Scholars from various disciplines have studied humor since antiquity. Yet, over the centuries, these researchers have also struggled to conceptualize a viable, well-accepted notion of humor. Beyond pleasure and amusement, people use humor for a variety of social functions. On the one hand, humor can cause others to like the humorous source more, attract regard, ease conversations, promote expression and the exchange of ideas, introduce new topics of discussion, or smooth interactions. On the other hand, in aggressive forms, humor can halt verbal interactions, modify the usual rules of conversation, communicate critiques, or contribute to the creation of subversive environments. Not All Claps and Cheers: Humor in Business and Society Relationships is an original research anthology that considers different angles from which to address the use of humor by individuals, groups and business actors in their interactions within, around, and across organizations—that is, at the interfaces of business and society. Accordingly, the research anthology is organized in four sections—"Humor, Business and Society," "From Society to Business: Humor’s Use and Roles in Activist Movements," "From Business to Society: Humor’s Use and Roles in Marketing, Corporate Communications, and Public Relations," and "Society within Business: Humor’s Use and Roles in the Workplace and in Organizations." This ground-breaking research anthology draws on material from marketing, communications, human resources and stakeholder theory to throw light on this poorly understood facet of human business behavior.

Linguistic Theories of Humor appeared thirty years ago. It attracted a lot of attention and ended up being one of the most quoted books in the linguistics of humor. Partly due to its broad coverage which includes both theoretical and socio-pragmatic aspects and partly due to the depth of its bibliography it remained an indispensable reference in many areas, despite the growth of the field. The original fully corrected text is supplemented by a long essay, in which the author revisits the topics of the book to discuss how three decades have shifted the perspective of the field.

By examining key psychologists from the past, this book shows why examples are so important and theory is over-valued.

A summer of great fun is now over for kids in one neighborhood as many of them can't wait to go back to school—EXCEPT ONE. A kid that goes by the name of "Saggy Socks" isn't so thrilled to end his summer losing a miserably-played game of football with a group of friends. Saggy Socks wants a rematch with the same group of friends—to win this time, once and for all—and to end the summer vacation the way he wanted.

This book is the first-ever authoritative work on the use and management of humor in the workplace. It is a practical guide for everyone involved: the humorists (‘jokers’), the targets (sometimes ‘victims’), the observers (‘audience’) and most of all the managers who have to ‘set the tone’ and encourage, control and manage humor. Humor is part and parcel of every workplace. However, while it usually demonstrates and fosters a united, happy workforce, it can at times be deeply damaging and divisive. The authors – academics with vast organizational experience and a research-based understanding of humor at work – bring together state-of-the art knowledge of the topic, making it fun, accessible and readable for all humor participants. The topics include how humor works, humor cultures in organizations, the many forms of workplace humor and their pros and cons, humor rituals at work, digital humor, workplace jokers, the 21st century issue of ‘political correctness’, and both the ‘bright side’ of humor (assisting positive cultures, making work ‘fun’), and its ‘dark side’ (where humor offends and humiliates). With over 60 ‘real life’ illustrative stories of workplace humor, a self-completion questionnaire to measure the Humor Climate in your organization, end-of-chapter ‘takeaways’ and an end-of-book summary advocating ‘best practice’, the book is a ‘fun’, how-to-do-it guide that will both inform and entertain.

In a world filled with disappointments, where many people have lost any sense of hope and purpose, Billy Strayhorn reminds readers that Jesus Christ is the hope that does not disappoint. And noting that hope and faith go hand in hand, his messages point the way toward a life filled with hope and possibilities through faith in God. Strayhorn's sermons explore second lesson passages from the Revised Common Lectionary (many drawn from Paul's letters) for Pentecost and the weeks immediately following. And Pentecost is an apt focus -- as the church's "birthday," it is the day that the hopes and dreams of Jesus' disciples and followers began to take shape. While pastors will find in these hope-filled pages a jumping-off place for their own sermons, anyone who wants a closer relationship with God will benefit from this inspiring and uplifting volume. Titles include: - Bewitched, Bothered, And Bewildered -- Acts 2:1-21 - A Hope That Does Not Disappoint -- Romans 5:1-5 - Born And Called -- Galatians 1:11-24 - Bear One Another's Burdens -- Galatians 6: (1-6) 7-16 - Get Your Transfer Here -- Colossians 1:1-14 ... and more! Billy D. Strayhorn is a graduate of Central Methodist College (Fayette, Missouri) and Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University. He has pastored many congregations in Texas and Missouri, and now serves at First United Methodist Church in Joshua, Texas. Strayhorn's sermons and sermon briefs have been featured in several outlets, including Dynamic Preaching and Preaching magazines as well as the Abingdon Preaching Annual.

The Routledge Handbook of Discourse Analysis covers the major approaches to discourse analysis from critical discourse analysis to multimodal discourse analysis and their applications in key educational and institutional settings. The handbook is divided into eight sections: Approaches to Discourse Analysis, Gender, Race and Sexualities, Narrativity and Discourse, Genre and Register, Spoken Discourse, Social Media and Online Discourse, Educational Applications and Institutional Applications. The chapters are written by a wide range of contributors from around the world, each a leading researcher in their respective field. With a focus on the application of discourse analysis to real-life problems, the contributors introduce the reader to a topic and analyse authentic data. This fully revised second edition includes new sections on Gender, Race and Sexualities, Narrativity and Discourse, Genre and Register, Spoken Discourse, Social Media and Online Discourse and nine new chapters on topics such as digital communication and public policy and political discourse. This volume is vital reading for all students and researchers of discourse analysis in linguistics, applied linguistics, communication and cultural studies, social psychology and anthropology.