Routledge English Language Introductions cover core areas of language study and are one-stop resources for students. Assuming no prior knowledge, books in the series offer an accessible overview of the subject, with activities, study questions, sample analyses, commentaries and key readings - all in the same volume. The innovative and flexible 'two dimensional' structure is built around four sections - introduction, development, exploration and extension - which offer self-contained stages for study. Each topic can also be read across these sections, enabling the reader to build gradually on the knowledge gained. Each book in the series has a companion website with extra resources for teachers, lecturers and students. Discourse Analysis: * provides a comprehensive overview of the major approaches to and methodological tools used in discourse analysis; * introduces both traditional perspectives on the analysis of texts and talk as well as more recent approaches that address technologically mediated and multimodal discourse; * incorporates practical examples using real data; * includes articles from key authors in the field, including Jan Blommaert, William Labov, Paul Baker, Penelope Brown and Stephen Levinson. Features of the new edition include: new readings featuring cutting-edge research; updated references; revised and refreshed examples; and a wider range of material from social media that includes Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat. Written by an experienced teacher and author, this accessible textbook is essential reading for all students of English language and linguistics.

National identity and liberal democracy are recurrent themes in debates about Muslim minorities in the West. Britain is no exception, with politicians responding to claims about Muslims' lack of integration by mandating the promotion of 'fundamental British values' including 'democracy' and 'individual liberty'. This book engages with both these themes, addressing the lack of understanding about the character of British Islam and its relationship to the liberal state. It charts a gradual but decisive shift in British institutions concerned with Islamic education, Islamic law and Muslim representation since Muslims settled in the UK in large numbers in the 1950s. Based on empirical research including interviews undertaken over a ten-year period with Muslims, and analysis of public events organized by Islamic institutions, Stephen Jones challenges claims about the isolation of British Islamic organizations and shows that they have decisively shaped themselves around British public and institutional norms. He argues that this amounts to the building of a distinctive 'British Islam'. Using this narrative, the book makes the case for a variety of liberalism that is open to the expression of religious arguments in public and to associations between religious groups and the state. It also offers a powerful challenge to claims about the insularity of British Islamic institutions by showing how the national orientation of Islam called for by British policymakers is, in fact, already happening.

In his first collection of poetry, Dennis Jones asks the reader to take a few minutes to listen to poems which have emerged from his 'reptilian soul.' Using poetry, Dennis takes the reader through musings, large and small, exposing his world of recollections filled with solemnity and humor. The poetry is so varied that the reader will wonder what could possibly come next. Dennis shares experiences that tap into the reader's soul, driving reflection and recoil. The variety of his experiences has led to intriguing, sometimes startling, insights into his life and the lives of others. The Frog in the Philodendron includes tributes to others, observations about the impact of others and a "tip of the hat" to those life experiences that make each of us unique. "I too," he writes, "am waiting for the One who has promised to play the music that will guide me home."

We are confronted with problems in virtually all of our major systems. Einstein said that "we cannot solve our problems on the same level of thinking we were on when we created them." We believe a fundamental fault underlying all these problems is the way we look at them. Our traditional method has been to analyze the system as if it were a machine to find the faulty elements and to fix them. We have done this with ailing ecosystems long enough to know that it doesn't work well. If it doesn't work here because of the complexity of the system how can we expect it to work on us or other equally, if not more, complex living systems? We are not machines. We can adapt and create in novel ways. In The Boids and the Bees we, and other living systems, are seen as the complex and adaptive systems that we (they) are, which leads to a perceptual revolution: - We are fighting a war with bacteria that we can't win. Seeing bacteria as adapting agents allows us to see how they adapt and opens other doors to end the war; - Patients that are informed and empowered can lead our health care system to focus on prevention and health rather than illness and profits; - Learning has been analyzed in the laboratory. Now we use the results of this analysis to teach our children; they become the lab-rats in the classroom. Seeing them as adaptive agents is the first step in correcting this dehumanizing error. How we adapt today will determine our tomorrows; and they can be optimized.