Absent Peace in Colombia: A Study of Transition Discourses in Former Combatants

2020 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Carlos Arboleda-Ariza ◽  
Gabriel Prosser Bravo ◽  
Fredy Mora-Gámez
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Peace Accord ◽  
Peace And Conflict ◽  
New Institutions ◽  
State Representatives

AbstractThe Colombian State and subversive groups have made attempts to build peace by the establishment of accords since the 1980s. Recently, the signature of a peace accord by former president Santos and the FARC-EP leadership in 2016, has come along with changes in the interpretative frameworks of the conflict and the emergence of new institutions, forms of subjectivity and collective meanings around peace. Nowadays, Colombia is in the transition from being a country at war to a peaceful nation. In this transition, the discourse of victims and state representatives about peace and conflict are predominant in the literature. This article characterizes the simultaneously coexisting discourses about peace and conflict in former combatants. We conducted a discourse analysis of 19 semi-structured interviews with former members of paramilitaries and guerrillas. The results are clustered into two categories: absent peace, in which peace is seen as the lack of something that was missed and lost; and the indefinite war, where peace can be hardly imagined due to the permanence of conflict and longevity of violence. The overlooked angle of the narratives of combatants about peace and conflict is discussed, and the findings are suggested as potential guidelines to navigate displaced and divergent accounts of peace and conflict in transition societies.

Embracing a New Day

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 10-38
Author(s):  
Phillip Joy ◽  
Matthew Numer ◽  
Sara F. L. Kirk ◽  
Megan Aston
Keyword(s):  
Body Image ◽  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Queer Theory ◽  
Gay Men ◽  
Hegemonic Masculinity ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
The City

The construction of masculinities is an important component of the bodies and lives of gay men. The role of gay culture on body standards, body dissatisfaction, and the health of gay men was explored using poststructuralism and queer theory within an arts-based framework. Nine gay men were recruited within the city of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Participants were asked to photograph their beliefs, values, and practices relating to their bodies and food. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, using the photographs as guides. Data were analyzed by critical discourse analysis and resulted in three overarching threads of discourse including: (1) Muscles: The Bigger the Better, (2) The Silence of Hegemonic Masculinity, and (3) Embracing a New Day. Participants believed that challenging hegemonic masculinity was a way to work through body image tension.

scholarly journals The Transformation of the Crimean Tatars’ Institutions and Discourses After 2014

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-66
Author(s):  
Elmira Muratova
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Balance Of Power ◽  
The Political ◽  
Great Support ◽  
The Face ◽  
Traditional Institutions ◽  
New Institutions ◽  
Crimean Tatar

Abstract The article deals with the transformation of the Crimean Tatars’ institutions and discourses after the 2014 conflict around Crimea. It shows the change in the balance of power of traditional institutions such as Mejlis and Muftiyat, which for many years represented secular and religious components of Crimean Tatars’ ethnic identity. It tells how the Mejlis was dismissed from the political stage in Crimea, while the Muftiyat has enjoyed a great support by new authorities. This transformation and threats to societal security inevitably led to reassessment of previous views and goals of the main actors in the Crimean Tatar community and the formation of new institutions with hybrid composition and discourse. The article focuses on organization such as ‘Crimean solidarity,’ which was formed in 2016 as a reaction to authorities’ pressure over the Crimean Tatars. Using discourse analysis of statements of activists of this organization and content analysis of social media, the author presents the main topics of its discourse and types of activity. She shows how the traditional Islamic discourse of activists of this organization has been transformed by the incorporation of the main concepts of secular discourse developed by the Mejlis. The author argues that the appearance of ‘Crimean solidarity’ indicates the blurring of lines between secular and religious, and ethnic and Islamic in the Crimean Tatar society. It shows how people with different backgrounds and agendas manage to leave their differences aside to support each other in the face of a common threat.

Visioning African lionscapes: Securing space, mobilizing capital, and fostering subjects

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 1053-1073 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra G McCubbin ◽  
Alice J Hovorka
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Political Ecology ◽  
Economic Rationality ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Oxford University ◽  
Trophy Hunting ◽  
The Future ◽  
Conservation Governance ◽  
Document Review ◽  
Illegal Killing

In September 2016, 14 months after the illegal killing of Cecil the lion raised an international furore over trophy hunting, 58 individuals gathered at Oxford University for the Cecil Summit, a meeting of experts designed to vision the future of lion conservation in honor of Cecil. This paper explores the Cecil Summit through an analytic of government as a means to provide new insights into securitized and neoliberal conservation governance in action. On this basis, we show how the actors emboldened by the Cecil Moment claimed the authority to vision the Cecil Movement. Using video and document review, and semi-structured interviews, our discourse analysis highlights three components of intervention into African lionscapes emerging from the summit—securing space, mobilizing capital, and producing subjects—that are founded upon claims to scientific and economic rationality as well as specific representations of lions and rural Africans. Our analysis of the vision contributes to recent discussions in political ecology about the dovetailing of conservation, security, the economy—and we add—subjectivity. We conclude by pointing to the way in which militarized conservation appears to be inching closer to the lion and offering a critique of the vision for lion conservation put forward at the Cecil Summit.

The Role of Stakeholders in Post Conflict Peacebuilding in Swat, Pakistan

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 211-229 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qasim Ali Shah ◽  
Bahadar Nawab ◽  
Tahir Mehmood
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Continuous Process ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
Development Processes ◽  
The Government

Peacebuilding is a continuous process to transform conflicts into development opportunities for and by the stakeholders. This article explores the role of stakeholders in post-conflict peacebuilding in Swat. Applying Constructivist paradigm and Discourse Analysis, 80 semi-structured interviews were conducted by incorporating local community, civil society and the government. Study finds out that cultural, political, social and economic tiers of peacebuilding measures in Swat hardly achieved its purpose. The lack of institutional coordination and gaps in peacebuilding measures are important hurdles, which needs to be minimized for sustainable development processes in Swat.

scholarly journals Professionals and interfamily violence against children and adolescents: in between legal and conceptual precepts

2016 ◽  
Vol 50 (5) ◽  
pp. 779-784 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriele Schek ◽  
Mara Regina Santos da Silva ◽  
Carl Lacharité ◽  
Maria Emilia Nunes Bueno
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Children And Adolescents ◽  
Legal Aspects ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Professional Discourse ◽  
Violence Against Children ◽  
Intervention Process ◽  
Analysis Technique ◽  
The Family

Abstract OBJECTIVE To identify the conceptions of professionals regarding interfamily violence against children and adolescents. METHOD A qualitative study conducted with 15 professionals who had taken children and adolescents under their care as a result of interfamily violence. Data were collected between November, 2013, and March, 2015, through semi-structured interviews. Data were organized and analyzed using the Textual Discourse Analysis technique. RESULTS The professional discourse highlighted that some legal aspects regarding the handling of interfamily violence against children and adolescents are neglected; an omission supported by the justification of professionals to preserve the family. We highlight the confrontation between the concept of family as a caregiver and the family that commits violence against children, in addition to the positioning of professionals, which does not include the family or the aggressor in the intervention process in facing situations of interfamily violence attended to by the services. CONCLUSION Acting against interfamily violence requires professionals to do away with some pre-established concepts in ordee to put the actual needs of victims and families into evidence.

Psychiatrists' accounts of clinical significance in depression

2012 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 101-111
Author(s):  
Dariusz Galasiński
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Diagnostic Criteria ◽  
Clinical Significance ◽  
Psychiatric Diagnosis ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Discursive Space ◽  
Significant Depression ◽  
Clinically Significant

Psychiatrists' accounts of clinical significance in depression Clinical significance is a crucial element in the diagnosis of mental illness, yet, it is practically untheorised and significantly under-researched. This article takes up the question of how the criterion of clinical significance is translated into psychiatric practice. More particularly, it examines how psychiatrists account for the threshold between health and depression. The paper is anchored in the constructionist view of discourse underpinned by the assumptions of critically oriented discourse analysis. It is based upon a convenience sample of 39 semi-structured interviews with specialist-psychiatrists in south-western Poland. There is no discursive space for clinical significance in psychiatrists' accounts. There is no boundary, no decision to be taken as to whether the symptoms are clinically significant. Depression, invariably constructed in terms of diagnostic criteria, is always represented as fully developed, appearing out of thin air, with no period of falling ill. The article raises the issue of the validity and usefulness of psychiatric diagnosis.

Working towards successful retirement: older workers and retirees speaking about ageing, change and later life

2015 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheila J. Gewolb
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Older People ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Older Workers ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Linguistic Approach

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how older workers and people who have already retired speak about ageing and change and their experience of retirement. Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative study is described in which focus groups with older workers and semi-structured interviews with retired people were carried out. The recorded data were analysed using a linguistic approach (Discourse Analysis), which investigates in detail how people express their views and opinions and how their discourse might relate to societal attitudes towards ageing and retirement. Findings – Many older people who were still at work were concerned that they would decline and become senile once they retired unless they could remain active in some way. This was confirmed by people who had already retired and who spoke about how keeping busy and active had resulted in successful retirement and ageing. Research limitations/implications – Participants from four focus groups and five interview respondents represent only a small sample of older people who are still working or who are retired. This means that the results of this study cannot be extended to include all older workers and retired people. Social implications – This study will help to raise awareness of the concerns of older workers who may be nearing retirement, and how keeping busy and active after leaving work is considered by retirees to be part of successful retirement and helping to combat decline. Originality/value – A study of this nature which examines how older workers express their views about retirement using Discourse Analysis is original and may be used as a method for future research into other aspects of being older at work.

scholarly journals Black and Ethnic Minority Academics’ Perspectives on Intercultural Interaction in UK Universities: Beyond Racialization

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 49
Author(s):  
Christian Atabong Nchindia
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Qualitative Methodology ◽  
Cultural Representation ◽  
Cultural Issues ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Intercultural Awareness ◽  
Intercultural Interaction ◽  
High Level ◽  
British Culture

Underpinned by frameworks of intercultural interaction, representation and discourse analysis, this research aimed to explore ambiguities and examine salient factors in intercultural interaction in UK universities, from the perspectives of four BAME lecturers and a lecturer from mainstream British culture. Informed by interpretive qualitative methodology and convenient sampling, data was collected through individual semi-structured interviews and the Nvivo software was used for analysis. Findings revealed that the experiences of academics in intercultural interaction with students were homogeneous across the board irrespective of their racial backgrounds. Despite a high level of intercultural awareness, some students and academics were unable to deconstruct stereotypes in cultural representation. It seems that universities do little to help academics and students develop and sustain intercultural awareness. There is hardly any systemic, structural, and coordinated approach in addressing cultural issues that may emerge in the classroom, as academics are left to figure it out by themselves. Some implications for policy in the higher education contexts were identified and recommendations made.

scholarly journals Unpacking the Complexity of Gender Integration in the U.S. Military Using Discourse Analysis: The Case of Servicewomen’s Talk Around Having to Prove Themselves

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanna Pawelczyk
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Women Veterans ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Gender Integration ◽  
Idiomatic Expression ◽  
Micro Level ◽  
The Military ◽  
Token Status ◽  
Discriminatory Practice ◽  
Level Analysis

Abstract A quasi-idiomatic expression ‘women have to prove themselves’ reflects various performance pressures and heightened visibility of women functioning in gendered professional spaces as advocated by tokenism theory. It is an example of how discriminatory practice – according to which competent and qualified women entering the culturally masculine professions are explicitly and implicitly expected to work harder for any recognition – gets discoursed in language and becomes a “rhetorically powerful form of talk” (Kitzinger 2000: 124). This paper explores the question: what is it that U.S. servicewomen functioning in the culturally hypermasculine space need to do to prove themselves? To this end, qualitative semi-structured interviews with women veterans of the recent Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts are qualitatively scrutinized with the methods of discourse analysis and conversation analysis to 1) identify practices that U.S. servicewomen engage in to symbolically (re-)claim their place and status in the military, i.e., to prove they belong; 2) find out how the talk around proving emerged in the course of the conversation and how it was further interactionally sustained and/or dealt with in talk-in-interaction. The findings of the micro-level analysis – interpreted through the lenses of tokenism and the category of the ‘honorary man’ – reveal women’s complex and nuanced struggle to fit and find acceptance in the military culture of hypermasculinity. They also re-engage with the ideas of tokenism by demonstrating that various acts of proving, reflecting women’s token status, may concurrently and paradoxically be a means to earn honorary man status.

scholarly journals Culturally safe care & the Ontario midwifery model: exploring the challenges of serving uninsured immigrant clients

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isuri Herath
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Healthcare Provider ◽  
Immigrant Women ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Safe Care

Immigrant women’s healthcare has been one of the major areas of research in the literature on settlement in Ontario, but little research exists on the relationship between immigrant women and their healthcare providers, and even less that is from the perspective of the healthcare provider. This study used semi-structured interviews with 10 midwives who serve uninsured immigrant clientele in order to understand how they navigate challenges to provide culturally safe care. Discourse analysis revealed that participants discussed barriers that were both logistical and conceptual in nature when providing care to uninsured immigrant clients. Midwives indicated that logistical barriers and fear of providing insufficient culturally safe care were factors that made practices more reluctant to take on uninsured immigrant clients. Their discussion of culturally safe care was informed by the Ontario midwifery model, but their strategies for delivering culturally safe care often involved a renegotiation of this model.

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