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Human Connection (human + connection)

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Medical Sciences	50%

Selected Abstracts

Tender Affective States as Predictors of Entertainment Preference

JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION, Issue 1 2008
Mary Beth Oliver
Four studies were conducted to explore how tender affective states (e.g., warmth, sympathy, understanding) predict attraction to entertainment that features poignant, dramatic, or tragic portrayals. Studies 1 and 2 found that tenderness was associated with greater interest in viewing sad films. Studies 3 and 4 found that tender affective states were associated with preferences for entertainment featuring not only sad portrayals but also entertainment featuring drama and human connection. Results are discussed in terms of how these forms of entertainment may provide viewers the opportunity to contemplate the poignancies of human life,an activity that may reflect motivations of media use related to meaningfulness or insight rather than only the experience of pleasure. Résumé Les états affectifs tendres comme variables explicatives des préférences de divertissement Quatre études furent menées afin d,explorer la manière dont les états affectifs tendres (par exemple la chaleur, la sympathie et la compréhension) prédisent une attirance envers un divertissement qui présente des mises en scènes poignantes, dramatiques ou tragiques. Les études 1 et 2 ont révélé que la tendresse était associée à un plus grand intérêt pour le visionnement de films tristes. Les études 3 et 4 ont révélé que les états affectifs tendres étaient associés à des préférences envers un divertissement qui non seulement présente des mises en scène tristes, mais qui présente du drame et des relations humaines. Les résultats sont commentés en lien avec la manière dont ces formes de divertissement peuvent procurer aux spectateurs l'occasion de contempler le caractère poignant de la vie humaine : une activité qui peut refléter des motivations de l'usage des médias liées à la quête de sens et la lucidité plutôt qu'à la seule expérience de plaisir. Abstract Der Zustand des Mitgefühls als Prädiktor für Unterhaltungsvorlieben In vier Studien wurde untersucht, wie mitfühlende affektive Zustände (z.B. Wärme, Sympathie, Verständnis) die Zuwendung zu Unterhaltungsinhalten mit melancholischen, dramatischen oder tragischen Darstellungen voraussagen können. Studien 1 und 2 zeigten einen Zusammenhang zwischen Mitgefühl und einem größerem Interesse, sich traurige Filme anzusehen. Studien 3 und 4 zeigten einen Zusammenhang zwischen mitfühlenden Gefühlszustände und Vorlieben für Unterhaltung, die sich durch Drama und menschliche Beziehungen auszeichnet, aber nicht durch traurige Darstellungen. Die Ergebnisse werden mit Blick darauf diskutiert, wie diese Formen der Unterhaltung den Zuschauer die Möglichkeit bieten, über die Melancholien des Lebens nachzudenken , eine Aktivität, die auf eine Mediennutzungsmotivation hindeutet, die mit Bedeutungszuweisung und Reflexion zusammenhängt und nicht ausschließlich mit dem Erleben von Freude. Resumen Los Estados Afectivos Tiernos Que Predicen la Preferencia hacia el Entretenimiento Cuatro estudios fueron conducidos para explorar cómo los estados afectivos tiernos (a saber, cordialidad, compasión, entendimiento) predicen la atracción hacia el entretenimiento que pone de relieve representaciones conmovedoras, dramáticas, o trágicas. Los estudios 1 y 2 encontraron que la ternura estaba asociada con un gran interés por ver películas tristes. Los estudios 3 y 4 encontraron que los estados afectivos tiernos fueron asociados con las preferencias por el entretenimiento que pone de relieve no sólo representaciones tristes, sino también entretenimiento representando drama y conexiones humanas. Los resultados fueron discutidos en términos de cómo estas formas de entretenimiento pueden proveer a los espectadores de una oportunidad para contemplar las condiciones humanas con profundidad,una actividad que puede reflejar las motivaciones del uso de los medios relacionadas con el significado ó el entendimiento más que sólo la experiencia del placer. ZhaiYao Yo yak [source]

Considering the care of the suicidal client and the case for ,engagement and inspiring hope' or ,observations'

JOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRIC & MENTAL HEALTH NURSING, Issue 5 2002
J. R. Cutcliffe rmn rgn bsc (hons) phd
Psychiatric/mental health (P/MH) nursing has rightly been described as a ,broad church', and one that contains many contested matters and areas of differing opinion. One such contested matter is that of the appropriate care for the person who is at risk of suicide. Recent, albeit limited, debate of this issue has taken place, and the literature, such as it is, indicates two principal (though linked) positions. These can be summarized as the ,engagement and hope inspiration' position and the ,observations' position. Given the P/MH nurse's unique position in providing 24-hour, day-to-day care to suicidal clients and the growing problem of suicide within people who suffer from mental health problems, it is both necessary and perhaps timely to consider this debate in more detail. Accordingly, this paper considers the debate regarding care for suicidal mental health care clients. First, the paper briefly describes the historical policy context of care for the suicidal client. Next, it focuses on ,observations' and concludes that there is a range of well-established, empirically based problems or drawbacks to this approach. Following this, it focuses on ,engagement, inspiring hope' and points out the key processes of engagement: forming a relationship, a human,human connection, conveying acceptance and tolerance, and hearing and understanding. The value and importance of these most fundamental of interpersonal processes is described and alluded to throughout the limited research into care of the suicidal client. The paper then describes the range of criticisms that have been levelled at the engagement,inspiring hope approach and considers these criticisms in more detail. As a result of this detailed examination, the paper then reiterates the need to replace ,observations' with ,engagement,hope inspiration' as the principal approach to caring for suicidal mental health clients. [source]

Blanche wittman's breasts: the aetiology of the split between body, trance, and psychoanalysis

PSYCHOTHERAPY AND POLITICS INTERNATIONAL, Issue 3 2010
Asaf Rolef Ben-Shahar
Abstract Since its inception, psychoanalysis deeply engaged itself with questions of autonomy and influence, seeking to minimize the analyst's impact in order to allow for self-direction and uninterrupted growth. The relational turn in psychoanalytic thinking challenged the hermetic fantasy of the therapist's2 positioning as a blank slate and, having recognized the inevitability of influence, has sought to involve and incorporate the therapist more fully within the therapeutic dyad. However, some prejudiced practices are still at place. Since Freud's abandonment of hypnosis and touch, the therapeutic use of both trance and touch have been largely alienated from the psychoanalytical milieu. As a consequence, research and clinical applications of both disciplines developed disconnectedly, and became fragmented. This paper suggests that Freud's initial reasons for abandoning the practice of hypnosis and the use of touch were politically and socially embedded. The paper traces the original split between psychoanalysis, hypnosis and touch to a strategic juxtaposition of establishing psychoanalysis as science in-par with physics. It suggests that both trance and touch represented highly relational, unmediated challenges to the therapeutic dyad, which Freud was unable to incorporate into his practice at the time. This dissociated split is presented through examining Charcot's performance-hypnosis with Blanche Mary Wittman. The paper then sets to briefly discuss the nature of relational body-psychotherapy and relational hypnosis, demonstrating their relevance to modern relational psychoanalytic thinking. The alienation between these three disciplines results in loss of valuable fertilized dialogue which could enrich and inform practitioners from all three disciplines, and facilitate the amalgamation of a cohesive relational framework. Today, the sociocultural conditions allow for reintegration of these valuable aspects of human connection: trance and touch. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Students' ideals for nursing older people in practice

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF OLDER PEOPLE NURSING, Issue 2 2006
Erica S. Alabaster MSc
Aim., Drawing on research exploring nursing students' experiences of working with older people, this paper aims to demonstrate how context and culture can impact on the realization of their ideals. Background., The principles underpinning individualized and person-centred approaches to care resonate with those focal to gerontologic nursing. Restrictive contexts of care and pervasive workplace cultures render nurses unable to deliver care in accord with these. Design and method., This interpretive study was informed by phenomenological,hermeneutic theory. A purposive sample (n = 10) was recruited from a single educational institution. Data were generated in two phases using loosely structured interviews and supplementary activity. Themes explicating their experiences were identified via systematized detailed analysis and issues pertaining to nursing students' orientation towards older people cut across these. Findings and discussion., Students perceived that older people were prone to depersonalization and marginalization, so sought to show respect by coming to know individuals, form human connections with them and personalize care accordingly. Giving respect, promoting personhood, asserting reciprocal identity and maintaining dignity were prominent features of this but were often frustrated by practices and cultures encountered in mainstream settings. Conclusions., Nursing students' approaches to older people are contextual and reflect elements of person-centred ideology. Their attempts upholding their ideals are liable to be subverted by workplace norms. Preparatory education should address these, assist students to learn how to attend to personhood in restrictive environments and offer targeted placements in age-specific and non-acute services. Relevance to clinical practice., Demographic trends mean that working with older people has increased significance for nurses in most settings. Person-centredness is seen as beneficial for older people but contemporary service imperatives and enduring practices are inhibitory, preventing entrants to nursing from developing related skills. [source]

From critical care to comfort care: the sustaining value of humour

JOURNAL OF CLINICAL NURSING, Issue 8 2008
Ruth Anne Kinsman Dean PhD
Aims and objectives., To identify commonalities in the findings of two research studies on humour in diverse settings to illustrate the value of humour in team work and patient care, despite differing contexts. Background., Humour research in health care commonly identifies the value of humour for enabling communication, fostering relationships, easing tension and managing emotions. Other studies identify situations involving serious discussion, life-threatening circumstances and high anxiety as places where humour may not be appropriate. Our research demonstrates that humour is significant even where such circumstances are common place. Method., Clinical ethnography was the method for both studies. Each researcher conducted observational fieldwork in the cultural context of a healthcare setting, writing extensive fieldnotes after each period of observation. Additional data sources were informal conversations with patients and families and semi-structured interviews with members of the healthcare team. Data analysis involved line-by-line analysis of transcripts and fieldnotes with identification of codes and eventual collapse into categories and overarching themes. Results., Common themes from both studies included the value of humour for team work, emotion management and maintaining human connections. Humour served to enable co-operation, relieve tensions, develop emotional flexibility and to ,humanise' the healthcare experience for both caregivers and recipients of care. Conclusions., Humour is often considered trivial or unprofessional; this research verifies that it is neither. The value of humour resides, not in its capacity to alter physical reality, but in its capacity for affective or psychological change which enhances the humanity of an experience, for both care providers and recipients of care. Relevance to clinical practice., In the present era which emphasises technology, efficiency and outcomes, humour is crucial for promoting team relationships and for maintaining the human dimension of health care. Nurses should not be reluctant to use humour as a part of compassionate and personalised care, even in critical situations. [source]

Age at first reproduction and economic change in the context of differing kinship ecologies

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF HUMAN BIOLOGY, Issue 4 2009
Donna L. Leonetti
Kinship systems which tend to be based on ecologies of subsistence also assign differential power, privilege, and control to human connections that present pathways for manipulation of resource access and transfer. They can be used in this way to channel resource concentrations in women and hence their reproductive value. Thus, strategic female life course trade-offs and their timing are likely to be responsive to changing preferences for qualities in women as economic conditions change. Female life histories are studied in two ethnic groups with differing kinship systems in NE India where the competitive market economy is now being felt by most households. Patrilineal Bengali (599 women) practice patrilocal residence with village exogamy and matrilineal Khasi (656 women) follow matrilocal residence with village endogamy, both also normatively preferring three-generation extended households. These households have helpful senior women and significantly greater income. Age at first reproduction (AFR), achieved adult growth (height) and educational level (greater than 6 years or less) are examined in reproductive women, ages 16,50. In both groups, women residing normatively are older at AFR and taller than women residing nonnormatively. More education is also associated with senior women. Thus, normative residence may place a woman in the best reproductive location, and those with higher reproductive and productive potential are often chosen as households face competitive market conditions. In both groups residing in favorable reproductive locations is associated with a faster pace of fertility among women, as well as lower offspring mortality among Khasi, to compensate for a later start. Am. J. Hum. Biol., 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]