Islam in Denmark: The Challenge of Diversity

In public debates contemporary Denmark stands out as an extraordinary nationalist and racist country. This is particularly so on issues concerned with Islam and Muslim immigration. The growth of the nationalist political party Dansk folkeparti, the Muhammad caricatures and harsh laws regulating family reunion are often used as examples by outside observers trying to describe political transformations in the country. These, and some other themes, are discussed in the anthology Islam in Denmark: The Challenge of Diversity (2012), edited by Jørgen S. Nielsen, professor and director of The Centre for European Islamic Thought at the University of Copenhagen. What kind of Islamic diversity is it that challenges Denmark

The Complexity of Class - A Study of Ideology and the Power of Literature in Ian McEwan's Narrative

Ian McEwan's novels Atonement and Saturday open up for discussion of class. Present-day society gives people access to art and literature to a greater extent than before, which evens out the divisions of knowledge over class boundaries. McEwan seems to suggest that literature can pave the way for overcoming class differences through sympathy and identification. This essay aims to examine what literature can do for the complications of class

Created by God : How Somalis in Swedish Exile Reassess the Practice of Female Circumcision

'Created by God' presents the views of Swedish Somalis on female circumcision and contrasts it to the Swedish public discourse on the issue. Despite the lack of documented illegal cases of female circumcision in Sweden, it is constantly claimed in the public discourse that female circumcision (female genital mutilation) is a practice upheld by the Somali exile group in Sweden. Based on an analysis of the internal debate on female circumcision among Swedish Somalis, it is argued that this is a practice negotiated and reassessed by Somalis in Sweden. While some traditional values are maintained, even when in conflict with mainstream mentality of the Swedish society, other values and attitudes are debated and abandoned. Among the Somalis in this study, reassessment of the religious imperative in relation to female circumcision has played a crucial role. The study highlights the importance of a processual theory of cultural practices, in contrast to the prevalent essentialist perspective. It is further argued that the prevalent discrepancy between the discourses - the discussion among Swedish Somalis and the public discussion in Sweden - is an obstacle in the process toward a complete abandonment of the practice of female circumcision in the Somali community in Sweden

The Computer Graphics Scene in the United States

We briefly survey the major thrusts of computer graphics activities, examining trends and topics rather than offering a comprehensive survey of all that is happening. The directions of professional activities, hardware, software, and algorithms are outlined. Within hardware we examine workstations, personal graphics systems, high performance systems, and low level VLSI chips; within software, standards and interactive system design; within algorithms, visible surface rendering and shading, three-dimensional modeling techniques, and animation. Note: This paper was presented at Eurographics\u2784 in Copenhagen, Denmark

Sexual Health among Young Somali Women in Sweden: Living with Conflicting Culturally Determined Sexual Ideologies

Young Somali women in Sweden are affected by two conflicting ideologies on sexuality: on the one hand, the traditional values demanding chastity and modesty in women and, on the other hand, the public sexual ideology in Sweden, emphasising sexual liberty and the dismissal of sexual taboos. In addition, they have to deal with national campaigns condemning “female genital mutilation”. Some of these young women arrived in Sweden already circumcised. The public message to them is that they are “mutilated” and, consequently, deprived of their ability to enjoy sex. A planned project, Sexual Health among Young Somali Women in Sweden, aims at a deeper understanding of the sexual experiences among older Somali women in Sweden, and intends to map the internal discourse in this field. The study also intends to find methods of transferring a positive self-image of sexuality, prevalent among older Somali women, to the younger women.1 Discussing sexual matters is traditionally taboo among Somalis. Even if this situation is changing in exile, many young Swedish Somali women have to make their sexual débuts with only limited knowledge about the possibilities of their own sexuality

A qualitative study of conceptions and attitudes regarding maternal mortality among traditional birth attendants in rural Guatemala.

OBJECTIVE: To explore conceptions of obstetric emergency care among traditional birth attendants in rural Guatemala, elucidating social and cultural factors. STUDY: design Qualitative in-depth interview study. SETTING: Rural Guatemala. SAMPLE: Thirteen traditional birth attendants from 11 villages around San Miguel Ixtahuacán, Guatemala. METHOD: Interviews with semi-structured, thematic, open-ended questions. Interview topics were: traditional birth attendants' experiences and conceptions as to the causes of complications, attitudes towards hospital care and referral of obstetric complications. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Conceptions of obstetric complications, hospital referrals and maternal mortality among traditional birth attendants. RESULTS: Pregnant women rather than traditional birth attendants appear to make the decision on how to handle a complication, based on moralistically and fatalistically influenced thoughts about the nature of complications, in combination with a fear of caesarean section, maltreatment and discrimination at a hospital level. There is a discrepancy between what traditional birth attendants consider appropriate in cases of complications, and the actions they implement to handle them. CONCLUSION: Parameters in the referral system, such as logistics and socio-economic factors, are sometimes subordinated to cultural values by the target group. To have an impact on maternal mortality, bilateral culture-sensitive education should be included in maternal health programs

A biosystematic study of some North American species of Agrostis L. and Podagrostis (Griseb.) Scribn. & Merr.

A taxonomic investigation was made of 24 taxa belonging to the section Trichodium (Michx.) Trin., of Agrostis, and the genus Podagrostis. Experimental methods were employed, including: uniform garden culture of transplants and plants grown from seeds collected in natural populations; breeding studies; physiological and phenological investigations; cytological studies; ecological studies in natural populations. Herbarium exsiccatae including the type material of most of the 24 taxa were studied. In addition, comparative morphological studies were made of several of the taxa in their natural habitats and again in the uniform experimental garden. Twenty-four taxa are recognized in this study. Generic and species descriptions, distributional maps, generic and species keys, photographs of 23 taxa including several types, and photomicrographs of meiotic and mitotic figures of 12 taxa are presented. In addition, the various taxa are discussed individually, and the criteria and concepts used for species delimitation in Agrostis and Podagrostis are presented. Chromosome counts of nine species and two varieties of Agrostis and three species of Podagrostis are reported for the first time. Additional counts of other native taxa confirm earlier published counts. Eleven of the 19 species of Agrostis are hexaploids, four species are known to be tetraploids and two species are octoploids. Two hexaploid groups have been delimited - the A. exarata and A. dieqoensis complexes. The three Podagrostis species, P. aequivalvis, P. humilis and P. thurberiana are diploids, 2n = 14. This chromosome number supports previous morphological evidence that Podagrostis is an independent evolutionary group deserving generic status. Three Old World species of Agrostis, adventive in western North America, have been studied cytologically, and chromosome counts are presented. Agrostis perennans, hitherto unknown in western North America, was collected by the investigator on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington. Putative natural hybridization and introgression were observed between several taxa of Agrostis and Podagrostis, namely: A. diegoensis and A. hallii; A. diegoensis and A. pallens; P. humilis and P. thureriana. Physiological races in P. thurberiana and A. exarata have been studied. Clinal races occur with a north-south distributional pattern in P. thurberiana. Races from southern California flowered under shorter photoperiods, while races from northern California, Oregon and Washington flowered at successively later dates under increased photoperiodic regimes. Mountain ecotypes of A. exarata were obligately long-day plants, while sea-level ecotypes were day-neutral and remontant. Agrostis howellii, a species found near sea level, required a long-day photo-periodic regime and cold vernalization for floral initiation. Autogamy occurs in several of the native species of Agrostis. Facultative autogamy seems to occasion rapid ecotypic and racial diversification with concomitant morphological complexity within the taxa. A tentative phylogenetic scheme is presented. The North American species of Agrostis are believed to comprise two main evolutionary groups; the "primitive" and "derived" species of section Trichodium. The "primitive" taxa are chiefly characterized by: 1) having some species with Old World distributions; 2) more northern and/or widespread distributions; 3) a perennial habit; 4) mostly medium to large anthers; 5) reproducing by allogamy; 6) having tetra-, hexa-, and octoploid chromosome levels; 7) inhabiting mesic and sylvan or bog habitats; 8) occurring on older geological formations and soils. The "derived" species are characterized by: 1) not having any conspecific taxa in the Old World; 2) more southern distributions; 3) being weakly perennial or annual; 4) small anthers; 5) reproducing by autogamy or facultative auto-gamy; 6) having hexa- and octoploid chromosome levels; 7) occupying arid and semi-arid habitats; 8) occurring on newer geological formations and soils