La maçoneria, escola de formació. La seva presència a la Catalunya del dinou.

És comunament acceptada l'opinió que la maçoneria va contribuir, durant els segles XVIII i XIX, al triomf i a la consolidació deis valors que hom ha convingut a anomenar moderns. La raó, la dignitat humana, la justícia i la llibertat van ser, entre d'altres, principis assumits pels maçons com a propis, i damunt els quals s'havia d'edificar el nou temple de la modernitat. Tampoc els projectes de filantropia, interpretada com un amor envers la humanitat i millora del gènere humà, no quedaven al marge de l'ideari maçònic. És lògic, doncs, que aquesta filosofia fos assumida per bona part d'una burgesia progressista desitjosa d'anorrear qualsevol vestigi possible d'obscurantisme, i donant suport, naturalment, a aquells moviments revolucionaris d'ascendència liberal que pul·lulaven tant arreu d'Europa com d'Amèrica. De fet, tot i el risc de caure en un cert reduccionisme, podem vincular l'acció de la maçoneria amb el triomf deis ideal s burgesos.

El escepticismo identitario en la obra de Jorge Luis Borges

Este trabajo estudia la actitud de Borges respecto de la identidad, en general, y la identidad nacional, en particular. En la primera parte realizo una breve exposición de la tradición escéptica, de la que Borges es deudor, centrándome especialmente en el tratamiento que ésta le da al tema de la identidad. En la segunda parte, estudio de qué modo el escepticismo identitario se concreta en la obra de Jorge Luis Borges ; ABSTRACT: This paper explores the attitude of Borges with regard to identity, specifically the national identity. In the first part I study the skeptic tradition, that is predominant in Borges works, specially in connexion with the subject of identity. In the second part, I study how identitary skepticism appears in borgean litterature. KEYWORDS: Jorge Luis Borges. Skepticism. Identity. Nationalism. Latin american literature. Michel de Montaigne.

”Ilmarisen Suomi” ja sen tekijät. Matematiikkakonekomitea ja tietokoneen rakentaminen kansallisena kysymyksenä 1950-luvulla

Tutkimus ”Ilmarisen Suomi” ja sen tekijät tarjoaa uutta tietoa ja historiallisen tulkinnan huipputeknologisen Suomen rakentamisesta sodanjälkeisenä aikana. Kirja kertoo ESKO-tietokoneen tekijöiden monipuolisesta toiminnasta sekä koneen kohtalosta 1950-luvulla. ESKOa rakennuttanut Matematiikkakonekomitea (1954­1960) suunnitteli laitteesta Suomen ensimmäistä tietokonetta, mutta kirjassa esitetyn tulkinnan mukaan komitealla oli myös laajempia, kansallisia ihanteita ja tavoitteita, kuten kansallisen keskuslaskutoimiston perustaminen. Varhaisia tietokoneita kutsuttiin niiden käyttöä kuvaavasti matematiikkakoneiksi. Kirja on ensimmäinen perusteellinen esitys ja samalla ensimmäinen tutkimus ESKOsta ja sen tekijöiden hankkeesta 1950-luvulla. Matematiikkakonekomitean johdossa toimivat aikansa huipputiedemiehet Rolf Nevanlinna ja Erkki Laurila. Väitöstutkimuksessa kysytään, miten maan ensimmäisen tietokoneen hankkimista perusteltiin, mitä Matematiikkakonekomitea oikeastaan teki ja millaisia erityisesti kansallisia motiiveja koneen tekijöiden toiminta ilmaisi. Tutkimuksessa käytetään monipuolisesti arkistoaineistoa, kirjallisuutta ja haastatteluja Suomesta, Saksasta ja Ruotsista. Tarkastelussa hyödynnetään erityisesti teknologian historian ja yhteiskuntatieteellisen tieteen- ja teknologiantutkimuksen tutkimuskirjallisuutta. Kirjassa tarkastellaan yksityiskohtaisesti sitä, miten ESKOn tekijät yhdistivät tekniikan ja kansalliset perustelut sekä rakensivat uudenlaista, teknisesti taitavaa ”Ilmarisen Suomea” yhdessä ja kilvan muiden tahojen kanssa tuottaen teknologiasta kansallista projektia suomalaisille. Matematiikkakonekomitean ja ESKO-hankkeen tutkimisen perusteella suomalaisten ja teknologian suhteesta voidaan sanoa, että tekniikasta ei vain tullut kansallinen asia suomalaisille, vaan tekniikasta nimenomaan tehtiin kansallinen projekti, joka ei suinkaan ollut erityisen yksimielinen edes sodanjälkeisenä aikana. Tutkimuksen mukaan kotimainen komitea sai paljon aikaan ja tuotti vielä merkittävämpiä seurauksia. Näin siitä huolimatta, että ESKO valmistui pahasti myöhässä, vuonna 1960. Komitea myötävaikutti niin IBM:n menestykseen Suomessa, valtiojohtoisen tiedepolitiikan alkuun kuin Nokian edeltäjän Kaapelitehtaan elektroniikkaosaamisen syntyyn.

Switzerland as a "fractured" nation

This article deals with Swiss nationalism and Swiss nation-building. Its main thesis is that Switzerland cannot accurately be described as either a nation or a non-nation but is something in between, and could thus best be characterised as a 'fractured' nation. Switzerland has experienced some powerful nationalist moments, from the creation of the Swiss state in 1848 to the last few decades. Yet this recurrent nationalism among the Swiss, considered alongside their more traditional reluctance to consider themselves a nation, make Switzerland a peculiar object: a 'fractured' nation. This flawed process of nation-building in turn reveals some basic characteristics of all nations - inherent artificiality, and the tremendous efforts undertaken to hide it. Switzerland could be considered an unfinished, incomplete nation, and this is precisely why its study can be interesting for scholars of nations and nationalism.

Epidemiology and injury patterns of patients consulting following assault by nightclub security agents in a university hospital emergency service and an associated specialised forensic consultation

Introduction: The Violence Medical Unit (VMU), a specialised forensic medical consultation, was created at the Lausanne university Hospital in 2006. All patients consulting at the ED for interpersonal violencerelated injury are referred to the VMU, which provides forensic documentation of the injury and referral to the relevant community based victim-support organisations within 48 hours of the ED visit. This frees the ED medical staff from forensic injury documentation and legal/social referral, tasks for which they lack both time and training. Among community violence, assaults by nightclub security agents against patrons have increased from 6% to 10% between 2007 and 2009. We set out to characterise the demographics, assault mechanisms, subsequent injuries, prior alcohol intake and ED & VMU costs incurred by this group of patients. Methods: We retrospectively included all patients consulting at the VMU due to assault by nightclub security agents from January 2007 to December 2009. Data was obtained from ED & VMU medical, nursing and administrative records. Results: Our sample included 70 patients, of which 64 were referred by the CHUV ED. The victims were typically young (median age 29) males (93%). 77% of assaults occurred on the weekend between 12 PM and 4 AM, and 73% of the victims were under the influence of alcohol. 83% of the patients were punched, kicked and/or head-butted; 9% had been struck with a blunt instrument. 80% of the injuries were in the head and neck area and 19% of the victims sustained fractures. 21% of the victims were prescribed medical leave. Total ED & VMU costs averaged 1048 SFr. Conclusion: Medical staff treating this population of assault victims must be aware of the assault mechanisms and injury patterns, in particular the high probability of fractures, in order to provide adequate diagnosis and care. Associated inebriation mandates liberal use of radiology, as delayed or missed diagnosis may have medical, medicolegal and legal implications. Emergency medical services play an important role in detecting and reporting of such incidents. Centralised management of the forensic documentation facilitates referral to victim support organisations and epidemiological data collection. Magnitudes and trends of the different types of violence can be determined, and this information can be then impact public safety management policies.

Health Migration Policies and Ethical Controversies: the Case of African Nurses in the UK

The United Kingdom (UK) for last few decades has been faced with a growing need for health personnel and has therefore attracted professionals, particularly overseas nurses. The country has been characterised by a historical migration policy favourable to the recruitment of foreign health staff. However, in the context of deep shortage and high level of diseases and health system weakness, the international health professional recruitment from Sub Saharan Africa has created unprecedented ethical controversies which have pushed the UK to the centre of discussions because of its liberal policies towards international recruitment that have been considered as aggressive. While the 'brain drain' controversy is well known, less attention has been devoted to the specific international health migration controversy and the pivotal role of the UK in the diffusion of ethical code of practice. Using mainly the perspective of the policy analysis of controversy (Roe 1994) and the analysis of discourses (de Haas 2008), our paper comes back respectively to the nature of the controversy and the pivotal role of the UK. It also analyses how the implementation of UK ethical policies - Code of Practice, banned countries list of recruitment, restrictive immigration policies - have been considered as inefficient and unethical in their contents and their targets.

Voting advice applications : impact on voting decisions in the 2011 Swiss national elections

In most democracies voting Advice Applications (VAAs) advising citizens which candidate or party they should vote for become more and more popular. It is therefore crucial to know more about the functioning and the effects of such tools. After some general remarks about the spread of these tools and their possible effects gathered so far in various studies, this paper presents the latest results from a research conducted in the course of the 2011 Swiss national elections. They confirm that VAAs can lead to better informed voters and are likely to have a positive impact on electoral turnout. Additionally it can be shown that the Swiss VAA smartvote made voters change their voting intention and that they voted for a different party. This was particularly advantageous for the Green Liberal Party. At the moment, only a minority of voters rely on the voting recommendation by smartvote. This might change dramatically with the introduction of e-voting. Once people can vote electronically, there are hardly any possibilities to prevent voters from transferring their selection of candidates based on the recommendation given by a VAA into the official electronic ballot paper. If this is possible, e-voting will become more popular than postal voting.

Reconsidering the analysis of the uses of ICTs by political parties : an application to the Catalan case

For years a literature on the uses that political parties make of information andcommunication technologies (ICTs) has been developed. It is a rapidly increasing, rich,and interesting field in the forefront of the investigation in political science. Generally,these works start from the expectation that the ICTs have a regenerative potential forliberal democracies and for the political parties as well. In developed societies, politicalparties have experienced some transformations that have leaded them to an increasingdivorce with the public. This divorce is shown by the decay of party adscription andmembership, and also by the decay of the conventional political participation. In thetheoretical discussion this situation has been described as ¿the crisis of the democracy¿(Norris, 1999). According to the more radically oriented scholars this crisis reflects theincapacities of liberal democracies. In this sense, ICTs suppose a great opportunity tosurpass the representative institutions and to institutionalize new forms of directdemocracy. More moderate scholars have considered that ICTs offer the opportunity for¿renaissance¿ for representative institutions, as they can reinforce the bonds between thepublic and its representatives.

Musiikin kehittämis- ja opetussuunnitelma Seinäjoen Kansalaisopistoon

Tämän opinnäytetyön lähtökohtana on ollut musiikinopetuksen kehittämis- ja opetussuunnitelman puuttuminen Seinäjoen Kansalaisopistosta. Työn alkuosassa käydään läpi pääpiirteittäin vapaan sivistystyön historia ja Laki vapaasta sivistystyöstä. Seinäjoen Kansalaisopiston musiikin opetusta tarkastellaan elinikäisen oppimisen, eettisyyden ja indoktrinaation näkökulmista. Musiikin opetus- ja oppimiskäsitykset sekä opettajan kompetenssi ovat myös keskeisiä asioita kehitettäessä Seinäjoen Kansalaisopiston musiikin opetusta. Seinäjoen Kansalaisopistossa musiikkiaineissa opiskeli lukuvuonna 2006-2007 yli 800 opiskelijaa. Solistista opetusta annettiin pianossa, laulussa, viulussa ja huilussa. Ryhmäopetusta annettiin harmonikan ja pelimanniharmonikan soitossa, kitaran soitossa, rummuissa, viulun soitossa, kuorolaulussa sekä vauva-äiti/vanhempi - ja erityismusiikkiryhmille (erityislapset, ikäihmiset, erityisaikuiset), kansanmusiikki- ja pelimanniyhtyeille. Seinäjoen Kansalaisopistossa musiikin kehittämis- ja opetussuunnitelmaa varten tehtiin kaksi kyselytutkimusta: erikseen musiikin opiskelijoille ja musiikin opettajille. Niissä selvitettiin opiskelijoiden ja opettajien toiveita ja tarpeita kansalaisopiston musiikin opetuksessa. Tutkimus on määrällinen, ja tulokset antoivat Seinäjoen kansalaisopiston musiikin opetuksen kehittämiselle tietoa, jonka pohjalta opetussuunnitelma on mahdollista laatia. Opettajille suunnattu kysely tuotti keskeisiä tuloksia: kansalaisopiston hallinnolliset palvelut opettajille koettiin tasokkaiksi, mutta opetustuntien toivottiin olevan pidempiä; lisäksi täydennyskoulutustarvetta oli yli puolella vastanneista. Hyvän opettajuuden tärkeimmiksi elementeiksi opettajat kokivat kannustavuuden, hyvät vuorovaikutustaidot, ohjaavan ja rakentavan suhtautumisen sekä hyvän tilannetajun. Opiskelijoille suunnattu kysely osoitti, että heidän mielestään opetus on tasokasta ja opettajat ammattitaitoisia sekä innostavia. Opiskelijat kokivat solististen aineiden oppitunnit liian lyhyiksi. Opiskelun kannustimiksi opiskelijat totesivat musiikista saadun ilon, itsensä kehittämisen ja uuden oppimisen halun sekä musiikin sopivuuden vapaa-ajan harrastukseksi. Musiikkikurssien yleisarvio oli hyvä, hinta-laatu-suhde erinomainen ja opiskelijat kokivat saavansa myös tarpeeksi palautetta. Opetussuunnitelma voi palvella musiikinopettajia opetuksen kehittämisessä, suunnittelussa ja toteuttamisessa ilman, että sen tarvitsee viedä opettajien itsenäisyyttä. Opiskelijoita halutaan tukea musiikin opiskelussa siten, että heille luodaan hyvä oppimisympäristö ja tarvittaessa heille laaditaan henkilökohtainen opetussuunnitelma yhteistyössä opettajan kanssa. Seinäjoen Kansalaisopisto pyrkii tulevaisuudessa tarjoamaan aiempaa paremmin kysyntää vastaavaa musiikinopetusta niin aikuisille harrastajille kuin myös nuorille ja lapsille.

Del mito del hombre democrático a la nueva Internacional civil

En nom de la exportació dels valors democràtics s’ha pretès justificar la introducció dels principis del neoliberalisme a escala mundial. L’imaginari democràtic ha estat utilitzat com a disfressa elegant per a intentar tapar la progressiva debilitat generada en el cos social pels processos de globalització de l’economia. Però malgrat de l’inicial triomfalisme del “pensament únic”, paral•lelament s’ha anat generant tota una xarxa internacional de resistència que sembla tenir cada cop més un gran poder de mobilització

Los montes públicos y las diversas vías de su privatización en el siglo XIX

La privatización del patrimonio público rústico y la progresiva limitación de los aprovechamientos vecinales constituyeron una pieza fundamental de la reforma agraria liberal. Ambos procesos forzaron la mercantilización de los Frutos y de la propiedad de un patrimonio ingente, desposeyendo a sus ufructuarios tradicionales. Aunque las implicaciones de ello fueron múltiples, solo me propongo abordar en este escrito dos cuestiones, la extensión que ocupaban los montes públicos, y la importancia de procedimientos privatizadores distintos a las subastas de bienes nacionales, que fueron el método regular y mayoritario de tales enajenaciones

Escriure i mercadejar a la Baixa Edat Mitjana "Navigare necesse [est]..."

This article ties the expansion of the Mediterranean and Catalan prosperity to the growth, the changes and the maturing of the society in all aspects (politically, socially, culturally...) Two of the groups that illustrate the growth well and the changes that were taking place in Barcelona society are the craftsmen and craftswomen, liberal professionals and the merchants. The article relates the changes of the XIVth Century to the increase of the capacity to read and write of the men and women of these social groups. The books of accounts of two members of a Barcelona family of merchants and ships’s copyist of the XIVth Century, the Tarascó, are the testimony of the extension of “a functional” literacy, limited and closely together with the profession, work and religious practice. These and other private sources allow for the appreciation of the diffusion of writing. The people of the world of commerce and the sea are very conscious of the decisive value of writing not only for their professional activity, but also because it allows them to make note of, in order to be able, later on, to remember: desires, interests and preoccupations. The article, finally, offers a hypothesis of documentary genesis of books of mercantile accounts

Saako historiasta selvää? Monikulttuuriset yläkoululaiset historian lähteillä historian taidot motiivien, seurauksien, historian tulkintojen ja lähteiden luotettavuuden arvioinneissa

The research assesses the skills of upper comprehensive school pupils in history. The focus is on locating personal motives, assessing wider reasons hidden in historical sources and evaluating source reliability. The research also questions how a wide use of multiple sources affects pupils’ holistic understanding of historical phenomena. The participants were a multicultural group of pupils. The origins of their cultures can be traced to the Balkan, the Middle East, Asia and Europe. The number of native Finnish speakers and pupils speaking Finnish as their second language was almost equal. The multicultural composition provides opportunities to assess how culturally responsive learning history from sources is. The intercultural approach to learning in a multicultural setting emphasizes equality as a precondition for learning. In order to set assignments at least to some extent match with all participants only those answers were taken into account which were produced by pupils who had studied history for a similar period of time in the Finnish comprehensive school system. Due to the small number of participants (41), the study avoids wide generalizations. Nevertheless, possible cultural blueprints in pupils’ way of thinking are noted. The first test examined the skills of pupils to find motives for emigration. The results showed that for 7th graders finding reasons is not a problematic task. However, the number of reasons noticed and justifications varied. In addition, the way the pupils explained their choices was a distinguishing factor. Some pupils interpreted source material making use of previous knowledge on the issue, while other pupils based their analysis solely on the text handed and did not try to add their own knowledge. Answers were divided into three categories: historical, explanatory and stating. Historical answers combined smoothly previously learned historical knowledge to one’s own source analysis; explanatory answers often ignored a wider frame, although they were effective when explaining e.g. historical concepts. The stating answers only noticed motives from the sources and made no attempts to explain them historically. Was the first test culturally responsive? All pupils representing different cultures tackled the first source exam successfully, but there were some signs of how historical concepts are understood in a slightly different way if the pupil’s personal history has no linkage to the concepts under scrutiny. The second test focused on the history of Native Americans. The test first required pupils to recognize whether short source extracts (5) were written by Indians or Caucasians. Based on what they had already learned from North American history, the pupils did not find it hard to distinguish between the sources. The analysis of multiphase causes and consequences of the disputes between Native Americans and white Americans caused dispersion among pupils. Using two historical sources and combining historical knowledge from both of them simultaneously was cumbersome for many. The explanations of consequences can be divided into two groups: the ones emphasizing short term consequences and those placing emphasis on long term consequences. The short term approach was mainly followed by boys in every group. The girls mainly paid attention to long term consequences. The result suggests that historical knowledge in sources is at least to some extent read through role and gender lenses. The third test required pupils to explain in their own words how the three sources given differed in their account of living conditions in Nazi Germany, which turned out to be demanding for many pupils. The pupils’ stronghold was rather the assessment of source reliability and accounts why the sources approached the same events differently. All participants wrote critical and justified comments on reliability and aspects that might have affected the content of the sources. The pupils felt that the main reasons that affected source reliability were the authors’ ethnic background, nationality and profession. The assessment showed that pupils were well aware that position in a historical situation has an impact on historical accounts, but in certain cases the victim’s account was seen as a historical truth. The account of events by a historian was chosen most often as the most reliable source, but it was often justified leniently with an indication to professionalism rather than with clear ideas of how historians conduct accounts based on sources. In brief, the last source test demonstrates that pupils have a strong idea that the ethnicity or nationalism determines how people explained events of the past. It is also an implication that pupils understand how historical knowledge is interpretative. The results also imply that history can be analyzed from a neutral perspective. One’s own membership in an ethnical or religious group does not automatically mean that a person’s cultural identity excludes historical explanations if something in them contradicts with his or her identity. The second method of extracting knowledge of pupils’ historical thinking was an essay analysis. The analysis shows that an analytical account of complicated political issues, which often include a great number of complicated political concepts, leads more likely to an inconsistent structure in the written work of pupils. The material also demonstrates that pupils have a strong tendency to take a critical stance when assessing history. Historical empathy in particular is shown if history somehow has a linkage to young people, children or minorities. Some topics can also awake strong feelings, especially among pupils with emigrant background, if there is a linkage between one’s own personal history and that of the school; and occasionally a student’s historical experience or thoughts replaced school history. Using sources during history lessons at school seems to have many advantages. It enhances the reasoning skills of pupils and their skills to assess the nature of historical knowledge. Thus one of the main aims and a great benefit of source work is to encourage pupils to express their own ideas and opinions. To conclude, when assessing the skills of adolescents in history - their work with sources, comments on history, historical knowledge and finally their historical thinking - one should be cautious and avoid cut off score evaluations. One purpose of pursuing history with sources is to encourage pupils to think independently, which is a useful tool for further identity construction. The idea that pupils have the right to conduct their own interpretations of history can be partially understood as part of a wider learning process, justification to study history comes from extrinsic reasons. The intrinsic reason is history itself; in order to understand history one should have a basic understanding of history as a specific domain of knowledge. Using sources does not mean that knowing history is of secondary importance. Only a balance between knowing the contextual history, understanding basic key concepts and working with sources is a solid base to improve pupils’ historical understanding.