177. Name: Jeffrey A. Lauer Title: Arguments of Functional Theory & the Iran Nuclear Deal of 2015 (A Comparison between Al Jazeera, BBC, USA Today, New York Times, and Washington Post) Institution: Bowling Green State University Country: United States Date: 2018 Language: English Abstract: Functional theory has been used internationally to study the content of political debates. Some scholars have critiqued the theory as being too culturally restricted. This study contends that values are inherent to human argumentation and uses the Aristotelian values of prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance to expand the analytic power of functional theory. This theoretic framework represents the basis for this study, which looks at the Iran nuclear deal of 2015. Qualitative methodology was applied, using content analysis approach to analyze a selected sample of news materials related to this subject from the perspective of functional theory. The research sample consists of news items and articles covering the period from 2013 to 2015 published by Al Jazeera, BBC, USA Today, New York Times, and Washington Post. These articles, which concern the 2015 Iran deal, were accessed online. Themes generated from the analysis include a wide range of topics and values including: knowledge, understanding, wisdom, productivity, safety, trust, benefits, concessions, fairness, rights, hope, faith, power, and patience. Using values with functional theory was found to expand its analytic power cross culturally and across fields.
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