scholarly journals A Study of Baumeister’s Self Defining Process in The Blind Assassin

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-29
Author(s):  
Fatima Batool ◽  
Meher - ul - Nissa ◽  
Asia Khan
Keyword(s):  

This paper explores the novel The Blind Assassin through the lens of Baumeister’s self-defining process. Identity, being an interpretation of self, lies in persistence and consistence over time. Identity crisis is the inability to define basic values, long-term goals and major affiliations, all of which help a person in the process of self-defining. The Blind Assassin being the story of two sisters, Iris Griffen and Laura Griffen, is helpful in developing a comparison of the two characters who are subjected to same upbringing and same social surroundings. The elder sister manages to assert her will in a competitive society while the younger one suffers from identity crisis and finds solace in suicide. Baumeister’s model of identity provides basis to interpret the inability of Laura in defining herself. The more a person is socially compatible the more she is at ease with herself. Her biological, social and sexual needs never addressed, however, she keeps trying to make choices and struggles to realize her potential. She ends up discontented as she is taken as an eccentric and dissatisfied as her own sister gives her the greatest shock of her life. The more a person is allowed to make choices the more successful she is in defining herself. Laura completes her self-defining process by driving off the bridge which Freud interprets as a way of giving birth. This paper helps understanding the ways in which society particularly family affect an individual’s decisions and the ways in which an individual tries to assert her/his will.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anvita Gopal ◽  
Anupam Joya Sharma ◽  
Malavika Ambale Subramanyam

AbstractTo curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, India announced a nationwide lockdown on 24th March 2020 for 21 days, later extended for a longer time. This long period of lockdown greatly disrupted routine life and likely affecting citizens’ psychological well-being. The psychological toll of the pandemic on Indians is documented. However, no study has assessed whether the psychological toll changed over time due to repeated extensions of the lockdown. We followed up 159 Indian adults during the first two months of the lockdown to assess any change in their anxiety, stress, and depressive symptoms. Multilevel linear regression models of repeated observations nested within individuals, adjusted for socio-demographic covariates, showed that anxiety (β=0.81, CI: 0.03, 1.60), stress (β=0.51, CI: 0.32, 0.70), and depressive symptoms (β=0.37, CI: 0.13, 0.60) increased over time during the lockdown. This increase was higher among women than men independent of covariates. Individual resilience was negatively associated with the psychological outcomes. This suggests that the state needs to address the current mental health impacts of a long-drawn out lockdown and its long-term sequelae. Disproportionate burden on women needs immediate attention. Sustainable change requires addressing the root causes driving the gender inequalities in psychological distress during such crises.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xianglei Li ◽  
Kathleen A. Wendt ◽  
Yuri Dublyansky ◽  
Gina E. Moseley ◽  
Christoph Spötl ◽  
...  

<p>Uranium-uranium (<sup>234</sup>U-<sup>238</sup>U) disequilibrium dating can determine the age of secondary carbonates over greater time intervals than the well-established <sup>230</sup>Th-<sup>234</sup>U dating method. Yet it is rarely applied due to unknowns in the initial d<sup>234</sup>U (d<sup>234</sup>U<sub>i</sub>) value, which result in significant age uncertainties. In order to understand the d<sup>234</sup>U<sub>i</sub> in Devils Hole 2 cave, Nevada, we have determined 110 d<sup>234</sup>U<sub>i</sub> values from phreatic calcite using <sup>230</sup>Th-<sup>234</sup>U disequilibrium dating. The sampled calcite was deposited in Devils Hole 2 between 4 and 590 ka, providing a long-term look at d<sup>234</sup>U<sub>i</sub> variability over time. We then performed multi-linear regression among the d<sup>234</sup>U<sub>i</sub> values and correlative d<sup>18</sup>O and d<sup>13</sup>C values. The regression can be used to estimate the d<sup>234</sup>U<sub>i</sub> value of Devils Hole calcite based upon its measured d<sup>18</sup>O and d<sup>13</sup>C values. Using this approach and the measured present-day d<sup>234</sup>U values of Devils Hole 2 calcite, we calculated 110 independent <sup>234</sup>U-<sup>238</sup>U ages. In addition, we used newly measured d<sup>18</sup>O, d<sup>13</sup>C, and present-day d<sup>234</sup>U values to calculate 10 <sup>234</sup>U-<sup>238</sup>U ages that range between 676 and 731 ka, thus allowing us to extend the Devils Hole chronology beyond the <sup>230</sup>Th-<sup>234</sup>U-dated chronology while maintaining an age precision of ~2 %. Our results indicate that calcite deposition at Devils Hole 2 cave began no later than 736 ± 11 kyr ago. The novel method presented here may be applied to future speleothem studies in similar hydrogeological settings, given appropriate calibration studies.</p>


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xianglei Li ◽  
Kathleen A. Wendt ◽  
Yuri Dublyansky ◽  
Gina E. Moseley ◽  
Christoph Spötl ◽  
...  

Abstract. Uranium-uranium (234U-238U) dating can determine the age of secondary carbonates over greater time intervals than the well-established 230Th-234U dating method. Yet it is rarely applied due to unknowns surrounding the initial δ234U (δ234Ui) value, which result in significant age uncertainties. In order to understand the δ234Ui in Devils Hole 2 cave, we have precisely determined 110 δ234Ui values from phreatic calcite crusts using a 230Th-234U chronology. The sampled calcite crusts were deposited in Devils Hole 2 between 4 and 590 thousand years, providing a long-term look at δ234Ui variability over time. We then performed multi-linear regressions among the δ234Ui values and correlative δ18O and δ13C values. These regressions allow us to predict the δ234Ui value of Devils Hole calcite based upon its δ18O and δ13C. Using this approach and measured present-day &felta;234U values, we calculate 110 independent 234U-238U ages of Devils Hole 2 cave deposits. In addition, we used newly measured δ18O, δ13C, and present-day δ234U values to calculate 10 234U-238U ages that range between 676 and 731 thousand years, thus allowing us to extend the Devils Hole chronology beyond the 230Th-234U-dated chronology while maintaining an age precision of ~2 %. Our results indicate that calcite deposition at Devils Hole 2 cave began no later than 736 ± 11 thousand years ago. The novel method presented here may be used in future speleothem studies in similar hydrogeological settings, given appropriate calibration studies.


2017 ◽  
Vol 65 (3) ◽  

A lot has been published on the topic concussion in sports during the last years, conscience was sharpened, much was structured and defined more precisely, help tools were developed and rules changed. This article summarizes the fifth edition of the recently published guidelines of the “International Consensus Conference on Concussion in Sport”. In addition, new findings regarding gender differences and recovery will be presented, as well as the modified “return-to-sport” and the novel “return-to-school” protocols. Despite increased knowledge many questions remain such as the therapy of persistent symptoms or long-term sequelae of recurrent concussions.


Water Policy ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 469-483
Author(s):  
Tishya Chatterjee

In conditions of severe water-pollution and dormant community acceptance of accumulating environmental damage, the regulator's role goes beyond pollution prevention and more towards remediation and solutions based on the community's long-term expectations of economic benefits from clean water. This paper suggests a method to enable these benefits to become perceptible progressively, through participatory clean-up operations, supported by staggered pollution charges. It analyses the relevant literature on pollution prevention and applies a cost-based “willingness to pay” model, using primary basin-level data of total marginal costs. It develops a replicable demand-side approach imposing charge-standard targets over time in urban-industrial basins of developing countries.


Author(s):  
Halil Kaya ◽  
Gaurango Banerjee

The paper examines the Sarbanes-Oxley (2002) Acts immediate impact on board composition and characteristics as well as possible reversals in its impact over time. Effects on directors age and tenure are analyzed over the 2001-06 sample period. Female participation in corporate boards is also studied in the pre-SOX and post-SOX periods. The dual roles of directors in being a member of the board as well as serving as either CEO, CFO, Chairman, Co-Chair, Founder, or Lead Director of their respective companies is also examined. We observe a short-term impact of SOX on board compositions due to changes seen in board characteristics between 2001 (pre-SOX), and 2003-05 short-term period (post-SOX). Also, we observe a reversal of board characteristics in 2006 to pre-SOX levels implying that the effects of SOX on board composition were short-lived, and needs to be monitored over time to ensure adherence to corporate accountability guidelines over the long-term.


2021 ◽  
pp. 194016122110252
Author(s):  
Sebastián Valenzuela ◽  
Daniel Halpern ◽  
Felipe Araneda

Despite widespread concern, research on the consequences of misinformation on people's attitudes is surprisingly scant. To fill in this gap, the current study examines the long-term relationship between misinformation and trust in the news media. Based on the reinforcing spirals model, we analyzed data from a three-wave panel survey collected in Chile between 2017 and 2019. We found a weak, over-time relationship between misinformation and media skepticism. Specifically, initial beliefs on factually dubious information were negatively correlated with subsequent levels of trust in the news media. Lower trust in the media, in turn, was related over time to higher levels of misinformation. However, we found no evidence of a reverse, parallel process where media trust shielded users against misinformation, further reinforcing trust in the news media. The lack of evidence of a downward spiral suggests that the corrosive effects of misinformation on attitudes toward the news media are less serious than originally suggested. We close with a discussion of directions for future research.


2021 ◽  
pp. 089020702110173
Author(s):  
Nadin Beckmann ◽  
Damian P Birney ◽  
Amirali Minbashian ◽  
Jens F Beckmann

The study aimed to investigate the status of within-person state variability in neuroticism and conscientiousness as individual differences constructs by exploring their (a) temporal stability, (b) cross-context consistency, (c) empirical links to selected antecedents, and (d) empirical links to longer term trait variability. Employing a sample of professionals ( N = 346) from Australian organisations, personality state data together with situation appraisals were collected using experience sampling methodology in field and repeatedly in lab-like settings. Data on personality traits, cognitive ability, and motivational mindsets were collected at baseline and after two years. Contingent (situation contingencies) and non-contingent (relative SD) state variability indices were relatively stable over time and across contexts. Only a small number of predictive effects of state variability were observed, and these differed across contexts. Cognitive ability appeared to be associated with state variability under lab-like conditions. There was limited evidence of links between short-term state and long-term trait variability, except for a small effect for neuroticism. Some evidence of positive manifold was found for non-contingent variability. Systematic efforts are required to further elucidate the complex pattern of results regarding the antecedents, correlates and outcomes of individual differences in state variability.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 6313
Author(s):  
Ramona Ciolac ◽  
Tiberiu Iancu ◽  
Ioan Brad ◽  
Tabita Adamov ◽  
Nicoleta Mateoc-Sîrb

The agritourism activity can be a characteristic reality of the present, considering rural area’s sustainability, being at the same time a business reality for rural entrepreneurs and a “must have” for rural communities that have tourism potential. It is a form of tourism, through which the tourist can receive a qualitative product at a reasonable price, but also a field that can ensure sustainable development over time, being at the same time environmentally friendly. The purpose of this scientific paper is to identify the aspects that make agritourism “a possible business reality of the moment”, for Romanian rural area’s sustainability. We take into account the following areas: Bran-Moieciu area—considered “the oldest” in terms of agritourism experience, and Apuseni Mountains area, with a great inclination and potential for this activity. The study conducted for these two areas is focused on several aspects: the degree of involvement in agritourism activities, considering the number of years and managerial experience, the analysis of the types of activities/experiences offered by agritourism structures, the identification of the main reasons/motivations for the orientation towards agritourism and the manner in which this field is perceived. Aspects related to the marketing-finance part of the agritourism business are also taken into account: customers, distribution channels, financial sources, shortcomings observed by agritourism business owners and possible action directions so as to improve the activity/agritourism product. Agritourism may be “a possible business reality of the moment” for the studied areas and not only, but in the future, the entrepreneur/farmer must be constantly updated because of the changing situations that appear on the market, be able to make sustainable decisions for his/her own business, which in the future will ensure its viability and obviously its long-term profitability and development, and in the same time rural area’s sustainability.


Infection ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Hamady ◽  
JinJu Lee ◽  
Zuzanna A. Loboda

Abstract Objectives The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the novel betacoronavirus severe acute respiratory syndrome 2 (SARS-CoV-2), was declared a pandemic in March 2020. Due to the continuing surge in incidence and mortality globally, determining whether protective, long-term immunity develops after initial infection or vaccination has become critical. Methods/Results In this narrative review, we evaluate the latest understanding of antibody-mediated immunity to SARS-CoV-2 and to other coronaviruses (SARS-CoV, Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus and the four endemic human coronaviruses) in order to predict the consequences of antibody waning on long-term immunity against SARS-CoV-2. We summarise their antibody dynamics, including the potential effects of cross-reactivity and antibody waning on vaccination and other public health strategies. At present, based on our comparison with other coronaviruses we estimate that natural antibody-mediated protection for SARS-CoV-2 is likely to last for 1–2 years and therefore, if vaccine-induced antibodies follow a similar course, booster doses may be required. However, other factors such as memory B- and T-cells and new viral strains will also affect the duration of both natural and vaccine-mediated immunity. Conclusion Overall, antibody titres required for protection are yet to be established and inaccuracies of serological methods may be affecting this. We expect that with standardisation of serological testing and studies with longer follow-up, the implications of antibody waning will become clearer.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document