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Thesis (Ed.D.)--University of Wyoming, 2009. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on Apr. 16, 2010). Includes bibliographical references (p. 188-201).

Thesis (MPhil)--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The debate about the validity of evolution versus creationism started long ago when Charles Darwin published The Origin of Species. Yet today the debate about this issue still engenders a lot of controversy – not only in South Africa, but also, and especially, in the United States. This study investigates articles and letters to the editor in an Afrikaans daily newspaper, Die Burger, over a certain period, and will look at the arguments for and against evolution and creationism. The fact that creationists – despite so much evidence to the contrary – pursue a form of pseudoscience by (sometimes) interpreting the Bible literally, and, amongst other things, deny the real age of the earth. There has never been an in-depth look at the public debate about evolution versus creationism in a South African newspaper. The purpose of this study is to conduct an in-depth investigation into this particular debate in the media, with specific reference to correspondence in the letters pages of Die Burger, with regard to the possible influence which the debate about evolution and creationism in an Afrikaans daily newspaper might have on people’s consciousness regarding modern science. It will also explore how some individuals, often conservative believers, still cling to ancient viewpoints and which have repeatedly been disproved by science. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die debat oor die geldigheid van evolusie teenoor kreasionisme het lank gelede begin toe Charles Darwin sy werk The Origin of Species gepubliseer het. Tog ontlok die debat hieroor steeds groot kontroversie – nie net in Suid-Afrika nie, maar veral ook in Amerika. Hierdie studie kyk na beriggewing en briefwisseling in Die Burger oor ’n bepaalde tydperk en die argumente vir én teen evolusie en kreasionisme. Daar sal veral klem gelê word op die feit dat die kreasioniste – soveel bewyse ten spyt – ’n vorm van pseudowetenskap beoefen deur in sommige gevalle die Bybel letterlik te interpreteer, en onder meer die werklike ouderdom van die aarde ontken. Daar is nog nie voorheen indringend gekyk na die openbare debat oor evolusie versus kreasionisme in ’n koerant in Suid-Afrika nie. Die doel met hierdie studie is om ’n omvattende ondersoek te doen oor die debat in die media, met spesifieke verwysing na briefwisseling in Die Burger, ten opsigte van die moontlike invloed wat die debat oor evolusie en kreasionisme in ’n Afrikaanse dagblad op mense se bewussyn oor die moderne wetenskap kan hê. Daar word ook gekyk na hoe sommige mense, dikwels konserwatiewe gelowiges, steeds bly vasklou aan beskouinge wat lank reeds verouderd is en wat herhaaldelik deur die wetenskap verkeerd bewys is.

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This study was motivated by a variety of democratic experience in the world that interchangeably perplexes and inspires students of politics. To understand the processes by which democracies emerge, this study was launched to examine new democracies from a discursive perspective. Four main questions guided the inquiry: (1) Is there a rhetorical/discursive counterpart to the process of democratization? (2) If so, what are the rhetorical features and markers of democratic changes? (3) What specific discursive practices correlate with growth and/or decline of democracy? and (4) What practical value might there be to having a more sensitive measure of democratic growth and/or decline? To answer these questions, a critical discourse analysis was conducted on two genres of Russian public discourse juxtaposing lay (letters to the editor) and elite (editorials) voices in three national periodicals during four election seasons between 1996 and 2008. The analysis of lay discourse revealed (a) that ordinary Russians enjoy expressing their opinions, (b) that they are argumentative, (c) that their repertoire of political voices is rather small, and (d) that their discussions are gradually sliding toward trivial matters. These findings portrayed a public that is attentive to public affairs and speaks out in a forum. Elite voices, on the other hand, were found (e) to be mesmerized by politics, (f) to think of the political world as detached from ordinary life, and (g) to envision the audience of ironic bystanders. Together, these findings pointed to a conclusion that ordinary Russians are rarely summoned either to renew democracy or to improve upon it. Consequently, they rarely identify themselves as true democrats, although many of their discursive practices resemble those that are thought of as a staple of the democratic public sphere. / text

呈現足球的公共形象在19世紀中晚期英格蘭地區的演進，以及此形象的演進如何促成現代足球(特別是協會足球)成形與流行，就是本論文的主要目的。 　　目前學界對於現代足球起源與成形有兩種主要看法：出身社會中上層的公學、大學師生，在19世紀中葉透過制定成文規則，「馴化」並保存此前社會上原有的民俗足球，最後促成統一足球規則的努力──此為其一；修正派學者則認為，早在公學、大學師生投入前，19世紀中葉以前的英格蘭社會中早已存在有組織、有規則的足球，而早期學者過分誇大了社會中上層對於現代足球帶來的影響。然而，現有史料尚不足以證明上述足球活動實際如何進行、組織，也無法顯示各種以「足球」為名的運動間是否有因果關係。 　　人們呈現過去的方式，足以暗示了他們希望別人，甚至是自己應該如何看待目前的現實。足球的規則，以及人們希望足球所能承載的價值、作用，都會隨著時間改變。除了用規則的出現與演變來追溯現代足球的起源，由制定規則的群體來判斷現代足球受到哪一階級影響較深以外，從時人對於足球的「印象」、「觀感」，也就是他們所相信的東西著手，或許更能推演出「現代足球」的「概念」源起於何時。 　　《英格蘭19世紀中晚期足球形象的演進》即以此為目標，利用19世紀《倫敦時報》的讀者投書，以及其他運動報紙和嚴肅期刊文章，試圖重建足球在19世紀中晚期英格蘭輿論中的公共形象，繼而回應、調和學界已有的兩種不同觀點。第一章〈斷裂或延續：現代足球起源問題〉呈現公學觀點與修正派學者的主張與其優劣擅場，並提出以足球的當代「形象」做為解決起源問題的可能方式。第二章〈公學地位競爭與足球議題上升的能見度(1858-63)〉直接回到上述學術論爭所指向的關鍵時代，透過當時媒體上有關「統一足球規則」的爭論來證明當時公學、大學師生與社會中上層人士對提高現代足球運動地位的影響。第三章〈從惡名昭彰到男子氣概：19世紀末輿論中足球形象的演進〉，則綜觀整個19世紀，在長時段中呈現足球形象在英格蘭輿論中的轉折，進一步突顯現代足球概念成形的時間。 　　透過足球形象的轉變與形塑，以及時人對於足球發展歷程的看法，我們得以了解19世紀中晚期的英格蘭人為何投身一種新興的運動，從而接近他們所追求的價值，並希望別人如何看待他們的所作所為。 關鍵詞：現代足球　協會足球　《倫敦時報》讀者投書

<p>ABSTRACT</p><p>Can Danish experience explain why Sverigedemokraterna had a higher support among voters in Skåne, than among other Swedish voters?</p><p>Essay in Political Science, C-level</p><p>Author: Jenny Wood</p><p>Tutor: Gregg Bucken-Knapp</p><p>Autumn 2006/ Spring 2007</p><p>The key question of this essay concerns the outcome of Sweden’s latest election. When all the votes where counted, the county of Skåne showed an exceptionally high support for the right wing nationalist party Sverigedemokraterna. Why then, did Sverigedemokraterna have a higher support among voters in Skåne (as part of the larger and transnational Öresund region), than among other Swedish voters? My hypothesis is the following: the regional interaction within Öresund has not only had positive effects concerning the values that the people of Skåne hold. In other words, Danish experience has changed the way in which the people of Skåne view immigrants and radical right wing parties.</p><p>Before I go on any further I will explain what is meant by the Öresund region. This region encompasses both parts of Sweden and Denmark (most notably Skåne and Själland), and the interaction between the two countries have increased considerably since a physical bridge between the two border regions was opened in July 2000.</p><p>Now, let us go on to the purpose of this essay, which is to answer the key question, and also to determine if the regional cooperation in the Öresund region has led to changes in the way the people of Skåne view right wing nationalist parties. Therefore, I explored the effects of the interaction between the Swedish region Skåne and the Danish region Själland, in order to discern if the Danes negative views towards immigrants and their strong feelings of nationalism, have effected Swedes and their values. In other words, was it possible that the Danish hostility towards immigrants and their unproblematic view of right wing nationalist parties, had been transmitted to the people of Skåne? Last but not least, it has also been the purpose of this essay to prove that traditional variables, concerning the question of why people vote for right wing nationalist parties, do no longer explain this phenomenon. By traditional variables I mean unemployment and a high density of immigrants of the population in a specific area.</p><p>In order to research the above mentioned issues, I have gone through letters to the editor, sent to the newspaper Sydsvenskan, and analysed the material using qualitative text analysis. I have also studied literature within the field of cross-border studies.</p><p>After ten weeks of research, I came to the conclusion that the traditional variables do not explain why Sverigedemokraterna received such a high proportion of the votes in Skåne. However, this essay also sheds light on the possibility of Danish experience as a plausible variable when it comes to explaining the outcome of the last election, but based on my limited study I can neither confirm nor dismiss the hypothesis. However, my study does provide some evidence that supports the hypothesis. In order to draw any conclusions however, it would have to be broadened in itself and replicated in other sections of Sweden or nationally.</p><p>The results of my study might leave the key question unanswered, but in itself can be viewed as an important step towards obtaining a clearer overview of what has driven the increased vote share for Sverigedemokraterna.</p>

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