Beyond the Bauhaus : Cultural Modernity in Breslau, 1918-1933 /

The Breslau arts scene during the Weimar period was one of the most vibrant in all of Germany, yet it has disappeared from memory and historiography. Breslau was a key center for innovative artistic production during the Weimar Republic; recovery of its history will shed new light on German cultural dynamics in the 1920s. Such a study has art historical significance because of the incredible extent of innovation that occurred in almost every intellectual field, advances that formed the basis for aesthetic modernism internationally and continue to affect the course of visual art and architecture today. Architecture education, just one example in many, is still largely based on a combination of the Bauhaus model from the 1920s and the model developed at the Breslau Academy of Fine and Applied Art. The exploratory attitude encouraged in Weimar era arts endeavors, as opposed to the conformism of academic art, is still a core value promoted in contemporary art and architecture circles. Given the long-lasting influence of Weimar culture on modernism one would expect to find a spate of studies examining every aspect of its cultural production, but this is not the case. Recent scholarship is almost exclusively focused on Berlin and the Dessau Bauhaus. Although both interests are understandable, the creative explosion was not confined to these cities but was part of a larger cultural ethos that extended into many of the smaller regional centers. The Expressionist associations the Blaue Reiter in Munich and Brücke in Dresden are two well-known examples. Equally, innovation was not confined to a few monumental projects like the Stuttgart Weissenhofsiedlung but part of a broader national cultural ethos. The dispersion of modernism occurred partly because of the political history of Germany as a loosely joined confederation of small city states and principalities that had strong individual cultural identities before unification in 1871 but also because of the German propensity to value and take intense pride in the Heimat, understood both as the hometown and the region. Heimatliebe translated into generous support for cultural institutions in outlying cities. Host to a roster of internationally acclaimed artists and architects, major collectors, arts organizations, museums, presses, galleries, and one of the premier German arts academies of the day, Breslau boasted a thriving modern arts scene until 1933 when the Nazis began their assault on so-called "degenerate" art. This book charts the cultural production of Breslau-based artists, architects, art collectors, urban designers, and arts educators, who were especially interesting because they operated in the space between the margins of Weimar-era cultural debates. Rather than accepting the radical position of the German avant-garde or the reactionary position of German conservatives, many Breslauers sought a middle ground. It is the first book in English to address this history and presents the history in a manner unique to any studies currently on the market. 'Beyond the Bauhaus' explores the polyvalent and contradictory nature of cultural production in Breslau in order to expand the cultural and geographic scope of Weimar history; the book asserts a reciprocal dimension to the relationship between regional culture and national culture, between centers like Breslau and the capital Berlin. With major international figures like the painters Otto Mueller and Oskar Moll, architects Hans Scharoun and Adolf Rading, urban planners Max Berg and Ernst May, collectors Ismar Littmann and Max Silberberg, and an art academy that by 1929 was considered the best in Germany, Breslau clearly had significance to narratives of Weimar cultural production. 'Beyond the Bauhaus' contributes the history of German culture during the Weimar Republic. It belongs alongside histories of art, architecture, urban design, exhibition, collecting, and culture; histories of the Bauhaus; histories of arts education more broadly; and German history. The readership would include those interested in German history; German art, architecture, urban design, planning, collecting, and exhibition history; in the avant-garde; the development of arts academies and arts pedagogy; and the history of Breslau and Silesia.

Siting the Superconducting Super Collider in Illinois : an overview and predictive model of cultural and paleobiological resources in the SSC study area, northern Illinois /

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Genetic and Cultural Transmission of Smoking Initiation: An Extended Twin Kinship Model

Background Considerable evidence from twin and adoption studies indicates that genetic and shared environmental factors play a significant role in the initiation of smoking behavior. Although twin and adoption designs are powerful to detect genetic and environmental influences, they do not provide information on the processes of assortative mating and parent–offspring transmission and their contribution to the variability explained by genetic and/or environmental factors. Methods We examined the role of genetic and environmental factors for smoking initiation using an extended kinship design. This design allows the simultaneous testing of additive and non-additive genetic, shared and individual-specific environmental factors, as well as sex differences in the expression of genes and environment in the presence of assortative mating and combined genetic and cultural transmission. A dichotomous lifetime smoking measure was obtained from twins and relatives in the Virginia 30,000 sample. Results Results demonstrate that both genetic and environmental factors play a significant role in the liability to smoking initiation. Major influences on individual differences appeared to be additive genetic and unique environmental effects, with smaller contributions from assortative mating, shared sibling environment, twin environment, cultural transmission and resulting genotype–environment covariance. The finding of negative cultural transmission without dominance led us to investigate more closely two possible mechanisms for the lower parent–offspring correlations compared to the sibling and DZ twin correlations in subsets of the data: (i) age × gene interaction, and (ii) social homogamy. Neither mechanism provided a significantly better explanation of the data, although age regression was significant. Conclusions This study showed significant heritability, partly due to assortment, and significant effects of primarily non-parental shared environment on smoking initiation.

Organizaciones regionales y diversidad cultural: la diplomacia de la Unión Europea con el Mercosur entre la sombra de Hollywood y la acción intergubernamental

El objetivo de este artículo es doble: por un lado explorar la habilidad de la Unión Europea para llevar a cabo una política audiovisual dirigida al Mercosur y promover las normas de la Convención sobre la diversidad de las expresiones culturales; por otro, analizar el impacto del modelo de política audiovisual de la UE en el desarrollo de la cooperación audiovisual con el Mercosur y centrarse en los principales vectores que configuran el paisaje audiovisual del Mercosur. El texto pretende destacar cómo y por qué la UE persigue una política audiovisual con esa región, cuáles son los propósitos y los límites de actuación. En este sentido, se preocupa por entender cómo la diplomacia audiovisual de la UE interactúa con otros actores, como las acciones gubernamentales llevadas a cabo desde la propia UE y el Mercosur, así como las prácticas del sector privado (Hollywwod y los grandes conglomerados de medios).

A sustainable model for supporting entrepreneurship in developing countries

Principal Topic Small and micro-enterprises are believed to play a significant part in economic growth and poverty allevition in developing countries. However, there are a range of issues that arise when looking at the support required for local enterprise development, the role of micro finance and sustainability. This paper explores the issues associated with the establishment and resourcing of micro-enterprise develoment and proposes a model of sustainable support of enterprise development in very poor developing economies, particularly in Africa. The purpose of this paper is to identify and address the range of issues raised by the literature and empirical research in Africa, regarding micro-finance and small business support, and to develop a model for sustainable support for enterprise development within a particular cultural and economic context. Micro-finance has become big business with a range of models - from those that operate on a strictly business basis to those that come from a philanthropic base. The models used grow from a range of philosophical and cultural perspectives. Entrepreneurship training is provided around the world. Success is often measured by the number involved and the repayment rates - which are very high, largely because of the lending models used. This paper will explore the range of options available and propose a model that can be implemented and evaluated in rapidly changing developing economies. Methodology/Key Propositions The research draws on entrepreneurial and micro-finance literature and empirical research undertaken in Mozambique, which lies along the Indian ocean sea border of Southern Africa. As a result of war and natural disasters over a prolonged period, there is little industry, primary industries are primitive and there is virtually no infrastructure. Mozambique is ranked as one of the poorest countries in the world. The conditions in Mozambique, though not identical, reflect conditions in many other parts of Africa. A numebr of key elements in the development of enterprises in poor countries are explored including: Impact of micro-finance Sustainable models of micro-finance Education and training Capacity building Support mechanisms Impact on poverty, families and the local economy Survival entrepreneurship versus growth entrepreneurship Transitions to the formal sector. Results and Implications The result of this study is the development of a model for providing intellectual and financial resources to micro-entrepreneurs in poor developing countries in a sustainable way. The model provides a base for ongoing research into the process of entrepreneurial growth in African developing economies. The research raises a numeber of issues regarding sustainability including the nature of the donor/recipient relationship, access to affordable resources, the impact of individual entrepreneurial activity on the local economny and the need for ongoing research to understand the whole process and its impact, intended and unintended.

A model for the uptake of E-business by building small and medium enterprises

The adoption of e-business by Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in construction lags from other service and product businesses within the building sector. This paper develops a model to facilitate the uptake of electronic business, especially in relation to SMEs within the Australian construction sector. Ebusiness is defined here as “the undertaking of business-related transactions, communications and information exchanges utilising electronic medium and environment”, the elicited model highlights significant changes needed including skills development, social, economic and cultural issues. The model highlights barriers for SMEs to migrate towards e-transactions, e-bidding, e-tendering and ecollaboration and provides learning and skills development components. The model is derived from case study fieldwork and is to inform diffusion and awareness models for best practice. Empirical techniques included ‘focus group’ interviews and one to one ‘interviews’. Data was transcribed and analysed using cluster analyses. Preliminary results reveal that current models for e-business adoption are not effective within the construction context as they have emerged from other service and product industries - such as retail or tourism. These generic models have largely ignored the nature of the construction industry, and some modifications appears to be required. This paper proposes an alternative adoption model which is more sensitive to the nature of the industry – particularly for e-business uptake in building SME’s.

Firm social, cultural and intellectual capital : strategic indicators of international client satisfaction

Despite the increasing significance of the construction industry as an emerging sector of the Australian economy, there is inadequate research performed on construction design firms in terms of theoretical and empirical foundations. Although past research has identified the barriers and success factors for firm market entry, evidence suggests that to date no research has explicitly explored the sustainability of construction design firms in international markets. SMEs and their approach to firm internationalisation differ significantly from large manufacturing firms and a vast majority of construction design firms operate as SMEs. This paper develops a sustainable business model for construction design SMEs, which rely upon the development of clear Client Following (CF) versus Market Seeking (MS) strategies to support internal firm strategic and operational management. The understanding of these strategies is vital as the application of either will shape the design management approach of firms, which would in turn impact on the sustainability of these firms in foreign markets. Long-term sustainability of firms in international markets relies heavily upon client satisfaction. Client and project team participants’ communication during various design processes has often been problematic and the added difficulty of communicating across international boundaries further compounds the problem of capturing and maintaining client’s requirements. Therefore this paper develops a model for economic sustainability of Australian construction design firms working in international markets by exploring factors that affect client satisfaction across international boundaries, through the development of business performance indicators. These include not only the critical financial capital but also other ‘softer’ indicators, namely: social, cultural and intellectual capital. These act as a firm’s measure of success and the acquisition of this type of capital will provide significant advantages to firms’ success, hence sustainability in international markets.