What Is This Thing Called Love? Emotional Scenarios in Historical Perspective

1995 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 221-237 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary M. Gergen ◽  
Kenneth J. Gergen

Abstract From a social-constructionist standpoint, emotional expressions are constitu-ents of lived narratives, and gain their meaning from their position within these narratives. These special forms of narrative, termed emotional scenarios, are themselves lodged within a broader cultural and historical landscape. This article compares major features of romantic love scenarios as they have changed from 19th century romanticist culture, through 20th century modern-ism, and into the contemporary postmodern context. We identify major ways in which the individual participant in romantic scenarios may identify the self, gender variations in performance, the character of sequencing in the scenario, and the vocabulary of emotional expression as these have evolved over the past century. Such transformations allow enormous freedom of expression to the contemporary "romantic," but also result in simultaneous loss in both the sense of authenticity and security. (Social Psychology)

2021 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerhard Johan Klopper ◽  
Oladele Vincent Adeniyi ◽  
Kate Stephenson

Abstract Background The larynx has multiple composite functions which include phonation, airway protection, and sensory control of respiration. Stenosis of the larynx and trachea were first recorded by O’Dwyer in 1885 and by Colles in 1886, respectively. Initially, the aetiology of laryngotracheal stenosis was predominantly infective. Currently, the leading cause is iatrogenic injury to the laryngotracheal complex secondary to prolonged ventilation in an intensive care unit. Main body Laryngotracheal stenosis is a complex and diverse disease. It poses a major challenge to the surgeon and can present as an airway emergency. Management typically demands the combined involvement of various disciplines including otorhinolaryngology, cardiothoracic surgery, anaesthesiology, interventional pulmonology, and radiology. Both the disease and its management can impact upon respiration, voice, and swallowing. The incidence of iatrogenic laryngotracheal stenosis has reflected the evolution of airway and intensive care whilst airway surgery has advanced concurrently over the past century. Correction of laryngotracheal stenosis requires expansion of the airway lumen; this is achieved by either endoscopic or open surgery. We review the relevant basic science, aetiopathogenesis, diagnosis, management, and treatment outcomes of LTS. Conclusion The choice of surgical procedure in the management of laryngotracheal stenosis is often dictated by the individual anatomy and function of the larynx and trachea, together with patient factors and available facilities. Regardless of how the surgeon chooses to approach these lesions, prevention of iatrogenic laryngotracheal damage remains of primary importance.


2007 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 99-108
Author(s):  
Deborah V. Dolan

Practitioners of psychiatry and psychology have played an important role in the sterilization of tens of thousands of Americans throughout the past century. This article examines a number of questions relating to the origin and continuation of sterilization as a treatment and preventive. What social and medical beliefs lead to the use of sterilization as a treatment and preventive for both the individual and society? What ills are being treated and prevented? Who becomes a candidate for sterilization? To what degree are ethical concerns raised, and what is the response to these concerns? And finally, Who is the client—the individual, potential children, or society?—and how do practitioners distinguish the interest of the individuals from that of their potential children and society?


Author(s):  
Dennis C. Grube

Australia’s system of government has inherited traditions from both sides of the Atlantic. The institutions of a representative parliamentary democracy of the British type sit side by side with an American-style senate and a federal structure that shares power between the states and the Commonwealth. How to accurately describe and categorize these arrangements has vexed scholars for much of the past century. Is it a Westminster system, a Washminster system, or something else entirely? This chapter suggests that these arguments over categorization flounder because the Australian model is in fact unique—a bespoke creation that reflects all the individual aspects of Australia’s history and approach to democracy.


Symmetry ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 2091
Author(s):  
Martina Riberto ◽  
Deborah Talmi ◽  
Gorana Pobric

Is Mr. Hyde more similar to his alter ego Dr. Jekyll, because of their physical identity, or to Jack the Ripper, because both evoke fear and loathing? The relative weight of emotional and visual dimensions in similarity judgements is still unclear. We expected an asymmetric effect of these dimensions on similarity perception, such that faces that express the same or similar feeling are judged as more similar than different emotional expressions of same person. We selected 10 male faces with different expressions. Each face posed one neutral expression and one emotional expression (five disgust, five fear). We paired these expressions, resulting in 190 pairs, varying either in emotional expressions, physical identity, or both. Twenty healthy participants rated the similarity of paired faces on a 7-point scale. We report a symmetric effect of emotional expression and identity on similarity judgements, suggesting that people may perceive Mr. Hyde to be just as similar to Dr. Jekyll (identity) as to Jack the Ripper (emotion). We also observed that emotional mismatch decreased perceived similarity, suggesting that emotions play a prominent role in similarity judgements. From an evolutionary perspective, poor discrimination between emotional stimuli might endanger the individual.


Author(s):  
Zuza Kurzawa

Skeletal figures of Holocaust victims, wounds and scars of the enslaved, blackened lungs of the smoker; powerful images convey powerful narratives. Over the past century, media has become increasingly pervasive. For social movements, this tool played a key role in achieving mass societal change. Looking to mimic a lasting paradigm shift, pro-life groups have realized that images are the catalyst for change. Ignoring the normative element of abortion, it is important to acknowledge two common goals shared by the pro-life and pro-choice communities. First, both desire to help women. Second, both want to reduce the number of abortions. The obvious disconnect, is the means under which both goals are met. However, over the past decade, the efforts of various ‘Centres for Bio-Ethical Reform’ have shown that one of the most effective methods in achieving both goals has been through graphic image campaigns. It will be argued that in order to help couples make informed decisions, and reduce the number of abortions, images of human development and abortion must be readily available to couples in crisis pregnancy. Using the findings and testimonies from the Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform Florida 2011 mission, it can be demonstrated that convictions about abortion change in face of graphic imagery. Because it does not overtly challenge current legislation, but instead decreases the number of abortions, it ought to be honoured by both parties. Under the protection of the first amendment, pro-life groups in America can freely share these images to encourage discussion. In Canada, ‘freedom of speech’ and ‘freedom of expression’ are often compromised in the face of adversity; conclusively the pro-life message is often silenced. Thus, by virtue of being able to share the reality of the procedure, Americans are leading in the race to eventually eradicate the perceived necessity of abortion.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martina Riberto ◽  
Deborah Talmi ◽  
Gorana Pobric

Is Mr Hyde more similar to his alter ego Dr Jekyll, because of their physical identity, or to Jack the Ripper, because both evoke fear and loathing? The relative weight of emotional and visual dimensions in similarity judgements is still unclear. We expected an asymmetric effect of these dimensions on similarity perception, such that faces that express the same or similar feeling are judged as more similar than different emotional expressions of same person. We selected 10 male faces posing different expressions. Each male posed one neutral expression and one emotional expression (5 disgust, 5 fear). We paired these expressions, resulting in 190 pairs, which differed either in emotional expressions, physical identity, or both. Twenty healthy participants rated the similarity of paired faces on a 7-points scale. We report a symmetric effect of emotional expression and identity on similarity judgements, suggesting that people may perceive Mr Hyde to be just as similar to Dr Jekyll (identity) as to Jack the Ripper (emotion). We also observed that emotional mismatch decreased perceived similarity, suggesting that emotions play a prominent role in similarity judgements. From an evolutionary perspective, poor discrimination between emotional stimuli may not be advantageous to the individual.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eilat Elbaum ◽  
Chaim Garfinkel ◽  
Ori Adam ◽  
Efrat Morin

<p>Observations from the past century and projections for the end of this century exhibit a decrease in precipitation over the Eastern Mediterranean Sea and surrounding land areas, but the magnitude of the expected drying is unknown. Changes in precipitation are controlled by both thermodynamic (moist) and dynamic (dry) processes, but the relative contributions of these processes, in particular on regional scales, is not well understood. Previous studies have analyzed the ability of the fifth phase of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) multi-model mean to represent the spatial and seasonal patterns of the Mediterranean hydroclimate. A wide spread exists among the individual models, which can be exploited to better understand the factors controlling future climate. Garfinkel et al. (2020)<sup>[i]</sup> found that large-scale mechanisms contribute about 50% of the model spread in Eastern Mediterranean drying. This study further explores the variance across models in projected changes of the moisture budget by decomposing them into mean dynamic, mean thermodynamic and transient components. These components are then related to the variance across models in projected large-scale processes. Through these analyses, uncertainties regarding future changes in precipitation can be reduced.</p><p><sup>[i]</sup> Garfinkel, C. I. et al. (2020) ‘The role of zonally averaged climate change in contributing to inter-model spread in CMIP5 predicted local precipitation changes’, Journal of Climate, 33, pp. 1141–1154. doi: 10.1175/JCLI-D-19-0232.1.</p>


Author(s):  
Claudia Nelson ◽  
Anne Morey

As we conclude this examination of texts that use particular topologies of the past in their redeployment of the classical world, one of the more pressing questions might be why the combination of the classical world and this short list of spatial metaphors constitutes such an attractive matrix for the working out of concerns about citizenship, agency, suffering, and the place of the individual within the family. While the power and perdurability of classical mythology is clearly part of the allure of neoclassical settings and characters, it does not by itself completely explain the utility of these frameworks to our various authors’ projects. After all, a number of the authors with whom our work has engaged—including Rick Riordan, Tony Abbott, Alan Garner, Caroline Dale Snedeker, and N. M. Browne, among others—have shown similar interest in other kinds of mythological or historical settings, in some cases emphasizing the position of the classical as merely one segment of a vast interconnected web of myth/history. Nor is it possible to say that that the privileged place of the remnants of the classical world within the canon of the West by itself explains the reliance of authors over the past century upon its familiarity or prestige....


2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shellie Smith

Over the past century and a half, about 40 Orphic gold lamellae have been discovered throughout the Mediterranean. These tablets were buried with initiates of the Orphic Mysteries, and served as indicators of the deceased’s elevated status in both this life and the afterlife. Many of the lamellae contained instructions for the deceased, guiding them to the blessed area of the Underworld that was promised to them by becoming initiates of the Orphic tradition. Orphism as a cult had no set structure; rather, the practices seemed to have varied from region to region. The cult did not worship in a temple, but via itinerant priests, who traversed his respective area with holy book in hand, preaching to those who wished to achieve a more blessed state. This marginalized sect was not officially recognized by the state, yet in some regions, it gained some level of respect. By analyzing the individual variances in these itinerant priests’ practices, it is possible to identify individual strands of Orphic worship. One of these strands is the Hipponion tablet, which is the oldest extant example for many of the other lamellae throughout the Mediterranean. Dating to about 400 BCE, it is among the earliest of the gold lamellae in existence. The Hipponion tablet was found at Hipponion, in the region of Magna Graecia in Italy, in an inhumation burial of a female. There are some errors in the text, which indicate that the scribe was working with a damaged or inaccurate model; however, without any earlier texts, we are only able to rely on conjecture at this point in time. What is clear is that this text served as a model for the other extant lamellae, which were found throughout Italy, mainland Greece, and the Greek islands, particularly Crete. This study focuses on the influence of the Hipponion tablet, tracing its trajectory throughout the Mediterranean. It also analyzes other examples found in the lamellae, tracking their respective influences.


Author(s):  
Jessica Baldanza

This article considers the implications of Western health and wellness culture’s strategic co-option by industry, embodied by the rise of wearable tech, the commodification of the self-help movement, and the datafication of the human body. Said culture has come to bear the paranoia observable in the West’s approach to national security, which is widely dubbed as “security theatre”. “Health theatre” is put forth here as an analogous phenomenon to security theatre, wherein the populous is subject to invasive scrutiny by governing structures, enacted in the name of their own wellbeing. Both phenomena are characterized by their sensationalist rhetoric and effective impotence in producing results consistent with their alleged purpose. Health theatre can best be understood as an organic symptom of the broad medicalization that has permeated Western culture over the past century. Medicalization pathologizes the scope of human experiences, while situating the problem at the level of the individual where solutions are then couched. Further, by positing health as an elusive state to be perennially pursued, the individual is left in a perpetual state of dependency. Should health theatre proliferate, the West will continue to suffer a fear-based, atomizing system of health promotion. Means of resistance to health theatre are proposed here as a return to engagement with communal forms of reproductive care that reject pathologizing diversity in psychological and somatic states. 


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