Sexually Transmitted Diseases

Sexually Transmitted Diseases Free Online Research Papers Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are one of the largest health problems in the United States, as well as throughout the world. There are fifteen million newly diagnosed cases each year in the United States alone, and approximately 25% are acquired by teenagers . According to national statistics one out of four Americans will contract a STD by the age of twenty-four, and at least another quarter of the population will become infected at some point in their lifetime. Approximately sixty-five million Americans have an incurable STD (not including HIV), yet the United States has the highest rate of curable diseases in the developed world. It is estimated that approximately 8.4 billion dollars are spent towards the treatment of STDs each year. There are many different types of STDs: Chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, herpes, genital warts, hepatitis B, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) which leads to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) are some of the better known diseases. Th e following paragraphs will elaborate on and differentiate between the above mentioned diseases. Chlamydia Chlamydia is caused by bacteria known as Chlamydia trachomatis. This is the most common bacterial STD. This bacterium has been found to infect the eyes, causing conjunctivitis, particularly in newborns that contract it from their mother, the throat, usually in people who perform fellatio on an infected male, and both genital and rectal areas of the body after sexual intercourse or anal sex with an infected partner. In men this disease can lead to problems such as inflammation of the urethra, urethritis of the epididymis, epididymitis of the prostate, prostatitis, and proctitis, Chlamydia can also lead to Reiters syndrome, which is continuous urethritis, arthritis, conjunctivitis, and skin rashes even after the treatment of the disease. In women it can cause pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) affecting fertility, urethritis, inflammation of the cervix, cervicitis of the Bartholins gland, bartholinitis of the fallopian tubes, salpingitis of the liver, and perihepatitis, also known as Fitz-Hugh Curtis syndrome, as well as causing reactive arthritis. (www.nlm.nih.gov) Most people, fifty percent of males and seventy five percent of females, do not experience any symptoms. Symptoms for men include discharge from the penis, burning with urination, an itchy or irritated urethra, and redness at the tip of the penis. Symptoms for women include genital discharge, burning with urination, pelvic pain, and/or bleeding between periods or after intercourse. No test for Chlamydia is one hundred percent accurate. Culturing for the bacteria is the oldest method of detection, which now is preferred to detect the disease in the throat or rectum. Testing for proteins and genetic material associated with Chlamydia has also been developed. The most accurate (ninety percent) is the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or the ligase chain reaction (LCR) which test directly for the genetic material of Chlamydia through either swabs or urine. Once detected, antibiotics are used to treat the disease. Although there may be long term affects Chlamydia itself is completely curable. Popular medicines include doxycycline, offlozcin, erythromycin, and azithromycin. Medicines must be taken for their full course. Follow up testing is also important to make sure that the disease has been effectively treated or that one has not been re-infected. Condoms are usually very successful at preventing the contraction of Chlamydia. (Marr, 1998) Gonorrhea Gonorrhea is also caused by bacteria known as Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Close to one million people are infected each year in the United States. Unfortunately, women are much more susceptible to contract the disease if sexually active with an infected partner. Men have a twenty to thirty percent chance of contraction when sexually involved with an infected partner, while women have a sixty to eighty percent chance. (www.nlm.nih.gov). Gonorrhea has many of the same effects as Chlamydia, including urethritis, epididymitis, and prostatitis in men, while causing urethritis, cervicitis, salpingitis, perihepatitis, and PID in women. Other similarities include infections of the throat, eyes and the rectum. Gonorrhea can also lead to joint infections, infections of the brain and spinal cord lining (meningitis), infections of the heart valves (endocarditis), and skin sores. People infected with Gonorrhea also become more susceptible to contracting other sexually transmitted diseases. Most people do experience symptoms of gonorrhea, however about ten percent of men and twenty to forty percent of women do not. Symptoms can include all of those associated with Chlamydia as well as vaginal swelling in women, and frequent urination in men. Culturing is the most prevalent method in testing for gonorrhea. The bacteria can also be identified under a microscope. LCRs and PCRs may also be used. All methods involve swabbing of possible infected areas. Antibiotics are used to treat this disease. Depending on the severity of the infections different methods of administration can be used. A single injection of ceftriaxone, or oral medications such as ofloxacin, cefixime, and ciprofloxacin are all used in treating gonorrhea. Condoms again are the best method of prevention. Follow up testing is also important. (Marr, 1998) Syphilis Syphilis is a bacterial infection caused by the bacterium Treponema pallidum. Fifty thousand new cases of syphilis occur in the United States annually. One out of one thousand children are born with syphilis contracted from the mother. Syphilis can be contracted by contact of any mucus membranes. There are three stages of symptoms. The first stage occurs after about three weeks and consists of a painless open sore, known as a chancre, at the site of primary infection and painless swelling of the lymph nodes. The second stage may consist of all or some of the following, a red painless rash over the entire body, swelling of the lymph nodes, fever, sore throat, joint pain, headaches, hair loss, and wart like lesions in the genital area. The tertiary or late stage of syphilis includes the destruction of the body systems and organs, including the brain which is known as neurosyphilis; It is this stage which is life threatening. There are two ways to detect syphilis. The bacteria can be found under a microscope after swabbing an infected area, or a blood test to check for an immune system reaction to the disease. Often there are false positives in blood tests, so multiple tests are necessary. Penicillin is the most common form of treatment for syphilis, and it must be injected in order to become fully successful. Early stages may be cured with one injection, the later may involve more over several weeks. Neurosyphilis requires intravenous penicillin for up to two weeks. Those who are allergic to penicillin may be treated with doxycycline or tetracycline. Again follow up testing is used to measure the success of treatment. (Marr, 1998) Herpes Herpes is a viral infection. The virus is known as herpes simplex virus or simply â€Å"HSV†. There are two types: HSV-1 and HSV-2. HSV-1 usually causes cold sores around the mouth. HSV-2 generally causes open sores in the genital area. However, both viruses can cause sores on any mucus membrane including the anal area, eyes and broken skin, which means that genital herpes can be caused by either virus. Seventy million Americans have oral herpes, less than one third show symptoms. About forty five million Americans have genital herpes caused by the type two virus, with about half a million new cases being reported annually in the United States. Herpes can be especially dangerous because there are often no symptoms present. Infected individuals will often engage in sexual activities and unknowingly spread the disease on to their partners. Forty percent of those with genital herpes are symptom free after initial infection; those who do develop symptoms do so within two to twenty days. Twenty percent will remain symptom free their entire lifetime. Seventy percent of those with oral herpes will never notice symptoms. Herpes can also lead to meningitis, and encephalitis, or inflation of brain tissues. An outbreak is the term for the visible and painful sores which occur. Some experience a prodrome, or itching or tingling, prior to an outbreak. It is also possible for the virus to come to the surface without an outbreak, which is referred to as asymptomatic or subclinical shedding of the virus. Even without symptoms this shedding must occur in those infected. Men are more likely to show symptoms than women. The first outbreak is usually the most severe. The longer this first outbreak of type two lasts the more outbreaks can be expected in a year. Those with type one usually have one outbreak a year. Generally, outbreaks last ten to fourteen days, but can last up to six weeks. Herpes can be detected by culturing, or skin/blood tests including PCRs. The Tzanck skin test checks an infected piece of skin under a microscope for characteristics of herpes. It cannot distinguish type one from type two. This test has a fifty percent false negative, and therefore must be combined with additional testing when results are negative. Western blot assays and immunodot assays can be used to distinguish type one from type two although neither can say where in the body the infection lies. Though there is no cure for herpes, there are however medicines which help to treat and prevent outbreaks. Suppressants include acyclovir, valacyclovir, and famiciclovir. All these are also used in treating outbreaks, as well as penciclovir cream for cold sores. (Marr, 1998) HPV Genital warts are caused by the virus known as human papillomavirus (HPV). This is possibly the most common STD in the United States, with an estimated forty to seventy percent of sexually active people having HPV. There are over seventy types of HPV with some strains being responsible for several types of warts. Each strain tends to affect a specific area of the body. There are about twelve that affect the genital area, strains six and eleven tend to cause visible genital warts, while strains sixteen and eighteen can lead to cervical or skin cancer. Symptoms of genital warts do not always occur, yet once they do it is usually about ninety days after infection; although they sometimes take years to appear. Some will never experience symptoms in their lifetime. Though genital warts are painless they often produce itchy and fleshy bumps which can occur anywhere from the lower abdomen to the upper thighs. Urethral warts most likely will not have symptoms, but they include urethral bleeding or discharge, and/or a change in urine flow. Symptoms may clear up on their own, about twenty percent of the time, or after treatment but there is always the chance of re-occurrence. (www.cdc.gov) Genital warts can be detected visually. There is no blood test for warts as of today, although PCR can detect the virus but is not known to be definitive. A colposcopy can detect warts that are not easily visible. A colposcope is a machine used to magnify viewing of the cervix, where internal warts may reside. Since there is no cure for HPV, treatment is only used in order to stop visible symptoms. It does not prevent the spread of the disease. Cryotheropy is the act of using liquid nitrogen to freeze and kill the skin tissue of the wart. This can be used on external and cervical warts, though not on vaginal warts due to the fragile nature of the tissue. Since several treatments may be necessary the process can be painful, and redness or blistering will likely occur. Topical treatments include podophyllin or trichloracetic acid (TCA). These solutions are applied directly to warts not located on mucosal skin, as this can cause detrimental side affects if absorbed through mucosal skin, and can be combined with other treatments. Repeated use may also be necessary. Another less intense and less painful topical treatment is imiquimod. It is a cream applied to warts several times a week, for up to sixteen weeks. It has been shown to stimulate the bodys own natural immune ability. Surgery uses a scalpel to cut off warts after local anesthesia. Electro surgery uses an electrified blade or wire to perform this same task. Laser surgery requires general anesthesia and uses a laser on affected tissue to remove it. Today several vaccines are also being tested which may prevent the contraction of this disease as well as help to prevent symptoms in those infected. (Marr, 1998) Hepatitis B Hepatitis B is caused by a virus. This infection causes damage to and inflammation of the liver. Three hundred thousand new cases occur in the United States annually. Of those infected, about five thousand die of it annually. Ten percent of people in the United States blood test show evidence of this disease. Most of those infected show few or no symptoms of hepatitis B, only about one third of those infected do. Older people and those in poor health are more likely to show symptoms, which include nausea, yellowing of the skin, or jaundice, headaches, a rash which may itch, diarrhea, and/or a change of color in excrements. These usually occur within four months of initial infection, and symptoms last one to two months. This can escalate to fulminant hepatitis, which is severe liver damage, possibly causing death. In one percent of cases it progresses to liver failure, of which seventy five percent die. Problems with the skin, kidneys, and blood cells may also result. Ninety five percent of people will recover and develop immunity to the infection. The other five percent becomes carriers. There are two types of carriers, one third having chronic active hepatitis, and two thirds having chronic persistent hepatitis. The former is more severe and more contagious. Those who develop this can also develop cirrhosis, or scarring of the liver, as well as liver cancer. Those with the latter usually have very mild or no symptoms at all. Even carriers may eventually become free of this disease. There is a specific blood test for hepatitis B, which can test for either immune responses to the virus or for the virus itself. This test can distinguish between those vaccinated, those who have recovered, and those whom are carriers. The stage of this infection can be determined through a liver biopsy. Though treatment is not always necessary it is recommended as the best course of action along with adequate rest. For those who develop chronic hepatitis, alpha-interferon and steroids administered intravenously help to counter the infection. Oral medicines such as lamivudine and famciclovir are currently being tested. After liver failure a transplant is necessary, even then it may still become re-infected. This disease can be prevented with a vaccine. (Marr, 1998) HIV/AIDS HIV and AIDS are caused by a virus. Over thirty million people, globally, have this virus. Sixteen thousand new cases occur daily. One million infected are within the United States. There are no definitive symptoms for HIV, although some, thirty to seventy percent do develop flu like symptoms two to six weeks after infection. Another possible symptom is the swelling of the lymph nodes. Tell-tale symptoms only become prevalent once the disease manifests into AIDS, which takes on average ten years. This virus attacks CD4 cells, which are a part of the immune system. Healthy people have about five hundred CD4 cells. Those with AIDS are defined by having less than two hundred. The less CD4 cells the more susceptible one is to infection. At different counts different infections can occur. Between two hundred and five hundred, one is more susceptible to diseases such as pneumonia, tuberculosis, shingles, yeast infections, cervical cancer, anemia, Kaposis sarcoma, non-Hodgkins lymphoma, and others. Between one and two hundred, one is more susceptible to AIDS dementia, and wasting syndrome, or inability to maintain a healthy body weight. Between fifty and one hundred, one can develop cytomegalovirus retinitis, also known as inflammation of the retina, toxoplasmosis, and/or criptococcosis. Less then fifty often results in Mycobacterium avium complex infection, cryptosporidiosis, progressive multifocal leukencephalopathy, and/or primary central nervous system lymphoma. It is these seco ndary infections and the bodys inability to detect and fight them which eventually lead to death. Blood tests and cultures can detect the presence of the virus. Blood tests are the most accurate, which detect the viral proteins, genetic material, or antibodies associated with HIV. Cultures are usually not used except in research settings. There is no cure for HIV or AIDS, thus treatment consists of delaying the progress of this disease. The CD4 count must be carefully monitored and each stage of damage requires different treatments. The two classes of medicines aimed at treating HIV both help stop the virus from replicating, but in different ways. Ziovudine, didanosine, zalcitabine, stavudine, and lamivudine are known as antiretroviral and make up one group. Saquinivir, indinavir, and retonivir make up the other and are known as protease inhibitors. Combinations of these drugs are considered the best treatment. The secondary infections must also be treated as they occur. New medications and further research continue to expand treatments. (Marr, 1998) It is apparent that sexually transmitted diseases are a major problem in our society. They pose a threat to any sexual relationship including marriage. Since many have no symptoms partners often infect each other and may not know it. In a marriage the sudden occurrence of symptoms or the detection of an STD can cause suspicion of an affair leading to great stress on the relationship. The financial expenses associated with treatment can also stress a relationship. Both partners getting tested for STDs before and after entering any sexual relationship should be of utmost importance. Early detection is very important in minimizing the damage to one’s health. Education on the ways of contracting STDs, as well as on how to practice safer sex is important to prevention. Marr, Lisa. (1998). Sexually Transmitted Diseases: A Physician Tells You What You Need to Know. Baltimore, MA: The John Hopkins University Press. National Institute of Health, National Library of Medicine Gonorrhea Retrieved October 25, 2008, from nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/gonorrhea.html National Institute of Health, National Library of Medicine Chlamydia Retrieved October 26, 2008, from nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/chlamydiainfections.html Genital HPV Infection CDC Fact Sheet Retrieved November 3, 2008, from cdc.gov/STD/HPV/STDFact-HPV.htm Research Papers on Sexually Transmitted DiseasesGenetic EngineeringThe Effects of Illegal ImmigrationInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesGene One the Transition from Private to PublicA Marketing Analysis of the Fast-Food Restaurant19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraAssess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 EuropeNever Been Kicked Out of a Place This NiceStandardized TestingThe Relationship Between Delinquency and Drug Use

(Real)Assessment of the Higher Education Administration Program at Research Paper

(Real)Assessment of the Higher Education Administration Program at Peabody College of Vanderbilt University - Research Paper Example The aim of the college is to train highly skilled experts from varied backgrounds, for organizations both out of and in education, who have the same profound concern for the condition of human beings. Most academic programs in Peabody College consist of a powerful practice orientation. The college admits over 1,200 undergraduates and over 600 professional or graduate students, with the full-time teaching staff numbering 125. Many teaching faculty members are great leaders of professional organizations, are scholarly journals editors’ while others are recognized nationally for their research (â€Å"Education and Human Development at Vanderbilt,† 2010). The college’s twelve faculty members are holders of named, conferred professorships. The faculty has five departments namely department of Psychology and Human Development; department of Special Education; department of Human and Organizational Development; department of Teaching and Learning; and department of Lead ership, Policy, Organizations (Education and Human Development at Vanderbilt, 2010). This paper gives an assessment of Peabody College’s Higher Education Administration Program. ... The college received the last accredition in 2007 and will receive the next interim report on March 2013 (â€Å"Vanderbilt University Accreditation,† 2010). Every year, the United States’ News & World Report reviews Peabody College externally vis-a-vis other graduate schools of education. The report indicates that for the last one and a half decade, the college has held a top ten position. The report also indicated that for 2012, the college was in the top spot among the national graduate school of education and that this was the third successive year. Additionally, Peabody College consistently scores highly for student selectivity, a large quantity of funded research, and a low student-to-faculty ratio. Peabody, among the first five schools, has the largest number of programs incorporated in the specialty rankings of United States’ News & World Report (â€Å"Vanderbilt University's Peabody College of Education and Human Development,† 2011). The United Sta tes’ News & World Report further indicates that Peabody attained nine points up ahead of its closest competitor with a general score of one hundred, with programs in Special Education along with Administration/Supervision being number one in the rankings. Other recognized programs were programs in Elementary Education and Educational Psychology, which were ranked fourth; programs in Education Policy, which were ranked fifth; programs in Instruction/Curriculum, which were ranked eighth; and programs in Higher Education Administration, which were ranked ninth. The yearly rankings of graduate schools are derived from surveys of about 13,000 academics and over 1,200 programs carried out in fall 2010 while individual program rankings are derived from deans of graduate studies and

English literature Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

English literature - Essay Example He finds his job degrading with long working hours and little time for sleep and rest. His boss is a woman and â€Å"It was funny to have a white woman for a boss in a plant like this one† (Petry n.p.). His lack of interest in work often infuriates his boss. Their stern and hostile behavior makes him angry and it gets hard for him to resist the urge to beat her white employer, saying that he would never beat a woman. Further in the story, Mr. Johnson encounters a white girl working at a coffee shop who refuses to serve him just because he is black; it could be solely Mr. Johnson’s thinking that made him to think that every white person hates the black person. However, he resists his anger with his heart pounding to beat her but somehow; he learns to control his angers and walks out of the coffee shop. Anne Petry further explores how the bad sense of humor that Mae possesses makes Johnson to think that he is a black man with no respect in the society. She jokingly calls him a â€Å"nigger† (Petry n.p.). Her bad sense of humor provokes him to take out his anger, frustration and humiliation he encountered the entire day on her. The story projects that how the evils of racism was a bitter part of reality in American society in 1946. The story revolves around two main themes such as racial discrimination and domestic abuse. The domestic abuse that Mae faced was the outcome of the psychological aggression that was brought into Mr. Johnson due to the humiliation he faced by the hands of two white women. He hated to raise his fist against a woman but his aggression let him do that but this led to the death of his family’s belief, not to hit on any female. Anne Petry explains how our bottled aggressions and frustrations make us to do things that we consider immoral. Johnson is a colorful example of a man who fails to control motions unwinding his sheets of anger and frustration on his

Typical Dreams Essay Example for Free

Typical Dreams Essay Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   One way to study dreams is to study their content. This can be done by laboratory studies in which sleepers are awakened during REM sleep and their reports are tape recorded. Subjects can also keep a dream diary in which they write all they can remember about their dreams. These different methods have revealed some interesting facts about the nature of dream content.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   What causes you to dream the things you dream? That question cannot be answered as yet (see Rados Cartwright, 1999). Research can point to individual cases where the dream content is obviously related to immediate events in a person’s life, but the reason why a lot of dreams occur is something of a mystery. One explanation of dream content proposes that during REM sleep specific brain neurons are activated, such as those involved in running or laughing or hearing. In an attempt to make sense of this specific neural activation, the brain produces a dream based on a synthesis of the stimulation present. Called the activation-synthesis hypothesis of dreaming, this view does not account for the seemingly random dream content that often occurs, and it is consistent with the neurological changes known to accompany REM sleep (Hobson McCarley, 2001). However, it does not explain the coherence, detail, and purposefulness common to many dreams. Studies of dream content must now recognize that dreamers may alter their content while they are actually dreaming.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   For most people, the content of their dreams is beyond their control. How often have you gone to bed wishing you could dream about a particular someone, or afraid you might dream about an especially distressing subject? Sometimes in dreaming we think ourselves that â€Å"this is a dream.† Yet in the morning if we remember the dream and recall thinking that we knew it was a dream at the time, we find that we still accepted the content as plausible, even if events in the dream would be unlikely or impossible in real life. Some people are able to carry this awareness during dreaming a step further: they claim the ability to know when they dreaming and to actually control some or all of the content of their dreams. This is called lucid dreaming. In the past such claims have attracted little interest from dream researchers because there seemed no way to test these assertions. However, working with the sleep research lab at Stanford University, Stephen LaBerge, a lucid dreamer, was able to demonstrate his special ability. LaBerge told the researchers that during the dreams he would suddenly become aware that he was dreaming and that he could signal the researchers of this awareness by a prearranged pattern of eye movements. They agreed on a mixture of horizontal and vertical eye movements that he would use when he knew he was dreaming. The probability that the particular eye movement pattern would appear by chance was infinitesimally small. During the night the researchers watched the EEG records, and in one of the REM sleep periods, to their excitement and delight, they saw the coded eye movement pattern (La Berge et al., 2001). Other lucid dreamers have since been identified and are being studied.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is known how many people have the ability for lucid dreaming. Surveys based in self-report provide estimates of between 15 and 28%. Laboratory studies of lucid dreaming usually design by asking people if they frequently are aware of their dreams while dreaming. Those who say that they have that ability are tested in the sleep laboratory, and most are able to demonstrate their lucid dreaming ability using some prearranged signal (typically an eye movement code, sometimes a respiration pattern). These studies have found that lucid dreamers are not lucid in all of their dreams; in fact, the majority of their dreams are nonlucid. Many subjects can become aware of their dreaming, but few can manipulate their dream content. Still, some studies have been successful in giving instructions about specific dream content to lucid dreamers and having them dream about those subjects. When lucid dreams occur, they are more likely to be in the longer REM sleep periods toward morning. Researchers hope to discover how lucid dreaming is possible because phenomenon has something interesting implications for our understanding of consciousness. For in essence, the lucid dreamer is partly in one state of consciousness, the dream, and partly in a totally different state of consciousness, the awareness of the dream. A practical application of this research might be an understanding of the process so that many dreamers could learn how to control their dream content (Galvin, 2002). Discussion Why people dream?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Although most dreams do not have overt sexual imagery, Freud nevertheless believed that most adult dreams can be â€Å"traced back by analysis to erotic wishes.† In Freud’s view, a gun, for example, might be a disguised representation of a penis.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Although Freud considered dreams the key to understanding our inner conflicts, his critics say that dream interpretation leads down a blind alley. Some contend that even if dreams are symbolic, they can be interpreted almost any way one wishes. Others maintain there is nothing hidden in dreams. A dream about a gun, they say, is a dream about a gun. Even Freud, who loved to smoke cigars, acknowledges that â€Å"sometimes, a cigar is just a cigar.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Freud’s theory of dreams is giving way to newer theories. One of these sees dreams as information processing: Dreams may help store and remind our day’s experiences. Preceded by stressful experiences, REM sleep rises (Palumbo, 2001). What is more, there is â€Å"consistent and compelling evidence† that REM sleep facilitates memory for unusual or anxiety-arousing material (McGrath Cohen, 1999). In one experiment, people heard unusual phrases before bedtime and then were given a memory test the next morning. If awakened every time they began REM sleep, they remembered less than if awakened during other sleep stages (Empson Clarke, 2000). A night of solid sleep (and dreaming) does, it seems, have a justifiable place in a student’s life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another reason why we dream is because of physiological function. Perhaps dreams give the dead to the world brain with periodic stimulation. Stimulating experiences and develops and preserves the brain’s neural pathways. This theory makes sense from a developmental point of view. Infants, whose neural networks are just developing, spend a great deal of time in REM sleep.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Still other physiological theories propose that dreams occur from neural activity that scatters upward from the brainstem. According to one version, this neural activity is random, (Hobson, 2002). Psychologists Martin Seligman and Amy Yellen (1999) note that the seconds-long bursts of rapid eye movements during REM sleep coincide with bursts of brain activity, people report vivid experiences, usually dramatic hallucinations.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Given these visual scenes, our cognitive machinery weaves a story line. Mix in the emotional tone provided by the limbic system (which becomes active during REM sleep) and—voila!—we dream. This helps explain many of our dream experiences, such as the sudden and bizarre changes in scene (triggered by a new visual burst). Dream reports by Seligman’s University of Pennsylvania students confirm that the most vivid dream images are the surprising, discontinuous aspects of the dream; other less vivid images we presumably conjure up to string the visual bursts together.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The function of dreams provokes vigorous debate, but the disputants all agree that we need REM sleep. Deprived of it by repeated awakenings, people return more and more quickly to the REM stage after falling back to sleep. When finally allowed to sleep undisturbed, the literally sleep like babies, with increased REM sleep—a phenomenon called REM rebound. The withdrawal of REM-suppressing sleeping medications also increases REM sleep, but with accompanying nightmares. Most other mammals also experiences REM sleep and REM rebound. Animals’ need for REM sleep suggests that its causes and functions are deeply biological. That REM sleep occurs in mammals (and not in animals such as fish, whose behavior is less influenced by learning) also fits the information-processing theory of dreams. All of which serves to remind us once again of a basic lesson: Biological and psychological explanations of behavior are partners, not competitors. III. Conclusion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The interpretation or analysis of dreams remains one of the most controversial topics in psychology. A number of disparate views on this subject exist, ranging from the notion that all dreams are interpretable in a psychoanalytic framework to the idea that dream content is essentially randomly generated from the memory stores of the brain and thus meaningless. We adopt a position somewhere in the middle of this controversy, we believe that dreams have meanings and somebody can interpret it. _________________________________________________________________ References: Rados, R., Cartwright, R.D. (1999). Where do dreams come from? A comparison of presleep and REM sleep thematic content. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 91, 433-436. Hobson, J.A. McCarley, R.W. (2001). The brain as a dream state generator: An activation-synthesis hypothesis of the dream process. American Journal of Psychiatry, 134, 1335-1348. La Berge, S. et al., (2001). Lucid dreaming: Physiological correlates of consciousness during REM sleep. Journal of Mind Behavior, 7, 251-258. Galvin, R. M. (2002). Control of Dreams may be possible for a resolute few. Smithsonian, pp. 110-117. Palumbo, S.R.   (2001). Dreaming and memory: A new information-processing model. New York: Basic Books. (p. 157). McGrath, M.J., Cohen, D.G. (1999). REM sleep facilitation of adaptive waking behavior:   A review of the literature. Psychological Bulletin, 85, 24-57. (157). Empson, J.A.C., Clarke, P.R.F. (2000). Rapid eye movements and remembering. Nature, 227, 287-288. (p. 157). Hobson, J.A. (2002). The dreaming brain. New York: Basic Books. (p.158).

finding neverland movie review Essay -- essays research papers

Analysis of Roger Ebert's â€Å"Finding Neverland† Film Review â€Å"Finding Neverland† is a recently released motion picture starring acclaimed actors Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet, and directed by Marc Forster ("Monsters Ball†) Personally, I loved the movie and It was hard to find a critic that gave the movie a negative review, so I stopped trying to find someone to argue with and I came across the king of all critics, Roger Ebert. I usually don't agree with his reviews, so I figured we would clash on this one, but surprisingly we came to agree on many aspects. He makes a point to mention Freddie Highmore and the remarkable job he did playing the angry but sad role of Peter. A very challenging role for a child that even most adult actors couldn't portray. He can make you feel so sad for him although he is acting like a brat most of the time, but he makes you feel the pain he's going through with the tears and sadness always running through his eyes. He also commends Johnny Depp for his â€Å"widely differing roles† bringing up characters Depp has played in the past which gives you a glance at how many different roles he has not only played, but was excellent in portraying. It is obvious Ebert was impressed by Depps performance but it seams he is giving the movie credit to Depp and ignoring the director. â€Å"For Depp, "Finding Neverland" is the latest in an extraordinary series of performances. After his Oscar nomi...

Discipline and Management- Different Yet Related Essay

In this essay the goal will be to compare and contrast management as opposed to discipline as well as misbehavior as opposed to behavior. The main goal will be to define and find correlations between the terms while providing the reader with a vivid description explaining the ways these terms translate into a classroom setting. Classrooms today call for teachers to find an often elusive balance between the expectations of a teacher and practices that best meet the students’ needs to help them meet the teachers’ expectations. Management is defined as â€Å"an act of managing: supervising of something† (Management, 2013) In relation to the classroom this term describes a plan of action that a teacher employs to conduct their classroom in an organized way and support students with structure and direction. The term classroom management is often thought of as the type of discipline a teacher imposes; however, classroom management refers to taking a proactive stance that prevents unwanted behaviors before they happen. A management plan incorporates the use of routines and classroom organization by a teacher in her classroom (Charles, 2011). In contrast, discipline is defined as â€Å"a type of punishment† (Discipline, 2013). In the classroom, a better definition of discipline is the actions a teacher takes to ensure that students cooperate and participate in the learning process. Discipline involves more than just a punishment for an undesirable action, it encompasses all the methods a teacher uses in her classroom to ensure students practice self-control. Both management and discipline often are used when describing the same practices in the classroom. These concepts address the relationships between student and teacher behaviors in the classroom. Management speaks of the plan that the teacher has in place to teach student the expected behaviors whereas discipline is the plan the teacher has in place to ensure that her students meet these expectations one they understand them. Behavior is defined as â€Å"manner of conducting oneself† (Behavior, 2013); by adding the prefix â€Å"mis† it is then defined as â€Å"bad: wrong† (Misbehavior, 2013). Adding the prefix to the word behavior, misbehavior is formed and describes the manner of conducting oneself badly. In relation to a classroom setting these terms describe how a student acts in the classroom. Both behavior and misbehavior describe the actions of a student either positively or negatively. Negative and positive behaviors both have consequences in the classroom. The consequences are dependent on the type of behavior and much like the terms themselves are opposites. The terms discipline and management are used to help students understand and learn what a good behavior is and what misbehavior is. Teachers utilize management techniques as a means to provide students with the tools needed to learn appropriate behavior in the classroom. Despite the use of these techniques, students do still at times misbehave, this is when teachers utilize the use of a discipline policy to correct the misbehavior and ensure students have an understanding of what is expected. By comparing as well as contrasting behavior and misbehavior as well as discipline and management, we can better understand how these terms correlate the teacher’s policies in place to help her students succeed. References Behavior – Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/behavior?show=0&t=1368417645 Charles, C.(2011). Building Classroom Discipline (10th). Boston, Pearson Education. Discipline – Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/discipline Management – Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/management Misbehavior – Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/misbehavior

Analyzing The Portrayal Of Bipolar Disorder - 2253 Words

Analyzing the Portrayal of Bipolar Disorder in Silver Linings Playbook Micayla K. Freehan Boston University Anne Sullivan-Soydan HP252: Health and Disability Across the Lifespan November 13, 2014 More often than not, Hollywood films incorrectly portray mental disorders, usually by exaggerating symptoms and stereotyping individuals with a mental disorder. For example, Alfred Hitchcock’s classic film Psycho, in which man with schizophrenia murders guests in a hotel, influences viewers to believe that all individuals suffering from schizophrenia are dangerous. However, that is rarely the case (Polatis, 2014). Therefore, it is refreshing to find a movie that accurately portrays the true personality of and individual living with a mental illness. The movie Silver Linings Playbook chronicles the experiences of Pat Solitano, a man suffering from undiagnosed bipolar disorder who was recently released from a psychiatric facility. Although this paper focuses on Pat’s experiences, it is important to note that the film not only takes on the task of portraying bipolar disorder, but also mental illness in general with other major characters suffering from a mixture of psychol ogical or personality disorders. The film opens with Pat at Karel Psychiatric Facility in Baltimore, Maryland. We later learn that Pat was institutionalized for nearly beating to death the man with whom he caught his wife Nikki cheating on him. The rest of the film detailsShow MoreRelatedHow Does The United States Media Affects Mental Illness? Essay998 Words   |  4 Pageswill be analyzed to find any indication of a shift from misrepresentation of the mentally ill to a portrayal that does not represent them as incapable or unable to perform well socially in the real world, or in a job. 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