This study discusses topic and focus constructions in spoken Korean within the framework of information structure. Information structure is a part of grammar that deals with the relation between linguistic forms and the mental states of speakers and hearers. Since the different formal realizations of topic and focus constructions in Korean are due to differences in speakers' assumptions about the mental states of hearers, research on Korean topic and focus constructions falls under the proper domain of information structure. Five different topic constructions in Korean are reviewed and their discourse contexts are analyzed; zero pronouns, bare NPs, and right-dislocated NPs are generally used for discourse-active topic referents, and the maliya-construction and nun-marked NPs are generally used for topic referents that are not discourse-active. Sometimes, active topic referents are also marked with --nun when the topic referents have more salient topics already established in the discourse or speakers are considering potential alternatives to the active topic referents. Topics are divided into ratified and ungratified topics according to whether their status as topics is assumed to be taken for granted by hearers. Among the five topic constructions in Korean, zero pronouns, bare NPs and right-dislocated NPs express ratified topics, while the maliya-construction and nunmarked topics express unratified topics. The marker --ka, which has been long regarded as a subject indicator, is reanalyzed, and it is suggested that --ka marks not only the subject but also argument focus and sentence focus. Accessible or active referents can sometimes be marked with --ka, constituting sentence-focus constructions. In those constructions, the propositional content of the sentences expresses some unexpected or surprising event. Also, frequent occurrences of the maker --ka in presupposed subordinate clauses are examined, and it is suggested that --ka can be used as a mere subject indicator, losing its function of indicating focus in presupposed clauses with topic-comment construals, in which there is no actual focus. / text

As the language and ideology of human rights globalizes, some scholars have revisited pressing questions about the universality and cultural relativity of human rights as theory, discourse, and practice in philosophy, law, and culture. While some view the globalization of human rights negatively as Western cultural imperialism, others see it positively as a means to empower the oppressed. These arguments often reach an impasse because they presume human rights as a fixed entity. This project reconsiders this assumption in the debate about the globalization of human rights by attending to the discursive (and thus changeable and changing) nature of this language and ideology, and the networked system through which it globalizes. By modeling a global discourse network, it examines how a globalizing discourse of human rights might be affected by and be affecting its subjects, especially their individual identity and agency. Thereafter, it tests this model on three actors speaking from different subject positions and through different textual genres – a humanitarian NGO and a speech; a genocide survivor and an autobiography; and a global author and a novel. These case studies suggest that groups and individuals speaking from traditionally less-than-powerful subject positions (like the NGO and crisis survivor) in a typical human rights framework can benefit from the discourse and its network. They gain global presence and influence through the network’s amplifying effects on identity, influence, and conventions, which offer its users the chance of appearing as agents. But there are also instances (as with the author and novel) where the universalist rhetoric of the discourse and the global reach of its network (their power) cannot overcome the force of other more divisive discourses and networks oriented around markers of difference like nationality, ethnicity, class, or religion. This project thus outlines some possibilities and limits of speaking globally through a purportedly universalist discourse in a network situation, and identifies consistent problems of representing human rights crisis and causes as globalized speech acts and from postnational speaking positions, in a still nation-centered world. / text

This thesis explores the depiction of doping in the press. My interest in the topic stemmed from an early personal experience in competitive athletics where I was exposed to an in-sports reality that tolerated the use of performance-enhancing substances. However, references to doping in the media appeared to depict it in a different way. In order to investigate the divergence, the thesis analysed the reporting of two Olympic Games, namely Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008. It focused on empirical data and thus all articles that referenced doping were collected one month prior, during and one month after the two Olympic Games. In total 1274 articles were collected and analysed. Adopting a post-structuralist approach, the discourse analysis of the data leads to the identification of journalistic techniques that constructed discursive statements of doping. It was observed that first of all, in the case of highly publicised drug cases, these statements could be understood as constructing a moral panic episode. Secondly, the same discursive statements were circulated in the press even in the absence of positive doping samples. The thesis draws on the theories of moral regulation and governmentality to make sense of the constant presence of doping discursive statements in the press. It argues that inducting doping into sport spectacle makes its depiction seem apolitical and disconnected from society. However, in-depth theorisation of the phenomenon shows that its mediated construction plays an active role in influencing public policy.

Using a corpus of twenty-four lectures drawn from The BASE corpus, this study is an analysis and inter-disciplinary comparison of the management of Intertextuality in the genre of the undergraduate lecture. Theorising Intertextuality as central within the discursive (re-)construction of disciplinary knowledge, the investigation of Intertextuality is viewed as the investigation of the discursively-mediated interaction(s) of a current lecturer with original knowledge-constituting discourses, and with their agents too, of an academic community. As there is no holistic and comprehensive methodology for assessing the management of Intertextuality in academic discourse both qualitatively and quantitatively, this study uses two further lectures to devise such a methodology. This involves segregating lecture discourse into consistent independent units and then coding each unit according both to its function in the discourse and the participant voice(s) behind it. Applying this comprehensive scheme shows that independent units in lecture discourse are classifiable under three broad functional areas, Intertextuality (units realising propositional input), Intratextuality (units realising the mechanics of text and discursive interaction), and Metatextuality (units realising unit-length evaluation of emerging discourse). These functional areas and the functions within them are manageable via different participant voice(s), the manifestations and pragmatic effects of which in discourse vary, meaning the management of Intertextuality can be assessed qualitatively and quantitatively using the coherent, consistent and data-driven coding scheme derived from these analyses. This methodology, applied qualitatively and quantitatively to the corpus, reveals management similarities broadly between Arts & Humanities and Social Sciences lectures, typically a dialogic management, and management differences broadly between these two groupings and Physical Sciences lectures, typically a monophonic management. These management choices are understood as both constituted by and as reconstitutive of the social and epistemological landscapes behind lectures, meaning the management of Intertextuality is viewed as the dominant influence in shaping disciplinary discourse.

The main topic of this thesis is the influence of the Kurdish Question on Turkey’s relations with Europe and the USA. Aiming to develop a triplex framework of (1) the Kurdish Question in Turkey, (2) Turkey’s Foreign and Security Policy, and (3) Turkey’s Relations with Western Society, this thesis specifically studies the international dimension of the Kurdish Question. It has two basic arguments: first, the Kurdish issue is the major cause of the deterioration in the relationship between Turkey and the West, in spite of alliances that go back over half a century. Second, Turkey’s Foreign and Security Policy is the main catalyst of that long-lasting troublesome relationship. The Kurdish Question is evaluated using empirical data that examines its impact on the relationship between Turkey and the West in the period 1989-2007. Within this the problem is examined by applying a normative approach and analyses that are carried out within a theoretical framework provided by a constructivist approach. In order to present research questions by empirical evidence, discourse analysis is used that goes in hand with the theoretical approach. Three Foreign and Security Policy norms are examined, namely “Sèvres Syndrome”- the suspicion of influence of external powers and interests on Turkey, the principle of “Status Quo” applicable in FSP and internal security arrangements, and finally, the “Westernism” that foresees being pro-Western in foreign policies and internal socio-political field. Findings suggest that those three norms played significant roles in shaping Turkey’s Foreign and Security Policy for decades, while important changes occurred within the recent years.

This study focuses on support and opposition in an attempted merger between three Norwegian university colleges.  The university colleges that took part in the merger process were Buskerud University College, Vestfold University College and Østfold University College, all three located in the south-east part of Norway. The study takes its point of departure in the fact that the merger process was terminated before a decision to merge was reached. It aims to describe the two discourses of support and opposition, and explain change in discursive practices from support to opposition. The thesis is divided into three parts. In the first part the conceptual framework used in the analysis is presented, as well as the area of mergers in higher education and methodological aspects.  Four conceptual pairs are used to analyse the merger process; support/opposition, idea/operationalisation, outwards/inwards and modern/traditional. The second part is constructed as a play with acts presenting the merger process in a chronological order where the conceptual pairs are used to describe and explain discursive practices. The third and final part focuses on general insights into the construction of support and opposition in the terminated merger process. The study shows that the use of different discursive practices evolved into antagonism between the three university colleges leading to the termination of the merger process. Supporting the idea to merge in order to achieve university status was not enough to support the merger if the operationalisation of how the merger process was to be conducted, and how the merged organisation was to be constructed led to a disadvantageous power position.  In addition, discursive practices of support and opposition were conditioned by discourses of the education market and academic drift. / This study focuses on support and opposition in an attempted merger between three Norwegian university colleges. It aims to describe and explain how discourses of support and opposition conditioned the outcome of the merger process.The thesis is divided into three parts. In the first part the four conceptual pairs – support/opposition, idea/operationalisation, outwards/inwards and modern/traditional – used to analyse the merger process, are introduced, as well as the area of mergers in higher education and methodological aspects. The second part is constructed as a play with acts presenting the merger process in a chronological order. The third and final part focuses on general insights into the construction of support for and opposition to the merger.The study shows how different discursive practices evolved into antagonism between the three university colleges leading to the termination of the merger process. Support for the idea of the merger as a means of achieving university status was not sufficient; the operationalisation of the merger process itself and the proposed construction of the merged organisation resulted in power struggles. In addition, support and opposition were conditioned by discourses of the education market and academic drift.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), a field still under development, has already seen different phases. With new technological advancements and the demand for ethical business growing –how has history affected the theory and practice in this field? Is Corporate Social Responsibility moving into new directions, and how do global players deal with challenges in the field while trying to stay ahead of their competition? Interests and efforts in Corporate Social Responsibility are seemingly growing, but does this also mean that sustainable development is progressing alongside these efforts? This research will focus firstly on the global historical development of the field. This will then be continued with an analysis of Corporate Social Responsibility programs of selected global beer brewing corporations where CSR and Sustainable Development has become a main focus for the development of the industry. . Common traits, strengths and weaknesses will be identified through this analysis in order to build a suggested framework for Corporate Social Responsibility that aims for an ethical and economically responsible sustainable development. With this process and eventual framework, this thesis aims to contribute to close the gap between how CSR is communicated to the public, and how it is perceived. This in order to critically assess the potential of CSR in the future.

The Sweden Democrats are very clear in what way they want to be described as; as the only opposition party in the Swedish parliament. Is it possible that Swedish media helps in creating that description? This essay examines in what way Swedish media are describing the Sweden Democrats in condition to the establishment. By doing a discourse analysis, the essay will find out which discourse that is dominating about the Sweden Democrats in the two Swedish newspapers Aftonbladet and Expressen. The results shows that the dominate discourse is describing the party as an outsider in relationship to the establishment, but that in the same time a normalization is going on in times where the elections are far away. It also shows that it's only in the question about immigration that this 7-to-1 picture is described, which also is the party’s main question. In other political questions, media shows a picture of a party that try to widen their politics to a direction towards both of the blocks.

Using the social networking site Facebook as a corpus, I collected 1,500 random samples of interactions between friends. I tracked the use of jokes and disparaging humor between same- and opposite-gender pairs to discover that there is a strong correlation between the style of joke-making evoked by the speaker and the gender of both the speaker and the hearer. The men in the study were about eight times more likely to make insulting or degrading jokes with other men than the women were with each other. Following the study is a discussion where I address methods of politeness across genders, approaches to humor, and how sex, culture, and gender expectations influence our communicative choices. Though the discussion is based in our linguistic choices, the results of the study reflect trends that are present in countless aspects of society, and the issues that are raised go far beyond the spoken word. / text

published_or_final_version / Language Studies / Master / Master of Arts