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The Government of Emergency: Vital Systems, Expertise, and the Politics of Security (Princeton Studies in Culture and Technology #28)
by Stephen J. Collier Andrew LakoffThe origins and development of the modern American emergency stateFrom pandemic disease, to the disasters associated with global warming, to cyberattacks, today we face an increasing array of catastrophic threats. It is striking that, despite the diversity of these threats, experts and officials approach them in common terms: as future events that threaten to disrupt the vital, vulnerable systems upon which modern life depends.The Government of Emergency tells the story of how this now taken-for-granted way of understanding and managing emergencies arose. Amid the Great Depression, World War II, and the Cold War, an array of experts and officials working in obscure government offices developed a new understanding of the nation as a complex of vital, vulnerable systems. They invented technical and administrative devices to mitigate the nation’s vulnerability, and organized a distinctive form of emergency government that would make it possible to prepare for and manage potentially catastrophic events.Through these conceptual and technical inventions, Stephen Collier and Andrew Lakoff argue, vulnerability was defined as a particular kind of problem, one that continues to structure the approach of experts, officials, and policymakers to future emergencies.
Government Paternalism: Nanny State or Helpful Friend?
by Julian Le Grand Bill NewShould governments save people from themselves? Do governments have the right to influence citizens' behavior related to smoking tobacco, eating too much, not saving enough, drinking alcohol, or taking marijuana—or does this create a nanny state, leading to infantilization, demotivation, and breaches in individual autonomy? Looking at examples from both sides of the Atlantic and around the world, Government Paternalism examines the justifications for, and the prevalence of, government involvement and considers when intervention might or might not be acceptable. Building on developments in philosophy, behavioral economics, and psychology, Julian Le Grand and Bill New explore the roles, boundaries, and responsibilities of the government and its citizens.Le Grand and New investigate specific policy areas, including smoking, saving for pensions, and assisted suicide. They discuss legal restrictions on risky behavior, taxation of harmful activities, and subsidies for beneficial activities. And they pay particular attention to "nudge" or libertarian paternalist proposals that try to change the context in which individuals make decisions so that they make the right ones. Le Grand and New argue that individuals often display "reasoning failure": an inability to achieve the ends that they set themselves. Such instances are ideal for paternalistic interventions—for though such interventions might impinge on autonomy, the impact can be outweighed by an improvement in well-being.Government Paternalism rigorously considers whether the state should guide citizen decision making in positive ways and if so, how this should be achieved.
Government Paternalism: Nanny State or Helpful Friend?
by Julian Le Grand Bill NewShould governments save people from themselves? Do governments have the right to influence citizens' behavior related to smoking tobacco, eating too much, not saving enough, drinking alcohol, or taking marijuana—or does this create a nanny state, leading to infantilization, demotivation, and breaches in individual autonomy? Looking at examples from both sides of the Atlantic and around the world, Government Paternalism examines the justifications for, and the prevalence of, government involvement and considers when intervention might or might not be acceptable. Building on developments in philosophy, behavioral economics, and psychology, Julian Le Grand and Bill New explore the roles, boundaries, and responsibilities of the government and its citizens.Le Grand and New investigate specific policy areas, including smoking, saving for pensions, and assisted suicide. They discuss legal restrictions on risky behavior, taxation of harmful activities, and subsidies for beneficial activities. And they pay particular attention to "nudge" or libertarian paternalist proposals that try to change the context in which individuals make decisions so that they make the right ones. Le Grand and New argue that individuals often display "reasoning failure": an inability to achieve the ends that they set themselves. Such instances are ideal for paternalistic interventions—for though such interventions might impinge on autonomy, the impact can be outweighed by an improvement in well-being.Government Paternalism rigorously considers whether the state should guide citizen decision making in positive ways and if so, how this should be achieved.
Government Performance Management in China: Theory and Practice (China Academic Library)
by Bin WuThis book explains the basic concepts of the performance management, including the achievement of government goals, management capacity, administrative efficiency and policy effects. Taking Hangzhou, one of the largest cities in China, as an example, the book offers readers a new dimension through which the government can be understood and reformed—performance. Performance management has become an important component of public administration in China, and its use is beneficial in evaluating performance and social benefit. It also incentivizes civil servants to become more motivated and innovative, prevents the development of a bureaucratic atmosphere and facilitates communication between the public sector and the people. The book first introduces the concept of the performance management, providing a detailed description of its history, basic theories and its development. It then discusses the evolution of the system (from objective-based responsibility system evaluation to “vote for excellence”), its three basic areas (performance management on the national, local and municipal levels) and its key components: openness, democracy, accountability and performance. This book allows readers to gain a deeper understanding of the importance of government performance management in China and its contribution to the modernization of state governance and political legitimacy.
Government Surveillance of Religious Expression: Mormons, Quakers, and Muslims in the United States (Routledge Studies in Religion)
by Kathryn MontalbanoRecent revelations about government surveillance of citizens have led to questions about whether there should be better defined boundaries around privacy. Should government officials have the right to specifically target certain groups for extended surveillance? United States municipal, territorial, and federal agencies have investigated religious groups since the nineteenth century. While critics of contemporary mass surveillance tend to invoke the infringement of privacy, the mutual protection of religion and public expression by the First Amendment positions them, along with religious expression, comfortably within in the public sphere.This book analyzes government monitoring of Mormons of the Territory of Utah in the 1870s and 1880s for polygamy, Quakers of the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) from the 1940s to the 1960s for communist infiltration, and Muslims of Brooklyn, New York, from 2002 to 2013 for suspected terrorism. Government agencies in these case studies attempted to understand how their religious beliefs might shape their actions in the public sphere. It follows that government agents did not just observe these communities, but they probed precisely what constituted religion itself alongside shifting legal and political definitions relative to their respective time periods. Together, these case studies form a new framework for discussions of the historical and contemporary monitoring of religion. They show that government surveillance is less predictable and monolithic than we might assume. Therefore, this book will be of great interest to scholars of United States religion, history, and politics, as well as surveillance and communication studies.
Government Surveillance of Religious Expression: Mormons, Quakers, and Muslims in the United States (Routledge Studies in Religion)
by Kathryn MontalbanoRecent revelations about government surveillance of citizens have led to questions about whether there should be better defined boundaries around privacy. Should government officials have the right to specifically target certain groups for extended surveillance? United States municipal, territorial, and federal agencies have investigated religious groups since the nineteenth century. While critics of contemporary mass surveillance tend to invoke the infringement of privacy, the mutual protection of religion and public expression by the First Amendment positions them, along with religious expression, comfortably within in the public sphere.This book analyzes government monitoring of Mormons of the Territory of Utah in the 1870s and 1880s for polygamy, Quakers of the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) from the 1940s to the 1960s for communist infiltration, and Muslims of Brooklyn, New York, from 2002 to 2013 for suspected terrorism. Government agencies in these case studies attempted to understand how their religious beliefs might shape their actions in the public sphere. It follows that government agents did not just observe these communities, but they probed precisely what constituted religion itself alongside shifting legal and political definitions relative to their respective time periods. Together, these case studies form a new framework for discussions of the historical and contemporary monitoring of religion. They show that government surveillance is less predictable and monolithic than we might assume. Therefore, this book will be of great interest to scholars of United States religion, history, and politics, as well as surveillance and communication studies.
Government through Culture and the Contemporary French Right (French Politics, Society and Culture)
by J. AhearneCulture, understood broadly, lay at the heart of contrasting right-wing strategies for government in France during the pivotal decade of 2002-2012. Looking at issues of secularism, education, televisual performance, public memory and nation-branding Ahearne analyses how presidents Chirac and Sarkozy sought to redefine contemporary French identity.
The Governmentality of Black Beauty Shame: Discourse, Iconicity and Resistance
by Shirley Anne TateThis book uses the experiences and conversations of Black British women as a lens to examine the impact of discourses surrounding Black beauty shame. Black beauty shame exists within racialized societies which situate white beauty as iconic, and as a result produce Black ‘ugliness’ as a counterpoint. At the same time, Black Nationalist discourses present Black-white ‘mixed race’ women as bodies out of place within the Black community. In the examples analysed within the book, women disidentify from both the iconicities of white beauty and the discourses of Black Nationalist darker-skinned beauty, negating both ideals. This demonstration of Foucaldian counter-conduct can be read as a form of disalienation from the governmentality of Black beauty shame. This fascinating volume will be of interest to students and scholars of Black identity, Black beauty and discourse analysis.
Governments and Marriage Education Policy: Perspectives from the UK, Australia and the US
by Elizabeth van AckerThis book examines the role governments play in managing policy challenges such as religion, romance, gender relations, same-sex marriages and privacy protection in response to social changes in marriage. Elizabeth van Acker asks whether governments can or should intervene in this personal sphere.
GPS for Success: Skills, Strategies, and Secrets of Superachievers
by Barry A. FranklinNext to food and clothing, achieving personal and professional success is rated at the very top of the hierarchical order of human needs. Everybody wants to be somebody! In this ultimate success book that includes timeless information for generations to come, the author has meticulously chronicled proven skills, strategies and secrets that, if regularly followed, will empower the reader to live the life that they imagine. Just like your car’s or phone’s GPS, these life navigation skills can get you from where you are to where you want to go in your career. In addition, critically important knowledge and abilities, including job interviewing, must-know people skills, writing, and public speaking, are covered. In this book, the author has scoured the world’s literature on these topics and interviewed highly successful people to provide one-stop shopping regarding the most proven and practical recommendations for future career success. He has also peppered the text with personal experiences and motivational/inspirational success stories, as well as testimonials/sage advice/quotes from the world’s most successful people --past and present. The key objectives of this book are to: • Highlight the foundational factors underlying future career success: love what you do; realize that your behaviors largely determine your luck in life; emphasize that highly successful people take 100% responsibility for their actions and destiny; and that the secret to success involves the selfless serving of others. The rewards return—through a boomerang effect. • Provide specific examples and inspirational stories highlighting 10 critical behavioral skills for success. These include: look for the good in people and situations; how to activate the law of attraction; establish goals in writing ("if it’s not on paper, it’s vapor"); take action (#1 success characteristic); know that persistence pays; ask for things you want; enhance your speaking, writing, and interviewing skills; why it’s important to work with and learn from people you want to emulate; the essence of superb people skills (e.g., integrity, making others feel important); and to regularly apply the law of sow and reap. • Detail complementary approaches, tactics, and perspectives that can help you achieve your breakthrough (major) life goals. These include: time management skills and the 80/20 rule; looking for greener pastures; showcasing your talents (visibility → opportunities); committing to never-ending improvements in performance, service (or products); embracing discipline/focus/sacrifice; routinely exceeding people’s expectations; striving for greater rewards; and seeing an ocean of opportunities before you. In aggregate, these yield BIG rewards in life. • Provide a potpourri of related topics, including unlooked-for opportunities; leadership and bringing out the best in those around you; avoiding overcautiousness; volunteering (raising your hand); reframing future commitments; the power (and magic) of an unexpected thank you note; and the disproportionate dividends and good karma that result from giving back and mentoring others.
GPS for Success: Skills, Strategies, and Secrets of Superachievers
by Barry A. FranklinNext to food and clothing, achieving personal and professional success is rated at the very top of the hierarchical order of human needs. Everybody wants to be somebody! In this ultimate success book that includes timeless information for generations to come, the author has meticulously chronicled proven skills, strategies and secrets that, if regularly followed, will empower the reader to live the life that they imagine. Just like your car’s or phone’s GPS, these life navigation skills can get you from where you are to where you want to go in your career. In addition, critically important knowledge and abilities, including job interviewing, must-know people skills, writing, and public speaking, are covered. In this book, the author has scoured the world’s literature on these topics and interviewed highly successful people to provide one-stop shopping regarding the most proven and practical recommendations for future career success. He has also peppered the text with personal experiences and motivational/inspirational success stories, as well as testimonials/sage advice/quotes from the world’s most successful people --past and present. The key objectives of this book are to: • Highlight the foundational factors underlying future career success: love what you do; realize that your behaviors largely determine your luck in life; emphasize that highly successful people take 100% responsibility for their actions and destiny; and that the secret to success involves the selfless serving of others. The rewards return—through a boomerang effect. • Provide specific examples and inspirational stories highlighting 10 critical behavioral skills for success. These include: look for the good in people and situations; how to activate the law of attraction; establish goals in writing ("if it’s not on paper, it’s vapor"); take action (#1 success characteristic); know that persistence pays; ask for things you want; enhance your speaking, writing, and interviewing skills; why it’s important to work with and learn from people you want to emulate; the essence of superb people skills (e.g., integrity, making others feel important); and to regularly apply the law of sow and reap. • Detail complementary approaches, tactics, and perspectives that can help you achieve your breakthrough (major) life goals. These include: time management skills and the 80/20 rule; looking for greener pastures; showcasing your talents (visibility → opportunities); committing to never-ending improvements in performance, service (or products); embracing discipline/focus/sacrifice; routinely exceeding people’s expectations; striving for greater rewards; and seeing an ocean of opportunities before you. In aggregate, these yield BIG rewards in life. • Provide a potpourri of related topics, including unlooked-for opportunities; leadership and bringing out the best in those around you; avoiding overcautiousness; volunteering (raising your hand); reframing future commitments; the power (and magic) of an unexpected thank you note; and the disproportionate dividends and good karma that result from giving back and mentoring others.
Gracefully Insane: The Rise and Fall of America's Premier Mental Hospital
by Alex BeamIts landscaped ground, chosen by Frederick Law Olmsted and dotted with Tudor mansions, could belong to a New England prep school. There are no fences, no guards, no locked gates. But McLean Hospital is a mental institution-one of the most famous, most elite, and once most luxurious in America. McLean "alumni" include Olmsted himself, Robert Lowell, Sylvia Plath, James Taylor and Ray Charles, as well as (more secretly) other notables from among the rich and famous. In its "golden age," McLean provided as genteel an environment for the treatment of mental illness as one could imagine. But the golden age is over, and a downsized, downscale McLean-despite its affiliation with Harvard University-is struggling to stay afloat. Gracefully Insane, by Boston Globe columnist Alex Beam, is a fascinating and emotional biography of McLean Hospital from its founding in 1817 through today. It is filled with stories about patients and doctors: the Ralph Waldo Emerson protégé whose brilliance disappeared along with his madness; Anne Sexton's poetry seminar, and many more. The story of McLean is also the story of the hopes and failures of psychology and psychotherapy; of the evolution of attitudes about mental illness, of approaches to treatment, and of the economic pressures that are making McLean-and other institutions like it-relics of a bygone age. This is a compelling and often oddly poignant reading for fans of books like Plath's The Bell Jar and Susanna Kaysen's Girl, Interrupted (both inspired by their author's stays at McLean) and for anyone interested in the history of medicine or psychotherapy, or the social history of New England.
Grade Inflation: A Crisis in College Education
by Valen E. JohnsonGrade inflation runs rampant at most colleges and universities, but faculty and administrators are seemingly unwilling to face the problem. This book explains why, exposing many of the misconceptions surrounding college grading. Based on historical research and the results of a yearlong, on-line course evaluation experiment conducted at Duke University during the 1998-1999 academic year, the effects of student grading on various educational processes, and their subsequent impact on student and faculty behavior, is examined. Principal conclusions of this investigation are that instructors' grading practices have a significant influence on end-of-course teaching evaluations, and that student expectations of grading practices play an important role in the courses that students decide to take. The latter effect has a serious impact on course enrollments in the natural sciences and mathematics, while the combination of both mean that faculty have an incentive to award high grades, and students have an incentive to choose courses with faculty who do. Grade inflation is the natural consequence of this incentive system. Material contained in this book is essential reading for anyone involved in efforts to reform our postsecondary educational system, or for those who simply wish to survive and prosper in it. Valen Johnson is a Professor of Biostatistics at the University of Michigan. Prior to accepting an appointment in Ann Arbor, he was a Professor of Statistics and Decision Sciences at Duke University, where data for this book was collected. He is a Fellow of the American Statistical Association.
Graduate Attributes, Learning and Employability (Lifelong Learning Book Series #6)
by Paul Hager Susan HollandIn these complex and challenging times, students, teachers and employers are all interested in the development of generic abilities as these typically make the difference between good and indifferent employees, successful and unsuccessful learners. This book explains why generic capacities have become so important and argues that the process of acquiring them is both lifelong and developmental.
Graduate Citizens: Issues of Citizenship and Higher Education
by John Ahier John Beck Rob MooreFollowing the introduction of student loans and tuition fees, the situation of students and new graduates has changed considerably. Set in this context, Graduate Citizens is a thought-provoking, and insightful look at the current generation of students' attitudes towards citizenship and matters of social and moral responsibility.Drawing on small-scale case studies of students in two universities, the authors explore students' changing sense of citizenship against the backdrop of recent changes in higher education. It addresses students' approaches to being in debt, the role of their families in providing support and their attitudes towards careers. Questioning the claim that the current generation of students is politically apathetic, this book shows that they are in fact socially concerned with, though distant from, official, mainstream politics. It investigates students' responses to such political and economic phenomena as globalisation and the ever-increasing promotion of market forces.Graduate Citizens illuminates and explores the links between reforms in higher education, student experience of university and issues of citizenship. It poses questions about the condition and future of citizenship in Britain and discusses the implications for citizenship education.
Graduate Citizens: Issues of Citizenship and Higher Education
by John Ahier John Beck Rob MooreFollowing the introduction of student loans and tuition fees, the situation of students and new graduates has changed considerably. Set in this context, Graduate Citizens is a thought-provoking, and insightful look at the current generation of students' attitudes towards citizenship and matters of social and moral responsibility.Drawing on small-scale case studies of students in two universities, the authors explore students' changing sense of citizenship against the backdrop of recent changes in higher education. It addresses students' approaches to being in debt, the role of their families in providing support and their attitudes towards careers. Questioning the claim that the current generation of students is politically apathetic, this book shows that they are in fact socially concerned with, though distant from, official, mainstream politics. It investigates students' responses to such political and economic phenomena as globalisation and the ever-increasing promotion of market forces.Graduate Citizens illuminates and explores the links between reforms in higher education, student experience of university and issues of citizenship. It poses questions about the condition and future of citizenship in Britain and discusses the implications for citizenship education.
Graduate Employability Across Contexts: Perspectives, Initiatives and Outcomes
by Tran Le Huu Nghia Binh Chi Bui Jasvir Kaur Nachatar Singh Vinh N. LuThis book explores stakeholders’ perspectives, their practices, and engagement with enacting the employability agenda in the context of a rapidly changing world. It explains the need for developing graduate employability under socioeconomic, cultural, and political pressure exposed to the higher education sector. Largely framed within Bourdieu’s concepts of social field, habitus, and capital, it explores international stakeholders’ perspectives and experiences with graduate employability agenda in different contexts, which serves as a point of reference for the adoption of such initiatives. Based on empirical evidence, the authors develop a new graduate employability framework seeing it as a lifelong process, denote the relationships between types of employability capital, and shed light on the consequences of different strategies to translate employability capital to employment and career outcomes. Overall, this book generates both theoretical and practical insights which help to advance employability programs, better prepare the future workforce, and anticipate turbulence in the labour markets.
Graduate Employability and Workplace-Based Learning Development: Insights from Sociocultural Perspectives
by Betsy NgThis book presents a comprehensive discussion of sociocultural perspectives on graduate employability and workplace-based learning development. It draws on Vygotsky’s theories such as situated learning and sociocultural perspectives, as well as the constructivist learning theory. This book showcases theoretical and empirical analyses that show how institutions, decision-makers or academics can work together to enhance job employability in this age of uncertainty. It discusses issues such as the development of emerging and employability skills, examines research in higher education and workplace-based learning development, and proposes directions for the changing nature in real-world settings. This book details empirical research in the field using quantitative, qualitative and mixed method approaches, and summarizes the key conclusions pertaining to graduate employability skills as well as workplace learning culture and technology-mediated environment. It includes contributions from experienced international scholars, and offers detailed insights for readers who want a timely understanding of research trends in graduate employability and workplace-based learning development.
Graduate Employability in Context: Theory, Research and Debate
by Michael Tomlinson Leonard HolmesThis book explores the highly significant and contested area of graduate employability and employment which is paid so much attention by those in the media and policy-makers. This is driven largely by concerns over the wider economic impact and value of graduates as increasing numbers complete their studies in higher education. At a time when graduates are seen as key to economic success, the critical question remains as to how their employability plays out in a changing labour market. This book brings together innovative approaches and research to present an extensive survey of the field. It provides insight on what is a complex and often elusive social and economic problem, ranging from how graduate employability is constructed as an economic and policy agenda to explorations of how graduates manage the transition from higher education to paid employment and finally to suggest future directions for curricula, policy and research.
Graffiti and Street Art: Reading, Writing and Representing the City
by Konstantinos Avramidis Myrto TsilimpounidiGraffiti and street art images are ubiquitous, and they enjoy a very special place in collective imaginary due to their ambiguous nature. Sometimes enigmatic in meaning, often stylistically crude and aesthetically aggressive, yet always visually arresting, they fill our field of vision with texts and images that no one can escape. As they take place on surfaces and travel through various channels, they provide viewers an entry point to the subtext of the cities we live in, while questioning how we read, write and represent them. This book is structured around these three distinct, albeit by definition interwoven, key frames. The contributors of this volume critically investigate underexplored urban contexts in which graffiti and street art appear, shed light on previously unexamined aspects of these practices, and introduce innovative methodologies regarding the treatment of these images. Throughout, the focus is on the relationship of graffiti and street art with urban space, and the various manifestations of these idiosyncratic meetings. In this book, the emphasis is shifted from what the physical texts say to what these practices and their produced images do in different contexts. All chapters are original and come from experts in various fields, such as Architecture, Urban Studies, Sociology, Criminology, Anthropology and Visual Cultures, as well as scholars that transcend traditional disciplinary frameworks. This exciting new collection is essential reading for advanced undergraduates as well as postgraduates and academics interested in the subject matter. It is also accessible to a non-academic audience, such as art practitioners and policymakers alike, or anyone keen on deepening their knowledge on how graffiti and street art affect the ways urban environments are experienced, understood and envisioned.
Graffiti and Street Art: Reading, Writing and Representing the City
by Konstantinos Avramidis Myrto TsilimpounidiGraffiti and street art images are ubiquitous, and they enjoy a very special place in collective imaginary due to their ambiguous nature. Sometimes enigmatic in meaning, often stylistically crude and aesthetically aggressive, yet always visually arresting, they fill our field of vision with texts and images that no one can escape. As they take place on surfaces and travel through various channels, they provide viewers an entry point to the subtext of the cities we live in, while questioning how we read, write and represent them. This book is structured around these three distinct, albeit by definition interwoven, key frames. The contributors of this volume critically investigate underexplored urban contexts in which graffiti and street art appear, shed light on previously unexamined aspects of these practices, and introduce innovative methodologies regarding the treatment of these images. Throughout, the focus is on the relationship of graffiti and street art with urban space, and the various manifestations of these idiosyncratic meetings. In this book, the emphasis is shifted from what the physical texts say to what these practices and their produced images do in different contexts. All chapters are original and come from experts in various fields, such as Architecture, Urban Studies, Sociology, Criminology, Anthropology and Visual Cultures, as well as scholars that transcend traditional disciplinary frameworks. This exciting new collection is essential reading for advanced undergraduates as well as postgraduates and academics interested in the subject matter. It is also accessible to a non-academic audience, such as art practitioners and policymakers alike, or anyone keen on deepening their knowledge on how graffiti and street art affect the ways urban environments are experienced, understood and envisioned.
The Graffiti Subculture: Youth, Masculinity and Identity in London and New York
by N. MacdonaldThis book is the most extensive contribution to our understanding of the graffiti subculture to date. Using insights from ethnographic research conducted in London and New York, the author explores the varying ways young men use graffiti to construct masculinity, claim power and establish independence from the institutions which define and often limit them as young people. Forging a link between subcultural practice and identity construction, this book will be essential reading for anyone interested in new understandings of youth and their subcultures.
Grammar for Teachers: A Guide to American English for Native and Non-Native Speakers
by Andrea DeCapuaThe purpose of Grammar for Teachers is to encourage readers to develop a solid understanding of the use and function of grammatical structures in American English. It approaches grammar from a descriptive rather than a prescriptive approach; however, throughout the book differences between formal and informal language, and spoken and written English are discussed. The book avoids jargon or excessive use of technical terminology. It makes the study of grammar interesting and relevant by presenting grammar in context and by using authentic material from a wide variety of sources.
Grammar for Teachers: A Guide to American English for Native and Non-Native Speakers (Springer Texts in Education)
by Andrea DeCapuaUpdated and revised with more examples and expanded discussions, this second edition continues the aim of providing teachers with a solid understanding of the use and function of grammatical structures in American English. The book avoids jargon and presents essential grammatical structures clearly and concisely. Dr. DeCapua approaches grammar from a descriptive rather than a prescriptive standpoint, discussing differences between formal and informal language, and spoken and written English. The text draws examples from a wide variety of authentic materials to illustrate grammatical concepts. The many activities throughout the book engage users in exploring the different elements of grammar and in considering how these elements work together to form meaning. Users are encouraged to tap into their own, often subconscious, knowledge of grammar to consciously apply their knowledge to their own varied teaching settings. The text also emphasizes the importance of understanding grammar from the perspective of English language learners, an approach that allows teachers to better appreciate the difficulties these learners face. Specific areas of difficulties for learners of English are highlighted throughout.
A Grammar of Kam Revealed in Its Narrative Discourse
by Tongyin YangThe Kam language of China possesses fifteen tones – more than any other language. Yet it has long been neglected as an area of research, especially from the perspective of discourse analysis. This study initiates the exploration of the interface between grammar and discourse by examining various aspects of Kam narrative discourse, and using a functional approach to reveal its structural properties. It also introduces the mechanism for phonological and syntactic variations, as well as classifier variants and sentence-final particles (SFPs) in discourse and word order variations. Finally, it discusses the influence of social setting on narrative structure and offers the most up-to-date ethnological and social information about the community.