ISSN – serie

Dynamic language practices of African multilingual speakers have not been cogently described in a book-length manuscript. This book challenges assumptions that led to South Africa's 11 official languages and makes a case for mutual inter-comprehensibility. Students, teachers, and scholars in sociolinguistics, multilingualism, translanguaging, and teacher education will find this book thought-provoking.

Sophisticated problem solving in strategic communication or public relations (PR) is done through planning, strategic communication planning. The focus of this book is to meld current trends in social media to strategic communications planning in the field of PR. The definition of social media used here is channels delivering web-based information created by people to improve communication. This work used the strategic communication plan based on Wilson and Ogden's (2014) work for basic structure and an operational definition of strategic communication developed by one of the authors. The steps in a typical strategic communication campaign that will be affected include goals, measurable objectives, the big idea, key publics, message design, strategies and tactics and evaluation or return on investment. This book covers the major social media platforms and addresses branding, crisis communications, entertainment and sports, citizen journalism, and analytics. The contribution to the body of knowledge should be highly significant, affecting the way PR professionals go about devising and conducting strategic communication campaigns in light of the effect of social media as well as how academics teach the process in their classrooms.

Business Sustainability Factors of Performance, Risk, and Disclosure examines sustainability factors of performance, risk and disclosure. The five dimensions of sustainability performance are economic, governance, social, ethical, and environmental (EGSEE).Business sustainability is advancing from the greenwashing and branding to, very recently, business imperative as shareholders demand, regulators require, and companies report their sustainability performance. Sustainability has become economic and strategic imperative with potential to create opportunities and risks for businesses.Business Sustainability Factors of Performance, Risk, and Disclosure examines sustainability factors of performance, risk and disclosure. The five dimensions of sustainability performance are economic, governance, social, ethical, and environmental (EGSEE). Sustainability risks are reputational, strategic, operational, compliance, and financial (RSOCF). Sustainability disclosures are relevant to financial economic sustainability performance (ESP) and non-financial environmental, social, and governance (ESG) sustainability performance with ethics are integrated into all other components of sustainability performance.This book offers guidance for proper measurement, recognition, and reporting of all five EGSEE dimensions of sustainability performance. It also highlights how people, business, and resources collaborate in a business sustainability and accountability model in creating shared value for all stakeholders. The three sustainability factors of performance, risk and disclosure are driven from the stakeholder primacy concept with the mission of profit-with-purpose. Anyone who is involved with business sustainability and corporate governance, the financial reporting process, investment decisions, legal and financial advising, and audit functions will benefit from this book.

This book is primarily focused on the post-pandemic Gen Z and Millennial business opportunities, most of which didn't even exist a generation ago.No one will forget the year 2020.The year that a pandemic shut down social, work, and public contact.There are two particular changes that have had a pronounced effect on business and finance, which this book will provide the guidance currently lacking in traditional business school texts.The first is the change from commuting to work to sheltering-in-place, with students and professionals on videoconferencing apps such as Zoom. Likely a lasting change, we can expect many office spaces will remain empty and many businesses will stick with the new work-from-home change.The second change is that the younger generation is the first to suffer a setback in terms of the standard of living compared to their parents. Not only do more than half of Americans have less than $1,000 in savings, but they eschew traditional corporate cubicles, preferring instead to juggle multiple and new 'hustles and side gigs.'This book is primarily focused on the post-pandemic Gen Z and Millennial business opportunities, most of which didn't even exist a generation ago.

Phillis Wheatley was the first African American to publish a book of poetry. In 1773, her book, Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, was published to international acclaim. Wheatley was presented In London as "the African genius," and her writing was published in New England and England alike. Phillis Wheatley's name was known in households throughout literate North America. Yet Phillis Wheatley was a slave.In Phillis, Alison Clarke reaches through time to tell the story of this remarkable woman. Through a series of poems and prose-poems, Clarke presents Wheatley's world with depth and liveliness, reimagining the past for a modern audience while bringing sensibility and passion to the story of Wheatley's life. Wheatley's story is told in first-person poetry that illuminates significant chapters of her life, capturing the brilliant heights of her writing career along with the inevitable, brutal injustices she faced as an enslaved black person in North America.Interspersed with poems written from the viewpoint of Black intellectuals and entrepreneurs who were themselves inspired by Wheatley, this is a collection of poetry that celebrates the resilience and accomplishments of Black History in general and one remarkable woman in particular.

Louise Till, mother of two, has inherited her father's hardware store after her parents' unexpected deaths. She begins to cut copies of her customers' keys for herself, each one a talisman against grief and the terrible guilt she feels at not having realized that her parents were desperately unhappy. Louise could use the keys, but she doesn't. Not until her life is overturned, again, when her marriage falls apart. Lou gives in to temptation, letting herself into Euphemia Rosenbaum's home. What follows is a tale of blackmail, break-ins, an unsolved mystery, and more secrets than Lou ever wanted to know.Lou must confront not only the lives of her neighbors, but the unspoken truths of her family and the doors within herself for which there are no keys. Told over the course of one long winter, Unlocking is a poignant and penetrating exploration of grief, community, family, and the secrets we keep, even from ourselves.

Devin died five years ago. She got an infection, lost her arm, and died. How can Devin be in a picture posted online today?This picture of Devin, alive when she should not be alive, triggers of a journey of grief and discovery as the young woman convinced that she caused Devin's death sets out to discover whether Devin may actually be alive, and whether she can be forgiven. Along the way she steals identities, picking up and discarding the people she may or may not be as she struggles with her guilt, and to come to terms with her own bisexuality. As her sense of self unravels, she meets Calgary hippies, a car thief, and an ice cream loving corpse. Disappearing in Reverse is a mystery, a road novel, and a coming of age story. Blending past and present, the self and the other, it crosses genres and defies categorization to be met and addressed on its own terms. Fearless and vulnerable, unabashed and wounded, this is a story of the liminal places where expectations falter and the unexpected thrives.

This book provides insights into an understanding of disruptive leadership. It explores the key success factors for digital transformation of organizations in the highly disruptive, increasingly VUCA-driven era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.Disruption is happening everywhere and in every aspect of our lives. It is happening at a scale and speed that is unprecedented in modern history, impacting diverse industries, from financial services to retail, media, logistics and supply chain, manufacturing, education, professional services, and life sciences. Leaders are finding it challenging to navigate the near-insurmountable challenges resulting from the impact of these disruptive events on their organizations.The right leadership is critical for organizations to thrive in a disruptive business environment. How should we define leadership in such an environment? Are the current leadership practices and competencies still relevant in the face of such disruption? What are the attributes of a "disruptive digital leader"? How can leaders set themselves up not only to survive but also to thrive in navigating the challenges of disruptive events and crises?This book provides insights into an understanding of disruptive leadership. It explores the key success factors for digital transformation of organizations in the highly disruptive, increasingly VUCA-driven era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (also known as Industry 4.0). The book also examines the fundamental qualities of disruptive leadership that would distinguish successful leaders as they guide their organizations through the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the digital transformation at the workplace.