THE DELETION OF THE HUMAN AGENT IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE DISCOURSE: AN ECOLINGUISTIC STUDY

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (II) ◽  
pp. 89-111
Author(s):  
Wagma Farooq
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Science ◽  
Noun Phrases ◽  
Natural World ◽  
Environmental Discourse ◽  
Passive Voice ◽  
Science Textbooks ◽  
Science Discourse ◽  
Human Agent ◽  
Linguistic Strategies ◽  
Euphemistic Language

This study explores the use of the strategy of erasure in environmental science discourses to explore the deletion of the agent. Three environmental science textbooks have been chosen for analysis. Stibbe’s (2015) framework of erasure has been used as a model for analyzing the data. He asserts that the natural world is marginalized in texts through the use of certain linguistic strategies; these strategies run throughout the whole discourse to construct the erasure of the ecosystem. The researchers aim to identify erasure at the level of void, which is the complete erasure or deletion of the agent from these discourses. Stibbe mentions nine linguistic strategies for the construction of erasure in environmental discourses. These strategies are passive voice, nominalization, co-hyponymy, hyponymy, metaphor, metonymy, construction of noun phrases, transitivity patterns and massification. For the construction of void, the researchers have analyzed the strategies of passivization and nominalization. It has been found that these strategies are pervasive in the discourses, thereby deleting the agent and constructing void. The study suggests a new way to look at the language of ecological discourses and proposes further studies on how euphemistic language in these discourses can negatively influence readers. Keywords: erasure, mask, void, environmental discourse

Improving Eco-literacy through Service Learning: A Natural History Service Project Case Study

2019 ◽  
Vol 81 (4) ◽  
pp. 222-227
Author(s):  
Christopher R. Collins ◽  
Lynn Donahue
Keyword(s):  
Service Learning ◽  
Natural History ◽  
Personal Growth ◽  
Environmental Science ◽  
Science Curriculum ◽  
Natural World ◽  
Learning Goals ◽  
College Level ◽  
Service Project ◽  
Holistic Understanding

Eco-literacy (knowledge of natural history, and direct observation of the natural world and the organisms it contains) is critical to a holistic understanding of biology. Many undergraduate biology students lack this knowledge and experience, often because of a lack of engagement with the environmental science curriculum. The effectiveness of service learning is well established, but few examples of service-learning projects in the context of natural history education have been published. We describe how we used best practices for the development of a field-based service-learning project in a college-level natural history course. The project was built around established learning goals and was conducted through a partnership with a local state park. Students worked in groups to conduct bird biodiversity surveys and prepared a printed bird-watching guide, which was presented to park staff. The project was linked to a series of assignments intended to maximize academic and personal growth, including a project plan, progress report, and reflection paper. Students reported increased engagement in the course curriculum and an increased sense of the relevance of the course content.

scholarly journals ecoEd: Cohesive training and skill development for digital ecoscience tools

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chantal Huijbers
Keyword(s):  
Training Program ◽  
Spatial Data ◽  
Environmental Science ◽  
Skill Development ◽  
Terrestrial Ecosystem ◽  
Natural World ◽  
Research Network ◽  
Ecosystem Research ◽  
Theoretical Concepts ◽  
Industry Professionals

Digital research infrastructures such as data portals and virtual laboratories enable easier access to data and analytical tools. Such infrastructures are essential to deliver research excellence that drives innovation, but we also need to ensure that we have a skilled workforce that can use these infrastructures. Therefore, training and skill development of students, researchers, government practitioners and industry professionals is key to the long-term success of this investment. In Australia, a suite of digital infrastructures has been developed for environmental sciences to enhance our understanding of the natural world and making forward projections into novel conditions (e.g. Atlas of Living Australia, Biodiversity and Climate Change Virtual Laboratory, ecocloud, Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network). To provide users with a holistic approach to environmental spatial data discovery and analysis, these infrastructures have joined forces to deliver an exciting and innovative new training program. This program, called ecoEd, provides cohesive training and skill development to university lecturers, researchers and industry professionals enabling them to combine theoretical concepts with real-world applications. In this presentation, I will present how ecoEd was developed and the outcomes of the training sessions in which a group of ecoEd Champions absorbed ready-to-use lecture and workshop modules along with tools and knowledge on how to use the platforms. These resources can immediately be used in undergraduate courses that focus on topics such as ecology, biogeography, conservation biology, environmental management and spatial analysis as well as in stand alone workshops for researchers and practitioners. The training program aims to provide the Champions with the resources and knowledge required so that they can confidently re-deliver the lectures and workshops in their own institutions. As such, ecoEd is increasing the capacity of Australia’s environmental science community to advance science and deliver outcomes that underpin the sustainable use of our ecosystems using the latest advances in digital technologies. Moreover, it is enabling first-rate science education in Australia by supporting and nurturing our future scientists.

scholarly journals An Investigation of How Environmental Science Textbooks Link Human Environmental Impact to Ecology and Daily Life

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. ar54
Author(s):  
Yael Wyner ◽  
Rob DeSalle
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Environmental Science ◽  
Human Impacts ◽  
Daily Life ◽  
College Level ◽  
Science Textbook ◽  
Human Environment ◽  
Science Textbooks ◽  
Almost All ◽  
Human Environmental Impact

Pre-college and college-level environmental science textbook case studies were analyzed for how they portray the human-environment connection. It was found that daily life connections were frequently absent from human impact discussions and that almost all case studies described human impacts without linking them to their ecological underpinnings.

scholarly journals Sustainability Today: 2000–Present

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy L. Caradonna
Keyword(s):  
Natural World ◽  
Ecological Crisis ◽  
Western World ◽  
Environmental Discourse ◽  
Sustainable Living ◽  
University Campuses ◽  
The Status ◽  
1960S And 1970S ◽  
Sustainability Movement ◽  
The 1960S

We might not live in a sustainable age, but we’re living in the age of sustainability. The movement has gained a level of prominence in recent years that is difficult to dispute. The scholarly fields associated with sustainability have expanded dramatically; new tools and methods have appeared that help define, measure, and assess sustainability; and a broad range of organizations and communities have embraced the principles of sustainable living. Sustainability, in fact, has gone from marginal ecological idea to mainstream movement in a surprisingly short amount of time. We now see sustainability publicized at the supermarket, on university campuses, at the aquarium, in corporate headquarters, in government ministries, and in countless other places. A growing number of universities, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and corporations in the Western world possess an “office of sustainability”— replete with sustainability plans and guidebooks—but none have an “office of green radicalism” or an “office of the status quo.” In a sense, this environmental discourse has won out over rival conceptions of humanity’s relationship to the natural world. This chapter is an attempt to sketch out the different ways in which sustainability has gained a foothold in contemporary society. It is not meant to suggest that our world is sustainable. On the contrary, many barriers and entrenched interests have kept our world rather unsustainable, and Mathis Wackernagel has even argued that, since the 1990s, we have exceeded the Earth’s capacity to sustain us; we are now living in a state of global overshoot. The goal here, rather, is to show the ways in which our society has constructively responded to our ecological crisis—to demonstrate the growth and elaboration of the sustainability movement and describe some of the successes it has achieved in counteracting our bad habits. As the philosophy of sustainability has developed, so too has it expanded its scope. If we recall from earlier chapters, the concept of sustainability began in the eighteenth century as a method of managing forests, and by the 1960s and 1970s it had become a reaction to industrialism and the trend toward ecological overshoot.

scholarly journals A Post-Environmental Discourse: Rhetoric, Science and Legitimacy in Environmental News Coverage of Lake Winnipeg, Canada

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Garrity Hill
Keyword(s):  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Environmental Science ◽  
News Coverage ◽  
Public Understanding ◽  
Environmental Discourse ◽  
Political Debate ◽  
Lake Winnipeg ◽  
News Discourse ◽  
Environmental Messages ◽  
Environmental News

<p>In post-environmental news discourse, environmentalism is reduced to a rhetorical motif that is relayed by all sides of the political debate, including the environmental opposition. The phase of post-environmentalism in environmental discourse is indicated by the absorption of environmental messages into mainstream discourse so that they are no longer 'owned' by subversive environmentalists, but by anyone claiming to represent the cause. The result is that a counter-discourse is no longer present in the discussion to challenge dominant assumptions about unlimited economic growth. Using critical discourse analysis, this thesis examines the news coverage of governmental regulations aimed at reducing toxic algae in Lake Winnipeg, Canada. The thesis describes how the science is used in the narratives, and compares patterns of doubting science in the coverage with similar patterns found in news discourse historically. The analysis shows that the pro-lake cause is recruited throughout the coverage to boost legitimacy for the Manitoba hog industry and the City of Winnipeg, who leveraged public campaigns opposing the regulations. Rather than contributing to a public understanding of the tension between environmental and economic paradigms, the simplistic cost-benefit analysis of the regulations in the coverage decontextualises the problem from its complex political-economic origins. Furthermore, rather than presenting environmental science in a way that aids public understanding, science is either credited or discredited to reinforce the industry and governmental positions. The need for transparent communication of environmental problems and their causes is thus hindered by the legitimacy claims-making that dominates the discourse. The repeated and shared voicing of environmental messages in the media further embeds the discourse into a post-environmental phase by excluding a counter-discourse from the discussion – environmentalism becomes talked about by everyone, and yet discussed by no one.</p>

scholarly journals Postpositions in Munduruku (Tupi): Formal and Functional Features

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 109-150
Author(s):  
Dioney M. Gomes
Keyword(s):  
Noun Phrases ◽  
Direct Object ◽  
Passive Voice ◽  
Mato Grosso ◽  
Functional Features ◽  
Constituent Order ◽  
Syntactic Relation ◽  
Source Of Information

The Munduruku people live in the states of Pará and Amazonas, including a handful of residents in Mato Grosso, in Brazil. My research about the language takes place within the Munduruku population of Pará. It is a language of the Tupi stock, that belongs to the Munduruku family. It is of head-marking type. The most common constituent order is s(o)v. The arguments do not receive morphologic marks, usually occurring in noun phrases. The verb receives person marks, which indicate/co-refer subject and direct object. Our objective here is to present the inventory of the postpositions,  in order to discuss the properties they share; what their structural and functional features are; and their participation in the passive voice, causative, subordination, modality, source of information, and locative and possessive predication. We also approach the isomorphism among postpositions, nouns and verbs; the syntactic relation that establishes the postpositional phrase with the rest of the sentence: whether argument or adjunct. Finally we will also reflect upon its typology.

All the Water in the World by G. E. Lyon

2012 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Matilda Roche
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Water Conservation ◽  
Environmental Science ◽  
Earth Science ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Graphic Novels ◽  
Natural World ◽  
Illustrated Books ◽  
Quality Of Water ◽  
The World

Lyon, George Ella. All the Water in the World. Illus. Katherine Tillotson. New York: Atheneum Books, 2011. Print. A gorgeous synthesis of poetry and illustration, All the Water in the World imbues complex environmental science concepts with an intense personal immediacy, full of sentiment and expression. The text follows water’s cyclical passage through different levels of the global climate, as it permeates all facets of life on earth. Science and aesthetics are used in inspired collaboration to create a realistic depiction of natural phenomena and an evocation of the innately lyrical and metamorphic quality of water in its diverse and omnipresent manifestations. Lyon’s adept use of emphasis and repetition perfectly captures the rush and cadence of moving water. She creates a clear discourse focusing on the morality of water conservation and its implications for human equality and preservation of the natural world. Tillotson employs oil paint manipulated through collage, printmaking, and digital techniques to capture the many moods of water, transitioning between cartoonish representation and dynamic, impressionistic imagery. The charm and immediacy of All the Water in the World comes from its depiction of familiar manifestations of water that will evoke a visceral response in a young audience. The book seamlessly associates those common experiences with the larger natural patterns that water follows, as it interacts with the earth, ocean and atmosphere. All the Water in the World is an emblematic example of how talented writers and illustrators are integrating engagingly vivid non-fiction into young children’s libraries. Highly Recommended:  4 out of 4 starsReviewer: Matilda RocheMatilda spends her days lavishing attention on the University of Alberta’s metadata but children’s illustrated books, literature for young adults and graphic novels also make her heart sing. Her reviews benefit from the critical influence of a four year old daughter and a one year old son – both geniuses. Matilda’s super power is the ability to read comic books aloud.

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