The Dominance of Biomedicine and Challenges to its Discourse Essay

Contemporary approaches in understanding health, illness and its treatment largely differ from the traditional way of treating people’s health conditions. For instance, before the â€Å"Age of Reason† beliefs about vindictive spirits, evil and divine intervention, and practices of sorcery and witchcraft were widely held (Porter 1997 as cited in Williams, 2003). Another example is the practice of Greek medicine; a more naturalistic approach used by the practitioner to tune the body through humoral theories of balance and lifestyle modification. Similarly, during this age, the combination of physical, emotional, and spiritual factors contributed to the development of the â€Å"sick man† (Williams, 2003). These medical teachings were authoritative until the eighteenth century. However, towards the nineteenth century, numerous discoveries such as Vesalius’ anatomical atlas and Harvey’s process of blood circulation challenged mainstream medicine, which p aved the way for the rise of a newer and more systematic form of medicine (Williams, 2003, p. 11), marking the growth and supremacy of scientific medicine. The evolution of scientific medicine is well documented in several literature (Gabe, Keheller, & Williams, 1994; Longino, 1998; Marcum, 2008; Morris, 2000; Quirke & Gaudilliere, 2008; Williams, 2003). A progressive shift from preference of either licensed or unlicensed healers to the legitimization of the medical profession and medicalisation of natural life experiences had occurred (Gabe, et al., 1994). With this, scientific medicine, commonly known as biomedicine, continued to dominate the discourse of health and illness from the end of the 18th century up to the present (Williams, 2003). Despite this perceived supremacy, scientific medicine... ...s of thi sTrial Apply? The Lancet, 365(9453), 82-93. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(04)17670-8 Thorpe, R. D. (2008). Integrating biomedical and CAM approaches: The experiences of people living with HIV/AIDS. Health Sociology Review, 17(4), 410-418. Tonelli, M. R., & Callahan, T. C. (2001). Why Alternative Medicine Cannot be Evidenced-Based. Academic Medicine, 76(12), 1213-1220. Torgerson, D. J. (2003). Avoiding Bias in Randomised Controlled Trials in Educational Research. British Journal of Educational Studies, 51(1), 36-45. Williams, S. J. (2003). Medicine and the body. London: SAGE publications Ltd. Xue, C. C. L., Zhang, A. L., Lin, V., Costa, C. D., & Story, D. F. (2007). Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use in Australia: A National Population-Based Survey. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 13(6), 643-650. doi: 10.1089/acm.2006.6355.

Preparation for Chinese New Year Essay

Preparations for the New Year begin a couple of weeks before the big day. This is a fun time full of anticipation and joy as we get ready for the thrill and excitement of the celebrations. According to the traditions, this is the time to clean the house, prepare food for the feast and make banners and decorations special for the New Year. A clean house to welcome the New Year Before the New Year comes, it is one of the Chinese New Year customs to clean the house from top to bottom to get rid off all the bad luck gathered in the previous year. And after the New Year comes, you cannot sweep during the first days otherwise all the new luck will sweep away! So one of your Chinese New Year activities will be to†¦ clean your room! Wouldn’t want all that accumulated bad luck for another year would you!! Cleaning house also means settling all your unfinished business to start fresh for the new year: Pay off all your debts, resolve all quarrels with friends, catch up with homework!!! Make some Banners and Decorations Red banners with New Year messages of good luck decorate the main entrance of your house/room. Red is a very lucky color and symbolizes vitality of life and happiness. You can make your own Chinese New Year decorations with bright red paper and markers or a brush if you prefer. Here are some instructions to make your own New Year Banners including the â€Å"Lucky Characters† stroke by stroke. Preparing the Chinese New Year Banquet On New Year’s Day, the families come together to celebrate and everything must be ready for this important fest. Food must be prepared ahead of time, as one of the popular Chinese New Year superstitions dictates that all knives must be put away. Using a knife during the first days of the New Year â€Å"cuts off† all the good luck for the coming year. The New Year’s feast takes many days to prepare. These are some of the traditional chinese new year foods served on New Year’s day and throughout the festivities: * meat dumplings for good luck * tangerines for good fortune * apples for peace * sweet rice cakes for more wealth every year * fish for plenty * veggies with long noodles for long life * chicken for wealth * mustard greens for a green year for farmers * soup means everything better than last year * oranges for money and wealth * shrimp for abundance Paying respects to the Ancestors The New Year Celebrations can only begin after paying respect to the ancestors. On New Year’s Eve, people will go to the temples and pray for good fortune for the new year. They bring offerings of food and incense to please the spirits of the deceased so that they might bring good luck. So now that all the preparations are done with, the long-awaited day arrives and the New Year’s festivities can begin! Chinese New Year Preparation Preparing for the Chinese New Year begins on personal and social front and can start months before the New Year. These preparations are made in the hope to usher the New Year in the best context possible. Most people try to settle their debts with friends before the New Year so that they can start the New Year debt free. However, this settling of debt often refers to debt between friends and do not include home or car loans with financial institutions. These are considered as investments. Many people will also check predictions of their luck in the New Year. The Chinese calendar has a 60 year cycle and each year is presided by a star. Everyone has a star that corresponds with the year of birth. This birth star may conflict with next year’s presiding star, çŠ ¯Ã¥ ¤ ªÃ¥ ²  creating difficulties in work, business or personal life. To avoid or minimize the impact, rituals can be conducted at temples before the New Year. During the dates for these rituals, temples are often crow ded with devotees. Nearer to the New Year families start their spring cleaning to welcome the New Year. This is the period when new furniture or minor renovations will be undertaken. Chinese New Year decorations such as couplets, banners are used to create a festive atmosphere. A major activity before the New Year is the exchange of gifts. Most of the gift items have symbolic meanings or status symbols to demonstrate good will or to express good wishes. New Year gifts can be presented to family, friends and between companies. Popular items include New Year cakes, Niangao, Ã¥ ¹ ´Ã§ ³â€¢ in auspicious shapes, Mandarin oranges, Bakkwa (BBQ meat), sweets, candies, chocolates and hampers. New Year cards è ´ ºÃ¥ ¹ ´Ã¥  ¡ are also sent to family members, friends and business contacts. A few weeks before the Chinese New Year, markets and fairs specializing in New Year goods can be found in most cities. These markets offer foodstuff, candies, New Year decorations, flowers, clothes, New Year CDs and almost everything required for the New Year. These items are bought as gifts, for home consumption or used to entertain visiting family members or guests. These New Year markets often end in the early hours of New Year’s day. Many people visit these markets after their reunion dinner and stay till after midnight to buy the items at huge discounts.

4 Career Fears You Need to Face

4 Career Fears You Need to Face Fear. It’s not just the feeling that strikes when you’re home alone watching scary movies and suddenly there’s a  noise outside your window. It can happen in a much more mundane, brightly-lit place: your desk at work. In fact, the office can be a place where all of your self-doubts and worries compound into a big, career-blocking blob. But you’re not alone- millions of people have responded to polls and surveys about their concerns.What are some of the most common work-related fears?1. Losing the jobWhether you’re a rockstar at work or feel like you’ve been making too many mistakes, fear of losing your job has little to do with actual performance and more to do with your own personal need for stability.2. Performance anxietyMaybe your boss wasn’t as enthusiastic as she could have been after your last presentation. Maybe a new performance review process has you feeling uncertain about whether your year was really as productive as you wanted it to be. Any uncertainty or lack of positive feedback can feed this apprehension.3. Not fitting inWhether it’s middle school or the office break room, no one wants to be the uncool kid. We spend most of our waking hours with our coworkers, and universal social anxieties may show up. It can be tempting to try to play a certain character type in meetings or defer to others’ thoughts and ideas instead of your own.4. Being left behindWith social media giving a new platform to everyday triumphs (â€Å"Guess who’s rocking it today?†), it can turn the workday into a competitive exercise. This plays into anxieties about stagnating in your job while the real stars move on to higher titles and bigger paydays.What can we do to move past these?The best way to conquer these fears (or at least tame them into submission before) is to acknowledge that they’re happening, name them, and be clear with yourself about the steps you’re taking to overcome them. That could mean communicating more openly with your colleagues or even just taking small steps forward on a project you’ve been avoiding because it seemed daunting.Embrace the fears that are holding you back, and then step neatly around them on your career path.Read More at Fast Company

Theories of Addiction General Counseling Methods

Theories of Addiction General Counseling Methods General counseling methods There are numerous counseling methods applicable in the treatment of addictions. They are helpful in establishing critical treatment methods meant to curb the aspects of drug abuse and the alleged addictions. One of the general counseling methods applicable in this context is the motivational interviewing.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Theories of Addiction: General Counseling Methods specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Drug addicts require well-orchestrated counseling mechanisms that will enhance their willingness to quit drug abuse and the characterizing addiction. Motivational interviewing tends to unveil the issues related to drug addiction and formulate strategies that can motivate drug addicts to quite the vice (Peele, 1998). Another treatment method is the Cognitive-Behavioral Theory (CBT). CBT addresses all emotional, behavioral, and cognitive dysfunctions usually experienced by drug addicts. This makes the method quite relevant and applicable as a treatment method in the entire context. The two methods chosen are useful in the addiction treatment due to their applicability, convenience, relevancy, and conventionality in counseling and addressing the provisions of drug addiction. Dry Drunk Syndrome Dry Drunk Syndrome refers to a situation where one seems drunk even without taking any alcohol (experiences alcoholic lapse). The situation is evident among addicted individuals who usually experience withdrawal symptoms after quitting the concerned drug. The alcoholic retains mental and behavioral characters connected with drunkenness (DeSena, 2005). This occurs even when he/she has not drunk alcohol. This syndrome relates perfectly with most of the theories studied in this module. Theoretically, addicted individuals or those who have consumed alcohol for long might face mental problems thus exhibiting behaviors related to drunkenness even if they have not taken alc ohol. This relates to the aspects of addiction mentioned earlier in the paper. A situation of an ex-smoker who socially smokes An ex-smoker who socially smokes is probably enhancing his or her smoking behaviors again. It is important to understand that despite him or her quitting smoking, the fact that he/she occasionally smokes is devastating. His body system might rekindle the smoking behavior hence posing a considerable threat to his/her wellbeing. This is a very important consideration in various aspects. There is a substantial root of addiction in this situation. Biologically, the body system of this ex-smoker will start registering the chemicals (nicotine) presented to it by the cigarette hence triggering the aspects of addiction.Advertising Looking for essay on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The body will need the chemical in order to operate fully. Additionally, the situation might trigger the wi thdrawal symptoms associated with smoking hence necessitating him/her to smoke again (Peele, 1998). Psychologically, the concerned ex-smoker might develop a system where he/she enjoys social smoking hence must do it daily. This triggers the aspects of addiction by submitting to the psychological needs. Lindesmiths Conditioning Model The study of addiction affects societal perceptions on addiction in numerous ways. The study demonstrates the cognitive aspects of addiction plus other related psychological concerns in this context. Illuminating extensively on the scientific and psychological prospects of addiction can reform how the society perceives it. This is an important consideration in various contexts. According to Lindesmith, the society will be able to perceive addiction differently hence making approaches in fighting/preventing the vice (Peele, 1998). Concurrently, it is important to agree that addiction has been over-diagnosed in the US’s culture as claimed. There are various instances of the vice despite the efforts to eradicate it. Additionally, various people in the society including the youth have indulged into drug abuse and addiction. Conclusively, the outline of a ‘successful theory of addiction’ is adequate due to its applicability, appropriateness, conventionality, and efficiency in discerning the aspects of addiction. References DeSena, J. (2005). Overcoming your alcohol, drug and recovery habits: An empowering alternative to AA and 12-step treatment. Tuscan, Arizona: See Sharp Press. Peele, S. (1998). The meaning of addiction: An unconventional view. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

Disputing Affairs In The Publi essays

Disputing Affairs In The Publi essays An entertainer is one who is out to present themselves in order to be known and to fulfill their intended purpose. The life chosen consists of endless surroundings of viewers and the constant admirations received by fans. All entertainers set out the goal of attracting particular age groups and mainly accomplishing the glorious life, presented as the rich and famous; as well as achieving the goal of reaching the top seller lists. The career chosen is not easy to achieve, with the knowledge that many are competing for the rare position given to the lucky ones. These people are considered artists (singers) who either contribute a positive or negative feedback in their presentations. The life given to a celebrity is admired by many, but occasionally these rare winners take their fame into their own hands and in result cause disappointment to viewers. Much of what is presented to us stirs up controversies and causes many to reconsider. We are currently living in the new millennium known as the year 2001. We have not yet discontinued the purpose of music, but instead participate in financially benefiting their work. For as long as music has existed so have their committed fans who support and enjoy what is viewed. The decided view that I have chosen to take upon myself in this essay is the controversial influence entertainers possess on viewers. Many records sold by pop-artists as well as rap- artists are benefiting, but much of our society feels what is previewed should be banned. The society we live holds a great purpose by prohibiting and enforcing laws; therefore those artists being pointed fingers at should consider what is appropriate for the intended audience. I feel that censoring would definitely contribute to bettering not only the fans but the stars themselves. The influential outlook is causing controversies that are not healthy for neither the performer nor the spectator. I would like to first pre...

Compare and Contrast National Athletic Association (NCAA) Coursework

Compare and Contrast National Athletic Association (NCAA) - Coursework Example The common situation among college participants is that they do not have the right to profit from their own aptitudes despite the NCAA doing so. Media and game giant, Electronic Art pays NCAA to use its bowl games and team names in videogames like NCAA Basketball as well as NCAA Football. This college version does not include players’ names; hence they do not share the splits with the NCAA for the governing body contends student-athletes receive enough benefits worth their caliber. These benefits comprise free college education to the athletes through sponsorships, which mainly is in terms of waiving tuition. Mainly, revenues emanate from broadcast agreements, tickets besides other sources like subsidies among the division I institutions (Burnsed, 2014). Regardless of all these funds, athletics associated costs rise at a fast rate such that expenses surpass the obtained revenue in all except 20 institutions in division I-A, for instance, the annual median proceeds from 2012 to 2013 augmented by 3.2% but their expenses managed to top by 10.6% (Burnsed, 2014). These institutions outside the 20 could not make profits therefore since expenses were more than their revenue forcing them to subsidies. Institutions like University of Michigan alongside other others with major athletics programs make profits, hence no need for subsidies for the sports fetch them quite a sum of profits. For instance, when The University of Michigan won the national championship in 1997, managed to realize proceeds of approximately 14 million dollars from the football program yet at that time many other institutions complained of poverty when advised to expand their financial aids (Rosner & Shropshire, 2011). The profit making institutions from athletics have managed to take their sports to another level by compensation of celebrity coaches,

Human resource-staffing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Human resource-staffing - Essay Example The first thing is that it is worth paying these individuals what they are worth or what they demand from you, if you want to attract them to work for you. Quite possibly because of their reputation for producing results, they are being targeted by headhunters and competitor organizations in the industry. So giving them the kind of compensation and benefits they want- of course within reasonable limits- coupled with a free hand in running most things will attract them to the organization (Berger & Berger, 2003, 35). Of course, we do not want a clash between two or more top performers, so budgets and areas of operation and control have to be carefully delineated, with the CEO making decisions if there is an impending conflict. Quite possibly a performance bonus or sweetener has to be offered if they are involved in an organizational turnaround, with stock options in tow. Developing a talent inventory for the most promising individuals in the organization and giving them ample opportunities to be responsible as well as get training, learning and development will help prepare a talent pool from within the enterprise itself. It is best to put such individuals under direct reporting of the top performing individuals, so that a talent pool is developed that could be used in case the top performer resigns, dies or is lured by a competitor. 8. Keeping an eye on the market and the top performing individuals in different areas of the industry can also help in filling important positions from outside if relevant talents are not available within the organization. I think that the best single practice I have learned in this regard is to be prepared and it is always best to have a succession plan or backup plan in place in case an important individual leaves the organization. This is possible if one keeps an eye on what is happening in the industry from time to