Politics of Religion in Popular Culture: Religious Rhetoric and Ironic In(ter)ventions

In lieu of an abstract, below is the essay\u27s first paragraph. As Mark Taylor suggests in the epigram grafted above, the impossibility of grasping what religion is about may be the condition of religion’s im/possibility, which thereby engenders a contested site for those attempting to define and classify religion. When this contested site is also the site of a strategic deployment of a rhetorical discourse with axiological pretentions, then, with Barbara Herrnstein Smith, one might suspect an event of self-privileging at the expense of some devalued other (including mass media and popular culture). When such a deployment is conducted by means of a religious rhetoric (or rhetoric about religion) with the purpose of intervening in the context of a mass-mediated presidential campaign, one’s suspicions may be further extended to encompass questions of political strategy toward some desired end. If one were to juxtapose these ostensibly disparate areas, a narrative begins to unfold in which religion, politics, and popular culture come together in a taxonomic and axiological relationship that is anything but neutral. What may be at stake in this event is the possibility and potentiality of a pathologization by means of classification and, concomitantly, the utilization of a rhetoric of othering of individuals and by implication and extension the various religious, ethnic, gender, racial, sexual, in sum, cultural identities with which the individual is associated and through which the individual is subjected and classified,7 regardless of the primary target of pathologization (i.e., the individual or the group). While alterity has long been a matter of interest in critical theory, post structuralism, postcolonial and subaltern studies, lately the notion of the other has been made explicit in popular culture via the opinion news industry and online social media. Indeed, the disparaging tonality and classificatory force of rhetoric of “othering” has been recognized as a strategic attempt to devalue and exclude some undesirable or devalued other. For instance, the protests instigated in a number of Middle Eastern countries surrounding the release of an anti-Islamic film posted on YouTube coupled with this strategy of othering have raised questions related to religion and free speech with geo-political implications and consequences. At the heart of these complex issues are questions related to First Amendment rights in the United States and their “proper” place in contemporary American culture

A Religion Problem: Classification and the Pathologizing of the Religio-Political Other

In the current political climate, a glance at the nightly news shows from across the political spectrum will confront the viewer with various cultural conflicts—“wars”—being waged against, for example, women, the poor, the wealthy, the middle and working class(es), unions, marriage, drugs, and religion, among others. This paper will focus on one of these cultural conflicts: the “problem of (and war on) religion” and the appropriation of religious rhetoric as a political weapon of classification and pathologization of the religio-political other. The (video) text under analysis comes from The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell in a segment called The Rewrite on MSNBC in which the host addresses, among other things, Mitt Romney’s “religion problem” and the invention of secular humanism as a religion in an attempt to proffer a critique of the strategic rhetoric of religion in American cultural politics. A close reading of this text will highlight the self-referential tensions within and between two oppositional political persuasions that effect an interesting reversal in the process of wielding the weapon of religion against its political other. This approach will allow us to synthesize and contextualize the current religio-political rhetoric while concomitantly problematizing the entanglements of religion and politics in terms of the construction, classification, and dissemination of “religion” in popular culture. This study will address the following: (1) the strategic use of religious rhetoric as a means of pathologizing the religio-political other, especially in the context of the exclusion of a “religious Test” for public office (Article VI, Clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution); (2) the question and critique of the cultural construction (i.e., “invention”) of a “new religion” as it relates to Mormonism and Secular Humanism; (3) the implications of the former as an entrance into matters of classificatory and definitional propriety as they relate to popular cultural productions with respect to the slippery term “religion.

Implementation and impact of the Mindfulness Meditation Training for Sport (MMTS) 2.0 protocol with a division III women's college basketball team and coaching staff

This study examined the Mindfulness Meditation for Sport 2.0 protocol (MMTS 2.0) (Baltzell & Summers, 2018), a six-week integrated mindfulness and self-compassion training, with a Division III women’s basketball team and coaching staff. The study design replicated a mixed method approach used in previous MMTS 2.0 studies, using an identical battery of eight validated quantitative instruments (with the student athletes only), as well as a qualitative interview guide (slightly modified for this study for sport-specificity). Both student athletes and coaches were interviewed post-training in order to explore their self-reported perceptions of the impact and the benefits and challenges of the MMTS 2.0 training. The MMTS 2.0 protocol was delivered by the researcher to fifteen total participants (n=15), ten student athletes and five coaches, over six weekly one-hour sessions. In addition to the weekly group sessions, as part of the MMTS 2.0 training, home practice was encouraged using audio-recorded meditations. The primary objective of the MMTS 2.0 training was to increase the student athletes’ and coaches’ poise as defined by ability to cope with the experience of negative thoughts and emotions that may be present due to the pressures of competition and training. In addition, the objectives of increased focus and psychological flexibility were investigated. The researcher hypothesized that the MMTS 2.0 intervention would show increases in measures of mindfulness and self-compassion, and other indices of sport-related performance variables (e.g., flow, grit, psychological inflexibility, etc.), as well as participant well-being. Reductions in sport-related anxiety and psychological inflexibility were hypothesized. The quantitative findings revealed no statistically significant results regarding the eight quantitative measures as well as no demonstrated moderate effect sizes. The qualitative results indicated strong support for the training. Both groups, student athletes and coaches, described a range of perceived impacts, aligning with the training’s core objectives of increased poise, focus and psychological flexibility. The emerging themes in the interview data revealed evidence for overall enhancements in awareness, focus, stress management, and strong support for enhanced team climate. The discussion synthesizes the findings and offers suggestions for future implementation and coach involvement

Propagation model for the Land Mobile Satellite channel in urban environments

This paper presents the major characteristics of a simulation package capable of performing a complete narrow and wideband analysis of the mobile satellite communication channel in urban environments for any given orbital configuration. The wavelength-to-average urban geometrical dimension ratio has required the use of the Geometrical Theory of Diffraction (GTD). For the RF frequency range, the model has been designed to be (1 up to 60 GHz) extended to include effects of non-perfect conductivity and surface roughness. Taking advantage of the inherent capabilities of such a high frequency method, we are able to provide a complete description of the electromagnetic field at the mobile terminal. Using the information made available at the ray-tracer and GTD solver outputs, the Land Mobile Satellite (LMS) urban model can also give a detailed description of the communication channel in terms of power delay profiles, Doppler spectra, channel scattering functions, and so forth. Statistical data, e.g. cumulative distribution functions, level crossing rates or distributions of fades are also provided. The user can access the simulation tool through a Design-CAD user-friendly interface by means of which she can effectively design her own urban layout and run consequently all the envisaged routines. The software is optimized in its execution time so that numerous runs can be achieved in a considerably short time

Contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance angiography of the great arteries in patients with congenital heart disease: an accurate tool for planning catheter-guided interventions

Background: Catheter-guided interventions are increasingly used for relief of lesions in patients with congenital heart disease. Exact anatomical imaging with measurement of the vascular structures is crucial in the planning of such interventions. This can be provided non-invasively and without radiation by contrast-enhanced MR angiography (CE-MRA). Aim: To evaluate the accuracy of the measurements of the vessels obtained by CE-MRA in comparison to those obtained by conventional X-ray angiography (XRA). Methods: Measurements of the diameters of aorta and pulmonary arteries were performed retrospectively and blinded on the CE-MRA and XRA images, in comparable locations. The limits of agreement between the two methods were calculated. Results: Twenty-one CE-MRA and XRA were performed in 20 children with congenital heart disease, median age 4years (1day-13years), weight 18kg (3.2-74kg). The time interval between CE-MRA and XRA was 2.6 ± 2.3months. A total of 98 measurements, 38 of the aorta and 60 of the pulmonary arteries were performed on the images obtained by each technique. The correlation between CE-MRA and XRA measurements was excellent, r=0.97, p < 0.0001. The mean difference between the two techniques was 0.018 ± 1.1mm; the limits of agreement −2.14 and + 2.18mm. Similar agreement was found for measures of the aorta (r=0.97, mean difference 0.20 ± 1.08mm) and of the pulmonary arteries (r=0.97, mean difference 0.048 ± 0.89mm). Conclusions: CE-MRA provides accurate quantitative anatomical information, which highly agrees with XRA data, and can therefore be used for planning catheter-guided procedure

Application of LANDSAT and Skylab data for land use mapping in Italy

Utilizing LANDSAT and Skylab multispectral imagery of 1972 and 1973, a land use map of the mountainous regions of Italy was evaluated at a scale of 1:250,000. Seven level I categories were identified by conventional methods of photointerpretation. Images of multispectral scanner (MSS) bands 5 and 7, or equivalents were mainly used. Areas of less than 200 by 200 m were classified and standard procedures were established for interpretation of multispectral satellite imagery. Land use maps were produced for central and southern Europe indicating that the existing land use maps could be updated and optimized. The complexity of European land use patterns, the intensive morphology of young mountain ranges, and time-cost calculations are the reasons that the applied conventional techniques are superior to automatic evaluation

Application of LANDSAT data and digital image processing

There are no author-identified significant results in this report

Reproducibility of left atrial ablation with high-intensity focused ultrasound energy in a calf model

ObjectiveAchieving transmural tissue ablation might be necessary for successful treatment of atrial fibrillation. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the reproducibility of transmural left atrial ablation using a high-intensity focused ultrasound energy system in a calf model.MethodsNine heparinized bovines underwent a beating-heart left atrial ablation with a single application of the high-intensity focused ultrasound device. All animals were acutely killed, and the left atrium was fixed in formalin. Protocolized histological sections (5 μm) were obtained throughout each lesion and prepared with Masson trichrome and hematoxylin and eosin staining. Measurements were performed on a total of 359 slides from the 9 lesions. In addition, fresh left atrial tissues from 18 unused human donor hearts that did not meet the criteria for cardiac transplantation were measured at the site where the high-intensity focused ultrasound device is normally applied.ResultsCalf left atrial thickness ranged between 2.5 and 20.1 mm, with a mean of 9.10 mm. High-intensity focused ultrasound ablation consistently produced a 100% transmural lesion in left atrial thickness up to 6 mm. In addition, a transmural lesion was observed in 91% of tissues that were up to 10 mm thick and in 85% that were up to 15 mm thick. Human left atrial thickness ranged between 1.2 to 6 mm, with a mean of 3.7 mm.ConclusionsCalf left atrial thickness in this study was greater than human left atrial thickness. Human left atrial thickness is generally less than 6 mm, and in this range high-intensity focused ultrasound ablation achieved 100% transmurality. These histological results might correlate with a high success rate of atrial fibrillation ablation by using the high-intensity focused ultrasound system

Rapid Antigen-Capture Assay To Detect West Nile Virus in Dead Corvids

The utility of the VecTest antigen-capture assay to detect West Nile virus (WNV) in field-collected dead corvids was evaluated in Manitoba and Ontario, Canada, in 2001 and 2002. Swabs were taken from the oropharynx, cloaca, or both of 109 American Crows, 31 Blue Jays, 6 Common Ravens, and 4 Black-billed Magpies from Manitoba, and 255 American Crows and 28 Blue Jays from Ontario. The sensitivity and specificity of the antigen-capture assay were greatest for samples from American Crows; oropharyngeal swabs were more sensitive than cloacal swabs, and interlaboratory variation in the results was minimal. The sensitivity and specificity of the VecTest using oropharyngeal swabs from crows were 83.9% and 93.6%, respectively, for Manitoba samples and 83.3% and 95.8%, respectively, for Ontario birds. The VecTest antigen-capture assay on oropharyngeal secretions from crows is a reliable and rapid diagnostic test that appears suitable for incorporation into a WNV surveillance program