The choice of a pronunciation model for the 21st century learner has become a major issue of debate among applied linguists concerned with teaching English. The standard pronunciation models Received Pronunciation and General American have recently been confronted with a new proposal of a Lingua Franca Core (LFC) or English as a Lingua Franca (ELF), put forward as a didactic priority in teaching English pronunciation to foreigners. This volume, which includes selected contributions from the Poznan Linguistic Meetings of 2003 and 2004, does not intend to present yet another model, but sets out...

The studies presented in this volume concentrate on aspects of Late Modern English correspondence in the usage of individuals belonging to different social classes, writing for different purposes, and finding themselves in different social contexts, both in Britain and in its colonies. As the growing body of research published in recent years has shown, analysing the language of letters presents both a challenge and an opportunity to obtain access to as full a range of styles as would be possible for a period for which we only have access to the language in its written form. It is an area of...

This book examines the possibilities of political theorizing in the writings of early nineteenth-century German women and develops a new theory of reading women s domestic fiction. Drawing on feminism, new historicism, and hermeneutics for its theoretical framework, the study suggests significant changes to Jurgen Habermas s concept of the public sphere and women s role within it. The book re-evaluates the genre of domestic fiction and traces its use by women writers for political symbolism. Through novels, educational treatises, conduct manuals, poetry, and history books for women and...

This book unravels Taiwan s anomalous place in the international community. While it is for all intents and purposes treated as a sovereign state by most members of the international community, it is recognized by only twenty-three of them. The book explains how Taiwan s handling of its foreign relations is affected by the yearning of its people to express their own sense of national identity and to see Taiwan being accepted by the international community as a normal state. The book further examines how Taiwan s diplomatic isolation has caused it to focus on developing soft power based on its...

This book brings together a collection of selected empirical studies by researchers and English for Academic Purposes professionals working with scholars who use English as an additional language and who face barriers to publication when communicating the results of their research in the international context. The contributions have their origins in papers and workshops presented at the conference -Publishing and Presenting Research Internationally: Issues for Speakers of English as an Additional Language- (PRISEAL), which took place at the University of La Laguna (Spain) from 11 to 13...

Despite its low penetration in China s vast rural areas, the Internet is generally perceived as a new engine for rural empowerment. By examining five Internet application initiatives in rural China, this book offers a unique view of the diffusion and usage of the Internet and its implications on the lives of rural people. Placed in the political, socioeconomic and infrastructure contexts of rural China, the book departs from the classical diffusion of innovations model and extends the existing knowledge on the adoption and usage of the Internet by rural people.
In addition to...

The European Company Statute (ECS) is one of the most important pieces of company legislation adopted so far by the European Union. Its aim is to regulate, on a voluntary basis, the internal functions of a business operating in more than two European countries at the same time. However, its implementation by companies requires the negotiation of agreements between employers and employees principally on the choice between a one-tier or two-tier system of board structure. While the ECS thereby promotes flexible solutions tailor-made to company requirements, it has failed to achieve full...

The present is a time of major change in the world of higher education. Conceptions of knowledge and learning as well as course provision are being powerfully altered by current socio-political agendas, constantly evolving technology, demographic developments. The question of identity and its construction in narrative are central to reflection on these issues. Indeed the construction of multimodal/hybridized narratives involves discoursal processes where perceptions of culture and identity, attitudinal and evaluative stances are represented, negotiated, marginalized, transformed.
This...

Development efforts will remain frustrated so long as corrupt leaders continue to steal their countries wealth and dispose of these ill-gotten gains in foreign jurisdictions. The prevention of such looting, and the recovery of the stolen assets are thus critical development issues and a cornerstone of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (2003) (UNCAC). However, to date experience with asset recovery is limited, and a number of legal and other obstacles continue to impede progress.
This is the first comprehensive work on asset recovery, written by renowned practitioners and...