Regressive progression: the quest for self-transcendence in western tragedy

The quest for a higher self is the recurring motif of the three reformative eras of Western tragedy. This recurring theme is manifest in the Renaissance Elizabethan tragedy, nineteenth century Domestic drama, and the Absurd Theater. Throughout these three dramatic periods, the idea of the quest reveals itself in three different manifestations-action, imagination and inaction. Based on Nietzsche\u27s notion of tragedy and a Dionysian approach of the quest for the sovereign individual (Nietzsche, Genealogy (GM)), the process of the quest for the higher self in the three major dramatic periods of Western tragedy reflects a progressive directionality that Nietzsche refers to in terms of a progressus, a task or a goal (GM, 2, 2)

Psihoanalitičko čitanje odabranih perzijskih dječjih igrokaza

Once theatre aims at children, who are the citizens and decision makers of the future, it can influence the course of society through the values and worldviews that it promotes. The exceptional capacity of this medium in engaging the audience, along with children’s receptiveness, necessitates a meticulous study of the ideologies embedded in plays. This study unravels how these ideological factors can hamper the theatre’s main purpose which is to encourage the audience to form individual fantasies. Accordingly, Žižek’s theories are drawn upon for their hints on ideology, fantasy, reality, and subjectivity. Taking his psychoanalytic views into account, four Persian plays are examined to determine what ideologies underlie these plays’ motifs and instructions, as well as what may justify their presence in plays. On close inspection, it becomes evident that these plays are loaded with conscious manipulative ideologies which are intended to train homogeneous social members rather than present objective glimpses of real life.Jednom kad se kazalište okrene djeci, budućim građanima koji će donositi odluke, ono vrijednostima i stavovima koje promiče može utjecati na smjer razvoja društva. Izniman kapacitet toga medija u poticanju i aktivaciji publike u kombinaciji s dječjom receptivnošću, nužno upućuje na važnost detaljnoga istraživanja ideologija kojima su igrokazi prožeti. Ovaj rad otkriva kako ti ideološki čimbenici mogu ugroziti glavnu svrhu kazališta, tj. poticanje gledatelja na stvaranje svojih vlastitih zamisli. Istraživanje se oslanja na Žižekovo razumijevanje ideologije, fantastike, zbilje i subjektivnosti. Polazeći od njegovih psihoanalitičkih uvida, analiziraju se četiri perzijska igrokaza kako bi se utvrdilo koje su ideologije u temelju motiva i pouka tih djela, kao i to kako se opravdava prisutnost takvih sadržaja u dječjoj drami. Detaljno razmatranje pokazuje da su analizirani igrokazi obilježeni svjesnim manipulativnim ideologijama s namjerom odgajanja homogeniziranih članova društva umjesto posvećenosti prikazivanju objektivnih uvida u stvarni život

Allegorized Subaltern: Subjectivity and Death in the Works of Bahman Ghobadi

The aim of the present study is to explore the reflection of the subaltern in the works of Kurdish filmmaker, Bahman Ghobadi. In order to do so, three periods in the development of the works of Ghobadi is analyzed. These periods include the time prior to the invasion of Iraq by United States and its allies when A Time for Drunken Horses (2000) and The Songs of my Homeland (2002) appear. The second phase is at the time of the invasion of Iraq including Turtles can Fly (2004), and the third period is after the invasion with Rhino Season (2012). These works deal with the neglected minority within Kurdish ethnicity and look through the ways in which there might be a possibility for this group to attain a sense of identity. Facing internal and external oppression, minority-within-minority section of the Kurdish society finds no way for resistance other than death where the power structures that are in a tacit concurrence in its subjugation are challenged and as a result, a space is created where the subaltern can speak

Moderno kazalište iz estetskih perspektiva: negacija, estetska istina i temporalna dijalektika u Dugome putovanju u noć Eugenea O’Neilla

Modern aesthetics is fascinated by the quality of empirical expressions in art, where the most unattainable forms of experiences seek refuge to survive through temporal dialectics. Whereas modern art endeavors to transcend its inherent experience of suffering through negating the sociopolitical reality of the imposed suppressive pain, Theodor Adorno’s Aesthetic Theory associates itself with the study of a non‐discursive form of experience that refers to the transient nature of a multilayered truth, compromising a self‐reflexive and subjectively temporal essence, to which all aesthetic questions terminate. Correspondingly, the current paper aims at approaching Eugene O’Neill’s mental theater from a new perspective, acknowledging the significance of temporal dialectics in modern aesthetics. Accordingly, the current research studies Eugene O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey into Night based on the elements of temporal dialectics and aesthetic negation, confirming the significance of these elements in detecting the ultimate aesthetic truth in the works of literature.Moderna estetika fascinira je kakvoćom empirijskih izraza u umjetnosti u kojoj najnedohvatljiviji oblici iskustava traže utočište za opstanak kroz temporalnu dijalektiku. Dok moderna umjetnost nastoji transcendirati svoje inherentno iskustvo patnje kroz negiranje sociopolitičke stvarnosti nametnute supresivne boli, estetska teorija Theodora Adorna povezuje se s proučavanjem nediskurzivnoga oblika iskustva koji se odnosi na prolaznu prirodu višeslojne istine, kompromitirajući samorefleksivnu i subjektivno vremensku bit na kojoj završavaju sva estetska pitanja. U skladu s tim, ovaj članak ima za cilj pristupiti mentalnomu teatru Eugenea O’Neilla iz nove perspektive, priznajući značenje temporalne dijalektike u modernoj estetici. Aktualna istraživanja stoga proučavaju O’Neilleovo Dugo putovanje u noć na temelju elemenata temporalne dijalektike i estetske negacije, potvrđujući značenje ovih elemenata u detektiranju ultimativne estetske istine u književnim djelima

Predictive performance of the visceral adiposity index for a visceral adiposity-related risk: Type 2 Diabetes

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Visceral adiposity index (VAI) has recently been developed based on waist circumference, body mass index (BMI), triglycerides (TGs), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). We examined predictive performances for incident diabetes of the VAI per se and as compared to the metabolic syndrome (MetS) and waist-to-height-ratio (WHtR).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Participants free of diabetes at baseline with at least one follow-up examination (5,964) were included for the current study. Weibull regression models were developed for interval-censored survival data. Absolute and relative integrated discriminatory improvement index (IDI) and cut-point-based and cut-point-free net reclassification improvement index (NRI) were used as measures of predictive ability for incident diabetes added by VAI, as compared to the MetS and WHtR.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The annual incidence rate of diabetes was 0.85 per 1000 person. Mean VAI was 3.06 (95%CIs 2.99-3.13). Diabetes risk factors levels increased in stepwise fashion across VAI quintiles. Risk gradient between the highest and lowest quintile of VAI was 4.5 (95%CIs 3.0-6.9). VAI significantly improved predictive ability of the MetS. The relative IDI and cut-point free NRI for predictive ability added to MetS by VAI were 30.3% (95%CIs 18.8-41.8%) and 30.7% (95%CIs 20.8-40.7%), respectively. WHtR, outperformed VAI with cut-point-free NRI of 24.6% (95%CIs 14.1-35.2%).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In conclusion, although VAI could be a prognostic tool for incident diabetes events, gathering information on its components (WC, BMI, TGs, and HDL-C) is unlikely to improve the prediction ability beyond what could be achieved by the simply assessable and commonly available information on WHtR.</p

Predictive performances of lipid accumulation product vs. adiposity measures for cardiovascular diseases and all-cause mortality, 8.6-year follow-up: Tehran lipid and glucose study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The body mass index (BMI) is the most commonly used marker for evaluating obesity related risks, however, central obesity measures have been proposed to be more informative. Lipid accumulation product (LAP) is an alternative continuous index of lipid accumulation. We sought in this study to assess if LAP can outperform BMI, waist-to-height-ratio (WHtR), or waist-to-hip-ratio (WHpR) in predicting incident cardiovascular disease (CVD) or all-cause mortality.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Among participants of Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study, 6,751 participants (2,964 men), aged ≥ 30 years, were followed for a median of 8.6 years. We observed 274 deaths (men: 168) and 447 CVD events (men: 257). Levels of common CVD risk factors significantly increased across LAP quartiles. Mortality rates did not differ by LAP quartiles. Among participants free of CVD at baseline [6331 (2,741 men)], CVD incident rates per 1000 person increased in a stepwise fashion with increasing LAP quartile values in both men (from 6.9 to 17.0) and women (from 1.3 to 13.0), (Ps < 0.001).</p> <p>Among women, a 1-SD increment in log-LAP conferred a 41% increased risk for CVD (HR 1.41, 95% CIs 1.02-1.96). Among men, however, LAP was not observed to be independently associated with increased risk of CVD; except in a sub-group of men assigned to the lifestyle modification interventions, where, LAP predicted CVD risk.</p> <p>After adjustment with CVD risk factors LAP turned to be inversely associated with risk of all-cause mortality (HR, men 0.74, 95% CIs 0.61-0.90; women, 0.94 95% CIs 0.74-1.20).</p> <p>Among women, magnitude of increased risk of CVD due to LAP was not different from those of anthropometric measures. Among men, however, WHpR was observed to be more strongly associated with increased risk of CVD than was LAP.</p> <p>Among neither men nor women were the predictive performances (discrimination, calibration, goodness-of-fit) of the LAP better than those of different anthropometric measures were.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>If LAP is to be used for predicting CVD, it might not be superior to WHtR or WHpR.</p

Diabetes prediction, lipid accumulation product, and adiposity measures; 6-year follow-up: Tehran lipid and glucose study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The body mass index (BMI) is the most commonly used marker for evaluating obesity related risks, however, central obesity measures have been proposed to be more informative. Lipid accumulation product (LAP) is an alternative continuous index of lipid accumulation, which is computed from waist circumference (WC, cm) and triglycerides (TGs, mmol/l): (WC-65) ×TG (men) and (WC-58) ×TG (women). We sought in this study to assess if LAP can outperform BMI, waist-to-height-ratio (WHtR), or waist-to-hip-ratio (WHpR) in identifying prevalent and predicting incident diabetes.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The cross-sectional analyses were performed on a sample included 3,682 men and 4,989 women who were not pregnant, aged ≥ 20 years. According to the age (≥ 50 and <50 years) - and sex-specific analyses, odds ratios (ORs) of LAP for prevalent diabetes were higher than those of BMI, WHpR, or WHtR among women, after adjustment for mean arterial pressure and family history of diabetes. The OR of LAP in old men was lower than those of other adiposity measures; in young men, however, LAP was superior to BMI but identical to WHpR and WHtR in identifying prevalent diabetes. Except in young men, LAP showed highest area under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AROC) for prevalent diabetes (P for trend ≤ 0.005).</p> <p>For longitudinal analyses, a total of 5,018 non-diabetic subjects were followed for ~6 years. The ORs of BMI, WHpR, and WHtR were the same as those of LAP in both sexes and across age groups; except in young men where LAP was superior to the BMI. AROCs of LAP were relatively the same as anthropometric adiposity measures.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>LAP was a strong predictor of diabetes and in young individuals had better predictability than did BMI; it was, however, similar to WHpR and WHtR in prediction of incident diabetes.</p