Books on the topic 'Scandinavian Realism'

This chapter outlines some of the linkages between a genuinely legal realist approach to (international) law and jurisprudence, and the claims of political realists about the role and status of law in the international sphere. It explores realism as an argumentative strategy, in considering what an argumentative structure would look like in international legal thought. The second part of the chapter then examines the intellectual heritage of what has explicitly been labelled ‘legal realism’, in both its American and Scandinavian versions, in order to find a place for a legal realist position within the canon of legal theory. Finally, the chapter seeks to relate the views of political realism about international law to the ways in which international lawyers themselves have sought to include an external position about the reality of international law into their own theories and doctrines.

This book is a classic work of twentieth-century legal philosophy. The first translation into English was notably poor and misrepresented the views expressed in the text. Translated from scratch from the original Danish, this new critical edition casts light on the work and resituates it firmly in the context of current debates in the field. In recent years, Alf Ross (1899–1979) has attracted increasing attention. In H. L. A. Hart’s words, he was ‘the most acute and best-equipped philosopher’ of Scandinavian legal realism. This book provides a comprehensive outline of Ross’s legal realist position, outlining a consistently empirical research programme that simultaneously recognizes the distinctly normative character of law. On the basis of a sophisticated analysis of the concept ‘scientifically valid law’, Ross’s legal realism avoids the standard critiques against behaviourist reductionism while still remaining categorically distinct from legal positivism and natural law.

Building on the picture of post-war Anglo-Danish documentary collaboration established in the previous chapter, this chapter examines three cases of international collaboration in which Dansk Kulturfilm and Ministeriernes Filmudvalg were involved in the late 1940s and 1950s. They Guide You Across (Ingolf Boisen, 1949) was commissioned to showcase Scandinavian cooperation in the realm of aviation (SAS) and was adopted by the newly-established United Nations Film Board. The complexities of this film’s production, funding and distribution are illustrative of the activities of the UN Film Board in its first years of operation. The second case study considers Alle mine Skibe (All My Ships, Theodor Christensen, 1951) as an example of a film commissioned and funded under the auspices of the Marshall Plan. This US initiative sponsored informational films across Europe, emphasising national solutions to post-war reconstruction. The third case study, Bent Barfod’s animated film Noget om Norden (Somethin’ about Scandinavia, 1956) explains Nordic cooperation for an international audience, but ironically exposed some gaps in inter-Nordic collaboration in the realm of film.

The region that later comprised the kingdoms of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden was Christianized between 900 and 1200. A change from oral to written laws apparently took place first in twelfth-century Norway and Iceland, although the surviving legal manuscripts are some centuries later. Danish provincial laws were compiled c.1200–50 and the Swedish provincial laws only later. In all three Scandinavian kingdoms, royal and ecclesiastical statutes preceded the compilation of provincial laws. Precocious legal unification of the realms of Norway and Sweden was reached by nationwide law in 1274 (Norway) and Sweden (c.1350), supplemented in both kingdoms by town laws. In Denmark, the provincial laws remained in force until the 1680s. Roman law influences came mostly through canon law. Continental legal influences were also transmitted from Germany (feudal and town law). The universities of Uppsala and Copenhagen (1470s) had relatively little impact, clerics mostly studying law at Continental universities.

Abbé Vogler reveals a complex and adventurous personality in these two sets of keyboard music. While Pièces de clavecin features textural novelty in variations on melodies purportedly of Scandinavian, Russian, African, and Chinese origin, Zwei und dreisig Präludien (designed for either organ or piano and supplied with optional pedal parts) blends echoes of current chamber and theater styles with far-reaching excursions into realms of chromatic harmony and motivic elaboration.

As more and more equipment incorporates advanced technologies, usability -- the ability of equipment to take advantage of users' skills and thereby to function effectively in the broad range of real work situations -- is becoming an essential component of equipment design. Usability: Turning Technologies into Tools collects six essays that herald a fundamental shift in the way industry and researchers think about usability. In this new, broader definition, usability no longer means safeguarding against human error, but rather enabling human beings to learn, to use, and to adapt the equipment to satisfy better the demands and contingencies of their work. Following an introduction that develops some core concepts of usability, the subsequent chapters: -- describe the role of usability in guiding one of Xerox's largest strategic initiatives -- analyze a Monsanto chemical plant where a study of worker's conversational patterns contributed to the design of a more effective system of controls -- present an empirical study of equipment design practices in U.S. industry which contrasts technology-centered and skill-based design approaches -- summarize recent Scandinavian experiences with user participation in design, with specific reference to the DEMOS and UTOPIA projects -- analyze European experiences that suggest five key criteria for effective human-centered design of advanced manufacturing technology --offer an insightful discussion of the powerful, often hidden human and organizational resources that conventional design processes overlook. Today, three quarters of all advanced technology implementations in manufacturing fail to achieve their performance goals because of inadequate usability. By viewing the human being as a mechanistic system component, and not a particularly reliable one, the traditional "human factors" model of usability virtually ensures that the uniquely human qualities -- experience, adaptation, innovation -- will be neglected, and therefore that new technologies will realize little of their true potential. Usability: Turning Technologies into Tools answers the need for better usability criteria and more effective design and usability assurance processes. In so doing, it leads the way to making a new, broader concept of usability central to design. Its chapters will be of interest to managers and professionals in computer systems, manufacturing engineering, industrial design, and human factors, as well as researchers in disciplines such as computer science, engineering, design studies, sociology, organizational behavior and human resource management, industrial relations, education, and business strategy.