Air Force community Essay Example for Free

Air Force community Essay America is a country with diverse population groups that continue to increase every year. The medical community must keep up with the changing times and adapt their treatment practices to meet the demand of providing overall quality health care. There are many facets in which cultural differences come into play and especially during the patient provider relationship. It is important for the medical community and staff members to be prepared. In this paper, a discussion of the results from the assignment entitled the quality and culture quiz will be accomplished along with exploring and expanding on the answers that were incorrect. In areas that were answered incorrectly, responses will be proposed with situations that could improve the patient outcome in the future. (MSH, n. d. ). . The quality and culture quiz was taken twice, with an initial score of 14 and the second time was a 16 out of a total of 23 questions. Both times taking this quiz I felt I scored lower than expected. The quiz was taken twice because the initial score was so low. I was sure I could score better the second time, but the outcome was about the same before reading the correct answers. Even though I have been a medical assistant and an emergency medical technician for over 20 years it seemed to not have much of an impact when taking this quiz. In the Air Force community and further more in the medical community, diversity is touched upon but is not emphasized very much. In the clinic, we have patient rights and pamphlets available in Spanish but that is about it. I know we also have an interpreter listing for the base in case one is needed. I attribute my low score to not being exposed to many patients with diverse backgrounds and cultures and not having the training that so important in today’s society. As health care workers in the military, I believe we are sheltered to the outside happenings because we do not see or hear about community events outside of the base in our everyday work environment. (MSH, n. d. ). The areas that I did well in were: understanding that there could be cross-cultural confusion when explaining various medical information and procedures by the patient, patient’s may not report adequate health information because they cannot communicate well or the provider may misunderstand the particular symptom, as a provider being aware of personal biases and giving the proper treatment for the condition, ask direct and open-ended questions from the patient, practice creating a nonjudgmental atmosphere where the patient feels comfortable to try the medical advice of the provider, being aware that there could be underlying circumstances when not adhering to suggest medical treatment, and knowing that utilizing designated interpreters during patient encounters is ideal as compared to involving the family members because they can be often times they are too emotionally involved to tell an accurate story. (MSH, n. d. ). The areas where I need improvement and further comprehension are the impact of cultural competency on clinical outcomes, communicating and working with an interpreter, including the patient’s family during medical visits, being aware that some patient’s will seek customary healing measures before giving in to Western medicine and being aware of mannerisms from different culture groups. (MSH, n. d. ). Maintaining cultural competence in the positive and negative areas is a constant work in progress. There are changes every day that we as future health educators must work towards. It is a matter of continuing to read, research and apply what we have learned to every patient encounter and to always treat the patient as a loved one would want to be treated. It can only result in a positive result for all involved. (MSH, n. d. MSH, 2009) References: Airhihenbuwa, C. O. (1995). Health and culture: Beyond the Western Paradigm. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, Inc. Retrieved on March 15, 2010. Management Sciences for Health. (n. d. ). The Providers Guide to Quality and Culture. Retrieved on March 15, 2010 from http://erc. msh. org/mainpage. cfm? file=1. 0. htmmodule=providerlanguage=Englishggroup=mgroup= Management Sciences for Health. (2009). Stronger health systems. Greater health impact. Retrieved March 15, 2010 from http://www. msh. org/.

Factors Impacting on Nursing Care Quality

Factors Impacting on Nursing Care Quality Introduction Nurses play an indispensable front-line role in patient care within the NHS. However, issues such as role ambiguity, management concerns, training deficiencies, and a limited evidence-base raise serious questions about the quality of health care nurses dispense. This essay considers some of these issues. Role Ambiguity Although nurses offer a wide variety of patient care services, there is considerable ambiguity about specific work responsibilities in some areas of nursing (Goll-McGee, 1999; Rask Hallberg, 2000; Hinsby et al, 2004; Dickens et al, 2005; Needham et al, 05; Sekula, 2005). Forensic psychiatric care is a good example. In a comprehensive survey of nurse’s views about their job responsibilities, Rask and Hallberg (2000) found significant differences between licensed mental health nurses and registered nurses in the emphasis attached to key nursing roles, such as assessment, medical tasks (e.g. giving medication), and actions relating to patients ‘daily living activities’. Nurses often feel uncertain about whether they can undertake certain tasks autonomously without incurring the wrath of doctors. For example, much has been written about nurse-initiated thrombolysis for cardiac patients (Rawles, 1994; Smallwood, 2000; Smallwood et al, 2004; Kelly, 2004). Patients pres enting at an A E unit with cardiac symptoms may benefit from nurse-administered thrombolysis prior to formal medical screening. This would include performing an electrocardiogram and administering a thrombolytic agent via a standard protocol. Although nurse-induced thrombolysis may significantly reduce door-to-needle times, until recently there was no precise definition of this role in nursing literature. Nurses are often unsure precisely what roles they are expected to perform to deal with problems like teenage pregnancy and STD transmission (Campbell, 2004). This situation is confounded by the fact that sexual health needs vary considerably across specific patient groups (e.g. HIV incidence is significantly high and access to health access seemingly more limited amongst African/immigrant communities) (DOH, 2001, 2002; 2005a, 2005b; also see Erwin et al, 2002). The net effect of this haziness is that nurses may not always be entire certain of their role at critical moments, or may feel too stressed out, in situations where immediate patient care is paramount. Workload, Time Management Training Issues The issue of work-related stress (Ewers et al, 2002) is directly implicated in workload time management. It is no secret that nursing staff in the UK can be overworked at times (Kilfedder et al, 2001; Hinsby Baker, 2004; Hughes Umeh, 2005). A major reason for this is the severe time constraints created by the multiplicity of tasks nurses are required to perform. The Nursing Stress Scale (Plant et al, 1992; Tyler Cushway, 1995), a standard measure of work stress experienced by nurses incorporates workload as one of several separate and distinct sources of stress, highlighting the importance of this factor in nursing care. The workload problem was emphasised in a recent article about school nursing (Martell, 2005). School nurses are heavily under resourced but yet face an arduous workload, more so for those working in the pubic sector. Staff shortages and a multiplicity of responsibilities means that not enough time is spent on health promotion and in the classroom. More than half o f school nurses report feeling ‘emotionally drained’, and work excess hours on a daily basis, several times a week. The level of stress seems to vary considerable across different nursing fields. A recent study found that registered nurses report higher levels of stress compared with psychiatric nurses especially in the absence of social support (Hughes Umeh, 2005). Then there is the issue of training. Nurses in the UK receive extensive training before being employed to work on the ‘frontline’ (Campbell, 2004). However, questions have been raised about the adequacy of existing nursing education in various aspects of patient care. For example, although it has been suggested that nurses can play a crucial role in evaluating and caring for victims of sexual assault, nurses in the UK currently receive no formal training in this area (Dinsdale, 2005). Another area of training deficiency is in HIV prevention. Although the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) appr oves specific training courses for nurses in this area, universities and colleges are not compelled to offer them, â€Å"Pre-registration training for nurses does not include mandatory education relating to sexual health services. Nurses working in sexual health gain post-basic education in an ad-hoc manner through working in the specialty, and by undertaking specialist post-registration courses (Campbell, 2004, p.169). Nurses often receive limited (if any) training in the care of specific patient groups. For example, few nurses have special knowledge of the health care needs of ethnic minorities communities (DOH, 2000b; Andalo, 2004). Those who by chance spend some time working in such communities may gain some of the necessary expertise, but otherwise most nurses may be uninformed in this area. School nursing is another area in which training needs are not being met (Harrison, 2004; Martell, 2005). Martell (2005) reports that school nurses often have limited access to essential training for their role. Research Evidence-based practice As with other branches of health care there is increasing emphasis in nursing care on evidence-based practice (Lewis Latney, 2003; Thompson et al, 2004; Ring et al, 2005). Feasible evidence-based practice requires an adequate evidence base (Lewis Latney, 2003). However scientific literature in certain areas of nursing care is often patchy, delaying the development of appropriate ‘best practice’ statements that will ensure consistency in the quality of care nurses dispense across all sectors of the NHS and private sector (Hoskins, 2000; Serrant-Green, 2004). The importance of evidence-based ‘best practice’ guidelines cannot be overstated. The Nursing and Midwifery Practice Development Unit (NMPDU) emphasises their importance in achieving consistent care delivery across nursing sectors. Unfortunately, even where best-practice guidelines have been widely developed for nursing care, as is the case with NHS Scotland, implementation is often slow and inconsisten t (Ring et al, 2005). Nurses rarely refer to an evidence base when making decisions about patient care (Thompson et al, 2004). For example, midwifes often fail to offer antenatal HIV testing to women for ethnic minority backgrounds, to avoid appearing discriminatory (Gibb et al, 1998), even though such testing is a standard recommendation of the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE), DOH, and Nurse Agencies National Minimum Standards (DOH, 1994, 2000a). Guideline execution can be hampered by many factors including resource deficiencies, lack of training, resistance to change, lack of emphasis or prioritisation, absence of local nurse ‘leaders’ who can champion best-practice ideology, and resistance to change. Fulbrook (2003) notes that nursing knowledge and care often derives from more experiential and in-depth one-to-one interactions with patients, rather than formal scientific doctrine. Thus, it is questionable whether existing best practice statements, wh ich are rooted in positivist literature, are indeed appropriate for nursing care. Conclusion The quality of nursing care patients receive may often be compromised by workload issues, training deficiencies, a paucity of an adequate research evidence base, inconsistent implementation of clinical guidelines, and poorly defined job responsibilities. It appears these problems are rather more pressing in the public compared with private sector. A recent study of the work-related perceptions of nurses working in non-NHS facilities found that nurses in this sector reported greater levels of support, cohesion, job clarity and physical comfort (Dickens et al, 2005). However, they also indicated greater work pressure. There appears to be significant variation across various nursing specialties in the importance attached to key aspects of nursing care, such as patient assessment. Furthermore, certain nursing domains, for example school nursing, suffer from severe staff shortages, a multiplicity of responsibilities, and significant training issues. Overall, nursing care in the UK appears to lack the support it needs to meet expectations. References Andalo, D. (2004) How to sell. Nursing Standard, 18, pp.14-17. Campbell, P. (2004) The role of nurses in sexual and reproductive health. Journal of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care, 30, pp.169-170. Department of Health (1994) Guidelines for Offering Voluntary named HIV Anti- Body Testing to Women receiving Antenatal Care. London, Department of Health. Department of Health (2000a) Nurse Agencies National Minimum Standards: Nurse Agencies Regulations.London, Department of Health. Department of Health (2000b) Black and ethnic nurses midwives and health visitors leading change a report of the Mary Seacole leadership award the first five years. London, Department of Health. Department of Health (2001) The National Strategy for Sexual Health and HIV. London, Department of Health. Department of Health (2002) The National Strategy for Sexual Health and HIV: Implementation Action Plan. London, Department of Health. Department of Health (2005a) Integrating the National Strategy for Sexual Health and HIV with Primary Medical Care Contracting. London, Department of Health. Department of Health (2005b) HIV and AIDS in African Communities: A Framework for Better Prevention and Care. London, Department of Health. Dickens, G., Sugarman, P. Rogers, G. (2005) Nurses’ perceptions of the working environment: a UK independent sector study. Journal of Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing. 12, pp.297-302. Dinsdale, P. (2005) Pioneering nurse-led assault service. Nursing Standard, 19, p.9. Erwin, J., Morgan, M., Britten, N., Gray, K. Peters, B. (2002) Pathways to HIV testing and care by black African and white patients in London, Sexually TransmittedInfections, 78, 37-39. Ewers, P., Bradshaw, T., McGovern, J. Ewers, B. (2002) Does training in psychosocial interventions reduce burnout rates in forensic nurses? Journal of Advanced Nursing, 37, pp.470-476. Fulbrook, P. (2003) Developing best practice in critical acre nursing: knowledge, evidence and practice. Nursing Critical Care, 8, pp.96-102.Gibb, D.M., MacDonagh, S.E., Gupta, R., Tookey, P.A., Peckham, C.S. Ades, A.E.(1998) Factors affecting uptake of antenatal HIV testing in London: results of a multicentre study. British Medical Journal, 316, pp.259-261. Goll-McGee, B. (1999) The role of the clinical forensic nurse in critical acre. Critical Care in Nursing Quarterly. 22, pp.8-18. Gray-Toft, P. Anderson, J.G. (1981) The nursing stress scale: development ofan instrument. Journal of Behavioural Assessment. 3, pp.11-23. Hinsby, K. Baker, M. (2004) Patient and nurse accounts of violent incidents in a medium secure unit. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing. 11, pp.341-347. Hughes, H. Umeh, K. (2005) Work stress differentials between psychiatric and general nurses. British Journal of Nursing. 14, pp.802-808. Kilfedder, C.J., Power, K.G. Wells, T.J. (2001) Burnout in psychiatric nursing. Journal of Advanced Nursing. 34, pp.383-396. Harrison, S. (2004) School nurses pivotal to achieving health targets. Nursing Standard, 19, p.7.

Is Global Warming A Natural Phenomenon Environmental Sciences Essay

Is Global Warming A Natural Phenomenon Environmental Sciences Essay Is the temperature rising or is it just us? One of the most highly debated topics in todays society is global warming. Are we humans destroying the Earth we live on without knowing its devastating effects or is it the inevitable? Some say that the burden we put on the Earth is causing a rise in the greenhouse gases and carbon dioxide emissions. Others argue that global warming is naturally occurring or it truly does not exist. How can something not exist when all the evidence points to it? Recent studies have shown that an increase in carbon dioxide concentrations and other greenhouse gases caused by human activity is warming up the planet. Researchers and scientists have been studying the climate changes from the late 1950s up till today and no findings have pointed towards anything but humans causing this disaster. A way to define global warming is through the Greenhouse Effect. The process starts with the solar radiation to the Earths surface which absorbs the rays and heats up the surface. Since the Earth does not absorb all the radiation from the sun, it is simply reflected off its surface back into space. It is here where the problem occurs. When the rays reflect off the Earths surface they are not leaving the lower atmosphere due to greenhouse gases and other emissions. This causes the infrared rays to stay inside the Earths atmosphere and cause the temperature to rise. When an infrared ray strikes a molecule like carbon dioxide or a greenhouse gas it causes the bond to vibrate and it gains kinetic energy. Now that this molecule has more kinetic energy, it can transfer it to one of the two major gases in the atmosphere, oxygen and nitrogen. When the gases receive this extra energy it causes a general heating of the atmosphere. The diagram on the next page depicts how the process works. FIGURE 1: The Greenhouse Effect In the late 1950s, researchers carefully studied the amounts of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. At that time, scientists agreed that the amount of carbon dioxide in parts per million was 315. Now today in 2008, that parts per million of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is about 385. What caused this increase of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases? Human activities such as fossil fuel burning, cement, production, and deforestation caused this increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. How do we know that these numbers are accurate? Scientists can measure the amount of greenhouse gases in from bubbles of air that were naturally preserved in ice in Antarctica and Greenland dating back to more than 650,000 years ago. The amount of carbon dioxide concentrations in the last 400,000 years had a cyclical pattern. The amounts would rise to just about 300 parts per million and decrease to about 200 parts per million in a 100,000 year time frame then rise a gain. Just recently the parts per million have skyrocketed. Today that number of parts per million is still increasing and is almost at 400. Why is it now that this number has increased rapidly? The population today of the entire world is booming to more than six billion people. In the United States the population is currently more than 300,000,000. No more than twenty years ago the population in 1990 was around 249,000,000. In that little of time the population grew more than 50,000,000. Now think of all the countries in the world. The population is putting the Earth at risk and this is why the amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are increasing. Another argument that proves the global is heating up is evidence from the I.P.C.C. (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) Last year the I.P.C.C. published a six year long study on the science of global warming and picked up the Nobel Peace Prize for its efforts. (Monastersky) The I.P.C.C. has gathered information from nine different global using land stations. Each of these land stations cover large regions and record the surface temperature. Each land station from around 1950 has shown an increase of land temperature from 0Â °C to 0.4Â °C. Overall, in the last century the Earths surface temperature has increased by 1.3Â °F. (Schneider) Even though this is the tiniest increase it still effects how the Earth emits radiation. The hotter the temperature of the Earths surface gets the more it needs to emit the radiation. This causes a problem because the greenhouse gases and other molecules are reflecting the rays back to the Earth and are staying in the atmosphere, once again c ausing a rise in temperature. Figure 2: Global Temperature Time Series The figure above shows the Earths surface temperature in nine different locations Now that the evidence proves the Earths surface is heating up and the atmosphere is being ruined by carbon dioxide emissions, how can we prove that humans are doing this? In a recent study from Purdue University, they named the U.S.A.s top cities for carbon dioxide emissions. A few of the top cities were Los Angeles, Chicago, Pennsylvania Carbon County, and Indiana County. From the image below, the key shows that levels with red or brown areas are top producers of carbon dioxide emissions. What makes these areas red? Studies show that the reason is the burning of fossil fuels. Examples of fossil fuels are coal, oil, and natural gas. These three sources of energy play a huge role in the world because they are used everyday in excessive amounts. When fossil fuels are burned or used they produce carbon dioxide emissions. Figure 3: Top Carbon Dioxide Emitters in the United States The figure above shows areas in the United States that emit carbon dioxide. The areas that emit the most are shown in red or brown. The Earth can only absorb so much of these emissions that eventually it cannot anymore and it causes excessive amounts in the atmosphere. How do humans burn fossil fuels? Everyday activities like driving a car, using an aerosol can, working at a factory, and working at power plants. Each of these burn fossil fuels and destroys the atmosphere. Think of how many cars are on the road right now driving and burning gas. The amount of the carbon emissions coming form vehicles is overwhelming and is causing this change in climate. Finally, car manufacturers are realizing that this is becoming a huge epidemic and they are now producing hybrid vehicles and more gas efficient vehicles. Factories and power plants produce a ridiculous amount of pollution each day that is doing irreversible damage to the Earth. An argument against global warming is that it is naturally occurring. This is a possibility because no expert or researcher has completely understood the Earths cycle of ice ages and warm periods. There is a slight possibly that this could be just one of the Earths warm periods. Evidence proves otherwise. According to researchers it is nearly impossible to explain this climate change without external force. This means that something other than a natural cause is a factor in the climate change. Another counterargument against global warming is that the rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are from the ocean. When researchers studied the oceans, they saw that levels of the carbon dioxide in the ocean were high like the amount in the atmosphere. If the ocean was emitting carbon dioxide then the levels in the ocean would be lower. With all the evidence, it is clear that humans are contributing to global warming. This has only become a problem now because our economy is going as well as our population. Fifty years ago, the economy was not even close to being as advanced and big as it is today. Our population is still growing and we are only taking baby steps to fix this problem. If harsh action does not take place soon we will destroy the Earth forever. The warming of the oceans and atmosphere could trigger irreversible environmental changes in coming decades. (Monastersky)

A Normal Way of Life Essay example -- Family Normality Culture Essays

A Normal Way of Life What is "normal" in American culture? I believe my family is "normal" and my friends believe that of their families, too. Yet, our families are so different. How can that be? Everyone has an ideal image of a "normal" family according to the way they live. I believe "normal" to be a mother, a father, and kids living in the same house with three cars and a pool to be normal. My family has a strong set of beliefs, traditions, and artifacts that compile into my ideal image of "normal". I am of French, German, and Polish decent. My parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents lived in Michigan their entire lives. My mother's side was from Warren and my father's from Pontiac. Growing up my parents went to a Catholic school and became high school sweethearts. My mother and father were not very well off growing up and it seemed to stay that way early into their marriage. My father became a builder at the young age of twenty-three. My mother once told me that after they moved into their first home, they couldn't even afford a dishwasher. My mother was a medical assistant up until I was three and she hasn't worked since. I was fortunate enough to have my mother home with me when I was younger. A lot of children I went to elementary school with weren't as lucky. Growing up my brother, parents, and I all lived in a small, ranch-style home in Sterling Heights. We had a nice yard, two cars, and a basketball hoop. This was typical if you looked down our street. Once I hit f ifth grade our house went up for sale and we moved to Washington Township. Our home was bigger now and the people in the neighborhood were fairly different also. They thought that we lived on Rodeo Drive. We moved again when I was in ninth grade... ...her siblings, and my grandparents grew up living in. I love that house. It reminds me of my grandma. After she died my grandfather moved out, but my uncle moved in. He and his family now live in it, so it is still part of our family. My "normal" has been declared as a loving mother and father with kids and a nice home in American culture. Still there are many extremes in American families today which others believe to be "normal". One-day kids will believe having parents of the same sex is "normal". Our America is ever changing as is our ideas of American normalcy. So, compared to children who don't have two parents and a car to drive or food in their cupboards my family is "normal". Works Cited Alvarez, Louis and Andrew Kolker, directors. People Like Us: Social Class in America. PBS.WDET, Detroit. 23 September 2001. 26 October 2001. Online Transcript.

Serial Killers Essay -- Can Biology make us Murderers?

"One must feel sorry for those who have strange tastes, but never insult them. Their wrong is Nature's too; they are no more responsible for having come into the world with tendencies unlike ours than are we for being born bandy-legged or well-proportioned". Marquis de Sade (1740-1814), "Dialogue the Fifth" (1795). If who we are and what we do originates in the brain, than the structure of and the occurrences therein can explain for our entire catalogue of personalities and behaviors. However, what about deviant behavior and personalities? If deviation implies wrong or inaccurate behavior, is there something wrong or inaccurate in the brains of those who are devious? The possibility seems immanent, but also too easy. Surely there must be something wrong with someone who is extremely violent, or hurts individuals in ways our society will not allow. There are few things more repellent to 'human nature' and morality than the concept of a serial killer. What is different about the brains of these individuals whom our society finds unforgivable and unredeemable predators? Society might find a biological reason for such atrocities more comfortable than the prospects of 'good and evil' or a mistake. This paper will catalogue and attempt to organize the current biological differences between our minds and that of a serial killer. Can Biology make us Murderers? Recent reports in science have found discrete locations in the brain that are used in intricate systems that serve as the human moral compass (1).Changes in the brain have long been known to change the behaviors of a man. In the famous example of Phineas Gage, an accident at his job caused an iron rod to pierce through Gage's skull. Gage was able to stand and speak a... ...ield. http://www.channel4.com/science/microsites/E/equinox/psyc_transcript.html 7)Towards a Unified Theory of William Jefferson Clinton, It was tough sifting through all the sites on serial killers that offered no real information (and there were a Lot of them seeing that there is a strange subculture around the topic). Strangely enough, I found many sites that showed up on search engines under the word 'psychopath' that focused on the Clinton Administration. I was surprised (as much as a Republican can be.) Needless to say, the more intelligent ones had information that pertained to my topic. This was one of them. http://zolatimes.com/v3.13/unified_clinton.htm 8)Psychopaths: Findings Point to Brain Differences, A short article directly pertaining to my topic. Robert Hare is one of the leading figures in this field. http://www.crime-times.org/97b/w97bp4.htm

Disjunction of Senses in Modern City Life

Disjunction of Senses in Modern City life In his chapter â€Å"City Life and the Senses,† John Urry discusses how the senses system operates in â€Å"open societies† of streams of crowds in open space. The five senses are comprised by the visual, auditory, touch, taste, and olfactory. Urry views visuality as an ambivalent force that is prioritized above the other sense through the developments of centuries and somewhat abused by as visual sense becomes increasingly accelerated in the city life dominated by technology.The imbalance in the sensed environment is magnified by the physical natures of the senses themselves, but the inexpedience in this discrepancy is a product of civilization, implying that visuality and other senses are capable of interacting collaboratively under a hierarchy for a city life that â€Å"plays to all the senses. † The innate features of eyes provide the power for the visual sense. Light travels almost instantaneously while other mediums , like voice, are air-borne. Signals emitted by the sender are instantaneously received by the viewer.While sound and scent can collect their input from all directions and frequencies, sight is focused and specified. Urry mentions Simmel’s argument that â€Å"the eye is a unique ‘sociological achievement’† which â€Å"produces extraordinary moments of intimacy. † Uninterrupted interactions between the eyes carry â€Å"the history of their life and †¦the times dowry of nature. † These characteristics allows â€Å"the eye to [objectify] and [master]† more than the other senses. One could choose to close his eyes when the objects do not reach the expectation.Thus, vision possesses a seemingly superior ability to judge objects from specified angels. Another nature of the eye is that it can act as a delicate measuring tool that collects a vast amount of information. As Urry shows, the eye â€Å"sets a distance, and maintains a distanc e. † Consequently, this capacity to carry and discharge information â€Å"enables the world to be controlled at a distance, combining detachment and mastery† and communication between individuals â€Å"produces the ‘most complete reciprocity’ of person to person, face to face. In addition, Technology adds a new dimension to the existing complexity of visual dominance in the spatiality of sense. The implementation of modern technologies further enlarges the prioritizing of vision. Urry writes that â€Å"vision was given an especially powerful role in the modern era. † Cell phones, emails, and video chatting messengers, like Skype connect people wirelessly. Touch and smell no longer factor into the interactions such that it is no longer necessary for the physical presence of a person for communication.People seek increasingly greater standards for technologies that appeal to the visual sense. Modern innovations, for example, have advanced television f rom black-and-white to color to LED display to plasmid and recently to HDTV for ever improved visual experience. In contrast, there have been few advances in the auditory capabilities of modern inventions. The radio remains mostly unchanged through the past half century. The contrast between technological advances caters again to an assumed superiority of vision over the other sense. However, visuality has its limitations.We have abused the bestowed privilege while the human activities in modern society favor the development of visual sense. â€Å"According to Urry, â€Å"the city both is fascinated with, and hugely denigrates, the visual. † The moment the look dominates, the boy loses its materiality. † The mind becomes biased and receives false information about the truth as our eyes are more involved in working and recreational activities. For example, when shopping for luxury commodity, without â€Å"touching,† people sometimes believe in their visual judgme nt of the authenticity of the product.Besides, the eye turns vulnerable due to excessive usage. More and more people are optically corrected with glasses and contacts. Hand-free products grow multiplicatively popular thanks to its ability to dilution the burden of visual sense. Meanwhile, other senses are essential in that their importance is exemplified by the vast number of common expressions in daily speech. â€Å"Each sense gives rise to metaphors which attest to the relative importance of each within everyday life. People use expressions like â€Å"sounds good to me† and â€Å"it rings a bell,† attesting to the importance of the auditory realm. The auditory sense plays an important role in our learning process. From infancy, we are exposed mostly to sound while we are still â€Å"blind† about what is happening in the world. Then, we start to learn to talk by listening to our parents and are able to identify objects by connecting things we see with their au ditory equivalents. In school, lecturing is an indispensible portion of learning.Most students prefer learning from their instructors over reading the books and trying to understand the material. Furthermore, there are activities involving other senses that are insubstitutional by visuality. Music is a discipline in which visual sense is ineffective. Determining a keynote of melody, for some people, is an even more proficient mastery than visuality. Indeed, each division of the sensed system attempts to adapt to the evolving spatiality as the open societies become gradually civilized.Urry suggests that no matter which coordinates we use, â€Å"a threshold of effect of a particular sense which has to be met before another sense is operative. † This is not quite true. Multiple senses are certainly capable of coexisting in a parallel manner, and they should cooperate under a hierarchy between different senses. The concept â€Å"sensuous geography,† which connects together analyses of body, sense, and space,† should be introduced when examining the issue. The significance of the open societies is to encourage communication and mixture between senses and to achieve spatial complementarities.For instance, â€Å"sight is not seen as the noblest of the senses but as the most superficial, as getting in the way of real experiences that should involve other sense and necessitate much longer periods of time in order to be immerses in the site. † People have come up with approaches such that we can integrate the senses together to be truly reciprocal not within itself, but rather among the divisions to illustrate a decent understanding of city life that is composed. When someone visits a landscape, he or she can carry an electronic mobile auditory guide with them which plays an audio introduction of the spot.The device not only facilitates and enhances visual experience, but also alters the perception of the surrounding space for the tourist beca use â€Å"each sense contributes to people’s orientation in space. † Failure to do so may lead them to be insensitive and incapacitated. It is inevitable that the senses system has developed unequally as the open societies refine. Although visuality plays an essential role in city life, we ought not to overlook the rest of senses, such as previously discussed auditory sense. On the other hand, it is imperative to have a hierarchy for the five senses to operate cooperatively.Nevertheless, senses system may still remain stagnant in suburban cities, or closed societies, where people are not congested by technologies and crowds. Despite of their disparate spatiality and sensed environment, we shall consider the alternative account of sensing nature to assist our understanding of city life in open societies.Bibliography â€Å"City Life and the Senses. † Urry, John. A compaion to the city. Blackwell Publishing, 200. 388-397. Wikipeadia. 27 9 2008 <http://en. wikipe dia. org/wiki/Auditory_learning>.

Behaviorist description of depression Essay

The behavioral perspective of depression links the disorder to a deficit of positive reinforcements in one’s life. This lack of reinforcement results in the decline of constructive behavior, which in turn results in depression. Behaviorists posit that a person suffering from depression can develop a plan of action to replenish the deficit of positive reinforcement through the cooperation of family, friends and the therapist. In other words, according to behaviorists, the patient’s inability to cope with life stress leads to social withdrawal, which reduces the rate of positive reinforcements, which then results in depression. The belief that a person suffering from depression can behave him- or herself out of it is both appealing and troublesome. The benefits of constructive activity notwithstanding, dependence on others for positive reinforcement could result in depression that waxes and wanes in direct proportion to the presence or absence of external stimuli. The danger inherent is this view is of placing too strong a focus on those external reinforcements. A patient who places conditions of worth on his or her actions may be convinced that others will never be in a state of approval of those actions. Such a patient may benefit more greatly from a cognitive therapy that addresses his or her maladaptive thinking patterns and self-deprecating automatic thoughts. It is the therapist’s responsibility to assess the most effective treatment based on the patient’s individual profile. The specific therapeutic approach must be tailored to the patent’s needs and capabilities. If the patient requires guidance to change maladaptive thinking, then a plan to simply change behavior is doomed to fail. The behaviorist perspective can also be interpreted as placing responsibility for depression squarely on the shoulders of the patient. Encouragement (of the patient to take charge of his or her own recovery by changing the nature of his or her personal relationships) can be effective with a strong-willed person who is committed to recovery. By helping to develop a plan of action and monitoring its success and opportunities for improvement, the behavioral therapist maintains at once a reliable presence at a respectful distance. The patient’s relationships are also important factors in depression that must be addressed to treat depression; ergo behavioral therapy must tackle negativity in that facet of the patient’s life. The therapist must assess the overall relationship dynamic and any negative patterns of communication between the patient and his or her most significant others. Ideally, a behavioral therapist has evaluated the patient and hypothesized that he or she will benefit from changing behavioral patterns. The therapist patient will then work closely with the patient to assess the nature of his or her innate behavioral patterns to determine which are constructive and which detract from his or her impression of positive reinforcement. Classical conditioning is not suited for this task but modeling and shaping may be effective. Operant conditioning, by definition, is the order of the day. The patient will receive continuous positive reinforcement for behaviors that combat his or her depression, while those that feed the depression will become extinct.