Processed Food Processed Foods - 918 Words

Processed Food Most foods can be considered processed whether or not it comes in a box or in a can. These foods can be found in almost every home. They are used when we do not have the time or energy to cook a full meal. Most of the time it is always easier to put a pot of water on the stove to make spaghetti or put a frozen meal into the microwave, to us it takes very minimal work. In our society it is acceptable to always be on the move because we all want to just get things done or have somewhere to be. With that mind set to always be on the move we leave ourselves very little time to actually sit down and enjoy a nice meal that is good for us. I think that we, as people should cut out processed foods from our everyday diet and try to have meals that consists of whole, natural foods. I feel that we should replace all of those unhealthy foods with whole foods that will actually benefit us because processed foods can be full of additives and preservatives that our bodies cannot metabolize. Also the chemicals that are deemed safe to consume be the Food and Drug administration (FDA) are banned in other countries. Lastly processed foods are made up of chemicals that are created and they can over time cause harm to our bodies. I am not suggesting to go out and throw everything in your pantry away because in the end it is up to you and what you consider to be processed. For example someone who will not buy vegetables from the grocery store because they consider that toShow MoreRelatedProcessed Foods802 Words   |  4 PagesGenetically modified foods are quite prevalent in the United States, in fact its quite difficult finding something on the store shelves that’s NOT genetically modified. Since most all corn, cotton and soybeans in the United States are genetically modified all products arising from them and those coming processed with canola oil are also genetically modified. (Millstone and Lang, 2008; Black, 2010). Genetic Modification (GM) occurs when the genome, or genetic make-up of an organism, has DNA from anotherRead MoreEating Food And Processed Foods893 Words   |  4 Pagesand what she eats. Very commonly in the United States of America, fast food and processed foods have become a go to in the busy lives of people. One way to help cut fat and carbs from a diet is by cutting out the fast foods and processed foods. Something else that helps is by starting to eat a diet rich in lean meats and vegetables. Mary should also take in healthy fats and carbs from nuts and fruits. When preparing these foods, we also have to be careful not to add too much fat and sugar when cookingRead MoreFast Food And Processed Food Companies1556 Words   |  7 PagesIntroduction Due to today’s reliance on instantaneous service, most Americans cannot picture a world without fast food, TV dinners, and frozen sections in supermarkets. Yet, only sixty-five years ago or so, most of the United States had never even heard of a drive-through lane. The gigantic shift from hot, home-cooked dinners to meals birthed from bags and boxes was largely spurred by targeted advertising due to political and social context. During World War II, for example, five million womenRead MoreThe Effects Of Food On Food And The Processed Materials Essay1313 Words   |  6 Pageseating immense amounts of food. In contrast, my mother always believed that I ate too little. Therefore, I was always encouraged (sometimes forced) to consume anything and everything when I felt the smallest inclination to eat. I never thought about where the food came from or what process was used to make and ship these goods. If I desired food, there was nothing stopping me from having it. My roommat e in college, however, changed my perception of food and the processed materials. Melody, my roommateRead MoreThe Effects Of Processed Food On Obesity1490 Words   |  6 PagesEffects of Processed Food on Obesity Larry Liu Westview High School Everyday in America the average citizen consumes three to five pounds of food each day (Andrew). The question is â€Å"What exactly are they eating?† The most common food an American consumes is processed food. At least 70 percent of our calories we intake come from processed foods (Warner, 2013, XV). Yes, processed foods are convenient. However, people tend to overlook how much sugar, sodium, and chemicals are in processed foodRead MoreIs Processed Food Safe For Human?1203 Words   |  5 PagesIs Processed Food Safe for Human Consumpiton? Processed foods contain all sorts of artificial ingredients and lot s of preservatives to increase the shelf life. In this day in age, with the immense increase in illnesses such as cancer, one cant help but wonder, Is processed food the source, is it safe for human consumpition? What is Processed Food: The term â€Å"processed food† applies to any food that has been altered from its natural state in some way, either for safety reasons or convenience. TheRead MoreBenefits Of Genetically Processed Foods1839 Words   |  8 PagesGenetically processed food are living organisms whose genetic material has been artificially changed in a laboratory through genetic engineering. Science creates different combinations of plant, animal, bacterial and viral genes that do not occur in nature or through traditional crossbreeding methods. Genetically processed foods come from a branch of Food Science that seeks improvement for foods and food production. Genetically processed foods also tie in with industrial fermentation, cross breedingRead MoreProcessed Cheese and Kraft Foods30876 Words   |  124 PagesKraft Foods 2011 TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive summary(KH) 6 Indroduction(ME) 7 Background/ History of Kraft (ME) 7 Mission Statement(ME) 8 Major Goals(ME) 12 Business(ME) 12 Corporate and Environmental Philosophy(ME) 12 Mission Statement Analysis(ME) 13 Strategic Evolution(KH) 13 Intended Strategies(KH) 14 Emergent Strategies(KH) 16 Stakeholders(CB) 20 Internal(CB) 20 External(CB) 22 Kraft’s Organization and Structure (YL) 23 Purpose of the Report(KH) 26 ExternalRead MoreThe Truth behind Processed Food Essay1151 Words   |  5 Pagesdifferent foods they eat? There are two types of foods, which are processed foods and unprocessed foods. Processed foods are foods that are packaged, canned, frozen, and put on shelves. Processed foods are unhealthy because they are high in calories, trans-fat, and saturated fat. Here are several different processed foods that many Americans eat quite often, sausage, hot dogs, ham, boxed cakes, bread, milk, and cheeses. Non-processed foods are fresh and natural foods. Non- Processed foods are foods thatRead MoreEffects Of Processed Food On Childhood Obesity1925 Words   |  8 PagesEffects of Processed Food on Childhood Obesity Larry Liu Westview High School Everyday in America the average citizen consumes three to five pounds of food a day (Andrew). The question is â€Å"What exactly are they eating?† The most common food an American consumes is processed food. At least 70 percent of our calories we intake come from processed foods (Warner, 2013). Warner stating that nearly at least three fourths of what we consume during the day is some sort of processed food. Yes, processed

Argumentative Essay On Globalization Debate - 1708 Words

Joseph Scarimbolo MGT 3600 Professor Gnuse 08/22/2017 â€Å"Globalization Debate† Globalization is a very hot button topic in today’s economy. It is discussed and debated everywhere, including TV shows, on the internet, in politics, and in company boardrooms. The text book defines globalization as the â€Å"tendency toward an international integration and interdependency of goods, technology, information, labor, and capital, or the process of making this happen. â€Å"(Geringer, 2016, p. 17) What essentially is happening is that the world is shrinking, and that technology is bringing people closer together. Global businesses are growing for many reasons. Obviously the main reason is because of technological advances. What has also helped is the†¦show more content†¦A great example of this is India and its fight against the US over local content rules regarding India’s own solar energy production. India’s own renewable energy minister, Piyush Goyal, has said that â€Å"it is very unfortunate that the US on one side continues to have its own Domestic Content Requirement and purchase of solar equipment giving preference to domestic manufacturers and on the other hand, chooses to go against the developing world. (Brar 2016) Basically the United States is saying that India s policies on buying locally made solar power equipment discriminates against imports. So even though the United States free trades everywhere, and want to sell their products in places like India, the US wants to protect their local businesses from low cost products flowing in from India. That is pretty hypocritical because I believe that all India wants to do is have their own solar energy panels for sale throughout the world. India just wants to protect their own local businesses, the same way that the US does. If we want a true free market - we have to expect US citizens to compete against Indian workers who are ready to work for $1/hour with no regulations. Globalization can even infringe on the national sovereignty of a developed country. A great example of this was mentioned in the videos. This has to do with the United States issue with the EU trying to block imports of hormone treated US Beef. So the WTO came in and struck down the EuropeanShow MoreRelatedThe Journey of India Through History in The Argumentative Indian by Dr. Amartya Sen886 Words   |  4 Pagesthat sense, the book, â€Å"The Argumentative Indian† written by Dr. Amartya Sen, the Nobel laureate has been very appropriately titled and that through this he has unwittingly revealed his own views. The way the book moves ahead, are thoughts of an argumentative individual – propagating his own views but not searching for the truth. This book discusses the journey of India from its history to the present identity in terms of the cultural traditions related to public debate that has impacted several aspectsRead MoreAnalysis Of All Work And No Play Makes Jack A Dull Boy Essay1136 Words   |  5 PagesArgumentative Essay Rough Draft # 1 â€Å"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy† is a proverb well known by everyone in our society. It simply means that without a break from work, a person becomes bored and uninterested, this proverb also applies for education. Mark Edmundson author of On the Uses of a liberal Education: As Lite Entertainment for Bored College Students argues that universities are giving too much comfort to students making it a less challenging environment and giving students lessRead MoreFiscal Austerity Debate1763 Words   |  7 Pagesï » ¿Fiscal Austerity Debate September 26, 2012 Fiscal Austerity Debate Recently, the Spanish governments new bundle of tax increases and expenditure cuts pitches an attention on a progressively argumentative discussion about whether fiscal austerity in Europe is further damaging the patients health rather than leading to retrieval (Terry, 2009). Even though this might sound a little boring, the word fiscal austerity has really turned out to be a topic that has been getting hotter by the minuteRead MoreArgumentative Essay - Foreign Language2587 Words   |  11 PagesKatie Rudnik Instructor McClary English 102:027 20 November 2014 Researched Argumentative Essay – Foreign Language in the United States With the development of technology, improvement of transportation, and expansion of social media, globalization is occurring faster than ever. Now more than ever, companies are looking to expand internationally and employers are looking to hire multilingual employees. Because of this, the study of foreign language plays a critical role in the ever-expanding globalRead MoreEssay on Asian Philosophies of Critical Thinking5513 Words   |  23 PagesAsian Philosophies of Critical Thinking The research question of this extended essay came across at a very early stage in my life. Having been born and developed from a family with all its members being University instructors and professors, I was often involved in arguments related to the lack of critical thinking in Asian cultures. As I got older, having had the chance to emerge in different cultures, I started to develop my own viewpoints and answers. I started to wonder about the truth betweenRead MoreThe Social Origins Of Marxism3246 Words   |  13 Pageswith Durkheim and Weber). Marx lived through the majority of the 19th century (1818-1883), when the Industrial Revolution and capitalism were at their peak, and his work was a critical analysis of this relatively new form of society. The aim of this essay is to explore the social origins of Marx’s theories with a look to assess how useful these social origins are when it comes to understanding the strengths and weaknesses of his theories. I will first briefly describe some of Marx’s most well knownRead MoreEuropean Collective Identity11275 Words   |  46 PagesEuropean Journal of Social Theory http://est.sagepub.com/ A Theory of Collective Identity Making Sense of the Debate on a European Identity Klaus Eder European Journal of Social Theory 2009 12: 427 DOI: 10.1177/1368431009345050 The online version of this article can be found at: http://est.sagepub.com/content/12/4/427 Published by: http://www.sagepublications.com Additional services and information for European Journal of Social Theory can be found at: Email Alerts: http://estRead MoreStephen P. Robbins Timothy A. Judge (2011) Organizational Behaviour 15th Edition New Jersey: Prentice Hall393164 Words   |  1573 Pages11 Disciplines That Contribute to the OB Field 13 Psychology 14 †¢ Social Psychology 14 †¢ Sociology 14 †¢ Anthropology 14 There Are Few Absolutes in OB 14 Challenges and Opportunities for OB 15 Responding to Economic Pressures 15 †¢ Responding to Globalization 16 †¢ Managing Workforce Diversity 18 †¢ Improving Customer Service 18 †¢ Improving People Skills 19 †¢ Stimulating Innovation and Change 20 †¢ Coping with â€Å"Temporariness† 20 †¢ Working in Networked Organizations 20 †¢ Helping Employees Balance Work–LifeRead MoreLibrary Management204752 Words   |  820 Pageslarger and more complex in recent years. Most librarians in modern libraries are managers, and they, too, need to know how to manage. Today, librarians are facing greater challeng es than ever before, resulting from increased competition, growing globalization, ever-changing technology, and the pace of change. The only constant in today’s organizations is change. Although all change is challenging, that occurring at the present presents particular problems, for as the British management expert CharlesRead MoreDeveloping Management Skills404131 Words   |  1617 Pagescriticisms are somewhat controversial among researchers, they are less relevant to our discussion here because of our emphasis on the development of internalized principles for guiding behavior, whatever their basis. For our purposes in this chapter, the debate about whether justice is a male value and caring is a female value is largely beside the point. Becoming more mature in values development requires that individuals develop a set of internalized principles by which they can govern their behavior.

Quani’s Story Free Essays

Family Genealogy Paper A family that prays together stays together is an idiom passed down from generations to generations. My family stands firm on this phrase and will continue to pass it down to generations to come. As I conducted a few conversations with family members, from the maternal side of my family, I understood why they believed in the quote and I will continue to pass it down to my kids and family. We will write a custom essay sample on Quani’s Story or any similar topic only for you Order Now The reason I researched my mother’s side of the family was because they are arger than my father’s side and they are in close proximity of each other. My mom’s side of the family grew up in a small North Carolinian town called Pinetop. I went back as far as my great-great grandparents and their names were Edward and Rachael Crummedy. They were sharecroppers and they both passed away when my great-grandmother was 9 years old. My great-grandparents are the late Columbus and Clara Crummedy Dickens. Born in 1913, Columbus Dickens grew up to be a sharecropper and provider for his family. Columbus worked for a white man who wned the property that the Dickens family resided on. He would work on the farm all year long Just so that the family could stay on the farm and also have food to eat. His return pay would be a stipend at the end of the year that went towards the bills for the house, so he never really saw any money for his own good. During certain times of the year he had to hire other people to help him maintain the farm (who were usually family members) and they would receive their pay from whatever Columbus received. If Colu How to cite Quani’s Story, Papers

Heart Of Darkness Essay Prompts Example For Students

Heart Of Darkness Essay Prompts 20th Century Novels EssayTo what extent could Heart of Darkness be described as a disturbing novelthat reflects some of the major concerns of 20th Century fiction?Line: 5Due: 4th June 2004Joseph Conrads literary classic Heart of Darkness serves as a powerfulindictment of the hypocrisy of imperialism and the evils of racism. Itreflects the savage repressions carried out in the Congo by the Belgians inone of the largest acts of genocide committed up to that time (Brians,1998). Typical of many of the other modernist literature produced in theearly decades of the twentieth century, Heart of Darkness is also as muchabout the human condition of alienation, loneliness and solitude as it isabout imperialism. We live in a world in which the consequences of nineteenth-century Europeanimperialism are still being felt. Primarily between 1880 and 1900 manyEuropean governments scrambled frantically for territory(Schmiechen,1999). During this age of imperialism, in the centre of the Africancontinent lay the newly colonised Belgian Congo, and the setting of thenovella Heart of Darkness. The issue of Imperialism is explored incomplicated ways in Heart of Darkness. The central character of Marlowencounters many scenes of torture, cruelty, racist superiority and near-slavery, and this results in the book offering a harsh picture of colonialenterprise to the reader. The hypocrisy of imperialism is felt to some extent in the novella, for themost part amongst the characters of the pilgrims and cannibals. Thepilgrims of Heart of Darkness, although appear to be Christian, are notpilgrims in the religious sense but men from Central Station, who carrywooden staves wherever they go. They are obsessed with keeping up a veneerof civilization and proper conduct, and are motivated entirely by self-interest. They all want to be appointed to a station so that they can tradefor ivory and earn a commission, but none of them actually takes anyeffective steps toward achieving this goal: They beguiled the time bybackbitting and intriguing against each other in a foolish kind ofwayThey slandered and hated each other only on that account. (pg.53-54). They despise the natives and treat them like animals, although intheir greed and ridiculousness they appear less than human themselves.Inan astounding lack of intelligence, the pilgrims attack the jungle,creating a cl oud of smoke which blinds Marlows navigation: The pilgrimshad opened with their Winchesters, and were simply squirting lead into thatbush. A deuce of a lot of smoke came up and slowly drove forwardIcouldnt see (pg. 80) In another incident, the pilgrims throw thecannibals only source of food overboard in what looked like a high-handedproceeding.(pg. 75). In the novel the natives hired as the crew of the steamer are known as thecannibals, paradoxically they are surprisinglyreasonableandwelltempered. The leader of the group, in particular, seems to be intelligentand capable of ironic reflection upon his situation. Marlow respects theirrestraint and their calm acceptance of adversity. Fine fellows cannibals in their place. They were men one could work with, and I am grateful tothem. And, after all they did not eat each other before my face. (pg. 67). Whilst narrating his story Marlow not only emphasises the savagery of thepilgrims by comparison with the nobility of the cannibals, extending thecontrast of civilization and savagery, but he also begins to indicate whatit is that deserves some measure of respect. The nearly impossible feat ofwithstanding hunger is accomplished by the savage cannibals through someinexplicable integrity: No fear can stand up to hunger, no patience canwear it out, disgust simply does not exist where hunger is; and as tosuperstition, beliefs, and what you may call principles, they are less thanchaff in a breeze. Dont you know the devilry of lingering starvation, itsexasperating torment, its black thoughts, its sombre and brooding ferocity?Well I do. It takes a man all his inborn strength to fight hunger properly. .u527e38d980d617332aa612b65586a804 , .u527e38d980d617332aa612b65586a804 .postImageUrl , .u527e38d980d617332aa612b65586a804 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u527e38d980d617332aa612b65586a804 , .u527e38d980d617332aa612b65586a804:hover , .u527e38d980d617332aa612b65586a804:visited , .u527e38d980d617332aa612b65586a804:active { border:0!important; } .u527e38d980d617332aa612b65586a804 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u527e38d980d617332aa612b65586a804 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u527e38d980d617332aa612b65586a804:active , .u527e38d980d617332aa612b65586a804:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u527e38d980d617332aa612b65586a804 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u527e38d980d617332aa612b65586a804 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u527e38d980d617332aa612b65586a804 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u527e38d980d617332aa612b65586a804 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u527e38d980d617332aa612b65586a804:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u527e38d980d617332aa612b65586a804 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u527e38d980d617332aa612b65586a804 .u527e38d980d617332aa612b65586a804-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u527e38d980d617332aa612b65586a804:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: On June 22, 1903 a man named John Dillinger was bo EssayIts really easier to face bereavement, dishonour, and the perdition ofones soul (pg.76). Although they out number the pilgrims thirty men tofive, The cannibals continuously maintain a measure of self-restraint,choosing rather, to face near-starvation. While Heart of Darkness offers a powerful condemnation of the hypocriticaloperations of imperialism and the paradoxical human nature, it alsoaddresses issues surrounding race that can be viewed as evenmoredisconcerting: The prehistoric man was cursing us (pg. 68). This commentreflects the European inclination to

Brain Rules Paper Essay Example

Brain Rules Paper Essay Book Assignment How I’ve come to find myself â€Å"stupid† For this assignment I read a book that you too have also read; Brain Rules. This explains my creative title, and gives those who haven’t read this book an insight as to what it contains. Because this book literally goes chapter by chapter, every chapter being a Brain rule, I have found that writing this assessment would be the simplest yet most effective way of summarizing the points, in this case â€Å"rules†, of the book. This also gives me a chance to reflect upon what I’ve learned, something that a simple sculpture or drawing wouldn’t do for me. There are twelve rules all related to the science behind our brains; exercise, survival, wiring, attention, short-term memory, long-term memory, sleep, stress, sensory integration, vision, gender, and exploration. Brain rule number 1; exercise boosts brain power. In this first chapter, the author John Medina emphasizes the positive effects that exercise has on the human brain’s function and on the body in general. Before cars and advanced technology in general, Humans walked miles and miles a day (around 12) to carry out the necessities in order to survive. John uses this information to back up the idea that our brains were made for walking, so we were meant to move. So theoretically, to improve thinking skills, one must be active. From a biological standpoint, exercise gets blood to the brain, bringing it glucose for energy and oxygen, which the brain needs in order to soak up toxic electrons that our brain produces. It also stimulates the protein that keeps neurons in the brain connecting, which is the foundation for brain activity. We will write a custom essay sample on Brain Rules Paper specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Brain Rules Paper specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Brain Rules Paper specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer So exercise literally makes getting fuel (blood) to the brain more efficient. John described an interview with a man in his 90’s who was known for his physical wonders, like being able to swim attached to a line of tug boats (when he was younger of course). Compared to the likes of many others of his age, he seemed far more alert and mentally stable. He reacted to everything John said almost instantly, without hesitation. Typically, other people his age would find themselves in a state of mental decay, and have lost much of these abilities over time. He implied that because this one man had been physically fit his entire life, he was more mentally active then his sedentary friends. In relation to disease, aerobic exercise just twice a week cuts ones risk of general dementia in half. It also cuts the risk of Alzheimer’s by 60 percent. Theoretically, long term exercise makes one more mentally and physically healthier. Brain rule number 2; the human brain evolved too. This chapter describes the evolution of the brain, how our brains ended up where they are today, and the biology that the human brain has. The human brain has three parts; essentially all 3 parts are a separate brain. Humans started out with a lizard-like brain to keep us breathing (which is now the center of the human brain), then atop eventually developed a cat-like brain, and then the atop of that developed the most distinctive outer part of the brain known as the cortex, the human-like brain. Humans took over the earth by adapting to change itself. As John puts it, â€Å"We were forced from the trees to the savannah when climate swings disrupted our food supply†. He then goes on to talk about the extraordinary affect that the evolution of upright movement (walking on two legs as apposed two all four) had on our ability to conjure up a complex brain. When we switched from â€Å"on all fours† to an upright posture, we used a fraction of the energy it took to walk on all fours. This freed up the energy to develop a complex brain. In this complex brain, developed some uniquely Human talents, like symbolic reasoning. John goes on to describe how this talent, symbolic reasoning, may have arisen from our need to understand one another’s intentions and motivations, allowing humans to coordinate within a group. Brain rule number 3; every brain is wired differently. The title is pretty self-explanatory, John goes into detail about how this happens. He first addresses how the brain is wired, stating that what you do and what you learn in life physically changes what your brain looks like – it literally rewires it. For example, a violinist’s brain compared to others might have a more developed section in the brain that involves the use of the left hand. This supports the idea that various regions of the brain develop at different rates in different people. John goes on and describes that in general, no two brains store the same information in the same way in the same place. Many studies have been conducted in which involved mapping out the functions of the brain. Other experiments and/or treatments involve patients with a damaged brain. One specific case, involved a four year old girl with severe epilepsy. The doctor was there in order to remove some of her misbehaving brain cells, but in order to do so he has to make a map of the girl’s brain so that he knew where he had to do the surgery. While hovering over the girl with her brain open and exposed, the doctor uses a metal prong that emits electrical currents that is called a cortical stimulator. If one were to come in contact with such a tool, they would only feel a tingly sensation. The doctor touches this wand to the girl’s brain and then asks her, â€Å"do you feel anything? † she would respond â€Å"somebody just touched my hand! † and then he would place a slip of paper on that specific region of her brain with â€Å"hand† written on it. This procedure has to be done with every patient, solely because of the basic fact that every brain is wired differently. I saying this, john also implies that because every brain is wired differently, there are a great number of ways of being intelligent in respect to one individual, many of which don’t show up on IQ tests. Brain rule number 4; we don’t pay attention to boring things. John medina, as well as being a writer, is also a teacher. Many points in this book are in retrospect to the teaching environment, some may be directly derived from his experience in teaching. This chapter for instance, describes the typical attention span to different subjects, something anyone with adequate intelligence would say is derived from a classroom. First point he makes; multitasking is a myth. Human brains are not known to be able to retain attention to more than one thing. For instance; driving while talking on the cell phone. One study found that doing this is the equivalent of drunk driving, in some cases, even worse than drunk driving. He implies that what we consider multitasking is not multitasking at all, like being able to have multiple windows open on a computer. He states that we don’t apply ourselves to more than one window at a time, but we do the exact opposite; apply ourselves to one window at a time, never at the same time. He goes on to describe brain function in regards to attention, stating that Humans are batter at seeing patterns and abstracting the meaning of an event rather than humans are at recording detail. He states that there is a common misconception about how the brain remembers things. Many people think it’s like a recorder, like myself before I read this book, and that humans simply have to find the button to press. This is not the case at all, proof being if this was the case nobody would forget the material, but forgetting is all about being human. John states that emotional arousal helps the brain learn, which makes sense if you think about traumatic events people claim they will never forget. Being the teacher that John is, he also has recognized that the attention span of a classroom environment is about 10 minutes, but you can grab their attention back by telling narratives or creating events rich in emotion. I found this to make a lot of sense because you can’t just rely of one topic to teach an hourly class, you have to keep It interesting and different in order to retain attention. Brain rule number 5; repeat to remember. This is the only chapter where I found myself able to relate to (besides all of the human aspects that relate to everyone). I find that the concept of repeat to remember is a big part of my learning life, which is apparently a good thing because it works. John opens up this chapter by giving some background on the brains memory systems, stating that we have many memory systems, one important type follows four stages of processing; encoding, storing, retrieving, and forgetting. This is like the path that a memory follows in one’s brain. The encoding and storage part is quite complex. When information enters the brain, it is split into fragments that are sent to different regions of the cortex for storage. I thought that this chapter was also interesting because of these specific processes that take place in order for a memory to form. Especially the idea of retrieving a memory, which is done by collecting all of the fragments from a memory and forming them into a memorable event. Also I found the idea that you have a greater chance of remembering something if you reproduce the environment in which you first put the memory into your brain very intriguing. I found this to be very contradictive to the school system of homework because we are expected to remember processes that we do outside of school, in school, which is in direct contradiction with the previous statement. Brain rule number 6; remember to repeat. This chapter, and the chapter prior are very much so related. The only difference being what kind of memory is being discussed. In the previous chapter, it was short-term memory. In this chapter, its long-term memory. These chapters helped a lot with my understanding of how to remember things. I learned that there is a fragile state in the beginning of the formation of a memory in which most are forgotten. But for those memories that pass this stage, they only strengthen with time. John talked about the case of an interesting man edited as H. M. who had his hippocampus surgically removed, along with the ability to encode new information. H. M. however still had some of his long term memories before the hippocampus was removed, up until about 11 years before his surgery, then it is all blank. John states that long-term memories are formed in a two way conversation between the hippocampus and the cortex, until the hippocampus breaks the connection and the memory is fixed in the cortex, which he states, with H. M. ’s case in mind, could takes years, something like 11 years or so. This explains why H. M. can recall events up until that point in his life. Another interesting fact that john states is that our brains only give us an approximate view of reality, because they mix new knowledge with past memories and store them together as one. It is strange to think that we don’t have a true view of reality. To counter this, John suggests that to make the memories more reliable, you must incorporate new information gradually and repeat it in timed intervals. Brain rule number 7; sleep well, think well. This chapter was probably the most contradicting with my own personal lifestyle, mostly because I sometimes like to consider myself nocturnal. I found it interesting, however, the idea of day and night in terms of our bodies. The brain is in a constant state of tension between cells and chemicals that try to keep you awake and cells and chemicals that try to get you to sleep. He also explains an interesting theory as to what sleep actually does for the mind. He believes that sleep isn’t for restoring energy, but for allowing the mind to process what was learned during that day in an environment in which it allows it to do so, such as a sleeping environment. My favorite part of this chapter however is the part that describes the need for an afternoon nap. At this point, the chemicals in which are at tension with each other come to a stalemate right around 3 in the afternoon. This is also known as the â€Å"3 in the afternoon† feeling. This feeling is â€Å"biologically universal† as john comes to describe it, and is the reasoning behind his napping theory. I knew that a lack of sleep was bad, but I didn’t know how bad. John goes on to describe the affects that lack of sleep has on the human body such as; effects on attention, executive function, working memory, mood, quantitative skills, logical reasoning, and even motor dexterity. All of these are vital for a proper mind set in order to learn, and gives me personally another excuse to get some sleep. Brain rule 8; stressed brains don’t learn the same way. Something that I’ve never really had a problem with is stress, but it was interesting to find out the negative long-term effects that stress has on the mind and body. In fact, stress can only be negative when it is recurring and common to an individual. John explains that stress is a defense mechanism built for a short term cause, but like stated in the previous sentence; stress can be very harmful when it’s recurring and common. This is why stress over time can cause a heart attack or stroke. Individually, the worst kind of stress is the feeling that you have no control over a situation, and that you are helpless. I know that I have time and time again found myself in this type of situation at work. I work at Steak N Shake, and sometimes we get extremely busy to the point of where there is a point that no matter what we do it will not help the situation, and you stand there helpless. I hate it when this happens, so I find it understandable when John talks about the worst kind of stress being the helpless kind. John also talks about the negative effects that stress has on society compared to an individual. For example, what I just talked about; my instances at work. It makes you not want to work, in essence, lowers my productivity level, which could be seen as a negative effect. Stress at home, like between parents can lower a student productivity level in school, even when the stress is not about the student. I hate stress, and usually do everything I can to say away from it. Staying positive is exactly what Mr. Medina is going for, and I agree with him a hundred percent. Brain rule number 9; stimulate more of the senses. This chapter is devoted to the idea that memories last longer if at the time of conception, more than one of the five senses are used to encode an event in our brains. Mr. Medina puts it this way; our senses evolved to work together, vision influencing hearing for example, which means that we learn best when we stimulate several senses at once. He also states that the brain seems to rely partly on past experience in deciding how to combine electrical signals sent to the brain, so two people can perceive the same event very differently. The last idea that he goes on to describe in full detail is the ability that our sense of smell has to recall memories. I know that every time I use tea tree shampoo ill remember the night I saw I am Legend in theaters, it scared the hell out of me first time I saw it. Right after I saw the movie, I took a shower, and I used the tea tree shampoo. I’ll remember that movie every time I use the stuff. Brain rule number 10; vision trumps all other senses. This chapter was especially appealing to me because I consider myself a visual learner and an overall visual person in general. Its devoted to the idea that because of the amount of effort that the brain has to put forth, just so we can have a clear image in our heads of what is going on around us makes it a sense that makes all other senses look wimpy. Vision takes up half of our brains resources. I found it most intriguing the idea that what we see is what our brain tells us we see, so it’s not 100 percent accurate. This made me think of all the people who have claimed to see a UFO or an act of God; were they telling the truth? And if they were, was it a mind hallucination or an actual perception of what was going on outside of their heads? I thought it was interesting to think about. John goes on to talk about how images are recorded through our eyes and how it travels to the mind. The last point he makes made me feel very comfortable about my learning apparatus when I first read it, he states that we learn better through pictures, not through written or spoken word. Makes sense what you think of the famous saying that a picture says a thousand words, and that they are more efficient. Brain rule number 11; male and female brains are different. This chapter goes into descriptive detail about gender in the genetic, neuroanatomical, and behavioral areas. I thought it was interesting that fact that John came out and said that he doesn’t look forward to talking about this subject, because a majority of it would be perceived as being sexist, or bias. Genetically, obviously the letter Y is the major factor between a girl and a boy. It’s the chromosome that a male has. Neuroanatomicaly, Males like to use the right side of the brain which is more so related to perceiving things in a â€Å"general† fashion. Females use the left side of the brain which is more so related to perceiving things in a more â€Å"detailed† fashion. Behaviorally, because of the previous idea, it is theorized that the stereotype that women are more emotion is not the case, and that because they perceive things with more detail, they simply have more to react to, a. k. a. more emotions. Brain rule number 12; we are powerful and natural explorers. The last rule, exhibits the most important idea according to Mr. Medina, the idea that we should advocate curiosity in our society, and not shoot it down. According to Mr. Medina and people alike, curiosity is the foundation of learning, and the result of the human tendency of exploration. After I read this it immediately hit me, that is, the importance of curiosity in a healthy learning environment. Curiosity is the distinct will to try something new, and see what this something does in respect to other things, which makes it a very suitable start for learning. John talks about the human tendency for exploration, and how since we were born, this exploration program has been imbedded in our DNA. It makes a lot of sense to advocate curiosity, because otherwise how do we know what we want to do, or what we don’t want to do. I personally don’t read all that often, not often at all really. But when I do it almost always serves to do some good, weather that good is the expansion of my creativity, or simply just to practice learning. I found that with this book, I actually liked it. It answered a lot of questions that I had conjured up over time about why we do things and how we do them. I liked this book most of all because I found it to have a lot of valuable information I can use in the classroom, and at college. I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone who finds themselves questioning their everyday practices. This book gives those people, like me, a reason to argue that the current education systems and lifestyles that we fall under are in considerable contradiction with the reasons they were set up in the first place. I just wanted to thank you Mr. Hancock for exposing this book to me, and letting me borrow it. I now feel less timid in the realm of books, and I truly think this report has changed my thoughts about reading in general, which is why I think I deserve an adequate grade. No matter what grade I receive on this paper, I believed that I passed in my own way, and succeeded in doing exactly what I think was intended. I learned.

Importance of Initial Consultation and Ethical Issues Facing the Therapist The WritePass Journal

Importance of Initial Consultation and Ethical Issues Facing the Therapist Introduction Importance of Initial Consultation and Ethical Issues Facing the Therapist ). There are some who do not charge for initial consultations, and it is important that the client is informed whether the therapist does or does not charge for the first session (Wheeler, 2014).   A potential problem may ensue with the use of a free initial consultation. This is because clients may feel committed after the initial consultation and may have difficulty declining further treatment because the initial consultation was free of charge. Some might even regard this practice as taking advantage of clients and may perhaps be seen as undue influence mentioned in the code of ethics (Welfel, 2013). Another ethical issue that may ensue during initial consultation is sexual attraction between the client and the therapist, which is identified as a boundary ethical issue (Houser et al., 2006). The client may have emotional or sex-related problems that he/she initially presents to the therapist, which the therapist must approach objectively. Albeit discussion of these feelings can foster therapeutic progress, it is still unethical and counter-therapeutic to act on them. Even when it may seem sound to become sexual with a client with sexual problems as an intervention, engaging in such unethical activity is definitely against established ethical standards and codes. Rather, the best intervention that the therapist may adopt for his/her client with sexual problems is sex therapy with the client and a significant other.     The several malpractice suits filed against therapists relating to sexual relationships with their client only confirm the unethical and counter-therapeutic sta nce of sexual relationship between the therapist and client (Kohlenberg and Tsai, 2007).   Even at the onset of the initial consultation, sexual attraction may already spark, which the therapist, being the more responsible person, must put a wall against. Emotional tyranny is also a common ethical issue that may occur even during an initial consultation. It is a term describing abuse of power by psychotherapists to the disadvantage of their clients, caused by the power imbalance between them. For example, during the initial consultation, the therapist’s power is seen in how he establishes the therapy session, how long   the session should last, how often he and the client should meet, how much the session costs, and what the permissible and impermissible behaviour must be within the session (Kohlenberg and Tsai, 2007). The realm of ethical decision-making involves the aspects of ethical dilemma, the client and the therapist’s values, race, gender, personal history, etc.; local and national laws; professional knowledge; and codes of ethics (Houser et al., 2006). The therapist may also face violations relating to dual relationships. Such relationships are nonsexual that may involve counseling a friend, relative, or neighbour, as well as receiving referrals from people who know the client and the counseling process. An ethical dilemma of dual relationships may potentially occur when the therapist has several roles with a client; in that apart from being a client, the person is also a friend, a neighbor, a relative, etc. to the therapist. It has been suggested that accepting referrals from existing clients may constitute a boundary violation (Houser et al., 2006). Indeed, even at the initial consultation, the therapist is already face-to-face with the issue of whether to continue with the professional relationship, or terminate it right away upon seeing his or her friend across the table as a client seeking therapy. Self-disclosure is another ethical issue besetting the therapist. Even during the initial consultation, the issue of self-disclosure may occur. Relating to this issue, it is important to determine the extent of information a therapist should share with the client and the types of self-disclosure to be made as well. Another example of ethical issue involving boundary is socialising with a client outside the counseling session and negotiating for fees (Houser et al., 2006). One possible ethical dilemma facing the therapist during is confidentiality, which deals with maintaining privacy and nons of these are those surrounding harm that may involve the client who is contemplating about suicide or is expressing thoughts about inflicting harm to others;   court-involved clients; child abuse reports; and clients with medical conditions who express engaging in precarious acts relating to their condition (e.g. HIV) (Houser et al., 2006). Further, it was found that successful outcomes ensue when clients change their personal values and take a close resemblance of that of the therapist/counselor. A relevant ethical dilemma with regard to this is in order for the counseling to be successful, how similar the client’s values must be to the counselor. Moreover, another dilemma is whether fostering such similarity is ethical and helpful enough to the client. A question for the profession is whether therapists utilise moral and ethical frameworks reflecting society’s norms as the only basis of their ethical decision-making, or whether therapists come to an ethical decision whilst taking into account the values, morality, and ethical stances of their diverse client population (O’Donohue and Fisher, 2009; Houser et al., 2006). These issues are being dealt with even upon an initial consultation. Conclusion This paper dealt with the importance of initial consultation and the ethical issues facing the therapist in the performance of his profession. An initial consultation is important because it forms the basis of the client’s diagnosis. It generally covers finding out the reasons as to why the client seeks help and what he or she aims to obtain as a result of the psychotherapy experience. The ethical issues faced by the therapist in the conduct of his profession during the initial consultation are those involving a decision to charge the client for a specific fee or not for the initial consultation; potential sexual attraction between them; the issue of confidentiality and client consent; emotional tyranny; violations relating to dual relationships; and self-disclosure. Having laid down these ethical factors besetting a therapist, the conclusion being arrived at is that the therapist is bound by set standards and ethical codes through which the expected functions of his performance must be based, and that he/she should conduct the initial consultation and further sessions objectively. References Boylan, J. C., Malley, P. B/, and Reilly, E. P. (2011) Practicum Internship: Textbook and Resource Guide for Counseling and Psychotherapy. Third Edition. NY: Brunner-Routledge. Corey, G. (2013) Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy. Ninth Edition. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning. Houser, R., Wilczenski, F. L., and Ham, M. (2006) Culturally Relevant Ethical Decision-Making in Counseling. London: Sage Publications, Inc. Jenkins, P. (2007) Counseling, Psychotherapy and the Law. London: Sage Publications, Inc. Klonoff, P. S. (2010) Psychotherapy After Brain Injury: Principles and Techniques. NY: The Guilford Press. Kohlenberg, R. J. and Tsai, M. (2007) Functional Analytic Psychotherapy: Creating Intense and Curative Therapeutic Relationships. NY: Springer. O’Donohue, W. T. and Fisher, J. E. (2009) General Principles and Empirically Supported Techniques of Cognitive Behavior Therapy. NJ: John Wiley Sons. Plante, T. G. (2011) Contemporary Clinical Psychology. NJ: John Wiley Sons. Weiner, I. B. and Hess, A. K. (2006) The Handbook of Forensic Psychology. NJ: John Wiley Sons. Welfel, E. (2013) Ethics in Counseling and Psychotherapy. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning. Wheeler, K. (2014) Psychotherapy for the Advanced Practice Psychiatric Nurse: A How-to Guide for Evidence-Based Practice.   NY: Springer Publishing Company, LLC.       Bibliography Boylan, J. C., Malley, P. B/, and Reilly, E. P. (2011) Practicum Internship: Textbook and Resource Guide for Counseling and Psychotherapy. Third Edition. NY: Brunner-Routledge. Clarkson, P. (2005) Transactional Analysis Psychotherapy: An Integrated Approach. NY: Routledge. Cooper, J. and Alfille, H. (2011) A Guide to Assessment for Psychoanalytic Psychotherapists. London: Karnac Books Ltd. Corey, G. (2013) Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy. Ninth Edition. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning. Forrest, G. G. (2010) Self-disclosure in Psychotherapy and Recovery. Plymouth: Jason Aronson. Houser, R., Wilczenski, F. L., and Ham, M. (2006) Culturally Relevant Ethical Decision-Making in Counseling. London: Sage Publications, Inc. Jenkins, P. (2007) Counseling, Psychotherapy and the Law. London: Sage Publications, Inc. Klonoff, P. S. (2010) Psychotherapy After Brain Injury: Principles and Techniques. NY: The Guilford Press. Kohlenberg, R. J. and Tsai, M. (2007) Functional Analytic Psychotherapy: Creating Intense and Curative Therapeutic Relationships. NY: Springer. O’Donohue, W. T. and Fisher, J. E. (2009) General Principles and Empirically Supported Techniques of Cognitive Behavior Therapy. NJ: John Wiley Sons. Plante, T. G. (2011) Contemporary Clinical Psychology. NJ: John Wiley Sons. Weiner, I. B. and Hess, A. K. (2006) The Handbook of Forensic Psychology. NJ: John Wiley Sons. Welfel, E. (2013) Ethics in Counseling and Psychotherapy. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning. Wheeler, K. (2014) Psychotherapy for the Advanced Practice Psychiatric Nurse: A How-to Guide for Evidence-Based Practice.   NY: Springer Publishing Company, LLC.

Discussion Question 13 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Discussion Question 13 - Assignment Example There are various behaviors that I need to incorporate in my teaching such as cultivating a holistic mindset and internalizing professional ethical standards that are sensitive to cultural diversity. I will also need to engage in those activities that advance nursing education and science. This also means that I will need to exhibit discovery behaviors by developing and adopting scholarly materials and make sure that I am creative and persevering enough to cater for the needs of the rest. I am meeting this scholarship competency by being proficient in writing of proposals. I am also considering ingraining lifelong learning concepts and being focused on understanding how diverse people learn. I have also continued to ensure that I seek advanced teaching techniques in order to expand my theoretical intellect. In order to prepare nurse students, I ought to be an expert in my nursing skills. Therefore, in case I do not get an opportunity to complete this competency, I will meet it in future as an educator by making sure that I balance the time that I spend in academics with that spent improving my personal skills in both roles as a nurse and an educator. Finally, I will continue going for seminars, trainings, practice prospects, and workshops to ensure personal growth (Cash & Tate, 2008). Cash, P., & Tate, B. (2008). Creating a Community of Scholars: using a Community Development approach to Foster Scholarship with Nursing Faculty. International Journal of Nursing Education Scholarship, 5(1):

In the UK, ethical businesses are not as successful as less ethical Essay - 2

In the UK, ethical businesses are not as successful as less ethical businesses. Discuss - Essay Example The reason for lesser success among ethical businesses in the market is that there is a lack of awareness among potential customers concerning origins of most products. This ignorance has made it extremely difficult for ethical businesses to not only promote themselves, but also to achieve the sales margins that less ethical businesses achieve (Anand and Rosen, 2008). Furthermore, the most popular brands available for customers tend to be those that are owned by less ethical companies and this situation makes it harder for ethical businesses to compete with them at the same level. Therefore, while most ethical businesses spend much money in advertising their products, less ethical ones, which have been in the market longer, do not need to spend as much since they have established firm customer bases. Further, less ethical businesses take advantage of all favourable market conditions available to ensure that they reduce their costs of production as well as distribution and this is done in such a way that they do not necessarily have to observe ethical values. They take advantage of cheaper labour, greater means of production as well as favourable government policies to ensure that their products are not only cheaper, but also abundant in the market. This is an aspect of current business environment, which many ethical businesses cannot compete with because they are based on achieving ethical observances such as fairer prices for producers as well as fair wages for those who provide labour. In the end, it is difficult for these companies to keep their prices low because they have to recover their costs; a major disadvantage when compared to less ethical companies. In recent years, less ethical businesses have had an edge over ethical businesses based on their having been firmly established in the market for much longer than their counterparts have. This has made it quite difficult for ethical businesses

English Contemporary Historical Fictions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

English Contemporary Historical Fictions - Essay Example terary genre, Romance depicts a style of narrative verse or heroic prose that was very much used in Europe during the Middle Ages right up to the time of Renaissance. This literary genre includes passionate love stories which can be fiction or reality or it could be highly adventurous tales about heroic deeds and secret love by knights and passionate ladies. Good examples of Romances are – Shakespeare’s â€Å"Romeo and Juliet† and â€Å"The Tempest†. There are yet others who are of the opinion that it is a name that is given to the various languages and people associated with the Latin language. It is also described as –â€Å"A type of narrative fiction characterized by the fanciful, often idealistic, treatment of subject matter; love and adventure are often its principal themes. [. . .]à ® (Guerin et al. 326). The romantic period spans over the time during which Wordsworth and Coledridge (1798) lived to create wonderful Lyrical Ballads of love and adventure and goes right up to the time Charles Dickens career to 1832. (Holman 405) According to Guerin, Realism is the opposite of Romance, he says –â€Å"A manner of presentation in literature that stresses an accurate, perhaps even factual, treatment of subject matter. à  The emphasis is on the rational and probable, as opposed, for example, to the romantic† (Guerin et al. 326). Therefore we find that Romance is more fictional than realistic and depends largely on imaginary, fictitious and mysterious characters and settings. Romances as opposed to Realistic stories use passionate love and adventure as a base in writing novels and poetry. Sarah Dunant was born in 1950 and completed her education at Godolphin and Latymer School in Hammersmith, London. Her novel of â€Å"The Birth of Venus† (2003) is an inspiring tale of art, politics, danger and passion. She worked as an actress for some time and then became a novelist, critic and a broadcaster on BBC radio in 1974. She had won many awards for her writing which

Margaret Atwood, The Circle Game

Margaret Atwood, The Circle Game Her first publication was a book of poetry, The Circle Game 1964, which received the Governor Generals Literary Award for poetry (Canada), Several other poetry collections have followed since, including Interlunar (1995) , Morning in the Burned House (1995) and the latest, Eating Fire: Selected poetry, 1965-1995 (1998). She was also as a short story writer and her books of short fiction include Dancing Girls and Other stories (1982), Wilderness Tips (1991) and good Bones (1992). Margaret Atwood is best known for her novels, in which she created strong and puzzling women characters. Her first novel was The Edible Woman (1969), which is about a woman who cannot eat and feels that she is being eaten. Surfacing (1973); Lady Oracle (1977); Life Before Man (1980); Bodily Harm (1982 and The Handmaids Tale (1986) is a futuristic novel describing a womans struggle to break free from her role. Her latest novels have been; Cats Eye (1989), dealing with the subject of bullying among young girls; The Robber Bride (1993); Alias Grace (1996); The Blind Assassin (2000); and Oryx and Crake (2003), a version of a scientific dystopia. These novels have received many awards. The most vital crisis in the life of a modern man is that of identity. Twentieth century literature reflects this very accurately. The important issue dealt in modern literature is the search for identity or the quest for self. The strength of todays literature is found in its evocation of the individuals predicament in terms of alienation or exile or quest for identity. (Srivastava 130) In fiction, the attention has shifted from the society in the century to the individual in the twentieth century. The individual is given more important and man is seen as one who creates societies rather than one who is created by it. The subject of the self has gained universal importance and it, is most dominant in Common Wealth countries. The Common Wealth countries in the twentieth century feel that they do not belong anywhere as they were under the rule of the British for long time and the suddenly let free. These countries strive to seek a separate identity of their own new and the same is seen in their literature. The Common Wealth writers feel that they have a responsibility in giving a unique identity to their countries. The question of identity first started with the nationality and slowly it narrowed down to the individual itself. Canada being a Common Wealth country faces both the problems of national and individual identity. The very word Canada gives the meaning. It is derived from the Spanish word Canada-aca-nada which means nothing here. 3 The search for a recognizable and meaningful Canadian has been a main Pre-occupation in Canada. M.F. Salat says that the Pre-occupation with self-definition and the search for a distinctive Canadian identity has been such a central aspect of Canadian imagination, it can be said , the discourse on identity is the Canadian discourse. (salat 62) What distinguishes Canadian predicament from other Countries is the continuation of the identity crisis is the continuation of identity crisis over a long period of time. This is because Canada has never been free of what is called the Colonial identity. In the beginning it was under the influence of the British culture and lately it suffers from the psycho- social and economic colonization by the United States of America. The issue of the Canadian identity rose up most vehemently in the post 1960. It was mostly dealt by women writers as it was the period of the womens Liberation Movement. The women writers also had a personal reason behind it as they wanted to establish their identity as writers without any prejudice on gender. The Womens Liberation Movement helped to release Canadian Women from many of the restrictions and inhibitions of the society. It helped to create the new women. This, says Barabara Godard, astonished, amused and frightened Canadians in the period before the First World War. (Janeja 172) 4 Many women took to writing as a profession and portrayed their ambitions and aspirations of the new women Their writings portrayed their yearning for freedom from the limited constrains of a conventional society. In Canada women began to assert consciously and confidently their potential as writers in the post- 1960s. The wide spread preoccupation with the quest for a distinctive cultural identity in Canada in the post 1960s, was responsible for strengthening the desire to assert a distinctive feminine identity comparable to and compatible with the male, in culture as well as in literature. (salat 78) The most important women writers of this period are Margaret Atwood, Margaret Laurence, Ruby Wiebe, and Alice Munro. A among these writers the most noticed and appreciated. Women writers is Margaret Atwood. Atwood has implicit and successfully problematised Canadas quest for identity in her novels by making her women protagonists undergo a similar crisis. She has a predominantly feminine search for a distinctive identity. Atwoods reaction to this sensitive issue of identity has been the most articulate and she has deliberately set out to create all her novels in such a way that towards the end, each of her protagonists emerges as a woman who knows her own self. Margaret Atwood is a Canadian novelist, poet, short-story writer and also a well established critic. She was born in Ottawa in 1939. She spent a 5 Considerable part of her early life in the northern Ontoria and Quebec bush country. She started writing at the early age of five. Her father who is an entomologist often took his family on field trips. This produced in Atwood an early and an avid interest in the wilderness. In 1946, the family went to Leaside, a suburb of Toronto and settled there. This change is also reflected in her writing. The contrasts beween its Christian, middle-class morality and its blatant materialism define the spiritual wasteland through which many of Atwoods characters pass on their way from childhood to maturity.(75) Atwood is a graduate from the University of Toronto, where she won a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship. She took her Masters Degree from Radcliffe College. Since 1973 Atwood has live with Graeme Gibson a Canadian novelist and Cultural activist. They have a daughter, Eleanor Jess. They now live in Toronto. Atwood has been a write- in residence at Universities in Canada, the USA and Australia. She has taught in several Universities such as the University of British Columbia, the University of Alberta, Sir George Williams University, Montreal and at York University Toronto. She was the founding member of the writers Union 1984-86. She is still an effective spokesperson, and activist on behalf of Canadian writers and of womens right, Native rights and the environment.

marxism Essay -- essays research papers

How convincing was the Marxist critique of the capitalist state? This next unit of theory is entitled "Ideology and Discourse." The theorists we're examining--Althusser, Bakhtin, and Foucault--are discussing how ideology works, and how ideologies construct subjects. All of these theorists are coming from a Marxist perspective, using ideas and terms developed in Marxist theory, though only Althusser actually claims to be a Marxist. So to start off, I want to talk a bit about some basic ideas of Marxist theory. Marxism is a set of theories, or a system of thought and analysis, developed by Karl Marx in the nineteenth century in response to the Western industrial revolution and the rise of industrial capitalism as the predominant economic mode. Like feminist theory, Marxist theory is directed at social change; Marxists want to analyze social relations in order to change them, in order to alter what they see are the gross injustices and inequalities created by capitalist economic relations. My capsule summary of the main ideas of Marxism, however, will focus on the theoretical aspects more than on how that theory has been and is applicable to projects for social change. As a theory, Marxism is pretty complicated. You can think of Marxism as being three types of theory in one: philosophy, history, and economics. First, Marxism is a philosophical movement; Marx's ideas about human nature, and about how we know and function in the world come from traditions articulated by Hegel, Feuerbach, Kant, and other German philosophers. All of these guys, including Marx, are interested in the relation between materialist and idealist philosophy. As a philosopher, Marx helps create and define a branch of philosophy called DIALECTICAL MATERIALISM. Materialism in general is the branch of Western philosophy from which science (Aristotelian or Newtonian) comes. Materialist philosophy is based on empiricism, on the direct observation of measurable or observable phenomena; materialist philosophy is interested in studying how the human mind, via the senses, perceives external reality, and particularly with the idea of how we know things "objectively," without the interference of emotions or preconceived ideas about things. Materialist philosophy often wants to ask how we know something is real, or, more specifically, how we know that what is real IS real, and... ...other forms of ideology (like religious ideology), and thus can provide insights into how ideologies are structured, and what their limits are. This view is also followed by Georg Lukacs, who argues that Marxist literary criticism should look at a work of literature in terms of the ideological structure(s) of which it is a part, but which it transforms in its art. For other Marxists, including Bertolt Brecht, Walter Benjamin, and Louis Althusser, literature works the way any ideology does, by signifying the imaginary ways in which people perceive the real world; literature uses language to signify what it feels like to live in particular conditions, rather than using language to give a rational analysis of those conditions. Thus literature helps to create experience, not just reflect it. As a kind of ideology, literature for these critics is relatively autonomous, both of other ideological forms and of the economic base. You can't trace one-to-one direct ties between literature and any particular ideology, or between literature and the economic base. (When you can, we call it bad literature; literature directly linked to an ideology we call "propaganda," for instance).

Negative Effects of War Essay

In â€Å"How to Tell a True War Story,† Tim O’Brien presents many themes within his story. One major theme is the negative effects of war on a soldier. Many situations arise in the story that bring out the theme to make it easy to understand for the reader. The effects of war can be very harmful to a soldier’s life, and he or she can be scarred forever. When Bob Kiley’s friend, Curt Lemon, dies at the beginning of the story, Kiley takes the time to write Lemon’s sister. He wrote about what a good guy Lemon was and the many adventures that he took. Kiley explained that Lemon was a dare devil and a soldier that loved what he did. Bob Kiley did not have to write to his friend’s sister at all, but he did it out of kindness. He poured his heart out into the letter because he wanted his friend’s sister to understand what a great guy he was. O’Brien’s narrator tells the reader that, â€Å"[h]e says he loved the guy. He says the guy was his best friend in the world. They were like soul mates, he says, like twins or something, they had a whole lot in common† (O’Brien 347). Kiley went into detail about some events, but he wanted this girl to know everything. He sent the letter and he waited for two months for one in return. She never sent Bob Kiley a letter back and he got upset. The negative effects of war made him go into detail about the story and that may have made the sister not write him. When a soldier sends a letter to someone, all they want is one in return. It makes them feel good when they know someone is at home thinking about them too. War can make a soldier feel alone and having someone to write to can make them feel wanted. Kiley felt alone and used when he did not get a letter in return. He wrote the letter out of kindness and all he wanted was a thank you from the girl. If she would have sent Kiley a letter in return he would have felt better about himself. When Curt Lemon died, the story portrays his death three different times. Each time his death is told it is told in different ways. Curt Lemon’s death was caused by a booby-trap buried in the ground. The story portrays him floating into the sunlight through the trees. The negative effects of war can cause soldiers to remember someone’s death in detail. They remember him being blown into pieces as he was killed. Remembering vivid details about someone else’s death can cause disturbing flashbacks in a soldier’s life. The death of Curt Lemon caused Bob Kiley to take out his frustration on a baby water buffalo. When they stopped to rest for the night Kiley takes an unexpected turn and shoots the buffalo in the leg. He continuously tortures the animal, as the others soldiers watch in disbelief. O’Brien’s narrator tells the reader that, â€Å"[t]he whole platoon stood there watching, feeling all kinds of things, but there wasn’t a great deal of pity for the baby water buffalo† (O’Brien 352). The buffalo takes the torture and never reacts. The negative effects of war caused Bob Kiley to do something that no one could ever believe doing. He lost his best friend, so he took his pain out on the water buffalo. Any soldier in their right mind would have enough sense not to kill an animal, but the negative effects of war can change people. Kiley will never be the same because of the things he had to endure during his time of duty. War can change a soldier in many ways. They may go home and never be the same as before they left. Often, soldiers will tell stories, but they will not be entirely true. O’Brien’s narrator tells the reader that, â€Å"[i]n war you lose your sense of the definite, hence your sense of truth itself, and therefore it’s safe to say that in a true war story nothing much is ever very true† (O’Brien 354). The negative effects of war can be very harmful to a soldier’s life.

urban sociology essays

urban sociology essays In David A. Snow's book, Down on their Luck depicts the lives and horrors of homeless people in Austin, Texas. Homelessness is a crisis that has had an impact in our lives. Many people think that homeless people are those who are the mentally ill that are a threat to society, however, that is not the case. Majority of people who are victims of homelessness are those who have been pushed out of their homes, victims of environment catastrophes, the elderly, runaways, and unemployed individuals who are forced to move out because they can't pay rent. Some even face homelessness when they flee their countries for political and economical reasons. There are three themes in Snow's book that I feel are significant to address. The first theme I will talk about are the three dimensions of homelessness. Each of the groups in Snow's book experience some degree of homelessness, but the nature of that experience often varies considerable among them. These differences can be clarified by c onsidering three separate dimensions of homelessness. The first dimension being life-style characterized by the absence of conventional permanent housing, the second dimension being the presence or absence of familial support, and the third dimension being the degree of dignity and moral worth associated with the various categories of homelessness. These dimensions may be reasons why people become homeless. Snow feels that "homeless street people are more likely to be perceived as homeless by virtue of their own imperfections or moral failings"(p. 9). As we can see from this quote, people don't take the three dimensions into consideration when viewing the causes of homelessness. People feel that the reasons for homelessness are inadequate work-skill, laziness, and failings in life. The second theme I will address is the inadequate care homeless people have in hospitals. The poor do not qualify for Medicaid because they don't make enough to get ...

Death Valley, the Lowest and Hottest Place in the U.S.

Death Valley, the Lowest and Hottest Place in the U.S. Death Valley is a large part of the Mojave Desert located in California near its border with Nevada. Most of Death Valley is in Inyo County, California and comprises most of Death Valley National Park. Death Valley is significant to the United States geography because it is considered the lowest point in the contiguous U.S. at an elevation of -282 feet (-86 m). The region is also one of the hottest and driest in the country. The Vast Area Death Valley has an area of about 3,000 square miles (7,800 sq km) and runs from the north to the south. It is bounded by the Amargosa Range to the east, the Panamint Range to the west, the Sylvania Mountains to the north and the Owlshead Mountains to the south. From Lowest to Highest Death Valley is located only 76 miles (123 km) from Mount Whitney, the highest point in the contiguous U.S. at 14,505 feet (4,421 m). The Climate The climate of Death Valley is arid and because it is bounded by mountains on all sides, hot, dry air masses often get trapped in the valley. Therefore, extremely hot temperatures are not uncommon in the area. The hottest temperature ever recorded in Death Valley was 134Â °F (57.1Â °C) at Furnace Creek on July 10, 1913. Temperature Average summer temperatures in Death Valley frequently exceed 100Â °F (37Â °C) and the average August high temperature for Furnace Creek is 113.9Â °F (45.5Â °C). By contrast, the average January low is 39.3Â °F (4.1Â °C). The Big Basin Death Valley is a part of the U.S. Basin and Range province as it is a low point surrounded by very high mountain ranges. Geologically, basin and range topography is formed by fault movement in the region that causes the land to drop down to form valleys and land to rise up to form mountains. Salt in the Land Death Valley also contains salt pans which indicate that the area was once a large inland sea during the Pleistocene epoch. As the Earth began to warm into the Holocene, the lake in Death Valley evaporated to what it is today. The Native Tribe Historically, Death Valley has been home to Native American tribes and today, the Timbisha tribe, which has been in the valley for at least 1,000 years, inhabits the region. Becoming a National Monument On February 11, 1933, Death Valley was made a National Monument by President Herbert Hoover. In 1994, the area was re-designated as a National Park. Vegetation Most of the vegetation in Death Valley consists of low-lying shrubs or no vegetation unless near a water source. At some of Death Valleys higher locations, Joshua Trees and Bristlecone Pines can be found. In the spring after winter rains, Death Valley is known to have large plant and floral blooms in its wetter areas. Wildlife Death Valley is home to many different types of small mammals, birds, and reptiles. There are also a variety of larger mammals in the area which include Bighorn Sheep, coyotes, bobcats, kit foxes and mountain lions.To learn more about Death Valley, visit the official website of Death Valley National Park. References Wikipedia. (2010, March 16). Death Valley - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_ValleyWikipedia. (2010, March 11). Death Valley National Park - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_Valley_National_Park

Recreational Drug Use Negatively Affects Society Research Paper

Recreational Drug Use Negatively Affects Society - Research Paper Example From the report it is clear that recreational drugs include many kinds of drugs which can be legal or illegal. The use of recreational drugs in a society can cause several economic effects as people commonly start spending about one-fourth of their income in drugs, and utilize their savings, thus lowering their standards of living. In recent years, the overall economy of the American society has tremendously lowered as there is an increase in the usage of recreational drugs. The drugs industry is making high profits and it surely benefits their market as some drugs are highly expensive and once people are addicted to them, they buy them excessively to fulfill their needs. The more profits the drugs industry makes, the more risks of drugs smuggling, illegal selling and possession of drugs, and access use of controlled drugs will increase causing social, economic, and psychological problems. This paper highlights that people often start taking recreational drugs to divert their minds from their life problems or to gain some pleasure. Drugs are often successful in providing peace to the disturbed person and allowing him to forget all his worries for a while. This attracts people to use them more often, hence creating an addiction. Most people first get addicted to this feeling, then physically addicted, as it becomes a need for the body to calm down and feel good. Drug addicts are fifty percent more likely to commit crimes such as robbery and stealing, only for the purpose of buying more drugs.

Present and evaluate J.C. Maxwells version of the Golden Rule as Essay

Present and evaluate J.C. Maxwells version of the Golden Rule as discussed in class and in your reading. (Again, this means discussing the argument) - Essay Example What you do is important; but how you do, what you do is more important. Meaning, the process of living is supreme than achieving success in life. In business, seeking wealth is perfect. What is inappropriate is the intentional manipulation of business practices to deceive others. Desires are not bad; but motivated desires and causing intentional pain to others to secure monetary gains is undesirable. Great business projects are fine, but the prerequisite about such projects is creating noble individuals to implement them. When ethics is the foundation stone of an individual viewed from perception of life as a whole, nothing can go wrong for such an individual. He can be a businessman, politician, bureaucrat, farmer etc. The fundamental rules of ethics will not change, only their application in a particular situation may vary. Scandals originate in the heart. An individual must have a cause to be ethical, the heart to be ethical, and pursue the ethical principles with grit, stamina and heroism, and finally receive the rewards or any other types of accruing results with a balanced mental attitude. Even if the results are not favorable in a given situation, one will have the inner satisfaction of following the Golden Rule of ethics. One has to be truthful at all times and at all costs and avoid ‘pressure, pleasure, power, pride and skewed priorities’, to uphold the Golden Rule. In that ideal situation, societal environment will be

Conflict with examples from your career Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Conflict with examples from your career - Essay Example The analysis, prevention, management or resolution of conflicts does not aim at eliminating the conflict, but aims at looking for the best ways of solving the conflict without resorting to violence. There are a number of reasons underlying conflicts. Conflicts are caused when people are competing for the same natural or artificial resources, which are distributed unfairly, or which are not enough for everybody to get a share. Conflicts also arise when people are not satisfied with the manner in which they are governed. The major cause of conflict in this case is when a particular group wants to be independent from the central government, which is contrary to the laws governing the central government. Conflicts also arise when there is a clash of people’s beliefs with the most sensitive views being religious and political views, since people use them to show their sense of identity and belonging. Ethnic differences can also cause conflicts since people’s ethnicity give them a source of identity and belonging, and a threat to this is likely to result into violence if the conflict is not addressed early enough. Conflict management plays a big role in strengthening the bond between employees or the conflicting parties and solves close to half of the problems facing the parties. In a working environment, employees need to feel motivated and find work exciting. It is thus advisable for a manager, before implementing any idea that is likely to affect the employees in an organization to conduct employee consultations then take the most appropriate step in solving the problem. Moreover, conflict resolution plays a big role in people’s lives since tussles and fights that are likely to spoil relationships and create enmity are ironed out. Addressing problems at the right time helps to prevent further damage brought about by

Hospitality Foundation Essay Example for Free

Hospitality Foundation Essay Introduction The following report looks closely at someone working in the hospitality industry. The aim is to analyse their job. My research will be carried out by undertaking an interview, asking for a job description and visiting the place of work. I will then come to a conclusion in which I will analyse any shortfalls that may occur. Recommendations will then be made to improve the job performance of the individual. Method An interview with an employee of Ramada-Jarvis Hotel and Resort, Maidstone was carried out. His job title is Breakfast attendant, but he is basically a waiter. His Personnel Manager was emailed to ask for a job description and to establish what his responsibilities are. Information from the hotels website was also used. In order to fully analyse his job fully, the following areas were concentrated on: The working environment, the type of operation, opening hours, shift patterns etc the person being interviewed is contracted to work The duties and responsibilities The technical and professional skills needed to be effective The personal and social skills needed to be effective What motivates the individual Their expected career path (if any) Findings The working environment, the type of operation, opening hours, shift patterns etc the person being interviewed is contracted to work Working environment: Ramada-Jarvis Hotel and Resort in Maidstone is set in 20 acres of parkland in the heart of Kent adjacent to Leeds Castle, the reasonably modern hotel offers easy access to Maidstone and Kent, The Garden of England. Ricks Restaurant the section in which he works can get particularly busy between 8 and 10 in the morning, this provides a noisy and busy working environment. Type of operation: Restaurant sub-section of Hotel and Resort Opening hours: Sunday- Saturday: 7:00am 10:00pm Shift pattern: Shift pattern varies due to the fact that he only works part-time during school, but full-time in school holidays. During school when he works part time his shifts tend to be Saturday and Sunday from 7am 12pm. During school holidays he works 5 days a week from 6am 12pm. He has to look on a shift board in case of any changes. The duties and responsibilities His duties and responsibilities change every shift. Sometimes he will be responsible for the clearing and laying of tables and serving of tea, coffee and toast, but sometimes he will be responsible for the restocking during breakfast and clearing after breakfast of the breakfast buffet. He will also be given one designated job at the end of his shift. This can be setting up for lunch, cleaning glasses, plates and glasses, or cleaning floors and the fridge. The technical and professional skills needed to be effective Technical skills needed are very basic in terms of service at Breakfast due to the style of service being a self-service buffet. The clearing of tables and relaying was probably the only skills you could loosely call technical considering that has to have those skills to do the job, although these are trained in after employees start. Professional skills refer to the way in which standards are achieved and the slick performance of duties, clearly one can only become professional at something if you have been doing it consistantly for a period of time without fault. The personal and social skills needed to be effective Personal and social skills are by far the most important in this type of role. Personally he has to approach the job with the correct positive, friendly attitude in order to be accepted by the team and be able to approach the guests. Socially he has to be a good communicator, listener and team player in order to be able to do the job. What motivates the individual The obvious incentive of money would be the main motivation, although his pay is not that high at à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½3.85 per hour. He also finds that working as a part of a team motivates him, as he gets on well with all his colleagues. Expected career path He is expecting to leave this job and do a degree in Hotel Management in order to become a manager in a hotel. However he will be using his job as invaluable experience. Conclusion The individual has all the necessary skills required to carry out all his duties and responsibilities inherent within the job, his performance is therefore satisfactory. As he is only working part-time to aid his personal finances, his motives to be an effective employee in the organisation are not very strong. This is where some shortfalls may lie. Apart from the risk of being sacked from his job, he has no other reason to perform his job to the best of his ability. He may not use other skills exceeding his job requirements that could make him shine above fellow employees. Some of the skills required need training, such as the laying of tables and using the till. If this is carried out then the employee will feel more comfortable in their position and be able to perform their job more effectively, which will in turn lead to more customer satisfaction. The shift patterns of the individual are likely to have an effect on their performance. For example, if they are working unsociable hours or very long shifts, then their standards are likely to drop without a pay rise. Another shortfall that I found was that the hours that were given to the individual did not always suit him. Recommendations Motives of the employee are a key factor in how well they perform their job. As money is the main motive of this individual, rewards could be given to motivate the employees further. For example, bonuses could be given for a consistantly high standard of work. If there was more discussion between the employee and the management, more appropriate hours could be given to the employee. It is important that the hotel make working for them as enjoyable as possible. As if the employees have job satisfaction they will do a better job. The hotel could offer such rewards as discount breaks to other hotels in the chain in order to encourage the employee to acquire a loyalty to the company.

Neurodegenerative Diseases: Systems, Causes and Treatments

Neurodegenerative Diseases: Systems, Causes and Treatments Simon Mendy Compare the symptoms, causes and available or future treatments for Motor Neuron Disease, Spinal Muscular Atrophy and Myasthenia Gravis. Neurodegenerative diseases are hereditary (inherited) and sporadic (acquired during a person’s life) conditions caused by progressive nervous system dysfunction (http://ec.europa.eu/health/major_chronic_diseases/diseases/brain_neurological/index_en.htm). Motor neuron disease and Spinal Muscular Atrophy (shrink) are neurodegenerative conditions that arise due to motor neurons dysfunction and Myasthenia Gravis is an autoimmune neurodegenerative disorder. Motor neuron disease is caused by damage to motor neurons; Spinal muscular atrophy is due to deterioration of the motor neurons connecting the brain and spinal cord; Myasthenia gravis is an autoimmune condition that arises due to the damage or blocking of muscle receptors by antibodies accidently produced by the immune system. All three disorders result in weakness, making there diagnosis very hard, because weakness is a very common symptom of many conditions. However, possibilities are ruled out depending on the age of the pers on affected. If someone exhibiting muscle weakness is 1 year old, it is more likely that the person has SMA than the MG or MND, because SMA generally affects children ranging from less than six months to around the age of three, whereas MND is common in teenagers and young adults, and MG normally affects middle aged adults. Motor neurone disease is a unique condition of unknown aetiology that occurs when motor neurons (specialist nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that relay signals from the brain to the muscles) become damaged and ultimately stop working (http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Motor-neurone-disease/Pages/Introduction.aspx). This causes the muscles that the damage nerves supply to gradually lose strength, usually with wasting of muscles. It is unclear exactly what causes motor neurons to stop working, but, there is not thought to be a link with factors like lifestyle, race and diet. In a small number of cases (about 5%), there is a family history of either motor neuron disease or a related condition known as frontotemporal dementia. However, there is no single test to diagnose MND and diagnosis is solely based on the opinion of a neurologist, on the basis of the symptoms observed and a physical examination. In some cases a specialised test is needed to rule out other possible conditions. Symptoms of motor neurone disease begin gradually over a period of weeks and months, generally only on one side of the body at the beginning, and gradually get worse with time. Symptoms normally include having clumsy fingers or weaker grip (early signs of weakness). Other symptoms include: wasting of muscles, muscle cramps, hardships with swallowing and communication, excess saliva (difficulties swallowing saliva), and coughing after swallowing. After sometime, a person with motor neuron disease may find themselves unable to move. In a small number of cases (10-15%), motor neuron disease is associated with a type of dementia called frontotemporal dementia that can affect behaviour and personality. The main types of motor neuron disease are: amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) (accounts for 60-70% of all cases), progressive bulbar palsy (PBP), progressive muscular atrophy (PMA), and primary lateral sclerosis (PLS) (http://www.patient.co.uk/health/Motor-Neurone-Disease). Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is an autosomal (a chromosome that is not allosome) recessive genetic disease that causes muscle weakness and progressive loss of movement (http://www.fsma.org/FSMACommunity/understandingsma/WhatCausesSMA/). Around 1 out of every 40 people are genetic carriers of the disease (they carry the mutated gene but do not actually have SMA) (http://www.fsma.org/FSMACommunity/understandingsma/WhatCausesSMA/). Gene mutation is a permanent alteration in the DNA sequence that makes up a gene (http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/handbook/mutationsanddisorders/genemutation). Gene mutation occurs in two different ways: they are either inherited from parents (known as hereditary mutation) or they are acquired at some time during a person’s life (known as acquired mutation). Hereditary mutations happen when mutations are present in both the egg and sperm cells. A person that has inherited this type of mutation has it present in virtually every cell in their body, throughout th eir lifetime. Acquired mutations occur in individual cells at some time during a person’s lifetime. These changes can occur due to environmental factors like ultraviolet (UV) light from the sun, chemicals, and radiation, or if a mistake is made whilst DNA copies itself during cell division (mitosis and meiosis). Acquired mutations are only inherited if they occur in sex cells. According to the National Genome Institute, almost all diseases have some kind of genetic factor. These disorders can be cause by multiple gene mutations, a mutation in a single gene, combined gene mutation and environmental factors, or by chromosome damage or mutation. Gene mutation has been identified as the cause of numerous disorders including spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), haemophilia, Tay-Sachs, sickle cell, anaemia, cystic fibrosis and some cancers (http://biology.about.com/od/basicgenetics/ss/gene-mutation.htm). The term SMA is used mainly for the most common form spinal muscular atrophy, which is caused by a genetic problem where one copy of the genetic error (mutation in autosomes) is inherited from each parent. SMA is classified into four different categories, from Type I IV. The classification of SMA depends on the age at which symptoms of the disease arise and the severity of the symptoms. Symptoms of SMA normally include problems with breathing, eating, moving and swallowing; floppy arms and legs (In children with either Type I or II SMA); twitching of the muscles in the arms, legs or tongue. Type I SMA is the most severe, it develops in babies under six months old. Type II is less severe that Type I SMA, it affects babies between the ages 6 to 18 months. Type III and Type IV are the mildest types of SMA. Type III normally affects children around 3 years old. Type IV affects adults. In the most severe cases of SMA (Types I and II), fatal respiratory problems usually develop during chi ldhood. In mild cases such as Types III and IV SMA, life expectancy is normally unaffected (http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Spinal-muscular-atrophy/Pages/Introduction.aspx). Spinal muscular atrophy is caused by the deletion of the survival motor neuron gene 1 (SMN1) (http://www.fsma.org/FSMACommunity/understandingsma/WhatCausesSMA/). In healthy people SMN1 produces a protein known as the survival motor neuron (SMN) protein. In a person with mutated genes, the supply of this protein is absent or is significantly decreased. This results in the deterioration of the nerve cells (motor neurons) connecting the brain and spinal cord to the body’s muscles, therefore causing muscle weakness and gradual loss of movement, because the SMN protein is critical to the survival and health of motor neurons. Spinal muscular atrophy affects 1 in 6000 to 1 in 10000 people. Myasthenia gravis is a unique long-term autoimmune condition which affects the nerves and muscles, resulting in the muscles becoming weak. An autoimmune condition is caused by the immune system mistakenly attacking and destroying healthy body tissue. Ordinarily, the immune systems white blood cells protect the body from harmful substances, known as antigens. For examples: viruses, bacteria, toxins, etc. antibodies are produced as a counter measure by the immune system that destroy the antigens. In people with autoimmune disorder, the immune system has difficulty distinguishing between antigens and healthy body tissue. Due to this an immune system response that kills healthy body tissue is produced. The cause of the immune system no longer being able to distinguish between antigens and healthy body tissue is unknown at present. A theory suggests that drugs or microorganisms (like bacteria or viruses) may trigger some of these changes. In myasthenia gravis, the immune system accidental ly produces antibodies (proteins) that damage or block muscle receptor cells. This stops muscles contracting because the antibodies prevent messages being past from the nerve endings to the muscles. However, it is not understood why the immune system of some people produce antibodies that attack the muscle receptor cells. Symptoms of myasthenia gravis generally include impaired eye movement and weakness of muscles that are voluntarily controlled, therefore affecting functions such as facial expressions, eye and eye lid movement, chewing, talking and swallowing, and weakness of neck and limbs. However since weakness is a common symptom in many different diseases and conditions, diagnosis of myasthenia gravis is normally delayed or missed. Myasthenia gravis is diagnosed through Blood tests, Genetic tests and Electromyogram. In the U.S about 20 in 100,000 people are diagnosed with myasthenia gravis. Presently there is no known cure for MND, SMA, OR MG, however there are treatments that can be initiated with aims to ease symptoms to help the person feel more comfortable and have a better quality of life, and compensate for the gradual loss of bodily functions like mobility, communication, breathing and swallowing. For example, for MND, muscle relaxants can help reduce muscle stiffness; medicines such as phenytoin can treat muscle cramps; a breathing mask can help reduce shortness of breath. Right now, the only available treatment for MND that affects the progression of the disease is Riluzole, however it doesn’t stop the progression of motor neuron disease, but only slows it down by a few months (http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Motor-neurone-disease/Pages/Introduction.aspx). With SMA, depending on the severity, treatment could involve: exercise, to prevent joint stiffness and improve range of movement and flexibility; assistive equipment such as motorised wheelchairs and walk ing frames if someone with SMA has difficulty moving; nutrition advice and feeding tubes; bracing and surgery to treat scoliosis (curvature of the spine) (http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Spinal-muscular-atrophy/Pages/Treatment.aspx). For patients with MG, medication such as pyridostigmine and neostigmine (less common), can prevent the breakdown of acetylcholine, an important chemical that assists the muscles in contracting (http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Myasthenia-gravis/Pages/Treatment.aspx). If pyridostigmine is ineffective, steroid tablets can be used to lessen the symptoms. Doctors also often prescribe azathioprine, methotrexate or mycophenolate, to suppress the immune system. Muscle strength can be improved by controlling the production of abnormal antibodies through the use immunosuppressants. In some cases of MG, surgery to remove the thymus gland (a thymectomy) may be recommended. The thymus gland is part of the immune system and is found underneath the breast bone, it is someti mes abnormal in people with MG. In numerous cases, treatment of MG substantially improves muscle weakness allowing a person with the condition to lead a comparatively normal life. Some people may experience permanent or temporally periods where symptoms stop and treatment is no longer needed. Permanent remissions occur in about a third of the people who have a thymectomy (http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Myasthenia-gravis/Pages/Treatment.aspx). Currently, the hope of many is that stem cells of extraneural or neural origin might be modified in vitro (i.e. transforming skin cells into induced pluripotent stem cell (iPS)) (http://www.eurostemcell.org/factsheet/motor-neurone-disease-how-could-stem-cells-help) to differentiate into motor neurons that would migrate to sites of motor neuron loss and restore the motor pathways lost in MND by forming functional connections (Boulis, 2011). The most promising cells so far that can be used for stem treatment of MND are spinal cord stem cells, which are able to produce both motor neurons and a cell call glia. Many of the proteins known as growth factors that contribute to motor neurons development are secreted by glia. There is also a possibility that non-neuronal cells such as glia can be used to prevent further damage to motor neurons and encourage repair through the production of the working version of the protein SOD1, which in some types of MND doesn’t function properly (htt p://www.eurostemcell.org/factsheet/motor-neurone-disease-how-could-stem-cells-help). Stem cell therapy also has to the potential to be used as a possible cure for SMA, MG and other neurological conditions. Gene therapy uses genes to prevent or treat a disease by introducing genetic material in cells to compensate for abnormal genes or to make a beneficial protein (MacKenzie, 2010). Gene therapy was found to be well suited as a future treatment for SMA by the Kaspar group: who described a self-complementary (sc) AAV9 vector that crosses the blood-brain barriers after systemic administration; because of scAAV9’s remarkable efficiency in central nervous system (CNS) gene transfer, after intravenous delivery in mice and other larger animals. Using this as a base, the Kaspar group along with Arthur burgees, detail the most successful rescue reported yet in a mouse model of severe SMA. This was achieved by injecting scAAV9 that is carrying SMN1, into the facial vein of mice pups on their day of birth (MacKenzie, 2010). The approach of injecting scAAV9 into mice pups, resulted in the transduction of 40% of motor neurons, and an extension of the lifespan of the mice from 2 weeks to more than 250 days, combined with almost normalised neuromuscular electrophysiology and normal motor function (MacKenzie, 2010). This preliminary data obtained in the gene therapy rescue of SMA in the mouse model, reported by the Kaspar group and Arthur Burghes (a pioneer of SMA), suggests that the same approach could be used in primates. The authors investigated systemic injection of scAAV9-GFP in a cynomolgus monkey (1 day of age). After four weeks, the magnitude of GFP in spinal motor neurons recorded was similar to that shown by the mice (MacKenzie, 2010), boding well for possible application to humans. This news, along with recent encouraging reports of AAV gene therapy of retinal disease, supports the further rehabilitation of gene therapy as a credible therapeutic alternative for neurological diseases, including MG, SMA and MND. The stage seems set: with seemingly untreatable disorders of unknown pathogenesis; an unknown presymptomatic way of diagnosis; and, the small possibility of a cure through gene therapy and stem cell therapy, which are by far the best hopes, not only for MND, SMA and MG, but also for other neurological diseases. However, gene therapy and stem cell therapy are subject to a lot of public disagreement. For gene therapy this is due to fact that, gene therapy targeted at germ cells (egg and sperm cells), (known as germline gene therapy) could be pass on to next generations. Whilst it spares a family and their future generations from a specific genetic disorder, there’s a possibility it could affect the development of a fetus in unexpected ways or have yet unknown long-term side effects (http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/handbook/therapy/ethics). Because the people who are going to be affected are not yet born, they are unable to choose whether to have the treatment, resulting in big debates on e whether germline gene therapy should be used. Other ethical concerns involve negative impacts on what society thinks is â€Å"normal†, and discrimination toward those with the â€Å"undesirable traits† that arise from using gene therapy as a form â€Å"modification† for unwanted traits or to make â€Å"genetic improvements†. The idea of stem cell therapy is also controversial. Whilst it can used for the treatment of many diseases including neurological ones, there are ethical problems involving how it is obtained. For example, stem cells obtained from the embryo, because the embryo is viewed as a potential person. Due to this, taking stem cells from an embryo is considered to be murder, however, it’s argued that, an early embryo that hasn’t be implanted into the uterus doesn’t have properties we associate with being a person, and therefore can and should be used for the benefit of patients (who are persons). 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Gene Therapy for Motor Neuron Disease.Gene Vector Design and Application to Treat Nervous System Disorders. 33 (3), p41-49 Alex MacKenzie. (2010). A severe inherited neuromuscular disease is corrected in mice by intravenous gene delivery.Gene therapy for spinal muscular atrophy. 28 (3), 235-237 http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/handbook/therapy/genetherapy, (27/06/2014) http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/handbook/therapy/ethics, (28/06/2014) http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/handbook/therapy/procedures, (27/06/2014)