*** FREDERIC PERON (Ed.): L'Europe dans la société de l'information. De Boeck/Larcier (39 rue des Minimes, B-1000 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 5480711 - Fax: (32-10) 482750 - Internet: http://www.larcier.com ). 2008, 230 pp. ISBN 978-2-8044-2982-9.
Set up six years ago at 'Université Paris-Sud 11', the French 'Institut du Droit de l'Espace et des Télécommunications' (Institute of Space and Telecommunications Law) has the good habit of organising an annual conference on Europe in the Information Society to assess the implications and legal questions surrounding what can now, thirty years on, be described as a permanent revolution. The academic conference reported upon in this book took place in Romania thanks to the aid of the "Simion Barnutiu" law faculty. All essays attempt in a highly erudite fashion to elucidate various aspects of the legal framework for electronic communications in Europe and stress the need, as the French institute's director, Philippe Achilleas, explains in the foreword, for a "boosting of the intercultural relations vital for achieving a single telecoms market". All essays try and build bridges between law and technology first of all, and then between law and society's mores which assert themselves in this revolutionary epoch we are living through without our always being aware of them.
The first part of the book looks at the current state of electronic communications law, while the second looks more specifically at management of the digital divide. The book look at the review of the Telecoms Package initiated by the European Commission, the traditional or new regulations required by high speed phones, convergence, management of radio frequencies, the correct regulation model for new generation networks, the legal issues surrounding broadcasting in the light of the 'audiovisual media services' directive, adjustments to commercial law required by e-commerce and how e-commerce impacts on privacy and data protection. The authors make scientific analyses that will delight specialist lawyers and other experts in areas like DVD on demand, VOIP, unified messaging and Web 2.0…
Over and above these areas of highly specialised interest, the book also contains chapters which will enable Everyman at the start of this second millennium to understand the extent to which, without one really being aware of it, this issue is the subject and cause of a major revolution in the history of humanity. A revolution that Xavier Aucompte of the 'Université Paris Dauphine' (and co-founder of the 'Blog de la Communauté des Managers Intranet') argues is comparable with the major discoveries that had Christopher Columbus, Magellan and others scuttling off to the far corners of the earth, with new technology like the compass (and galleons) revolutionising society, followed by the invention of printing by Gutenberg, which helped knowledge spread in a totally new way and change for good, and finally the creative waves of the end of the nineteenth century that saw Jules Vernes replace Leonardo da Vinci and take part in a revolution that was more than simply an industrial revolution. So many key points when human beings moved "on a stage due to new technology," and which, above all, showed human beings' "desire to live in a new world and the strength of their creative and innovative imaginations" that would change the world. The authors of this book argue that we are living at an equally comparable, equally fundamental, turning-point. "The Information Society is not a specific organisation, a tool or a set of tools, a trade or a corporation of various trades. It is the creation of a new way of human beings exchanging information, for the first time outside any geographical or community framework. Human beings have outgrown the tool by owning it," explains Xavier Aucompte, arguing that this means that the Information Society revolution is underway, taking form in habits and ways of life that will engender a new humanity. We are all clearly described, well those at least who are not victims of the digital divide, as the artisans of a new world and law, technology, enterprise and political circles are now finding themselves forced to adapt, to change their ways in order to espouse the twenty-first century which is being fashioned under the cover of the technological revolution: "There are no revolutions without new tools. But the tool is not the revolution. At the heart of the revolution stands humanity. It is the tool being in daily use by the greatest number of people that turns it into a revolution".
Michel Theys
*** CARINE DOUTRELEPONT, FRANCOIS DUBUISSON (Eds.): Le droit d'auteur adapté à l'univers numérique - Nieuw auteursrecht voor de digitale wereld. Etablissements Bruylant (67 rue de la Régence, B-1000 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 5129842 - Fax: 5119477 - email: jean@bruylant.be - Internet: http://www.bruylant.ce ). "Faculté de droit de l'Université libre de Bruxelles" series, No. 56. 2008, 314 pp, €65. ISBN 978-2-8027-2556-5.
Following on from a conference at the Belgian Senate, this book makes a scientific analysis of changes in Belgian legislation when the 2001 EU directive harmonising aspects of copyright and intellectual property in the information society was transposed into Belgian law. Specialist lawyers look at the concept of creative 'works,' authors' ownership rights, the protection of technical measures, right of access, private copying and the exception system.
(PBo)
*** GEORGE ALAO, EVELYNE ARGAUD, MARTINE DERIVRY-PLARD, HELENE LECLERCQ (Eds.): Grandes et petites langues. Pour une didactique du plurilinguisme et du pluriculturalisme. Peter Lang (32 Hochfeldstrasse, Case postale 746, CH-3000 Bern 9. Tel: (41-32) 3761717 - Fax: 3761727 - Email: info@peterlang.com - Internet: http://www.peterlang.com ). "Transversales" series, No. 24. 2008, 315 pp, €53-90. ISBN 978-3-03911-578-5.
Following on from a conference at the Sorbonne in Paris, this book sees academics from five continents thrash out the subject of teaching multilingualism and multiculturalism, meaning the speaking of two or more languages or the practice of two or more cultures. What are the geopolitical and economic situations, past and present, that favour methodological contact between 'big' and 'small' languages? To what extent does linguistic policy back or hinder the promotion of language diversity? What are the relations of dominance, language representation and culture in which the process of linguistic recognition, language promotion and the spread of a language or languages take place? How is education and training organised in the face of a raft of languages? How are new objectives like biographical issues, xenophobia, xenophilia, mobility, immobility, speech and silence articulated in research on the teaching of language and culture? These are some of the questions to which the authors provide interesting, innovative scientific answers, revisiting commonly accepted information about the paths of learners and teachers, skills forged from the experience of living in a multi-lingual, multicultural situation at school (and elsewhere), the relationship between native and non-native speakers, and the design and selection of cultural material. Many contributions are of direct concern to Europe, ranging from the language spoken by Serbs in Bosnia to the history of French, a great language which is discovering multiculturalism in order to avoid turning into a small language, via the challenges of teaching Dutch in the Flemish region of France, to similarities between Romanian and French, and how Japanese students view English, French and German. An extremely comprehensive book, clearly aimed at an expert readership …
(PBo)
*** DANIELE MOORE, VERONIQUE CASTELLOTTI (Eds.): La compétence plurilingue: regards francophones. Peter Lang (see above). "Transversales", No. 23. 2008, 250 pp, €42. ISBN 978-3-03911-432-0.
In the modern world, particularly in the Europe of free circulation of individuals, the growth of mobility is influencing the way languages and cultures meet and is giving rise to forms of plurality. Against this backdrop, is the idea of 'multilingual and multicultural skills' an effective tool for describing the many skills of people living in a multilingual and multicultural situation? French-speaking European and North American researchers examine the different facets of this notion in configurations that combine, contrast and enmesh daily practice with language and education policies. Combining linguistics, pedagogy, psychology, social and cultural anthropology, ethnology, didactics, law, politics, neurolinguistics, sociology, history and the use of information technology, the book examines from various viewpoints a highly comprehensive overview of the interface between the French language, skills, multilingualism and multiculturalism.
(PBo)
*** GIULIANA GARZONE, CORNELIA ILIE (Eds.): The Use of English in Institutional and Business Settings. An Intercultural Perspective. Peter Lang (see above). "Linguistic Insights" series, No. 34. 2007, 372 pp, €64.20. ISBN 978-3-03910-889-3.
Although the range of languages is continuing to snowball in the European Union, the use of English is becoming ever more widespread in institutional and business settings. This book examines this trend and the inter-cultural problems that can arise from it. Is it a threat to cultural diversity? Is the lack of knowledge of the language by non-native speakers compared with native speakers a danger to the former? Questions addressed in terms of threats to diversity - language is never neutral and the use of English necessarily translates cultural trends proper to native English-speakers. The authors rely on existing research to try to determine the scale of the problem. The book is divided into four sections. The first looks at gender diversities in English used to sell products in international trade; the second at problems arising from "inevitable divergences and variations in conceptualisation and categorisation" from one country to another because the differences have a clear impact on the use of language and discursive practices; the third looks at variations in discourse, which can lead to ineffective communication or misunderstandings; and the fourth looks at intercultural issues connected with tête-à-tête communication. An interesting book that "provides a diversified picture of the issues involved in intercultural communication in organisational and institutional settings".
(TBa)
*** DAVID MARSH, DIETER WOLFF (Eds.): Diverse Contexts - Converging Goals. Peter Lang (see above). "Mehrsprachigkeit in Schule und Unterricht" series, No. 6. 2007, 362 pp, €39-20. ISBN 978-3-631-56905-4.
Devoted to the European school system, this book makes a detailed study of integrated content and language learning, an approach known by the acronym CLIL. The authors say that this example of the integration of school programmes which appeared in 1994 is a method that "has provided to be an innovative curricular approach in mainstream educational contexts and is clearly advancing rapidly". Hence the holding of the 2006 CLIL conference reported upon in this book, which aims to identify good practice in CLIL through inter-disciplinary dialogue between teachers, researchers, managers and other stakeholders. The authors aim to "articulate why and how" this good practice can lead to positive outcomes. They take a six-stage approach to this end, looking at the general importance of CLIL, ways of implementing it in the different education systems in Europe, analysis of current research projects, an impact study on the integration of content and language, practical issues and a description of CLIL work jointly carried out at European level. This is without doubt a highly successful book, clearly identifying problems with CLIL (lack of recognition, financial support, funding and administrative support). The authors reflect on ways the system could be improved (more teacher training, introducing professional development programmes, experimental projects, taking a new look at school learning, etc.).
(TBa)
*** JONAS MASDONATI: La transition entre école et monde du travail. Préparer les jeunes à l'entrée en formation professionnelle. Peter Lang (see above). "Exploration" series. 2007, 281 pp, €32-90. ISBN 978-3-03911-313-2.
How do young people experience the transition from school to professional training? Is it possible to help them at this crucial stage in their lives? Are existing aid measures effective? According to the author of this book, who devoted his PhD thesis to the subject, there is not enough research on these issues. He therefore argues that far more detailed consideration should go into young people moving directly into work and young people on sandwich courses, combining theory and practice, a very delicate and rich period of personal, social and professional development. Noting a worryingly high rate of people dropping out of apprenticeship in his home country, Switzerland, Jonas Masdonati stresses the gaps that face young people in the drawing up of intervention programmes and the lack of preventative measures to avert at-risk situations. The author aims to alleviate these weaknesses in this three-pronged research, looking at concepts (drawing up a theoretical model), operations (intervention to prepare young people for the transition to the world of work) and evaluation (the short and long-term impact of intervention). The research covers Switzerland alone but alos sets out ways the research could be extended to other countries and no doubt proves that it is possible to prepare young people in at-risk situations to prepare for the transition to the world of world.
(TBa)