Health Benefits of Alternative Therapies

Health Benefits of Alternative Therapies The popularity of alternative therapies in the past two decades has been accompanied by a proliferation of sociological works in investigation different aspects of this phenomenon. A major strand of the literature in the sociology of alternative medicine, which concerns three social actors: users of alternative therapies, practitioners of alternative therapies; and physicians (the orthodoxy). Research on users of alternative medicine has mainly investigated the causes of peoples use of these modalities and has focused on why people use alternative medicine? Research suggests the one reason people use alternative therapy, such as Occupational Therapy, is that they are dissatisfied with the health outcomes of orthodox medicine (Holden, 1978; West, 1988; Sharma, 1996; Spiegel et al., 1998). It is argued that conventional medicine has been unable to cure degenerative and chronic illness and has failed to alleviate pain associated with conditions such as arthritis, and back and neck injuries (Ingliss and West, 1983; Anyinam, 1990). Sharmas (1992) qualitative study of 30 users of various alternative therapies in Britain, including Occupational therapist. Provided support to the idea that patients seek alternative therapies in order to cure an illness that has not been successfully dealt with by GPs. Similarly, Furnham and Smith (1988) and Furnham and Forey (1994) in their British studies compared patients of GPs and patients of alternative practitioners and showed that the latter group was ore sceptical of the efficacy of orthodox medicine. T hey reached this conclusion based on the responses of subjects to statements such as Doctors relieve or cure only a few problems that their patients have, and Most people are helped a great deal when they go to a doctor. Other arguments have been made about the use of alternative therapies, looking at how patients arent necessarily dissatisfied with the health outcome of biomedicine, but rather they are dissatisfied with the medical encounter or the doctor patient relationship (Parker and Tupling, 1976; Taylor, 1984; Easthope, 1993). According to this argument in the literature, doctors spend too little time with, and have little respect for, their patients, who often are not informed of the nature of their illnesses, diagnoses and prognoses. It is argued that doctors have lost their human touch and todays medicine can best be characterised as Fordist medicine which produces alienated and dissatisfied patients. In support of this argument, Sharmas (1992) interviews with alternative therapists clients reveal that they believe GPs spend too little time with patients. Furnham and Forey (1994) also found that users of alternative medicine are more likely to believe that GPs do not listen to what their pa tients have to say. Health Promotion According to Nelson (1997) Occupational therapists understand the potentials of various occupational forms that are meaningful and purposeful to the individual. The therapist hopes and predicts that the occupational form will be perceptually, symbolically, and emotionally meaningful to the person; that the occupational form and the meanings the person actively assigns to it will result in multidimensional set of purposes, and that the person will engage in a voluntary occupational performance. In other words, when therapy is best, the person is full of purpose. Therefore Occupational therapists have a huge concern set around the promotion of health. Thorogood (2004) argues that sociology as a discipline is based on critical analysis and as such, can contribute to health promotion by focusing on questions that go beyond simple definition. In other words sociology can and should engage in debate around why health promotion has evolved the way it has rather then merely trying to establish a static definition of health promotion itself. In this way sociology can help health promotion to be reflective in terms of its role and development. While this means sociology is distinct from health promotion, it is none the less a crucial contributor to the development and practice of health promotion. Ryan et al (2006) approach to health promotion states that it has been hugely influenced by the fact that medicine has been the dominant model within health-service provision and a clear division exists between those who support the medical model of health and those who argue for a more holistic and/ or social model of health. Within health services, models of care are fairly well understood and well established as conceptual entities. Models of Health Care Looking at the bio-medical model, Atkinson (1988) discusses how within this model health is the absence of biological abnormality, it believes diseases have specific causes, that the human body is likened to a machine to be restored to health through personalised treatments that arrest, or reverse, the disease process, and that the health of a society is seen as largely dependent on the state of medical knowledge and the availability of medical resources. Bio-medicine and the health care practices arising from it occupy a paradoxical position in contemporary societies. On the one hand, there is continued enthusiasm for new medical breakthroughs as people seek treatment for an increasing range of conditions. On the other hand, there is also some disillusionment with clinical medicine and growing distrust of doctors etc. despite massively increased investments in medical research and health care, most of the diseases of modern society remain stubbornly resistant to effective treatment, let alone cure. Health professionals and doctors in particular, have been criticised for having a detached, impersonal approach. Some have linked this to the bio-medical model objectifying illness and reducing patients to little or more then a collection of symptoms. Critics such as Oliver (1996) have argued that more attention should be given to the social, psychological and political aspects of illness and disability. Professionals such as Occupational Therapist have responded to this by looking beyond the medical model and adopting a more person-centred approach to patient care. In this context, sociologists are interested in the ways that individual experiences of illness are shaped by wider social contexts, emphasising that the transition from health to illness involves significant changes in social status and therefore the attention of governments and an increasing number of health professionals has turned to the social and environmental influences on health giving rise to a new social- medical model approach to health based on disease prevention and health promotion. Taylor Field (2007) focuses on how health is more than the absence of disease; it is a resource for everyday living. It looks at how diseases are caused by a combination of factors, many of them being environmental. The focus of enquiry is on the relationship between the body and its environment and how significant improvements in health care are mostly likely to come from changes in peoples behaviour and in the conditions under which they live. Occupational therapists draw their attention on this model and it can be understood in there inter-related approaches. The first focuses on individual behaviour and lifestyle choices, the second looks at peoples immediate social environment, and their relationships with others and the third is concerned with general socio-economic and environmental influences. The emergence of a new philosophy sometimes referred to postmodern value system has also led to the rise in alternative therapies (Bakx, 1991; Easthope, 1993; Sharma, 1993). Today most people regard nature as caring, gentle, safe and benevolent; they hold anti-science and anti-technology attitudes (Kurtz, 1994;Park 1996); they believe in a holistic view of health (Anyinam, 1990); they reject authority, especially scientific authority, and demand participation (Taylor, 1984; Easthope, 1993; Riessman, 1994); and they believe in individual responsibility (Cassileth, 1989; Coward, 1989). Alternative practitioners, such as Occupational therapist, commonly use natural and non-invasive treatments, espouse a holistic view of health, allow patients participation in the process of healing (Aaskter,1989), and stress that health comes from within the individual and it is ultimately the responsibility of the individual to achieve a desired state of health. (Coward, 1989) Sussman (p.31) looks at the holistic concept of behaviour stresses an organic and/ or functional relationship, a continuing interaction, and a fundamental interdependence among the traditionally defined parts or areas of human behaviour. Accordingly, the understanding of any aspect of human behaviour or any human problem involves consideration of the potentialities and limitations inherent in human biology; the characteristic ways of feeling, thinking, acting, and relating to other that comprise personality; the nature of physical environment, including natural resources, topographical features, and the man-made environment; the social nature of and the impact of significant social or reference groups; the nature of culture, its potentialities and the limitations it imposes; and the significance of time and mans orientation to time as a key factor in the ordering and regulation of behaviour. In many respects, the holistic philosophy represents a reaction against certain forms of fragmentation and compartmentalisation which have characterised both scientific investigation and the approach to human problems during the first half of the 20th century. Implementation of the holistic approach is seen today in the growing body of research which crosses traditional discipline lines and in the renewed emphasis on comprehensive medicine, comprehensive mental health, and a comprehensive approach to a broad spectrum of human problems including delinquency, alcoholism, unemployment, disability etc. the holistic approach is compatible with an increasing awareness of the tendency for various forms of pathology to occur in clusters. Medical Care and Professionalism Medical care, once dominated by a restricted orthopaedic orientation, is now based on a growing recognition of the basic relationship between the anatomical, physiological, biochemical, and psychological functioning of the human body, and the reciprocal relationship between a disabled persons body functioning manifestation of his personality and his capacity to fulfil basic roles in job, family and community. In contrast, look at the study undergone by à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ All participants found that Occupational therapy was being underutilised. One reason provided for this was the lack of understanding about the role of OT by other staff members. Participants of this study felt that the perspective of OT as more of a rehabilitation service and less as a holistic service had an impact on the low use of OT, this being within a hospice setting. They found OT was often defined too much by exercises or functional tasks, and not recognising functional tasks become even more critical to someone who is becoming weaker and weaker and is in the process of dying. The hallmark of professionalism has been accountability for the application of expert knowledge to the service of others (Goode, 1960) Accountability includes both the obligation to answer questions regarding decisions and/or actions and the availability and applications of sanctions for illegal or inappropriate actions and behaviours (Brinkerhoff, 2004) health professionals have historically been accountable to their regulatory bodies for their autonomous exercise of professional judgment in determining services provided (Abbott, 19988). In recent years, the traditional approach to health professional accountability has been called into question for several reasons, one being escalation health expenditures (Degeling, 2000). Because all professional decisions related to health care have financial implications, this control has frequently translated into greater limits on professional practice. Occupational Therapy and Rehabilitation Sussmans (1965) work on the sociology of rehabilitation is well recognised and has the support of the American Sociological Association. The book emerged from a conference on Sociological Theory, Research and Rehabilitation held in Carmel, California in March 1965. According to Sussman, public interest in the concept of rehabilitation has greatly intensified in recent years. The term rehabilitation is being broadly applied to many kinds of disabling human problems, including physical disability, mental illnesses, mental retardation, alcoholism, drug addiction etc. Rehabilitation is used in both a limited and very comprehensive sense. It may refer to services concerned with education, physical functioning, psychological adjustment, social adaptions, vocational capabilities, or recreational activities. Occupational therapy rehabilitation can involve one of several types of therapy, used together or separately, to help patients enter or re-enter the workforce. This can include physical therapy, counselling, and job training. The overall goal of these therapies is to remedy any situation that may cause a patient to fail to perform in both personal and professional environments. Physical occupational therapy rehabilitation may be needed if a patient has been either injured or born with a physical handicap which interferes with everyday living. This can include the re-training of certain major muscle groups as well as education in using a wheelchair or other mobility aid to perform simple and complex tasks. In some more severe cases, employment may never be a possibility due to extreme physical limitations. For these patients, occupational therapy rehabilitation may act to teach them tasks as basic as eating with a fork and spoon or bathing themselves. Counselling for mentally ill, aggressive or depressed patients is also a type of occupational therapy rehabilitation. Often, an employer will require specific workers to undergo this type of treatment to help them interact more efficiently with co-workers, stay motivated on the job, or to fully rehabilitate them after a traumatic experience or depressive episode. This helps patients overcome emotional issues that may hinder job performance or social development, and allows them to effectively express issues and interact with customers or clients. Sometimes occupational therapy rehabilitation involves specific job training courses. This method may be used for mentally handicapped or brain damaged individuals, or those who have lost employment due to emotional or mental issues. Job training helps patients learn specific job related skills including how to perform basic job duties like lifting or typing, as well as how to interact with co-workers and customers. In some cases, an occupational therapist or counsellor may be hired to settle a dispute or problem between colleagues or groups within a workplace. This may include argumentative co-workers who are aggressive to the point of hindered job performance. In these situations, the therapist will teach proper coping methods for dealing with anger and jealously in the workforce in the form of individual counselling sessions, seminars, or group therapy meetings. Therapists and doctors often work together in occupational therapy rehabilitation for their patients. A combination of therapies and medications may be used in order to obtain full rehabilitative results. The primary goal of these tactics is to allow patients to live and work as normal as possible in society. Disability and Rehabilitation When looking at Occupational therapy in terms of rehabilitation, the experts agree that effective rehabilitation of the physically disabled involved helping the client to regain physical and social functions lost through injury or disease. Haber (1973) argues that disability should be conceptualised and measured by functional in capacities. Disability is then the inability to perform usual role activities as a result of a physical or mental impairment (loss of function) of long-term duration (Haber and Smith, 1971) One view of rehabilitation success is taken by Ludwig and Adams (1968) and Diamond et al. (1968) who use patient cooperation and participation in treatment as a measure of outcome. Acceptance of the sick role implies that the patient cooperate and participate in the treatment process as outlined by the experts so that he can get better (Parsons, 1951; 1975). In this context, the good and successful patient is judged to be the person who complies with the sick role. Consequently, rehabilitation success might be an artefact. There is no evidence to show that staff members tend to concentrate their efforts on those patients that they value highly or think have the best chance of demonstrating improvement (Kelman, 1964). However, appearance of patient motivation and cooperation in the rehabilitation settings does not accurately predict independent living after discharge (Kelman and Wilner, 1962). According to Nagi, when trying to define the concept of disabilities looks at the terms impairment and disability. He explores these terms by looking at how every individual lives within an environment in which he is called upon to perform certain roles and tasks. The ability and inability of people can be meaningfully understood and estimated only in terms of the degree of their fulfilment of these roles and tasks, when an individual is described as being unable the description in incomplete till it answers the question, unable to do what?. In this sense, ability-inability constitutes an assessment of the individuals level of functioning within an environment. Two categories of inability can be delineated on the basis of the time of onset. First are congenital inabilities. There are inborn limitations that are the result of anatomical malformations, physiological abnormalities, mental deficiencies, and/or general constitutional inadequacies. To be sure, abilities of all humans are subject tot limitations. Further more, Nagi argues, people differ greatly in degree of ability-inability without nec essarily suffering from an active disorder or a residual impairment. However, although the cutting point between able and unable is hard to distinguish, the more severe conditions are usually recognised. The OASI program have defined disability as the inability to engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of a medically determinable impairment that is expected to be of long-continues and indefinite duration or to result in death. Potential for rehabilitation indicated a prognostic evaluation of the levels of functioning the individual is capable of reaching under certain circumstances. The assessment of ability-inability is obviously a necessary step toward the evaluation of rehabilitation potential. Occupational therapists ask patients to perform a variety of tasks that would require the use of different types of tools and equipment. Information sought in this evaluation includes an assessment of the following attributes: the quality and quantity of work done, physical and interpersonal work adjustment. Experience and skills, the degree to which the impairment disables the individual in the performance of certain tasks. The rehabilitation potential of the patient. Occupational therapists are informed by the physician when the risk to a patients health precluded certain tasks or the whole occupational evaluation. Criticisms. Throught the mobilisation of the efforts of a highly trained team of medical including occupational therapists, rehabilitation envisions the maximum physical, mental, social, vocational and economic recovery possible. While the goals are attained many very with each individual case, Julius Roth has questioned whether such goals should legitimately be set by the patient or the therapist. The ultimate success of the program rests upon a remarkably intriguing interplay of the biogenic, sociogenic, and psychogenic components of human behaviour The delivery of Occupational Therapy Looking at where and how occupational therapy is delivered, it is delivered in Primary and Secondary Care following the patients journey and is governed by care pathways which include formal and informal carers.  The service is equitable in access and is provided from cradle to graves. Primary care is provided for patients at first contact with the health service. By this very nature it must be generalist, being able to cope with whatever problems arise. General practitioners are the traditional primary care doctors but in recent years we have seen rise to a primary care team, including Occupational Therapist, Physiotherapist and speech therapist to name a few, offering a wider range of health professionals and their respective skills. The World Health Organisation states in its blueprint for Health for All by the Year 2000 that there should be a special emphasis on primary health care services, particularly in developing countries in which funding is even more limited. This recent emphasis on the importance of health care has further improved its status in the medical world. This is particularly true in areas in occupational therapy when there is a focus on for example, elderly in residential care, and other community care related interventions. According to Tussing Wren (2006) literature on primary care indicates a need for the following, all of which are weak or absent in the Irish system: A primary care system which addresses the health needs of a mainly healthy population rather than concentrating on intervention in episodes of illness, an emphases on disease management for the chronically ill, supportive of self-care and home care, stronger evidence-based medicine, with appropriate protocols and guidelines, peer review and quality assurance, primary care infrastructure, supportive institutions, skilled substitutions, and GP interface. On the other hand secondary care is usually specialist services that require beds, and sometimes expensive equipment. Therefore it is usually based in hospitals. For example, stroke patients may be referred to Occupational Therapist by physicians after hospitalisation. Occupational therapist might then work with them in a rehabilitation centre using specific equipment to regain independence. Emerging Services Within recent years, much emphasis has been given to the development and expansion of a variety of out of hospital services for the chronically ill. However, such demonstrations continue to be slow to develop. Among the many issues involved in these attempts are those concerning the roles to be assumed by hospital or by community based agencies in relation to the provision of community care for those disabled patients who no longer require active hospital in-patient treatment. The studyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ was undertaken in order to define a more appropriate hospital role in relation to the continuing needs for rehabilitation care of a chronically ill and disabled population discharge to the community following extended hospital rehabilitation treatment. It evolved against a background of rather pessimistic clinical impressions and retrospective research probes which emphasised this populations failu re to maintain optimum health and social functioning in the community despite the achievement of these level while in the hospital. More specifically, concerns centred on this populations high rate of rehospitalisation, its deterioration in social functioning and its failure to use or to receive needed health and health related services while in the community. Acute Care Occupational therapy plays an essential role in the acute care hospital and in other medically related facilities from the rehabilitation hospital, to sub acute sites, to extended care facilities, to the facilities of the future. Though there are issues when it comes to acute care, Torrance, (1993) states that with increasing technology and quicker discharge, the need for therapeutic occupation increases. Occupational therapists are needed to work with patients in problem solving self-care occupations amidst the constraints of the tubes, monitors and fixators; to activate patients at risk because of the deleterious effects of bed rest; to help patients and caregivers plan realistically from what the patients will do and for how the patients will live and care for themselves after discharge but before healing; and to assess patients quality of life before and after hospitalisation. Nelson (1997:20) gives an example: For an example of the importance of therapeutic occupation in an acute care setting, consider a 5 month old girl born with neuromuscular disease of unknown etiology. The disease is characterised by the total absence of many of the proximal muscles, including those responsible for respiration. Picture her with multiple intubations for respiration and nutrition and with life-support monitors. The occupational therapist carefully removes her from the crib and bounces her gently while talking to her in high-pitched, rhythmical tones. In response to this occupational form, the infants adaptions are to learn to use the muscles controlling her vocal cords as she imitates the therapist; to learn to use the remaining muscles in her left arm as she grabs the therapists keys; and most of all to begin to learn that she too has a legitimate place in the human family. The therapist next places a piece of cloth playfully over the childs face, as in our prior example of the importance of peek-a-boo in healthy development. Like a health baby, this baby too removes the cloth and laughs. Despite the high technology setting, this baby also needs to encounter the occupational form of peek-a-boo in order to develop a sense of self and a sense of other. Therefore Occupational models of practise are needed for the acute care hospital for patients at all points on the lifer span. Since many health problems require a level of medical treatment and personal care that extends beyond the range of services normally available in the patients home, modern society has developed formal institutions for patients care intended to help meet the more complex health needs of its members. Here, much of an occupational therapist work is carried out. Usually in rehabilitation centres within the hospital. Looking at the hospital in more detail, the work of Cockerham (2007) draws on how it is the major social institution for the delivery of health care in the modern world, and how it offers considerable advantages to both patients and society. From the individuals point of view, the injured or sick person has access to centralised medical knowledge and the greatest array of technology within the hospital, and from the standpoint of society, as Renee Fox and Talcott Parsons (1952) argue, that when patients are within the hospital they are protecting their family from many disruptive effects of caring for the ill in the home and operates as a means of guiding the sick and injured into medically supervised institutions where their problems are less disruptive for society as a whole. Many other concepts of Parsons have been criticised, taking his concept of the sick role, it has been argued that Parsons model cannot be applied to chronic illnesses from which patients cannot recover. More significantly, it had been shown that access to the sick role is rather more problematic that Parsons model assumes. It has been suggested that parsons is really talking about a patient role rather then a sick role as there is a distinction between patients subjective experiences of illness and being objectively defined by doctors as having a disease. It is true to say Occupational therapy rejects a lot of Talcott Parons sick role ideas, who believes that when an individual is in the sick role he or she is exempt from responsibility for the incapacity, as it is beyond their control, and is also exempt from normal social role obligations. While this is true to say, Lober (1975:214) observes that while the patient is in the hospital there is an idea of voluntary cooperation , one to one intimacy, and conditional permissiveness, for example, being temporarily excused from normal social activities on the condition of seeking medical advice and care. Coe (1978) has also argued that acceptance is the most common form of patient adjustment to hospital routine and the most successful for short-stay patients, which most patients seeking Occupational therapy are, as the main aim is to get the patients back into society. Chronically Ill and Care According to Oliver (1996), as societies modernise the burden of disease is shifting from acute to chronic long-term illness and disability. While clinical medicine can treat many of these chronic conditions, it cannot cure many of them, and thus more and more people are spending a greater proportion of their lives coping with illness. Occupational therapist deal with many terminally ill patients. According to à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. Individuals with terminal illness face a number of problems related to social, emotional, spiritual and their physical well-being. Some individuals have expressed that the feeling of being a burden to family and friends is more distressing than physical pain (Lloyd, 1989). Carey, 1975 looks at how these individuals with terminal illnesses find the biggest challenges in looking for satisfactory meaning in their new life situation whole facing mortality. Care for these patients has come along way, as in the past the care had primary focus on alleviating only the physical distress of the illness. Kubler-Ross (1997) describes how physicians, who are held back by their own views and feeling on death, are often unable to reach out to their dying patients to provide them with care and comfort. Therefore death in the past was almost seen as a failure of medicine. This ideology began to change with the emergence of the hospice in 1967 by De Cicely Saunfers, who founded St. Christophers hospice. Today we can recognise the hospice as a specialised facility for the care of dying patients that supports them in living life fully and comfortably while confronting death (National Hospice Organisation, 1996). The American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) (1998) states the following inn relation to occupational therapy and the hospice: The AOTA affirms the right of a dying person to have access to a caring community within the health care system and believes in the need for personalised care of the dying individual throughout the course of a terminal illness. Occupational Therapy is based on the belief that all individuals engage in occupationsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Occupational therapy practitioners are uniquely qualified to help the dying person continue to engage in meaningful daily occupations within the hospice community of care. (p.872) When a patient who has a terminal illness continues to lose their ability to care for themselves and carryout usual daily activities, fostering the patients independence in self-care, work, and leisure usually becomes a top priority of intervention (Holland Tigges, 1981; Tigges, 1983; Tigges Marcil, 1988). Tigges (1983) explains a framework that looks at the human need of mastery-productive use of tie, energy, interest, and attention, this is also known as the occupational role of performance paradigm (9.163). Although some individuals with terminal illnesses are able to maintain many of their usual roles, its not always true for others. According to Gammage, McMahon, and Shanahan (1976), occupational therapist have a unique role in assisting patients to accept their new role as an individual with an illness and relinquish old occupational roles. Not only do occupational therapists focus on roles los

The Moonstone Essay -- Literature Review

Wilkie Collins portrayal of a cursed diamond in The Moonstone, this Victorian era detective fiction book is still recognized globally today. Although, this novel was written in the nineteenth century Collin effortlessly distinguished the novel for viewers of all ages. The novel is not only a detective fiction but also has some elements of action and romance. Collins not only writes novels but also poetry and has been recognized internationally for all his work. Collins can with ease characterize all his characters in the novel. There are many contradistinction aspects in the moonstone but the most fascinating one is viewing the novel in a psychological approach. The reason is because in the novel Franking Blake unconsciously steals the cursed diamond away from his beloved Rachel. This novel is mainly about a diamond that became cursed when it was stolen away from its Hindu temple. The diamond was also the most expensive diamond in existence at that time. The diamond is said to curse anyone who receives it and keeps it and it will bring unhappiness to his or her life. The curse has been shown to be true throughout the novel. For example, the relationship between Rachel and Franklin Blake although, they have loved each other the moonstone has only brought unhappiness to there lives. Despite the love between Rachel and Franklin Blake the stone has cursed their lives the moonstone is best understood to be a curse, because both of these individuals took possession of the diamond their love and friendship was cursed until the diamond was returned to its holy Hindu temple. The diamond belongs to a Hindu religion, which worshiped the diamond and praised it. The moonstone was so extremely profitable that some of the members in society in... ...giver’s generosity rather than his or her rapacity† (Blumberg 4). This is why at the end of our novel the stone was returned back to its Hindu temple. Works Cited Blumberg I. Collins's "Moonstone": The Victorian Novel as Sacrifice, Theft, Gift and Debt. Studies In The Novel [serial online]. Summer2005 2005; 37(2): 162. Available from: MasterFILE Complete, Ipswich, MA. Accessed April 3, 2012. Collins, Wilkie. "The Moonstone." New York: The Century Co, 1904. 3-515. The English Comedie Humaine. LitFinder. Web. 2 Apr. 2012. Duncan, Ian. "The Moonstone, The Victorian Novel, And Imperialistic Panic." Modern Language Quarterly 55.3 (1994): 297. Education Research Complete. Web. 3 Apr. 2012. Gooch, Joshua. "Narrative Labor In Wilkie Collins's The Moonstone." LIT: Literature Interpretation Theory 21.2 (2010): 119-143. Academic Search Complete. Web. 3 Apr. 2012.

Type II Diabetes :: Health, Diseases

Introduction Type II diabetes is a heterogeneous syndrome results from the progressive defects of impairment of ß- cell insulin secretion and insulin resistant of the target tissues. It also increases due to the rising rate of obesity which involves the deficiency of insulin to compensate for insulin resistance by increasing insulin secretion [1]. However it is increasingly clear that reductions in insulin sensitivity and ß- cell functions leads to the rise of type II diabetes [2]. The normal pancreatic ß- cells displaying the remarkable response to nutrients and obesity – associated insulin resistance by the hyper secretion of insulin to maintain fuel homeostasis. But the cellular resistance unable to sustain the ß– cells compensatory response in type II diabetes [3]. Although the cause of the metabolic deterioration is unknown, but several hypothesis have been proposed including mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, ER stress, and gluco-lip otoxicity [4, 5]. Recent studies with intensive investigations suggesting that elevated glucose along with circulating free fatty acids distributed especially from the intra abdominal fat are the major culprits of insulin resistance and beta cell dysfunction [6, 7]. But the underlying molecular and cellular mechanisms of gluco-lipotoxicity contribute to ß- cell dysfunction and loss in type II diabetes remains debated. A recent observation from experimental, clinical and genetic evidence suggests endoplasmic reticulum was responsible for molecular mechanism of gluco-lipotoxicity which may contribute to ß - cell dysfunction in type II diabetes [8, 9]. In this review, we discussed about the involvement of ER in gluco-lipotoxicity induced ß- cell dysfunction along with the brief involvement of mitochondria. ER stress response Adaptation to metabolic changes requires the high regulation and co-ordination of many homeostatic systems, since the quality and quantity of available nutrients does not temporally match their needs. Pancreatic ß - cells displaying remarkable response to nutrients by the balance between the anabolic hormone insulin and the catabolic hormone glucagon in order to maintain fuel homeostasis. For an appropriate response, the cells require the development of suitable sensors and signaling molecules, which integrates all these signals into an appropriate insulin secretory rate in order to maintain homeostasis.

Carl Rogers Essay

Carl Rogers Carl Rogers Carl Ransom Rogers (January 8, 1902 – February 4, 1987) was an influential American psychologist and among the founders of the humanistic approach to psychology. Rogers is widely considered to be one of the founding fathers of psychotherapy research and was honored for his pioneering research with the Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions by the American Psychological Association in 1956. The person-centered approach, his own unique approach to understanding personality and human relationships, found wide application in various domains such as psychotherapy and counseling (client-centered therapy), education (student-centered learning), organizations, and other group settings. For his professional work he was bestowed the Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Psychology by the APA in 1972. Towards the end of his life Carl Rogers was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his work with national intergroup conflict in South Africa and Northern Ireland. In an empirical study by Haggbloom et al. (2002) using six criteria such as citations and recognition, Rogers was found to be the sixth most eminent psychologist of the 20th century and second, among clinicians, only to Sigmund Freud. The fully functioning person Optimal development, referred to below in proposition 14, results in a certain process rather than static state. Rogers describes this as the good life, where the organism continually aims to fulfill its full potential. He listed the characteristics of a fully functioning person (Rogers 1961): 1. A growing openness to experience – they move away from defensiveness and have no need for subception (a perceptual defense that involves unconsciously applying strategies to prevent a troubling stimulus from entering consciousness). 2. An increasingly existential lifestyle – living each moment fully – not distorting the moment to fit personality or self concept but allowing personality and self concept to emanate from the experience. This results in excitement, daring, adaptability, tolerance, spontaneity, nd a lack of rigidity and suggests a foundation of trust. â€Å"To open one’s spirit to what is going on now, and discover in that present process whatever structure it appears to have† (Rogers 1961) 3. Increasing organismic trust – they trust their own judgment and their ability to choose behavior that is appropriate for each moment. They do not rely on existing codes and social norms but trust that as they are open to experiences they wil l be able to trust their own sense of right and wrong. 4. Freedom of choice – not being shackled by the restrictions that influence an incongruent individual, they are able to make a wider range of choices more fluently. They believe that they play a role in determining their own behavior and so feel responsible for their own behavior. 5. Creativity – it follows that they will feel more free to be creative. They will also be more creative in the way they adapt to their own circumstances without feeling a need to conform. 6. Reliability and constructiveness – they can be trusted to act constructively. An individual who is open to all their needs will be able to maintain a balance between them. Even aggressive needs will be matched and balanced by intrinsic goodness in congruent individuals. www. bapca. org. uk/about-2/carl-rogers. html? tmpl=component&print=1&page= 1/4 3/22/13 Carl Rogers 7. A rich full life – he describes the life of the fully functioning individual as rich, full and exciting and suggests that they experience joy and pain, love and heartbreak, fear and courage more intensely. Rogers’ description of the good life: This process of the good life is not, I am convinced, a life for the faint-hearted. It involves the stretching and growing of becoming more and more of one’s potentialities. It involves the courage to be. It means launching oneself fully into the stream of life. (Rogers 1961) Nineteen propositions Rogers theory (as of 1951) was based on 19 propositions: 1. All individuals (organisms) exist in a continually changing world of experience (phenomenal field) of which they are the center. 2. The organism reacts to the field as it is experienced and perceived. This perceptual field is â€Å"reality† for the individual. 3. The organism reacts as an organized whole to this phenomenal field. 4. A portion of the total perceptual field gradually becomes differentiated as the self. 5. As a result of interaction with the environment, and particularly as a result of evaluational interaction with others, the structure of the self is formed – an organized, fluid but consistent conceptual pattern of perceptions of characteristics and relationships of the â€Å"I† or the â€Å"me†, together with values attached to these concepts. . The organism has one basic tendency and striving – to actualize, maintain and enhance the experiencing organism. 7. The best vantage point for understanding behavior is from the internal frame of reference of the individual. 8. Behavior is basically the goal-directed attempt of the organism to satisfy its needs as experienced, in the field as perceived. 9. Emotion accompanies, and in general facilitates, such goal directed behavior, the kind of emotion being related to the perceived significance of the behavior for the maintenance and enhancement of the organism. 10. The values attached to experiences, and the values that are a part of the self-structure, in some instances, are values experienced directly by the organism, and in some instances are values introjected or taken over from others, but perceived in distorted fashion, as if they had been experienced directly. 1. As experiences occur in the life of the individual, they are either, a) symbolized, perceived and organized into some relation to the self, b) ignored because there is no perceived relationship to the self structure, c) denied symbolization or given distorted symbolization because the experience is inconsistent with the structure of the self. 12. Most of the ways of behaving that are adopted by the organism are those that are consistent with the concept of self. 13. In some instances, behavior may be brought about by organic experiences and needs which have not been symbolized. Such behavior may be inconsistent with the structure of the self but in such instances the behavior is not â€Å"owned† by the individual. 14. Psychological adjustment exists when the concept of the self is such that all the sensory and visceral experiences of the organism are, or may be, assimilated on a symbolic level into a consistent relationship with the concept of self. 15. Psychological maladjustment exists when the organism denies awareness of significant sensory and visceral experiences, which consequently are not symbolized and organized into the gestalt of the self structure. When this situation exists, there is a basic or potential psychological tension. 16. Any experience which is inconsistent with the organization of the structure of the self may be www. bapca. org. uk/about-2/carl-rogers. html? tmpl=component&print=1&page= 2/4 3/22/13 Carl Rogers perceived as a threat, and the more of these perceptions there are, the more rigidly the self structure is organized to maintain itself. 7. Under certain conditions, involving primarily complete absence of threat to the self structure, experiences which are inconsistent with it may be perceived and examined, and the structure of self revised to assimilate and include such experiences. 18. When the individual perceives and accepts into one consistent and integrated system all his sensory and visceral ex periences, then he is necessarily more understanding of others and is more accepting of others as separate individuals. 9. As the individual perceives and accepts into his self structure more of his organic experiences, he finds that he is replacing his present value system – based extensively on introjections which have been distortedly symbolized – with a continuing organismic valuing process. Additionally, Rogers is known for practicing â€Å"unconditional positive regard,† which is defined as accepting a person â€Å"without negative judgment of †¦. [a person’s] basic worth. † Learner-centred education Carl Rogers applied his experiences with adult therapy to the education process and developed the concept of learner-centered teaching. He had the following five hypotheses regarding learner-centered education: -â€Å"A person cannot teach another person directly; a person can only facilitate another’s learning† (Rogers, 1951). This is a result of his personality theory, which states that everyone exists in a constantly changing world of experience in which he or she is the center. Each person reacts and responds based on perception and experience. The belief is that what the student does is more important than what the teacher does. The focus is on the student (Rogers, 1951). Therefore, the background and experiences of the learner are essential to how and what is learned. Each student will process what he or she learns differently depending on what he or she brings to the classroom. -â€Å"A person learns significantly only those things that are perceived as being involved in the maintenance of or enhancement of the structure of self† (Rogers, 1951). Therefore, relevancy to the student is essential for learning. The students’ experiences become the core of the course. -â€Å"Experience which, if assimilated, would involve a change in the organization of self, tends to be resisted through denial or distortion of symbolism† (Rogers, 1951). If the content or presentation of a course is inconsistent with preconceived information, the student will learn if he or she is open to varying concepts. Being open to consider concepts that vary from one’s own is vital to learning. Therefore, gently encouraging open-mindedness is helpful in engaging the student in learning. Also, it is important, for this reason, that new information is relevant and related to existing experience. -â€Å"The structure and organization of self appears to become more rigid under threats and to relax its boundaries when completely free from threat† (Rogers, 1951). If students believe that concepts are being forced upon them, they might become uncomfortable and fearful. A barrier is created by a tone of threat in the classroom. Therefore, an open, friendly environment in which trust is developed is essential in the online classroom. Fear of retribution for not agreeing with a concept should be eliminated. A classroom tone of support helps to alleviate fears and encourages students to have the courage to explore concepts and beliefs that vary from those they bring to the classroom. Also, new information might threaten the student’s concept of him- or herself; therefore, the less vulnerable the student feels, the more likely he or she will be able to open up to the learning process. -â€Å"The educational situation which most effectively promotes significant learning is one in which (a) threat to the self of the learner is reduced to a minimum and (b) differentiated perception of the field is www. bapca. org. k/about-2/carl-rogers. html? tmpl=component;print=1;page= 3/4 3/22/13 Carl Rogers facilitated† (Rogers, 1951). The instructor should be open to learning from the students and also working to connect the students to the subject matter. Frequent interaction with the students will help achieve this goal. The instructor’s acceptance of being a mentor who guides rat her than the expert who tells is instrumental to student-centered, nonthreatening, and unforced learning. This article is taken from the Wikipedia entry for Carl Rogers. www. bapca. org. uk/about-2/carl-rogers. html? tmpl=component&print=1&page= 4/4

Scarlet Letter Images

Joseph Gurke 10. 17. 2012 Ms. Boas P. 1 The Scarlet Letter Light, Dark, Sunlight and Shadows Throughout his entire life, Nathaniel Hawthorne had lived in seclusion from people and society, isolating himself and his thoughts behind a mysterious shade. This may explain why the themes of sin, secrecy and guilt are used in Hawthorne’s fiction, exploring hidden human dimensions.The images of sin, secrecy, and guilt are constantly portrayed in Nathaniel Hawthorne's, The Scarlet Letter, through the presence of recurring motifs of light and dark, sunlight and shadows; as these themes aid the reader's depiction of the separation between evil and goodness. Images of light are seen throughout the novel The Scarlet Letter. These images illuminate a character’s true intention and personality, yet at the same time, force a character to hide certain aspects of his personality while under the public eye.The view of Hester on the scaffold, when she is receiving her punishment for adulte ry in front of the public eye, the image of light illuminates her scarlet letter and sin; liberating Hester from public judgment and the pain of concealing sin, â€Å"Those who had before known her, and had expected to behold her dimmed and obscured by a disastrous cloud, were astonished, and even startled, to perceive how here beauty shown out, and made a halo of the misfortune and ignominy in which she was enveloped. † (49).The fact the Hester’s sin is known to all and that she is stands tall with her baby in her arms and the scarlet letter on her chest shows that she no longer needs to conceal anything from the public eye, â€Å"And never had Hester Prynne appeared more lady-like, in the antique interpretation of the term, than as she issued from the prison. † (49). After being revealed to the public, Hester must now live in isolation with nature, self-reliance and non-conformity being the ethics in her life; yet having the relief of wearing sin on her chest. Sunlight is a naturally occurring light and one that reflects goodness and pureness in characters. It is a positive image, representing cleanliness and lack of sin in this novel. When in the forest with Pearl, the sunlight avoids Hester completely while she carries the scarlet letter on her chest, â€Å"Mother,† said little Pearl, â€Å"the sunshine does not love you. It runs away and hides itself, because it is afraid of something on your bosom. . . . It will not flee from me; for I wear nothing on my bosom yet! †(161).When she removes the letter, sunlight flows into the forest, bringing everything to light and removing any shadows present, â€Å"So speaking, she undid the clasps that fastened the scarlet letter, and, taking it from her bosom, through it to a distance among the withered leaves. † (191) â€Å"All at once, as with the sudden smile of heaven, forth burst the sunshine, pouring a very flood into the obscure forest, gladdening each green leaf, trans muting the yellow fallen ones to gold, and gleaming adown the grey trunks of the solemn trees. The objects that had made a shadow hitherto, embodied the brightness now. †(191).The sunlight represents cleanliness; washing sin, secrecy and guilt from characters, allowing them to feel a sense of freedom, â€Å"Her sex, her youth, and the whole richness of her beauty†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (190). With the absence of the scarlet letter, sunlight floods the forest and surrounding area around Hester and Dimmesdale, removing any shadows, which represent evil and bondage, and with this flood of sunshine comes a new feeling of freedom for both, exactly what sunshine represents in the text, â€Å"And as if the gloom of the earth and the sky had been but the effluence of those two mortal hearts, it vanished with their sorrow. (190). Darkness is a constant theme in this novel, representing guilt, sin and secrecy, major themes that Nathaniel Hawthorne incorporates into his literature. Dimmesdale, Hester and Pearl meet on the scaffold, under the darkness of night and shadows, the only time that Dimmesdale can express his sin and evil, â€Å"Mr. Dimmesdale reached the spot where, now so long since, Hester Prynne had lived through her first hours of public ignominy. † (133).The scaffold shows the irony of Hester and Dimmesdale’s situation because Hester, in the daylight reveals her sin to the town and could be freed from the bondage of hiding sin, and now Dimmesdale, after seven years is revealing his sin on the scaffold to only Hester at night, still feeling the pain of bondage and concealment of this sin. It is the only time that Dimmesdale, Hester’s lover and Pearl’s father ever embraces them and can openly reveal his sin, but the darkness does not allow him to be free. The minister felt for the child’s other hand and took it. The moment that he did so, there came what seemed tumultuous rush of new life, other life than his own, pouring lik e a torrent into his heart, and hurrying through his veins, as if the mother and child were communicating their vital warmth to his half-torpid system. The three formed and electrical chain. † (142).This love that the minister feels frees him of his bondage and cleanses his soul for a moment in time, yet this moment is enveloped back by the surrounding darkness that takes all hope of escape from him. Hester experienced this escape on the same scaffold that they are on yet in the light that allowed her to live the rest of her life without this bondage to sin, that under darkness, the minister cannot be free. Light, dark, shadows and sunlight, are all motifs that Nathaniel Hawthorne uses to describe different types of emotions in the text.Light and its more natural form in sunlight reflect the goodness in characters and the ability to be free from bondage with nothing holding you back, no pain of concealing sin. While one the other hand darkness and shadows allow the characters to reflect their emotions and reveal sin, but under darkness these emotions and secrets will not reach anyone else and will keep characters like Dimmesdale in bondage and pain. Works Cited Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. New York: Bantam Books, 1986. Print.

English commentary creative writing Essay

I based the beginning of my story on a physical but also mental journey a man goes on while he is on his own hitchhiking home. I felt this was suitable for the topic journeys and pilgrimages which also liked in with the book Chaucer. As it is the beginning of a story the audience could really be any age. As it is a piece to entertain I would say it is suited better for the young. The purpose of my story was to entertain people, but also informing people about how one man is able to hitchhike. In order for me to write a story about hitchhiking I had to do some research into the topic. I found a book called â€Å"round Ireland with a fridge† by Tony Hawks which really inspired me and helped me grasp the language technique to use in order to entertain. To think in with Chaucer and the way he writes I have used stereotypes in my writing, for example I have does the typical blond as being stupid and naive. I have also used the idea about how the people in Chaucer went on a journey. The man I write about goes on a journey by himself from Lancashire back to Bristol, in which he also finds himself and learns a lot more about the world around him. I wanted to portray the man as a typical Bristol lad, with a slight arrogant edge. In order to do this I had to use a slight sarcastic tone of voice which I hoped would also entertain the readers. I also used phonetic lexis to help create an idiolect of the man. I used a Bristol accent and changed words like â€Å"alright† to â€Å"ite† and also â€Å"ya† instead of â€Å"you†. Which changing his dialect to fit his accent I also done this with other characters in the story, for example the Yorkshire girl he meets. For instance when she says â€Å"Wheor are yee headin† creates a sense of her accent to the readers. The language I used was very informal and personal. It was from the point of view from a man writing himself so the tone was very calm but at times comical. The structure was the usual story telling layout, with several small and large paragraphs, with a wide range of short sentences to add emotion and feeling to the man. â€Å"Okay, maybe not.†(after a line about wanting to fulfil his life) is an example of the idiolect I used from him, and shows the way he comes across as a simple man but with a funny entertaining side. I also linked my writing to The Road by Cormac McCarthy. I did this by using the disaster of the father in the road as a starting point of describing the man and his journey hitchhiking with so little and all by himself.

Psychology Matters Essay

It is a fact that society is dealing with numerous problems at this time, which includes violence, poverty, and health issues. More and more people who engage in violent acts are being shown in the news. It does not even matter how young or old these people are because age is not a factor in committing violence. Homelessness and unemployment are also two of the most serious issues that the public have to deal with everyday of their lives. There is also the growing concern over health and medicine because having good health and long life are important to everyone. These problems can affect people’s mental well-being, especially if they experience it firsthand and are not able to receive professional help to help them recover and deal with the situation. If their mental health has proved to be unstable and affecting their behavior, they might cause harm to other people as well. Psychologists can help find solutions by conducting more studies so that they can research about the issues and how people react to them better. They can also find solutions by getting into the field and talking to people about what their concerns are and how they might be of help. Receiving recommendations from average people will greatly help the professionals handle real-life situations much better. Going into the field would also allow psychologists to learn more about certain issues and situations, which would help them become better in what they do. Not only will they be able to help their patients, but they also have the opportunity to grow personally and professionally. Indeed, there are numerous psychological issues that society faces everyday, which is why it is very comforting to know that psychologists are doing what they can to help the average person and families to handle these stressful situations. Psychologists and other health professionals should conduct further studies involving psychological issues for the benefit of society.