The Simple Gift Essay Example for Free

The Simple Gift Essay It’s about Billy, who leaves home aboard a freight train heading interstate. Billy finds himself in Bendarat, living in a disused train carriage, where he meets a homeless man called Old Bill. Old Bill drinks away his past while Billy tries to find a future. The other main character is Caitlin, a girl Billy meets in Bendarat. All three characters are searching for something to give their lives substance. Steve Herricks poetry novel tells the story of a homeless boys quest to find somewhere to belong. After he runs away from an abusive father, Billy lives in an abandoned railway carriage. There he meets another homeless man, Old Bill and starts to understand the nature of belonging. Caitlin, a lonely girl from a rich family, helps him along the way. http://www.stevenherrick.com.au/notes.htm Why did you write the simple gift? I wanted to explore the relationship between a young man and an old man. As adults, we seem to believe that the idea of being an influence works only one way we adults can influence young people for the better. In the book, I wanted to show it working the other way that is, young Billy really being the positive influence, in fact, the catalyst, for Old Bill rejoining the world. I know my two teenage sons are a wonderful positive influence on my own life. It seems to me that the world of young people is becoming increasingly marginalized by mainstream media. As adults, we need to accept, encourage, and indeed, embrace the world of young people. Let’s see the relationship as a priceless two-way street. What is the theme of the simple gift? At the time of writing this book, I was listening to a wonderful folk CD by Bruce Springsteen titled the ghost of Tom Joad. On this CD, there are a few songs about middle-aged men who are searching for something to give their life meaning. The word redemption kept rolling around my head when listening to the songs, and writing this book. That word certainly came into play in how I created the character of Old Bill. The other thing I kept thinking about while writing was the whole notion of gifts what is valuable in our life? How do we measure what is valuable? The notion of the spiritual versus  the material is something that informs a lot of my writing. Anything else you want to tell us about gift One reviewer called Billy an atypical hero, which I thought was interesting. That got me thinking about what is heroic, and how it relates to some of the characters in my other books. I reckon Billy from gift, within the story they do something of great value, that is a little thing give friendship and hope to an old hobo; these simple little things are what I think of as heroic. They are done by ordinary people, in a quiet unobtrusive way, and to commit these acts it requires compassion and love and respect. And they are far more heroic and necessary than any world-record sporting achievement. And they cannot be measured in dollars and cents. the wind and rain hits you in the face with the force of a fathers punch. That was a relatively easy image to think of because Billy was escaping the violence of his home life. Yeah, thats fine, but what about BELONGING!!!!  I think a closer understanding of the notion of each characters search for an identity and for a place in the community theyve constructed would be worthwhile. I also think its fair to say that a search for an identity can be related to the idea of wanting to belong to oneself. That is, the search for a conscience you can live with/inhabit. The use of interior monologues throughout gift can be seen as keeping your own community the conversation with yourself (which is the essence of an interior monologue) is an attempt to understand how you belong both in this world, but more importantly, to your sense of self. The Simple Gift, Stephen Herricks narrative poem demonstrates elements of belonging and acceptance through the pain and suffering of rejection, homelessness and dealing with death by the characters Billy, Caitlin and Old Bill. The protagonist Billy Luckett sixteen years of age ventures into the world; leaving home on his own decision. Billy reveals himself as a  reject, a thief; and a troubled character who rejected a restrictive regimented irrelevant education system. The cause of his alienation appears to be physical and psychological abuse from his father, lack of caring from his school and his run down neglected neighborhood with its â€Å"truck still on blocks† â€Å"unmown grass†, â€Å"broken windows† and which he derisively refers to as â€Å"each deadbeat no hoper sh-thole lonely downtrodden house in Longlands Rd, Nowheresville†. All the symbols pointing to a decaying, decrepit, depressing environment. The school also receives a blast from Billy ’s poisonous pen. Why 4:30? Most schools would have emptied two hours earlier, however the rest of the stanza rings true as Billy sets the scene on a windy rainy day with the Principal’s run down car blowing smoke, the rubbish strewn oval, Mr Cheetam (Cheater?) notes on Japan to 26 bored students and Billy self-described as â€Å"one lucky bastard† admitting to have ‘stolen’ the lipstick used for his graffiti. He leaves an elliptical epithet: Billy Luckett rhymes with revealing his frustration through a loss of words Another evocative portrait is reminiscences in the poem sport in chapter one. The pain and suffering’ of soulless tyranny endured by him from the old bastard his father. This technique of expletive language is used to depict the poor relationship he shared with his father he gave me one backhander I felt the blood† and his attitude toward the world hes living in. Whilst catching a train, uncertain where the train will take him, bad weather, wind and rain recalls the violent significant memory of his father with the forces of a fathers punch. The metaphoric terms further reveal Billys harsh living environment he is seeking to escape. Herrick induces us to feel empathy rather than antagonism to the protagonist. This is accomplished through the intimate use of language, changing perspectives and personal anecdotes. Ernies train whistle symbolises the beginning of Billys new life contrasted favourably by Ernie’s ‘not bossing you around’. His next positive role model is Irene, Bendarat’s Librarian, who welcomes him and encourages him to borrow books. Billy faces many obstacles or challenges in his new environment, such as lack of accommodation and food, because he has no income. An old train carriage becomes the protagonists new accommodation while he feeds off scraps of leftover food at McDonalds where he catches the attention of Caitlin. Another self imposed exile is, Old Bill, who suffers trauma due to  the loss of his daughter Jessie, after an incident of Jessie falling out of a tree. This led Old Bill to ‘homelessness’ as his home reminds him too much of his daughter, which eventually brings him to the streets turning to alcohol to relieve the pain. After this loss, Old Bills pain and suffering that he endured means he doesnt care much about life. Billy and Old Bill developed a friendship and sense of camaraderie as he treats Old Bill as his father figure. I like the kidI like his company contrasts the lack of love and relationship between Billy and his real father. Old Bill’s emotive language as he explained to Billy and I fell with her, and Ive been falling ever since emphasizes hes still not over it. The bond of friendship is important, it emphasizes the strength in ones relationship, yet it doesnt grieve nor boast but helps one another through rough tough times, which is portrayed as Old Bill becomes less alcoholic, and slowly recovers from the loss of his daughter as he experiences life that we planned. Growth in maturity is shown as both of the two protagonists show signs of growth as they help each other. Billys growth is demonstrated as he becomes a different individual from the beginning of the narrative poem showing positive thinking â€Å"sure theres hope in the worldeven for hobos like us. Whilst Old Bills relationship with Billy and Caitlin, Old Bill’s view of the world slowly starts to change, as the protagonist reduces his consumption of alcohol and ventures to achieve plans that were made with Jessie. While Old Bill demonstrates the symbolism of A Simple Gift when he gave his keys to his old home to Caitlin and Billy. Caitlin also feels as a misfit in her affluent society. She feels discomfort in her uniform, her school, and her luxurious home due to a whispering in her heart that it is all false, superficial, affected and pretentious, so she escapes by slumming it, looking for real values to replace the artificial ones in her world. She is attracted to Billy because of his self assurance and his genuine intelligence. It is the interaction between these three characters and the sharing of gifts, coffee and food, that unites them against a cold, callous and uncaring society. As St Francis of Assisi says â€Å"For it is in giving that we receive†. This narrative novel/poem/drama (?) is very successful and appeals to young people. In a recent poll it was voted the best drama in Australia despite the fact that is generally categorised as a narrative poem. It is fairly realistic and  credible though there are parts that stretch the imagination. Caitlin comes across a bit contrived but her portrayal is plausible. There are many reasons for individuals to venture into the world as the text The Simple Gift shows to achieve self-reliance and independence, even so, many individuals personality in life may change as they experience parts of life first hand. Many would like to experience their own mistakes, which is dealt with in texts like â€Å"Ten Things I Hate about You,† Looking for Alibrandi and the Simple Gift yet to find eventually that their perspective was completely opposite. Like most clichà ©s dont judge a book by its cover. The Simple Gift illustrates that gain acceptance from others by uncritically accepting them.

Journals Of Wound Care And Management Nursing Essay

Journals Of Wound Care And Management Nursing Essay The purpose of this study is to give a critical analysis of the Literature, and briefly enumerate the causes, treatment, prevention and the risk factors of Pressure Ulcers (PUs). The process leading to pressure ulcer formation and early detection of individuals who are at risk of developing it for prompt prevention are paramount in this study. Methods: The methods adopted in this dissertation involved various strategies: selecting a review topic and searching the literatures to be used. Gathering, reading and analysing the literatures. It also involved critical examination of the various causes, treatment and preventive measures. Furthermore, it is also intended to find out the various risk factors that could lead to its emergence. On this basis, a number of research articles was examined after which their literatures were critically analysed All the literature searches were undertaken online with the aid of computer and electronic databases. Computer databases are used because they offer access to varieties of information, which could not be obtained manually. Findings and Conclusions: This study went further to find out the effect of age and nutrition on the persistence and spread of presure ulcer. Finally, having given a critical analysis of the literatures, it summarised the findings as well as the various ways to curtail the emergence as well as improving the wellbeing of the patients with essential pressure ulcer, ie, those who by reason of underlying health conditions such as diabetes and catheterized individuals, people with profound learning disability, who could not avoid staying in one position for too long. CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION The impact of pressure ulcers on the quality of life of the people with learning disability cannot be overemphasised, as it can be devastating (Spilsbury et al. 2007; MEP Ltd, 2009; NHS for Scotland, 2009). A pressure ulcer (PU) otherwise known as pressure sore, pressure damage, pressure injuries or bed sore (Spilsbury et al. 2007), is an area of the skin that has become abraded gradually due to a reduction or cessation of blood flowing through that part of the body. It is mainly as a result of continuous maintenance of same position when sitting or lying down for a long period of time, (RCN, 2005). It can also be described as a localised abrasion on the skin or the underlying tissue, in most cases over a bony prominence, due to the pressure or pressure in combination with deformation of the site; this can also be caused by friction. Based on the degree of damage, it can further be defined as partial-thickness of skin loss involving epidermis or dermis; mainly affecting the surface manifesting as a scratch, fluid-filled elevation of the skin or simply as a swollen crater (Lyder, 2010 Guy, 2012). Furthermore, Pressure ulcer in some other cases can present as an erythematic or abnormal r edness of the skin due to dilation of the blood vessels in the skin. (www.merckmanuals.com/home/heart_and_blood_vessel_disorders.html). The reddened area remains as such for longer than 30 minutes after pressure is relieved (Barbanel, and Hagisawa, 2001). In view of the fact that Pressure ulcer has been widely noted to reduce the quality of life in people with learning disability (Dorner et al, 2009), this topic is very important and relevant to a very large extent for Nurses and other carers involved with the treatment and management of PUs in individuals having learning disability. Among the many reasons for choosing this particular topic are as follows: Having established that pressure ulcers are a major cause of morbidity, mortality and healthcare burden globally and that many of the cases are avoidable (Whittington et al, 2004); it follows that solutions need to be sought aimed at reducing it, if its prevalence. Looking at PUs from the perspectives of treatment and management, it has been observed that both treatment and management are capital intensive, but it is also preventable (Soban et al; White-Chu, 2011). It is very important to concentrate more efforts at minimising the occurrence of PUs, rather than wasting resources on treatment, which might be counterproductive, especially in diabetic patients (European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel [EPUAP], 2005). Pressure ulcers pose grave consequences on the wellbeing of people with profound learning disability, be that as it may, its treatment, prevention and management is a major priority within the clinical and policy agenda. It is very important that patients are educated on the impact of PUs on health and quality of life, at the same time; it is their right to make informed decision about their care and treatment in conjunction with the healthcare provider (Spilsbury et al, 2007; NICE clinical guideline, 2005). In addition, the data generated could be used to estimate the total number of cases with PUs within a particular population (i.e. prevalence) and the rate at which new Pressure Ulcers are occurring in people in needing medical care. (Clark, 2007). (Plaum et al, 2006), in their questionnaire research on Pressure ulcer discovered that it was possible for patients to have a combination of deficiency of sensory experience as well as memory loss. The above combination of health challenges tended to increase the probability of having PUs (Plaum et al, 2006). This study will therefore discuss common risk factors for developing pressure ulcers in people with learning disability, its prevention and management (Guy H, 2012, Vanderwee et al, 2007). This study will also find out effect on age, and nutrition on the persistence and spread of pressure ulcer. The findings will summarise the various ways to curtail the emergence as well as the ways to improve the wellbeing of the patients with pressure sores. According to the International guidelines on Pressure ulcer prevention, prevalence and Incidence (MEP Ltd, 2009: page 8); à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"the results of PUs prevalence and incidence studies could be used for enlightenment purposes, to reduce PUs occurrence, and therefore improve clinical practiceà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ . It is very important to understand the consequences and pitfalls of the prevalence and incidence of PUs. Lastly, it is essential for all healthcare practitioners, managers, payers and financiers involved in the development, implementation and assessment of PU prevention protocols (Fletcher et al, 2011). The overall aim of this study a strategy geared towards the reduction of PUs as well as reducing the number of patients who have it. The need for identification and production of new antimicrobial agents that are selectively toxic, that is; being able to destroy the causative agent with little side effect on the host and broadly effective with a low propensity to induce resistance is very crucial (Bowler et al, 2001). According to (Bowler et al, 2001); while it is true that microorganisms are known to be responsible for wound infections, there are widespread controversies relating to the exact mechanisms by which the microbes cause infection and also their significance in non-healing wounds that fail to exhibit clinical manifestation. (Robson, 1999); observed that the mass per unit volume of microorganisms is a critical factor in determining the probability of the wound healing. However, (Pallua et al, 1999) argued the fact that certain virulent microorganisms were isolated is evidential in delayed wound healing. Nevertheless, others have reported that microorganisms à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"per seà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚  play little or no role in wound healing or slow healing. (EWMA MEP Ltd, 2005), stated that; not all wounds become infected, being that, the susceptibility or resistivity of the host determines the chance of such a wound eventually becoming infected by bacterial pathogen. Although the role of Microbiology laboratory is incontrovertible, the necessity of carrying out wound culture and sensitivity testing must be critically considered in order to save in cost, labour, and avoid unnecessary disturbance to the patient, (Bowler et al 2001). 1.3 Mode of treatment: since pressure ulcer (PU) is a debilitating chronic wound that affects mostly individuals who are incapacitated as a result of age or an underlying illness (Lyder, 2003), or people with profound learning disability who spent longer time on a particular position, its treatment typically involves multiple treatment procedures simultaneously; such as support surface and dressings. Nutritional supplements are essential; since most individuals with learning disability have been known to have diet problems (Dorner et al, 2009). At successive stages of the treatment, different treatments are applied (Lyder, 2003). CHAPTER TWO METHODS The methods adopted in this dissertation involved various strategies: Selecting a review topic and searching the literatures to be used. Gathering reading materials and analysing the literature followed by the review of references. Having selected the topic the next step was identification of the appropriate and related information. This method was in agreement with (Hek and Langton 2000). In their study, they discovered and applied a particular orderly approach which was sequential and capable of generating reliable and beneficial information unlike the traditional review. All the literature searches were undertaken online with the aid of computer and electronic databases. The reason for using computer databases is that they offer access to varieties of information, which cannot be obtained manually and sometimes quite recent. Keyword searches were the most common method of identifying literature (Ely and Scott, 2007). However, keywords which have to do with the review/assessment and management of pressure ulcers were used. Databases of particular relevance to the selected topic, which are very useful for Nurses (Parahoo, 2006), aided the search for related journals which included: British Nursing Index Nursing Journals in English Language CINAHL (Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature) and related publications. This according to (Polit and Beck, 2006), offers an important, reliable and up-to-date electronic databases for Nurses and other healthcare professionals. More importantly, CINAHL databases offer both staff and student Nurses the most recent and best available evidence-based clinical practice. Medical Subject Headings or subject headings: Pubmed/MEDLINE Google scholar The essence of using numerous databases was to harvest a large catalogue of research materials including those directly linked to the field of learning disability practice: Journal of Learning Disabilities Journal of Intellectual Disabilities. Journals of wound care and management. Generally, Journals are much more up-to-date than books which were probably written decades ago since information is dynamic and prone to changes. Therefore, maximum period of 10 years was placed on the age of the works and journals that were used in this work except in some rear cases where no recent materials were found in relation to the subject matter. The search strategy sought to identify all published and unpublished research investigating patient reports about the impact of PUs and PU interventions on HRQL. Data extraction involved the reading through each of the published articles and identifying their findings in the form of statements by the author supported by patient reported data, the extracted patient reported data produced (Gorecki et al 2009). Moreover, specialist Journals were also hand-searched. The internet played a crucial role for web sites on pressure ulcer publications, as well as books from my local area and the university library. Eligibility: Both exclusion and inclusion criteria were used for the primary and final selection for reporting the impact of PUs and interventions respectively on Health related quality of life (HRQL), including symptoms and patient evaluation of interventions. (Gorecki et al 2009).

The Great Gatsby: The American Dream :: essays research papers

The Great Gatsby: The American Dream "Their love is founded upon feelings from the past, these give it, notwithstanding Gatsby's insistence on being able to repeat the past, an inviolability. It exists in the world of money and corruption but is not of it." The Great Gatsby, a novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is about the American Dream, and the demise of those who attempt to capture its false goals. For Jay, the dream is that, through wealth and power, one can obtain happiness. To get this happiness Jay must reach into the past and relive an old dream and in order to do this he must have wealth and power. Jay Gatsby, the central figure of the story, is a character who longs for the past. He devotes most of his adult life trying to recapture it and, eventually dying in its pursuit. In the past, Gatsby had a love affair with the beautiful and seemingly innocent Daisy. Knowing he could not marry her because of the difference in their social status, he leaves her to accumulate his wealth so that he reaches her economic and social standards. Once he acquires this wealth, he moves just across the bay from her and her husband, Tom. At this mansion, he throws extravagant parties, hoping by chance that Daisy might show up at one of them. He does not actually attend his parties but watches them from a distance. When this attempt fails, he asks around casually if anyone knows her. Soon he meets Nick Carraway, his neighbor and fortunately a cousin of Daisy, who agrees to set up a meeting. Later, during a confrontation in the Plaza Hotel, Gatsby still believes that Daisy loves him. He is convinced of this as is shown when he takes the blame for Myrtle's death even though it had been Daisy who was driving. He also watches and protects Daisy as she returns home that night after all the secret affairs come unfolded, agreeing to stay all night waiting outside her house if Tom tries anything. Gatsby cannot accept that the past is gone and done with. Gatsby is sure that he can capture his dream with wealth and influence. He believes that he went beyond his personal interest and that should guarantee success. Nick attempts to show Gatsby the flaw of his dream, but Gatsby innocently replies to Nick's statement that the past cannot be relived by saying, "Can't repeat the past?

Essay --

PHL100 Prompt 1 Baraa Abukhudhayr March 12, 2014 Final Paper In her essay, â€Å"The Difficulty of Reality and the Difficulty of Philosophy,† the American philosopher Cora Diamond discusses animal rights and our obligations as human beings to nonhuman animals. Diamond has a fascinating philosophical take on the matter of animal rights. She is concerned with reminding people that they are animals. They are just another species among a plenty of others. Diamond uses the idea of the existential other to remind us of our animality, because it is in our shared mortality that humans and animals are alike. Furthermore, our morality is simply a human construction that allows us to talk about others from a distance as Diamond calls it the â€Å"language-game† (Diamond, 45). In essence, we view ourselves as different, separate or better than those animals because of the separation that we emphasize between mind and body, forgetting that we are animal as well. By placing the animal in a position of equality which is the place of the other , we should find compassion and sympathy for it. In her essay, Diamond states that â€Å"the difficulty of reality shoulders us out of life† (Diamond, ). What Diamond means here is that our morals, concepts, and actions in our ordinary life, pass by the difficulty of life as if it were not there (Diamond, 58). If we try to see this difficulty, it shoulders us out of life. This difficulty moves us out of life by the force of others which is against our will. Therefore, the difficulty of reality in Diamond’s sense is the reality's resistance to one’s ordinary modes of thinking and talking. It is the feeling of a discrepancy between concepts and experience. Significantly, this kind of difficulty may lead to a philosophi... ...rent approach of conceiving the relationship between humans and animals. As she suggests, we need to grant animals rights and treat them ethically because as Diamond says, â€Å"animals cannot speak for themselves and claim rights for themselves as we can† (Diamond, 52). She wants us to behave differently to one another and to other species in respect to our shared affection. She wants us to realize the difficulty of life and act instead of avoiding and deflecting from these difficulties and problems. She encourages us to take philosophy as a guide to walk us through these difficulties. In respect to the rights of animals matter, she states that â€Å"philosophy characteristically misrepresents both our own reality and that of others, in particular those 'others' who are animals† (Diamond, 57), thus, it is our obligation as humans to realize this misrepresent and act upon it.

An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley Essay examples -- Papers

An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley I am the director of the play 'An Inspector Calls'. I am writing this essay to advise the actors how to portray their characters in the final act. I will help them to deliver their lines appropriately for each character, to express the mood and personality to the audience. This essay will be focused on Sheila, Gerald, Eric and Mr and Mrs Birling. Context ======= The play is set in 1912. The Birling family are celebrating the engagement of their daughter, Sheila to Gerald. Inspector Goole then arrives during the celebrations and starts asking the Birling family questions about the death of a young girl, Eva Smith. She had committed suicide. Slowly, the inspector makes the family aware that they have played a large role in her suicide. We learn from the characters reactions and responses, what kind of people they really are. Sheila, Eric and Gerald realise their mistakes and how their attitudes and behaviour affect other people. Mr and Mrs Birling seemed convinced that they played no part in this tragedy. At the end of act 2, the inspector is questioning Mrs Birling about why she didn't give money to Eva Smith, who was in trouble. The family also found out Eric was the father of Eva's unborn baby. In the beginning of act 3, Eric arrives to the scene. The inspector starts to question Eric about his relationship with Eva. At the end of the play, we discover that inspector Goole is not a real police inspector, and we are left wondering who is. Stage Layout ============ The stage is going to be set out into two rooms, a living room and a drawing room. The ... ... the play he distances himself from the events and finds an acceptable explanation for what has happened to the Birling family. Gerald also admits to his mistakes and Sheila respects him for his sincerity. Mrs Birling congratulates him for unmasking the inspector. In this way, he manages to please the whole family. 'That man wasn't a police officer'. You have to show this expression slow and clearly because it suddenly changed the mood of the play. He knows this will bring great relief to the Birling family. You should be standing quite anxiously and with your hands it your pockets. You should have a grin on your face, and then burst out the good news. Conclusion ========== I hope you understand how to play your part. The importance of the stage directions is crucial. I hope enjoy playing your character.

Attachment theory Essay

Attachment is an important factor in a childs life. It makes them feel safe and secure.  Ã¢â‚¬ËœThe infant’s tendency to seek the closeness to particular people and to feel more secure in their presence.’ (Erikson 1976)  I think that when Erikson made this statement, what he was actually saying was that an attachment is when a child is more comfortable in a setting if they are with the people they are closest to and the people that they like to be with and seek attention of these people more than others. ‘Attachment is like a piece of invisible string that binds individuals in a way that allows a healthy development’ (psychology for AS level).  This statement in my opinion states that an attachment which forms a bond between the people involved is important for good development for the child.  What happens if there isn’t a bond or an attachment in the child’s life? I am going to look into three different psychologists theories on attachment and see what their opinions on the subject are. The first psychologist I am looking into is Bowlby. Bowlby had very strong opinions on attachment and the long term affects a lack of a bond or attachment can have on a child’s life. Bowlby believed that a child should form one and only one strong attachment which should be with the mother of the child. This is known as monotrophy. The father in Bowlby’s eyes was there for the making of the baby only and would show no input or importance in the child’s upbringing. Bowlby came to the conclusion that children who failed to form this bond with their mother in the first three years of the child’s life would have problems in later life bonding with people and trusting people. He also described a child with a lack of bonding to be an affectionless psychopath, which he described to be someone who shows lack of guilt when done something wrong has difficulties showing emotion to things around them or someone with behaviour problems. Another affect of not having an attachment in this critical period as it was also known in Bowlby’s eyes was development retardation which meant the child may grow up with learning difficulties or slower intellectual skills. The next psychologist I am going to discuss is Mary Ainsworth. Ainsworth investigated bonding and broke it down into different sections. She broke it down it to three different types of attachment. These were secure attachments, anxious – avoidant attachments and anxious – resistant attachments.  Secure attachments were described as the strongest of the three. This is where the children know they are loved and cared for and they feel secure with the person they have bonded to. When they are left without their attachment figure for the first time they will show lots of distress and upset. However after time they will get used to being left and they will not be as distressed as time go’s on. Anxious – avoidant attachment is not as strong as the secure attachment and the bond it weaker. These children seem more independent and can manage small tasks on their own. This may be due to a change in the attachment figures attitude or behaviour towards the child which may be caused by death or separation from a partner. This can also be caused by separation from child and attachment figure due to illness or separation at birth. This attachment is usually weaker because of the lack of full trust from either party.  Anxious – resistant attachment is similar to anxious – avoidant attachment but the child often is more clingy and seeks more attention to people as well as the attachment figure but when people tries to comfort them they will often not accept the comfort. The last psychologists I am going to look at are Shaffer and Emerson. Shaffer and Emerson’s theory is the one Ainsworth used to conclude her investigations. They looked more at children with multiple attachments which contradicts Bowlby’s theory which said only one strong attachment can be made. They broke their findings down in to four sections. These sections are Asocial stage which is children of 0-2, the indiscriminate stage, children of 2-7 months, specific stage which is children of 7 months plus and then finally multiple attachment. Asocial stage is described to be where the children aged 0-2 months will respond to human faces but will not show any main distress towards whom it is they are with. This means that if you placed a 0-2 month baby in a day care setting then they will not really kick much of a fuss when their mother leaves them they will usually be happy and content as long as they are getting some attention. On my placement while I was working in the 0-2 room the youngest child there at the time was only 6 weeks old she would come to nursery with no hassle every day after her nap she would sometimes cry a little bit until she got some attention. She was happy when her mum came to get her but she didn’t cry for her when she wasn’t there. Where as one of the oldest children who was nearly 18 months used to cry for her mum nearly all day, she only seemed happy when she was eating. The indiscriminate stage is for children from 2 month up until 7 month. These children are more aware of what is happening and they know who they prefer to spend time with usually in most cases it is the main care giver, but they will still be ok and not too worried around strangers and unknown faces.  The specific stage is where one strong attachment is clear and the child becomes very weary and anxious around unknown people. This is usually why when a child over 7 months is brought into a child care setting, they take a while to settle and cry for their carer. Multiple attachments are where the child is close to or has an attachment with more than one person. This is often when they spend a lot of time with these people as well as their care givers. These people can include grand parents, extended family, neighbours and realistically people who they spend a lot of time with and they feel safe around.  As some of the theorists mentioned above said they would be distress when a child was left or was separated from their attachment figure its is important that children get used to a setting before being brought and left alone. In some child care setting they hold visits for the children where they can come with their attachment figure and see the setting and play with the other children to see what it is like and to get to know the care workers faces first. In my placement they do this over a period of 6 visits(longer if child is very unsettled) to avoid too much stress and upset for the new children coming to nursery each time a visit takes place the attachment figure will stay a little bit less than the time before leaving the child with the other children and care givers. This way they feel that the child gets used to not having their mother there all the time and also gets to know the other people in the setting and environment.  Another way the children help settle in the nurseries or child care setting is they are allowed to bring with them a transitional object with them to comfort them when they get upset. One child in my placement had a pink cushion which she has all the time when she is upset. When she settles down she often puts it down a leaves it on the floor, at this point the care worker picks it up discreetly and puts it in her box. They do this because they feel if she is playing nice and contently then she see’s the cushion she will pick it up and carry it round again where as if it is out of the way the child will hopefully play for a longer amount of time. The child gets it back if she asks for it or if she becomes distressed on upset in anyway. In my placement to avoid too much stress and upset for the new children coming to nursery, they have an induction period. This is where the child will come in to the nursery with their parent to have a look around, meet the staff and the other children in the setting. The child gets to play with the toys and will start to get used to the setting so when its time for their parent to leave then it won’t be so distressing. When a child is in the setting some of the parents come and visit the child during lunch time or if they get a break at work. This was good for some children as it reassured the children that their parents were coming back for them and they hadn’t just left them forever. For some children however this was not beneficial and the situation was more distressing for them having to say bye to their carer all over again.

Heredity Versus Environment Essay

A major debate within psychology is whether it is nature or nurture which influences people; the way people act and behave, cognitive development, and what we look for in a partner are just some aspects of the debate. Nature supporters, or Naturists, believe that our behaviour is down to genetics and is inherited from our parents. They believe that everything about a person is decided at the moment on conception. Whereas nurture supporters believe that people learn their behaviour from the environment, their upbringings and the surrounding influences; such as friends, peers and work colleagues. There is lots of research, studies and evidence to support both arguments on a variety of subjects. The nature argument is often used in court cases to describe uncharacteristic or deviant behaviour. Humans are often related to as animals as this is believed that people evolved from, Charles Darwin is a leading figure in this side of the argument. He pioneered his theory of evolution, and it is widely accepted that humans did derive from a ‘common ancestor’, therefore do have instinctive behaviour, and traits about their personality (Allaboutscience, 2014). A real life example of this would be a baby, who is unable to communicate, and has little understanding of the world; however still show signs of fear if they were to hear a loud noise. Nurture supporters believe that a person’s upbringing is a major factor which influences people in later life. A real life example of this would be serial killers, when studied, they were often subject to horrific abuse as a child and they blame this for their inabilities to conform to society’s norms and commit dreadful crimes. This is supported by a psychological study Bowlby’s 22 juvenile thieve study; people commit crimes due to what kind of upbringing they received. The lack of a secure attachment with their primary care giver (McCloud, 2007). The term gender refers to whether a person socially and culturally class  themselves as male or female, and which role they choose to live their life by in society. Rather than the term sex; which is what’s chosen biologically by genetics whilst in the womb (Who, 2014). Psychologists look at gender difference within the nature/nurture debate; to see if genetics or environment factors play a part in what makes genders behaviour and act differently. There are stereotypical gender roles in society; examples of which are that females are seen as maternal caring and loving people whereas males are seen as aggressive, dominate, and the breadwinners. Scientists know that there are biologically difference between genders; such as hormones, and chromosomes, these are scientifically proven. Also they have been shown to majorly impact a person’s behaviour, for example the male hormone testosterone is contributor to aggressive behaviour and is the reason behind why males have more muscle mass supporting the nature perspective. Whereas nurture supporters believe that gender differences come from the environment, for example, children are dressed in colours which are stereotypical for their sex; blue for a boy and pink for a girl. This is further supported by the self-fulfilling prophecy; that if a person is told that they are something (male or female in this case) they will eventually believe this which will affect their behaviour. Interactionism is a term used to describe genetic gender differences which are influence or modified by the environment. Mary Mead conducted an experiment supporting the nurture argument of gender differences in 1935, where she studied three different tribes; Arapesh, Mundugumor, and Tchambuli. The arapesh were non aggressive, with a caring attitude towards children. The Mundungumor were aggressive and cold towards children. The Tchambuli was the tribe were the males were submissive and passive. The results were that Mead found a slight pattern in male and female behaviour across different cultures however there were a lot more differences. Supporting the nurture argument as in Mead’s study two tribes showed role reversal; in one tribe the males were dominate and aggressive, whereas in another the females were, and the males were submissive. Also females being cold and uncaring towards children; this showed psychologists that it can’t be instinctive or genetic that women must have maternal  tendencies. This therefore shows interactionism in western society. A criticism of this study is that all three tribes where in close proximity therefore are the sample could be said to be culturally similar (Benson, 2005). Buss et al in 1990 conducted a study which found that males are more aggressive than females regardless of culture. They found cross cultural similarities between the genders; these were in how people look for a perspective reproductive partner. Buss et al found that men preferred youth and attractiveness whereas women looked for wealth and status. This study supports the nature debate as Buss et al studied a wide and varied sample of people, and some people believe that these results can still be seen today in the western world. Another psychologist credited for his work in regards to this debate is Bronislaw Malinowski; he carried out a research project in north-western Melanesia in 1929. Malinowski like Mead studied tribes however he looked at their sexual behaviour and concluded that sexual behaviour dominates every aspect of life regardless of culture, which further supports the nature debate. As with all studies, there are things which may affect the results of the research. With studying tribes there could of been a communication barrier, between the researcher and the participating tribes which would effect the results. The gender of the psychologist performing the study could influence the results as they could be said to be bias; as they may favour there own gender. Also the presence of a researcher in a person’s everyday life may alter the way that person behaves and acts around them. To conclude, there are lots of gender differences, some appear similar across the world whereas others appear to be culturally connected. In relation to the nature/nurture debate, there are arguments and studies to support both sides, and will always be a conflicting argument throughout psychology. Critically evaluate some evidence which offers support for the role of  Ã¢â‚¬Ëœnature’ in the heredity-environment debate on intelligence One disagreement people have in the topic of heredity versus environment is about the subject of intelligence; are people born an intelligent person or is this acquired over time, when information is learned and absorbed into a person brain. Intelligence is defined as a ‘manifestation of a high metal capacity’ (Dictionary, 2014). A commonly used test to assess a person’s intelligence is a series of questions called an IQ test; the higher the IQ score the more intelligent a person is believed to be. Francis Galton in 1869 studied the subject of intelligence and since then lots of psychologists have been interested in the debate and there have been many studies conducted (Malim & Birch, 1998). In support of the nature debate, there have been a lot of experiments conducted on siblings, including twins studies, and cousins. Twins can be categorised into two groups; monozygotic (MZ), and dizygotic (DZ). Monozygotic twins are ‘identical’ and share the same genetic information as they were produced from one egg, whereas dizygotic twins are produced from two separate ova and have the same genetic information as two children with the same parents (Malim & Birch, 1998). As with all studies in this debate, these have been heavily criticised by supporters of the opposing arguments, this assignment will evaluate some of these. The main criticism of the majority of IQ studies is that all the participants are children or adolescents. Newman et al in 1937 embarked on a ten year research project studying 100 pairs of twins, 19 of which were adopted MZ twins; 7 males and 9 females. These adopted twins had experienced different upbringings so Newman wanted to see how this affected their intelligence (Twin Studies, 2014). The results were that the IQ of monozygotic twins was higher than that of the dizygotic twins which Newman studied. They also showed that the IQ of twins reared together was higher that if the twins had been separated after birth. However a major criticism of this study is that Newman enrolled the twins  that he studied on similarities to ensure that the twins he studied were MZ, as at the time the technology wasn’t available to scientifically prove whether the twins were identical or not. Also the sample of twins which Newman et al studied has been said to be biased, due to the expense of conducting the experiment; Newman had to pay for the sample to travel and stay in lodgings in Chicago. The results could then be flawed as twins may have acted in a certain way to be chosen for the study in order to go on an all-expenses paid holiday during a time of great depression across America. It has also been proven that a pair of twins from Newman’s sample group were raised in the same town and even attended the same school (Benson, 2005). A more recent twin study was conducted by James Shields in 1962; Shields took a sample of 44 pairs of identical twins who had been brought up apart from each other. Shields enlisted these twins by a television advertisement and wanted to find out the correlation between their IQ results. The findings were that the correlation of identical twins reared apart was higher than the non-identical twins reared together; who Shields also studied. This study is often criticised due to the method the participants were enrolled onto the study; twins were put forward to the study as they looked alike, they may not have necessarily of been proven to be monozygotic or identical. Another flaw is that although Shield’s claims that the twins were brought up separately, they were often raised by members of the same family, lived locally, and went to the same schools. It is reported that one pair of twins, lived next door to each other. Despite the flaws this study is often seen as one of the st rongest twin studies in psychology in relation to IQ again supporting nature (Firth, 2009). Other than twin studies, some psychologist studied intelligence and how it correlates with differently between different ethnic groups and races in society. Arthur Jensen was one of these, in 1969 he analysed the differences in IQ results between different races, and published his results, which sparked outrage across america. Jensen’s devised an intelligence test for children, and his pupils to sit the test from the school which he was a professor at.  The test comprised of two parts; level one abilities or associative learning and level two abilities or conceptual learning. The results were that the ‘white american’ students performed better at the task two abilities than students of other races (Telegraph, 2013). Jensen concluded that intelligence was 80% inherited, as he believed this from his results that a child’s ancestry was the reason that some children scored poorly on the test. This leading to him to believing that intelligence is a factor of genetics and is passed on through generations. However there is an opposing argument, that this study also supports the nurture debate, as it shows how differ ent cultures are effected differently. For example, the caucasian children would of come from a higher social class than the ethnic minorities; therefore it was the environment and peers which affected their mental ability. The ethical issues involved with this study are evident as Jensen incited racism by publishing these figures. This could of also led to violence, and sparked hatred within the community and across american. Also some students could of been favoured over others, as they would be seen as clever, therefore received priority treatment, as proven in Rosenthal & Jacobson’s study in 1968. Jensen completed his test in 1960’s america, which was a hostile time, in particular within regards to race segregation, with the speech and assassination of Matin Luther King. Hans Eysenck was a German psychologist who is also credited for his work in relation to intelligence and race (Cherry, 2014). He wrote a book called: The IQ argument: race, intelligence and education, based on these studies and summarised the results. This book claims that ’80% of variability is inborn’ (Benson, 2005). Hans was also criticised as his views also focused on the differences between IQ results of blacks and whites, rather than treating people as equally as individuals. Eysenck believed it to be fact that white people had a higher IQ and set about telling the world. Some people didn’t agree with his views which involved him being attacked on numerous occasions and becoming a hated public figure. In conclusion, there are a lot of studies in psychology in regards to the  nature/nurture debate, on a whole array of topics. Intelligence is only one of these. Criticisms are prevalent throughout all these studies as it is a debate which people just can not agree on, and everyone has their own opinion. 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