MA Soc - Dissertation - Ana Cuevas Romo

8/7/2019 MA Soc - Dissertation - Ana Cuevas Romo

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Discourse, Advertising and Representations of Overseas HelpIn Irish Non-Profit Organisations

Author: Ana Cuevas Romo

ID: 0320897

MA in Sociology (Applied Social Research)

University of Limerick

Supervisor:Dr Carmen Khling

Submitted to the University of Limerick, September 2004.


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TABLE OF CONTENTS:Table of Contents iList of Figures, List of Tables . iiAcknowledgements . iiiAbstract.. iv

Introduction 1Overview .. Research Questions ..

Chapter 1 : Non-profit Organisation... 1.1 Non-profit Organisations 1.2 Organisations Profiles

1.2.1 Bthar

1.2.2 Trcaire... .. Chapter 2: Literature Review...

2.1 Discourse and Social Change . 2.1.1 Discourse as a social practice .. 2.1.2 Discourse as socially constructedand socially constructing .. 2.1.3 Fairclough: discourse and social change .

-Discourse, power and ideology . -Democratization of discourse .. -Commodification and marketization of discourse .

-The marketization of public discourse: an example .. 2.2 Media and Development . 2.2.1 Media influence 2.2.2 Media representations.. 2.2.3 Charity Appeals and the Debate around Them..

Chapter 3: Methodology 3.1 Methodology .. 3.2 Research Process

3.2.1 Dissertation Proposal and Literature Review . 3.2.2 Discourse Analysis . 3.2.3 Interviews 3.2.4 Presentation and Discussion of Findings 3.2.5 Ethical Issues ..

3.3 Reflections on the Research Process . 3.3.1 The Researchers Role 3.3.2 Pitfalls of Discourse Analysis 3.3.3 Reliability and Validity ..

Chapter 4: Presentation of Findings 4.1 Discourse Analysis

4.1.1 Bthar . 4.1.2 Trcaire ..


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4.2 Interviews . 4.2.1 The Strategies Used .. 4.2.2 The Media Used 4.2.3 Discourse and Imagery . 4.2.4 Development Issues ..

4.2.5 The Organisations . 4.2.6 The Audience 4.2.7 The Role of Advertising 4.2.8 The Website ..

Chapter 5: Discussion of Findings.. 5.1 Overseas Help Discourse..

5.1.1.1 NPOs Representation of the Organisations,the Donors, Donating and the Projects . 5.1.2 NPOs Representation of Recipient Countries 5.1.3 Overseas Development Discourse .

5. 2 The Role of Advertising 5.2.1 The Role of Advertising in NPOs 5.2.2 Tendencies of Discursive Change

- Democratisation of NPOs Discourse .. - Marketisation and Commodificationof NPOs Discourse ...

Conclusion.

Bibliography..

Appendices 1Appendix I: Tables of wording in the websites.1 Appendix II: Tables of ima ges in the websites..3 Appendix III: Transcripts of the websites..5


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LIST OF FIGURES

FIGURE 3.1:Three-dimensional framework for discourse analysisFIGURE 3.2:Coding scheme

LIST OF TABLES

TABLE 4.1:Images in Bt hars website TABLE 4.2: Representations of recipients in Bthars website TABLE 4.3 :Social actors in development aidTABLE 4.4: Problems in RCs and times mentioned in Trcaires website


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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

To everyone who during this year guided me in this learning process by

sharing their knowledge and their very interesting world views.

To my classmates and lecturers in the MA in Sociology from whom I learnt

so much.

To my supervisor, Carmen Kuhling, without whose guidance and valuable

advice I would not have been able to complete this project.

To the participants of the study - the people of Trcaire, Bthar and Spark-

for their crucial participation and kindness. I sincerely admire and respect

your work.

And finally to the people who supported and encouraged me during this

year: my dear family, boyfriend, friends, and flatmates.

THANK YOU

Gratitude is one of the least articulate of the emotions, especially when it is deep.

Felix Frankfurter


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ABSTRACT

This dissertation explores the overseas help discourse of and the role of

advertising in Irish Non Profit Organisations (NPOs). It starts by defining key

concepts and the Irish non-profit sector. The first chapters of the dissertation are

concerned with reviewing the relevant literature on media and development,

discourse and society.

The mainly qualitative methodology used was based on the discourse analysis

approach suggested by Fairclough (1992, 1993, 2003) and Gill (2000) together

with semi-structured interviews with those involved in the production of the

organisations advertising.

Finally, the discourse analysis, interviews and theoretical framework are linked

together in order to discuss how overseas help is constructed, what does it tell us

about society and what is the role of advertising in NPOs. Two major tendencies

of discursive change are also discussed: marketisation and democratisation and

used to argue that overseas help discourse has acquired some features of the

market and commodity orders of discourse, and that democratisation is a tendency

in the organisations discourse.

This project concludes with some recommendations about discourse and

development, and suggestions for further research.


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INTRODUCTION

Development is about creating an environment in which people can develop their full potential

and lead productive, creative lives in accord with their needs and interests United Nations Development Programme

This study was conducted in order to gain an in-depth perspective of the

representation of overseas development by Non Profit Organisations (hereafter

NPOs) and the role of advertising in them. The following questions were asked:

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

How is the overseas help-discourse constructed by NPOs?o How are the organisations defined?

o How are the recipient countries represented by the organisations?

o How are donors depicted?

o What do the organisations say about the participation of the donorsand donating? What do they suggest/invite the donors to do?

o How is the work of the organisations constructed? How are the

results presented?

o What do they say about their finances and administration?

o How is the relationship between the organisations and the donors

presented?

o What do the organisations say about the key issues surroundingdevelopment?

What does it tell us about society?o Does it construct a certain image of overseas development help and

the subjects involved in it?

What is the role of advertising in NPOs?o What tendencies of change are reflected in NPOs advertising?


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In an attempt to find answers to these questions, this dissertation will analyse

NPOs advertising discourse and link the discourse with its social context. The

methodology was comprised of discourse analysis (Fairclough 1992, 1993, Gill

2000, Fairclough 2003) and semi-structured interviews which functioned as a

secondary resource to compliment the discourse analysis.

The dissertation will explore the role of advertising in NPOs and try to find

whether overseas help-discourse is going through a process of change, thereby

adding to the knowledge about NPOs and linking it to discursive change.

Exploration of tendencies of change within orders of discourse can make a significantcontribution to current debates on social change. Processes of marketization, theextension of market models to new spheres, can, for example, be investigated through therecent extensive colonization of orders of discourse by advertising and other discoursetypes (Fairclough, 1992: 99).

DEFINITION OF CONCEPTS

Discourse

The use of the term discourse in this dissertation is about language use conceived

as a social practice, which is socially constructed and socially constructing.

Discourse is an element of social life which is closely interconnected with other

elements (Fairclough 1992, 2003).

DevelopmentThere is an ongoing debate around development , development discourse and

development theory . The concept of development means different things to

different people (Crush 1995) . For the purposes of this dissertation, the concept of

development devised by Crush (1995) will be used in its general form, where

development is about the improvement of human kind through relief from poverty

and realisation of human potential.


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Third World or Developing Countries

To label poor nations with the same term is a complex and debatable task, due to

the fact that there can be many criteria applied in each definition. Criteria such as

ideology, poverty, geography, economic performance, industrialisation, social

indicators, aid or trade are often used to define a group of countries as Third

World, South, developing, under -developed, or non -industrialised. All of

these labels are very problematic and raise political sensitivities (Holland 2002).

Even so me authors use the labels Third World and developing countries

indistinctively, as synonyms (Hulme and Turner 1990) 1. There is an ongoing

debate around these terms because they all imply a certain kind of hierarchy and

power; and because there is a danger when using one single term to name such

different nations that an image of such nations as a homogeneous group with

similar circumstances and problems is created. Therefore, regardless of the chosen

label, we should also remember the considerable economic, social and political

diversity that exists both among and within such nations, and that there are a

number of which cannot be defined by a single term.

In this dissertation, when referring to other authors ideas I will use the terms

employed by the authors themselves. For example: Benthall (1993) uses the label

Third World, Smillie (1995) uses the concepts of North and South and

Devereux (2003) refers to the West and the Third World.

Recipient Countries and Communities

Therefore, in an attempt to use more accurate terminology, I will use the words

recipient countries or recipient communities (hereafter RCs) in this dissertation

to label these countries. By utilising recipient it is implied that these countries or communities receive the final outcome of what the NPOs have collected through

fundraising. It does not however imply any kind of power issues that could

possibly arise as these go beyond the scope of this dissertation.

1 When searching the literature abou t this debate, I found that many authors use the terms Third

World and developing countries indistinctively. And when they choose one over the other, eachone gives their own definition of the term accordingly to the purposes of their texts.


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1. NON PROFIT ORGANISATIONS

1.1 NON-PROFIT ORGANISATIONS

The definition of the non-profit sector used in this study will be that proposed by

the Johns Hopkins Comparative Non-profit Sector Project (Ruddle and Mulvihill

1999). This definition proposes that if an organisation is organised, private, non-

profit distributing, self-governing and embodies some degree of meaningful

voluntary participation then it is considered to be part of the non-profit sector.

The International Classification of Non-profit Organisations (Ruddle and

Mulvihill, 1999) categorises NPOs according to the different fields of activity

with which they are concerned: Culture and Arts, Sports and Recreation,

Education and Research, Health, Social Services, Environment, Community

Development, Civil Advocacy, Philanthropy and Voluntarism Promotion,

Religion Related, International Activities and Other.

The Irish organisations studied here -Trcaire and Bthar- are those Non-Profit

Organisations (NPOs) whose main concern is overseas development programmes.

1.2 ORGANISATIONS PROFILES

1.2.1 Bthar: Helping People Help Themselves

Bthar had its origins in 1989 in the city of Limerick. It started with the objective

of sending dairy cows to Africa in 1991 as part of the Treaty of Limerick

tercentenary celebrations. A Board of Directors of a new Third

World Development Agency (specialised in the use of livestock in developing

countries) was subsequently formed. Now Bthar is part of a community of NGOs

using livestock in development aid and works closely with Heifer International


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(USA), Send-a-Cow (UK), and Heifer France in particular. Bthar also works in

partnership with Heifer International in some countries while in others the projects

are supported by indigenous NGOs.

Bthar raises funds from the Irish public by appealing for different kinds of

donations: once-off donations, monthly donations and legacies. The funds

received go towards micro-farming projects, while administration costs are

sponsored by specific organisations. Bthar also works closely with Irish schools.

Bthars work consists of establishing families in micro -farming units by giving

them a live farm animal. This gift is given as the last stage of a process. This

process starts with villages and communities forming a committee, which decides

which families will receive the animals first and the subsequent pass -on

families. They then continue by training the families about caring for the animal

they are to be given- its housing, healthcare, nutrition, etc. The family must

prepare the housing facilities for each animal, and the necessary crops with which

to feed it. When all these are ready, Bthar donates the animals, and each family

that participates in Bthar projects must formally agree to pass -on to another

selected family the first female offspring born to their animal. The families are

also provided with veterinary assistance for their animals.

Bthar implements several strategies to invite the Irish public to donate. They use

direct mail personalised and not personalised-, TV ads, radio ads, loose inserts in

newspapers, website, e-mail appeals, newsletter and on-the-street fundraising. In

addition to these mass media appeals, they also organise talks in schools or groups

of people.

1.2.2 Trcaire: Working for a Just World

Trcaire is the official overseas development agency of the Irish Catholic Church.

Founded in 1973, with two main objectives, its name comes from the Irish word

for compassion. Its foreign objective is to support long -term development


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projects and to provide relief during emergencies and its domestic objective is to

inform the Irish public about the root causes of poverty and injustice and mobilise

the public to bring about global change.

From its current headquarters in Maynooth, Trcaire espouses two main kinds of

activities -campaigning and fundraising. At the present time, Trcaire is

campaigning to raise awareness amongst the Irish public about issues such as the

millennium development goals, debt relief, child soldiers, the toy workers

campaign and trade matters. Part of the work involves lobbying to draw attention

to the underlying socio-economic and political factors that exacerbate the impact

of disasters (natural or otherwise) on the poorest sections of society. Particular

attention has been given to organisational advocacy projects such as EU

Development Policy, trade and institutional reform at the World Trade

Organisation (WTO), poverty reduction strategy processes and debt. As regards

fundraising, the most salient activities are the Trcaire Lenten campaign, the 24-

Hour Fast, the Global Gift, as well as appeals for regular or once-off donations

throughout the year and legacies.

With the donations received, Trcaire funds projects in Africa, Asia, Latin

America, Europe and the Middle East. The organisation largely relies on local

partner agencies including local church structures and missionary orders- to

implement the projects and thus takes a partnership approach to development. In

the 30 years it has been in existence, Trcaire has funded nearly 8,000

development projects in over 60 countries.


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2. LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter will first look at past research and theoretical frameworks concerned

with discourse analysis and society; exploring the concepts of discourse; discourse

as social practice; discourse as socially constructed and socially constructing; and

discourse and social change. It will then move on to a review of the related

literature on the relationship between media and development.

2.1 DISCOURSE AND SOCIETY

Discourse is a category used to refer primarily to spoken or written language use,

conceived as a social practice (Fairclough 1993).

2.1.1 Discourse as a social practice

Some social scientists (Fairclough 1992, 1993, van Dijk 1997, Gill 2000) have

emphasised discourse as a form of action. If it is a form of action then it does not

occur in a social vacuum (Gill 2000). Text and talk are important elements of

social life. Text and talk are a vital source of social interaction, and a way of

representing the social world.

Fairclough (1992) proposes that language use is a form of social practice , ratherthan a purely individual activity or a reflex of situational variables. Social practice

has various orientations (economic, political, cultural, ideological), and discourse

may be implicated in all of these without any of them being reducible to

discourse. There are many implications to seeing discourse as a form of social

practice. Firstly, discourse is seen as a mode of action as well as a mode of

representation and secondly a dialectical relationship between discourse and social

structure is implied. Social structure is a condition for discourse, but it also is an


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effect of discourse. This dialectical relationship will be developed later on in this

chapter, as part of the discussion of discourse as socially constructed and

constructive.

Van Dijk (1997) discusses that language users, while engaging in text and talk,

perform the role of speakers, listeners, writers or readers. In addition to these

roles, they also engage in discourse as members of social categories. That is to say

that they interact in a complex combination of their social and cultural roles and

identities in addition to their roles as speakers and listeners. They also actively

construct and display such roles and identities at the same time as this interaction

is taking place.

Discourse emerges from a particular context , and it is directed to a specific group

within a specific context. Therefore, discourse analysis which views discourse as a

social practice, goes back and forth comparing the text and its social context

where context is the socio-cultural situation surrounding the discourse. Discourse

as part of social life expresses and at the same time shapes- the relevant

properties of its context (van Dijk 1997).

Van Dijk (1997) also suggests that people do many social and political things with

discourse. Discourse as a political practice establishes, sustains and changes

power relations. And Fairclough (1992) states that discourse as an ideological

practice constitutes, naturalizes, sustains and changes significations of the world

from diverse positions in power relations. Different types of discourse in different

social domains or institutional settings may come to be politically or ideologically

invested in particular ways .

2.1.2 Discourse as socially constructed and socially constructing

In the previous section it was argued that describing discourse as a social practice

implies a two-way relationship between discourse and society. Fairclough and

Wodak (1997) state that there is a dialectical relationship between a particular


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discursive event and the situations, institutions and social structures that frame it.

A discursive event is an instance of language use, analysed as text, discursive

practice and social practice (Fairclough 1993). Hence the discursive event is

shaped by situations, institutions and social structures and vice versa. In other

words: discourse is socially constructed as well as socially constructive. Discourse

is socially constructed because it is shaped by situations, objects of knowledge,

the social identities of and relationships between people and groups of people who

participate in text and talk and it is constructing, or constructive (socially

shaping), in the sense that it helps to sustain and reproduce the social status quo,

and in the sense that it contributes to transforming same (Fairclough and Wodak

1997).

A view of language as being socially constructed implies firstly that language

originates from pre-existing linguistic resources. Secondly, it implies that building

a discourse involves a selection from different possibilities -included and

exclude d. Finally, it implies that we deal with the world in terms of

constructions, not in a someh ow direct or unmediated way t exts of various

kinds construct our world (Gill 2000 : 175). In the widest sense, discourse is

shaped and constrained by social structures at all levels (Fairclough 1993).

On the other hand, discourse is socially constructing. Discourse contributes to the

constitution of all those dimensions of social structure which, at the same time,

directly or indirectly shape and constrain it. Discourse is a practice not just of

representing the world, but of signifying the world. There are three aspects of the

constructive effects of discourse; each one corresponding to one of the three

metafunctions of language that interact in all discourse. The first aspect is theconstruction of social identities and subject positions for social subjects, which

corresponds to the identity function of language which is in turn related to the

ways in which social identities are set up in discourse. The second aspect is that

discourse helps to construct social relationships between people, corresponding to

the relational function of language i.e.how social relationships between discourse

participants are played and negotiated. The last aspect of the constructive effects

of discourse is that it contributes to the construction of systems of knowledge and


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belief, which corresponds to the ideational function of language which is in turn

related to ways in which texts signify the world and its processes, entities and

relations (Fairclough 1992).

Gill (2000) also discusses the importance of discourse in constructing social life.

She states that discourse analysts reject the notion that language is simply a

neutral means of reflecting or describing the world, and that there is a conviction

among them that knowledge is and socially constructing and socially constructed

i.e. determined not by the nature of the world itself, but by social processes.

Language use is constitutive in two ways: conventionally and creatively. It is

constitutive in a conventional way because it contributes to reproduce society and

in a creative way because it contributes to transform society. Much depends on

social circumstances which can contribute to making one stronger than the other

(Fairclough 1993).

Here it is important to add that discourse is socially shaping only to some extent,

because many other factors construct the social world as well, and sometimes

more directly than discourse (Fairclough 2003). The constitutive effects of

discourse work together with those of other practices, and it takes place within the

limits determined by the dialectical relationship with social structures (Fairclough

1992).

2.1.3 Fairclough: discourse and social change

Discourse, power and ideologyIf we take into account the rhetorical organisation of discourse, it is clear that

much discourse is involved in establishing one version of the world over

competing versions (Gill 2000). Besides, since discourse is so socially influential,

it gives rise to important power-related issues. Discursive practices may have

major ideological effects in that they can help produce and reproduce unequal

power relations between different groups through the ways in which they


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represent the world. Racist discourse and sexist discourse, for instance, are two

such practices (Fairclough and Wodak 1997). Ideologies are understood as being

constructions of reality, which are build into various dimensions of the forms and

meanings of discursive practices, and which contribute to the production,

reproduction or transformation of relations of domination. The ideologies

integrated in discursive practices are more effective if they become naturalized as

a form of common sense. However, according to Fairclough (1992) this property

of ideologies should not be overstated

Furthermore, Fairclough (1992) makes three important claims about ideology.

First of all, it has a material existence in the practices of institutions and this opens

the way to investigate discursive practices as material forms of ideology.

Secondly, ideology interrelates subjects and this leads to the view that one of the

more significant ideological effects is the constitution of subjects. Finally,

ideological state apparatuses (institutions such as education or th e media), are

both sites of and stakes in the class struggle, which points to struggle in and over

discourse as a focus for ideologically-oriented discourse analysis.

If we go back to the concept of struggles to reshape discursive practices,

Fairclough (1992) states that where contrasting discursive practices are in use in

an institution, it is probable that part of the contrast is ideological. This poses a

further question, namely: what features or levels of text and discourse may be

ideologically invested? A common claim is that word meanings are those which

are invested by ideology. Fairclough (1992) also states that word meanings are

important, but so too are other aspects such as presuppositions, metaphors and

coherence. Meanings of texts are closely related to the forms of texts, and formalfeatures of texts such as style aspects may be ideologically invested. Discursive

practices are to an extent ideologically invested as they incorporate significations

that contribute to sustain or restructure power relations. Nevertheless, this should

not be overemphasised. The fact that all types of discourse are open in principle,

and no doubt to some extent in fact, in our society to ideological investment, does

not mean that all types of discourse are ideologic ally invested to the same degree

(Fairclough, 1992: 91).


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Neither should it be assumed that people are aware of the ideological dimensions

of their discourse. This is given the fact that ideologies may be more or less

naturalized, depending on the social conditions and power relations involved. It is

important to also adopt the dialectical position on this, because apart from being

ideologically positioned, subjects are also capable of acting creatively and

restructuring discursive practices (Fairclough 1992).

To summarise then, we could see ideology as the key means through which social

relations of power and domination are sustained or restructured; the common -

sense normalcy of ordinary practices used as the basis for the continuity and

reproduction of power relations (Fairclough 1993).

Having dealt with the relationship between discourse and ideology, we now move

on to a potential effect of ideologically invested discourse and its role in power

relations: discursive change. Fairclough (1992) argues that producers and

interpreters of discourse combine elements in new ways in innovatory discursive

events - they cumulatively produce structural changes in orders of discourse .

These structural changes may affect either the local order of discourse of an

institution, or they may transcend institutions and affect a wider societal order of

discourse.

The origins of change in a discursive event lie in the problematisation of

conventions which have their bases in contradictions. When problematisations

arise, people are faced with dilemmas. Producers and interpreters of discourse

often try to solve these dilemmas by being innovative and creative, adaptingexisting conventions in new ways, thereby contributing to discursive change.

However, the way the contradictions aroused are reflected is determined by the

relationship of these with the struggles around them. Change in discourse involves

forms of going beyond the limits such as putting together existing conventions in

new combinations, or drawing upon conventions in situations which usually

preclude them (Fairclough 1992).


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Fairclough (1992, 1993, 2003) identifies certain broad tendencies in discursive

change that affect the social order of discourse, and relate these tendencies to

more general directions of social and cultural change. The tendencies highlighted

by Fairclough of relevance to this dissertation are the democratisation and the

commodification (marketisation) of discourse.

Democratisation of discourseDemocratisation of discourse is the remo val of inequalities and asymmetries in

the discursive and linguistic rights, obligations and prestige of groups of people

(Fairclough 1992: 201). Democratisation in discourse, like democratisation in

general, has been an important factor of change in recent decades, but in both

cases the process has been very uneven, changes have not been very constant or

equal, and there are questions about the extent to which changes have been real or

somewhat cosmetic.

Fairclough (1992) distinguishes five areas of discursive democratisation i)

relations between languages and social dialects, related to the extent to what

languages other than standard English have become more accepted; ii) access to

prestigious discourse types and prestigious and powerful subject positions within

them; iii) elimination of overt power markers in institutional discourse types with

unequal power relations; iv) a tendency towards informality of language; v) and

changes in gender-related practices in language the most publicly salient case of

struggle over discursive practices in recent years. In the present study areas iii)

and iv) of discursive democratisation will be drawn upon.

The elimination of overt power markers of power asymmetry and hierarchy is the

first area of discursive democratisation we will deal with. Among the types of

markers which tend to be eliminated are asymmetrical terms of address,

imperative directives (in favour of more indirect and sensitive forms),

asymmetries in rights to make certain contribution (to introduce topics in the

conversation, or ask questions, for example) and the use of specialized vocabulary

that is inaccessible to others (jargon, scientific terms etc).


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Furthermore, it is also arguable that at the same time that overt markers have been

eliminated, or are becoming less evident, the covert markers of power have

become stronger. Hence, power asymmetries do not disappear but instead become

more subtle. This means that the elimination of power markers in discourse may

be only cosmetic, and that the power-holders are simply substituting overt power

markers with covert ones. Even so, where it can be a cosmetic change in some

cases, it can be a substantive change in others.

Moving on to the second area of discursive democratisation i.e. the tendency

towards informality of language. While power asymmetries are sharpest in the

more formal types of situation, informality gives a sense of a more equal

relationship. A very strong manifestation of the increasing informality in

discourse is the way in which conversational discourse has been brought from the

private sphere into the public domain, in other words, conversationalisation is the

tendency towards a simulation of conversation in public interactions and texts. For

example, a conversational style is being increasingly used in media, professional

or educational discourse, amongst others.

Another dimension of this informalisation is the shift in the division between

spoken and written discourse, this division is blurring, because there is a shift

towards f orms in writing that are very similar to speech. In addition, synthetic

personalisation (the simulation of private, face-to-face discourse in public

discourse) is one more dimension of the informalisation of discourse. The

informalisation of discourse poses a question about the extent to which

informality is simulated for strategic reasons (Fairclough 1992, 2003). Just as thetendency is to democratise, it is not clear yet the extent to which these changes in

discourse are cosmetic or real.


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Commodification and marketisation of discourse

At the present time language has become more important in a range of social

processes which has also lead to an increase in the economic importance of

language. Economic life has shifted from production to consumption and from

manufacturing industries to service, culture and leisure industries. In these service

industries, there is special attention given to the design of spoken and written

language, because the nature of the language used in the delivery of the service

has become a key factor (Fairclough 1993).

Commodification is not a new process, but its domain is becoming wider. It is

the process whereby social domains and institutions, whose concern is not

producing commodities in the narrower economic sense of goods for sale, come

nevertheless to be organized and conceptualized in terms of commodity

production, distribution and consumption (Fairclough, 1992: 207).

Commodification of discourse is the colonisation of orders of discourse by

discourse types associated with commodity production. It is no longer surprising

that sectors such as the culture and education industry are being referred to as

industries concerned with producing, marketing and selling commodities to their

clients or consumers. A fea ture of the commodification of discourse is that

concepts are worded as commodities or products which are to be marketed to

customers.

The process of marketisation follows the same line as the commodification

process. Marketisation of discourse is the restructuring of the order of discourse

on the model of more central market organizations. According to Fairclough(1993) the marketisation and commodification of discourse in institutions such as

the education industry, is a reflection of the marketisation of public services and

of the way they are required to operate on a market basis.

Present day living conditions require that numbers of organisations market quite

similar products or services. Consequently, in order to establish one product or

service as being different, its identity has to be constructed, together with the


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producers identity and that has to harmonise with the image of the product or

service. At the same time the identities of potential buyers also have to be

constructed in the discour se. Producer, product and consumer are brought

together as co-participants in a life style, a community of consumption, which the

advertisement constructs and simulates (Faiclough 1993 : 14 ). And for NPOs the

situation is similar, there are several NPOs that are trying to convince the Irish

public to make donations. Thus the organisations identities have to be

constructed and advertising could be an important factor in this construction.

According to Fairclough (1992), orders of discourse are being colonised by the

advertising genre . The use of language associated with a particular social activity

is what is called genre , and the advertising genre is the use of language associated

with promoting a product, service or organisation. In some orders of discourse,

there is no longer a clear division between information and promotion. He states

that there is nothing new about strategic calculation in information. Even so, the

real novelty is that information can be evidently strategic and persuasive without

that being regarded as an issue. Under the influence of advertising as a prestigious

model, the blending of information and persuasion is becoming naturalised. A

consequence of this is that the nature of what is regarded as information is being

radically changed.

We now move on to Faircloughs (1993) next concept - promotional culture. It

can be understood in discursive terms as the generalization of promotion as a

communicative function across orders of discourse, that is, discourse as a way of

selling or promoting products, services, organisations, ideas or people.

Promotional culture is a view of contemporary cultural phenomena as virtuallyalways serving promotional functions in addition to whatever other functions they

may have, as simultaneously representing, advocating and anticipating whatever is

referred to (Fairclough, 2003: 221).


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There are three major consequences to the widespread of promotional culture. The

first is that as a result of promotional culture, there is an extensive restructuring of

boundaries between orders of discourse and between discursive practices.

Secondly there is a widespread instrumentalization of discursive practices,

involving the subordination of meaning to, and the manipulation of meaning for,

instrumental effect ( Fairclough, 1993: 141). And thirdly there is a change in the

mode of signification i.e.the relationship between signifier, signified and

referent. One aspect of this is, for instance, the shift from signification-with-

reference to signification-without-reference. The question thus arises: Does

meaning have primacy, or is it subordinated to effect?

As so often in contemporary society, the giving of information takes place in a

context where there is an intention to convince people to see things in a particular

way. The influence of promotional culture in discourse besides the major ethical

implications may have negative effects amongst members of society. Due to the

fact that members of society are constantly exposed to promotional discourse,

there is now a serious problem of trust. The division between information and

promotion is blurring in many orders of discourse.

Having dealt with democratisation and commodification of discourse separately,

now we move on to linking them together and to wider instances of social change.

Even though democratisation and commodification may appear to be opposites,

their relationship is more complex. On the one hand commodification implies

democratisation - commodified texts very often are democratised texts as they

tend to be informal, conversational, eliminate overt power markers etc. On the

other hand, democratisation can occur without commodification. What is more,democratisation and commodification in broader terms are properties of the

contemporary social order of discourse. Their impact in different local or

institutional orders of discourse is variable as some orders of discourse are

becoming very democratised and/or commodified while others less so (Fairclough

1992).


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The marketisation of public discourse: an example

Fairclough (1993) in his study Critical Discourse Analysis and the Marketization

of Public Discourse: the Universities argued that education in Britain is one of a

number of domains whose orders of discourse are being colonised by the

advertising genre. As a result there is a proliferation of text types which combine

features of advertising with features of other genres. Fairclough argues that the

marketisation of the discursive practice of universities is one dimension of the

marketisation of higher education in a more general sense. This, he argues, is a

good example of the processes of marketisation and commodification in the more

general public sector.

Fairclough (1993) suggests that the discursive practices of higher education are in

the process of being transformed through the increasing importance of promotion

as a communicative function in higher education. In the texts analysed, he found

that students are constructed as customers, and the universities prospectuses

are designed in such a way that they sell the educational programmes.

There are many ways in which universities are unlike real businesses.

Nevertheless, institutions are making major organisational changes in accord with

a market mode of operation, such as using managerial approaches in staff

appraisal and training, introducing institutional planning, and giving much more

attention to marketing. All of these changes are reflected in the universities

discursive practices.

For this paper Faircloughs study was taken as a starting point from which the

concept of public discourse marketisation could be understood.


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2.2 MEDIA AND DEVELOPMENT

2.2.1 Media influence

Does the media influence the public? If so, to what extent? These are questions

that several theorists and approaches have tried to answer. Some of the most

current approaches which focus on the audience include agenda setting, uses and

gratifications, the cultivation process and reception analysis . The issue of whether

the media influences people is a complex one that does not have a single

straightforward answer. Therefore in this dissertation I will work under the

assumptions made by each of these four approaches.

Agenda setting works under the assumption that the emphasis the mass media

apply to certain topics influences how people think. The mass media, as well as

other institutions, participate in the setting of the agenda of public discussion

topics that citizens eventually make their own to different degrees (Rendn 1997).

Uses and gratifications theory states that the audiences choose the media they

consume according to the use they are going to make of it and the extent to which

these messages satisfy their needs.

Cultivation process theories argue that the audience is not a homogeneous group

that just receives and accepts every message delivered by the mass media but is

formed of different groups of individuals with different characteristics that can be

influenced in the long run, in different ways, and to different extents by the media.Despite the fact that audiences are active subjects, the media can plausibly have

some influence indirectly and over time on their socialization process and culture.

Reception analysis : this approach insists on an empirical compared analysis of

media discourses and audiences, interpreting these on the grounds of the socio-

cultural system surrounding them (Rendn 1997).


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This dissertation will also be based on Devereuxs (2003) suggestion of balance

being needed between the view of the power of the audience to deconstruct and

resist media content, and the power of media content to shape public perceptions

about the world.

2.2.2 Media Representations

In most countries television is the most important source of information on theThird World and development issues. There is almost no doubt, however, thattelevision in particular and the media in general are doing an inadequate job of consciousness-raising. That the media concentrate on disaster and bad news is not

news (Smillie, 1995: 133).

Media coverage of Third World countries is questionable because it tends to

present a negative image. Disasters, Relief and the Media (Benthall 1993) is a

study of the construction of texts about Third World disasters and relief in the

media, and about the use of children as sources of imagery (Devereux 2003).

Benthall proposes that the image of the Third World is exaggerated and

misunderstood, while fundamental factors of poverty such as colonialism and

capitalism are absent (Devereux 2003). Furthermore, Smillie (1995) argues that

studies of Third World coverage found the same kinds of results, which were that

the Third World countries in the media were mainly

portrayed as a largely abstract and almost singular society, prone to war, famine,disease and natural disaster. The most common stories, derived almostexclusively from Northern observers, dealt with the incompetence of [theSouths] governments, the misery and submission of its peoples, the assistanceneeded by its children, the corruption of its administration (Smil lie, 1995: 133).

Another example is Sorensons Mass Media Discourse on Famine in the Horn of

Africa (quoted in Devereux 2003). Sorenson states that media discourse presents

famine as a crisis, and a result of natural causes or the fault of the inhabitants.

This type of discourse can be seen as ideologically motivated given the fact that it

does not challenge or question power relationships. According to Devereux

(2003), it is not surprising to find stories about poverty narrated in an individual

manner, rather than explaining the issue in structural terms because individual

stories do not threaten the status quo.


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2.2.3 Charity Appeals and the Debate around Them

The ever -increasing number of NGOs has made fundraising more difficult

(Smillie, 1995: 129). Non Profit Organisations have several different methods to

approach potential donators and make themselves and their projects known. Even

though their strongest method is fundraising, the organisations also use

campaigning, development education, and public relations (PR). In the media,

stories about NPOs can be generated as documentaries, magazine stories,

television and newspaper news. Nevertheless, fundraising is the greatest

investment in public communication (Smillie 1995) and fundraising strategies

have been through a process of change that has sometimes had questionable

outcomes.

Images communicate messages that have responses and messages can leave

lasting impressions. Images are very powerful not to mention damaging. Rough

images can be successful in raising funds, but they reinforce stereotypes and

distort peoples perceptions (Oxfam, in Benthall 1993). In his study Benthall

states that the incidence of disasters, fund -raising pressures and the growing

influence of advertising experts produced in 1981 perhaps the most blatant of

images, the helpless hand of a dying African child clasped by a fat and healthy

adult white hand (Benthall, 1993: 179). The imagery used for fundraising appeals

is the topic of much debate, a topic which has become known as the pornography

of poverty. This topic is used to debate questions about and criticism of the

images used in charity appeals. It is also used to debate the use of images of

starving babies, for example, and other emotive images to persuade people to

donate out of guilt and pity, rather than as a result of an understanding of theissues. The argument is that this kind of imagery, when it is repeated several

times, creates a stereotype of horror and helplessness that outbalances reality. And

most of the NGOs acknowledge that using these images has negative effects,

instead of doing what they should be, such as creating an understanding and

awareness of the need for longer-term development assistance (Benthall 1993,

Smillie 1995). Smillie (1995) exemplifies this argument with an Oxfam study

which showed that negative images had contributed to a stereotype of a doomed


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and helpless continent, whose own people were unable to help themselves

(Smillie, 1995: 136). Furthermore, some anti-racists claim that charity appeals

representing starving Africans represent a racist and colonialist motivation to save

the unfortunate in distant lands. A very illustrative example of this debate is a

photograph by Wendy Wallace of news photographers lining up to photograph the

same starving child (Benthall, 1993).

As a result of the debate, some organisations have developed codes of ethics

regarding images used in their appeals, the main points being that human and

material needs should not be in minimized or overstated, that images should

challenge rather than reinforce prejudices and that communications should respect

the dignity and culture of the communities (Benthall 1993, Smillie 1995). To

follow these guidelines however is not an easy task and the choice of images

remains a difficult issue for the organisations.

Another issue surrounding fundraising is the different responses of the audience to

emergency appeals or to long- term development appeals. Donors to international

NGOs (and NGOs themselves) are being drawn more and more towards

emergencies. Hence the obvious and sometimes remarkable growth of

organisations with emergency appeals. This may well lead to a decline for those

working only in longer- term development (Smillie, 1995: 129). Emergencies are

more likely to appear in the media news and to appeal wider audiences than

development. People in general have an extremely low knowledge of development

issues, and prefer to support emergencies rather than long-term development

(Smillie, 1995).

The greatest tensi on for the thoughtful Northern NGO today lies in the attemptto balance fundraising messages for a public most easily moved by short-termdisaster appeals with the recognition that longer-term development depends onthe willingness of that same public to support difficult and costly structuralchange. This is a tension between the appeal of helplessness and antipathytowards empowerment; between the concern for children and indifferencetowards parents; between the provision of food and the creation of jobs; betweenaid and trade; between charity, as some NGOs say quite clearly, and justice(Smillie, 1995: 137).


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Smillie (1995) goes to the core of the issue, to the more structural causes, which

are not always apparent in NPOs messages, but should be, in order to

communicate the complexity of the situation. Here is where development

education becomes very important. Because NPOs not only relate to the public

through fundraising, they also relate to the public through campaigning and

development education which although being very different from each other are

really just two sides of the same coin (Smillie 1995).

Development education began in many countries in the 1950s and 1960s initially

as basic information about the South and about development assistance; and has

been going through various transitions since. In the 1970s and 1980s it started

encouraging a more critical analysis of the kind of information that was being

provided and some organisations moved ahead to campaigning and advocacy

activities (Smillie 1995).

The balance however continues to be almost always in favour of fundraising.

Some agencies have concentrated their efforts on their educational activities in

order to challenge stereotypes, but the merchandizing of a brand image depen ds

precisely on maximizing their diffusion, with the help of bold and self-standing

graphics which impart a mystique and encourage brand loyalty (Benthall, 1993:

177).


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3. METHODOLOGY

3.1 METHODOLOGY

The methodological approach of this dissertation is mainly qualitative which is

used in order to gain an in-depth understanding of the role of advertising in NPOs

and their representations of overseas development aid. Under the qualitative

paradigm in this study I researched the NPOs accounts and re presentations of

reality, rather than reality itself. This dissertation is thus mainly interpretative, due

to the nature of the methodology which is used. The two methods used to try and

answer the research questions are, as mentioned in the introduction, discourse

analysis and semi-structured interviews with the first being the main methodology

and the latter used to enhance reliability and to understand the context of the

discourse analysed.

According to Devereux (2003), it is important to analyse media content because itis a powerful source of meaning about the social world; and because although

media content is not the same as social reality, it is necessary to examine how

media content represent the reality.

Discourse analysis cannot be used to address the same sorts of questions as

traditional approaches. Instead it suggests new questions or ways of reformulating

old ones. A discourse analysis is a careful, close reading that moves between textand context to examine the content, organization and fu nctions of discoursea

discourse analysis is an interpretation, warranted by detailed argument and

attention to the material being studied (Gill, R. 2000: 188). Discourse analysis is

a multidisciplinary activity (Fairclough 1992, van Dijk 1997). It has many

variants and the type of discourse analysis used in this dissertation is that

suggested by critical discourse analysts such as Fairclough, van Dijk and Gill.

Critical approaches to discourse analysis make the assumption that signs are


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socially motivated (Fairclough 1992). Critical discourse analysis might contribute

to more broadly conceived social research into processes of social and cultural

change affecting contemporary organizations. Discourse analysis is, I believe, an

important though hitherto r elatively neglected resource for such research

(Fraiclough, 1993: 158).

3.2 RESEARCH PROCESS

3.2.1 Dissertation Proposal and Literature Review

This study has been a learning experience since the beginning and will be even

after it is finished. I first started working on the dissertation proposal. After

brainstorming, reading and consulting; I chose the topic, the research questions,

and the methodological approach. The dissertation proposal was redesigned

several times, in order to refine it as much as possible. The next step was then the

gathering and reading of the relevant literature about NPOs and discourse.

3.2.2 Discourse Analysis

The stages of analysis were those suggested by Gill (2000): gathering of the

material, classification, reading and re-reading, coding, analysing (searching for

patterns, variability, consistency, what is not said, context) and then the taking

into account of issues such as reliability and validity. Therefore, the discourse

analysis started with the gathering of the data for analysis. The main corpus of discourse was made of the organisations websites but I also included some

samples of direct mail, posters, radio ad, and television advertisements to enhance

the main corpus (as suggested by van Dijk 1997). Transcripts were made when

required of, for example, radio and television advertisements 2. Then after reading

2 During the time I was conducting the analysis, the website of Trcaire were redesigned. It waschanged only as regards the layout of the main menu which had more pictures added to the upper

frame. The content was not changed at all. Consequently, I did not change the analysis I hadalready done before that website was redesigned.


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and re-reading the data collected in order to acquire a deeper understanding and

familiarity with it, I continued to the coding stage.

Here, an exhaustive analysis was done . I used as a basis Faircloughs (1992, 1993,

2003) three-dimensional framework for discourse analysis, where the discourse is

analysised as a text, as a discursive practice and as a social practice .

FIGURE 3.1:Three-dimensional framework for discourse analysis

Using this three-dimensional framework, and the literature review, the final

coding scheme was done (see Figure 3.2).The codification of the texts was done,

and then checked again, every time looking for patterns and differences, rather

than for individual accounts.


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FIGURE 3.2:Coding scheme

3.2.3 Interviews

Interviews were carried out in order to illuminate certain issues that emerged from

the discourse analysis and as a means of collecting data from the organisations

themselves. The two organisations analysed were contacted to invite them to

participate in the study by contributing via interview. The PublicCommunications Centre (a national non-profit communications agency) was also

contacted. From those three organisations, two - Trcaire and Bthar - agreed to

participate in the study. Bthar was the first to agree to participate and contacted

me via their advertising agency. I interviewed two people there who worked

closely with Bthar in all of their campaigns. Trcaire then agreed to participate,

and I interviewed a person from the Fundraising and Marketing department.


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Both interviews were recorded previsously been agreed in a consent form signed

by the participants before the interviews started. Some questions were added after

the first interview and some were taken out, for example, but given the semi-

structured nature of the interviews, this arguably improved the quality of the data

collected and the coding scheme.

Both interviews were transcribed. I read the transcripts several times until I gained

a more in-depth understanding of them and when I was completely familiar with

the transcripts I started the analysis proper. Some informal analysis, however, it

must be noted was done simultaneously with data collection and interview

transcription. The process of categorization was started by signposting the

following categories: marketing/advertising strategies, media used, differentiation,

discourse/images used, and development/emergency. These categories emerged

from the literature review, the issues found in the discourse analysis and from the

informal analysis done simultaneously during interviews and transcription. Then,

after filling each category, everything was re-read again to search for patterns and

differences, rather than individual accounts.

3.2.4 Presentation and Discussion of Findings

Findings of the discourse analysis and the interviews are presented separately due

to the fact that the former are the findings of my own analysis and the latter are

the spokespersons interpretations of their own message. The discourse analysis

findings are presented in a thematic structure for each organisation while the

findings of both o rganisations interviews are presented jointly to avoid anyidentification of them taking place.

The discussion of findings links together the key concepts and issues found in the

existing literature, the main findings of the discourse analysis and the interviews.


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3.2.5 Ethical Issues

A few ethical issues emerged in the course of the study, namely the use of the

results and confidentiality. The first ethical issue, was the use of the results: the

research is intended to be for academic purposes only, and not to be used in any

other type of activity such as the benchmarking of other organisations, for

example.

From this the second ethical issue emerged: confidentiality of the interviews. The

participants were assured that all they said would be in the strictest of confidence

and I spoke openly about it to them before the interviews. I explained what the

study was about, how it was going to be reported and who was going to have

access to the findings. It was the participants decision whether the information

was to be included in the final report or not, given the fact that other organisations

could potentially read the final report, and also given the fact that even though the

participants are not identified, the organisations are.

Consequently, transcripts of the interviews will not be included in the final report,

as requested by the organisations themselves. 3. The agreement was that they

would answer all the questions, but at the end of the interview they highlighted

the answers that they did not wanted t o be quoted on (off -the- record comments).

Then I was authorized by them to include the rest of the answers and the identity

of the organisation in the report. Whenever I was doubtful about including

something in the report, I contacted the participants directly and asked them about

it. At all times I made sure that I fulfilled the agreement to ensure confidentiality

throughout the entire study.

3 The interviews were about the organisations themselves and the answers are full of facts withvaluable information that could act as possible identifiers. Thus, the elimination of identifierswould mean that the interviews would lack relevant data.


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3.3 REFLECTIONS ON THE RESEARCH PROCESS

3.3.1 The Researchers Role

Before starting the analysis I acknowledged my own biases and assumptions in

order to bracket them:

The selection of the topic was the result of a long process of brainstorming

and decisions. I chose this topic because of the amount of advertising

material there is for many different NPOs in everyday Irish life such as

television and radio advertisements, direct mail publicity, newspapers,

street signs, street fundraisers, the church, the bank, etc. And I also chose

this topic because I am interested in the role of the media in representing

these issues.

I believe that organisations such as the ones studied in this dissertation

play a very important yet (to some extent) controversial role.

I acknowledge that NPOs work and the issues around it can be

problematic and subject to criticism and deeper analyses. Nonetheless, the

analysis of the existence of this kind of organisation is outside the scope of

the present dissertation. The objective of this dissertation is not to

evaluate the organisations performance, nor to judge their work. It is

rather to analyse the role of advertising in NPOs and the overseas

development discourse it constructs.

Besides acknowledging my biases and assumptions around the unit of analysis, I

also acknowledge my limitations and the delimitations of the present study:

The present dissertation was a learning process in many ways. I researched

literature around the specific methodology needed for this study and


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around its theoretical background, and a significant amount of time was

invested in this task.

Only two of th e three elements of the NPOs discursive practice were

analysed. That is to say that only the production of the message and the

message itself were analysed - not the interpretation. In order to analyse

the interpretation of the message it would have been necessary to study the

responses of audiences to the NPOs message. However, this study does

not include an analysis of the reception of the message because of the lack

of sufficient time. To analyse the audiences responses is an option for

further research.

3.3.2 Pitfalls of Discourse Analysis

In discourse analysis it is important not to assume that the context can be

described in a neutral and unproblematic way because of the fact that the analysts

are also producing their own version. Nevertheless, what discourse analysts do is

produce readings of texts and contexts that are warranted by careful attention to

detail and that lend coherence to the discourse being studied (Gill 2000).

Discourse analysis is basically interpretative; it works under the assumption that

all if language is constructive, discourse analysts language is constructive and

their analyses are also constructions (Gill 2000) and should be taken as such.

3.3.3 Reliability and Validity

Having dealt with the acknowledgement of my own biases and the methodologys

pitfalls, it was essential to look for ways of enhancing the reliability and validity

of the study.

Regarding my biases and assumptions I bracketed as much as possible during the

research process. And regarding the methods pitfalls, I followed Gills (2000)


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suggestions that discourse analysts should pay careful attention to detail, examine

closely deviant cases, turn to the participants and take into account their

understandings, and finally be open to the readers evaluation.

The discourse analysis was done as inclusively as possible, paying attention to

every detail, and searching for coherence between the analysis and the text. I then

turned to the participants and compared my analysis with their own

understandings as conveyed through the interview process. In addition, in order to

give the reader the chance to make their own evaluation of the discourse analysis,

transcripts of the texts analysed are included as appendices in the present report.


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4. PRESENTATION OF FINDINGS

4.1 DISCOURSE ANALYSIS

The discourse analysis findings are presented separately according to

organisation. The overall features of the discourse are first to be analysed,

followed by the findings in each topic.

4.1.1 BTHAR

The website layout is simple which makes it easy to navigate. Every

individual page is also linked to the home page and to the Donate page.

The text on almost every page has an accompanying picture which mainly

shows smiling children or families with their animals (see table 4.1)

Bthars discourse tends to be mainly conversational and informal. Using

simple and clear language, the writers address the readers using a

conversational style: The list is endless! You may well have some novel

idea yourself, in which case please share it with us, the Government

refunds us the tax on your donation! or You will be happy to know

that

Moreover, the authors use adjectives that enhance the representations

made:

- the most important gift catalogue in the world,

- integral and essential part of all Bthar projects

- an important milestone in Irish history

- three months of very hard work

- excellent working relationship

- many generous supporters

- a brilliant achievement

- we will be happy


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- we will be delighted

- press coverage is invaluable

- a legacy is also an amazing way

- long -lasting and beneficial gifts

- very straightforward and not as expensive as many people think

- the fantastic work that Bthar does

- experience of a lifetime and a real eye opener

- to have such successful projects

It is possible however that adjectives are used so frequently due to the

writing style of the authors and not to any strategic plan.

The authors voice is sometimes in the third person (it) and sometimes in

the first person plural (we).

childrengrownups babies animals smiling Irish

HOME 2 x xHOME 2 1 1 x yesHOME 3 1 x xHOME 4 2 x xHOME 5 2 x

About us 1 1About us 2 2 1 xAbout us 3 1 x yesShort History 10 x foundersShort History 2 2 oneAdministration costs 2 xBthar Team team x teamSuper Supporters family xsuper Supporters 2 1 x yesSuper Supporters 3 groupSuper Supporters 4 1 x

Super Supporters 5 2 x oneSuper Supporters 6 1 xSchools Primary 2 x x yesSchools Primary 2 5 xSchools Primary 3 1 x x yesSchools Secondary xContact Us 1Get Involved 3 x yesLegacies 3 x

TABLE 4.1: Images in Bthars website


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Marketisation and commodification are visible tendencies in Bthars

discourse. They are most apparent in the description of Tax -efficient

giving. The organisation is clearly trying to persuade the public to donate

in this way by stating the advantages, and reinforcing them with the idea

that to doing so is simple and costless: Is a way of maximising your

donation at no extra cost for yourself, greatly increasing their value.

The text is also discernibly persuasive in the section entitled Legacies. The

writers explain the importance of legacies in general, then move on to state

the importance of leaving a legacy to them A legacy gift is one of the

most long-lasting and beneficial gifts that many people will ever be able to

give. Leaving a legacy gives us the power to help those who need it most.

They then state that even though it is so important, few people actually do

it, and then they ask the public to consider leaving a legacy to Bthar in

their will. The approach to legacies is thus somewhat overemotional.

The organisation Bthar is first described as a subject through use of the third person (it)

but gradually, and perhaps unwittingly, the organisation comes to be

described with first person plural (we).

The organisations description is clear, concise yet detailed, in that it

meticulously describes every stage in Bthars projects.

The history of the organisation takes a narrative form, starting in the third

person (it) then chang ing to the first p erson plural (we). The narrative

uses informal language, names some names, but also acknowledges the

work of anonymous people who have participated in some way, no matter

how small. In order to recount the history of Bthar, the authors also make

use of metaphor, which serves to make the text more emotive. For

example the dark cloud of the BSE crisis had one small silver lining

and we look to the future with hope and a confidence that what we are

enabled to do through our many generous supporters will make a

difference to the world.


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Recipient Countries The recipients are constructed either as groups of people or as countries

(see Table 4.2). The most commonly-used term used to describe them is

families (x23), which is sometimes qualified by adject ives such as

recipient, poor, struggling and needy.

Overusing phrases such as they are taught the knowledge and skills to

manage the animals, they are given the gift, they are given training,

they receive veterinary back -up can give the imp ression that the

communities are nothing but passive receivers.

families (23) project countries (9)communities/villages (7) contries (7)

recipient families (3) developing countries/world (4)poor families (3) third world (2)

pass-on families (3) african countries (2)farmers (3) receiving countries (1)

those who need it most (2)struggling families (2)poor communities (1)

needy families (1)TABLE 4.2: Representations of recipients in Bthars website

The donors The donors are describe d by phrases such as generous supporters,

without your generosity which depict them as generous supporters who

enable the organisation to do its work. Bthar acknowledges the support it

receives from donors.

Donors are also depicted as having the power to help struggling families

with a chance to change their lives forever.

Participation of the donors and donating

Bthar invites members of the public to participate on a voluntary basis in

its various sponsorship schemes. It encourages the public to donate

through comments such as: all donations are important to us. Without

your generosity we could not do our work, or every donation, big or


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small, enables us to make the vital difference for poor communities in our

project countries. All of these represent the act of donating as crucial.

The authors also make use of the imperative mode to prompt people e.g.

Donate.

They invite the general public to participate by going on field trips to visit

the families involved in the projects to give you an idea of the level of

poverty in which they live, give you the chance to see what Bthar does

on the ground to really get a feel for the true meaning of the phrase a

living gift

The work Bthars work is entitled the Bthar project and the micro -farming

project. This nominalization is also sometimes qualified -as for example

in the statement: the beauty of Bothars project is in its simplicity.

A typical project is clearly described on the website in order to explain the

process in a systematic way.

The idea that the community has ownership of the programme is

reinforced several times throughout the website.

We can also find evidence of interdiscursive mixing in, for example, the

use of the old adage give a man a fish and you feed him for a d ay, but

teach a man how to fish and he will feed himself for the rest of his days to

validate the discourse.

The result The impact of the implementation of the projects is overwhelmingly

constructed as being positive through the use of such phrases as not only

improve a familys diet, but the surplus can be sold this giving the family

possibly their first opportunity to earn an income. This income allows

them to feed, clothe and educate their children, and the families have

control over their farms and futures, and, over time, can lift themselves up

to a position of relative comfort with dignity and pride, or Irish boys and


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girls are lifting thousands of people out of poverty and giving them a

secure future by taking part in it.

Interdiscourse is used when the writers compare current crisis situations

with the Irish famine in Ireland in a probable effort to make their work

more understandable and related to the Irish public.

The power given to the donors is obvious in phrases such as Make a

differen ce to the world which, while clearly an exaggeration of the real

effect, is useful for convincement purposes.

In other statements, difference (x7) is incorporated into phrases such as:

the impact that one good quality farm animal has on an impoverished

family in the Developing World can mean the difference between

destitution and security, or its an opportunity to make a lasting

difference to a live all over the world.

Likewise in this definition: difference between a life of subsistence and

one of sustainable growth and self-help, between a continuation of bad

agricultural and animal husbandry practices that devastate the environment

and environmentally friendly ones that conserve and improve it, and lastly

the difference between a future without hope and one filled with prospects

of a better life, especially for children. In this kind of statement, there are

implications to constructing a negative image of recipient communities

before they participate in the project. This can imply that they are talking

about the difference between bad practices and a negative situation and

how the organisation changes it for the better which can in turn lead to the

reinforcement of the negative stereotyping of recipient countries.

A feature of Bthars project tha t is mentioned several times and in

different sections of the website is the fact that the gift grows/continues/is

lasting (x 6). The authors state that when the families pass -on the gift,

the gift is multiplied and over time many families and even wh ole

communities benefit.

The living gift will go on helping people to lift themselves out of poverty

for generations to come. The Bthar projects are truly gifts that never stop

giving.


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Finances and administration

The readers are assured that 100% of the funds raised go towards the

projects, and that the administrative costs and other expenses are financed

from other sources.

Relationship between the donors and the organisation

Bthar acknowledges all support it receives and provides further

information whenever possible.

Key issues around development

Bthar almost never addresses the core social causes of the problems. The

website only refers to natural causes such as soil erosion and refers to it

only once.

The only other mention the organisation makes about these kind of issues

is the statement poverty remains a serious and extensive problem

Development education

On the website there is an education section targeted mainly at students.

Consequently it has a simpler narrative and is much more informal than

the rest of the text.

The section also adopts a much more conversational tone: so far you have

sent almost 1,000 dairy goats to poor families in Africa a brilliant

achievement, and one you can be very proud of.


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4.1.2 TRCAIRE

Trcaires w ebsite is used mainly to provide the readers with information about

the organisation, the way it works and ways in which the public can participate.

The information provided on the website is very extensive and there is the option

to read more in-depth information about the different themes and issues covered.

The text in the website is full of definitions and descriptions such as poverty

means lack of choice, which, in turn means vulnerability which aim to educate

the reader about Trcaires perspective of world issues. But within these

descriptions there are evaluations and judgements if we take the following

definition included in the website as an example: Trcaire envisages a just world

where peoples dignity is ensured, rights are respected and basi c needs are met;where there is equity in the sharing of resources and people are free to be the

authors of their own development.

In general, the website is very outspoken. The text includes extensive information

about the structural causes of the problems the organisation tackles, as well as the

organisations stances and critiques. The criticism is explicit throughout the

website. Despite the fact that Trcaires identity is sometimes constructed aseither it or the first person plural (we) when th e authors state their critical point

of view, they always use the third person, for example: Trcaire believes that this

initiative. The first person is never used when controversial stances are being

taken.

In some parts of the text, the authors emplo y the strategy of interdiscourse,

articulating together a variety of other discourses to validate the stances they take.Sometimes they use direct quotations that illustrate or add to an idea previously

made, and other times they paraphrase other discourses such as documents and

speeches.

The text in Trcaires website seems to be intended to raise public awareness and

to educate, rather than convince the Irish public to donate. However, there is still a

donation page on the website that explicitly inv ites the public to donate.


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Marketisation is a very subtle tendency in Trcaires website. Not only do the

authors play on the organisations prestige - the result of 30 years work - it seems

that they intend to educate the public and make them agree with the organisations

stances, rather than evidently and openly trying to persuade the public to donate.

This could be seen as prestige advertising. Marketisation is more evident in the

Make a Donation part of the website, where they do try to persuade and sell

the idea of donating.

The imperative form is used by the authors repeatedly, but in a polite and subtle

way: click here, donate now, return your box, send your donation, make

a difference today, take action now, join Trcaires campaign, be part of,

and more often in relation to campaigning, rather than donating.

Compared to Bthars website, the language used by Trcaire is more formal, and

the style of the author is not as evident, possibly because the texts were written by

different authors. In addition to these differences, Trcaire uses what could be

called more objective language due to the presence of fewer adjectives on its

web pages than on Bthars.

The organisation The organisations identity is constructed using two grammatical persons:

it, and the first person plural (we)

In the text the religious aspect of the organisation is highlighted by making

it clear that Trcaire is the official overseas development agency of the

Catholic Church in Ireland, and that has its basis in the Gospel and thesocial teaching of the Church.

The authors define the organisations role as an advocate for the poor,

which makes assumptions about the social identities of the actors involved

and relationships between them.

Trcaire d efines its rationale with phrases such as: Trcaire is working

towards a just world where peoples dignity is ensured, the rights of

individuals are respected, and where basic needs are met or: the mission


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of Trcaire, and indeed all human striving after a just world, is more than

bandaging the wounds The positive connotations of these statements

make it difficult for the reader to disagree.

In addition, Trcaire constructs itself as an ideal workplace with self-

promotional statements such as: Trcaire is the agency of choice among

development professionals who are attracted to us because of our approach

to development, the quality of our services in Ireland and overseas and our

commitment to the development of staff skills or: Trcaire has put

increased resources into enhancing the quality of our programmes and

ensuring that our work is of the highest standard. Even phrases as:

follow international standards of best practice substantiate this claim.

Using managerial concepts such as quality, service, training, standards,

accountability, etc, the authors mix the informational genre with the genre

of prestige advertising.

Recipient Countries Recipient Countries (RCs) and donors countries are named differently

from each other in Trcaires discourse (see Table ). Antonyms such as

developing/developed, poor/rich, third world/west, south/north are

also used to differentiate between the countries.

The most commonly used term is developing countries (x26), followed

by poor countries (x24), overseas (x18) and third world (x10). (see

Table ).

People living in RCs are nominalised as: people (x79), communities

(x30), children (x29), families (x12), our brothers and sisters (x3),

and beneficiaries (x1).

o Here it is worth noting tha t the word people is the

Documents

MA Soc - Dissertation - Ana Cuevas Romo