Realising our (neoliberal) potential? A critical discourse analysis of the Poverty Reduction Strategy in Ontario, Canada

2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 105-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tracy Smith-Carrier ◽  
Andrea Lawlor
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Poverty Reduction ◽  
Expert Knowledge ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Reduction Strategy ◽  
Poverty Reduction Strategy ◽  
The Government

We examine the Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS) launched in Ontario, Canada’s most populous province. Using corpus linguistics and critical discourse analysis, we explore the dominant discourses that emerge in a genre chain produced by the Government of Ontario, including the initial 2008 PRS, annual reports and the 2014–2019 recontextualised PRS. Six key discourses surfaced: social exclusion, social inclusion, economic benefit or social investment, expert knowledge, community engagement and requisites for the PRS’ success – typically involving investments from the federal government and a favourable economic climate. No discourse of human rights, or of the rights to food, housing and an adequate standard of living is present in the PRS texts, absolving the government from its responsibility to ensure these rights. Without the accountability mechanisms attached to a rights-based approach, the PRS has little chance of ‘breaking the cycle’ of poverty, and will not likely ‘realise its potential’ to do so.

Ontario’s Poverty Reduction Strategy

2016 ◽  
Vol 48 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 100-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Benbow ◽  
Carolyne Gorlick ◽  
Cheryl Forchuk ◽  
Catherine Ward-Griffin ◽  
Helene Berman
Keyword(s):  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Poverty Reduction ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Policy Document ◽  
Reduction Strategy ◽  
Phase Study ◽  
Poverty Reduction Strategy ◽  
The Government ◽  
Gender Neutrality

This article overviews the second phase of a two-phase study which examined experiences of health and social exclusion among mothers experiencing homelessness in Ontario, Canada. A critical discourse analysis was employed to analyze the policy document, Realizing Our Potential: Ontario’s Poverty Reduction Strategy, 2014–2019. In nursing, analysis of policy is an emerging form of scholarship, one that draws attention to the macro levels influencing health and health promotion, such as the social determinants of health, and the policies that impact them. The clear neo-liberal underpinnings, within the strategy, with a focus on productivity and labor market participation leave little room for an understanding of poverty reduction from a human rights perspective. Further, gender-neutrality rendered the poverty experienced by women, and mothers, invisible. Notably, there were a lack of deadlines, target dates, and thorough action and evaluation plans. Such absence troubles whether poverty reduction is truly a priority for the government, and society as a whole.

scholarly journals A Critical Discourse Analysis of Representations of Travellers in Public Policies in Ireland

Societies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 14
Author(s):  
Claire Jane Snowdon ◽  
Leena Eklund Eklund Karlsson
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Social Practice ◽  
Expert Knowledge ◽  
Minority Group ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Discursive Practice ◽  
Negative Stereotypes

In Ireland, negative stereotypes of the Traveller population have long been a part of society. The beliefs that surround this minority group may not be based in fact, yet negative views persist such that Travellers find themselves excluded from mainstream society. The language used in discourse plays a critical role in the way Travellers are represented. This study analyses the discourse in the public policy regarding Travellers in the National Traveller and Roma Inclusion Strategy (NTRIS) 2017–2021. This study performs a critical discourse analysis (CDA) of the policy with the overall aims of showing signs of the power imbalance through the use of language and revealing the discourses used by elite actors to retain power and sustain existing social relations. The key findings show that Travellers are represented as a homogenous group that exists outside of society. They have no control over how their social identity is constructed. The results show that the constructions of negative stereotypes are intertextually linked to previous policies, and the current policy portrays them in the role of passive patients, not powerful actors. The discursive practice creates polarity between the “settled” population and the “Travellers”, who are implicitly blamed by the state for their disadvantages. Through the policy, the government disseminates expert knowledge, which legitimises the inequality and supports this objective “truth”. This dominant discourse, which manifests in wider social practice, can facilitate racism and social exclusion. This study highlights the need for Irish society to change the narrative to support an equitable representation of Travellers.

scholarly journals A Critical Discourse Analysis of News Construction on Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia’s Disbandment

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Saptorini Listianingsih
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Political Interest ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Elites ◽  
National Unity ◽  
National Interests ◽  
Online Newspapers ◽  
The Government

This study uses van Dijk’s version of Critical Discourse Analysis perspective to examine the news construction of Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia’s disbandment in two online newspapers. The two online newspapers used in this study are the Jakarta Post and Jakarta Globe. From the analysis, it shows us that based on textual analysis, the government and HTI are portrayed as two opposing parties. The government is described as ruling regime having authority to maintain national interests that is Pancasila as well as national unity, diversity, and security, while HTI is described as the organization against national interest. Thus, the disbandment of HTI is a correct step to defend national interests. This is in accordance with the developing discourse in society that the existence of HTI is considered to endanger Pancasila. Furthermore, this research revealed that the history, vision mission, previous experience and the political interest of special political elites in media has had decisive influence in transforming reality into news texts.

scholarly journals The Political Discourse Behind Canada’s Unusually Harsh Detention Practices: The MV Sun Sea Case

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shaina Singh
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Political Discourse ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Ideologies ◽  
Analysis Strategy ◽  
The Government

On August 13th 2010, the MV Sun Sea ship carrying 492 Tamil asylum seekers arrived off of the coast of British Columbia. Immediately upon arrival the Tamil asylum seekers were detained for a prolonged period of time, subjected to intensified interrogation techniques, and unfairly questioned even when in possession of identifying documents. This paper examines how the government used political discourse to try and justify the unusually harsh detention of asylum seekers. Through a critical discourse analysis strategy, eight newspaper articles will be analyzed and the theories of securitization, discourse, and orientalism will be used to advance certain political ideologies. The political justifications of detention operate through the theme of the egocentric state, and the theme of categorizing and demonizing asylum seekers. The final theme discussed is the concept of victimization, which will offer an alternate perspective to this paper’s main focus on political discourse.

scholarly journals EVALUASI PERSPEKTIF POLITIK TRUMP PADA “SAVE AMERICA RALLY”

Diksi ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 175-188
Author(s):  
Ikha Adhi Wijaya ◽  
Annas Annas ◽  
Sumarlam Sumarlam
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Online Media ◽  
Political Will ◽  
Electoral Vote ◽  
Vote Count ◽  
The Government

(Title: The Evaluation of Trump’s Political Perspectives at The  “Save America Rally”). This paper explores Trump speech in online media CBC news entitled “Live Coverage: Protesters Swarm Capitol, Abruptly Halting Electoral Vote Count” in the point of view of discourse analysis. This research belongs to qualitative research. The method used to analyze is distributional and referential method. It analyzed Trump ideology’s Perspectives through structure manifested by Emotive words, phrases, sentences from his speech, specifically it explored from critical discourse analysis conducted by Teun A .Van Dijk.  It resulted and indicated that Trump conveyed his political will by protesting the result of the ballots. He said there was fraud in the middle of the election. In fact, instead of protesting the election, he also conveyed the autocritics towards the government (himself). Key Words:  speech, Trumps, critical discourse analysis, ideology

scholarly journals How Public is Public Art? A Critical Discourse Analysis of the Racial Subtext of Public Monuments at Canada’s Pier 21

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 126-136
Author(s):  
Patience Adamu ◽  
Deon Castello ◽  
Wendy Cukier
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Nova Scotia ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Public Space ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
White Supremacy ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Monuments ◽  
Canadian Multiculturalism

AbstractMuch of the literature on public space focuses on physical inclusion and exclusion rather than social inclusion or exclusion. In this paper, the implications of this are considered in the context of two monuments, The Volunteers/Les Bénévoles, and The Emigrant, located outside the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. These monuments, while perhaps designed to celebrate Canadian multiculturalism, can be read instead as signaling Canada’s enduring commitment to white supremacy, Eurocentricity and colonization, when viewed through the eyes of racialized immigrants. Thus the “public space” becomes exclusionary. In the context in which the monuments are situated, the racial subtext cannot be ignored. This article purports that images, text and placement, regardless of intention, have significant implications on public space and public demeanor.

scholarly journals Indonesian Online Media’s Construction of ‘Maritime’

Pomorstvo ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-23
Author(s):  
Kundharu Saddhono ◽  
Ermanto
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Online Media ◽  
Neutral Medium ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Government ◽  
General Relations ◽  
Grammatical Structures

The concept of maritime (maritime) is frequently discussed among the Indonesian people, a fact that may be attributed to the emphasis that has been given to maritime issues by President Joko Widodo since his candidacy. This article applies Faircloughian approach to critical discourse analysis (CDA) to understand the coverage of ‘maritime’ in Indonesian online media. This paradigm has been selected because the media does not simply act as a neutral medium through its publication and coverage; rather, media have specific ideologies, which can be described and analyzed through critical discourse analysis. This approach focuses on three aspects when analyzing written discourses: representations, relations, and identities. Representation refers to specific words and grammatical structures to construct reality; relations refer to the connections between the subjects as depicted in the discourse; and identity refers to reporters’ positions in their coverage of online media, including their biases. In general, relations and identities in Indonesian online media coverage have been oriented towards the government and society. The government has been constructed ambiguously by online media, but depictions of government have tended to be positive, with a focus on the success of its maritime programs.

scholarly journals Metaphor, morality and legitimacy: A critical discourse analysis of the media framing of the payday loan industry

Organization ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 802-829 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate Budd ◽  
Darren Kelsey ◽  
Frank Mueller ◽  
Andrea Whittle
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Moral Panic ◽  
Media Framing ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Moral Problem ◽  
Real Wages ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Government ◽  
British Press

This study examines the metaphors used in the British press to characterize the payday loan industry in order to develop our understanding of organizational delegitimation. Drawing on critical discourse analysis and theories of moral panic, we show how the metaphors used in the press framed the industry as a ‘moral problem’. The study identified four root metaphors that were used to undertake moral problematization: predators and parasites, orientation, warfare and pathology. We show how these metaphors played a key role in the construction of a moral panic through two framing functions: first by constructing images of the damage and danger caused by the firms and second by attributing agency in such a way that moral responsibility was assigned to the organizations. We also extend the discussion of our findings to explore the ideological dimensions of the moral panic. We develop a critical analysis that points to the potential scapegoating role of the discourse, which served as a convenient moral crusade for the government and other neo-liberal supporters to pursue, while detracting attention away from the underlying socio-economic context, including austerity policies, the decline in real wages and the deregulation of the finance sector. From this critical perspective, payday loan companies can be seen as a ‘folk devil’ through which society’s fears about finance capitalism are articulated, creating disproportionate exaggeration and alarm, while the system as a whole can remain intact.

scholarly journals A Critical Discourse Analysis Of The Ontario Government's Dissemination Of The FDK Program

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra Willetts
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Social Citizenship ◽  
Social Investment ◽  
The Public ◽  
Full Day Kindergarten ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Government ◽  
Full Day

This major research paper applies a critical discourse analysis (CDA) to examine the Ontario government’s rationalization of full day kindergarten to the public and the underlying discursive representation of social citizenship that the government sets forth. A content analysis of nineteen textual documents identified twelve rationales for FDK. A social investment discourse was identified as the dominant discourse underlying these rationales, while a social justice discourse and a combination of both discourses was also present. A CDA of three textual documents indicated that the Ontario government employed nominalization, modality and interdiscursivity to perpetuate the social investment discursive representation of FDK. The prevalence of social investment discourse in the Ontario government’s rationalization of FDK holds important implications for advancing just and caring early childhood policy for all children and families.

scholarly journals Teaching History of Bravery and the Politics of Textbooks in Nepal: A Critical Discourse Analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 24-36
Author(s):  
Saroj G.C.
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Historical Narratives ◽  
Government School ◽  
Teaching History ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Government ◽  
Historical Accounts ◽  
The Cost

This paper examines a saga of the brave history of Nepal which has often been part and parcel of school education in Nepal. The brave history in the textbooks has been treated as a means of enlightenment and a catalyst to cultivate national character. On close inspection, however, teaching history embarks a political enterprise – an articulation of interest to shape the idea of the citizenry. Using the method of critical discourse analysis and post-historicist ideas, this paper takes historical accounts attributed to three pillars of the national narrative of brave history – Bhimsen Thapa, Balbhadra Kunwar, and Prithvi Narayan Shah, as depicted in the government school textbooks for analysis. The paper examines how the history of bravery has been negotiated and maintained as a comfortable and simplistic narrative at the cost of teaching history more critically in order to inform students and examine emerging questions about the national heroes by excluding the other side of historical narratives. Finally, this paper proposes education at any level cannot be taken as value-neutral, and history should be studied historically.

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