learning - Academic Conferences Limited

David Mathew
baboon smells the watermelon seeds and puts its hand through the hole. By grabbing the seeds in its
fist, it cannot get its fist out of the hole and remains trapped there until the Bushmen come and
capture it. It cannot think that releasing the attachment to the seeds will result in its freedom. It is
something like this that I am discussing, in relation to becoming fixed or attached to one’s sense of
identity or even true self.’
At the start of this paper I wrote that it 'might come as a shock' to learn that there were institutions in
which cyberbullying was tacitly endorsed. Please note my use of the word might for I used it
deliberately. What I could have said was 'It will come as a shock' but when I typed this I had a failure
of confidence in my sentence. Would it come as a shock, I wondered, to consider cyberbullying in the
workplace? I wasn't sure so I opted for might. I am still not sure, the truth be told; but if what has been
said has not come as any sort of shock (or shall we compromise with 'unpleasant surprise'?) then
questions are inevitably begged. The logical sequiturs are at least twofold. If information such as this
does not come as a shock, first why does it not come as a shock; and second, where have you seen
such behaviour yourself? A third question, on which I would like to conclude, is this:
What did you do about it?
References
Bion, W.R. (1961) Experiences in Groups. East Sussex/New York: Routledge.
Daily Mash (2011) Mob seeks new thing to be angry about. http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/society/mobseeks-new-thing-to-be-angry-about-201103303673/.
Accessed on 30 March 2011.
Emanuel, R. (2001) ‘A Void – An Exploration of Defences Against Sensing Nothingness’ in Int. J. Psychoanal. 82,
1069.
Freud, S. (1921) Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego. SE 18. The Standard Edition of the Complete
Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud. Trans. James Strachey. London: Hogarth, 1953-74.
Hirschi, T. (1969) Causes of delinquency.Berkeley: Unversity of California Press.
Loeber, R., & Hay, D. (1997). Key issues in the development of aggression and violence from childhood to early
adulthood. Annual Review of Psychology, 48, 371-410.
Neimeyer, R.A. (1993) , An appraisal of constructivist psychotherapies. Journal of Consulting and Clinical
Psychology , 61(2), 221-234.
NetFamilyNews. (2009) First UK teen to be jailed for cyberbullying. http://www.netfamilynews.org/?cat=5526.
Accessed 31 May 2011.
Olweus, D. (1993) Bully/victim problems among schoolchildren: Long-term consequences and an effective
intervention program. In S. Hodgins, Mental disorder and crime (pp. 317-349). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Parkes, K. R. (1991) Locus of control as moderator explanation for additive versus interactive findings in the
demand-discretion model of work stress? British Journal of Psychology, 82, 291 - 312.
Salmivalli, C., Lagerspetz, K., Bjorkqvist, K., Osterman, K., & Kaukiainen, A. (1996). Bullying as a group process:
Participant roles and their relations to social status within the group. Aggressive Behavior, 22, 1–15.
Steenbarger, B.N. (1991) . All the world is not a stage. Journal of Counselling , 70(Nov-Dec), 228-296.
Steiner, J. (1993). Psychic Retreats. London: Routledge.
Steiner, J. (2011) Seeing and Being Seen. East Sussex/New York: Routledge.
Stokes, J. (1994) The unconscious at work in groups and teams. In Obholzer, A. Roberts, V.Z. The Unconscious
at Work. East Sussex/New York: Routledge, 1994.
Symington, N. (1994) Emotion and Spirit. London: Karnac.
Wenger, E. (2000) Communities of Practice and Social Learning Systems. Organization 7(2): 225-246
Žižek, S. (2006) Is this digital democracy, or a new tyranny of cyberspace? In: Guardian. December 30, 2006.
478