‘Feel the Knife Pierce You Intensely’: Slayer’s ‘Angel of Death’—Holocaust Representation or Metal Affects?

This article tackles a well-known but little-studied phenomenon: the importance of Holocaust themes to heavy metal. The fascination of metal bands with evil and death has until recently been met outside the scene with such reactions as moral panic, disgust or indifference. In the last ten years, however, scholars in an emerging discourse of Metal Studies have attempted to engage more critically with the social and musical dimensions of metal, in order to contextualise and understand its lyrics and imagery. Although a number of writers have touched upon the recurrence of Holocaust imagery, no one has dealt at any length with extreme metal as a form of Holocaust memory. My article focuses on what might be called the founding text of extreme metal, Slayer’s ‘Angel of Death’, which lived up to the sub-genre’s name by pushing both its musical form and its lyrical content beyond previously maintained limits and taboos. It considers the song's mobilisation of affective intensities as involving problematic politics, but also a challenge to conceptions of Holocaust representation. I consider how affects are evoked by ‘Angel of Death’ through offering readings of the song itself as well as of ways that its reception have been recorded on social media, in concert videos, and reaction videos uploaded to YouTube

Embodying the Auschwitz Sonderkommando in Extreme Metal

Prompted by the Meads of Asphodel album Sonderkommando (2013), this article considers ways in which the Auschwitz Sonderkommando (SK) figure in extreme metal. While there are not many metal songs about the SK, they feature far more in metal lyrics than in almost all other music genres. Attracted by obscure and difficult parts of history, metal bands draw on their practices to ‘embody’ the SK: not simply representing them, but feeling and acting out their plight to excess. The article examines a number of these practices: difficult to decipher vocals, the use of global Englishes and a bookish attraction to the arcane and the bizarre. It argues that metal’s embrace of intense feeling in the lyrics and vocal and musical styles can be interpreted as an exploration of embodiment and materiality, allowing a consideration of mediation, the matter through which the SK might be felt and understood. Embodying the SK in metal, then, does not merely comprise an eccentric example of Holocaust memory at work, but takes on central issues of Holocaust representation

BELIEFS ABOUT RELIGION AND SPIRITUALITY AMONG HELPING PROFESSIONALS IN A GROUP HOME

This study will examine how religion impacts adolescents in a group home setting, and how they perceive its importance in their lives. The data was gathered using a qualitative method, and included interviews with a sample of staff members (all adults) who work with adolescents in a group home setting.The helping professionals were interviewed and asked 15 questions pertaining to their knowledge regarding the ways in which their subject residents embraced religion and spirituality. This included their observations as to frequency of prayer or meditation, reading or studying of sacred texts, meetings such as prayer meetings or other ritual activities, and a number of other questions regarding the ways in which religion and spirituality are manifested among residents in a group home setting. The study also inquired of the helping professionals whether adolescent residents had ever expressed to them a belief in God or a higher power, and if they had, their reflections and feelings verbally expressed. This research focuses on the impact of religion on the outlook of adolescent group home residents, including what it means to them and whether or not it is important, and if so to what degree. Helping professionals were interviewed rather than the residents themselves to avoid any possible conflicts or legalities in questioning subjects under the age of 18 years old. The responses to the questions by the staff members will help to provide answers as to how adolescents in a group of setting feel about religion and spirituality. This research also explores whether adolescents who embrace religion or spirituality display positive or negative behaviors or whether there is any change at all in their perceptions and reactions to external circumstances surrounding them. Further research needs to be conducted in other group homes with either higher or lower functioning surroundings to see if religion is important to other adolescents, or have no effect in the way they live or think

‘[Now] that I look back, I’m like oh my goodness why did I think like that?’ : using critical reflection in training pharmacy assistants and pharmacy dispensary technicians working with medication assisted treatment of opioid dependence : a case study from Australia

Despite recognition of the importance of critical reflection for professional development in social and health care–particularly regarding professional competency and self-awareness–the use of reflective practice in professional training has received less examination. This paper evaluates the use of critical reflection as a pedagogical approach in training allied health professionals–in this instance, training Pharmacy Assistants (PAs) and Pharmacy Dispensary Technicians (PDTs) towards increasing critical reflection of their service delivery to Medication Assisted Treatment of Opioid Dependence (MATOD) consumers. Specifically, this paper examines a) the embedding of a critical reflection model within training materials; and b) the experiences of participants who undertook this training, including their experiences of applying their learnings to professional practice. Findings present a mixed picture. Despite the training facilitating the unearthing and deconstructing of problematic values and assumptions in the service delivery of MATOD treatments in pharmacy settings, some participants found the recognition of their own biases and prejudices overwhelming. Hence, although Fook and Gardner’s (2007) critical reflection model has enormous potential to tackle stigma and discriminatory attitudes towards opioid dependence and MATOD and improve professional practice, greater attention to scaffolding, designing and implementing the process of critical reflection is needed. © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group

Comparison of virtual and physical dimensions in AM resin dental devices and fit of devices with conventionally produced base plates

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to develop and apply clinically relevant methods of analysing the accuracy of dental appliances fabricated using additive manufacture (AM) compared to the computer-aided design (CAD) geometry. The study also comparedfit between conventionallylaboratory-fabricated and AM-produced base plates. Design/methodology/approach – The techniques were applied to two types of dental devices where AM fabrication methods could foreseeably be used as an alternative to laboratory production. “L” and cubic shapes of defined dimensions and spatial locations were positioned on the devices which were fabricated using AM. For assessing the dimensions, the“L”and cubic shapes were then measured on the physical builds ten times andcompared to the CAD model. To assess thefit of AM and lab-produced devices, three upper and three lower conventionally fabricated acrylic baseplates were compared to three upper and three lower plates. Silicone impression material was allowed to set between the casts and the base plateswhichfilled any discrepancy between the two surfaces. The thickness of this silicone media was measured ten times atfive different points on eachbase plate type and the results compared. Findings –The results indicated that the evaluated CAD/AM technique is able to produce dental appliance components that are consistent with tolerance levels that would be expected with conventional methods of base plate design. This research demonstrated that a fully CAD/AM methodology represents a potentially viable alternative to conventional lab-based methods for two types of dental appliances

Assessing Feminist Community Psychology Pedagogy

Feminist pedagogy and community psychology share many ideological similarities, including an action-oriented approach to social problems, a focus on the voices of marginalized communities, and an emphasis on empowerment. There is a dearth of research on Feminist Community Psychology Pedagogy (FCPP), yet there is a compelling case for implementation of this approach in the undergraduate psychology curriculum. This article presents focus group findings from seven students who took an undergraduate community psychology course taught with FCPP, to better understand the impact of this teaching approach on their educational experiences. Thematic analysis identified 10 themes, including those regarding student professional growth, the empowering process of collaborative power-sharing, and a deeper understanding of social problems within a broader ecological context. The findings suggest FCPP enhances students’ educational and career development, providing tools otherwise underdeveloped by other pedagogies. These findings have implications for further research and instruction regarding FCPP, as well as broader implications for community psychology as a discipline

Automatic segmentation of anterior segment optical coherence tomography images

Automatic segmentation of anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS OCT) images provides an important tool to aid management of ocular diseases. Having precise details about the topography and thickness of an individual eye enables treatments to be tailored to a specific problem. OCT is an imaging technique that can be used to acquire volumetric data of the anterior segment of the human eye. Fast automatic segmentation of this data, which is not available, means clinically useful information can be obtained without the need for time consuming error-prone manual analysis of the images. This thesis presents newly developed automatic segmentation techniques of OCT images. Segmentation of 2D OCT images is first performed. One of the main challenges segmenting 2D OCT images is the presence of regions of the image that generally have a low signal to noise ratio. This is overcome by the use of shape based terms. A number of different methods, such as level set, graph cut, and graph theory, are developed to do this. The segmentation techniques are validated by comparison to expert manual segmentation and previously published segmentation techniques. The best method, graph theory with shape, was able to achieve segmentation comparable to manual segmentation. Good agreement is found with manual segmentation for the best 2D segmentation method, graph theory with shape, achieving a Dice similarity coefficient of 0.96, which is comparable to inter-observer agreement. It performed significantly better than previously published techniques. The 2D segmentation techniques are then extended to 3D segmentation of OCT images. The challenge here is motion artefact or poor alignment between each 2D images comprising the 3D images. Different segmentation strategies are investigated including direct segmentation by level set or graph cut approaches, and segmentation with registration. In particular the latter requires the introduction of a registration step to align multiple 2D images to produce a 3D representation to overcome the presence of involuntary motion artefacts. This method produces the best performance. In particular, it uses graph theory and dynamic programming to segment the anterior and posterior surfaces in individual 2D images with shape constraint. Genetic algorithms are then used to align 2D images to produce a full 3D representation of the anterior segment based on landmarks or geometric constraints. For the 3D segmentation, a data set of 17 eyes is used for validation. These have each been imaged twice so a repeatability measurement can be made. Good repeatability of results is demonstrated with the 3D alignment method. A mean difference of 1.77 pixels is found between the same surfaces of the repeated scans of the same eye. Overall, a new automation method is developed that can produce maps of the anterior and posterior surfaces of the cornea from a 3D images of the anterior segment of a human eye. This will be a valuable tool that can be used for patient specific biomechanical modelling of the human eye

Unnatural alliances : Immanent reading and the speculative sensations of life

It is my claim that Gilles Deleuze’s expressionism allows for a new theory and praxis of reading called Immanent Reading, different from both his own Schizoanalytic praxis and the referential and ontological theories informing Literary Theory. Immanent reading, I propose, following Colebrook’s readings of Deleuze, offers an ethics of reading emphasising the pure immediacy of relations, including those expressed by life. It is upon this primary vector that this thesis progresses: the broad articulation and creation of a theory of Immanent Reading. To achieve this, I claim that the expressionist metaphysics exposed by Deleuze in Spinoza and Leibniz is altered by Deleuze in his own conceptual creations (as with becoming and immanence) and persists as a properly Deleuzian expressionism. The degrees of expression I propose belong to immanent reading are, without necessary order, the written-body, the reader-body, and a milieu of becoming that composes them together and transforms their affective and perceptive compositions. The written-body distinguishes itself as a creation of percepts and affects in writing, the reader-body through its involvement of pliable perceptions and affections, and becoming through its transformative capacity on these affective and perceptive complexes. The concept of immanence subtends this expressive composition, drawing reading into pure immediacy while articulating it as a process of unnatural encounters for “a Life”. To avoid representations of life in demonstrating the praxis, this thesis engages with speculative literature. Deleuze has made use of speculative writers, such as Lovecraft and Asimov, to create his (with and without Guattari and Parnet) concept of becoming. Here I engage with Le Guin, McCarthy, and Stanley Robinson amongst others. The consequence of composing an encounter with speculative literature for immanent reading is multi-fold, with this thesis theorising an expressionist logic in the creation of speculative sensations and the becomings they herald.Doctor of Philosoph