Anthropological Approaches to the Study of Language Systems

Anthropological Approaches* to *The* Study of Language S*ystems Language: The arbitrary vocal symbols human beings use to encode and communicate about their experience of the world and of one another. Linguistics: the scientific study of language Linguistic anthropologists study how language is formed and how it works, the history and development of language and the relationships between language and other aspects of culture Throughout time a change in language through modern technology All human beings have language it varies in terms of its nature and all language is equally sophisticated and complex All human beings have the capacity to learn language Children who are isolate and not socialized till the age of 6 cannot learn language (feral children) Communicative competence Linguistic Anthropology Focuses on the mechanics of language, including: Phonology (phonetics): the general study of the sounds used in speech by means of an internationally recognized system of symbols to represent the various phonetic sounds of speech. Syntax: the study of the manner in which minimum units of meaning (morphemes) are put together into phrases or sentences. Or, what English speakers call grammar. Historical Linguistics Studies the relationships of languages to one another and reconstructs how languages change over time. Includes an analysis of how the phonology of language changes over time (dialects, pidgins, creoles, and new languages). Includes an examinations of potential universals in linguistic principles of classification (are there universal classifications for colours? ) 12 different languages before European contact, why is that important? Because that means that there were people living in the North America for a very long time. It was so diverse! Specialized field that studies the relationship between language and culture. SapirWhorf Hypothesis: all human experience is to some extent, mediated through culture and language. Objects or forces n the physical environment become labelled in language only if they have cultural significance, and language systems themselves (vocabulary and syntax_ influence speakers perceptions of the world. How do Anthropologists study language? {text:list-item} {text:list-item} Proxemics: the study of the use of space in communication. Ex. Talking too close for comfort. Handshaking etiquette. Discourse Analysis:the analysis of a stretch of speech or other form of communication l onger than a sentence and united by a common theme. Often concerned with relations of power and inequality in language use and knowledge production. Ex. Global warming, refusing to use the word in communications. The way the language gets used in power relationships is important. Unique Design Features of Human Language *Openn*ess: the creative capacity of human language Displacement: the ability to talk about absent, abstract or nonexistent objects of subjects Arbitrariness: no universal link between particular linguistic sounds (sings) and particular linguistic meanings (signified). Duality of Patterning: arrangement of sounds(phonemes) is not random, but systematically patterned to create meaning bearing unites (morphemes). Prevarication: the ability for linguistic messages to be false or to violate convention. Lies, animals are not able to lie. Forms of Communicative Competence Linguistic Competence: human ability to learn correct assemblages of phonemes, morphemes and syntax (or grammar) Communicative Competence: human beings ability to learn culturally appropriate speech patterns. Much of communicative competence involves learning inter-textual codes. The concept of inter-textuality essentially states that meaning depends on our knowledge of linguistic and symbolic codes.

Charlotte Doyle Character Analysis

The most characters that depict great change are Charlotte, our protagonist, Captain Jaggier, our antagonist, and former Second mate, Ketch. Through this tumultuous voyage, Charlotte metamorphoses Into a lady of great beauty, Captain Jaggier deteriorates, and Ketch's duplicitous nature arises. Metamorphosis and change of oneself occurs when one recognizes the first step which Is awareness, and the second which Is acceptance. From an egg to a butterfly, Charlotte Doyle truly transforms and metamorphoses Into a beautiful human being that fights for justice and equality in a time where slavery, classicism, and racism revealed.Charlotte life changes through several choices and actions she takes. Firstly, Charlotte witnesses a horrifying panorama of Captain Jaggier thrashing and lashing her beloved friend Zachary, thus she finds out the true nature of Captain Jaggier. † When he saw they were bloody he swore a savage oath, jumped forward, and tore the whip from my hand, whirled about and began beating Zachary with such fury as I had never seen,† (pig 70). This changes her life because she admired Captain Jaggier and saw him as a â€Å"father† figure.Her whole impression of Captain gagger metamorphoses completely also because he chose Zachary, her beloved friend, to lash and cause extreme anguish to. She also learns to be more aware and less naive. Secondly, Charlotte unexpectedly chooses to become a member of the crew thus climbs the mainmast; this changes her life completely. â€Å"Recollecting Awning's advice, I shifted my eyes and focused them on the ropes before me. Then, reaching as high as I could into one of the middle shrouds, and grabbing a ratline, I began to climb,† (pig 84). Charlotte became a member of the crew by climbing the mainmast.Without Charlotte realizing, he was able to make her a spy for him. Also, he befriended Charlotte in order to prevent his death, and in order to stop the crew from signing the round robin. Secondl y, Captain Jaggier chooses to whip Zachary and this causes him deterioration where his life changed drastically. † When he saw they were bloody he swore a savage oath, Jumped forward, and tore the whip from my hand, whirled about and began beating Zachary with such fury as I had never seen,† (pig 70). When the beast emerged, Captain Jaggier deteriorated in Charlotte eyes, she belittled him, and her impression of him changed entirely.This also caused Charlotte to whip him, and this embarrassed him in front of the crew thus he deteriorated and weakened. He lost Charlotte, and hatred of the captain rose even higher amongst the crew. Thirdly, he chose to beat up Cranky to the point his arm had to be cut off, and this brings the crew against him. â€Å"Captain Jaggier said Mr.. Cranks laboring arm was his by rights. Miss Doyle, Mr.. Cranky has but one arm now. He was that much beaten by Captain Jaggier, who, as he said himself, took the arm. I was first surgeon, then carpent er to Mr.. Cranky,† (pig 28).This changed his life because this is what made the crew sign the round robin and come against him. Captain Jaggier experienced severe deterioration and loss of power when all the crew came against him. This was the obviously the first step of his deterioration. Captain Jaggier deteriorates and warps through the tumultuous voyage. His loss of power and authority cause him to become insane and full of wrath. His anger and extreme wrath causes him death when faced against Charlotte in a life or death situation. This comes to show that a person that is unjust and cruel will always be defeated, and will always come to an end. Our enemy is motivated by hatred and will not stop planning more plots against until they are ultimately defeated,† Timothy Murphy. â€Å"We are only falsehood, duplicity, contradiction; we both conceal and disguise ourselves from ourselves,† Blaine Pascal. Ketch, a member of the crew, was once portrayed as a fearful man with darted eyes, and turns out to be a man of great treachery, mischief, and trickery. His duplicitous nature arises as his choices and actions change his life. Firstly, Ketch decides to sign the round robin, and this causes change in his life. â€Å"As for Mr..Ketch, since he seems to prefer serving you ratter tan me†¦ ‘ place ml In ten Directorates winner Nee wall De more comforts position of second mate, thus vacated, I give to Mr.. Johnson. He at least had the dogs wit not to sign your round robin,† (pig 76-77). Ketch signed the round robin and this changed his life because he lost his position as second mate; he lost the loyalty of the captain. Secondly, Ketch hides Zachary in the brig and this changes his life. â€Å"Ketch brings me food and water every day,† he continued. The food isn't as good as what I would have prepared, but enough to keep me alive.

Food Rituals in Hinduism

Hindu Traditions: Food and Purification Ashley LeBlanc Introduction to Eastern Religions Dr. Patricia Campbell November 16, 2010 LeBlanc 2 Hinduism is a religion that originated in India and is still practiced by most of the Natives as well as the people who have migrated from India to other parts of the world. Statistically there are over seven hundred million Hindus, mainly in Bangladesh, India and Nepal. Approximately eighty percent of the population in India is Hindu (Encyclopaedia Britannica n. d. ).The word Hindu comes from an ancient Sanskrit term meaning â€Å"dwellers by the Indus River,† referring to the location of India's earliest know civilization, the Pakistan. The religion suggests commitment to or respect for an ideal way of life known as Dharma. Hinduism absorbs foreign ideas and beliefs making it have a wide variety of beliefs and practices. This has given it a character of social and doctrinal system that extends to every aspect of life. One of the most impo rtant aspects of the Hindu tradition is the food and purification process.Not only is the concept of purity and food seen in sacred texts, but also is a daily practice within Hindu practitioners. According to the Bhagavad Gita, â€Å"All beings come into existence from food. Food comes from rains. Rains originate from the performance of sacrifices. And sacrifice is born out of doing prescribed duties† (3:13). Therefore, food is verily an aspect of Brahman, which according to Jeffery Brodd is â€Å"the eternal, unchanging, infinite, immanent, and transcendent reality which is the Divine Ground of all matter, energy, time, space, being, and everything beyond in this Universe† (Brodd 2003, 17).Since the food is a gift from the gods, it should be treated with respect. Also in the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna states that there are three types of sacrifices, along with austerity and charity. Sattvic (cold) food is one that increases longevity, purity, strength, happiness, and tast e; these foods are usually juicy or oily. These types of foods are allowed, and mostly recommended as offerings to the gods. Rajasic (or hot) includes foods that are bitter, sour, hot, spicy, and salty which is believed to lead to disease, unhappiness, and sorrow.When a LeBlanc person eats these foods without sacrifice, it is believed that they will develop the qualities they convey and act upon them (Michaels 2004, 183-184). When it comes to preparing food, the person preparing it is closely speculated. Purity is the goal during preparation. Chants and purification rituals with incense and offerings are done before, and sometimes after every meal. In the Hindu tradition, purification is not only an expression of external status, but also make one pure internally and morally.For example, a butcher or a farmer’s products would be considered impure for the fact that they are harming innocent living creatures for sustenance, whereas bakers and milkmen are reaping products withou t harm (Arthur M. Sackler Gallery 1996). The age, status, and sex of the person cooking and serving the food are also taken into account. Hindus also believe food that has been purified can be re-polluted by touching or even looking at it. Because of this, women who are menstruating cannot prepare or serve food for the fear of pollution.At the same time, many sacrifices and offerings are performed based on reciprocity. Another method in Hindu tradition to keep food pure during consumption is to eat with the right hand, as the left hand is seen to be impure since it is used for cleaning after defecation. 3 Another aspect that is closely looked at is who may accept cooked food from whom. The usual custom goes that the young can accept food from the elder, the inferior rank from the superior, the wife from the husband, and so on. The only exception in Hindu tradition is in weddings.In this circumstance, the bride’s family cooks for the usually higher-ranking groom and his family . Another example noted in Michael’s book is when â€Å"Brahman cooks, when hired by higher ranking Brahmans; or temple feedings, when the food is seen as leftovers of the gods and thus all believers stand at the same level and eat next to one another† (2004, 183). Also in terms of leftovers, it is seen as an act of respect if the wife consumes the leftovers of her LeBlanc 4 husband, or eats after him from his plate.This is deliberate pollution as the pure food has already been consumed and any leftovers have been touched by human hands, and thus impure. Food to Hindus is a lifelong religious and social concern; it stands at the core of religion and society. Some even say that â€Å"[food] shapes family life, caste-and-marriage rules, and religious and spiritual values† (Khare 2004, 415). There are many taboos, ritual exclusions, preferences and prescriptions concerning the conception of ‘vegetarianism’ and ‘nonvegetariansim’.This taboo creates four separate areas of India that practice either vegetarianism or nonvegeratianism differently; The north constitutes Kashmir and Punjab to Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh; the ‘western’ includes Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Maharashtra, the ‘eastern’ region Bihar, Bengal, Assam, Orissa, and other northeastern states, and the ‘southern’ includes Kannada, Talminadu, Kerala, and Andhra Pradesh (Khare 2004, 415). Customary ways in these areas are passed on from generation to generation, and are practiced religiously. Food taboos are a historically complicated subject for Hindus.For example, the beef taboo creates ecological and political conflicts. According to Khare, â€Å"Brahmanical deification of cow played a crucial role long-term vis-a-vis Buddhism, producing a prologned religious, historical, and regional tussel, yielding, in the process, changing definitons of both nonviolence and vegetariansim† (2004, 416). Today, fol lowers of Vishnu are most often vegetarians and practice right-handed rituals, whereas worshippers of the goddess justify meat eating, drinking, and left-handed rituals. Therefore, more modern interpretations of Hinduism in relation to dietary practices can still differ.In terms of prasada , or ‘blessed food’, are primarily vegetarian when being offered to gods such as Vishnu, Rama, Krishna, and Ganesh. One must also remember that not all goddess worshipers are meat-eaters, some still practice vegetarianism. (Khare 2004, 417). LeBlanc In terms of the actual ritual of purification, it differs from each practicioner. Hindus constantly practice the methods of obtaining control and exercising restraint methods of purification and of cultivation of positive moral qualities. Food in Hinduism, as previously mentioned, is one of the most celebrated rituals.For example, a child’s first feeding is celebrated as a samskara ( celebration at a stage of life). The ritual first begins with a clean 5 surrounding. When food is served, water is sprinkled around it. This is meant to purify the foods and make it worthy for sacrifice. Then, food is offered to five pranas (breath- one of the five organs of vitality or sensation) (Widgery 1930, 235); The five pranas, along with their explanation are as follows: Prana is responsible for the beating of the heart and breathing. Prana enters the body through the breath and is sent to every cell through the circulatory system.Apana is responsible for the elimination of waste products from the body through the lungs and excretory systems. Udana produces sounds through the vocal apparatus, as in speaking, singing, laughing, and crying. Also it represents the conscious energy required to produce the vocal sounds corresponding to the intent of the being. Hence Samyama on udana gives the higher centers total control over the body. Samana controls the digestion of food and cell metabolism (i. e. the repair and manufacture o f new cells and growth). Samana also includes the heat regulating processes of the body. Auras are projections of this current.By meditational practices one can see auras of light around every being. Yogis who do special practise on samana can produce a blazing aura at will. Vyana is responsible for the expansion and contraction processes of the body, e. g. the voluntary muscular system (Prana 2010). LeBlanc 6 In conclusion, we can see through Hindu rituals and practices that food and purity plays an important role in everyday life. The importance of purity when consuming sacrificed foods or foods offered to a chosen deity is great. Hinduism thrives despite numerous reforms and shortcuts through gradual modernization and urbanization of Indian life.Thus, Hinduism, which sustained India through centuries of foreign occupation and internal disruption, continues to serve a vital function by giving passionate meaning and supportive form to the lives of Hindus today.

The Main Causes of a Major Problem in Our Society Essay

The Main Causes of a Major Problem in Our Society - Essay Example The human society comprises of many deep-rooted problems that need to be understood and tackled. The solving of problems makes it essential to understand the underlying causes of these issues. Many societal problems can be managed if their causes are known and targeted for proper solutions. Teen pregnancy is a major problem that exists in our society and it results in many negative effects. These include social and economic problems as well as health issues for the teen mothers. This may also be accompanied with psychological stress for the young teenage mothers. Furthermore, these young girls are also unable to complete their education. Therefore, it is important that the reasons of teen pregnancy should be known and solved. A low socioeconomic status as the well lower level of education and societal forces are responsible for the rise in the number of teen pregnancies (Donaldson et al 2003; Miller 2006; Thomas 2009). Teenagers who belong to lower socioeconomic groups have a higher tendency for becoming pregnant through their young ages. This is because people belonging to low socioeconomic groups thrive in poor living conditions which result in stress and disturbed households. This provides for the teenagers to opt for sexual behaviors for the attainment of pleasure. Furthermore, mostly the parents of these children are lowly paid and they stay away from home for work for extended periods of time.

Psychological science reaction paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Psychological science reaction paper - Essay Example This paper will focus upon empirical findings that support the forgetting aspects of the cognitive process namely whether forgetting occurs as an implicit automatic process of cognition or does it occur as a direct reaction of an explicit traumatic event. The existence of an implicit repression process to prevent awareness of unwanted data is supported by Freud’s neurological model of voluntary repression (Anderson, Ochsner, Kuhl, Cooper, Robertson, Gabrieli, Glover, & Gabrieli, 2004). Freud explains that memory excludes unwanted data from awareness using an automated implicit process termed repression which may be affected by emotional related explicit factors (Anderson et. al.). Repression is a neural process observed empirically using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Anderson et. al. discuss that empirical findings using fMRI observations of participants during both uninhibited and inhibited forgetting episodes illustrate that neuro-chemical processes occur during the repression process. The two brain sections involved in the repression are the hippocampus and lateral prefrontal cortex. An observed increase of dorsolateral prefrontal activation reduces hippocampal activation which in turn impairs retention of m emory. Both regions are also essential to successful memory formation process and retention process of which repression occurs when retrieval to those two processes is inhibited. The experiment suggests further that the two brain sections have an implicit forgetting process that functions automatically and may be affected by chemicals that occur during emotional episodes. During the experiment when forgetting was reinforced by an introduction of an explicit emotional factor to induce forgetting the participants used their mental memories coupled with an emotion response in the repression process. The intensity of the emotion correlated to the mind’s perception of trauma. The results conclude that the brain recognizes

Blog Reflection - 2 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Blog Reflection - 2 - Assignment Example is identified to the place where it thrives mostly and since it’s a cactus, we can expect that it would grow and adapt to an arid region where rains are low or seldom. In particular, I can imagine a desert in which extreme drought may take place and thus people who live here depend on oasis or an average body of water available on certain spots so the inhabitants as well as their humped animals with heavy loads abide by the culture of storing food and water for survival within a number of days. Similarly, due to such an identity, cactus need not be watered as one would an ordinary plant. If I had a garden, I would probably choose to plant and design field slots for roses, gerberas, chrysanthemum, lilies, solidago, gypsophila, and some greenery. I suppose these flowers would altogether produce my desired effect of impacting a splendid atmosphere where I may find conducive to indulge in my fondness to compose poems and savor reading classic literature. It has always been my dream to put up a flower garden composed of lovely fragrant flowers which I believe are highly stimulating to senses, intellect, and overall

Woodrow Wilson's speech Final Address in Support of the League of Term Paper

Woodrow Wilson's speech Final Address in Support of the League of Nations - Term Paper Example The paper presents a critical analysis of Woodrow Wilson’s speech as a persuasive discourse necessitates an in-depth understanding of the various aspects of a persuasive speech. Persuasive speeches are governed by both communicative intentions and persuasive intentions and the ultimate goal of such a discourse is to exert favorable responses in the minds of the audience. Any persuasive speech aims at â€Å"influencing values, ideas, beliefs and attitudes of the audience† and as such persuasive speeches try â€Å"to convince people to come a different idea, attitude and belief, react to something, consider doing things they were previously unwilling to do.† All throughout the speech Woodrow Wilson’s attempts to persuade a target audience are clearly evident. He repeatedly addresses the audience as â€Å"fellow countrymen† and â€Å"my fellow citizens.† In the very beginning of the speech itself he tries to make a rapport with the audience by e xplicitly stating that they are not far from him. Towards the second paragraph of his speech Woodrow Wilson introduces the issue of League of Nations by emphasizing that there are ‘organized propaganda against the League of Nations’ and that there are men who â€Å"have been busy creating an absolutely false impression of what the treaty of peace and the Covenant of the League of Nations contain and mean.† He goes on to purport that it is people who are sympathetic towards certain bodies of foreign nations who protest against the treaty. Wilson also takes conscious efforts to adapt the content of the speech to the ideas, attitudes and values of the audience. He was quite aware that many of the senators and the Americans regarded the treaty as a mere settlement with Germany. He purports: â€Å"It is not merely a settlement with Germany; it is a readjustment of those great injustices which underlie the whole structure of European and Asiatic society.†4 He al so argues that the treaty is the people’s treaty and that there are several treaties to follow the same line as that of League of Nations. Historical evidences show that Woodrow Wilson toured the whole nation in order to turn the American public opinion in favor of the League of Nations. He paid great value to the settlements agreed at the Paris Peace Conference and it was a very difficult task for him to convince the U.S. Congress and get their approval for the treaty of League of Nati

Comparing two scenes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Comparing two scenes - Essay Example The film relies much on visual than verbal in explaining the entire portrait of Cameroon where France’s family lived. Denis concentrates on the relationship between the characters that are inflicted with various roles as child, wife, servants and colonialism. This is highlighted by demonstrating the house in terms of racial spaces demarcated as private or public places. The black Africans are featured as the servants whose places, where they shower or eat, are the public spaces while the whites’ homes are all private places. Two scenes seem to display this whereby; the public places are constantly on display. The scenes also display the relationship between France’s mother Aimee and their Cameroon servant, Protee who are almost of the same age. The relationship between the two is all what is meant to shape the life of France. The flashback does not much reflect on the experiences of France as a girl but on the relationship of Aimee and Protee, the two characters. In the first scene, Protee is taking a shower. On the other hand, in a plain view of the house, the male servants’ shower is outside. This scene is set during the day when there are rich colors and the sun is high. In the film, Protee is seen in a long shot soaping and rinsing his body. In the foreground of the frame are the servants’ quarters and Protee while the big house is set in the background. Denis makes the viewer aware that France and Aimee are returning from a walk during the time when Protee is showering. They pass behind the shower area while Protee does not notice them. On nearing the house, France talks to the mother, Protee thereby hears the voice. He is very frustrated and freezes in the fear that, if they turn to his side, they would see him naked. In this scene, Protee showers by himself in the servant quarters which are set as open public spaces with no privacy. During this particular period, the film firmly establishes in the

The wisdom of crowds, the way were working Essay

The wisdom of crowds, the way were working - Essay Example The wisdom of crowds, the way we’re working One of the key aspects that make Coca-Cola a market leader is that it allows the diversity of opinion. James argues that groups are remarkably intelligent based on the fact that each member of the group is given an opportunity to contribute. In its effort to ensure wide range of decisions, Coca-Cola initiated a strong feedback system where shareowners and the consumers can provide their own views regarding the management of the company the board. Additionally, the company has well established operating groups that ensure opinions and information from different people reach the company headquarters. Independence of the groups is another important aspect that ensures wise crowds. This means that there is no single individual who makes decision on behalf of the entire group. For example, Coca-Cola board of governors under the leadership of Muhtar Kent, ensures consultation with other heads of department especially during the launching of new products or when adopting a new technology. In this way, each of members of the team feels as part and parcel of the entire company. Decentralization is an additional aspect that results to wise crowds. For instance, to achieve the company objectives, Coca-Cola has allocated qualified marketers and engineers to oversee its bottling plants located in various countries. Through the collaboration of the various heads of departments, wise decisions are made and adequate information is obtained thus enhancing the profitability of the company.

Thomas Hobbes Ieviathan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Thomas Hobbes Ieviathan - Essay Example Always he based his argument on the violent deaths of men on the hands of another man. He believed that the only way natural laws could work was only by submitting the commands t the sovereign. Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan, Oxford 1996 Thomas Hobbes has his own reputation on political philosophy. He is widely known to be a thinker with so many interests in political philosophy. In the world of philosophy, Thomas H. is widely known for his defense on a wide range of issues that included Naminalist, empiricist, and materialist views in contrast to republic. In history too, he is also known to have translated Thucydides History of the Peloponnesian war in to now English which saw him later write his own history on the long parliament. Generally, Thomas H. is widely known for his participation in his intellectual life.1 His vision of the world is original and still relevant to the contemporary politics. His main concern is majorly the problems of the social and political order, which is how human beings can live together without fear or civil conflicts in our societies. He has ever insisted in giving our obedience to an account able sovereign person or group to determine every social political issue. Otherwise, what awaits us is a state of nature, which more closely resembles a civil war whereby everybody in any society is in a state of fear. It is due to Hobbes interpretations, which lead to so many controversies as to whether he sees human beings as merely egoistic or purely self-interested. He goes on to posits unconnected and primitive state of nature whereby men have the natural proclivity to hurt another man and have rights over everything even to one another’s body. This is what making me defends Hobbes in his argument whereby powers should be rested on the sovereign state. Power is entrusted to a certain group who ensures that there is law and order in that state and no civil wars2. In the early 1640s, this is the time when Hobbes started making an impac t with most of the philosophical writings and one of his own was the elements of law, whereby he started with the developments of the workings of the human mind and language also the political matters. One of his first published books on philosophy was the De Cive published in 1642, which encompasses three main aspects, which included Empire, Liberty, and religion. Later when in France Hobbes then wrote Leviathan and this book was published in 1651. Leviathan basically comprises of matters of scriptural interpretation and it is in this book where majorly his work evolves in. Leviathan is a book written by Thomas Hobbes during the civil war. Its concerns are basically on the society and the legitimate government hence taken as one of the examples of the social contract theory. He argues that social unity and civil peace can only be achieved through the establishment of a commonwealth through the social contract. This common wealth is then ruled by either a sovereign power or even a s ingle ruler who provides security to the common wealth. He is a man who has lived in fear, which then eventually led him to write the leviathan. In his book, He set out the foundation of states plus the legitimate governments, which are said to have originated from the social contract theory3. This book is known to have been written during the English civil wars. It was as a result of these evil

Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 11

Leadership - Essay Example To enhance teams performance one proven approach that helps with this is the GROW model. GROW is an acronym standing for Goal - Current Reality - Options - Will. A useful metaphor for the GROW model is the plan we might make for an important journey. First, it starts with a map: With this, one can help the team member decide where they are going (their Goal) and establish where they currently are (their Current Reality). Then explore the various ways (the Options) of making the journey. In the final step, establishing the Will, leader ensures the team members are committed to making the journey and prepared for the conditions and obstacles they may meet on their way. . Therefore the key is that the team should be viewed as an important resource whose maintenance must be managed just like any other resource and that this management should be undertaken by the team itself so that it forms a normal part of the teams activities. As a collection of people, a group needs to relearn some basic manners and people-management skills. In a study by Peter and William (2004) they concluded that strong organizational support, team leadership, and high levels of interpersonal team skills help quality improvement teams go further. Thus a trained leader and team training can help any service team to act professionally and yield desired results. Peter, M., William, W. (2004). Characteristics of successful quality improvement teams: Lessons from five collaborative projects in the VHA, 30(7), 152-162. Retrieved December 15, 2008 from

The representation of men in The Jeremy Kyle show and The Maury Show Essay Example for Free

The representation of men in The Jeremy Kyle show and The Maury Show Essay I am going to look into the presentation of men, focusing mainly on the representations that are portrayed in chat shows. My sources of research are going to be Television shows in particular, but also the Internet and Books. I have chosen two Television shows that I am going to look at closely, these are The Jeremy Kyle Show and Maury. I have decided that this is the best possible way of being able to look at the actions, thoughts and representations of men because of the wide range of information that I will be able to collect. I am expecting to find that men are presented in a negative light compared to women and that they are rude, arrogant and do not care about what is going on within the world around them this is mainly due to the stereotypical view presented within other media. The two chat shows both present men in away that suggests to the audience that men are unreliable, untrustworthy and uncaring. First impressions of men are that they are untidy wearing messy clothing, appearing not to have made an effort, they walk onto the stage as if they have done no wrong doing and hold their heads up high. The presenters of the shows soon allow the audience to know that this is not the right image and attitude to have. Jeremy Kyle and Maury both show this, Jeremy states this is all very sad and wrong directing this at the Nathan the main male in the problem, the audience are shown to already have been feeling such emotions. The host is always seen to support the women within the situation, who also always seem to come out on top. Jeremy Kyle and Maury both use different tactics when presenting their shows, while Jeremy takes a hands on approach with his contestants, speaking to them, asking questions and making resolutions, Maury does the opposite and stands back and lets the guests make the drama and introducing the topic and problems, keeping adding detail. The Maury show links very well to The Jerry Springer Show in the way the show is laid out. They have sets of guests, one person coming out first to reveal their side of the story- this is usually the stories that the audience believe and stick too. This is also usually normally the guest who is actually telling the truth and has requested to appear on the show, this guest tends to be female. Dyer (1982) said that 1 women are shown as very feminine and men in situations of authority and dominance over women within the media, this is much apparent within the Jeremy Kyle Show with one particular couple, in which the man (Nathan) goes out to work and leaves his girlfriend (Zels) at home with their child with a weekly allowance for herself, she is expected to be the perfect housewife cooking, cleaning and providing a loving relationship. Through this authority and dominance, the men presented within the shows are presented as liars and cheaters, Brendan tells different stories to different women and he also contradicts himself in the show. He explains one point to the host and later on then changes his story. In the Maury show there is not usually shown to be a family setting, however when one does appear, the women/mother/wife is left at home to look after the home, child and husband whilst the male figure goes out to work and earns the money this is shown within Brians story. Both shows link together very well with each other on the matter of men and women and their roles that they present within the home. The roles presented by the guests are very traditional where the man is shown to be the breadwinner and the women is the house wife. Relationships in the family are very important, and one that is brought up a lot within the two chat shows. Jeremy Kyle believes that the family is a very important factor of life, proper relationships which men and women should have with their children2 is what Jeremy is trying to promote. When he is faced with a guest who doesnt shares his opinions in a very round about way. Brendan lies to all of his family members, keeping secrets from his first family and his second. Brendan stays back stage the majority of the show; he doesnt wish to sit with his children and would rather stay out of the lime light. Within the Maury show a nuclear family is not recognized and Maury doesnt present the ideal family life, he doesnt particularly present his own views and feelings, this allows him to take a back seat within his show and let the guests discuss and present their own opinions, this creates more drama for the audience because they are able to present their own feelings without knowing i f they are right or wrong. This is shown with Thomass story (on the Maury show), he is the father of Mels baby but he refuses this responsibility, he cheats on his girlfriend with her best friends and leaves his girlfriend with their new born child. He doesnt wish to take care of his baby as it is not convenient within his new life style. Brendan on the Jeremy kyle show, is faced with a dilemma when it is stated his child was in hospital and he didnt even visit her. Jeremy is angry about this and also the audience doesnt take kindly to this act, he is received with booing. This sets the way that men are suppose to act and the way that we like to receive men. Other family situations are shown within this episode of The Jeremy Kyle Show such as the relationships between brothers. Brendans brother Antony is within the audience and supports his brother with whatever he says. Jeremy and the audience try and control Antony due to his choice of language made. The Jeremy Kyle Show and The Maury show both present different representations of family life. Jeremy Kyle tries to present that family life should be a mother and father taking care of their children whilst Maury doesnt directly present any ideas. However Maury does submit the idea of disproval in men who do not take care of their children. These ideas and differences are due to they way the hosts of the shows present the men on the shows. Jeremy Kyle is more involved and likes to voice his opinion of what he thinks is right and wrong, where as Maury lets the guests do the talking. Men are shown as not knowing how to behave within their family situations. They are shown to need extra help with these situations. Masculinity has long been and often been represented as the human norm and conventionally masculine qualities3. Masculinity has many representational conventions; these conventions give an audience the ability to recognize the manly character. Within the Jeremy Kyle show the masculine man is always represented as wrong and in the wrong doing the acts that are presented by the masculine characteristics, this in facts give men a tremendous negative representation, such as, as soon as Brendan comes out onto the shown he is greeted with booing, the audience this way allow the guest to know that what he is doing is wrong and that the masculine acts that they portray are not ones that are received well. Within the Maury show, men are shown as doing the wrong however in a different kind of way than the Jeremy Kyle Show the men are always proven wrong and in the end try and fix their wrong doings with right doings however sometimes it is too late. They dont take responsibility when it is truly needed and the men act young and foolish. The two shows allow the audience to link the male roles to Robert Hanks, models of masculinity, the hegemonic male is always presented usually within the guests, and this male is powerful, ruthless and often subjugates others. The conservative male can be recognized within the host, he is more sensitive and open to feelings; however he is domestic and can still be presented as powerful. The last male we see within Hanks roles is the conservative male, this character type does not make a regular appearance within the show and could be seen to be someone within the audience this person is seen as weak and is often applied to homosexuality. There is a big relation between men and sex within the chat shows, and most of the topics are created due to sexual desires and actions. Fiske said that male behavior towards females is influenced by highly sexualized images of women4, this is shown by the way men treat women when they have been sexual involved with them. Jeremy Kyle presents on his show a big front about using protection and within his autobiography wonders How im not the poster boy for Durex, Ill never know5, so when Nathan is accused of having a Secret second family, his girlfriend realizes the relationship was based on sex and now that it is more than that Nathan no longer wants to be within the relationship after having a child with his girlfriend and being pushed with responsibility Jeremy Kyle produces the question Why didnt you slip something on the end of it. With all of his guests Kyle pushes the subject of contraception and pushes forward for all to use it to stop all of the unwanted pregnancies and children. Whilst on the show Nathan also admits that he has had three affairs, one being in a brothel with a prostitute. This greeted with a highly negative representation from the audience and the host. This pushes the view onto the audience and allows the audience to know that these actions are very wrong and those men behaving wrongly in their sexual relations, having sex outside of a loving relationship and sometimes cheating. This gives the audience the view that men are always in the wrong doing compared to the actions womens present. Men and Sex on the Maury show is always and issue, the man usually believes he isnt getting enough or that it is not good enough. This is shown within Desmonds story he is married with three children in this relationship, however he also has two girlfriends with a child each, he doesnt see this as a problem as he believes he is being sexually full-filled by the three. Thinking about sexual relationships first pushes his children down the line and he doesnt look after them as well as he could be due to wanting to be with different girls on different occasions. Comparing men and women within the Jeremy Kyle Show is very easy to do. The women who appear on the show are mostly shown as right and having been presented with a wrong doing from a man. However there is some variation within the show. Kels admits to being violent towards Nathan on a regular and basis and he admits that he is the same towards her, this still shows Nathan in a very bad light but also brings a women down to his level also, from these variations it does slightly improve the representations that are painted of men. On the Maury show it is slightly harder to do so. The women sometime act with violent behavior towards the men when they do not want to hear something that they say or that is revealed to them, however the men always react and tend to portray these violent acts also. Men are however always seen in the wrong and need to apologize to the women. Altogether through out both shows men are represented within a negative light they act with masculine representations and continue to show men in a bad way. The way the hosts act on the show however boosts the representations of men, however these issues can link to the class status of the men showing that lower class men who tend to be guests are always within the wrong and middle/upper class men who are the hosts always tend to be in the right knowing what they are talking about and knowing that they have to answers to the guests. This is shown within an article by Barbara Ehrenreich, she states that Members of the white working classes are portrayed as dumb and inarticulate. Such stereotypes serve to silence the voice of the working class in the media. and she also points out that It is also possible that the privileged class and corporations who own the media outlets are pursing their own social and political agenda.6 The audience is in-between as they are shown to carry on the thoughts that are presented to them by the hosts of the shows, which allow them to take away who is right and wrong and how you should behave in the real world. Men within the two shows are not always presented in a good light, with my in depth research I found what I expected to find from my research that men are presented in a negative light compared to women and that they are rude, arrogant and do not care about what is going on within the world around them this is mainly due to the stereotypical view presented within other media. I think this is to do with many of items, such as how the audience is positioned and what the producers of the show want us to understand from the show. However there are some differences in what I thought I would find, I dont think men are always in the wrong and sometimes women are presented within the negative light that men are. This allows the audience to understand that there is some good in men and that it is more about the person you are instead of if you are male or female. ` Bibliography Kyle, Jeremy. Im only being honest Hodder Stoughton 2009. Lacey, Nick, Image and Representation (key concepts in media studies),Palgrave Macmillan 2009 Oakley, Ann., Sex, Gender Society Gower Publishing Company Limited 1985 Tincknell, Estella, Mediating the family- Gender,Culture and Representation Hodder Education 2005. Tripp, Anna, Gender, Palgrave 2000 http://womensissues.about.com/od/intheworkplace/a/MenObjects.htm Accessed on 10.10.11 www.iwmf.org www.media-awareness.ca/english/index.cfm http://www.workingclasspride.com/14.html Accessed on 3/12/11 1Lacey, Nick, Image and Representation (key concepts in media studies),Palgrave Macmillan 2009. Page 192 2Tincknell, Estella, Mediating the family- Gender,Culture and Representation Hodder Education 2005. page 55 3 Tripp, Anna, Gender, Palgrave 2000 page 11 4 http://womensissues.about.com/od/intheworkplace/a/MenObjects.htm accessed 18/10/11 5 Kyle, Jeremy. Im only being honest Hodder Stoughton 2009 page 169 6- http://www.workingclasspride.com/14.html accessed 3/12/11

Brain Swelling in Pediatric Cerebral Malaria

Brain Swelling in Pediatric Cerebral Malaria 1.5T MRI to Investigate Potential Etiologies of Brain Swelling in Pediatric Cerebral Malaria Abbreviations: Red Blood Cell (RBC) Parts per billion (ppb) Cerebral malaria (CM) Blood brain barrier (BBB) Abstract Objective: Cerebral malaria (CM) remains a common cause of death in African children. The pathologic hallmark of pediatric CM is sequestration of parasitized red blood cells in the cerebral microvasculature. Recent Malawi-based research utilizing a 0.35T MRI has established that severe brain swelling is associated with fatal CM, but the etiology of brain swelling remains unclear. Autopsy and clinical studies suggest several potential etiologies, but technical limitations of 0.35T MRI precluded optimal investigations into swelling pathophysiology. A 1.5T MRI in Zambia allowed for further investigations including susceptibility weighted imaging (SWI). SWI is an ideal sequence for identifying regions of sequestration and microhemorrhages given the ferromagnetic properties of hemozoin and blood. Methods: Using 1.5T MRI, Zambian children with retinopathy-confirmed CM underwent imaging with SWI, T2, T1 pre- and post-gadolinium, DWI with ADC and T2/FLAIR sequences. Results: Sixteen children including two with moderate/severe edema were imaged. All survived. Gadolinium extravasation was not seen. Cerebral perfusion was intact with DWI abnormalities sparing the gray matter. SWI findings consistent with microhemorrhages and parasite sequestration co-occurred in white matter regions where DWI changes consistent with vascular congestion were seen. Findings consistent with posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome as a cause of swelling were also present. Interpretations: High field MRI findings indicate that vascular congestion associated with parasite sequestration, local inflammation from microhemorrhages and autoregulatory dysfunction contribute to brain swelling in CM. Keywords: sequestration; venous congestion; hemozoin Introduction: Pediatric cerebral malaria (CM), defined as P. falciparum peripheral parasitemia and unarousable coma with no other coma etiology evident, primarily affects children in sub-Saharan Africa [1]. Although antimalarial agents provide rapid parasite clearance, mortality rates remain high (8-25%) [2, 3]. The pathological hallmark of pediatric CM at autopsy is intravascular sequestration in which parasitized red blood cells (RBCs) adhere to the endothelium of cerebral microvessels. Although malaria causes almost a million deaths per year, neuroimaging capacity is typically limited in malaria-endemic regions. Only one large MRI case series from Malawi using a 0.35T MRI has provided insights into the in vivo structural abnormalities associated with pediatric CM [4]and CM mortality [5]. Other studies and case reports using higher field MRIs have been performed on adults [6, 7], but adult CM appears to represent a different disease syndrome [8]. In adult CM, coma onset largely occurs some days after illness onset in the setting of multisystem organ failure often including hepatic dysfunction, renal failure and gross electrolyte abnormalities. As such, the coma of adult CM is clinically dominated by the effects of a toxic, metabolic encephalopathy. In contrast, in pediatric CM coma onset occurs very early in the malaria illness, often as one of the first signs of the illness, with very limited hepatic or renal involvement and no evident systemic cause for coma. MRI insights gained from imaging pediatric CM to date have been limited to low field MRI technology. The recent pediatric CM MRI study used 0.35T technology to establish that increased intracranial pressure due to increased brain volume is the cause of death in CM [9], but the low field MRI technology was unable to further evaluated the potential etiologies of brain swelling in pediatric CM, so the underlying cause(s) of cerebral edema in CM remains unclear. Further study delineating the underlying cause(s) of swelling is needed to develop appropriate interventions. Potential etiologies suggested by autopsy and clinical studies include any/all of the following: (a) blood brain barrier (BBB) breakdown with resultant vasogenic edema [10, 11]; (b) impaired perfusion resulting in cell death with cytotoxic edema [12]; (c) vascular congestion due to occlusion at the post-capillary venules [13]; (d) hyperemia with auto-regulatory dysfunction due to endothelial injury and CM-associated seizures, anemia and hyperpyrexia [14, 15], [16]; and (e) diffuse cerebral microhemorrhages (i.e. ring hem orrhages) [11]. Hemozoin is an iron-rich breakdown product of the parasites metabolism of hemoglobin [5]. Hemozoin is present primarily in mature, sequestered parasites. Thus, susceptibility weighted imaging (SWI) [17], which is extremely sensitive to the magnetic field inhomogeneity caused by ferromagnetic substances, is an ideal imaging sequence for identifying regions of parasite sequestration. SWI also offers the ability to identify small hemorrhages on the order of several  µg of blood per gram of tissue [18],[19]. We hypothesized that imaging retinopathy-confirmed pediatric CM with a 1.5T MRI including DWI, SWI and gadolinium enhanced sequences would identify pathophysiological mechanisms underlying cerebral edema in pediatric CM and undertook an imaging study of CM in Zambia where 1.5T MRI is available specifically seeking evidence of blood brain barrier breakdown, impaired perfusion, parasite sequestration, autoregulatory dysfunction and microhemorrhages. Material and Methods: Subjects and Recruitment During the malaria seasons (Jan-June) in 2012-2014, comatose children with retinopathy-confirmed [20] CM underwent brain MRI on the 1.5T MRI scanner (Siemens Magnetom Essenza using Syngo MR 200 4A version software, Germany) at the Cancer Diseases Hospital in Lusaka, Zambia within 24 hours of admission. Inclusion criteria were: (1) admission to the pediatric high care unit of the University Teaching Hospital, (2) a Blantyre Coma Score of à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¤ 2 [21], (3) P. falciparum infection as determined by a Paracheck Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT), (4) the presence of malarial retinopathy, and (5) no other evident etiology for coma. A thick peripheral blood smear to identify parasitemia was also obtained prior to recruitment, but was not immediately available and was not required for inclusion. All children received standard antimalarial treatment, anticonvulsants, antipyretics, antibiotics and blood transfusions, as clinically indicated and in accordance with national treatment guidelin es. As per present treatment standards, no steroids were given. Children with comorbid meningitis as determined by cerebrospinal fluid analysis were excluded from enrollment. Written consent was obtained from the childs parent or guardian. Children with impaired renal function (creatinine à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¥2.0) did not receive gadolinium. This study was approved by the Institutional Review Boards at the University of Zambia, Michigan State University and the University of Rochester. Imaging Gadolinium (Magnevist) doses were determined by individual patient weight and administered intravenously (0.2 mL/kg, 0.1 mmol/kg) by hand injection. The scanning protocol is provided in an appendix. Apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) calculations were provided by the standard Siemens software algorithms [22]. SWI phase images were collected unfiltered and post-processed with a 6464 high pass filter then viewed using SPIN (signal processing in nMR) software. SWI was also collected with a shorter echo time (15ms) for some subjects to avoid potential aliasing [17]. Interpretation Images were reviewed independently by two radiologists (MJP; neuroradiologist, and SDK; MRI fellowship trained radiologist) and data were managed using NeuroInterp, a web-based program that allows radiographic findings to be entered into a searchable and quantified database [23]. Reader discrepancies, determined in advance of the analysis, were reevaluated by the two radiologists to develop a consensus interpretation. Increased brain volume, the imaging finding associated with fatal cerebral malaria, was rated on a scale from 1-8 with 3 being no edema, 1 and 2 indicating atrophy. An edema score of 4-5 indicated minimal-mild edema, with no loss of sulcal markings. Grade 6 (moderate edema) was defined as loss of some sulcal markings. An edema score of 7 represented moderate/severe edema with diffuse sulcal and cisternal effacement universally evident but without herniation present, and the severe edema score of 8 required sulcal and cisternal effacement with evidence of herniation. MRI findings coded within the NeuroInterp database that could plausibly be associated with the five potential pathogenic mechanisms of brain swelling in CM were then reviewed. Specifically, (a) to evaluate diffuse BBB breakdown causing vasogenic edema, we looked for evidence of gadolinium enhancement [24], (b) to assess for impaired perfusion and subsequent cytotoxic edema we looked for gray matter diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) abnormalities [25], (c) evidence for vascular congestion or venous micro-occlusion was sought by looking for white matter DWI abnormalities [26], (d) autoregulatory dysfunction was evaluated by looking for focal regions of symmetric hemispheric edema of varying confluence in regions susceptible to autoregulatory vulnerabilities [9, 27], and (e) SWI abnormalities were assessed clinically and quantitatively based upon effective voxel susceptibility with the anticipation that these would be located in the same anatomical regions as ring hemorrhages and sequest ration have been identified in prior autopsy studies [28]. Given the small anticipated sample size ( Results: Patient Characteristics and Data Acquisition Twenty three children met study inclusion criteria during the enrollment period. Parents declined participation for 2 children and 5 children were deemed too ill to transfer for imaging or died before imaging could be performed, so 16 subjects were imaged5 (31%) were male and the mean age was 6.4 years (range 1-15). Table 1 provides demographic data and admission clinical characteristics from the 16 subjects who were imaged. Of the 5 consented children who were not imaged, 3 died. Among the 16 subjects imaged, the scans for one patient was non-diagnostic on the SWI sequence due to movement artifact. Renal function could not be ascertained on two children, so these subjects did not receive gadolinium. There were no fatalities among the imaged study subjects and none had clinical sequelae evident at discharge. Table 2 provides the frequencies of the 1.5T MRI findings identified and captured in NeuroInterp. MRI Findings Increased brain volume: None of the subjects had severe (grade 8) edema. Moderate/severe (grade 7) edema was present in 2/16 (13%); moderate (grade 6) edema in 4/16 (25%); minimal/mild (grade 4 5) edema in 7/16 (44%) and no edema in 3/16 (19%). T2 signal changes: The total number of cases exhibiting white matter increased T2 signal was 12/16 (75%), and two distinct patterns were observed: primarily subcortical (10/12, or 83%) and primarily periventricular/peritrigoneal (2/12, 17%) (Figure 1). These generally occurred in isolation; only 2 cases had both findings. Gadolinium enhancement: The expected normal physiological intravascular and circumventricular organ enhancement was evident in all subjects on the post-contrast images (Figure 2). A small region of subtle focal cortical enhancement was seen in one subject with positive SWI signal and no associated T2 abnormalities consistent with a capillary telangiectasia. There was no evidence of gadolinium extravasation in the other 13 patients who received contrast. Cortical findings: Cortical swelling and increased T2 signal was seen in 10/16 (63%), but these signal abnormalities were relatively mild in extent, confluent, and without associated cortical DWI findings. Increased cortical T2 signal was generally diffuse, with only 2/16 (13%) having a posterior predominant pattern [4]. DWI showed restricted water diffusion in the subcortical white matter in 10/16 (63%) which was confirmed by accompanying ADC maps. Basal Ganglia and Thalamus Abnormalities: The structures in the basal ganglia had different levels of involvement. T2/FLAIR signal abnormalities were present in the globus pallidus and putamen in 10/16 (63%), and the caudate in 9/16 (56%). While frequently involved simultaneously, there was generally a region of predominance (Figure 3). Regional differences were also illustrated in the DWI images. Fifty six percent of subjects had DWI abnormalities in the globus pallidus, 13% in the putamen and none in the caudate. Pontine and Brainstem Signal Abnormalities: This was assessed at two levels, within the pons at the level of the middle cerebellar peduncle and within the brainstem at the level of the substantia nigra. Pontine involvement was seen in 9/16 (56%) and brainstem in 11/16 (69%). Abnormalities were usually diffuse, and consisted of generalized increase in T2 signal. However, focal areas of involvement were also seen. Corpus callosum: Showed increased T2 signal and thickening in 10/16 (63%) with 6/10 having associated positive DWI findings as confirmed by ADC maps. The splenium was the primary site of involvement in 9/10 (90%) of cases. SWI Findings: Decreased signal is defined as a positive SWI finding as it localizes to areas of magnetic field inhomogeneity caused by the presence of a ferromagnetic substance (Figure 4). SWI findings were noted along the regions of the venules of both the superficial and deep venous systems corresponding to areas of parasite sequestration and ring hemorrhages. SWI resolution did not allow distinction between gray and white matter involvement in the cerebellum. One SWI dataset was not interpretable due to severe motion artifact. In the remaining cases, 7/15 (47%) showed abnormal paramagnetic signal within the following regions of the parenchyma: corpus callosum (7/15, 47%), sub-cortical white matter (6/15, 40%), cerebellum (5/15, 33%), lenticulae striate (5/15, 33%), and periventricular white matter (2/15, 13%). In two subjects, both the internal capsule and optic radiation had abnormal paramagnetic signal. The susceptibility of heavily infected red blood cells is ~1880 parts per billion (ppb) relative to water [18]. The effective voxel susceptibilities in the corpus callosum and junction of the cortical gray and white matter was 50 ppb relative to water in SWIM. As distributed within the voxel, this represents a 1/38th decrease in susceptibility. Given the voxel size of 0.5 x 0.5 x 2.0 mm3, this represents 1/78th  µL. Assuming the capillary volume is ~5% (or 1/20th of the pixel) [29], this indicates that ~half of the capillaries are filled with hemozoin. The combination of moderate to severe symmetrical cortical swelling (edema score of 6 or 7), with corresponding underlying subcortical white matter changes with associated DWI and ADC findings was evident in 4/16 (25%) of cases (Figure 5) with two of the four showing a predominantly posterior distribution. Table 3 summarizes the MRI findings seen using 1.5T in 16 Zambian children with CM in the context of the proposed mechanisms for brain swelling in CM and the 1.5T MRI findings anticipated for each mechanism. Discussion: MRI findings using a 0.35T MRI have shown that death from pediatric CM occurs due to increased brain volume [9] but low field MRI was unable to further delineate the etiology for the brain swelling. Interventions studies aimed at reducing or preventing cerebral edema in CM would ideally target the underlying mechanism of swelling. Existing clinical and autopsy data suggest at least five potential etiologies for brain swelling in CM. In this study, we describe what the MRI findings associated with each of these potential etiologies would be and then used 1.5T MRI in children with retinopathy-confirmed CM to identify the presence or absence of findings consistent with each of the five proposed etiologies. As such, the results of this study can be subdivided into evidence both for and against these specific potential origins of brain swelling in pediatric CM. Decreased SWI signal was evident on the brain MRIs of children with CM and furthermore these changes were seen in regions where autopsy studies have shown microhemorrhages (Figure 6) as well as in the regions where sequestration is common. Since the SWI signal effectively identifies blood and hemozoin, both sequestration and ring hemorrhages were likely identified. Marked T2/DWI abnormalities were evident in the subcortical brain regions most sensitive to venous outflow obstruction. If perfusion is obstructed in regions with SWI signal changes, then blood flow to the tissue would decrease by ~50% which is consistent with what is seen in an animal model of malaria where blood flow was found to be reduced to 53% +/- 12% [29]. In the setting of the sequestration-associated SWI abnormalities and intact large venous drainage systems (i.e. no venous thrombosis), the T2/DWI findings are strongly suggestive of a venous obstruction phenomenon in the capillary bed system. Much of what is known about pediatric cerebral malaria has been learned from autopsy studies, so it is reassuring to see that the distribution of microhemorrhages and parasite sequestration found in prior autopsy studies are very similar in distribution to the microhemorrhages and parasite sequestration identified in living children who survived CM. Vasogenic edema was demonstrated by increased T2 signal in the white matter. Cytotoxic edema has a similar appearance, but is accompanied by restricted water motion identified by increased DWI signal. Both were evident in this cohort, with cytotoxic being more common. This tended to be significant and diffuse. None of these children died and there were no clinical sequelae at discharge, suggesting that the process is reversible, and may represent early cytotoxic edema rather than tissue infarction. MRI findings of symmetrical cortical swelling with underlying white matter changes were seen, consistent with posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) and suggestive of autoregulatory dysfunction. Pediatric CM is congruent with many other clinical conditions associated with PRES. Specifically, pediatric CM generally involves a rapid neurologic deterioration, usually in the setting of seizure, followed by relativity prompt full recovery in most patients. Radiographically, brain swelling with underlying vasogenic edema associated with positive DWI findings is the hallmark of both CM and PRES [4, 16]. Autoregulatory dysfunction as a result of the primarily endothelial process associated with parasite sequestration in CM may result in vasoconstriction coupled with hypoperfusion causing vasogenic edema and associated brain swelling. This is the favored theory for the etiology of the radiographic findings seen in PRES [27]. We found no evidence of cortical cytotoxic edema and there was no radiographic evidence of gadolinium enhancement although gadolinium was clearly seen within the vessels and in circumventricular organs. Gadolinium, as a contrast agent, is chelated by a range of very small molecules (Magnevist 0.54kDa)[30]. These agents are all hydrophobic, so they do not cross the intact BBB. At autopsy in CM, areas of sequestration show fibrinogen (340kDa)[24] leakage and ring hemorrhages which require sufficient BBB breakdown to allow a deformable, non-parasitized blood cells (7  µM) to escape. The SWI imaging in this study identified ring hemorrhages so some BBB breakdown associated with their presence must have occurred, but if there was associated gadolinium extravasation, the quantity and concentration of gadolinium was insufficient to be visually evident on MRI. Gross BBB breakdown indicative of severe vasogenic edema was not evident in this small series of non-fatal pediatric CM. This study is limited by the small sample size, less severe disease spectrum, and lack of a comparison group. In Zambia, children felt to be at risk of imminent death were not imaged since transport for imaging there requires ambulance transportation to an adjacent facility. The small number of subjects prevented meaningful quantitative analyses despite the use of NeuroInterp. Although no a prior analyses were planned, we did conducted a post-hoc comparison to determine if the edema score or the presence of SWI, DWI, or focal cortical abnormalities was associated with age, coma duration prior to admission or the seizures prior to admission. No associations were found (all ps >0.05). The absence of subjects with severe brain swelling or fatal disease may have impacted our findings, as florid BBB breakdown might not occur to a significant degree in less severe CM. Normal MRIs on a similar aged comparison group were not available. In the Zambian setting, most imaging is obtained on adva nced disease with normal images being uncommon. Acquisition of imaging in an age-comparable group of healthy children was not feasible given the risk of sedation, particularly in this environment. Finally, more quantitative MRI analyses would have allowed more optimal assessments, but the power injections equipment required to obtain perfusion studies and/or dynamic contrast enhanced studies, which could detect contrast influx too small to be visually evident, is prohibitively expensive and was not available in this resource limited setting. Conclusions: Pediatric CM brain MRI findings in non-fatal cases using 1.5T technology suggest that vascular congestion, autoregulatory dysfunction, and microhemorrhages likely contribute to brain swelling pathogenesis. References [1] WHO, World Malaria Report, 2011. http://www.who.int/malaria/publications/world-malaria-report-2016/report/en/ [2] A.M. Dondorp, C.I. Fanello, I.C. Hendriksen, E. Gomes, A. Seni, K.D. Chhaganlal, K. Bojang, R. Olaosebikan, N. Anunobi, K. Maitland, E. Kivaya, T. Agbenyega, S.B. Nguah, J. Evans, S. Gesase, C. Kahabuka, G. Mtove, B. Nadjm, J. Deen, J. Mwanga-Amumpaire, M. Nansumba, C. Karema, N. Umulisa, A. Uwimana, O.A. Mokuolu, O.T. Adedoyin, W.B. Johnson, A.K. Tshefu, M.A. Onyamboko, T. Sakulthaew, W.P. Ngum, K. Silamut, K. Stepniewska, C.J. Woodrow, D. Bethell, B. Wills, M. Oneko, T.E. Peto, L. von Seidlein, N.P. Day, N.J. White, Artesunate versus quinine in the treatment of severe falciparum malaria in African children (AQUAMAT): an open-label, randomised trial, Lancet 376(9753) (2011) 1647-57. [3] M.E. Molyneux, T.E. Taylor, J.J. Wirima, A. Borgstein, Clinical features and prognostic indicators in paediatric cerebral malaria: a study of 131 comatose Malawian children [see comments], Q J Med 71(265) (1989) 441-59. [4] M.J. Potchen, S.D. Kampondeni, K.B. Seydel, G.L. Birbeck, C.A. Hammond, W.G. Bradley, J.K. DeMarco, S.J. Glover, J.O. Ugorji, M.T. Latourette, J.E. Siebert, M.E. Molyneux, T.E. Taylor, Acute brain MRI findings in 120 Malawian children with cerebral malaria: new insights into an ancient disease, AJNR Am J Neuroradiol 33(9) (2012) 1740-6. [5] F. Paul, S. Roath, D. Melville, D.C. Warhurst, J.O. Osisanya, Separation of malaria-infected erythrocytes from whole blood: use of a selective high-gradient magnetic separation technique, Lancet 2(8237) (1981) 70-1. [6] D.D. Rasalkar, B.K. Paunipagar, D. Sanghvi, B.D. Sonawane, P. Loniker, Magnetic resonance imaging in cerebral malaria: a report of four cases, The British journal of radiology 84(1000) (2011) 380-5. [7] S. Vyas, V. Gupta, A. Hondappanavar, V. Sakhuja, N. Bhardwaj, P. Singh, N. Khandelwal, Magnetic resonance imaging of cerebral malaria, The Journal of emergency medicine 42(5) (2012) e117-9. [8] R.J. Maude, F. Barkhof, M.U. Hassan, A. Ghose, A. Hossain, M. Abul Faiz, E. Choudhury, R. Rashid, A. Abu Sayeed, P. Charunwatthana, K. Plewes, H. Kingston, R.R. Maude, K. Silamut, N.P. Day, N.J. White, A.M. Dondorp, Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain in adults with severe falciparum malaria, Malaria journal 13 (2014) 177. [9] K.B. Seydel, S.D. Kampondeni, C. Valim, M.J. Potchen, D.A. Milner, F.W. Muwalo, G.L. Birbeck, W.G. Bradley, L.L. Fox, S.J. Glover, C.A. Hammond, R.S. Heyderman, C.A. Chilingulo, M.E. Molyneux, T.E. Taylor, Brain swelling and death in children with cerebral malaria, N Engl J Med 372(12) (2015) 1126-37. [10] H. Brown, S. Rogerson, T. Taylor, M. Tembo, J. Mwenechanya, M. Molyneux, G. Turner, Blood-brain barrier function in cerebral malaria in Malawian children, Am J Trop Med Hyg 64(3-4) (2001) 207-13. [11] K. Dorovini-Zis, K. Schmidt, H. Huynh, W. Fu, R.O. Whitten, D. Milner, S. Kamiza, M. Molyneux, T.E. Taylor, The neuropathology of fatal cerebral malaria in malawian children, The American journal of pathology 178(5) (2011) 2146-58. [12] N.A. Beare, S.P. Harding, T.E. Taylor, S. Lewallen, M.E. Molyneux, Perfusion abnormalities in children with cerebral malaria and malarial retinopathy, J Infect Dis 199(2) (2009) 263-71. [13] M.J. Ponsford, I.M. Medana, P. Prapansilp, T.T. Hien, S.J. Lee, A.M. Dondorp, M.M. Esiri, N.P. Day, N.J. White, G.D. Turner, Sequestration and microvascular congestion are associated with coma in human cerebral malaria, J Infect Dis 205(4) (2012) 663-71. [14] P. Brodersen, O.B. Paulson, T.G. Bolwig, Z.E. Rogon, O.J. Rafaelsen, N.A. Lassen, Cerebral hyperemia in electrically induced epileptic seizures, Arch Neurol 28(5) (1973) 334-8. [15] I. Prohovnik, S.G. Pavlakis, S. Piomelli, J. Bello, J.P. Mohr, S. Hilal, D.C. De Vivo, Cerebral hyperemia, stroke, and transfusion in sickle cell disease, Neurology 39(3) (1989) 344-8. [16] W.S. Bartynski, Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome, part 1: fundamental imaging and clinical features, AJNR Am J Neuroradiol 29(6) (2008) 1036-42. [17] E.M. Haacke, Y. Xu, Y.C. Cheng, J.R. Reichenbach, Susceptibility weighted imaging (SWI), Magn Reson Med 52(3) (2004) 612-8. [18] S. Hackett, J. Hamzah, T.M. Davis, T.G. St Pierre, Magnetic susceptibility of iron in malaria-infected red blood cells, Biochim Biophys Acta 1792(2) (2009) 93-9. [19] T. Bosemani, S.I. Verschuuren, A. Poretti, T.A. Huisman, Pitfalls in Susceptibility-Weighted Imaging of the Pediatric Brain, J Neuroimaging (2013). [20] N.A. Beare, T.E. Taylor, S.P. Harding, S. Lewallen, M.E. Molyneux, Malarial retinopathy: a newly established diagnostic sign in severe malaria, Am J Trop Med Hyg 75(5) (2006) 790-7. [21] M.E. Molyneux, T.E. Taylor, J.J. Wirima, A. Borgstein, Clinical features and prognostic indicators in paediatric cerebral malaria: a study of 131 comatose Malawian children, Q J Med 71(265) (1989) 441-59. [22] Siemens, MRI Protocols 2010. http://www.healthcare.siemens.com/magnetic-resonance-imaging/magnetom-world/clinical-corner/protocols. [23] M.J. Potchen, S.D. Kampondeni, K. Ibrahim, J. Bonner, K.B. Sey

Intention of Life Interest

Intention of Life Interest 1. (a) The life interest of Parwinder which on the surface appears to be a vested, immediate and limited interest is coupled with a remainder interest for their daughters. In this instance, there is a problem with certainty of intention. Although technical words are not necessary,[1] problems arise when precatory words such as ‘in full confidence’ and ‘will respect’ are used in this provision. The wording of this provision is very similar to the wording of another provision featuring in Comiskey[2] which stated â€Å"in full confidence that †¦ at her death she will devise it†¦Ã¢â‚¬  between nieces as â€Å"she might see fit.† Therefore, following this judgment it is likely that the courts would construe from her words an intention to leave her estate to her husband with a gift over of the remaining property to be shared between her daughters according to his will and otherwise equally. However, if the court decides that intention cannot be derived from this provision, Parwinder will take the property beneficially and there is a resulting trust.[3] In this instance Parwinder will be appointed trustee of the estate thus, he can be compelled to carry out the trust. Should Parwinder become unable to allocate shares to his daughters the court will operate as trustee and distribute the estate if all certainties are found to be valid. If Parwinder is held to be a trustee, he must carry out the distribution of the estate as a trust is obligatory. Therefore, he must make a provision in his will allocating the distribution of the estate or else he must create an express trust making sure he includes valid certainties and follows the beneficiary principle inter vivos. This provision may also constitute a trust in conjunction with a power of appointment. According to Hanbury Martin, when a husband gives his estate to his â€Å"widow for her life, and after her death to their children† but allows the wife to decide the shares for each child it is a valid power to â€Å"appoint using her absolute discretion with a gift in default of equal shares â€Å"[4] Therefore, a special power exists whereby Parwinder must distribute the estate to a specified group of appointees[5] however, he is under no obligation to carry out his duty or even consider it as an obligation.[6] (b) Firstly, this provision may fail for lack of certainty of subject matter in that the size of each beneficial interest is not expressly declared.[7] However, the court may determine that the settlor has provided an effective method of determining the size of the gift therefore; the court will apply its assumption in order to prevent the gift from failing.[8] Should the courts be unable to determine any certainty of size of the beneficial interest the provision will become a resulting trust for the settlor’s estate. Assuming the share size may be determined by some means, it would appear that  £200,000 has been made over into a trust held by the trustees of the estate. However, the obligation to distribute the money to the first 100 applicants must be clarified as a discretionary trust or a power of appointment. According to Hanbury Martin it appears that the trustees who hold a trust for the benefit of â€Å"such members of a class of beneficiaries as the trustees shall in their absolute discretion select†[9], are in fact the trustees of a discretionary trust. The first requirement would then be to ascertain if there is certainty of objects using the test encouraged by the House of Lords, the Given Postulant Test.[10] The test requires the trustees to ask â€Å"Can it be said with certainty that any given individual is or is not a member of the class?†[11] Using this test it is valid to say that any postulant who has written in response to the advertisement in the Oxford Gazette and who have made a moral claim for a share will have to be considered a member of the class of beneficiaries. A slight problem arises if in response to the advertisement the following day 100+ letters are received making it impossible for the trustees to determine who the first 100 beneficiaries are as is clearly requested in the provision. This would result in administrative unworkability and the trust would become void and revert back to the settlor’s estate. (c) The wording of the provision would be construed to impose a fiduciary duty on the trustees and thus, produce an express trust. This is due to all certainties being very explicit and straightforward. Although Charles is in a coma and unlikely to recover, the trustees are still bound under the terms of the trust to distribute property to Charles according to the declaration of trust. Overall, the trustees are under a general duty to act even-handedly and â€Å"maintain equality between the beneficiaries†[12] especially in the context of successive interests. The trustees still maintain the legal title of the cars and Charles and the Oxford Motor Museum enjoy merely an equitable and beneficial interest. Therefore, it is possible for the Trustees to maintain the legal title to the cars and give the entire collection of cars to the Museum on trust as they will not automatically acquire the legal title to the cars. Should Charles die his equitable interest in one of the cars will succeed him and become part of his estate, however, if he were to recover he would still have an equitable interest in one of the cars which he could then take advantage of. Once he or a beneficiary of his estate has chosen a car the legal title of the car will be transferred to them through the appropriate procedure and the trustee’s duty to Charles will be fulfilled and the trust will end. The trustees will then hold the remaining cars on trust for the Museum. The final option available to the trustees is to make an application to the Court for Directions. As Charles is still living, he has an earnest claim on one of the vintage cars; therefore, if the trustees apply to the Court for direction and follow any subsequent directions of the court they will be protected.[13] This process has come into effect to allow difficulties in administration of the trust to be heard by the Court and alleviate the â€Å"risk of making decisions upon a false premise.†[14] 2. One of the main problems in the current law surrounding interests in the family home is in regards to the sometimes archaic nature of the law in respect to the more level field that man and woman now work and support themselves through their careers. Pettitt vPettitt[15] made clear that a women housework, childcare and contributions towards expenses do not equate to contribution towards the purchase price therefore, unless the wife demands the house to be conveyed to the spouses jointly, she may find she has no interest in the house upon dissolution of her marriage, however, the right to invoke discretionary powers of the court to distribute the property is still an option she has upon divorce. The main problem with the current law today is the lack of statutory power a court has when dealing with cohabiting couples who share a family home. Couples may often live together for years and have children and mutually contribute to the house via renovation, expenses and upkeep, however, often times the house is registered to one of the individuals only. However, a non-legal co-owner may have an equitable interest resulting in a constructive trust even where a direct financial contribution has not been made.[16] A constructive trust is another solution to this problem whereby the courts will consider contributions made to the mortgage payment by each party, refurbishment the house as this contributed to the maintenance and essential upkeep. This remedy comes into effect if one party has â€Å"acted to his detriment† in reliance on the assurance that he held a beneficial interest.[17] Lastly, and in most cases preferable is the remedy of proprietary estoppel or when the Courts â€Å"protect the expectations of the non-owner and may award the non-owner as much as a full ownership interest in the land if justice demands†[18]. The essential elements of proprietary estoppel exist where the legal owner of the property has encouraged a third party to believe that he has or will in the future obtain rights in respect of the property and the third party has acted in reliance of this assurance to his detriment.[19] This is the most just remedy available as it will consider mere oral declarations such as â€Å"the house is as much yours as mine† or â€Å"we share everything 50-50† as an assurance and the non-legal owner is likely to be granted an equitable interest in the property upon dissolution of the family home based on the amount of contribution made over the years of communal living. BIBLIOGRAPHY PEARCE, R AND STEVENS, J. (2002) The Law of Trusts and Equitable Obligations 3rd Edition London: LexisNexis Butterworth’s Tolley. PENNER, J.E. (2001) Mozley and Whitley’s Law Dictionary 12th Edition London: Butterworths. MARTIN, J.E. (2001) Hanbury Martin Modern Equity 16th Edition London: Sweet Maxwell Ltd. Footnotes [1] Paul v Constance [1977] 1 W.L.R. 527 [2] Comiskey v Bowring-Hanbury [1905] A.C. 84 [3] Watson v. Holland [1985] 1 All E.R. 290. [4] Martin (2001) page 173. [5] Re Gestetner [1953] Ch. 672. [6] Martin (2001) page 174 [7] Boyce v Boyce (1849) 16 Sim 476. [8] Re Golay [1965] 1 W.L.R. 969 [9] Martin (2001) page 175. [10] Re Gulbenkien’s Settlements [1970] AC 508 [11] Ibid per Lord Wilberforce [1971] AC 424 at pages 454-6. [12] Martin (2001) page 553. [13] Re Londonderry’s Settlement [1965] Ch. 918. [14] Martin (2001) page 550. [15] [1970] AC 777. [16] Lloyds Bank v Rossett [1991] 1 AC 107. [17] Ibid at page 536. [18] Penner (2001), page 281. [19] Gillies v Keogh [1989] 2 NZLR 327 at page 346 per Richardson J.

Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded - Sexuality and the Morally Didactic Novel :: Pamela Virtue Rewarded Essays

Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded - Sexuality and the Morally Didactic Novel We have difficulties as a modern audience appreciating the social anxieties reflected in Pamela, especially those surrounding morality and valuation of individuals within the social framework. The radical stance of even using phrases such as virtue and 'fortune' to denote Pamela's virginity are themselves loaded with a questioning of the social stratification in which she resides. The term 'Fortune' is perhaps the most playful but problematic. In it the issue of the commodification of Pamela's virginity is implicated, while at the same time gaining its authority within the framework of the novel through a Protestant ethic of internal individual worth apart from social stratification. Complicating this issue of commodification is the range of Marxist or Weberian readings of the novel that place it within a conflict between the working and aristocratic classes. Pamela is explicitly placing value in her 'protestant ethic' rather than her social standing, it being "more pride to [he r] that [she] come of such honest parents, than if [she] had been born a lady" (Pamela 48) and in the same letter looking disparagingly on her fellow 'servants.' My analysis will take as central the moral issues in Pamela, but this is done with a cognizance that how we reflect on Pamela's morality is also closely related to how we read the economic and social aspects of the novel. There have been many works written in response to Pamela, some attacking the eroticism of the novel and others the social deconstruction it implies; however, the most emphatic is likely to be the Marquis de Sade's literary response in Justine (1791) and Juliette (1797). As we've already seen in "Fantomina," the erotic novel is not something new to the 18th century, and examples such as John Cleland's Fanny Hill (1748) provide explicit materials to demonstrate that the pornography and sadism of the day were as explicit as our own. As Shamela illustrates, this erotic aspect of Pamela cannot be overlooked, especially with the physicality of aspects of the letter writing and the reader's 'view' of Pamela's body through this. David Evans describes this as the prurience of its pre-occupation with sex disguised as moral guidance, and the travesty of Christian morality involved in showing 'virtue rewarded' to mean materially rewarded in this life, not spiritually in the next one.

Facebook Activity Should NOT Play a Role in Employment Essay -- Social

As if employment isn’t already a topic of importance regardless of personal reason, most issues concerning it, hit close to home. Employment is influenced by many things. Some of the major influences are expected like drug testing and background checks. These have little to no amount of controversy, pending personal issues. Other things are not so anticipated, namely what content is on particular social media websites like Facebook. This exact scenario played out in my life much to my dismay. After I applied, interviewed and accepted a position in the education field, I received a phone call from the employer who informed me that they would no longer offer me the position due to an undisclosed reason. Subsequently, I began an investigation into the reason I lost the opportunity of employment with the school district, only to discover astonishing exploits, the culmination of which resulted in my misfortune. These exploits had originated from a personal conflict between an individual that was my friend on Facebook prior to the dispute. Though I can honestly admit that this altercation got vicious, I never believed it would go as far as it had. This individual took my name and pictures and attached them to messages that I had allegedly sent to her. These messages contained highly inappropriate and threatening material. Then she proceeded to send them to the administration department. One person in the Human Resour ces department came to the decision that even though he didn’t know me, my qualifications, or even if the allegations were true, my personal life and Facebook page disqualified me from employment. Incontestably, I felt this infringed on my constitutional rights, confidentiality, as well as my personal life. Most Ame... ... with job performance, and work time. Without this distinction a mental and physical toll is paid and it comes at a high cost to the motivated. Employment simply should not be based upon a personal social networking website, it is unconstitutional, breaks social expectations of confidentiality, as well as imposes upon personal lives and motivations. Unless contractually bound to obey particular guidelines concerning social media, it should play no role in obtaining or termination of employment. Considering that there was no proof of legitimacy and it did not happen on work property or time, undeniably my claim of hideous encroachment on these Rights and socially accepted standards is correct. This very travesty, lead to the children at that particular school district to potentially have to settle for a person that is less qualified than I for their education.

The Birthday Party by Pinter as a Comedy of Manner :: essays research papers

AS 'COMEDY OF MANNER' Once asked what his plays are about, Pinter lobbed back a phrase "the weasel under the cocktail cabinet", which he regrets has been taken seriously and applied in popular criticism. Despite Pinter's protestations to the contrary, many reviewers and other critics still find that Pinter's "remark", though "facetious"(teasing), is still an apt description of his plays. Now the Phrase "comedy of menace" is often applied to it and suggests that although they are funny, they are also frightening or menacing in a vague and undefined way. Even as they laugh, the audience is unsettled, ill at ease and uncomfortable. Pinter?s own comment clarifies it: "more often than not the speech only seems to be funny - the man in question is actually fighting a battle for his life". (What situations appear funny to us? But in fact for the character concerned is a terrifying experience.) Now the question arises that does Pinter?s work really go in accordance to the ?comedy of manners. A critic says: "Pinter restored theatre to its basic elements: an enclosed space and unpredictable dialogue, where people are at the mercy of each other and pretence crumbles. With a minimum of plot, drama emerges from the power struggle and hide-and-seek of interlocution. Pinter's drama was first perceived as a variation of absurd theatre, but has later more aptly been characterized as 'comedy of menace,' a genre where the writer allows us to eavesdrop (spy) on the play of domination and submission hidden in the most mundane of conversations. In a typical Pinter play we meet people defending themselves against intrusion or their own impulses by establishing themselves in a reduced and controlled existence. Another principal theme is the unpredictability and elusiveness (ambiguity) of the past." The general setting of the play is naturalistic and mundane, involving no menace. However one of Pinter?s greatest skills is his ability to make an apparently normal and trivial object, like a toy drum, appear strange and threatening. Pinter can summon forth an atmosphere of menace from ordinary everyday objects and events, and one way in which this is done is by combining two apparently opposed moods, such as terror and amusement. Another technique that Pinter uses to create an atmosphere of menace is to cast doubt on almost everything in the play. One method of doing this is to have a character give a clear and definite statement and then have him flatly deny it later on.

Understanding Child and Young Person Development

Unit title: Understand child and young person development Unit number: CYP Core 3 Question 4 4. 1 Analyse the importance of early identification of speech, language and communication delays and disorders and the potential risks of late recognition. It is essential that speech, language and communication delays and disorders are noticed early so the relevant interventions can be used to support the child or young person. Answer the questions below. 1. How can observation be used to identify speech, language and communication delays? 2. What should you do if you have concerns about a child’s development of speech, language and communication skills? 3. What would be the risks if these delays were not identified? Use your answers to help you analyse the importance of early identification of speech, language and communication delays and disorders and the potential risks in late recognition. The early years are a time for rapid learning and development in a child’s life. Language is very important to learning since it helps the child to store information in an organized way and to express the child’s thoughts. If a child has difficulty in communicating with others due to a speech and language delay or disorder the child will be at a disadvantage. The child will have many problems. The child may fail to understand instructions given by the adult and this may be interpreted as misbehaviour. For example the child has been instructed to put away the task and line up to go for the music lesson to another room at school. However the child has not understood what has to be done because of his inability to process the information. Instead the child goes and has a drink of water and takes out his lunch box. Teaching in schools is usually done through verbal description and instruction. The adult presents learning situations with the use of language or speech. Failure to understand means the child will be unable to store or use information provided. For example the child has to play a board game with three other children and so has to follow specific instructions shown by the adult according to the rules of the game. A child with language delay has limited resources for demonstrating knowledge and explaining their reasoning. For example the child wants to explain to the teacher the properties of a three dimension solid but finds it difficult to do so because of language delay. Oral language serves as a precursor to literary skills. For example the child first has to be a good communicator and then uses this skill to interact with others. Then the child uses vocabulary to understand and experience stories, songs, poems and rhymes. The child begins to enjoy reading and writing. Language ability is central to the ability to establish friendship with other children. The child has to be able to communicate and talk to his peers and form social relationships with them. For example the children use language to imagine at role play and develop social skills. There are a number of reasons why children experience difficulties and delays in speech, language and communication development. The causes may be due to ear infection where the child is unable to hear words or hear distorted sounds, or find it confusing and tiring to focus on verbal communication. The ear fluid may pose a problem for the child and sounds are muffled and not clear to the child’s hearing. The child may be experiencing specific difficulty in using their oral muscles effectively and this may affect speech. For example a child with cerebral palsy does not have much control over the mouth and the muscles around it and so cannot form the words properly. The child may say ‘b’ sound instead of ‘v’ and so the meaning of the word could be totally different-base for vase. Sometimes speech and language difficulties are passed down families. For example stammering or lisping. Problem’s during pregnancy and birth can also affect the child’s developing brain and contribute to speech and language difficulties as part of a wider developmental delay. For example a mother may experience bleeding of the placenta during pregnancy and this may affect the unborn child. The child born thus may be able to say certain sounds but not be able to speak clearly as the vocal chords may be affected or due to damage in the brain that controls language. There may be a recognised syndrome or disorder that causes language difficulty for the child and is not able to communicate with others. The child may have a lack of stimulation and support to provide the rich language experience necessary to develop speech, language and communication skills. For example at school, the setting may not have an enabling environment to stimulate the child’s different interests necessary for acquiring language. The books, music, songs and so on may not stimulate and interest the child. For most children there is no clear reason as to why there is a delay in the development of speech, language and communication skills. Therefore, an adult should never assume that the child’s speech, language and communication problems are due to hearing loss. It may be that the child is experiencing communicating difficulties that are unrelated to their hearing problems because the child may not have acquired the vocabulary necessary to express his thoughts and actions. It is important to observe the child carefully, closely and to listen to them in different situations to ensure that the teacher is clear about what their needs are, their strengths and difficulties. It is important to observe the child in a range of settings and in both structured and unstructured situations. For example the child can be observed in the classroom; playground or lunch hall and the assessor can identify the child’s needs and plan the next step for the child’s development in speech, language and communication skills. Some children who begin settings with an apparent delay in their skills quickly progress as the child experiences language rich activities. Other children who are shy take a while to develop confidence to speak and express themselves because the child may be shy or reserved by nature. The most reliable assessor will take into account the child’s views, parents’ knowledge of the child and observations from all professionals who are involved with the development of the child. Assessment should be a continuous process and over a period of time so that one can gather evidence to inform and enable appropriate and timely support and provision for the child. The assessor should never be tempted to â€Å"wait and see†. There is a â€Å"window of opportunity†: if a child’s speech, language and communication skills are similar to his peers by age 5 12years then the child is making good progress. If it is not, then the child needs support at an early stage over a period of 2 years so that the child can progress and be at the same level as his peers so it is always better to start now when the problem has been identified. The assessor will enquire about the child’s hearing and request a test if necessary. The assessor will check physiological factors affecting development like vision, cleft palate, motor difficulties. The assessor will show particular awareness and sensitivity to, the needs of a child learning English as an additional language. To encourage and develop the child’s speech, language and communication skills most effectively, the adult needs to position herself face to face as the adult plays and talks to the children. The adult needs to shift her gaze between the activity the child does and the child. For example when the child sees the face of the adult it allows the child to understand the facial expressions and the lip pattern help the child to understand words. The adult must make sure that the child is paying attention each time the adult talks to the child. For example at circle time the teacher must ensure that the child is facing her and not be distracted. The child must be able to concentrate and not play with a piece of string found on the mat. The adult must keep language simple and avoid long and complicated sentences when talking and giving instructions to the child. Long winded sentences confuse and distract the child and the child may not be able to follow. At group time the adult must make sure that the child is seeing the adult’s face. This will help the child to understand emotions and facial expressions when the child is being read a story. The adult must use gestures since this will help and encourage the child to become good communicators. Learning to listen and speak emerges out of non-verbal communication like eye contact, facial expressions and hand gestures. The adult must ensure that there is no background noise that will affect the ability of the child to hear what the adult is saying. If there is noise the child will distracted and lose interest in the lesson. The adult should have knowledge of the child’s use of a dummy at home and should discourage parents to use it because problems arise in speech and the child may not be able to speak and pronounce words clearly. Sucking habits impede progress in speech, language and communication skills since the child interacts less socially with his peers and people around the child. The movement of the tongue is restricted and the child does not talk as much if the child did not have the dummy in the mouth. The dummy should be given to the child at bedtime or when really required and not to keep the child quiet. The adult should talk at a natural pace. If the adult speaks too fast the child will not understand what is being spoken. If the adult speaks very slowly the child loses interest and attention gets diverted since the child has a short attention span. If a child is shouted at and given commands then the child’s speech gets hampered. Shouting, by the child is viewed as unpleasant and jarring to the ear and the lip pattern gets distorted. The child may develop a fear and become withdrawn and afraid in the adult’s presence. If an adult in the school setting is concerned about the speech, language and communication skills of a child then the adult must discuss it with the parents. The adult can approach the parents in a sensitive manner and say the child has a problem with these particular speech sounds and not say that they cannot understand what the child says. With permission the school can seek specialist help so that the child’s needs can be supported appropriately at the right time and right age keeping all the other factors that help towards the building of good speech, language and communication skills. If the child has a delay in speech development, the child will not understand language spoken to them. The child will develop a range of sound speech inappropriate for their age. The child will not develop use of words and sentences appropriate to their age. The child may use language inappropriately. For example saying phrases that do not make sense in context or repeating chunks of language without any meaning. The child may find it unusually difficult to follow rules or join in conversation by looking, taking turns, sharing, interest in a subject and so on. The child may show frustration and be upset and may withdraw from conversation due to non-fluency in language. Sometimes the parents are very anxious about the child’s speech and then this reflects on the child’s behaviour and development. If an adult observes that the child is non-fluent that continues more than 6 months then the adult have to take serious action and appropriate measures should be adopted because it has been seen that with extra support, the child makes good progress. Speech, language and communication difficulties are common among children. Early identification therefore prevents difficulties later on especially in talking, listening, literacy and making friends.