The theory of knowledge

The theory of knowledge IN EXPANDING THE FIELD OF KNOWLEDGE WE BUT INCREASE THE HORIZON OF IGNORANCE (HENRY MILLER). IS THIS TRUE? Knowledge is the antonym of ignorance. When we are faced with two opposites, the general notion is that if one increases the other is bound to decrease. Take a pigment for example. The darker pigment you add to your paint, the less lighter it would get. To understand this stance, we must first understand the definition of knowledge and ignorance. However, knowledge is too extensive to be defined in one sentence and discussed in one essay. Therefore, I will be limiting my writing to few areas of knowledge such as religion, language, science and mathematics to enforce my evaluation. Henry Miller talks about the increase in the horizon of ignorance and I feel that horizon is the perfect word for describing ignorance. Karl Popper stated that, Our knowledge can only be finite, while our ignorance must necessarily be infinite. I support his premise because the scope for ignorance is as vast as that of knowledge. As we obtain more knowledge, we only find more fields that could be developed even further, thereby, increasing our ignorance. Barring few exceptions, we can connect this to almost all areas of knowledge because, just like the horizon, as we get closer to it and we think that we have found the final answer, only to realize that, in reality, we are still far away from the end point. A common opinion is that as we increase our knowledge, we get less ignorant because we learn more. Citing environmental science, as we learn more about global warming, we find out the detrimental effects of objects which we were unaware of before, thereby, decreasing our ignorance on this issue. However, we realize that we are oblivious to so many other issues, which we never knew about before, only to discover that our field of horizon has increased. The more acquainted we get with religion, the more aloof we get to the prevailing norms in society. To gain religious knowledge one has to lose, till a certain extent, contact with the outside world. This is because if one actually has to follow one of these books diligently, he ought to compromise with the present customs of society. Looking at Hinduism, there are so many traditions such as Sati that have been abolished by society. Most religions stress the importance of simplicity and abbreviation from materialistic goods. The great sages and priests of the twenty-first century stay as far away from civilization as possible, to get away from the existing crimes and seek solace in the isolated areas. The main reason for this is that these books have been written so many years back that it is impractical for most of the people to follow most, if not all, traditions encrypted in these books. Hence, in gaining this knowledge one gets ignorant and becomes unaware of the scenario in the real world. Looking at a simple arithmetic problem; since kindergarten we have learned that when one and one is added, the end result is two. However, as we study further on and learn about other base theorems such as the Base two theorem where one plus one is not two, it is ten. Only then do we discover that we have so much more to learn about, like other base theorems and how we were ignorant about other base theorems apart from the base ten theorems used primarily in daily life. On learning more theorems, we realize that there are so many fields that we have not even looked at. Hence, arent we ignorant? Isaac Newton discovered Calculus in the seventeenth century. Only after this discovery did we learn the significance of this discovery in other fields such as science, engineering and even mathematics itself. Calculus enabled us to mathematically describe the dimensions of the physical universe and lead to the discovery of Modern science. Once the great scholars of the renaissance period understood the working of Calculus, it opened up doors to aspects of Mathematics and Science that were never even dreamt about before. The further development in these areas of knowledge facilitated us to expand our knowledge in computer science, business studies and engineering. On discovery of these relatively new fields of knowledge, we now understand the potential that lies in front of us to expand our knowledge even more, but this would only open up new areas that we would be ignorant to. As we acquire more knowledge, things do not become more comprehensible, but more mysterious. This statement byAlbert Schweitzer is apt for nearly all areas of knowledge. As our knowledge increases we do understand so many new concepts and theories. Space has always been connected with mystery. The development in the field of space science has been tremendous. Forty years back, Man went to the moon for the first time. Since then, we have developed some amazing space shuttles and rockets to boost the advance in the field of astronomy. But as we discover more about our Solar System, we only realize that we are ignorant to so many issues about further planets that we would never think about if our knowledge had not increased. Citing the example of the first space shuttle to land on Mars, when we barely had enough knowledge about the planet, we always thought that life on Mars would be impossible and discounted life on any other planet, beside Earth, too. However, on more research and expeditions, Man found traces of water on Mars that could indicate the possibility of life in Mars. Thereby, increasing our field of knowledge has shed light on so many issues. We learn about so many new aspects as exemplified in the above examples tha t we only get more confused because of the enormity of knowledge or potential knowledge that could be acquired available to us. Looking at the flipside, we must understand that even before acquiring more knowledge, we were still ignorant to all the possible developments that increased our horizon of ignorance. It is only that we were aware of what we are ignorant about, after gaining more knowledge. The only difference is that we now know that we are ignorant about these new fields we do not have any knowledge about. Human beings have constantly evolved from premature cavemen to sophisticated and complex men. The reason for this is the thirst for more knowledge as we only get more curious to learn more. Our curiosity has been the main motivating factor for us to question our intellect and discover more. This drive to know everything pushes us to acquire more and more knowledge. The only way we can expand our current knowledge is by knowing more about those fields that we are aware about but are ignorant of. As we try to learn more about these topics, we ultimately reduce the ignorance that increased when we first discovered about these subjects. Language is one area of knowledge that goes against Henry Millers opinion, particularly when we improve our vocabulary. As we stumble across new words, all we need to do is look up a dictionary to find the meaning of that word and we have acquired new knowledge without getting more ignorant. After finding out the meaning, we have gained knowledge about that word and our quest is over. Knowledge is the expertise and skills acquired by a person through experience or education. It is the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject. Experience is a journey from the womb to the tomb. Hence, throughout our life we keep on acquiring knowledge, it is a never-ending process. Analysing both sides, I comply with John F Kennedy that, The greater our knowledge increases, the greater our ignorance unfolds. I feel that when we span across new areas or develop any existing theory or knowledge, we only find new paths that could lead to more developments. Only then do we realize that we are ignorant to so many subjects that we would have never come across before, if we had not increased our knowledge. We probably would never be ignorant of anything if we had not started our quest for knowledge because if we were unknowledgeable we would not be ignorant to anything, we would probably not know the meaning of ignorance itself. BIBLIOGRAPHY: answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080404212819AAxaEPM 53k answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080517080546AAv8hzF 62k forums.philosophyforums.com/threads/expansion-of-knowledge-29878.html 35k http://www.math.wright.edu/People/Richard_Mercer/Classes/Common /WhyCalculus.html http://www.thinkexist.com http://www.wikipedia.org The Theory Of Knowledge The Theory Of Knowledge Option 3; Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand. (Albert Einstein) Do you agree? Alexandra Albers Einsteins quote is essentially a tautology, as it says the same thing twice. The statement defines, to a certain extent, both knowledge and imagination in such a manner that the claim is true by definition, making imagination the more important of the two definitions. The claim can be seen as logical as it defines both issues; knowledge as being limited to all we now know and understand and imagination as embracing the entire world. Although both definitions can be seen as true as they are logical, does it make the statement true? And more importantly, does it make imagination more important than knowledge? The statement speaks of the relative importance of knowledge and imagination, raising the question whether imagination is more important than knowledge. In order to address the issue effectively, we need to understand the issue of importance. Importance can be defined as something of great significance or value  [CITATION Alb29 l 7177]  , something that should be noted and paid attention to. This definition suggests that knowledge is more important than imagination as knowledge is reality. Everything we know and see as reality which to us has been confirmed through knowledge. Imagination can be defined as the formation of a mental image of something that is neither perceived as real nor present to the senses  [CITATION Alb29 l 7177]  this suggests that imagination is an extension of knowledge rather than a replacement thereof. Knowledge is defined as The sum or range of what has been perceived, discovered or learned.  [CITATION Alb29 l 7177]  Thus knowledge cannot exist without the necessary information and data that needs to be processed in order to acquire this knowledge in questioning its validity, truth and reliability. Einsteins full quote starts as follows; I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination  [CITATION Alb29 l 7177]  this suggests that he was not saying that imagination is always of greater importance but rather that it played a vital role in his life as Einstein was a creative person this is emphasised by the fact that he says I often think in music. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music.  [CITATION Alb29 l 7177]  This also shows the importance he sees in imagination and much of his work is probably reflected by his love for music. Imagination plays a large role in the thought process, as we perceive things with perception and therefore the use of our senses. We then remember this thought in our minds and can then re-imagine this perception when we require the knowledge associated with the sense. Once we have this base of knowledge, we can then apply creative imagination to the original thought or prior perception for example when imagining an image of a flower for which you have acquired the knowledge of how it looks, only afterwards can one use creative imagination to add to this initial image when painting a picture or something similar and then using imagination to change the way it is seen in reality. Hence imagination can be used as an extension to knowledge. This suggests that knowledge is a base for imagination as imagination often stems from knowledge. For example, fairy tales and other fictional stories are as a result of the authors imagination. The imagination which originated from the authors basis for knowledge- their sense of perception. After the writer has acquired the base of the story, a firm grasp of language to communicate the imagination and other knowledge issues are required, without which the story would not exist. Many of these stories were also written with an underlying purpose or message. For example in little red riding hood the moral lesson of the story is not to talk to strangers and to be careful who you trust. Suggesting that this way of knowing provides the basis for the story. Ethics are an area of knowledge which In the case of fairy tales are described using emotion and language as these stories are designed to relate to the reader. In order to write this story effectively, the author needs to have an understanding and knowledge of moral issues that he plans to address with his childrens book. Generally speaking, in order to have moral and ethical values, one needs knowledge of what is right or wrong. Although this is subjective knowledge and people therefore have different moral and ethical views, this is still an area of knowledge and something that one is taught as a child and can therefore be considered knowledge. These underlying messages can also be linked to emotion, as the writer must have felt strongly about this theme or message and this is a way of knowing and because he has emotions regarding the issue, it can be considered a form of knowledge. According to Einstein, the use of creative imagination to overthrow existing scientific theories when they become outdated and fail to cover known knowledge, imagination plays a role as it takes this base of knowledge and can improve upon it. Einstein is a conceptual physicist and therefore comes up with new scientific concepts using imagination and then develops it using knowledge. For example Einstein noticed the inadequacies of Newtonian mechanics and his theory of relativity was a result of his attempt to reconcile the laws of mechanics with those of the electromagnetic field. Dealing with statistical mechanics and problems merged with quantum theory, leading to Einsteins Brownian motion theory. Einstein would have not have been able to do without his prior knowledge and areas of knowledge, including; science, maths and history of the atomic structure and the knowledge he gained from scientists before him. This suggests like in the case of Einstein, imagination requires a basis o f knowledge, without which this imagination would be useless. Knowledge can be seen as a basis for imagination. Thus there are still certain cases in which imagination exists without former knowledge, for example Einsteins theory of the relativity of time. Which suggests that time is relative and that time seems to go faster when one is doing something enjoyable than it does when one is simply waiting for time to pass. Einstein established this theory using his imagination. This shows that although there are only few such examples, there are still counterclaims to the argument that knowledge is more important than imagination. Imagination might be part of knowledge, and vice versa, thereby suggesting that these terms are not separate, in which case, knowledge is not everything we now know. We acquire knowledge through the ways of knowing, which include emotion, reason, perception and language. For example, subjective knowledge is involved in emotion, as well as in imagination, therefore because everybody interprets an issue in their own way, knowledge cannot be limited to all we now know. Even Einsteins definition of imagination includes the word know suggesting that imagination is a part of knowledge. Although imagination is in fact more flexible than knowledge, this does not make it of greater importance. For example, someone who is blind from birth and has never seen what we perceive as reality will not be able to imagine something that is normal for someone with perfect sight. This emphasises that knowledge is gained through perception and in this case sight, because we have this knowledge, it is easy for us to imagine an image that we have seen before. As the blind person would never have seen this image, they cannot imagine it. Therefore without this knowledge, imagination is of little importance. Thus a blind person Might imagine things differently as a person with full sight suggesting that they might even have a broader imagination as theirs is not limited to imperial knowledge, for example there are several extremely talented blind artists who make use of their heightened senses other than sight to produce an image of their imagination without the knowledge from sight. Th is shows that to a certain extent imagination can also be transformed into reality. As explored throughout they essay it seems that although imagination and knowledge go hand in hand in most cases, imagination cannot exist without knowledge whereas knowledge can exist without imagination. Especially in the past where imagination was less important. Such as in tribes where the main objective was to sustain life by looking for food , as they did not have the necessary scientific apparatus, to investigate whether or not it was edible, people could only find out by eating the unknown plants and observing the effects on the people of the tribe. The tribes also observed the food that other animals in their environment ate and could then using logic derive that they could probably also eat the same plants. From these experiments and observations, the tribe people gained purely knowledge as they learned whether or not this plant can be eaten in the future. In conclusion, I do not agree with the Albert Einstein quote as i find knowledge to be more important than imagination because in essence, as explored throughout the essay, imagination, unlike knowledge does not necessarily define or create an image of reality, but is rather an aspiration. Something that we imagine to be true rather than something that is true in reality. Knowledge on the other hand, is something true. Some confirmation of reality that we can accept to be true. Suggesting that reality is of greater importance than the ideal, which is imagination. Thus as shown throughout the essay, there are limitations and counter claims to both opinions of the relative importance of knowledge and imagination. This shows that they are essentially related.

Analysing Negative Attitudes Towards Mental Illness

Analysing Negative Attitudes Towards Mental Illness This chapter will examine the term stigma and discuss the negative attitudes that the public hold towards mental health and mental illness and suggest why they may have adopted these views and attitudes. It will also address the medias role in portraying these views and sustaining these attitudes towards mental illness. An enormous number of individuals are affected by mental illness worldwide: the World Health Organization (WHO) (2001) has estimated that 1 in 5 persons will suffer from a mental illness each year. A question that could be asked if mental illness is a dominant and prevalent issue within society today why do people still hold these negative views and attitudes within society? Finally the chapter will conclude by making some recommendations for practice, ways that stigma can be reduced and how mental health and mental illness can be portrayed in a more positive light. To fully appreciate the views and attitudes towards mental illness it is important to understand the concept of stigma. Stigma is derived from the Greek for a mark branded on a slave or criminal (White, 1998). Goffmans (1963) seminal work on stigmatization has, over the years, stimulated a great variety of educational discussion on the nature, sources, and effects of stigma (Link and Phelan, 2001). According to Goffman (1963) stigma is a physical or psychological mark of disgrace that makes an individual stand out from society. Three types of stigmatizing marks identified by Goffman include, Abominations of the body, tribal stigma, and blemishes of individual character (Goffman, 1963, pg 14). People who encompass these physical or psychological marks are often devalued and dehumanised which consequently leads to their position within society being corrupted by the distressing effects of stigmatization (Goffman, 1963). A definition that can be seen to encompass all aspects alongside Goffman is offered by Miles (1981) cited in Brunton (1997) who says, Societal reaction which singles out certain attributes evaluates them as an undesirable and devalues the persons who possess them. (p. 892) The suffering and loss of opportunities that seems to always come hand in hand with a diagnosis of mental illness can be seen to be connected to the psychiatric symptoms that can be observed e.g. talking to voices, the decrease in daily functioning, and the dip in a persons social functioning in society (Corrigan and Wassel, 2008). However, the loss of opportunities and the person with a mental illness devaluing their own self worth take place for the reason of the stigma that surrounds mental illness (Corrigan and Kleinlein, 2005). For the purposes of this dissertation negative attitudes refers to discriminatory attitudes that are based on prejudice, stereotypes or inaccurate information. Stereotypes are firmly set judgements that are learnt throughout life and held firmly in our mind (Stier and Hinshaw, 2007). They are discriminating views or images related to members of particular groups (Corrigan and Wassel, 2008). Prejudice effects individuals in an emotional manner (Stier and Hinshaw, 2007) and occurs when people within society have the same opinion about a particular stereotype and affix this to a group of people making negative connotations towards that particular group (Corrigan and Wassel, 2008). Then again, Corrigan and Wassel (2008) state that discriminative behaviour can be seen as a direct result of prejudice. This involves a specific group being treated in a dissimilar way leading to that group not being able to access opportunities available to them or their rights being restricted (Stier and Hin shaw, 2007). Negative attitudes towards people with mental distress may be manifested by physical and verbal abuse, problems in the workplace or discrimination from people who provide services to people with a mental illness (Mind, 2010). Negative attitudes are partly constructed in the language we use to describe mental illness. People with mental distress are often being described in derogatory terms. For example, perpetrators of acts of violence are often described as Lunatics, mad person (Tudor, 1996), schizos, nutters, psychos, fiends, monsters and maniacs (Twomley, 2007). This makes a clear link between violence and mental distress, it must be acknowledged though that not everyone who is violent necessarily has a mental illness. Angermeyer and Schulze (2001) suggest the general public view people with mental illness as bizarre, fear-provoking, impulsive, violent and lack self-discipline. From this, therefore, it could be suggested that people who have a mental illness are deviants or have deviant behaviour. Becker (1963) defines deviance as any trait or behaviour that was abnormal when compared to the average population (pg. ). If mental illness is classed as deviant then how bad does someone have to act or behave to be classed as deviant. This demonstrates that social rules that are made allow people to judge others as different or in this case deviant (Becker, 1963). This is further supported by Baumann (2007) who suggest that the individuals picture of the world is created by comparatively constant norms, principles and expectations. Angermeyer and Matschinger (2005) suggests a diagnosis of schizophrenia has, particularly, been found to be stigmatizing and linked with negative stereotypes such as violence and dangerousness. This shows that by mental health being medicalised it is profoundly unhelpful due to the diagnostic terms such as psychosis which can shackle people to the mental health system (Watkins, 2007). In contrast Shepherd et al (2008) describe the recovery model as taking ownership and responsibility for an illness and what can and cant be done, focusing on the strengths and issues rather than a diagnosis. This is a reliable source provided by the Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health. The recovery model will be discussed more in-depth in chapter three. There is no doubt that the media plays a part in reinforcing the attitudes towards mental health and mental illness. In everyday life the public come into contact with the media by newspapers, TV and radio on a daily basis. The way people with a mental illness are viewed as dangerous can be seen to be fuelled by tabloid media publicity about psycho-killers (Tudor, 1996). Examples of this are included in the appendix. The report, Screening for madness, by Byrne (2009) reveals that films representations of people with experience of mental health problems have become more harmful, he suggests that, Mental health stereotypes have not changed over a century of cinema. If anything, the comedy is crueler and the deranged psycho killer even more demonic. (pg. 4) One flew over the Cuckoos Nest can be seen as the film most remembered for depicting someone with a mental illness acting strangely or violently (reference). Even though this was released 35 years ago it shows the influence of movie stereotypes on attitudes and how these can last generations. This is also demonstrated with the recent film Batman-the Dark Knight depicting mental illness with violence which more or less is based around the mental illness schizophrenia (Byrne, 2009). This would suggest that ignorance and lack of understanding of mental illness are still very prominent in society today. It must be acknowledged there are some exceptions to this, of more recent films that have portrayed a less sensational and more insightful picture of mental illness. For instance, A Beautiful Mind, in 2002, depicted the true story of a maths genius who had a diagnosis of schizophrenia, while Shine, in 1996, was the story of a brilliant pianist who had a diagnosis of bipolar disorder. Nevertheless, the more positive portrayals can represent mental distress as exotic, dramatic or romantic in ways that bear little resemblance to real-life experiences (Lott, 2006). Likewise, media portrayals of mental health have been far from flattering and largely sensationalized. A survey undertaken in 2000 by MIND found that 73% of people with mental health problems felt that the reporting of mental health issues were unjust, biased and pessimistic (MIND, 2000 cited in Rethink, 2006). In addition a study by Chopra and Doody (1997) looked at 98 newspaper articles and found there was no significant difference in the portrayal of schizophrenia. They did find overall that 36.1% of articles were negative in tone, 56.7% were neutral and 7.2% were positive. The word schizophrenic is often used in tabloid stories in conjunction with violent events, somehow suggesting that the diagnosis can justify why the violence happened in the first place (Twomey, 2007). In reality, the person who happens to have a diagnosis of schizophrenia may have acted in such a way due to taking illegal drugs or may have a violent personality, we need to look at all aspect of what led to a violent situation happening and not just that someone was mentally ill. The media can often be seen to be responsible for stigmatizing stereotypes of mental illness (Byrne, 1997),however, if the media was used to its potential it can challenge prejudice, enlighten and instigate discussions, helping to reduce the stigma that is so often experienced by people with a mental illness (Salter and Byrne, 2000). It is still evident through reporting on mental health that a diagnosis of a mental illness is linked to violence. There is however, some evidence of positive change where The Sun newspaper was made to remove a headline of Bonkers Bruno locked up which was reporting on the sectioning of the boxer frank Bruno under the Mental Health Act (MIND, 2010). In 2006, the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) published a code of practice, which banned the use of stigmatising language around mental illness which reduced the use of the terms such as schizo and nutter (PCC, 2006). This gives an example of just how much the media has moved on over the years and that there are some strategies to prevent harm being done to people with mental health problems. Becker (1963) concludes that people who are mentally ill are blamed for things that happen in society therefore you would think they would be punished or persecuted. It must be acknowledged that there are extensive resources devoted to the benevolent care and support of those with an enduring mental illness. Even though this is an old source it is relevant even today and apparent how services are developing for people with mental health problems. Nevertheless, people suffering from a mental illness are still feared and excluded from society (Becker, 1963 and Watkins, 2007). When people have acute mental health problems they can appear to the public to be frightening and exhibit odd behaviours which can often lead to police involvement (Taylor, 2008). At such times they can commit criminal acts, often escaping prosecution due to their mental illness at the time (Bowers, 1998; Taylor, 2008). Therefore, it could be argued that the public hold these views due to such examples where peopl e are excused from their actions on the basis of some supposed illness. It could be suggested that they should be held accountable for their actions as anyone else would be (Bowers, 1998). It can be argued that these attitudes towards mental illness can be seen in a direct parallel to racism (Bowers, 1998). So why do people continue showing negative attitudes and views towards mental health as much work has been done in helping to combat racism, can the same not be done for people with mental illness. Negative attitudes towards individuals with mental illness is widespread and can be capable of creating a significant barrier to treatment (Piner and Kahle, 1984). It has been established that negative attitudes can be individually the most significant obstruction to integration of people with a mental illness in to society (Piner and Kahle, 1984). Negative attitudes towards mental health can influence the path and result of their mental illness (Bowers, 1998). This can also lead to self-stigma which occurs when an individual with a mental health illness internalizes the stigma and believes they are of less value (Halter, 2004; Corrigan, 2007). This may result in low self-worth, loss of dignity, and lead to feelings of hopelessness (Campbell and Deacon, 2006). People who experience a mental illness often see no potential for them to undertake full time employment due to internalizing these negative attitudes that are held about the psychiatric system (Watkins, 2007). If we dont help people recover from mental illnesses it is inevitable that it may become an enduring illness. An analogy given compares it to having a broken leg; if you dont rest it then it wont heal properly, the same could be said for the mind. Maybe if people were more positive towards mental health and mental illness then people with mental health problems would be encouraged to flourish in the community and not be seen as deviant. This is supported by Sayce (2000) who suggests that being part of the social foundations of the community is necessary for our psychological well being. Generally most people would like to think they are compassionate and have inclusive attitudes towards people who experience a breakdown in their mental health (Ross and Read, 2004). Except, discrimination is still communicated in everyday social situations in subtly distancing, condescending exchanges, flippant outlooks or obvious hostility leaving people feeling socially isolated (Watkins, 2007). This could be due to the fact that mental illness shows how fragile human nature is therefore peoples/societies anxieties and fears about mental health may be due to seeing the potential that any one of us could develop a mental health disorder (Becker, 1963). From my practice to date the following example really brought home to me the level of stigma and negative attitudes people have towards mental illness. When listening to an account from a service user it made me realise how public attitudes towards people with mental health difficulties is still a big issue and a real challenge for health care professionals. Mary explained that when taking a taxi to give a talk to students about living with mental illness she got talking to the taxi driver. At first he thought she was a lecturer but when she explained what she was going to do he became very quiet and stopped conversation with her. She found this a very ignorant and closed way of dealing with the situation and became quite upset about it. Having examined the concepts of stigma, discussed the negative attitudes that the public hold towards mental health and mental illness, suggested why they may have adopted these views and attitudes and addressed the medias role in portraying these views and sustaining these attitudes towards mental illness. It is now important to draw some recommendations and challenges that can help reduce the stigma of mental illness and promote a more positive picture to members of the public. These recommendations include education and public contact. Firstly, education of the public both at school and after (Murphy et al 1993; Penn et al 1994) about mental health and its prevalence among every one of us is really important. Education is widely approved for influencing prejudice and discrimination (Corrigan and Wassel, 2008). Corrigan and Wassel (2008) ask the important question, If people had the correct knowledge or effective problem solving skills, would they be able to give up public stigma and handle associated concerns more directly? (pg. 45) Education can generate small effects on attitudes; unfortunately, this kind of change in attitude is seen to not be maintained over time (Corrigan et al, 2001). This demonstrates the need to continually re-educate people to reinforce the message. Challenging the public is most effective when it targets people who frequently interact with individuals with mental illness: landlords, employers, GPs, police officers etc (Corrigan and Wassel, 2008). Secondly, most importantly the media needs to comply with their code of practice (2006). If something does appear in the media that appears stigmatising people should protest against it not accept it and reiterate that it wont be tolerated. As nurses we need to encourage that positive things surrounding mental health of mental health are promoted in the media. Lastly, the public need more contact with people who are experiencing mental health difficulties. This type of contact can provide the most healthy and positive findings toward changing public stigma (Penn et al,1994; Pettigrew and Tropp, 2000). It can be something as small as someone speaking about their mental illness in a group situation to co-workers learning of someone coping with a mental illness. The effectiveness of utilising contact can be improved when the person with a mental illness is seen by society as in the same social class as them (Gaertner et al, 1996). In Link and Cullens (1986) study they found people who had contact with someone who had a mental illness showed much lower anxiety around danger compared to those who had no contact. Murphy et als (1993) study contradicted this as they found having contact with someone with a mental illness did not impact on their attitude. However, they did establish that people who spoke of having knowledge of mental illness showe d a reduced anxiety and fear of mental illness. Finally, the prevalence of mental illness in society cannot be underestimated. As previously alluded to with 1 in 5 people suffering from a mental illness (WHO, 2001) we cannot afford to ignore the impact of stigma, all health care professionals especially nurses need to advocate for clients and work with others to promote and protect the health and wellbeing of those in their care, their families and carers, and the wider community (Nursing and Midwifery Council, 2008). Having discussed the views and attitudes that the public hold towards mental illness and those experiencing mental health difficulties it is now important, in the next chapter, to examine the views and attitudes of general nurses. Many will come into contact with people with mental health problems particularly in accident and emergency (a and e) and a medical setting.

Basics of Psychology :: essays research papers

I.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Biological bases of behavior Students should recognize biological psychology as a perspective of psychology. Specifically, students should recognize: 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The organization of the nervous system into the CNS and PNS: †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Central Nervous System-CNS- Brain and Spinal Cord. The Peripheral Nervous System-PNS- are the Nerves outside of the brain and spinal cord. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The structure and functions of neurons: †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Neurons are the basic building blocks of the nervous system. The human central nervous system contains about 100 billion neurons. Neurons have a communicative role in the nervous system. Neurons can receive, integrate, and transmit information. 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   How neurotransmitters are related to behavior: †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Acetylcholine (Ach) - Activates motor neurons controlling skeletal muscles. Contributes to the regulation of attention, arousal, and memory. Some Ach receptors stimulated by nicotine (the nicotine acts like Ach itself and binds to receptor sites for Ach). †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Dopamine (DA) – Contributes to control of voluntary movement, pleasurable emotions. Decreased levels associated with Parkinson’s disease. Over activity at DA synapses with schizophrenia. Cocaine and amphetamine elevate activity at DA synapses. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Norephinephrine (NE) – Contributes to modulation of mood and arousal. Cocaine and amphetamines elevate activity at NE synapses. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Serotonin (SHT) – Involved in regulation of sleep and wakefulness, eating, and aggression. Abnormal levels may contribute to depression and OCD. Prozac and Zoloft are antidepressant drugs that affect serotonin. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  GABA (gamma-amino butyric acid) – Most common inhibitory NT. Valium and Xanex (also alcohol) are anti-anxiety drugs that work at GABA synapses. GABA appears to be responsible for much of the inhibition in the CNS. GABA contributes to the regulation of anxiety. 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The specialized functions of the brain's hemisphere: The Hindbrain consists of the medulla, oblongata, pons, and the cerebellum. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The medulla contains 3 vital centers: †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cardiac center- This controls rate and force of the heart beat †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Vasomotor center-adjust blood vessel diameter to regulate blood pressure and reroute blood from one part of the body to another. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Respirator centers- control the rate and depth of breathing. Pons – contains nuclei that relay signals from the cerebrum to the cerebellum. It is concerned with sleep, hearing, equilibrium, taste, eye movement, facial expressions, facial sensations, respirations, swallowing, bladder control and posture. Cerebellum- mostly concerned with muscular coordination. Midbrain- Short segment of the brainstem that connects the hindbrain and forebrain. Reticular Formation- runs vertically through the core of the midbrain, pons, and medulla, it functions modulations of muscle reflexes, breathing, and pain perception; it has an equal role in the regulation of sleep and arousal.

Paideia, Prejudice and the Promise of the Practical Essay -- Philosoph

Paideia, Prejudice and the Promise of the Practical In an age of radical pluralism it is increasingly difficult to affirm and sustain the educational aspirations of Greek paideia (Latin humanitas). The most challenging attacks on these aspirations come from standpoints which share a postmodern attitude of opposition towards inherited cultural ideals, especially those which claim universality. This paper first examines optimistic and pessimistic prospects for the educational heritage of humanitas, concluding that, in the face of cultural disparateness which is increasingly evident in post-Enlightenment cultures, the pessimistic case seems to be more convincing. Recognizing that this gives added impetus to postmodernist standpoints, the second section examines some key features of these, taking as its examples arguments of Lyotard, Foucault and Rorty. I show that the prejudices of the postmodernist arguments are as invidious as the discriminatory assumptions and the neglect of the quality of educational practice in the Western cultural inheritance. Recalling some insights which can be gleaned from the educational practices of Socrates, the last section joins these with findings of contemporary philosophers on the pre-judgements and partiality which are inescapable features of human understanding. This is a reclamation and elucidation of a practical and promising humanitas which does justice to the claims of diversity and universality. Introduction: Hard Times for Paideia To many it may seem quaint or quixotic to make the ancient notion of paideia the theme of a world conference of philosophy in cultural circumstances which are variously described as post-industrial, post-Marxist, post-Christian, post-religious, or post-mod... ..." in R. Hollinger (ed.) Hermeneutics and Praxis (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame, 1985). (16) Richard Rorty, "Private Irony and Liberal Hope" in his Contingency, irony, and solidarity (henceforth CIS) (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989). (17) Richard Rorty, Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature (henceforth PMN) (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1980) pp.357-365. (18) Hans-Georg Gadamer, Truth and Method (T&M) translation of Wahrheit und Methode (W&M) by G. Barden & J. Cumming (New York: Seabury Press, 1975). (19) T&M, pp.10-11; W&M, pp.6-7. (20) PMN pp.358-359. (21) PMN p.351. (22) CIS, p.73. (23) CIS, pp.74-75. (24) Heraclitus, Fragment 45, quoted by Jaeger in Paideia, Bk.1, p.179. (25) These earlier Dialogues include Gorgias, Protagoras, Euthyphro, Apology, Crito and Bk.1 of Republic. (26) Plato, Apology, 23. (27) D&P, p.27.

Treyvon Martin and Clarence Thomas Essay -- Political Spectacle, Polit

On February 26, 2012, an apparently innocent teenager was shot as he walked home through his neighborhood late at night. The Trayvon Martin killing and trial has recently been one of the primary topics covered by the media in America. The response to the news coverage of the case has been staggering. Students have organized hoodie marches and created Facebook groups to protest the unjustified murder of the young man. However, is the American public as well informed as it pretends to be? Americans have an unsettling susceptibility to manipulation from the media. In 1991, a similar event occurred in the case of the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings, where Supreme Court nominee, Clarence Thomas, had his personal affairs put on display for America. This event ignited unrest in women’s rights and civil rights groups across the country. Americans were surprised to discover that the nation had been blind to these supposed political injustices for years. The Clarence Thomas confir mation hearings cloaked a staggering message to the American people about media’s role in manipulating American sentiment by sensationalizing the news coverage relayed to the American public. The original purpose of the Clarence Thomas hearings were to determine if George Bush’s nominee for Supreme Court Justice, Clarence Thomas, was a legitimate nominee for the prestigious role of Supreme Court justice. However, the hearings quickly developed into little more than a â€Å"political spectacle.† A political spectacle â€Å"is public in the sense that it deals with a†¦ scandalous action that carries instant and wide appeal no matter who does it† . The spectacle was tailored so that it would reach and catch the attention of millions of viewers. In order to accomplish th... ...ide, â€Å"Deconstructing the Political Spectacle: Sex, Race, and Subjectivity in Public Response to the Clarence Thomas/ Anita Hill â€Å"Sexual Harassment† Hearings,† American Journal of Political Science 37 (1993): 701. Dianne Rucinski, â€Å"Rush to Judgment? Fast Reaction Polls in the Anita Hill-Clarence Thomas Controversy,† The Public Opinion Quarterly 57 (1993): 575. Frances Trix and Andrea Sankar, â€Å"Women's Voices and Experiences of the Hill-Thomas Hearings,† American Anthropologist 100 (1998): 32. Larry Hugick, "On Night before Vote, Support for Thomas Remains Strong," Gallup Poll News Service 56 ( 1991): 2. Murray Edelman, Constructing the Political Spectacle (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1988), 99. Thomas P. Kim, â€Å"Clarence Thomas and the Politicization of Candidate Gender in the 1992 Senate Elections,† Legislative Studies Quarterly 23 (1998): 399.

Pakistan Wetland Program

THE PAKISTAN WETLANDS PROGRAMME The Ministry of Environment's Pakistan Wetlands Programme DurationJuly 2005- June 2012 StatusOngoing BudgetUSD 3. 6 million Project deliveryUSD 2. 7 million Project delivery (2010) USD 0. 51 million LocationCountrywide Donor Contribution Royal Netherlands Embassy (RNE): USD 4,034,000 Global Environment Facility (GEF): USD 2,253, 000 Federal Government: Ministry of Environment Other: World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF-P) Background:The Pakistan Wetlands Programme (PWP) aims to promote the sustainable conservation of freshwater and marine wetlands and their associated globally important biodiversity in Pakistan. The programme strategy is based on two sub-sets of objectives. The first will provide the required policy, institutional, technical and financial framework and generate positive public support essential for the mainstreaming of wetlands conservation. The second involves the design and implementation of Sustainable, participatory management plans for four independent Demonstration Sites, each chosen to be representative of a broad eco-region in Pakistan.It includes specific mechanisms to secure financial sustainability and enhanced replication and proliferation of viable wetlands management interventions in a nation-wide, on-going wetlands conservation initiative. Despite the generally arid nature of Pakistan's climate, the region supports an estimated 780,000 ha of wetlands that cover 9. 7% of the total surface area of the country. In excess of 225 significant wetlands sites are on record in the prototype Pakistan Wetlands GIS Database developed during the PDF (B) Phase of this Project.Nineteen of these have been internationally recognised by the Ramsar Convention Bureau as being of global importance. The diverse assortment of natural freshwater and marine wetlands that occur within Pakistan support unique combinations of biodiversity. The same resource, however, also sustains an estimated 144 million permanent human resid ents and 3-4 million displaced persons from adjacent countries. The wetlands of the region are, therefore, generally degrading under a broad spectrum of anthropogenic threats that are mainly rooted in poverty but exacerbated by lack of knowledge and mismanagement.Global Significance Pakistan's permanent and ephemeral wetlands are globally significant in two ways; i) In terms of the intrinsic value of their indigenous biodiversity, ii) As an acute example of the poverty/subsistence-use nexus that constitutes one of the most fundamental threats to biodiversity worldwide. The high global significance of Pakistan's wetlands is attributable to the diversity of species that they support. In all, eighteen threatened species of wetlands dependent mammals are found in the country including the endemic Punjab Urial (Ovis vignei punjabiensis) and Indus River Dolphin (Plantanista minor).Further, twenty threatened bird species are supported by Pakistan's wetlands in addition to twelve reptiles a nd two endemic species of amphibians. Pakistan's wetlands also support between 191-198 indigenous freshwater fish species, including fifteen endemics and a total of 788 marine and estuarine fish species. The high altitude wetlands, characterised by sites such as Karumbar Lake, situated at an elevation of 4, 150m, and Saucher Lake, at 4,250m on the Deosai Plains, represent a relatively unique category of alpine wetlands that is confined to the Himalaya, Hindukush and Karakoram mountain cordilleras.Objectives To promote the sustainable conservation of freshwater and marine wetlands and their associated globally important biodiversity in Pakistan. Key Achievements i)Implementation on the recommendations of the previous Mid-Term Review underway. ii)Draft Exit Strategy for Pakistan Wetlands Program prepared. iii)Institutional setup established under the program with management of Pakistan’s wetlands after completion of the project in 2012. iv)Field assessments completed and GIS mo dels at the federal and provincial levels operational.GIS database being used as a decision making tool for the management of selected wetlands in four sites. v)Overall information of 225 wetlands of Pakistan available in GIS database. vi)National Wetlands Policy approved. vii)Planned trainings completed. 3000 participants from communities, Govt. institutions and academia benefited from these trainings. The project and government personnel have benefited from study abroad component of this programme. iii)A number of customized materials such as a brochure on Uchhali Complex, awareness raising posters in Urdu and English for World Wetlands Day; tree plantation and hunting ethics flyers and promos; documentaries on Water Fowl In Pakistan; Broghil and on Balochistan Coast were produced and disseminated nation-wide. This has led to recognition of three additional wetlands sites under the Global Convention on Wetlands. ix)The implementation of conservation plans at the four wetlands site s in process in collaboration with local village communities. Main Donors The main donors are Royal Netherland Embassy (RNE),UNDP Pakistan, Global Environment Facility (GEF), Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF), EU and WWF International . Aims The programme aims at the creation of an enabling environment at the national level through capacity-building and training, awareness raising, communication and environmental assessments; developing replicable models in the four wetlands eco-regions of the country including the Makran Coastal Wetlands Complex (MCWC), Central Indus Wetlands Complex (CIWC), Salt Range Wetlands Complex (SRWC) and Northern Alpine Wetlands Complex (NAWC). Coverage areaDespite the generally arid nature of Pakistan's climate, the region supports an estimated 780,000 ha of wetlands that cover 9. 7% of the total surface area of the country. In excess of 225 significant wetlands sites are on record in the prototype Pakistan Wetlands GIS Database developed during th e PDF (B) Phase of this Project. Nineteen of these have been internationally recognized by the Ramsar Convention Bureau as being of global importance. The diverse assortment of natural freshwater and marine wetlands that occur within Pakistan support unique combinations of biodiversity.

Bad Drivers

Please note that the drivers used in this rant are full driving license and know the ‘Do's and Don't of driving! What is a bad driver? A bad driver is the moron who lacks the brain capacity to drive like a normal person. Instead of looking at a situation and thinking about it logically, the driver chugs along In their own little world blissfully unaware of the world around them. It Isn't that they don't want to care about the others around them, the problem Is that their brains are actually so tiny that they are enable to comprehend more than one thing at a time.This Is why you will often spot a bad driver stopping in the middle of the road. What has happened, Is that In the middle of attempting a maneuver that requires them to think about multiple things at the same time, their brain and body has suffered a complete overload and shut Itself down. A few weeks ago I suffered a mentally disturbing experience. As usual I was running late for my football class, so I decided to ask my parents If I can go by car. Surprisingly they agreed.After a fairly peaceful Journey, possibly the worst possible outcome occurred. It was a minor road and 2 cars have met. What should have happened is either one of the drivers reverse into an opening to clear the way, saving everyone loads of time; however neither one of the drivers had the decency to clear the way and soon enough a 2 car roadblock became a bundle of cars all mindlessly honking at each other. What have we become? Human Being†¦ Seriously, is there some kind of driving epidemic going on that I haven't heard about?