The present study conducts a multimodal discourse analysis of texts from the three charities UNICEF, Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders and investigates how the reader is encouraged to support these organizations by donating money. The aim is to explore what relationship to the reader that is established, as well as what attitudes that are expressed through textual and visual modes. To do this, three texts from each charity are selected, all regarding the 10-year-long Syrian war, so a comparison can be drawn between the organizations’ different linguistic strategies. The study is based on Fairclough’s three-dimensional model, Halliday’s metafunctions and the appraisal theory presented by Martin & White. Previous studies illustrate how the theoretical frameworks can be applied in analyses of advertisement, narrative texts and fundraising letters by non-for-profit organizations. This study provides further illustration of the significant role of different details in pictures and written text in order to inspire and persuade the reader to help finance the organizations. The results discern a charity discourse, where the texts not only emphasize the importance of helping those in need, but also to support and allow the charities to continue their crucial work worldwide. The texts also seem to aim at arousing empathy and creating a close relationship to the reader in order to encourage donations.

Den här uppsatsen består av en partiell översättning med kommentar av Kinas kommunistiska partis rapport från den 20:e nationella partikongressen som ägde rum i oktober 2022. Översättningen gjordes från kinesiska till svenska utifrån en översättningsprincip baserad på skopos att en ”vanlig svensk” ska förstå texten. Syftet är att undersöka vilka översättningsproblem som uppstår vid översättningen av kinesisk politisk diskurs till svenska för den svensk kulturkontexten. Politisk terminologi identifieras som det enskilt största översättningsproblemet, samt att ett antal mindre översättningsproblem på grammatisk, lexikal, syntaktisk och stilnivå även diskuteras. Översättningen och kommentaren kompletteras även med en komparativ studie där den svenska översättningen jämförs med KKP:s officiella engelska översättning utifrån skoposteorin och Juliane House SFL-baserade metodologi för kvalitetsbedömning av översättningar. Jämförelsen visar att KKP:s översättning gör större textuella avsteg från källtexten, medan min översättning använder sig av fotnoter, samt att KKP:s översättning ligger nära förtäckt och min översättning ligger nära öppen översättning på House skala mellan de två. / This thesis consists of a partial translation, with commentary, of the report from the 20th national party congress of the Chinese Communist Party which was held in October 2022. The text was translated from Chinese into Swedish with a translation principle based on the skopos that a “normal swede” should be able to understand the text. The purpose is to explore translational problems when translating Chinese political discourse into Swedish for the Swedish culture context. Political terminology is identified as the single largest translational problem. A number of smaller problems are also identified on the grammatical, lexical, syntactical and style levels. The translation with commentary is also accompanied by a comparative study where the Swedish translation is compared to the official English translation sanctioned by the CCP, based on skopos theory and Juliane House’s SFL-based translation quality assessment methodology. The comparison shows that the official translation diverges more from the source text textually, while mine uses footnotes, and that the CCP translation lies close to covert translation, on the scale from covert to overt, where my translation is on the other end of the scale.

This study aims to semantically analyse the use of the three placement verbs wAH, wd(i), and rdi in Earlier Egyptian to investigate the nuances and development of the process of ‘placing’ in the language. A mixed methods approach was employed in the study using Systemic Functional Linguistics as the theoretical framework. The results show that the three verbs have distinct semantic profiles. The use of wd(i) and rdi changes after the Old Kingdom, whereas wAH remains more or less the same denoting a downward movement of the Goal. One of the verbs – wd(i) in the Old Kingdom and rdi after that – functions as a more general and frequent verb, although wd(i) already in the Old Kingdom shows a specific nuance of ‘firm placing’. Additionally, rdi is rare as a placement verb in the Old Kingdom, after which it is semantically bleached and becomes the general placement verb of the language. At the same time, the use of wd(i) diminishes.  Furthermore, the process of ‘placing’ in Earlier Egyptian tends to only include the participants Actor, Goal, and Location, whereas the other circumstances of the process are often more or less implicit. Consequently, the nuances of the process of ‘placing’ – especially with rdi after the Old Kingdom – can be interpreted from the combination of the participants and the co(n)text of the process as a whole. / Syftet med denna studie är att semantiskt analysera användningen av de tre placeringsverben wAH, wd(i) och rdi i tidig fornegyptiska för att undersöka nyanserna och utvecklingen av processen ”att placera” i språket. I studien användes en blandad metod med Systemisk Funktionell Lingvistik som teoretiskt ramverk. Resultaten visar att de tre verben har distinkta semantiska profiler. Användningen av wd(i) och rdi förändras efter Gamla riket, medan wAH förblir mer eller mindre oförändrat och betecknar en nedåtgående rörelse av Goal. Ett av verben – wd(i) i Gamla riket och rdi därefter – fungerar som ett mer allmänt och frekvent verb, även om wd(i) redan i Gamla riket uppvisar en specifik nyans av ”fast placering”. Dessutom är rdi sällsynt som placeringsverb i Gamla riket, varefter det semantiskt bleks och blir språkets allmänna placeringsverb. Samtidigt minskar användningen av wd(i).  Därutöver tenderar processen ”att placera” i tidig fornegyptiska att endast omfatta deltagarna Actor, Goal och Location, medan de övriga omständigheterna är mer eller mindre implicita. Följaktligen kan nyanserna i processen ”att placera” – särskilt med rdi efter Gamla riket – tolkas utifrån kombinationen av dess deltagare och ko(n)texten i sin helhet.

Enligt det svenska skatteförfarandet omfattas ett beslut om skatt eller avgift av omedelbar verkställighet. Det betyder att skatten eller avgiften som är beslutad, ska betalas innan beslutet vunnit laga kraft. Om skatten eller avgiften inte betalas innan den sista förfallodagen har Skatteverket rätt att lämna skulden för indrivning. Det kan i olyckliga fall innebära att den skattskyldige tvingas att avyttra exempelvis värdepapper eller en fastighet. För att förhindra att det sker finns reglerna avseende anstånd med betalning av skatt. I 63 kap. 4 § SFL återfinns reglerna om ändringanstånd. Reglerna fastslår att Skatteverket ska bevilja anstånd om det anses vara tveksamt om skatt eller avgift kommer att behöva betalas. En omprövning av ett beslut eller en överklagan till domstol är ett sådant fall då denna paragraf kan tillämpas. I en undersökning gjord av Svenskt Näringsliv har det framkommit att Skatteverket  felaktigt har handlagt 23 % av ändringsanståndsbesluten under en viss period, vilket tyder på en brist i rättssäkerheten för den skattskyldige. I undersökningen, som är baserad på rättsfall beslutade enligt dåvarande skattebetalningslagen, framfördes ett förslag om att lagparafen borde ändras. Förslaget var att anstånd skulle beviljas förutom i fall då det är uppenbart att skatten kommer att kvarstå. Förslaget har tidigare framförts i proposition 1993/94:151, dock medförde förslaget aldrig någon lagändring. Syftet med den här uppsatsen är att undersöka om 63 kap. 4 § 1 st. SFL och tillämpningen av paragrafen uppfyller den rättssäkerhet som den skattskyldige är berättigad till. Syftet innefattar även att undersöka om införandet av skatteförfarandelagen har bidragit till en ökad förutsebarhet och likformighet för den skattskyldige vid tolkning och handläggning av ändringsanstånd. Av uppsatsen framgår att ordet tveksamt fortfarande är svårtolkat av både Skatteverket och domstol, vilket skapar en icke förutsebar lagparagraf. Undersökningen i uppsatsen visar dock att Skatteverket enbart fattat felaktiga beslut i 14 % av ändringsanståndsärenden under den undersökta perioden, då skatteförfarandelagen var tillämpningsbar. Dessvärre är underlaget i undersökningen begränsat, vilket gör att några djupare slutsatser inte kan dras utifrån resultatet. Däremot har särskilt kvalificerad beslutsfattare införts i och med införandet av skatteförfarandelagen som tycks ha en stärkande påverkan på rättssäkerheten vid handläggning av ändringsanstånd.

Thesis advisor: Maria E. Brisk / Writing is an essential tool for creating meaningful communication and as such it must be taught beginning in elementary school. Although in the past 100 years writing has become more common in our everyday lives, methods of teaching writing and teacher education have not kept pace with changes (National Commission on Writing, 2003). As a result, teachers are underprepared to teach writing and do not teach it enough (Gilbert and Graham, 2010). The goal of this study is to understand how teacher-researcher relationships can facilitate the development of a teacher's knowledge of the theoretical foundations of teaching writing through systemic functional linguistics (SFL) and the teaching and learning cycle (TLC), and how that understanding affects the implementation of meaningful writing instruction that supports bilingual students as they learn to write. Using a modified action research methodology (Herr and Anderson, 2005; Reason and Bradbury, 2001; Zeichner, 2001) the data were collected over the course of one school year and analyzed utilizing the action research spiral by examining interactions between a teacher and a researcher through seven vignettes, including planning lessons, teaching, and reviewing lessons. These vignettes reflected particular instances of support, the evolution of the teacher's understanding of teaching writing informed by SFL, and changes in instruction relating to the TLC. Student writing was also analyzed using rubrics informed by SFL theory. The findings suggest that a complex relationship exists between teachers and researchers and that multiple factors are involved in successful change initiatives. The factors include the process of change through individualized support over time, negotiation, and two types of tension: disequilibrium and resistance. In the current study, these factors helped develop the teacher-researcher relationship in ways that promoted changes in the teacher's practices and, to some extent, her beliefs about writing instruction which resulted in the creation of a hybrid pedagogy. While this pedagogy did not demonstrate a full implementation of instruction informed by SFL theory, it did improve the quality of writing instruction and the resulting student writing. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2013. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Teacher Education, Special Education, Curriculum and Instruction.

Thesis advisor: Dennis Shirley / The ability to express meaning in prose is a foundational skill in our society. Given the importance of being a competent writer, concern with the quality of writing instruction is a recurring theme among American educators (Cutler & Graham, 2008; Gilbert & Graham, 2010; National Commission on Writing, 2003, 2004, 2006). Research shows that teachers are unprepared to teach writing (Gilbert & Graham, 2010) and devote limited amounts of time to it (Cutler & Graham, 2008; Gilbert & Graham, 2010). In addition, national assessment data indicates that most students are not proficient writers (Salahu-Din, Persky & Miller, 2008). An embedded case study design (Yin, 2009), using mixed methodology (Greene & Caracelli, 2003a, 2003b; Hesse-Biber, 2010), was employed to determine whether a school-university partnership enacted systemic functional linguistics theory guided writing intervention changed fourth and fifth grade teachers' writing instruction over the course of three years in an urban elementary school. The study further investigated changes to 41 fourth and 27 fifth graders' writing performance during the third year of the invention. Examination of the relationship between students' performance in writing and the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) test in English language arts was conducted. The study also explored how teachers articulated their experiences with the partnership. Findings showed the content of teachers' instruction changed involving the use of metalanguage and the teaching of genre, language, and tenor. Similarly, instructional strategies evolved regarding negotiating field and deconstruction of text. Findings also indicated a significant improvement in writing performance for all students, and bilingual students had more growth over time than monolingual peers. Also, a moderate positive relationship existed between writing performance and MCAS performance, which suggests understanding of genre may support reading comprehension. Overall, teachers positively experienced the partnership and found value in the professional development. Implications of these study findings will benefit teacher education, administrators and policymakers, and allow for improved school-university partnerships. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2012. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Teacher Education, Special Education, Curriculum and Instruction.

<p>Den här undersökningen handlar om hur flickor respektive pojkar i en årskurs fem använder värderande uttryck i sina narrativa texter. 22 elevtexter, 11 skrivna av flickor och 11 skrivna av pojkar, har analyserats enligt Appraisal framework. Jag har undersökt hur många och vilka typer av värderande uttryck eleverna använder och även hur de har fördelat uttrycken över texterna i förhållande till den narrativa berättelsestrukturen. Resultaten visar att flickorna använder värderande uttryck i större utsträckning än pojkarna. Fördelningen över de olika typerna av värderande uttryck liksom fördelningen av uttrycken över texten är dock ganska likartad för flickorna och pojkarna.</p><p>This study concerns the use of evaluation in narrative texts written by pupils in fifth grade. More specifically the focus is on the way that boys and girls use evaluative language in their texts. 22 texts, 11 written by boys and 11 written by girls, have been analysed according to the so-called Appraisal framework. I have examined what types of evaluations the pupils use and how they adopt the use according to the narrative text structure. The results indicated that the girls used a larger amount of evaluations than the boys did. On the other hand the boys spread their evaluations among the different types of evaluations in quite a similar way as the girls. Boys and girls also spread their evaluations over the text in quite the same way.</p>

<p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> <p align="left">This thesis is a discourse analysis of five testimonies from South Africa&rsquo / s Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The aim of the analysis is to explore the ways in which the testifiers perform their identities, construe their experiences of life under apartheid, and position themselves and their audiences in relation to these experiences. The shaping role of context &ndash / both local and historical &ndash / is also considered.</p> </font></font></p>

Den här undersökningen handlar om hur flickor respektive pojkar i en årskurs fem använder värderande uttryck i sina narrativa texter. 22 elevtexter, 11 skrivna av flickor och 11 skrivna av pojkar, har analyserats enligt Appraisal framework. Jag har undersökt hur många och vilka typer av värderande uttryck eleverna använder och även hur de har fördelat uttrycken över texterna i förhållande till den narrativa berättelsestrukturen. Resultaten visar att flickorna använder värderande uttryck i större utsträckning än pojkarna. Fördelningen över de olika typerna av värderande uttryck liksom fördelningen av uttrycken över texten är dock ganska likartad för flickorna och pojkarna. This study concerns the use of evaluation in narrative texts written by pupils in fifth grade. More specifically the focus is on the way that boys and girls use evaluative language in their texts. 22 texts, 11 written by boys and 11 written by girls, have been analysed according to the so-called Appraisal framework. I have examined what types of evaluations the pupils use and how they adopt the use according to the narrative text structure. The results indicated that the girls used a larger amount of evaluations than the boys did. On the other hand the boys spread their evaluations among the different types of evaluations in quite a similar way as the girls. Boys and girls also spread their evaluations over the text in quite the same way.

Recent advances in molecular biology have led to an explosive growth in the number of peptide and protein drugs derived from both recombinant technology and conventional peptide drug design. However, development of peptide and protein therapeutics has proven to be very challenging because of inadequate physical and chemical stability. In recent years, particle engineering processes have become promising approaches for enhancement of protein stability as well as provide options for more delivery routes. In this research program, spray freezing into liquid (SFL) process was developed and optimized in order to achieve broad platform and application in protein and peptide drug delivery systems. The overall goal of this research was to produce stabilized protein and peptide microparticles for various drug delivery systems by using SFL particle engineering technology. Firstly, the use of the SFL process to produce peptide microparticles was investigated. Insulin microparticles produced by the SFL process were highly porous, low tap density and narrow particle size distribution. The influence of the SFL process parameters and excipients on the physicochemical properties of peptide microparticles was determined and compared to the widely used particle formation technique--freeze-drying. The SFL process was further used to produce protein microparticles. In the study, bovine serum albumin (BSA), a medium sized protein, was used as a model drug. The influence of SFL process parameters and excipients on the stability of BSA was studied. Very low monomer loss of BSA was found in this study even though the specific surface area of the powder was very high. Results also demonstrated that the SFL process had minimal influence on protein structure. The SFL process was further investigated by comparing the SFL process to spray freeze drying process (SFD), which is a relatively new process to produce protein and peptide microparticles. The influence of atomization, freezing and drying on the stability of lysozyme was investigated for both the SFL and SFD process. This study tested the hypothesis that the SFL process is a better process than SFD process because of avoiding air-liquid interface and minimum interfacial surface absorption of protein in SFL process. The particle size of protein and peptide microparticles produced by SFL process was further reduced to nanoparticles by sonication or homogenization processes in organic solvent. In this study, the influence of process parameters on the particle size and enzyme activity of lysozyme was investigated. The results showed that sonication or homogenization did not influence the enzyme activity of lysozyme. Lastly, insulin and insulin/dextran microparticles produced by SFL the process was encapsulated into polymer microspheres for oral delivery. Complexation and polymer composition was studied in order to optimize release and stability of insulin. Insulin nanoparticles in microspheres minimized the release of insulin in acid with high drug loading compared to other studies. The stability of insulin was decreased by complexation to dextran sulfate. The results of this research demonstrated that the SFL process offers a highly effective approach to produce protein and peptide powders suitable for different drug delivery systems. The microparticles produced by the SFL process had desirable characteristics such as narrow particle size distribution and high porosity. The stability of protein and peptide was well maintained through the SFL process. Therefore, SFL process is an effective particle engineering process for protein and peptide pharmaceuticals. / text