The Black Swan of the Coronavirus and How American Organizations Have Adapted to the New World of Remote Work

This article presents a look at how leading-edge American companies have adapted to the very changing nature of work in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The article begins with an examination of the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on all of us, placing the pandemic in historical context as a “Black Swan”-level disruptive, historical event. Drawing upon current research, the author examines how the pandemic induced a shift to remote work for many workers, not just in the U.S., but globally, and how that impacted both employees and organizations. Next, the findings of an examination of how major U.S. companies, across many industries, have shifted permanently to offering their employees either full or partial-time remote work options are presented. Based on this research, the author discusses how this change has - and will continue - to impact organizations into the future. The article concludes with a look at the road ahead, as management of all organizations adapts to a very new world of work and a new operating model. To assist and inform managers of how to best make this transition, the author presents an 8-step action plan for implementing remote work into organizations today.

La embajada de Rui: la visión del viaje medieval hacia Tamorlán en la novela gráfica contemporánea

RESUMEN: Este estudio se centra en el análisis de la novela gráfica de Nieves Rosendo Embajada de Rui, texto inspirado en el viaje de los embajadores castellanos a la corte del gran caudillo mongol, un suceso histórico importante de principios del XV cuyo testimonio quedó plasmado en el relato de viajes medieval Embajada a Tamorlán. El objetivo de este trabajo es examinar en qué medida y por qué esta obra contemporánea se aleja de la fuente medieval, así como analizar cuáles son los rasgos que comparte con el testimonio original y qué visión del viaje medieval pretende mostrar a sus lectores. El análisis llevado a cabo nos permitirá ver cómo el Medievo sigue siendo una época idealizada por la mirada nostálgica de los contemporáneos, quienes lo ven como un periodo lejano y fascinante que hacía posibles verdaderos viajes y descubrimientos. ABSTRACT: This study is focused on the analysis of the graphic novel Embajada de Rui by Nieves Rosendo, a text inspired by the travel of the Castilian ambassadors to the court of the great Mongolian leader, an important historical event in the early 15th century whose testimony was reflected in the medieval travelogue Embajada a Tamorlán. The goal of this work is to examine why this contemporary novel differs from the medieval source, as well as to analyze what are the features that it shares with the original testimony and what is the vision of medieval travel that intends to convey to the readers. The analysis carried out allows us to see how the Middle Ages continues to be an idealized period to the nostalgic gaze of contemporaries who see in it a distant and fascinating era that enabled true travels and discoveries.

The Új Symposion Journal on Trial in Yugoslavia (1971/72)

Among the censored press and criminal prosecutions led against individuals after the 1968 student demonstrations in socialist Yugoslavia, a Hungarian neo-avantgarde journal published in Novi Sad found its own place. The Új Symposion journal’s two issues were banned at the end of 1971, and a few months later, its two authors and editor were criminally prosecuted. The aim of this article is to explore the occurrence of political trials in Yugoslavia on the example of the Új Symposion case, by looking into the trial documents, as well as the testimonies of three witnesses of this historical event.

The Argonautic Expedition: The First Worldwide Naval Epic

The Greek mythology is widely acclaimed as one of the richest treasures of universal epics; the myth of the Argonautic Expedition is one of the most interesting Greek myths. Some scientific authorities hold the opinion that the story of the Argonauts was no more than an inspiring fairy-tale, while others insist, it was a real historical event. They believe that it took place in 1225 BC, and Colchis was a country located in the Caucasus Mountains, near today’s country of Georgia. After a life-long study of more than thirty years using ancient texts and information coming from nautical maps and geography, oceanography and other fields of science, we propose that the real events were quite different from the currently proposed location. The Argonauts, and ancient Greeks at large, wanted to find a sea route to transport silk textiles and new species from the Far East countries to Greece or at least to open the Overland Route leading from the Black Sea to the Far East. In addition, they wanted to transport to Greece silkworm eggs to cultivate silkworms in Greece and produce silk. They started their journey from Iolcus and travelled around the Globe; they reached Colchis, Aeëtes' land that was actually China. They took from China eggs of the wild Silkworm instead of the real one and, sailing through the Indian Ocean, reached Suez, where they were forced to pull their ship across the land to reach Tritonis Lake. From there, they exited into the Mediterranean and arrived at Iolcus, the city from which they started their journey. That journey was made by the Argonauts around 1510 BC. Presently, giving a plethora of bibliographic references, we shall carefully attempt to expose the real events that happened during those ancient times under the mission code name "transporting the Golden Fleece to Greece". We shall say, who did this perilous feat, when and where it happened, what was the real purpose of the Argonauts’ journey, which were the correct routes followed carefully by the Argonauts, what were the countries they crossed or visited and finally what the Argonauts accomplished with that journey.

THE PARTICE OF THE ISRA’ MI’RAJ VALUE OF THE MANDAILING NATAL COMMUNITY

Isra' Mi'raj is a very important historical event for Muslims around the world. In Islam, the commemoration of Isra' and Mi'raj is a momentum to upgrade faith, add insight and motivation to worship, especially in maintaining the five daily prayers. The journey of Isra' Mi'raj is believed to be the most sacred prophetic spiritual journey, so it is natural that many Quraysh residents of Mecca at that time doubted its truth. Commemorating Isra' and Mi'raj including the realm of ikhtilaf al-fuqaha from the past until now. But the most mu'tabar opinion states the ability (al-Jawaz) in commemorating Isra' Mi'raj to achieve benefit for the religious community. This opinion is believed by the Muslim community in Mandailing Natal Regency. This paper presents a portrait of the habits of Muslims in Mandailing Natal Regency in commemorating Isra' and Mi'raj as one of the efforts to foster religious spirit to make Mandailing Natal Regency a civilized one. This research is a field research with a qualitative method with a religious approach to explain the practice of religious spirit that should bring every Muslim in Mandailing Natal Regency to practice Islamic teachings in accordance with the spirit contained in the Isra' and Mi'raj events. In addition, the custom of the Mandailing Natal community in commemorating Isra' and Mi'raj needs to be maintained and preserved as a form of local wisdom in order to realize Mandailing Natal which has the slogan of a traditional country, obedient to worship.Isra’ Mi’raj adalah peristiwa bersejarah yang sangat penting bagi umat Islam seluruh dunia. Dalam Islam, peringatan Isra’ dan Mi’raj merupakan momentum untuk mengupgrade keimanan, menambah wawasan dan motivasi beribadah terutama dalam menjaga salat lima waktu. Perjalanan Isra’ Mi’raj diyakini sebagai perjalanan rohani kenabian yang paling sakral sehingga wajar bila penduduk kafir Quraisy Kota Makkah saat itu banyak yang meragukan akan kebenarannya. Memperingati Isra’ dan Mi’raj termasuk ranah ikhtilaf al-fuqaha dari dahulu sampai sekarang. Namun pendapat yang paling mu’tabar menyatakan kebolehan (al-jawaz) dalam memperingati Isra’ Mi’raj untuk mencapai maslahat bagi masyarakat beragama. Pendapat inilah yang diyakini oleh masyarakat muslim di Kabupaten Mandailing Natal. Tulisan ini menyajikan potret kebiasaan umat Islam di Kabupaten Mandailing Natal dalam memperingati Isra’ dan Mi’raj sebagai salah satu upaya memupuk semangat beragama menjadikan Kabupaten Mandailing Natal yang madani. Penelitian ini merupakan field research dengan metode kualitiatif dengan pendekatan keagamaan guna menjelaskan praktik semangat keagamaan yang seharusnya membawa setiap umat Islam di Kabupaten Mandailing Natal mengamalkan ajaran Islam sesuai dengan spirit yang terkandung pada peristiwa Isra’ dan Mi’raj. Selain itu, kebiasaan masyarakat Mandailing Natal dalam memperingati Isra’ dan Mi’raj ini perlu dijaga dan dilestarikan sebagai bentuk kearifan lokal guna mewujudkan Mandailing Natal yang memiliki slogan negeri beradat, taat berbibadat.

RUSSIAN DRAMA DURING THE CRIMEAN WAR OF 1853–1856

The Crimean War of 1853–1856 became a real challenge for Russian society and was reflected in the culture and art of that time, including drama. Already during the war, plays dedicated to this historical event were being created and staged in theatres. This article analyses four plays – “For the Faith, the Tsar and the Fatherland” by Pyotr Grigor’yev, “The Veteran and the Recruit” by Aleksey Pisemsky, “The Feat of the Mother” by Orest Miller, “The Russians in 1854” by Adelaida Tal’tseva. The general ideological message of those dramatic works included patriotism, glorification of the greatness of the Fatherland and the strength of the Russian people, the Orthodox faith, in connection with which the plays created the image of a Russian soldier for whom participation in the war is a matter of honour and faith. The study establishes the correspondence of dramatic works of the period of the Crimean War of 1853–1856 to the requirements of the time, their close connection with the historical context of the era, as well as an orientation towards ease of perception by the audience. The author of the article defines the general features of patriotic plays of the Crimean War period at the plot and ideological level.

Du Bois and Brazil

In this article, I discuss Black transnational solidarity and liberation in the Americas by analyzing the historical relationship between W. E. B. Du Bois and Brazil from 1900 to 1940. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Du Bois was studying, writing, and publishing about Brazil. He was interested in creating international solidarity and cooperation among Black people. However, Du Bois (as well as other African Americans) promoted the idea that Brazil was a place without racism, a racial paradise. This idea served as a basis for a theory that oppressed Afro-Brazilians—the myth of racial democracy. In this article, I explore Du Bois’s relationship with Brazil, highlighting possible reasons why Du Bois engaged with the myth of racial democracy. In addition, I argue that this historical event teaches us that an Afro-diasporic liberation project must seriously consider global and material inequalities among Black people.

What if? Epidemic discourse and serial narration in the alternate history series La Révolution (2020)

The article examines the formal and thematic manifestations of seriality in the Netflix series La Révolution, which justifies the revolutionary outbreak in a counterfactual plot with a viral outbreak that turns the nobles into zombie-like monsters. While, on a macrostructural level, the generic frame of alternate history promotes the serial character through the varying repetition of the historical event, the microstructural level of the narration evokes seriality by exponential contagion and spread of the disease as well as an increasing spiral of violence. First, the focus is on the representation of the aristocrat as a monster in pamphlets and caricatures of the revolutionary era. Subsequent to a contextualization of seriality in the age of streaming platforms, the analysis then discusses the medium-specific implementation of the epidemic discourse based on selected sequences of the series. Finally, it gives a hypothetical outlook on the implied motivations regarding the fictional development of the revolutionary event: through its contrasting exaggeration, the alternate-historical narrative can shed new light on the real historical events.

The Seizure of the Throne by Demetrius I Soter (1 Macc 7:1-4). Theological Interpretation of a Historical Event

The presented biblical material (1 Macc 7:1-4) is one of those texts that describe an event happening far away from the scope of influence exerted by the Maccabean insurgents, yet one which is closely connected with the history of the chosen people. As such, it substantially influences the successive events in the political-religious situation of the Jews. What is particularly worthy of analysis is the historical accuracy of the inspired author in presenting facts as well as the theological conception to which primary importance is given in the book. This way the history of peoples, kingdoms and societies is shown as part of God’s magnificent plans which is implemented by all participants of ongoing scenes. Such a presentation concerns both the main and supporting protagonists. The short passage of 1 Macc 7:1-4 reveals how the hagiographer, who knows the theological conception, consciously accentuates certain parts, chooses appropriate syntax and vocabularyto show God’s action in the presented characters and events. God stands behind the curtain of human actions, yet it is Him who decides about their course.