Independent culture up a blind alley of politicised culture and commercialised student organisations

The disintegration of the decades-old cultural model of interdependence between the public and non-governmental sectors and the self-employed and other individuals in culture coincides with the commercialisation of student forms of organisation, within the framework of which many independent cultural institutions were established and professionalised, such as ŠKUC, Radio Študent, Beletrina Publishing House, Kapelica Gallery... They are thus increasingly dependent on the measures adopted by cultural policy, which has regressed during the epidemic, and the situation of those working in the field of independent, non-governmental culture has further deteriorated. It is time to reflect on the exit strategies beyond the existing cultural model.

Hindus Us, Muslims, and the Rest Others in Roy's the Ministry of Utmost Happiness

This study explores self and othering in Roy's novel The Ministry of Utmost Happiness. Roy took twenty years to complete this political romance. The narrator of this political romance talks about the others of Indian society, i.e., religious minorities, political traitors, and low caste groups. These others are always striving to secure a place in a biased Indian society. Their quest for identity has often led them to a blind alley where they have found themselves helpless and oppressed evermore. The situation has become worse under the government of the right-wing Hindu party BJP. This study is an attempt to explore the ways how the weaker part of the society is treated as another and outcast in a so-called secular state. Roy has presented the true face of India. This research tries to comprehend her mind and investigates The Ministry of Utmost Happiness multidimensional and multi-layered tale.

РАННИЕ СЛАВЯНЕ В ПОВЕСТИ ВРЕМЕННЫХ ЛЕТ МИФЫ ЛЕТОПИСЦЕВ И ИСТОРИОГРАФИИ

The author of the Primary Chronicle (PC) had a dual purpose of proving the legitimacy of the dynasty of Scandinavian origin and recording the traditions of the ethnic Scandinavian and Slavic populations. The author of this paper endeavours to analyse the authenticity of information provided in the PC concerning the origin of early Slavs. Before a critical method of studying medieval narrative texts was developed in the late 19th and the early 20th century, the authenticity of medieval chronicles had not been questioned. Therefore, the 19th century historiography treated all the information from medieval texts as authentic. In Russian historiography it was A.A. Shakhmatov who while dealing with the PC, laid down the foundations of the critical method in dealing with chronicles. He was the founder of the famous school of historical philology which has placed text analysis at its centre. Despite this approach, a “new hypothesis” appeared in the last decades of the 20th century (see the linguistic theory of O.N. Trubachev) gained wide publicity both in Russia and abroad. Trubachev’s theory did not take into conssideration the results of either text analysis or the findings of archaeology and was a return to the position from the 19th century. The author of the paper shows that this theory was a blind alley.

Facing a blind alley - Experiences of stress-related exhaustion: a qualitative study

IntroductionMental illness is a major concern in many countries. In Sweden, stress-related mental illness is currently the most frequent reason for sick leave.ObjectiveThis study aimed to explore patients’ experiences of stress-related exhaustion.DesignA qualitative study with interview data analysed using a phenomenological hermeneutic method.SettingParticipants were selected from public primary healthcare centres in a larger city in western Sweden.ParticipantsSeven women and five men on sick leave from work due to stress-related exhaustion were included in the study.FindingsStress-related exhaustion was experienced as a loss of access to oneself and one’s context and feelings of being trapped and lost in life. The condition had a significant impact on personal identity, raised existential issues and was interpreted as facing a blind alley. Participants described a mistaken direction in life, being forced to stop, change direction and act differently.ConclusionStress-related exhaustion is a challenging, life-changing existential experience that involves a crisis with an opportunity for new insights. Careful consideration of patients’ narratives together with the expertise of healthcare professionals can be combined to improve health and optimise recovery based on individual’s situation.

Private external funding of universities: Blind alley or new opening?

Of late, the problems of private external, or third-party funding of universities have been the subject of much debate, even at universities of economics and business. Given the constraints on government funding, politicians are looking increasingly to this source, with university leaders (rectors, deans, department heads) frequently being set targets for increasing income from it. Yet it is important to distinguish between different types of external funds. Moreover, their advantages and potential drawbacks must be weighed up. This paper seeks to do that, against the background of the author’s more than 13 years as Rector of Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU). Much of the paper thus draws rather less on theory than on that practical experience.

Spontaneous hybrids of Prunus fruticosa Pall. in Hungary

The European ground cherry (Prunus fruticosa Pall.) as a potential dwarfing rootstock attracted the attention of cherry rootstock researchers in several breeding projects. In order to clarify some doubtful classification of collected and promising specimen of supposed hybrids, we compared morphological characteristics to literature data. Genetic analysis was also undertaken using simple-sequence repeat markers. Our results suggest that the investigated P. fruticosa forma fruticosa specimens are tetraploid and the genetic analysis did not contribute to distinguish the P. fruticosa forma fruticosa and forma aucta. Based on morphological characters, we identified few specimens of spontaneous hybrid P. fruticosa × P. mahaleb (P. × jávorkae). Our genetic analysis supports the hypothesis that the sample shrub is triploid and show genetic relationship with P. mahaleb. This triploid hybrid due to the flower sterility represents a blind alley in its evolution. We identified from each investigated habitat specimens of supposed hybrid derivatives of ground cherry P. fruticosa × P. avium (P. × mohácsyana). This hybrid clearly showed distinct morphological characteristics, easily distinguishable from the P. fruticosa f. fruticosa and f. aucta and the genetic analysis suggests that the accessions are triploid. The flower sterility limits the usage of this hybrid derivative for further cross-breeding but allows usage as clonal cherry rootstock. Our genetic analysis suggests that samples of P. × eminens are tetraploid, fertile hybrid derivative of ground cherry occurring in some habitats of the basic species and show similar morphological characters to the cultivated sour cherry.