Tallinn University Publications
Not a member yet
873 research outputs found
Sort by
Andekusmõistestik teadus- ja üldkeeles ning andekuse diskursuse diakrooniline konstrueerimine meediatekstides [Concepts of giftedness in scientific and common language, and the diachronic construction of the discourse of giftedness in media texts]
No full textThe aim of the study is to describe the diachronic construction of the discourse of giftedness in print media and to show how the historical media discourse relates to the understanding of the essence of giftedness developing in parallel in science. The media analysis is based on a critical discourse analysis of the media texts from the 1890s–1990s stored in the corpus of written Estonian and the analysis model of Norman Fairclough (2001), one of the most central theoreticians of this approach. The results of the analysis indicate that the historical media discourse of giftedness was constructed in parallel with the understandings emerging in the studies of giftedness: there were similarities between the media and scientific discourse but some differences could also be outlined. The viewpoints which had fi rst become natural through the notion of “genius” in scientific literature, according to which giftedness is hereditary, were also reflected in the historical media discourse. Atypically of the scientific discourse back then, the media also discussed the individual\u27s physical assumptions in relation to giftedness, which was refl ected in modern approaches to giftedness. The first linguistic form denoting giftedness in media was not genius, which occurred in scientifi c texts (see Galton, 1869), but talent (Wirmaline, 1892), which was used in scientific language only a century later. The discourse analysis revealed that the talent discourse back then was similar to the modern scientifi c approach, relating to skills and abilities already a century ago (see Gagné, 2004). Almost at the same time as the term talent, the term gift richness (Walgus, 1895) occurred in media, creating the giftedness discourse, the dynamics of which were similar to the talent discourse. The discourse included texts which directly summarised the viewpoints of science – both the role of heredity in giftedness as well as eugenics – creating clear connections between the dominant ideological beliefs of that era. Similarly to the scientific discourse, the discourse of environment emerged in the texts, although giftedness was constructed either through the monetary or competition discourse. In examining the emotional tone of the texts, it was clear that, compared to the talent discourse, the emotional tone of the texts of the giftedness discourse was more positive, even under conditions of Soviet ideology. Based on the discourse analysis, it may be concluded that the discourse of genius was the most politicised among the emerged sub-discourses and was clearly different from the discourse once described by Galton (1869). The genius that had emerged in the 1930s was then used in a context related to the origin of the term (compare genius in Latin – a spirit, and good intellectual abilities (e.g., PM, 1934)). However, during the Soviet times it became a tool of the ideology and was used to emphasize the political decisions of the heads of the state. The dynamics of the discourse of giftedness indicates that the discourse has played an important role in human relationships throughout history. Musicians and artists, and later politicians and working people, were considered to have important positions in the society. This indicates that certain fields of life have been clearly more prestigious at diff erent stages of history. The difference between the scientific and media discourses of giftedness in different age-related contexts that emerged during the analysis must also be considered important. While scientific texts almost always described gifted children and scientifi c literature used example sentences related to children as definitions of terms (e.g., Saareste, 1997, etc.), in historical media texts the discourse of giftedness was only constructed through adults. In summary, the study indicated that there were clearly different understandings of giftedness in science in historical media texts, as well as a connection in creating and maintaining societal agreements
Explaining cross-national variations in tax morality in the European Union: an exploratory analysis
No full textThe aim of this paper is to conduct an exploratory analysis of factors that might explain the cross-national variations in the level tax morality across the European Union. In order to do this, three competing explanations for the cross-national variations in tax morality will be evaluated which variously view lower levels of tax morality to be a result of either: under-development (a modernisation explanation); high taxes, state corruption and too much state interference (a neo-liberal explanation), or too little state redistribution and intervention to protect citizens (a structuralist explanation). Evaluating the cross-national variations in tax morality reported in a 2007 Eurobarometer survey using multilevel econometric techniques, the finding is that the tax morality of a baseline European citizen is higher in more developed and less corrupt nations and in countries with higher levels of taxation, social protection and redistribution. The outcome is a call for a synthesis of the three explanations in the form of a new neo-modernisation explanation which, contrary to neo-liberal discourse, argues that developed nations with higher levels of taxation, greater levels of social protection and higher levels of redistribution have higher levels of tax morality. The tentative policy implications are then discussed
Book Review: Variations in Post-Communist Europe: a Worthwhile Addition
No full textOn Baltic Slovenia and Adriatic Lithuania. A Qualitative Comparative Analysis of Patterns in Post-Communist Transformation by Zenonas Norkus, 2012, Central European University Press.
Pазмышление о «Подражании Горацию» К. Н. Батюшкова (так ли «безумно» стихотворение поэта?) [Some Thoughts about “Podrazhanie Goratsiiu” by Konstantin Batyushkov: Is the Poem that Mad?]
No full textThis article is an attempt to reconstruct the semantic structure of the incoherent—and even absurdist—text of Konstantin Batyushkov’s poem “Podrazhanie Goratsiiu” (1852). Written by a demented poet, this text seems to lack any logic, yet it has a logic of its own (although the poem’s plane of expression is different from what we expect from a 19th-century poet)
Estonia’s First Steps in the Direction of NATO and National Defence
No full text The meeting of the North Atlantic Cooperation Council (NACC) which was held in December 1991 and attended by the foreign ministers of NATO member states, former members of the Warsaw Treaty Organisation and the Baltic States was a prelude to enlargement. Although the direct threat of an attack in the territories of NATO countries had ceased to exist, armed conflict in the border areas of NATO – especially in the former Yugoslavia – emerged as new threats. The NATO cooperation programme Partnership for Peace (PfP) was launched on the initiative of the US in 1994 and was tasked with preparing the military structures of potential new member states.
Even before the adoption of the new Constitution, Chairman of the Supreme Council of Estonia Ülo Nugis declared in October 1991 that Estonia’s goal was to join NATO as soon as possible. Secretary General of NATO Manfred Wörner visited Estonia in March 1992. However, the main task of the Estonian defence policy until 1994 was the withdrawal of Russian forces from the territory of Estonia.
The fundamentals of the Estonian defence policy passed in the Riigikogu in May 1996 stated that the goal of the policy was to join NATO and WEU.
In 1994, Estonian soldiers took part in NATO/PfP training (Cooperative Spirit 94) for the first time. In 1995 Estonia joined the NATO Planning and Review Programme. Estonia has been taking part in NATO peacekeeping missions, initially as part of the Danish battalion, since 1995.
The idea of Estonia becoming a member of NATO seemed utopic at the time the country’s independence was restored, but it had already become a serious possibility by the mid-’90s. The events in Europe and around the world, the openness of NATO and Estonia’s own determination and efforts helped to achieve this.
Interdisciplinary Analysis of Post-Socialist Societies
No full textThis issue of STSS is interdisciplinary, including articles from political economy, demography, youth sociology and political sociology. The articles observe different post-socialist societies: Slovenia, Estonia, Lithuania and Russia.
Предисловие к публикации главы «Фабула о продавшемся таланте» из диссертации Р. Г. Назирова «Традиции Пушкина и Гоголя в русской прозе. Сравнительная история фабул»
No full textForeword to the chapter from Romen Nazirov´s dissertation Pushkin\u27s and Gogol\u27s Traditions in Russian Prose: a Comparative History of Stories
Kriitiline diskursuseanalüüs tekstikeskses emakeeleõpetuses [Critical discourse analysis as a means of text-centred MTE]
No full textAs mother tongue education has recently undergone significant methodical changes, it is important that educational literature corresponds with these changes. This work aims to present a methodical base for the Estonian compulsory upper-secondary level course “Media and influence”, and thus it studies how to combine contemporary principles of literacy with the analysis of media texts in a mother tongue education. The new didactic literature focuses on text analysis and examines the text in its social context. This work offers a new approach to the analysis of the media text, namely critical discourse analysis as a quickly developing field. The work examines the contemporary concepts of literacy, which methods of text analysis meet their requirements and what kind of texts should be used in upper-school lessons. First I discuss the basics of the new mother tongue curriculum, implemented in 2011, and then contemporary literacy concepts. Next I consider the principles of critical discourse analysis as a method of text analysis, proposing a range of texts to be used as educational materials and the ways of using critical discourse analysis of them in the “Media and infl uence” course. Text analysis observes how events are framed, and how phenomena, relations, roles and social identities are naturalized; it also discusses the strategies of argumentation. The analysis of the vocabulary, sentences and narratives of media texts makes it possible to describe the sociocultural customs of a society in a mother tongue education. The article includes examples from the textbook Media and influence by Aava and Salumäe (2013). In the discussion section, I describe how the goals of a mother tongue curriculum can be reached using critical discourse analysis and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of critical literacy and critical discourse analysis in education. I use diff erent authors to theorize on how to fi ll the gaps between the textual realities of schools and students. The discussion also highlights other important issues that need att ention, e.g. how to combine the competence of visual literacy with linguistic competence
A Post-War Paradox of Informality in South Lebanon: Rebuilding Houses or Destroying Legitimacy
No full textRecent multiethnic Lebanese history has been characterised by a high degree of tension between sectarian groups and the state. In a number of cases, minority groups’ resistance to localised majority groups developed into a manifest attempt to limit the action of the central authority by embracing alternative loyalties, both transnational and interreligious. Makdisi (2000) argues that in a multiconfessional Lebanon the old-fashioned idea of longstanding violence between competing sects is unsustainable. However, political microanalysis based on empirical material collected in South Lebanon during and after the 2006 war shows that in situations where state and ethno-religious groups fail to establish a dialogue, tension leads citizens to view the state as alien and other groups as enemies.With reference to Christian minority group responses, this paper looks at the ways Hizbullah post-conflict strategies of reconstruction have been legitimated. Considering the Weberian notion of the state’s sole power and Prato’s (2000) analysis of citizen loyalties to the state as a welfare provider, and reassessing this notion with empirical data collected in conflictual loci, this paper examines the rise of a religion-driven movement in a scenario marked by dramatic economic transformation. The analysis suggests that group denial of the state’s role is most evident at a local level, where sectarian attitudes (e.g. concerning land or property issues) take precedence over nationally based loyalties and where this denial is the only perceptible means of survival for both the individual and his or her group