The conditions for the reproduction of the SAGUAPAC water cooperative in the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia : discourse analysis

The SAGUAPAC cooperative in the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra (Eastern Bolivia) is regularly presented as an example of cooperative successes regarding water supply and sanitation. Its efficiency, both economic and technical, is widely considered as the main reason for its attractiveness. However, without denying its importance, we show, through a discourse analysis from and about SAGUAPAC in local media, that moral and non-instrumental factors are crucial in the reproduction of the cooperative. These factors create attachment and affection toward the cooperative, through a storytelling using a four-dimensional rhetoric (mythification, identification, emotionalisation and personification). This storytelling technique, internalized in the local media discourse and materializing the so-called new spirit of capitalism, exploits the affects and instrumentalisation of local myths and legends, as well as the 'camba' ethnic identity. In that, it tends to retain SAGUAPAC members and to canvass new ones, by providing them with recognition in their quality of local community members. However, the mobilisation of social norms and power hierarchies might end up reinforcing the social exclusion of Andean non-camba immigrants, inspite of an a priori inclusive and democratic organisation.

Myyttinen nainen johtajana – diskurssianalyysi ”naisjohtajan” kuvan rakentumisesta mediatekstissä

Tutkielman tavoitteena on selvittää, minkälaisista näkökulmista naisesta johtajana kirjoitetaan ja löytyykö mediateksteistä viittauksia myytteihin, arkkityyppeihin tai stereotypioihin. Tutkimusmenetelmänä käytetään diskurssianalyysiä, jonka avulla valittuja tekstejä tutkitaan. Tässä tutkimuksessa media on rajattu käsittämään sanoma- ja aikakauslehdet. Media muokkaa, mallintaa ja uusintaa lukijan käsityksiä naisesta johtajana. Mediatekstissä johtajuus määrittyy miehisen maailmankuvan kautta. Roolijako miehen ja naisen välillä on kirjoituksissa selvä. Naiseen johtajana liitetään sukupuoli, perhe ja yksityiselämä, mies mielletään kirjoituksissa pelkästään johtajaksi. Perheen merkitys naisen johtajakuvassa on hyvin voimakas. Asenteiden ja uskomusten muutostarpeet ovat olemassa, mutta muutokset tapahtuvat hyvin hitaasti. Media ylläpitää ja uusintaa vanhoja arvoja ja asenteita. Myytit, arkkityypit ja stereotypiat vaikuttavat alitajuisesti sosiaalisen todellisuuden rakentumiseen. Ne säilyvät ja vaikuttavat kansantaruissa, mytologioissa ja uskomuksissa, kuten myös mediatekstissä. Medialla voidaan katsoa olevan merkitystä ”naisjohtajan” kuvan rakentumiseen.

Representations of work and worker in the three generations of knowledge management. Critical Discourse Analysis of selected texts.

The thesis studies the representations of different elements of contemporary work as present in Knowledge Management (KM). KM is approached as management discourse that is seen to affect and influence managerial practices in organizations. As representatives of KM discourse four journal articles are analyzed, using the methodology of Critical Discourse Analysis and the framework of Critical Management Studies, with a special emphasis on the question of structure and agency. The results of the analysis reveal that structural elements such as information technology and organizational structures are strongly present in the most influential KM representations, making their improvement also a desirable course of action for managers. In contrast agentic properties are not in a central role, they are subjugated to structural constraints of varying kind and degree. The thesis claims that one such constraint is KM discourse itself, influencing managerial and organizational choices and decision making. The thesis concludes that the way human beings are represented, studied and treated in management studies such as KM needs to be re-examined. Pro gradu-tutkielmassa analysoidaan työhön ja sen tekijään liittyviä representaatioita Tietojohtamisen kirjallisuudessa. Tietojohtamista tarkastellaan liikkeenjohdollisena diskurssina, jolla nähdään olevan vaikutus organisaatioiden päätöksentekoon ja toimintaan. Tutkielmassa analysoidaan neljä Tietojohtamisen tieteellistä artikkelia, käyttäen metodina kriittistä diskurssianalyysiä. Tutkielman viitekehyksenä on kriittinen liikkeenjohdon tutkimus. Lisäksi työssä pohditaan kysymystä rakenteen ja toimijan välisestä vuorovaikutuksesta. Tutkielman analyysi paljastaa, että tietojohtamisen vaikutusvaltaisimmat representaatiot painottavat rakenteellisia tekijöitä, kuten informaatioteknologiaa ja organisaatiorakenteita. Tämän seurauksena mm. panostukset em. tekijöihin nähdään organisaatioissa toivottavana toimintana. Vastaavasti representaatiot jotka painottavat yksilöitä ja toimintaa ovat em. tekijöille alisteisessa asemassa. Tapaa, jolla yksilöitä kuvataan ja käsitellään Tietojohtamisen diskurssissa, tulisikin laajentaa ja monipuolistaa.

Naturaliser la procréation médicalement assistée : sens commun et représentations en dialogue

La constante évolution des biotechnologies de la procréation médicalement assistée (PMA) introduit des nouveautés qui perturbent les représentations de la famille et du « naturel » de la procréation notamment. Ces nouveautés engendrent des préoccupations aussi bien sociales qu'individuelles sur la légitimité et les conditions du recours à la PMA. Partant d'une approche dialogique de la communication, du langage et de la cognition ainsi que de la théorie des représentations sociales, nous faisons l'hypothèse que ces perturbations sont traitées différemment selon l'activité communicative dans laquelle les individus sont engagés. Nous avons alors travaillé à partir de deux corpus de données relevant d'un type d'activité communicative différent : un corpus de presse, de l'ordre d'un discours générique, portant sur la grossesse dite « tardive » (post-ménopause) et un corpus d'entretiens de recherche, de l'ordre d'un discours singulier, avec des couples qui ont recouru à la PMA, et portant sur la cryoconservation des zygotes. Nous appuyant sur les méthodes de l'analyse thématique et de l'analyse de discours, nous centrons notre examen sur les représentations sociales de la maternité (corpus de presse) et du « naturel » (corpus d'entretiens). Nous analysons ce que ces discours permettent d'accomplir socialement, étudions le rapport qu'ils établissent à l'ordre social et symbolique et interrogeons leurs fonctions en termes de processus de « naturalisation » de la PMA. Nos résultats montrent que les nouveautés de la PMA forcent les individus à se (re)positionner dans le champ des valeurs et des normes, lis montrent aussi que, dans ce contexte, les représentations sociales existantes sont mobilisées de différentes manières en fonction des visées argumentatives poursuivies. Ceci impliquant, par ailleurs, si ce n'est une transformation, du moins un renouvellement des représentations. Ils indiquent en outre que, bien que le discours de presse et celui des entretiens ne servent pas exactement les mêmes objectifs, leurs effets de « naturalisation » de la PMA sont comparables en termes de (re)construction de la norme. D'un point de vue dialogique, ils permettent aussi d'avancer que les polémiques sociales et individuelles sont non seulement articulées mais se co-constituent. Ils témoignent aussi du fait que la référence au « naturel » renvoie, plus qu'à un problème de perturbation de la « nature », à l'idée d'une menace de l'ordre social et symbolique. De ce point de vue, les réflexions sur les pratiques de PMA méritent d'être menées par la psychologie sociale et les sciences humaines et sociales plus largement. -- The constant evolution of biotechnologies of medically assisted procreation (MAP) introduces novelties that disturb representations of the family and, notably, of what is considered « natural » in procreation. These novelties give rise to social and individual questions about the legitimacy and the conditions of the use of MAP. Drawing upon a dialogical approach to communication, language and cognition, as well as social representations theory, a hypothesis is advanced that these disturbances are handled differently, depending on the communicative activity individuals are engaged in. Two corpuses of data, representing different communicative activity types, were used: a press corpus, reflecting a generic discourse on "late" pregnancy (post-menopause), and a research interviews corpus, reflecting particular discourses developed by couples who used MAP and have cryopreserved zygotes. Using methods of thematic and discourse analysis, the study focuses on social representations of pregnancy (press corpus) and of the "natural" (interviews corpus). The analysis questions what these discourses enable to achieve socially, how they relate to the social and symbolic order, as well as their function in "naturalising" MAP. The results show that MAP novelties force individuals to (re)position themselves in the field of values and norms. They also show that, in this context, existing social representations are mobilised in different ways depending on the argumentative aims that are being pursued. This implies, if not a transformation, at minimum a renewal of representations. Additionally the results indicate that, although press and interviews discourses might not serve the same aims, their effects on "naturalising" MAP are comparable in terms of (re)constructing the norm. From a dialogical perspective, the findings also allow us to argue that social and individual polemics are not only articulated with one another but are effectively co-constituted. They also evidence the fact that the reference to the "natural" brings forth, more than a problem of disturbing "nature", a threat to the social and symbolic order. From this perspective, reflections on MAP practices deserve further attention within social psychology and social and human sciences at large.

Narrative discourse in interviews to linguistically mixed couples

This article deals with self-referential storytelling in sociolinguistic interviews. It analyzes the personal stories in ten interviews to linguistically heterogeneous couples. For this purpose, it is applied the model of linguistic analysis of drama (Bruner & Weisser 1991) and it identifies and interprets discursive markers of autobiographical storytelling. Therefore it takes into consideration the elements referred to agents and to their actions, to the sequences of events, to the canon or rule, and to the narrator's perspective. At the same time, it proposes to extend our approach to the existence itself of the participants. Resumen.-"Discurso narrativo en entrevistas a parejas lingüísticamente mixtas". Este artículo trata de las narraciones autorreferenciales en entrevistas sociolingüísticas sobre concepciones y usos de las lenguas en familias lingüísticamente mixtas. Analiza los relatos que aparecen en diez entrevistas a padres y madres que forman parejas lingüísticamente heterogéneas. Aplica el modelo de análisis lingüístico del dramatismo (Bruner & Weisser 1991). Identifica e interpreta los marcadores discursivos de la narración autobiográfica. Con este propósito considera los constituyentes que se refieren a los agentes y sus acciones, a las secuencias de sucesos, al canon o norma y a la perspectiva del narrador. Y propone la ampliación del estudio a los guiones de vida de lo actores. Palabras clave: entrevista, relato, narración, pareja, política lingüística de la familia, multilingüismo, marcador discursivo.

Tellability

Tellability is a notion that was first developed in conversational storytelling analysis but which then proved extensible to all kinds of narrative, referring to features that make a story worth telling, its "noteworthiness." Tellability (sometimes designated "narratibility" or "reportability") is dependent on the nature of specific incidents judged by storytellers to be significant or surprising and worthy of being reported in specific contexts, thus conferring a "point" on the story. The breaching of a canonical development tends to transform a mere incident into a tellable event, but the tellability of a story can also rely on purely contextual parameters (e.g. the newsworthiness of an event); in conversation it is often negotiated and progressively co-constructed through discursive interaction. Tellability may also be dependent on discourse features, i.e. on the way in which a sequence of incidents is rendered in a narrative.

A framework for the analysis of CLIL lecturers’ discourse from a genre perspective

Internationalization strategies and the European Space of Higher Education are causing a growing interest in English medium instruction (EMI). University linguistic and internationalization policies are attempting to provide lectures with the required training and education. Linguists can supply not only the knowledge of the language but the knowledge about language which may enable lecturers to increase their academic language competence autonomously. This paper presents a framework for the analysis of lecturers’ discourse to trigger reflection about the linguistic needs in CLIL/EMI contexts.

Gleevec, an Abl family inhibitor, produces a profound change in cell shape and migration (in press)

The issue of how contractility and adhesion are related to cell shape and migration pattern remains largely unresolved. In this paper we report that Gleevec (Imatinib), an Abl family kinase inhibitor, produces a profound change in the shape and migration of rat bladder tumor cells (NBTII) plated on collagen-coated substrates. Cells treated with Gleevec adopt a highly spread D-shape and migrate more rapidly with greater persistence. Accompanying this more spread state is an increase in integrin-mediated adhesion coupled with increases in the size and number of discrete adhesions. In addition, both total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy (TIRFM) and interference reflection microscopy (IRM) revealed a band of small punctate adhesions with rapid turnover near the cell leading margin. These changes led to an increase in global cell-substrate adhesion strength, as assessed by laminar flow experiments. Gleevec-treated cells have greater RhoA activity which, via myosin activation, led to an increase in the magnitude of total traction force applied to the substrate. These chemical and physical alterations upon Gleevec treatment produce the dramatic change in morphology and migration that is observed.

Who's fault is it ? : An analysis of the press coverage of football betting scandals in France and the United Kingdom

Sport betting is a lucrative business for bookmakers, for the lucky (or wise) punters, but also for governments and for sport. While not new or even recent, the deviances linked to sport betting, primarily match-fixing, have gained increased media exposure in the past decade. This exploratory study is a qualitative content analysis of the press coverage of sport betting-related deviances in football in two countries (UK and France), using in each case two leading national publications over a period of five years. Data analysis indicates a mounting coverage of sport betting scandals, with teams, players and criminals increasingly framed as culprits, while authorities and federations primarily assume a positive role. As for the origin of sport betting deviances, French newspapers tend to blame the system (in an abstract way); British newspapers, in contrast, focus more on individual weaknesses, notably greed. This article contributed to the growing body of literature on the importance of these deviances and on the way they are perceived by sport organizations, legislators and the public at large.