Universalism versus Regionalism in International Organization

1943 ◽  
Vol 37 (5) ◽  
pp. 850-862 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pitman B. Potter

One of the issues likely to become more acute than many others as we move into the period of post-war international reorganization in the next few months is that of regionalism versus universalism. This is the conflict between the view that international organization should proceed upon a regional basis—leaving definition of the proper region or regions aside for the moment—and the view that it should proceed upon a world-wide basis. The partisans of these two views are vigorous in their support, and the problem in itself is extremely important from both a theoretical and a practical standpoint. It has so far not received anything like the attention it deserves.The problem is, of course, not unknown in the national and local spheres of government. Here it is formulated as the question of the proper area of government, or even the ideal size of the state, and this slightly different formulation carries its own implication concerning the treatment of the problem. The issue also arises on the border-line between national and international political problems when the formation of federal unions is under consideration, together with the question of the proper allocation of powers to the central government. We shall later draw upon experience in all of these matters for aid in solving our own problem.

2021 ◽  
pp. 2-3
Author(s):  
Ana Tostões

Devoted to the theme of single-family houses, given the key role they played in the ideal definition of the Modern Movement architecture, as a symbolic and functional affirmation of the utopian turning of dreams into reality, the aim of this issue is to consider the transformation of daily life, and to address the architectural challenges that arose from the joy contained in what we might call the “architecture of happiness.” As we continue to endure a pandemic that has now lasted for more than a year, docomomo wishes to declare that “till the moment, the best vaccine to prevent contagion was invented by architects: the house”. Thus, in response to the question “How should we live?”, it is intended to debate the house and the home agenda as an important topic at the core of Modern Movement architecture. Nowadays, the growing emphasis on wellbeing goes beyond the seminal ideas that modern houses were “machines à habiter” and is closer to an idealistic vision of a stimulating shell for humans, which is shaped by imagination, experimentation, efficiency, and knowledge.


2014 ◽  
Vol 76 ◽  
pp. 15-23
Author(s):  
Barrie J. Wills

A warm welcome to our "World of Difference" to all delegates attending this conference - we hope your stay is enjoyable and that you will leave Central Otago with an enhanced appreciation of the diversity of land use and the resilient and growing economic potential that this region has to offer. Without regional wellbeing the national economy will struggle to grow, something Central Government finally seems to be realising, and the Central Otago District Council Long Term Plan 2012-2022 (LTP) signals the importance of establishing a productive economy for the local community which will aid in the economic growth of the district and seeks to create a thriving economy that will be attractive to business and residents alike. Two key principles that underpin the LTP are sustainability and affordability, with the definition of sustainability being "… development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."


Author(s):  
Jacqueline I. Stone

Buddhists across Asia have often sought to die, as the Buddha himself is said to have done, with a clear and focused mind. This study explores the reception and development in early medieval Japan (roughly, tenth through fourteenth centuries) of the ideal of “dying with right mindfulness” (rinjū shōnen) and the discourses and practices in which it was embedded. By concentrating one’s thoughts on the Buddha at the moment of death, it was said, even the most evil person could escape the round of deluded rebirth and achieve birth in the Pure Land; conversely, even the slightest mental distraction at that juncture could send the most devout practitioner tumbling down into the evil realms. The ideal of mindful death thus generated both hope and anxiety and created a demand for ritual specialists who could help the dying to negotiate this crucial juncture. Examination of hagiographies, ritual manuals, doctrinal writings, didactic tales, diaries, and historical records uncovers the multiple, sometimes contradictory logics by which medieval Japanese approached death. Deathbed practices also illuminate broader issues in medieval Japanese religion that crossed social levels and sectarian lines, including intellectual developments, devotional practices, pollution concerns, ritual performance, and divisions of labor among religious professionals.


1880 ◽  
Vol 26 (113) ◽  
pp. 119
Author(s):  
B. F. C. Costelloe

The first number for the year is not remarkable for any paper of striking value. Readers of the Journal will be chiefly attracted by the long and clearly written resumé of Dr. Hughlings Jackson's recent studies “On Affections of Speech from Disease of the Brain,” which is contributed by Mr. James Sully. He remarks on the great value of Dr. Jackson's attempts to classify the different forms of aphasia under the three main heads or stages of—(1) Defect of Speech, in which the patient has a full vocabulary, but confuses words; (2) Loss of Speech, in which the patient is practically speechless, and his pantomimic power is impaired as well; and (3) Loss of Language, in which, besides being speechless, he has altogether lost the power of pantomime, and even his faculty of emotional language is deeply involved in the wreck. All these states or stages again are, properly speaking, to be distinguished altogether from affections of speech in the way of loss of articulation (owing to paralysis of the tongue, &c.), or loss of vocalisation (owing to disease of the larynx); whereas the three degrees or stages of aphasia proper are due to a deep-seated and severe disorganisation of the brain. The main interest of the theory lies in the ingenious and carefully-argued analysis of the symptoms, by which Dr. Jackson arrives at the theory that as the process of destruction goes on, the superior “layers” or strata of speech fail first—those namely which involve the ordinary power of adapting sounds to the circumstances of the moment as they arise; after them fail the “more highly organized utterances” those, namely, which have in any way become automatic, such as “come on,” “wo! wo!” and even “yes” and “no,” which stand on the border-line between emotional and intellectual language; next fails the power of adapting other than vocal signs to convey an intended meaning, which is called, rather clumsily, “pantomimic propositionising;” and last of all dies out the power of uttering sounds or making signs expressive merely of emotion—a power which, of course, is not true speech at all.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrícia Moura e Sá ◽  
Catarina Frade ◽  
Fernanda Jesus ◽  
Mónica Lopes ◽  
Teresa Maneca Lima ◽  
...  

PurposeWicked problems require collaborative innovation approaches. Understanding the problem from the users' perspective is essential. Based on a complex and ill-defined case, the purpose of the current paper is to identify some critical success factors in defining the “right problem” to be addressed.Design/methodology/approachAn empirical research study was carried out in a low-density municipality (case study). Extensive data were collected from official databases, individual semi-structured interviews and a focus group involving citizens, local authorities, civil servants and other relevant stakeholders.FindingsAs defined by the central government, the problem to be addressed by the research team was to identify which justice services should be made available locally to a small- and low-density community. The problem was initially formulated using top-down reasoning. In-depth contact with citizens and key local players revealed that the lack of justice services was not “the issue” for that community. Mobility constraints and the shortage of economic opportunities had a considerable impact on the lack of demand for justice services. By using a bottom-up perspective, it was possible to reframe the problem to be addressed and suggest a new concept to be tested at later stages.Social implicationsThe approach followed called attention to the importance of listening to citizens and local organisations with a profound knowledge of the territory to effectively identify and circumscribe a local problem in the justice field.Originality/valueThe paper highlights the limitations of traditional rational problem-solving approaches and contributes to expanding the voice-of-the-customer principle showing how it can lead to a substantially new definition of the problem to be addressed.


2021 ◽  
Vol 65 (2) ◽  
pp. 140-156
Author(s):  
Eve-Riina Hyrkäs

AbstractIn the Finnish medical discussion during the middle decades of the twentieth century, the challenging differential diagnostics between hyperthyroidism and various neuroses was perceived to yield a risk of unnecessary surgical interventions of psychiatric patients. In 1963, the Finnish surgeon Erkki Saarenmaa claimed that ‘the most significant mark of a neurotic was a transverse scar on the neck’, a result of an unnecessary thyroid surgery. The utterance was connected to the complex nature of thyroid diseases, which seemed to be to ‘a great extent psychosomatic’. Setting forth from this statement, the article aims to decipher the connection between hyperthyroidism, unnecessary surgical treatment and the psychosomatic approach in Finnish medicine. Utilising a wide variety of published medical research and discussion in specialist journals, the article examines the theoretical debate around troublesome diagnostics of functional complaints. It focuses on the introduction of new medical ideas, namely the concepts of ‘psychosomatics’ and ‘stress’. In the process, the article aims to unveil a definition of psychosomatic illness that places it on a continuum between psychological and somatic illness. That psychosomatic approach creates a space with interpretative potential can be applied to the historiography of psychosomatic phenomena more generally. Further inquiry into the intersections of surgery and psychosomatics would enrich both historiographies. It is also argued that the historical study of psychosomatic syndromes may become skewed, if the term ‘psychosomatic’ is from the outset taken to signify something that is all in the mind.


2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (7) ◽  
pp. 544-560 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jatta Jännäri ◽  
Seppo Poutanen ◽  
Anne Kovalainen

Purpose This paper aims to analyse the ways the textual materials of job advertisements do the gendering for prospective expert positions and create a space for ambiquity/non-ambiquity in the gender labelling of this expertise. Expert positions are almost always openly announced and are important to organizations because they often lead to higher managerial positions. By gendering the prospective positions, the job advertisements bring forth repertoires strengthening the gendering of work and gendered expert employee positions. Design/methodology/approach This study draws on qualitative textual and visual data of open job advertisements for expert positions. The materials of the study are gathered from open job advertisements in two countries, i.e. Finland and Estonia with rather similar labour market structures in relation to gender positions but differing as regards their gender equality. Findings The analyses show that the gendering of expert work takes place in the job advertisements by rendering subtly gendered articulations, yet allowing for interpretative repertoires appear. The analysis reveals some differences in the formulations of the advertisements for expert jobs in the two countries. It also shows that in general the requirements for an ideal expert candidate are coated with superlatives that are gendered in rather stereotypical ways, and that the ideal candidates for highly expert jobs are extremely flexible and follows the ideal of an adaptable and plastic employee, willing to work their utmost. This paper contributes to the “doing gender” literature by adding an analysis of the textual gendering of ideal candidates for positions of expertise. Research limitations/implications The research materials do not expose all the issues pertinent to questions of the ideal gendered candidate. For instance, questions of ethnicity in relation to the definition of the ideal candidate cannot be studied with the data used for this study. Being an exploratory study, the results do not aim for generalizable results concerning job advertisements for expert positions. Originality/value This paper contributes to the “doing gender” and “gendering” literature by addressing the question of how and in what ways gender is defined and done for an expert positions prior the candidates are chosen to those jobs. It also offers new insights into the global construction of gendered expert jobs advertisements by addressing the topic with data from two countries. It further contributes to understanding the gendered shaping of expertise in the management literature.


K ta Kita ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 165-172
Author(s):  
Dita Berlian

Japanese animations (anime) are worldwide known. They are targeted to various kinds of audience. A drama-sport anime entitled Free! is rarely found as the targeted audience is female audience. Because Free! targets female audience, the definition of the ideal men is defined from the point of view of the female audience. Therefore, the gaze which is used to identify the male protagonists is female gaze. By using the theory of male gaze and traditional male sex role themes, I found that there is a combination of masculinity and femininity in the male protagonists in Free!. The combined characteristics are shown in the physical appearance, personality traits, and roles. The appearance of this type of an ideal man leads to a new concept in Japan which is called bishōnen. Keywords: Anime, ideal man, masculinity, femininity, female gaze, bishōnen.


2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hector Hernández

In order to improve the energy performance of buildings, the need to value economically investments of energy efficiency associated with the rehabilitation of dwellings arises. This point of view provides an useful tool for analysts who start in the economic appraisal of energy efficiency investments. The present research gives a conceptual framework for the economic assessment of these types of investments in dwellings. As a result, it is possible to identify two techniques in the appraisals of this nature: dynamic and static approaches. Both methods contrast the benefits (energy savings) with the costs of investments over time. However, they differentiate the opportunity and the moment when investment must be carried out given an uncertainty scenario. This conceptual precision allows the study of several publications where different alternatives in retrofitting houses where evaluated, confirming the considerations that must be taken into account when economic modelling is made: the type of approach to be used (dynamic or static) and; at the definition of the investment alternatives and scenarios, the aspects of time, irrevocability and uncertainty.ResumenEn pro de la mejora del desempeño energético de los edificios, surge la necesidad de evaluar económicamente las inversiones de eficiencia energética asociadas a la rehabilitación de viviendas. Este punto de vista trata de ser una herramienta útil para analistas que se inicien en la evaluación económica de inversiones en eficiencia energética. La presente investigación muestra un marco conceptual de la evaluación económica de este tipo de inversiones en viviendas. Como resultado, es posible identificar dos enfoques presentes en los análisis económicos de esta naturaleza: el dinámico y el estático. Ambos métodos contrastan los beneficios (ahorros energéticos) con los costes de las inversiones en el tiempo. Sin embargo, diferencian la oportunidad y el momento en que la inversión debe realizarse dado un escenario de incertidumbre. Esta precisión conceptual permite estudiar varias publicaciones donde se evaluaron diferentes alternativas de reacondicionamiento en viviendas, confirmándose las consideraciones que deben tenerse presentes en momento de realizar la modelación económica: el tipo de enfoque a usar (dinámico o estático) y, en la definición de las alternativas de inversión y escenarios, los aspectos de tiempo, irrevocabilidad e incertidumbre.


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