A Provision of Memories Stored up for Days to Come: A Ricœurian Reading of Joyce Carol Oates’s My Sister, My Love

Spectral symbols in Indigenous horror literature provide profound insights into the interplay of cultural memory, human psyche, and societal structures, particularly in the context of equity, diversity, and sustainability. This paper explores how supernatural imagery in Indigenous narratives functions as a metaphor for collective trauma, cultural resilience, and the reclamation of identity. Drawing on a psychoanalytical framework enriched by Indigenous perspectives, the study examines how spectral entities transcend their narrative roles to confront historical injustices, challenge systemic inequities, and navigate the complexities of memory and identity. These symbols reveal the scars of colonial histories while serving as powerful tools for addressing social disparities and fostering inclusion. The research delves into selected works, focusing on how Indigenous horror literature incorporates themes of gender dynamics, diversity, and communal healing. Supernatural imagery within these narratives becomes a medium for critiquing societal norms, reclaiming cultural heritage, and promoting sustainable dialogue on equity and justice. By uncovering the symbolic dimensions of spectral symbols, the paper underscores how storytelling in the horror genre transcends entertainment to engage with broader societal concerns. This study highlights Indigenous horror literature as a transformative force that blends cultural symbolism with socio-political critique, contributing to a sustainable and inclusive society while affirming the resilience of Indigenous voices and traditions.

The article discusses issues related to psychological violence and identifying the features of conductingforensic psychological examinations in order to establish the fact of psychological violence. Particular attention is paid to the interpretation of the concepts: psychological violence, psychological impact, psychological pressure, emotional violence, verbal aggression, coercion. The article highlights and describes the characteristic features of forensic psychological examination of psychological abuse victims. This article purpose is to identify the key features of the forensic psychology examination of psychological abuse victims. The main research content allows us to list the characteristic features of forensic psychology analysis. In most cases, the issues related to the forensic psychology analysis of violent actions refer to sexual or physical violence or are aimed at explaining the actions of various forms of violence on the human psyche. These circumstances lead to the fact that human psyche begins to play secondary role while performing forensic research. It is for this reason that forensic psychology analysis of psychological abuse in general and its types in particular is referred to as non-traditional types of examination. Various types of violent actions in different ways affect the human psyche and the secondary nature of the examination does not always reveal the essence and results of psychological abuse that unjustifiably narrows the real scope of manifestations of violence in society. The authors defend the opinion that at this stage it is more correct to conduct a psychological examination aimed specifically at psychological violence and not at the secondary effect of violence on the psyche. In this regard, the article proposes necessary definitions that can be used in the conduct of forensic psychological and forensic linguistic expert research. Considering importance of conducting examinations to establish existence or lack of the psychological violence fact, it is planned to continue research to develop criteria for assessing results of forensic psychology analysis of psychological abuse.

Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried” transcends a mere war narrative. It delves into the profound assault on the human psyche and body experienced by soldiers grappling with combat horrors. This paper argues that a neurophenomenological framework offers a crucial lens for understanding these experiences, particularly their embodied responses to sensory overload and the enduring impact of trauma. Neurophenomenology posits that consciousness and the body are intertwined. Perceptions, emotions, and cognitions are rooted in bodily sensations. In Vietnam, soldiers endured a constant barrage of sensory stimuli: deafening artillery, the stench of death, and stifling humidity. These sensory experiences profoundly shaped their perceptions, emotions, and sense of self. “The Things They Carried” vividly illustrates this embodied reality. O’Brien details the soldiers’ physical and psychological burdens: the weight of equipment, the constant fear, and the guilt of witnessing comrades perish. These manifest as physical weight, but also as profound dread, racing heartbeat, trembling hands, and the ever-present threat of nausea. The treacherous terrain—the muddy swamps, the dense jungle—contributes to a profound sense of disorientation and alienation. By examining the soldiers’ experiences through a neurophenomenological framework, this paper aims to demonstrate how the sensory, bodily, and emotional dimensions of war are central to understanding the psychological and emotional impact of combat. “The Things They Carried” serves as a powerful testament to the enduring power of embodied experience, highlighting the profound and lasting impact of war on the human psyche and body.

This article describes the information-psychological security system as a subsystem of national security, and provides a terminological and retrospective analysis of sociological approaches to this concept. In addition, approaches to the concept of information and psychological security are reflected in scientific views as the vital interests of theindividual, society and the state, as information, as the human psyche, as ideology and ideas. The term "information and psychological security" is interpreted as the need to ensure the vital interests of the individual, society and social groups.The article pays special attention to methods of information and psychological impact on social processes and their negative and positive characteristics.

Quentin Tarantino, a renowned filmmaker known for his distinctive style and thought-provoking themes, has captivated audiences and critics with his groundbreaking films. This study aims to analyze the ontological psychological features present in Tarantino's filmography, focusing on the complex interplay between narrative structure, character development, and the human psyche. By employing a qualitative methodology, the research conducts a thematic analysis of Tarantino's key films, such as "Reservoir Dogs," "Pulp Fiction," "Kill Bill," "Inglourious Basterds," "Django Unchained," and "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood." The study identifies several central themes, including existentialism, vengeance, memory and temporality, language and communication, and metafiction. Through an in-depth exploration of these themes, the research reveals how Tarantino's work challenges conventional perceptions of reality and the human experience, ultimately probing the depths of human emotion, motivation, and identity. Furthermore, the study investigates the broader cultural and historical context of Tarantino's films and their psychological impact on audiences. By examining the various thematic and stylistic elements, the study seeks to shed light on the ways in which Tarantino's films transcend traditional cinematic boundaries, stimulating deeper reflections on the nature of reality, morality, and the human condition. This comprehensive analysis contributes to a greater understanding of the intricacies of the human experience and the transformative power of cinema.

This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of Ambrose Bierce’s “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”, exploring the confluence of historical context, narrative ingenuity, and thematic depth in his work. Born during the tumultuous Civil War era, Bierce’s experiences as a Union soldier profoundly influenced his literary focus, notably in his portrayal of war’s brutalities and psychological impact. The paper examines how Bierce’s narrative style, characterized by a blend of stark realism and surreal elements, set him apart in the late 19th-century literary landscape. His most acclaimed work, “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”, is dissected for its innovative narrative structure, symbolic language, and exploration of existential themes such as the fragility of life, the inevitability of death, and the human psyche’s struggle with freedom and fate. The study highlights Bierce’s unique contribution to the short story genre and his lasting influence on American literature.

Currently, the population of Ukraine is in a psychologically traumatic situation of war, as a result of a full-scale Russian invasion in 2022. This has a negative impact on a person's psyche, in particular on his psychophysical safety, which includes both psychological impact and physiological impact. As a result of the Russian-Ukrainian war, people received changes in their everyday life, which affected their outlook, physical and mental health, and left both visible and psychological injuries. This causes difficulties for the existence of people in modern society, namely difficulties in interpersonal communication, psychological adaptation, obstacles in everyday life. The purpose of the paper is to practically investigate the impact of the full-scale russian-Ukrainian war (2022-2023) on the human psyche, in particular the psychological experience of the physical safety of the individual. The subject of the study is the impact of the full-scale Russian-Ukrainian war (2022-2023) on the psychophysical safety of the individual. Methodology of the study is based on using modern methods of scientific analysis and practical research of the phenomenon of experiencing the physiological safety of the individual during the war. In order to achieve the goal of research and analysis of the impact of war on the experience of the physical health of an individual, a psychological longitudinal study was conducted in which 101 respondents from various regions of Ukraine participated. Results of our research showed that the most significant factors affecting the psychophysical safety of an individual are fears, anxiety, worries about safety, the dynamics of which during the two stages of the study tend to decrease, but the indicators remained at a sufficiently high level. Practical implications. The conducted longitudinal study of the impact of the full-scale Russian-Ukrainian war (2022-2023) on the psychophysical safety of the individual made it possible to analyze the factors that influenced the individual during the year of the war. Value/originality. The war situation that occur as a result of the full-scale russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 is unpredictable, variable, with different impacts, which makes it unique for the people of Ukraine. We conducted a longitudinal study, that gives us an opportunity to trace the dynamics of experiences and factors affecting psychophysical safety from the first days of the full-scale russian-Ukrainian war and a year after the war.

James Boswell's Revisions of Death as "The Hypochondriack" and in His London Journals Katherine Ellison James Boswell learns of the deaths of his son, his mother, and his mentor Samuel Johnson by post. Perhaps it is fitting that a writer who so painstakingly records the significant moments of his life in writing reads about, rather than witnesses, the deaths of those closest to him. Boswell records in detail in his journals his experiences with the passing of his dearest family and friends, as well as with the executions of Paul Lewis, Mr Gibson, and John Reid. Boswell uses the revision process, as demonstrated most clearly in his rewritings of execution scenes, as a means of coping with death and of countering his admitted religious inconstancy. Always conscious of his inability to behave or think consistently, Boswell notes on 25 February 1763 that "I should deservedly be considered as a man of no stability but inconstant and wavering with every breath."1 Through revision, he strengthens his wavering belief that the transition from life to death is a change of state from the solid to the miasmic, that the mind is preserved in death through a transformation into a spatially independent existence. Through reading and writing about death, Boswell challenges his own religious instability, revising to convince himself that there is an afterlife and that [End Page 37] memory survives in as dynamic a state as it was during life. Writing, as a mode of "Memoria technica," or "artificial Memory," serves as his model for the spiritual change of death and allows him to believe that memories are spatially and semantically transformed rather than merely stored or erased, a subtle distinction that he feels captures writing's imaginative qualities and provides evidence for the eternal existence of the human soul after death.2 In this way, Boswell presents challenges to later assumptions made by theorists such as Walter Ong, who claims that "print encouraged human beings to think of their own interior conscious and unconscious resources as more and more thing-like, impersonal and religiously neutral."3 Boswell, for whom writing is spiritually enlightening, consciously negotiates between the idea of writing and print as memorized things and as processes of change. When David Hume claims that, logically, immortality is impossible because the universe is not large enough to house every individual for eternity, Boswell quickly replies: "Mr. Hume, you know spirit does not take up space."4 In Boswell's view, the afterlife is not a physical, unchanging place where souls are eternally stored, crammed together like old books on a shelf. William Matthews and Ralph W. Rader find that early autobiographies of the seventeenth century are exercises in religious faith and personal reflection, central characteristics in Boswell's autobiographical writings a century later.5 Particularly in his journals and the essays that appear in the London Magazine between 1777 and 1783, published under the pseudonym "The Hypochondriack," readers see Boswell struggling to reconcile [End Page 38] his belief that the dead remember and forget like the living with what he describes, in his reminiscences of his boyhood, as the dependence of religious teachings upon memorization and routine, a system that he believes conflicts with true faith. In his youth, before he is genuinely interested in practicing law, Boswell critiques the legal system on the same grounds that it requires memorization but cannot allow for the complexities of memory. In his depictions of both writing and death as transformative processes and not instruments of annihilation, he argues against contemporary tendencies, which he sees exemplified in John Locke's and Hume's philosophies, that materialize memory and overlook the religious implications of imagining the mind as a storage facility.6 Unhappy with the pedagogies of death and memory he sees in religion, law, and philosophy, Boswell turns to his writings to counter his often despairing theological uncertainties. By comparing different versions of the same execution scenes, which he records throughout his years as advocate, readers see that for Boswell preserving memory does not mean copying reality identically with each new draft; rather, remembering is re-visioning, the addition and subtraction of details to make a scene more memorable. One question often...

Osteopathy and (hatha) yoga

This paper explores experiences of pastoral staff, working in social, emotional, and mental health (SEMH) special secondary schools, regarding the psychological impact of their work. To date, attention has been given to the educational experiences of pupils attending SEMH schools and teachers working with pupils with SEMH needs in mainstream schools. Whilst these studies provide insight into the experiences of pupils and teachers, they do not explore the experiences of those occupying pastoral roles in SEMH schools. Using narrative research, five participants, recruited from schools in the Northwest of England, took part in interviews, conducted via video conferencing. Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Analysis adopted a two-stage approach. The first stage focused on each individual narrative, preserving it as a whole story, the second involved analysis across the five narratives. Both stages used Fraser’s (2004) seven stage approach, enabling long sections of narrative to be broken down into themes, whilst preserving the nuances within and across narratives. The first stage of analysis identified numerous themes specific to each participant, the second stage, the focus for this paper, identified two common themes across the narratives: ‘It’s a struggle,’ ‘and ‘My emotionally dirty work’. This is the first study to explore the psychological impact of working in SEMH secondary schools, from the perspective of pastoral staff. Findings have policy and practice implications; defining professional standards, appropriate training, and tailored supervision. An ‘ethos of care’ within SEMH schools could mitigate against the impact of struggles and work perceived as emotionally dirty.

This study delves into Isaac Clarke's psyche in Dead Space 2, exploring how he grapples with the psychological trauma of Aegis VII. Employing a multifaceted approach, we analyze in-game dialogue to decipher Isaac's emotional state through word choice and tone. We examine environmental details like audio logs and data entries to uncover clues about his past experiences and potential triggers. Furthermore, Isaac's actions within the game environment, such as resource management and object interaction tendencies, are analyzed as potential windows into his unconscious defense mechanisms. Freudian defense mechanisms serve as the theoretical foundation, allowing us to interpret Isaac's behaviors as repression, denial, projection, displacement, isolation, and sublimation. The analysis reveals a complex interplay: while these mechanisms offer temporary relief, enabling Isaac to function and survive, they also come at a cost, hindering emotional processing and healing. By unraveling Isaac's defense mechanisms, this study not only sheds light on the human psyche under extreme duress but also contributes to the growing body of knowledge on the psychological impact of video games and how characters navigate trauma.

This research explores the psychological impact of the 9/11 incident on the minds of people. It explores trauma, fear and identity crisis. This study includes the tragedy of 9/11 driving the unconscious minds of people enhancing societal upheaval. It investigates the sufferings of people after this calamity. The purpose of this research is to highlight the outcomes of this misfortune on the psyche and emotions of the people. The research has been delimited to DeLillo’s Falling Man and Hamid’s Exit West. It involves the psychological sufferings of people i.e., alienation, suicide, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder PTSD, separation among families, migration and displacement, war and political turmoil, insomnia, and the impact of technology. People’s extreme mental illness inspired this research. It is based on the mental illness of people after witnessing the 9/11 disaster. This research throws light as to how traumatic past events are destroying the lives of innocent people. The human psyche is controlled through psychoanalysis that highlights the subconscious processes known as deep psychology. Sigmund Freud’s (1896) Psychoanalytical theory has been applied as theoretical framework in this research study. The current literary works on post 9/11 compositions may not broadly probe the explicit psychological consequences depicted in figures within DeLillo’s Falling Man and Hamid’s Exit West. Therefore, the goal of the present research is to reduce this gap through the parallel study of how the selected novels portray traumatic conditions, displacement and identity crisis in the post-9/11 milieu, unveiling the mental issues and individual circumstances of societal trauma within the research scope.

Global political instability has profound physical and psychological effects on the world's population, particularly evident in Ukraine due to a brutal war resulting in genocide, widespread destruction of ordinary life, and severed familial ties. The psychological impact extends to both combatants and civilians, regardless of their location. Military operations' emergencies disrupt daily lives, undermining fundamental needs for security and a coherent worldview. While the human psyche can adapt to crises, emotional strain may lead to resilience or breakdown, impacting essential functions. Psychological rehabilitation is crucial in the broader rehabilitation spectrum, encompassing social aspects. This article delineates the position and significance of psychosocial rehabilitation within the context of broader rehabilitation for those dealing with disabilities, posttraumatic stress disorder, and the aftermath of war, captivity, and torture. It also seeks to identify promising avenues for social rehabilitation in the current landscape. In a comprehensive search, relevant studies were examined in the DOAJ and EBSCOhost databases over the last decade.

Controlling characters in a virtual reality (VR) environment can lead to the interiorization of their body dimensions by the recipients. The possible preservation of these distortions in their psyche will indicate a high degree of psychological impact of a VR on a person and the potential danger of developing depersonalization of the recipients and their dependence on such stimulation. The study of the stability of these distortions is necessary in the context of ensuring the safety of the impact of VR environments on the human psyche. The main focus of the study is on the perception distortions of human body dimensions, as they are sensed by people immersed in a VR environment, and their dynamics depending on the number of immersions. The impact of the virtual reality environment was simulated using the Freedom Locomotion VR application. One virtual reality immersion session took 15 minutes. To obtain psychometric indicators of the subjects perception of their own body dimensions, the technique Measurements according to M. Feldenkrais was used. All the participants (N = 45, three experimental groups) underwent a mandatory preliminary measurement using this technique (several hours before exposure) and a final measurement (one day after the last exposure). At the same time, the results of preliminary measurements were taken as indicators of the subjects habitual perception of their own body dimensions and were considered in each data processing as a comparison group. Free movement in a VR environment leads to distortions in the subjects perception of their own body dimensions. In all the experimental groups, there was a tendency to exaggerate body dimensions immediately after immersions, which indicates the qualitative similarity of these distortions. The effect of repetitive immersion in a VR environment on the perception of body dimensions is that it increases awareness in perceiving body parts that are least active at the time of immersion. Controlling an anthropomorphic character in a VR leads to an increase in the subjective significance of the recipients own body perception and an increased concentration of attention on the parameters least involved in immersion. The results of the study show that an increased level of awareness in perceiving their own bodies is characteristic of the subjects who have experience of repetitive immersions in a VR environment in the guise of an anthropomorphic character. Controlling a bodily projection in a VR headset does not cause its long-term interiorization, but has a positive effect on the formation of personal corporeality.

Cancer's impact transcends the physical realm, profoundly affecting the human psyche. The integration of psychological care into cancer treatment has garnered increasing recognition. Surgical interventions represent a cornerstone of cancer treatment, promising remission and extended life. The journey through cancer surgery is multifaceted, demanding meticulous attention and psychological support. Cancer patients grapple with a spectrum of challenges, notably anxiety and depression. Tailored psychological therapies aim to alleviate this distress, particularly in the preoperative and postoperative phases of surgery. The preoperative phase is fraught with anxiety, stress, and cognitive challenges, underscoring the necessity for personalized interventions. In the postoperative phase, patients navigate a complex emotional landscape, while dealing with issues like pain management and body image alterations. Coping mechanisms and robust support systems play a pivotal role in aiding patients in navigating these psychological challenges. Individual factors, including age, gender, cultural background, and financial considerations, significantly influence the psychological well-being of patients. Promising future avenues encompass the development of individualized interventions, the assessment of psychological impact, and strategies to mitigate financial distress. Advocating for the integration of psychological care into cancer treatment guidelines is essential for enhancing patient-centred care and optimizing outcomes in the realm of surgical oncology. In conclusion, addressing the emotional and psychological needs of patients before and after cancer surgery is vital for their well-being and surgical outcomes.