The Pathos of the Real

This book is about the ambition, in a set of paradigmatic writers of the twentieth century, to simultaneously enlist and break the spell of the real—their fascination with the spectacle of violence and suffering—and the difficulties involved in capturing this kind of excess by aesthetic means.The works at the center of this study—by Franz Kafka, Georges Bataille, Claude Simon, Peter Weiss, and Heiner Müller—zero in on scenes of agony, destruction, and death with an astonishing degree of precision and detail. The strange and troubling nature of the appeal engendered by these sights is the subject of The Pathos of the Real. Robert Buch shows that the spectacles of suffering conjured up in these texts are deeply ambivalent, available neither to cathartic relief nor to the sentiment of compassion. What prevails instead is a peculiar coincidence of opposites: exaltation and resignation; disfiguration and transfiguration; agitation and paralysis.Featuring the experiences of violent excess in strongly visual and often in expressly pictorial terms, the works expose the nexus between violence and the image in twentieth-century aesthetics. Buch explores this tension between visual and verbal representation by drawing on the rhetorical notion of pathos as both insurmountable suffering and codified affect and the psychoanalytic notion of the real, that is, the disruption of the symbolic order.In dialogue with a diverse group of thinkers, from Erich Auerbach and Aby Warburg to Alain Badiou and Jacques Lacan, The Pathos of the Real advances an innovative new framework for rethinking the aesthetics of violence in the twentieth century

Individual variable pay for performance, controlling efects, and intrinsic motivation

A core question in research on compensation and motivation is whether individual variable pay for performance (IVPFP) can undermine intrinsic motivation in the workplace. We investigated the mediating role of a controlling efect on the relationship between the amount of IVPFP received and intrinsic motivation. In a three-wave study of 304 employees from eight European countries, we found that a controlling efect mediated the negative association between IVPFP and intrinsic motivation. These fndings support the proposition from self-determination theory that fnancial rewards can have a controlling efect that decreases intrinsic motivation. Theoretical and practical implications for compensation and motivation in the workplace are discussed.publishedVersio

The Legacy of Laocoon

These lines by Robert Browning titled ‘Rhyme for a Child Viewing a Naked Venus in the Judgement of Paris’ provide one of the most succinct and eloquent examples of the possibilities, and the sophistication of ekphrastic speech. Browning’s “Rhyme” is a poem about the power of the image, the fascination images can exert on viewers, their capacity to strike, startle, and transfix us before them. This fascination is linked, in turn, to erotic attraction, and the lines thus expose the gender relations so often inherent in the ‘drama’ between beholder and image: the female body as a kind of magnet, a source of mystery and unending wonder, but then as well, potentially, as a threatening and petrifying Medusa. The epigram also happens to be a perfect instantiation of the energetic force of metered language, its ability to delight and confound us. In its sheer repetitiveness Browning’s iambic tetrameter produces a strange kind of crescendo. (If read aloud, a remarkable array of possibilities opens up, depending especially on cadence and on the pauses one chooses to put between the words). The dénouement or relief of this tension, if I can put it like that, is only brought about once we are given the poem’s title and with it we begin to understand, that is, to see the scene the epigram has managed to create – with essentially no more than four words. These four words and the title ‘draw’ not just the scene of a young boy before the canvas, speechless and spellbound, but also, by implication, the scene on the canvas, Venus watching, whether with serene detachment, satisfaction, or pity – it’s up to us to decide, or rather, to imagine – the stunning effect of her beauty. Browning’s epigram encapsulates not just the long-standing competition between the verbal and the visual arts, it also features their mutual reinforcement and collaboration, producing what a semiotician might call an image-text, shuttling back and forth between word and image, the letters on the page and the images which gave rise to them – and to which they return us

Stability of Individuals’ Definitions of Success and the Influence of Perceived Motivational Climate: A Longitudinal Perspective

In the present study, we investigated the stability and malleability of cadets’ definitions of success (mastery and performance goal orientations) contextualized within a certain motivational climate (mastery and performance climates). Based on data from three military academies, the results revealed that cadets’ goal orientations and their perceptions of the motivational climate remained relatively stable throughout the 2 years of study across three time-points. We also found that a mastery climate predicted individual mastery orientation, and that a performance climate predicted individual performance orientation. These findings contribute to achievement goal theory by clarifying the importance of considering goal orientation contextualized within a certain motivational climate over time. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.publishedVersio

Assessment Of Short-Term Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage For Energy Management In Greenhouse Horticulture: Modeling And Optimization

In this work, the use of the thermal energy storage in alluvial aquifers is proposed as a sustainable solution for supplying the energy demand of greenhouses. Air-conditioning greenhouses during summer allows for storing their energy surplus in an underground seasonal buffer that can be used, in winter, for heating via a heat pump. The evaluation of the benefits arising from using aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES) for supplying the energy demand in greenhouse applications requires the modeling of a greenhouse climate model, heating distribution systems (i.e., heating pipes and coils), a heat pump and the ATES system. The models are sized to a case study, which is based on a 100 m thick aquifer in the Cretaceous chalk located in Wallonia (Belgium), and are simulated for two years. The first year is only devoted to storage and emulates the creation of the cold and warm wells. In the second year, the thermal energy stored in the aquifer is recovered according to the needs of the greenhouse (the cold well is used during air-conditioning and the warm well during heating). Results show that shallow alluvial aquifers can be very valuable and can provide a sustainable solution when heating and cooling greenhouses. However, the greenhouse climate controller must be correctly calibrated in order to maintain a balanced ATES system. More specifically, greenhouses in the latitude of Belgium are forced to increase their cooling consumption, which is possible thanks to the flexibility offered by greenhouses. Otherwise, the system may not be sustainable due to the higher needs of heating

The Relationships Between Self-Concept, Self-Efficacy, and Military Skills and Abilities

Abstract. This study investigated the relationship between academic self-concept, academic self-efficacy and the self-reported acquirement of certain specific military skills and abilities. Our sample consisted of 141 military cadets from the Norwegian Military Academy (Army), the Royal Norwegian Naval Academy, and the Royal Norwegian Air Force Academy. Supporting our hypotheses, it was found that perceived academic self-concept related positively to self-efficacy, after controlling for initial levels of self-efficacy, and that self-efficacy relates positively to self-reported Individual Coping Capacity (ICC), Cooperation in Difficult Situations (CDS), and Motivation to Achievement (MA), this after controlling for the initial levels of these Military Skills and Abilities (MSA). We discuss the implications of these findings.publishedVersio

Does Implant Design Affect Hospital Metrics and Patient Outcomes? TKA Utilizing a “Fast-Track” Protocol

Introduction “Fast-Track” protocols have been introduced in TKA with the intention to increase health care savings while maintaining or improving patient outcomes. The influence of the implant design in a “Fast-Track” setting has not been described yet. The primary goal of this study was to compare a customized implant with standard off-the-shelf (OTS) devices when utilizing a “Fast-Track” protocol Methods Sixty-two (62) patients were prospectively enrolled at a single center and implanted with either a customized or a standard off-the-shelf implant resulting in thirty (30) patients being treated with an OTS design and thirty-two (32) with the customized design. The same institutional fast-track protocol was utilized on all patients and included pre-, intra-, and postoperative medical treatment. We assessed total length of stay (LOS), discharge destination and range of motion at 6-8 weeks post-op and at an average of 16 months post-op follow-up to compare the OTS implant with the customized device. Implant survivorship was assessed at a minimum of 25 months post-op. Results Using the fast track protocol we were able to decrease overall LOS to 2.1 days versus 3.6 days prior to introduction of the protocol. The use of the customized implant further reduced LOS significantly to 1.6 days. Significantly higher number of patients who got implanted with the customized device (66%) were discharged within 24 hours than in the OTS group (30%). Patients treated with the customized implant were found to be discharged home more often than patients treated with the OTS implants (97% vs. 80%) and achieved higher range of motion both at 6-8 weeks (114° vs. 101°) and at an average of 16 months (122° vs. 114°) than patients who got treated with the OTS device. At an average follow-up of 28 months, there was 1 implant revision in the customized group (due to tibial fracture resulting from patient fall). For the OTS group there was 1 implant revision (late infection) and 1 poly swap (due to instability). Discussion Based on our analysis we observed a positive influence of the customized device on patient outcomes and hospital metrics and we therefore conclude that the implant choice is an important factor for TKA in a “fast-track” setting