The prism of memory

Inaugural lecture delivered at Rhodes UniversityRhodes University Libraries (Digitisation

Washington University Magazine and Alumni News, Fall 1993

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Therapists\u27 Liability to the Falsely Accused for Inducing Illusory Memories of Childhood Sexual Abuse - Current Remedies and a Proposed Statute

While sexual abuse of children has always been a real and horrific phenomenon (a fact unrecognized until relatively recently), the issue this Article will explore is whether, and under what circumstances, a person wrongly accused has, or should have, one or more causes of action against a therapist for culpably inducing the pseudomemory. To refine and make more rational legal actions by persons falsely accused of childhood sexual molestation (arguably justified under existing legal doctrine), this Article will propose specific legislation authorizing a lawsuit under codified circumstances and conditions

To demonstrate the Serial Learning-positioning among Early adolescents and Late Adolescents

Learning is a process of living that enables us to move forward in life. Learning is much deeper than just recalling and memorizing. Learning done on a daily basis involves understanding, relating opinions and making connective links between the information learnt previously with the new information learnt recently. There are various forms in which learning can be practiced. The aim of this research is to study about the memory and learning ability of Early and Late adolescents with regards to the objectives set to be; to differentiate the learning ability of Early and Late adolescents as well as to adhere to the early psychological research that was done on the memory power of different stages of Adolescents.  The hypothesis of this study is that there will be a significant difference in learning between Early adolescents and the Late adolescents. 60 samples were taken, 30 in each group. The methodology used in this study are ‘serial leaning and serial positioning’ which were used to demonstrate how individuals of different ages can recall information associated with time delay of 10 minutes between serial learning (orderly manner) and serial positioning (disorderly manner).  The groups were Early Adolescents and Late adolescents from an educational institute located around the college campus. Adolescents with physical disabilities were not included in the study and all the adolescents in this study are from an English medium institution. For the results, Standard deviation and t-test were used to score. The study was proven that Late adolescents have higher memory recall ability compared to that of the early adolescents

Memory Restored or Confabulated by Hypnosis—Is it Competent?

This article examines the scientific basis of hypnosis and concludes that previously hypnotized witnesses are incompetent to testify concerning matters discussed under hypnosis. Unbiased examination of scientific literature discloses that persons under hypnosis are highly motivated to please the hypnotist and therefore are likely to fantasize rather than accurately recall lost memories. After hypnosis these false impressions are fixed as true and the witness is unshakable on cross-examination. Therefore, the McCormick relevancy test is inadequate, and hypnosis tainted testimony, like other scientific evidence, must meet the stricter Frye standard before being presented to the finder of fact. Hypnosis presently does not pass the Frye test. However, even if it ever becomes reliable enough in the future to pass that test, serious confrontation clause problems remain. The logical appeal of the California Supreme Court in People v. Shirley is overwhelming. This article argues that a new rule of incompetence should be recognized in the law of evidence

READING NEUROSCIENCE: VENTRILOQUISM AS A METAPHOR FOR MULTIPLE READINGS OF SELF

This thesis argues that the consensus models of self forwarded and upheld in the fields of discourse most concerned with its description, indicate a process of ventriloquism where agency slips between dual poles of body and mind and cannot be tracked to a hiding place. Just as with ventriloquism, in these models of self it is unclear who is doing the 'talking', and the skill of performance would seem to make the distinction almost redundant. The self seems a complicity of often conflicting agents when analysed as its constituent parts, and not there at all when viewed as a whole. This thesis takes as its starting point the confusion of Edgar Bergen when struggling to justify his philosophical conversations with his dummy: who is at work here, and where would agency reside in such a dialogue? That it serves us to assume the 'theory of mind' explanation for the behaviours of others, and by extension place ourselves within a scaffold of causal motives, says more for the use value of such a theory than for the presence of 'mind'. Why this 'theory of mind' rather than any other? Because that is how mind and motive are presented to us during our acquisition of a spoken language. Mediation, transformation and referral: this thesis argues that these are qualities which characterize ventriloquism, and also the human means of perception and self-perception. There are a number of unfulfilled potentialities that reach their heaven in the unified self. The 'drive' to unity culls these lost futures and condemns us to another fulfilment, that of'oneness'. Most of these resolutions regarding self are predicated on what is 'in' and what is 'out'; how does the discriminatory self establish grounds for inclusivity or exclusivity? This thesis means to provide a lexicon of other possibilities regarding the conceptualization of self

German-Speaking Émigré Neuroscientists in North America after 1933: Critical Reflections on Emigration-Induced Scientific Change

This paper endeavors to document and analyze the impact of forced-migration of German-speaking neuroscientists to Canada and the United States during the National-Socialist era, while specifically focusing on concepts and scientific applications of interdisciplinarity in 20th century neuroscientific research. The objectives of this paper are firstly, to describe the general research topic; secondly, to introduce a new model for the historiography and social studies of forced-migration in the neurosciences and thirdly, to explore, in a preliminary way, the impact that particular Central- European émigré-researchers had on this emerging postwar biomedical field in North America.This paper endeavors to document and analyze the impact of forced-migration of German-speaking neuroscientists to Canada and the United States during the National-Socialist era, while specifically focusing on concepts and scientific applications of interdisciplinarity in 20th century neuroscientific research. The objectives of this paper are firstly, to describe the general research topic; secondly, to introduce a new model for the historiography and social studies of forced-migration in the neurosciences and thirdly, to explore, in a preliminary way, the impact that particular Central- European émigré-researchers had on this emerging postwar biomedical field in North America

Mezirow\u27s Transformational Learning Theory and Alternative Health Therapeutics of Mind, Body, and Spirit

An illness, like prostate cancer, brings crisis to our experience and confuses the structure of our reality as well as disturbs our meaning which is upheld by interpretive imagery. Hence, recovery involves a learning experience that consists of a reflective, educational, and spiritual process to rebuild and reconstruct meaning through the use and transformation of our images and themes to create meaning. The purpose of the research was to investigate the meaning of the illness experience through the lens of transformational learning theory. As such, one-on-one interviews were conducted with 10 African American men who lived in large metropolitan areas in the Midwestern U.S. Each had recovered from prostate cancer. All but one of the men had surgery to remove the prostate. They ranged in age from 50s to 70s. Using thematic analysis 15 themes were identified which explained the men?s experience with prostate cancer. The concept of blessing united all 15 themes and even united their imagery. Imagery of blessing is linked to the concept of original blessing; the place of origins for ontology and epistemology. This imaged concept when translated into more Western language means that health and wellness involves issues of self-knowledge and origins. Reflection on these questions in transformational mode and in particular context can help to bring about hope and health. Although some men have died from prostate cancer, the men in this study had transformational experiences and survived. They used their experience with prostate cancer to educate other men about it. This study has implications for adult and health educators as well as physicians and pastors. Issues of education and health are clearly intertwined and, therefore, require interdisciplinary interest and cooperation