This volume highlights the dynamic nature of the field of English Linguistics and features selected contributions from the 8th Biennial International Conference on the Linguistics of Contemporary English. The contributions comprise studies (i) that focus on the structure of linguistic systems (or subsystems) or the internal structure of specific construction types, (ii) that take an interest in variation at all linguistic levels, or (iii) that explore what linguistic findings can tell us about human cognition in general, and language processing in particular. All chapters represent state-of-the-art research that relies on rigorous quantitative and qualitative analysis and that will inform current and future linguistic practice and theory building.

This book offers original theoretical accounts and a wealth of descriptive information concerning modality in present-day English. At the same time, it provides fresh impetus to more general linguistic issues such as grammaticalization, colloquialization, or the interplay between sociolinguistic and syntactic constraints. The articles fall into four sections: (a) the semantics and pragmatics of core modal verbs; (b) the status of emerging modal items; (c) stylistic variation and change; (d) sociolinguistic variation and syntactic models. The book is of considerable value to students and teachers of English and Linguistics at undergraduate and graduate level worldwide.

China's long-term economic success is driven by new firms, new sectors and new business practices. This book explores the establishment of new private firms and listed companies, the development of knowledge industries, in particular the IT and banking sectors and the co-evolution of public governance and business institutions. The contributors discuss the role of local institutions in coordinating business activities and unleashing entrepreneurship, arguing that the sudden growth of new firms and industries is facilitated by changes in business behaviour and institutions. Initial private exchange and investment in an environment of ill-functioning markets are shown to depend on local networks and local business culture which, in turn, rely on local tax regimes setting incentives for inherited bureaucracies to engage in economic transformation. Finally, the book establishes local institutions and local governance as crucial dimensions of China's emerging business system. Contributing to the theory of endogenous institutional change, The Chinese Economy in the 21st Century will be of great appeal to academics and students interested in management, comparative business systems, transition economics, evolutionary economics, Chinese studies and Asian studies.

In this collection of articles, an environmental scientist traces a journey through the wilderness of environmental politics. In his travels, Dr. Edward Krug developed a unique perspective on vital areas of the environmental issues, making him critical of both sides of the environmental debate. "Environment Betrayed" delves into numerous environmental issues and into environmentalism itself, presenting both Dr. Krug's opinions and the well-documented opinions of others who were active participants in the environmental arena.

Dr. Krug has worked as an environmental scientist since the early eighties, and much of the research and information included here originated in the eighties and nineties. Despite this gap of time, defenders of modern Western civilization don't seem to recognize the nature of the environmental war, let alone many of its details. By raising issues, environmentalists also define the battlefield-that is, the context of thought. Krug cites credible sources on both sides of the debate with varying perspectives on where things stand in this conflict.

Only by gaining a clear understanding of what's at stake can we truly grasp the numerous environmental issues swirling around us and what they will mean for our future.

This is the first monograph to provide a detailed account of the fundamental changes which have recently affected-and which still are affecting-the system of English auxiliaries.

This study improves our understanding of both the present and the past of a central domain of the English grammar and will thus appeal to historical linguists and linguists focusing on present-day English alike. On account of its innovative approach and empirical scope, it will serve as the standard reference work on English modal constructions. The book is also valuable for its proposal of two prototype-oriented models for the emergence of a new verbal category. While it addresses primarily an area of English grammar, as a study in grammaticalization it also provides hypotheses (e.g. regarding reanalysis and unidirectionality) which can be tested in work on grammatical change of any other language. On a higher level of abstraction, then, this book offers new insights to linguists and advanced students interested in any one of the following areas: grammaticalization (phonological, morphological, syntactic and semantic change), modality, functionalism, corpus linguistics, prototype theory, iconicity, sociolinguistics and stylistics.

The study tackles the subject in a new and unique way: Due to the fact that the borders between classical academic disciplines disappear at the nanoscale, a truly interdisciplinary approach is chosen. A functional definition of nanotechnology is developed by the authors as basis for the further sections of the study. The most important results enable recommendations with respect to scientific progress, industrial relevance, economic potential, educational needs, potential adverse health effects and philosophical aspects of nanotechnology. The book addresses the relevant decision levels, media, and academia.

The fruits of new research on the politics, society and culture of England in the fourteenth century. Drawing on a diverse range of documentary, literary and material evidence, the essays collected here consider a wide range of important issues for the period. Political and institutional history is addressed in essays on Edward II's personal expenditure and the development and workings of parliament, including an analysis of those neglected "parliamentarians" of the period, the parliamentary proctors. Important new insights into the social history of the fourteenth century are provided by chapters on marriage and the accumulation of lay estates, the brokerage of royal wardship and the important and difficult subject of sexual violence towards under-age girls. Another chapter considers the enormously costly and complex task of feeding and supplying medieval armies across the "long" fourteenth century, while two final pieces offer important new insights into the material culture of the age, focusing in turn on St Stephen's Chapel, Westminster, and the phenomenon of royal reburial. Richly textured with personal and local detail, these new studies provide numerous insights into the lives of great and small in this fascinating period ofmedieval history. GWILYM DODD is Associate Professor of Medieval History at the University of Nottingham. Contributors: Elizabeth Biggs, Anna M. Duch, Bridget Wells-Furby, Alan Kissane, Ilana Krug, Alison K.McHardy, Seymour Phillips, Laura Tompkins, Kathryn Warner.

A band of mercenaries fight deadly enemies and solve ancient riddles to plunder the tomb of Egypt’s robber pharaoh in this break-neck historical adventure-thriller. In this fresh twist on the historical adventure genre, a band of misfit mercenaries trek across sandy desert to the Valley of the Kings in search for the gold owed to them by Egypt’s long-dead pharaohs. In the year 701 BC, Assyria casts its eyes on the last stronghold of the upstart Hebrews: the Kingdom of Judah. The Desert Mice, a band of Kushite mercenaries led by the famous warrior Pisaqar, turn away the foreboding Assyrian army from the gates of Jerusalem in an audacious raid. But the Desert Mice are betrayed: the Egyptian general Taharqa denies them of their pay and disrespects his old tutor. Incensed, the mercenaries plot to recoup the debt owed to them by robbing a long-lost tomb of a forgotten pharaoh. Pisaqar and his Kushites set out on a daring journey down the Nile—toward the Valley of the Kings and the undiscovered resting place of the fabled Robber Pharaoh. But in crossing the long-dead tyrant, the misfit mercenaries unwittingly bring upon themselves an ancient curse—one that places them squarely in the middle of a dynastic power struggle, and under the wrathful gaze of an ambitious king. Pursued by scheming nobles and a malevolent torturer, the Desert Mice will discover that there are people and places far more perilous than the anarchy of battle.

John F. Kennedy challenged America to enter and win the space race, Nixon ushered in the era of the space shuttle work horse, and Reagan urged us to reach for the stars. In this study of space exploration from a metaphorical perspective, Linda T. Krug focuses on presidential rhetoric and the ways in which metaphors influence public understanding and opinion of the U.S. space program.

After the era of the man on the moon, why did people no longer flock to see a space launch? Why did legislative support for the space program become so difficult to procure? Why were NASA officials willing to compromise their ethics and beliefs to make a launch happen? Krug raises these questions and argues that the answers, to some extent, lie in the metaphorical shadows our presidents have cast over the space program. Beginning with a discussion of the significance of metaphor, this study offers a comprehensive space chronology highlighting space program events and presidential responses, from Eisenhower unveiling his plan to Bush taking us to tomorrow. Krug proposes that once U.S. astronauts walked on the moon, thus winning the race, the nation was unable to find another equally compelling way of looking at space exploration. She suggests that only when presidents learn to combine visions of space exploration with space use will a sound space program once again exist. With a focus on the dynamic motivating power of metaphorical images, this unique investigation of space exploration rhetoric will interest space enthusiasts, as well as those who study rhetorical criticism, political communication, political science, and space programs.

This cutting-edge reference addresses the impact nanotechnology has on the environment. From risks to benefits covered by leading professionals in the field and aimed at a multitude of skill levels and disciplines.

The entire reference set of 9 volumes provides an excellent, in-depth overview of everything you need to know about nanotechnology and nanoscience with each volume dedicated to a specific topic which is covered in detail by experts from that particular field.

State Capitalism offers an illuminating guide to the debate about contemporary state capitalism: does it simply use different tools from other variants of capitalism, or is it an altogether new kind of economic regime? Barbara Krug, a leading expert in this field, sets out to define the concept of contemporary state capitalism as an economic model and presents a nuanced view of state capitalism in action. She points the way to new areas for further study and analysis.