University of Hradec Králové Journals
Not a member yet
512 research outputs found
Sort by
Electoral Arrangements and Turnout Variance at the Sub-National Level: Comparative Insights from Three Constituencies in Ghana
Get PDFUsing micro-level data from three constituencies in Ghana, which are cases of high, average and low turnout respectively, I assess whether voters’ perceptions of the cost of voting (resource and time) can explain such variation in voter turnout. Results suggest that in Ghana, such individual perceptions of the cost associated with voting do not help in explaining variance in voter turnout at the constituency level: Across the different levels of turnout, there is little to no variance in voters’ perceptions. I find that the high positive perceptions of the electoral processes across high, average, and low turnout constituencies are not only due to the activities of the electoral management body but among others, the adjustments by citizens to the process based on their experiences from past elections
Celebrities’ Role in the Conflict Resolution Processes: George Clooney in South Sudan
Get PDFThe present article discusses the role of celebrities in the conflict resolution processes presented by the case study of George Clooney’s engagement in South Sudan. Methodologically, it is a critical discourse analysis of published articles in selected media. The main argument of the article is that the role of celebrities in conflict resolution processes is overestimated by media and the image of celebrities’ involvement reproduces stereotyped understanding of distant regions as lacking agency and dependent on the actors from the West. The image of Clooney’s role in the South Sudanese peace process creates an idea that celebrities have been crucial actors in this process. The present article brings critical new insights on the engagement of celebrities, including the fight against the violation of human rights and points out the corruption of South Sudanese politicians
Cheeseman, Nic, and Fisher, Jonathan. 2019. Authoritarian Africa: Repression, Resistance, and the Power of Ideas. New York/Oxford: Oxford University Press. 176 pp. ISBN: 9780190279653
No full textNaturalness and Artificiality Revisited Through Natural Infinity
Get PDFDiscussions about naturalness, artificiality and unnaturalness in this article are motivated by the field of Human Cognitive Enhancement (HCE) because of its potential for altering human personality and identity. This article at first proposes a concept of human naturalness as interaction between physis and logos. Then it presents an intuitive understanding of naturalness in terms of the inherent inability of language to fully describe all attributes of an object that is natural. The analytical core of the article proposes a formal model of naturalness utilising Vopenka\u27s phenomenologically grounded Alternative Set Theory (AST), comprising and formalising the concept of natural infinity. A brief introduction to AST is presented as well. Naturalness and artificiality are modelled as two structurally different naturally infinite semisets within AST. This key structural difference is then analysed and applied back to the domain of HCE.Discussions about naturalness, artificiality and unnaturalness in this article are motivated by the field of Human Cognitive Enhancement (HCE) because of its potential for altering human personality and identity. This article at first proposes a concept of human naturalness as interaction between physis and logos. Then it presents an intuitive understanding of naturalness in terms of the inherent inability of language to fully describe all attributes of an object that is natural. The analytical core of the article proposes a formal model of naturalness utilising Vopenka\u27s phenomenologically grounded Alternative Set Theory (AST), comprising and formalising the concept of natural infinity. A brief introduction to AST is presented as well. Naturalness and artificiality are modelled as two structurally different naturally infinite semisets within AST. This key structural difference is then analysed and applied back to the domain of HCE
Political Ideology and Organisational Espousal: A Political-Historical Analysis of Dr. John Garang De Mabior’s “New Sudan Vision”
Get PDFThe Sudan People’s Liberation Movement and Army (SPLM/A) has for decades presented a “New Sudan” as its “vision.” But SPLM/A’s official ideology was socialism and its vision a united secular and socialist Sudan. With time, this vision became “New Sudan” and its presumptive guiding ideology became “The New Sudan Vision” (NSV) without any official institutionalisation of this NSV. In fact, “NSV” does not appear in the Movement’s founding manifesto until the revision of the manifesto in 2008 when NSV was incoherently included. I argue, therefore, that the New Sudan Vision was not really an SPLM/A political ideology but John Garang’s ideology. Besides, its immediate disappearance in South Sudan after the death of John Garang and the overwhelming vote for independence was an unequivocal rejection of NSV by the South Sudanese
Convince Your Grandma Because There Are Reasons to Be Afraid: Walton’s Argumentation Schemes in the Video „Convince Your Grandma“
No full textV textu představuji dva přístupy k argumentační analýze: neformálně-logickou analýzu založenou na práci Ralpha H. Johnsona a J. Anthonyho Blaira a argumentační schémata od Douglase Waltona. V první části definuji oba dva přístupy a vysvětluji jejich vzájemný vztah. Dále vysvětluji základní pojmy obou přístupů – definuji argument, interní argument, implicitní premisu a PZ-strukturu, argumentační schéma a kritické otázky. Věnuji se i popisu jejich výhod a nevýhod. V druhé, praktické části textu aplikuji definované nástroje na video Přemluv bábu. Formuluji tři výzkumné otázky, na které odpovídám. V rámci odpovědi na první předkládám PZ-strukturu argumentace z videa. Záměrem druhé otázky je identifikace argumentačních schémat v analyzované struktuře, kde považuji za nejdůležitější argument apelující na strach. Účelem poslední otázky je hledání odpovědí na kritické otázky související s identifikovaným schématem. Docházím k závěru, že protagonisté argumentu neodpovídají na otázky uspokojivě. Záměrem textu je předložit případovou studii, na které ukážu, jak analyzovat argumentační text pomocí zvolených přístupů.In an article, I present two approaches to argumentation analysis: an informal logic analysis based on the work of Ralph H. Johnson and J. Anthony Blair and an analysis using Douglas Walton’s Argumentation schemes. In the first part of the paper, I define both approaches and explain their relationship. I also define the basic concepts of both approaches – the argument, the internal argument, the implicit premise, the structure of the premises and conclusion, the argumentation scheme and the critical questions. I also challenge their advantages and disadvantages. In the second part of the text, I apply the defined tools to the video Přemluv bábu (Convince your grandma, 2010). I put forward three research questions to answer. The aim of the first question is to depict the structure of the premises and conclusion of the argument in the video. The second question aims to seek argumentation schemes in the structure. Here I consider the most important argument from a fear appeal. The aim of the last question is to find the answers to the critical questions related to the argument from fear appeal. I come to the conclusion that the protagonists do not answer the questions satisfactorily. The intention of the paper is to present a case study on how to analyze an argumentation text using the selected approaches
You Have No Chance of Convincing Your Grandma, so How about Going to the Polls? Strategically Counter-Productive Persuasion of Young (Non)Voters
No full textText představuje pragma-dialektický přístup k argumentaci. Věnuje se představení nástrojů standardní verze (ideální model kritické diskuze, argumentační schéma, argumentační struktura) i rozšířené verze (typ komunikační aktivity, strategické manévrování). Následně ilustruje užití předložených nástrojů na případové analýze videa „Přemluv bábu“. Standardní verze je využita k zodpovězení otázky „Jakou argumentaci Mádl a Issová předkládají? Je zde představen postup rekonstrukce argumentační výpovědi: identifikaci argumentačně relevantních prvků textu a rekonstrukci argumentační struktury a užitých argumentačních schémat. Rozšířená verze pragma-dialektiky je užita k zodpovězení otázky „Jaké argumentační strategie Mádl a Issová používají, aby zvýšili přijatelnost vzhledem k zamýšlenému publiku?“ Je zde předložena charakterizace typu komunikační aktivity angažované politické komedie a omezení, které z jejích konvencí vyplývají. Následně je předložena analýza strategie užití tzv. strategické kontraproduktivity.The article introduces a pragma-dialectical approach to argumentation. It presents the tools of the standard version of pragma-dialectics (ideal model of critical discussion, argument scheme, argumentation structure) and its extended version (communicative activity type, strategic maneuvering). The use of these tools is illustrated in a case study of the video Přemluv bábu (Convince your grandma, 2010). The standard version’s tools are used to answer the question “What argumentation is presented by Mádl and Issová?” The article illustrates a procedure of reconstructing the argumentative utterance: i.e. identifying the relevant elements of argumentation and reconstructing the used argumentation structure and argument schemes. The tools of the extended pragma-dialectics’ version are used to answer the question: “What argumentative strategy is used by Mádl and Issová to enhance the acceptability of a standpoint with regard to the intended audience?”The characterization of a communicative activity type of engaged political comedy and constraints resulting from its conventions are presented. Then, an analysis of so-called strategic counterproductivity is presented
Appeal to selfishness or reasonableness? Case analyses using Toulmin’s model of argument
No full textPříspěvek se zaobírá Toulminovým přístupem k argumentaci. Hlavním cílem je přitom představit tento přístup a ukázat jeho aplikaci na vybraném materiálu. Klíčová otázka poté zní: V čem je Toulminův přístup stále aktuální a co může při zkoumání argumentů přinést? Cíle i odpovědi na otázku je dosahováno ve dvou základních krocích. V prvním kroku je probrána teorie argumentu, jak ji Toulmin prezentuje především ve své knize The Uses of Argument. Ve druhém kroku je pak Toulminův přístup aplikován na vybraný materiál, konkrétně na videospot Přemluv bábu (2010). Pozornost je přitom věnována zejména modelu argumentu, doménové závislosti, logickým typům a druhům argumentu. V příspěvku je nakonec ukázáno, že Toulmin je stále diskutovaný a teoreticky podnětný, a také to, že jeho aplikace na vybraný materiál může poskytnout dobrá vodítka pro hodnocení tohoto materiálu i v případech, kdy toto hodnocení není možné udělat jednoznačně pomocí formálních nástrojů.The paper deals with Toulmin’s approach to an argument. The primary goal is to present this approach and to show its application on selected material. The key question is: What is interesting in Toulmin’s approach today and what it can show when investigating arguments. There are two simple steps to accomplish the goals of this paper and to give an answer to the key question. In the first step, Toulmin’s theory is discussed, especially regarding The Uses of Argument. In the second step, Toulmin’s approach is applied to the selected material, Přemluv bábu (Convince your grandma, 2010). Attention is paid to the model of argumentation, domain dependence, logical types and types of argument. In conclusion, it is shown that Toulmin is still debated and theoretically exciting and that its application to the selected material can provide useful guidance for the evaluation, although regarding formal tools, this assessment may not be exact
“Come-no-go/l’ennemi…dans la maison”: Reflections on the Lingoes of Conflict in Cameroon’s Urban History
Get PDFThe re-introduction of multi-party politics and the liberalisation of politics in Cameroon during the 1990s unleashed a venomous language of conflict in some cities. In the coastal region, the expression of “come-no-go,” synonymous to a dreaded skin disease, was/is frequently used to denigrate people from the grassfields of the country. Many were descendants of migrants to the commercial plantations established by the Germans. Meanwhile, the archbishop of Yaounde at the time called Anglophones “l’ennemi dans…la maison” or “enemies in the house.” This followed the launching of the Social Democratic Front (SDF) party in Bamenda against a government ban. This article examines the power of derogatory language in Cameroon’s urban space. Lingoes of conflict and segregation have denigrated some people and remain a challenge to national unity and integration in Cameroon since the reunification of 1961
