Classical and modern hospitality : the Benedictine case

The development of the anthropology of tourism is anchored in the anthropology of hospitality. Interdisciplinary research further highlights just closely these are related to other disciplines; in this case history and theology. Benefits are also to be gained from multidisciplinary analysis of hospitality and tourism. When investigating contemporary hospitality sometimes there is the opportunity contextualise the investigation in the past in order to more fully understand the present; this opportunity to explore the historical dimension is often ignored, overlooked or misunderstood by some hospitality researchers resulting in flawed rhetoric, and work with little or no empirical research. However, recent advances in hospitality research have included the development of the hospitality conceptual lens (Lashley et al. 2007) that offers a potential framework for organising and presenting data. It has also provided the basis for the development of the dynamic Host-Guest Transaction Model, which allows the hospitality transaction between the host and the guest to be illustrated and explored. More importantly the model also assists with the understanding of the underpinning complexity within hospitality relationships. An overview of the approaches to investigating biblical hospitality highlight the problems associated with this type of research. The example of monastic hospitality shows that contemporary monastic hospitality has its foundations in much earlier practices and anthropological accounts. This is partly achieved by tracing hospitality back to one of its classical roots: the Judeo-Christian Bible. This chapter then is not about the evolution of commercial hospitality; it focuses on the hospitality phenomenon as it subsists within the monastic environment

Towards a New Psychoanalytic Theory of Abandonment: A Feminist Intervention Via Myth

Summary of early research which led to the current study of the myths Clinical background to the current research on myths My work as an academic and my private clinical practice offered me the opportunity to attend female students and patients who in some way had experienced abandonment due to migration. While listening to them I was often forced to question the clinical strategies I was employing and to interrogate the psychoanalytic approaches that established abandonment as a paradigm of mental catastrophe. Why? Because in the different testimonies of these women there seemed to be no trace of severely damaged or perturbed psychic processes. This female experience while traversed and shaped by a male sexual desertion that, although negative in itself, was neither impairing nor psychopathologic – as the classic psychoanalytic theory of loss, abandonment and mourning had established. Quite surprisingly to me this specific form of abandonment, which is essentially centred on the ambiguous status of being and not being in a relationship, stimulated in these women very interesting unconscious process which led them to start breaking into traditional patriarchal social moulds and gender patterns. These women seemed to have become emancipated and thereby in command of many decisions which offered them a greater sense of independence and self-awareness while leading them to redefine aspects of their subjectivity which were before solidly linked to the prescriptions of their male partners. In very simple terms, these women did not consider themselves as victims. In order to tackle the unconscious vicissitudes underlying this form of female subjectivity, and since I did not usually keep written or taped records of my patients, I considered the implementation of clinical group work outside the context of my consulting room and office at the University. The Clinical Work Group 2003-2004 With the support of the Instituto Michoacano de la Mujer (The Michoacan Women's Institute) in Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico and the Universidad Michocana de San Nicolas de Hidalgo (UMNSH) the clinical work group was set up and it took place throughout eight sessions from November 21, 2003 to February 6, 2004 with the participation of five women and a colleague of mine in the role of observer. Theoretical Background My study case was organised as an operative group following the approach of the Argentinean socio-psychoanalyst Enrique Pichon-Riviere who made important contributions to the study of group dynamics and their role in society. As he himself describes it, “the technique of these groups is centred on the task, where theory and practice are resolved in a permanent and concrete praxis of the ‘here and now’ of each indicated field.” The two main hypotheses guiding the operative group technique were: 1) The pre-existence within each subject of ECROS (Conceptual Referential Operative Schema) which are stereotyped structures of thought that achieve a certain unity through group work and later stimulate the group’s operative referential scheme. 2) There is an essential similarity between the processes of teaching and learning, on the one hand, and of therapy, on the other. This kind of group was therefore centred on the participants’ pursuit of a rational learning task and not an explicitly therapeutic one. This means that participants were not labelled as patients requiring a therapeutic process but as individuals (women) who were invited to join a group learning experience. On the other hand, the group experience itself was conceived and conducted in relation to British psychoanalyst W.R. Bion’s basic assumptions concerning group theory, which means the application of a theoretical understanding of the psychoanalytic principles of group psychotherapy. In general terms, what Bion postulates is that there is a group mentality, -the unanimous expression of the will of the group that presents difficulties for the individual in the pursuit of their aims -, which can be understood in the light of three basic assumptions, or three recurrent patterns of behaviour: pair, fight-flight and dependence. Approach to the group The task undertaken in this case consisted of the reading of short stories which I selected on the basis of their themes which needed to be relevant to aspects of the research topic, and thus included stories about the separation of lovers, abandonment, marriage problems and ordeals, female sexuality and the role of women in Michoacán’s migrant communities. The titles of the stories were as follows: 1) “La Tejedora” (“The Spinner”) 2) “El Hombre de Hierro” (“The Iron Man”) 3) “Gracias a la Vida” (“Thanks to Life”) 4) “Underwood” 5) “El Esposo” (“The Husband”) 6) “Una Yunta” (“A Yoke”) 7) “Los Ciclos de la Vida” (“Life Cycles”) Outcomes The group work revealed that abandoned women by migrant men were not psychologically damaged. Further details An extensive account of the methodology, theory and development of the group work experience is offered at: [site details to be supplied during April 2009

WINGSForum 2006: Making a Difference in Philanthropy, Conference Report

WINGS Forum 2006, held November 16-18, 2006 in Bangkok, Thailand, attracted 50% more participants than the Sydney event and was accompanied by extensive satellite meetings between two specialised constituencies within the WINGS network: these worked on the promotion, development and support of community foundations and corporate giving. This report consists of the main speeches, workshop presentations, and discussions as well as a taste of the networking and social events. The many individuals and organisations who helped to make WINGSForum 2006 possible are acknowledged at the end of the report

China’s Sudan engagement: changing Northern and Southern political trajectories in peace and war

China has developed a more consequential role in Sudan over the past two decades, during which it has become bound up in the combination of enduring violent internal instability and protracted external adversity that has characterized the politics of the central state since the 1989 Islamist revolution. Two inter-related political trajectories of China’s Sudan engagement are examined here. The first concerns Beijing’s relations with the ruling National Congress party in incorporating China into its domestic politics and foreign relations amidst war in Darfur, to which Beijing has responded through a more engaged political role. The second confronts the practical limitations of China’s sovereignty doctrine and exclusive reliance upon relations with the central state. Following the peace agreement of 2005 that ended the North–South war, and motivated by political imperatives linked to investment protection concerns, China has developed new relations with the semi-autonomous Government of Southern Sudan, thus seeking to position itself to navigate Sudan’s uncertain political future

\u27Male Chauvinism\u27 is Under Attack from All Sides at Present : \u3ci\u3eRoberts v. United States Jaycees\u3c/i\u3e, Sex Discrimination, and the First Amendment

This Article considers the relationship between gender equality and freedom of association. Part I begins with the Supreme Court’s recognition of the freedom of association as first articulated in NAACP v. Alabama. It shows how, in the context of race discrimination, some key civil rights victories have enlisted claims of the freedom of association, while some other victories have prevailed against such claims. Those precedents set the foundation for the Court’s decision in Jaycees, which concerned gender discrimination. Part II focuses on the role of Jaycees in drawing an analogy between the harms of gender discrimination and sexual-orientation discrimination and on the limits of freedom of association claims in both contexts. It highlights how parties and amici in Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission relied on Jaycees to connect race and sex discrimination to sexual-orientation discrimination. In Masterpiece Cakeshop, the petitioner—a baker who refused to create a wedding cake for a same-sex couple—argued that the application of Colorado’s public accommodations law to him violated his right to free exercise of religion and impermissibly compelled his creative expression. I focus in particular on the arguments made by the National Women’s Law Center, an amicus in support of the respondents. Part III returns to Jaycees and examines the arguments made by the parties and their amici regarding the evident conflict between promoting sex equality—women’s full participation in society—and protecting freedom of association. What was at stake for women in being excluded from full membership in organizations, like the Jaycees and all-male private clubs, that provided members “an entree to the ‘Old Boys Network’”? What was at stake for the Jaycees and similar organizations in a climate in which (as one amicus put it) “‘Male chauvinism’ is under attack from all sides”? Part IV briefly returns to the present day and asks whether the old boys network that presented such a vexing barrier to women’s economic and career mobility is simply a relic of the past or has continuing potency. Part IV concludes by comparing some present-day controversies over freedom of association and gender equality to those fought out in Jaycees

From Social Data Mining to Forecasting Socio-Economic Crisis

Socio-economic data mining has a great potential in terms of gaining a better understanding of problems that our economy and society are facing, such as financial instability, shortages of resources, or conflicts. Without large-scale data mining, progress in these areas seems hard or impossible. Therefore, a suitable, distributed data mining infrastructure and research centers should be built in Europe. It also appears appropriate to build a network of Crisis Observatories. They can be imagined as laboratories devoted to the gathering and processing of enormous volumes of data on both natural systems such as the Earth and its ecosystem, as well as on human techno-socio-economic systems, so as to gain early warnings of impending events. Reality mining provides the chance to adapt more quickly and more accurately to changing situations. Further opportunities arise by individually customized services, which however should be provided in a privacy-respecting way. This requires the development of novel ICT (such as a self- organizing Web), but most likely new legal regulations and suitable institutions as well. As long as such regulations are lacking on a world-wide scale, it is in the public interest that scientists explore what can be done with the huge data available. Big data do have the potential to change or even threaten democratic societies. The same applies to sudden and large-scale failures of ICT systems. Therefore, dealing with data must be done with a large degree of responsibility and care. Self-interests of individuals, companies or institutions have limits, where the public interest is affected, and public interest is not a sufficient justification to violate human rights of individuals. Privacy is a high good, as confidentiality is, and damaging it would have serious side effects for society.Comment: 65 pages, 1 figure, Visioneer White Paper, see http://www.visioneer.ethz.c