Environmental Policies and The Reproduction of Business as Usual: How Does It Work?

This paper aims to advance knowledge about corporate environmentalism by using new concepts and methods. We broaden the concept of the firm as “differentiated composite actor” by including not only managers but workers and unionists as actors. We descend into the “hidden abode of production” using Lefebvre’s concept of “everyday life” to explore the barriers environmental policies experience in this sphere. We base our explorations on life-history interviews to understand how the imaginaries of production are embedded in people’s self-conceptions. We identify seven barriers to the implementation of environmental practices: deficient regulations, collusion between controller and controlled, de-prioritisation, hierarchism, compartmentalisation, specialisation, and social unsustainability. A “necessity discourse,” legitimating the priority of efficiency and product quality over environmental sustainability, subjugates alternative sustainable practices. The paper concludes with a discussion of the results in the light of previous investigations, suggesting that the concept of the everyday could enrich future research.     

Legitimising male grooming through packaging discourse: a linguistic analysis

While packaging is a common marketing subject, this illustration paper provides an alternative perspective through the linguistic examination of packaging as discourse, focusing on male grooming, masculinity and metrosexuality. Male grooming is often perceived as trespassing into feminine space and creating ambiguity in gender borders. This study aims to explore how packaging designers negotiate masculinity, in order to persuade men to accept grooming products through social interactions within the packaging of L'Oréal Men Expert. Employing Scollon's mediated discourse analysis and incorporating the Barthesian order of signification, the study analyses how different social actions within the packaging discourse are mediated by multimodal features. The findings reveal five negotiating strategies, i.e. constructing a hegemonic masculine image; negotiating (a masculinised) metrosexuality; empowering men; giving men a logical reason to groom; and a different portrayal of skincare products. The key aim of this paper is to illustrate the differences between marketing and linguistics and propose possible collaboration.     

Mechanisms for popular participation and discursive constructions of citizenship

In the past decade, Latin America has witnessed the emergence of a political discourse that links popular participation to citizenship accompanied by an explosion of participatory mechanisms. Yet there is little qualitative research that looks at how participatory experiences affect people's perceptions of their role as citizens or to what extent the discourse transmitted through these institutions encourages participation or compliance. This article examines conceptions of citizenship among individuals who engage in participatory mechanisms in Venezuela, Ecuador and Chile. Using discourse analysis, it finds that participants in Venezuela and Ecuador have developed a ‘radical’ conception of active citizenship that differs from the liberal interpretation in Chile. Regardless of the preferred model, however, state discourse establishes parameters around citizenship. Furthermore, the discursive repertoires of citizen participants align with those produced by state institutions, suggesting that participatory mechanisms act to socialize people into participating in ‘legitimate’ and acceptable ways.     

构建女性中心的文学批评话语——伊莱恩·肖瓦尔特的“女性批评学”研究

伊莱恩·肖瓦尔特(Elaine Showalter)于20世纪70年代提出的女性批评学是英美女性文学批评的核心理念,对于确立女性中心的文学批评话语、构建英美女性文学史和塑造女性主体身份具有重要的指导意义。本文主要考察女性批评学的理论内涵和述评国内外对该理论的批评研究,试图在当代语境下对女性批评学作出较为全面客观的评价。     

Political discourse networks and the conflict over software patents in Europe

In 2005, the European Parliament rejected the directive ‘on the patentability of computer‐implemented inventions’, which had been drafted and supported by the European Commission, the Council and well‐organised industrial interests, with an overwhelming majority. In this unusual case, a coalition of opponents of software patents prevailed over a strong industry‐led coalition. In this article, an explanation is developed based on political discourse showing that two stable and distinct discourse coalitions can be identified and measured over time. The apparently weak coalition of software patent opponents shows typical properties of a hegemonic discourse coalition. It presents itself as being more coherent, employs a better‐integrated set of frames and dominates key economic arguments, while the proponents of software patents are not as well‐organised. This configuration of the discourse gave leeway for an alternative course of political action by the European Parliament. The notion of discourse coalitions and related structural features of the discourse are operationalised by drawing on social network analysis. More specifically, discourse network analysis is introduced as a new methodology for the study of policy debates. The approach is capable of measuring empirical discourses both statically and in a longitudinal way, and is compatible with the policy network approach.     

民事诉讼调解制度的未来——回归其本质

诉讼调解是一种传统的解决纠纷方式,它在彻底解决纠纷、维护社会稳定方面发挥着重要的作用,但是随着社会的转型,审判方式的逐渐改革以及人们权利意识的增强,诉讼调解在解决纠纷方面也暴露出了种种弊端,这些弊端已经使调解制度在一定程度上发生了异化,基于此有必要对诉讼调解制度进行完善,使其回归其本质——纠纷解决方式.     

Public Discourse of (De)legitimation: The Case of South Estonian Language

This paper focuses on two different argumentative strategies for dealing with a regional variety of Estonian, one of which may discourage the use of South Estonian in favor of Estonian, while another legitimates the lesser-used regional variety. These argumentative strategies are studied by critical discourse analysis (CDA) of six articles in Estonian language newspapers and magazines published in 2004–2005. The use of South Estonian is discouraged by presenting real or imagined threats that it will undermine Estonian. This discourse also parallels the Estonian-Russian majority-minority discourse of recent years by employing zero-sum arguments of the Estonian language losing to Russian as a consequence of the recognition of South Estonian. Language ideologies, which also construct some varieties worthier than others, re-enforce an essentialist representation of separate languages. This representation will work toward suppressing linguistic variation.     

中国语境的非法证据排除规则论争——本土话语资源的批判性反思

针对非法证据排除规则的论争,当前我国理论界立场繁多,却有自说自话之嫌,改革主张繁荣,却缺乏系统整合。经过对话语资源的梳理,我国在非法证据排除规则的理论憧憬方面,呈现出结构主义与功能主义两种理路;在非法证据排除规则的改革进路方面,呈现出整体革新与渐进改良两条进路。经过对话语资源的整合,未来我国针对非法证据排除规则的论争还需要注重两个重要维度:一是对他域话语资源作批判性解读;二是对该证据规则的吓阻功能及我国制度环境的容纳能力作经验性研究。     

行政听证的政治逻辑架构——基于商谈理论的视角

听证制度的本意在于规训和导控行政权力,它可以基于三权分立与制衡的逻辑,也可以运用哈贝马斯的商谈理论来建构。商谈理论强调,行政权力应由源于日常交往所产生的交往权力导控,交往则是基于理由的商谈网络的形成与论辩的互动。针对面临和处理的不同问题,商谈又呈现为三个层次,即实用性商谈、伦理-政治性商谈和道德性商谈。本文认为,遵循商谈理论的逻辑,行政听证可分为以实用性商谈为主的行政项目类听证和以伦理-政治商谈为主的行政规划类听证、以道德商谈为主的行政法规类听证。