Send in the Clowns: Performing a Political Campaign in Post-Collapse Iceland

In the regional elections of 2010, a new political party, The Best Party (Besti flokkurinn), ran for office in Reykjavík under the leadership of mayor candidate, actor and comedian, Jón Gnarr. The Best Party’s campaign was very successful, even if it made no attempt to argue policy or (apparently) use any of the methods used in a traditional campaign. This article deals with the question of whether and how a political campaign can be an effective political performance or be seen as political activism, using some of the Best Party’s campaigning methods as a case study. The campaign is studied as a performance, drawing on the theories of Richard Schechner and Michel Foucault. While Jón Gnarr and the Best Party seemed to break with traditional politics, the article asks whether they really did that. What changes when a performer runs for office? Did the Best Party send in the clowns, or were they already there

Óframkvæmd hjúkrun á sjúkrahúsum á Íslandi: Lýsandi rannsókn

Efst á síðunni er hægt að nálgast greinina í heild sinni með því að smella á hlekkinnTilgangur þessarar rannsóknar er að varpa ljósi á tíðni og orsakir óframkvæmdrar hjúkrunar á legudeildum lyflækninga, skurð­ lækninga og gjörgæslu á sjúkrahúsum á Íslandi. Þátttakendur voru allir starfsmenn hjúkrunar á 27 legudeildum átta heilbrigðisstofnana á Íslandi. Skriflegur spurningalisti um óframkvæmda húkrun, MISSCARE Survey-Icelandic, var sendur 864 einstaklingum og var svörun 69,3%. Spurt var um hve algeng óframkvæmd hjúkrun er á deild þátttakenda og ástæður hennar auk bakgrunnsspurninga. Um lýsandi megindlega þversniðsrannsókn var að ræða. Flestir þátttakendur voru hjúkrunarfræðingar (57,7%) og sjúkraliðar (37,1%), yngri en 55 ára (76,2%), unnu að minnsta kosti 30 stundir á viku (75,1%) á breytilegum vöktum (83,7%). Hjúkrunarathafnir, sem flestir þátttakendur sögðu óframkvæmdar á sinni deild, voru: aðstoð við hreyfingu þrisvar á dag eða samkvæmt fyrirmælum, þverfaglegir fundir alltaf sóttir og sjúklingar fræddir um sjúkdóm, próf og greiningarrannsóknir. Helstu ástæður óframkvæmdrar hjúkrunar tengdust mannafla og var algengasta ástæðan ófyrirséð fjölgun sjúklinga eða aukin hjúkrunarþyngd á deildinni. Óframkvæmd hjúkrun og ástæður tengdar mannafla, aðföngum og samskiptum voru marktækt algengari á kennslusjúkrahúsum en öðrum sjúkrahúsum (tíðni óframkvæmdrar hjúkrunar p<0,001; ástæður tengdar mannafla p<0,05; ástæður tengdar aðföngum og ástæður tengdar samskiptum p<0,001). Óframkvæmd hjúkrun var marktækt algengari á deildum lyflækninga og skurðlækninga en gjörgæslu og blönduðum deildum (p<0,001). Hjúkrunarfræðingar töldu hjúkrun marktækt oftar óframkvæmda en sjúkraliðar (p<0,001) og að ástæður tengdust mannafla (p<0,001). Tíðni óframkvæmdrar hjúkrunar og ástæður hennar tengdust einnig aldri þátttakenda og hversu góða þeir töldu mönnun á sinni deild almennt vera. Niðurstöður benda til þess að huga verði betur að grunnhjúkrun sjúklinga á legudeildum íslenskra sjúkrahúsa og skoða þarf betur mannaflann, nýtingu hans og skipulag aðfanga. Stjórnendur og klínískir starfsmenn hjúkrunar verða að setja hjúkrun sjúklinga í forgang í vinnu sinni. Frekari rannsókna er þörf á óframkvæmdri hjúkrun á Íslandi. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The purpose of this study is to shed light on the frequency and reasons for missed nursing care in medical, surgical and intensive care inpatient units in hospitals in Iceland. Participants were all the nursing staff in 27 inpatient units in eight health care facilities in Iceland. A paper-and-pencil questionnaire, the MISSCARE Survey-Icelandic, was distributed to 864 individuals with a 69.3% response rate. The questionnaire asked about background variables, the frequency of missed nursing care in participants’ units and its reasons. It was a descriptive, quantitative, cross-sectional study. The majority of participants were registered nurses (57.7%) and practical nurses (37.1%), younger than 55 years old (76.2%), who worked at least 30 hours a week (75.1%) on rotating shifts (83.7%). The nursing care activities most participants identified as missed on their unit were: ambulation three times per day or as ordered; attending interdisciplinary care conferences whenever held; and teaching patients about illness, tests, and diagnostic studies. The main reasons for missed nursing care related to labor resources and the most frequently identified single reason was an unexpected rise in patient volume and/or acuity on the unit. The frequency of missed nursing care and reasons related to labor resources, material resources and communication was significantly higher in teaching hospitals than in other hospitals (frequency of missed nursing care p<.001; reasons related to labor resources p<.05; reasons related to material resources and communication p<.001). Missed nursing care was significantly more frequent in medical and surgical units than in intensive and mixed medical-surgical units (p<.001). Registered nurses identified missed nursing care significantly more often than did practical nurses (p<.001) and were more likely to report reasons related to labor resources (p<.001). The frequency of missed nursing care and its reasons were also significantly related to participants’ age and how often they felt the unit staffing was adequate. Study findings indicate a need to improve basic nursing care in inpatient units in hospitals in Iceland as well as labor and material resources and its management. In their work, administrators as well as nurse clinicians have to focus on patients and their nursing care. Further studies are needed on missed nursing care in Iceland.Vísindasjóður Landspítala, B-hluti vísindasjóðs Félags íslenskra hjúkrunarfræðinga, Rannsókna- og vísindasjóði hjúkrunarfræðinga, Rannsóknasjóði Háskóla Íslands.ísindasjóð

Pressure ulcers at Landspitali University Hospital : prevalence, risk assessment and prevention

Neðst á síðunni er hægt að nálgast greinina í heild sinni með því að smella á hlekkinn Skoða/Opna(view/open)Þrýstingssár eru algeng vandamál innan heilbrigðiskerfisins, sérstaklega á sjúkrahúsum þar sem mikið veikir og hreyfiskertir sjúklingar dvelja. Þrýstingssár valda þjáningu, hamla bata og eru kostnaðarsöm. Tilgangur þessarar lýsandi þverskurðarrannsóknar var að kanna: a) algengi, alvarleika og staðsetningu þrýstingssára hjá inniliggjandi sjúklingum, b) helstu áhættuþætti sjúklinga að fá þrýstingssár, c) forvarnir sem beitt er á Landspítala. Þýðið var sjúklingar á Landspítala 7. maí 2008, 18 ára og eldri, að undanskildum sjúklingum á sængurkvenna- og geðdeildum. Notað var mælitæki Evrópsku ráðgjafarsamtakanna um þrýstingssár sem inniheldur meðal annars áhættumat samkvæmt Bradenkvarða. Af 328 sjúklingum, sem uppfylltu skilyrði, tóku 219 þátt (66,8%), 90 höfnuðu þátttöku, 13 voru útskrifaðir og gögn frá 6 sjúklingum voru ógild. Algengi þrýstingssára var 21,5% (n=47). Með 1. (roða) og 2. stigs sár (fleiður/blöðru) voru 70% (n=33) og 30% (n=14) með 3. og 4. stigs sár (fullþykktarsár) þegar miðað var við alvarlegasta sár hvers sjúklings. Fimmtán sjúklingar (31%) voru með fleiri en eitt sár. Þrýstingssár voru samtals 66 eða 1,4 sár á sjúkling, flest á spjaldhrygg (n=20) og hælum (n=16). Karlar voru með marktækt fleiri (n=32) sár en konur (n=15) (p<0,05). Í áhættu samkvæmt Bradenkvarða voru 38% sjúklinga (n=80). Ekki var munur á áhættuhópum eftir aldri og kyni. Sjúklingar með þrýstingssár greindust í marktækt (p<0,05) meiri hættu á Bradenkvarða en sjúklingar án sára. Fjórtán sjúklingar í áhættuhópi lágu á svampdýnum og fjórir sjúklingar án áhættu lágu á loftskiptidýnum. Fimm snúnings- og hagræðingarskemu fundust. Þrýstingssár á Landspítala voru fremur algeng en þó sambærileg við aðrar rannsóknir. Aðgerðir til varnar þrýstingssárum virtust ómarkvissar þar eð sjúklingar lágu ekki alltaf á réttu undirlagi miðað við áhættu og of fá snúnings- og hagræðingarskemu voru notuð miðað við fjölda sjúklinga í áhættuhópi.Pressure ulcers (PU) are a common problem within the health sector, especially among patients in hospitals who are sick and have impaired mobility. PU cause distress, delay recovery, and are costly. The aim of this descriptive cross-sectional study was to investigate: a) the prevalence, seriousness, and site of PU among in-patients, b) pressure ulcer risk factors among patients, c) preventive measures applied for patients at Landspitali University Hospital (LUH). The population was in-patients, 18 years and older, at LUH on 7th of May, 2008. Excluded were patients in maternity and psychiatric wards. The instrument used was the European Pressure Ulcers Advisory Panel’s (EPUAP’s) study sheet which includes the Braden scale risk assessment. Of 328 in-patients who fulfilled inclusion criteria 219 participated (66.8%), 90 refused to participate, 13 patients were discharged, and data on 6 patients were incomplete. Pressure ulcer prevalence was 21.5% (n=47). Grade 1 PU (redness) and 2 PU (skin tear/blister) were 70% (n=33), grade 3 and 4 (full thickness) were 30% (n=14) based on each patient’s most serious PU. Fifteen patients (31%) had more than one pressure ulcer, totally 66 ulcers or 1.4 pressure ulcer per patient. The most common sites of ulcer were on sacrum (n=20) and heels (n=16). Males had significantly more ulcers (n=32) than females (n=15) (p<0.05). At risk according to the Braden scale were 38% (n=80) of patients. There was no significant difference in age and gender between risk groups. Patients with PU had significantly more risk factors (p<0.05) according to the Braden scale than patients without PU. Fourteen patients at risk were lying on standard sponge mattresses and four patients without risk were lying on air-mattresses. Five turning and repositioning schemes were found. Prevalence of PU was rather high but comparable with other studies. Prevention of PU seemed to be inconsequent, as the use of underlays was not always determined by the risk of the patients and too few turning schemes were found compared with the number of patients at risk

Changing Variation: Diffuse Directionality in Icelandic Subject Case Substitution

We present results from a large-scale online survey (N = 4545) and an in-depth follow-up study (N = 48) showing unexpected variation patterns in the case marking of theme subjects in Icelandic. In previous accounts (Jónsson 2003), quirky oblique theme subjects, in opposition to experiencers, were thought to obligatorily pattern with the structural nominative case instead of a possibly inherent dative case (Nominative Substitution rather than Dative Substitution). Contrary to this, we show that the productivity of dative case marking with themes is non-negligible and possibly increasing, pointing towards a much more diffuse directionality of the change. We argue that this is not unexpected if we assume a theory where semantic roles are probabilistically mapped onto case and productivity is driven by type frequency, as it is under the Tolerance Principle (Yang 2016). We put this to the test by combining a verb knowledge task with a case selection task to compute productivity patterns, and individual type frequency counts, predicting the presence of dative productivity correctly in 39 out of 48 participants by using the Tolerance Principle. Although our results disconfirm a categorical impossibility of theme subjects receiving dative rather than nominative, the previously attested patterns still hold. Experiencers appear significantly more frequently with non-nominative substitution than themes do, originally accusative subjects have the highest rate of substitution and verbs which are generally more known/frequent are less likely to show subject case substitution. These patterns are reflected in attested examples of non-nominative subjects with novel verbs

Sheehan's syndrome - case report and review

Neðst á síðunni er hægt að nálgast greinina í heild sinni með því að smella á hlekkinn Skoða/Opna(view/open)Sheehan's syndrome (SS) is a pituitary failure after delivery. Symptoms depend on which hormonal axis are affected, failure to lactate and resume menstruation is most frequent but cortisol deficiency is most dangerous and may lead to death if undiagnosed. We present a 38 year old female that was diagnosed with SS after repeated visits to health care professionals with typical symptoms of SS. The purpose of this case report is to draw attention to SS and the symptoms of cortisol deficiency.Sheehan heilkenni er heiladingulsbilun sem verður hjá móður eftir barnsburð. Einkennin fara eftir hvaða hormónaöxlar skaðast. Algengast er að konur með Sheehan heilkenni mjólki ekki og hafi ekki tíðablæðingar. Hættulegasta afleiðing heiladingulsbilunar er kortisólskortur og ef hann er vangreindur getur hann leitt til dauða. Sagt er frá 38 ára konu sem greindist með heilkennið eftir að hafa ítrekað leitað aðstoðar með dæmigerð einkenni. Tilgangur þessa tilfellis er að vekja athygli á Sheehan heilkenninu og einkennum kortisólskorts

Avons-nous encore besoin de héros nordiques ?

L’art contemporain a joué un rôle essentiel dans la construction et la représentation des identités culturelles et de l’image nationale en Islande. S’appuyant sur un récit semi-fictionnel et généalogique de l’histoire de l’art, le rôle patriarcal de Dieter Roth (1930-1998), incarnant le grand-père de l’art contemporain islandais, est attesté et a marqué les pratiques de plusieurs jeunes artistes en Islande, comme celles de Ragnar Kjartansson (1976-), qui reconnaît en lui une influence décisive et un modèle à suivre eu égard à l’autoréflexivité romantique qui caractérise son œuvre. Dans cet article, il s’agit d’étudier la manière dont la célébration de l’Überkünstler chez Kjartansson, comme sa « mythification » des tropes culturels nordiques interfèrent avec une certaine idée du « Nord créateur », à laquelle les institutions ont recours aujourd’hui pour réinventer et soutenir une idée politique du Nord, non seulement en tant que lieu d’abondance, de créativité et de liberté, mais aussi en tant que laboratoire pour la démocratie et la recherche scientifique.Contemporary art has played an essential role in the construction and representation of cultural identities and nation branding in Iceland. Sustained by a semi-fictional, genealogical art historical narrative, the patriarchal role of Dieter Roth (1930-1998), as the grandfather of Icelandic contemporary art, is undoubted and has inspired practices of several young artists in Iceland, such as Ragnar Kjartansson (b. 1976), who acknowledges Roth as a decisive influence and role model for the Romantic self-reflectiveness that characterizes his work. In this article, I will demonstrate how Kjartansson’s celebration of the Überkünstler, and his “mythisising” of Nordic cultural tropes interferes with a certain idea of the “creative North,” currently used by governmental bodies to reinvent and sustain a political idea of the North, not only as a place of abundancy, creativity, and freedom, but also as a laboratory of democracy and scientific research.Die zeitgenössiche Kunst spielt eine entscheidende Rolle in der Konstruktion und Darstellung von kulturellen Identitäten und dem nationalen Bild Islands. Basierend auf einer genealogischen und zum Teil fiktiven Kunstgeschichtsschreibung präsentiert sich die patriarchalische Rolle von Dieter Roth (1930-1998) als der Grossvater der isländischen Kunst, der verschiedene junge isländische Künstler, wie z.B. Ragnar Kjartansson (1976-) geprägt hat. Letzterer misst ihm als Leitmodell romantischer Selbstreflexivität einen entscheidenden Einfluss auf seinen Werdegang bei. Dieser Artikel setzt sich mit der Art auseinander, wie Kjartansson den „Überkünstler“ zelebriert und inwiefern seine Mythologisierung von Tropen nordischer Kultur mit einer gewissen Vorstellung vom „Norden als Schöpfer“ einhergeht, an der sich heute auch politische Instanzen bedienen, um eine politische Idee des Nordens wieder zu erfinden und zu verteidigen. Dabei geht es nicht nur um den Norden als Ort des Reichtums, der Kreativität und der Freiheit, sondern auch als ein Labor für Demokratie und wissenschaftliche Forschung.L’arte contemporanea ha svolto un ruolo essenziale nella costruzione e nella rappresentazione delle identità culturali e dell’immagine nazionale in Islanda. A partire da un racconto romanzato e genealogico della storia dell’arte, è attestato il ruolo da patriarca di Dieter Roth (1930-1998), una sorta di progenitore dell’arte contemporanea islandese, che ha influito sull’attività di molti giovani artisti islandesi, come Ragnar Kjartansson (1976-), il quale riconosce Roth come un’influenza decisiva e un modello da seguire in rapporto con l’auto-riflessività romantica che caratterizza la sua opera. Il presente articolo si propone di studiare la maniera in cui la celebrazione dell’ “Überkunstler” in Kjartansson e la trasformazione in mito dei tropi culturali nordici si sovrappongano alla concezione di “Nord creatore” cui le istanze governative fanno oggi ricorso per reinventare e sostenere un’idea politica del Nord Europa non solamente come luogo d’abbondanza, di creatività e di libertà, ma anche come laboratorio per la democrazia e la ricerca scientifica.El arte contemporáneo jugó un rol esencial en la construcción de la representación de las identidades culturales y de la imagen nacional de Islandia. Siguiendo un relato semi-ficcional y genealógico de la historia del arte, el rol patriarcal de Dieter Roth (1930-1998), el abuelo del arte contemporáneo islandés, está probado y ha marcado las prácticas de muchos jóvenes artistas en Islandia, como el de Ragnar Kjartansson (1976-), que reconoce en este una influencia decisiva y un modelo a seguir dada la reflexividad romántica que caracteriza su obra. En este artículo se estudia la manera en la que la celebración del Überkünstler en Kjartansson, como su “mistificación” de los tropos culturales nórdicos, interfieren con una cierta idea del “Norte creador”, a la que las instancias de gobierno recurren hoy para reinventar y mantener una idea política del Norte, no solamente en tanto que lugar de abundancia, de creatividad y de libertad, sino también en tanto que laboratorio para la democracia y la investigación científica

Starar og hestar

The habit of the common starling (Sturnus vulgaris) to associate with grazing horses is spreading in Iceland. When asked I found that many thought the birds were picking parasites from the skin of the horses. I found no references to scientific papers for this association of the two species on the internet. However, the behaviour of starlings to forage for invertebrates close to cattle when grazing has been studied. In those papers the benefits for the cattle was hardly mentioned. Photos of starlings sitting on the back of horses are not many on the internet, interestingly though the majority from Iceland. Some photos of starlings perching on red deer, elk, bison, reindeer and cows do exist. To get some idea of the functions of this behaviour, preliminary behavioural observations were carried out in Eilífsdalur, SW-Iceland, on 9 days in August and September 2018 and 2020 in a spacious pasture with a group of 24 horses. The method Ad Libitum was used to be able to describe the general behaviour of the starlings at the site and the reactions of the horses to the birds. Instantaneous sampling was used to estimate time budgets of the birds (22 scans) and to collect data to test (14 scans) if the colour of the horse was irrelevant for the birds when they perched on their back. The birds were very movable and agile: they frequently formed large flocks that split up and joined up, flew up in the air or landed close to the horses. Sometimes they settled on the horseʼs backs (up to 25/horse). Looking closely at their behaviour it became clear that they were not feeding on parasites (lice) or skin flakes (one clear exception). Rather, they seemed to use the horses as perches to spot where other birds were feeding or for a place to rest, preen the feathers or for interactions with other birds as well as to be on the outlook for predators. They spent 73% of their time foraging for food (berries and invertebrates around the horses and in the horse droppings). They also stood still (13%), preened their feathers (7%), argued over horse droppings (3%) and spent 4% of their time perching on a horse. Most commonly only one bird perched on a horse at the same time. Interestingly the colour of the horse was relevant – the birds preferred the palest horses. The horses did not shake their body or tail to get rid of the birds nor were they aggressive towards them. This supports the idea that this association might be a case of commensalism – the birds benefit by getting access to more food while the presence of the birds for the horses is of no importance. However, in the evolutionary past when the horsesʼ habitats were large plains and predators were a constant threat to the foals, an association with birds which spot predators quickly19 might have been advantageous for the horse as well as acting as deterrents for biting insects–hence a case of mutualism. Although such a predator threat is of much less significance at the present time, the genetic basis of a behaviour of such a protective nature is very unlikely to disappear from horse populations.Pre-print (samþykkt handrit

Íslensk myndlist í erlendri gagnrýni : Frá Georg Gretor til Gregorys Volk

„Hvað er það sem gerir íslenska list svona öðruvísi, svo aðlaðandi? Hvort sem það er frá hugmyndafræðilegu, tilraunakenndu eða ljóðrænu sjónarhorni, þá er íslensk samtímalist dæmi um það sem listamenn annarra þjóða berjast við að ná: hún er bein og ósvikin. Hún leikur sér að mærum listgreinanna. Áhugavert samstarf listamanna, tónlistarmanna, leikara, hönnuða eða höfunda er normið. Listin nærist af sterkri, skapandi orku sem beinlínis gerir hvern einstakling af […] íbúum eyjarinnar bæði að menningarþega og menningarhöfundi.“ Þannig lýsti þýski listfræðingurinn Christian Schoen íslenskri samtímalist rétt fyrir hrun. Á sama tíma og íslenskir myndlistarmenn hasla sér völl erlendis, erlendir listamenn setjast að á Íslandi og listamönnum af erlendum uppruna fjölgar, þá virðist listgagnrýni enn snúast að miklu leyti um að skilgreina sérstöðu íslenskrar myndlistar út frá landfræðilegum og náttúrulegum forsendum. Í greininni er sjónum beint að skrifum erlendra listgagnrýnenda sem allir settu mark sitt á íslenska listasenu á 20. og 21. öld. Þetta eru Georg Gretor (1892–1943), Hjörvarður Árnason (1909–1986), Gregory Volk (f. 1961) og Christian Schoen (f. 1970). Rýnt er í merkingu hins sértæka í íslenskri myndlist og reynt að varpa ljósi á hvernig listgagnrýni hefur mótað myndlist og myndlistarsögu á Íslandi því, eins og bandaríski listfræðingurinn James Elkins benti á, þá byggir listasaga smáþjóðanna á listgagnrýni í sýningarskrám, dagblöðum og tímaritum. Því er haldið fram að í stað þess að lýsa eingöngu samhengi, þá sé árangursríkara að beita orðræðugreiningu til að komast að því hvaða menningarlegu og pólitísku hagsmunir liggi að baki listgagnrýni hverju sinni.Peer reviewe

Science and health care system - the importance of The Icelandic Medical Journal

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Severely increased serum lipid levels in diabetic ketoacidosis – case report

To access publisher's full text version of this article, please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links field or click on the hyperlink at the top of the page marked FilesVeruleg hækkun á blóðfitum er þekktur en sjaldgæfur fylgikvilli ketónblóðsýringar. Hér er lýst tilfelli 23 ára konu sem leitaði á bráðamóttöku Landspítala vegna kviðverkja. Blóðvökvi reyndist það fituríkur að ekki var unnt að mæla blóðhag. Hún var með hraða og djúpa öndun (Kussmaul-­öndun) og aceton-lykt úr vitum. Hún reyndist hafa insúlínháða sykursýki með ketónblóðsýringu (ketoacidosis). Veitt var hefðbundin meðferð með vökva í æð, insúlíni og kalíum gjöf og leiðréttust gildi blóðsykurs og blóðfitu hratt. Mögulegar skýringar á háum blóðfitugildum eru nýlegar mataræðisbreytingar ásamt undirliggjandi, ógreindri sykursýki. Sjúkratilfellið undirstrikar mikilvægi þess að hafa í huga ólíkar birtingarmyndir ketónblóðsýringar.Severe hypertriglyceridemia is a known, but uncommon complication of diabetic ketoacidosis. We discuss the case of a 23-year-old, previously healthy, woman who initially presented to the emergency department with abdominal pain. Grossly lipemic serum due to extremely high triglyceride (38.6 mmol/L) and cholesterol (23.2 mmol/L) levels were observed with a high blood glucose (23 mmol/L) and a low pH of 7.06 on a venous blood gas. She was treated successfully with fluids and insulin and had no sequale of pancreatitis or cerebral edema. Her triglycerides and cholesterol was normalized in three days and she was discharged home on insulin therapy after five days. Further history revealed a recent change in diet with no meat, fish or poultry consumption in the last 12 months and concomitantly an increase in carbohydrate intake which might have contributed to her extremely high serum lipid levels. This case demonstrates that clinicians should be mindful of the different presentations of diabetic ketoacidosis