Physiological and Psychological Effects of Scent of Soil on Human Beings

This study examines heart rate and heart rate fluctuation when subjects are presented with the scent of soil and their psychological changes as expressed by scores of the Profile of Mood States (POMS) and Visual Analog Scale (VAS) as indexes. In the experiment, we directed the subjects to rest in a sitting position for 5 min. (Pre.), to smell the scent for 1 min. (No Stim., Stim.), and to rest in a sitting position for 15 min. (Post 5, Post 10, Post 15). Psychological evaluation was performed before and after the experiment (Pre., Post). The scent stimulation was made by opening/closing a bottle with screw-on cap that contained the soil. In the control group, the bottle is always closed. In the stimulus group, the bottle was opened only at the time of Stim. For the physiological evaluation, although we could observe no change in the control group, in the stimulation group, the subjects’ heart rates decreased at Stim. and Post 15. For the psychological evaluation, VAS scores of “Feel relaxed” and “Feel soothed” increased and POMS scores of “Strain-Uneasiness”, “Anger-Hostility”, and “Confusion” decreased. In open-ended questions, some of the subjects recalled memories of insect-collecting, horticulture, forests and parks. There was a negative correlation between heart rate decrease (Stim.) and increase in the VAS scores of “Feel relaxed” (r = -0.896, p < 0.001) and “Feel soothed” (r = -0.684, p = 0.014). The healing effects from the scent of soil included subjects’ memories that were considered to have influenced the heart rate.

FMRI contributions to addressing autobiographical memory impairment in temporal lobe pathology

Episodic autobiographical memory(AM) allows one, through the recollection of sensory-perceptual details, thoughts and feelings, to become aware of an event as belonging to one's own past as well as being able to project into one's future. Because AM provides a sense of self-continuity, contributes to the integrity of the self, and helps predicting future experiences, any deficit of AM may have debilitating consequences for everyday life functioning. Understanding AM failure and the underlying neural mechanisms has the potential to shed light on brain reorganization mechanisms and engagement of compensatory processes. Functional magnetic resonance imaging(fMRI) provides the most promising imaging method to tackle these issues. We reviewed evidence from the few studies that used fMRI to investigate the functionality of the residual tissue, the neural reorganization and compensatory mechanisms in patients with neurological conditions due to impaired medial temporal lobe. Overall, these studies highlight the importance of the left hippocampus, which when atrophied and not functional leads to AM deficits but its residual functionality may support relatively normal AM recollection. When damaged hippocampal tissue is not functional, other brain regions(e.g., the medial prefrontal cortex) may be involved to compensate impairment, but they appear generally ineffective to support detailed episodic recollection.

Cristina Campo, the Aristocrat of Modern Literature: On Autobiographical Instance in Her Literary Work

In the present article,the attention is focused on autorepresentational image that can be derived from Cristina Campo’s literary language,while analyzing at the same time its genesis,given finalities and reception.It is what can be deduced in filigrain from essayistic-critical writings in The Unforgivable Ones(Gli imperdonabili)and Under a False Name(Sotto falso nome),as well as from collections of letters and illuminating lyrical motifs,based on which it will be demonstrated that analogous themes are associated to various literary genres on grounds of principle of inter-genre contamination.By illustrating the founding postulates of autopoetic reflections,the intention is to ulteriorly determine their collocation within the frame of cultural history.To veiled autobiographism contributes pseudonymical practice,as well as subsequent stylistic devices,through which modernistic aspects are highlighted.The autobiographical narration in The Golden Walnut(La noce d’oro),short story-fairy tale of aesthetic timbre frequently infused with figural tropism,comprises a literary mixture of rievocation and mythography,relying on anthropological premises that are speculatively articulated.

Creating Space for Children’s Voices: Utility of the Collage Life Story Elicitation Technique

A challenge for many School-Based Family Counseling(SBFC)practitioners,child psychotherapists and researchers are finding ways to give voice to children and eliciting trustworthy and detailed narratives that could serve as resource for understanding the needs of young clients in the context of all their interpersonal networks.Children are often reticent when asked to self-disclose and tell their stories during consultation.The purpose of the present study was to examine the utility of five sequential steps constituting the Collage Life Story Elicitation Technique(CLET)for scaffolding storytelling among children in middle childhood(aged 9-12 years).Using the CLET for data collection and conducting an interpretive analysis,the researchers explored the performance of 38 middle-childhood children living in three different settings.Findings suggest that the five sequential steps of the CLET adequately and satisfactorily combine to stimulate and elicit rich data and help children to construct their narratives and represent the challenges they face in everyday living.We discuss the application of CLET in SBFC practice as tool when screening and intervention planning for children’s perspectives pertaining to a range of topics regarding each of the four quadrants as proposed in the SBFC metamodel.

The Role of Photographs and Time Lag on Positivity Ratings of Vaca­tion and Weekend Memories

Two studies examined the question of whether photograph taking of an event influences the positivity of the evaluations of the event at a later point in time.Memories of photographed events yielded higher positivity ratings than memories that were not photographed.Although we expected fading of positivity ratings to occur more slowly over a period of two months for memories of photographed events,we found faster affect fading for those memories in Study 2 instead.The findings of the two studies support the idea that taking photographs of events sustains the affective reconstruction of autobiographical memories,regardless of whether these events are special,such as vacation memories,or more mundane,such as memories of the past weekend.

The Destruction of a Genius——Comment on Jack London's autobiographical novel"Martin Eden

Living a dynamic life physically,intellectually and politically, Jack London had a career that was representative of the vigor of his time with working-class origins, he was, in some of his literary and political writing,one of the most articulate and militant spokesmen of his class. His work is absent from many American authologies,but included in some. "Martin Eden", London’s most autobiographical novel,is considered by many critics to be his most mature work which is read all over the world.

Learning,Teaching,and Researching in Shadow Education in Hong Kong:An Autobiographical Narrative Inquiry

Purpose:This article aims to illustrate from the author’s insider perspective the lived experiences of engaging in private tutoring in Hong Kong as a tutee,a tutor,and a researcher and draw implications on several issues arising from the prevalence of shadow education.Design/Approach/Methods:This article adopted an autobiographical narrative approach.Data were collected through the author’s memoir of events,stimulated by the tutorial materials he used when he was a tutee and a tutor,his own video-recorded lessons of tutoring,and reflective journals from his research projects.Findings:Various issues are discussed based on the narrative of the author playing different roles in the tutoring industry,including(1)the positive and negative washback on mainstream education,(2)the lack of strict regulation of the quality of tutors and advertisements,and(3)how shadow education may exacerbate education inequality and how some tutorial companies and nonprofit organizations are addressing the issue.Originality/Value:This article,to the best of the author’s knowledge,is the only one that discusses the issues of shadow education from an author’s own personal experiences as a tutee,a tutor,and a researcher.It illustrates how practices and policies of the private tutoring industry are evolving in Hong Kong from an insider perspective.

Writing Poetry that Focuses on the Autobiographical

Poetry has other possibilities than the autobiographical. This essay presents an argument against an over-reliance on a Western bourgeois capitalist concept of the self and self-expression in contemporary American poetry. An alternative balance is presented through Zen Buddhist and Daoist perspectives on the self, particularly as seen in the writing of Dogen, ancient Chinese poetry, and, more recently, David Hinton.