Five years ago, Jim Collins asked the question, "Can a good company become a great company and if so, how?" Collins and his team of researchers began their quest by sorting through a list of 1,435 companies, looking for those that made substantial improvements in their performance over time. They discovered common traits that challenged many of the conventional notions of corporate success. Making the transition from good to great doesn't require a high-profile CEO, the latest technology, innovative change management, or even a fine-tuned business strategy.
Text messaging has spread like wildfire, especially among young people, who appear to spend most of their time texting, and are unwilling to write much else. Indeed the phenomena is so widespread that many parents, teachers, and media pundits have been outspoken in their criticism of it. Does texting spell the end of western civilization? In this humorous, level-headed and insightful book, David Crystal argues that the panic over texting is misplaced. Crystal, a world renowned linguist and prolific author on the uses and abuses of English, here looks at every aspect of the phenomenon of text-messaging and considers its effects on literacy, language, and society. He explains how texting began, how it works, who uses it, and how much it is used, and he shows how to interpret the mixture of pictograms, logograms, abbreviations, symbols, and wordplay typically used in texting. He looks at its manifestations in different languages, and explores the ways similar devices have been used in different eras. He finds that the texting system of conveying sounds and concepts goes back a long way--to the very origins of writing. And far from hindering children's literacy, texting turns out to help it. Illustrated with original art by Ed MacLachlan, the popular cartoonist whose work has appeared in Punch, Private Eye, New Statesman, and many other publications, Txting: The Gr8 Db8 is entertaining and instructive--reassuring for worried parents and teachers, illuminating for teenagers, and fascinating for everyone interested in what's currently happening to language and communication.
The place of English in the secondary curriculum has been the subject of intense debate in the general media as well as in education circles. This reader addresses the key issues of that debate in a way that is both accessible and lively. Separate sections cover the historical background to the debate, including the major teaching areas of speaking, listening, reading and writing, assessment and the professional development of teachers within the subject. Specially commissioned articles look at some of the most controversial issues in the subject--for instance the place of grammar and the centrality of literature in the curriculum. Novice English teachers will find this book an invaluable introduction to the complexities of their subject. For their more experienced colleagues, this text will be an invaluable way to keep up to date with current thinking.
"Teen Health" is the integrated, activities-based health program written especially for middle school students. "Teen Health" helps students understand that good health affects their school performance, their friendships, their looks, and their lives. It stretches far beyond traditional health topics to cover the subjects students really want to know about. It explains the importance of avoiding risky behaviors and provides step-by-step guidelines on how to do so. Student-friendly modules allow teachers to supplement the core curriculum with selected topics.
• COVER: The Meaning of Obama's Win: How He Rewrote the Book - An election in one of the world's oldest democracies looked like the kind they hold in brand-new ones. Nancy Gibbs on a historic • NATION: A Blue Tide - Democrats expand their reach at all levels of government • WORLD: Postcard from Kogelo - As Barack Obama becomes the first black U.S. President, his relatives adopt his win as their own. In western Kenya, watching the dream become reality • SOCIETY: Taking On King Coal - Activists turn to civil disobedience to thwart new power plants
