Outdated Concept Research Articles

Fractured Memories: Life Writing in Adolf Endler’s Surrealist Anti-Autobiography Nebbich

Fractured Memories: Life Writing in Adolf Endler’s Surrealist Anti-Autobiography Nebbich Gerrit-Jan Berendse Until the collapse of communism in the early 1990s, the writer and essayist Adolf Endler (born 1930) played a central role in subcultural activities that addressed and challenged an outdated concept of socialist realism in the German Democratic Republic. As an acclaimed poet, he was respected by his colleagues in East and West, but at the same time ignored and bullied by party functionaries who controlled the entire field of cultural practice, conspired to guard every aspect of aesthetics, and extended their influence into the writer’s private life. Despite the fact that socialist realism had spread over most of Eastern European cultural life, it was, as new research has revealed, successfully undermined by concerned writers and artists (Bílik 31). Endler’s deviancy involved ignoring directives from cultural politics and instead choosing alternative ways of communicating with peers. In 1978 he coined the term Sächsische Dichterschule to designate a loose group of (now aging, some dead) poets who where born in the 1930s and were a major innovative impact on the voice of poetry in the German Democratic Republic. This is an assessment shared by Michael Hamburger, who, two years before the group had been named, applauded those young writers for the quality of literature that they had produced in an artistically hostile environment. Hamburger observed a heavy traffic of correspondence between individual poets, a kind of secret inter-textual project that held the young ones together in a state that promoted the exact opposite, i.e. the isolation of individual deviant minds (622). His colleague in British exile, Erich Fried, highlighted the subversive nature of this new writing in his review of the anthology In diesem besseren Land (1966) for the BBC (28). The counter-poetics of what could be described as “Wir-Gefühl” joined together individual writers whose heterogeneous voices were in a permanent state of dialogue – consuming each others’ writings; reading friends’ manuscripts during the frequent private meetings; reviewing, sometimes copying, at other times rejecting poetics of their fellow writers from modern European literary history before the division between the ideologies was cemented. On the other hand, the dynamic activities of this East German version of the Gruppe 47 were very much on the verge of being undermined, but not so much by the state as might be expected. Paradoxically, the major reason for dissolving the unity of the group was the high quality of the individual, idiosyncratic voices and minds. This seemed to contradict [End Page 31] everything that was associated with a collective project (Berendse, Die Sächsische Dichterschule 291). In the year Endler coined the name, the group already had begun to disintegrate. Individual group members had either left the country voluntarily or forcibly (following Wolf Biermann’s expatriation in 1976) or moved on and were involved in new projects. Endler had been expelled from the East German Writers’ Union (with Stefan Heym, among others) in 1979 and had become more associated with a much younger generation of writers and artists in subcultural quarters of major cities in the GDR. In the last years of the Republic, he was welcomed as a mentor of what became known as the “Prenzlauer Berg connection” in Berlin, in which the neo-avant-garde projects organized by the (among other things) entrepreneur Sascha Anderson were the main attraction (Kaiser/Petzold 220, 351). In the many samizdat journals such as Ariadnefabrik and Liane, most of Endler’s texts appeared for the first time, often in the form of carbon copies. His focus in the new production was the introduction and promotion of surrealist ways of writing. For him, as for fellow nonconformist artists and poets, socialist realism was due to be substituted by a subversive set of poetics (Berendse, “Dank Breton” 75–77). At the same time, West German literary journals published fragments of his literary work in progress. One of the first publications in the West was in the year 1981 in the periodical Freibeuter, entitled “Momente eines Aufklärungsreferats über meinen in Entstehung begriffenen Roman ‘Nebbich.’” This and similar texts allude to “Nebbich,” his novel under construction, and...

S57-02 The cycle of violence - an outdated concept for forensic psychiatry?

The cycle of violence theory proposed in the early sixties suggested that children growing up exposed to violence would themselves become violent.Testing this theory incidence studies found elevated levels of child abuse in offender populations compared to the general public, whereas prospective studies found significant associations between child abuse and subsequent adult criminality. However, prospective studies also showed that a large proportion of children exposed to violence did not grow up to become violent or criminal, which in turn lead to the assumption that the cycle of violence theory was to be rejected.Recent studies have found indications of more specific relationships between early traumata and subsequent adult criminality. For example elevated levels of both risky sexual behavior as well as adult sexual victimization experiences have been found in persons having suffered childhood sexual abuse (CSA). These findings have raised the question if a specific association exists between the experience of CSA and subsequent adult sex offending.

Challenges Ahead in International Economic Law

Challenges Ahead in International Economic Law

Akute Kreuzschmerzen - Beurteilung und Management

Acute low back pain is a very common symptom. Up to 90% of all adults suffer at least once in their life from a low back pain episode, in the majority of cases a nonspecific lumbago. They are, with or without sciatica, usually self-limited and have no serious underlying pathology and subside in 80-90% of the concerned patients within six weeks. Beside a sufficient pain medication and physiotherapy, reassurance about the overall benign character and the favourable prognosis of the medical condition should be in the centre of the therapeutic efforts. A more thorough assessment is required for selected patients with warning signs, so called "red flags" findings, because they are associated with an increased risk of cauda equina syndrome, cancer, infection, or fracture. These patients also require a closer follow-up and, in some cases, an urgent surgical intervention. Among patients with acute nonspecific mechanical low back pain, imaging diagnostic can be delayed for at least four to six weeks, which usually allows the medical condition to improve. From a therapeutic viewpoint, there is enough evidence for the effectiveness of paracetamol, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, skeletal muscle relaxants, heat therapy, physiotherapy, and the advice to stay "active". A complete relief and protection represent an out-dated concept, because the deconditioning is stimulated and the return to the workplace is needlessly delayed. Spinal manipulative therapy may provide short-term benefits in certain patients. In a multimodal therapeutic concept, the patient education should focus on the natural history of an acute back pain episode, the overall good prognosis, and recommendations for an effective treatment.

Global workspace theory emerges unscathed

AbstractOur aim in this reply is to defend Global Workspace theory (GWT) from the challenge of Block's article. We argue that Block's article relies on an outdated and imprecise concept of access, and perpetuates a common misunderstanding of GWT that conflates the global workspace with working memory. In the light of the relevant clarifications, Block's conclusion turns out to be unwarranted, and the basic tenets of GWT emerge unscathed.

‘Mass Tourism’ is an Out-dated Concept—A Misnomer?

I agree with the author that ‘mass tourism’ is now an outdated concept and as currently used, no longer relevant to our understanding of tourism. ‘Mass tourism’ is essentially a ‘quantitative’ concept describing the very rapid growth in demand for international tourism trips. It was used, and subsequently abused, by many academic writers in the post-World War II period to describe the ‘characteristics’ of a particular travel group or phenomenon. The group in question were those travelling on the ‘package tour’ usually using the chartered aircraft as the preferred mode of travel. It was a term which indirectly described the democratization of international travel in post war Europe (this type of travel organization was never a feature of the United States’ market). As originally used, it was a positive term which reflected peoples’ recovery from war-ravaged Europe and their increasing economic status and determination to enjoy international travel as part of their leisure pursuits. In latter years, ‘mass tourists’ seem to have been categorized as representing all that is wrong with tourism; it has increasingly been used as a negative connotation. It is indisputable that the term ‘mass tourism’ lacks agreed definition, is subjective, and is a post-war relic. But as international tourism has grown over the last fifty years or so, so have the attempts to further classify tourist groups within the market as the author notes in referencing the works of Valene Smith (1977), Plog (1972) and Turner and Ash (1975). In Figure 1, the author further refers to the plethora of terms now used to describe various categories of tourists. These terms, unlike ‘mass tourism’ are not quantitative. They are used to categorize groups according to perceived behavioural characteristics. Whether this is a useful approach to market segmentation is debatable. If the term ‘mass tourism’ has any validity then it can only be based on its quantitative connotation which links directly to the concept of ‘carrying capacity’, another much debated term in the tourism literature. As the number of tourist arrivals increase there will be implication for, and impacts on, the destination area. It is from these impacts relating to social, cultural and environmental considerations that has spawned much of the negative literature on tourism. For example, a visitor arrival increase of say 40,000 tourists per annum would have limited impact on a city like London or the Balearic Islands. A similar increase in Bhutan, Seychelles or Uganda would be unsustainable. This example can be interpreted as developing a ‘critical mass’ of tourists (in relation to the available capacity of the infrastructure and tourist amenities). Most studies of tourism development options are demand-led. Analyses of market segments and the development of segmented market profiles (irrespective of terminology) are major initial steps in formulating plans. As the author notes, these tend to be done on a country basis, e.g., a German market profile, an Austrian profile. Almost no use is made of the generic descriptors such as New Age tourists, non-secular tourists, modern cultural tourists (what do these titles mean?). Market segmentation is done to permit demand projections and profiles to better ‘fit’ these to market characteristics. However, what is of fundamental importance in tourism planning is not whimsical descriptions of various tourism groups, but rather their ‘ability to pay’ for the services offered. There is no evidence that a hotelier would be concerned if his guest was described as an ‘elite’, ‘mass’ or ‘New Age’ tourist provided they could pay for the services offered. Over time, as a type of demand builds up, then this might induce a supply-led initiative to provide alternatives in the market (an example would be the growth in 3-star accommodation in India from the mid-80s onward.) However, this is a secondary development and in some ways can be regarded as a ‘trickle-down’ effect from the traditionally dominant 5-star market in that country.

Charlemagne: Father of a Continent (review)

Reviewed by: Charlemagne: Father of a Continent John D. Hosler Charlemagne: Father of a Continent. By Alessandro Barbero. Translated by Allan Cameron. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2004. ISBN 0-520-23943-1. Map. Notes. Bibliography. Index. Pp. 426. $29.95. An updated, English-language biography of Charles the Great would be a welcome addition to the modern canon on the mighty Carolingian king and emperor, as the best recent efforts to tackle the subject have been in French (Jean Favier, Charlemagne, 1999) and German (Dieter Hägermann, Karl der Grosse, 3rd ed., 2001). Alessandro Barbero is therefore poised to fill a gap with this English-language edition of his 2000 biography, Carlo Magno, Un Padre dell'Europa. While the book is a page turner and one of the most readable works on Charlemagne to appear in years, in this endeavor he only partially succeeds. [End Page 490] Readers accustomed to Allan Cameron's past translations will find his effort here to be equally satisfying and even enjoyable, and Barbero is clearly a master of his subject and period. Charles is studied as an energetic king actively involved not only in warfare but also Frankish economy, culture, and the early medieval Church. On the latter, the author repeatedly (and convincingly) argues that it was Charles, not Popes Adrian I and Leo III, who was the practical leader of the Church in the eighth and ninth centuries. He dances gracefully through the complicated issues of Carolingian justice and economy, and his examination of Charlemagne's relations with Byzantium addresses an important and oft-neglected aspect of Western foreign relations (pp. 77–85). One rather touchy aspect of Charlemagne's legacy has been its nationalistic appropriation in Europe in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries: Charles has been alternatively claimed and attacked for being either French or German, while in fact he was neither. Barbero succinctly corrects such mistakes, extending the work of Patrick Geary and others who seek to detach these inept claims to the heritage of early medieval empires (pp. 102–9). Barbero's historiographical approach, however, may generate consternation for some readers. While frequently examining the nuances of the medieval evidence in the text, he refrains from offering detailed discussions of modern scholarly debates. Those he does examine tend to be of the older variety, such as his lengthy discussion of the Pirenne thesis (pp. 109–13). The rest are relegated to an annotated bibliography, and, as a result, several fascinating subjects such as the dispute over Charles's own role in the coronation of 800 (pp. 89–94) receive less coverage than deserved. The bibliography itself is separated by chapter and is quite thorough; one notable omission is Richard E. Sullivan, "The Carolingian Age: Reflections on Its Place in the History of the Middle Ages," Speculum 64 (1989): 267–306. Readers of this journal will no doubt be interested in Barbero's discussion of the Carolingian military. Chapters Two and Three are narratives of Charlemagne's wars against the Lombards and the Pagans (Saxons, Muslims, and Avars), and are quite informative and well-suited for a historical biography. Chapter Eleven, "The Frankish Military Machine," fares rather worse. The author seems less at ease with the practice of warfare than the social aspects of armies. He energetically jumps into the debate over the size of Carolingian armies but cites none of the numerous studies on the subject; his assessment of infantry and cavalry armament seems fair but, again, is unsubstantiated. Much of Barbero's evidence here is from extant documents, but as medieval historians have consistently demonstrated, literal readings of monkish military descriptions can be problematic. The bibliography for Chapter Eleven is wide-ranging but somewhat dated. In addition, aside from some remarks on patronage, Barbero is silent on the question of the supposed Carolingian feudal order. Given Charlemagne's frequent association with the outdated concept of feudalism, a little attention here would have been appreciated, especially in relation to questions of military organization and logistics. And unlike his treatment of other thorny scholarly issues, Barbero does not examine the feudal question within the bibliography, save for [End Page 491] a short dismissal of Susan Reynolds's landmark study Fiefs...

Legal Capital: An Outdated Concept?

This paper reviews the case for and against mandatory legal capital rules. It is argued that legal capital is no longer an appropriate means of safeguarding creditors’ interests. This is most clearly the case as regards mandatory rules. Moreover, it is suggested that even an ‘opt in’ (or default) legal capital regime is unlikely to be a useful mechanism. However, the advent of regulatory arbitrage in European corporate law will provide a way of gathering information regarding investors’ preferences in relation to such rules. Those creditor protection rules that do not further the interests of adjusting creditors will become subject to competitive pressures. Legislatures will be faced with the task of designing mandatory rules to deal with the issues raised by ‘non-adjusting’ creditors in a proportionate and effective manner, consistent with the Gebhard formula.

Sovereignty, the WTO, and Changing Fundamentals of International Law

Part I. Challenges to International Law Fundamental Assumptions: 1. Introduction: International law and international economic law in the interdependent world of the twenty-first century 2. The real world impinges on international law: exploring the challenges to the fundamental assumptions of international law and institutions 3. Sovereignty modern: a new approach to an outdated concept Part II. The WTO: 4. The WTO as international organization: institutional evolution, structure and key problems 5. The WTO dispute settlement system Part III. The Search for Solutions: 6. Policy, analytical approaches and thought experiments 7. Illustrative applications 8. Perspectives, implications, and some conclusions.

Preoperative Fasting: An Outdated Concept?

Recent studies have shown that fasting during the preoperative period for elective surgery induces a metabolic state that seems unfavorable for patients. Results from animal studies indicate that rapid depletion of liver glycogen before surgery leads to mobilization of muscle glycogen after surgery, in turn leading to reduced muscle strength. Depletion of liver glycogen also influences the function of the mononuclear phagocytic system (MPS), which is located predominantly in the liver. The MPS is essential in restricting endotoxin, which may translocate from the gut. In addition, surgery per se puts a substantial physical strain on the patient, and fasting may adversely affect the metabolic response to surgery. This paper presents experimental and clinical data that, when combined together, prove that fasting before surgery has adverse consequences for the patient.

현대 스포츠의 정체성(Identity)에 관한 연구

This study examines the identity of contemporary sport pointing out some problems of external values of sport in modern society, and offers some intrinsic values of sport. Instrumental values dominate contemporary society and the value of things in themselves has become an outdated concept. At the same time, today much of sport exists under a value system that recognizes the objectivity of the scoreboard as the only true assessment of worth, and denies the value of the subjective, experiential, and personal dimensions of sport. In contemporary sport, the victory is seen as being more important than the way in which it is achieved. Quality of performance is secondary to the result, and the values of the game are eclipsed by the cash value of winning. Sport would not be an arena in which excellence would have any meaning. Our values in contemporary sport should emphasize the quality of performance, and value should be acknowledged by standards other than instrumental efficacy. Then athletes` craft could provide a humanizing theme for their lives.

Minority groups: an outdated concept?

English-speaking countries such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom, the United States, and perhaps India and South Africa, either have initiated or renewed their interests in multicultural diversity with a focus on decreasing minority, racial and ethnic disparities in health. The use of the word ‘minority’ is inappropriate in this context because of the way it is defined and used. The United States government definition of the word minority, ‘a group differing, especially in race, religion, or ethnic background from the majority’, not only includes race, religion and ethnic background as qualification for minority status, but also other more controversial sub-groups, such as those characterized by a distinctive alternative lifestyle (Office of Minority Health 2004). These minorities have become well recognized and therefore established. Accordingly, some groups are excluded as a minority and members of some minorities are not easily recognized as being part of other groupings. Moreover, ordering groups of people as ‘minorities’ carries the connotation of lesser than, or not as important as, the majority. Inevitably this has an adverse affect on education endeavours and government policy, and more importantly on health care. Using the word ‘minority’ in this way, with established meanings that are embedded in healthcare practices and encoded

Switching constructs: on the selection of an appropriate blueprint for academic literacy assessment

Tests of language ability are based on a certain construct that defines this ability, and this blueprint determines what it is that will be measured. The University of Pretoria has, since 2000, annually administered a test of academic language proficiency to more than 6000 first-time students. The intention of this test is to identify those who are at risk academically as a result of too low a level of academic language proficiency. If their academic literacy levels are too low, students are required to enrol for a set of four courses in order to minimise their risk of failure. The Unit for Language Skills Development at the University of Pretoria has now embarked on a project to design an alternative test to the one used initially, specifically with a view to basing it on a new construct. The reason is that the construct of the current test has become contested over the last decade as a result of its dependence on an outdated concept of language, which equates language ability with knowledge of sound, vocabulary, form, and meaning. Present-day concepts emphasise a much richer view of language competence, and their focus has, moreover, shifted from discrete language skills to the attainment of academic literacy. In this paper the abilities encompassed by this view will be discussed in order to compare the construct of the current test with the proposed construct. Key Words: language testing; academic literacy; test constructs; accountability Journal for Language Teaching Vol.38(1) 2004: 1-13

Motivating children and adolescents to improve adherence

Pediatricians and their colleagues often have considerable difficulty in understanding and managing poor adherence. It is hard to comprehend why children with life-threatening illnesses do not adhere to their treatment regimens and even more difficult to comprehend why their parents do not provide optimal care. Yet, clinical experience indicates that in chronic illness such as cystic fibrosis (CF), epilepsy, asthma, or diabetes, poor adherence is the norm. The general response of clinicians and parents to poor adherence is to coerce. This tends to have the opposite effect to that intended. The focus of this paper is on motivational enhancement therapy in children and adolescents with chronic illness to improve adherence to treatment.

Sovereignty-Modern: A New Approach to an Outdated Concept

Although much criticized, the concept of “sovereignty” is still central to most thinking about international relations and particularly international law. The old “Westphalian” concept in the context of a nation-state’s “right” to monopolize certain exercises of power with respect to its territory and citizens has been discredited in many ways (as discussed below), but it is still prized and harbored by those who maintain certain “realist” views or who otherwise wish to prevent (sometimes withjustification) foreign or international powers and authorities from interfering in a national government’s decisions and activities. Furthermore, when one begins to analyze and disaggregate the concept of sovereignty, it quickly becomes apparent that it has many dimensions. Often, however, the term “sovereignty” is invoked in a context or manner designed to avoid and prevent analysis, sometimes with an advocate’s intent to fend off criticism orjustifications for international “infringements” on the activities of a nation-state or its internal stakeholders and power operators.

Airway sensory innervation as a target for novel therapies: an outdated concept?

Sensory nerves in the airways regulate central and local reflex events such as bronchoconstriction, airway plasma leakage, mucus secretion and cough. Sensory nerve activity can be enhanced during inflammation and, as a result, these protective reflexes become exacerbated and deleterious. The development of drugs that directly inhibit sensory nerve function has again become an attractive target for the pharmaceutical industry. In particular, the focus is on inhibition of the symptoms associated with airway inflammatory diseases such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and cough of any aetiology.

OC020: Is the discriminatory zone an outdated concept?

Background: Ultrasonography is highly reliable in the management of women with early pregnancy complications. An endometrial cut-off < 15 mm with no retained products of conception has been used to classify complete miscarriage (CM) on transvaginal sonography (TVS). However despite a history of heavy vaginal bleeding, a proportion of these women have an undiagnosed ectopic pregnancy (EP). We evaluated the need for hormonal follow up in women with a history and scan findings suggestive of CM. Materials and methods: Prospective observational study. 5918 consecutive women presented to the Early Pregnancy Unit −223 (3.8%) were classified CM on the basis of a history of heavy vaginal bleeding and the above sonographic criteria. 56 were not pregnant and 24 were lost to follow up. 143 were included in the analysis. Serum human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) levels were taken at presentation and 48 hours later. All women were followed up until hCG < 5 U/L or a cyesis was visualised on TVS. Results: 131/143 (91.6%) CM confirmed according to hCG follow up. 8/143 (5.6%) confirmed to be EP requiring further treatment. 2/143 (1.4%) persisting pregnancies of unknown location (PUL) requiring methotrexate therapy. 2/143 (1.4%) intrauterine pregnancies – one blighted ovum and one ongoing IUP. If hCG levels rose, 10/12 (83%) required intervention. Conclusions: Diagnosis of complete miscarriage based on history and scan findings alone is unreliable, as up to 6% will have an ectopic pregnancy. If hCG levels do not fall, these women should be followed closely until the location of the pregnancy is confirmed.

Migration and health: is segregation inevitable?

In the immigrant-absorbing countries migrants are regularly confronted with manifold forms of segregation and exclusion. This is also true of the health care system, thus impeding it in its humanitarian goals. One must try to understand why there should be a traditional tendency to encourage segregation. Among the reasons are explicit rejection of migration as such, poor understanding of other peoples, fear of infectious diseases and rising health care costs. In addition a misunderstanding of the integration process plays an important role. What is necessary is, firstly, a realistic view of the world-wide process of migration which inevitably affects the rich industrial nations and, secondly, respect for ethnic identity instead of an out-dated concept of assimilation.

Community Matters: Reflections from the Field

This article asserts that community matters, not least because of the continued importance of community demonstrated by residents of a post-fordist resort town in North Australia. Far from being an outdated concept, confined to stable rural villages, (as often argued in the literature), even this extremely transient population profess a strong desire to find and maintain ‘community’. A sense of community is constructed through narratives of place and lifestyle to create an inclusive collective identity. However, my fieldwork demonstrated that the ideal remains elusive. Access to social networks is unequal and the norms of community fall short of reciprocity or duty, making it a ‘community without obligation’.

What is consumerism and has it had an impact on health visiting provision? A literature review.

This paper analyses the concept of consumerism drawing on methods of concept analysis. It attempts to identify who the actual consumers of health visiting are before examining whether consumerism and the consumer's voice has had an impact on health visiting provision. Patients and clients are increasingly being referred to as consumers, but the term seems to be used simply as substitute for patient, client or service user. Consumerism is a complex concept and the extent of its usage in the context of health visiting has not been fully explored. An integrative review of a range of literature relating to consumerism is presented. A focused analysis of consumer views of child health clinics is used to illustrate the concept of consumerism. Elements of concept analysis methods such as formulating a model case and a definition are used to illustrate the concept further. The review suggests that consumerism is an outdated concept and has been replaced by other less emotive terms such as partnership and participation. The apparent lack of impact of consumerism research in health visiting is argued by examining empirical evidence relating to child health clinics. Consumerism has had relatively little impact on improving child health clinics although high levels of consumer satisfaction with the overall service exist. More methodologically sound studies are needed to explore users' views of health visiting services and to implement findings to maintain or improve services.