1.9.2 To sum up Such an analysis reinforces the notion of discourse as a form of work or labour. It also implies a strategic speaker. But, again, is this the case? Are speakers strategic in this way or just doing what comes naturally? It can suggest, too, a duplicity in Diana's actions. Potter is not implying this, however. Rather, as knowledgeable speakers and competent members of discursive communities, we are all, like Diana, skilled in a range of methods for accomplishing different activities such as sta
1.5.1 The co-production of meaning The third sense in which discourse is a social action refers to the origins of meanings. Meaning emerges from complex social and historical processes. It is conventional and normative. We have some idea what it signifies to say Prince Charles is a proud man because we are members of a speaking community and culture which has agreed associations for ‘proud man’. We draw on those to make sense. Meaning is also relational. Proud signifies as it does because of the existence of other t
Introduction This unit introduces some of the main themes and issues in discourse analysis. To do this, it looks at extracts from the late Princess Diana interview screened on Panorama in 1995. The interview not only broke the conventions for British Royal appearances, but also reshaped the usual boundaries between public and private for the Royal family. While the focus here may be on Diana's words, the unit is not in itself concerned with the Diana phenomenon. And while some of the points discour
1.5.2 Consequences of introducing the Euro into the international system The jump in the Euro as currency of choice for bond denomination in 1999 in part reflects the advent of the Euro as a common currency across the Euro-zone. But is has also encouraged those countries in the EU who are not in the Euro-zone, or those not in the EU at all, to borrow in Euros as well. The point about the consolidation and integration of the Euro bond market discussed in Author(s):
1.2.2 Summary The EU-15/25 is a large and prosperous player on the world economic stage. It represents a continental-sized economy, able to compete with the USA and Japan (and China and India, somewhere down the line). The new EU members who joined in 2004, and those lining up to join later, are at a different level of development to the EU-15. This will pose considerable challenges for those managing and governing the n
1.1 Managing the European economy after the introduction of the Euro In many ways the introduction of the Euro both begged the question of an integrated financial system for Europe (or the Euro-zone in the first instance) and was stimulated by its own success. This success can be measured in terms of a relatively low-inflation economy and, after a shaky start, the Euro's emergence as an international currency of some repute. Thus one of the first issues to deal with in this unit is the background to the institutional changes that Economic and Monetary Union (E
Learning outcomes After studying this unit you will: appreciate the importance of the Euro-zone economy as a player in the international economic system; recognise the importance and role played by the European Central Bank in the conduct of Euro-zone monetary policy; understand the relationship between monetary policy and fiscal policy in the management of the European economy; reflect on the consequences of Euro-zone enlargement for the conduct econo
Introduction This unit focuses on key developments in the economy of the European Union (EU) since the advent of the Euro in 1999. Further, it concentrates on the challenges this has posed for economic policy formation and the governance of the EU's expanding economy. One of the central features of the post-Maastricht governance environment is the attempt to create a ‘single market in services’ for Europe. If the 1990s was the decade of the ‘single market programme’ (SMP) which concentrated on the
Acknowledgements The content acknowledged below is Proprietary (see terms and conditions) and is used under licence. Grateful acknowledgement is made to the following sources for permission to reproduce material in this unit: Figure 4 Institute of British Geographers; Tube
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4.3 Summary If social researchers are to be effective in understanding people, they need to be detached from common sense (the perspective of the person on the street). However, they should not be so detached that they fall into the trap of imposing their own categories upon the object without regard for the experience of those involved (the perspective of the expert). The standpoint of the ‘stranger’ provides a way of mediating between the detached position of the scientist and the personal ex
4.1 A situated practice In the previous sections we considered the challenges facing the contemporary social sciences and the issues raised by thinking of social research as a situated practice. You will already have identified the ways in which the social sciences are complicated by the problem of researchers attempting to know and understand the social world they inhabit. At this point it is useful to develop a checklist of the ways that this has affected social research practice.
3.3 Summary Social scientific inquiry, like all human practices, operates through a set of taken-for-granted assumptions and draws upon the same skills we use in everyday life. It is difficult to separate the treatment of facts in social science from deeply embedded cultural values. Social scientific knowledge is situated in two ways: historically in terms of the shared values and guidelines transmitted from previous studies in the social sciences, and socially within a specific cultu
2.3 The challenge of terminology Probably the biggest challenge that you will encounter is acquiring a command of the terms and concepts of this field of knowledge – even the words ‘philosophy’ and ‘science’ can seem off-putting. In your reading around this unit you will come into contact with a wide range of ‘-isms’, ‘-sophies’ and ‘-ologies’, some of which you may have encountered in previous studies. Actually, these terms are best seen as shorthand for groups of assumptions and ideas about the way th
2.1 The challenge of change We are living in a very complex and rapidly changing world. Social science does not exist in a vacuum: by its very nature, social scientific study directly considers those things in life which are close to our concerns as human beings – how we produce things, communicate with one another, govern ourselves, understand our varied environments, and how to solve the problems we face in the organisation of social relations and processes. The social sciences offer a way of dealing with all of the
1 What does the philosophy of the social science offer? Why study the philosophy of the social sciences? Before we can answer this question we need to ask briefly a whole series of preliminary questions, such as: Why do we study social phenomena? How do we study social phenomena? How does theory help us to deal with complex evidence? Which theory is the most appropriate? Which concepts are most useful for the task? How do
Acknowledgements The material is contained in Citizenship: Personal Lives and Social Policy (ed. Gail Lewis) 2004, published in association with The Policy Press © The Open University, 2004. This publication forms part of the Open University course DD305, Personal Lives and Social Policy. The material acknowledged below is Proprietary (see terms and conditions). This content is made available under a Author(s):
References 8.1 How is ‘knowledge’ about refugees and asylum seekers produced and reproduced? In this final section we consider ways in which ‘knowledge’ about refugees and asylum seekers is produced and reproduced through different kinds of research. 5.3. 1 What would you include in such a test? An advisory group which drew up proposals for the new ‘Life in the United Kingdom’ naturalisation test, believed that the ‘two senses of “citizenship”, as legal naturalisation and as participation in public life, should support each other. In what has long been a multicultural society, new citizens should be equipped to be active citizens’ (Home Office Immigration and Nationality Directorate, 2003, Section 2). Although they claimed that becoming British ‘does not mean assi 5.3 Legal status and belonging During the Second World War, Jewish refugees experienced great insecurity about their status, resulting in some cases in severe mental distress. Others ‘chafed at existing conditions. Indeed, most refugees felt they had become part of British Society’ (London, 2000, p. 262). Being naturalised as British citizens was for many ‘the milestone which established their settlement in Britain’ (London, 2000, p. 259). Following the 2002 Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act, prospectiv
