Books by Peter Harder

Tusindvis af lønmodtagere frustreres hver dag over forkerte ledelsesbeslutninger, truffet af chefer, som mangler indsigt i virksomhedens daglige drift. Denne bog er en håndsrækning til dem. I det sidste årti er det gået dårligt for en række virksomheder, der tidligere var velfungerende. Bogen viser, hvordan dårlig ledelse har været en trussel mod universiteterne, A.P. Møller – Mærsk, IBM, sundhedsvæsenet og SKAT. Alle steder er der kommet større afstand mellem magt og indsigt. Hvad gør man, hvis tingene ikke fungerer, som de skal? Ledelse er i stigende grad blevet set som svaret, og derfor er der over en bred bank sket en oprustning og selvstændiggørelse af ledelsens rolle, både i private og offentlige virksomheder.Man har sandsynligvis antaget, at styrket ledelse betyder bedre ledelse – en ledelse, der sætter turbo på løsningen af virksomhedens opgaver. Men hvad så i tilfælde, hvor ledelsen er problemet snarere end løsningen? For det menige personale er det svært – hvis ikke umuligt – at råbe ledelsen op. Og ikke alene isolerer ledelserne sig fra virkeligheden; de medvirker også til at sløre tingenes tilstand, bl.a. ved hjælp af misinformation til offentligheden. Denne bog er et forsøg på at imødegå denne uheldige udvikling.

Meaning is embodied - but it is also social. If Cognitive Linguistics is to be a complete theory of language in use, it must cover the whole spectrum from grounded cognition to discourse struggles and bullshit. This book tries to show how. Cognitive Linguistics knocked down the wall between language and the experiential content of the human mind. Frame semantics, embodiment, conceptual construal, figure-ground organization, metaphorical mapping, and mental spaces are among the results of this breakthrough, which at the same time provided cognitive science as a whole with an essential human dimension. A new phase began when Cognitive Linguistics started to see itself as part of the wider movement of 'usage-based' linguistics. Bringing about an alliance between mind and discourse, it complemented the conceptual dimension that had been dominant until then with a 'use' dimension - thereby living up to the explicit 'experiential' commitment of Cognitive Linguistics. This outward expansion is continuing: The focus on 'meaning construction', which began with the theory of blending, highlights emergent, online effects rather than underlying mappings. Cognitive Linguistics is integrating the evolutionary perspective, which links up individual and population-based features of language. The empirical obligations incurred by this expansion have led to greatly increased attention to corpus and experimental methods, especially in relation to sociolinguistic and language acquisition research. The book describes this development and goes on to discuss the foundational challenge that it creates for Cognitive Linguistics as it begins to cover issues that are also central to types of discourse analysis focusing on social processes of determination. The book argues for a synthesis based on a renewed Cognitive Linguistics, which can accommodate everything from bodily grounding to deconstructible floating signifiers in an integrated complete picture, which also covers the roles of arbitrariness and structure.

TRENDS IN LINGUISTICS is a series of books that open new perspectives in our understanding of language. The series publishes state-of-the-art work on core areas of linguistics across theoretical frameworks, as well as studies that provide new insights by approaching language from an interdisciplinary perspective. TRENDS IN LINGUISTICS considers itself a forum for cutting-edge research based on solid empirical data on language in its various manifestations, including sign languages. It regards linguistic variation in its synchronic and diachronic dimensions as well as in its social contexts as important sources of insight for a better understanding of the design of linguistic systems and the ecology and evolution of language. TRENDS IN LINGUISTICS publishes monographs and outstanding dissertations as well as edited volumes, which provide the opportunity to address controversial topics from different empirical and theoretical viewpoints. High quality standards are ensured through anonymous reviewing.

Vi har ytringsfrihed i Danmark. Og der er masser af fri debat i alle medier. Kvantiteten fejler ikke noget. Men hvad med kvaliteten? Kan man sige noget om hvad der er god debat ud over at den skal være fri? Og har vi en god debat? Hvis ikke, hvad er der så i vejen? Er debatterne i medierne bare verbale kamphandlinger hvor ingen lytter til de andre? Er Folketingets debatter bare rituel stammedans som en nuværende folketingspolitiker har sagt? Og hvordan får vi danskere så nogle bedre debatter at være vidner til? I bogen her bliver disse spørgsmål taget op og besvaret af syv af den offentlige debats deltagere og iagttagere en politiker, to avisredaktører og fire forskere.Bogen er selv et debatoplæg der kan danne grundlag for undervisning og diskussion om offentlig debat på alle niveauer, fra ungdomsuddannelserne og opefter.