Business Acquaintances Research Articles

Die Netzwerke des Hans Weigel by Wolfgang Straub

Reviewed by: Die Netzwerke des Hans Weigel by Wolfgang Straub Joseph McVeigh Wolfgang Straub, Die Netzwerke des Hans Weigel. Vienna: Sonderzahl, 2016. 306 pp. What was known about Hans Weigel before his personal papers became available some twenty years ago was primarily threefold: he was a cultural critic and author of lesser renown, he was an ardent and often strident Cold Warrior who helped organize the Brecht boycott on Viennese stages in the 1950s, and he saw himself as the “discoverer” of young writers, such as Ingeborg Bachmann, Ilse Aichinger, and many others. There has never been a dearth of publications that mention Weigel, if only because he was something of an institution in postwar Austrian culture. More recently, however, there has been a mini-boom in studies of Weigel and his work that have drawn on his extensive Nachlass to reveal a multifaceted writer, theater critic, translator, cabaretist, literary agent and, for a short time, actor (in a Brecht play—Mahagonny, no less!—in 1932). The publication in 2008 of Weigel’s autobiography of the years 1906 to 1938 (In die weite Welt hinein: [End Page 133] Erinnerungen eines kritischen Patrioten) traces his entry into the world of Vienna’s Kleinkunsttheater, including his work with Jura Soyfer and other notables in the years before the Anschluss. Then, in 2015, an authorized popular biography of the author appeared (Ich war einmal . . . Eine Biographie); it gave a comprehensive overview of Weigel’s life, work, and reception, albeit with limited citations. Wolfgang Straub’s study provides the first scholarly and well-documented portrayal of how Hans Weigel became an “institution” through the networks of individuals who helped shape him and his career paths. This focus on Weigel’s contacts, friends, and business acquaintances at the same time highlights many aspects of the cultural landscape of Vienna from the 1930s to his death in 1991. But Weigel’s networks were not just in Vienna; they included groups in Innsbruck around Lilly Sauter, in Berlin around Hilde Spiel, and in Salzburg around Ilse Leitenberger. The most influential individuals with whom he interacted were, of course, those in Vienna. Many of these figures met at the apartment of Hilde Polsterer, a set designer at the Theater in der Josefstadt whose cultural salon attracted many of the important, if not well-known figures of the time, such as the journalist Inge Morath, the publicist Zeno Liebl and his wife, the publicist and journalist Elizabeth “Bobbie” Löcker, through whom Weigel gained access to many publications, such as Der Turm, Film, Der Optimist, Die Europäische Rundschau, and many others. While emphasizing the help that Weigel received in establishing himself in Vienna, the author conversely downplays Weigel’s role as a mentor of young writers, arguing that they were more independent in furthering their own careers than has been recognized up to now. He goes a bit far, however, in saying that Weigel was not the “discoverer” of most of the young writers but rather that they came to him. To be sure, there were many other mentors of young writers in Vienna then, such as Hermann Hakel, Rudolf Felmayer, and Hans Löwe. But in the end, most of the young writers gravitated to Weigel, not least because of his perceived effectiveness in finding publishing opportunities for them. The author also cites Jeannie Ebner’s role as editor of the later volumes of the anthology Stimmen der Gegenwart as support for his claim that she, rather than Weigel, largely shaped these volumes. However, Ebner was Weigel’s personal secretary for a few years, beginning in 1952 and thus it is unsurprising that she corresponded with young writers chosen to be in the anthology. In fact, Straub undercuts his own argument somewhat by pointing out how the next generation of writers in the 1960s and 1970s recognized and [End Page 134] emulated his efforts. Gerhard Rühm, for example, a member of Weigel’s circle of young authors in the Café Raimund, published a collection of texts by the young authors of the Wiener Gruppe in 1967, while the Forum Stadtpark (1960) and Rauriser Literaturtage (1971) both invited him to speak about changes in the literary landscape...

Gender Effects and Cooperation Styles in the Facebook Community: A Quasi-Experimental Assessment

This paper examines gender effects reported in a quasi-experimental implementation of a social dilemma using Facebook profile owners as subjects. By sending personal invitations via Facebook interest groups, we were able to recruit a fairly large number of participants (N=216) who participated in a “one-shot” variation of the Voluntary Contribution Mechanism (VCM). In addition to participating in the social dilemma, participants provided information about their online profile and their attitude towards Facebook. We observed gender effects on the cooperation style of participants who use Facebook frequently in order to communicate not only with friends and family but also with work colleagues and business acquaintances.

Gender effects and cooperation styles in the Facebook community: A quasi-experimental assessment

This paper examines gender effects reported in a quasi-experimental implementation of a social dilemma using Facebook profile owners as subjects. By sending personal invitations via Facebook interest groups, we were able to recruit a fairly large number of participants (N=216) who participated in a “one-shot” variation of the Voluntary Contribution Mechanism (VCM). In addition to participating in the social dilemma, participants provided information about their online profile and their attitude towards Facebook. We observed gender effects on the cooperation style of participants who use Facebook frequently in order to communicate not only with friends and family but also with work colleagues and business acquaintances.

Haiti and the “Savage Slot”

Haiti and the “Savage Slot” Jemima Pierre I am an anthropologist. As an anthropologist I would like to begin with two ethnographic vignettes that document experiences that have helped me think through the intellectual and political legacies of Michel-Rolph Trouillot. My academic (and political) work has been particularly impacted by two of Trouillot’s essays. The first is “Anthropology and the Savage Slot: The Poetics and Politics of Otherness” (1991) and the second is “The Odd and the Ordinary: Haiti, the Caribbean, and the World” (1990). Together, these essays provide the template for rethinking not only the discipline of anthropology and the study of Haiti, but also the political economy of global white supremacy that structures the current neocolonial and neoliberal moment.1 The first ethnographic vignette takes place in Haiti. The second is in Ghana. The large wooden gate in front of Jet Set, a café and bar in Petionville, was slightly ajar. As our host, Jean,2 moved to the front of the group and pushed the door to lead us inside, we saw, just behind the gate, a Haitian guard sitting on a chair with a shotgun across his lap. He looked up with eyes that revealed no clear emotion as the five of us walked by him and into the open courtyard of the bar. The first thing I saw as I stepped into the courtyard was the big round table with about ten people—all blan3—wearing white T-shirts embossed with the bold “Doctors without Borders” logo. The people at the table were animated, jovial, their mood obviously enhanced by the bottles of Prestige beer and Rhum Barbancourt on the table. Their laughter followed us, echoing throughout the bar. On the stone wall behind this table, and behind the bartender, were draped two large flags—one of the United States, and the other of the Dominican Republic. As our group made its way into the dark, cavern-like space, we saw more tables, around all of which sat aid workers—though the other patrons looked like journalists—some wearing the obligatory khaki [End Page 110] vests and carrying cameras. At the bar, more people were seated; to the right of the bar, under a large spotlight, was another group of people crowding around a pool table. We found our seats in a back corner. As anthropologists are wont to do, I took notes on my surroundings. The first reaction among the non-Haitian members of our group was one of shock. A white colleague who was part of our post-earthquake assessment group4 was the first to comment on the obvious absurdity of our surroundings: “Are we really in an all-white place in the middle of Port-au-Prince?” she asked. To get to Jet Set that evening, we had to drive around throngs of people who, having just suffered the earthquake thirteen days prior, were still sleeping in the streets: without electricity, traumatized, and seemingly anonymous. My white colleague was incredulous and stated that, even as a white woman from the United States, she felt extremely uncomfortable in this space. We all mulled over her comments, and the discussion of the night was framed around this seeming contradiction. Yet my reaction was not so much discomfort as it was a numbed familiarity. I had encountered these kinds of environments before . . . But it was not in Haiti, it was in Africa—in Accra, Ghana—where I have done my ethnographic research over the past decade. Here, as I will argue, the parallels are clear, as postcolonial Africa necessarily inhabits the “savage slot” that Trouillot describes. And this leads to my second ethnographic example.5 I remember the first time I walked into Champs, a discreet but popular sports bar in Accra, known for its Tex-Mex menu, its karaoke nights, and its lively and boisterous clientele. It was a late Saturday evening in the summer of 2006, and I had accompanied a Ghanaian friend, Kemi, who was meeting a business acquaintance. My first reaction, as we ducked through the front door and stepped down into the basement-like venue, was shock. This shock was quickly followed by extreme discomfort. Kemi...

Climbing up the social ladder: godparental patterns among new entrants into the business elite in Finland in the nineteenth century

In this paper, I examine the structure and significance of godparentage in the process of social transition among the Finnish new bourgeoisie of the nineteenth century. Godparenthood is analyzed from the unexplored viewpoint of social upward mobility. Godparent relations are studied in two wealthy business families, the Parviainens and the Ahlströms, who both ascended from a farmer background to the economic elite within one generation during the latter part of nineteenth century. Characteristic of godparenthood interactions was the significant role of kinship, geographical vicinity and heightened consciousness of status and social class. Godparenthood was in many cases the first formal contact between families and an essential expedient to accelerate one's upward social mobility. This familial formalization could be strengthened and maintained by marriages, which is a finding substantiated by numerous pre-marital godparent links between families. Downward social mobility became an intra-familial barrier. Reciprocity in godparenthood relations between a newcomer family and an established upper class family was achieved only when the socio-economic status of the former equalled that of the latter. Various godparenthood patterns and phases could be distinguished particularly during periods of change in economic and social status. While the patterns differed by generation, in the socially turbulent second generation business acquaintances and others of the same profession were favoured over relatives. However, inter-familial variations in strategies increased due to social mobility and migration. The baptismal witness strategies of the rising Finnish business elite mainly adhered to the horizontal, trust-centred and kin-dominated godparental model of entrepreneurs presented by historians Guido Alfani and Vincent Gourdon. The overall picture is diversified by the disparity of the socially mobile generation, in which socially vertical relations dominated instead of the horizontal ones prevalent in the first phase of godparent acquisition. In the light of the Finnish case, godparenthood can be characterized more as a means to create and strengthen business relations than as a way to protect them.

Emily Austin of Texas, 1795-1851 (review)

Reviewed by: Emily Austin of Texas, 1795-1851 Sara Crowley Emily Austin of Texas, 1795-1851. By Light Townsend Cummins. (Fort Worth: TCU Press, 2009. Pp. 308. Illustrations, notes, bibliography, index. ISBN 9780875653518, $27.95 cloth.) Light T. Cummins's book, Emily Austin of Texas, is the first book in the Texas Biography Series, published by the Center for Texas Studies at Texas Christian University and the TCU Press. The goal of the Biography Series is to highlight the important people of Texas history, including minorities and women. Cummins's book accomplishes this aim as he recounts Emily Austin's intriguing life. This work demonstrates the significant role Emily Austin, sister of Stephen F. Austin, played in Texas history. [End Page 86] One theme evident throughout Cummins's work is the link between Austin and her family—a tie the author suggests makes her representative of antebellum southern women. Emily Margaret Brown Austin was born on June 22, 1795. As a child, Austin witnessed her father, Moses Austin, work to procure lasting wealth for his family. Emily Austin also demonstrated strength of character that made her an active participant in her family's affairs. For instance, in 1813 Austin married James Bryan, a business acquaintance of the family's, but Bryan died in 1822, and for the next two years, Austin supported her family independently. In 1824, Austin married businessman James Perry, and the two made a home for the next several years in Missouri. After Austin's marriage to Perry, Stephen Austin, who after his father's death in 1821 assumed responsibility for Moses Austin's plans for settlement in Texas, implored his sister to move to Texas. The Perry family would eventually settle on the Peach Point Plantation near the Brazos River. While in Texas, Austin was witness to the events that resulted in the territory's independence from Mexico in 1836, even working for Stephen Austin's release from a Mexican prison. After Stephen's death in 1836, Emily Austin became his primary heir, making her a large landowner. Though James Perry was her legal representative, Emily very much controlled her property, making decisions regarding its management. She died on August 15, 1851. Cummins's research and use of the literature on southern women, as well as family papers, helps to place Austin squarely within a nineteenth-century context, demonstrating how her actions in managing her family's estate and her own plantation find explanation in the general importance southern women placed on family. Yet, as Cummins relates, Austin was not a passive figure. Certainly, Austin's dealings in managing her home as well as Stephen Austin's estate make her an example of the fluid nature of the separate spheres ideology, and is a good reminder that southern women's experiences were complex—a point Cummins demonstrates well. In biographical treatments, authors must decide how much contextual information to include that will enrich the story of the subject while not distracting the reader. For the most part, Cummins negotiates this potential pitfall well. There are a few times when Emily Austin seems secondary to the larger Austin family story. This is not a major fault, for the scope of the work as a general biography would appeal to either those acquainted with Texas history, or those who are not, and might therefore need the additional information. And, to be fair, the Austin story is embedded in Emily's character, so if Cummins indulges us in glimpses of these men and women who surrounded his subject, it is a forgivable distraction. Cummins's look into Emily Austin's life not only demonstrates the unique history of Texas, but the interesting life of an important member of the Austin family. In this sense, the author's work accomplishes his own goals as well as the aims of the Biography Series in adding this fascinating story to the historical record. [End Page 87] Sara Crowley Texas Christian University Copyright © 2010 The Texas State Historical Association

Heinrich Heine Writes about His Life

Heinrich Heine Writes About His Life Liliane Weissberg (bio) I. Phantom Wounds None of Heinrich Heine's (1797–1856) manuscripts suffered as much speculation or provoked as much anticipation during his lifetime as his projected memoirs, which he pursued over many decades. Indeed, already in 1823 the young Berlin law student who attended Hegel's lectures was eager to apply these lessons to a vision of his own life. In those years, Heine describes his life as "tumultuous" on the outside and "dark" and dreamlike on the inside. He writes to his Jewish friend Immanuel Wohlwill, Yes, amice, I had great luck; just as I left the philosophical lecture hall, and entered the circus of worldly affairs, I could construct my life philosophically, and I can look at it objectively now—even though I lack that higher calm and contemplation that would be necessary for a clear rendering of a large theater of life.1 Heine calls this project his Bekenntnisse2 in an allusion to Rousseau's Confessions, but quickly abandons the title for the sake of other alternatives. Years later Heine takes up the concept of confessions again and this time translates it into the more legal term Geständnisse.3 The [End Page 563] Geständnisse, authored in the 1850s, were to preface his observations on Germany and were intended to counter Mme. de Stael's De l'Allemagne, as well as celebrate his own arrival in Paris two decades earlier.4 But these Geständnisse would also speak of the distance Heine had traveled from his early discipleship of Hegel to embrace a less "abstract" philosophy and affirm a newly regained sense of religion. In 1823, however, Heine's Bekenntnisse had not yet taken that turn. Instead, he was eager to remove from them any personal considerations and to turn them into a picture of his times; he intended to include portraits of relatives and friends. Thus, Heine soon uses the term Memoiren5 and claims to have begun a work that would not only counter Rousseau's famous confessions but also Goethe's autobiography. Heine wanted not only to write about his times, but to invent a new genre of life-writing that would be appropriate for a new age. Memories, not confessions, were called for, that is, a picture of the times, not just the inner life of an individual. This genre would also imply the introduction of a French tradition into the world of German letters. Heine's work seems to have progressed well, even though he wrote in fits and spurts. In 1837, over a decade after he began his autobiography and a few years after his move to Paris, Heine reports to his Hamburg publisher Julius Campe about his work. The story of his life had already turned into an "extensive work" that would be ready for perusal soon and would constitute not just a simple descriptive narrative or Lebensbeschreibung,6 but an extensive novel or Roman. "Day and night I labor over my great project," Heine writes, "and work on the novel of my life."7 He refers to his book with similar exuberance in letters to his friend Giacomo Meyerbeer. By 1838, Heine was once again preoccupied with his financial situation, which had remained precarious since his father's bankruptcy years earlier. Meyerbeer was to help him negotiate a yearly pension from his uncle, the wealthy Hamburg banker Salomon [End Page 564] Heine, who had assumed responsibility for his brother's family.8 In the following years, Heine mentions his work off and on again in letters to his sister Charlotte and to friends and business acquaintances,9 but his uncle, too, was well aware of his project, and anxious that Heine would protect the family name. After Salomon Heine's death in 1844, Heine's memoirs became instrumental in negotiations concerning his future pension payments. Salomon Heine did not leave a note regarding future pension payments in his will, and his son, Heine's cousin Carl, refused to honor the full amount of the pre-established payments. Indeed, he was only willing to issue a pension if Heine's memoirs were first sent to him for review, should...

The 5-Minute orthopaedic consult for PDA

The 5-Minute orthopaedic consult for PDA

Bribes and Fruit Baskets: What Does the Link Between PAC Contributions and Lobbying Mean?

When I was a boy, my family would occasionally receive tall baskets filled with fruits, nuts and jams, most often around the holidays. These gifts from business acquaintances of my father were not meant to be inducements for him to break the law; rather, they were little niceties intended to maintain ongoing relationships. Today, when my wife and I are invited to dinner, we usually bring flowers or a bottle of wine as a gift. This is not some crass attempt on our part to ensure that sanitary conditions are maintained during meal preparation; it is only a symbol of our appreciation for the kindness of our hosts. Not for a moment do I believe that we would be ostracized should we go to dinner engagements empty-handed, nor would my father have punished nongivers. As such, these gift exchanges can be seen as epiphenomena: they symbolize underlying relationships, but they do not constitute relationships.

Bribes and Fruit Baskets: What Does the Link Between PAC Contributions and Lobbying Mean?

When I was a boy, my family would occasionally receive tall baskets filled with fruits, nuts and jams, most often around the holidays. These gifts from business acquaintances of my father were not meant to be inducements for him to break the law; rather, they were little niceties intended to maintain ongoing relationships. Today, when my wife and I are invited to dinner, we usually bring flowers or a bottle of wine as a gift. This is not some crass attempt on our part to ensure that sanitary conditions are maintained during meal preparation; it is only a symbol of our appreciation for the kindness of our hosts. Not for a moment do I believe that we would be ostracized should we go to dinner engagements empty-handed, nor would my father have punished nongivers. As such, these gift exchanges can be seen as epiphenomena: they symbolize underlying relationships, but they do not constitute relationships.

Customer Identities: Customers as Commercial Friends, Customer Coworkers or Business Acquaintances

In an effort to better understand relationships between salespersons and their customers, in-depth interviews with salespeople were used to establish a classification schema of customer types or identities. Using identity theory, three categories of customer identities were identified and partially supported: commercial friends, customer coworkers and business acquaintances. The identities can serve as vehicles for further developing theory and research concerning salesperson-customer dyads as well as for investigating the genesis of relationships between salespeople and customers.

On stage

Some 20 years ago the reviewer become a business acquaintance of Derek du Pré, then Secretary of the Institute of Cost & Management Accountants and subsequently of the London Chartered Accountants Students Society. It was impossible therefore not to link the subject matter of Duet for One with the tragic disability suffered by his daughter Jacqueline, the celebrated young cellist, save that one could not possibly equate the rantings of the self‐obsessed Stephanie Abrahams with the gentle Jacqueline's touching tutorial performances in television's Master Class a few months ago. That being said, however, Stephanie's role must still be fairly described as a Frances de la Tour de force, rather tending to obscure the equally important part played by David de Keyser as psychiatrist Dr Alfred Feldman, the other participant in the Duet, at whose consulting pad the action takes place. He no doubt derived some comfort from the fact that, if the worst happened, it would be less damaging to be hit over the head by a violin than a cello, but the reviewer will always be left wondering whether such an obvious — and therefore surely intended — parallel was an insensitive intrusion on somebody else's private grief.

A Shoppers Guide to Life Insurance

For years, mail order insurance has created serious problems for the unwary consumer. With this bulletin, the Federal Trade Commission attempts to familiarize the consumer with some of the more flagrant practices that have caused complaint. The bulletin begins by alerting the consumer to the legalistic nature of insurance policies. It indicates that one should seek clarification of the difficult terminology from a friend or business acquaintance. The drawback with this idea is that it is difficult to find competent individuals to evaluate the proposals. The main emphasis of the bulletin is on enumerating the gimmicks that are used to induce a person to enter a contract. The first practice noted is that in which solicitations are sent out to a veteran, or family of a veteran, from an organization which appears to be part of the United States Government. The envelope might resemble those used by a governmental agency, or the letter might contain labels such as Veterans Division, or Military Life Insurance Policy. These letters are not sent out by the government, but by private insurance companies. Another gimmick that is explained is when health insurance policies offer high benefits, but only upon some rare occurrence. The bulletin points out the preexisting conditions clause, the age restrictions, and the restricted continuation provisions of the contracts. The final practices that are discussed concern the 'Medicare policies which are offered by private industry to supplement the government's Medicare program, and the policies which are advertized to be lowest cost or Guaranteed Lowest Premium, etc. The Federal Trade Commission welcomes inquiries about improper practices. However, it carefully explains that premium rates, financial soundness, and settlement of claims are matters outside its jurisdiction. Complaints of this nature should be filed with the state insurance department. The FTC can deal only with misleading and deceptive practices. This bulletin provides useful information for the consumer who is inexperienced with mail order companies. Little new information is afforded to those familiar with insurance. Of course, the bulletin was not designed with the latter in mind. Several precautions should have been added for increased consumer protection. It would have been useful to alert the public to the unsound practices of certain alien companies. It would have done well to caution the consumer against purchasing insurance from companies that are not licensed in his state. The price of the bulletin is ten cents, and it is ten cents well spent. It could save the consumer many dollars.

Systematic utilization of human resources as an integral part of information science work

AbstractIt is difficult to consistently remember the names of business acquaintances and draw upon their particular subject knowledge as a help in enquiry answering. The place of formal ‘indexes to people’ as a part of information science work is considered in relation to informal communication networks and existing formal information retrieval resources. Examples of some of the ‘indexes’ in existence or planned are given and some suggestions made as to what could be done. Additionally, some ideas are put forward as to what an information scientist should do in his everyday work to ensure that, when it is appropriate, he will exploit available human resources.

The Measure of Individual and Social Responsibility in Criminal Cases. in Two Chapters

At noon, on Tuesday, the 15th of January last, Mr. Eugéne Hamburger met, in the busy Metropolitan thoroughfare, “Holborn Viaduct,” a jewel dealer, named Jackson, with whom he had some slight business acquaintance. With the view of exhibiting his wares, Hamburger consented to accompany the dealer into an as yet unoccupied office of the latter on the Viaduct. Upon entering the room, Hamburger was about to take a parcel of pearls from his bag, when Jackson fired a pistol at him, wounding him in the head, and afterwards continued the assault by drawing a dagger and stabbing him. In the struggle that ensued, Hamburger succeeded in overpowering and disarming his assailant, who escaped from the room and disappeared. The wounded man thereafter proceeded home in a cab, and recovered from his injuries.

The Measure of Individual and Social Responsibility in Criminal Cases

At noon, on Tuesday, the 15th of January last, Mr. Eugéne Hamburger met, in the busy Metropolitan thoroughfare, “Holborn Viaduct,” a jewel dealer, named Jackson, with whom he had some slight business acquaintance. With the view of exhibiting his wares, Hamburger consented to accompany the dealer into an as yet unoccupied office of the latter on the Viaduct. Upon entering the room, Hamburger was about to take a parcel of pearls from his bag, when Jackson fired a pistol at him, wounding him in the head, and afterwards continued the assault by drawing a dagger and stabbing him. In the struggle that ensued, Hamburger succeeded in overpowering and disarming his assailant, who escaped from the room and disappeared. The wounded man thereafter proceeded home in a cab, and recovered from his injuries.