Smashing the Mirror of Yamato: Sakaguchi Ango, Decadence & a Postmetaphysical Buddhist Critique of Culture

This article focuses on several key philosophical themes in the criticism of Sakaguchi Ango (1906–1955), one of postwar Japan’s most influential and controversial writers. Associated with the underground Kasutori culture as well as the Burai-ha of Tamura Taijirō (1911–1983), Oda Sakunosuke (1913–1947) and Dazai Osamu (1909–1948), Ango gained fame for two provocative essays on the theme of daraku or “decadence”—Darakuron and Zoku darakuron—pubished in 1946, in the wake of Japan’s traumatic defeat and the beginnings of the Allied Occupation. Less well-known is the fact that Ango spent his student years studying classical Buddhist texts in Sanskrit, Pali and Tibetan, and that he at at one time aspired to the priesthood. The article analyses the concept of daraku in the two essays noted above, particularly as it relates to Ango’s vision of a refashioned morality based on an interpretation of human subjectivity vis-à-vis the themes of illusion and disillusion. It argues that, despite the radical and modernist flavor of Ango’s essays, his “decadence” is best understood in terms of Mahāyāna and Zen Buddhist concepts. Moreover, when the two essays on decadence are read in tandem with Ango’s wartime essay on Japanese culture (Nihon bunka shikan, 1942), they form the foundation for a “postmetaphysical Buddhist critique of culture,” one that is pragmatic, humanistic, and non-reductively physicalist.

Impact of culture conditions on the proliferative lifespan of human T cells in vitro

BACKGROUND: In human T cells, telomerase is transiently expressed upon activation and stimulation and, as shown previously, telomerase levels are able to control the lifespan of T cells. To improve T-cell expansion it is of critical importance to understand the effects of culture parameters on telomerase activity and lifespan. METHODS: We investigated the influence of culture condition (FCS, human AB serum and autologous serum) and stimulation (PHA/feeder cells, anti-CD3/CD28 beads) on the lifespan, clonogenicity (number of positive wells), cell cycle, telomerase activity and telomere length of T cells in vitro. RESULTS: The proliferative lifespan of T cells expanded with PHA/feeder cells and autologous serum from different donors was doubled compared with stimulation with PHA/feeder cells and AB serum. No or only a small difference was found for T cells expanded with anti-CD3/CD28 beads and autologous or AB serum. The use of autologous serum also increased the clonogenicity to about three-fold compared with the use of AB serum or FCS, without any signs of differences in the fractions of cycling cells. Interestingly, T cells cultured with autologous serum exhibited a significantly higher telomerase activity at day 6 after stimulation and a reduced decline of telomerase activity compared with cultures with AB serum. DISCUSSION: The use of autologous serum combined with PHA stimulation and feeder cells remarkably extends the proliferative lifespan and clonogenicity and increases the telomerase activity of human T cells in vitro. This might be useful for applications where large numbers of specific T cells are required.

Sample preparation of culture medium from Madin-Darby canine kidney cells

A reproducible, standardized and simple sample preparation methodology is the key to successful two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE). This chapter describes step-by-step the sample preparation of culture medium from Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells. Tips and tricks are given to circumvent possible pitfalls.

Self-disclosure and privacy calculus on social networking sites: the role of culture

Social Networking Sites (SNSs) have become extremely popular around the world. They rely on user-generated content to offer engaging experience to its members. Cultural differences may influence the motivation of users to create and share content on SNS. This study adopts the privacy calculus perspective to examine the role of culture in individual self-disclosure decisions. The authors use structural equation modeling and multi-group analysis to investigate this dynamics. The findings reveal the importance of cultural dimensions of individualism and uncertainty avoidance in the cognitive processes of SNS users.

Dimensions of culture in intra-cultural comparisons: Individualism/collectivism and family-related values in three generations

The goal of the present study is to supplement inter-cultural comparison of values as a cultural dimension by intra-cultural comparisons, and to go beyond comparisons of single values representing cultural dimensions by studying value patterns on the individual level. Therefore, relationships among general (individualism, collectivism) and domain-specific (family- and child-related) values and the transmission of values in three generations of one family were analyzed. The sample consisted of 100 complete triads of three generations (grandmothers, mothers, and adolescents). The results showed that the individual value orientations of these three generations dif- fered in the expected direction. Individualistic values were more supported by the younger and less by the older generation. While individualism did not show significant relations to other specific values, collectivism was the most powerful dimension to predict family and child-related values. Individual- ism and collectivism clearly turned out as separate dimensions with different functions for the individual value system. The value structure of grandmoth- ers as compared to the younger generations showed more internal consistency. A relative transmission of values was obvious for the adjacent generations. The results are discussed from the perspective of cultural change and stability, and the relation among cultural dimensions and individual value orientations.

At the Interface of Culture, Development, and Forests: Insights from Bolivia and Kenya

The first part summarises the origins, definitions and debates around the general notions of development, culture and associated more specific concepts such as identity, tradition, exogenous and endogenous knowledge, institutions, governance or territoriality. A second part highlights how culture and development got related to the debates around sustainable governance of natural resources and forests. The third part illustrates on the basis of a case study from Kenya and Bolivia how culture as a transversal element of forest governance is expressed in empirical terms. Moreover it is shown how the cultural dimension affects positively or negatively the outcomes of culturally shaped forest governance outcomes and the role these effects play in shaping the sustainability of the socio-ecological systems of forests in Africa and South America.

The International Law of Culture : Prospects and Challenges

This is a conference review of an event on the international law of culture, which took place in late May 2012 at the University of Göttingen, Germany. The review provides context to it considering the complex landscape of international initiatives of hard and soft law nature, which address culture and their impact on the environment, where cultural rights are to be exercised.