Thesis (Ph.D. (Communication Studies)) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / This thesis explored the narratives of Soviet survivors of the Soviet-Afghanistan War that lasted from 1979 to 1989. The purpose of this exploration was to gain an understanding of the individual arguments that these survivors were making in a published work by Belarussian literary journalist Svetlana Alexievich, in her book Zinky Boys: Soviet voices from the Afghanistan War, that was originally published in 1989, and translated into English in 1992. The thesis purpose was to determine the central public moral argument that the published work is making at the close of the Soviet-Afghan War. The body of literature reviewed and discussed in Chapter 3 helped frame the interpretative context for the study. The themes that emerged and captured there are all external in origin to the core text of Zinky Boys, and served a triangulatory purpose to some of the emic data that emerged in the process of analysis of the core text. One of the major influencers of the study is JC Behrends (2015b) who associated the concept of the Gewaltraum with the Soviet-Afghan War. The notion of agency that was advanced by Giddens in 1984 is equally of importance, as well as Milgram’s (1984) ideas of the agentic state and Obedience to Authority Theory. As theorists, Habermas’ (1991) advancement of the Theory of the Public Sphere and Fisher’s (1984) Narrative Paradigm, contribute to and influence the theoretical grounding of the study. The study followed the methodology of a textual analysis within the narrative turn, and utilised Fisher’s fidelity and probability tests as proposed within his narrative paradigm to construct a set of thematic intertexts, which provided compelling good reasons to accept the narratives of the survivors. In addition, Fisher’s (1984) differentiating features that set the public moral argument aside from reasoned discourse of the type used in more formal settings were applied to ensure that the public moral argument as derived from the text of Zinky Boys meets the requirements of a public moral argument. As a published work, the public moral argument emerging from Zinky Boys is a matter for the public sphere as Habermas (1991) envisages the sphere as a public space for public reasoned discourse in conflict with the political state. In this instance, it is specifically the Soviet public sphere, which is historically important as the Soviet-Afghan War concluded shortly before the dissolution of the Soviet Union. This thesis positions Zinky Boys as portraying the public moral argument of the Soviet survivors in the public sphere. The major findings of the thesis indicate that the Soviet Limited Contingent in Afghanistan were exposed to extreme levels of violence which is portrayed as a Gewaltraum (violent space). Secondly, the thesis finds that the agency of the Soviets in Afghanistan was often of a violent and abusive nature. A third finding indicates that participants in the war and their immediate family members, notably mothers, become victims of the psychological and physical impact of war. Finally, the finding is presented that the matter of the Soviet engagement in Afghanistan had become a matter for discussion in the public sphere. The resulting public moral argument positions the survivors of the Soviet-Afghan War as victims of the Soviet State due to their agentic state and psychological changes that they underwent in the Gewaltraum of Afghanistan, as well as the Soviet media campaign of disinformation and victimisation, and its effect on their standing as Soviet citizens and their inability to reintegrate successfully back into society. Key words Textual analysis; Intertextuality; Narrative journalism; Narrative paradigm; Phenomenology; Public Moral Argument; Public Sphere.

Every subject has a unique language that consists of concepts and different types of texts, in which subject-specific abilities are tested. In social studies, students learn abstract con- cepts and have abilities such as source evaluation tested. Based on the expression that all teachers are language teachers this study aims to examine the arguments brought forward regarding the need of social studies teachers to implement language work in their instruc- tion. Furthermore, the study aims to investigate how the same teachers are currently work- ing with language. Scientific publications from both national and international perspectives have been chosen, interpreted and analysed. Results show themes that cover the two re- search questions. Related to the first research question regarding arguments to implement language work in social studies, it is reasoned that subject-specific language differs from every day-language and that focus on language can give developed and broadened subject- specific knowledge. Moreover, the second research question, on the current implementa- tion of language from social studies teachers, indicate that students require support and multi-dimensional methods of teaching. Furthermore, the amount of knowledge in the area influences how and to what extent social studies teachers integrate language in their in- struction. Throughout the study, it is clear that students in social studies may benefit from a more language-focused teaching, which is highlighted through different perspectives.

Medborgarskapet har en betydande roll i alla delar av världen. Det kan ges till medborgare antingen vid födelse eller via en medborgarskaps anmäla. Vissa krav bör uppfyllas innan man ansöker om ett medborgarskap, men just nu debatterar en del partier i Sveriges riksdagen i syfte att försvåra medborgarskapskrav och föreslår språktester som ett krav inför medborgarskapsanmälan. Att inte få ett medborgarskap i ett land, kan det innebära utanförskap och olika rättigheter. Därför blir studiens syfte att undersöka om riksdagsdebatten har förändrats mellan år 2014 och 2022 gällande språkkravet, att se vilka ståndpunkter och argument som förekommer i riksdagsdebatten samt att ta reda på anledningar på partiernas agerande. Studien är en kvalitativ textanalys med inslag av innehållsanalys. För att utföra studien har all fakta i stor omfattning valts från riksdagens webbsida och andra trovärdiga sidor. Resultatet har visat en begriplig förändring i riksdagsdebatten vid de undersökta åren. 2014 har språkkrav inte ägt rum såsom att införa obligatoriska ceremonier, medan 2022 har flertal partier debatterat om vikten att införa språktester. Partiernas olika ställningstaganden har berott på den ideologiska- och strategiska aspekten, såsom att antingen sträva efter fler röster, vilket kräver förändringar eller att hålla fast vid en enda ideologin som inte kräver ändringar. Dessutom har partiernas ståndpunkter och argument kring språkkravet kopplats till det liberalistiska- och kommunitära synsättet. Forskaren har hävdat i slutsatsen att ett språkkrav är mindre viktigt att uppfyllas inför medborgarskapsansökan. Detta baseras på tidigare forskning som har uppvisat att språktester leder bland annat till utanförskap.

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How to design effective persuasive information security messages to motivate individuals’ engagement in recommended protective security behaviors has become a top priority in the information security field. Although fear appeals have been shown to be an effective means to influence individuals’ security-related protective behaviors, recent information security research has called for a deeper understanding of recipients’ information processing of messages to design effective fear appeals. Previous IS security research has explored two individuals’ information processing routes of security messages, the central route, and the peripheral route, and has investigated the impacts of central variables, perceived argument quality, and peripheral variables, perceived source credibility, on individuals’ security protective behaviors. However, it is not clear how personal disposition influences the process. Drawing on the elaboration likelihood model (ELM), this dissertation identifies need for cognition as an important factor that influences employees’ information processing (Study 1). Results show that need for cognition significantly moderates the relationship between perceived security argument quality and individuals’ behavioral intention. In addition, although most of the previous research has emphasized the importance of perceived argument quality (the central route) in influencing individuals’ security protective behaviors, the understanding of how to improve individuals’ perception of argument quality is far from conclusive. Thus this dissertation takes the view that the preference matching between message characteristics and recipients’ preference is one of the key mechanisms that increase individuals’ perceived security argument quality and behavioral intention. In particular, I conducted a multi-group experiment design to examine how preference matching, the matching between the rhetoric of a security message and recipients’ preferences for rhetoric (Study 2), influences individuals’ perception of security argument quality and behavioral intention to adopt the recommended security behavior. I found that preference matching significantly influences perceived argument quality and behavioral intention. The results have important theoretical and practical implications for designing effective information security messages to improve information security management in both personal and work environments

Several philosophical problems are based on an analogy between a real situation and a probabilistic model. Such problems are based on urn analogies. The present dissertation aims to describe and implement a methodology oriented towards the resolution of philosophical problems based on an urn analogy. This methodology is based on the use of the n-universes. To this end, I describe first the n-universes in a detailed way. I also discuss the difficulties of the theory of n-universes related to the demultiplication of the criteria and to the relation one/many between the objects and a given criterion.On the one hand, I present an application of the framework of n-universes to the Doomsday argument and to the problems recently appeared in the literature in keeping with the Doomsday argument. My concern is also with showing how the application of the framework of n-universes to several problems and thought experiments related to the Doomsday argument helps clarifying the problem data and making disappear the associated ambiguity. I present then an analysis of the following problems related to the Doomsday argument: the two urn case, God's Coin Toss, the Sleeping Beauty Problem, the Presumptuous Philosopher, Lazy Adam, and the Shooting-Room Paradox. I present lastly a solution to the Doomsday argument, based on a third route, by contrast to two types of solutions classically described.On the other hand, I present an application of the framework of n-universes to Goodman's paradox. I replace first Goodman's statement in the framework of n-universes. I propose then a solution to the paradox, based on a distinction between two different modelizations of Goodman's statement in two structurally different n-universes.

The purpose of this study is to map the ethical arguments presented in the Church of Sweden Bishops’ letter of "The Beginning and End of Life: Tools for Orientation in Ethical Choices", and to analyse and discuss these in relation to Sören Kierkegaard's philosophical concepts of choice, freedom and anxiety. The research questions focus on understanding Kierkegaard's view of choice, identifying the ethical arguments in the Bishops’ letter and investigating how Kierkegaard's concepts can contribute to a deeper understanding of the ethical arguments therein. The method includes conceptual analysis to clarify Kierkegaard's ideas and argumentation analysis to discuss the ethical arguments that appeared in the bishops’ letter. The study's questions are answered through the essay's two methods of a analysis, followed by a summary and conclusions. The study has shown that there are arguments in Sören Kierkegaard that contribute to deepening the Bishops’ letter. In particular, a) potential risks of allowing communities to participate in decision-making, b) the anxiety as an opportunity in decision-making and c) call to see ethically difficult choices as the possibility of the meeting with God. The result shows that Kierkegaard's philosophy of choice, freedom and anxiety offers a deeper perspective to the ethical reasoning behind the Bishops’ letter, based on Lutheran theology and a Christian view of humanity Keywords: Søren Kierkegaard, choice, freedom, anxiety, Bishops' letter, Church of Sweden,ethics, ethical arguments, ethical principles, Christian view of humanity.

Diskussioner om användandet av embryonala stamceller är exempel på ett område där naturvetenskapliga teorier möter en diskussion i samhällshällsdebatten. Värderingar med t ex etiska utgångspunkter påverkar hur naturvetenskaplig forskning bedrivs och hur resultaten från denna forskning tillämpas. När sådana frågor, samhällsfrågor med naturvetenskapligt innehåll, SNI (socioscientific issues, SSI), tas upp i undervisningen är det angeläget att belysa att det i samhällsdebatten förekommer en diskussion där företrädare för ståndpunkter för fram olika argument i frågan. Ett sätt att möta detta behov är att designa en undervisningssekvens som innehåller en rollspelsdiskussion kring en dagordning. Ytterligare bidrag till utvecklingen av argument kan användandet av skrivramar ge. I denna undersökning har ett levande rollspel om embryonala stamceller designats, och några av komponenterna i denna undervisningssekvens har undersökts i en designbaserad studie vid fyra gymnasieskolor. Ett analysverktyg har satts samman av befintliga analysverktyg ur forskningslitteraturen med en del med vars hjälp man kan studera argumentstruktur baserat på Toulmins argument patterns (T), en annan del som tar fasta på inslaget av specifika biologiska kunskaper (K) och en tredje del som belyser den epistemiska nivån (E). TKE- analys av argument kan ge ett underlag som kan användas till att belysa betydelsen av hur undervisningen i SSI läggs upp för elevernas möjligheter att utveckla naturvetenskapliga argument av hög kvalitet. Med analysverktyget TKE kan man se hur olika delar av en undervisningssekvens påverkar utvecklingen av argumentens kvalitet. Eftersom de tre delarna av TKE innehåller olika kvalitativt beskrivna och rangordningsbara nivåer så är det möjligt att koda argumentens kvalitet och därefter genomföra en hypotesprövning. Vid en sådan hypotesprövning bör man beakta att de kodade resultaten är parade ordinaldata och att hypotesprövning kan ske med Wilcoxons teckenrangtest. Genom analys av argument med analysverktyget TKE kan man belysa kvaliteter på olika nivåer hos argument. De kvaliteter som syns i TKE-analys av argument är också kvaliteter som ger belägg vid bedömning enligt skolverkets kunskapskrav aspekt fyra för biologikurserna i gymnasieskolan. TKE - analys visar i att argumentens kvalitet är god efter förberedelserna med skrivramarna som stöd. Rollspelsdiskussioner med konsensuskrav verkar påverka argumentens kvalitet i kvalitetsklassen E men i övrigt kan det inte påvisas att rollspelsdiskussionen bidrar till att argumenten av högre kvalitet kan uttryckas. Men argumentens kvalitet kan förbättras signifikant genom aktiviteter efter rollspelsdiskussionen som att man efter denna erbjuder skriftlig återkoppling på skrivna argument. / Discussions about the use of embryonic stem cells is an example of a socioscientific issue (SSI) where the use of scientific progresses meets the social debate where values with for example ethic points of view affect the discussion. When such topics, socioscientific issues, are included in educational instructions, is it important to illustrate that a discussion takes place in the social debate where arguments based on different points of view are presented. One way to meet this need is to design a teaching sequence, which contains a live role play with a discussion, where students are given the opportunity to exchange arguments with scientific grounds and to listen to others. The use of writing frames is a further contribution to the development of argumentation instruction for an SSI. In this study, a live role play is designed on the socioscientific issue embryonic stem cells. Parts of these teaching sequences have been analyzed in a design based study in four upper secondary schools. An analysis tool has been developed based on the didactic literature with one part that shows the structure of arguments based on Toulmin’s argument patterns (T), a second part that focus on the specific biology knowledge (K) and a third part that makes it possible to analyze the epistemic level (E) of the argument. TKE-analysis could be useful when studying the quality of arguments to show the importance of how instructions for teaching in SSI are structured in order to give the students opportunity to develop scientific arguments of high quality.  When analyzing arguments with TKE it is possible to see how different parts of teaching sequences are affecting the development of the quality of arguments with a focus on the structural and conceptual qualities. Since it is possible to rank the quality levels of the three parts of TKE it is possible to test hypotheses. In such a hypothesis-testing it is important to notice that the results from the TKE analysis are paired ordinal data and that hypothesis-testing could be done with Wilcoxon’s sign rank test. By using TKE–analysis it is possible to get information about the quality of arguments of different levels. The qualities of arguments that are illustrated in TKE-analysis are qualities that also are important in assessment with the grade criteria aspect four for the scientific courses from the Swedish national agency for education. TKE-analyses of shows that the qualities of arguments are good after the arguments are prepared supported by the writing frames. The role play discussion affects only the epistemic level of arguments only in the consensus discussion. In the other quality categories, T and K there were no significant increase of the argument quality after the role play discussions. But according to TKE-analysis, the quality of arguments could be increased significantly by offering activities after the role play discussion such as written feed back on written arguments.