Language in international business: a review and agenda for future research

A fast growing number of studies demonstrates that language diversity influences almost all management decisions in modern multinational corporations. Whereas no doubt remains about the practical importance of language, the empirical investigation and theoretical conceptualization of its complex and multifaceted effects still presents a substantial challenge. To summarize and evaluate the current state of the literature in a coherent picture informing future research, we systematically review 264 articles on language in international business. We scrutinize the geographic distributions of data, evaluate the field’s achievements to date in terms of theories and methodologies, and summarize core findings by individual, group, firm, and country levels of analysis. For each of these dimensions, we then put forward a future research agenda. We encourage scholars to transcend disciplinary boundaries and to draw on, integrate, and test a variety of theories from disciplines such as psychology, linguistics, and neuroscience to gain a more profound understanding of language in international business. We advocate more multi-level studies and cross-national research collaborations and suggest greater attention to potential new data sources and means of analysis

A Robust Parser-Interpreter for Jazz Chord Sequences

Hierarchical structure similar to that associated with prosody and syntax in language can be identified in the rhythmic and harmonic progressions that underlie Western tonal music. Analysing such musical struc-ture resembles natural language parsing: it requires the derivation of an underlying interpretation from an un-structured sequence of highly ambiguous elements— in the case of music, the notes. The task here is not merely to decide whether the sequence is grammati-cal, but rather to decide which among a large number of analyses it has. An analysis of this sort is a part of the cognitive processing performed by listeners familiar with a musical idiom, whether musically trained or not. Our focus is on the analysis of the structure of ex-pectations and resolutions created by harmonic progres-sions. Building on previous work, we define a theory of tonal harmonic progression, which plays a role analo-gous to semantics in language. Our parser uses a formal grammar of jazz chord sequences, of a kind widely used for natural language processing (NLP), to map music, in the form of chord sequences used by performers, onto a representation of the structured relationships between chords. It uses statistical modelling techniques used for wide-coverage parsing in NLP to make practical pars-ing feasible in the face of considerable ambiguity in the grammar. Using machine learning over a small corpus of jazz chord sequences annotated with harmonic anal-yses, we show that grammar-based musical interpreta-tion using simple statistical parsing models is more ac-curate than a baseline HMM. The experiment demon-strates that statistical techniques adapted from NLP can be profitably applied to the analysis of harmonic struc-ture

General anaesthetic and airway management practice for obstetric surgery in England: a prospective, multi-centre observational study

There are no current descriptions of general anaesthesia characteristics for obstetric surgery, despite recent changes to patient baseline characteristics and airway management guidelines. This analysis of data from the direct reporting of awareness in maternity patients' (DREAMY) study of accidental awareness during obstetric anaesthesia aimed to describe practice for obstetric general anaesthesia in England and compare with earlier surveys and best-practice recommendations. Consenting patients who received general anaesthesia for obstetric surgery in 72 hospitals from May 2017 to August 2018 were included. Baseline characteristics, airway management, anaesthetic techniques and major complications were collected. Descriptive analysis, binary logistic regression modelling and comparisons with earlier data were conducted. Data were collected from 3117 procedures, including 2554 (81.9%) caesarean deliveries. Thiopental was the induction drug in 1649 (52.9%) patients, compared with propofol in 1419 (45.5%). Suxamethonium was the neuromuscular blocking drug for tracheal intubation in 2631 (86.1%), compared with rocuronium in 367 (11.8%). Difficult tracheal intubation was reported in 1 in 19 (95%CI 1 in 16-22) and failed intubation in 1 in 312 (95%CI 1 in 169-667). Obese patients were over-represented compared with national baselines and associated with difficult, but not failed intubation. There was more evidence of change in practice for induction drugs (increased use of propofol) than neuromuscular blocking drugs (suxamethonium remains the most popular). There was evidence of improvement in practice, with increased monitoring and reversal of neuromuscular blockade (although this remains suboptimal). Despite a high risk of difficult intubation in this population, videolaryngoscopy was rarely used (1.9%)

Weak monosyllables in iambic verse and the communication of metrical form

Generative theories of English iambic pentameter can explain the distribution of prominent syllables (strong syllables in polysyllables) but are not well suited to explaining the complementary facts about the distribution of non-prominent syllables (such as the articles). This paper shows that non-prominent syllables are regularly distributed but less regularly than prominent syllables, and suggests that these facts are not well suited to a generative metrical account. Instead, these regularities are explained by understanding the organisation of the verseline as constituting ostensive evidence for its metrical type, in keeping with the general requirement for verbal art to draw attention to its own form

Literary studies in action

Literary Studies in Action is a new kind of textbook: a combination of workbook and handbook. Instead of just outlining the discipline of literary studies, Literary Studies in Action helps the student to answer questions about its history and current practice: about what to do and how to do it, and why literature has been and can be studied. In doing so, it attempts to develop an informed view of where the object of our study in literary studies' fits into larger patterns of knowledge and thought. The numerous examples chosen for analysis range over the last thousand years of writing in English throughout the world, and include a variety of different kinds of texts. Literary Studies in Action also contains over a hundred practical activities for the student, to develop practical analytical skills and structure theoretical work. This is a textbook for the times, which addresses itself brilliantly to the twin phenomena of expanding horizons and diminishing resources of English studies.' - David Lodg

How to write essays and dissertations: a guide for English literature students. 2nd edition

The first book that literature students should read, this guide reveals the distinct set of skills, conventions and methods of essay and dissertation writing. Taking students through the various stages of writing, from planning to final submission, it offers specific guidelines and a lively, detailed commentary on actual examples of student work at each stage

Metrical rules and the notion of ‘maximum’ : a reply to Derek Attridge

Attridge (2003) is in effect an argument against generative metrics, focusing on the notion of ‘stress maximum’. He argues that ‘stress maximum’ is inadequate on its own terms, which I will show is incorrect when we use a fuller definition (based on the original definition from Halle and Keyser, 1966). His solution is to present metre as control directly over the phonetics of the text, but I will show that metre controls metrical elements (maxima) rather than phonetic elements (stressed syllables)

The linguistics of writing: arguments between language and literature

Revised and edited version of an academic conference held at the University of Strathclyde, July 1986. Includes bibliographical references and indexes