Memory Analysis

Memory Analysis â€Å"Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind† is an American romantic drama with elements of science fiction that gives insight into the procedure of memory erasing. The movie tells a story of two lovers who decided to erase each other from their memories. Joel Barish is a shy and not very successful man who meets eccentric and weird Clementine Kruczynski. Even though Joe and Clementine seem to have nothing in common, they start dating right away because of the attraction they feel towards each other. As it then becomes clear, they have already known each other before they decided to erase each other from their minds. After big scandal Clementine left Joel. She used the services of a company called Lacuna Inc to erase Joel from her memory. When he came to her book shop where she worked as a seller, she could not remember him. Having found that out, Joel felt himself emptied and decided to undergo the same procedure. The rest of the film happens mainly in mind of Joel. When the erasing process goes on, he finds out that he no longer wants to forget about Clementine forever. So Joel tries to hide her in remote parts of his subconscious so as not to erase all his memories of her and their relationships. In the end Joel and Clementine meet each other. Having found their records from Lacuna, they feel embarrassed since they do not remember each other clearly. The procedure of memory erasing which both Joel and Clementine underwent was in the following way described by the doctor to Joel, â€Å"Technically speaking, the procedure  is  brain damage. Its on a par with a night of heavy drinking, nothing youll miss†. Of course, nowadays it is not possible to get a certain person erased from your memory in a selective fashion. â€Å"Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind† gives reader a clue on the great difference between emotional experience and passive one. In â€Å"Reconsolidation: the advantage of being refocused† Dudai argues that long-term memory can be influenced and thus changed in the result of such an influence. He names the process of changing long-term memory â€Å"reconsolidation† as opposed to â€Å"consolidation† ― a process of transforming unstable short-term memory into more stable long-term one. He emphasizes that, contrary to consolidation, reconsolidation happens not in every case. According to Dudai, reconsolidation cannot be compared to memory erasing. In case of post re-consolidation amnesia, there still were typical behavioral attributes of extinction such as â€Å"context-dependant renewal, spontaneous recovery and unconditioned stimulus†(p.175). Reconsolidation can offer several possibilities which may even strengthen the memory. It is a selective process, so only specific segments of memory (the ones which are associated with fear) can become reactivated. Reconsolidation, as Dudai (2006) states, has its boundaries: trace dominance (â€Å"an ability of the association to control behavior after retrieval†) (p.175); age of memory (the older the memory, the more difficult it is to change it); reconsolidation has been mainly tested on animals and its effect on people is still unclear. According to Dudai (2006), feelings like pleasure or joy, grief or fear can be recalled by memories. However, the latter can be manipulated or disrupted when reconsolidated (p.174). I hold the view that in the movie Dr. Mierzwaik who held the erasing procedure, made the following: he made his patients forcefully recall things they wanted to forger in order to exterminate the emotional roots of the memory. When the roots were exterminated, the memory began to degrade. By and large, the procedure which Dr. Mierzwaik used was aimed at attacking memory systems at the same time so as to eradicate not only declarative memories, but also amygdale based emotional memories associated with them. So, when a person sleeps, in a dream state he can get access to his memory. This is a period which Dr. Merzwaik uses so as to erase the memory. His procedure is aimed at destroying memory and making sure it won’t be recalled in future. Kindt explains reconsolidation as reactivation of some memories that are associated with a certain stimuli. It has been found by Kindt (2009) that â€Å"that oral administration of the ÃŽ ²-adrenergic receptor antagonist propranolol before memory reactivation in humans erased the behavioral expression of the fear memory 24 h later and prevented the return of fear†(p.256). He also emphasizes that such an erase of memory can be done not only for people who have a certain fear memory, but also for people with drug addiction for extinction of drug memories and restoring control over drug cravings. According to Kindt (2009), â€Å"Real world memory altering drugs called Beta-blockers (e.g. Propanolol) invoke the closest process for dampening the stress response associated with a fear-based memory. They work by blocking the noradrenergic response during recall.   This decouples the emotional response from the memory over time, lessening the fear but leaving the recall of the memory intact† (p.256). It can be concluded from the research carried that this can be used for people with post-traumatic stress disorder. It can be concluded that even though beta-blockers can be successfully employed at dissociating fear response from a certain stimuli, this drug has not yet be proved effective in dissociating such traumas as loss of grief. According to Evars, beta-blockers can stop the action of stress hormones by reducing the emotional impact of disturbing memories or prevent their consolidation. Her research is aimed at people who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. According to Evars (2007), the brain can produce false images in some situations. But experience as a brain construct makes them true (p.139). Evars (2007) suggests a model where the brain is â€Å"an autonomously active, projective and variable system, in which emotions and values are incorporated as necessary constraints† (p.140). She gives emotions the leading role in formation of vivid images in the memory. Therefore in order to â€Å"erase† the memory, a person has to get rid of emotional response which he has to a certain memory. Evars proves beta-blockers to be successful at reconsolidation by destroying an emotional response. Nevertheless her experiments were carried out mainly on animals. Therefore long-term effect of beta-blockers on human memory is still to be under research as well as other methods of memory erasing. It can be concluded from the movie that every person who used services of Lacuna Inc. experienced emotional trauma associated with break-up. This, though, cannot be considered as post-traumatic stress disorder. However, Evars (2007) argues that â€Å"†¦the problem is not necessarily the memory itself, but the emotional response associated with its recall† (p.139). In â€Å"Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind† episodic memory is being erased (e.g. the episodic recall of a specific event in a particular place and time) because both Joel and Clementine erase memories about each other. In the movie erasing of memory is possible based on the scientific assumption that the nature of emotional memories greatly differs from the unemotional ones. Experiencing bad emotions, people can then feel their long-lasting effect on their memory. In â€Å"Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind† traumatic memories are stored in different places with other memories in the brain. To sum up, taking into account the scholarly sources which have been reviewed, the movie cannot be considered to be truly scientific for several reasons. Firstly, currently there are no such procedures which could erase memories about lovers with whom people broke-up. The real procedure is called reconsolidation, however, it deals with people who have post-traumatic stress disorder (people experience fear, not grief or loss). Secondly, nowadays there is no scientific method which would erase the memory about a certain person forever. Rather, only slight memory  enhancement  can be possible in the nearest future. Thirdly, the procedure of erasing memory would not be similar to the one described in the movie. It would rather be an ordinary pill like Prozac. Speaking of realistic and unrealistic details in â€Å"Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind†, realistic are the first ones that come on my mind. Procedure of erasing memory is possible, roughly speaking. It is also true that emotional memories are different from unemotional ones. The doctor uses the right method to erase the memory – he makes a selective erasure by triggering memories which he would like to erase. After the procedure Joel takes medicine that systematically re-triggers previously recorder memories. Soon those memories become erased. The basic procedure of memory erasing is, by and large, a bit similar to the process of reconsolidation. With a view to make the movie more true to current science life, I would change some details. Clementine and Joel would not break up. Instead, Joel would die and Clementine would grieve over him. Then she would have a post-traumatic stress syndrome and experience sense of fear every time she comes into the apartment where she lived together with Joel. She goes to the hospital where the doctor gives her a pill. She takes medicine several times in the course of several days to get her memories of Joel more unclear. After some time she would no longer be afraid to come in into their apartment.

The Causes of Poor Productivity Within Large Organizations

The Causes of Poor Productivity Within Large Organizations Productivity is the degree of output achieved in relation to a certain level of input. For example, in a call centre environment, productivity would be seen as the number of telephone calls answered per hour by a certain number of staff. The telephone calls are the output and the staff available to take the calls are the input. In order to improve productivity, one of the following has to occur: The level of input is decreased however the level of output remains the same, or, the level of output increases but the level of input remains the same. In relation to the example of the call centre, this would mean reducing the†¦show more content†¦I found the findings from Case Study A to be very surprising having worked in a call centre myself and not having had very many positive experiences during my time there. The overall impression from those interviewed was that they felt very positive about their workplace. There were inevitable differences in how different levels of employees viewed certain issued but there were more similarities than differences. I was interested to see how employees had spoke about productivity and performance targets. It became apparent that performance targets were related to the number of calls answered, the time in which it took to answer the calls and also the levels of call leakage. It is very easy to monitor call centre agents against an array of time-related measures and staff felt under a lot of pressure at times due to this. I can relate to this, as this is exactly how I felt working as a call centre agent. One manager interviewed in Case Study A stated that the most important thing in managing call centre staff was motivation, motivation, motivation, yet the manager in question admitted he had little idea of how to motivate staff. I do agree that motivating staff to perform well is an issue and I appreciate that highly motivated staff will be more productive but I also think that if staff working in call centres had a better understandingShow MoreRelatedMotivation : Motivation And Motivation Essay1070 Words   |  5 Pagesand process theories. Needs theories address the needs that are unique to each individual and focus on the factors within each person that initiate, guide, sustain and stop behavior. The process of how behavior is initiate d, directed, sustained and stopped is explained by process theories. The main five concrete benefits of employee motivation are: 1) improved productivity: productivity will improve because motivated employees work more efficiently, resulting in improved products or services in lessRead MoreHow Does Leadership Impact The Success Of A Company?1181 Words   |  5 Pagesleadership theory is best suited. 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Helping Bereaved Children Understand, Grieve and Deal with Death Free Essays

Children’s varying personalities and attitudes determine their respective cognitive or psychological understanding of death, expression of grief, and coping mechanism. For the purpose of ascertaining these three stages that bereaved children undergo, this paper identified and discussed the different perceptions of children about such loss, their manifestations of sorrow and how parents, teachers and counselors can help. The specific situational examples and experiences of bereaved children were presented in order to have a clearer and acceptable picture of how such tragic event affects the lives of helpless yet unpretentious children. We will write a custom essay sample on Helping Bereaved Children Understand, Grieve and Deal with Death or any similar topic only for you Order Now Helping Bereaved Children Understand, Grieve and Deal with Death Accepting the death of a loved one is difficult yet telling, explaining and making a child understand the loss is a more challenging task. Just as the adults or parents of the children are dealing with their own grief, it is perceived that the younger ones should be spared from the same agony. This is for the reason that children, with their fragile minds and emotions, find it more difficult to cope with death. However, not allowing a child to understand, grieve and cope with the trauma of death is risky. Children should be supported and not be left alone when they deal with death. It is during their search for answers about a lost life that children most need the help of others. It is also during this time that they should be allowed to express their emotions and be reassured by the family that death is a natural aspect of life. Children will be inevitably affected by a death of a family member, friend, or someone within the community. Children’s tender age, psychological understanding, emotional expressions, and coping mechanisms can be protected by love from people around them. Children, generally, have the distinct trait of holding back their true feelings, while some of them are more open to express their emotions. However, adults must take note that irrespective of this positive or negative quality, children who suffer even more profoundly also need to understand and cope with death. Children’s Cognitive Understanding of Death Death is a very hard experience for the younger ones to accept or realize. According to Doka (2000), children fight with a mixture of thoughts such as â€Å"inevitability, universality, nonfunctionality, and irreversibility of death. † Following the death, children would still be dealing with apprehending what their immature minds can only think and handle. They pass through the stages of â€Å"cognitive, spiritual, emotional and social development† (Doka, 2000). Doka (2000) explained that younger children are inclined to perceive death based on their own limited view. Thereafter, growing children tend to show sympathy. It is also during this stage that they are more capable of accepting and understanding the situation and collect themselves. However, Doka (2000) noted that younger children manifest a â€Å"short feeling span. † This is because they can prolong their intense emotions only for a limited period (Doka, 2000). Fighting with death is not only confined to children who are in dangerous circumstances or to those who are psychologically or emotionally unstable. Nowadays, it is a proven fact that majority of children have directly or indirectly experienced death or death-related events even at their early lives. An article from the Encyclopedia of Death and Dying said that curiosity regarding death is a portion of children’s average degree of development and search for information about the world. The same article specified an example about a dead fish floating in the water. This scenario can grab a child’s interest but at the same time can be a troubling experience. If analyzed, the child’s inquisitive instinct automatically desires to learn more. However, the same child is likewise conscious of the possible danger of the situation. That is, if a living animal can die then other living things such as humans can also die. Children’s exposure to death is usually not only attached with some degree of anxiousness but also of elation. This is because of the idea that the discovery of something sensitive such as death has actually led them to life’s many mysteries (Children and Adolescents’ Understanding of Death, 2007). The same article proved that there are a lot of affirmed studies of death consciousness among children. The article used cases involving a father and son as an example to show that even with a child as young as sixteen-month-old can be aware about the concept of death. The child’s awareness about death came as soon as he saw that the caterpillar, which he has been admiring, was crushed by a passerby. The toddler anxiously reacted about the death and eventually refused to return to the place. After less than two years of being born unto this world, the same child can already and clearly connect life with death (Children and Adolescents’ Understanding of Death, 2007). With an early introduction to education, preschool children are inclined to view death as just short-lived and correctable. Crenshaw (1999) said that children believe that their deceased loved ones are just somewhere and it is still possible to see or speak with them. Confusion sets in among preschool children especially regarding the details of death. This is because of the children’s innate nature of thinking about things in an exact or factual manner. Crenshaw (1999) added that children ask questions such as can a dead person still breathe even if buried in a coffin and how can a dead old man who is buried be with God in a place like heaven at the same time. These queries manifest the preschoolers’ difficulty in relating intangible philosophical and religious ideas into their very limited realization of death (Crenshaw, 1999). Younger grade-school children between the age of six and eight usually perceive death in a personalized and imputable manner that oftentimes connotes fear (Crenshaw, 1999). Their fear is reflected in the things they imagine or invent, such as when they imagine that a dreadful ghost in a skeleton costume is following them. Children’s fear of death causes them to protect themselves. They use a defense mechanism that death is limited and only happens to physically weak people, the elderly, lame people, and people who are slow in running and are unable to escape â€Å"the ghost or spirit† that hunts them (Crenshaw, 1999). During this stage, children dream a lot of such frightening depictions of death. As they get older by the year, they reach a significant mark in their psychological growth that allows them to realize and accept that death is a true happening of life (Crenshaw, 1999). At age nine, they start to acknowledge death as a normal activity that happens to all living things and that it is permanent and unavoidable (Crenshaw, 1999). Crenshaw (1999) noted that this is the start of such realization of death but it is until children reach their adolescence that they are able to strengthen this understanding. The National Association of School Psychologists or NASP (2001) affirmed the Crenshaw report and stated that children pass through developmental stages in understanding death. It is initially significant to acknowledge that every child has his or her distinct understanding of death. This cognitive ability is based on a child’s developmental degree, psychological ability, quality or attribute, spiritual inclination, acquired instruction from parents and others around, information from the media, and death-related events in the past. The association, however, said that there are general circumstances that can be used to understand how children feel and cope with death. These considerations are seen during the stages from being â€Å"infants and toddlers, preschoolers, early elementary school, middle school and high school† (NASP, 2001, p. 2). NASP (2001) further explained that when someone is dead, infants and toddlers observe that adults are in sorrow yet they do not actually understand what death is and its impact and importance for them. Young children in preschool manifest denial of death by perceiving it only as a temporary breakup and a reversible situation. Nevertheless, children between five to nine years old begin to understand that death is permanent. They also recognize that some events may lead to death (NASP, 2001). Preschoolers and even early grade-schoolers connect the causes of death with some supernatural imaginations and real life events such as the September 11 bombing of the World Trade Center (NASP, 2001). Because of the 9/11 tragedy, they are able to grasp the idea that if an airplane hits a building, its passengers and those in the building will possibly die. Thus, these children envision that being in tall facilities is fatally dangerous. It is during this stage, however, that children are unable to draw the difference between what they visually see and the actual happenings around them (NASP, 2001). Moreover, they view that death occurs to others, not to themselves or even their immediate family members (NASP, 2001). How to cite Helping Bereaved Children Understand, Grieve and Deal with Death, Papers