John Harris

This book is as much about phonological theory as about the phonology of English. It is primarily designed as a university-level text for use on intermediate and advanced courses, but it will be of value to anyone interested in recent theoretical developments in the field.

The development of biotechnology has produced nothing short of a revolution, both in our capacity to manipulate living things from single plant cells to human nature itself, but also to manufacture brand new life forms. This power to shape and create forms of life has sometimes been described as the power to "play God" and this book is about the ethics of "playing God" in the field of biotechnology. International scholars cover moral dilemmas posed by biotechnology, from the smallest cells through animals to the engineering of human beings.

Medieval Theatre in Context is the first systematic attempt to relate the development of medieval drama – both Christian and pagan – to contemporary society and the Christian church.

This collection of essays is devoted to the industrial history of England and France in the 18th century and concentrates in particular on transfers of technology between them. There are specific studies of technical transfer in the steel, glass and hardware industries, and on the place of the skills of the workmen in the diffusion of technology. Industrial espionage, too, early had its place, and one essay investigates why it was resorted to and how it was carried out. In the new introductory chapter, John Harris surveys the rise of a new range of technologies in England, based on dramatic increase in the use of coal, and emphasises that this was basic to British industrial leadership and a main reason for her expertise being desired abroad. Throughout, the part played by individuals - from inventors and entrepreneurs to managers, ministers and skilled workers - is regarded as essential to the process of industrial development. Ce recueil est voué à l’histoire industrielle de l’Angleterre et de la France au 18e siècle et se concentre plus particulièrement sur les transferts de technologie entre les deux pays. Certaines études traitent spécifiquement des échanges techniques dans l’industrie de l’acier et celle du verre, ainsi que de l’importance de la compétence des ouvriers quant à la diffusion de la technologie. L’espionage industriel, qui lui aussi a rapidement vu jour, fait le sujet d’un article enquêtant sur sa raison d’être et les méthodes employées. Dans le nouveau chapître d’introduction, John Harris évalue l’essor d’un nouvel éventail de technologie en Angleterre, basé sur l’augmentation dramatique de la consommation de charbon; il insiste que ce fait était à la base de la préponderance industrielle britannique et l’une des raisons principales pour lesquelles son expertise était si recherchée à l’étranger. Le rôle joué par l’individu - de l’inventeur à l’administrateur en passant par les e

Phonological Variation and Change presents an investigation of a number of areas of current interest in the study of language change, dealing in particular with questions of how patterns of pronunciation vary across both time and space. Most of the illustrative material is drawn from nonstandard dialects of English, especially the varieties spoken in Ireland (Hiberno-English). The theoretical issues discussed include the following: What role do articulatory and linguistic constraints play in determining the direction of sound change? What effect, if any, do standard linguistic norms have on the evolution of nonstandard dialects? How do social and political pressures influence the resolution of competition between conflicting local nonstandard linguistic norms? Besides addressing these general issues, the book also offers new insights into several specific areas in the history of English, both in its standard and vernacular forms.

First published in 1985. Medical ethics is a vitally important subject and currently a highly controversial one. Recent cases have highlighted both the intellectual and moral challenges posed by the dilemmas of modern medicine and their significance for us all. John Harris fives a fully up-to-date survey of the issues in this crucial field of applied ethics, including in vitro fertilisation and experimentation on human embryos.