Plasticity of the neural coding metaphor: An unnoticed rhetoric in scientific discourse

2019 ◽  
Vol 42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giulia Frezza ◽  
Pierluigi Zoccolotti

Abstract The convincing argument that Brette makes for the neural coding metaphor as imposing one view of brain behavior can be further explained through discourse analysis. Instead of a unified view, we argue, the coding metaphor's plasticity, versatility, and robustness throughout time explain its success and conventionalization to the point that its rhetoric became overlooked.

2012 ◽  
Vol 39 ◽  
pp. 73-93
Author(s):  
Sueli Cristina Pauli ◽  
Leda Verdiani Tfouni ◽  
Maria Clotilde Rosseti Ferreira

Taking the “french” discourse analysis as reference, the aim of this work is to determine some relationships between continuous in-training of educators in day-care centers and discourse they produce about their practice. In this way, we took the perspective of analyzing some linguistic cues, specifically those referring to the determination and indetermination of the sentences’ subjects present in the educator’s discourse of two day-care centers (CI and CII), which differed by the fact of having wide in-training experience (CI), or having a non-systematic one (CII). The analysis of the corpora pointed to a preferential style among the CI educators, which consists in the linguistic indetermination of the subject of the sentence, whereas, among CII educators, there was a prevalence of the subject determination. Since the indetermination of the sentence subject is a characteristic of the scientific discourse, one can think about a relationship between continuous in-training and the allocation of places in the discourse where the subjects can speak about their practice in a distance and no-personalized way (effect of meaning which is also typical of the scientific discourse), such as happen with CI subjects. On the other hand, in CII, where the in-training is non-systematic, the greater use of linguistic marks of determination indicates that subjects can assume and commit themselves with the meanings they produce. In CI, therefore, there seems to exist a mechanism of identification with the Other’s discourse, and this effect is absent in CII, due to the absence of scientific discourse which may serve as reference, and to which the subjects might filiate themselves.


1994 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 403-424 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Locke

A central issue to emerge from recent research into the public understanding of science concerns the methods of study adopted. A distinction is made here between the public understanding of science (meaning knowledge of scientific orthodoxy), and the public understanding of science (meaning what people take `science' to mean). This is used to consider the case of creation science, which is analysed using the method of discourse analysis developed initially by Gilbert and Mulkay. It is shown that creationists appear to employ similar discursive techniques and resources—supplemented by their alternative beliefs—to those used by orthodox scientists. Whilst acknowledging limitations of the creationist case, it is argued that it is sufficient to show the value of methods of study that are sensitive to possible contextual variations in the public understanding of science. It is suggested that more research of this nature is needed to determine the extent to which science is used as a resource of accounting, both alone and in conjunction with alternative discursive resources.


2016 ◽  
Vol 51 ◽  
pp. 238-249
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Zatorska

The usefulness of semantic and syntax analysis in discourse analysis. Chosen titles in Slovene popular science textsThe article is devoted to chosen titles and subtitles in Slovene-language popular science texts about Slovene history. The data comprise 110 examples taken from the three Slovene popular science books. The analysed phrases have different forms (nouns, adjective-modified nouns, nominalizations). The conducted study is methodologically based on semantic and syntax analysis – the analysis of the ways of realization of the predicate-argument structure on which a given initial para-text is founded – as applied in the context of textual analysis of scientific, and especially popular scientific, discourse. The author of the article investigates the relation between the given title and the content of the corresponding portion of the macro-text. Particularly interesting are titles formed by means of nominalization, that is to say – by means of a transformation of predicate-argument structure. When used as titles, nominalizations confirm their expected semantic and syntax features, such as the capacity for the omission of chosen elements, increased generality and the same time compactness of the message. They also proved fruitful elements of the strategies of macro-text construction based on using appropriate titles. Przydatność analizy semantycznej i składniowej do badań nad tekstem. Wybrane tytuły w słoweńskich tekstach popularnonaukowychArtykuł dotyczy wybranych tytułów rozdziałów i podrozdziałów w książkach popularnonaukowych o historii Słowenii. Materiał obejmuje 110 przykładów z języka słoweńskiego o zróżnicowanej postaci – rzeczowników, rzeczowników modyfikowanych przez przymiotniki, wyrażeń przyimkowych. Podjęte badania wpisują się w analizę semantyczno-składniową, czyli analizę sposobów realizacji potencjalnej struktury predykatowo-argumentowej fundującej dany paratekst inicjalny, w kontekście badań nad tekstem, zwłaszcza w ramach dyskursu naukowego w odmianie popularnonaukowej. Analizie poddano relację między tytułem a opatrzonym przez ten tytuł fragmentem makrotekstu. Szczególnie interesujące okazały się tytuły będące nominalizacjami, czyli transformacjami struktur predykatowo-argumentowych. Frazy o postaci nominalizacji w tytułach potwierdziły standardowe obserwacje semantyczno-składniowe łączone zwykle z transpozycją w nomen (możliwość redukcji wybranych składników, większą ogólność, a zarazem kondensację przekazu). Okazały się także owocne w strategiach budujących makrotekst poprzez użycie odpowiedniego tytułu.


Sexualities ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 127-145
Author(s):  
Paul Schrader

German sexology at the turn of the 20th century extensively studied sexual practices in sub-Saharan Africa. Several scientists advocated the establishment of a new ‘sexual anthropology’ with Africa as its focus. By using historical discourse analysis as a methodological basis, this article seeks to reconstruct the development of this scientific discourse during the period from approximately 1890 to 1930 and to examine its main protagonists and further implications. As I will argue, the constant reference to sexual practices and gender relations of African societies not only contributed to a discourse which portrayed African societies as highly sexualized but also played a key role in the process of naturalization of sexuality during the named period of time.


2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 23
Author(s):  
Gerenice Ribeiro de Oliveira Cortes

Neste artigo, analisamos o funcionamento do efeito-leitor no discurso de divulgação científica inscrito nos blogs do ScienceBlogs Brasil, com base teórica na Análise do Discurso de filiação pecheuxtiana. Pensamos o blog como um objeto político e simbólico. Nessa trama, o efeito-leitor funciona intrincadamente ao lugar discursivo e à posição-sujeito ocupada, sendo que uma posição-sujeito também é projetada ao leitor. As análises mostram o funcionamento de dois efeitos-leitores dominantes: o analfabeto-científico e o especialista, os quais determinam o imaginário de ciência divulgada nos blogs: a ciência-mercadoria e a ciência-régia, instituindo, assim, a divisão social do trabalho da leitura de arquivos.PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Blogs. Discurso de divulgação científica. Efeito-leitor. Lugar discursivo. ABSTRACTIn this article, we analyze the functioning of the reader-effect in the discourse of scientific divulgation inscribed in the blogs of ScienceBlogs Brazil, with theoretical basis in the Discourse Analysis of pecheuxtiana affiliation. We think of the blog as a political and symbolic object. In this plot, the reader-effect works, intricately to the discursive place and occupied subject-position, and a subject position is also designed to the reader. The analyzes show the functioning of two dominant reader-effects: the illiterate-scientific and the specialist, which determine the imaginary of science divulged in the blogs: the merchandise-science and the regal-science, instituting, thus, the social division of the work of the reading of archives.KEYWORDS: Blogs. Reader-effect. Discourse of scientific divulgation. Discursive place.


Author(s):  
Nataliya Kurkan ◽  
Natalya Fadeyeva ◽  
Natalia Mishankina

Введение. Рассматривается специфика коммуникации профессионального сообщества инженеров по отношению к научному дискурсу и специфика агента такой коммуникации как одной из наиболее важных областей современной жизни, обеспечивающей технологическое развитие промышленности, научный потенциал образования. Становление профессионального сообщества инженеров связывается с зарождением и развитием промышленности как общественного фактора: XIX в. сформировал, а XX в. упрочил позицию инженера так же, как когда-то были сформированы корпоративные сообщества медиков, юристов и т. п. Однако, в отличие от последних, инженерная корпорация еще не была изучена ни в аспекте рефлексии профессионального «образа», ни в аспекте коммуникативных практик. Частично тексты профессиональной коммуникации инженеров описаны в рамках научно-технического стиля, но как самостоятельный объект исследования она практически не выступала. Материал и методы. Методологической основой работы послужили исследования в области когнитивнодискурсивной лингвистики: анализа дискурса, научного дискурса, исследования в области функциональной стилистики и жанрологии, профессионального языка и коммуникации, исследование структуры концепта. Результаты были получены с использованием методов: дискурс-анализа, текстологического, дефиниционного, компонентного и количественного анализа, данных ассоциативного словаря, анализа корпусных данных, данных поисковых систем. Материал исследования: данные энциклопедий, словарей, Национального корпуса русского языка, корпуса текстов стандартов. Результаты и обсуждение. В работе решаются две проблемы: 1) определение границ профессиональной коммуникации инженеров как самостоятельной дискурсивной области, описание ее основных параметров в аспекте институциональности, обозначены границы по отношению к научному дискурсу: цели, участники, жанровый состав; 2) определение ключевого агента этой области профессиональной коммуникации: концептуальных границ понятия «инженер», ядром которого является представление о специалисте с высшим техническим образованием, а также соотношение с понятиями «инженерия», «инжиниринг». Обозначение профессиональной области «инженерия» актуализируется в связи с усложнением структуры профессиональной деятельности инженеров, включающей не только разработку и обслуживание новых технических объектов, но и их внедрение. Заключение. Рассматриваемая долгое время как часть научно-технического дискурса инженерная коммуникация выделяется в общей системе институционального дискурса на основании определенных системообразующих параметров.The article discusses the communication specifics of engineering society in relation to the scientific discourse. It also studies the special features of the agent in the engineering communication as one of the key areas of modern life which provides the technological progress of industry as well as the research potential for education. The rise of the engineering professional society was due to the introduction and development of industry as a social force. 19th century introduced the position of the engineer which was strengthened in 20th century in the same way as the corporate societies of other specialists had been developed before. However, the corporate engineering society has not been studied yet either with the reflection of the professional image nor in the communication aspect. There are just few studies which consider the engineering communication as the texts of scientific and technical style but not as an independent object to be studied. The studies in the cognitive and discursive linguistics made the methodological basis of this paper including discourse analysis, scientific discourse studies, the research in functional linguistics and genre studies, the professional language and communication and the concept structure as well. The results were obtained by techniques of discourse analysis, textual, definition and component analysis as well as the qualitative evaluation of the associative dictionary data, the corpora analysis and the analysis of the search engine data. The materials included the encyclopaedia data, dictionaries, Russian National corpora, a body of technical standards. The paper solves the following issues: the boundaries of engineering communication as a certain discourse area, the description of key institutional parameters, the boundaries of engineering discourse against the scientific discourse: purpose, participants, the genre structure. Also, the key agent of the engineering communication was defined: the boundaries of the engineer concept, at which core the image of a specialist with a university degree is. The engineering definition is updated due to the complication and recent development of the engineering activity. The professional communication in engineering sphere traditionally regarded by Russian linguists as a part of the scientific discourse was identified as a separate institutional discourse based on certain compositionally crucial parameters.


ASHA Leader ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 15 (8) ◽  
pp. 18-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pélagie M. Beeson
Keyword(s):  

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (6) ◽  
pp. 61-76
Author(s):  
Leslie D. Grush ◽  
Frederick J. Gallun ◽  
Curtis J. Billings
Keyword(s):  

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