Search results for ""Author Alan Davies""

A.J. Cronin, author of some of the best-loved novels of the mid-twentieth century and the creator of Dr Finlay, has been unjustly overlooked by literary biographers. In this, the first fulllength life of this eminent and unjustly neglected writer, Alan Davies recounts the story of Cronin’s Scottish childhood as the son of a Protestant mother and Catholic father, his subsequent medical career and his rise to literary prominence, emphasizing throughout the importance of holding at arm’s length many of the apocryphal tales that have accumulated around the memory of the author of Hatter’s Castle, The Citadel and The Stars Look Down, many of which are based on mistaken autobiographical readings of Cronin’s fiction itself. Incorporating an account of Cronin’s tempestuous relationship with his publisher, Victor Gollancz, and new revelations about the author’s private life, Davies’s book paints a clearer portrait of both Cronin the writer and Cronin the man.

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This illustrated book tells the story of the female colliery surface workers, or pit brow women, of the Wigan coalfield. The numbers of women working in mines grew vastly after the expansion of the coal industry in the mid- to late eighteenth century. The practice continued until the Children's Employment Commission 1842 outlawed women working below ground, leading to many families suffering huge losses of earnings. In Lancashire, many women soon started working the colliery surface, grading the coal on conveyors or acting as general labourers. Illustrated newspapers fostered great interest in them from 1840, and Wigan coalfield employed more than any other area. In the 1840 a a huge photographic collection studying the women was created by A.J. Munby, which forms a major source for this detailed study. The women themselves remain a fascinating and unique feature of both local and industrial history.

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This second edition of the foundational textbook An Introduction to Applied Linguistics provides a state-of-the-art account of contemporary applied linguistics. The kinds of language problems of interest to applied linguists are discussed and a distinction drawn between the different research approach taken by theoretical linguists and by applied linguists to what seem to be the same problems. Professor Davies describes a variety of projects which illustrate the interests of the field and highlight the marriage it offers between practical experience and theoretical understanding. The increasing emphasis of applied linguistics on ethicality is linked to the growth of professionalism and to the concern for accountability, manifested in the widening emphasis on critical stances. This, Davies argues, is at its most acute in the tension between giving advice as the outcome of research and taking political action in order to change a situation which, it is claimed, needs ameliorisation. This dilemma is not confined to applied linguistics and may now be endemic in the applied disciplines. The book has been updated throughout and provides an excellent introduction to the problems and issues that arise in the practice of applied linguistics. Key Features: *Surveys current issues in applied linguistics, including the concept of the Native Speaker and the development of World Englishes *Examines the influence of linguistics, cognitive science and philosophy on applied linguistics and makes a contrast with educational linguistics *Proposes that a key issue for the profession will increasingly be the tension between advice and action *Suggests that applied linguistics is a theorising rather than a theoretical discipline. Feedback on the first edition: 'Alan Davies' introductory text forcefully re-echoes the famous Edinburgh series in applied linguistics, which he contributed to in a major way.' Applied Linguistics 'Every discipline coming of age needs to reflect on its origins, its history, its conflicts, in order to gain a better understanding of its identity and its long term objectives. Alan Davies, one of the founding fathers of applied linguistics, is the ideal person for this soul-searching exercise ...Introduction to Applied Linguistics is obligatory reading for students and researchers in applied linguistics, for language professionals and for anyone interested in the link between linguistics and applied linguistics. ' Modern Language Review

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This book examines the nexus between religion and politics, considered in one of its most controversial aspects. The starting point is the 2001 attack on the United States, which a Canadian commentator ingeniously described as the 'passion of America'. This designation suggested an interesting inquiry into other so-called national passions: the notion of the Christ-nation crucified by evil powers because of its higher virtue. . . . This motif is explored by analysing five modern nationalisms that have employed Christian symbolism in this manner: Poland, France, Germany, Ireland and Palestine. The author investigates the way in which fundamental Christian concepts are distorted and corrupted in the process, and points to the inherent dangers of this form of political self-glorification. Poets, philosophers, novelists and preachers have all played a major part in promoting the idea of the Christ-nation at certain times, mostly in the nineteenth century but also today. Famous examples are Adam Mickiewicz in Poland, Victor Hugo in France, the patriotic Lutherans during the First World War in Germany, Patrick Pearse in Ireland and certain Palestinian nationalist poets today. . . The clash of cultures, religions, nationalisms and civilisations in the world today is ever more strident. The passion narratives of the five nations are interwoven with historical circumstance in order to cast light on the endurance and power of the narratives, to arrive at a final critique and 'tract for the times'.

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This book examines the nexus between religion and politics, considered in one of its most controversial aspects. The starting point is the 2001 attack on the United States, which a Canadian commentator ingeniously described as the 'passion of America'. This designation suggested an interesting inquiry into other so-called national passions: the notion of the Christ-nation crucified by evil powers because of its higher virtue. . . . This motif is explored by analysing five modern nationalisms that have employed Christian symbolism in this manner: Poland, France, Germany, Ireland and Palestine. The author investigates the way in which fundamental Christian concepts are distorted and corrupted in the process, and points to the inherent dangers of this form of political self-glorification. Poets, philosophers, novelists and preachers have all played a major part in promoting the idea of the Christ-nation at certain times, mostly in the nineteenth century but also today. Famous examples are Adam Mickiewicz in Poland, Victor Hugo in France, the patriotic Lutherans during the First World War in Germany, Patrick Pearse in Ireland and certain Palestinian nationalist poets today. . . The clash of cultures, religions, nationalisms and civilisations in the world today is ever more strident. The passion narratives of the five nations are interwoven with historical circumstance in order to cast light on the endurance and power of the narratives, to arrive at a final critique and 'tract for the times'.

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The Handbook of Applied Linguistics is a collection of newly commissioned articles that provide a comprehensive and up-to-date picture of the field of Applied Linguistics. Provides a comprehensive and current picture of the field of Applied Linguistics. Contains 32 newly commissioned articles that examine both the applications of linguistics to language data and the use of real world language to ameliorate social problems. Valuable resource for students and researchers in applied linguistics, language teaching, and second language acquisition. Presents applied linguistics as an independent discipline that unifies practical experience and theoretical understanding of language development and language in use.

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Intended for students of mathematics as well as of engineering, physical science, economics, business studies, and computer science, this handbook contains vital information and formulas for algebra, geometry, calculus, numerical methods, and statistics. Comprehensive tables of standard derivatives and integrals, together with the tables of Laplace, Fourier, and Z transforms are included. A spiral binding that allows the handbook to lay flat for easy reference enhances the user-friendly design.

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'A simply astonishing achievement. The quality, depth, emotional power and terrifying honesty of Alan Davies's story-telling take the breath away' Stephen Fry'This hugely affecting book is brave, insightful and, at times, funny about things it is hard to be funny about' Jo BrandThe story of a life built on sand. In the rain.In this compelling memoir, comedian and actor Alan Davies recalls his boyhood with vivid insight and devastating humour. Shifting between his 1970s upbringing and his life today, Davies moves poignantly from innocence to experience to the clarity of hindsight, always with a keen sense of the absurd.From sibling dynamics, to his voiceless, misunderstood progression through school, sexuality and humiliating 'accidents', Davies inhabits his younger mind with spectacular accuracy, sharply evoking an era when Green Shield Stamps, Bob-a-Job week and Whizzer & Chips loomed large, a bus fare was 2p - and children had little power in the face of adult motivation. Here, there are often exquisitely tender recollections of the mother he lost at six years old, of a bereaved family struggling to find its way, and the kicks and confusion of adolescence.Through even the joyous and innocent memories, the pain of Davies's lifelong grief and profound betrayal is unfiltered, searing and beautifully articulated. Just Ignore Him is not only an autobiography, it is a testament to a survivor's resilience and courage.

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Through documents, the Wigan area can trace its coal mining activities as far back as 650 years, and for a brief spell in the late nineteenth century Wigan itself was proudly known as 'Coalopolis'. Mining machinery such as ventilation fans, winding engines, air compressors, pumps and haulage engines were manufactured around Wigan, the products of Worsley Mesnes Ironworks, Woods & Sons or Walker Brothers. The closure of the Bickershaw, Golborne and Parsonage mining complex in 1992, however, brought to an end the Wigan Coalfield's great era. Over 700 million tons of coal have been produced in the Wigan coalfield over the last 600 years, while a similar amount still lies below the ground. The recent ill-advised rush to wipe out all trace of the British coal industry has temporarily closed the mines of the Wigan area, and sadly thousands of men with the specialist skills peculiar to the industry have found themselves without a career. The photographs in the compilation have been carefully selected from the collections of the Lancashire Mining Museum, Wigan Heritage Centre, and the Donald Anderson/Tony France Archive. It is a book that will provide an intriguing insight into the lives and working conditions of Wigan area miners, and is a testament to the region and its proud coal mining legacy.

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