4210 research outputs found
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Ch 22: Beyond Houses of Worship: Understanding and Exploring Alternatively Sacred Spaces
No full textThis chapter appears in the book, Handbook of the Geographies of Religion. Edited by Lily Kong, Orlando Woods, and Justin K.H. Tse.
Chapter abstract: This chapter investigates alternatively sacred spaces. These spaces challenge the boundaries of current definitions of “sacred space,” but at the same time, they help us to better understand notions of placemaking, sacralization, and the lived religious experience. The chapter begins with a discussion of how we might conceptualize these spaces before turning to an overview of related literature. It then presents a typology that classifies different forms of sacred spaces, making the case that geographers of religion have largely overlooked nontraditional belief systems. This chapter also offers an analysis of virtual sacred spaces during the COVID-19 pandemic, during which numerous congregations shifted from traditional services to virtual services. This shift from a traditional sacred space to an alternatively sacred space—and the varying reactions from congregants—helps shed light on the ways in which space is experienced and the role of alternatively sacred spaces in the digital domain moving forward. The chapter closes with directions for future research, exploring how the rise of religious “nones,” rather than marginalizing the role of geographers of religion, may provide fertile ground for new explorations of how we experience the world as spiritual people in modern society.https://scholar.umw.edu/geography_books/1003/thumbnail.jp
Dekonstruktion der AfD: Eine Analyse der rechtspopulistischen deutschen Partei der„Alternative für Deutschland”
Full text linkDie Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) ist eine rechtsextreme populistische Partei, die innerhalb eines Jahrzehnts rasch an Macht gewonnen hat, insbesondere in den ostdeutschen Bundesländern, aufgrund ihrer Betonung der Nationalisierung, ihrer populistischen Rhetorik und ihrer Anziehungskraft auf Wähler, die Ängste vor Einwanderung und kulturellem Wandel hegen. Die AfD hat es innerhalb von fünf Jahren geschafft, eine starke Wählerschaft zu mobilisieren, 2017 Sitze im Bundestag zu erringen und gilt nun als wichtigste Oppositionspartei zu den etablierten Parteien. Die AfD ist die erste rechte Partei seit 1945, die aufgrund des Aufstiegs rechtspolitischer Ideologien bedeutende Wahlerfolge erzielen konnte. Aufgrund des reaktionären Pendelschwungs nach dem Nationalsozialismus verbietet das Strafgesetzbuch Hassreden und nationalsozialistische Ideologie ausdrücklich. Die Partei hat jedoch überlebt, indem sie einen schmalen Grat zwischen Neonazismus und ultrakonservativer Meinungsfreiheit beschreitet. Neben den hetzerischen Äußerungen von AfD-Politikern und rechten Persönlichkeiten haben die Medien ihre Aufmerksamkeit auf die politische Polarisierung gerichtet, die durch die Verbreitung explosiver Propaganda entstanden ist. Während die AfD weiter an Einfluss gewinnt und Verbindungen zu anderen polarisierten und extremistischen Gruppierungen knüpft, leidet die Koalitionsregierung unter einer zunehmenden Fragmentierung, wie sie auch in den Vereinigten Staaten und anderen europäischen Ländern zu beobachten ist
Reading the Fine Print: Poetry and Community on Campus
No full textThis capstone presentation is the culmination of a creative project that aimed to promote poetry through Fine Print, UMW’s poetry club on campus. The goal was to make poetry accessible for all on campus and build a specific community that celebrates it. Beyond spreading love of poetry, the purpose of this capstone was to leave Fine Print in a good place by building the club’s long-term engagement and participation, which grew exponentially throughout the semester. Although still a tight-knit community of poets, Fine Print encourages casual attendance to both events and meetings by anybody who finds it intriguing. Through regular bi-monthly meetings and events, other poets on campus have become engaged in Fine Print’s writing community and have found poetry in the mundane. This project explores three main takeaways: Even your worst poetry is worth writing, even your worst poetry is worth reading aloud, and any project is worth it when there is a community of people supporting you throughout
Expression, Characterization, and Comparative Analysis of Bacillus Bacteriophage Endolysins
No full textBacteriophages present a promising alternative for combating antibiotic-resistant bacteria without disrupting the normal microbiome or harming human cells. The antibacterial properties of lytic bacteriophages are largely attributed to endolysins, enzymes active in the lytic cycle. Endolysins recognize bacterial cell walls and cleave the peptidoglycan matrix, leading to cell wall disruption. Their specificity and effectiveness against bacterial hosts are determined by two functional domains, including the cell wall binding domain. Our research focuses on characterizing Bacillus phage endolysins. We analyzed the protein sequences of endolysins from six Bacillus phages isolated at the University of Mary Washington. Although these phages were isolated using non-pathogenic Bacillus thuringiensis, they have been shown to infect B. cereus and B. anthracis, both of which are significant human pathogens. We confirmed that the phages Atlee, Jabberwock, and Frank share identical endolysin proteins, while Jackrabbit, Cletus, and Hari share a distinct type. To further investigate their lytic properties, we had a private company clone three types of endolysin proteins into a protein expression vector. Preliminary expression results have shown positive expression for all three types of endolysin proteins via western blot. Furthermore, subsequent spot plating has shown effective antimicrobial activities, and we currently aim to compare the lytic activities of the two endolysin proteins to better understand their effectiveness and specificity in targeting bacterial cell walls. In the future, we plan to assess the influence of environmental factors, such as pH and temperature, on their activity and stability, providing insights into their potential applications in combating antibiotic-resistant bacteria
Playing Juror Eight in Twelve Angry Jurors
No full textThis project follows my journey of preparing and performing the role of Juror Eight in UMW Theatre’s production of Twelve Angry Jurors. This project documents my personal preparation, including research and acting methods, as well as my thoughts, feelings, and findings during the rehearsal process. By the end of this project, I made discoveries regarding my identity and its influence on this specific role and experience, as well as how my identity will continue to shape my work as an actor moving forward
Evaluating Methods for Examining the Relative Persuasiveness of Policy Arguments
No full textSurvey researchers testing the effectiveness of arguments for or against policies traditionally employ between-subjects designs. In doing so, they lose statistical power and the ability to precisely estimate public attitudes. We explore the efficacy of an approach often used to address these limitations: the repeated measures within-subjects (RMWS) design. This study tests the competing hypotheses that (1) the RMWS will yield smaller effects due to respondents\u27 desire to maintain consistency (the “opinion anchor” hypothesis), and (2) the RMWS will yield larger effects because the researcher provides respondents with the opportunity to update their attitudes (the “opportunity to revise” hypothesis). Using two survey experiments, we find evidence for the opportunity to revise hypothesis, and discuss the implications for future survey research
Diabolical Dances and Rhythmic Poetry: Interpreting and Performing Franz Liszt’s Metric Conflicts
No full textThe technical and musical difficulties of Franz Liszt’s piano music are well known, from rapid octaves and tricky leaps to complex musical structures unified by thematic transformation. Often overlooked in these discussions, however, are Liszt’s radical approaches to rhythm and meter, which provide significant interpretive and performative challenges. Particularly noteworthy are Liszt’s uses of metrical dissonance or metric conflict, in which the meter we hear contradicts the notated time signature and barring. Through close examinations of metric conflict in Liszt’s Mephisto Waltz Nos. 3–4, Pensée des morts, and Totentanz, this article seeks to investigate two primary questions: (1) What practical strategies can facilitate effective performances of metric conflict in Liszt’s piano music? (2) What musical stories does Liszt tell through rhythm and meter, and how can our performance decisions help convey and sustain these narratives? From these explorations will emerge five practical strategies for interpreting and performing metric conflict in Liszt’s piano music, which could have additional applications beyond Liszt and piano performance. This article’s investigations also seek, more broadly, to help narrow the gap between formal music-theoretic discourse on rhythm and meter and the practical needs of the performing musician
Digital Confessions: A Genealogy of Belonging, Obedience, and Platform Power
No full textThis paper critiques social media as a moral architecture that shapes how individuals understand belonging, visibility, and selfhood. Drawing primarily on Nietzsche, with support from Foucault, Dostoevsky, and Zuboff, it explores why users continue to invest digital platforms with authority despite their widely recognized harms, treating social media less as a technological tool and more as a medium of belonging and livelihood. To provide a broader context for this critique, the paper situates social media within a genealogy of moral architectures, tracing developments from the Church, through capitalism as an ideology, and ultimately to contemporary digital platforms. In doing so, it argues that the desire for connection increasingly collapses into a willingness to be governed
Degradation of Vascular Networks in a HUVEC Model of DM1
Full text linkMyotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) is a genetic disease that causes muscle wasting and affects multiple organ systems. DM1 is caused by expanded CTG repeats in the 3’ untranslated region of the dystrophia myotonica protein kinase (DMPK) gene (Harper, 2001). Skeletal muscle relies on capillaries for nutrient delivery and waste clearance (Olfert, 2016). Skeletal muscle and capillaries communicate via a variety of chemicals, including PDGF-BB which both skeletal muscle and endothelial cells secrete and have receptors for (Hamaguchi, 2023). Platelet derived growth factor receptor β (PDGFRβ), when bound to platelet derived growth factor BB (PDGF-BB), induces angiogenesis (Wang, 2012). In a mouse model of DM1, PDGFRβ signaling was found to be deregulated (Morriss, 2018). Previously unpublished data from our lab revealed human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) transfected with expanded CTG repeats displayed severe endothelial tube degradation over a 24-hour period based on length and width measurements. At hours 15, 18, 21, and 24, significant degradation of length (µm) was observed in DM1 compared to control transfection conditions and at hour 18, significant width (µm) degradation was also observed. Future work is needed to determine whether deregulated PDGFRβ signaling is a cause of endothelial tube degradation observed in DM1
Investments or Restrictions? China’s Influence on Freedom of Expression in African Countries
Full text linkBetween 2001 and 2018, China’s outward foreign direct investment increased by 66.3 times, with a particular focus on resource-rich countries in Africa. While the economic impact of these investments has been widely studied, their potential impacts on democratic freedoms have been neglected. This thesis investigates how Chinese foreign direct investment affects African countries’ free speech, free press, and internet freedom. Based on case studies of Zambia, Kenya, and Ghana, this thesis finds a causal relationship between increased foreign direct investment from China and decreased freedom of expression and internet freedom in host countries. This relationship is moderated by the proportion of the host country’s total foreign direct investment from China and the initial strength of the host country’s democratic system. These findings offer new insight into the political impacts of Chinese foreign direct investment and reveal compelling avenues for further research