Critical geography in Germany: from exclusion to inclusion via internationalisation

Critical perspectives have become more visible in German human geography. Drawing on an analysis of the debate around the German reader "Kulturgeographie" published in 2003, we suggest that this case provides new insights into the "geography of critical geography". We briefly discuss the history of critical geography in Germany, leading to a comparison of the conditions of critical geography around 1980 and in recent years. The focus is on two factors in the changed role of critical perspectives in German geography: (1) the growing internationalisation of German geography, which opened new avenues and allowed new approaches to enter the discipline; and (2) the high citation indices of "critical" journals, which leads to an enhanced reputation and a high significance of international critical geography in the German discipline. However, we draw an ambiguous conclusion: the increased role of critical approaches in German geography is linked to a growing neoliberalisation of academia and a decline of critical approaches in other disciplines

Critical geography in Germany: from exclusion to inclusion via internationalisation

Critical perspectives have become more visible in German human geography. Drawing on an analysis of the debate around the German reader “Kulturgeographie” published in 2003, we suggest that this case provides new insights into the “geography of critical geography”. We briefly discuss the history of left geography in Germany, leading to a comparison of the conditions of left geography around 1980 and in recent years. The focus is on two factors in the changed role of critical perspectives in German geography: (1) the growing internationalisation of German geography, which opened new avenues and allowed new approaches to enter the discipline; and (2) the high citation indices of “critical” journals, which leads to an enhanced reputation and a high significance of international critical geography in the German discipline. However, we draw an ambiguous conclusion: the increased role of critical approaches in German geography is linked to a growing neoliberalisation of academia and a decline of critical approaches in other disciplines

The Expressive Power of k-ary Exclusion Logic

In this paper we study the expressive power of k-ary exclusion logic, EXC[k], that is obtained by extending first order logic with k-ary exclusion atoms. It is known that without arity bounds exclusion logic is equivalent with dependence logic. By observing the translations, we see that the expressive power of EXC[k] lies in between k-ary and (k+1)-ary dependence logics. We will show that, at least in the case of k=1, the both of these inclusions are proper. In a recent work by the author it was shown that k-ary inclusion-exclusion logic is equivalent with k-ary existential second order logic, ESO[k]. We will show that, on the level of sentences, it is possible to simulate inclusion atoms with exclusion atoms, and this way express ESO[k]-sentences by using only k-ary exclusion atoms. For this translation we also need to introduce a novel method for "unifying" the values of certain variables in a team. As a consequence, EXC[k] captures ESO[k] on the level of sentences, and we get a strict arity hierarchy for exclusion logic. It also follows that k-ary inclusion logic is strictly weaker than EXC[k]. Finally we will use similar techniques to formulate a translation from ESO[k] to k-ary inclusion logic with strict semantics. Consequently, for any arity fragment of inclusion logic, strict semantics is more expressive than lax semantics.Comment: Preprint of a paper in the special issue of WoLLIC2016 in Annals of Pure and Applied Logic, 170(9):1070-1099, 201

From exclusion to inclusion of people with disabilities

11th International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation Dates: 12th-14th November, 2018. Location: Seville, SPAINThe following monograph is an attempt towards multi-context deliberations on the issue of exclusion and inclusion of people with disabilities. It draws attention to complexity and significance of the phenomena of contemporary scientific and social discourse. The article includes general guidelines for educational procedures and refers to the tradition of Polish school of rehabilitation and the vision of optimizing social care actions. The purpose of the article is therefore to present facts concerning social exclusion of the disabled but also stresses how to make an attempt in order to counteract such phenomenon. In addition, the research was aimed to present good inclusion practices. Nowadays, disability has no longer been treated as a problem of psychological and cultural character. Disabled people are not perceived as those who are worse and may be ignored by the society or socially alienated. The issue itself has become a problem of institutional and legal nature (unclear legal regulations or inappropriate acting services). Current economic situation of the disabled in Poland in spite of time flows since its political transformation has not been properly resolved in numerous issues, still remaining unstable and insecure. Negative social phenomena such as poverty, unemployment, helplessness not only fail to disappear, but they are increasing evolving into other forms, touching with its unique consequences those who are the weakest or insecure. It needs to be pointed out that growing inequalities result from unequal (often unfair distribution of financial resources and reflect in integration and inclusion barriers and also their results as social problems which again have its source in exclusion (often interchangeably named as a social exclusion). Link to abstract: file:///G:/files/abstracts/211.ht

Systematic Review Of The Published Literature On Success And Failure Rates Of Nonsurgical Endodontic Treatment

Purpose: The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review of the literature on treatment results in non-surgical Endodontic therapy. This included researching and defining inclusion and exclusion criteria and applying these criteria to identified relevant publications. The overall goal was to analyze the available literature and synthesize these results in an effort to inform the profession on the success and failure rates in non-surgical root canal therapy. Materials and Methods: Inclusion and exclusion criteria were established in an effort to systemically review and formulate an evidence-based understanding of treatment results in non-surgical root canal therapy. A comprehensive literature search was conducted using using PubMed and the Cochrane database using the search terms root canal therapy, apical periodontitis, success, failure, and treatment outcome and was restricted to January 2009 through December 2011. Articles were reviewed and analyzed according to the inclusion/exclusion criteria. Results: A review of the abstracts for these 330 publications resulted in 51 publications articles to be examined more closely for relevance and inclusion. From this, no publication met all defined inclusion/exclusion criteria. Discussion: Defining a set of criteria for how success is defined in practice is vital to the field of Endodontics. It is important to define, establish and incorporate a standardized methodology in the way research is conducted on Endodontic treatment results. This is necessary for the application of research to the practice of evidence-based Endodontics

Reframing social exclusion from science communication: Moving away from 'barriers' towards a more complex perspective

Science communication is an increasingly important field of activity,research and policy. It should not be assumed however, that science communication practices provide equitable and empowering opportunities for everyone. Social exclusion, inclusion and equity are key challenges for practitioners, researchers, policy makers and funders involved with science communication. In this com-mentary I reflect on the limitations of the ‘barriers approach to understandingsocial inclusion and exclusion from science communication and argue instead that a more complex perspective is needed. I conclude that placing equity at theheart of science communication is crucial for developing more inclusive sciencecommunication practice

An organisational perspective on social exclusion in higher education : a case study

We explore organisational mechanisms underlying social exclusion in higher education, the latter defined as the underrepresentation of students from lower socio-economic backgrounds. We focus on “decoupling,†which is a central concept in organisational institutionalism referring to the construction of gaps between public commitment and core organisational practices, a common phenomenon in organisations worldwide. In the context of social inclusion this implies that universities are often publicly committed to social inclusion whereas their actual practices reproduce social exclusion. Drawing on an in-depth case study of a Flemish university, we identify four possible antecedents of decoupling: institutional contradictions resulting from the neo-liberalisation of higher education, uncertainty about effective inclusive practices, resistance of key constituencies and resource stringency resulting from experiences of lacking public funding

The public library, exclusion and empathy: a literature review

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a review of the literature within the fields of public librarianship, social exclusion and empathy. Design/methodology/approach – The cross-disciplinary review involved the consultation of material from disciplines including library and information management, politics, social policy and social sciences, cultural studies, psychology, management and organizational theory. It was structured according to the following themes: exclusion, inclusion and social policy, social inclusion in public services and the cultural sector, the role of public libraries in social inclusion and professional empathy and the public library service. Findings –The concept of social inclusion remains at the core of public library policy and strategy, and is embedded in contemporary social theory. Conflicting views have emerged as to the perceived and actual role of the public library in combating social exclusion, with a need expressed for research to be conducted that bridges the gap between the “philosophical” interpretations of community librarianship and the more practical, “real world” studies, in order to fully understand the concept of community librarianship. A critical link is made between social inclusion and public librarianship to professional empathy. Research limitations/implications – The paper provides an edited version of the overall literature review, yet it is felt that it would be of theoretical and practical relevance and value to the professional and academic communities. Originality/value – Empathy is a relatively new concept in librarianship research, and prior to the study of which this review forms a part only limited findings have been available

Blindness, art and exclusion in museums and galleries

Drawing on interviews with blind people, this paper examines both their exclusion from museums and galleries and their responses to the art educational provision which is specifically designed to remedy that marginalisation. Blind visitors’ responses to these educational projects was polarised; respondents were either highly critical or very enthusiastic. This paper begins by outlining the interviewees’ criticisms which included, education officers’ misconception of how touch facilitates learning and aesthetic response, a lack of educational progression and blind people’s clear exclusion from mainstream events. I then ask why, given these problems, did other respondents respond so favourably, suggesting that these high levels of satisfaction were had little to do with museum provision but were the result of social interaction and of inclusion within the sighted community. I argue that, ironically, this sense of inclusion is premised on blind visitors’ structural exclusion from art institutions. Finally, the article examines those visitors who, illicitly or otherwise, already experience some aspects of the museum in multisensory terms but maintain that until museums’ and galleries ocularcentric orientation is reconfigured, there will be little possibility for these rogue visitors to develop their knowledge of art. Likewise, without institutional change educational events for the blind will continue to be an inadequate supplement to a structure that is and remains inequitable

Social exclusion and transport policy

This paper is a review of social inclusion in the specification by central government of policy instruments for local government. It forms part of the scooping study on Accessibility and User Needs in Transport (AUNT) funded by the EPSRC Sustainable Urban Environment programme. The aim of the study is to produce rigorous methodologies to develop and test sustainable policies and practices that will deliver effective socially inclusive design and operation in urban transport and the public realm from the macro down to the micro level. In particular, this paper forms part of a work package to develop a tool and modelling techniques that can be used to identify the areas and sectors that have high levels of social exclusion, and then facilitate the testing of policy options to assess the extent to which they meet user needs and increase social inclusion. The paper begins with a review of key government documents regarding social exclusion and transport, before going on to discuss how social inclusion is incorporated into local government transport policy