From Eastern Prophets to Syrian Yankees: Tracing the First Generations of Arab American Writers

The article discusses the first generations of Arab American writers with the aim to identify the narrative strategies they employed. The focus is primarily on the representatives of the Mahjar movement (Khalil Gibran, Ameen Rihani) along with observations of the roles that they adopted through their writing pursuits (the role of the prophet/man of letters). Furthermore, the text examines selected literary works of Salom Rizk, Vance Bourjaily, and William Peter Blatty as the representatives of the second generation of Arab American authors who desired to be identified as Americans. The article argues that in the first two generations of Arab American writers, the authors’ storytelling techniques are generally rooted either in self-orientalizing narrative strategies as represented by the character of an “Eastern prophet” or by an assimilating strategy epitomized by the character of a “Syrian Yankee.

Job Satisfaction Audit in Hospital: Qalitative Case Study

Introduction: The shortage of healthcare professionals, their turnover, and the risk of burnout are critical issues in healthcare organizations, impacting the quality and safety of care. This study, based on contractual research, aimed to identify the factors influencing employee satisfaction in new hospital facilities. Aim: This article presents an audit of job satisfaction using the JD-R model in a healthcare facility to improve employee stability and well-being, thus improving quality and safety of care. It aims to show a methodological approach applicable in healthcare management and other services. Methods: The extended JD-R model (Job Demands-Resources model) was used as the theoretical framework. The analysis of negative and positive factors that influence job satisfaction was based on data collected from anonymous semi-structured interviews. Thematic and narrative analysis, as well as the study of internal documents, was also used, and evidence-based results were presented in a final synthesis. Results: The methodological approach provided valuable findings to improve care. The key positive factors that influenced job satisfaction included the prospects for permanent employment and the levels of salary. Significant negative factors were concerns about personal safety and dissatisfaction with medical personnel. Conclusions: The study’s final report, presented to top management, outlined the positive and negative factors affecting job satisfaction and well-being. Management expressed willingness to act on the findings and provided specific examples during the presentation of the results. Although the transferability of results is limited, the methodological approach is inspiring and applicable in healthcare organizations.Introduction: The shortage of healthcare professionals, their turnover, and the risk of burnout are critical issues in healthcare organizations, impacting the quality and safety of care. This study, based on contractual research, aimed to identify factors influencing employee satisfaction in new hospital facilities. Aim: This article presents an audit of job satisfaction using the JD-R model in a healthcare facility to improve employee stability and well-being, thereby enhancing care quality and safety. It aims to showcase a methodological approach applicable in healthcare management and other services. Method: The extended JD-R model (Job Demands-Resources model) was used as the theoretical framework. The analysis of negative and positive factors that influence job satisfaction was based on data collected from anonymous semi-structured interviews. Thematic and narrative analysis, as well as the study of internal documents, was also used and evidence-based results were presented in a final synthesis. Results: The methodological approach delivered valuable findings for improving care. Key positive factors influencing job satisfaction included prospects of permanent employment and salary levels. Significant negative factors were concerns about personal safety and dissatisfaction with medical staffing. Conclusion: The study’s final report, presented to top management, outlined the positive and negative factors affecting job satisfaction and well-being. Management expressed willingness to act on the findings and provided specific examples during the results presentation. While the results’ transferability is limited, the methodological approach is inspiring and applicable in healthcare organizations

Karel ČERNÝ – Petr SVOBODNÝ (eds.), Velké dějiny zemí Koruny české: Tematická řada-Lékařství, Praha, Paseka 2023, 694 s. ISBN 978-80-7637-331-0.

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From Having Sympathy to Showing Empathy for the Demented: A Narratological Study of the Perspectives of Characters with Dementia in Away from Her, Still Alice, and The Father

The present study discusses the challenge of choosing an appropriate narrative structure for representing the unreliable perspective of characters with dementia in cinematic adaptations. The argument is that the chosen frameworks and techniques should create sympathy and empathy in readers/audience, and the ideal empathetic adaptation should choose narratological frameworks with the lowest level of coherence, narrative distancing and external focalization. As prototypical examples, the study focuses on the cinematic adaptations of three literary texts which treat dementia as their main thematic concern: Away from Her (2007), Still Alice (2014), and The Father (2021). The study employs critical categories and conceptualizations proposed by Per Krogh Hansen regarding unreliable perspectives, as well as the critical views of Gulce Torun, the latter of whom domesticates Endel Tulving’s mnemonic functions of episodic memory in her narratological discussions regarding the rapport between unreliable perspectives and memory. The analysis identifies features of intranarrational, internarrational, and extratextual unreliability as well as corresponding features of semantic, episodic, archival, and constructivist memory in the adaptations

Roles of Siblings in Folktales

This article examines the portrayal of siblings and sibling relationships in folktales. It focuses on tales from collections with either British or American cultural backgrounds that include siblings as main or secondary characters. The methodology in this research is strongly inspired by the study of sibling relationships in young children’s literature conducted by Laurie Kramer, Sonia Noorman, and Renee Brockman in 1999. Folktales are analysed in terms of the birth order of main characters, their gender, and themes that characterise the relationships and behaviour of siblings. The structuralist framework of Vladimir Propp is employed to classify character functions, such as heroes, helpers, and villains, within the narratives. Furthermore, this article challenges, to some extent, certain traditional views regarding folktale characters, ultimately highlighting the importance of scholarly research into sibling dynamics in literature

‘O breves et infaustos populi favores’. The Controversies Surrounding Lieutenant Władysław Gorzeński during the Civil War in Poland-Lithuania (1715–1716)

On 1st October 1715 Władysław Gorzeński became the first marshal of the soldiers’ union which began to fight against the Saxon forces of King Augustus II on Polish-Lithuanian territory, thereby unleashing a civil war between the monarch, supported by various officials, and the Polish-Lithuanian army alongside the masses of civilian nobility, united under the Tarnogród Confederation. Gorzeński is considered to be a man with numerous controversies surrounding his actions at that time. As a low-ranking officer whose career to that point had not been particularly eventful or scintillating, he surprisingly managed to take control over his unit from his superior – the historical sources known to us describe that entire situation as, at the very least, confusing. Later, as he was leading his forces against the Saxon, he displayed serious incompetence which led to various accusations of intentional sabotage and eventually almost made him a victim to a lynch mob. Having given up his command in the union after a mere two months, he was forced to seek protection among those who had recently been enemies. The purpose of the article is to discuss contemporary opinions, according to which Gorzeński was indeed an agent of the Saxons and a provocateur supposed to trigger the civil conflict into escalation and compare them with facts and sources which bring up a quite different picture of the person in question – a victim of a slander and anti-Saxon paranoia the most of the Confederation was succumbing to at the time

Cardiovascular Risk in Patients Admitted to the Internal Department: a Cross-Sectional Study

Úvod: Nomogram SCORE (Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation system) je jedním z nejpoužívanějších skórovacích systémů pro českou populaci. Tento systém identifikuje možný vznik fatální kardiovaskulární příhody v následujících 10 letech či ve věku 60 let, tak je možné odhalit i asymptomatické mladé jedince v nízkém kardiovaskulárním riziku, ovšem s nezdravým životním stylem, který může v budoucnu zapříčinit vznik vysokého kardiovaskulárního rizika. Cíl: Cílem studie bylo stanovit procentuální kardiovaskulární riziko u pacientů hospitalizovaných na interním oddělení (n = 64, 44 % žen; 56 % mužů), kteří byli hospitalizováni od 1. 4. – 1. 11. 2023. Metodika: Vstupní kritéria pro zařazení do studie: hospitalizace od 1. 4. – 1. 11. 2023; podepsání písemného informovaného souhlasu; neprodělané kardiovaskulární onemocnění; nediagnostikovaný diabetes mellitus I. a II. typu či nediagnostikované renální selhání. Data byla získána osobním rozhovorem (věk, abúzus kouření), poté byl změřen systolický krevní tlak. Následně byla odebrána venózní krev, ze které se stanovila hladina celkového cholesterolu (mmol/l). Všechny tyto údaje byly následně porovnány s Nomogramem SCORE pro vysoce rizikové země. Výsledky: Z výsledků vyplývá, že více jak 57 % respondentů bylo bez rizika vzniku fatální kardiovaskulární příhody, 18,8 % ve středním riziku a ve vysokém riziku 23,5 %. Závěr: Průměrné riziko vzniku kardiovaskulární příhody v následujících 10 letech či ve věku 60 let se u většiny pacientů pohybovalo v nízkém intervalu (0-2 %), ovšem pro stanovení přesných rizikových faktorů je nutné pokračovat ve výzkumu a rozšířit vzorek pacientů.Introduction: The SCORE (Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation system) is one of the most widely used scoring systems for the Czech population. This system identifies possible fatal cardiovascular events in the next 10 years or at the age of 60 years, therefore it is possible to detect asymptomatic young individuals at low cardiovascular risk but with an unhealthy lifestyle, which may shift to high cardiovascular risk. Aim: The aim of the study was to determine the percentage of cardiovascular risk in patients admitted to an internal medicine ward (n = 64, 44% female; 56% male) from April 1 - November 1, 2023. Methods: Inclusion criteria for inclusion in the study: hospitalization from April 1 - November 1, 2023; signed written informed consent; untreated cardiovascular disease; undiagnosed type I and II diabetes mellitus or undiagnosed renal failure. Data were obtained by personal interview (age, smoking abstinence), after which systolic blood pressure was measured. Subsequently, venous blood was drawn and total cholesterol (mmol/l) was determined. All these data were then compared with the SCORE nomogram for high-risk countries. Results: The results showed that more than 57 % of the respondents were at no risk of fatal cardiovascular events, 18,8 % were at intermediate risk and 23,5 % were at high risk. Conclusion: The average risk of developing a cardiovascular event in the next 10 years or at the age of 60 years was in the low range (0-2 %) for most patients, but further research and a larger sample of patients are needed to determine the exact risk factor

“Nature’s Work:” Carolus Clusius and His Ties to the Sidney Circle

Philip Sidney’s European sojourn (1572-1577) was undoubtedly a formative experience, one that shaped his political and literary development. Unsurprisingly, it has received much commentary. Nevertheless, one rather neglected sphere of influence on Sidney’s education that deserves fuller attention is the coterie of high-standing and learned figures based in Central Europe, many of whom Sidney either corresponded with or met in person. This essay will consider the role of Carolus Clusius (1526-1609), a distinguished French botanist employed at the imperial court in Vienna. The influence of Clusius in Sidney’s intellectual circle and Sidney’s correspondence network will be surveyed, as well as whether Sidney’s exposure to the work of Clusius and other botanists, physicians and emblematists would have inspired Sidney’s ideas

Mezinárodní vědecká konference Gender and Sexuality in Christian History, Riga, 3.–5. června 2024.

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