Few Americans and even fewer citizens of other nations understand the electoral process in the United States. Still fewer understand the role played by political parties in the electoral process or the ironies within the system. Participation in elections in the United States is much lower than in the vast majority of mature democracies. Perhaps this is because of the lack of competition in a country where only two parties have a true chance of winning, despite the fact that a large number of citizens claim allegiance to neither and think badly of both.

Presidential authority Charles O. Jones provides a marvelously concise survey of the American presidency that's packed with surprising observations about the way assertive leaders enhanced presidential power and how such factors as philosophy, relations with Congress, and outside events have all influenced presidential authority. He also sheds light on the political process of selecting presidents, from the days of the deadlocked conventions to the rise of the primary system after World War II.

Explicit Learning in the L2 Classroom offers a unique five-prong (theoretical, empirical, methodological, pedagogical, and model building) approach to the issue of explicit learning in the L2 classroom from a student-centered perspective. To achieve this five-prong objective, the book reports the theoretical underpinnings, empirical studies, and the research designs employed in current research to investigate the constructs of attention and awareness in SLA with the objectives to (1) propose a model of the L2 learning process in SLA that accounts for the cognitive processes employed during this process and (2) provide pedagogical and curricular implications for the L2 classroom.

This fascinating and occasionally salacious historical study delves into the lives of six Tudor women celebrated for their reputed wickedness. Collected here are illuminating accounts of Anne Boleyn and Katherine Howard, the two consorts of Henry VIII who were executed for adultery; Anne Seymour, duchess of Somerset, and Lettice Dudley, countess of Essex and Leicester, two defamed noblewomen; and Jane and Alice More, the two wives of Sir Thomas More who were charged with contrariness and shrewishness. In the process, author Retha M. Warnicke rescues these women from historical misrepresentations and helps us to rediscover the complex world of Tudor society.

Broadening the traditional notion of undergraduate research, WRITING, READING, AND RESEARCH thoroughly covers the essential skills for developing a research paper: analytical reading, synthesizing, paraphrasing, and summarizing. Presenting the process of research in a practical sequence, including separate chapters on finding, analyzing, and integrating sources, the authors illustrate each stage of the process with examples of student and professional writing. Using a flexible and goal-oriented approach, the authors have created a text that blends the best features of a theoretically informed rhetoric, an interdisciplinary reading anthology, and a research guide.