a critical issues and stakeholder analysis tool

Corporate social responsibility, and its other conceptual variants such as corporate sustainability, encourages businesses to act on a range of issues outside what the law and shareholders require. But what are the limits of the concept and its discursive practices in a globalizing world marked by accentuated asymmetrical power relations between businesses, and the communities they operate in and serve (especially corporations working in less powerful global peripheries), and the regulators who are expected to police them? This study uses the discourse-historical approach (DHA) and corporate sustainability framework (CSF) to analyze a British independent oil production firm’s—Tullow—communication. It illustrates the utility of the DHA and the CSF for doing critical stakeholder and issues analysis from corporate communication texts. Second, it argues that corporate sustainability illustrates the power asymmetry between the global and local, corporations and community. Specifically, we observe how a petroleum firm uses sustainability discourse, as a form of hegemonic globalization, to perpetuate dominant tropes and conceptions about African local communities as homogeneous and lacking agency, commodifying the lived experiences of the locals in the process while entrenching the superiority of the firm’s own position as a ‘benevolent dictator.’ We also illustrate how particular mitigation and intensification discourse techniques are employed to uphold Tullow as a ‘do-good’ actor. The corporation’s discursive strategies have a cumulative effect of cementing the power asymmetry that already exists between the firm as an agent of a dominant center of global power and Ghanaian communities as less powerful interests in the globalization process. Suggestions for disrupting the hegemony are provided.     

‘English… it's part of our blood’: Ideologies of language and nation in United States Congressional discourse

Utilizing a combination of corpus linguistics and critical discourse analysis, the article describes ideologies of United States (U.S.) national identity based in civic and ethnic nationalisms. These ideologies circulated during debates and hearings in the U.S. Congress concerning the 2006 reauthorization of provisions of the Voting Rights Act requiring that multilingual voting materials be made available for language minorities in certain jurisdictions. The article argues that although those legislators supporting the use of multilingual voting materials construct an ideology of civic nationalism that promotes inclusion of language minorities, they are still greatly influenced by the dominant language ideology. Those opposing multilingual voting materials construct a U.S. national identity that places stringent requirements on newcomers to assimilate and learn English. These legislators simultaneously attempt to avoid the suspicion of ethnic nationalist ideologies by arguing that English is a neutral entity, detaching it from its dominant linguistic community. The findings suggest that despite Congressional support for multilingual voting materials, the language ideologies present in Congress are not necessarily favorable to the rights of language minorities. These findings have language policy implications in that they suggest opposition to a right to language for linguistic minorities in the U.S.     

Social network and content analysis of the North American Carbon Program as a scientific community of practice

The North American Carbon Program (NACP) was formed to further the scientific understanding of sources, sinks, and stocks of carbon in Earth's environment. Carbon cycle science integrates multidisciplinary research, providing decision-support information for managing climate and carbon-related change across multiple sectors of society. This investigation uses the conceptual framework of communities of practice (CoP) to explore the role that the NACP has played in connecting researchers into a carbon cycle knowledge network, and in enabling them to conduct physical science that includes ideas from social science. A CoP describes the communities formed when people consistently engage in shared communication and activities toward a common passion or learning goal. We apply the CoP model by using keyword analysis of abstracts from scientific publications to analyze the research outputs of the NACP in terms of its knowledge domain. We also construct a co-authorship network from the publications of core NACP members, describe the structure and social pathways within the community. Results of the content analysis indicate that the NACP community of practice has substantially expanded its research on human and social impacts on the carbon cycle, contributing to a better understanding of how human and physical processes interact with one another. Results of the co-authorship social network analysis demonstrate that the NACP has formed a tightly connected community with many social pathways through which knowledge may flow, and that it has also expanded its network of institutions involved in carbon cycle research over the past seven years.     

Discourses of service user involvement in meeting places in Norwegian community mental health care: a discourse analysis of staff accounts

In previous research, meeting places have been favourably addressed by service users, but they have also been contested as exclusionary. In this participatory explorative study, we sought to perform a contextual analysis of meeting places in Norway based on a discourse analysis of three focus group discussions with 15 staff members. We asked the following question: how do meeting-place employees discuss their concrete and abstract encounters with service users and their experiences? We focused on service user involvement, which was largely analysed as neoliberal consultation and responsibilisation. Service users were positioned as resisting responsibility trickling down and defending staffed meeting places. Social democratic discourse was identified in the gaps of neoliberal discourse, which is noteworthy given that Norway is a social democracy. This relates to global concerns about displacements of democracy. We suggest that meeting places appear to hold the potential for staff and service users to collaborate more democratically.     

The problem of intersectionality as an approach to digital activism: the Women’s March on Washington’s attempt to unite all women

ABSTRACT

This study examined the convergence of activism and intersectionality to understand how communicators create messages about social justice issues using social media. This is particularly relevant for public relations today, as digital activism almost ubiquitously involves bringing together conflicting publics who are active and social media-savvy, meanwhile maintaining an organizational brand/mission. Using the 2017 Women’s March on Washington (WMW) as an object of study, we explored how campaign messages reflected principles of intersectionality, consensus- and dissensus-based communication, and organizational self-reflection. We conducted a thematic analysis of posts from the WMW’s social media accounts as well as media quotes by the organizational leaders to get at the leaders’ intentions in their message design. Data suggested that messages of inclusivity as well as of necessary discord were employed to enact political change for WMW’s publics. We argue that although the WMW was not wholly intersectional, particularly in determining its political agenda, the efforts toward intersectionality are notable for theory-building and reflective practice, particularly for social mediated campaigns. The study proposes a theory for digital intersectional communication to guide future research and advocacy work.