This study aims to examine how the Swedish government owned gambling company Svenska Spel constructs ideas of winning, thrills and rewards through semiotic resources in televised commercials. Furthermore, this study investigates how the construction of winning, thrills and rewards relates to the gambling law's requirement for moderation. The theoretical frameworks used in this study are social semiotics and neoliberalism and the practiced method is a multimodal discourse analysis. This study´s material consists of three commercials from three different gambling services all owned by Svenska Spel which are Bilen (eng. tr. The Car) produced by Keno, Kontoret (eng. tr. The Office) produced by Triss, and Drömhuset (eng. tr. The Dream House) produced by Lotto. The results show that all commercials contain elements of winning, thrills and rewards that allude to “a good life” through themes of luxury, freedom, class, power, misery and warnings. The results also indicate that the commercials in some ways violate limits related to the gambling law’s requirements for moderation.

Nach einem Überblick über die theoretischen Erklärungsmodelle der diskursiven Subjektkonstitution von Émile Benveniste über Louis Althusser und Michel Foucault zu linguistischen Ansätzen in der Gesprächsanalyse und social semiotics angelsächsischer Provenienz, werden zwei erfolgreiche US-amerikanische "Ratgeber"-Talkshowreihen der neunziger Jahre ("Oprah Winfrey" und "Rolonda") einer umfassenden pragma-linguistisch orientierten Gesprächsanalyse unterzogen. Dazu war es nötig, je drei Sendungen dieser Shows zuerst vollständig zu transkribieren, sie dann in Phasen einzuteilen und Vergleichskriterien zu bestimmen. Die Ausgangshypothese ist, dass trotz großer Ähnlichkeiten im Format, beide Shows erhebliche Unterschiede in der öffentlichen Darstellungsform bzw. Repräsentanz ihrer Teilnehmerrollen (Talkmaster, Gäste und Publikum) und deren Verhältnis zueinander aufweisen, und dass diese erheblichen Abweichungen dem Mikrobereich der lexiko-grammatisch systematisch erfaß- und beschreibbaren Redeweisen und Gesprächsstrukturen implizit eingeschrieben ist. Kernstück der Arbeit ist die Herausarbeitung von Ebenen, auf denen sich diskursiv show-spezifische Teilnehmer-Identitäten konstituieren: Dialogsequenzierung und -organisation, Gebrauch von Personalpronomen und Anredeformen, Fragetypen, narrative Strategien, lexikalische (Selbst-) Kategorisierungen, sämtliche Bereiche der Modalität. Auf dieser Ebene der interpersonellen Funktion von Sprache werden innerhalb der Show-Sendungen und zwischen den beiden Show-Reihen sehr unterschiedliche Gesprächsstrategien deutlich, die sich erstaunlich plausibel mit Foucaults diskursiven Subjektivierungs- vs. Objektivierungsstrategien korrelieren ließen, und also als unterschiedliche Machttechnologien zur Hervorbringung und Reproduktion spezifischer "öffentlicher Subjekte" darstellen, wie sie in medialen Formaten als Abbilder des "Durchschnittsmenschen" in Erscheinung treten. Sie signifizieren Varianten eines "Alltags"-Subjekts (repräsentiert durch die in der Show zu Alltagsproblemen befragten Gäste in ihrem Verhältnis zu Talkmaster und Studiopublikum), das einmal - neoliberal-protestantisch - als rational-einsichtsfähig sich selbst disziplinierend im Diskursfeld des Neoliberalismus-Protestantismus konstituiert und gezeichnet wird, im anderen Falle als irrational-verantwortungslos fremden Regulierungsinstanzen und außengelenkten sprachlichen Disziplinierungs- und Abbitteritualen unterworfen wird und somit eine Teilnehmerrolle innerhalb autoritär-feudalistischen Diskurse charakterisiert.

Bakgrund Syftet med denna avhandling är att få veta mer om hur elever skapar mening i mötet med innehållet i skolans naturvetenskap. De resultat som presenteras i avhandlingen är resultat som visar hur eleverna uttrycker sig under utvalda interaktioner från naturvetenskaplig undervisning. Elevernas uttryck för meningsskapande jämförs också med vad som tidigare forskning rapporterat som svårt i skolans naturvetenskap. Lärandet betraktas genomgående som en sociokulturell aktivitet. Metoder För att kunna besvara frågan om hur ett meningsskapande uttrycks har elevernas uttalanden under interaktioner karaktäriserats kvalitativt och med objektet för undervisningen i förgrunden. Datainsamlingen har gjorts med ljud- eller videoinspelningar. Ämnesinnehållet i interaktionerna är i fokus och hur eleverna samtalar om genetik, cellandning, blodomlopp eller genomförandet av en laboration är centralt i avhandlingens delstudier. De deltagande eleverna är från grundskolans årskurs fem, årskurs nio och från gymnasiet. Resultat Resultaten visar en variation i hur ofta elever diskuterar och uttrycker någon egen mening om de naturvetenskapliga förklaringsmodellerna. När elever konstruerar begreppskartor med utvalda begrepp uttrycker gruppen sitt meningsskapande på sätt som många gånger närmar sig det vetenskapliga. En undervisningsfilm presenterar många vetenskapliga förklaringsmodeller av blodomloppets funktion, men få av dem används av eleverna i det efterföljande samtalet. I interaktioner under laborationer uttrycker elever inte så ofta ett meningsskapande av de naturvetenskapliga förklaringsmodellerna. Sammanfattning Avhandlingens delstudier ger prov på flera tillfällen när eleverna diskuterar ett meningsskapande av de naturvetenskapliga förklaringsmodellerna. Det finns också exempel när förklaringsmodellerna inte diskuteras, även om de för en skolad naturvetare helt uppenbart presenteras. En viktig faktor för att elevernas naturvetenskapliga meningsskapande ska ske är i studierna om undervisningen uppmärksammar hur naturvetenskapliga förklaringsmodeller knyter samman synliga fenomen med molekylära förklaringar och symboler. En annan faktor är om undervisningen lyfter fram naturvetenskapens sätt att kommunicera. Ytterligare en viktig faktor för att de naturvetenskapliga förklaringsmodellerna ska bli ett verktyg för elevernas meningsskapande är om det nya innehållet knyter an till elevernas tidigare vardagserfarenheter eller erfarenheter från tidigare undervisning.

The aim of this thesis is to analyse offered meaning, that is, what and how subject content is communicated to the recipients. In this case the subject content is biological diversity and the communicative artefacts are biology books for the latter grades in the Swedish compulsory school. The four papers cover aspects of biodiversity in biology books (I), connections between biology books and the world outside school (II), the definition of the species concept and the use of the concept species in textbooks and in pupils' assertions (III), and finally how instances of modes are connected in a multimodal text and how the design of texts may affect the possibilities of meaning making (IV). The biology books used for data collection are multimodal texts with different types of written text and a rich amount of illustrations. The collected data was primarily used for content analysis but also to explore the design of the books. In paper III and IV data was also obtained by two questionnaires to students. Data is analysed and the results are discussed on the basis of a social semiotic theory of communication and meaning making. The books contain many facts about biological diversity, but the concept is not defined explicitly in several of them. In relation to human beings and human activities are beneficial aspects of biological diversity given precedence over ethical, aesthetic and economic aspects. The results also show that the books contain inaccuracies and questionable formulations regarding biodiversity, as well as simplifications and colloquial expressions rather than scientifically accurate terminology. Direct address, anthropomorphism, analogies and connections to life outside school are also found in the books. To recognize themselves in many of the connections to everyday life, pupils need to have visited many habitats in different seasons. The use of concepts is an area where there is a great potential for change. The species concept can be seen as an example of how a concept is introduced early and that understanding is taken for granted in the remaining text. Responses from the questionnaires suggest that more time needs to be given to basic biological concepts and that a big amount of instances of modes may impede meaning making. Textbooks are compromise products created to suit a diverse audience. There is a risk that the offered meaning of the books is not consistent with the perceived meaning of the students. The results of the thesis may contribute to reduce the gap between offered and perceived meaning. If awareness is raised about the problems pupils may face when using textbooks, the teachers' and the authors' ability to support meaning making may increase. / <p>Akademisk avhandling för filosofie doktorsexamen i Naturvetenskap, inriktning utbildningsvetenskap, som med tillstånd från Naturvetenskapliga fakulteten kommer att offentligt försvaras fredag den 7 november, 2014 kl. 10.00 i Föreläsningssalen, Institutionen för biologi och miljövetenskap, Medicinaregatan 18, Göteborg.</p><p>I. Ferlin, M. (2011). Biologisk mångfald i svenska läroböcker för skolår 6–9. NorDiNa, 7(1), 71–84</p><p>II. Ferlin, M. (2013). Vardagsanknytning i biologiböcker. Paideia 5, 52–61</p><p>III. Ferlin, M. &amp; Sundberg, P. (Accepterat manuskript). Grundskoleelevers uppfattningar om begreppet art relaterade till formuleringar i läroböcker i biologi. Publiceras i NorDiNa våren 2015.</p><p>IV. Ferlin, M. (Manuskript). Connections between instances of modes in multimodal texts.</p>

While the inclusion of gay and lesbian individuals in the media is not a recent phenomenon, the increased representation of families headed by gay and lesbian couples is somewhat new. Research has shown that mediatized representations of gay and lesbian individuals and couples more often than not adhere to stereotypes and perpetuate ideas that the constructors of these representations want their audiences to consume. Research has also focused on audiences’ reception and processing of the messages that these representations may carry. This study, instead, focuses on the construction of representations of gay and lesbian couples and their families, bringing to the forefront the importance of discursive practices that are used to construct visual, linguistic, and aural elements of the media consumed by audiences. Looking specifically at advertisements (both for and against) concerning California’s Proposition 8, a ballot measure proposing to ban same-sex marriages, this study shows how elements of the composition of the advertisements coalesce and mutually enhance each other to create particular understandings of gay and lesbian families. Using Critical Discourse Analysis and Social Semiotics, this study uncovers the underlying ideologies that inform the discursive and semiotic choices that have been made. Together, the music, the visuals, and the language are formed into a coherent whole, the advertisement. This thesis argues that how gay and lesbian people are represented is equally as important as the overt messages that are being disseminated to the audiences. By studying the discursive practices utilized by these advertisements, we are able to see that ideologies of idealistic family life and heterosexual relationships influence both advertisements in their characterisation of gay and lesbian couples and their respective families. / Graduate / 0626 / 0628 / df.tabangcura@gmail.com

In this licentiate thesis, I present detailed case studies of students as they make use of simulated digital learning environments to engage with physics phenomena. In doing so, I reveal the moment-to-moment minutiae of physics students’ open-ended inquiry in the presence of two digital tools, namely the sandbox software Algodoo and the PhET simulation My Solar System (both running on an interactive whiteboard). As this is a topic which has yet to receive significant attention in the physics education research community, I employ an interpretivist, case-oriented methodology to illustrate, build, and refine several theoretical perspectives. Notably, I combine the notion of semi-formalisms with the notion of Newtonian modeling, I illustrate how Algodoo can be seen to function as a Papertian microworld, I meaningfully combine the theoretical perspectives of social semiotics and embodied cognition into a single analytic lens, and I reveal the need for a more nuanced taxonomy of students’ embodiment during physics learning activities. Each of the case studies presented in this thesis makes use of conversation analysis in a fine-grained examination of video-recorded, small-group student interactions. Of particular importance to this process is my attention to students’ non-verbal communication via gestures, gaze, body position, haptic-touch, and interactions with the environment. In this way, I bring into focus the multimodally-rich, often informal interactions of students as they deal with physics content. I make visible the ways in which the students (1) make the conceptual connection between the physical world and the formal/mathematical domain of disciplinary physics, (2) make informal and creative use of mathematical representations, and (3) incorporate their bodies to mechanistically reason about physical phenomena. Across each of the cases presented in this thesis, I show how, while using open-ended software on an interactive whiteboard, students can communicate and reason about physics phenomena in unexpectedly fruitful ways.

The continuous rise of socio-economic inequality over the past decades with its connected political outcomes such as the Brexit vote in the UK, and the election of Donald Trump are currently a matter of intense debate both in academia and in journalism. A significant sign of the heightened interest was the surprise popularity of Thomas Piketty's Capital in the 21st Century. The book reached the top of the bestseller lists and was described as a "media Sensation" and Piketty himself as a "rock star Economist". This paper, drawing from a major international and cross-disciplinary study, investigates the print media treatment in four European countries of economic policy proposals presented in Capital. Applying social semiotic and critical discourse analysis, we specifically focus on articles which are in disagreement with these proposals and identify five categories of counterarguments used against Piketty: authorisation, moralisation, rationalisation, portrayal of victimhood and inevitability. Providing textual and linguistic examples we demonstrate how the use of linguistic resources normalises and conventionalises ideology-laden discourses of economic means (taxation) and effects, reinforcing particular views of social relations and class as common sense and therewith upholding and perpetuating power relations and inequalities. / Series: Department of Economics Working Paper Series

nÃo hà / A EducaÃÃo a DistÃncia tem surgido como uma alternativa de modalidade de ensino para atender a uma nova demanda sÃcio-polÃtica-econÃmica (BRENNAND, 2002). Consequentemente, essa nova modalidade tambÃm tem exigido a produÃÃo de material didÃtico virtual. Para tanto, esta pesquisa propÃe realizar um diagnÃstico dos recursos multimodais usados em materiais didÃticos virtuais, tentando compreender de que maneira tal uso tem contribuÃdo na elaboraÃÃo de materiais didÃticos virtuais. Para subsidiar teoricamente a pesquisa, este trabalho procurou respaldo na SemiÃtica Social, cujo foco incide sobre os principais modos de representaÃÃo e funÃÃo por meio de um texto, como tambÃm tenta investigar e compreender os fatores sociais, histÃricos e culturais utilizados para produzirem o significado de qualquer modo semiÃtico; (HODGE e KRESS, 1998; KRESS e VAN LEEUWEN, 1996; HALLIDAY, 1978). Essa teoria encontra subsÃdio no Funcionalismo, que em uma situaÃÃo comunicativa, considera o propÃsito do evento da fala, seus participantes e o contexto discursivo, ou seja; o uso da linguagem (HALLIDAY, 1994). Tanto a SemiÃtica Social quanto o Funcionalismo estabeleceram a base para a elaboraÃÃo da GramÃtica do Design Visual, produzido por Kress e van Leeuwen (1996), cujas metafunÃÃes sÃo baseadas nos princÃpios da GramÃtica SistÃmico-Funcional. E por vez, nortearam os estudos sobre a multimodalidade que serviram de base para a anÃlise dos recursos multimodais no material didÃtico virtual. Em consonÃncia com os objetivos deste trabalho, esta pesquisa foi conduzida por uma metodologia exploratÃrio-descritiva, do tipo survey, em que houve a seleÃÃo de duas disciplinas, uma do primeiro semestre, denominada de Teoria de LÃngua e Segunda LÃngua, e outra do terceiro, denominada de LÃngua Inglesa 3B, e de seus respectivos materiais didÃticos virtuais, do curso de graduaÃÃo semipresencial em Letras InglÃs da Universidade Federal do Cearà â UFC. Para a obtenÃÃo dos dados, foram utilizados trÃs instrumentos de pesquisa, uma Lista de Checagem e dois questionÃrios, adaptados para cada um dos participantes, alunos e professores coordenadores das disciplinas. Com a anÃlise, foram observadas nos materiais didÃticos virtuais trÃs tipos de linguagens: verbal, com 83%; nÃo-verbal, com 15%; e verbo-visual 2%. Constatou-se tambÃm que a maioria dos recursos multimodais à expresso pelo tipo de linguagem verbal. TambÃm, um nÃmero considerÃvel de elementos multimodais estabelece uma relaÃÃo com o texto por especificaÃÃo (IlustraÃÃo) ou por similaridade e possuem uma funÃÃo de impessoalidade ou neutro. Ainda, alguns desses recursos multimodais inseridos pelo autor sÃo trocados ou retirados no momento da transiÃÃo do meio impresso para o meio virtual por uma equipe de transiÃÃo da instituiÃÃo, o que faz perder o efeito de sentido original do texto; tambÃm hà um percentual mÃnimo de recursos multimodais que nÃo estÃo inseridos dentro de um contexto social do leitor, dificultando a compreensÃo do conteÃdo do material didÃtico; e, por fim, os recursos multimodais sÃo bem distribuÃdos e organizados na tela do computador. ConcluÃmos que à fundamental que todos os envolvidos no processo de elaboraÃÃo do material didÃtico virtual, tenham o conhecimento linguÃstico, em especial, sobre a SemiÃtica Social; ao inserir os recursos multimodais, que seja observado o universo sÃcio-cultural do aluno para a construÃÃo de sentido eficiente; e vejam a possibilidade de inserir outros recursos multimodais no texto de forma consciente para auxiliar na construÃÃo de sentido. / Distance education has established itself as an alternative modality of learning which meets new socio-political-economic demands in the educational field (BRENNAND, 2002). A consequence of this new learning modality is the increased need for virtual learning materials. This paper presents the results of an evaluation of the multimodal resources employed in virtual learning materials, and a discussion of how such use has contributed in the development of virtual learning materials. The background for the study are the linguistic theories on multimodality, such as functionalism, which takes into consideration, for any given communicative situation, the purpose of speech events, as well as the participants and the discursive context involved, i.e., the use of language (Halliday, 1994). The principles of social semiotics were also considered, which focus on the main representational and functional modes expressed in a text, while also trying to investigate and understand the social, historical and cultural factors involved in the production of meaning in any semiotic mode ( HODGE and Kress, 1998; Kress and van Leeuwen, 1996; Halliday, 1978). Social semiotics and functionalism are among the bases upon which the Grammar of Visual Design (Kress and van Leeuwen, 1996) was developed, and it proposes similar metafunctions to those found in systemic functional grammar theories. Kress and van Leeuwenâs work is, therefore, the main basis for the analysis of multimodal resources in virtual learning material presented in this paper. The study adopted exploratory-descriptive methods of survey type. Two English disciplines and their respective virtual learning materials were selected for investigation, namely Theories of Language and Second Language and English Language 3B. These disciplines are part, respectively, of the curriculums of the first and third semesters of the blended-modality BA Course in English Language Teaching at the Federal University of Cearà â UFC. In this course, students have both distance classes and regular in situ classes. Three research instruments were used for data collection, a checklist and two questionnaires, which were adapted to the different categories of participants: students, instructors and coordinators. The analysis revealed that three types of language are employed in the virtual learning materials under study: verbal language (83 %), non-verbal (15 %) and verbal-visual (2 %). Therefore, it was concluded that most multimodal resources are expressed by means of verbal language. In addition, it was found that a significant number of multimodal elements relate to the texts of origin through specification (illustration) or through similarity, and have impersonal or neutral functions. Furthermore, it was observed that the specialists from the University in charge of designing the virtual materials decide to change or withdraw from the text some of their multimodal resources, at the moment of their insertion in the virtual environment. This process results in the loss of some of the original meaning of the texts. There is also a small percentage of multimodal features which are not part of the social context of the readers, making it difficult to understand the content of the teaching material. Finally, it was found that the multimodal resources are well distributed and organized on the computer screen. From all that, it can be concluded that it is essential that all parties involved in the process virtual learning materials design have the necessary linguistic knowledge, especially concerning social semiotics. It is also important that material designers take the social and cultural background of the student into consideration in order to create efficient materials and that the possibility of purposeful insertion of other multimodal features in the text is considered as a way to contribute for the construction of textual meaning.

The continued rise of socio-economic inequality over the past decades with its connected political outcomes such as the Brexit vote in the UK, and the election of Donald Trump are currently a matter of intense debate both in academia and in journalism. One significant sign of the heightened interest was the surprise popularity of Thomas Piketty's Capital in the twenty-first Century. The book reached the top of the bestseller lists and was described as a "media Sensation", with Piketty himself as a "rock star Economist". This paper, drawing from a major international and cross-disciplinary study, investigates the print media treatment in four European countries of economic policy proposals presented in Capital. Applying social semiotic and critical discourse analysis, we specifically focus on articles which are in disagreement with these proposals and identify five categories of counterarguments used against Piketty: authorisation, moralisation, rationalisation, portrayal of victimhood and inevitability. Providing textual and linguistic examples we demonstrate how the use of linguistic resources normalises and conventionalises ideology-laden discourses of economic means (taxation) and effects, reinforcing particular views of social relations and class as common sense and therewith upholding and perpetuating power relations and inequalities.

<p>This thesis deals with model readers in contemporary Swedish magazine advertising texts aimed at different target groups: children (aged 7–12), teenagers (13–19), and adults (20–29) of both genders. The model reader is the presupposed reader of the text, realised in the text itself and not identical with the empirical reader, who is anyone reading the text.</p><p>The study takes the consumer culture of late modernity and the gender system as its point of departure. The model readers are regarded as socially motivated mass mediated identities that are offered to the empirical readers of the advertisements. Through the theoretical assumptions of social semiotics and critical discourse analysis, the model readers are, on the one hand, treated as textual realisations of the consumer culture and the gender system and, on the other, as varying with respect to target group.</p><p>A total of 14 advertisements, selected according to the age and gender of the target groups, are analysed. The texts are multimodal; the copy combines with the images, graphics, colours etc. to create meaning. A qualitative model for analysis was developed and applied both to the copy and to other visual representations in the texts. This model allows an analysis of the construction of the model reader at different levels in the text. The textual composition of the ads as well as ideational and interpersonal meanings are analysed along with intertextual and extratextual presuppositions.</p><p>One of the main findings of the study is that the model readers in the ads with male target groups tend to relate to a reproductive type of consumption, where an already successful model reader reproduces success, activity and leadership through consumption of the advertised products. The model readers in ads with female target groups tend to be more concerned with looks and the female body, and are not as successful or leadership-oriented. They also relate to a pretentious type of consumption, where the product is needed to adjust or improve the identity of the model reader. A gender system in which masculinity is superior and femininity inferior can thus be traced in the advertisements analysed. Another result is that more traditional, often more person and product-oriented, advertising formats are found in the ads with older target groups whereas more collage-oriented, or intertextual, formats are found in the ads with younger target groups.</p>