African American History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

African American History - Essay Example The following study text will evaluate King’s role in the Civil Rights Movement with regards to his unique and effective strategies applied in acquiring overwhelming victory against white supremacy. Born in January 1929 as Michael Luther King, King grew up in religious environment and both his father and grandfather were pastors at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. In 1948, he earned a B.A. at the Morehouse College and proceeded to the Crozer Theological Seminary in 1951. In 1955, he earned a doctorate from the Boston University where he also happened to meet his wife Coretta Scott. After his graduation from Boston University, he began his pastoral role as at the Montgomery Avenue Baptist Church. This is where his journey into world history began. Rosa Sparks, a young black woman refused to give up her seat for a white person to sit in a bus and this had sparked controversy all over the United States around 1955. By chance, King’s Montgomery Church was chosen as the meeting venue to host one of the meetings to discuss the matter, and King happened to be there1. The meeting acted to recruit King into his call of advocating for the end to racial discrimination in the United States. Rosa Sparks was thrown into jail and King could not stomach the sense that she had been jailed for failing to give her seat to a white person. Following this, he planned his first public demonstration. In the same year, he mobilized the entire Montgomery [mainly African American] community to boycott the city’s transport service. He demanded equal rights for all. After an unending one year of boycott, a court ruling in Browder V. Gayle put an end to the discrimination on the public bus service and everyone was free to board the buses. This did not end, but sparked a new struggle aimed at eradicating racism all over the United States2. Martin Luther King Jr. was

Organizational Changes at PayPal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Organizational Changes at PayPal - Essay Example The rapid growth enjoyed by this company has been as a result of changing its strategy to suit the needs of the customers and at the same time ensure maximum safety for online transactions. Being a leader in online payments, PayPal was finding it challenging to address all the needs of the millions of customers they served. There were a number of challenges the company was facing that drove it to change its business model. These challenges were as a result of the growing customer numbers, stiff competition, regulatory issues and safety concerns. First, PayPal operates in a highly sensitive and competitive market segment. The threat from other companies offering more or less similar services has been a major concern for the company. Since its inception, PayPal has had to deal with the threat of competitors. For example, two years after its establishment, PayPal faced competition from Citibank, who introduced the c2it service. Citibank partnered with Microsoft and AOL, and the c2it presented a significant threat to the growth of PayPal. In another example, Google introduced the Google’s Checkout system, which allowed customers to retrieve their financial information and give it to merchants whenever it needed. With such a system, PayPal was facing the risk of being thrown out of the online payment market. An even bigger threat came from mobile service providers. For example, companies like Verizon and ATT were facilitating P2P payments, services that allow customers to send and receive money using their mobile phones.

How Good Communication Skill Is Significant In Healthcare

How Good Communication Skill Is Significant In Healthcare This study is all about how communication helps and how good communication skill is significant in health and social care environment. Effective communication is crucial for health and social care. What is communication? Communication is nothing but just the exchange of information and meaning by using symbols and signs between individuals. The sender, message, receiver and feedback are the four components used in the process of communication. And to have a continuous flow of communication it is necessary to comprehend to each component. Communication takes place in many forms like verbal, non-verbal, formal and informal, written, etc. Communication helps in comprehending human behaviour. Application of all these techniques of communication is required in health and social care. So for an effective social and health care it is essential to have good interpersonal and communication skill. Use of Communication Skill in Health Social Care Context Communication skills are of great importance in any field. It is very much necessary to communicate with the target audience in the way they comprehend it and also it is of great significance to comprehend the intellectual and physical limitations of the targeted audience. Let us simplify it by taking an example: Let us take a hypothetical situation, consider you are a doctor and practicing on a child and the child is having some heart problem. In this case you will not expect that child to comprehend the lengthy report on his heart functioning test. So definitely you would water it down. Many such examples can be given to understand the importance of communication to health and social care. Communication skill helps in organising a conversation, helps in probing the opposite person, it also helps in keeping the conversation going. Also communication skills are necessary in order to build up a good and health relation with the people using your services, also it helps in comprehending and meeting the needs of the person as well as can bond up with their friends and families. It helps in sending and receiving the information with the people taking up your services. There are many different types of communication named one-to-one communication, group communication, formal communication and informal communication, written communication. In health and social care generally a formal communication is used, which generally starts with the greeting. It is generally used to show respect towards the person and it is also a communication starter. A professional person generally in health and social care uses formal communication in order to speak to opposite person in regards to the services. It is exact, clear and avoids misunderstandings. Another communication, which is generally used in health and social care, is written communication. In health and social care environment, written communication is central to the work of any person when keeping records or in writing any reports. Different styles of writing are needed for different types of communication but the basic of all is the requirement of literacy skills. When recording any information about a patient a very formal style of writing is required. Barriers to Communication in Health Social Care Many things contribute in stopping an effective communication. People working with health and social care should comprehend the barriers in order to overcome them. Effective communication is very much necessary in health and social care setting; if the communication is not effective or understandable than it would be difficult for a service user to involve in the discussion regarding the care or planning the future. Similarly, it would be difficult for a service provider to help the service user if he do not understand what the person is trying to ask. Few of the barriers are language problems, jargons, acronyms, health issues, stress, emotional difficulties, environmental problems, misinterpretation, aggression, etc. Let us briefly understand all the above-mentioned barriers: Language Problem (Foreign Language): Using a language other than local or using sign language creates problem for both the service provider and user in comprehending each other. Even if someone tries and helps out in translating the message, it is again difficult to pass the message clearly. Jargons: Technical words used by the service provider, may not be understandable by service user. For example, if a patient rushes to doctor and to diagnose the problem doctor asks the patient to do a MRI scan and blood test than that would certainly sound scary to that patient. Instead of directly imposing what to do if the doctor explain what the MRI scan is and why it is required than the patient would be more relaxed. Acronyms: Acronyms are the initials of the shortened words. In health and social care lots of acronyms are used and they are confusing too. Sometimes subconsciously the use of acronyms is made which makes the opposite person feels left out. For example, if a health care professional says that you have to take these tablets TDS. What did you comprehend from this sentence? So we feels left out her. Here TDS means three times a day. It is also related to jargon. Health issue: When a person is not feeling well or is not in the best of his health, it becomes difficult for him to communicate effectively as he is not well. This definitely affects the service user and colleagues too. So the people who are being taken care in the hospital due to some illness might not be able to communicate like normal. Also the patients who are being treated in the hospital for their long-term sickness like Parkinsons disease also affect their ability to communicate. So if you are working in health and social care than you should be aware about such scenarios and should be capable enough to handle it. Stress: Stress also causes difficulty in communication. A person if stressed out might not listen properly and so he might misunderstand or misinterpret the conversation. Stress also cause difficulty in speaking or might be tearful as well. Emotional difficulties: At times everyone faces emotional difficulties and get upset. For example, a fight between husband and wife, a split up between boyfriend and a girl friend or a bad new; all these contributes towards emotional difficulties. Here as the person is already preoccupied he might not hear to what is being said and so this might lead to misunderstanding. Environmental Problems: It is the communication affected by environment. For example, if someone is having reading problem (due to weak eyesight) than the person will surely struggle in reading the written information in low light. A person on a wheelchair may face problem in talking to a receptionist if the desk is too high. Aggression: Unpleasant and frightening behaviour is aggression. It can be mental, verbal or physical and can cause emotional harm or pain. For example, a person working in health and social care irritated or annoyed due to some reasons than the person to whom he is providing service might feel threatened or dominated and so might not be able to respond. This results in the offering of the bad services. Ways to deal with inappropriate Interpersonal Communication Selection of wrong words or use of passive vocabulary, body language misinterpretation or cultural insensitivity leads to inappropriate interpersonal communication. In such case what can be done to avoid such problem is: Always rephrase in simpler and different words to whatever has been said in order to avoid unnecessary confusion and misunderstand. One of the way to deal with inappropriate communication in focusing, it also helps in preventing communication barriers. Attentive listening without interrupting is also one of the ways to deal with it. Respectful respond should be given to persons opinion and listeners view should not be imposed. One of the communication strategies for providing comfort is empathy; an empathic approach helps in comprehending. Factors influencing Communication Process in Health Social Care Communication process is influenced in several ways. According to Watson, the action of caring includes communication, support, positive regards or physical interventions by the nurse (1985 cited in Kozier at el, 2004, p.419). A sense of care is felt through communication, although a lot depends on interpersonal attitude as well. A sense of importance and worth is felt when respect is given and opinions and ideas are accepted and not judged. Also a terrible feel during an interaction is also a factor of communication barrier. Judgemental action, probing, agreeing/disagreeing, stereotyping, rejecting are the non-therapeutic responses (Kozier at el, 2004, p.432). Cultural Factors Influencing Communication Process What is Culture? Culture refers to beliefs, shared and learned values and behaviour, which is common to a particular group of people (Orbe Bruess, 2005). Music, food, dress, customs and celebration are also included in culture. Communication and culture are the two inseparable. Culture is a significant part of our perspective through which we see the world. Culture is shaped by communication and is also learned through communication. Communicating with people from same culture is different and communicating with people from different culture is a different experience. Although culture is powerful, they are frequently influencing conflicts and unconscious. Always remember two things about culture; one is that culture are always changing and the other is they communicate to symbolic dimension of life. According to Stella Ting there are three ways where communication process is affected by culture. First is Cognitive Constraint which is the reference frame that provides surrounding that all new information is compared to or inserted into. Second is Behaviour Constraint; it is about culture having their own rules of behaviour regarding verbal and nonverbal communications. For example, how much distance should be maintained when talking to the other person, whether to look in the other person eye or not, etc? The final one is Emotional Constraint; every culture has their own way of showing emotions. For example, there are many cultures that get emotional when debating on an issue; they yell, cry, etc. While many cultures tend to remain calm and keep their emotions hidden. All these cultural difference leads to communication problems. This is more likely to happen when dealing with cross cultures. To overcome these problem only awareness regarding the cultures is needed. Legislation, Code of Practice and Policies in Health Social Care Legislation- Legislation are the laws made by parliaments, these laws shows the right of an individual, group or an organisation. All the health social care settings should comprehend the significance of sticking to legal guidance as this can defend against the poor practice. For example, the data protection acts, freedom of information act, care standards act, race relation act, etc. Policies- In order to promote equal opportunities and strengthen the code of practice of particular professional bodies it is must for an organisation to have policies and procedures. Policies includes confidentiality, harassment and bullying, health and safety, equal opportunities, risk assessment, etc. Code of Practice- Since 2000, it has become vital for all health and social care settings to have a professional code of practice. In order to inform the practitioner about their rights and responsibilities and to guide the code of practice is kept. It is mandatory for all health and social care worker to carry out an induction period where the proper training leading to appropriate qualification is given. Same code of practice is followed by Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and England. Health Social Care Services with specific Communication needs People having cognitive impairment, language and sensory deficit, structural deficits and paralysis need specific communication (Kozier et al. 2004, p.438). In general, the care worker uses the SOLER technique by Egan (1986), it helps in effective communication with the clients, and makes them feel safe and trust the caregiver. SOLER stands for: S- Sit squarely in relation to the patient O- Open position L- Lean slightly towards the patient E- Eye contact R- Relax This technique helps in good interaction and can be used for both; people with or without any special needs. Depending on the type of communication impairment different strategies and techniques can be used. For people with hearing problem or who are deaf, BSL (British Sign Language) was introduced which was eventually accepted by UK government officially in 2003 and now this sign language has become universal. But it is different in each place of origin. Not only people with hearing impairment learn this language but also the people who interact with these people learn this language. For example, friends and families. Also Lip-speaking is a technique used for deaf. In lip-speaking interaction through facial expression, gesture and mouth is done without making any sound. There is one more technique, which is used for people with learning difficulties such as structural deficit and paralysis and cognitive impairment. It is known as Makaton. Makaton uses common vocabulary and is much simple. It uses symbol, action as well as speech, unlike BSL. This is a very helpful technique for people with limited ability to communicate. For Blind people reading and writing method through Braille is used. It is useful for every individual who is completely dependent on sense. Finally, Human Aids, Human aids are the people helping communicate with each other. Translator, interpreter, etc are the examples of human aids. Information Communication Technology (ICT) in Health Social Care ICT provides great support for care professional and other staff in order to provide effective, fast and convenient care. Visible and workable ICT is required in order to deliver high standards. In order to get the quality outcome data and to give the best possible care to people it is needed to exploit ICT. Individuals quality care depends on easy access to care plans and electronic records. It must be capable enough to distribute information across health and social care. ICT helps in delivering more effective and better healthcare services. ICT helps doctors, hospitals and pharmacist for taking better care of our health. ICT helps in saving lives, improving patients care, helps in reducing cost in health care. For example, a patient with heart problem will be carrying a monitor, which will alarm the doctor if any changes in patient condition and will let them do their task. ICT use is central to social work, which is concerned with sharing assessments and exchanging information with other professionals and practitioners. Quickly and securely medical data can be exchanged. ICT has made the operation simpler than before. The basic ICT at health social care includes: Quality care (efficient and effective care service) Empowerment (patients involving in their own care activities) Availability (waiting time, access and better utilization of resources) Care continuity (information sharing and coordinating with care provider) Patient safety (risk is reduced in regards to patient harm) Some of the technologies used at health care are CDMS (Chronic Disease Management System), CPOE (Computerised Practitioner Order Entry), CDS (Clinical Decision Support), ETP (Electronic Transfer of Prescription), Electronic Appointment Booking, PHR (Personal Health Record), Telemedicines, RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) Bar-coding, etc. ICT is used everyday at health care. ICT is used in administrative department to keep a check on in and out of the patients, to keep the records of the patients staff as well.

Empathy in Brechts The Good Person of Szechwan and Mother Courage and

Little Empathy in Brecht's The Good Person of Szechwan and Mother Courage and Her Children Brecht is very successful in creating a form of drama where empathy plays little part. In The Good Person of Szechwan it would seem that every action and word is an attempt to alienate us and halt any identification one may chance to make. The indiscernible use of names for characters exaggerating the oriental sound of them is immediately noticeable i.e. 'Wang', 'Shin' 'Sun', 'Shen Te', 'Shu Ta', etc. There is also the use of language and intonation in relation to others revealing personality and social position, which comes in the form of oriental 'bows'. Many of these gestures are already to be found in Asian theatre. Brecht calls it the 'social gestus.' Songs also interrupt the plot, but it is not the kind of 'bursting into song' which one finds in musicals. The music itself sounds sometimes out of tune and there is an offbeat that one would find difficult to tap one's foot to so one cannot become involved or relate to the music, although songs from The Threepenny Opera became very popular. The moon being likened to 'green cheese' as a slur on society's belief in 'a child of low birth will inherit the earth' and 'The Song of the Eighth Elephant' when there are really only seven anticipates the underhand actions of Sun who represents a number of people in society who destroy others welfare for their own individual interest. All these songs are successful in alienating the audience and have a similar message; the impossibility of a society being saved by an individual. Brecht strives to create a drama in which empathy plays little part by drawing one's attention away from any kind of identification one might make, particularly with... ... our own society and one wishes to challenge it. One is actually allowed to come to one's own conclusions freely and critically particularly through the eyes of the overwhelmed Shen Te who has to invent a ruthless cousin for herself who can save the business by applying the cruel laws of the market. But I find myself slightly swayed by sub-themes which do hint a little at identification and emotion. Works Cited Brecht, Bertolt. "Mother Courage and Her Children." Worthen 727-751. Brecht, Bertolt. Collected Plays. London: Methuen, 1970. Benjamin, Walter. "Conversations with Brecht." Understanding Brecht. Trans. Anna Bostock. London: New Left Books, 1973. 105-121. Brecht, Bertolt. Brecht on Theatre. Ed. and trans. John Willett. New York: Hill and Wang, 1992. Worthen, W.B. ed. The Harcourt Brace Anthology of Drama. 3rd ed. Toronto: Harcourt, 1993.

Feminist Undertones in Pride and Prejudice

FEMINIST UNDERTONES IN ‘PRIDE AND PREJUDICE’ Introduction Jane Austen authored the novel ‘Pride and Prejudice’ in 1813, a period in the social history of England that saw most women as best equipped for the private and domestic realm. An ideal woman was the picture of chastity, innocence and compliancy. Even women authors in this period were expected to adhere to genres that were considered to be solely their domain- the refined arts, household management, love, courtship, family life and fidelity in the face of temptation.Although ‘Pride and Prejudice’ was primarily a romance between two free-thinking individuals, Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy, it has grave feminist undercurrents that are displayed to the reader in many incidents and conversations that ensue between the characters. The nineteenth century was one of progressive transience, especially for women who forged a new identity for themselves. Literature was a vital mouthpiece f or their miseries. Jane Austen takes a strong jibe at the existing patriarchy under the more dulcet tones of feminine affairs like love, courtships, gossip and bitchery.Austen’s protagonist Elizabeth Bennet is the second of five sisters in the Bennet family. Out of all her sisters, Elizabeth is the only one who exhibits a bent of mind that was rational and somewhat gumptious. Her principal concerns in life were not winning the affections of wealthy men in order to find herself a suitable match. Austen penned ‘Pride and Prejudice’ much prior to the time referred to as the age of New Woman Fiction and yet her writing is a powerful satire on the position of women in society and how this position limited their viewpoint to petty affairs.A good instance of this is the character of Mrs. Bennet or even Lady Catherine De Bourgh. Jane Austen explores various facets of the middle class society of nineteenth century England, successfully giving a panoptic view of the preval ent social mores and mindsets, especially those pertaining to the status of women. The different characters in her novel render a variegated purview of feminist notions. The Character of Mrs. Bennet and Austen’s Satirical Critique From the opening lines of the story Mrs. Bennet is put forth as a dominating, albeit directing, force in the Bennet household.Her very first dialogue with Mr. Bennet, wherein she tries to convince him to meet Mr. Bingley, a man of a fortune as handsome as his appearance, to try and fix a match for one of their daughters, is evident of her mindset. Her scope of interests in life is limited only to the stable marital settlement of her five daughters. Her husband is not of much interest to the reader because of his almost insipid outlook of affairs. Mrs. Bennet inspite of her condescending and parochial behavior is a multi dimensional character, interesting readers very much.Her outragous schemes to send Jane on horseback to Netherfield so as to make h er contract a cold to extend her stay at the Bingleys’ home, manage to shock those who believe in subtlety. Some critics have also referred to Mrs. Bennet as vulgar, a term too extreme for our times. However back then it probably had the connotation of something that was socially hideous. Mrs Bennet is also a prototype of how the women, repressed by society, had stopped striving for social and intellectual advancement. Mrs Bennet’s mental horizons are extremely narrow and she is not ashamed of this fact. Rather she is voluble, to an annoying extent.Mrs Bennet is unable to meet the parameters of decent conduct and behaviour as illustrated in many instances throughout the story. Mr. Bingley’s sisters are extremely repelled by her brash outspokenness, so much so that they use it as a means to break off Mr. Bingley’s association with Jane. Mrs. Bennet also displays an almost obnoxious double standard towards Charlotte Lucas, a very close friend of Elizabeth, by demeaning her appearance in front of her daughters and also Mr. Bingley. However Mrs. Bennet also exhibits some positively feminine inclinations in the course of the novel.One such instance can be her complete disdain for the fact that despite having five daughters, their estate should be inherited by Mr Collins, a complete stranger. Austen makes remarkable use of wit and sarcasm to impersonate Mrs. Bennet. Her novels use comic fiction as a chief means of exploring the individualisation of women’s lives and the revolution in the relation of the sexes at the beginning of the 19th century. Heroine Centric Novels Almost all of Jane Austen’s works feature a female protagonist and most of the other characters are women with a miscellenia of personalities.Austen’s heroines are free spirited young women who have a wide horizon of interests, be it Emma Woodhouse (Emma), Catherine Morland (Northanger Abbey), Marianne (Sense and Sensibility) or Elizabeth Bennet (Pride and Prejudice). In all of these novels the heroine is shown to have her own subjectivity and opinions of life, rather than play a restricted role in the background of the plot. Austen’s stories portray women and the problems faced by them in their daily life through a union of comic and moral indignation. Robert M Polhemus writes, Austen was disposed through comic license to ridicule the inadequacies and constraints of her society. † Through a lens of satire, Austen gave a candid view of the existing social, financial and sexual hierarchies in the middle class landed gentry of eighteenth century England. Women are a prime focus in all her stories and their methods of dealing with situations relating to love, marriage, family, inheritance and courtships. Virginia Woolf once said, â€Å"Austen’s characters are so rounded and substantial that people treat them as if they are ‘living people’. † The heroines in the novels had enough agency to exerc ise their will.They overcame obstacles very modernisitically. In the novel ‘Pride and Prejudice’, the social world of Elizabeth, is scrupulously described, but within these limitations, the heroine as well as the hero, Mr. Darcy are allowed to achieve self expression. Love and marriage for them signify the control of egoism and misperception and the regenerative merging of the self with the ongoing community. With their earnest tone, clear narrative line, contemporary settings, drama and pathos, Jane Austen’s writings become a persuasive communicator of significant beliefs and values.Elizabeth Bennet is a vivacious young woman who, inspite of living in a society that curtailed the thoughts and actions of the fairer sex, lived freely and almost on her own terms. Her opinions of people and situations are rational and her sense of judgement is almost always sound. She possesses not only intelligence but is also sharp and has a great presence of mind. She reads books , plays the piano and loves walking in the outdoors, an act deeply condemned by Mrs Bennet as well as the Bingley sisters as not ladylike. However these attributes endear her even more to Mr. Darcy.Rachel Trickett, in her essay ‘Manners and Society’, writes â€Å"Jane Austen singles out the snobbery and limitation to censure it. She is the enemy of any kind of distinction that fails to take into account personal merit, worth and intelligence. † Elizabeth has clarity of thought and farsightedness that helps her to see things in the right perspective. Early in the novel she is depicted as being arrogant of her wit and her accuracy in judging the social behaviour and intentions. She believes not in a marriage of economic convenience, but in a marriage that is a result of love.Her acuity and sharpness is much admired by her friends, acquaintances and men who look to court her. However Elizabeth’s quickness also sometimes leads her to misunderstand the actions of others, like in the case of Mr. Wickham’s opnions of Mr. Darcy which are dispelled after she receives Darcy’s self explainatory letter, following his first proposal of marriage to her. Through Elizabeth, Austen tries to promote the image of a sovereign identity of a woman who is as subjective as her male counterparts. Narrative style used to convey feminist themeThe novel in some instances does objectify men, though in obvious humour. This is hinted in the opening lines of the story, â€Å"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife. However little known the feelings or views of such a man may be on his first entering a neighbourhood, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the surrouding families, that he is considered the rightful property of some one or other of their daughters. † The author gives an exhaustive overview of each character’s mindset, adhering to no stereotypes. The man and the woman are treated equally, the description of their human psyche not influenced by any sexual convention. Their characteristic virtues and shortfalls are viewed through an objective lens. Mr. Darcy’s disposition isn’t perfect, nor is Elizabeth’s. If Mrs. Bennet is shown to be an annoying, domineering figure then Mr. Bennet’s sarcasm and witty remarks are equated with almost indifference. Jane’s kindness is sometimes over-the-top and in many instances harms her own situation rather than helping her. Charlotte Lucas’ marriage of convenience to Mr. Collins doesn’t turn out to be exactly as comfortable as she had imagined.From the above examples, one may say that Austen’s narrative style is lucidly analytical of personal psyches, interpersonal relationships and social mores. The heroine is a woman of substance, not bowing to set patterns of society. The strings of relationships are drawn and managed by her while the men, though attractive in their characterization are usually arranged in the backdrop. Jane Austen cannot be called a feminist openly, because she never ventured into this foray directly. Rather, her works contain her feminist recollections running collateral to the story, which can be easily enough interpreted.Austen’s writings cannot be termed as a feminist rhetoric because they positively lean towards a humourous critical overview of the prevalent attitude towards women in the middle classes of England and the usual perception one had of them. Austen’s representation of the characters and incidents in familiar context to the readers made their acquaintance with her feminist impartations more intimate. One could connect and emapathise with the characters due to their individuality and familiar spirit. Elizabeth Bennet could easily be imagined as one’s own sister, friend or neighbour.Thorugh the novel, Austen doesn’t disgrace any character for cutting t hrough conventions. For instance, frivoulous Lydia is finally honourably united to Wickham. By the mores of her own society, Lydia must, and it turns out to be no great embarrassment or humiliation to either party. Their fate is that they deserve each other and are completely unabashed by their mutual unworthiness (a very different conclusion from the conventional fate of the ruined girl in the late- eighteenth-century novel and a comic reversal of the expected and entirely typical of Jane Austen’s realism.Jane Austen’s own childhood and upbringing indicates that despite rigid codes of manners in the conduct of everyday life, the education and sphere of action of a young woman of the time was considerably less restricted. Her writings denounce the objectification of women for social dissection and analysis. Arnold Kettle, in his 1951 essay on ‘Emma’, saw Jane Austen’s highly critical concern over the fate of women in her society as a â€Å"positive vibration†. Austen showed a clear and commitment to the rational principle on which women of the Enlightenment based their case.Many parallels have been drawn between Elizabeth Bennet and Jane Austen herself, illustrating the positively feminine and rational side of the author. In a Victorian social structure that had incorporated an idealized version of femininity, repressing the woman figure into the margins, Austen’s fresh approach to regarding women in a progressive light, through literature has been widely acknowledged and appreciated. She is very often referred to as the most loved feminists of all time. In Pride and Prejudice Elizabeth Bennet breathes life into a new perception of a New Woman.BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Grey, J. David ed. The Jane Austen Handbook ( London, 1986) 2. Southam, B. C. ed Jane Austen- The Critical Heritage (London and New York, 1968) 3. Watt, Ian â€Å"Introduction to Jane Austen- A Collection of critical essays† (Englewood Cliffs. N. J. , 1963) 4. Luria, Gina The Feminist Controversy in England (New York, 1972) 5. Kirkham, Margaret Jane Austen, Feminism and Fiction (London, 1982) 6. Harman, Clare Jane’s Fame, How Jane Austen Conquered the World (Edinburgh, 2009)

Abnormal psychology/depression Essay

Serotonin – A neurotransmitter involved in mood, sleep, appetite, and impulsive and aggressive behaviour. Definitions taken from www. allpsyc. com/dictionary If a person’s serotonin is too low it then results in depression. All three neurotransmitters must work together on an even level in order for the brain to function properly. It has been proven through autopsy results that low serotonin is apparent in a depressed person. However, this does not prove weather depression causes the serotonin level to drop or if low serotonin causes depression. Sigmund Freud described depression as a human response to loss. The psychodynamic approach to depression explains that the feelings of an adult reflect on the experiences of a child. If for example a child suffers the loss of their mother during childhood, this results in adult depression. Freud also argued that depression relates to early relationships with parents. Hostile feelings towards the parents are redirected towards the self resulting in hatred of the self. Feelings of depression can arise from lack of affection and love during childhood. Trauma of a child re-emerges in adulthood in the form of depression. According to Freud, the conscious and unconscious parts of the mind can come into conflict with one another, producing phenomena called repression (a state where you are unaware of having certain troubling motives, wishes or desires but they influence you negatively just the same). In general, psychodynamic theories suggest that a person must successfully resolve early developmental conflict in order to overcome repression and achieve mental health. Mental illness, on the other hand, is a failure to resolve these conflicts. Abraham in 1911 suggested that depression was the result of the anger felt towards a rejected loved one. The psychodynamic approach to depression is supported by the point that childhood loss predicts later vulnerability to depression. A cognitive approach to depression, suggest that depression is a state of mind. A person becomes depressed because of the way they think and feel. Cognitive – behaviour theory is different to that of Seligman and Abramson’s ‘hopelessness theory’ which suggests that people learn from childhood that they are powerless to control what becomes of them, as a result adults become passive and helpless. Beck in 1991 developed the cognitive – behavioural theory of depression. He argued that depression stems from negative thinking. â€Å"Depressed people suffer from a cognitive triad of negative beliefs about themselves, their future and their past experiences. † Giles B (2002:108) A cognitive triad of negative thinking: A negative view of the self A negative view of the world A negative view of the future Beck suggested that people who are prone to depression have developed a ‘self-critical’ and negative way of thinking and feeling towards themselves. Beck believes that negative thinking starts in childhood and is a result of been brought up by critical negative parents with whom the child identifies. Beck suggested that as a result of these early experiences the child develops into adulthood with a negative self schema. Both cognitive and psychodynamic approaches to depression suggest the childhood experience is the route of depression. Freud’s theory suggests that depression is a result of the loss of a mother or perhaps a negative upbringing, Beck suggested almost the same as he suggested that a negative family encourages a person to become depressed. Both theories’ hold the majority of responsibility on the upbringing of a child. However, if this as the case, all children in negative households would then become depressed. Freud’s research on depression was limited due to the year of study. At the time in history it was the norm for a family to be cared for by the mother. This is not always the case in today’s society, given this would children having suffered the loss of a father also suffer depression in adulthood. Biological theories do appear to have an influence on depression. Twin studies and family studies do demonstrate likelihood that depression is genetic. However, genes alone do not cause depression; if this was the case then every child born into a depressive family would there for become depressed. This suggests that depression does have a link with genetics but it also needs other aspects to initiate depression. Beck’s theory of depression has it’s strengths as it is supported by a large amount of research indicating that depression is in fact influenced by negative thinking. However, is negative thinking the cause of depression or is it depression that causes a person to think negatively? If depression causes a person to think negatively is it then that depression is a result of chemical conflict? Serotonin levels must remain on an even level to enable a person’s mood to stay stable. Serotonin levels drop in that of a depressed person. Yet it is unknown whether a low serotonin level causes depression or weather depression causes a low serotonin level. It remains unknown weather depression is in fact a result of biological factors or psychological factors. Each person suffers from depression in their own way. There is evidence to suggest that depression runs in families, but a family free from depression can have a depressed person amongst them. A happy family home, with two loving parents can also have a depressed child. In conclusion to this assignment, what causes depression? Given the research , evidence and the limitations of the theories surrounding depression it becomes fair to say that depression holds many reasons and is not only influenced by one factor and can in fact be a result of many. 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