To this point, I have focused on the verbalization of traumatic memories and spoken or written influences on group narratives and event narratives for disasters. However, not all contributions to the collective narrative exist in the realm of words. Humans express their emotion and memories in many ways, including art, body modification, and transformation of the landscape around them. Disasters, and the hazards that cause them, also leave physical reminders of their presence on the landscape and, too often, on the bodies of survivors. Narrative Objects: Mementos, Photos, Scars, & Tattoos The material aspect of a disaster involves more than lost houses and property; homes, physical locations imbued with memory and meaning, heirlooms, irreplaceable …show more content…
Positioning these items, deemed “biographical objects” (Hoskins 1998:7) between gifts and commodities, Hoskins notes that such objects are endowed with the personal characteristics of their owners,” (Hoskins 1998:7). So connected are these objects and their owners that Hoskins’ research discovered the impossibility of recording the history of an object separate from the life history of its owner. This approach builds on the work of Arjun Appadurai, particularly his introduction to The Social Life of Things: Commodities in Cultural Perspective, in which he asserts that the value of a commodity is not the product of raw materials, labor, and the economic law of supply and demand. Instead, Appadurai introduces the symbolic value of an object, cultural meaning and worth attributed to an object, into the other economic contributions to help explain the total value of a commodity with the politics of exchange and desirability of goods (Appadurai …show more content…
Morin differentiates between consumer objects which only serve the role of a tool or possession and biographical objects whose users create a relationship, through meaning and memory, to imbue the object with localized, particular, and individual identity (Morin 1969). The distinguishing characteristics of these objects, according to both Morin and Hoskins, are their relationships with “time, space, and the owner or consumer,” (Hoskins
For her first point of the “still-life on the counter” she argues that the objects on the counter are for “public consumption” and that the labels on the bottles
Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) account to a third (30.5%) of all injury-related deaths in the U.S. with an estimated 1.7 million individuals sustaining TBI each year (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2010). Classifications of brain injury (e.g., mild, moderate and severe) is mostly done using the Glasgow coma scale (GCS) which has gained broad acceptance for the assessment of the severity of brain damage (Bauer & Fritz, 2004). Recent studies suggest that almost all patients with moderate or severe TBI have a period of recovery during which they are responsive but confused. This state is commonly referred to as the post-traumatic amnesia. Post-traumatic amnesia (PTA) is defined as “a failure of continuous memory” (Artiola et al., 1980; p.377). PTA is often cited as the best method for codifying the degree, level of recovery and outcome after a closed head injury (e.g., Artieola et al., 1980; Tate, Pfaff, & Jurjevic, 2000). PTA duration is a better indicator of outcome than early injury scales such as the GCS score (Richardson et al., 2009).This analysis will examine the limitations of the general PTA assessment scale, and investigate the benefits and limitations of both retrospective and prospective methods used to measure the duration of PTA.
...aphy of Catastrophe: Family Bonds, Community Ties, and Disaster Relief After the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire." University of Southern California. 88.1 (2006): 37-70. Web. 5 Mar. 2014. .
middle of paper ... ... The. “Hurricane Andrew: The Human Side of Recovery.” Disaster Recovery Journal, System Support Inc. 1 Sept. 2001. Web.
In Alice Walker’s Short story “Everyday Use” a mother is conflicted between her two daughters and the families quilt. Maggie is uneducated and financial unstable, and Dee is a well-educated woman that’s embarrassed of her family. Each believing they are entitled to family inheritance. The story characterize heritage and how heritage is portaged differently between the two sister. The main characters in this story, "Mama" and Maggie are on one side, and Dee on the other, each have opposing views on the value and worth of the various items in their lives, this conflict makes the point that the substance of an object is more important than style.
Involuntary memories come into consciousness without any attempt, and they happen all day long. Before taking the effort to record my own involuntary memories, I was unaware that there was a concept for them and that they happened as frequently as they do. Both internal and external aspects can cue an involuntary memory, and involuntary memories can range from extremely negative to extremely positive. My personal experience with recording involuntary memories showed a pattern between my emotional state at the time of the memory and the emotional state of the memory itself.
The lifestyle of citizens previous to hurricane Katrina was simple and family oriented. To many of those whom lived in New Orleans, New Orleans was there home, is there only home; and ev...
Although the story many vary in its intended audience. In Weil’s essay, the story is intended toward for a public audience, whereas in Benjamin’s essay and the Mardi Gras documentary, the story behind the collection is one that is personal. Additionally, there are significances to the object itself within each collection. In Weil’s essay, the objects within a museum collection are used as a foundation for people to further build their knowledge upon. In Benjamin’s essay, each itself has a background story and the collector is able to complete the book’s journey by making it a part of their collection. In the Mardi Gras documentary, the significance of a specific bead necklace represents extra money for the workers and it makes the difference as to whether or not they fulfill their quota. Additionally, each bead is a symbol of how their work will pay off; whether they will use their wages to support their family or to pursue dreams of their
Repression of memories is a controversial topic that has been argued for many years. Some support the myth and it has been imposed in cases to obtain legal convictions. Although researchers have found methods to refute the myth, individuals still believe they have repressed a memory of a traumatic event. This has recently taken place in 2007 in the Colorado vs. Marshall case. Marshall Adam Walker was accused of sexually assaulting a seventeen year-old who claimed that he made three boys pose nude for videos. He was sentenced to 24 years to life in prison. One of the boys claimed to recover a repressed memory of the event while watching a movie (“Legal cases (53), 2010”). This student’s claim made an influential impact on the perpetrator’s sentence. This reflects the power these accusations have had recently in the media and in criminal cases that involve a traumatic event such as sexual assault.
Kowalski, M.(1998, December). Applying the "two schools of thought" doctrine to the repressed memory controversy. The Journal of Legal Medicine. Retrieved September 14, 2000 from Lexis-Nexis database (Academic Universe) on the World Wide Web: http://www.lexis-nexis.com/universe
In the past there was a vast gray area between the time and the substance of an alleged childhood sexual abuse and the subsequent recollection of that abuse. With the intense focus by psychiatric community and the criminal justice system to ascertain the truth, the grey lines are becoming more black and white. With the reliance more on scientific methodology and better methods of achieving memory recall there is less reason for jurors to question whether abuse occurred or not.
Approximately 39 million survivors of childhood sexual abuse exist in America today (Bull,2001). This figure continues to grow daily as perpetrators of this crime continue in this destructive path. To get a better understanding of what sexual trauma can do to a child the website all about counseling asked us to imagine “ a 6 year old being abused by a family member, say Uncle Joe. Uncle Joe has been very nice to the child up until the other day. He then steps across sexual boundaries, or even becomes physically hurtful to the child. The child may have a hard time holding onto that experience and still function as a young child, playing and enjoying life (www.allaboutcounseling.com).
After the terrorist attacks on September 11th, horrific images of the towers collapsing, survivors fleeing, and the rescue and recovery efforts inundated television viewers. In the weeks following the attacks, numerous news accounts reported increasing general anxiety among Americans, with many individuals reporting sleep difficulties and trouble concentrating. Additionally, much attention focused on the effects on those who directly witnessed and/or were injured the attacks, and whether they would suffer from post traumatic stress disorder, also known as PTSD (4). I will give a brief overview of the definition of PTSD, the neurobiology behind it, and what environmental factors may put certain people at heightened risk for developing the disorder.
Although all therapists are aware of the childhood emotional abuse issue, it is possible that only few therapists understand the scope of the issue. Emotional maltreatment is harder to detect than other forms of abuse because it is more subtle. When Child Protective Services (CPS) conduct family assessments, it is the hardest form of abuse to prove because parents are very open about the topic and emotional abuse does not leave any physical evidence behind. However, it certainly influences a child's self-esteem, promotes the feeling of guilt, insecurity, and creates the inability to form stable relationships during adulthood. Although some behavioral disorders are related to emotional abuse, it is not possible to predict it correctly because the patterns can deviate significantly as each child displays different outcomes. Emotional abuse is often considered a suitable form of disciplinary measures, but even excessive practice of verbal abuse can create negative outcomes, so the parents apparently take most of the responsibility because of their inability to raise their child without resorting to violence. Besides parental education, other courses of action will be required because the abuse rates for emotional abuse and other types of child abuse are extremely high, so the issue demands urgent action to prevent further impairment on healthy psychological development in children. However, the entire responsibility should not be on mental health care professionals, but it should be distributed equally through society and all social agents that determine public opinions and acceptable forms of behavior. The best approach to preventing childhood emotional abuse is through influencing several social factors for prevention and increasin...
For millions of children in the U.S., poverty, neglect or abuse is a reality of everyday life, though these struggles are often hidden from view. Adult survivors often feel ashamed about and stigmatized for their childhood adversity. This makes it difficult to recognize that these events occur. While it’s easier to turn away than to face these issues, we can no longer afford to do so. Stress, mental illness and substance abuse – all health outcomes linked to childhood trauma – occur in the U.S. today at very high rates. Most would agree that the effects of childhood trauma can impact a child’s life more negatively than positively. While some may argue that the trauma endured has no effect on their future and that most will “just grow out of