Article Discourse Analysis: Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

Article Discourse Analysis: Israeli-Palestinian Conflict A Critical Discourse Analysis of an article on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict With increasing global media synergies, media studies seems to be gaining popularity in academia. One part of this discipline involves the close examination of media texts, be they written, spoken, or symbolic. To analyse texts linguistically, two dimensions are often considered: that of coherence, involving semantics or the construction of meaning, and that of cohesion, or syntax. This analysis can be done through various types of frameworks, including grounded theory, narrative semiotics, conversation analysis, and critical discourse analysis (CDA). According to Barthes (1994), texts are always multi-dimensional and their meanings are uncovered differently depending on the reader, context and setting. Particularly in the media, they are interconnected to other texts, through means such as quotations, indirect or direct references, photos or historical facts; thus, it could be said that the media produce and reproduce not only texts, but from these, social meaning, which is then further reinforced through subsequent intertextuality (Ibid). Baudrillard (2000) adds that language itself is not necessarily powerful; what makes it more so is its use by powerful people—in today’s society, this being epitomised by the globalised media. Critical discourse analysis is also sometimes referred to as critical linguistics (Wodak and Busch, 2004). Its roots lie in classical rhetoric, sociolinguistics and applied linguistics, and it is often used to illustrate the relationships that power, hierarchy, race and gender have with language (Fairclough, 1995). CDA is especially used today by academics that regard the discursive unit of a text to be one of the most basic units of communication. In fact, it is so widely used within scholarly environments that its legitimacy as a tool for examining power imbalances has been called into question by some, such as Billing (Wodak and Busch, 2004). He claims that because CDA has become so entrenched in academic discourses, it is thus subject to the same rituals and jargon as institutionalized knowledge, thus negating its potential to demystify the functions and intentions of CDA research. While these points are interesting and worthy of further exploration, the scope of this paper will not allow such examination, and furthermore, the assumptions of this paper are that CDA does, in fact, provide useful tools for critical analysis of media texts. Thus, this paper will apply CDA to one article by Rory McCarthy in the Guardian newspaper, dated Wednesday, December 12th, 2007. CDA will be employed to illustrate overt and underlying assumptions and beliefs, as well as the construction of social meaning. Wodak and Busch (2004) claim that all texts can help reproduce and produce unequal relationships in power between men and women, racial groups, social classes, ethnicities, and nations. This can be done through the creation of the Other, which involves the textual representation of a group as being ‘perpetrators and agents’ operating outside the law (Ibid, p. 99). They further claim that after the terrorist attacks of September 11, anti-Islamic prejudices became more pronounced in the media, which characterizes Muslims in anonymous and criminal terms (Ibid). Additionally, ‘strategies of generalization, blaming the victim, and victim-perpetrator reversal are increasingly prominent’ (Ibid, p.100). Analysing the text in the Guardian, these strategies do indeed seem to be in place. For example, actions attributed to Palestinians in the article often involved negative activities, whereas verbs related to the Israelis were more neutral: Palestinian actions: firing rockets, accused, complained, fired back, were detained, were reported, appeared to be Israeli actions: mounted an incursion, said, issue tenders for It is only when the voice of the article shifts from the writer to a direct quote from a Palestinian official that any harsher activities are attributed to the Israelis: sabotage, place obstacles The first sentence of the article is also interesting: Israeli troops in tanks and armoured vehicles mounted an incursion into Gaza yesterday, killing at least six Palestinians†¦.As many as 30 tanks and vehicles were involved in the operation†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Although the facts in the article imply that the Israeli army killed several Palestinians, it is important to note the syntax of the sentence removes direct responsibility from the army and pins it on ‘the incursion’. What is more, semantically, Israeli activity is never referred to as an ‘invasion’ or an ‘attack’ but is referred to as a mere ‘incursion’ or ‘operation’, or in the title, ‘Israeli tanks enter Gaza’. The Israelis have neutral ‘troops’ which are seeking ‘members of Islamic Jihad’ ‘a hardline Palestinian militant group’ or ‘Palestinian fighters’. These phrases imply that Palestinians are the only ones operating outside the law. Although it is clear from the facts stated in the article that Israel is the aggressor in this particular case: (tanks enter Gaza, killing at least six Palestinian militants) the writer felt it was necessary to include the feeble reaction of the Palestinians to this ‘incursion’ even though no Israelis were killed or even injured by the Palestinian action: ‘Palestinian fighters fired back’. This structure implies a fair battle, although it is abundantly clear that Israel is the only party here with fierce military power. The body count is kept low in the piece, which claims ‘at least six Palestinian militants’ were killed, rather than emphasizing a larger number, such as ‘about ten’ or even ‘half a dozen’ even though it seems certain that more than six were killed. Importantly, only the deaths of the ‘militants’ are mentioned here: it could be quite possible, then, that several hundred civilians were also killed. Although ‘as many as 30 tanks and vehicles’ seems a high number, the fact that these machines, and not people, were semantically involved in the invasion diminishes personal, human responsibility for the invasion and deaths. The sentence: ‘most of the dead appeared to be members of Islamic Jihad†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ only slightly suggests the possibility that ‘innocent civilians’ were also killed in the attack, and the words ‘appeared to be’ mean that there was no firm confirmation that the dead were, in fact, members of Islamic Jihad. ‘Several Palestinians were reported injured’ is another vague sentence which refuses to offer quantitative data regarding how many were injured, or give information about who, exactly, gave this report, which makes it sound dubious. The simple use of Palestinians is also vague and fails to clearly state the possible injury of ‘innocent civilians’. The situatedness of this text historically and politically supports Barthe’s claim that social meaning is reinforced through intertextuality. There is no mention or even implication that the Palestinians are, in fact, fighting to free their homeland from an illegal oppressor, and there is also no overt mention of the illegitimacy and illegality of Israel’s acts: for example, by choosing the word ‘settlement’ in the sentence: ‘†¦an Israeli decision†¦to issue tenders for more than 300 houses in the East Jerusalem settlement of Har Homa’ allows for a form of Israeli ‘newspeak’ to whitewash what is essentially an illegal occupation that has destroyed the natural environment of the Abu Ghneim forest and stolen more land from the Palestinians (poica.org) . Moreover, there is no mention of how Israel has repeatedly been condemned by the United Nations for its illegal ‘settlements’ such as that in Har Homa (Ibid). In fact, after reading such an article as the one in the Guardian, readers could well be left wondering just why the Palestinians have been ‘firing rockets’ or why they have been ‘detained’ or have become ‘militants’, although the article makes Israeli grievances easier to understand by employing the very lexis just mentioned previously (as well as: Islamic Jihad, accuse, complain). Thus, victim-perpetrator relationships are skewed by the semantics and syntax used in the article. There is no doubt that Israel is an oppressive power and disturbing presence in the Middle East, yet it is rarely portrayed as such in the media. There could be several reasons for this, but one may reside in Foucault’s notion of discourse, which states that discourse is an institutionalized way of thinking about something, or in other words, it defines the limits of what constitutes acceptable speech on a topic. Discourse is thus related to power, and defining discourses are often taken to be defining of reality itself (Foucault, 1997). Wodak and Busch (2004) state that the dominant discourse on Israel generally supports this state, possibly as a kind of backlash after the blatantly anti-Semetic propaganda that was once so common in Europe before and during the Second World War, but also because power relationships have shifted: Israel is a key ally to the most powerful nations in the world, including the United Kingdom and the United States, and as mentioned by Baudrillard (2000), the powerful use language to keep power structures intact. The final sentence of the article illustrates this point well: Although Israeli and Palestinian leaders and negotiators have been meeting regularly for months, today’s meeting marks the beginning of talks intended eventually to bring the creation of an independent Palestinian state. This paragraph implies that talks to create a Palestinian state are just beginning, and that a Palestinian state could possibly be created for the first time. Both of these assumptions are erroneous. Without delving too deeply in the politics of the Middle East, it is generally known by most that shortly after Israel’s inception, talks to negotiate Arab/Jewish territory have gone on almost continually. Secondly, in 1919 Palestine was provisionally recognized as an independent nation by the League of Nations in League Covenant Article 22(4) as well as by the 1922 Mandate for Palestine that was awarded to Great Britain. This recognition continues today due to the conservatory clause found in Article 80(1) of the United Nations Charter (Boyle, ) . Thus, ‘the creation of an independent Palestinian state’ negates the fact that such a nation has already existed. Incidentally, legally, Israel does not have fixed and permanent borders (except most recently with respect to Egypt) and yet it is generally considered by the media to be a legitimate state (Ibid). What is important to note here is that history is practically being rewritten in the Guardian text. Van Djik’s (1990) explanation as to how this is possible is closely connected to Barthes (1994) and Baudrillard’s (2000) ideas mentioned above. He claims that journalists and media consumers own ‘mental models of the world’ and thus any text that is understood contains only the ‘tip of an iceberg of information’ (Ibid, p.6). The tip is expressed through syntax and semiotics, but the rest is assumed to be supplied by the underlying knowledge of previous texts. For this reason, Van Djik states that ‘the analysis of the implicit†¦is very useful in the study of underlying ideologies’ (Ibid, p.6). In conclusion, this paper has illustrated how critical discourse analysis can be a useful tool for unearthing implicit meanings in text, through the analysis of syntax, semiotics, and assumptions implicit through intertextuality. Furthermore, it has given examples of how current discourses of power can influence the content of media texts. There is no doubt that after several years of exposure to standard news formats, broadcasters and audiences alike are prone to overlooking the covert messages in news content. For this reason, a critical perspective is certainly important, and furthermore, if news texts are assumed to be a system of encoding reality, then the agendas of the encoders must be understood before a thorough deconstruction of their messages can be possible. Appendix 1 Israel tanks enter Gaza on eve of peace talks Rory McCarthy, Jerusalem Israeli troops in tanks and armoured vehicles mounted an incursion into Gaza yesterday, killing at least six Palestinian militants on the eve of a new round of peace talks. As many as 30 tanks and vehicles were involved in the operation in southern Gaza, near the Sufa crossing and close to the town of Khan Yunnis. Several Palestinians were reported injured. The Israeli military said it was a routine operation against militants, but Palestinian officials accused Israel of trying to disrupt the peace talks. Israeli and Palestinian negotiators were to meet today at the King David hotel in Jerusalem to start a new process of talks in the wake of the Middle East conference in Annapolis late last month. Palestinian officials have already complained about an Israeli decision last week to issue tenders for more than 300 houses in the East Jerusalem settlement of Har Homa. ‘The Israeli policy of escalation aims to sabotage and place obstacles before the negotiations even before they start,’ said Nabil Abu Rdeneh, a spokesman for the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas. Most of the dead appeared to be members of Islamic Jihad, a small but hardline Palestinian militant group which ahs been responsible for firing makeshift rockets from Gaza into Israel. Around 60 Palestinians were detained in what was the largest Israeli operation in months. Palestinian fighters fired back and hit one Israeli tank. Although Israeli and Palestinian leaders and negotiators have been meeting regularly for months, today’s meeting marks the beginning of talks intended to eventually bring the creation of an independent Palestinian state. References Barthes, R, (1994) Mythologies, Hill and Wang, London Baudrillard, J, (2000), Routledge Critical Thinkers, Routledge Publishing, London Boyle, F, (2007) Elements of Palestinian Statehood, in The European Journal of International Law, Vol.18 No 3 Fairclough, N (1995) Critical Discourse Analysis, Longman, Harlow. Foucault, M (1997) The Politics of Truth, Semiotext(e), France McCarthy, R, Israel tanks enter Gaza on eve of peace talks, in the Guardian, December 12, 2007 Van Djik, T. A. (1990). Discourse Society, in Van Djik, T. A (ed.), (2007) A New Journal for a New Research Focus, Volume 18 No 2, Sage Publications, London Wodak, R and Busch, B, (2004) Approaches to Media Studies, in Downing, J, The Sage Handbook of Media Studies, Sage, London http://www.poica.org/editor/case_studies/view.php?recordID=1207

Homosexuality in Todays Society Essay -- Papers Gay Homosexual Essays

Homosexuality in Today's Society In today's society, there exists a mixture of issues which tend to raise arguments with people all over. There are a handful of topics that always seem to escalate these differences between people to the point where one who earnestly participates in discussion, debate and argument can direct their anger towards their feelings on the person themselves. Some examples of such delicate subjects are the death penalty, abortion, and euthanasia. An issue that has in recent years, begun to increase arguments, is the acceptability of homosexuality in society. Until recently, homosexuality was considered strictly taboo. If an individual was homosexual, it was considered a secret to be kept from all family, friends, and society. However, it seem that society has begun to accept this lifestyle by allowing same sex couples. The idea of coming out of the 'closet' has moved to the head of homosexual individuals when it used to be the exception. Homosexuality is nothing to be ashamed of and we sho uld all come to realize this. The Government of Canada passed a law making it illegal to discriminate against an individual's sexual preference. With this in mind, the government would then require all of society, including religious communities, to welcome the marriages, adoptions, and families of homosexuals as though they were in no way different from heterosexual ones. It is amazing that such an authority be involved in legislating the acceptance of the normality of this group of individuals. To conclude that the government is taking a corageous act by legislating this law , it must be shown that homosexuality is something we have to accept in society. Many feel that such a lif... ...that to the Lord and he will make the right decision. He will decide what the sinner does and doesn't deserve. Christians know what to abide by. They may know that being a homosexual is going against Gods word but they also know that the Lord says that one should love all no matter what circumstances. Calling homosexuals offensive names is just as offensive as from public displays of affection from homosexuals. Of course I for one do not fin any kind of this public display offensive but some might. So if some want the respect to get homosexuals to keep their proclamation of loving one another private then they have to stop the name calling and violence. Homosexuals are just as human or Christian as anyone may be so that is more of a reason to love them. The Bible says that sinners will be forgiven so for us to be more God like shouldn't we forgive homosexuals?

Computerization of Public Sector Essay

Introduction In the midst of the Global Financial Crisis we found the Mediterranean states, Greece, Portugal, Spain, Italy, being troubled by serious fiscal issues, great deficit on their balance sheets, characterized by low competitiveness and enormous public debt. Over the last year of the GFC the policies that had been followed for those countries are mainly focused around the creation of fiscal surpass by using horizontal and cross cutting methods. The results of those tactics after almost 4 years of austerity measures are far from favorable. One reason for that is that the IMF and EU were unable to look deep into the problem. Their primary target was to found a swift and superficial solution, mainly because of the pressure from the markets and political factors. On this research we will focus our interest deeper into the problem and attempt reaching the core of it. One very important aspect of the crisis that the mentioned organizations have not taken into account is the efficiency of the pu blic sector on the problematic countries. If the public sector lacks on efficiency then the results would be phenomenon like corruption, unorganized departments, tax evasion and absence of communication between agencies. One great factor that determines the efficiency of a state is the computerization of its public sector. And that is what our research will be focused on. Main literature used on the research To reach the needed results we have to find the proper literature, we have to use that as a base for our research and to help us on extracting our conclusions. We need to analyze the structure of the Public Sector Management on those countries and to learn how important the role of computerization is on an efficient government. That is exactly what (Dunleavy, 2006) tried to show us. How vital computerization is for the public administrator and its role on key factors like taxation, decentralization, bureaucracy and public corruption. Another aspect we have to use on our literature research is the quality on public sector. What is its relation with a computerized state how is affected by that. Quality is an important element of a successful computerization process, their bonds are strong, quality is considered fundamental for a public sector to become more efficient and to increase its performance (Pollitt and Bouckaert, 1995). Performance is another important factor that has a crucial role on a healthy public sector. It helps to increase its effectiveness, that leads to a more transparent and innovative system (Bruijn, 2006). After we successfully incorporate those components into the public administration we would be able to observe the impact of computerization on the economic stability of a country (Snellen et al., 1989). Advantages of a computerized public sector If we look into the literature we will see that the Mediterranean states that are deadlocked, actually apart from their deficit they have one more common thing, their corruption ratings (Transparency international, 2011; OECD, 2011). Therefore we observe a great proportion of tax evasion, and restrict bureaucracy (World Bank, 2012) and low competitiveness against other states (Klaus Schwab, 2012). The advantage of a computerized public sector, apart from the efficiency (Pollitt and Bouckaert, 1995), is the addition on effectiveness too (Willcocks and Harrow, 1992). Moreover we survey a great improvement on transparency (OECD, 2011) and on accessibility of the services as well as on productivity (Hayes, 1977). All the previews factors are on a sequence, first of all the immediate reaction of a computerized sector is to improve its quality (Pollitt and Bouckaert, 1995), that is conceivable through an â€Å"adaption† of new public management standards (Hood, 1998), next step is the improvement of performance (Margetts, 1999);(Dunleavy, 2006). Moreover after we succeed on adapting quality and performance into the public sector, the effectiveness (GAO,1991) and the efficiency occurs (Willcocks and Harrow, 1992). As a result an economic stability will commence (HMSO, 1983);(Klein, 1988). All the above have shown that will result on a better tax administrator (Snellen et al., 1989);(Naur, 1974) and have as an outcome the better taxation (Margetts, 1999). Still the most important thing that gets neutralized is the political interception (Herring, 1967). Arguments The main arguments about computerization of the public sector directs from the employees. A factor is the poverty of knowledge about the use of new technologies and their lack of interest on learning them. Another important factor is the political and union interests (Transparency international, 2011). On the above mentioned countries, unions and political parties have a â€Å"client† relationship. This suggests a major concern for an improvement effort of public sector’s administration. Managers lack the will to adapt innovative ideas into their departments. And the corrupted bureaucratic state’s roots are so deep that ought great effort to overcome those obstacles. (Jorma, 1988). Other arguments come from the cost of a computerization update (Dunleavy, 2006). Furthermore, arguments about the part that computerization had on the instability of the Mediterranean States are expressed from organizations like IMF, on their monthly reports they do not take into account the individuality and the complexity of the public sector on those countries (IMF, 2012). Methodology For the research to be conducted we have to use a combination of quantitative, by using the â€Å"N† data sets and qualitative methods by the use of enquiries. Because of the nature of the research some factors cannot be properly valued by quantitative methods (Weber et al., 1946) And some information are results from qualitative research (Ragin and Amoroso, 2011);(Ragin, 1987). Also we have to take into account the external factors that affect the computerization process. Thus the research will not be â€Å"immune† to external elements. Conclusion To conclude we have reached a point on introducing austerity measures on the Mediterranean Countries, where we should be very careful of our actions. Especially when the EU is on a dense position because of political rivalries, unwillingness and antagonism amongst union states. And portray a lack of focus to the core of the issue. If we do not act more carefully and if we do not try to find the right questions for the problem the situation will become irreversible. The question should not be how to stop the deficit, instead should be how those problematic countries can improve their public sector? And more specifically at what extend the computerization of public sector in Mediterranean Nations â€Å"affect† their economic stability? It should be appropriate to close with a quote from Simon H. A â€Å"is the resistance it evokes from those who refuse to see in it anything more than an enlarged desk calculator. Not since the Darwinian controversy of the past century we have seen such a passionate defense of the uniqueness of man [sic] against claims of kinship by systems that don’t belong to his species.† (Simon H.A, 1973: 503) References BRUIJN, J. A. D. 2006. Managing performance in the public sector, New York, NY, Routledge. DUNLEAVY, P. 2006. Digital era governance : IT corporations, the state, and E-government, Oxford, Oxford University Press. GAO. 1991a. SSA: Computers Long Rans Vision Needed to Guide future systems modernization efforts, GAO/IMTEC – P1- 44, Washington DC. HAYES, F. O. R. 1977. Productivity in local government, Lexington, Mass., Lexington Books. HERRING, P. 1967. Public administration and the public interest, New York,, Russell & Russell. HMSO. 1983a. Efficiency and Effectiveness in the Civil Service, HMSO, London HOOD, C. 1998. The art of the state : culture, rhetoric, and public management, Oxford ; New York, Clarendon Press. IMF. DECEMBER 2011. IMF Country Report No. 11/351, Greece: Fifth Review Under the Stand-By Arrangement, Rephasing and Request for Waivers of Nonobservance of Performance Criteria; Press Release on the Executive Board Discussion; and Statement by the Executive Director for Greece., Washington, D.C. IMF. JULY 2012. IMF Country Report No. 12/168, Italy: Selected Issues, Washington, D.C. IMF. JUNE 2012. IMF Country Report No. 12/137, Spain: Financial Stability Assessment, Washington, D.C. KLAUS SCHWAB. 2012. WEF: Global Competitiveness 2012-2013, Geneva, World Economic Forum. KLEIN, R & CARTER, N. 1988. Performance Measurement a review of concepts and issues. Discussion Paper No 18, Public Finance Foundation KUOPUS, JORMA. 1988. Hallinnon lainalaisuus ja automatisoitu verohalliuto, Jyuaskyla, Finnish Lawyers Publishing Company MARGETTS, H. 1999. Information technology in government : Britain and America, London ; New York, Routledge. NAUR, P. 1974. Concise survey of computer methods, New York, Petrocelli Books. OECD. 2011. OECD: Working on Bribery, Annual Report 2011 POLLITT, C. & BOUCKAERT, G. 1995. Quality improvement in European public services : concepts, cases and commentary, London ; Thousand Oaks, Calif., Sage. RAGIN, C. C. & AMOROSO, L. M. 2011. Constructing social research : the unity and diversity of method, Los Angeles, SAGE Publications. RAGIN, C. C. 1987. The comparative method : moving beyond qualitative and quantitative strategies, Berkeley, University of California Press. SIMON H,A . 1973. Applying Information technology to organization Design, Public Administration Review, 33: 268-78 SNELLEN, I. T. M., DONK, W. B. H. J. V. D. & BAQUIAST, J.-P. 1989. Expert systems in public administration : evolving practices and norms, Amsterdam ; New York, Elsevier Science Publishers. TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL. 2011. Corruption Perception Index 2011 WEBER, M., GERTH, H. H. & MILLS, C. W. 1946. From Max Weber: Essays in sociology, New York,, Oxford university press. WILLCOCKS, L. & HARROW, J. 1992. Rediscovering public services management, Lond on, McGraw-Hill. WORLD BANK. 2008. WORLD BANK: Doing Business 2012, http://www.doingbusiness.org/rankings, last checked 29/10/2012

Technology and Cultures Essay - 877 Words

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