Cultural appropriation: analysing the use of Hindu symbols within consumerism

The use of Hindu symbols in the media and within consumer culture has led to tensions as symbols become dislocated from their religious or socio-political meaning and are perceived to be distorted. In this context Rina Arya discusses the need for greater scholarship to explore notions of appropriation and cultural boundaries

On Diaspora:In search of the holy

This piece of creative writing tells the story of a young man{\textquoteright}s desire to express his religious devotion. As a second-generation South Asian migrant he opposes England, the country he grew up in, with India, his motherland, seeing the former as being spiritually bankrupt and the second as being holy. He longs to be reunited with the India of his memories which he recalls with nostalgic fondness. A recent joyous event impels him to return to his ancestral home to show gratitude at the favourable changes in his circumstances which will mean immersing himself in a place he finds at once magical and mystical. When the time comes for his return, however, his expectations are struck down by the stark awareness that the India he hoped and longed for had changed. This invited him to attempt to reconcile the two worlds he belonged to and to bring his spiritual needs, which he had felt unable to express in his everyday existence into the here-and-now

The Chamber of Banality: Hell on Earth

In Sartre{\textquoteright}s play Huis Clos, hell is conceptualized as a psychological state of mind and interdependence rather than a physical place and is manifested through the conversational exchanges between the three characters, who seek to evade their true selves. In spite of this, the dimension of physical space is critical in performances – especially the mystery of what lies beyond the other side of the door into the drawing room. This article focuses on a number of contemporary productions to examine how hell is staged. They share a sense of the impersonal or unhomely and a staging in the round that create greater intimacy with the audience. Kim Collier{\textquoteright}s 2008-9 production inverts the perspective of the play, transferring it to the cinematic, which adds to its psychological intensity. A parallel can be constructed between the play and the world of social media, especially the existential predicament of being with others, where hell is experienced as the gaze of the other, and which conveys the prescience of Sartre{\textquoteright}s vision

ANALISIS PERBANDINGAN KINERJA KEUANGAN SEBELUM DAN SESUDAH PENGUMUMAN KASUS PERTAMA NASIONAL COVID-19 DI INDONESIA

Kasus pertama nasional COVID-19 di Indonesia diumumkan oleh Presiden Joko Widodo pada tanggal 2 Maret 2020. Hal ini berlanjut pada penetapan status pandemi global yang ditetapkan oleh badan kesehatan dunia (World Health Organization/WHO) pada tanggal 11 Maret 2020. Pandemi COVID-19 telah berdampak pada segala aspek kehidupan, salah satu yang signifikan adalah pada sektor ekonomi. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui apakah terdapat perbedaan kinerja keuangan berdasarkan Harga Saham, Imbal Hasil Saham dan Volume Transaksi Saham pada PT. XL Axiata, Tbk sebelum dan sesudah pengumuman kasus pertama nasional COVID-19 di Indonesia. Data penelitian ini diambil sejak 50 hari sebelum dan 50 hari sesudah pengumuman kasus pertama nasional COVID-19 di Indonesia yaitu tanggal 2 Maret 2020. Data diolah dengan paired sampel T test untuk data berdistribusi normal yaitu data Harga Saham dan wilcoxon signed ranks testuntuk data tidak berdistribusi normal yaitu data Imbal Hasil Saham dan Volume Transaksi Saham, dengan menggunakan bantuan Statistical Product and Service Solution (SPSS) versi 25. Hasil penelitian membuktikan bahwa telah terjadi perbedaan pada harga saham sebelum dan sesudah tanggal 2 Maret 2020, dan perbedaan yang terjadi lebih mengarah kepada penurunan Harga Saham. Pada Imbal Hasil Saham tidak menunjukkan perbedaan, artinya tingkat imbal hasil saham masih stabil baik sebelum maupun sesudah pengumuman kasus pertama nasional COVID-19. Volume Transaksi Saham menunjukkan perbedaan, dimana perbedaan yang terjadi lebih cenderung pada peningkatan yang disebabkan karena meningkatnya aktivitas penjualan saham setelah pengumuman kasus pertama nasional COVID-19

PENDIDIKAN ORANG TUA, PENGETAHUAN GIZI IBU MENGENAI TUMBUH KEMBANG ANAK DAN STATUS GAKIN DENGAN KEJADIAN STUNTING PADA BALITA USIA 24-59 BULAN DI WILAYAH KERJA PUSKESMAS KARANGMOJO II GUNUNGKIDUL

Latar Belakang : Balita yang mengalami stunting akan memiliki tingkat kecerdasan tidak maksimal, menjadikan anak lebih rentan terhadap penyakit dan di masa depan dapat berisiko pada menurunnya tingkat produktivitas. Pada akhirnya stunting dapat menghambat pertumbuhan ekonomi, meningkatkan kemiskinan dan memperlebar ketimpangan. Prevalensi balita stunting di Puskesmas Karangmojo II Gunungkidul cukup tinggi yaitu sebesar 30,25% atau sebanyak 337 balita. Tujuan Penelitian : Mengkaji faktor risiko pendidikan orang tua, pengetahuan ibu mengenai gizi tumbuh kembang anak dan status gakin terhadap kejadian stunting pada balita usia 24-59 bulan di wilayah kerja Puskesmas Karangmojo II. Metode Penelitian : Jenis penelitian yang digunakan adalah observasional analitik dengan pendekatan case control. Penelitian dilakukan pada bulan Februari 2019 di Wilayah Kerja Puskesmas Karangmoj II. Analisis data menggunakan analisis statistik dengan uji Chi Square. Hasil Penelitian : Faktor risiko kejadian stunting pada balita di wilayah kerja Puskesmas Karangmojo II yaitu pengetahuan gizi ibu mengenai tumbuh kembang anak (p= 0,001; OR=11,769) dan status gakin (p= 0,039; OR= 2,433). Pendidikan orang tua yang terdiri dari pendidikan ayah (p=0,676; OR=1,192) dan pendidikan ibu (p=0,406; OR=0,708) bukan merupakan faktor risiko kejadian stunting. Kesimpulan : Pengetahuan gizi ibu mengenai tumbuh kembang anak dan status gakin merupakan faktor risiko kejadian stunting pada balita dan pendidikan orangtua bukan merupakan faktor risiko kejadian stunting pada balita di wilayah kerja Puskesmas Karangmojo II. Kata Kunci : Stunting, Pendidikan orang tua, pengetahuan gizi ibu mengenai tumbuh kembang anak, status gakin

Socialization of Composting Technology for Culinary Waste Management in Kampung Emas

The Kampung Emas Tourism Area, renowned for its traditional eateries offering authentic Javanese cuisine, has become a favored destination for tourists. However, the surge in tourist numbers has contributed to increased organic waste. Addressing this issue is crucial to prevent environmental problems and negative perceptions of Kampung Emas. The community service initiative aims to introduce rapid composting technology as an innovative solution to enhance understanding and effectiveness in waste management within Kampung Emas. The activity was conducted on August 12, 2023, involving 15 managers from the tourism sector. Emphasizing organic waste management, the initiative introduced the innovative solution of rapid composting technology. Evaluation was carried out through questionnaires distributed before and after the activity. Participants grasped organic waste management concepts yet demonstrated a greater understanding of composting technology. The evaluation results showed a significant improvement post-activity, with an understanding rate of 83% for waste management concepts and 60% for composting technology. In conclusion, the initiative successfully increased knowledge and understanding among Kampung Emas management regarding rapid composting technology, providing a solid foundation for implementing more effective and sustainable culinary waste management practices

Convalescent plasma in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised controlled, open-label, platform trial

SummaryBackground Azithromycin has been proposed as a treatment for COVID-19 on the basis of its immunomodulatoryactions. We aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of azithromycin in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19.Methods In this randomised, controlled, open-label, adaptive platform trial (Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19Therapy [RECOVERY]), several possible treatments were compared with usual care in patients admitted to hospitalwith COVID-19 in the UK. The trial is underway at 176 hospitals in the UK. Eligible and consenting patients wererandomly allocated to either usual standard of care alone or usual standard of care plus azithromycin 500 mg once perday by mouth or intravenously for 10 days or until discharge (or allocation to one of the other RECOVERY treatmentgroups). Patients were assigned via web-based simple (unstratified) randomisation with allocation concealment andwere twice as likely to be randomly assigned to usual care than to any of the active treatment groups. Participants andlocal study staff were not masked to the allocated treatment, but all others involved in the trial were masked to theoutcome data during the trial. The primary outcome was 28-day all-cause mortality, assessed in the intention-to-treatpopulation. The trial is registered with ISRCTN, 50189673, and ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04381936.Findings Between April 7 and Nov 27, 2020, of 16 442 patients enrolled in the RECOVERY trial, 9433 (57%) wereeligible and 7763 were included in the assessment of azithromycin. The mean age of these study participants was65·3 years (SD 15·7) and approximately a third were women (2944 [38%] of 7763). 2582 patients were randomlyallocated to receive azithromycin and 5181 patients were randomly allocated to usual care alone. Overall,561 (22%) patients allocated to azithromycin and 1162 (22%) patients allocated to usual care died within 28 days(rate ratio 0·97, 95% CI 0·87–1·07; p=0·50). No significant difference was seen in duration of hospital stay (median10 days [IQR 5 to >28] vs 11 days [5 to >28]) or the proportion of patients discharged from hospital alive within 28 days(rate ratio 1·04, 95% CI 0·98–1·10; p=0·19). Among those not on invasive mechanical ventilation at baseline, nosignificant difference was seen in the proportion meeting the composite endpoint of invasive mechanical ventilationor death (risk ratio 0·95, 95% CI 0·87–1·03; p=0·24).Interpretation In patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19, azithromycin did not improve survival or otherprespecified clinical outcomes. Azithromycin use in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 should be restrictedto patients in whom there is a clear antimicrobial indication

Georges Bataille (1897-1962)

Georges Bataille was a French cultural theorist and philosopher who wrote widely in a number of fields that included anthropology, sociology, art, economics, erotic literature and religion. Bataille{\textquoteright}s influences were many and disparate, and included the anthropological studies of Emile Durkheim and Marcel Mauss; the writings of mystics such as St. John of the Cross; the works of various philosophers including Hegel and Nietzsche; and the psychoanalytic work of Freud. This chapter analyses the main ideas in Bataille{\textquoteright}s thought by considering his influences, affiliations and theoretical formulations. One of Bataille{\textquoteright}s central contributions to a-theological thinking is the centrality of the sacred in modern life. Written in the 1940s and published posthumously, Theory of Religion provides an important account of Bataille{\textquoteright}s account of the sacred. Bataille was involved in a number of fringe left-wing political and cultural organizations. Bataille extrapolates from concepts in Alexandre Kojeve{\textquoteright}s interpretation of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, but puts those concepts to radically different ends