Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'The rhetorical field'

This thesis analyzes the eulogistic and ideological rhetoric generated by the commemoration ceremonies recognizing the first anniversary of the events of September 11, 2001. By evaluating these ceremonies generically through a set of established epideictic criteria, a comparison and contrast of form and style in relation to their varying situations and rhetorical constraints was achieved. The intentional introduction of deliberative aspects to epideictic rhetoric was also a focus of this study in an attempt to discern the ideological frameworks employed by the various rhetors responsible for the content of the day's events. By analyzing the tokens and ideographs embedded in the rhetoric of the commemorative speakers, the ideological purposes of the planners and rhetors of the ceremonies were revealed. As a nationally televised, ceremonial event, the 9/11 commemoration failed. The mixed messages contained in the eulogies and the lack of a planned rhetorical strategy resulted in an emotionally engaging but fragmented exercise in public discourse.

With tightening university budgets, never before has the activity level of research grant proposal writing been more intense. With increased proposal numbers, including for the National Science Foundation's (NSF) prestigious CAREER award, has also come increased competition and decreased funding rates. This dissertation has searched for successful and unsuccessful characteristics from funded and unfunded CAREER proposals. The research focused on a study of two key subjects: 1) a corpus of 20 texts that included 12 funded proposals and 8 unfunded proposals from across NSF programs, and 2) an ethnographic analysis comprised from interviews with 14 NSF program officers (PO) from varying programs. Coding elements with the texts to uncover topical chains of content, rhetorical, and document design strategies revealed sound rhetorical moves and rhetorical mistakes. The study also illustrated evidence of adherence to or neglect of NSF-mandated writing/formatting conventions as connected to the likelihood of receiving funding. Moreover, the study revealed conventions that have developed for the genre that are not prescribed by NSF but that, nevertheless, seem to be expected. Through genre field analysis, the study's interviews with program officers (PO) revealed a system of genre-agents and player-agents that interact together in a highly rhetorical and social system. This system, comprised of locales in which a multitude of play scenarios can be enacted to exert influence, operates within fairly exact rules of play. Such rules may be published by NSF or simply be "understood," yet principal investigators (PI) are held accountable for them regardless. The ethnography created from interviews with POs revealed multiple genre field elements (e.g., genre- and player-agents, transformative locales, play scenarios, penalty conditions) as well as common mistakes and best practices. A complete mapping of the CAREER award proposal preparation, submission, and review process resulted from the study, which mapping has offered insightful strategies to expand PI (and other agents') influence on the funding process. The dissertation concluded by offering investigators a step-by-step process to identify and map the elements of the proposal genre field in which they operate.

Having been introduced in Sweden in the 1980’s, one would perhaps have thought postmodern philosophy to be a thing of the past. As it turns out, the debate on postmodernism is still very much alive. But the term ‘postmodernism’ in 2021 is complex and sometimes misunderstood. In public discourse, the term has moved beyond its status as a continental philosophy or as a denomination for certain historical conditions of the late twentieth century. Today, it appears, people use ‘postmodernism’ as an invective for relativism, post-truth and ‘empty words’. Two books, published in 2020, even warn the Swedish people for a postmodern invasion of both the academics and Swedish government. The humanities, apparently, are especially corrupted by postmodern thinking. Is this true? As a rhetorician, I ask myself to what extent postmodern theory has had an influence on Swedish rhetoric in the 40 years since the discipline was re-established within higher education.  This essay examines course syllabuses, teaching material, Swedish articles in the periodical Rhetorica Scandinavica, doctoral theses, and the complete works published by Sweden’s eight professors of rhetoric. Early on, I found that there was very little information available about the development of  Swedish rhetoric –even less about a postmodern rhetoric in a Swedish context. Thus, this essay is to be looked at as both a history of Swedish postmodern rhetoric – the first of its kind – and as an examination of the occurrence of postmodern theory within Swedish rhetoric. I find that postmodernism has not, as opposed to the critics’ claims, played a key role in the development of Swedish rhetoric. Its presence has, however, significantly increased within the field of rhetoric since 2010, and I discuss why that might be. Further, I discuss what can be said to define the Swedish postmodern rhetoric, and what the future might hold for this specific branch of rhetorical studies and research.

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Grounded on a more constructivist and procedural perspective of science in which social and cultural practices reveal how science is made, this thesis aimed to analyse how the process of knowledge building in the field of Organizational Studies in Brazil occurred. To this end, we followed the evolution of scientific production from a longitudinal perspective, through the identification of legitimacy strategies of scientific contributions made by the authors in scientific articles that would reveal how these strategies differ rhetorically among them. We, then, unveil how these strategies differ rhetorically and map scientific contribution legitimacy strategies’ networks vs actors (individual and institutional ones) by watching how they influenced the positions of the players-actors in the scientific field over time and how they influenced the process of knowledge building in Organizational Studies. Drawing from the theory of the fields (Bourdieu, 1983a; 2004b; Greenwood, Suddaby and Hinings, 2002; Martin, 2003; Fligstein, 2003; Davis and Marquis 2005; Emirbayer and Johnson, 2008; Fligstein and McAdam, 2011; 2012) and some factors that influence the knowledge construction in Administration, we sought to understand how the actors present and defend their scientific contributions, also how the distribution of capital is organized, how the actors position themselves in the field and how they dispute the monopoly of scientific authority. Data collection consisted in the selection of 500 articles from 1960 to 2014, 430 in national journals and 70 in international ones, composing a database with various information regarding the articles. Data were categorized based on the content analysis (Bardin, 2006) and analysed through rhetorical analysis (Mann and Thompson 1988). This research thesis has shown that the actors use the argumentative capital differently, although apparently similar, depending on the context of their scientific contribution legitimacy’s strategy: internal scientific discourse, the practice’s discourse or the combination of both. Considering the use of these strategies and the ownership of capitals such as scientific and economic, from the rules of the game in the field, stakeholder groups divide themselves and compete for positions from the following setting: scientific vs ambiguous and practical vs ambiguous. Organizational Studies evolved gradually from an initial ‘pre-field’ to the current phase of the field, now with clear goals, well-defined game rules and marked positions within the existing dispute. However, beyond the repertoire defined for internal scientific discourse, the use of scientific contribution legitimacy’s strategies shows that the authors also try to legitimize their contributions through external strategies of the field, which, in turn, endorses that the Brazilian Organizational Studies field cannot yet be considered as a ‘pure’ scientific field still in search of autonomy. Key-words: scientific field, organizational studies, knowledge, rhetorical analysis, legitimacy strategies.
Esta tese teve por objetivo analisar como se deu o processo de construção de conhecimento na área de Estudos Organizacionais no Brasil, partindo de uma perspectiva mais construtivista e processual da ciência, direcionada para as práticas sociais e culturais presentes no processo científico que revelam como a ciência é feita. Para tanto, acompanhamos a evolução da produção científica a partir de uma ótica longitudinal, identificando as estratégias de legitimidade das contribuições científicas apresentadas pelos autores nos artigos científicos, desvendando como estas estratégias de legitimidade se diferenciam retoricamente e mapeando redes de estratégias de legitimidade de contribuição científica X atores (individuais e institucionais), observando como estas influenciaram as posições dos jogadores-atores no campo ao longo do tempo e como estas influenciaram o processo de construção de conhecimentos em Estudos Organizacionais.Tomando como base a teoria de campos (BOURDIEU, 1983a; 2004b; GREENWOOD, SUDDABY e HININGS, 2002; MARTIN, 2003; FLIGSTEIN, 2003; DAVIS e MARQUIS 2005; EMIRBAYER e JOHNSON, 2008; FLIGSTEIN e MCADAM, 2011; 2012) e alguns fatores que influenciam o processo de construção do conhecimento em Administração, buscamos compreender como os atores apresentam e defendem suas contribuições científicas, como se organiza a distribuição de capitais, como se posicionam no campo e como disputam o monopólio da autoridade científica. A coleta de dados consistiu na seleção de 500 artigos, 430 em periódicos nacionais e 70 em periódicos internacionais, compondo um banco de dados com diversas informações em torno dos artigos, considerando o período de 1960 até 2014. Os dados foram categorizados com base na análise de conteúdo (BARDIN, 2006) e analisados por meio de análise retórica (MANN e THOMPSON, 1988). A pesquisa mostrou que os atores (individuais e institucionais) fazem uso do capital argumentativo de modo diferenciado, embora aparentemente semelhante, conforme o contexto de sua estratégia de legitimidade de contribuição científica: discurso científico interno, discurso da prática ou a combinação de ambos. Considerando a utilização destas estratégias e da posse de capitais como científico e econômico, a partir das regras do jogo no campo, grupos de atores se dividem e disputam posições a partir da configuração: científicos X ambíguos e práticos X ambíguos.O campo de Estudos Organizacionais evoluiu aos poucos de uma fase inicial de pré-campo até a fase atual de campo, com objetivos claros, regras do jogo definidas e posições marcadas na disputa existente em seu interior. Entretanto, o uso de estratégias de legitimidade de contribuição científica para além do repertório definido para o discurso científico interno mostra que os autores também tentam legitimar suas contribuições via estratégias externas ao campo científico, revelando, assim, que o campo de Estudos Organizacionais brasileiro ainda não pode ser considerado como um campo científico 'puro', tratando-se de um campo ainda em busca de autonomia.

Research into mystical experience has to date relied primarily on retrospective self reports of mystical states. Analysis of such reports assumes a direct correspondence between their content and the content of the experiences. But experiencers themselves often express dissatisfaction with the capacity of language to convey these states, and the language they do choose to use is typically vague and ambiguous. The current dissertation argues that vagueness is not an accidental nor an unfortunate feature of mystical communications. Because of difficulties in direct expression, mystical communicators rely on the active and imaginative participation of the listener/reader to complete the expression. A theory of provocative gaps is developed to explain how this operates. A "gap" is conceived of as an open receptacle in linguistic space. It provides a site within a discourse upon which receptive listeners/readers can insert content from their own experience. Gaps can be created by blatant omissions of content, but in written descriptions are more likely to occur in indirect forms by exploiting subtleties in grammar and meaning. A simple diagrammatic system is developed for explaining the gap-provoking potential of several major rhetorical strategies. Three studies were designed to explore whether and at what frequency written testimonials of mystical experience exploit a selection of 31 of these gap-provoking strategies: the first study exposed their high frequency in extracts by well-known published mystics; the second indicated similarly high frequencies for the average person's description; and the third found significantly higher rates in mystical testimonials than in descriptions by the same participants of dream or travel experiences. A similar use of vagueness can be found in the language of hypnotic trance induction, and as an adjunct to the second study, the hypnotic susceptibility of 81 subjects was assessed and results indicated that subjects with mystical inclinations were more susceptible to hypnosis than those without. The general support of the studies for a theory of provocative gaps suggests that the notion of intentional vagueness could have useful application in the study of other types of communication, including: the media, art criticism, teaching, psychotherapy and academic discourse.
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The needs of business and industry dictate that students be taught skills transferable to the workplace. Teaching collaborative writing for real-world application to the field of technical writing is one way to help prepare students for future employment in scientific and technical industries where the communication of technical information is part of conducting daily business.

Communication is paramount to promoting successful implementation of business strategy. However, little research has focused on what constitutes effective communication of strategy. A quasi-field experiment was conducted to build on current research regarding whether the use of graphic rhetoric is better than text in communicating business strategy to a diverse audience. A total of 44 employees were exposed to the same strategic message through different modes of communication: one using graphic rhetoric and the other text. A pre-test was administered to determine demographics, business strategy exposure and understanding. A post-test was administered to review the levels of attention, agreement, understanding and recall. Participants were then retested seven days later to further test recall. Results suggest that graphic rhetoric can enhance the communication of business strategy across a diverse audience. Further research with a longitudinal design is necessary to understand the role of visual rhetoric in comprehension and implementation of strategy.
Mini Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2017.
za2018
Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS)
MBA
Unrestricted

In this paper, we explore how corporations use visual artifacts to translate and recontextualize a globally theorized managerial concept (CSR) into a local setting (Austria). In our analysis of the field-level visual discourse, we analyze over 1,600 images in stand-alone CSR reports of publicly traded corporations. We borrow from framing analysis and structural linguistics to show how the meaning structure underlying a multifaceted construct like CSR is constituted by no more than a relatively small number of fundamental dimensions and rhetorical standpoints (topoi). We introduce the concept of imageries-of-practice to embrace the critical role that shared visual language plays in the construction of meaning and the emergence of field-level logics. In particular, we argue that imageries-of-practice, compared to verbal vocabularies, are just as well equipped to link locally resonating symbolic representations and globally diffusing practices, thus expressing both the material and ideational dimension of institutional logics in processes of translation. We find that visual rhetoric used in the Austrian discourse emphasizes the qualities of CSR as a bridging concept, and facilitates the mediation of inconsistencies in several ways: By translating abstract global ideas into concrete local knowledge, imageries-of-practice aid in mediating spatial oppositions; by linking the past, present, and future, they bridge time; by mediating between different institutional spheres and their divergent logics, they appease ideational oppositions and reduce institutional complexity; and, finally, by connecting questionable claims with representations of authenticity, they aid in overcoming credibility gaps.

The purpose of this doctorate thesis is to investigate the historical discursive construction of swedishness and foreignness in the Swedish culinary field, primarily during the period of 1900-1970, and to relate the changes in the articulation of these concepts to the overarching ideological shifts during this time-period. To achieve this objective a conceptual apparatus inspired by cultural studies, discourse analysis and rhetorical analysis is employed upon the primary material, which consists of Swedish- and foreign-signified cookbooks published in Sweden during the period of 1600-1970. It is further argued that communities of consumption, such as nationalized culinary cultures, are discursive constructions and that actors attempt to write individuals into these communities through the articulation of nationalized subject positions. In the thesis it is thus investigated how, when and perhaps why certain actors on a field attempt to discursively construct such communities of consumption during a certain era. The chapters 2-5 of the thesis contain analyses of the historical construction of foreignness on the Swedish cultural field. Here various trends are traced in the construction of individual foreign cuisines, both in relation to each other and to the concept of culinary swedishness. An analysis is also made of the varied rhetoric that is used to promote foreign-signified cooking to the Swedish public during the examined time-period. It is concluded that the variations in rhetoric seem to covariate with larger ideological shifts in Swedish society. Chapters 6 and 7 specifically examine the construction of swedishness in the culinary field by focusing on the construction of national culinary icons such as the Smörgåsbord and Husmanskost and also on the evolution of the ideas of a distinct Swedish palate and a Swedish national cuisine. As a result of this investigation the perhaps surprisingly late codification of a Swedish national cuisine during the 1960’s is noted. It is further argued that this development coincides with a shift in the popular mood, where “the Swedish way of life” increasingly comes to be seen as threatened by external forces such as foreign influences and modernity, why certain actors on the culinary field express a necessity for the codification of what is perceived of as the “true Swedish cuisine”. A paradoxical result of this urge for preservation is the construction of new cultural phenomena dressed in a traditionalist and nationalist rhetoric that anchors them in a distant past.

This thesis explores how stakeholders in Mongolian rural development projects interpret the concept of 'participation'. While previous research has provided an ethnographic snapshot of participation in rural development projects, none has yet focused on Mongolia – a post-socialist nation that receives significant amounts of foreign aid. To gain a holistic picture of 'participation', this study explores: how stakeholders understand participation; what stakeholders perceive and prioritise as the benefits of participation; and which factors motivate or inhibit participation. This study's methodology involved an inductive, qualitative approach with a multiple case study design. Three Mongolia rural development projects, each with objectives of poverty-reduction and participation, were selected from three different development organisations and interviews were conducted with different stakeholder groups: development organisation managers, field staff, and local people of the project sites (participants and non-participants). The results of this study revealed a dominant or 'Mongolian' understanding of 'participation' existed across the various stakeholders: 'Participation is local contributions of group labour and information for material benefits, within a top-down authoritarian structure (including local institutions)'. This understanding arose from development organisations' emphasis on efficiency and sustainable results and local people engaging with the project as a normative livelihood strategy. In this study, given the incidence and nature of rural poverty, stakeholders prioritised the tangible benefits of participation over the intangible and linked empowerment to tangible outcomes. Development staff prioritised the longer-term tangible benefits (food security and income), and to ensure their sustainability sub-benefits were provided sequentially, mental capital, then physical capital, with social capital built naturally through the project's formal and informal activities. In contrast, local people prioritised the manifest tangible benefits, which initially meant the physical capital gifted by the project, and then later the material outcomes of the new livelihoods. While development staff envisioned intangible benefits as important in their own right, for Mongolian participants they were a gateway to the project's tangible outputs. Four prominent intangible benefits emerged: knowledge/mental investment, 'power within', social connections, and involvement in groups – each uniquely valuable within the Mongolian context. The results also showed that the factors which shaped participation reflected the unique circumstances of rural Mongolia and each project's activities. Economic rationality appeared as the foundational incentive for participation, followed by social motivations that included: widespread, detailed, and positive information about the project; the perceived power, leadership, and organisational skills of the development organisation; a deep personal relationship between development staff and local people; and rurally-oriented seminars and workshops. The major barriers to 'Mongolian' participation included: a lack of opportunity or incentive to participate; the current situation of poverty and unemployment; Mongolia's governance structures, culture, and history; the geography of isolation; the development organisation‟s procedures; and the dynamics of project 'groups'. Moreover, the results indicated that projects which require higher levels of local participation, i.e. decision-making, may face more fundamental obstacles because of the cultural value placed upon top-down, authoritarian leadership and a prevailing mentality of dependence. Based on these results, this study concludes that interpretations of participation arise out of field-level realities, and thus the level of participation incorporated into development projects needs to reflect the local culture, context, and history.

This thesis investigates the worldview of six rhetors of the far-right using the rhetorical method of fantasy theme analysis. The specific rhetors examined in this study are Peter J. Peters, Dan Gayman, Edward Fields, Fred Phelps, Jeny Falwell, and James Dobson. In order to understand the discourse of the six rhetors, five research questions were developed to guide the study: (1) What are the images portrayed of homosexuals and gay rights advocates in the fantasy themes of the rhetors examined in this study? (2) What are the images portrayed of Christians in the fantasy themes of the rhetors examined in this study? (3) How do the fantasy themes differ in extremity among the rhetors of the far-tight with regard to homosexuality and supporters of gay lights? (4) How do the fantasy themes of the rhetors work together to create a rhetolical vision for the far-light regarding homosexuality? (5) How do the collective fantasy themes of the far-right rhetors potentially influence actions against and aggression towards homosexuals? In order to answer these questions, a fantasy theme analysis was conducted on various artifacts of the six rhetors chosen for examination in this thesis. The analysis indicated that the fantasy themes of the rhetors work together to create a rhetorical vision in which a drama is played out. In this drama, homosexuals and supporters of gay rights are depicted as villains and fundamentalist Christians are characterized as heroes. Through the depictions of these characters and their actions the ultimate ideal of America as a country is provided. This ultimate ideal focuses on a setting where homosexuals do not exist and gay rights is not an issue. Through these fantasy themes the rhetors encourage America's patriots and fundamentalist Christians to remove homosexuals from society. In addition, the collective rhetorical vision of the six rhetors provides motives for aggressive actions against homosexuals, including acts of violence.

abstract: There has been a robust and ongoing investment in demystifying the discursive and material conditions of neoliberalism. Scholars in communication have done much work to explore the various rhetorical effects and processes of neoliberal discourses and practices. Many of these case studies have tethered their concerns of neoliberalism to the conceptualization of the public sphere. However, most of this research rests on the absence of those that try to “make do.” By privileging rhetoric after the fact, such studies tend to provide more agency to ideology than everyday bodies that engage in their own rhetorical judgments and discernments. In addition, scholarship across the board tends to treat neoliberalism as something dangerously and uniquely new. This framing effectively serves to ignore the longer history of liberalism and liberal thought that paved the path of neoliberalism the United States is now on. With these two broad concerns in mind, this study centers a case study of a charter school in South Phoenix to focus on the vernacular rhetorics of those on the ground. Guided by public sphere theory, critical race theory, and intersectionality, I take up rhetorical field methods to explore how those involved with this charter school navigate and make sense of school choice and charter schools in the age of neoliberalism. Within this context, field methods permit me to locate the various discourses, practices, and material constraints that shape running, being educated at, and selecting a charter school. These various rhetorical practices brought to the forefront an interest and concern with the school’s whole child approach as it is rooted within Stephen Covey’s (1989) seven habits. Additional qualitative data analysis brings about two new concepts of neoliberal scapegoating and dialectical vernacular complicity. Finally, I discuss the implications of these findings as they speak to how rhetorical field methods, supported by intersectionality and critical race theory, invites critics to center more agency on people rather than ideas, and how that makes for a more complicated and nuanced neoliberal reality and modes of resistance.
Dissertation/Thesis
Doctoral Dissertation Communication 2020

Content removed from thesis due to copyright restrictions: Teo-Dixon, G. & Monin, N. (2007). Guru of gurus: Peter Drucker, logology, and the ultimate leader. Journal of Management Inquiry, 16(1), 6-17. doi:10.11777/1056492606294637
Knowledge management (KM) is a topic of interest to local and national organisations on the potential of ‘knowledge’. In over a decade of theorising, the concept of knowledge as projected by theory seems to remain largely positive. My research probes these concepts of knowledge and asks if it was rhetoric that sustained these images of knowledge and, if so, what were the processes that enabled it to do so. In this thesis, I critically examine several academic texts in KM theory and find out that the concept of knowledge in KM as portrayed by these texts is rhetorically perfect but potentially corrupted. Concepts of knowledge which have been ignored or omitted in KM become apparent in a unique method of rhetorical analysis which I have developed and called ‘embedded cluster-agon’ analysis. Based on this analysis, I propose that in the ‘perfecting’ of knowledge a ‘dark side’ has developed. In the KM theory analysed, this emerges as a pattern of assumptions that regards individuals as: resources to be exploited, pawns in organisational strategies, victims of unbalanced power relationships and anonymous nodes on networks. This hints at a possible lack of moral or ethical consideration in managing knowledge. Therefore, KM needs to be theorised with care.