[Review of] David M. Brownstone, Irene M. Franck, and Douglass L. Brownstone. Island of Hope, Island of Tears

The most compelling aspect of this dramatic history of immigration to the United States via Ellis Island is its vivid documentation of actual human experiences. Personal testimonies from dozens of immigrants form a living tissue that connects the detailed, fully-researched historical data on immigration history. These oral descriptions recreate the journey for us, illustrate the conditions in the homeland being left behind, and give us an insider\u27s view of the bureaucratic tribulations each immigrant faced on Ellis Island. The result is a powerful, inspiring testimonial to the courage, ingenuity, determination, and strength of the human spirit. These accounts, often expressed in slightly awkward, simple English prose, rivet the reader, opening up worlds long forgotten, and, through their very simplicity, underscore the complexity and intensity of the immigrant experience

Comparison of real development levels of countries genesis and perspectives

Comparison of levels of development among countries is usually done by reducing values in national currencies with a common denominator, using the official exchange rate. Because of its unreality, the values calculated in this way do not illustrate real relations between compared countries. That brings about the launching of the UN International Comparison Project (latter Programme) with two fold aims: developing a method for international comparison of real domestic product which could be applied to a number of very heterogenous countries, and the comparison of growing number of very different countries. Until now six phases of comparisons are finished. Taking into consideration problems that appeared in the realization of the VI ICP phase as well as quality improvement proposals, a decision has been made to launch a new, global round for 2003-2006. Comparison will cover 150 countries (the widest coverage ever). This will give global character to the comparison, which was the end cause of the ICP.Comparison, Real GDP, Purchasing power parity, ICP

[Review of] Stephen Castles. Here for Good: Western Europe\u27s New Ethnic Minorities

A disturbing, extremely important book. The wealth of information provided by the authors illuminates the present circumstances of ethnic minorities in Western Europe, principally West Germany, and points to potential dangers and repercussions in the future. The thesis of Here for Good posits the change in status of the guest worker from that of migrant or temporary resident to that of immigrant or permanent settler in one of seven major host countries in Western Europe. This shift should mark a parallel shift in the political and economic policies which address the needs of the immigrants and their impact upon the host countries. The adaptation of political and economic strategies, however, is slow in coming, breeding complex problems at every level. Castles examines the most relevant aspects of the crisis, and it is a crisis, letting the statistical data spell out authoritatively the seriousness of the situation. The book is organized according to seven major concerns, each discussed in a separate chapter and thoroughly documented with statistical tables

“Islamic Tradition”: Questioning the Bosnian Model

Debates over whether there can be a ‘European Islam’ have not ceased since 1990s when the term was coined by Bassam Tibi. This paper aims to question the idea of a ‘progress towards a liberal Islam’ as being too straightforward by providing historical, political and also intellectual context to the practice of Islam in Bosnia and, above all, by analysing the present logic of looking for a particular Islamic identity

Some Symbols of Identity of Byzantine Catholics

Unraveling the tangle of theses that shape the Skovira essay, “Some Symbols of Identity of Byzantine Catholics, exposes not only the intersecting dimensions of ethnicity but also the complex nature of semiotics. Before we can accept the author’s concluding remarks on symbols, we need to consider the ramifications of these various theses. It so happens that the two major theses clash: one suggests ethnic assimilation; the other implies a strengthening of national identity. Perhaps some clarity can be achieved if we consider these themes separately

Causes of visual loss in uveitis

Background/Aim. Epidemiological studies of blindness in a working age population require a precise definition of the true connection of uveitis and visual damage. Since most patients with more severe types of uveitis are hospitalized in tertiary referral uveitis service, our aim was to determine whether age, sex and age of onset of uveitis, as well as duration of visual loss and its causes influence the degree of visual damage in patients with different types of uveitis. Methods. The data were collected from medical records of 237 patients at the Department for Uveitis of the Institute for Eye Diseases in Belgrade over a three-year period (March 2005 to March 2008). Results. Visual acuity reduction (≤ 0.3) was found in 161/237 (67.9%) patients, 85 of whom had visual acuity of ≤ 0.1 later. Working age patients (up to 60 years of age) most often suffered from uveitis (173/237; 73%). The highest number of patients with visual loss was in the group suffering from panuveitis (77/94; 81.91%). The age of onset of uveitis and sex have no statistically significant influence on visual loss. The most common causes of visual loss (34/161; 21.1%) were cystoid macular oedema (CMO) (43/161; 26.7%), cataract (28/161; 17.39%) and combination of CMO and cataract. Conclusion. The risk factors for severe visual loss (≤ 0.1) are panuveitis, bilateral inflammation, prolonged visual reduction and a significant number of relapses. The main causes of visual loss in 65.2% of our patients were CMO and cataract

The Holocaust – the Border of Pragmatic Language

The theme of the paper is observing and revealing non-pragmatic language that, when dealing with deliberately chosen texts about acts of violence, leads to productive aesthetic disturbance. In its substance, this language refers to the gulf between intensity of representation and ideological intention towards a reader declared in a complicated manner. The paper discusses five texts with the theme of the Holocaust. Three of them deal with the Holocaust as with a recent experience, namely Curzio Malaparte’s Caput (1944), Žofia Nalkowska’s Medallions (1945), and Leopold Lahola’s Last Thing (1949–1956, published in a book in 1968); whereas two other ones deal with the Holocaust after some time in a form of belles-lettres memoirs or testimony, namely Juraj Špitzer’s I Did Not Want to Be a Jew (1994) and Jerzy Kosiński’s Painted Bird (in English in 1965, Czech translation was published in 2011). All interpreted texts are marked by specific language situated beyond the border of traditional literary representation. This language is either extremely subjective, expressive and periphrastic – in this case it borders on with absurd Realism or nonsense (in case of C. Malaparte, J. Kosiński, and L. Lahola) – or, in its neutral representation (in case of Ž. Nalkowska, and J. Špitzer), it borders on with a melancholic self-referential document on limits of cultural humanism or of normal, common humanity.The theme of the paper is observing and revealing non-pragmatic language that, when dealing with deliberately chosen texts about acts of violence, leads to productive aesthetic disturbance. In its substance, this language refers to the gulf between intensity of representation and ideological intention towards a reader declared in a complicated manner. The paper discusses five texts with the theme of the Holocaust. Three of them deal with the Holocaust as with a recent experience, namely Curzio Malaparte’s Caput (1944), Žofia Nalkowska’s Medallions (1945), and Leopold Lahola’s Last Thing (1949–1956, published in a book in 1968); whereas two other ones deal with the Holocaust after some time in a form of belles-lettres memoirs or testimony, namely Juraj Špitzer’s I Did Not Want to Be a Jew (1994) and Jerzy Kosiński’s Painted Bird (in English in 1965, Czech translation was published in 2011). All interpreted texts are marked by specific language situated beyond the border of traditional literary representation. This language is either extremely subjective, expressive and periphrastic – in this case it borders on with absurd Realism or nonsense (in case of C. Malaparte, J. Kosiński, and L. Lahola) – or, in its neutral representation (in case of Ž. Nalkowska, and J. Špitzer), it borders on with a melancholic self-referential document on limits of cultural humanism or of normal, common humanity