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This work explores how the PDS, as legal successor to the SED and thus to a party emanating from a Marxist tradition, has sought discursively to deal with the task of adapting to the demands of the all-German polity and of establishing a place for itself on the far left of the German political spectrum. Leaning heavily on the work of the critical linguists whose central interest was in exploring the relationship between language and ideology, this study starts from the premise that language and ideology inform one another dialectically: language is constitutive of ideology. As establishing and maintaining dominant ideologies and/or honing or adapting these in accordance with external exigencies is central to politics, the relationship between language and politics (and language and history) is likewise a dialectical one. A particular focus is upon the attempts of PDS party leaders and ideologues to establish a mediating, 'super-discourse' capable of smoothing over the high-level of intra-party factionalisation and of legitimising the PDS as broadly as possible in the political establishment. Opposition is a thematic leitmotiv: the PDS's historiographic portrayal of the SED's and its own relationship to opposition movements in the GDR and the Wendezeit is examined, as is the high-level of intra-party opposition and the linguistic staging of the inner-party polemic on whether the PDS's self-styled, extra- system, oppositional role will allow its inclusion in conventional governmental alliances. In addition, aspects of the language of the vociferous political opposition engendered and encountered by the PDS are also considered.

Brian Lee Goard, Ph.D. The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2011 Chairperson: Dr. Gregg R. Allison This dissertation examines the role of critical realism in the theological method of Alister E. McGrath. The thesis of the dissertation is that Alister McGrath uses critical realism in a way that strengthens his theological method and that serves a number of good theological ends, yet McGrath's methodology is in need of revision in some areas, and clarification in others, if it is going to be theologically acceptable. Chapter 1 introduces (1) the philosophy of critical realism, (2) Alister McGrath's work in theological method, and (3) the thesis and methodology of the dissertation. Chapter 2 examines the history and development of critical realism, beginning with the work of Roy Wood Sellars in the early twentieth century and concluding with a description of critical realism as developed by Roy Bhaskar. Chapter 2 argues that historically, critical realism has been a versatile method that can be applied to a variety of projects and disciplines. Chapter 3 delineates the main themes of McGrath's methodology and how critical realism affects those areas. Specific points addressed in this chapter include McGrath's prolonged engagement with other theological methodologies (chief among them being postliberalism), the concept of nature, natural theology, and the science-theology dialogue. Chapter 4 provides a critical evaluation of McGrath's use of critical realism. A number of positive conclusions about McGrath's use of critical realism are drawn, yet where McGrath has made problematic or underdeveloped applications of critical realism, both correction and suggestions for further development are offered. Finally, chapter 5 reviews the thesis of the dissertation and considers the method that has been taken in defense of that thesis. Specifically, it demonstrates how each of the previous chapters serve as evidence for the dissertation's thesis.

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The challenge of the South African government and economic policy is to achieve sustainable growth. Sufficient jobs are not being created after the political change that occurred in 1994. To address these challenges economic policy of government are analysed relative to theory, to lessons learned from East Asia (international best practice) and to recommendations of international economic organizations. This study is divided into 8 chapters. Chapter 1 comprises a general introduction to economic policy which addresses a particular economic phenomenon and explains the nature of the relationships between different economic variables, the research problem and the objectives of the study. Chapter 2 an overview of the theories of growth is described. The theories of economic policy are also described as well as a chronological outlay of all economic policies that influenced growth since the new political dispensation in 1994. In chapter 3 the first article analyses all the macroeconomic policies and reasons are sought why sufficient jobs are not being created after the 1994 political change that occurred. In chapter 4 the second article focuses on monetary policy. Against price stability as the primary objective of inflation targeting, the role of COSATU is analysed regarding the relation between inflation and growth. In chapter 5 the third article analyses the reasons for volatility and the macro prudential measures available to monetary authorities. The consequence of the 2008 financial crisis was reduced growth in the world and currency volatility. In chapter 6 the fourth article analyses the limitations in applying existing instruments to achieve financial stability. A new perspective is debated to reduce inflation to counter the negative impact of a volatile exchange rate towards economic growth. In chapter 7 the fifth article analyses the causes and challenges of high government debt created by counter cyclical fiscal policy. This high government debt neutralizes the sustainability of a stimulatory stance of fiscal policy which is needed in South Africa. In chapter 8 the conclusions and recommendations are presented about important policy aspects to ensure financial stability and sustained growth. Unemployment has always been a concern in less developed countries and the concern increased after the USA financial crisis of 2008. Probable reasons for unemployment in less developed countries are a lack of resources, a lack of capital and a lack of skills. The peculiar economic scenario of South Africa is analysed. South Africa possesses very high unemployment rates according to international standards. The probable solution is high sustainable growth. Before 1994 South Africa could not attract foreign capital to finance growth because of the prevailing political dispensation. After 1994 South Africa attracted substantial foreign capital (however volatile in nature) which did not create sustainable growth. Regardless of this bigger volatile capital inflow, national saving as a percentage of GDP continued to deteriorate. There exist numerous structural problems in the South African economy. A new and fresh viewpoint regarding the application of policies is debated to address imbalances in the economy and to create sustainable growth. The unacceptable low levels of growth and low levels of employment have to be addressed in a new manner to create long term solutions. The answer to these problems cannot be found in short term economic- and short term political activities of the authorities. The cornerstones for development are anchored in the new strategic plan of the Department of Planning. Elements of various theories, for example the Neoclassical growth model and elements of policy theories are addressed. The developments in East Asia are addressed as well as recommendations of international economic organizations. Answers are sought to create sustainable growth in South Africa. / Thesis (PhD (Economics))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2013

A country’s international reputation has profound implications for its citizens; given that national image or reputation is built and circulated using language on a global scale, translation is necessarily involved. This project draws on bilingual corpora of government and media texts to examine how Canada was framed in the discourses and narratives in circulation in its two official languages at the time of the 2010 G8 and G20 Summits, using concepts and techniques from Critical Discourse Analysis, narrative theory, and corpus linguistics. Examining some aspects of language in use such as collocation, semantic relations, and metaphor, several of the ways in which Canada was framed in the two contexts and languages were compared. The project concludes that discourses and narratives may differ between sources and languages, thereby highlighting the importance of recognizing the impact of translation on the variety of national representations within discourses and narratives.

This qualitative study of an adult literacy program, Literacy for Liberation, operated by a non-governmental organization and serving a marginalized demographic in Haiti, considered the impact of a literacy program designed to enhance technical and critical literacy skills while promoting communal and individual change. Data, collected in five open-ended interviews and two observations, focused on the contextual, logistical, and beneficial aspects of the program. Results were analyzed using markers from Freire’s framework of critical pedagogy: humanization, situated literacy, dialogue and consciousness-raising, and transformation. Findings revealed limited economic, social, and communal benefits, and that replication of the program may be possible if certain steps are followed. Overall conclusions demonstrated that expanding literacy programs in this setting can facilitate social and economic progress for previously illiterate adults and future generations, particularly where structural inequality is evident. Final recommendations included comparison studies of other programs and longitudinal research of descending generations.

In my thesis I engage selected texts of Jacques Derrida, David Wills, and Jean-Luc Nancy in order to draw on specific motifs that are relevant for a thinking of sight and blindness. The motifs on which I elaborate are immediacy, prosthesis, and extension respectively. In consecutive chapters, based on close readings of these selected texts and the development of these motifs in them, my study elaborates on the relevance of the work of these three thinkers for a thinking of sight and blindness that does not conform to the hierarchical dualisms of Western metaphysics. Following this, I engage three texts by selected theorists from the large and growing field of disability studies—Rosemarie Garland-Thomson, Lennard Davis, David T. Mitchell, and Susan L. Snyder—in order to make the case that disability studies has not yet challenged its own metaphysical assumptions.

Linguistic Landscape refers to linguistic objects that mark the public space (Gorter, 2006). The focal point of this research project is to examine how the informational and symbolic messages conveyed through the Linguistic Landscape (LL) portray the personality, language attitudes, and culture of a rural town; Carman, Manitoba. Since people play an active role in designing the LL, this research project was designed to accurately describe a rural Manitoba town through analysis of the language and symbols found in the landscape as representative of it as a community. By implementing an ethnographic approach utilizing critical language study (CLS) (Fairclough, 2001) and a communication framework (Hymes, 1972) this paper argues that the language used in the public space cannot be ignored or taken for granted. The language that is used on signs in public spaces is evidence of this. It manifests itself in power of the language used for communication, capitalism, values and lifestyles, and inclusion and exclusion of the population.