The Role of Ideology, Religion, and Ritual in the Foundation of Social Complexity in the Belize River Valley

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Kathryn Brown ◽  
Jaime J. Awe ◽  
James F. Garber
Keyword(s):  
Religious Beliefs ◽  
Social Complexity ◽  
River Valley ◽  
Critical Component ◽  
Social Hierarchies ◽  
Belize River Valley ◽  
Public Architecture

This chapter examines the role of ritual and religion in the development of social complexity and the institutionalization of hierarchy in the Belize River valley. The authors synthesize Preclassic data from the sites of Blackman Eddy, Cahal Pech, and Xunantunich related to early religious behaviour and document how ritual activities and public architecture changed through time in order to both emphasize and reinforce inequalities within the society, and thus reflect transformations in shared religious beliefs. Evidence from the Belize River valley suggests that rituals revolving around the veneration of ancestors were a critical component in the processes of both establishing and maintaining social hierarchies.

The link between coronavirus, anxiety, and religious beliefs in the United States and United Kingdom

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Rigoli
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Religious Beliefs ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Christian Faith ◽  
Stressful Event ◽  
Cultural Implications ◽  
The Impact

Research has shown that stress impacts on people’s religious beliefs. However, several aspects of this effect remain poorly understood, for example regarding the role of prior religiosity and stress-induced anxiety. This paper explores these aspects in the context of the recent coronavirus emergency. The latter has impacted dramatically on many people’s well-being; hence it can be considered a highly stressful event. Through online questionnaires administered to UK and USA citizens professing either Christian faith or no religion, this paper examines the impact of the coronavirus crisis upon common people’s religious beliefs. We found that, following the coronavirus emergency, strong believers reported higher confidence in their religious beliefs while non-believers reported increased scepticism towards religion. Moreover, for strong believers, higher anxiety elicited by the coronavirus threat was associated with increased strengthening of religious beliefs. Conversely, for non-believers, higher anxiety elicited by the coronavirus thereat was associated with increased scepticism towards religious beliefs. These observations are consistent with the notion that stress-induced anxiety enhances support for the ideology already embraced before a stressful event occurs. This study sheds light on the psychological and cultural implications of the coronavirus crisis, which represents one of the most serious health emergencies in recent times.

scholarly journals Platelet Shape Changes during Thrombus Formation: Role of Actin-Based Protrusions

2021 ◽  
Vol 41 (01) ◽  
pp. 014-021
Author(s):  
Markus Bender ◽  
Raghavendra Palankar
Keyword(s):  
Blood Loss ◽  
Actin Filaments ◽  
Thrombus Formation ◽  
Short Review ◽  
Critical Component ◽  
Clot Retraction ◽  
Shape Changes ◽  
Platelet Shape

AbstractPlatelet activation and aggregation are essential to limit blood loss at sites of vascular injury but may also lead to occlusion of diseased vessels. The platelet cytoskeleton is a critical component for proper hemostatic function. Platelets change their shape after activation and their contractile machinery mediates thrombus stabilization and clot retraction. In vitro studies have shown that platelets, which come into contact with proteins such as fibrinogen, spread and first form filopodia and then lamellipodia, the latter being plate-like protrusions with branched actin filaments. However, the role of platelet lamellipodia in hemostasis and thrombus formation has been unclear until recently. This short review will briefly summarize the recent findings on the contribution of the actin cytoskeleton and lamellipodial structures to platelet function.

scholarly journals Reconstruction of river valley evolution before and after the emplacement of the giant Seymareh rock avalanche (Zagros Mts., Iran)

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 929-947 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michele Delchiaro ◽  
Marta Della Seta ◽  
Salvatore Martino ◽  
Maryam Dehbozorgi ◽  
Reza Nozaem
Keyword(s):  
Slope Failure ◽  
Rock Avalanche ◽  
Evolutionary Model ◽  
River Valley ◽  
Time To Failure ◽  
Stress Release ◽  
Seismic Triggering ◽  
Rock Creep ◽  
Before And After

Abstract. The Seymareh landslide, detached ∼10 ka from the northeastern flank of the Kabir-kuh fold (Zagros Mts., Iran), is recognized worldwide as the largest rock slope failure (44 Gm3) ever recorded on the exposed Earth surface. Detailed studies have been performed that have described the landslide mechanism and different scenarios have been proposed for explaining the induced landscape changes. The purpose of this study is to provide still missing time constraints on the evolution of the Seymareh River valley, before and after the emplacement of the Seymareh landslide, to highlight the role of geomorphic processes both as predisposing factors and as response to the landslide debris emplacement. We used optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) to date lacustrine and fluvial terrace sediments, whose plano-altimetric distribution has been correlated to the detectable knickpoints along the Seymareh River longitudinal profile, allowing the reconstruction of the evolutionary model of the fluvial valley. We infer that the knickpoint migration along the main river and the erosion wave propagation upstream through the whole drainage network caused the stress release and the ultimate failure of the rock mass involved in the landslide. We estimated that the stress release activated a mass rock creep (MRC) process with gravity-driven deformation processes occurring over an elapsed time-to-failure value on the order of 102 kyr. We estimated also that the Seymareh damming lake persisted for ∼3500 years before starting to empty ∼6.6 ka due to lake overflow. A sedimentation rate of 10 mm yr−1 was estimated for the lacustrine deposits, which increased up to 17 mm yr−1 during the early stage of lake emptying due to the increased sediment yield from the lake tributaries. We calculated an erosion rate of 1.8 cm yr−1 since the initiation of dam breaching by the Seymareh River, which propagated through the drainage system up to the landslide source area. The evolutionary model of the Seymareh River valley can provide the necessary constraints for future stress–strain numerical modeling of the landslide slope to reproduce the MRC and demonstrate the possible role of seismic triggering in prematurely terminating the creep-controlled time-to-failure pathway for such an extremely large case study.

The Role of Religious Force in the Wukan Incident

2013 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 155-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hou Yuxin
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Religious Beliefs ◽  
The Political ◽  
The People ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Media ◽  
Social Management ◽  
The Village

Abstract The Wukan Incident attracted extensive attention both in China and around the world, and has been interpreted from many different perspectives. In both the media and academia, the focus has very much been on the temporal level of the Incident. The political and legal dimensions, as well as the implications of the Incident in terms of human rights have all been pored over. However, what all of these discussions have overlooked is the role played by religious force during the Incident. The village of Wukan has a history of over four hundred years, and is deeply influenced by the religious beliefs of its people. Within both the system of religious beliefs and in everyday life in the village, the divine immortal Zhenxiu Xianweng and the religious rite of casting shengbei have a powerful influence. In times of peace, Xianweng and casting shengbei work to bestow good fortune, wealth and longevity on both the village itself, and the individuals who live there. During the Wukan Incident, they had a harmonizing influence, and helped to unify and protect the people. Looking at the specific roles played by religion throughout the Wukan Incident will not only enable us to develop a more meaningful understanding of the cultural nature and the complexity of the Incident itself, it will also enrich our understanding, on a divine level, of innovations in social management.

Culture and attitudes towards contraception of women in subsistence markets: the role of values and social axioms

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Divaries Cosmas Jaravaza ◽  
Fanny Saruchera
Keyword(s):  
Rural Women ◽  
Social Complexity ◽  
Developing Economy ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Social Axioms ◽  
Fate Control ◽  
Contraception Use ◽  
Social Cynicism ◽  
Subsistence Markets

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of culture on attitudes to contraception by rural-based women in a developing economy. Design/methodology/approach Based on data collected from 395 rural women in Eastern Zimbabwe, this study examines the hypothesized relationships between values (resultant conservation, resultant self-enhancement), social axioms (reward for application, social cynicism, religiosity, social complexity, fate control and Ubuntu) and contraceptive attitudes, considering the moderating effects of age and education. Findings Using covariance-based Structural Equation Modelling and Multi-Group Analysis, this study found that resultant self-enhancement, fate control, the reward for application and religiosity significantly relate to attitudes to contraception whilst resultant conservation, social complexity, Ubuntu and social cynicism, did not produce significant correlations. Age and education moderate the significant relationships. Research limitations/implications The study's findings suggest that contraception social marketers, non-governmental organizations and health practitioners should develop marketing strategies to neutralize the negative impact of these beliefs held by rural contraceptive consumers to increase contraceptive awareness and uptake in such subsistence markets. In addition, this study provides empirical evidence on the role of Ubuntu as a new culture construct in African markets. Originality/value Despite being limited to a single developing economy, this paper extends prior research on consumer culture and attitudes on contraception use by exploring the role of values and social axioms, an imperative issue for rural women health and general subsistence market well-being.

Role of Leukocytes and Endothelial Cells in the Development of Angiogenesis in Inflammation and Wound Healing

2001 ◽  
Vol 125 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark W. Lingen
Keyword(s):  
Wound Healing ◽  
Endothelial Cells ◽  
Blood Vessels ◽  
Peripheral Blood ◽  
Inflammatory Process ◽  
Signs And Symptoms ◽  
Critical Component ◽  
Complex Environment ◽  
Seminal Article

Abstract The basic signs and symptoms of inflammation and wound healing have been appreciated for thousands of years. However, the specific cells involved and their roles in this complex environment are still being elucidated today. In 1926, the origin of the phagocytic mononuclear ameboid wandering cell (macrophage) had not been determined. One popular theory was that the cells were differentiated from the endothelial cells of the nearby blood vessels, whereas others believed that the cells came from the peripheral blood or resting wandering cells. The purpose of this article is to review the seminal article published by Lang regarding this topic nearly 75 years ago. In addition, this article will review what is now known with regard to the role of the macrophage and endothelial cells in the development of angiogenesis, which is arguably the most critical component of successful inflammatory process or wound healing.

scholarly journals The Role of Superstition in Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Shakespeare’s Macbeth: A Comparative Study

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 37
Author(s):  
Jamal Subhi Ismail Nafi’
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Study ◽  
Social Factors ◽  
Religious Beliefs ◽  
Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn ◽  
The Past ◽  
The People ◽  
The Universe ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
Huckleberry Finn

<p>This article is an attempt to explore the inclusion and the use of superstitious elements in Mark Twain’s novel <em>The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn</em> (1884) and Shakespeare’s play <em>Macbeth</em> (1611). Superstition involves a deep belief in the magic and the occult, to almost to an extent of obsession, which is contrary to realism. Through the analytical and psychological approaches, this paper tries to shed light on Twain’s and Shakespeare’s use of supernaturalism in their respective stories, and the extent the main characters are influenced by it. A glance at both stories reveals that characters are highly affected by superstitions, more than they are influenced by their religious beliefs, or other social factors and values. The researcher also tries to explore the role played by superstition, represented by fate and the supernatural in determining the course of actions characters undertake in both dramas. The paper concluded that the people who lived in the past were superstitious to an extent of letting magic, omens; signs, etc. affect and determine their lives; actions and future decisions. They determine their destiny and make it very difficult for them to avoid it, alter it or think rationally and independently. And that, man’s actions are not isolated, but closely connected to the various forces operating in the universe.</p>

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