History and Description of a Subordinate Group Member Essay Example for Free

History and Description of a Subordinate Group Member Essay Throughout the history of North America, there has been one ethnic group who has given up almost everything to the European settlers. Land, home, resources, and dignity were stolen from Native Americans. The long history of the American Indian is being written, even today. Approximately forty thousand years ago, the earliest ancestors of Native Americans migrated across the Bering Strait from Asia on pack ice (Hoerder, 2005). The population rose steadily, and by the time the first substantial settlement of Europeans was established in the New World, Native Americans lived throughout the continent. In the search for more farmland, European immigrants quickly pushed the native population out of their traditional homelands. This migration began the crowding of other native bands, forcing eastern natives to move beyond the Ohio River, thus starting a series of relocations for the Native Americans that continued through the next two centuries. Less than fifty years after the end of the American Revolution, many of the tribes in the northeastern United States sold their land under pressure from the newcomers. Before 1850, these natives migrated west of the Mississippi River. If you traveled to Oklahoma today you would find the same bloodlines that once roamed the New England hills (Indians The Readers Companion to American History, 1991). Wanting to live apart from the natives and expecting them to remain controlled, reservations were established, including an Indian Territory (est. 1825) in present-day Oklahoma. The Indian Removal Act of 1830 was enacted to populate these newly established areas. President Jackson ordered the forced migration of Native Americans from multiple southeastern tribes. Approximately 4,000 Cherokee Indians perished in 1838-1839 on their 800-mile march, or during their succeeding internment. This tragic event has become known as the Trail of Tears. (American Indian Policy, 2002) Trying to Americanize instead of segregate the Indians, in 1887, Congress passed the Dawes Act, which broke up reservations and gave land to individual Indian families. The idea of the Dawes Act was to assimilate Indians by giving them land from which they could profit. What followed were laws, over the next few decades, which dissolved tribal governments and placed Native Americans completely under the jurisdiction of U.  S. laws (American Indian Policy, 2002). The reservation system is one distinctive aspect of the Native American culture that materialized from their relationship with other Americans. The United States has 310 reservations within its borders. The federal government owns 298 reservations and 12 belong to the states in which they are located. A total of 437,431 Indians resided on reservations or trust lands. That is approximately 22 percent of the Native Americans defined by the 1990 census (Shumway Jackson, 1995). The United States has proven itself unreliable on its policies and treatment of Native Americans. The government teeters between a policy of segregation, under which Indians are treated as a self-sustaining culture, and assimilation policies, which try to integrate Indian and European cultures. The United States acknowledged Indian sovereignty and established treaties with them. Unlike foreign nations, Indians shared the continent with the quickly growing nation who needed resources, and were quick to form treaties, giving Indians land rights and territorial sovereignty but repeatedly found ways to revoke those privileges.

Effectiveness of Social Model of Health

Effectiveness of Social Model of Health Anna Wei Models of Health Health is one of the most vital and valuable aspects of human life, as without one’s health we are unable to enjoy our day-to-day activities and have the energy to pursue physical activities. There are two well-known models of Health and Illness that focus on different aspects of health; they are the Biomedical model and the Social model. This essay will discuss the relevance of the Social model in today’s society as opposed to the Biomedical model and the effectiveness of this model in clarifying the obesity epidemic, a medical condition that is dominating the globe and bringing with it many other illnesses that today, are some of the leading causes of death. The Biomedical model believes that biological factors are the main cause of disease (Browne, 2005). It has been the main model for health care in the past century, due to its assistance in the discovery of countless medical advancements as it was able to decrease the amount of infectious diseases such as tuberculosis (Borrell-Carrio, Suchman Epstein, 2004). This framework is based on the concept of health as being without disease and focuses on finding cures that will successfully eliminate the biological factors that caused the illness (Cleland Cotton, 2011). Although the Biomedical model has been valuable in the discovery of many techniques to successfully treat numerous diseases, it is no longer the dominating model of health in today’s society. This model has been scrutinised for being too narrow-minded resulting in its inability to analyse different forms of sickness (Borrell-Carrio et al., 2004; Cockerham, 2007). Over the years, there have been massive health reforms, from infectious diseases such as puerperal fever, gonorrhoea, malaria and scurvy to the dominating chronic illnesses that affect society today such as obesity, cardiovascular disease and diabetes (Tulchinsky Varavikova, 2000). The transition from infectious to chronic illnesses indicates that as time changes, strategies that have previously worked may not be as effective as they had once been. Hence, the social models were introduced. A psychiatrist named George Engel first proposed the Social model, as he wanted to put a stop to the dehumanisation of the practice of medicine, and to give patients the power over their own health (Borrell-Carrio et al., 2004). Engel believed, that the social and physiological aspects of an individual played an important role in relation to the illness procedure and hence, this model acts as an aid, to guide us through the numerous levels of organisation that affect diseases, ranging from the social aspects to factors at the molecular level (Alonso, 2004; Borrell-Carrio et al., 2004). Since Engel first proposed this model, there have been many variations of this model created such as the Dahlgren and Whitehead’s model of health and the WHO social determinants of health framework. Social models place a strong emphasis on not only the biological aspects of disease but also the social and the psychological aspects of sickness, whereas, the Biomedical model is built around the evidence and the symptoms of the disease of interest (Brown, 2005; Cleland Cotton, 2011). Hence, Social models of health have become more relevant over the last 150 years because of the changing society. As time passed, infectious diseases were no longer the major problem, with the problem now lying within the degenerative diseases such as cancer and heart disease present in today’s society (Cleland Cotton, 2011). Therefore, the Biomedical model is no longer relevant as the development of these non-communicable diseases is multi-factorial and hence is not due to straightforward biological causes, nor can they be cured easily (Cleland Cotton, 2011). For people in society today, the experience of suffering from a disease is not just about the biochemical processes behind it, but als o about how the patients identify with this disease in terms of the things they are able to or unable to do, their emotions and the unmet requirements as a result of this disease (Jackson, Antonucci Brown, 2003). Hence, Social models are more widely accepted and relevant in society, as it recognises the multi-factorial causes associated with diseases such as obesity. Obesity is defined as the extreme build-up of fat due to energy input being greater than energy expenditure, in technical terms, a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or over means that the individual will be considered obese (World Health Organization [WHO], 2014). The rates of obesity have been rapidly increasing since the 1980s and not only the prevalence of obesity has been increasing but the incidence of diseases associated with obesity has also been increasing (Finkelstein, Ruhm Kosa, 2005). Health consequences associated with obesity are non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes and other musculoskeletal diseases (WHO, 2014). The obesity epidemic is a major issue in society today and in 2008, of the 1.4 billion adults considered overweight, over 200 million males and nearly 300 million females were considered obese (WHO, 2014). In the early twentieth century, obesity was only thought to be present in developing countries such as China, Thailand and Mexico and only affected those with higher socioeconomic positions in the population; however, this disease has shifted to affect those of lower socioeconomic position and globally, there is now more than 10% of the world’s population of adults considered obese (Callabero, 2007; WHO, 2014). The improvement in people’s living and working conditions has resulted in society having longer life spans due to the eradication of infectious diseases (Cockerham, 2007). However, the major issue facing society today is non-communicable diseases such as strokes, heart disease and cancer which all stem off obesity (Cockerham, 2007). Non-communicable diseases were originally thought to affect only the rich, but there is now an increasing trend in developing countries. If this trend continues to increase at the same pace, it is estimated by the year 2020, for every ten deaths, seven will be due to non-communicable diseases (Boutayeb, 2006). This transition from infectious diseases to chronic illnesses meant that the use of medicine became increasingly important in order to tackle these health issues and therefore, there has been little success in tackling these non-communicable diseases as the approaches they took in the past via the Biomedical model proves to be unfitting for t he current situation (Cockerham, 2007). Social models have been effective in preventing this problem, as it takes into account not only the biological causes of these health conditions associated with obesity, but also social factors such as dietary intake and physical activity. An individual’s lifestyle is vital towards their health as it is a relevant social mechanism that needs to be considered when approaching these diseases (Cockerham, 2007). Over the years, the dietary intake of individuals has increased, with people consuming more sweetened beverages and processed meals and consuming less healthy wholesome foods such as fruits and vegetables (Callabero, 2007). Research reveals an inversely proportional relationship exists between the availability of fast food outlets and the socioeconomic status of the individual, with individuals in lower socioeconomic areas being 2.5 times more exposed to fast food chains compared to those in higher socioeconomic areas, and this social gradient indicates that a decreasing s ocioeconomic status results in an increased chance of obesity (Reidpath, Burns, Garrard, Mahoney Townsend, 2002). This brings about inequality between those of low socioeconomic status and those with high socioeconomic status, further reiterating that there must be other factors apart from biological components, which bring about diseases. Physical activity has also decreased with people opting for more sedentary lifestyles, for example, it was predicted that less than 30 percent of the US population had a suitable level of exercise, another 30 percent were involved in physical activity but not enough, while the remainder had adapted to sedentary lifestyles (Callabero, 2007). It is habits such as these that has attributed to the individual’s susceptibility or resistance to these illnesses (Cockerham, 2007). Only Social models of health can take into consideration of these habits as well as the social gradients shown to help us to understand their influences towards these ill nesses that stem off obesity. Many complex factors are interacting with one another, causing the increase in prevalence of health conditions associated with obesity (Candib, 2007). Therefore, Social models are effective in explaining this phenomenon as it recognises the importance of social factors and how they contribute to health conditions such as cardiovascular disease. Social factors such as the individual’s surrounding environment can either reverse or increase the biological risk of diseases making the Biomedical model inadequate as it does not consider anything but the biological cause (Cockerham, 2007). An environment that has contributed hugely to this increasing prevalence is an obesogenic environment; this is essentially a setting that encourages sedentary lifestyles; promoting food consumption and discouraging exercise, which eventually leads to an increased risk of obesity (Reidpath et al., 2002). Social models are therefore efficient as it considers how we can eliminate such influences in or der to reduce the multi-factorial effects associated with the obesity epidemic by combining the formerly separated characteristics of illness (Cleland Cotton, 2011; Jackson et al., 2003). It helps us to efficiently comprehend the significant contributions of multiple factors outside the biological sense that drives the increasing prevalence of health conditions associated with obesity. To conclude, health is one of the most important aspects of human life and can be affected by factors that are not always biological components. As a result, the multidimensional Social models were created to allow a better understanding of the diseases, such as obesity, that affect our society (Borrell-Cario et al., 2004). However, because society is constantly changing – there is no perfect model for health that exists and therefore we must seek new ideas that we can incorporate in our models with the hopes that it will be applicable to the changing society. Reference List Alonso, Y. (2004). The biopsychosocial model in medical research: the evolution of the health concept over the last two decades.Patient education and counseling,53(2), 239-244. doi: 10.1016/S0738-3991(03)00146-0 Browne, K. (2005). Health and Illness. An introduction to sociology, 3, 397-415. Retrieved from http://www.library.auckland.ac.nz.ezproxy.auckland.ac.nz/ereserves/2144315b.pdf Borrell-Carrio, F., Suchman, A. L., Epstein, R. M. (2004). The Biopsychosocial Model 25 Years Later: Principles, Practice, and Scientific Inquiry. Annals of Family Medicine, 2(6), 576-582. Retrieved from http://www.annfammed.org.ezproxy.auckland.ac.nz/content/2/6/576.full.pdf Boutayeb, A. (2006). The double burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases in developing countries.Transactions of the Royal society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene,100(3), 191-199. Retrieved from http://trstmh.oxfordjournals.org.ezproxy.auckland.ac.nz/content/100/3/191.full Callabero, B. (2007). The Global Epidemic of Obesity: An Overview. Epidemiological Review, 29, 1-5. doi: 10.1093/epirev/mxm012 Cleland, J., Cotton, P. (Eds.). (2011).Health, Behaviour and Society: Clinical Medicine in Context. SAGE. Retrieved from http://books.google.co.nz/books?hl=enlr=id=BuZpuJSlNRMCoi=fndpg=PP2dq=Jennifer+Cleland,+Philip+Cotton.+(2011).+Health,+Behaviour+and+Society:+Clinical+Medicine+in+Context.+ots=CSbguqMTZlsig=TvNhB4GJdQnp8m-enuFPer6J2Qg#v=onepageq=modelf=false Cockerham, W.C. (2007). The social causation of health and disease. Social causes of health and disease, 1-24. Retrieved from http://www.library.auckland.ac.nz.ezproxy.auckland.ac.nz/ereserves/2130941b.pdf Finkelstein, E. A., Ruhm, C. J., Kosa, K. M. (2005). Economic causes and consequences of obesity.Annu. Rev. Public Health,26, 239-257. doi: 10.1146/annurev.publhealth.26.021304.144628 Jackson, J. J., Antonucci, T. C., Brown, E. (2003). A cultural lens on biopsychosocial models of aging.Advances in cell aging and gerontology,15, 221-241. Retrieved from http://books.google.co.nz/books?hl=enlr=id=kBXLPaaXPKcCoi=fndpg=PA221dq=%22biopsychosocial+models+of+health%22ots=ToNciaJ7sosig=fZmma3Fai9VhqZm5xhCPS1oEy_w#v=onepageq=%22biopsychosocial%20models%20of%20health%22f=false James, P. T., Leach, R., Kalamara, E., Shayeghi, M. (2001). The worldwide obesity epidemic.Obesity research,9(S11), 228S-233S. Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.ezproxy.auckland.ac.nz/doi/10.1038/oby.2001.123/full Reidpath, D., Burns C., Garrard J., Mahoney, M., Townsend, M. (2002). An ecological study of the relationship between social and environmental determinants of obesity. Health and Place, 8, 141-145. doi: 10.1016/S1353-8292(01)00028-4 Tulchinsky, T. H., Varavikova, E. A. (2000). The New Public Health: an introduction for the 21st Century. San Diego: Academic Press. World Health Organization. (2014). Obesity and Overweight. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs311/en/ 1

My Educational Goals and Philosophy Statement :: Philosophy of Education Statement Teaching Essays

My Educational Goals and Philosophy I decided to choose teaching as my profession because I want to help the students who have distinct potential, but may be struggling in the classroom. By ignoring a student who is a slow learner, we may be losing the next genius of our generation. I have worked with children in several different aspects. In high school, I worked with the Strong Mountaineer Program. This program allowed me to go into an elementary class and work with the students who needed extra help. I tutored the students in their weakest area. In this program, I encountered a student in the second grade who could not read. The teacher gave me material to work with her and after several weeks of tutoring she could read as well as the other students in her class. The look of pride on this little girl’s face when she read aloud was priceless, as was the look on my face because I made the difference. I also worked for a day care program in which tutored children after school with their studies. These programs have influenced my decision in becoming a teacher. In addition, I am in the process of earning my undergraduate degree from Concord College. My area of emphasis is Elementary Education/ Multi- Subject/ K-6. The reason I chose this major is because of my love for children. Since every child learns differently, I will use all the major philosophical perspectives. This is why my teaching style is eclectic. I believe children today do not have the proper respect for teachers and parents. This is why I agree with William Bagley when he says children should be taught the traditional values of our culture. He also says the teacher should be the center of the class. Teachers are the ones who have the college degree and are trained to instruct students. Not all my students will be able to attend college, so they need to be familiar with the real world so they can communicate with other people and things. My Educational Goals and Philosophy Statement :: Philosophy of Education Statement Teaching Essays My Educational Goals and Philosophy I decided to choose teaching as my profession because I want to help the students who have distinct potential, but may be struggling in the classroom. By ignoring a student who is a slow learner, we may be losing the next genius of our generation. I have worked with children in several different aspects. In high school, I worked with the Strong Mountaineer Program. This program allowed me to go into an elementary class and work with the students who needed extra help. I tutored the students in their weakest area. In this program, I encountered a student in the second grade who could not read. The teacher gave me material to work with her and after several weeks of tutoring she could read as well as the other students in her class. The look of pride on this little girl’s face when she read aloud was priceless, as was the look on my face because I made the difference. I also worked for a day care program in which tutored children after school with their studies. These programs have influenced my decision in becoming a teacher. In addition, I am in the process of earning my undergraduate degree from Concord College. My area of emphasis is Elementary Education/ Multi- Subject/ K-6. The reason I chose this major is because of my love for children. Since every child learns differently, I will use all the major philosophical perspectives. This is why my teaching style is eclectic. I believe children today do not have the proper respect for teachers and parents. This is why I agree with William Bagley when he says children should be taught the traditional values of our culture. He also says the teacher should be the center of the class. Teachers are the ones who have the college degree and are trained to instruct students. Not all my students will be able to attend college, so they need to be familiar with the real world so they can communicate with other people and things.

Success: You can do it! Essay -- essays research papers fc

You can do it! -SUCCESS- Success is to fulfil a goal that you have set for yourself. Achievement of success involves five components: realisation, confidence, motivation, action and perseverance. Step one is to realise your goal and how to achieve it. Step two is to have the confidence to take the steps towards your goal. Step three is to find motivation to keep you on the path towards you goal. Step four is action, the first physical step you take in the process for success. Step five is perseverance. On the road to success, you will most definitely come to setbacks and struggles. The only way to conquer those things and achieve your goal is to have strong perseverance. As David Brink said, "A successful person is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at him." Step 1 – Realisation To start your journey to success, you will first have to realise what your goal is and what you will need to achieve it. Ross Perot realised his goal was to start a data processing company. He realised he needed to borrow one thousand dollars to start it. I have realised my goal to become a great filmmaker. I realised to achieve that goal I needed to get experience in the film industry and needed to do a Film and Television course at university. A lot of people have failed to achieve their goal because they have failed to realise clearly what their goal is and what they needed to reach it. You must not make hasty, unsure decisions. Realisation involves careful investigation. Step 2 – Confidence â€Å"Confidence is the door to success† (Mary O’Hare Dumas). If you do not have confidence in your goal and believe you can reach it, you will fail before you even begin. To achieve your goal you are going to need to depend on other people, whether it is for funding or moral support. If you do not show confidence in your goal, no one will have confidence in you. They will not want to support you and you will not be able to accomplish your goal. You also need confidence in yourself. If you lack confidence you will become discouraged and this will make your goal impossible to attain. I am confident that my goal is achievable and am thinking positively which will keep me encouraged. Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson, Britain’s greatest naval hero, knew confidence. His confidence in his ability to win any naval battle caused him to not lose... ...backs, you must persevere. When you come to an obstacle, you need to re-evaluate your plans to achieve your goal and consider revising them. The key of success is not to give up when you approach a problem, but work out a way to get past it and achieve success Realisation, Confidence, Motivation, Action and Perseverance are the ingredients for success. You need to: realise what your goal is and know clearly what you have to do to achieve it; be confident in the fact that it is achievable for you; have a motivation to fuel your efforts on the path to success; put your plans into action; and persevere when you hit setbacks. If you follow these guidelines, you will achieve personal success. Bibliography Brown, J. 1996, The life and times of Lord Nelson, The Book Company Pty Ltd, Sydney Miller, N. 2000, Broadsides – The age of fighting sail, John Wiley and Sons Inc, New York quoteland.com - Quotations on every topic, by every author, and in every fashion possible (online) retrieved via the Internet 18 February 2002, http://www.quoteland.com Perot '96 - Ross Perot: Biography (online) retrieved via the Internet 18 February 2002, http://www.perot.org/hrpbio.htm

Culture and Change in The House on Mango Street Essay

The House on Mango Street presents a strong cultural background. Cisnero allows Esperanza to reveal her Mexican background in My Name. Esperanza introduces herself, explaining the meaning of her name and how she inherited it from her grandmother. She shows her love for her culture when she points out how her name sounds better when said in Spanish. She also complains about her disdain for how it sound when said in English. However, Esperanza also writes about how she wishes to change her name into something that would represent her better. Changing her name would also mean letting go of a part of her that greatly spoke of her ethnicity and background. It is not only her name that Esperanza wishes to change but the direction of her life as well. She speaks about how her grandmother used to be a wild woman, like a horse – free and independent. But after some time, her grandmother was forced to marry and to live a life she had not chosen for herself. This is not what Esperanza wants. She does not want to relinquish herself to the customs of her culture of getting married and adopting the female roles of a wife and mother. The main character’s negative feelings for the way she is growing up and where she is doing so are not only seen in her desire to change her name but in the way she speaks of her house as well. Although the family’s house in Mango Street is a better change from their old one, Esperanza is still disappointed with it. She does not see it as a house that she can show off to her friends or that she, herself, can take pride in. Esperanza’s parents continuously assure her and her siblings that the house is only temporary but Esperanza know that it is not. She keeps thinking of the house that she wants, a spacious house with many bathrooms. Esperanza’s disappointment with their house is also indicative of her disappointment with their neighborhood. The house, for her, is the epitome of the destitute neighborhood they live in. Esperanza constantly writes about wanting to leave the house and escape the limitations of the neighborhood. It is clear here that Esperanza not only wants to change her name but the house and neighborhood she lives in as well. This can also be construed as a turning away from the culture she has grown up in. Change, in Esperanza’s case, can still be made, however, without detracting from the culture and ethnic backgrounds on which her life has been founded. This is what Esperanza learns near the end of the stories. She realizes that even though the environment and the circumstances are not ideal, she still belongs in Mango Street, in her culture and background. Even though she still wants to improve her situation, she knows she can not do it without coming to terms with her background. Acceptance of who one is and where one comes from is essential when trying to move on into a brighter future. Change does not necessitate throwing away the past. In fact, change requires the use of the foundations of the past. Taking one’s culture and background and shaping it to be more appropriate for the uses of the present allows change to take place without disregarding heritage. How far can this â€Å"shaping† go, however, without subtracting too much from the quality of the culture? There is no exact answer but one truth should be acknowledged: culture is ingrained, instilled in an individual no matter how great the change. Especially in individuals like Esperanza who grew up in the thick of the customs and traditions of their culture, even changing their name or their residence would not hide their culture. Esperanza was correct, however, in realizing that change could only be done by accepting the past and building from it.

Re-Examining the ‘Step-and-Slide’: Sex Differences in Pedestrian Collision Avoidance

Abstract Previous literature has reported sex differences in collision avoidance behaviour by pedestrians. The current study sough to establish whether these sex differences are still valid now by observing an opportunity sample of male and female pedestrians in a busy location. A chi-square test found a significant (p 01) relationship between sex and collision avoidance behaviour. In particular, women were significantly more likely to engage in closed passes and men were significantly more likely to engage in open passes. This finding is in keeping with the pattern previously reported by Collett and Marsh (1981). Future research is needed to understand why these sex differences may exist. Introduction Despite often busy and overcrowded public areas, pedestrians can be observed navigating and avoiding collisions with remarkable ease. Previous literature appears to be relatively unanimous in its observations and conclusions about how pedestrians are able to avoid collisions. In an early study, Goffman (1972) made a number of observations including that people tend to form two lanes whilst walking upon the pavement, with one group walking on the inside, away from the road and the other group walking on the outside and close to the road. Many years later, Collett and Marsh (1981) observed the same phenomenon and coined the term ‘pedestrian streaming.’ It was also discovered that individuals will use others’ movements and monitor their intentions, known as â€Å"externalisation,† to ensure a smoother passage. These movements may be unconscious or conscious and may as be discrete as a slight turn of the shoulders. Again, this phenomenon was also observed by Wo lff (1973), who named it â€Å"behaviour monitoring.† Wolff (1973) observed that many pedestrians engage in what he coined the ‘step-and-slide’ pass, which involved a slight angling of the shoulders alongside a discrete side step. After videotaping the passing behaviour of individuals using a pedestrian crossing, Collett and Marsh (1981) noted significant sex differences in the strategies used whilst engaging in this type of pass. Males were far more likely to use an open pass strategy by orienting toward the person they were trying to avoid whereas females were more likely to use a closed pass strategy by orienting themselves away from the person they were attempting to avoid. Interestingly, the types of pass used could not adequately be explained by the natural position of the leg during passing and even when it was more difficult, women were still more likely to use a closed pass. The researchers concluded that the use of a closed pass strategy by women was an example of self-protective behaviour. In particular, the auth ors concluded that women were attempting to protect their breasts after observing that they often drew their arms across their bodies during the pass. The result of Collett and Marsh’s (1981) study may now be outdated. Therefore, the current study aimed to investigate whether sex differences in collision avoidance behaviour still exist today and whether the pattern still reflects that seen by Collett and Marsh (1981). Based on previous literature it is hypothesised that females will make more closed passes than males and that males will use more open passes than females. MethodParticipants2,910 participants (1,376 females, 1,534 males) were observed using an opportunity sample. As this was a observation study it was not feasible to collect demographic data such as age.MaterialsObservations were recorded on a data collection grid. The data collection grid was used to record the sex of the pedestrian and whether a open pass, closed pass or neutral pass was observed. Design This was a between-subjects design with male participants being compared with female participants. The predictor variable was the sex of the pedestrian and the criterion variable was the type of passing behaviour exhibited.ProcedureBefore collecting data for the study a pilot study was carried out to ensure that the observers could correctly identify whether a pedestrian was exhibiting an open pass, closed pass or neutral behaviour. Data was collected on an opportunity sample of ten pedestrians for the pilot study. For the main study, data was collected by observing pedestrians at various train stations during peak times. Two researchers collected the data with one acting as observer and the other acting as recorder. Observations were based on an opportunity sample and a mix of male-male, female-female and female-male interactions were recorded.ResultsA total of 1,376 females and 1,534 males were observed. Of the 1,376 females, 561 engaged in an open pass, whereas 815 engaged in a closed pass. Of the 1,534 males observed, 1,070 engaged in an open pass, whereas 464 engaged in a closed pass. A chi-square test was performed and a significant relationship was found between sex and type of collision avoidance behaviour X2 (1, N = 2910) = 247.32, p < 0.01. [Insert graph here] Discussion The aim of the current study was to investigate whether current sex differences in pedestrian collision avoidance behaviour support previous literature that has found females are more likely to use closed passes, whereas males are more likely to use open passes when avoiding each other in busy pedestrian areas. It was found that more women engaged in closed passes than men and that more men engaged in open passes than women. Statistical analysis revealed that there was a significant relationship between sex and type of collision avoidance behaviour. This means that women are significantly more likely to engage in closed passes, whereas men are significantly more likely to engage in open passes. This finding is in support of previous literature (Collett and Marsh, 1981) and the data supports the researchers’ hypothesis. Collett and Marsh (1981) argued that females engage in closed passes in an attempt to protect their breasts because they observed that women often drew their arms across their chests during the pass. However, more recent research has demonstrated that even in non-confrontational, everyday situations, females tend to sit in closed positions whilst keeping their arms close to their bodies (Cashdan, 1998; Vrugt and Luyerink, 2000). This suggests that Collett and Marsh’s (1981) initial interpretation may be flawed. Women may naturally adopt closed body language, which they are also likely to use during pedestrian collision avoidance scenarios. The finding that men are more likely to use open passes is in keeping with previous literature on male body language and non-verbal communication. For example, Mehrabian (1968) found that men tend to show more alertness than women by directing their shoulder orientation toward the other person. This could explain why men adopt an open positi on and direct their shoulders toward the other individual whilst passing them. Luxen (2005) found that men tend to exhibit behavioural dominance in situations involving women. Turning their body toward a woman, whilst she turns away, may reflect this dominance. Therefore, the current findings can be interpreted in the context of sex differences in both body language and non-verbal communication. It is difficult to draw any strong conclusions from an observational study and only inferences can be made. However, based on the results and what is known about body language, it appears as though the sex differences in the way that individuals avoid pedestrian collisions still exist today as they did in the 1980s. The results also seem to support Collett and Marsh’s (1981) conclusion that women are more likely to adopt a protective stance when making passes in a collision avoidance situation. The current study had a notable number of strengths. Primarily, this study utilised a large sample, which is highly likely to be representative of the population as a whole. Generalisability was also strengthened by using different train station locations for observations. Furthermore, having taken place in a natural environment rather than a lab setting, the results have good ecological validity. However, the observation method has a number of limitations, which should be noted. Firstly, although a pilot study was carried out in order to familiarise the observer with different types of passes, the data would have been more reliable if two observers had been used at any one time. An alternative method of improving the study would have to been to video record the observation area so that a second observer could interpret an identical scenario of pedestrian collision avoidance. This would have provided a measure of inter-observer reliability, which would have strengthened the results o f the study. It is also possible that the observer was biased because they were aware of the study hypothesis. In other words, the observer may have interpreted females to have carried out more closed passes because this is what was expected based on the previous literature. In future studies, keeping the observer blind to the hypothesis of the study will reduce this risk. There are also some ethical concerns with large scale observation studies such as this. For example, some individuals may object to being watched and to their behaviour being recorded. However, with such a large scale study, it would have been impossible to have sought the informed consent of each participant. Data was also completely anonymised, which keeps the study within ethical boundaries. Although the study has good generalisability, this is somewhat weakened by collecting results from only the UK. Future research may wish to focus on whether the same patterns are found internationally. Based on the findings of the current study, future studies may also wish to focus on exploring in more detail why these sex differences exist. For example, a sample of individuals exhibiting these behaviours could be administered a questionnaire to explore whether the behaviour is unconscious or conscious and if it is conscious, why they engage in either open or closed passes. References Cashdan, E. (1998). Smiles, speech, and body posture: How women and men display sociometric status and power. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 22(4), 209-228. Collett, P.R. & Marsh, P.E. (1981). Patterns of public behaviour: Collision avoidance on a pedestri an crossing. In A. Kendon (Ed.), Nonverbal communication, interaction and gesture (pp. 199-217). The Hague: Mouton Press. Goffman, E. (1972). Relations in public. Harmondsworth: Pelican. Luxen, M. (2005). Gender differences in dominance and affiliation during a demanding interaction. Journal of Psychology: Interdisciplinary and Applied, 139(4), 331- 347. Mehrabian, A. (1968). Relationship of attitude to seated posture, orientation, and distance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 10(1), 26-30. Vrugt, A., & Luyerink, M. (2000). The contribution of bodily posture to gender stereotypical im pressions. Social Behavior & Personality: An International Journal, 28(1), 91. Wolff, M. (1973) Notes on the behaviour of pedestrians. In A. Birenbaum and E. Sagar (Eds.), Peo ple in places: The sociology of the familiar (pp. 35-48). New York: Praeger.

Adult children of alcoholics

Alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence within the family setting often results in a serious psychological and social disorder that many now consider a family disease.   Truly, the family is not at ease, and the family relationships are not only disrupted but also disrupting.Undeniably, each member of the family can be victimized by the disturbing effects of problem drinking on the stability, unity, values, attitudes, and goals of the family unit.Countless millions of American adults have been exposed to problem-producing family drinking through endangered physical, mental, social, economic, and even spiritual welfare; unhappy and unfulfilling marriages; broken homes resulting from desertion and divorce; impoverishment; and sometimes violence involving both spouse abuse and child abuse.The family and marital interaction of alcohol-abusing people have become a growing area of research recently.   We now know that evidence linking alcohol abuse and family violence is not simply one of cause and effect.   Indeed, the husband who beats his wife is sometimes a battering father, but alcohol consumption may be coincidental to the circumstances that end with the abuse.Sometimes the drunken father is the target of violence from the wife and even the children.   To complicate the family situation, violence is often interspersed with periods of calm that mistakenly encourage the victims to believe that the personal abuse will not be repeated and in some instances, alcohol abusers can hold all other family members psychologically hostage to their threats of misbehavior or embarrassment, so that problem drinkers will â€Å"get their way† and so non-problem drinkers allow the abuse to continue through their own silence and inaction.Adults and Children of Alcoholics:Currently, it is estimated that there are 29 million Americans who may be designated as children of alcoholics (COA) or adult children of alcoholics (ACOA).   Nearly 7 million of them are under 18 ye ars of age, and almost 3 million of this group will likely develop alcoholism, other drug problems, and other serious coping problems.About half of all ACOAs will likely marry alcoholics and thus at risk of re-creating the same kind of stressful and unhealthy families in which they themselves grew up.  Ã‚   There is no doubt that all children are affected adversely by family alcohol abuse and suffer negative consequences.The larger proportions of COAs & ACOAs seem to function fairly well and do not develop serious problems during childhood or adulthood.   Many ACOAs & COAs make positive adjustments to their families’ alcoholism and other related-problems (Dunkel, 1994).Many children of alcoholics, however, are at an extremely high risk for developing alcohol and other drug problems, and often live with overwhelming tension, stress and fears.   Some have high levels of anxiety and depression, others do poorly in school and still others experience problems with coping.Amo ng the most frequently observed differences in ACOAs and COAs are deficits in mental functioning; in perception, reasoning, intuition, and the process of gaining knowledge.   While these children tend to achieve lower scores, they nevertheless test within normal ranges for intelligence and knowledge of specific academic subjects.But they often experience school problems, repeat grades, fail to graduate from high school and require referrals to school counselors and psychologists (Wegscheider, 1981).When COAs and ACOAs were first identified as a special population with unique needs and problems, a standard group of symptoms (the COA and ACOA syndrome) was formulated to describe children and adult children of alcoholics.The problems and symptoms were toleration of bizarre behavior displayed by parents as normal and acceptable, inability to trust others, difficulty in expressing inner feelings, experience of depression, and increased risk for mental illness.They tend to have developm ent of guilt feelings for supposedly causing a parent’s alcoholism and have loss of self-esteem and perception of self and family as oddities.   These individuals feel helpless in controlling their selves and life events.Children even have shown a belief in a magical person who will eventually save the child from harm and there is a development of an inward life focus to escape from the turmoil of the home.COAs and ACOAs commonly assume one of the following distinctive coping roles within the family; the family hero or junior mom caretaker, who is quite successful both at home and at school; the scapegoat who is something of an angry rebel and often involved unapproved social behavior.The lost child or angel, who withdraws to the background, never causes trouble, has no opinion, feels unimportant, and isolates himself or herself from others; or the mascot, who manages to defuse explosive and tense situation, often through humor, by focusing attention on himself or herself ( Jorgensen & Jorgensen, 1990).Recent critics of the theory of the COA and ACOA syndrome have contended that many children of nonalcoholic, but strong dysfunctional families such as those marked by sexual or physical abuse and incest, also share some of the characteristics as COAs and ACOAs.   Although the uniqueness of the ACOA and COA syndrome may be abandoned, the pain created within children who grow up in an alcoholic home is still acknowledged as significant and serious.The revision of this syndrome appears to include the following characteristics; A greater likelihood of becoming an alcohol or other drug abuser; a strong disposition toward having psychiatric symptoms as an adult; a moderately significant increase risk for marital problems; more impulsive behavior as a child as well as delayed language development, fine motor coordination and sociability; and a higher incident of cognitive disorders.Although most COAs and ACOAs have few common psychological factors that distin guish them from other children who experienced a disadvantaged childhood, one researcher has found that disproportionate number of children born to alcoholic or drug addicted parents have abnormal brainwave patterns.   Such differences appear to correlate strongly with certain behavioral characteristics, including impulsivity, social deviance, and lower IQ (Dunkel, 1974).The Recovery:Family therapy is a form of psychotherapy based on the proposition that disturbed relationships among various family members may have contributed to or resulted from the destructive drinking of one family member.   This form of treatment emphasizes family interaction factors, in addition to individual problems of the alcohol abuser, and proposes changes in the communication patterns of family members.All family members are treated as a unit, rather than isolating the alcoholic and treating that person apart from their family.   Behavioral therapy is a general form of psychotherapy that is based on the application of human learning theories in a clinical setting.   Behavioral therapists emphasize changing the coping patterns of the alcohol-dependent individuals rather than changing the underlying causes of self-destructive alcohol abuse.Some behavioral therapies focus on assertiveness training and improving communications skills and problem solving methods.   Such treatment emphasizes that drug dependent people can gain control over their own actions, reaffirm the value of sobriety, and eventually overpower alcohol.   This basic belief stands in sharp contrast with the philosophy of Alcoholics Anonymous, which emphasizes personal powerlessness over alcohol (Schuckit, 2006).Alcoholics Anonymous is one of the most successful approaches in recovery from Alcoholism.   Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is a fellowship of problem drinkers who want to help in maintaining sobriety.   Voluntary membership involves an emotional commitment that the alcoholic is powerless over the cont rol of alcohol and that only a power greater than the self can restore soundness of mind.The famous â€Å"Twelve Steps† of AA express the philosophy and recovery process of this international association.   Offering hope of recovery from alcoholism is an essential feature of Alcoholics Anonymous.   Such hope is provided by both example and supportive interrelationships with other members of this self help fellowship.   Each person is expected to become involved with the Twelve Steps of AA, an ongoing process referred to as â€Å"working the program†.The Twelve Traditions of AA are the operational principles of the fellowship and express the importance and significance of the group in relationship to its membership, nonmembers, and society in general.   At present, Alcoholics Anonymous has an estimated membership in excess of 1.5 million people in 114 countries around the world.Despite its evident spiritual orientation, AA continues to thrive, based on singlenes s of purpose, group autonomy, self-supporting financial operation, maintenance of non-professional status, noninvolvement in public controversy, and personal anonymity.   Patterned closely after AA are the AlAnon family groups for spouses and friends of recovered and recovering alcoholics and Alateen groups for children of alcoholics (Ammermann, Ott & Tarter, 1999).Summary:Alcohol abuse is everyone’s problem.   Whether nonuser, moderate or social drinker, or alcoholic, everyone is directly or indirectly affected by alcohol abuse.   Whether alcoholism is perceived as a personal threat or not and whether drinking is viewed as good or bad, the most important thing to remember is that ethyl alcohol is a drug with the potential for adverse drug effects even when used in social settings.Social drinking is usually moderate, but the limits of appropriateness are likely to vary from one drinker or drinking group to another.   Consequently, promoting so-called responsible drink ing behavior may be less than adequate as a method of reducing alcohol problems and alcohol abuse.In a similar manner, urging drinkers to â€Å"party sensibly† or â€Å"know your limits† may sound like good advice, but these recommendations have been criticized as lacking in specificity and dealing with glittering generalities that cannot be applied easily.Problem drinking refers to alcohol consumption that will result in damage to the drinker, the drinker’s family, or the drinker’s community.   Problem drinkers include not only alcohol-dependent individuals and long-time alcohol abusers, but also moderate and light drinkers who drive after excessive drinking and cause accidents.Problem drinking is a form of substance abuse as well as a consequence of substance abuse.   Use of alcohol continues despite a persistent social, occupational, psychological or physical problem related to such consumption.   Problem drinking is also a form of substance abus e because alcohol intake recurs when such use is dangerous to oneself or to others or both.Reference:Ammermann, R. T., Ott, P.J., & Tarter, R.E. (1999).   Prevention and societal impact of    drug and alcohol abuse [computer file].   New Jersey: Erlbaum Associates.Dunkel, T. (1994).   Dealing with demons of a new generation.   In Annual Editions:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Drugs, Society and Human Behavior 94/95, p. 128-130. Guilford, Conn.:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Dushkin.Jorgensen, D. & Jorgensen, J. (1990).   Secrets told by children of Alcoholics.   Blue Ridge   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Summit, Pa.: Tab Books.Schuckit, M. A. (2006).   Drug and Alcohol Abuse a Clinical guide to diagnosis and   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   treatment.   New York: Springer.Wegscheider, S. (1981).   Another chance: Hope and Health for the alcoholic family.     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   California: Science and Behavior Books.