Professional Discourse gives a broad and multifaceted perspective on discourse in the professions. For each of these professions, the book explores the dual relationship between discourse and context, outlining how professional discourse is continuously reconstructed in relation to changing contextual frameworks. The case studies discussed in the book are based on authentic texts and spoken data, collected within different environments and related to different domains. The book includes discussion of both theory and methodology, thus providing tools for exercises and future studies. The reader is introduced to a variety of analytical approaches, that of textlinguistics, pragmatics, genre studies, sociolinguistics, interactional sociolinguistics and sociology, psycholinguistics and cognitive psychology. The book gives theoretically grounded and systematically investigated answers to questions of relevance for advanced learners, practitioners and academic scholars. >

This ultimate guide to one of the world's most beautiful and fascinating island nations is packed with travel tips, cultural and historical facts, and insights from Icelanders into how we can all make our lives a little more Icelandic. Known as 'The Land of Fire and Ice', Iceland is a country of contrasts, from the enormous glaciers to the active volcanoes, the summer midnight sun to the briefest of winter days, the ancient language to the modern technological innovations. This is a nation with a rich and diverse culture as unique as its stunning landscapes. How to Live Icelandic is the ultimate insider's guide to this northerly nation. You may have already tried skyr for breakfast and listened to Sigur Ros on your daily commute, but how much do you know about the real Iceland; the locals' take on this one-of-a-kind island? Icelanders Nina Bjoerk Jonsdottir and Edda Magnus have put together the highlights of Icelandic music, literature, cultural attitudes, food traditions and celebrations so the rest of the world can benefit from the special blend of old Norse wisdom with liberal modern attitudes. This beautiful book is full of inspiration and insight into this progressive and peaceful nation that has freedom, community and equality at its core, revealing why Iceland remains one of the happiest countries in the world. From the How To Live... series of insightful guides to some of the most intriguing cultures and locations on the planet, other books available include How To Live Japanese, How To Live Korean and How to Live North.

The eighteenth century is an important period both in the history of science and in the history of languages. Interest in science, and especially in the useful sciences, exploded and a new, modern approach to scientific discovery and the accumulation of knowledge emerged. It was during this century, too, that ideas on language and language practice began to change. Latin had been more or less the only written language used for scientific purposes, but gradually the vernaculars became established as fully acceptable alternatives for scientific writing. The period is of interest, moreover, from a genre-historical point of view. Encyclopedias, dictionaries and also correspondence played a key role in the spread of scientific ideas. At the time, writing on scientific matters was not as distinct from fiction, poetry or religious texts as it is today, a fact which also gave a creative liberty to individual writers. In this volume, seventeen authors explore, from a variety of angles, the construction of a scientific language and discourse. The chapters are thematically organized into four sections, each contributing to our understanding of this dynamic period in the history of science: their themes are the forming of scientific communities, the emergence of new languages of science, the spread of scientific ideas, and the development of scientific writing. A particular focus is placed on the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778). From the point of view of the natural sciences, Linnaeus is renowned for his principles for defining genera and species of organisms and his creation of a uniform system for naming them. From the standpoint of this volume, however, he is also of interest as an example of a European scientist of the eighteenth century. This volume is unique both in its broad linguistic approach - including studies on textlinguistics, stylistics, sociolinguistics, lexicon and nomenclature - and in its combination of language studies, philosophy of language, history and sociology of science. The book covers writing in different European languages: Swedish, German, French, English, Latin, Portuguese, and Russian. With its focus on the history of scientific language and discourse during a dynamic period in Europe, the book promises to contribute to new insights both for readers interested in language history and those with an interest in the history of ideas and thought.

Is it rational to be moral? Can moral disputes be settled rationally? Which criteria determine what we have a good reason to do? In this innovative book, Logi Gunnarsson takes issue with the assumption made by many philosophers faced with the problem of reconciling moral norms with a scientific world view, namely that morality must be offered a non-moral justification based on a formal concept of rationality. He argues that the criteria for the rationality of an action are irreducibly substantive, rather than purely formal, and that assuming that morality must be given a non-moral justification amounts to a distortion of both rationality and morality. His discussion includes substantial critical engagement with major thinkers from two very different philosophical traditions, and is notable for its clear and succinct account of Habermas' discourse ethics. It will appeal to anyone interested in practical reason and the rational credentials of morality.

The power of love has become a renewed matter of feminist and non-feminist attention in the 21st century's theory debates. What is this power? Is it a form of domination? Or is it a liberating force in our contemporary societies? Within Feminism and the Power of Love lies the central argument that, although love is a crucial site of gendered power asymmetries, it is also a vital source of human empowerment that we cannot live without. Instead of emphasizing "either-or", this enlightening title puts the dualities and contradictions of love center stage. Indeed, by offering various theoretical perspectives on what makes love such a central value and motivator for people, this title will increase one's understanding as to why love can keep people in its grip - even when practiced in ways that deplete and oppress. In light of such analyses, the contributions within Feminism and the Power of Love present new perspectives on the conditions and characteristics of non-oppressive, mutually enhancing ways of loving. Bridging the gap between Feminist Affect Studies and Feminist Love Studies, this book will appeal to undergraduate and postgraduate students, including postdoctoral researchers, interested in fields such as women's and gender studies, sociology, political science, philosophy, cultural studies and sexuality studies.

Contemporary society encounters profound economical, socio-ecological and political crises challenging the democratic foundation of our societies. This book addresses the potentials and challenges for Action Research supporting democratic alternatives. It offers a broad spectrum of examples from Scandinavian Action Research showing different openings towards democratic development. The book's first part contributes with a wide range of examples such as Action Research in relation to the Triple Helix/Mode II contexts, to design as a democratic process, to renewal of welfare work and public institutions, to innovation policies combining Action Research with gender science. In the second part of the book epistemological and ontological dimensions of Action Research are discussed addressing questions of validity criteria related to Action Research, the transformation of knowledge institutions and the specific character of creativity in Action Research. The book offers a basis for theoretical as well as practical oriented discussions and critical reflections within the field of Action Research and related research orientations, involving a wide range of actors.

This book presents theoretical discussions and practical examples of Action Research from Scandinavia, Latin America and Africa, primarily dealing with how to combine nature conservation and management with local democratic community development, seeing the renewal of Commons as a way to transcend the present dichotomy between these two dimensions.

This volume consists of the revised versions I of a selection of papers of the second EDINEB conference, held in Uppsala from 17-19 August 1995. As with the fIrst edition, the conference and these proceedings are rooted in the participant's involvement with 'EDucational INnovation in Economics and Business'. The thematic focus is quality audit, quality assessment and quality improvement, all of them collected in the theme 'In Search of Quality'. For the fIrst EDINEB conference, which took place in Maastricht, December 1993, 'Problem-Based Learning' was chosen as leading theme. The introduction of problem-based learning in the curriculum of any faculty is to be regarded as a major innovation in the educational system. In contrast, the dedication to the search of quality in education resulted in a large variety of case studies and theoretical contributions on educational innovations aiming at increasing the quality of teaching and learning. This contrast between the one major step and the many small steps has been the decisive factor for the editors to compose these proceedings as a kind of allegory of Robert M. Pirsig's famous novel 'Zen and the art of Motorcycle Maintenance, an Inquiry into Values' (ZAMM). Of course, on top of the very obvious reason that the conference had been saddled with a theme that is identical to the title that many critics (probably those who aren't so fond of motorcycling) used to rename ZAMM.

Third party conception is a growing phenomenon and provokes a burgeoning range of ethical, legal and social questions. What are the rights of donors, recipients and donor conceived children? How are these reproductive technologies regulated? How is kinship understood within these new family forms? Written by specialists from three different continents, Transnationalising Reproduction examines a broad range of issues concerning kinship and identity, citizenship and regulation, and global markets of reproductive labour; including gamete donation and gestational surrogacy. Indeed, this book seeks to highlight how reproductive technologies not only makes possible new forms of kinship and family formations, but also how these give rise to new, ethical, political and legal dilemmas about parenthood as well as new modes of discrimination and a re-distribution of medical risks. It also thoroughly investigates the ways in which a commodification of reproductive tissue and labour affects the practices, representations and gendered self-understandings of gamete donors, fertility patients and intended parents in different parts of the world. With a broad geographical scope, Transnationalising Reproduction offers new empirical and theoretical perspectives on third-party conception and demonstrates the need for more transnational approaches to third-party reproduction. This volume will appeal to postgraduate students and postdoctoral researchers interested in fields such as Gender Studies, Health Care Sciences, Reproductive Technology and Medical Sociology.

Moving beyond the question of whether an area of scholarly investigation can truly be characterized as 'legal', Exploiting the Limits of Law combats the often unhelpful constraints of law's subject-matter and formal processes. Through a process of reflection on the limits of law and repeated efforts to redraw them, this book challenges the general sense of pessimism among feminists and others about the usefulness of law as an instrument of change. The work combines theoretical analysis of the law's boundaries with investigation of the practical settings for changing legal and policy environments. Both the empirical focus of this volume, and its underlying theoretical concern with the limits of the law and its gender implications, render it of interest to legal scholars throughout the world, whether of EU law, feminism, social policy or philosophy.

The Contradictions of Love: Towards a feminist-realist ontology of sociosexuality offers a robust and multifaceted theoretical account of how, in contemporary western societies, women continue to be subordinated to men through sexual love. The book defends and elaborates Anna G. Jonasdottir's thesis that men tend to exploit women of their 'love power', by means of an innovative application of critical realism, dialectical critical realism and the philosophy of metaReality. Gunnarsson also offers a critique of the state of affairs of contemporary feminist theory. The author demonstrates that the meta-theoretical framework of critical realism offers the tools that can counter the poststructuralist hegemony still prevailing in feminist theory. On a general level, The Contradictions of Love attempts at reconciling theoretical positions which tend to appear in opposition to one another. In particular, it offers a way of bridging the gap between the notion of love as a locus of exploitation and that of love as a force which can conquer oppression. This book is a unique and timely contribution in the field of feminist theory, in that it offers the first elaborate assessment and development of Jonasdottir's important but relatively sidestepped work, and in that it counters poststructuralist trends from the point of view of a robust critical realist framework that has hitherto been spectacularly absent in feminist theory, although it offers solutions to metatheoretical problems at the forefront of feminist debates; in the field of critical realism broadly defined, in that it elaborates on crucial ontological themes of (dialectical) critical realism and the philosophy of metaReality via a discussion of the issues of love, sexuality, gender and power; and finally, in the field of love studies, in that it offers a sophisticated account of how gender asymmetries prevail in love despite norms of gender equality and reciprocity, and in that it reconciles feminist, conflict-oriented perspectives on love with notions of love as transcending conflict.

As witnessed by recent films such as Fight Club and Identity, our culture is obsessed with multiple personality-a phenomenon raising intriguing questions about personal identity. This study offers both a full-fledged philosophical theory of personal identity and a systematic account of multiple personality. Gunnarsson combines the methods of analytic philosophy with close hermeneutic and phenomenological readings of cases from different fields, focusing on psychiatric and psychological treatises, self-help books, biographies, and fiction. He develops an original account of personal identity (the authorial correlate theory) and offers a provocative interpretation of multiple personality: in brief, "multiples" are right about the metaphysics but wrong about the facts.

Collaborative research embraces a multiplicity of practices in which social actors are invited to participate in the research process as co-producers of knowledge. But what is actually meant by "co-production" in collaborative research? Knowledge and Power in Collaborative Research presents a range of critical, reflexive strategies for understanding and tackling the challenges emanating from the tensions that arise in the meeting between different participants, knowledge forms and knowledge interests. The chapters anchor discussion of ethical, epistemological and methodological questions in sustained empirical analyses of cases of collaborative knowledge production. The book covers diverse theoretical approaches such as dialogic communication theory, actor network theory, poststructuralist writing as inquiry, institutional ethnography, dialogic action research, and pragmatic action research. The empirical cases span a broad spectrum of empirical fields of social practice: health services, organisational change, research, science communication, environmental communication in intermediary NGOs, participatory governance in relation to urban planning, and digital communication and virtual worlds.

As witnessed by recent films such as Fight Club and Identity, our culture is obsessed with multiple personalitya "a phenomenon raising intriguing questions about personal identity. This study offers both a full-fledged philosophical theory of personal identity and a systematic account of multiple personality. Gunnarsson combines the methods of analytic philosophy with close hermeneutic and phenomenological readings of cases from different fields, focusing on psychiatric and psychological treatises, self-help books, biographies, and fiction. He develops an original account of personal identity (the authorial correlate theory) and offers a provocative interpretation of multiple personality: in brief, "multiples" are right about the metaphysics but wrong about the facts.

Moving beyond the question of whether an area of scholarly investigation can truly be characterized as 'legal', Exploiting the Limits of Law combats the often unhelpful constraints of law's subject-matter and formal processes. Through a process of reflection on the limits of law and repeated efforts to redraw them, this book challenges the general sense of pessimism among feminists and others about the usefulness of law as an instrument of change. The work combines theoretical analysis of the law's boundaries with investigation of the practical settings for changing legal and policy environments. Both the empirical focus of this volume, and its underlying theoretical concern with the limits of the law and its gender implications, render it of interest to legal scholars throughout the world, whether of EU law, feminism, social policy or philosophy.

This title was first published in 2001. In the Nordic countries women are considered equal to men. Advanced social and economic rights are often given as the explanation for the equality. In this volume, Nordic feminist legal scholars give a more contradictory image of gender equality. The gendered construction of the legal subject and the legal understanding of gender have a two-pronged potential, both to change and to reproduce gender relations. Nordic women have been considered responsible for upholding the gendered social system - as "responsible selves" rather than as individuals engaged in rights discourse. The authors claim, with examples, that the belief in equality has made certain discriminative practices difficult to recognize and conceptualize. Also a transformation of the social welfare system puts the collective equality policies to the test.

The authors consider how the Asia-Pacific economies have developed since the financial crises and highlight two inter-related themes: the effect of global forces on the national Asian economies and the different development paths of these economies as they jointly enter this new phase. Questions raised by the book include:
* is globalization a threat to development and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific or did globalization rather facilitate and accelerate the pace of industrialization among late industrializers in the region?
* is there a single Asia-Pacific development model or did the crisis show this to be false?
* did the financial crisis reveal structural weaknesses in an Asia-Pacific state-led model or was state leadership already in demise?
Development and Structural Change in Asia-Pacific provides a useful and relevant account of how the global economy has led to structural changes within Asian economies

eBook available with sample pages: 0203609026

This title was first published in 2001. In the Nordic countries women are considered equal to men. Advanced social and economic rights are often given as the explanation for the equality. In this volume, Nordic feminist legal scholars give a more contradictory image of gender equality. The gendered construction of the legal subject and the legal understanding of gender have a two-pronged potential, both to change and to reproduce gender relations. Nordic women have been considered responsible for upholding the gendered social system - as "responsible selves" rather than as individuals engaged in rights discourse. The authors claim, with examples, that the belief in equality has made certain discriminative practices difficult to recognize and conceptualize. Also a transformation of the social welfare system puts the collective equality policies to the test.

Internationally, there is increasing research and interest in the processes of the production and reception of texts for specific purposes and in the historical development of genres and registers within Languages for Specific Purposes (LSP), psycholinguistics, sociolinguistics, anthropology and the sociology of science. Studies of professional communication have traditionally been biased towards the written medium and have been carried out with little, if any, connection to LSP. Disciplinary boundaries and interest groupings have thus kept these different approaches to the study of professional communication and interaction separate. The editors of this volume unite these different perspectives and approaches and bring together recent research from linguistics, sociolinguistics, ethnography of communication, anthropology and sociology to provide an up-to-date analysis of different varieties of professional discourse and their historical development. Chapters written by leading exponents in the field deal with the core theoretical issue of how language, written genres and spoken discourse are constructed as a successive and continuous interplay between language and social realities. The volume includes chapters on the moral construction of discourse in the social care profession, the discourse of dispute negotiation, narrative accounts in clinical research, doctor-patient interaction, legal and other kinds of institutional discourse. A key text for students of applied linguistics and sociolinguistics at both advanced, undergraduate and MA levels.