Through Jewish eyes: polemical literature and the medieval papacy

Although the medieval papacy's stance towards the Jews is a well-established area of research, Jewish ideas about the papacy remain a surprisingly underdeveloped historical topic. This article explores such ideas through the genre of polemic and disputational literature. Jewish writers were keen to ensure the safety of their communities in western Europe and grateful for statements of papal protection. They fully acknowledged that popes had always played and would continue to play an important role in safeguarding their well-being and determining their future. Yet although contemporary and later writers often valued papal protection more highly than that of monarchs, emperors or clergy, they also knew that it had its carefully circumscribed limits. Furthermore, although they were respectful of the papacy's power, both spiritual and temporal, they were dismissive of the scriptural and theological formulations on which Christian claims for apostolic authority rested and highly critical of Christian beliefs about the papacy, in particular that of apostolic succession. Jewish ideas about both individual popes and the medieval papacy as an institution are therefore nuanced and complex; they deserve rigorous and wide-ranging investigation and it is hoped that this article will contribute to their better understanding.

Determinants and measures of export performance – comprehensive literature review

As one of the key indicators of the firm’s ability to leverage successfully its resources and capabilities in the international context, export performance has been one of the most extensively studied phenomena. A plethora of studies have been conducted pertaining to provide better understanding of the factors (firm- or environment-specific) and behaviours (e.g., export strategy) that make exporting a successful venture. Following a comprehensive literature review undertaking in this study the current state of the export performance literature could be summarisedas (i) methodologically fragmented in that there is a variety of analytical and methodological approaches, (ii) conceptually diverse, a large number of determinants have been identified as having direct or indirect influence on the firm’s export performance, and a large number of indicators have been used to conceptualise and operationalise the export performance measures, and (iii) inconclusive, the studies have produced inconsistent results of the impact of different determinants on export performance.

'The African Presence in Caribbean Literature' revisited: recovering the politics of imagined co-belonging 1930–2005

Working outward from Edward Kamau Brathwaite’s landmark 1974 essay, “The African Presence in Caribbean Literature,” this article explores the fuller history of the idea of Africa in anglophone Caribbean critical and literary works from the 1930s to the 2000s. It demonstrates that earlier, now forgotten Caribbean critics drew on imperfect and incomplete Caribbean literary imaginings of Africa to frame a counter-colonial politics of identity. The essay also brings back into view writings by Una Marson, Victor Stafford Reid, and Derek Walcott that expressed a different politics of solidarity based on the shared experience of colonial violence. Readings of recent literary works by Charlotte Williams and Nalo Hopkinson reveal the contemporary crafting of this relation around a heightened awareness of both presence and loss, history and imagination. Importantly, this gathering of sources and perspectives allows for an appreciation of the role that a reach toward Africa has played in articulations of Caribbeanness and its complex patterning of cultural co-belonging.

Order and disorder in fiction labyrinths: the librarians` representations in some contemporary cultural productions

This paper, first result of a larger research, proposes a query about some aspects of social representation of libraries and librarians, as they appear in literary and cinematographic productions. Little by little, this query, which arose from purposes of organizing catalogues, revealed elements that established different series, in which the narrative genre (literary or cinematographic) has no relevance to either libraries or librarians` representations. The presence of these elements seems to show some expectations and utopias in relation to the common knowledge, independently from narratives being located in the past, in the present or in the future, stimulating reflection on some medieval and baroque traditions about the library universe and its main characters, the librarians. The cinematographic material selected for research was The time machine, Farenheit 451, The day after tomorrow, Star Wars - episode II and the novels Martin Eden, The man without qualities, The time machine and La sombra del viento.

Abilities and Cultural Understanding through Literature in the EFL Classroom : - A Literature Review

The English language can be seen as a lingua franca of contemporary times. Its spread and use in the globalized world has affected most levels of society and it can be argued that, in current times, English is synonymous with communication. This need for communication has shaped the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) syllabus, which is evident in the Swedish national steering documents for the educational system. For the upper secondary school these documents show an emphasis on communication, on cultural understanding, and also on the use of literature within the EFL classroom. The need to possess communicative abilities and cultural understanding, in connection with the use of literature, has sparked an interest to investigate if and how literature itself can be used as a tool to develop and improve EFL students’ communicative skills and cultural understanding. This literature review thesis analyzes five international research articles from different geographical parts of the Globe. The findings are categorized, compared, synthesized, and finally discussed in order to answer the research questions asked, and also compared with the English subject syllabus for the Swedish upper secondary school. The findings indicate that the analyzed articles share a consensus, to a varied degree, regarding the positive aspects of literature use in the EFL setting. The arguments are that communicative skills and cultural understanding are intertwined - enabling each other to exist, develop, and improve. One cannot exist fully without the other, and literature is a good tool to use to develop and improve these abilities. Literature can help develop all skills needed to acquire and produce both written and spoken English, and it also enables cultural understanding and a broadening of the mind. Where the articles differ somewhat is in the ideas of why literature is a good tool, how to implement literature in the classrooms, and what some of the negative aspects might be. The thesis also brings the lack of Swedish studies within EFL to the readers’ attention, as well as the need to do more research focusing on the students’ perspectives towards literature use in the EFL setting.

Can’t Afford the Manolos? Buy the Book!: Chick Lit & Contemporary Consumerism

At the airport, across from the magazines at Wal-Mart, and probably somewhere near the front of local bookstores — chick lit is everywhere. One would probably recognize it from a distance as a sea of shiny pink1, the small glossy paperbacks cheerfully beckoning from their carefully constructed display. Chick lit has exploded into the western2 market over the last decade, captivating millions of readers with their tales of young, urban professional women navigating the worlds of careers, relationships, and of course, shopping. By the end of the novel, each of these components is generally resolved in somewhat formulaic fashion

The Tastes of a Nation: M.F.K. Fisher and the Genre of Culinary Literature

This project works to situate this gastronomic revolution within a historical context, arguing at greater length that our contemporary food culture in the United States is in part the legacy of the body of food representations. Here we witness the evolution of a particular culinary sensibility that appealed to readers differently in different historical moments, as exhibited by the variety of ways that Fisher’s body of work was publicly received. By the end of the twentieth century, Fisher’s ethos reigned supreme, because Americans began to view food with less fear and anxiety as they slowly became more comfortable expressing their physical appetites and desires. By the millennium, Americans began to respect and honor the physical appetite and give more consideration to the quality and origin of the foods that they consumed. Feelings of guilt associated with the enjoyment of food began to diminish as well.

Dialectics of Diaspora Space: a Study of Contemporary, Diasporic, South Asian Fiction

In light of these continuing debates concerning immigration, national identity and belonging, re-examinations of immigrant and ethnic communities, often referred to as ‘diaspora,’ have become increasingly popular and prudent. Khachig Tololian, editor of Diaspora magazine, calls diaspora “exemplary communities of the transnational moment.”5 In an increasingly globalized world, where labor, capital, and resources are passed fluidly from continent to continent, diaspora are created by relocation or displacement of immigrant workers and their descendents.6 For these unskilled, immigrant laborers, middle class immigrants, and the children of both groups, adaptation to the culture, society, and life in a new ‘host’ country can be difficult, to say the least. So, in response to a new cultural landscape and a tenuous sense belonging, as well as to maintain a connection with a shared past, citizens of the world’s numerous diaspora replicate linguistic, cultural, and social norms, creating their own “cultural space[s]” that mirror and often replace a past relationship to their land of origin, or ‘home’.

Evolution of perceived exertion concepts and mechanisms: a literature review

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Five years follow-up of a keratocyst odontogenic tumor treated by marsupialization and enucleation: a case report and literature review

Odontogenic cysts are considered as nonneoplasic benign lesions. Among the cysts, keratocyst odontogenic tumor (KCOT) is an intra‑osseous tumor characterized by parakeratinized stratified squamous epithelium and a potential for aggressive, infiltrative behavior, and for the possibility to develop carcinomas in the lesion wall. Thus, the aim of this study was to describe a clinical case of KCOT in a young patient and discuss the treatment alternatives to solve this case. A 15‑year‑old male was referred for treatment of a giant lesion in his left side of the mandible. After the biopsy, a diagnostic of KCOT was made, and the following procedures were planned for KCOT treatment. Marsupialization was performed for lesion decompression and consequent lesion size reduction. Afterward, enucleation for complete KCOT removal was performed followed by third mandibular molar extraction. After 5 years, no signs of recurrence were observed. The treatment proposed was efficient in removing the KCOT with minimal surgical morbidity and optimal healing process, and the first and second mandibular molars were preserved with pulp vitality. In conclusion, this treatment protocol was an effective and conservative approach for the management of the KCOT, enabling the reduction of the initial lesion, the preservation of anatomical structures and teeth, allowing quicker return to function. No signs of recurrence after 5 years were observed.

Analysis of the peri-implant soft tissues in contact with zirconia abutments: an evidence-based literature review

The aim of this study is to evaluate through a literature review, the soft tissue response in contact with zirconia abutments, including case reports comparing prosthetics rehabilitations with zirconia and titanium abutments upto 3 years of follow-up as well as the factors that should be considered on implant's abutment selection. Metallic abutments can provide grayish color when in contact with thin soft tissues which may lead the implant prosthetic treatment to failure. In this context, the abutments of zirconia stand out because there is an excellent linking between esthetics and the health of peri-implant soft tissues. A consult of the published researches was made on the PubMed database from 2000 to September 2012. The including criteria were: literature reviews, clinical studies and case reports in English that focused on the response of the soft tissue in contact with zirconia implant abutments. The studies that were not in English and did not match the tackled issue were excluded. A total of 32 articles were found. According to the search strategy, just 16 articles were selected for this review. Three studies affirmed that zirconia abutments have an excellent soft tissue response; one study showed increased gingival recession with zirconia abutments and nine studies do not stand out any difference on biological behavior between titanium and zirconia abutments. Three studies affirmed that zirconia abutments provide natural gingival appearance, anatomic contour and greater esthetics. The use of zirconia abutments is recommended for anterior regions because of their greater optical properties and esthetic results and more studies should be performed and analyzed longitudinally regarding their biological response. The zirconia abutments have been established to be essential in order to achieve great esthetic results in cases of thin peri-implant soft tissues and in regions where the three-dimensional placement of implants is more superficial.

Orthodontic extrusion as treatment option for crown-root fracture: literature review with systematic criteria

To review the literature searching for a consensus for the choice of orthodontic extrusion as treatment for crown-root fracture. An electronic search was performed in the databases PubMed, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and Scopus and a manual search of the Journal Dental Traumatology. Forty articles were found in PubMed and 38 in Scopus and after removal of duplicate sample 51 contained articles. Of these, 48 were excluded for not having orthodontic treatment, no follow-up or follow-up less than 6 months, or not report the presence of crown-root fracture. In manual search in Dental Traumatology 20 articles were found, but none of them met the prerequisites established. So, three articles formed the basis of the study. The choice of how to treat orthodontic extrusion of crown-root fracture was effective and stable, without root and periodontal changes. Factors, such as root formation and presence of pulp vitality were decisive for determining the stages of treatment, however, there is no consensus based on scientific evidence about these protocols.

Global cities, global literature: New York e Tokyo nella narrativa contemporanea

Scopo del lavoro è quello di tracciare un parallelismo tra la narrativa giapponese e angloamericana contemporanea, viste come parte di un sistema di significati che trascende la dimensione nazionale e si installa invece in una dinamica di tipo globale. Le opere letterarie prese in considerazione sono alcune fra quelle ambientate nelle due vere e proprie capitali culturali dei paesi, rispettivamente New York per gli Stati Uniti e Tōkyō per il Giappone. Spunto di partenza dell’analisi è stato il concetto di “global city”, formulato dalla studiosa e sociologa Saskia Sassen, che permette di mettere in relazione dal punto di vista economico, strutturale ma anche sociale le città di New York e Tōkyō. Tale formulazione consente infatti di ragionare in maniera motivata sull’esistenza di un rapporto di flussi di scambio di tipo culturale e, parallelamente, sull’acquisizione di una dimensione di tipo transnazionale di soggetti e tematiche della letteratura. In questo senso, il rapporto tra economia e globalizzazione evidenziato da Sassen può essere paragonato a quello che intercorre tra la letteratura e la globalizzazione. Punto di snodo metodologico del lavoro è rappresentato dall’analisi dello spazio urbano, esaminato sia in chiave urbanistico-architettonica che più specificamente letteraria.