Love & Culture : Page 2

On this website you´ll find a find a fine collection of articles concerning long distance and bi-cultural relationships. Select in themes the subject that you are interested in, or click on articles to see all articles. Please feel free to send me your comments, experiences, articles, and please forward it to your friends or family that may be going though a similar situation.

En este sitio encontrarás una fina selección de artículos sobre relaciones a distancia y biculturales. Selecciona en themes el tema que te interesa o haz click en articles para ver todos los artículos. Sientánse libres de enviarme sus comentarios, experiencias o artículos. No olviden mandarla a esos amigos que están pasando por una relación o a distancia o bicultural, talvez los pueda ayudar a entender y salir adelante con la relación.

Auf dieser Seite finden Sie eine Auswahl wissenschaftlicher Artikel über Fernbeziehungen und bikulturelle Partnerschaften. Bitte wählen Sie bei themes ein Thema aus oder klicken Sie auf articles um alle Artikeln angezeigt zu bekommen. Wenn Sie sich in einer derartigen Fern- oder bikulturellen Beziehung befinden und sich über Ihre Erfahrungen austauschen möchten, zögern Sie nicht, mir Ihre Kommentare, Erfahrungen oder Texte zu schicken!

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): winter depression!

It is very hard for a tropical being to live in a country with winter. So if you feel weird during the winter season, don´t get too stressed, it will hopefully go away by the spring!!
Seasonal affective disorder (SAD), also known as winter depression or winter blues, is a mood disorder in which people who have normal mental health throughout most of the year experience depressive symptoms in the winter or, less frequently, in the summer, repeatedly, year after year. The US National Library of Medicine notes that “some people experience a serious mood change when the seasons change. They may sleep too much, have little energy, and crave sweets and starchy foods. They may also feel depressed. Though symptoms can be severe, they usually clear up.”
The condition in the summer is often referred to as Reverse Seasonal Affective Disorder, and can also include heightened anxiety.
There are many different treatments for classic (winter-based) seasonal affective disorder, including light therapies with bright lights, anti-depression medication, ionized-air administration, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and carefully timed supplementation of the hormone melatonin.

More info: What is SAD? and Symptoms and Treatment – SAD Association

24.04.09 | | Comments

Internet-Liebe: Zur technischen Mediatisierung intimer Kommunikation

“Was ist überhaupt unter Cyber-, Online-, Netz- oder Internet-Liebe zu vestehen und wie verbreitet ist das Phänomen? Wo findet das Kennenlernen statt? Nach welchen Kriterien erfolgt die Partnerwahl? Welche Beziehungsformen werden realisiert? Welche besonderen Chancen und Risiken sind mit intimer Netzkontakten verbunden? Anhand von authentischen Fallbeispielen und sozialwissenschaftlichen Studien geht der Beitrag diesen Fragen nach.”
PDF Dokument: Internet-Liebe: Zur technischen Mediatisierung intimer Kommunikation. Doring, Nicola (2003).

22.03.09 | communication, long distance relationship, new technologies, statistics | Comments

Feminist Views of Cybersex: Victimization, Liberation, and Empowerment

“Cybersex can be defined as a social interaction between at least two persons who are exchanging real time digital messages in order to become sexually aroused and satisfied. This article first describes video- and text-based cybersex as a new kind of sexual encounter with its own particularities. Then the feminist literature on cybersex is reviewed revealing two basic perspectives: The victimization perspective interprets cybersex as a heterosexist practice, and focuses on how women and girls as individuals and as a group are harmed by online-harassment, virtual rape and cyber-prostitution. The liberation perspective, in contrast, focuses on the options computer-mediated communication offers women and girls who actively seek sexual pleasure online. From that viewpoint, cybersex frees females to explore their sexualities more safely and to enjoy more sex, better sex and different sex”.
This article, from Nicola Döring , criticizes both the victimization and the liberation perspective and offers an integrative empowerment perspective that acknowledges power discourse as an essential sexual issue online and off.
Read the complete paper here: Döring, N. (2000). Feminist Views of Cybersex: Victimization, Liberation, and Empowerment. CyberPsychology and Behavior, 3 (5), 863-884.

11.03.09 | cybersex, intimacy, new technologies, woman | Comments [1]

And what about the Gay Long Distance Relationships? (GLDR)

We always talk about how difficult the LDRs are, but there are special kinds of LDR that make them even more complex. This is the case of the Gay Long Distance Relationships. I know many cases of GLDR, however there are not many articles in the web talking about that. In the following article Ivi writes about her experience of a bicultural 4-year long relationship at the distance with another woman. Read the complete article here: And what about the Gay Long Distance Relationships?

25.02.09 | homosexuality, long distance relationship | Comments

Sensation: a Presence Enabler for Long-Distance Relationships using Skype and Visual Presence Representation

Sensation: a Presence Enabler for Long-Distance Relationships “In this paper Eric Wahlforss and Alexander Ljung describe “Sensation”: “a system that enables two persons to establish a non-intrusive audiovisual link between one another, utilizing Skype for audio transmission and subtle pulsating lights for presence indication. Sensation is not a phone, not a conference system, and – most importantly – it is not about connecting just spaces. The Sensation is a presence enabler in longdistance relationships, connecting people who happen to live far apart. It is intended as a realistic near-future consumer product, as such affordable and easy to use”. Complete PDF and Foto here: Sensation: a Presence Enabler for Long-Distance Relationships using Skype and Visual Presence Representation

25.02.09 | | Comments

Reverse Culture Shock

Reverse Culture Shock is a term associated with the phenomenon of returning to one’s own country and culture. Very similar to culture shock, a person entering into their home environment will have to make adjustments to reacquaint themselves with their surroundings. Unlike culture shock, most do not anticipate feeling like a foreigner in their own home. However, it should be expected. If you have made any cultural adjustments while abroad, you will have to readjust once back home. Complete article here

12.01.09 | advice, cultural shock, experiences, tips | Comments [1]

Biculturalism unpacked: Components, individual differences, measurement, and outcomes

Are you bicultural? How could you mesure your “biculturality”? In this research, Veronica Benet-Martinez and Angela Nguyen introduce the concept of biculturalism and unpacks its components. They discuss ways of measuring biculturalism and explain new concepts, like BII or Bicultural Identity Integration. A magnific paperwork in the framework of the discussion about globalization, migration and integration.
Read PDF: Biculturalism Unpacked: Components, Measurement, Individual Differences, and Outcomes. Nguyen, & Benet-Martínez. (2007). Social and Personality Psychology Compass.

21.08.08 | | Comments

How to End a Relationship

In some cases, there is a point when the relationship doesn´t work anymore and you both agree that the best would be to go separate ways and break up. When that happens, you could be feeling terrible for a long time. In her blog, Tina shows us ways to understand the situation and try to minimize pain for the other person and yourself. Check her blog and read her article here: How to End a Relationship .

20.08.08 | advice, conflict, experiences, tips, understanding | Comments

Misunderstandings

Even if you know your partner´s culture “very well” there will always be misunderstandings that could lead to conflict. When there´s something that your cultural knowledge does´t really understand, our minds try to twist the incoming information to make it fit in our worldview. “Since different cultures have very different worldviews, cross-cultural communication is especially likely to change meaning between sender and receiver, as the sender may have a very different worldview from the receiver.” The following article explains about the source of misunderstandings and how to avoid them.
Misunderstandings. By Guy Burgess and Heidi Burgess. September 2003. Source: Beyond Intractability

15.08.08 | | Comments

An experimental study of bilingual couple´s communication

Language practices by bilingual couples has not been deeply investigated yet. Piller makes an excellent approach of the methods that could be use when researching on how bilingual couples communicate.