The social origins and political uses of popular narratives on Serbian disunity

U radu se istražuju istorijske i društvene osnove narodskih priča o srpskom nejedinstvu i neslozi, kao i posledice njihove političke instrumentalizacije. Pažnja se prvo usmerava na ono što se narodskim pričama o srpskom nejedinstvu i neslozi najčešće postiže u svakodnevnoj komunikaciji. Narodskim pričama se, pre svega, ukazuje na pretpostavljeno nepromenljivo svojstvo srpskog identiteta (nesloga kao stvarno stanje). Njima se određuje i glavni uzrok poraza ili neuspeha, u kom slučaju one neretko prerastaju u jeremijade nad istorijskom sudbinom Srba (nesloga kao uzrok). Najzad, nesloga se može predstaviti i kao posledica jednog, ili čitavog niza faktora, od mentaliteta ili kulture Srba, pa do tuđinske zavere (nesloga kao posledica). U sledećem segmentu rada, istražuju se vidovi političkog instrumentalizovanja narodskih priča o neslozi i ne jedinstvu Srba, odnosno njihova upotreba kao ogleda, modela i velova. U prvom slučaju, politički akter narodsko viđenje stanja stvari koristi kao izgovor za svoje neuspehe, ili kako bi naglasio razlike između sebe, svojih takmaca i pobornika. Narativi o neslozi omogućuju akteru i da usmerava publiku na željeni način, bilo da želi da unese nove podele u grupu, zaoštrava sukob već postojećih frakcija i povezuje se sa nekom od njih, ili a uspostavlja izgubljeno jedinstvo grupe. Obe prethodne mogućnosti akter može iskoristiti da bi obezbedio retorički veo kojim će prikriti svoje prave namere. Analiza se potom pomera ka ispitivanju istorijskih i društvenih osnova priča o srpskom ne jedinstvu. Ratovi oko političkog identiteta iz sredine i druge polovine devetnaestog veka, pojačani trvenjima između rivalskih pretenzija na politički autoritet, dodatno ušančeni razvojem stranačkog sistema, i radikalizovani novim oblicima sukoba između interesa, vrednosti i identiteta na početku dvadesetog veka, zajedno su uslovili razvoj narativa o srpskom ne jedinstvu i rascepima. Na takvu osnovu su se potom nadovezivali rascepi izazvani dinastičkim, konfesionalnim ili nacionalnim razlikama, svi zajedno zacementirani iskustvima ratova i revolucija. Analiza se najzad pomera ka nenameravanim posledicama narodskih priča o srpskom ne jedinstvu i različitih oblika njihove političke instrumentalizacije. Zbog pogrešnog predstavljanja ili objašnjavanja stvarnih problem a, karakterističnog za narodske priče, a pogotovu zbog političke zloupotrebe narodskih priča o tim problemima, konstruktivni potencijal vezan za društvene konflikte i njihovu narativizaciju biva ozbiljno ugrožen. Sledi duboki osećaj frustracije i opadanje poverenja u političke elite i politički proces uopšte. U zaključku se skreće pažnja na činjenicu da je savremeno umnožavanje narodskih priča o srpskom ne jedinstvu, kao i prakse njihove političke instrumentalizacije, povezano sa nesposobnošću srpskog partijskog sistema i političkog sistema uopšte da se odgovorno suoči sa, a pogotovu da razreši splet istorijskih i savremenih sukoba interesa i identitetskih rascepa koji su izvorište narodskih priča.The text offers an examination of socio-political bases, modes of functioning, and of the consequences of political instrumentalisation of popular narratives on Serbian disunity. The first section of the paper deals with what is being expressed and what is being done socially when narratives on Serbian disunity are invoked in everyday discourses. The next section investigates what political actor sty, by publicly replicating them, or by basing their speeches on key words of those narratives. The narratives on Serbian disunity are then related to their historical and social contexts, and to various forms of identity politics with which they share common traits. The nineteenth century wars over political and cultural identity, intensified by the struggle between contesting claims to political authority, further channeled by the development of party politics in Serbia and radicalized by conflicts of interest and ideology together provided the initial reasons for the apparition of modern discourses on Serbian disunity and disaccord. Next, addressed are the uninnally solidifying or misinterpreting really existing social problems (in the case of some popular narratives on disunity), or because of intentionally exploiting popular perceptions of such problems (in the case of most political meta-narratives), the constructive potential related to existing social conflicts and splits can be completely wasted. What results is a deep feeling of frustration, and the diminishing of popular trust in the political elites and the political process in general. The contemporary hyperproduction of narratives on disunity and disaccord in Serbia seems to be directly related to the incapacity of the party system, and of the political system in general, to responsibly address, and eventually resolve historical and contemporary clashes of interest and identity-splits. If this vicious circle in which the consequences of social realities are turned into their causes is to be prevented, conflicts of interest must be discursively disassociated from ideological conflicts, as well as from identity-based conflicts, and all of them have to be disentangled from popular narratives on splits and disunity. Most important of all, the practice of political instrumentalisation of popular narratives on disunity and disaccord has to be gradually abandoned

On the better angels of anthropology: A few words to a friend missing and missed

I want to share a few words about a colleague and friend, missing and missed. It is from him that I learned more about anthropology’s once central and nowadays almost neglected key topic – humanity and humanism – than I did from most of my formal teachers. It now seems to me that Vintilă Mihăilescu and I started our friendship long before we actually met. For the past is a foreign country that we try to interpret with tools forged only in the present. As my memory chooses to present the past..

Formation of a stable deacagonal quasicrystalline Al-Pd-Mn surface layer

We report the in situ formation of an ordered equilibrium decagonal Al-Pd-Mn quasicrystal overlayer on the 5-fold symmetric surface of an icosahedral Al-Pd-Mn monograin. The decagonal structure of the epilayer is evidenced by x-ray photoelectron diffraction, low-energy electron diffraction and electron backscatter diffraction. This overlayer is also characterized by a reduced density of states near the Fermi edge as expected for quasicrystals. This is the first time that a millimeter-size surface of the stable decagonal Al-Pd-Mn is obtained, studied and compared to its icosahedral counterpart.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Ref. Lett. (18 July 2001

The influence of retrobulbar adipose tissue volume upon intraocular pressure in obesity

Background/Aim. It is known that glaucoma is associated with elevated intraocular pressure and obesity, yet the precise etiology remains unclear. The aim of this study was to determine whether there is a potential causality between the volume of retrobulbar adipose tissue and the level of intraocular pressure in obese subjects compared with non-obese. Methods. A total of 100 subjects were divided according to the body mass index (BMI), into two groups: normal weight (n = 50, BMI = 18-24.9 kg/m2) and obese (n = 50, BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2) subjects. Anthropometric measurements, body composition analysis, measurement of intraocular pressure, as well as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the head at the level of the optic nerve, and the derived retrobulbar adipose tissue volume, were undertaken in all subjects. Results. The obese subjects, as compared with normal weight ones, had a significantly higher mean retrobulbar adipose tissue volume (6.23 cm3 vs 4.85 cm3, p < 0.01) and intraocular pressure (15.96 mmHg vs 12.99 mmHg, p < 0.01). Furthermore, intraocular pressure correlated positively with retrobulbar adipose tissue volume. Conclusion. In obese people, elevated intraocular pressure may be caused by changes in ocular blood flow, affected by the physical pressure exerted by higher retrobulbar adiposity, and/or by internal vascular changes secondary to complications of obesity. These findings indicate the need for more frequent measurement of intraocular pressure in obese individuals to earlier detect glaucoma, and in so doing prevent irreversible blindness

Electronic Structure of the YH3 Phase from Angle-Resolved Photoemission Spectroscopy

Yttrium can be loaded with hydrogen up to high concentrations causing dramatic structural and electronic changes of the host lattice. We report on angle-resolved photoemission experiments of the Y trihydride phase. Most importantly, we find the absence of metal d-bands at the Fermi level and a set of flat, H-induced bands located at much higher binding energy than predicted, indicating an increased electron affinity at H sites

Love in the age of cholera: Ethnographic film and visual anthropology

U tekstu se nude teze za razumevanje uticaja koji skorašnje hibridne, postfilmske i posthumane stvaralačke koncepcije i težnje vrše na proizvodnju etnografskih filmova i na opštiju refleksiju o prirodi dokumentarnog filma u okviru vizuelne antropologije i drugih društvenih nauka. Iza početnih ciljeva nalaze se očekivanja, na tragu onih koja je imao Edgar Moren da je moguće sa određenom merom pouzdanosti prepoznati obrise duha vremena u kome živimo ako se pažljivo čitaju autorski izbori i postupci koji obeležavaju savremeno dokumentarističko filmsko stvaralaštvo.In this essay, I use the concept of love metaphorically to denote the relationships which were progressively established over a relatively long period between ethnographic films and visual anthropology. In striking similarly to the novel and its cinematographic transposition, to which I allude in the text, these creative and scientific practices managed to establish a sort of love ménage. The establishment, from the sixties onwards, of the canon of observational cinema was considered by many to be the high moment of their complex relationship. Telling credible and penetrating visual stories about how the world really functions by observing and recording how actual people go about living their lives seemed as the fulfillment of the promise that film made as it was coming into being-that of portraying and explaining life by ' life itself'. After attaining this peak, the canon of observational cinema was progressively dismantled by several outbursts of what I term as 'cholera'-postfilmic, hybrid and posthumanist authorial tendencies, best exemplified by Verena Paravel's and Lucien Castaign-Taylor's documentary Leviathan. The current situation makes it possible to redefine the whole idea of the established and fairly stable order, and replace it with the idea of the permanency of what I term as 'cholera'

Screening registry in organized cervical cancer screening program in the Republic of Serbia

Ciljevi ove studije su bili: analiza stopa obolevanja (u periodu od 2000. do 2011) u centralnoj Srbiji i stopa umiranja (u periodu od 1991. do 2011) od karcinoma grlića materice u Republici Srbiji; identifikovanje postojećih snaga i mogućnosti, kao i slabosti i prepreka uvoĊenju registracije – skrining registra (SR) u program organizovanog skrininga raka grlića materice. TakoĊe, raĊena je i analiza rezultata procesnih indikatora, kao i rezultata dobijenih kao izvod iz SR iz organizovanog skrininga raka grlića materice. Materijal i metode: Podaci o ţenama koje su obolele i umrle od raka grlića materice (RGM) kao i podaci o populaciji, dobijeni su iz nepublikovanog i publikovanog materijala Republiĉkog zavoda za statistiku prema odgovarajućim šiframa MeĊunarodne klasifikacije bolesti (IX i X revizija). Statistiĉka analiza je obuhvatila izraĉunavanje uzrasno-specifiĉnih i standardizovanih stopa incidencije i mortaliteta od RGM. Standardizovane stope su raĉunate metodom direktne standardizacije, a kao standard je korišćena populacija sveta metodologijom po Segiju. Za analizu trenda stopa incidencije i mortaliteta korišćena je joinpoint regresiona analiza. TakoĊe, korišćena je metoda regresije za dobijanje i upotrebu jednaĉina za predikciju visine stopa incidencije i mortaliteta u 2030. godini. SWOT/TOWS analiza je bila upotrebljena za analiziranje spoljašnjih i unutrašnjih faktora primene SR, kao novog naĉina za prikupljanje podataka u programu organizovanog skrininga raka grlića materice (OSRGM) u Republici Srbiji. Ova analiza je raĊena u pet koraka. Prvi korak je podrazumevao odabir fokus grupe, drugi korak – metodu „vrtloga ideja‖ (engl. brainstorming), naĉin kojim su se prikupljali faktori za svaku od 4 kategorije (snage, slabosti, mogućnosti i prepreke). U trećem koraku je raĊena evaluacija prikupljenih faktora i njihovo pravilno svrstavanje po kategorijama. Ĉetvrti korak je podrazumevao formiranje i sprovoĊenje Upitnika za procenu vaţnosti nabrojanih faktora. Peti korak je podrazumevao ukrštanje izdvojenih faktora spoljašnjeg i unutrašnjeg okruţenja radi dobijanja strategija i dobijanje strategija za odrţivost i razvoj SR...The first objective of this study was to analyze the incidence of cervical cancer (period between 2000 and 2011) and mortality (period between 1991 and 2011) rates in the Republic of Serbia. The second objective was to identify the existing strengths and weaknesses, as well as opportunities and threats to introduction of registration – Screening Registry (SR) in organized cervical cancer screening program. Analysis of performance indicators and the results obtained from the organized cervical cancer screening program (OCCSP) was also performed as the third objective of this study. Methods: Data on new cases of cervical cancer (CC) and deaths from CC, as well as population data were obtained from published and unpublished material of the Republic Institute for Statistics under the relevant codes of the International Classification of Diseases (revisions 9 and 10). Statistical analysis included the calculation of age-specific and standardized CC incidence and mortality rates. Standardized rates were calculated by direct method of standardization (by Segi). For the statistical analysis of CC incidence and mortality rates joinpoint regression analysis was used. Also, we used the regression method for obtaining equations for prediction of the height of incidence and mortality rates in 2030. SWOT/TOWS analysis was used to analyze internal and external factors of SR, as a new way for collection of the data in an organized cervical cancer program in the Republic of Serbia. This analysis was done in five steps. The first step involved the selection of a focus group, the second – brainstorming – for collecting factors in each of the 4 categories (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats). In the third step-evaluation of collected factors and their proper classification in categories was conducted. The fourth step involved the creation of the questionnaire for assessing the importance of the collected factors. On that way, we got the most important factors, indifferently. The fifth step involved crossing of isolated factors from external and internal SR environment to obtain strategies intended for maintenance of sustainability and development of the SR..

The quality of life of lumbar radiculopathy patients under conservative treatment

Background/Aim. The quality of life of lumbar radiculopathy patients conditioned by their health status is a result of both their subjective perception of the disease and their objective health status. The aim of this study was to evaluate the quality of life of lumbar radiculopathy patients under conservative treatment by means of generic and another lumbar syndrome specific questionnaires. Methods. A total of 50 patients (33 males, 17 females average age 46.1 years,) under conservative treatment in a hospital over four weeks were included in the study. They were interviewed using two questionnaires: the SF36 (Short form (36) Health Survey) generic questionnaire measuring eight domains of their quality of life summarized into two main ones (i.e. overall physical and overall mental health), and the lumbar syndrome specific North American Spine Society - Low Back Pain Outcome Instrument (NASS LBP), a questionnaire measuring four domains (functional limitations, motor and sensitive neurological symptoms, expectations from the treatment and satisfaction with it). Results. The values of physical health domain was low as 31.1 at the beginning of the treatment, were rising over the following six months and dropped insignificantly after four years (42.1/48.7 /47.0) The mental health values (47.2) did not alter as compared to that of the general population. A values of the quality of life stabilized within six months. The neurological symptoms domain did not correlate with other value scales and domains. Conclusion. The quality of life of lumbar radiculopathy patients was impaired only from its physical aspect, but after conservative treatment it improved over the following six months. After four years there is an insignificant drop of all quality of life values, indicating a need for a longer term monitoring of there patients

"La sortie de l’anonymat" - les Juifs à Cacak jusqu’à l’année 1941

Rad analizira demografske odlike, socijalni status i društveni položaj Jevreja u Čačku do 1941. godine, sa naglaskom na međuratni period. Malobrojna zajednica Jevreja doprinela je raznolikosti društva predratne čačanske varoši, pa se tako uklapala u generalnu sliku demografske i socijalne strukture međuratne Jugoslavije. Čačanski Jevreji su imali relativno minoran uticaj na sveukupni razvoj grada, ali i pored toga predstavljaju znamenitost i kuriozitet posebno ako se uzme u obzir njihov obrazovni i profesionalni profil. Kvalitativna posebnost i stereotipna različitost Jevreja tipična za međuratni period nisu mnogo uticali na stanovnike Čačka koji su svoje sugrađane posmatrali kao integralni deo varoši.The paper analyses the social position, as well as social-demographic characteristics of the Čačak Jewish community up to 1941. Although not numerous, Čačak Jews represent historical value, curiosity and their characteristics help in getting a bigger picture of Čačak society in the period between the wars. The number of Jews in the Kingdom of SCS/ Yugoslavia did not exceed 0, 53% out of the total population while in Čačak it was only 0, 24% in 1921 and about 0, 48% in 1941, thus it can be concluded that the Čačak Jewish community, as well as Yugoslav one, belonged to minor one in the whole of Europe. Differently from demographic features which were not on the European average, the social, educational and professional structure of Čačak Jews certainly was. Throughout history, Jews in Čačak mainly presented intellectual elite and upper middle class in generally rural Čačak society in the period between the wars. Profile of Čačak family Ashkenazi is a clear example of this condition but it also reflects a general picture of Jewish communities in Serbia. There was no anti-Semitism in Čačak town apart from ‘modernity’ between the wars which was coming from Russia in the 20s and Hitler Germany in the 30s and which could be found in some newspapers and magazines in Čačak. The status of Jews in the Kingdom was based on laws and special regulations, but the relationship towards Čačak Jews was close to phylo-Semitism contributing in that way to the homogeneity of Čačak society and creating a complete ‘domestic atmosphere’ where Jewish families lived and created freely and undisturbed.Cette étude analyse la position sociale, ainsi que les particularités socio-démographiques de la communauté juive de Cacak jusqu’à l’année 1941. Bien que peu nombreux, les Juifs de Cacak représentent une attraction historique, une curiosité et avec leurs caractéristiques aident à l’obtention d’une image complète de la société de Cacak durant la période d’entre-deux-guerres. Le nombre de Juifs dans la Royaume SHS/ la Yougoslavie ne dépassa pas 0,53% du chiffre total des habitants, tandis que ce rapport à Cacak fut à peine entre 0,24% en 1921 et vers 0,48% en 1941 et, par conséquent, on peut constater que la communauté juive de Cacak, tout comme la communauté yougoslave, appartint à l’une des plus mineures dans l’Europe entière. À la différence des particularités démographiques qui ne furent pas dans la moyenne européenne, la structure sociale, instructive, ainsi que professionnelle des Juifs de Cacak le fut certainement. Durant l’Histoire, les Juifs représentèrent à Cacak l’élite intellectuelle et la classe moyenne supérieure dans la société de Cacak, rurale en général, de la période d’entre-deux-guerres. Le profil de la famille Eshkenazi de Cacak est une représentation précise de cette situation, mais elle reflète principalement aussi l’image générale des communautés juives dans la Serbie toute entière. Il n’y eut pas en fait d’antisémitisme dans la ville de Cacak, à part la „modernité“ d’entre-deuxguerres qui arriva dans les années 20 de Russie et dans les années 30 de l’Allemagne d’Hitler et qui fut suivie dans une certaine mesure par quelques journaux et revues de Cacak. En dehors du fait que le statut des Juifs dans le Royaume fut établi sur des lois et des clauses particulières, la relation envers les Juifs de Cacak avoisina le philosémitisme en contribuant à l’homogénéité de la société de Cacak, mais également en créant une „atmosphère chaleureuse“ absolue dans laquelle les familles juives vécurent et travaillèrent tranquillement

Ultrasound assessment of the effect of fetal position on supine to prone righting reflex in the guinea pig fetus

The aim of the study was to assess the effect of guinea pig fetal position on the righting reflex from a supine to prone position using ultrasound examination. Experimental and control group were formed, each encompassing 20 pregnant females with 50 fetuses from the 31st to 66th day of gestation. During ultrasound examination, the fetuses from the experimental group were brought into a supine position relative to gravity by placing the dams in the appropriate position. In the control group fetuses were examined for changes in position irrespective of gravity as well as for changes in position after having been brought into a prone position relative to gravity. Comparison of the experimental and the control group showed that experimental group fetuses in the oldest bracket rotated successfully to a prone position more frequently than at other ages. The observed fetal movements indicate that the fetus changes its position using the contact-righting reflex