This book explores the social significance of letter writing. Letter writing is one of the most pervasive literate activities in human societies, crossing formal and informal contexts. Letters are a common text type, appearing in a wide variety of forms in most domains of life. More broadly, the importance of letter writing can be seen in that the phenomenon has been widespread historically, being one of earliest forms of writing, and a wide range of contemporary genres have their roots in letters. The writing of a letter is embedded in a particular social situation, and like all other types of literacy objects and events, the activity gains its meaning and significance from being situated in cultural beliefs, values, and practices. This book brings together anthropologists, historians, educators and other social scientists, providing a range of case studies that explore aspects of the socially situated nature of letter writing.

This photocopiable pack is designed to be used in group work with children and young people on the autistic spectrum who are in mainstream schools, and contains: the team handbook, with background information on autistic spectrum disorders and advice on planning social interaction groups; the resource bank book, containing a range of games, activities and photocopiable resources for groups; a CD with resource materials which may be printed off and used in group work; and, two sets of cards for use in social interaction groups. The pack is the outcome of the authors' work with children and young people with autistic spectrum disorders in Scotland, which was supported by the Scottish Executive Education Department.

Social Interaction Systems is the culmination of a half century of work in the field of social psychology by Robert Freed Bales, a pioneer at the Department of Social Relations at Harvard University. Led by Talcott Parsons, Gordon W. Allport, Henry A. Murray, and Clyde M. Kluckhohn, the Harvard Project was intended to establish an integrative framework for social psychology, one based on the interaction process, augmented by value content analysis. Bales sees this approach as a personal involvement that goes far beyond the classical experimental approach to the study of groups.Bales developed SYMLOG, which stands for systematic multiple level observation of groups. The SYMLOG Consulting Group approach was worldwide as well as interactive. It created a data bank that made possible a search for general laws of human interaction far beyond anything thus far known. In his daringsearch for universal features, Bales redefines the fundamental boundaries of the field, and in so doing establishes criteria for the behavior and values of leaders and followers. Bales offers a new "field theory," an appreciation of the multiple contexts in which people live.Bales does not aim to eradicate differences, but to understand them. In this sense, the values inherent in any interaction situation permit the psychologist to appreciate the sources of polarization as they actually exist: between conservative and liberal, individualistic and authoritarian, libertarian and communitarian. Bales repeatedly emphasizes that the mental processes of individuals and their social interactions take place in systematic contexts which can be measured. Hence they permit explanation and prediction of behavior in a more exact way than in past traditions. Bales has offered a pioneering work that has the potential to move us into a new theoretical epoch no less than a new century. His work holds out the promise of synthesis and support for psychologists, sociologists, and all who work with groups and organizations of all kinds.

Why do engineers "report" while philosophers "argue" and biologists "describe"? In the Michigan Classics Edition of Disciplinary Discourses: Social Interactions in AcademicWriting, Ken Hyland examines the relationships between the cultures of academic communities and their unique discourses. Drawing on discourse analysis, corpus linguistics, and the voices of professional insiders, Ken Hyland explores how academics use language to organize their professional lives, carry out intellectual tasks, and reach agreement on what will count as knowledge. In addition, Disciplinary Discourses presents a useful framework for understanding the interactions between writers and their readers in published academic writing. From this framework, Hyland provides practical teaching suggestions and points out opportunities for further research within the subject area. As issues of linguistic and rhetorical expression of disciplinary conventions are becoming more central to teachers, students, and researchers, the careful analysis and straightforward style of Disciplinary Discourses make it a remarkable asset. The Michigan Classics Edition features a new preface by the author and a new foreword by John M. Swales.

Mediated Discourse as Social Interaction makes an explicit link between media studies and social interactionalist discursive research where previously the two fields of study have been treated as separate disciplines. This text presents an integrated theory illustrated by ample concrete examples, bringing together the latest research in these two fields. It offers a critique to the sender-receiver model implicit in media studies, and argues for an analysis of media discourse as social interaction, on the one hand among journalists and newsmakers as a community of practice, and among readers and viewers as a spectating community of practice on the other. The book also argues for a coherent and interdiscursive methodology for the ethnographic study of the role of the news media in the social construction of identity and is based on a considerable body of ethnographic and textual analysis of both print and television news media. The theory of mediated discourse presented in this volume will be of great interest to advanced undergraduates and postgraduates studying media studies, sociology of language, discourse analysis, interactional sociolinguistics, ethnography of communication and applied linguistics. It will also be welcomed by scholars and professionals involved in research in these areas.

"How do you go from a bunch of cells to something that can think?" This question, asked by the 9-year-old son of one of the authors, speaks to a puzzle that lies at the heart of this book. How are we as humans able to explore such questions about our own origins, the workings of our mind, and more? In this fascinating volume, developmental psychologists Jeremy Carpendale and Charlie Lewis delve into how such human capacities for reflection and self-awareness pinpoint a crucial facet of human intelligence that sets us apart from closely related species and artificial intelligence. Richly illustrated with examples, including questions and anecdotes from their own children, they bring theories and research on children’s development alive. The accessible prose shepherds readers through scientific and philosophical debates, translating complex theories and concepts for psychologists and non-psychologists alike. What Makes Us Human is a compelling introduction to current debates about the processes through which minds are constructed within relationships. Challenging claims that aspects of thinking are inborn, Jeremy Carpendale and Charlie Lewis provide a relationally grounded way of understanding human development by showing how the uniquely human capacities of language, thinking, and morality develop in children through social processes. They explain the emergence of communication within the rich network of relationships in which babies develop. Language is an extension of this earlier communication, gradually also becoming a tool for thinking that can be applied to understanding others and morality. Learning more about the development of what is right in front of us, such as babies’ actions developing into communicative gestures, leads to both greater appreciation of the children in our lives and a grasp of what makes us human. This book will be of interest to anyone curious about the nature of language, thinking, and morality, including students, parents, teachers, and professionals working with children.

Your guide to a higher score on the NYSTCE? Why CliffsTestPrep Guides? Go with the name you know and trust Get the information you need--fast! Written by test-prep specialists About the contents: Introduction * Overview of the test * Tips for answering multiple-choice questions Part I: Subject Review * Focused reviews cover all subjects tested, including: English Language Arts; Mathematics; Science and Technology; Social Studies; The Fine Arts; Health and Fitness; Family and Consumer Science and Career Development; Foundations of Reading: Constructed-Response Assignment * Subareas focus on specific skills within the subjects * Questions within the review sections emphasize key concepts and skills Part II: Two Full-Length Practice Tests * Practice tests are structured like the actual test * Answers and explanations help enhance your understanding and pinpoint areas for further review Test-Prep Essentials from the Experts at CliffsNotes? More than Notes! CliffsAP? CliffsComplete? CliffsQuickReview? CliffsTestPrep? CliffsStudySolver An American BookWorks Project Contributors: Linda Anderson, MFA; Jana Dixon, EdM; Sara Dubow, PhD; Chandra J. Foote, PhD; Debrah Goldberg, PhD; John Niman, PhD; Paula Pierson, MFA; Josette C. Seibles, PhD; Ken Springer, PhD; Mark Turner, DMA; Laraine Wallowitz, PhD

This third volume of "Information and Behavior "shows broad continuities with previous volumes in this series, but it also represents an important evolution. In emphasizing theoretical advances in mediation, information, and communication processes, this volume has unifying themes at the cutting edge of communication research, linking communication with areas as far-ranging as cognitive psychology, intellectual history, social psychology, policy, and macroeconomics. A sampling of the contents indicates both continuities and discontinuities of communication research embodied in this volume. Contributions include Joseph Turow, "Mass Communication as Concept"; Gary Grumpert and Robert Cathcart, "A Theory of Mediation;" Leah Lievrouw and T. Andrew Finn, "Common Dimensions of Communication"; Joshua Meyrowitz, "Mediated and Unmediated Behavior"; Kathleen Reardon, "Teaching Children About AIDS"; Sari Thomas, "The Death of Intellectual History and the Birth of the Transient Past"; Sheizaf Rafaeli, "Interacting with Media." The second part of the work, emphasizing research and policy in specific information societies and regions, includes an opening essay by Everett M. Rogers, and follow-up studies by Judith K. Larsen on "Silicon Valley"; Quentin W. Lindsey on "The North Carolina Research Triangle"; Luis Fonseca, "High Technology in Brazil"; Ruyzo Ogasawara, "High Technology in Japan"; and Mitchell Moss, "Telecommunications and Financial Centers." The final two portions of the book cover social theory and cultural processes. They include articles by Jerry Salvaggio and Richard Nelson, "Models for Developing Telecommunications and Information Industries"; Everett M. Rogers and James Dearing, "University-Industry Technology Transfer"; Frederick Williams, "The Communications Revolution Revisited"; Rolf Wigand, "Recurring Questions about the Information Society"; Lee Thayer, "Tropes and Things"; Gordon L. Miller, "The Energy of Intelligence"; David Carr, "Thinking in Museums;" Benjamin J. Bates, "Information as an Economic Good"; Jorge Schement and Daniel Stout, "A Time-Line of Information Technology."