‘Muhajirun’ from Austria. Why they left to join ISIS and why they don’t return.

After the proclamation of the so-called Islamic State in June 2014 thousands of Europeans, including hundreds of Austrian residents, went to fight and live with ISIS or other extremist groups in Syria or Iraq. Austria is one of the European countries with the highest per-capita share of foreign fighters. The article gives a broad overview of the situation in Austria: Who are the different groups relevant in this field? How did young people who grew up in Austria become radicalised, and what is their current status? The data from two Austrian commissioned research projects and one EU-funded project are supplemented by the findings of recent research in northern Syria focusing on the current situation of Austrian foreign fighters and their families and supporters in the region

Der Sudan zwischen autoritärer Militärdiktatur und Staatszerfall

'Der Sudan ist ein Beispiel für den drohenden Staatszerfall als Folge eines (langfristig gescheiterten) Versuchs der Errichtung einer autoritären bis totalitären zentralistischen Staatsform, die es weder verstand, regionale Interessen und Klasseninteressen auszugleichen, noch integrativ auf unterschiedliche Ideologien, 'ethnische Gruppen', tribale Einheiten und Religionsgemeinschaften zu wirken. Ziel des Beitrages ist es nicht nur, die Ursachen und Entwicklungen des jahrzehntelangen bewaffneten Konfliktes im Sudan zu untersuchen, sondern auch, parastaatliche Akteure als solche zu analysieren und in einen regionalen Kontext einzubinden. Dabei wird der Bürgerkrieg im Sudan, entgegen dem in Europa weit verbreiteten Mythos von einem Krieg zwischen islamischen NordsudanesInnen und christlichen SüdsudanesInnen, auch mit Blick auf seine ökonomischen und machtpolitischen Aspekte untersucht. Sowohl die verschiedenen Gruppen der südsudanesischen Guerilla SPLA, die im Darfur (Westsudan) aktiven SLA und JEM wie auch die Partei- und Stammesmilizen auf Regierungsseite sind dabei als parastaatliche Akteure zu behandeln.' (Autorenreferat)'The political history of the Sudan can be read as an example of a state being at high risk becoming a failing state. This situation has occurred on the background of repeated (and - in the long run - not 'successful') attempts to establish an authoritarian/ totalitarian centralised state, which failed to re-balance and ease regional and class interests as well as to have integrative effects regarding different ideologies and 'ethnic', tribal and religious groups. The aim of this article is not only to analyse the causes and the development of the armed conflict in Sudan, which has been persisting for several decades. It as well targets at examining the role of para-state organizations in a specific regional context. Doing this, the civil war in Sudan has to be analysed on the background of its economic context and respective power relations. Most important, the war in Sudan should not be understood as a religious conflict alone (as the - at least in Europe - wide spread myth of a war between Islamic Northern-Sudan and Christian Southern-Sudan suggests). Here, apart from others, the diverse groups of the South-Sudanese guerilla SPLA, the SLA and JEM in Dafur as well as tribal and partisan forces supporting the government are relevant para-state powers and organizations.' (author's abstract

Prekärer Protest: warum die Beteiligung von Lehrenden an den Uniprotesten prekär blieb

"Dieser Beitrag schildert die Situation von UniversitätslektorInnen in Österreich und anderen prekär beschäftigten wissenschaftlichen UniversitätsmitarbeiterInnen sowie ihren Beitrag zur Protestbewegung 2009. Dabei stehen nicht nur die Möglichkeiten der Organisierung prekär beschäftigter WissenschafterInnen, sondern auch deren Grenzen zur Debatte." (Autorenreferat)"This paper documents the situation of lecturers and other precariously employed scholars at Universities in Austria and their participation in the protest movement in 2009. The prospects and limits of organizing these precarious scholars are discussed." (author's abstract

Selection for atrial fibrillation ablation: Importance of diastolic function grading

AbstractBackgroundPulmonary vein isolation (PVI) has become an accepted therapy for patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and the indications have widened to include non-paroxysmal AF-patients. Maintenance of sinus rhythm after PVI can be adversely affected by clinical or echocardiographic parameters, which should be clearly identified.Methods and resultsAfter baseline clinical and echocardiographic evaluations, PVI was performed in patients with paroxysmal or non-paroxysmal AF. The follow-up strategy after PVI included: (1) clinical follow up, 12-lead electrocardiography (ECG) and 24-h ECG every 3 months, (2) trans-telephonic ECGs twice daily and when symptomatic (over 4 weeks) every 3 months, or (3) continuous monitoring via implanted devices. A recurrence was an atrial arrhythmia lasting >30s. All 340 PVI procedures of 229 patients were analyzed. On average, 1.5 PVI procedures per patient (range, 1–6 PVI) were performed. The mean age was 58±11 years (73% male) with 109 paroxysmal and 120 non-paroxysmal AF cases. Clinical follow-up with 12-lead ECGs, 24-h ECGs, trans-telephonic ECGs, and implanted devices was complete in 100%, 63%, 51%, and 16% of cases, respectively. The overall one-year recurrence rate of 59% (range, 24–82%) was dependent on grades of diastolic function (normal – dysfunction grade III) in a multivariable analysis model. Patients with normal diastolic function had the lowest recurrence rates of 24% and 49% after 1 and 3 years of follow-up, respectively (p<0.0001).ConclusionDiastolic function could serve as a simple summary predictor for AF recurrence, and would facilitate clinical decision-making in AF treatment

AlevitInnen in Vorarlberg

Pelin Özmen und Thomas SchmidingerLiteraturverz. S. 27 - 28(VLID)77140

AlevitInnen in Vorarlberg

Pelin Özmen und Thomas SchmidingerLiteraturverz. S. 27 - 28(VLID)77140