A Case Against Making the Control of Clients a Negotiable Contingency for Interdisciplinary Teams

Most discussions of interdisciplinary teamsassume that cross-functional teams are desirable.Critical analyses of the fundamental contradictionsinherent in bringing together professionals with diverse ideologies, interests, contingencies, andtechnologies are rare. Even less common are discussionsof the negative consequences of these contradictions forclients. Based on observations in an institution for youth-in-trouble, this paper argues thatthe control of clients is one key process underlyingconflicts and dilemmas in interdisciplinary teams; itbuilds a case against making the control of clients a negotiable contingency for teams. Given theuniversal nature of control mechanisms, those mostdirectly responsible for control have a superiorbargaining position because, in order to be effective,their control routines must be consistent. Althoughthese workers may yield to other treatment ideologiesregarding particular clients, the overall outcome is theenhancement of their interests. Moreover, the outcome of negotiations may generate confusionfor clients because of inconsistencies in theapplication of control mechanisms. Three strategies tominimize interprofessional negotiations regarding the control of clients are discussed: theformulation of clear boundaries between thoseresponsible for control and those who are not; theestablishment of policies to address conflicts betweencontrol and competing treatments; and, client determinationof differential levels of interprofessional coordinationand cooperation.     

'Exchange is Creation': The Revolutionary Poetics of Muriel Rukeyser and Hugh MacDiarmid

Abstract

The increased cultural authority of science in the early decades of the twentieth century called into question prior cultural assumptions regarding the status of poetry as an important discipline. The debate about the changed nature of the relations between the arts and sciences assumed particular importance for the literary left, as writers, critics and intellectuals debated the role which culture would play in political revolution. In order to broaden our understanding of the left's engagement with the problem of the relationship between the arts and sciences, this article will compare the work of the leftist American poet Muriel Rukeyser with that of the Scottish nationalist and Communist poet Hugh MacDiarmid. In particular, I will explore the ways in which their understanding of the essential similarities between the arts and sciences informed their conception of the relationship between poetics and political praxis.     

Locating an American romanticism: Emerson,Cavell, 'Experience'

Abstract

This article reads Ralph Waldo Emerson's 1844 essay 'Experience' as a work of mourning that gives rise to critical reaction in the romantic tradition to specific philosophical ideas New England had imported from Europe early in the 19th century. The author reads this transatlantic interaction in the wider context of journal entries, arguing that the death of Emerson's son is a test to Emerson's philosophy and his literary form, indeed, the highest challenge, against which the claims of philosophy and literature could only fail. Moreover, it is the failure of his philosophy to contain his son's death, to express it, that makes Emerson's essay romantic. Defining romanticism as incompletion: the impossibility of a total system which would include, for example, the death of the other (Cavell, Lacoue-Labarthe, Nancy, Blanchot). This, the author argues, proposes a 'location' for American romanticism that constitutes an adequate response to Critchley's contention, in his reading of Cavell, that Emerson is not, in fact, romantic.     

Improving quality of life in old age: the role of regular physical activity

Physical activity in old age has been shown to produce considerable physiological, psychological and social benefits. However, many older adults take very little exercise. Lack of facilities or meaningful role models together with social and cultural expectations concerning the appropriateness of physical activity for older adults have been cited as reasons for lack of involvement. The development of intergenerational programs is suggested as a potential means of increasing the proportion of older individuals who participate in regular physical exercise.     

Sebostasis of the aged man

Sebostasis in the aged male is a frequent and commonly accepted fact. In order to evaluate the sebostasis of the aged, several experimental parameters were developed to obtain valuable data with regard to the activity of sebaceous glands. The average areas of the lobes of the sebaceous glands and sebocytes, as well as those of the nuclei of sebocytes, were evaluated planimetrically. By means of chromatographic analysis, the skin surface lipids were determined. Using silicone stamping, the average extention of the pore openings was quantitatively measured. Although elderly men show significantly larger sebaceous glands than young people, the concentration of the skin surface lipid is clearly reduced. The transit time is diminished and the drastically reduced intrasebocytic sebum synthesis is of pathogenetic nature. Whereas, namely in young men, the volume of the differentiating sebocytes increases continuously, it remains small in elderly men. As a characteristic expression of this reduced differentiation, the sebocyte nucleus shrinks only very little while the cells migrate from the periphery to the center of the lobe. Consequently, the sebocytes set free only small amounts of sebum with considerable retardation. The qualitative composition of the skin surface lipids in the aged shows differences in respect to the cholesterol and squalene concentrations. The areas of pore openings on the skin surface shrink, probably as a consequence of a reduction of cutaneous elasticity.

The present findings show clearly that sebostasis in the aged is caused by an altered differentiation of the sebocytes themselves. It is unknown whether or not normal influences undergo a decline or whether a deficiency of sebumrelated enzymes plays a role.     

Oral testosterone undecanoate (Andriol®) supplement therapy improves the quality of life for men with testosterone deficiency

In a single-blind, placebo-controlled study, the effects of a 3-month oral administration of 160 mg/day testosterone undecanoate (Andriol^®) on the quality of life of men with testosterone deficiency were evaluated. The subjects included ten men with primary hypogonadism and 29 with andropause with sexual dysfunction as the most common problem. The changes in subjective symptoms were evaluated by the PNUH QoL scoring system and the St. Louis University Questionnaire for androgen deficiency in aging males (ADAM). Digital rectal examination (DRE) was performed and serum testosterone, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and liver profile were monitored. Testosterone undecanoate treatment (n = 33) significantly improved sexual dysfunction and symptom scores of metabolic, cardiopulmonary, musculo-skeletal and gastrointestinal functions compared to baseline and to placebo (n = 6). ADAM score also significantly improved after 3 months of treatment. Serum testosterone was significantly increased compared to pretreatment levels only in the testosterone undecanoate group. In the placebo group, no significant changes compared to baseline were found for testosterone levels and QoL questionnaires. No abnormal findings were detected on DRE or laboratory findings in either group. Adverse events, such as gastrointestinal problems and fatigue, were mild and self-limiting. It is concluded that androgen supplement therapy with oral testosterone undecanoate (Andriol) restores the quality of life through improvement of general body functions in men with testosterone deficiency.     

The black Atlantic,American studies and the politics of the postcolonial

Abstract

Twelve years of scholarship in the field of black-Atlantic-meets-American studies has resulted in a substantial body of knowledge around the extraterritorial excursions of US subjects and their cultural output. Despite the opportunities that the black Atlantic offered, it has begun to seem that the repositioning of academic perspective it stems from has itself become part of the discursive problems surrounding US American studies. This article suggests that it is time to rethink (black) Atlantic studies in the context of its partial institutionalization within the academy. First, it revisits the methodological and theoretical possibilities the field offered. Second, it examines some of the shortcomings which, in the early stages of the project, it was possible to overlook if not entirely ignore. Third, it looks at developments in the field of postcolonial studies, suggesting some conceptual tensions of relevance to postcolonial, US American, and American studies more generally.     

Go and Say, “We're Shutting”: Ju Jutsu as a Metaphor for Analyzing Resistance

While it is well known that employees inorganizations may successfully resist managerialimpositions, relatively little is understood about howresistance operates. The present study utilizes amartial arts metaphor known as ju jutsu to generateinsights for understanding how resistance is exercised.The ju jutsu metaphor was chosen because it is adefensive technique whereby a physically weaker person may resist a much stronger one. Ju jutsu asmetaphor suggests resistance can be exercised bysystematically employing bodily movements which disturban opponent's balance and/or strike at physiological weak points. By exploring a case study of asuccessful example of organizational resistance, the jujutsu metaphor is utilized to generate new perspectivesfor conceptualizing and analyzing the dynamics of resistance.     

《许三观卖血记:》荒诞而真实的苦难叙事

《许三观卖血记》通过一个市井小民卖血求生的悲剧故事,深刻地揭示了苦难与人生的终极意义。许三观以他应对苦难的特有方式,集中诠释了中国人在苦难面前的民族智慧与坚韧性格。许三观并没有用麻木去"消解和遗忘"人生苦难,相反,他是在以一种俗人经验诠释人生苦难,苦难通过卖血被还原为生命本质。因此,许三观不是某一具体人物,而是民族苦难象征的艺术符号,他唤起并强化了我们对民族苦难历史的情绪记忆,进而使我们真正懂得了什么是苦难与如何去面对苦难。     

传统文化精神整合力与师德修养

整合力是一种整体的精神力量,是传统文化和道德精神沿袭与发展的动力。传统文化精神的主体是道德的精神。是以道德的理想和整体的价值观念去影响社会,凝聚人心,也影响师修养。分析传统文化精神整合力与师德修养的相互关系,充分发挥整合力在师德修养建设中的作用,对于推进社会主义道德建设具有重要的意义。