Translocal Martyrdom: Community-Making through African Pilgrimages in Switzerland

A new form of translocal martyrdom was (re)invented in the context of African migration to Switzerland a decade ago: The ‘Pèlerinage aux Saintes et Saints d’Afrique’ at St. Maurice and the pilgrimage dedicated to the (Black) Virgin Mary in Einsiedeln. Under the patronage of the federal Catholic ‘Swiss Bishops Conference’ (SBC) several annual events are organised by clerics, missionaries and non-clerics to incorporate African residents in the institutional setting of the Catholic Church. These events are designed to attract Africans but also to revitalise Catholic faith and practice. In this context, African martyrdom is becoming a metaphor for suffering in crisis, escape and migration

Development and exploration of person-dynamic-fit

The aim of this research is to develop and explore a Person-Dynamic-Fit (PD-Fit) concept. This concept is measured by means of a fit between the dynamic preference of individuals and the level of dynamic in their specific work environments. This fit is reviewed for its relation to acknowledged Work Outcomes. An intensive literature review is conducted in the relevant research fields to identify the key factors and items for the study. Based on this the author develops relevant measurement tools for Individual Dynamic Preference (IDP), Work Environment Dynamic (WED) and Work Outcomes (WOC). For the IDP assessment recognized measurement tools for individual change readiness and resistance are adopted and the individuals’ experience with change is considered as well. For the WED assessment an established dynamic assessment instrument is used and for the WOC evaluation the study includes acknowledged factors such as job satisfaction, organisational commitment and turnover intention as well as a self-developed factor referred to as exploited potential. As other potential influencing factors, general Person-Environment-Fits (PE-Fits) as well as demographic data and work conditions are included in the study as well. To analyse and explore the proposed Person-Dynamic-Fit (PD-Fit) concept the author collects data through 25 semi-structured interviews with white collar employees of German organisations. The underlying philosophical stance is that of a critical realist and for the analysis a mixed method approach is chosen. The collection of qualitative and quantitative data at the same time led to deeper insights into the newly proposed concept of Person-Dynamic-Fit (PD-Fit) and allowed for derivations for future research.A new construct of PD-Fit has been developed conceptually and new insights in the assessment of dynamic preferences of individuals as well as in the assessment of environmental dynamic have been generated. The proposed PD-Fit could not be directly related to the defined Work Outcomes within this study but supportive indications for the new constructs have been identified. The findings do add substantial depth and breadth especially in the area of assessment knowledge. The mixed method approach revealed critical issues in the area of self-assessed data in the area of change and regarding generalized approaches. These topics require further research. Potential reasons for the results as well as limitations of the study are discussed as well. This work concludes with the connection of the findings to theory and practice and with potential fields for further or deeper research

Signatures dans l’art et l’activisme à Gênes et Yaoundé

La question des signatures individuelles fait régulièrement l’objet de controverses sous-jacentes ou ouvertes dans le cadre de créations artistiques engagées, qu’il s’agisse de l’art dans l’activisme ou de l’artivisme dans l’art (Salzbrunn 2019). Ces tensions renvoient également aux questions de pouvoir individuels et collectifs, aux possibilités de prendre possession d’espaces symboliques ou physiques et à la lutte pour la reconnaissance dans des mondes (de l’art et de la politique) très hiérarchisés. A partir de deux terrains menés dans le cadre du projet ERC « ARTIVISM. Art and Activism. Creativity and Performance as Subversive Forms of Political Expression in Super-Diverse Cities » (Salzbrunn 2015), nous analyserons les ambiguïtés et la complexité des rapports aux créations et au « partage du sensible » (Rancière 2000)

Teleportation of a state in view of the quantum theory of measurement

We give a description of the teleportation of an unknown quantum state which takes into account the action of the measuring device and manifestly avoids any reference to the postulate of the state vector collapse.Comment: 4 pages, in Revtex, ver. 3.

Sacred Music, Sacred Journeys : What Makes an Event Postcolonial?

Fanon, Senghor, and Ela took a radical stance in criticising the structures and mechanisms of power in hegemonic situations and relations between colonial subjects and colonial masters. They aimed to liberate African societies by decolonising the mind, culture and religion of colonial subjects. In this respect, we are concerned with the continuities and ruptures of the colonial encounter and its unequal relationships. Switzerland does not have an official colonial history and yet, Swiss companies and migrants were and are part of the world's colonies. In our contribution, we question what makes an event postcolonial : in other words, how are postcolonial relations negotiated in Switzerland? We discuss this question by analysing two annual sacred journeys in Switzerland that have been invented for and by African Christians (clerics and laity) together with the leaders of the Swiss Catholic church : one to the relics of African saints in St. Maurice, canton Valais and the other to the Black Madonna, the Virgin Mary of Einsiedeln, in the canton Schwyz. These events are empowered by the performance of African choirs - their music, dance, and costumes - but to which end and in which way