Thesis (Th. M.)--Regent College, 2002. / Abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 220-229).

Thesis (M. A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2005. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

This thesis presents a formal and functional analysis of footnotes In academic journal articles. In Chapter One a brief account of the recent history of Genre Analysis Studies leading to a definition of footnotes Is given. Also given is an account of the differences and similarities between footnotes and some other germane conventional structures (viz, parentheticals and asides) that may carry out similar functions to those that footnotes realize. Reasons why writers use footnotes are suggested and discussed. The work Is based on a corpus of 10 linguistics journal articles comprising 113 footnotes. In the search for a framework in Chapter Two, the relevant literature on text and discourse analysis studies is carefully examined and applied to a sample of the data used for the present work. A classification of the functions to which the article writers have put their footnotes Is offered In Chapter Three. The Chapter ends with a discussio. of the. cxttexta wttte.cs lzase. their footnoting decisions on. The cohesion and coherence relations between footnotes, the 'matrix text exit sentence' (i.e. the sentence tagged by the footnote) and the 'matrix text re-entry sentence' (i.e. the sentence following the one tagged by the footnote) had been Investigated In the context of cohesion and coherence theories and Winter's "Clause Relations". An experiment was conducted to test the coherence and cohesion relations between 'matrix text exit sentences' and footnotes. The issue of whether footnotes present new or old information Is then taken up and the literature on the THENE-RHEME dichotomy is reviewed with a view to shedding further light on footnotes. Chapter Five Is concerned with the question of whether footnotes help or hinder the reader and the reading process and the results are statistically analyzed. Readers' attitudes towards footnotes are surveyed through the use of a questionnaire. Also addressed are the Issues of: the utility of footnotes to readers and the purposes for which readers consult footnotes. In Chapter Six some linguistic features recurring In footnotes (e.g. formulaic expressions, the frequent use of proper names, hedges, etc.) are studied. The results of the study suggest that the employment of footnotes Is a compensatory strategy on the part of writers to overcome the problem of being over/under informative especially when an article is targeted at a multiple audience. This thesis, In addition to the fact that It provides a coverage of a neglected but intrinsically InterestIng and important genre (FOOTNOTES), makes certain theoretical and pedagogical suggestions and identifies further issues for future research which are presented on in Chapter Seven.

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Diss. Göteborg : Göteborgs universitet, 2009.

This ethnographic study explored everyday lived experiences of a group of Latina women in school and in the community in an Adult Basic Education (ABE) setting. I examined the functions of discourse in ABE in literacy events (Heath, 1983). In this way, I gained insights into literacy practices through ethnography of communication (Heath, 1983; Hymes, 1972, 1977; Philips, 1993; Saville-Troike, 2003). Narratives provided insights about what was communicated in everyday interactions.In a "teaching to the test" ideological environment, the Latina participants in this study shared knowledge and experiences and created a unique sociocultural (Vygotsky, 1978) context for learning. Over time, a community of practice (Wenger, 1998) developed through mutual engagement, joint effort, and shared repertoire which included in and out of school literacies. Salient was the collaborative effort among a local community center, community college, and school district which strived to meet the needs of Latina/o students and their families. These multiple communities of practice provided a support network integral to sustaining a community of learners.The backdrop of this study, an American-Mexican Southwest border region, was the cultural context in which American education and Latinas' Sonora Mexican world views met. This hybrid space or borderlands Anzaldua (1987) described as a place where two cultures merged to form a third culture. In practice, this hybrid space was explored in discursive practices which provided an alternative space, a third space (Moje, Cicechanowski, Kramer, Ellis, Carrillo, & Collazo, 2004) in which identities were negotiated. Participants negotiated to find balance, a synergy between change and maintenance, which was ongoing as they struggled to maintain a traditional world view while accommodating new ideas.Integral to ongoing identity construction were the relationships with language, learning, and conversation. A story emerged from daily acts and events that reflected negotiated individual and social identities in the practice of literacy, teaching, and learning. This study demonstrates the insights ethnographic investigations can bring to understanding the functions of discourse in the construction of identity and socialization into learning.

Human trafficking is one of today’s largest shadow economies and even though efforts of all kind have been accomplished throughout the years the number of trafficked persons continue to increase. The United Nations together with the European Union as well as the Association of South East Asian Nations cover three areas with different political and social cultures. All three have developed several documents on how to combat the phenomenon but do they understand and respond to the issue in a comprehensive manner? The intention of this study is to investigate whether the UN, EU and ASEAN approach trafficking in human beings in the same manner. By using the method critical discourse analysis, documents such as protocols and strategies from the three organizations have been object of the analysis. With six dimensions divided into two discourses; understanding and response to human trafficking – the analysis resulted in the understanding that the three organizations approach the issue similarly, but that EU and ASEAN put different aspects of the phenomenon in focus.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 89-90).