Splendid Isolation Research Articles

In splendid isolation: a new cloud forest species expands the distribution of Myrceugenia (Myrtaceae) into Las Yungas and adds a new genus to the flora of Bolivia

Myrceugenia is a temperate or subtropical genus of c. 50 species with a disjunct distribution across South America. The ‘western’ species occur in central Chile and north-western Argentina with one species in the Juan Fernández Islands. The ‘eastern’ species occur in Uruguay, southern Brazil, and marginal regions of Argentina and Paraguay, reaching montane eastern Brazil (two isolated taxa in Central Brazil). It is hypothesized that Myrceugenia once grew across the temperate forests of southern South America, but that oceanic transgressions and the elevation of the Andes during the Miocene divided its populations as the forests retracted from the centre of the continent. The Las Yungas floristic province is a strip of cool, temperate forest that runs along the eastern slopes of the Andes from Venezuela to northern Argentina; Myrceugenia was not known to occur there. We report the discovery of a new species of Myrceugenia in southern Las Yungas (Bosque Tucumano Boliviano). It is distinct from all other species of the genus by the combination of solitary flowers, sub-ancipitate hypanthium, bilocular locules, and 12-13 clustered ovules. The phylogeny of Myrceugenia shows geographic structuring with three basal western clades and one derived eastern clade. The isolated taxa of Myrceugenia from Central Brazil were sisters, respectively, to the rest of the eastern clade and to one of its two subclades, suggesting that isolated taxa are relictual. The discovery of this species has made Myrceugenia the only genus of Myrtaceae to grow in the three cool, humid forests of southern South America.

THE CONCEPT OF SPLENDID ISOLATION: A CONTEMPORARY APPROACH

The article deals with the concept of «splendid isolation», traditionally associated with British foreign policy in the late 19th century, refers to the period when Britain distanced itself from European alliances. This article examines the rationale and consequences of this policy through a contemporary lens, drawing on contemporary scholarship to reassess the motivations and outcomes of Britain's diplomatic posture in that era. Analyzing the concept of «splendid isolation», the study focuses on the political, economic and military factors that determined British strategy. The focus of the study is also the analysis of criticism of this strategy and its consequences for Great Britain in the context of changes in the international balance of power at the beginning of the 20th century. The question arises as to whether «splendid isolation» was really an effective strategy for protecting national interests and maintaining the status of a world power. The traditional view of British foreign policy in the late Victorian era emphasizes independence and avoidance of binding alliances. The article examines the changes in the international environment, especially the growing competition from France, Russia, Germany and the United States, and how they influenced the decisions of British politicians. The article also examines the transition from isolationist policies to strategic alliances at the beginning of the 20th century.

The Data Product-service Composition Frontier: A Hybrid Learning Approach

The service dominant logic is a base concept behind modern economies and software products, with service composition being a well-known practice for companies to gain a competitive edge over others by joining differentiated services together, typically assembled according to a number of features. At the other end of the spectrum, product compositions are a marketing device to sell products together in bundles that often augment the value for the customer, e.g., with suggested product interactions, sharing, and so on. Unfortunately, currently each of these two streams—namely, product and service composition—are carried out and delivered individually in splendid isolation: anything is being offered as a product and as a service, disjointly. We argue that the next wave of services computing features more and more service fusion with physical counterparts as well as data around them. Therefore a need emerges to investigate the interactive engagement of both (data) products and services. This manuscript offers a real-life implementation in support of this argument, using (1) genetic algorithms (GA) to shape product-service clusters, (2) end-user feedback to make the GAs interactive with a data-driven fashion, and (3) a hybridized approach which factors into our solution an ensemble machine-learning method considering additional features. All this research was conducted in an industrial environment. With such a cross-fertilized, data-driven, and multi-disciplinary approach, practitioners from both fields may benefit from their mutual state of the art as well as learn new strategies for product, service, and data product-service placement for increased value to the customer as well as the service provider. Results show promise but also highlight plenty of avenues for further research.

The policy-reality gap of bullying in higher education: implications for HR and managers – a comparative study of Australian and Croatian universities

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between higher educational institution bullying policies and the subsequent cultural impact to determine the effectiveness of policy in ameliorating bullying within the university culture.Design/methodology/approachThis study consisted of two separate but related case studies at two universities in different countries, focussing on university staff. The field work gathered data about existing anti-bullying policy, the extent to which it was part of the organisational culture for staff, and the levels of staff bullying experienced or seen within the organisation. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected.FindingsThe study found that despite one university having significant policy and the other having very little policy, the knowledge of policy in both universities was and subsequent experience of bullying for staff were very similar.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings indicate that anti-bullying policy alone appears to have a limited impact on organisational behaviour. This suggests that the entrenched and historical master/servant relations of academia enable such practices to continue. Policy implementation is insufficient and training and development to generate more inclusive, people-focussed management cultures is necessary to ameliorate bullying behaviour.Practical implicationsThe paper draws on the experiences, critique and suggestions of the study participants to prepare a possible agenda for cultural change that human resource (HR) managers could develop in association with academic and professional managers within their institution.Social implicationsThe findings suggest that in any social setting or organisational structure where strong historical patterns of master/servant endure, the opportunity for bullying behaviours to grow and flourish is fertile and that policy statements alone may have little impact on curtailing such behaviour.Originality/valueThis study makes two contributions to existing knowledge. First, it provides evidence that anti-bullying policy is alone unlikely to have an effective impact on instances of bullying within the culture. Second, the case study contrast displays that unacceptable levels of bullying exist in two very different institutions in two very different cultures. Whilst one country has a war-torn history and the other exists in splendid isolation, the same patterns persist, indicating that universities have structured cultural issues that are difficult to change.

The German Threat and Discussions about European Unions:
 Features of the Liberal Political and Ideological Continuity
 of the Leaders of the Liberal Party from W. Gladstone to G. Asquith
 in the Late XIX – Early XX Centuries

The subject of the research is the foreign policy of Great Britain in the late 19th – early 20th centuries and the continuity of the foreign policy course of liberal political figures. The purpose of the analysis is the views and activities of significant British liberal politicians on foreign policy issues against the background of the transformation of the philosophy of liberalism and unprecedented
 competition in colonial expansion among major European powers. A number of trends in the development of the political and ideological course of the Liberal Party of Great Britain are demonstrated - a quick rejection of the policy of
 «Splendid Isolation» to the search for friendly powers on the European continent and the direct influence of liberal-imperialist circles on changing the foreign policy strategy. The study of sources confirms that as part of the evolution of the philosophy of liberalism at the end of the 19th century, the idea of the foreign
 policy of Great Britain in the circles of liberal politicians of the country also changed. The author comes to the conclusion that after W. Gladstone left power, the liberals hastened to move away from the policy of «Splendid Isolation». A. Rosebery tried to maintain a balance of power, but, as an adherent of liberal
 imperialism, he actively used military force, not striving to be the first to establish friendship with anyone in Europe. During the period of opposition 1896-1905 not only liberal-imperialists such as E. Grey, H. Asquith, R. Haldane, but also pacifists such as H. Campbell-Bannerman came to the conclusion that a world conflict was inevitable against the backdrop of growing disagreements with Germany and the need to choose an ally in Europe.

Re-defining Türkiye's International Relations - 2 Decades of 360° Foreign Policies

Analyzing modern Türkiye’s foreign policy is the perfect case study of how, over time, a nation-state can completely restructure its approach to engaging with the outside world. Yet this analysis does not aim to propose an extended or complete listing of individual countries’ relations; on the contrary, it basically tries to suggest what was the catalyst when measurable change occurred for the first time. In brief, Türkiye progressed from promoting splendid isolation during the past millennium to becoming a fully integrated and often trend-setting international actor in just over two decades. Hence, determining the actual catalyst for change, which according to the author is not just an election victory but also a much more profound paradigm shift in elected officials’ attitudes towards the wider world, is this contribution’s major aim. After discussing the analytical differences between international relations on the one hand and foreign policies on the other and focusing on the electorate as a key contributor and beneficiary of and from proactive foreign policies, the piece proposes a number of key examples to come up with a tangible way to measure foreign policy success. At the same time, the question is put forward in which context there might be even more to expect from Ankara and its constant desire to further expand on an already impressively positive global image. Whether or not foreign policies are an integral part of Türkiye’s 100-year strategy and thus become a focus of Türkiye the Brand serves as the concluding reflection.

Addressing Nigerian Economic Challenges through the Instrumentality of the Law

Under the new dispensation, lawyers should be more involved in political and social engineering. Being the light bearer by virtue of their special training, they should bear the light at every dark enclave to show hidden attempts at the lawyer in misgovernance, misrule, and maladministration. The new dispensation must be dogged and determined fighter for freedom and equity and to ensure that the ordinary citizen is protected from threatened abuse of his fundamental rights through reckless and arrogant exercise of state powers the lawyers should take their pride of place in society. They should jettison the garb of eggheads living like strangers in a splendid isolation in his own society oblivious of important development in the economic and social affairs of his country. The lawyers` role in the new policy should be that of an active participant in the platonic search for common good”. Aare Afe Babalola, SAN1

Iron Age Terracotta Figurines from the Southern Levant in Context

Iron Age Terracotta Figurines from the Southern Levant in Context

Calcio Danubiano in the Mediterranean: Austrian Footballers in Malta, 1935–1938

Abstract: In the 1930s, Great Britain's undisputed hegemony in the world of football was increasingly under challenge by Central European football, particularly that of Austria, Hungary and Czechoslovakia. This was despite the fact that apart from a few international matches, the two centers were strictly separated from each other by the British sports policy of ‘splendid isolation’. However, as Central European football in the mid-1930s was barely viable economically, many players sought their fortune abroad, looking for engagements everywhere in Europe where professional football was played. Not all, though, went to continental Europe: between 1935 and 1938, twenty players from Vienna were engaged in Malta where football was gradually becoming professional. Because Malta was then a crown colony of Britain, an indirect link was forged between the two football strongholds. To illustrate how this connection stimulated the emergence of a Europeanised popular football culture, this article will examine the complex relations between British football and its important protagonists with a focus on the role of both the underlying structural and personal aspects.

Infinitive avoidance and splendid isolation: Rousseau and the use of conflicts in education

The impact of Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s educational philosophy can hardly be overestimated. In this article, I re-examine Rousseau’s key text Emile, or On Education and discuss his concept of conflict and the use of conflicts in his imaginary educational philosophy. A detailed analysis suggests that Rousseau was not only an extreme avoider of conflict, by putting Emile in multiple forms of isolation, but that he also postponed any form of social conflict and carefully controlled, directed and manipulated Emile’s personal and social experiences. To realise a new way of upbringing following the ‘natural’ development of the child, I contend that Rousseau excelled in an obsessively controlled and manipulative pedagogy. Liberation from social norms and traditions – by following the unfolding ‘natural development’, which was Rousseau’s overall project – turned into an individual dictate ruled by an omnipresent educational governor: Rousseau. I conclude that Rousseau’s philosophy of education was deliberately anti-social and might well be a fundamental barrier to regaining conflicts in education.

The Essential Writings of Vannevar Bush edited by G. Pascal Zachary

<i>The Essential Writings of Vannevar Bush</i> edited by G. Pascal Zachary

Splendid isolation: Managing time and making culture among novelists during the pandemic

While many public performances of culture were shut down during much of the pandemic, the homes of many artists became prominent places for making culture. In particular, the pandemic created a rift in the temporal and spatial organization of work and leisure, affecting time management. This article turns to the creative lives of 32 novelists in Sweden who were interviewed online over video in 2020 and 2021. Using the example of these authors, the article investigates the impact of the pandemic on actors in culture who, to a large degree, already work creatively in physical isolation. The pandemic became an external shock affecting the temporal organization among authors and their ability to juggle commitments in life. For some, the pandemic situation appeared to create a rare slowdown of their relationships to their creative lives as well as a synchronization of spheres of life, feelings of resonance, and time for writing. As their regular activities disappeared and commitments weakened, others felt a non-resonant slowdown in their creative capacities. Those whose lives were intensified by new or additional work to make ends meet lost time for creative work, with writing becoming a guilty pleasure in response to the pandemic as a trauma. The research results emphasize the temporal conditions for making culture at home during the pandemic and argue for the general importance of studying temporal organizations of careers and art-making.

Our Civilizing Mission: The Lessons of Colonial Education

Our Civilizing Mission: The Lessons of Colonial Education

Unexpected record of the aquatic sloth Thalassocnus (Mammalia, Xenarthra, Folivora) in the upper Neogene of the Puna (Jujuy, Argentina)

ABSTRACT Xenarthra are, very probably, the most basally branching clade among Placentalia, and the result of the so-called “Splendid Isolation” of South America. Although this is the only endemic clade with living representatives, its current diversity is very poor compared with that achieved during most of the Cenozoic. One particular clade, Folivora (living and fossil sloths), includes one of the most enigmatic animals, Thalassocnus, the only genus of the subfamily Thalassocninae. It was originally interpreted as an aquatic sloth taking into account the previous records, which are limited to coastal areas of the latest Miocene and Pliocene of Peru and Chile. Here we present the first record of Thalassocnus from Argentina, which in turn represents the first finding of the genus in a continental sequence. The materials (JUY-P-0180, radius, ulna and part of the articulated left manus) were exhumed from the upper member of the Tafna Formation (Late Miocene–Pliocene) in the eastern Puna (Jujuy Province), Argentina. In agreement with our comparative study, the cladistic analysis corroborates its identification as belonging to the genus Thalassocnus, being placed in a relatively basal location. This finding is of paleobiogeographic and paleoenvironmental significance, due to its location, more than 1171 km away from the Peruvian locality (Sacaco) and more than 750 km from the nearest ones in Chile (Caldera). This extends the geographic range from 76°W to 65°53′W, and from typical littoral environments, to clearly more terrestrial ones. The evolutionary and paleobiogeographic history of Thalassocnus is more complex than previously interpreted.

Antisemitism in History and Politics

Antisemitism in History and Politics Omer Bartov (bio) The highly politicized current debate over defining antisemitism suffers from a profound lack of historical perspective. Indeed, like many previous debates about antisemitism, it reflects the politics of the moment much more than the historical record. Not for the first time, the feuding camps are divided by their irreconcilable positions: those who see the world through an antisemitic prism, for whom everything that has gone wrong with the world, or with their personal lives, is the fault of the Jews; and those who see the world through an anti-antisemitic prism, for whom every critical observation of Jews as individuals or as a community, or, most crucially, of the state of Israel, is inherently antisemitic. But what do we mean when we speak of antisemitism? Because of its long and complex history, antisemitism can only be understood by tracing its deep roots as well as its modern transformation since the late nineteenth century. And because antisemitic arguments have always been answered by counterarguments, anti-antisemitism has a similarly extended and multifaceted history. For that reason, over time both have meant different things to different people, and both have been mobilized for political ends time and time again. Indeed, in an obvious if at times peculiar way, these two discourses have become dependent on one another. Historically, long before the [End Page 100] term antisemitism was coined, anti-Jewish animus played a role not only in how Jews were perceived by others, but also in how Jews interacted with the world and, especially in the modern era, in how they perceived themselves. Conversely, anti-antisemitic rhetoric gains public importance and visibility whenever it succeeds in persuading the public that antisemitism is a real and present danger. What has been called "the longest hatred" has a long and complex history.1 For centuries, the vast majority of world Jewry lived in the midst of Christian communities. By the eighteenth century, some 80 percent of all Jews in the world resided in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, where they had their own governing institutions, legal apparatus, special rights from the king, and, in the vast stretches of the kingdom's eastern borderlands were offered far-reaching privileges by Polish magnates.2 To be sure, the fact that Polish monarchs and lords enticed Jews to their lands and estates by providing them with numerous privileges aroused much resentment among peasants and townsmen. If the former disliked being controlled by Jews as leasers of noble estates, the latter saw Jews as competitors in the same socioeconomic niche. Yet, the Jews were needed as estate managers, artisans, manufacturers, merchants, and go-betweens linking remote villages to local marketplaces. This meant in turn that there was constant interaction between Jews and their Christian neighbors. The notion of the shtetl as existing in splendid (or wretched) isolation was always more of a myth and a figment of the literary imagination than a social reality.3 But it is also true that Jews and Christians lived both together and apart.4 What set them apart was religious loathing and socioeconomic resentment on the part of Christians, on the one hand, and the clear and rigid boundaries that Jewish communities drew between themselves and their neighbors, on the other. Without such boundaries, the Jews might have ended up like the Armenians who fulfilled a similar socioeconomic role but, being Christian, ended up assimilating into the Polish population. The Jews were thus both kept apart and chose to keep themselves apart. Suspicion and loathing were as mutual as interaction was common. [End Page 101] To be sure, this was not a symmetrical relationship as the Jews were a minority living in a Christian universe and Christianity was in large part based on a theological disdain for Judaism and Jews. The Church kept them in its midst as witnesses "to the truth of Christianity," numerous expulsions notwithstanding. Anti-Jewish imagery, which became increasingly prevalent beginning in the twelfth century, associated Jews with the devil and with everything unclean, threatening, and unnatural, including the charge of using Christian blood for religious purposes. This combination of socioeconomic resentment and religious disparagement combined with demonic imagery was the...

The Eastern European Problem of Hasidic Studies

The Eastern European Problem of Hasidic Studies Wojciech Tworek (bio) “Karl marx was a German philosopher,” writes Leszek Kołakowski in the introduction to his history of Marxist thought. “This does not sound a particularly enlightening statement, yet it is not so commonplace as it may at first appear.”1 Mimicking the Polish philosopher, I will begin by saying that Hasidism (lehavdil!) was an Eastern European phenomenon. And while this statement sounds trivial, and recurs in many publications about Hasidism, it has had limited impact on the shape of Hasidic studies. There is little of Eastern Europe in Hasidic studies, and, conversely (and to some extent resulting from this), there is very little Hasidism in the Jewish studies programs taught in Eastern Europe. This short essay is not—and cannot be—a thorough critique of the field of Hasidic studies. Still, my general impression is that there are three dominant modes in which Hasidic scholars engage with Eastern Europe. The first one is inadvertent erasure, in which this geography is relegated to the margins by, to paraphrase Daniel Dennett, free-floating rationales of Hasidic theology. The second one uses Eastern Europe as a symbolic reservoir of Hasidic culture divorced from its complex historical context, a frum variation of the Yiddishland nostalgia. The third one treats Eastern European spaces as actualized by Hasidic performance. My intention is not to discredit the prolific production of Hasidism scholarship in the phenomenology of religion, cultural history, history of ideas, anthropology, literary studies, and so on. Many excellent and illuminating studies emerge from these perspectives, but I would say that their relation to Eastern Europe is tangential at best. For the record, my own work subscribes heavily to the first and third models. [End Page 256] Admittedly, I paint this image of Hasidism scholarship in rather broad strokes. Scholars have criticized some methodological biases of the field, most directly Yohanan Petrovsky-Shtern in his description of “star-struck Hasidim,” and Marcin Wodziński in his “five cardinal sins” of research on Hasidism.2 A number of recent works have, in fact, pushed against these tendencies. These important corrigenda notwithstanding, I argue that the Eastern European problem of Hasidic studies is inherent in the construction of this area of research as a subfield of Jewish studies, according to which particular methodological choices are only secondary. Drawing on recent critical discussions of Jewish studies and their implications for identity politics,3 I will focus here on three major consequences of this state of affairs for Hasidic studies. The first one is the parochialism of Hasidic studies, in which—as in Jewish studies in general—research is implicated in the identitarian work of Jewish self-understanding. I do not mean here only overt and covert neo-Hasidic projects, in which Hasidic sources are reinvented as tools for renewed engagement in Jewish theology or praxis. This tendency is clearly visible in the disproportionate interest in the aspects of Hasidism that are vital for the community today. Thus, for example, the most researched Eastern European Hasidic groups today remain Lubavitch and Breslov, not because of their historical role in the Jewish society of Eastern Europe, but because of their communal significance today. The field (including my own work) focuses so much attention on them because it responds to the need of the contemporary community to understand itself and to tell its own story, in which Chabad mitzvah tanks or the crowds at Rabbi Nahman’s tomb play an important if controversial role. Secondly, the orientation inward contributes to the double marginalization of Hasidic studies. If Jewish studies, in general, pursues a path of “splendid isolation” in academia, then the research on Hasidism often doubles down on it. While scholars of Hasidism have drawn on many disciplines, attempts at integrating their research within broader theoretical and disciplinary frameworks are rare, especially with regards to Hasidism as a historical phenomenon in Eastern Europe. Quite tellingly, one will not find research on Hasidism at the Association for Slavic, Eastern European, and Eurasian Studies conferences, and very few adepts of such [End Page 257] research go on to learn Eastern European languages or incorporate into their work sources other than emic and elitist...

Ageing in Irish Writing: Strangers to Themselves

Ageing in Irish Writing: Strangers to Themselves

The virtues of insularity: Pondering a new chapter in the historical geography of islands

AbstractWe may be on the cusp of a renaissance in small island living. The slow but steady decline that characterised much of the industrial age seems to have been halted in some islands and in some countries – including Ireland and Croatia – and even reversed in some places (the Aran Islands). Using a broad sweep this exploratory article explains the broad historical phenomenon of small island youth outmigration, population decline or resettlement; and how this is being replaced with a newfound value in ‘splendid isolation’ that, however, boasts elements of connectivity (including access to the World Wide Web).

Intercourse and Crosscurrents among Nigerian Peoples in Pre-Colonial Times

Contrary to the popular myth of our people living in splendid isolation from one another, the evidence is clear that in the course of the migrations and subsequent settlement in the respective areas, many groups came in contact with one another. Inter-marriages, wars, mutual cultural borrowings, short and long-distance trade, membership of secret societies, sharing of major traditional institutions of governance and other important factors tended to blur the exclusive identity of the various groups.

“Splendid Isolation”: The reproduction of music industry inequalities in Spotify’s recommendation system

In this article, we argue that offline inequalities, such as core–periphery relations of the music industry, are reproduced by streaming platforms. First, we offer an overview of the reproduction of inequalities and core–periphery dynamics in the music industry. Then we illustrate this through a small-scale network analysis case study of Hungarian metal bands’ connections on Spotify. We show that the primary determinant of a given band’s international connectedness in Spotify’s algorithmic ecosystem is their international label connections. Bands on international labels have more reciprocal international connections and are more likely to be recommended based on actual genre similarity. However, bands signed with local labels or self-published tend to have domestic connections and to be paired with other artists by Spotify’s recommendation system according to their country of origin.