Dietary Supplement Essay Example for Free

Dietary Supplement Essay Taking any kind of supplements can also be a type of complementary or alternative medicine. The U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) do not regulate dietary supplements in the same way that it regulates medicine. A dietary supplement can be sold without research on how well it works. The benefit of taking dietary supplements is that they are designed to augment your daily intake of nutrients. Normally, you should be able to get all the nutrients you need from a well balanced diet. However, taking supplements can provide additional nutrients when your diet is lacking or when certain health conditions cause you to develop an insufficiency or deficiency. Multiple-vitamin supplements provide all the basic vitamins and minerals your body needs. These vitamins are generally safe because they only contain small amounts of each nutrient. Individual nutrients can also be sold as a dietary supplement, but in larger amounts than what’s found in a typical multiple-vitamin. These supplements may be used to treat a simple deficiency, such as an iron deficiency, but sometimes they’re used therapeutically to treat specific health conditions or risk factors. For example, large doses of niacin may be used to raise good cholesterol, and folic acid has been used to reduce the risk of a birth defect called spina bifida. The risk of taking dietary supplements is that some contain active ingredients that have strong biological effects in the body. This could make them unsafe in some situations and hurt or even complicate your health. Using dietary supplements could lead to harmful and even life-threatening consequences such as using supplements with medications whether prescription or over the counter and substituting them for prescriptions medicines. Taking too much of some of these supplements, such as vitamin A, vitamin D, and iron. Some supplements can also have unwanted effects before, during, and after surgery. Always inform your health care provider, including your pharmacist about any supplements your taking especially before surgery. The FDA regulates both finished dietary supplement products and dietary ingredients under a different set of regulation than those covering â€Å"conventional† foods and drug products (prescription and Over-the-counter). Under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA), the dietary supplement or dietary ingredient manufacturer is responsible for ensuring that a dietary supplement or ingredient is safe before it is marketed. FDA is responsible for taking action against any unsafe dietary supplement product after it reaches the market. Manufacturers are required to produce dietary supplements to minimum quality standards and ensure that they do not contain any contaminants or impurities, and are accurately labeled. Generally, manufacturers do not need to register their products with FDA nor get approval before producing or selling dietary supplements. Manufacturers must make sure that product label information is truthful and not misleading. The manufacturers are required to report all serious dietary supplement related adverse events or illnesses to the FDA as of December 2007. The FDA can take dietary supplements off the market if they are found to be unsafe, adulterated, or if the claims on the products are false and misleading. Folic acid is a type of B vitamin that is normally found in foods such as dried beans, peas, lentils, oranges, whole-wheat products, liver, asparagus, beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and spinach. Folic acid is used for preventing and treating low blood levels of folic acid as well as its complications, including â€Å"tired blood’ (anemia) and the inability of the bowel to absorb nutrients properly. Folic acid is also used for other conditions commonly associated with folic acid deficiency, including ulcerative colitis, liver disease, alcoholism, and kidney dialysis. Women who are pregnant or might become pregnant take folic acid to prevent miscarriage and birth defects such as spina bifida that occur when the fetus’s spine and back don’t close during development. Folic acid is likely safe for most people. Most adults do not experience an aide effects when consuming the recommended amount each day, which is 400 mcg. High doses of folic acid might cause abdominal cramps, diarrhea, rash, sleep disorders, irritability, confusion, nausea, stomach upset, behaviors changes, skin reactions, seizures, gas, and excitability. There is some concern that taking too much folic acid for a long period of time might cause serious side effects. Some research suggests that taking folic acid in doses of 800-1200 mcg might increase the risk of heart attack in people who have heart problems. Other research suggests that taking these high doses might also increase the risk of cancer such as lung or prostate cancer. For folic acid deficiency: the typical dose is 250-1000 mcg per day. For preventing neural tube defects: at least 400 mcg of folic acid per day from supplements or fortified food should be taken by women capable of becoming pregnant and continued through the first month of pregnancy. Women with a history of previous pregnancy complicated by neural tude defects usually take 4 mg per day beginning one month before and continuing for three months after conception. References: www. nih. gov/medlineplus/dietarysupplements www. wedmd. com/dietarysupplements www. fda. gov/food/dietarysupplements

Functions Of Higher Education Education Essay

Functions Of Higher Education Education Essay The term higher education is usually used to distinguish courses of study, which result in the award of a degree, Diploma or similar advanced qualification, for various kinds of further education (Lawton and Gordon. 1993). Higher education constitutes the stage of education which starts after 15 years of schooling for the intellectual work and advanced training of students for their effective leadership role in all walks of national life. Tertiary education level is higher than that attainable on completion of a full secondary education. An accepted definition of higher education is that higher education requires as minimum requirements for admission, the successful completion of secondary education or evidence of the acquisition of an equivalent level of knowledge (Terry and Thomas, 1979). Higher education includes all education above level of the secondary school given in Colleges, Universities Graduate Schools, Professional Schools, Technical Colleges and Normal Schools (Good, 1973). Higher education is simply the highest part of the education system, in terms of students progression, the acquisition of education qualifications, its status and its influence over the rest of the educational system. Higher education is said to impart the deepest understanding in the minds of students, rather than the relatively superficial grasp that might be acceptable elsewhere in the system. In higher education, nothing can be taken on trust and the students have to think for themselves so as to be able to stand on their own feet, intellectually speaking (Barnett, 1997). Higher education is thought to advance students to the frontiers of knowledge through their being taught by those who are working in that difficult territory. Sanyal (1982) says that in order to achieve the new international order, there is the need for integrating socio-economic policies with educational policies in each country, as stronger co-operation amongst the third world countries in field of higher education. Development of higher education should not only be contingent upon economic development to achieve the new international order but should promote the development of culture in view often fact that role of science and technology, the life-style and the very sense and value of life under-go changes in the future. Objectives of higher education All over the world the universities are recognised as centres of higher learning, which are considered as expedient agents of development in the nation building. Universities generate, disseminate and utilise knowledge. As primary contributors to economic growth, they produce scientists, engineers, professionals, technicians, scholars, managers and men of exquisite capabilities. The aim of higher education is to meet the socio-cultural and developmental needs of a country. Higher education provides an opportunity for individuals to develop their potential. It fulfils the needs for high-level manpower in a society. Its objectives include cultural and material development. It produces individuals who are morally sound and capable of multifarious roles in the society. It is a medium and vehicle for achieving an objective of higher vision, should endeavours, with commitment and larger spending, in higher education (Govt. Of Pakistan, 1999). A countrys social and economic development depends on the nature and level of higher education. This fact is revealed by the statements and findings concluded by the prominent educationists and decision-makers. In the developed countries, the role of higher education in production of high quality human capital is quite evident. The Governor of the State of Kentucky, Paul Patten, once said, I have staked my success as governor on changing the way we deliver higher education to our people. Education and economic development are the twin rails that will lead us to a higher plateau and help us achieve our goal of raising the standard of living in our state. My experience in creating jobs, as the secretary of the economic development, during my term as lieutenant governor, has helped me focus on the needs of our businesses. Those businesses are the customers of our product: the graduates in higher education. Increased technology and global competition demand that we develop our students s kills and mental capacity so they can share in the tremendous prosperity of our nation. He further emphasized on the quality of higher education and the need for its improvement. He commented, higher education is in trouble. The warning signs could not be clear. Its users (students and families) think it charges a premium price for an increasingly mediocre service. Its primary suppliers (secondary schools) often fail to deliver material that meets minimum standards, and its beneficiaries (employers) often are frustrated by the quality of the finished product (McGill,1992). Quality of higher education The quality of higher education may be enhanced through providing proper professional training to the teachers by revising the existing curricula. Higher education is the most important level of education because it develops the manpower for the country that leads the nation in giving insight into its future ideals, resources, problems, and its solutions. The future of a nation depends largely on the quality of people groomed in the institution of higher education. Students experiences of their learning and the teaching in the subjects they are studying are one of the more ubiquitous sources of information about the quality of teaching for institutions and individual academics. The question of the quality is directly related to the quality of educators, students and the infrastructure provided to them by the educational institutions. The level of competency of teachers, curricula and the standards of students intake are the factors that contributes the most, in the deteriorating quality of higher education. Nevertheless inappropriate funding for student support services, libraries, journals, books, ill equipped laboratories and lack of repair facilities for equipment and non qualified staff are crucial factors in education. Salaries and other allowances consume the university budget, thus, little is left for the items so essential for raising the quality of education. Budgetary constraints, particularly for operation, adversely affect the quality of teaching, especially practical training. While at the level of the institution student: staff ratios (SSRs) may seem to be an inevitable consequence of funding levels, institutions in practice spend funds on buildings, on administration, on central services, on marketing, on teachers undertaking research, and so on, to very varying extents, rather than spending it all on teaching time. Low SSRs offer the potential to arrange educational practices that are known to improve educational outcomes. First, close contact with teachers is a good predictor of educational outcomes (Pascarella and Terenzini, 2005) and close contact is more easily possible when there are not too many students for each teacher to make close contact with. Second, the volume, quality and timeliness of teachers feedback on students assignments are also good predictors of educational outcomes and again this requires that teachers do not have so many assignments to mark that they cannot provide enough, high-quality feedback, promptly. A gain, low SSRs do not guarantee good feedback or feedback from experienced teachers. Meta-analysis of large numbers of studies of class-size effects has shown that the more students there are in a class, the lower the level of student achievement (Glass and Smith, 1978, 1979). Other important variables are also negatively affected by class size, such as the quality of the educational process in class (what teachers do), the quality of the physical learning environment, the extent to which student attitudes are positive and the extent of them exhibiting behaviour conducive to learning (Smith and Glass, 1979). These negative class-size effects are greatest for younger students and smallest for students 18 or over (ibid.), but the effects are still quite substantial in higher education. Lindsay and Paton-Saltzberg (1987) found in an English polytechnic that the probability of gaining an A grade is less than half in a module enrolling 50-60 than it is in a module enrolling less than 20. Large classes have negative effects not only on performance but also on the quality o f student engagement: students are more likely to adopt a surface approach in a large class (Lucas et al., 1996) and so to only try to memorise rather than attempt to understand. The number of class contact hours has very little to do with educational quality, independently of what happens in those hours, what the pedagogical model is, and what the consequences are for the quantity and quality of independent study hours. Independent study hours, to a large extent, reflect class contact hours: if there is less teaching then students study more and if there is more teaching students study less, making up total hours to similar totals regardless of the ratio of teaching to study hours (Vos, 1991). However, some pedagogic systems use class contact in ways that are very much more effective than others at generating effective independent study hours. A review of data from a number of studies by Gardiner (1997) found an average of only 0.7 hours of out-of-class studying for each hour in class, in US colleges. I n contrast each hour of the University of Oxfords tutorials generate on average 11 hours of independent study (Trigwell and Ashwin, 2004). Teachers who have teaching qualifications (normally a Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education, or something similar) have been found to be rated more highly by their students than teachers who have no such qualification (Nasr et al., 1996). This finding was in a context where obtaining such a qualification was largely voluntary, and those who have the qualification might be considered to be different in some way from those who have not, and this could be argued to invalidate the comparison. The difference might concern the extent of professionalism or commitment to teaching, but nevertheless there was no control group in the study. A longitudinal study that overcomes this objection has examined the impact over time on students ratings of their teachers, and on teachers thinking about teaching, of (mainly) compulsory initial training during their first year of university teaching, in eight countries. It found improvements on every scale of the Student E valuation of Educational Q uality, a questionnaire developed in the US (Marsh, 1982) and tested for use in the U K (Coffey and Gibbs, 2000), and improvements in the sophistication of teachers thinking (as measured by the Approaches to Teaching Inventory, a measure of teaching that predicts the quality of student learning, Trigwell et al., 2004). This improvement in measures of teaching quality could not be attributed to mere maturation or experience as teachers in a control group in institutions without any initial training were found to get worse over their first year, on the same measures (Gibbs and Coffey, 2004). Functions of higher education The capacity of a nation to develop economically, socially, politically and culturally derives largely from the power to develop and utilise the capabilities of its people. Higher education thus is considered sine qua non of national development, for it produces the highest level of manpower. In all advanced countries, the universities constitute the main spring of human capital. The most successful discharge of the universities role as a change agent is in the area of science and technology. The training of high-level scientific manpower is a matter of vital national concern. Higher education is today recognised as a capital investment in education. It is considered investment of human capital which increases labour productivity furthers technological innovation and produces a rate of return markedly higher than that of physical capital. Today we find the world divided into developed and developing countries. The dividing line between them is the capacity of educational and scientific attainments and its application for economic progress and prosperity (The World Bank, 1990). In modern times, higher education is considered as a means of human resource development in a society. In advanced countries, universities constitute the main spring of knowledge, ideas and innovations. Today, the most successful discharge of a university as an agent of change is in the area of science and technology. The priming and grooming of high-level professional manpower is a matter of vital concern. As a pathway to socio-economic development in a country, higher education cannot be ignored or given low priority. Higher education in a state of rapid development everywhere in the world as its benefits to the social, economic and cultural life of different communities is realisable. This has led to worldwide exponential expansion of universities and colleges; as many more people are encouraged remaining in education. However there are problems. First, higher education is expensive, and its expansion requires ample resources. Second, rapid expansion raises problems of quality ass urance and control, as increased numbers could so easily lead to a decline in standards. Third, expansion in the developing world often draws upon the resources, ideas and expertise of the developed world, even though these may not always be appropriate for every different economic and social system (North, 1997). Higher education plays an important role in the development of society. Universities for centuries had a crucial role in educating the potential professionals, businessmen, political leaders, religious and social philosophers, who serve the community, enrich its values and develop its resources. Universities are complex organisations with multiple missions and a myriad of roles. A university has the roles of providing of theoretical education and professional training, a developer and a disseminator of new knowledge, a catalyst to shape the practice of management and business and a contributor to the community and the national economy (Khurshid, 1998).

Status Of Languages In Mauritius English Language Essay

Status Of Languages In Mauritius English Language Essay The study of this dissertation is based on the use of modern technology in the teaching and learning process at secondary level education. Being a language teacher (French language), I have focused my study on language classes being conducted in a technology-based environment, also known as a Language Laboratory. This dissertation will seek to evaluate the use and the effectiveness of a language laboratory to teach second languages such as English and French languages in Mauritian secondary schools. It is a comparative study between the St. Andrews School, situated at Rose-Hill, which is equipped with a language lab and the Vacoas SSS (Girls) which represents the classical classroom method of teaching languages. 1.1 BACKGROUND: STATUS OF LANGUAGES IN MAURITIUS In the official website of the Government of Mauritius, the status of languages in Mauritius is described as follows: English is the official language. French is extensively used and Creole is widely spoken. Asian languages also form part of the linguistic mosaic. (Government portal of Mauritius 2012) However, when unfolding the above-mentioned description of the linguistic situation in Mauritius, we will see that it is not that simple, due to its complex history of immigration and colonization. 1.1.1 COLONIAL HISTORY OF MAURITIUS The colonial history of Mauritius is the root cause of our multiethnic and multilingual society. It all started with the Arab and then Portugese sailors who are believed to have visited our island in the early XVIth century. Between 1590 and 1710, the Dutch colonized the island and their main activity was the exportation of ebony wood. For this purpose, they brought several Malagasy slaves in Mauritius. However they have not made major developments apart from the introduction of sugar cane, domestic animals and deer. In 1715, Mauritius became a french colony and it has been extensively developped especially when Mahà © de Labourdonnais governed the country as from 1735. Many slaves were imported mostly from Africa and Madagascar and a few Indians came from Coromanddel and Malabar Coast. Other French governors continued the development of the island until 1810 when the British took over. However, they decided to preserve the laws, customs, language, religion and property, that is, the civil and judicial administration of the island as it was during the French reign. During the English colony, sugar production increased to become a major foreign income earner, thus leading to economic progress which called for the expansion and development of means of communication and appropriate infrastructure. All these development necessitated the importation of more slaves from Africa and Madagascar. However in 1835 the abolition of slavery brought major changes in the island on the socio-economic and demographic fields. A large number of indentured laborer from different parts in India were coming to Mauritius to work in the sugar cane fields and later a small number of Chinese traders joined them in the island. In 1907 the immigration ceased, however many Indians had already settled permanently in the island and as a matter of fact they formed the majority of the population. The gathering of a mosaic of people from India, China, Africa and Europe lead to a process of hybridization and intercultural frictions and dialogues. In 1959, voting took place for the first time on the basis of universal adult suffrage and the number of electors rose to 208,684. In 1968 Mauritius gained its independence. (Government protal of Mauritius 2012) 1.1.2 ACTUAL LINGUISTIC SITUATION OF MAURITIUS Today the population of Mauritius is more than 1.2 million people, which consists of 68% Indo-Mauritians (Hindus and Muslims), 27% Creole (Af ro-Mauritians and mixed population), 3% Sino-Mauritians and 2% Franco-Mauritians (CIA, 2008). Rajah-Carrim (2005) has identified eleven main languages actually used in Mauritius and she further classified them into three categories: colonial languages (English and French) and language of everyday communication (Creole), and ancestral languages (Indian and Chinese languages) which are used on limited occasions. Mahadeo (2004) explains the linguistic situation of Mauritius in these terms : Given the number of languages (at least 12) used by different ethnic groups in an island with a population which now exceeds 1.2 million people and an area of 720 square miles, Mauritius presents an extreme case of individual multilingualism According to Chiba (2006), Mauritius is the most linguistically fashionable place on the planet. Mauritian swap languages depending on the circumstances, in the same way as others change clothes. He further illustrated his point of view with the following example: Over the course of a day a typical Mauritian might use English to write a school essay, Kreol Morisien to chat with friends, French to read a novel and Bhojpuri to spend a quiet evening with the family. Chiba (2006) then classified the use of the major languages as follows: Home: Kreol and Bhojpuri Government and schools: English Business: French and Kreol Literature, newspapers and television: French Casual speech: Kreol However Chiba (2006) pointed out that this table is only an overview since French is also often present in government and English is not completely absent in the media. In his Ethnologue: Languages of the world, Lewis (2009) has enumerated the main languages spoken in Mauritius with their respective number of users: English: 3,000 speakers (1993), French: 37,000 speakers, Morisyen: 800,000 speakers (2005), Bhojpuri: 336,000 speakers (2001), Urdu: 64,000 speakers (1993), Hakka Chinese: 35,000 speakers (1990), Tamil: 31,000 speakers (2001), Eastern Panjabi: speakers (1990), Marathi: 11,800 speakers (1990), Telugu: 10,700 speakers (1990) and Gujarati: 3,340 speakers (1990). The main colonial languages used in Mauritius are English, which is the official language and French which is considered as the second and semi-official language and which is widely used in the media and for oral communication. However other languages such as Spanish, Italian and German are also used especially in the sector of education and tourism. The lingua franca of Mauritius is the Kreol Morisyen which is considered by the majority of Mauritians, as their mother tongue. Moreover, this language as acts as a language of unity and many works are being presently carried out to standardise its orthographe and its grammar. The Kreol Morisyen is now present in the education system of Mauritius, at primary level where the students are given the choice to opt for this language or an oriental language. A quite large number of ancestral languages are also present in Mauritius such as Bhojpuri, Hindi, Gujerati, Kutchi, Mandarin, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu and Arabic, but their use are limited to cultural instances. However the Bhojpuri language can be considered as another lingua franca of Mauritius since quite a large number of Mauritians still use it for oral communication. 1.2 AIM The aim of this study is to find out whether the language lab can be considered as a solution to the various language issues faced by Mauritian students, by evaluating its impact in the teaching and learning process of languages at secondary level of education. 1.3 OBJECTIVES The set objectives of this study are to evaluate: 1. The level of improvement, if any, in the language competencies of the students with the language laboratory 2. The students level of comfort and ease in a language lab, a modern class setting and with modern learning tools. 3. The students level of motivation, interest and response in language laboratory classes. 4. The Teachers response, the classroom management and the classroom atmosphere in a language lab. 5. A comparison between language classes in a language lab and language classes in a traditional language class. 1.4 PROBLEM STATEMENT Mauritians are considered bilingual; we can communicate in both English and French languages. Even if Mauritians use the Creole language to communicate orally, English is the official language in Mauritius and French is considered as a semi-official language in Mauritius. Both these languages are taught in primary schools as compulsory subjects alongside the Mauritian Kreol and some oriental languages which are optional subjects. In secondary schools, English and French languages are core compulsory subjects from the Form I till the School certificate classes and they are taught as second languages and not foreign languages. Thus we can say that all Mauritian students study English and French languages since the age of 5 or 6 yrs old, but still at the end of the secondary education, few of us can have a proper conversation or can write a letter without grammatical errors in these languages. A precise analysis of the statistics, published by Mauritius Examination Syndicate MES on the pass rate of Mauritian students, clearly shows that the level of Mauritian students in English and French is low. Even though the percentage pass is high, quality-wise the results are not good. (MES, 2011) There are various factors which can explain this problem and the main reasons are: the lack of motivation of the students in language classes, the lack of exposure to the languages, contact with other languages, the decline of the reading culture, the language subjects being considered as less important subjects and the exam oriented syllabus among others. This research will thus propose an alternative way of conducting language classes, namely using the language laboratory. It will try to measure its effectiveness, efficiency and relevance and whether it can be considered as a solution to the above mentioned problem. 1.5 RESEARCH QUESTIONS According to the objectives of the study, the research questions have been formulated as follows: 1. What are the language issues in the teaching and learning process of second languages in Mauritius? 2. What are the roles of modern technology in language classes and to what extent can technology be a remedy to these issues? 3. What is a language laboratory and what is its impact in a secondary school? 4. What is the students and teachers response in a language laboratory which is a modern class setting with modern teaching and learning tools? 5. To what extent can the students compare this modern language class with their traditional language classes? 6. Have the teachers and the students noticed an improvement in their language competencies with the language laboratories? If yes, which specific domain(s) of their language competencies have been improved? (E.g. grammar, pronunciation, vocabularies, reading, writing, spelling, fluencyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦)

1950s :: American America History

1950's The 1950's were quite radical in fact, this is the decade that began rock n' roll, the civil rights movement, better family living, advances in technology, Fashion, medical research, other wonderful things this country was not used to seeing or hearing. The 1950's were looked at more as a state of mind or a way of living rather than just another decade or time era in American history. Everything was peaceful now, which looking back on the two world wars and the great depression this country was not used to at all. Nobody worried about war, nobody worried about how they were going to feed their children and keep a roof over their heads because everyone had jobs and the economy was doing great. (Edey, Maitlanded.57) Teenagers were having more fun than ever too. Rock n' roll was introduced to them and they all seemed at the time to know what they wanted out of life, to go to school, graduate, get a job, get married, and have children all in that order just as their parents had. (Clayton , Andrew.24) The 1950's were the most influential decade in American history because the civil rights act began, fashion was completely new and trendy, there were much advancement in entertainment and medicine, and suburban life was much more "functional" than any other decade in American history. One reason the 1950's were the most influential decade in American history is because rock and roll was introduced to the country and it let people forget about their morals for a while and just let loose to have fun. (Pareles, John.3) Elvis Presley was quite the king of rock and roll, with songs like hound dog, don't be cruel, and love me tender and ready teddy Elvis lit up the stage. ("Elvis Presley-Biographical Timeline-The Fifties") Elvis was born on January 8th 1935. He purchased his first guitar in 1946 for $12.95 at the local hardware store. In 1954 Sam Phillips teams Elvis up with local musicians Scotty Moore (guitar) and Bill Black (bass). By November of 1955 Elvis had signed his first record contract with RCA His contract was for $40,000, and a $5,000 signing bonus for Elvis. In April of 1956Elvis signed a seven-year movie contract with Hal Wallace and Paramount Pictures. The most famous film Elvis came out with ; Jailhouse Rock came out in May of 1957. This is the film tha t really helped Elvis launch his career.

Comparing Plato and Aristotle Essay -- Philosophy

Comparing Plato and Socrates Plato was among the most important and creative thinkers of the ancient world. He was born in Athens in 428 BC to an aristocratic and well-off family. Even as a young child Plato was familiar with political life because his father, Ariston was the last king of Athens. Ariston died when Plato was a young boy. However, the excessive Athenian political life, which was under the oligarchical rule of the Thirty Tyrants and the restored democracy, seem to have forced him to give up any ambitions of political life. In 388 BC he journeyed to Italy and Sicily, where he became the friend of Dionysius the ruler of Syracuse, and his brother-in-law Dion. The following year he returned to Athens, where he devoted his time to research and instruction in philosophy and the sciences. Most of his life thereafter was spent in teaching and guiding these activities. In 347 BC Plato died, while he's published writings all still live. They consist of some 26 dramatic dialogues on philosophy and related the mes. The philosopher Socrates was a close friend of Plato's family as well as his teacher. Plato's writings attest to great influence on him. This could be a good explanation to why Plato uses Socrates to voice his own opinions about his Ideal State. Book I of Plato's Republic, beings with Socrates, Cephalus, Polemarchus and Thrasymachus discussing justice. Each give their own meaning of justice or dikaiosyne. Cephalus says justice is truth telling and debt paying. He views justice this way because he is an honest and just businessman. Polemarchus, who is Cephalus's son, agrees with Cephalus's definition, but continues by saying justice, is giving each his own due. By this he means, helping one's friend. Finally, Thra... ...syche. Aristotle divides the soul into two portions: rational and irrational, and continues to divide the irrational part. Plato divides the soul into three different parts: the appetitive, the honor loving, and the rational loving. The only similarities here are that both philosophers divided the soul into different parts so that each can be examined. Plato and Aristotle were both great philosophers during their time and in the present. Both their works on Ethics have taught many students a great deal and will continue to do so throughout time. Bibliography: Aristotle. Nicomachean Ethics. Hackett Publishing Company, Indianapolis/Cambridge, 1999. Translated by Iwrin, Terence Plato. Republic. Hackett Publishing Company, Indianapolis/Cambridge, 1992. Translated by Grube, G.M.A. Revised by Reeve, C.D.C. www.encyclopida.com www.sparknotes.com

Outline and Evaluate Biological Therapies as Treatments of Depression

Outline and evaluate biological therapies as treatments of depression.There many forms of treatment to cure depression, many of which are biological. These target the physical and chemical side of the body.Anti-depressants and other drugs are the most common forms of treating depression. They work by boosting levels of insufficient neurotransmitters such as serotonin and nor-adrenaline. They will either reduce the amount of re-absorption or block the enzyme that is trying to break down neurotransmitters. Allowing to increase the amount of neurotransmitter available , so that neighbouring cells become excited.Tricyclics are used to block the transporter mechanism that re-absorbs both serotonin and nor-adrenaline into the pre-synaptic cell after it has fired. As a result to this there are more neurotransmitters left in the synapse making the transmission of the next impulse easier.The treatment of depression has three phases which it is to go through, the first being acute in which the treatment of current symptoms takes place. Then it goes into the continuation phase in which the treatment is continued for six months where the medication is gradually withdrawn to prevent relapse. Lastly the maintenance phase which is recommended for individuals who have a reccurent depressive episode.One of the most common anti-depressant drugs used are Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors (SSRI's), these are associated with serotonin which have been found to be involved in depression. The SSRI's will work by stopping the nerve cells from re-absorbing serotonin that has been released into the synapse, which in turn will increase the amount of serotonin available.However SSRI anti-depressants may not be able to treat all forms of depression. Kirsch et al (2008) found that only in the most severe cases of depression there was a significant advantage of using the SSRI. Therefore showing that anti-depressants may not be able to help those with mild or moderate depression.Another type of anti-depressants are mono amine oxidise inhibitors (MAOIs) that work with nor-adrenaline in the synapses. These block the enzyme mono amine oxidise from taking apart noradrenaline, and thus increase the amount of noradrenaline that is available at the synapse. Low levels of noradrenaline in certain areas of the brain has been linked with depression, and so MAOIs are an effective antidepressant.Nonetheless in the case of children and adolescents anti-depressants may fail to work altogether. Hammen (1997) found that anti-depressants appeared to be less useful with children and adolescents than with adults. This could be due to the fact that there are varied developmental differences in their brain neurochemistry and thus equaling to children not being as effected by the anti-depressants. Which may mean that other forms of treatment may need to be considered when treating a depressed child but could and but could also question the overall effectiveness of anti-depressants.Ther e are also safety concerns to do with SSRI's such as an increased use of them may lead to an increase in suicidal thoughts within vulnerable people. Ferguson er al (2005) did a review of studies that found that those in a SSRI condition compared to a placebo condition, are twice as more likely to attempt suicide.This risk however has been found higher amoung adolescents than adults. Suggesting that anti-depressants may in fact be more harmful than beneficial to a depressive individual.Another issue with the treatment of depression is that there may be a misdiagnosis in treatment due to age. Benek-Higgins et al (2008) found that because of the symptoms of depression are masked over by the natural changes in the elderly and their lifestyles. Therefore anti-depressant medication is less likely to be prescribed to them, which may lead to depression in the elderly not being treated at all.It has been found to be harder to treat the elderly also, this is because they are less likely to se ek professional help as they feel that there is a social stigma attached to being â€Å"mentally ill† and do not wish to lose their independence if they are diagnosed. This equals to them not being diagnosed and in turn equalling to them not being treated of their depression.However using a placebo during an experimental treatment may be an ethical issue. As lying to a depressed individual, that they are taking medication to make them better could psychologically make them worse upon learning that they have been lied to. Therefore a thorough debriefing and regular follow-ups will be needed for the individuals.There is also the risk of a publication bias, Turner et al (2008) found as authors have suggested that there is selective publication made to emphasise the positive outcomes of anti-depressant treatments. Drug companies may try to present their drugs as positive even if they aren't. Therefore biased conclusion may lead to inappropriate treatment decisions.Many therapies such as drug therapy are conducted regularly to treat depression but there is no answer on how to measure the effectiveness of them. As how are we meant to know when the patient has been â€Å"cured†, as there is no particular destination that one is trying to get towards. So there is no particular time to measure the effectiveness, whether that be during the therapy or 6 or so months after. Therefore the use of drugs etc may not be as effective as we think, because they do not lead us to a clear cure.Electroconclusive therapy (ECT) involves applying electrodes to a patient's head and passing an electric current through their brain. This will then cause a seizure to occur for a few seconds, but it is not clear as to why ECT works and how. Oxygen is given to the patient during the treatment to compensate for their inability to breathe, and the treatment will be given to the patient three times per week depending on the severity of their depression.It is used in the most severe cases, where a patient is at danger of harming themselves or is extremely suicidal, and anti-depressants and therapy are not having any effect on the the patient. The seizure from the ECT is said to regulate the mood of the patients, which will decrease their depressive episode.Yet there are many side effects to the use of ECT, for example when ECT was first introduced it resulted in injuries such as broken bones, however due to the modern change in treatment and the use of muscle relaxants and the therapy being taken place under anesthetic has decreased the likelihood of injuries. Although memory loss is very likely to follow prior to ECT, it isn't said how long the memory loss may last. Although ECT has been found to be effective to those who have depression the negatives may outweigh the positives to some extent.There is much evidence that supports the effectiveness of ECT, for example Gregory et al (1985) found that in comparison to sham ECT , which is when the patient is not a naesthetised during ECT, have been found to have a significant difference in outcome in favour of the real ECT. Therefore showing that within ECT itself it may be very effective for people with depression.In contrast to anti-depressants, ECT have been shown to be more efficient that anti-depressants, Scott (2004) found that in the short term treatment ECT was better than drug therapy. Which again supports the effectiveness of ECT and how it should be used more often.One way of minimising the cognitive problems that are associated with ECT, which is to use unilateral ECT, where the electrodes are placed only on one side of the skull, rather than the bilateral ECT where the electrodes are placed on both sides of the skull. Studies found that the unilateral is less likely to cause cognitive problems than the bilateral. This shows that to use unilateral ECT would be much more effective than bilateral ECT, and could cause less side effects.A concern with ECT is the consent of the patient s receiving the treatment, the DOH report (1999) found that 59% of 700 patients whom had received ECT admitted to not giving consent to treatment. Even when the patients volunteer to reicieving the treatment there was still an issue with fully informed consent about the side effects. Therefore ECT may not be given to all patients with fully informed consent and could be seen as ethically incorrect.

Neanderthals and Human Evolution Essay

The Neanderthals are an extinct species in the homo genus. They lived during the Pleistocene age. The Neanderthals are believed to have lived in most of Eurasia from 120,000 years ago to about 30,000 years ago. They were a more advanced pre-modern variation of the homo genus. The reason they are viewed as more advanced than other Pre-modern hominids is because they made tools, buried their dead they also lived to around forty years of age. This is quite long compared to their contemporaries. Their tools and artifacts characterize what is known as the Mousterian. To be precise the Neanderthals created flake tools. Tools made by the breakage of flakes of stone off of a larger rock. One example of these are the hand axes and smaller tools with a sharp cutting edge. They were large game hunters who were specially adapted to thrive in the frigid conditions of the middle Pleistocene in Europe. They seem to have originally evolved in Europe at around 250,000 years ago, but latter expanded into southwest Asia. The Neanderthals appear to have been the first hominids who deliberately buried their dead. The graves sometimes included flowers, tools, and food. This could possibly signify a belief in an afterlife. There is also some evidence that they would as a group care for injured or deficient members of their community showing that they had likely had the capacity for compassion. The first Neanderthal remains were discovered in the Neander valley in Germany. The remains show that the Neanderthals were about five feet tall with a stocky and powerful build. While they did have prominent brow ridges and an occipital bun their brain size is comparable to modern day human size. Their population went in to decline and eventually became extinct when the Homo sapiens began to move in to their territory. There are a couple theories on what occurred at this point. One theory is that Homo sapiens either killed off the Neanderthals or took over so much of the land that the Neanderthals couldn’t survive on what was left to them.