Outright Dismissal Research Articles

Contested space: The contradictory political dynamics of food banking in the UK

This paper offers a critical reappraisal of the politics of food banking in the UK. Existing work has raised concerns about the institutionalisation of food banks, with charitable assistance apparently – even if inadvertently – undermining collectivist welfare and deflecting attention from fundamental injustices in the food system. This paper presents original ethnographic work that examines the neglected politics articulated within food banks themselves. Conceptualising food banks as potential spaces of encounter where predominantly middle-class volunteers come into contact with ‘poor others’ (Lawson and Elwood, 2013), we illustrate the ways food banks may both reinforce but also rework and generate new, ethical and political attitudes, beliefs and identities. We also draw attention to the limits of these progressive possibilities and examine the ways in which some food banks continue to operate within a set of highly restrictive, and stigmatising, welfare technologies. By highlighting the contradictory dynamics at work in food bank organisations, and among food bank volunteers and clients, we suggest the political role of food banks warrants neither uncritical celebration nor outright dismissal. Rather, food banks represent a highly ambiguous political space still in the making and open to contestation.

Commentary: Cultural recycling of neural substrates during language evolution and development.

Commentary: Cultural recycling of neural substrates during language evolution and development.

Jonah From Tonga by Chris Lilley (review)

Reviewed by: Jonah From Tonga by Chris Lilley David W Kupferman Jonah From Tonga. 2014. Television series, 180 minutes, dvd, color, in English. Written by Chris Lilley, produced by Chris Lilley and Laura Waters, and directed by Chris Lilley and Stuart McDonald; distributed by hbo. us $19.99. The television series Jonah From Tonga was released to low ratings and accusations of racism. Originally presented in Australia, where it was produced, it later premiered on hbo in the United States. It features Australian comedian and show-runner Chris Lilley, who is white, as Jonah Takalua, a fourteen-year old Tongan high school student. Lilley’s use of makeup and a limp frizzy wig—what might charitably be called “Polynesian face”—are easy targets for criticism, if not outright dismissal, of the apparent minstrelsy that at first glance seems to characterize the six-episode series. And if one looked no further than the phenotype of the main character, certainly this show would not be [End Page 576] worthy of discussion. However, for those who sit through all three hours of the show, a much more complex and uncomfortably important genotype emerges, one that forces viewers to contend with issues that go beyond superficial representations of Islanders in the contemporary media landscape. It is necessary to situate Jonah within the cosmology of actor and creator Chris Lilley so that one who is not familiar does not get the impression that this character, or Lilley’s portrayal of him, is an isolated incident or occurring in a vacuum. Jonah first appeared as one of three characters played by Lilley in his 2007 series Summer Heights High. That show, filmed in the now ubiquitous mockumentary style first popularized by the British version of The Office, followed Mr G, a drama teacher; Ja’mie King, an over-privileged private school student spending a year on exchange at public school; and Jonah. The series spawned two spin-offs, Ja’mie: Private School Girl, featuring Lilley dressed as the title character in drag, and Jonah From Tonga. It is interesting to note that Lilley’s portrayal of Jonah in Summer Heights High did not engender the same type of critical reaction that this latest series has, despite Lilley’s consistency between the two series. At the end of Summer Heights High, Jonah is expelled from the school and sent to Tonga to live with his uncle. That is where the story in Jonah From Tonga begins, and, from the get-go, it is apparent that Jonah has learned little from his expulsion, nor has he become a particularly sympathetic character. His flaws are many and manifest themselves at every possible opportunity: he swears; he is homophobic; he punches male relatives in the genitals; he has a penchant for graffiti that ostensibly spells out the words “dictation” by drawing a crude facsimile of male genitalia followed by the letters “tation” (he even tags the side of a pig) and “pussycat” (I will let readers use their imagination); he tries unsuccessfully to date his cousin; and he is prone to bullying others. But unlike Mr G and Ja’mie, who are so self-centered that they are clearly archetypes of parody, Jonah is slightly more self-aware and therefore is potentially redeemable. One of the underlying currents in the series is whether Jonah will actually redeem himself. What is surprising is that, in his way, he does. A number of plot points woven through the episodes allow Lilley to highlight, and then puncture, particular tropes about Islanders, race, migration, masculinity, and schooling. Jonah overstays his welcome with his uncle, and, early in the first episode, his father, Aunty Grace, and younger brother Moses come to bring him back to Australia. There he attends Holy Cross, and he picks up where he left off at Summer Heights High. He leads a crew calling themselves “Fobba-liscious” and who spend their days bullying the redheaded students (called “rangers,” slang for “orangutan”) and dreaming of hip-hop stardom. The engagement with diaspora and racism is both subtle and over the top, as when Jonah takes on Gray-don, an older student and “ranger” who offers Jonah no quarter. After Jonah melts Graydon...

Totality and the Common: Henri Lefebvre and Maurice Blanchot on Everyday Life

Totality and the CommonHenri Lefebvre and Maurice Blanchot on Everyday Life Jen Hui Bon Hoa (bio) The “everyday,” defined as that which escapes regimes of signi-fication and bureaucratic regulation, is often considered subversive because it disrupts totalizing narratives and calls forth new political practices and subject positions. Although Henri Lefebvre is generally cited as the principal theorist of everyday life, this particular definition is clearly modeled on Maurice Blanchot’s and, later, Michel de Certeau’s ideas—which, I seek to demonstrate, are fundamentally at odds with Lefebvre’s.1 A notion of the everyday as purely a source of ontological or epistemological instability can accommodate neither Lefebvre’s sociological critique of it, nor his vision for its transformation. The association of the everyday with resistance to representation nonetheless seems to derive from a partial reading of Lefebvre, who famously describes the everyday as an indeterminate “residue,” defined negatively by exclusion from special events and activities. In the neglected, second part of this definition, however, Lefebvre adds that the everyday thus constitutes a “common ground” that, in relating these specific experiences and practices to one another, enables us to conceive of lived reality as an organic whole (2008a, 97). This dialectic of residue and common ground underpins Lefebvre’s approach to everyday life. Lefebvre’s foregrounding of everyday life as a site of commonality speaks to a conception of critical theory as that which makes connections between disparate elements of social life and disciplinary approaches to its analysis, thus furthering the understanding of the social totality. Committed to a revolutionary political project, Lefebvre believes theory’s role is to orient individual practices in local contexts by mapping, as far as possible, the historical and global horizon of [End Page 54] political activity. While recent discussions of everyday life tend to offer one-dimensional attacks on the coercive nature of totalizing theories, Lefebvre’s approach first rebuts the opposition of totality and difference that condition such attacks and then draws attention to what is lost with an outright dismissal of the notion of totality. Understood dialectically, totality emerges not as a deterministic theory of history or society but as a heuristic that illuminates relationships between conditions and effects, personal experience and institutions. For Lefebvre, totality is a hermeneutic context that allows difference to become visible and meaningful, rather than one that suppresses difference in order to defend a teleology or unitary definition of society.2 From this definition of the common in terms of social totality arises a second set of ideas about the relationship between commonality and political practice. As is often forgotten, Lefebvre’s critique of everyday life is a critique specifically of the privatization of everyday life. In response to a perceived depoliticization during the prosperous post-war years, expressed by a general disengagement from the public sphere and loss of faith in collective action, Lefebvre identifies in the common ground of everyday life a possible source of solidarity. It is by producing a critical discourse of everyday life—by turning residual, untheorized everyday experience into communicable experience (Erlebnis into Erfahrung, to use Walter Benjamin’s terms)—that one can reframe ostensibly private and individual experiences in terms of a collective struggle. In this essay, I begin by examining the disjunctions between Lefebvre’s and Blanchot’s notions of everyday life, and show how the latter has dictated the terms of Lefebvre’s reception in Anglo-American scholarship. I then focus on the overlooked question of the common in Lefebvre’s theory of everyday life as a way of mediating between his approach and Blanchot’s. Whereas Blanchot is unequivocal in his rejection of totality, he echoes Lefebvre’s insistence on dismantling the idea of the self-identical, atomized subject and articulating a mode of collective existence. For both writers, this engagement with the question of the common anchors their claims to the political significance of the everyday. It is, however, a very different notion of the common and, consequently, of politics, that emerges from their two theories. By examining the idea of the common in Lefebvre’s critique of everyday life and in Blanchot’s reworking of it, I identify two models of political [End...

An Overview of Dismissal of Managerial Employees for Breach of Fiduciary Duties

Directors and other senior managers stand in fiduciary relationships to the company they work for and have the responsbility and duty to ensure that they do everything possible to act in good faith toward the company and make sure that they do not compromise their positions which might result in conflict of interest. However, should they breach thier fiduciary duties in whatever way, this will amount to breach of trust which may lead to criminal prosecution and dismissal from the company. With regard to their civil responsibilities, they will be made to restore or return the proceeds from the breach of trust. This paper examines the nature and scope of the implied terms of trust and confidence of managerial employees in the workplace. The paper highlights the importance of fiduciary relationships with regard to implied terms of loyalty, good faith and discharge of duty in the best interest of the company by responsible senior managers and directors. The paper analyses consequences of breach of fiduciary duty, obligation and trust by emphasising that the erring employee would be put through disciplinary processes which might lead to termination of employment or outright dismissal.

The five top bad reasons nurses don’t publish in impactful journals

The five top bad reasons nurses don’t publish in impactful journals

Unholy Force: Toland's Leibnizian ‘Consummation’ of Spinozism

This article argues that the Fourth and Fifth of John Toland's Letters to Serena are best understood as a creative confrontation of Spinoza and Leibniz – one in which crucial aspects of Leibniz's thought are extracted from their original context and made to serve a purpose that is ultimately Spinozistic. Accordingly, it suggests that the critique of Spinoza that takes up so much of the fourth Letter, in particular, should be read as a means of `perfecting' Spinoza (via Leibniz), rather than as the outright dismissal it might appear to be. In order to make its case, the article outlines: the supposed problems that Toland finds in Spinoza; what Toland takes from Leibniz, and what he discards, in order to solve these `problems'; and the imprint of Spinoza's naturalism on the eventual `solution' that Toland offers. The article concludes that, whatever the success of this `solution', Toland's speculative labours should still be treated as creative, perspicuous and intrinsically significant.

Water wars in 21st century: speculation or reality?

Whether, the world will have to deal with 'water war(s)' in 21st century or beyond for competition over shared international freshwater resources? Nothing is one sided - each and every time - there is other side of the story. This is so true for the two schools of thoughts - that exists in current academic debate - for and against the possibility of water wars. This introductory paper argues that perceived fears of losing control over shared water might contribute towards a constant preparedness to go to war among riparian nations. It emphasises that while this kind of academic debate - for and against water wars - is healthy, it is also important that instead of outright dismissal of any school of thought as a myth, water professionals should equip themselves with the tools to uproot the root causes of the fears behind the water wars debate. This urgent need is the essence behind the idea of this special issue, not to put an end to this debate.

Beyond the State, beyond the Desert

The essay analyzes Michel Foucault's outright dismissal of the shift from politics to the political in a lecture he gave at the Collège de France in February 1983 against the background of the political and theoretical discussion on the topic within Italian workerism in the 1970s. Mario Tronti's theory of the autonomy of the political, which took Carl Schmitt as a fundamental point of reference, is briefly discussed and presented as a possible polemical target of Foucault. His critique of the shift to the political is presented as a symptom of his enduring fidelity to the legacy of mai'68 and of his continuous search for a politics beyond the state.

Playing with Fire, or the Stuffing of Dead Animals: Freire, Dewey, and the Dilemma of Social Studies Reform

In his proposal for a social studies both more critical and more participatory, Neumann's (2008) politically adaptive strategy of invoking standards for critical thinking poses troubling concerns for democratic-minded educators familiar with the trajectory of reforms. Neumann's outright dismissal of critical pedagogy ironically underscores how the political nature of educational knowledge itself mitigates the possibility of a more critical orientation. A reexamination of the Dewey-Lippmann debates points to the pivotal roles of dissent, dialogue and critical agency in democracy, and to the conclusion that, despite recent criticisms, critical pedagogy represented by Freire best meets Neumann's goal of a more “holistic approach to democratic health” (332).

Injection allergen immunotherapy for asthma

Allergen specific immunotherapy has long been a controversial treatment for asthma. Although beneficial effects upon clinically relevant outcomes have been demonstrated in randomised controlled trials, there remains a risk of severe and sometimes fatal anaphylaxis. The recommendations of professional bodies have ranged from cautious acceptance to outright dismissal. With increasing interest in new allergen preparations and methods of delivery, we updated the systematic review of allergen specific immunotherapy for asthma. The objective of this review was to assess the effects of allergen specific immunotherapy for asthma. We searched the Cochrane Airways Group Trials Register up to 2005, Dissertation Abstracts and Current Contents. Randomised controlled trials using various forms of allergen specific immunotherapy to treat asthma and reporting at least one clinical outcome. Three authors independently assessed eligibility of studies for inclusion. Two authors independently performed quality assessment of studies. Eighty-eight trials were included (13 new trials). There were 42 trials of immunotherapy for house mite allergy; 27 pollen allergy trials; 10 animal dander allergy trials; two Cladosporium mould allergy, two latex and six trials looking at multiple allergens. Concealment of allocation was assessed as clearly adequate in only 16 of these trials. Significant heterogeneity was present in a number of comparisons. Overall, there was a significant reduction in asthma symptoms and medication, and improvement in bronchial hyper-reactivity following immunotherapy. There was a significant improvement in asthma symptom scores (standardised mean difference -0.59, 95% confidence interval -0.83 to -0.35) and it would have been necessary to treat three patients (95% CI 3 to 5) with immunotherapy to avoid one deterioration in asthma symptoms. Overall it would have been necessary to treat four patients (95% CI 3 to 6) with immunotherapy to avoid one requiring increased medication. Allergen immunotherapy significantly reduced allergen specific bronchial hyper-reactivity, with some reduction in non-specific bronchial hyper-reactivity as well. There was no consistent effect on lung function. If 16 patients were treated with immunotherapy, one would be expected to develop a local adverse reaction. If nine patients were treated with immunotherapy, one would be expected to develop a systemic reaction (of any severity). Immunotherapy reduces asthma symptoms and use of asthma medications and improves bronchial hyper-reactivity. One trial found that the size of the benefit is possibly comparable to inhaled steroids. The possibility of local or systemic adverse effects (such as anaphylaxis) must be considered.

First things first: sustaining political will for public governance change

This revised text of the Braibant lecture delivered in Helsinki addresses the widely shared difficulty of creating enough political will to reform public institutions, before crisis strikes and not after, and then to sustain the reforms through to completion. There is virtually no incentive for politicians or governments to do this: interests (including the administration itself) will most likely be hostile; meaningful change is only measured in years; few votes can be won. Yet the complex problems faced today by both individual countries and at planetary level, summarized in the beginning of the article, are so serious that it is vital to find ways to alleviate this difficulty without which all public policies and programmes suffer. The principal means must be much sharper and more articulately organized pressures for change so as to make it politically inconvenient to ignore them, and thus provide a genuine incentive to act. Nine propositions are made. Points for practitioners There are no obvious answers to the problem of getting the sustained interest of the political class to prosecute reform of public governance. Can sharper pressures along with the necessary fora and processes be developed? The difficulty is compounded by the trend to cynicism and outright dismissal as regards public authorities. On the other hand, the growing perception of dramatic problems shared across the planet introduces a potential for new institutional initiatives, mobilization of external groupings, incentive structures or attitude changes. As one example, could the trend to independent, more transparent responsibilities in such domains as monetary or fiscal policy be relevant?

The Moral Equivalent of “Don Cherry”

Hockey pundit Don Cherry stands as one of Canada’s most polarizing figures. His viewpoints tend to elicit reactions of either dogmatic support or outright dismissal in Canada. Supporters view Cherry as a defender of “their game,” and ultimately their country. Critics view him as a simplistic, loud-mouthed, and uninformed sport personality contributing little to Canadian society, or at worst, serving as a socially destructive force. This essay explores the ways that the more complex idea of Don Cherry potentially influences Canadian democratic discourse both positively and negatively. Appropriating Willaim James’s essay on war, Richard Rorty’s ideas about hope and pride in a nationalistic sense, as well as John Ralston Saul’s notions of positive and negative nationalism, the essay contends that while Don Cherry engages Canadians in important moral dialogue and exhibits necessary national pride, he does so in a hopeless and “negative” fashion. The essay concludes that Canadian democracy requires the search for “moral equivalents of Don Cherry.”

On Political Conspiracy Theories*

IT is often pointed out that political conspiracy theories are of limited falsifiability. Government officials’ public statements and testimonies in a court of law that contradict a conspiracy theory can be interpreted as signs that support the theory. Almost all potentially falsifying evidence can be construed to be supporting or neutral. Official reports that contradict conspiracy theories are exactly what conspiracy theorists expect governments to produce. Although some people tend to reject conspiracy theories because of this feature, limited falsifiability is not really a problem. As many authors have argued, it is not ad hoc reasoning to suppose that misleading evidence will be thrown your way when one believes that there is somebody out there actively feeding that evidence to investigators and seeking to steer the investigation away from the truth of the matter. However, limited falsifiability may lead to problems, even if it is not a problem per se. At least, this is the claim that has recently been defended. While most conspiracy theories may not warrant outright dismissal, they do “warrant a degree of skepticism.” Although conspiracies sometimes occur, “it is usually not rational to believe in them.” In what follows, I will briefly analyze the view that most political conspiracy theories should be rejected on the grounds that they embody “an almost nihilistic degree of skepticism about the behavior and motivations of other people and the social institutions they constitute.” This view has been widely criticized, but I will try to show that the objections presented so far are not wholly convincing. I will then formulate my own argument against that position, and argue that, in a sense, political conspiracy theories may not be much weaker explanations than standard non-conspirational

Murder, He Wrote: The Fate of The Woman in Max Frisch's Mein Name sei Gantenbein

At least since publication in 1989 of Monika Albrecht's meticulously documented study, andere Seite: Zur Bedeutung von Werk und Person Max Frischs in Ingeborg Bachmanns Todesarten, reading Malina as Bachmann's targeted response to Mein Name set Gantenbein has been well established. Bachmann, so conventional wisdom goes, recognized herself all too clearly in figure of Lila Gantenbein and was deeply offended by Frisch's indiscreet exploitation of their relationship-they lived together on and off from 1958 to 1963-as literarisches Material.2 She wielded her revenge in form of her own roman a clef in which Frisch appears camouflaged as Ivan. Indeed, entire Todesanen project may be read as Bachmann's coming to terms with Max Frisch both personally and professionally, her planned trilogy (Malina, Das Buck Franza, and Requiem fur Fanny Goldmann) conceived as countertexts to Frisch's own (Stiller, Homo faber, and Mein Name Gantenbein).3 In her monumental study on Bachmann, Sigrid Weigel has recently challenged this view. Dismissing Frisch's incorporation of his affair with Bachmann into Gantenbein and Bachmann's embittered, vengeful response to it in Malina as no more than a rumor (337), she posits that it rather with Paul Celan's poetic work that Bachmann enters into a cryptogrammic intertextual dialogue (411). And while Weigel careful to emphasize that character of is not Celan -[d]ie Bedeutung Celans fur Malina ist nun keineswegs so zu verstehen, dass Celan sei (emphasis Weigel, 417)-her very juxtaposition of their assonant names (Ivan/Celan) more or less forces equation. She qualifies her claim by localizing Bachmann/Celan correspondences in what she calls eine Form Sprachmagie: Es sind weniger Motive oder Themen, eher einzelne Worter, sprachliche Bilder oder Schriftbilder, die zwischen der Lyrik Celans und Bachmanns kursieren (426). This she substantiates with a four-page list of lyrical allusions in Malina to Celan's poetry (420-23), most from twenty-eight poems Celan had personally dedicated to Bachmann, and most contained in fairy tale Die Geheimnisse der Prinzessin von Kagran embedded into first chapter of her novel. Yet either/or question of whether Max Frisch or Paul Celan served as a model for Ivan-however disguised or artistically sublimated-belies long recognized polyphonic complexity of Malina. No doubt both men, and other men, meld into a composite much like catchall figure of Hans, Ungeheuer in story Undine geht, of whom narrator says, das ihr alle so heist, einer wie der andere [...] (Bachmann 2: 253). The name Ivan, which calls forth familiar epithet the Terrible, would speak for an interpretation along these lines: for female Ich, all men are terrible in same all-encompassing sense.4 That historic Ivan der Schreckliche appears in Frisch's play Chinesiscke Mauer as epitome of patriarchal power politics-a correspondence not yet pointed out-lends further credence to Frisch's role in Bachmann's casting of figure. Weigel's outright dismissal of Frisch connection, her refusal to acknowledge any influence on Bachmann whatsoever, seems to say more about her own (negligible) relationship with Swiss author than it does about Bachmann's. Weigel's position all more perplexing since she so careful to qualify Bachmann's allusions to Celan. Her recognition of their localized quality within Malina and especially her claim that Bachmann and Celan do not share motifs and themes speak for existence of another intertextual site at which thematic concerns are in fact addressed. I will argue that, indeed, Frisch's Mein Name Gantenbein constitutes that site. The remarkable congruence of motifs and themes between Malina and Gantenbein attests to a much more fundamental correspondence between two works than has thus far been assumed. This applies especially to what has long been recognized as central theme in Malina but has yet to be acknowledged as central to Mein Name Gantenbein as well: annihilation of female subjectivity. …

Technology in World History: Cultures of Constraint and Innovation, Emulation, and Technology Transfers

Technology in World History Culturs of Constraint and Innvation, Emulation, and Technology Transfers1 Ian Inkster Introduction: Approaching Technology The approaches by social scientists and historians to the important theme of cultural constraints on technological innovation and creativity have been varied and highly problematic. Many analyses of innovation focus on its inducement through entirely noncultural, or seemingly acultural, processes (Binswanger & Ruttan, 1978). Here the focus has mostly been on economically induced technological innovation, normally operating through a change in relative-factor prices or demand. Thus, historians have discovered stasis in early Chinese technologies due to a rising man/ land ratio (Chao, 1986). So also Ahmad's induced-innovation hypothesis suggests that a decline in wages relative to land prices, say, would encourage [End Page 108] technical progress that was biased in land-saving and labor-using directions through the multitudinous agency of profit-seeking individuals operating with good information in competitive market conditions, and much effort has gone into econometric testing of such theorizing (Ahmad, 1966). Historians of technology frequently come across such relations, although often extended to incorporate bias toward or away from certain priced materials or skills components—persistent technicians will spend much ingenuity in substituting alloys or other metals or materials for copper or zinc that is rising in price. The need to exploit a potential asset at low cost might induce a search for new techniques, as in the cyanide process for gold extraction from tailings in the late nineteenth century (Inkster & Todd, 1988). But such inducements seem to refer principally to switches within an existing technological or production system. In historical situations where such markets, agency, and information may not be assumed away, and where much of the analytical problem lies with the manner in which knowledge develops and is brought to bear on production in some places and times (and not in other places or times), such analyses become less interesting and useful. Markets are themselves institutions with real cultural histories, and where markets are weak, then a variety of cultural factors may intrude on the manner in which sensible private or public agents take up or entirely eschew technological innovation. Cultural factors also loom the larger when we, as working historians, are forced to consider the whole range of Schumpeterian-style innovation, beyond mere product or machine/process innovations. This is partly because cultures might retard technological innovation though at the same time may induce innovations in organizations, markets, and other aspects of technological change in the wider, Schumpeterian sense. We must therefore be prepared to at least consider the historical force of cultures of innovation in areas other than the strictly technological, for innovations in institutions (for instance), may have as great an impact on economic growth and productivity as any shiny new machine (North, 2005). Culture and All That Famously, Raymond Williams warned that the term "culture" is among the most "complicated words in the English language" (Williams, 1983, p. 88). It seems that such scare quotes remain appropriate. But it seems as apparent, that if we are to examine the relations between culture and technological change, then we need some limiting and working definition of the more doubtful of the two key terms. This is because any attempt at [End Page 109] persuading historians of the material world that physical outcomes might be decisively and measurably determined by cultural elements peculiar to particular civilizations, nations, institutions, or sites will encounter intellectual resistance. If such persuasions utilize terms that are clearly superinclusive, then they are that much more easily faulted. If we are not to confuse past culture with past life itself, then we must risk some charges of reductionism in favor of the greater certainty of a more outright dismissal. Much of the observed behavior that is attributed to such terms as "values," "attitudes," and "culture" is historically channelled and perceived through the workings of specific institutions. Although the field is a very large one, we might summarize...

Willis, 'Theology,' and the Rule of Law

Introduction John Willis memorably characterized himself as a '"government man," "a legislation man," and "a what actually happens man" ... [who tried] to talk administrative law with a civil service and political science accent.'1 He railed against the widespread legal use of 'constitutional theology' and 'lawyer's values'; disparaged the modern 'cults' of individualism, participatory democracy, and openness; and bemoaned the growth of public law cases litigated by '"concerned" busybodies.'2 From the perspective of one who thinks that 'theological' concepts such as the rule of law have value – and not just of the lawyerly kind – I propose to use Willis's writings as a launching pad to explore several of the shortcomings and strengths of the sort of functionalism and realism he espoused. It is a tricky terrain to traverse, and I will do my best to fulfil my role as a respectful critic and a reliable guide who uses both her feet and her head in the 'shadowy and arduous borderland between law, political science and public administration.'3 I begin by summarizing what constitutes the 'global and theological' and the 'specific and practical' for Willis.4 Here I suggest which aspects of Willis's thought we should take to heart and which aspects remain [End Page 767] undertheorized as they relate to the rule of law. At the very least, I hope it will be clear that functionalist, positivist, and realist approaches tell us only part of the intricate story that is the rule of law. I will then argue that the rule of law is a complex synthesis of the two moralities that Lon Fuller has described as the moralities of duty and of aspiration.5 Contrasting Fuller's broader and deeply theoretical functionalism with Willis's more institutionalist approach will establish why we need to reunite these two approaches within the discussion of the rule of law; why this synthesis is relevant for a reconsideration of functionalism, positivism, and realism; and what it tells us about a rule of law regime. Fuller's understanding of law, I will argue, comports with certain aspects of the metaphor of 'institutional dialogue,' a metaphor that purports to describe the actual and ideal relationships between Canadian judicial and legislative institutions. While I endorse such a concept in theory, I concur with critics that the lack of empirical accuracy combined with normative disengagement renders it dangerously close to the 'theological.' At the end of the day, the rule of law is less theology than politics, and legal scholars must face up to the task of disclosing which political theory, on their understanding, best supports and endorses the rule of law and its associated practices. Indeed, I assert that the rule of law is a belief – a Fullerian politico-legal fiction – that requires the endorsement and practice of the three 'cults' Willis dismissed as dangerous and unpromising. In the final section, I explain why legal scholars need to attend to trends discussed in political theory or risk the outright dismissal of this important concept by other disciplines. II The gospel according to John (Willis), abridged A The Disciple of Functionalism Willis's oeuvre displays a persistent and sardonic realism channelled into functional analyses. His basic institutional questions remain the problem of dividing up government powers and 'entrusting government work to those bodies which are most fitted to carry it out.'6 Such a clear concern [End Page 768] for the distribution of power holds little regard for any judicial use in administrative law of concepts prefaced by the weasel-prefix 'quasi-' (e.g., quasi-judicial, quasi-legislative, quasi-constitutional), which only worked to fudge the distinction between the legislative and the judicial, to the detriment of administrative agencies of the time.7 Willis therefore argued for the proper recognition by the judiciary of the necessary existence of the modern administrative state, with administrative agencies performing a vital regulatory and intermediary function based on a combination of good judgement...

NEPAD AND CIVIL SOCIETY IN SOUTH AFRICA

The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) is widely regarded in South Africa as the signature tune of Thabo Mbeki’s presidency. As such, it has been criticised and lauded from various quarters of civil society. But it has seldom been interrogated outside of the overheated context of national politics. This paper argues that NEPAD offers, if nothing else, at least the opportunity for South African civil society organisations to collaborate with like-minded groups across borders in Africa, thereby increasing their political leverage as a democratic counterweight to African governments. It is this process – rather than uncritical selling or outright dismissal of the NEPAD brandname – which will contribute towards better governance in Africa, with all its benefits for human security and development.

Allergen immunotherapy for asthma.

Allergen specific immunotherapy has long been a controversial treatment for asthma. Although beneficial effects upon clinically relevant outcomes have been demonstrated in randomised controlled trials, there remains a risk of severe and sometimes fatal anaphylaxis. The recommendations of professional bodies have ranged from cautious acceptance to outright dismissal. With increasing interest in new allergen preparations and new methods of delivery, it was time to conduct another systematic review of allergen specific immunotherapy for asthma. The objective of this review was to assess the effects of allergen specific immunotherapy for asthma. We searched the Cochrane Airways Group trials register up to June 2001, MEDLINE, Dissertation Abstracts, Current Contents and reference lists of articles. Randomised controlled trials using various forms of allergen specific immunotherapy to treat asthma and reporting at least one clinical outcome. Three reviewers independently assessed eligibility of studies for inclusion. Two reviewers independently performed quality assessment of studies. Seventy-five trials were included (52 of 54 previously included trials and 23 new trials). A total of 3,506 participants (3,188 with asthma) were involved. There were 36 trials of immunotherapy for house mite allergy; 20 pollen allergy trials; ten animal dander allergy trials; two Cladosporium mould allergy, one latex and six trials looking at multiple allergens. Concealment of allocation was assessed as clearly adequate in only 15 of these trials. Significant heterogeneity was present in a number of comparisons. Overall, there was a significant reduction in asthma symptoms and medication and improvement in bronchial hyper-reactivity following immunotherapy. There was a significant improvement in asthma symptom scores (standardised mean difference -0.72, 95% confidence interval -0.99 to -0.33) and it would have been necessary to treat 4 (95%CI 3 to 5) patients with immunotherapy to avoid one deterioration in asthma symptoms. Overall it would have been necessary to treat 5 (95%CI 4 to 6) patients with immunotherapy to avoid one requiring increased medication. Allergen immunotherapy significantly reduced allergen specific bronchial hyper-reactivity, with some reduction in non-specific bronchial hyper-reactivity as well. There was no consistent effect on lung function. Immunotherapy reduces asthma symptoms and use of asthma medications and improves bronchial hyper-reactivity. One trial found that the size of the benefit is possibly comparable to inhaled steroids. The possibility of adverse effects (such as anaphylaxis) must be considered.

Why Did Adorno “Hate” Jazz?

Adorno's jazz essays have attracted considerable notoriety not only for their negative and dismissive evaluation of jazz as music but for their outright dismissal of all the claims made on behalf of jazz by its exponents and admirers, even of claims concerning the black origins of jazz music. This paper offers a critical exposition of Adorno's views on jazz and outlines an alternative theory of the culture industry as the basis of a critique of Adorno's critical theory. Adorno's arguments are discussed in the context of his wider theoretical commitment to a model of structuration—in both musical and social relations—that establishes a dividing line between a moral aesthetic praxis that can be approved as having “truth-value” and one that betrays and subverts the truth. In Adorno's analysis, jazz finds itself positioned on the wrong side of that line and, accordingly, is condemned. It is argued that it is Adorno's commitment to a formalist model of art works that has been superseded by modern aesthetic practice in both so-called “serious” art as well as in the works of the culture industries that binds him to a regressive model of aesthetic praxis. An alternative theory of the culture industry is outlined that explores its positive functions in enhancing the resources available for culture creation through its transmission of aesthetic codes, and in mediating relations between so-called high and low art.