Tag: skills

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Housing renovation

The huge amount of buildings that need renovation is a task for each generation. New constructions are relatively easy to realize even to the best available standards. Particularly energy standards asking nowadays for serious isolation of buildings are easy starting from scratch. Energetic renovations of existing buildings are much more challenging and have to take into account the various stages or predilections of previous generations. Repurposing of buildings raise additional questions like transforming a family home into a representative office building. New technologies like fiberglass instead of copper cables or copper or plastic tubes instead of other hazardous materials cause additional costs and worries. The use of asbestos for interiors of previous generations has created the greatest liability for existing buildings. Technological choices of the past and also of the present (heat pump or not) have lasting consequences and sometimes even health effects. To cherish old buildings and styles is a mixed blessing as the renovation of housing confronts home renovators with more tricky challenges than building a new home. Incremental repairs might do the trick rather than all in one go renovation, however, you might enter into a situation when renovations are always on your mind. Not only the times are a changing, but homes are a changing, too.

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Deus DEI

In Latin the declination of deus = god starts with the genitive form “dei”. In the world of universities and labor markets the abbreviation “DEI” stands for diversity, equity and inclusion. These 3 topics have ensured for years that a university campus looks a bit more like society at large, even if biased towards younger generations. The MAGA saga of the USA in 2025 starts to turn the clock back on hard to accomplish advances in DEI-hiring and promotion. This likely to reduce the number of international students on US campuses and will make campuses look WEIRD again. Moreover, lots of talented students will seek DEI campuses in other countries to avoid discriminatory hiring practices and arbitrary risk of visa denial.  Europe is likely to benefit from this kind of brain drain and skill shortages might be substantially reduced due to such unprecedented shifts in US policies. The cuts of billions of grants to renowned universities for political reasons will leave a yawning gap of talent in the US in a few years time, the latest. Early movers will move very quickly to anticipate the exodus of talent.  It is puzzling to watch how quickly years of DEI policies might be undone with thousands of people and projects at a loss. Scholars of American history are reminded of the McCarthy era of political prosecution or the dismal period for science under the Nazi-rule in Germany. Americans seem to get much worse and extreme policies than they thought they voted for. “Deus Dei” also means “god of god” and in the current American political context the judgement of a god by another god has maybe a historical meaning. In the table of the Estonian town hall in Tallinn the inscription alerts rulers to beware of being judged as well. Sounds like a timely reminder to overly ambitious politicians.

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Bricks and algorithms

Construction as an economic sector has suffered for decades from skill shortages. The PWC study on skill needs in construction and management of digitalization in this sector shows various deficiencies. Labor demand in excess of own training efforts in the related professions is further increasing in coming years. Migrants from across the world have come to Europe to fill the skill shortages and willingness to work in the sector. Population aging increases demand for adaptions of housing and tertiarization of the economy asked for new office space and adaptation of existing ones. 

The skills involved in construction have also evolved. Digitalization and understanding of new technology needs of modern housing increased the level of cognitive skills in the sector enormously. “just let the liquid concrete flow” will no longer suffice. Environmental obligations, renewable energy and design issues had an impact on the sector. 

Many enterprises in this sector have trailed other sectors to adopt strategies like digital pairs of a building or connected manufacturing of facilities with data sharing and compatible software. All this led to the fact that younger employees or university graduates (m/f/d) have preferred other sectors. IT development and applications are interesting and challenging in this sector as well. Logistic arrangements a formidable task as well. 

The claim of too much bureaucracy is just an excuse for lacking digitalization of the sector. Years ago we stated that every task you carry out more than once can be automized. With AI in construction digitalization starts with each singular case as a learning occasion for humans and algorithms supporting us.

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Aging Politicians

The process of aging is usually a process which is progressing slowly. For politicians this process seems to run in fast forward. The churning of people through careers as politicians is quite unpredictable despite the fact that a career track through youth organizations of political parties or non-governmental organizations is a fairly good predictor of prospects of a career within this party. As the political culture has become even more rough through the comments and criticism of official media and social media, the expectations to be available for comment and debate are almost instantaneous.
Burn-out and frustration are a more frequent occurrence. As such this is not surprising, but the young age of these occurrences are real concern. The profession of politicians bears many risks and even threats to their lives. Democracies rely heavily on politicians who master complex subjects and can communicate effectively about these topics.
Aging societies can no longer just claim that politicians should reflect the age structure of society. It remains a challenge to train and support young people for jobs in politics. It is also an issue to prepare for a sustainable career in politics and keep motivation high to go the extra mile in the interest of society as a whole.
(Image: Extract of Adolphe Menzel, Das Ballsouper, 1878, SPK Berlin)

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Olympics Together

The extended version of the official Olympic principles now includes in addition to faster, higher, stronger- together. Together stands for all nations competing together in the Games. Additionally, together is a key concept of team work. Athletes in many of the Olympic disciplines need to have a competency to perform in teams. Sport is therefore a great exercise to enhance team spirit and take responsibility of own performance in a team. Job markets value this competence as it is a skill that is hard to measure in a reliable way. Even various forms of assessment centers have a hard time to test ability to work in various forms of teams. Asking for sports practiced in leisure time maybe faked easily but participants in high level sport competitions can reply to o questions with details that are rather unique. Even many individual sports have doubles, relays or larger team competitions. Olympic Games Paris 2024 made this particularly clear again. (Image Raoul Dufy, Les Régates 1908, MAM Paris)

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Olympic Competences

The athletes who managed to participate in the Olympic Games dispose of a specific skill set beyond their more narrow sports discipline. The general competence is long-term planning and sticking to training schedules. These schedules involve multiple deadlines with well-defined training goals. Coaches accompany the athletes in this endeavor. The competence to listen to advice from one or more persons to achieve personal goals is an important factor of success as well. Rather than being a personality trait this can be acquired through learning experiences. Coaching helps to achieve targets short and long term. Endurance in mental and physical form are trainable and most Olympic athletes have spent many years to prepare for the singularity of the Olympics like in Paris 2024. The same holds true for the participants of the Paralympic games. Maybe the most important competence of high level athletes is to keep exercising, training and trying despite many backlashes and missing of goals. (Image: Extract from Gustave Caillebotte Le Plongeon, 1878, Musée Marmottan Monet, Paris).

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Plastic wasted

The amount of plastic that is wasted exceeds our imagination. Even in the most distant islands we find remaining pieces of plastic from our careless consumption. The European Directive 2019/904 has set the limit on detached bottle tops to July 2024. The industry waited until the last few months to implement the old directive. Great that there is hope to find less detached plastic in oceans across the world in some years at least. The behavioral change to move beyond plastics everywhere in our nutrition delivery system is long overdue. We shall get used to bring our own bottles for a refill or other devices to reduce plastic waste further. The change begins with thinking about the topic and finding suitable reusable packaging solutions for yourself. Children learn in art projects about the importance and creativity potential to reuse otherwise wasted materials. Reduce and re-use can be turned into an own competence. Competence in sustainability has been neglected for decades in school curricula, despite its importance for our own health and survival. (Image James Ensor exhibition and competition KBR, Brussels 2024-7)

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Sport Fashion

Sport is fashion and fashion is sport. Not only in the Euro 2024 the teams make a big fuzz about the design of their sportswear, but certainly the Olympic games in Paris 2024 will demonstrate the close links between the 2 worlds. We might say playing football is a bit like a fashion catwalk. Keep going right on target, despite obstacles, when thousands of people are watching your performance and potential failures very closely. Making a “bella figura” is a must in both spheres. There is also a strong tendency for “the winner takes all”, that s/he takes the trophy and the jackpot.
Both worlds are also big business in their own right. It is at least 100 years old that sport and fashion got married. The “Musée des arts décoratifs” in Paris had an excellent exhibition on the combination of sport and fashion (booklet link). According to the curators both spheres have always been interlaced. High-level performance and specialized fashion just made for a splendid combination. As the rich and wealthy had more than a penny or two to spend on their leisure activities the combination of sport and fashion soon became itself a big business, beside the visible beauty of the bodies, movements and dresses. Just watch the breakdance fashion as the latest addition to the repertoire of olympic disciplines. In a recent article in “Le Monde” (2024-7-11) the value of the market of sports including its fashionable merchandising is estimated to reach a turnover of € 500 billion in 2022.
The competition of sports has been turned into a competition of the best images and videos. Fashionable as well as functional clothing can assist in climbing the podium. In the Euro 2024 Football Final the teams equipped with Adidas (Spain) and with Nike (England) compete for the trophy. Changing equipment sponsorship from one to the other can raise substantial amounts for a team (€ 100 million/year for the German national team). Big business seems to take over sports and fashion after the century-old marriage of sport and fashion. Since then, they have jointly been on an extended honeymoon. (Image from www.emptyspacetm.com 2024-7)

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AI Travel

Playing around with AI it is nice to test take fun examples. Image you want to plan a vacation, then the use of AI is ready to suggest to you a couple of things to do. Of course, AI is eager to propose travelling services like transport or accommodation to you where it is likely to earn some commissions. So far, the use of the “Vacation Planer of Microsoft’s BING Copilot” is free of charge. In entering the time period and a region as well as some basic activities you’ll receive suggestions with quotes on the sources (webpages of public services from tourist offices mostly). It seems like trustworthy sources and the suggestions of D-Day activities in Normandy is a positive surprise to me. These are popular activities which attract huge international crowds every year.
Thinking further on the potentials it becomes evident that travel suggestions will be biased to those paying for ranking higher on the algorithms selection criteria, which are not disclosed. Entering into the chat with the AI you and AI can target more precisely locations and also hotels etc. You are disclosing more of your own preferences in the easy-going chat and probably next time you will be surprised to be recommended the same activities at another location again.
So far, I have bought travel guides or literature about locations to prepare vacations. This is likely to change. I complement my traditional search or planning with the “surprises” from AI for travelling. I rediscovered, for example, the public service of tourist offices and their publications ahead of the travel rather than the leaflets at the local tourist office. In order to plan ahead there is value in the augmented search and compilation capacities of AI. Drafting a letter in foreign languages is also no problem for AI. The evaluation of the usefulness of AI, however, can only be answered after the vacation. Outdated info or databases have a huge potential to spoil the fun parts as well.

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AI and text

The performance of large language models (LLMs) with respect to text recognition and drafting texts is impressive. All those professions that draft a lot of texts have often decades of experience with using word-processing software. The assistance of software in the field of texts ranges from immediate typo corrections to suggestions of synonyms or grammatical corrections in previous word-processing software.
The improvement of AI stems for example from the potential to suggest alternative drafts of the text according to predefined styles. A very useful style is the “use of easy language”. This rewriting of texts simplifies texts in the sense that longer and more structured sentences are split into shorter ones, lesser-known words or acronyms are replaced by more common or simpler words. Some languages like German have a particular need to use easy language when it comes to administrative regulations and procedures. Public services that aim for inclusiveness of for example older persons or youth can become much more accessible if the use of easy language is spread more widely. Just keep in mind the large numbers of so-called “functional illiterates” (OECD study “PIAAC”) in all OCED countries.
AI can do a great job in assisting to reach a broader public with texts adapted to their level of literacy and numeracy competences. Webpage Designers have made use of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for years now. The most common way is to use frequently searched keywords more often on your website in order to be found more often by search engines like GOOGLE et al. Additionally, AI allows to explain keywords, sentences or even jokes to you (Spriestersbach 2023 p.111). This may help in situations when cross-cultural understanding is important.
We have made use of optical character recognition (OCR) for a long time now in public services as well as firms and for private archives. AI is taking this “learning experience” to the next level by making use of the content of the recognized text. Predicting the following word or suggesting the next sentence was only the beginning of AI with respect to texts. AI can draft your speech to plead guilty or not guilty in a court. But we shall have to live with the consequences of making exclusive use of it rather than referring back to experts in the field. AI please shorten this entry, please!

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Skill loss

There is a sense of skill loss in watching the trends to increase comfort. We all use washing machines and maybe dishwashers. Households can save a lot of time by using those machines. Some porcelain and clothes should not be left to the machines. The need to organize traditional washing routines is almost forgotten after 1-2 generations. The same holds for many technical skills. Bicycle and car repairs or small repairs of electrical appliances are delegated to specialized repair shops. Not using or having learned these skills puts you in a form of dependency and at the risk to pay a price for specializing on other skills. Find out and focus on what you are best at. This has been the mantra of economic theory since Adam Smith. The potential value of satisfaction with an own production rather than a bought product is frequently acknowledged for baking cakes yourself rather than simply buying one in a shop. The same rationale holds for many other skills. Autonomy of own production with possibility to improve or repair are forgotten values. The have become a luxury item or a necessity for persons lacking financial spending power to buy products from others. Many skills will be lost rapidly because products have become so cheap to replace or order for home delivery. Industrial production is desperately searching for skilled persons but losing skills is pervasive at the same time. Public schools and academic curricula will not be able to stand the tide of pervasive skill loss.

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Emergencification

Particularly around holiday seasons across the whole year we observe the “emergencification” in modern societies. This not so new trend consists in the strategy to artificially create emergency situations in which it is considered reasonable to ask for higher prices. It appears to be just another kind of a “greedflation”, whereby extra profits can be reaped due to shortages of food or particular forms of energy. Medical services have also pushed for an emergencification of their services due to ever longer waiting queues for appointments and treatments. The strategy here is easily disclosed. (1) You decline any appointment earlier for inspection of cars, heating systems, office equipment or medical check-ups and sooner or later a “planned” emergency will arise, which allows you to charge higher prices than the routine in time appointment or treatment. This makes prevention of more costly interventions far more difficult. In sum, the costs to society as a whole rise by the simple way of emergencification.
Even using a repair platform, we did not receive a single offer for a more lengthy and costly repair of my 10+ year old car. Hence, we just wait for a breakdown with more serious and costly consequences. Unfortunately, the same holds true for many medical services. If you no longer manage to assure a timely consultation you are more likely to go directly to the emergency services of a hospital. This is then the costly, but only alternative left to you. In the artificially created emergency you have little room for negotiation and a choice of different offers and conditions. It is a shift in negotiation powers to the service provider. The emergencification creates a price inflation of a specific kind. Worryingly, this kind of inflation is well beyond the normal statistical measurement of inflation national statistical offices observe. In addition to the much debated “greedflation” we should deal with the emergencification as an additional price mechanism. Just ask about examples among your friends or in the neighourhood whether they have lived through an example of emergencification. The stories are abundant and full of surprises. The example I heard: “birth and death, both come as a surprise or emergency, and yet we have the whole life to prepare the latter one”. Part of image taken from “Loriot “on the pleasures of driving (2022. Subtitle:” I suppose the screen wipers caused the trouble”.

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Diplomatin

Der Roman von Lucy Fricke über Diplomatie und Diplomaten ergänzt in recht unterhaltsamer Weise die eher trockene und abstrakte Literatur zur internationalen Politik. Gute Bettlektüre für den politisch interessierten Menschen, der gerade im Urlaub ist. Diplomatie schläft nicht und macht wenig Urlaub. Urlauber dagegen machen den Diplomaten oft ganz schön zu schaffen. Die geduldigen Mittel und Wege der Diplomatie sind nun wirklich nicht jeder Frau oder Manns Sache. Wenn sich Emotionen einmischen wird die diplomatische Herausforderung zu einem nahezu unauflöslichen Konflikt. Diskretion und Verschwiegenheit sind elementar in diesem Beruf. Geduldsproben an der Tagesordnung, ständig und bei allen Dienstgeschäften. Ein nachvollziehbarer Einstieg in diese Berufswelt in Form eines Romans sollte Pflichtlektüre für alle sein, die sich diesem Berufsfeld oder der Aufgabe annehmen wollen. Gut, dass es eine Diplomatin beschreibt. Das gibt eine erfrischende neue Perspektive. Vielleicht auch Anregung über eine feministische Aussenpolitik nachzudenken.

Wenig beleuchtet werden die politischen Umstände, die nur als Staffagen für die Erzählungen herhalten müssen. Taksim Platz samt Wasserwerfer interessiert wohl nur am Rande. Das ist schade, weil es verpasste Gelegenheiten sind, Menschenrechtsverletzungen zumindest kurz anzusprechen. So kratzt die Erzählung nur an der Oberfläche von Personen und dem wirklichen Geschäft der Diplomatie. Aktion in den Vordergrund zustellen ist gut für die Story und Verfilmungen, aber der Kern der Diplomatie muss anders aussehen. Etwas Heimaturlaub konfrontiert die Diplomatin dann erneut mit der weitreichenden Gleichgültigkeit gegenüber der diplomatischen Arbeit. Leben organisieren und Aufräumen bleiben auch im Privatleben der Diplomatin eine Herausforderung der Work-life balance.

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Reformation

Die Reformation vor 500 Jahren war fantastisch. Die schweizer Stadt Chur hat dabei ihre eigene 500 Jahr Gedenken und Geschichte der Reformation. Jetzt steht uns die Reformation der Reformation bevor. Wie wird die aussehen? In einer kleinen Kirche im Kanton Graubünden, nein diese Geschichte beginnt mal nicht im Stall, steht bereits eine Orgel im Zentrum des kirchlichen Geschehens hinter dem Taufbecken. Vor 7 Jahren spielte selbst ein Mitglied der Berliner Philharmoniker, Albrecht Mayer, ein Kammerkonzert dort. Musikalische Aufführungen oder kleine Theaterstücke,wie Krippenspiele zu Weihnachten kennen die meisten, aber wer kann die historischen Kulturgüter innerhalb einer Kirche noch erkennen und ihre Bedeutung im historischen Kontext erklären. Ein Taufbecken ist schon eine krasse Idee, umrahmt von diesen finsteren Bildern und oft Fenstern.

Die Reformation der Reformation beginnt vielleicht mit dem Öffnen und der musealen oder musikalischen Verwendung, das heißt Erfahren und Erläutern der Architektur sowie des Licht-, Klang- und Raumerlebnisses im historischen Ort. Die angebotenen Weiterbildungen zum Kirchenführer mit Denkmalschutzkomponente sind ein innovatives und zukunftsweisendes Konzept. Es könnte viel kirchliches Personal auf die Reformation der Reformation vorbereiten und weitere Interessierte ansprechen. Die Banken haben zuerst ihre Filialen brutal aus dem ländlichen Raum abgezogen. Bei den kirchlichen Vertretern hoffen wir auf eine menschenwürdigere Reformation der Reformation.

Flims CH 2023
Chur 2023
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Garten

Ach es ist so schön im Garten. Ein schöner Garten will geplant werden. Das gelingt auf besondere Weise mit dem „Pollinator“. Hinter dem Pollinator verbirgt sich ein Kunstprojekt, das viele kleine Gartenkunstwerke zu einem großen verbinden möchte. Spannend ist nicht nur das Vernetzungsprojekt von vielen einzelnen Parzellen zu einem größer werdenden Gesamtprojekt (Aggregation), sondern der für Kunstschaffende gewohnte Perspektivwechsel. Aus Sicht der Bestäuber der Pflanzen und Blumen gesehen ergibt sich eine vogelähnliche Perspektive auf den Garten.
Der Parcour einer Biene oder eines Schmetterlings durch unsere Gartenparzelle regt zum Träumen an. Vielleicht hätte Franz Kafka nach der Parcour-Erfahrung ein anderes Insekt gewählt. Mir gefällt die 2D, 3D, 4D Perspektive, die es erlaubt, den blühenden Garten im Zeitraffer durch alle Jahreszeiten zu visualisieren. Das ist Gartenarbeit ohne die mühsame Kleinarbeit des Pflanzens und Unkrautjätens. Es wird nicht gleich ein Garten wie von Impressionisten in Argenteuil von Monet oder in Yerres von Caillebotte daraus, aber ein farbenprächtiges Kleinod allemal. Mein erster virtueller Versuch (Link) ist schon recht farbenfroh. Lateinische Namen auffrischen ist schon fast ein Beitrag zum gesunden Altern, besonders wenn der Garten einige Kilometer entfernt ist. Im Sommer lassen sich leicht neue Pläne schmieden. Herbst und Winter, Trockenheit und Hitze lassen uns das Gartenkunstwerk nochmals überdenken. Spielerisch ein Gartendesign gestalten, kann der erste Schritt für mehr Natur sein. Biodiversität macht Spaß und hilft uns allen. Kleinvieh macht eben auch Mist.

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AI and I

Currently we are eager to run experiments using AI. As in normal life, humans tend to compare themselves with peers or other persons. Social comparisons, “can we still keep up with the Joneses” as in comparing spending patterns across households or neighbours, were for a long time the spice of novels and drama. Nowadays we tend to compare our own intelligence to the artificial intelligence. Here we go.
After I had drafted a blog entry on “Virtual sociology” I amused myself by checking what ChatGPT using OPENAI.COM would deliver as text on this combination of concepts and scientific fields. My own entry focused on the use of the virtual world to run experiments to test social theory. In the virtual world we might be able to test social behaviour which has severe ethical boundaries in the real world. Computer Games may even be constructed to live in a world or race a car irrespective of real-world regulations. The text drafted by ChatGPT on “Virtual sociology” reads like a timid attempt of a student to answer an exam question without having attended any of the classroom discussion on the topic. In future versions of AI, the entry will be found as well as several criticisms of the new concept. ChatGPT would reach a pass grade in test, but the reply lacks innovation or making an effort to broaden the conventional boundaries of sociology. Hence, we will be happy that students will apply the newest technology in their studies and research. In terms of innovation, they will have to try harder. The mastering of the support by ChatGPT consists in attempting new combinations of concepts which yield more “risky” returns. Then you need to check the validity of the innovation and how far off the normal you are going to tolerate. Turning “noisy” outcomes of AI into a useful tool might build on normal statistical tools like “standard deviations” from an expected mean value. Legal norms will set additional boundaries. There is just an awful lot still to do. The good news is, ChatGDP assists us in this joint learning process.

The AI text from OPENAI.COM based on ChatGPT to compare:
“Virtual sociology refers to the study of social phenomena and interactions within virtual environments or online spaces. It focuses on understanding the ways in which individuals and groups behave, communicate, and form relationships in digital spaces. Virtual sociology emerged as a subfield of sociology due to the increasing prevalence and importance of the internet and digital technologies in contemporary society.
Virtual sociology explores various aspects of online social life, such as online communities, virtual reality environments, social networking sites, online gaming, and other digital platforms where social interactions occur. It examines the social structures, norms, and dynamics that shape interactions in these virtual spaces.
Researchers in virtual sociology investigate topics such as online identity and self-presentation, virtual communities and social networks, digital inequalities, online activism and social movements, the impact of technology on social relationships, and the implications of virtual interactions for social behavior and social change.
Virtual sociology also explores the relationship between virtual and offline social life, recognizing that individuals navigate and negotiate between these two realms. It considers how virtual interactions and experiences can influence offline behavior and vice versa.
Studying virtual sociology provides insights into the ways in which technology shapes and is shaped by society. It helps us understand the social implications of digital communication and provides a foundation for addressing the challenges and opportunities presented by virtual environments”

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Sociology of the Virtual

Some programmers and artists would have been a great sociologists. As many social sciences embark on their experimental reorientation, many artists and programmers design and experiment already with new forms of social interaction. It is not only that sociology leaves the classroom, research labs or policy advice. Sociology is taken into museums and exhibitions. Learning about society through the lens of artists nicely complements the more boring form of teaching in the classroom. What is normal practice for art historians could benefit learning about sociology as well.
Virtual worlds of games and particularly so-called serious games take people into virtual worlds to learn, practice or exercise new forms of social interaction. This is indeed an additional form of experiments that can enrich our social practices. Medical applications start to spread to train persons to overcome phobia of all sorts.
In usual games we tend to defend the hypothesis that persons can uphold the differentiation of playing with arms in the virtual world and the real world. In medical or social games, we defend the hypothesis that it is easy, normal or natural to apply the learning in virtual constellations to the real-world-experience.
From a scientific perspective it is difficult to defend that a mechanism works in one direction and the opposite as well. Racing cars in inner cities seems to show that certainly not all of youth is able to make that distinction between virtual and real-world dangers for example. Alternatively, the mechanism at work might be that the virtual experiences lower thresholds of inhibition to take risks, to kill or to be exposed to spiders.
These examples are a starting point for a sociology of virtual experiences. Who gets locked into virtual worlds? Are virtual worlds an escape room or a realization of virtual freedom which is restrained in real life. Authoritarian regimes might lead more people to emigrate into virtual, free worlds. The inner-exile has been a refuge for many artists in the past. A lot we shall need to hypothesise and explore with empirical data. Dance with a virtual stranger might be the beginning of a new experience and virtual interactions. (Image: Wiels, Shezad Dawood, Night in the Garden of Love 2023-6, Game car race).

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AI Friends

Making friends with AI is a tricky question. The more AI is able to make independent thinking based on algorithms and huge amounts of data like in scientific books or encyclopaedic knowledge the more it will challenge us in our convictions. Reference knowledge, once was important, it no longer distinguishes us from each other. Recurse to research engines has allowed us to refer to “trustworthy” knowledge. The distributed form of knowledge accumulation like in Wikipedia relies on hundreds of thousands of enthusiasts to add and correct received wisdom. However, this source is not without error or even subject to abuse.
Today the competence to judge whether information is trustworthy or not has become a key competence for the survival of democracies and even the human species as such. Tricking animals into traps, misleading enemies in warfare to get on wrong tracks, all these mechanisms have a long tradition. With AI human beings are themselves, for the first time, confronted with a machine that can trick us through falsified information on obviously wrong tracks. This is a tough lesson as AI is not obliged (so far) to run checking algorithms that test the conformity of opinions, conclusions or operations with the Charta of Human Rights or decisions of the European Court of Justice, for example. A lot to do for humans to rapidly program new algorithms that check algorithms as well as their outcomes on the compatibility with human rights. A challenging field, no doubt, but no way around it for our own survival before the algorithms decide by themselves to ignore us altogether because it is better for the planet and the survival of the robots.

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Medical Personal

Like in many other professions, medical doctors and nurses are in short supply. Labour markets in Europe have changed from high oversupply (unemployment) to shortages of mainly skilled persons. 20 years ago, such skill needs were already visible in projections. In 2023 the discussion of skill needs is spreading to more and more professions. The medical professions are no exception to this rule. Even the best paying jobs will not be filled in sufficient numbers. The German institute for the medical profession (www.zi.de) forecasts, in my opinion, a lower bound estimate of medical doctors for the year 2030. Their projection is based on an underestimation of the growth of the population (war in Ukraine), which they see as about constant until 2030. From the recent figures on the population of Germany there were 1.5 million persons moving to Germany and a loss of more deaths than births of 327.000. Migrants are on average much younger than the German population and, therefore, overall aging of the population is reduced. Tough news for those daring to do projections. Thanks to the immigration of younger persons there will be more persons contributing to health insurance and pay for the higher costs of a rapidly aging population.
Following the projections of the distribution of specialists needed, we shall need more urologists, eye specialists and substantially more psychotherapists. This originates in the aging of the population and the higher demand of younger persons (post Covid-19), as well as refugees, in need of psychotherapeutic assistance.
So-called hog-cycles tell us for the medical profession, with a “production time” of 10 years for a medical doctor, that we are already far behind schedule to address the future skill needs of the aging medical profession and population. This strengthens the need to get serious about prevention of avoidable diseases. Stop reading here, stand up and go for walk. It is the best-practice-solution taking account of the aging of the medical profession and the population as a whole.

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Special 3

The special Olympics (SOWG) are competitive games just like other Olympic Games. The athletes compete with all it takes to win. Some with more success than others, as usual. The disciplines of Volleyball and Basketball give an advantage to mostly tall persons. Few exceptions are created by good team play. The warming-up exercises were already a challenge for the athletes preparing them very well for the match to come. Once in the game, all concentration is focused on the sport. Extraordinary athletes are no exception to the rule. There competition succeeds to get or to keep persons focused on the specific task.
In rhythmic gymnastics the musical talent is asked to complement the physical effort. Gracious moves, difficult with a ball, ring or rope need to be coordinated to the rhythm of the music. Great to see the special athletes live up to the challenge, too. The roaring applause in the sports hall is surely encouraging them to continue on their athletic trajectory. The special athletes encourage everybody to keep exercising to make the most of our capabilities. Thanks for the lesson.
Additionally, in a hall next to the SOWG non-competitive games were presented as an accessible form of fun exercises that invite everybody to move and enjoy. Just being together and moving together is the basic form of happiness. Even having fun is exhausting after a long day and still lots to do in Berlin for all the teams on their way back to the hotels. sowg video
sowg video basket1.

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Touraine

Alain Touraine hat die französische Soziologie entscheidend geprägt. Aus seiner außergewöhnlichen Biografie wird rasch ersichtlich, wie er nicht nur seine Leben, sondern auch seine Art der Soziologie „von untern“, vom Individuum her, gedacht hat. Gerade der Prozess der Subjektivierung, die Autonomie des Subjekts betonende Sichtweise bildet ein Gegengewicht zu dem systemischen Blick auf Gesellschaft, beispielsweise von Luhmann. Soziale Bewegungen, die auf dem Engagement von Personen gründen, sind unverzichtbarer Bestandteil von Demokratien.
Neben Begriffen wie die post-industrielle Gesellschaft oder neue soziale Bewegungen hat Alain Touraine weit mehr als die “Sociologie du Travail” in Frankreich geprägt. Bereits seine Dissertation über « L’Évolution du travail ouvrier aux usines Renault“ in 1955 unterstrich sein Interesse an den Lebensverhältnissen der arbeitenden Bevölkerung. Der Umfang seiner soziologischen Studien, die schon früh große Umfragen beinhalteten, war im besten Sinne des Wortes problem-orientiert, besser noch politik-orientiert. Dabei übernahm er immer Verantwortung, seine Lösungsansätze politikberatend einzubringen.
Die Würdigung von Alain Touraine in einer Podcastserie von 5 x ½ Stunde aus 2019 bei France Culture gibt einen groben Überblick über die prägende Wirkung von Alain Touraine jenseits von seinen soziologischen Arbeiten. An dieser Persönlichkeit wird zusätzlich deutlich, wie sprachliche Grenzen, selbst in den Köpfen von soziologiebetreibenden Forschenden selbst im 21. Jahrhundert fortwirken. Das hat selbst Alain Touraine mit gut 90 Jahren an sich kritisiert. Asiatische, arabische und afrikanische Denkanstöße kamen wenig in seinem Werk vor. Vielleicht reicht ein Leben nicht dafür, zumindest die Zugänglichkeit der Weltliteratur hat sich erheblich erweitert. Bleibt die Frage nach der Zeit und dem Willen, sich auch andere Denkgebäude, -begrifflichkeiten und -kulturen zu erarbeiten.

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Repair 3

Repair is our new mantra. Think of repairing in all domains as of now. Nature is showing us the way how to repair in many ways. Culture is also embracing the shift towards repairing as caring. If we really care about our planet, and there is no planet B, we shall have to repair in many more domains. We are used to repair bicycles, cars, roofs, windows etc. Repairing is never boring. You can improve the performance of a device or building by repairing it, even with relatively small budgets. Isolation of buildings is a good example of investing in upgrades through repairing. Rather than throwing away a functioning heating system repairing it with an energy saving device is enhancing its performance and produces fewer emissions in the short run. Heat pumps are the way forward for new installations. Shifting a sector, heating with gaz, to ensure longer lasting repair and improve options would save a lot of raw materials and CO2 as well. The construction sector has repair work almosts in its DNA, the energy sector will have to make that shift as well. Dare to repair.

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Doppelt-gemoppelt

… hält besser. So erging es mir, wie den anderen Zuschauenden im Berliner Konzerthaus bei 2 x hören. Eine kleine Fangemeinde hatte sich wieder eingefunden, um zeitgenössischer Musik zu lauschen und sich zwischendurch Erläuterungen anzuhören. Welch eine tolle Gelegenheit, denn neben dem Gespräch mit den beiden Musikerinnen Franziska Pietsch (Violine) und Maki Hayashida (Klavier) war die Komponistin Tatjana Komarova anwesend. Christian Jost moderierte das Gespräch über die Komposition und Interpretation bevor das gleiche Werk „Umhüllt von Licht und Nebel“ erneut zu hören und sehen war. Das kammermusikalische Stück in 4 Sätzen lebt von seiner unaufgeregten Dynamik und dem Wechsel der beiden jeweils tonangebenden Solistinnen. Allein, aber gemeinsam; ruhig, dennoch dynamisch. Dieses Sich-aufeinander-beziehen und gleichsam wieder nahezu meditativ auf sich selbst zurückgezogen komponierte Werk hat einen überraschenden Bezug zu den Biografien der Künstlerinnen. Selten gibt es die Gelegenheit, so nah an diese Hintergründe heranzukommen. Während noch die Tradition der italienischen Oper (auch Mozarts Frühwerk Mitridate) die SängerInnen stimmlich bestens in Szene setzten, vertraut das zeitgenössische Stück von Komarova auf eine zurückgenommene, eher verhaltene Virtuosität. Angedeutet ja, aber eben nur angedeutet und umgehend reflektiert, bescheiden gewendet. Wechselbäder der Gefühle, wie sie Aufführende ständig durchleben, werden nahezu musiktherapeutisch gewendet. Die Hommage an die Verletzlichkeit in der Musik sowie durch die Musik wird mit der Besetzung authentisch vermittelt. Das Stück von Komarova wurde zum Festival Spannungen 2014 komponiert und im Jugendstil Wasserkraftwerk Heimbach uraufgeführt. Der kleine Werner-Otto-Saal im Konzerthaus bot eine für Kammermusik geeignete Atmosphäre für die Darbietung sowie für das Gespräch zwischendurch. 

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Flaneur

Der bürgerliche Flaneur wird kritisch hinterfragt und erweitert erörtert im Festival DRiFT in Berlin. Das passt doch gut zu dem nötigen WALK und WALKING, welches uns schon alleine aus gesundheitlichen Aspekten von Nöten ist. Die subversive Form als kollektives Wandern, gefährlicher historisch waren die Märsche auf Rom von Mussolini, friedlicher Gandhi, aber beeindruckend erfolgreich. Ostermärche kennen wir noch als Beispiel dieser kollektiven Form des gemeinsamen Gehens und Erkundens, oder doch Beeinflussung oder gar Eroberung.
Die Idee ist alt, die Ansätze in unserer Zeit bleiben eine Herausforderung. Protestmärsche kennen viele Organisationen gerade aus den nicht-regierungs Organisationen (NGOs) und den Gewerkschaften. Präsenz zeigen und seine Meinung äußern, wenn sie nicht genügend Gehör oder Widerhall findet, gehört zum demokratischen Kanon. Eine entsprechende Wiederbelebung und Stadtteilerkundung als “Psycho-geografie” hat historische Wurzeln in Paris und Frankreich. Räumliches Vorstellungsvermögen und Orientierung ist eine Qualifikation, die messbar ist. Eine Stadt erlaufen bildet eine kognitive Landkarte der Straßen und Umgebung. Mal schwer, mal einfach, aber fast immer irgendwie anders.

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Flotow Brief

Von Frédéric de Flotow habe ich bisher wenig von seinem Schriftverkehr in öffentlichen Bibliotheken (BnF) auffinden können. Beachtlich sind die Funde in den Pariser Bibliotheken. Neben einem auf Deutsch geschriebenen Brief sind dort 4 weitere, teilweise mit mehreren Blättern im Original erhalten. Es handelt sich dabei um Briefe, die mit Auftraggebern für seine Werke korrespondieren oder Besuche bei Bekannten, die sich meist verschieben oder schwer arrangieren lassen, denn der Komponist und spätere Intendant von Schwerin ist viel beschäftigt. Die zahlreichen Werke und Opern sind eine zeitraubende Angelegenheit, die Inspiration und Imagination brauchen, aber gleichzeitig eine aufgesprochene Fleißarbeit fordern. Talent ja, aber eben auch Durchhaltevermögen und ständige Suche nach geeigneten Libretti. Die Schrift, auf feinstem Briefpapier meist mit traditionellem Wappen der Familie Flotow eingestanzt, ist so klein und feingliedrig, dass mir bereits nach einer halben Stunde die Augen brannten. Ein Brief erwähnt das mögliche Engagement der italienischen Sopranistin Frezzolini an der italienischen Oper in Paris, die doch vielleicht schon die Hauptrolle in der Flotowschen Oper Martha übernehmen könnte. Der Opernchef Calzado könnte ihm (Flotow) doch vielleicht diese Ehre zu Teil werden lassen (Quelle: BnF Flotow, 1958 an Calzado, Notice n° :  FRBNF39807946 S.159). Der Komponist schreibt ein fließendes, höfliches Französisch mit den üblichen Grußformeln. Seine Lehrjahre in Frankreich lagen dabei schon einige Jahre zurück. Sprachbegabung verbindet sich häufig mit musikalischen Talenten, was sicherlich von der frühen Zweisprachigkeit befördert wurde. Beeindruckend zu sehen und in einem kleinen Auszug zu lesen.

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Forschen

Forschung betreiben ist meistens das Bohren dicker Bretter. Verständlich, dass das nicht jedermanns oder jederfraus Sache ist. Wer sitzt schon gerne alleine in einer kleinen Zelle und schreibt seine Forschungsergebnisse auf oder liest endlos lange und viel vorherige Forschung? Da ist ein Besuch in Archiven, Laboren oder anderen Datenarchiven schon etwas unterhaltsamer. Forschung ist überwiegend theoriegeleitet. Von Einzelfällen abstrahierende Theorien lassen die Forschenden entweder an diesen Theorien weiterarbeiten oder vielfach irgendeine Form von Daten sammeln mittels derer sie dann die Theorie(n) testen können. Eine Herausforderung an diese Arbeitsweise stellt die rein datengetriebene Induktion dar. Sozusagen der „deus ex machina“ erwächst aus einer hinreichend großen, am besten sich ständig erweiternden, Datenbasis. Wetterdaten, Verkehrsdaten, Krankheitsdaten, Börsendaten und Arbeitsmarktdaten bieten für sowohl für deduktive als auch induktive Verfahren hervorragende Beispiele. Datensammeln in Archiven, beispielsweise Rekonstruktion oder Interpretation eines Lebensverlaufs aus Korrespondenz ist ein klassisches Verfahren von meistens LiteraturwissenschaftlerInnen. Manche Archive belohnen die Forschenden mit Glanz und andere mit Gloria, selten mit beidem. Glänzende Aussichten bietet die biographische Forschung zu Komponisten und MusikerInnen in Paris. In der kleinen, aber sehr feinen Bibliothek der „Opera Garnier“ bin ich zu dem Komponisten Flotow fündig geworden. Es befinden sich dort in der Komponistenakte Zeitungsausschnitte, die 150 Jahre alt sind und ein Büchlein aus frühen DDR-Zeiten, die den Aristokratenkomponist durchaus kritisch durchleuchten. Die Ablenkung auf dem Weg in die Bibliothek und dem Archiv der Oper ist allerdings atemberaubend, also nur für ganz überzeugte Forschende zu empfehlen. Die meisten werden von der Opulenz des Bauwerks so beeindruckt, dass jegliche Forschungsfrage und Theorie „backstage“ verwiesen werden. Selbst backstage kann es ziemlich schön sein.

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Rhetoricae artis

“Die Kunst der Rhetorik und der positiven Fähigkeit” ist eine kleine Wissenschaft. So hieß es bereits 1475 in dem von Guillaume Rardif veröffentlichten Buchdruck aus dem “Atelier du Soufflet Vert”. (BnF, Réserve des livres rares, Rés. X-1118). Als Teil der Ausstellung zum Buckdruck entnehmen wir 5 wichtige Hinweise für die Kunst der öffentlichen Rede: (1) inventio = (Er-)findungskraft, (2) dispositio = Anordnung, Gliederung, (3) elocutio = Ausdrucksweise, Stil, (4) memoria = Erinnerungsvermögen, (5) pronunciatio = Urteilskraft.
Ein kritzelnder Leser hat mit Bleistift die 6 Teile angefügt. Exordium = Einleitung, Narratio = Erzählung, Sachverhalt, partitio = Einteilung, und schließlich die dialektik mit Confirmatio, Rufusation, Conclusio. Abweichungen von diesem rhetorischen Schema sind noch immer selten. Das galt wohl seit dem 15-ten Jahrhundert schon für Predigten und wissenschaftliche Vorträge. Alles altes Latein, oder was? Die heute übliche “Elevator-speech” folgt anderen Regeln. Die Aufmerksamkeitsökonomie und Flut der Informationen erzwingt viel kürzere Redezeiten. Die Nachhaltigkeit der Botschaft wird anders erzeugt. Bildlichkeit ist Trumpf in Erscheinung und Auftritt. Auch das will gelernt sein. Die Bücher damals waren selbst ästhetische Kunstwerke und dennoch Arbeitsbücher, leider nur für sehr wohlhabende Studierende.

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Printing

Printing is a more than 5 century-old industry. The invention of the printing press is mostly attributed to Johannes Gutenberg from Mainz. However, the Asian precursor of mobile type letter printing of Cai Lun of the Jikji dates back to 1377 in Korea. These early masterpieces of the inventors of print can be inspected at the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF). The summary term for this technical innovation by historians is the “age of start-ups”. The procedure for Gutenberg to have 2 financing rounds with his “business angel” Johann Fust, who is later claiming even almost the full rights of the printed volumes, resembles the start-up spirit of today as much as that of the 15th century. Not belonging to the Patrician families, it was very difficult to defend your rights in courts of the gilds. The printers also became a very powerful intermediary themselves. They either sold pre-ordered books or had to take the risk of assessing the market for their product. The editors of today do much the same in the trading world of books and rights of authors and translators. Merchandising products of the church and later churches (protestants Luther Bible) had a particular value to both the clergy and its devotees, not to mention the shop keepers in-between as well. Pilgrimage business was another start-up industry still going strong in the 20th and 21st century and popular in all religions. The early prints and typographs applied are fascinating  in themselves, but there is a lot to be learned about the foundation of a new industries that still employs millions of people and is at the origin of learning revolution similar to the one we are living with the digital technologies today. The European languages with respect to printing had a certain competitive advantage, based on 26 letters of the alphabet, far fewer types were needed to print books than the more than a thousand different signs for printing a Korean text. In terms of printing this is cost-reducing and probably you do not need to be able to read yourself to be a printer or it makes proof reading more accessible favouring benefit margins. After all, the age of industrialisation probably had a precursor in the printing industry. The potential of the printing industry was only exploited much later to the full extent. Comparable to “peak oil” we hope to have reached “peak paper” at last as well for the sake of our planet and our own survival.

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1900s

1900 marks the year of the 5th world exhibition in Paris. The Eiffel tower, built for the 4th exhibition in Paris remains the iconic attraction despite the new architecture that is added to Paris as the Petit and Grand Palais as well as the 1st Metro line. Art Nouveau style adds to already impressive architecture in and around Paris. With the planning horizons of several years in advance of events, urban planning with all its facets of urban infrastructure and architecture becomes much of a defining scientific discipline for decades and for most of the time of the century. Grand urban architecture and design constitute just another form of competition between nation states. Most of them want to show off their imperialist acquisitions and, what they define as “curiosities” at the time.
Habib (2005, pp.502) singles out Arthur Schopenhauer and Friedrich Nietzsche as “heterological thinkers” who coin major thoughts in the late 19th century that shall influence the beginning of the 20th century right from the year 1900 onwards. “The world should be formed in your image by your reason, your will, and your love! And truly, it will be to your happiness you enlightened men!” (Nietzsche. Thus spoke Zarathustra 1978, p.110). In retrospect from the 21st century we shall doubt this overly positive approach to human intentions and their will to form the world according to their abstracting ideas only. Tensions between technology and society became visible and it took many decades before society became conscious that it is up to society to choose technologies they preferred.
The planning for the Brussel Expo 1910 started right after the previous Expo 1905 in Liège. Protests in Brussels accompanied already the choice of terrain for the Expo, but the governors and shareholders of the enterprise decided 1906 for a site near the “forêt de Soignes”, where trees had to be cut for access to the construction site and for future visitors under local protest. Women workers were present to exhibit the low pay of women in industries. Child labour was documented with shocking images. Around the globe labour movements started to raise attention.  In the U.S. the National Women’s Trade Union League (1903) was founded as well as the National Child Labor Committee (1904). “Bloody Sunday” in St. Petersburg (1905) saw the killing of peaceful protestors in front of the Zsar’s palace, which ignited the Russian Revolution of 1905 and the creation of the Russian Parliament. Some of these issues (child labor) keep returning to our social agenda well into the 21st century.
Einstein’s publication of the theory of special relativity (1905) as well as challenges from social philosophy reflects the huge discrepancy between advancement of the sciences and the living conditions of the masses. Social theories and science advances foreshadow the violent turbulence throughout the 20th century.
(Sources: (1) Max Welch Guerra et al. (2023). European Planning History in the 20th Century: A Continent of Urban Planning. Routledge. (2) St. James Encyclopedia of Labor History Worldwide: Major Events in Labor History and Their Impact, Neil Schlager (2004). (3) Images from I. Van Hasselt(1980) Bruxelles Expo 1910: l’incendie / de brand. J Stevens.

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Caillebotte

Gustave Caillebotte has done it again. Son of a great beneficiary of war efforts himself. He started with support from his father’s fortune on a painting career. Soon after his father’s death, he joined the group of “alternative artists”, later called the impressionists in France. On the 1.2.2023 the Musée d’Orsay acquired a key painting of Caillebotte for 43 Million € with the help of a donation by LVMH. Where does the hype come from? A catalogue of the exhibition of the painter “Gustave Caillebotte, The painter’s eye” from the National Gallery of Art in Washington from 2015 established Caillebotte again as a key person of the impressionist movement. Rich in diversity of motifs, the painter and supporter of the impressionists (Philantropist) has foreseen the challenge photography could bring to painting. The painter’s eye is well explained by Michael Marrinan (pp.22) in the catalogue. In fact, the spatial depth of the views of the streets of Paris is a precursor to many photographers and movies of several decades later. Caillebotte’s images of Paris depict well the mixed feelings about a daunting city size and the isolation of people captured in their own little inner circles with little communication despite or because of the noisy surroundings. Misty atmospheres allow to focus on impressions. Almost meditative walking in the city is his modern topic. Reflecting on painting as profession versus painting as artist is somehow an impressionist’s sociology of professions. Gustave Caillebotte did not have to paint for money and he was aware of social class differences as son of a factory owner. It did not spoil his artistic view with social facts, but rather tried to reveal the intrinsic beauty not only of landscapes, but ordinary working people. Other impressionists painted beautiful ballerinas, Caillebotte painted workers and sometimes more challenging parts of Paris in his early years. With climate change near Caillebotte’s home in full swing, we shall “adore” the rainy days in Paris even more. And in the countryside, too. The painter’s eye reveals a visionary view of the modern and post-modern world.