Architects of Buddhist Leisure: Socially Disengaged Buddhism in Asia’s Museums, Monuments, and Amusement Parks

Buddhism, often described as an austere religion that condemns desire, promotes denial, and idealizes the contemplative life, actually has a thriving leisure culture in Asia. Creative religious improvisations designed by Buddhists have been produced both within and outside of monasteries across the region—in Nepal, Japan, Korea, Macau, Hong Kong, Singapore, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam. Justin McDaniel looks at the growth of Asia’s culture of Buddhist leisure—what he calls “socially disengaged Buddhism”—through a study of architects responsible for monuments, museums, amusement parks, and other sites. In conversation with noted theorists of material and visual culture and anthropologists of art, McDaniel argues that such sites highlight the importance of public, leisure, and spectacle culture from a Buddhist perspective and illustrate how “secular” and “religious,” “public” and “private,” are in many ways false binaries. Moreover, places like Lek Wiriyaphan’s Sanctuary of Truth in Thailand, Suối Tiên Amusement Park in Saigon, and Shi Fa Zhao’s multilevel museum/ritual space/tea house in Singapore reflect a growing Buddhist ecumenism built through repetitive affective encounters instead of didactic sermons and sectarian developments. They present different Buddhist traditions, images, and aesthetic expressions as united but not uniform, collected but not concise: Together they form a gathering, not a movement. Despite the ingenuity of lay and ordained visionaries like Wiriyaphan and Zhao and their colleagues Kenzo Tange, Chan-soo Park, Tadao Ando, and others discussed in this book, creators of Buddhist leisure sites often face problems along the way. Parks and museums are complex adaptive systems that are changed and influenced by budgets, available materials, local and global economic conditions, and visitors. Architects must often compromise and settle at local optima, and no matter what they intend, their buildings will develop lives of their own. Provocative and theoretically innovative, Architects of Buddhist Leisure asks readers to question the very category of “religious” architecture. It challenges current methodological approaches in religious studies and speaks to a broad audience interested in modern art, architecture, religion, anthropology, and material culture. An electronic version of this book is freely available thanks to the support of libraries working with Knowledge Unlatched, a collaborative initiative designed to make high-quality books open access for the public good. The open-access version of this book is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which means that the work may be freely downloaded and shared for non-commercial purposes, provided credit is given to the author. Derivative works and commercial uses require permission from the publisher.Knowledge Unlatche

Stanley Jeyaraja Tambiah (1929-2014)

Une grande figure de l’anthropologie anglo-saxonne nous a quittés le 19 janvier 2014. Stanley Jeyaraja Tambiah, que ses collègues, étudiants et amis appelaient affectueusement « Tambi », a enseigné dans les départements d’anthropologie britanniques et américains les plus prestigieux. Assistant lecturer puis Fellow au King’s College de Cambridge de 1964 à 1972, il fut ensuite professeur à l’Université de Chicago de 1973 à 1976, et occupa la chaire Esther &Sidney Rabb de l’Université Harvard de..

Belonging and Support: Women Veterans' Perceptions of Veteran Service Organizations

Background and Purpose: This research sought to better understand female veterans’ underutilization of veteran and military service organizations (VSO/MSOs).  Specifically, the Service Women’s Action Network (SWAN) conducted a needs assessment examining historically low levels of social cohesion among women veterans, and then a research team analyzed data for its statistical and practical significance. The intent of this research was to provide guidance about how best to develop organizational programming around the needs of military women. Materials &amp; Methods: Secondary analysis of 2016 SWAN needs assessment survey data involved mixed-methods analysis of open- and closed-ended questions related to VSO/MSO participation and included: frequency tables, geospatial analysis, multivariate regression analysis with educational achievement, race/ethnicity, service branch, and service era predicting participation. Quantitative analyses were followed by content analysis of questions that provided additional insight into the participants’ perceptions of VSO/MSOs. Results: Of the sample (n = 829) in the present study, 31.1% of respondents were members of one or more VSO/MSOs. Current members (n = 219, response rate 84.9%) identified three primary organizations in which they participated, including: The American Legion (32%), Disabled American Veterans (28%), and the Veterans of Foreign Wars (28%). Some variation in VSO membership was evident geographically, with participation highest in Maryland and Wisconsin. Regression models indicated that participation in VSOs by female veterans is predicted by higher levels of education (OR = 1.66, 95% CI [1.04, 2.66]) and Hispanic/Latino ethnicity (OR = 2.60, 95% CI [1.07, 6.33]). Statistical significance was not found for predictor variables of service branch or service era, although greater proportions were Army (30.4%) and Post-9/11 (27.6%). Qualitative analyses indicated that respondents (n = 773) did not feel welcome in existing service member and veteran groups (25.23%) and stated that this was among the reasons they were not currently a member (29.75%).    Conclusion: Study findings offer perspective regarding women veterans’ participation in and perceptions of VSO/MSOs. The findings offer important feedback for organizations hoping to reach women veterans, the fastest growing veteran population. Targeted programming is indicated.  Recommendations also include single-sex offerings, available child care at some events, and tailored outreach with peer support efforts. </p

Social Support Mediates the Relationship Between Mental-Physical Multiple Morbidities and Engagement in Aerobic Physical Activity Among Military Service Members and Veterans

Some research shows that physical activity levels are low among veterans, but research gaps exist specifically in regards to promoting physical activity in veterans with multiple morbidities. For the present study, we retrieved data from the 2015 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. The study sample included 57,842 military service members and veterans. We carried out a mediation analysis to determine the effect of social support on the relationship between multiple morbidities and aerobic physical activity. Social support partially mediated the relationship between the presence of multiple morbidities and aerobic physical activity, a*b= -0.003, [95% CI = -0.007, -0.001]. Programs aimed at facilitating adequate social support among service members and veterans with multiple morbidities may increase their uptake of aerobic physical activity, and thus, decrease concomitant risk for health-related disorders. </p

Military veteran residential location and risk for Lyme disease

Some research has shown that Lyme disease cases among U.S. military veterans have increased since the early 2000s. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether high concentrations of military veterans live in areas where Lyme disease is hyper-endemic. Lyme disease case-report data for 2015 were retrieved at the county-level from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Veteran population density at the county level was determined using data from the U.S. Census. County control variables, such as weather patterns, forestation, and socioeconomic conditions were retrieved from various sources. Multiple linear regression was used to examine associations between variables. After controlling for county-level environmental and social conditions, results showed that military veteran population density was positively associated with Lyme disease incidence rates. Military veterans, due to their choice of geographic residence and recreation, may be a population at risk for developing Lyme disease. </p

Military Veteran Residential Location and Risk for Lyme Disease

Some research has shown that Lyme disease cases among U.S. military veterans have increased since the early 2000s. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether high concentrations of military veterans live in areas where Lyme disease is hyper-endemic. Lyme disease case-report data for 2015 were retrieved at the county-level from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Veteran population density at the county level was determined using data from the U.S. Census. County control variables, such as weather patterns, forestation, and socioeconomic conditions were retrieved from various sources. Multiple linear regression was used to examine associations between variables. After controlling for county-level environmental and social conditions, results showed that military veteran population density was positively associated with Lyme disease incidence rates. Military veterans, due to their choice of geographic residence and recreation, may be a population at risk for developing Lyme disease.Population Healt

Carbon-sensitive pedotransfer functions for plant available water

Currently accepted pedotransfer functions show negligible effect of management-induced changes to soil organic carbon (SOC) on plant available water holding capacity (θAWHC), while some studies show the ability to substantially increase θAWHC through management. The Soil Health Institute\u27s North America Project to Evaluate Soil Health Measurements measured water content at field capacity using intact soil cores across 124 long-term research sites that contained increases in SOC as a result of management treatments such as reduced tillage and cover cropping. Pedotransfer functions were created for volumetric water content at field capacity (θFC) and permanent wilting point (θPWP). New pedotransfer functions had predictions of θAWHC that were similarly accurate compared with Saxton and Rawls when tested on samples from the National Soil Characterization database. Further, the new pedotransfer functions showed substantial effects of soil calcareousness and SOC on θAWHC. For an increase in SOC of 10 g kg–1 (1%) in noncalcareous soils, an average increase in θAWHC of 3.0 mm 100 mm–1 soil (0.03 m3 m–3) on average across all soil texture classes was found. This SOC related increase in θAWHC is about double previous estimates. Calcareous soils had an increase in θAWHC of 1.2 mm 100 mm–1 soil associated with a 10 g kg–1 increase in SOC, across all soil texture classes. New equations can aid in quantifying benefits of soil management practices that increase SOC and can be used to model the effect of changes in management on drought resilience

Linking soil microbial community structure to potential carbon mineralization: A continental scale assessment of reduced tillage

Potential carbon mineralization (Cmin) is a commonly used indicator of soil health, with greater Cmin values interpreted as healthier soil. While Cmin values are typically greater in agricultural soils managed with minimal physical disturbance, the mechanisms driving the increases remain poorly understood. This study assessed bacterial and archaeal community structure and potential microbial drivers of Cmin in soils maintained under various degrees of physical disturbance. Potential carbon mineralization, 16S rRNA sequences, and soil characterization data were collected as part of the North American Project to Evaluate Soil Health Measurements (NAPESHM). Results showed that type of cropping system, intensity of physical disturbance, and soil pH influenced microbial sensitivity to physical disturbance. Furthermore, 28% of amplicon sequence variants (ASVs), which were important in modeling Cmin, were enriched under soils managed with minimal physical disturbance. Sequences identified as enriched under minimal disturbance and important for modeling Cmin, were linked to organisms which could produce extracellular polymeric substances and contained metabolic strategies suited for tolerating environmental stressors. Understanding how physical disturbance shapes microbial communities across climates and inherent soil properties and drives changes in Cmin provides the context necessary to evaluate management impacts on standardized measures of soil microbial activity

31st Annual Meeting and Associated Programs of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC 2016) : part two

Background The immunological escape of tumors represents one of the main ob- stacles to the treatment of malignancies. The blockade of PD-1 or CTLA-4 receptors represented a milestone in the history of immunotherapy. However, immune checkpoint inhibitors seem to be effective in specific cohorts of patients. It has been proposed that their efficacy relies on the presence of an immunological response. Thus, we hypothesized that disruption of the PD-L1/PD-1 axis would synergize with our oncolytic vaccine platform PeptiCRAd. Methods We used murine B16OVA in vivo tumor models and flow cytometry analysis to investigate the immunological background. Results First, we found that high-burden B16OVA tumors were refractory to combination immunotherapy. However, with a more aggressive schedule, tumors with a lower burden were more susceptible to the combination of PeptiCRAd and PD-L1 blockade. The therapy signifi- cantly increased the median survival of mice (Fig. 7). Interestingly, the reduced growth of contralaterally injected B16F10 cells sug- gested the presence of a long lasting immunological memory also against non-targeted antigens. Concerning the functional state of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), we found that all the immune therapies would enhance the percentage of activated (PD-1pos TIM- 3neg) T lymphocytes and reduce the amount of exhausted (PD-1pos TIM-3pos) cells compared to placebo. As expected, we found that PeptiCRAd monotherapy could increase the number of antigen spe- cific CD8+ T cells compared to other treatments. However, only the combination with PD-L1 blockade could significantly increase the ra- tio between activated and exhausted pentamer positive cells (p= 0.0058), suggesting that by disrupting the PD-1/PD-L1 axis we could decrease the amount of dysfunctional antigen specific T cells. We ob- served that the anatomical location deeply influenced the state of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes. In fact, TIM-3 expression was in- creased by 2 fold on TILs compared to splenic and lymphoid T cells. In the CD8+ compartment, the expression of PD-1 on the surface seemed to be restricted to the tumor micro-environment, while CD4 + T cells had a high expression of PD-1 also in lymphoid organs. Interestingly, we found that the levels of PD-1 were significantly higher on CD8+ T cells than on CD4+ T cells into the tumor micro- environment (p < 0.0001). Conclusions In conclusion, we demonstrated that the efficacy of immune check- point inhibitors might be strongly enhanced by their combination with cancer vaccines. PeptiCRAd was able to increase the number of antigen-specific T cells and PD-L1 blockade prevented their exhaus- tion, resulting in long-lasting immunological memory and increased median survival