The Emergence of Globalization Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Emergence of Globalization - Research Paper Example As defined above, globalization is an elimination of trade barriers, communication and cultural exchange limitations (Murray, 2006). The emergence of globalization was introduced to promote inherent wealth among all countries in the world. The United States has notably been identified as the leader in globalization after the World War II. In 1993, they introduced the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) which was a movement aimed at eliminating trade boundaries and promoting globalization (Brook, 2008). In the 19th century, most countries started investing in new forms of transport and communication services. Additionally, there were other transport systems such as road and air transport and communication forms such as the introduction of the internet and the cell phone (Murray, 2006). With the invention of these advanced forms of transport and communication, billions of people were connected globally. In 2000, the International Monetary Fund acknowledged four fundamental aspe cts of globalization (Brook, 2008). These aspects include trade and transactions, capital and investment movements, migration and dissemination of knowledge. Early in the 21st century, the developing states augmented their global trade share. However, there was a vast disparity among the major regions in the world in regard to trade and other transactions. Also, the movement of people to different places in the world had a significant impact on the globalization factor. In most cases, it was noted that individuals migrated from their countries to other regions where the economy was advanced. In addition, dissemination of information is also an integral aspect in globalization (Brook, 2008). Technological innovations formed significant benefits to the least developing countries in the world. Lastly, the aspect of investment and capital movements still remains significant in globalization. Most of the corporations which are located in the United States have moved their services to oth er countries where it is cheap to perform their business. Additionally, other technical jobs and services are also moving to other locations. This is referred to as off shoring and outsourcing. Therefore, this has enabled most Americans to become designers and innovators among other careers, which employ new concepts and technologies. Research clearly asserts that, the education standards in the United States are drastically regressing. Subjects such as intelligent design are being taught in many institutions. Even with the higher education provided in the country, most of the technical subjects are being studied in other countries (Murray, 2006). The former president of the United States; George W. Bush claimed that they should not be against globalization. However, it is observed that the country is significantly falling behind when competing economically in the global market (Brook, 2008). As a matter of fact, something should be done before more Americans leave the country for b etter opportunities in other countries. The economy of the United States is temporarily stagnant as a result of these effects. In the globalization aspect, there are both positive and negative impacts. Most of the benefits of globalization correspond to the less developed countries since; through globalization the less developed countries are able to improve their economic conditions. In the United

An Influenced Life Essay Example for Free

An Influenced Life Essay An Influenced Life As people grow and develop in their lives, many factors influence their trajectories. These factors manifest themselves in many ways, but some are more prominent than others. I believe that every person, depending the factors that influenced them most strongly, would place more importance on some factors than others. In other words, my essay will be different than other classmates, because I was raised differently than most of them and different things had impacts on my development. Individuals also probably think some are more important factors than others, and these viewpoints depend solely on their lives and their development thus far. My personal view is that some of the most important factors that influence an individual’s development are their innate temperament, the parents they are born to, the consequent family role they possess, the anxiety they bear in life, and the relationships they make – both forced and by their own volition. Read more: Essay explain how children and young people’s development is influenced by a range of personal factors. Although I believe these are some of the most important factors, they are by no means the only things that influence a persons’ development over time. Also worth noting is the fact that these all impact each other as well as singularly influencing an individual. When combined, many factors cause other factors and all influence a persons’ development trajectory. One of these influences is inborn, not decided by outside forces. Temperament is something every human is born with, and it is shown from the moment they start breathing. My sister and I, for example, have somewhat opposite temperaments. As a child I was very loud and loved to talk (which hasn’t changed), and my sister was much quieter and listened much better than I ever could. She was more patient from birth than I will ever be. This chasm between our personalities provides some definition for our life development. Her calm, quiet manner led to little misbehavior and consequent punishment. My quick, sarcastic temper led to much conflict with parents and occasionally teachers, and required containment. This put me in a different trajectory than my sister, as she became easy to deal with, and easy to please. My parents had to take a different approach with me, as my temperament led me to be harder to discipline, please, and control. The temperament of any individual greatly influences a person’s future life development. It influences the way a person reacts and relates to other people, the way they act alone and in company, and their view on the world. Parents are one of the influences I think most would agree impacts development most. Even people who had parents that were not present might agree that the absence itself influenced their life and development. The techniques parents use vary and are quite different from family to family, and occasionally even within families. Parenting impacts development and views of the world because they restrict or allow activities, and provide moral ideas and values in differing strengths, passing on much to their children. As we grow out of childhood, impressions of our parents from a young age remain with us and impact the way we live, act, and interpret others’ behaviors. The two spectrums for parenting styles measure how demanding a parent is, and how responsive a parent is. To me, these can make or break a child’s development. If either is too low, the child will have problems later in life, but if either is too high, there will also be consequences. High responsiveness may produce a needy, incapable adult, while low responsiveness will result in anxiety about love, and mattering. High demanding parenting may result in a high-strung, over-achieving stressed adult, while low demanding will produce an adult with little motivation and drive. Clearly, parenting impacts development and, if possible, should be controlled in order to help children develop correctly and well. As parents begin to treat children differently due to temperament, and children learn more about their parenting styles, the kids in the family begin to learn their roles in the family. These roles can range from simply the â€Å"quiet one† to â€Å"loud one,† or from â€Å"instigator† to â€Å"peace-maker.† Some of the roles can make children feel guilty, unworthy, or bad about themselves, while others make childr en feel proud, confident, and pleased. These differences start at a young age and continue through their lives, even into adulthood. This will also influence relationships and life plans, causing each person to have a different filter per say, which they view the world through. If an individual follows these family roles into adulthood, individuals follow whatever mold they were shaped into as a young person. This can obviously impact development in frightening ways. One can imagine a forty year-old still following his instilled role of a meek, rule-following, shy six year-old, or a twenty-one year-old still behaving as a reckless, authority defying teenager, but with much more damaging and dangerous rebellions. The types of anxiety that a person deals with on a frequent  basis derive from many sources. These factors come from both developmental sources and environmental sources. While environmental sources are inevitable and cannot be avoided, like natural disasters and wars, the developmental sources can be somewhat traced to other developmental factors. If a person carries too much anxiety, they can then begi n to develop harmful relationships and tendencies. Some anxieties that can hurt a persons’ development are worrying about trust, competence, and mattering. All three of these concerns can come from the way an individual is treated and affected by people close to them, and society as a whole, along with some of the traits they were born with. These main three concerns make or break relationships, another developmental factor. However, they also impact the way we develop in all strains of life, especially cognitive development. If someone has anxiety about not mattering or being competent, and this anxiety is reinforced by their relationships, they may truly begin to believe these things. This will begin to impact their work and productivity, starting to truly render them incompetent. Relationships also play a large role in development over time. Of all the factors discussed, I think this may be one of the most obvious, but also one of the most influential. Depending on the individual someone is relating to, and the impacts other developmental factors have on them too, relationships are the dynamic culmination of influences on human devel opment. Relationship models range from secure to insecure, and someone who forms insecure relationships is unlikely to trust anyone, and consequently bear even more anxiety than what led to the insecure relationship. I think relationships influence development because relationships give us friends, role models, and comfort. Relationships make life worth living, but if they are not healthy and secure relationships, the zeal for life may degrade. There are many factors that impact development in many different ways. These influences can have physical, social, cognitive, and emotional consequences, and help us to become the adults we do in life. They eventually all do interrelate and combine to influence each other and our development in many ways. This being said, it is crucial to development to have consistent, good, controlled factors. Although temperament cannot be controlled, parenting styles, family roles, and relationships can be objectively considered and helped, in order to ensure proper development and a productive, competent adult. If every child had these factors controlled  and watched, in order to help them develop the best they could, there would be much less anxiety, unhappiness, and idleness in our society.

Ensuring Health And Safety At Workplaces

Ensuring Health And Safety At Workplaces Introduction In our day to day lives, accidents tend to occur under different circumstances some of which can be avoided. Most accidents are attributed to carelessness of which it is believed just a little carefulness could avoid and in the process reduce the many serious injuries incurred and even at times death or decapitation. Accidents are unplanned and unfortunate events that results in damage, injuries or upsets of some kind. This is the same even at workplaces. Most accidents at work places are sometimes as a result of carelessness. These accidents can be avoided if the following measures can be taken at the places of work. Management is committed to safety in the work place, employees are informed about accident prevention, consultation between the employer and employee takes place on a regular basis, there is a trusting relationship between the employer and staff and employees have actual input into the decision-making process. Employers and employees attitude towards accidents also contribute greatly towards preventing them from occurring. If both the employer and the employee approach safety at places of work with diligence, then these cases of accidents will be greatly reduced and inefficiency due to lose of time from work by employees will be avoided. The best method to achieve this is through cooperation of the two main partners (employer and employee who may be represented by unions), an approach known as the shared responsibility model. Workplace and Injury Hazards Accidents at work are sometimes caused by a complex combination of unsafe employee behavior and unsafe working conditions. Several factors contribute to the complexity of managing safety in the workplaces. These factors include effects of some industrial diseases dont show up for years, employers may cover up a health or safety problem before the inspector arrives, employers may fail to monitor or disclose health risks and employees may fail to follow safety practices at the workplaces or engage in dangerous behavior while at work. It is also critical that organizations consider the safety of members of the public who enter the company property. Awareness of health hazards is very important. Employers should give thought to preparing for emergency health hazards. While the number of workplace injuries may level off, the direct cost of injuries does not. Moreover, workplace injuries result in several indirect costs such as damages, recruitment, inefficiency and reduced production. Men are more than twice as likely as women to have a time loss injury while with reference to age, younger workers are most likely to be injured. Logging and forestry, construction, manufacturing and transportation are among the most dangerous industries and the most common types of injuries are strains and sprains followed by contusions, crushing or bruises. The most likely body parts to be injured are in order back followed by fingers then legs. Health Hazards Health hazards can be classified into four categories. Physical agents exposure to physical elements. Biological agents (Biohazards) exposure to natural organisms. Chemical agents exposure to chemical compounds or harmful toxic substances. Ergonomically related injuries work environment related including stress, strain, fatigue and back injuries. Across the country there is growing emphasis on the health of younger workers who are the most injured. The most common injuries affecting them include electrocution and machine injuries yet a number of them are not aware of their health and safety rights and responsibilities at the workplace. Safety Regulations Every employee has fundamental rights which are:- The right to know about hazards in the workplace. The right to participate in correcting the hazards. The right to refuse dangerous work. A key element of health and safety laws is joint occupational health and safety committee which is required in every workplace. Responsibilities of these committees include to meet at least once a month, to ensure adequate records are kept regarding accidents and health hazards, to investigate and resolve complaints by employees, to participate in investigations of health and safety-related injuries, to regularly monitor health and safety programs, to monitor records of injuries and illnesses, to cooperate with safety officers investigating a complaint or accident, to develop, establish and promote health and safety programs and procedures and to obtain information from the employer and government agencies concerning existing potential hazards in the workplace. Some other federal laws are:- The hazardous product act whose primary objective is protecting consumers by regulating the sale of dangerous products. Its an important part of the Workplace Hazardous Material Information System (WHMIS), which requires that suppliers label all hazardous products and provide a material safety data sheet (MSDS), on each of them which contains hazard symbol, information on the properties and composition of the product, nature of the potential hazard that may result from misuse of the product and suggested emergency treatment procedure the employer must provide training to enable employees recognize the WHMIS hazard symbols. The transportation of dangerous goods act which makes transport Canada a federal government agency responsible for handling and transporting dangerous materials by federally regulated shipping and transportation companies. It requires that the carriers should be informed of dangerous goods which should be classified according to a coding system. The Canadian center for occupational health and safety act whose objectives are to promote health and safety in the workplace and the physical and mental health of the working populace in Canada, to facilitate consultation and cooperation among federal, provincial and territorial jurisdiction and to participate by labour and management in the relevant to the Canadian circles, to aid in the progress and maintenance of policies as well as programs tailored towards the elimination of occupational hazards and finally to serve as a national center for statistics and other information relating to occupational health and safety. The center is supervised by a board of governors made up of the federal government representatives, labor and employers. Organizations are now connected electronically with the center and have access to relevant information. Safety Enforcement In the federal jurisdiction all industrial units are inspected at least once a year to confirm their safe operation. The numbers of visits depend on units accidental records and its size. During these visits, the safety may at any time enter any property of business and are given a wide range of powers as stipulated in section 14 of the Canada labour code (part 2). No law by itself can make a workplace safe. It is far more effective not to mention less costly if the responsibility for safety becomes a concern for everyone starting with top managers going down to the supervisors and lastly the employees. The top managers must set policies and make concern for health and safety of the organizations culture and strategy while the supervisors must become proficient in maintaining safety which means knowing about health and safety laws and regulations and learning communications skills in order to convey the necessary information to employees. Employees are responsible for working safely. It is imperative to train the employees so that they comprehend safety rules on how to safely operate equipment. Good safety performances should be recognized and rewarded while unsatisfactory practices be documented and corrected. Human resource professionals should ensure consistent enforcement of all safety and health rules. This is achieved through creating a safety climate in the organization and conducting health and safety audits voluntarily or as a result of being targeted by government health and safety officials. Safety climates are becoming an important factor affecting safety knowledge and motivation. Workplace Stress Workplace stress occurs where there is pressure or unrealistic job demands than the worker can deliver within the required time. It is often the conflict between the employees ability and the job demands. Senior management officials are also recognizing the importance of health issues on employee performance. Stress symptoms involve both mental health and physical health. People who are stressed may become nervous, easily provoked to anger and chronically worried about things. Exposure to stressful working conditions called job stressors which can directly influence the health and safety of employees and this is what causes workplace stress. Frequently occurring stress is known as acute stress. The general and widely recognized cause of stress is change because it requires adaptation. A substantial and prolonged stress can bring about a condition of mental, emotional and sometimes physical exhaustion known as burnout. Slight stress improves performance due to the challenge until reac hes a plateau after which it becomes too great and performance starts to decline because the employee loses the ability to cope, becomes unable to make decisions and is erratic inn behavior. Solutions to workplace stress can be curative which correct the outcome of stress or preventive which attempt to change the cause of stress. In managing stress at work, the human resource department can come up with a stress audit to evaluate the extent of dysfunctional stress hence identify the cause of stress. Organizations can also introduce fitness and employee wellness programs. These programs have a positive impact on reducing stress and absenteeism and increasing productivity. Other contemporary workplace safety issues include workplace security, sick building syndrome, workplace violence and ergonomics. The human resource managers face challenges when they have an AIDS infected employee. Its a breach of human rights laws to discriminate against AIDS infected people but just in case the other employees refuse to work with that person the employer should establish a policy and have an action plan in place before such a case arises among employees or their dependant. It must be continually stressed that top managements involvement in setting a health and safety Policies are essential and if it does not assume the leadership role, it sets example by its inaction and middle managers, first line supervisors and employees will behave accordingly. It is important to have a control process in place. Causes of accidents should be identified and eliminated, an effective training exercise should be carried out, the human resource department should use its information system to monitor for patterns of accidents or health problems and finally management should continually encourage safety awareness on the part of super visors and employees. Conclusion Occupational health and safety continues to be an imperative part of the organizations operation. It is taking the centre stage in the priorities of the human resources management. Most of the occupational health and safety acts created by the federal and provincial governments now require the establishment of safety committees in companies. The prevention of accidents is therefore key to the human resource managers, who should also focus. AIDS at the workplace is an important issue and the human resource department needs to take measures to curb severe friction among work groups or irrational actions from frightened employees that may arise as a result of HIV and AIDS cases.

The Elderly And Mental Health

The Elderly And Mental Health This assignment will look issues around older peoples mental health, in particular, dementia and abuse; this will include demographics of older people, statistics, the history, definitions and causes of dementia, and finally the lack of legislation to protect vulnerable people from harm and the implications for social work practice. The population surge at the end of world war 2 has gave rise to an unprecedented population explosion and to what we now call the baby boomers, these people are now in their retirement years'(Summers Et al, 2006), and our population now contains larger percentage of older people that ever. In society today elder people are becoming the fastest increasing population in the UK, National Statistics (2009) states that the population of the UK is ageing. Over the last 25 years the percentage of the population aged 65 and over increased from 15 per cent in 1983 to 16 per cent in 2008, an increase of 1.5 million people in this age group. Due to the increase of the ageing population we are now seeing emerging health and social care issues in our society. Many older people will be active, involved within the community, and independent of others. However, as you get older it is natural to experience pain, a decline in mobility or mental awareness. Mind (2010) states that the most common mental health problems in older people are depression and dementia. There is a widespread belief that these problems are a natural part of the ageing process, but this not the case; it can start as early 40 but is more common in older people (Royal college of Psychiatrists, 2009), however, there only 20 per cent of people over 85, and 5 per cent over 65, have dementia; 10-15 per cent of people over 65 have depression (Mind, 2010). It is important to remember that the majority of older people remain in good mental health. Dementia mainly affects older people, although it can affect younger people; there are 15,000 people in the UK under the age of 65 who have dementia (Alzheimers society, 2010). However, currently 700,000 or one person in every 88 in the UK have dementia, incurring a yearly cost of  £17bn, and the London School of Economics and Institute of Psychiatry research calculated that more that 1.7 million people will have dementia b y 2051 reported by BBC news (2007). The word dementia comes from the Latin demens meaning without a mind. References to dementia can be found in Roman medical texts and in the philosophical works of Cicero. The term dementia came into common usage from the 18th Century when it had both clinical and legal connotations. Dementia implied a lack of competence and an inability to manage ones own affairs. Medical use of the term dementia evolved throughout the 19th century and was used to describe people whose mental disabilities were secondary to acquired brain damage, usually degenerative and often associated with old age (Kennard 2006). From the 20th century onwards scientific knowledge was supplemented through the examination of the brain and brain tissue which was founded and performed by a physician Alois Alzheimer (Plontz, 2010). The National service framework (Department of Health, 2001, p96) now defines dementia as a clinical syndrome characterised by a widespread loss of mental function. The term dementia is used to describe the symptoms that occur in a group of diseases that affect the normal working functions of the brain. This can lead to a decline of mental ability, affecting memory, thinking, problem solving, concentration and perception, also problems with speech and understanding (Mind, 2010). Dementia is progressive, which means the symptoms will gradually get worse. How fast dementia progresses will depend on the individual. Each person is unique and will experience dementia in their own way (Alzheimers society, 2010). Symptoms of dementia include: Loss of memory, Mood changes, and Communication problems. In the later stages of dementia, the person affected will have problems carrying out everyday tasks, and will become increasingly dependent on other people, two thirds of people with dementia live in the community while one third live in a care home (Alzheimers society, 2010). There are many types of dementia, and some of the causes of dementia are rarer th an others, Alzheimers disease is the most common cause, damaged tissue builds up in the brain to form deposits called plaques and tangles, these cause the brain cells around them to die (Royal college of Psychiatrists, 2009). Other most commonly known is vascular disease, Dementia with Lewy bodies, Fronto-temporal dementia. Mostly, patients themselves do not present to the clinician with dementia, owing to gradual onset and denial of the problem. There is no cure for dementia but there is medication that will help to slow down the progression of the disease. When finding help for dementia it is usually the primary carers, caregivers, supporters, partners or family members who initiate asking help and a diagnosis (Brodaty, 1990). Depression may be misdiagnosed as dementia the difference being that people who have depression are more likely to be aware of their issues therefore are able to discuss them, whereas someone with dementia may not be able to do this due to their symptoms. Nonetheless, the Mental Capacity Act (2005) states that every person has the right to make their own decisions and must be assumed to have capacity unless otherwise proven and people should be supported to make any decisions. Under the MCA, you are required to make an assessment of capacity before carrying out any care or treatment (Office of the public guardian, 2009). The Mental capacity act is an act that protects individual rights and ensures that the persons liberty is not taken. It is based on best practice and creates a single, coherent framework for dealing with mental capacity issues and an improved system for settling disputes, dealing with personal welfare issues and the property and affairs of people who lack capacity. I t puts the individual who lacks capacity at the heart of decision making and places a strong emphasis on supporting and enabling the individual to make their own decisions (Office of the public guardian, 2009). However, even with a structure in place to protect individuals rights and liberties many people who have dementia are more vulnerable to abuse due to their lack of capacity. The University College London research revealed that a third of carers admitted significant abuse, in total 115 carers reported at least some abusive behaviour, and 74 reported more serious levels of mistreatment (Cooper et al, 2009). Caregivers can also be on the receiving end of verbal or physical abuse directed at them by parents or spouses who are confused and angry over declining mental capacities due to stroke and Alzheimers disease. In some cases, Alzheimers disease or other forms of dementia may cause the patient to be uncharacteristically aggressive (Coyne, 1996). It is only in recent years that abuse of the elderly has become more apparent, Crawford Et al (2008, p122) argues that over time it has very slowly come to the attention of people in the last 50 years that abuse does actually exist behind closed doors; in the 1950s older people lived in large families where issues were hidden, and in the 60s to 70s older people started living alone or in residential homes and it was not until the early 80s that abuse had started to be recognised and defined. Penhale and Kingston(1997) argue that over the years it has been difficult to emphasise the issues of abuse due to not finding a sound theoretical base to which an agreement of a standard definition can be made and applied. Action on elder abuse (2006) defines elder abuse as A single or repeated act or lack of appropriate action, occurring within any relationship where there is an expectation of trust, which causes harm or distress to an older person. Abuse comes in not just physical abuse it com es also in sexual, psychological, neglect, discrimination and financial as well. Older people may be abused by a wide range of people including family members, friends, professional staff, care workers, volunteers or other service users, abuse can also be perpetrated as a result of deliberate, negligence or ignorance (Royal pharmaceutical society (RCA), 2007). Abuse can occur in a variety of circumstances and places such as, in own home, in a residential or day care setting or hospital and can by more than one person or organisation. Pritchard (2005) asserts that we will never have a true picture of the prevalence of elder abuse due to the unreported cases, and can only count ones that are known to organisations and services. Most abuse is still unreported due to victims being frightened, ashamed and embarrassed to report the abuse, not realising their rights or not being able to due to tier mental health. Summers et al (2006, p7) points out that those statutes that make abuse criminal are often ineffective due to them not being utilised by the victim, and this means that this will be the biggest challenge and barrier for change in getting people to recognise the scale of the problem and raising awareness so that the government agree to change the legislation to protect older people. Abuse of any kind should not be ignored and there should be legislation to protect adults from abuse like there is in child protection, people who recognise the extent of elder abuse argue why should adults be treated as second class to children, is their suffering and deaths any less important? The Alzheimers Society (2010) states that abuse of people with dementia should be considered in the same way as child abuse. Crawford and Walker (2008, p12) state that prejudice refers to an inflexibility of the mind and thought, to values and attitudes that stand in the way of fair and non judgmental practice. Thompson (2006, p13) defines discrimination as the process in which difference is identified and that difference is used as the basis of unfair treatment. A barrier to recognising the abuse of people with dementia and older people is that of social stigma, negative perceptions and connotations of words for mental health, such as confused or senile. Confused is something that we all experience at some time in our lives, whereas senile is a more complex word and the first recording of its usage was neutral meaning pertaining to old age, but now has negative connotations linked to mental decline due to age (Crawford and Walker, 2008). Therefore, challenging peoples perceptions needs to done to change these social constructs to enable a change in legislation and protection of vulnerable adults. In March 2010 the department of health ran a series of campaigns to address poor public understanding of dementia which included TV, radio, press and online advertising featuring real-people with dementia (Department of health, 2009). In 2009 the first ever dementia strategy was launched that hopes to transform the quality of dementia care, It sets out initiatives designed to make the lives of people with dementia, their carers and families better and more fulfilled It will increase awareness of dementia, ensure early diagnosis and intervention and radically improve the quality of care that people with the condition receive. Proposals include the introduction of a dementia specialist into every general hospital and care home and for mental health teams to assess people with dementia (Department of health, 2009). However, this is not legislation it is just a strategy for dealing with people with dementia. The government are recognising that there is little protection for vulnerable adults and that further legislation need to be put in place and stating that dementia care is a priority (BBC news, 2007). At present, there is no one specific legislation which directly protects vulnerable adults, instead the applicable duties and powers to assess and intervene are contained within a range of legislation and frameworks, such as the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and Mental Health Act 2007 and the national service framework for older people. One of the themes for national service framework (NSF) is respecting the individual which was triggered by a concern about widespread infringement of dignity and unfair discrimination in older peoples access to care. The NSF therefore leads plans to tackle age discrimination and to ensure that older people are treated with respect, according to their individual needs, specifically in standard 2 it relates to person centred care (Crawford and Walker, 2008, p8). And expectation of NSF is that there must be systems and processes put in place to enable multi agency working. In 2000 the government published No secrets which is guidance that requires local authorities to set up a multi agency framework which includes health and the police with a lead person (adult social care) to carry out procedures into the allegations of abuse whilst balancing confidentiality and information sharing (Samuel, 2008). No Secrets is only guidance and does not carry the same status as legislation, the LAs compliance is assessed through an inspection process, therefore the LA can with good reason choose to ignore the guidance (Action on elder abuse, 2006). This has concerned agencies who want to see the protection of adults given the same equivalent priorities as child protection and think that legislation is the only way to accomplish this. A review of No Secrets guidance has been carried out in 2008 and consulted with over 12000 people (Department of Health, 2009), the report found that over half (68%) of the respondents were in agreement to new safeguarding legislation and 92% wanted local safeguarding boards to be placed on a statutory footing and still there is no legislation to protect vulnerable adults (Ahmed, 2009). A recent article in community care told the failure of the government to commit to making a policy has only strengthened campaigners fight and given rise to criticism (Ahmed, 2009). The need to protect vulnerable people brought about the protection of vulnerable adults scheme (POVA) which is run by the Department of Health to regulate and monitor the employment of staff in the social care workforce, through this scheme a list of people who are unsuitable to work with vulnerable people is kept. More recently, the Safeguarding of Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 which was launched in 2008 replaced POVA with the Independent Safeguarding Authority (IDeA, 2009). The problem with this is that abusers of dementia sufferers are usually family member or informal carer that are under considerable stress and may not receiving help from within the health and social care system, therefore, an abusive situation can carry on for some time until the situation is found by an outsider. This situation may only be found when a informal carer starts asking for help, and when informed of the situation it is good practice and essential to make sure that carers are getting the help they need which can prevent the abusive situations. Under the 1995 Carers (Recognition and Services) Act carers are entitled their own assessment of need and by doing so this may allow for respite or payments to be made for their services (Parker Et al, 2003). University College London researchers who interviewed people caring for relatives with dementia in their own homes stated within their research that Giving carers access to respite, psychological support and financial security could help end mistreatment (Cooper et al,2009). When working with relatives who are carers it is important to remember who is the service user, although it is important to ascertain the wishes of the relative it should not override the wishes of the service user, this is especially true when there is a break down in the care of the service user and the carer wishes the service user to be placed in care. Many older people with dementia receive care in a residential home; this may be due to family member no longer being able to cope with the care of the person. The local authority has a duty to assess the needs of a person with dementia ensuring that their wishes are heard and adequate care is put in place. Assessment is an ongoing process, in which the client participates, the purpose of which is to understand people in relation to their environment; it is a basis for planning what needs to be done to maintain, improve or bring about change in the person, the environment or both (Anderson Et al, 2005). The trouble with placing people with dementia in care homes is there are not enough care homes specifically for people with dementia and people end up in a home that do not have trained staff to cope with individual needs of someone with dementia, therefore, people s wishes may not be heard. As part of the joint assessment process it is the social workers role to ascertain the wishes of the individual, this is done by assessing their needs in an holistic way which includes and medical and social aspects of the person. If there is doubt as to the mental capacity of the person then a mental capacity assessment will need to be acquired by asking to joint assess with community psychiatric nurses (CPN). Priestley (1998) states that the community care reforms established the principle of joint working between health and social services authorities as a priority for effective care assessment and management with social services taking the lead role. In conclusion there seem to have been many shifts in the direction of how policy and procedures framework and guidance care for people with dementia, although there is still no firm legislation to protect them. However, there seems to be more recognition of the issues that surround dementia and future goals are towards the training of people to understand those issues so that professionals are able to deal with the complex needs of a person with dementia. Word count 2969

The Role Of Language Essay -- essays research papers

The Role of Language Can contemporary discourse presume a community of interest? In order to answer this question, one is forced to first answer the question, can language be used to reveal anything new? If the answer is yes, then how can it do this and how can we employ it to do this for us. Also, one is forced to ask what is it exactly that we are looking for? Once we’ve found it, how can we use it to improve our present condition? Plato and Descartes both believe that language can indeed improve our conditions through it’s revelation, and both give methods to attain new knowledge. Although vastly differing, in that Descartes builds knowledge from the ground up, while Plato works from a distorted view, and seeks to clarify it, their philosophies mean the most, and have the highest practical purpose when they are employed together. By basing a Socratic argument on Descartes’ pre-established truths, one can attain undoubtable new knowledge. This knowledge can, and will improve societ y. The reason it will do this is explainable by looking at the tendency that man has to correct himself once he knows in certitude that he has been mistaken in his actions. Any enlightened individual who has, in the past, made mistakes due to their own ignorance, would, upon learning the error of their ways, not return into err, but use the knowledge to correct their previous mistake. So it is with society. Once we find out where we are in err, it would be ignorant of us not to correct ourselves. Before we can look at finding knowledge, however, we must first look at how we should properly use language. Socrates and Plato see language mainly as the mechanism to provide truth and knowledge. In engaging in argument, Socrates is given a definition of a word such as courage, justice or piety. Then, rather than giving his own definition in retort, he offers a situation in which the given definition is incorrect and then challenges his opponents to find something which is common to all courageous, just or pious acts. The commonality in things is the goal that Plato and Socrates are striving for. What makes things, like just acts, the same even though they all differ in some way? What is it that all separate just acts have in common so that they are recognizable as just acts? Knowledge is to know what isn’t evident in the object or action, but to know what it is that makes all objects ... ...ve no one would care to argue this point. Since we are contented with our lot in life and do not care to search for truth but rather have it handed to us for the cost of an education, cable bill and Internet connection per month, are we not the fools who are content while the enlightened few, the philosophers and all those others who think for themselves, remain discontented with our situation. As Plato and Socrates would certainly suggest, language use is essential if we are to have some idea of a means to achieving our goal as humans in society. It is quite evident now that language is indeed a powerful tool and can be used for reasons of knowledge and for reasons of power. It is also quite obvious that today only a small number of the population use their own heads to think and leave the power solely to the modern institutions of ‘knowledge distribution’. By using Aristotelian Logic, arguments can be used to produce truths, so long as the premises are true, and De scartes has provided this foundational truth. Using argument, talking to each other, one can find the commonality in all things, and discover what our own commonalties are as human beings and as elements in the state.

Comparing The Buried Life and A Room Of Ones Own :: comparison compare contrast essays

Comparing The Buried Life and A Room Of One's Own      Ã‚  Ã‚   Victorian writers did ask difficult and unsettling questions, and the modern writers continued on with the quest to display these unsettling thoughts and feelings in their works even more so. You can see this continuing easy from "The Buried Life," to the ideas of "A Room Of One's Own."    In "The Buried Life," Arnold questions why men in society bury their emotions and innermost thoughts from one another like they are the only one's with these qualities, even though every man has them: "I knew the mass of men concealed their thoughts, for fear that if they revealed they would by other men be met with blank indifference, or with blame reproved; I knew they lived and moved tricked in disguises, alien to the rest of men, and alien to themselves--and yet the same heart beats in every human breast" (p.2021). He doesn't understand why this is the case, and believes humanity would be better if we let this buried life out of its cage to be free, freeing us to be our true selves. The way to reach this goal is through open love by a fellow human being: "When a beloved hand is placed on ours...the heart lies plain, and what we mean, we say" (p. 2201).    In "A Room Of One's Own," Woolf questions society's view on how geniuses of art are created. She shows that this is a natural gift, but it is one that can either be stifled or let prosper and grow, depending on how the members in society rule and treat the artist with the gift. She says that these artists need to be allowed to garner in knowledge in order to feed their ideas for their art, and they must be allowed to be free in mind and spirit so that they can create their masterpieces: "The mind of an artist, in order to achieve the prodigious effort of freeing whole and entire the work that is in him, must be incandescent...There must be no obstacle in it, no foreign matter unconsumed" (p. 2472).    As you can see, both of these works question society in the matter of chaining up it's members true feelings and ideas.

Cognitive Psychology

Psychology has experienced many stages of development and gained momentum with many prominent psychologists attempting to map the human mind and explain the behaviors involved. These individuals have shaped the many theories of psychology and given insight to the vast complexity of the human mind in nearly all walks of life. Up until the 1960’s psychology was dominated with behaviorism and gained popularity with findings by B. F Skinners rate maze (Bjork, 2010). B. F. Skinner believed that the mind was invisible and irrelevant to scientists. He believed that concerns should be focused on end results rather than internal processes. The incomplete analysis of human behavior sparked many questions giving rise the theories of cognitive psychology, which examine the internal processes, problem solving skills, memory and language and the general mystery of how people think, remember, learn and behave (Boeree, 2006). This paper will examine four milestones in cognitive psychology and why the concepts of behaviorism cannot be ignored in the cognitive approach as it relates to human behavior. On the forefront of psychology as a scholarly study is Wilhelm Wundt. His foundation of a formal institution to study the many aspects of human behavior paved the way for the development of the many schools of thought in the field of psychology. His establishment of the first psychology lab at the University of Leipzig separated psychology as a dedicated science field of study and as thus made the development of cognitive psychology possible. Though Wundt was studying the mind through a perspective considered structuralism, his model of studying the various aspects of the human mind, presented a model to be emulated by psychologists around the world. Jean Piaget, a Swiss psychologist, was interested in the growth of human cognitive capacities. Piaget explored how children grow and develop in their abilities to reason and think. His studies were focused on how a child would reach a certain conclusion rather than whether the reached conclusion was accurate. Piaget developed the four stage process of child development and laid out a pattern of how information flows differently during the brain development of humans. These stages are vital to the understanding of physical and mental limitations in the processing of data as it enters the brain. His model of child development serves as guidance for school curriculums and education modules (Huitt, 2003) Albert Bandura initially studied human behavior through the eyes of behaviorism, but realized that the mind absorbs information differently depending on the circumstances surrounding a person, and as such the processing is equally important as the information being fed. (Boeree, 2006). He is often considered the initiator of the cognitive movement, when his realization of the various factors contributing to the retention, processing and memory of information began to emerge in the expansion of studies in psychology (Boeree, 2006). The last noted contributor to the development of cognitive psychology was George Miller. His publication of â€Å"The Lucky Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two† illustrated the limitation of the human brain and its capacity to retain and process data (Miller, 1956). Miller points out the ability to retain a data set exceeding the value of seven becomes more challenging and the average human does not have the capacity to accurately process information in excess of seven. He illustrates this theory by tying it to the numerical representation of the number seven in significant events and happenings around the world. The seven seas, the seven deadly sins, the seven days of the week and the coincidental assignment of seven-digit phone numbers serve as related findings of astonishing fascination. The value of observations in cognitive psychology can not be ignored due to the nature of cognitive psychology. It was founded on the basis of many schools of thought and as such it is the study of the mind, which functions based on external factors as well as internal happenings. Unlike a computer, which functions the same, regardless of how the information was entered, a human being will react and process the information differently. For instance, a computer will carry out a calculation in the same way, without regard to the emotional state the person enters the data. To a computer it is irrelevant how the person feels. A person will process information depending on the state he or she is in and this varying state of mind influences a person’s ability to retain data, misinterpret instructions or react to situations. This can be evident in ability to focus on simple tasks when a person is in strenuous or emotionally charged situations. The observation of behavior in cognitive psychology will give clues on the effects of mental disposition prior to receiving data and the various outcomes. This approach sheds light on the dependence of behavior and attitude towards the ability to simply process data. Without consideration of other factors the field of cognitive science would be unreliable as the physical process of data as it enters the brain results in vastly different reaction in people. This difference can be attributed to personality, experience and other factors of the human mind. Cognitive psychology is a fairly new science, though the many branches have laid the foundation of it over the past centuries. The fascination of human behavior has taken many shape and forms and given birth to the many approaches of study. Cognitive psychology has accepted the challenge to not only look at the behavior or what causes it, but also how this determination is made in the human brain. This perspective of psychology can be challenging and as such, the study will continue for many years, as the observation is not visible to the human eye. With the help of modern technology, the process of translating immeasurable data happening inside the human brain to evidential data in explaining the functions of thinking, reasoning, memory and retention has become vast and continues to inspire further interest in the exploration of the complex human mind. Boeree, George. (2006). Albert bandura. Retrieved from http://webspace. ship. edu/cgboer/bandura. html Boeree, George. (2006). Jean piaget. Retrieved from http://webspace. ship. edu/cgboer/piaget. html Bjork, Daniel. (2010). B. f. kinner (1904 – 1990) behavioral analysis, social service, educational reform. Retrieved from http://education. stateuniversity. com/pages/2421/Skinner-B-F-1904-1990. html Huitt, W. , & Hummel, J. (2003). Piaget's theory of cognitive development. Educational Psychology Interactive. Valdosta, GA: Valdosta State University. Retrieved from http://www. edpsycinteractive. org/topics/cogsys/piaget. html Miller, George. (1956). The Magical number seven, plus or minus two: some limits on our capacity for processing information. Retrieved from http://www. musanim. com/miller1956/ Cognitive Psychology Cognitive Psychology Brian Shrum Psy/360 April 11, 2013 Dr. Turner Cognitive Psychology Hermann Ebbinghaus said, â€Å"Psychology has a long past, yet its real history is short† (Goodwin, 2008, p. 28). He was referring to the belief that while the study of human thought, emotion, and behavior is firmly entrenched in philosophy, psychology as its own discipline has only been around a short time. During this short time, different branches of psychology have come out, one of them is cognitive psychology, which is only roughly 50 years old.Cognitive psychology expands upon other fields of psychology to further reveal why human beings act in the way they do. This paper will define cognitive psychology, explore key milestones in its development, and discuss the importance of observation as it relates to cognitive psychology. While human behavior has been observed since the beginnings of psychology, the different fields focused only on observable behaviors. In contrast to that, cogni tive psychology is a perspective that looks at the mental processes involved with human intelligence and behavior.These processes include thinking, speaking, perceiving, memory, and problem-solving (Willingham, 2007). This field of psychology researches the unobservable nature of these processes, and uses abstract constructs to better understand these processes (Willingham, 2007). Cognitive psychology has evolved from other fields of psychology, one of which is behaviorism. Behaviorism was a very popular field of study during the early part of the 20th century.Many well-known psychologists like Pavlov, Watson, and Skinner made their mark during this behaviorist revolution. The behaviorist movement was firmly rooted in the scientific method and relied heavily on the observable actions. While behaviorism was a useful tool in explaining behaviors based on instinct and drives, it had several large hold-ups in being useful for humans. First, most of the experiments were done using non-hu man animals such as Pavlov’s dogs, which had no real usefulness in explaining the aspects of human intelligence.The second, and most destructive shortcoming for behaviorism, was that it did not observe, nor could it explain, human language, or intrinsic drives (Willingham, 2007). From these short comings, it became evident that parts of the human psyche had to be studied, which is where cognitive psychology began to form. However, this shortcoming has not been the only development to help cognitive psychology become what it is. The metaphor comparing the human mind to a computer was a big leap for cognitive psychology.It allowed new abstract ideas to formulate on how the human brain works like an information processing center (Willingham, 2007). The basic break down of this is sensory input gives way to processing, and from processing a behavior is chosen and performed. This behavior could be internal or external dependant on what the input necessitates. For instance the comp uter currently being used to write this paper is receiving input from the keyboard. This information is translated as a bunch of zeroes and ones, which are then output to the monitor in the form of the letters being typed on the keyboard.Combine this metaphorical approach with the onset of technology, specifically neuroscience, and cognitive psychology continues to evolve. Neuroscience has tremendously helped cognitive psychology evolve. With the development of brain studying equipment such EEGs, CT scans, and MRIs cognitive psychologists, and scientists, are better able to understand how the brain is used in receiving input. A patient can be hooked up to one of these machines and be asked to perform a task, either physical or mental, and the brain patterns can be observed.While the direct process of the interaction between brain cells cannot be directly observed, the patterns can be. These observations can be used to determine if the inferences made by the observing cognitive speci alist are accurate (Willingham, 2007). Observing how the brain reacts during these experiments can show links between the structure of the brain and the associated functions performed (Willingham, 2007). Even with technology playing a key role in cognitive psychology, behavioral observation does still play a key in cognitive psychology.Behavioral observation is still vital in cognitive psychology. This is because it has shown that two different people may develop different ways to solve similar problems. Through these observations it has been suggested that how people solve problems helps to develop new cognitive skills. Also, without observation, the only tests that can be run are thinking tests, which entails a large amount of logic being applied to the results (Willingham, 2007). Observing how different people handle different situations allows for generalization to not become a problem.The continued technology movement has fueled the cognitive psychology movement. Combing experi ments with a machine that can view the brain functions while the behavior is also being observed has produced many new theories. This cognitive movement has been founded on the failures of the past, and is growing with the technology of the future. References Goodwin, J. C. (2008). A history of modern psychology (3rd ed. ). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. Willingham, D. T. (2007). CognitionL The thinking animal (3rd ed. ). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Allyn & Bacon. Cognitive Psychology Psychology has experienced many stages of development and gained momentum with many prominent psychologists attempting to map the human mind and explain the behaviors involved. These individuals have shaped the many theories of psychology and given insight to the vast complexity of the human mind in nearly all walks of life. Up until the 1960’s psychology was dominated with behaviorism and gained popularity with findings by B. F Skinners rate maze (Bjork, 2010). B. F. Skinner believed that the mind was invisible and irrelevant to scientists. He believed that concerns should be focused on end results rather than internal processes. The incomplete analysis of human behavior sparked many questions giving rise the theories of cognitive psychology, which examine the internal processes, problem solving skills, memory and language and the general mystery of how people think, remember, learn and behave (Boeree, 2006). This paper will examine four milestones in cognitive psychology and why the concepts of behaviorism cannot be ignored in the cognitive approach as it relates to human behavior. On the forefront of psychology as a scholarly study is Wilhelm Wundt. His foundation of a formal institution to study the many aspects of human behavior paved the way for the development of the many schools of thought in the field of psychology. His establishment of the first psychology lab at the University of Leipzig separated psychology as a dedicated science field of study and as thus made the development of cognitive psychology possible. Though Wundt was studying the mind through a perspective considered structuralism, his model of studying the various aspects of the human mind, presented a model to be emulated by psychologists around the world. Jean Piaget, a Swiss psychologist, was interested in the growth of human cognitive capacities. Piaget explored how children grow and develop in their abilities to reason and think. His studies were focused on how a child would reach a certain conclusion rather than whether the reached conclusion was accurate. Piaget developed the four stage process of child development and laid out a pattern of how information flows differently during the brain development of humans. These stages are vital to the understanding of physical and mental limitations in the processing of data as it enters the brain. His model of child development serves as guidance for school curriculums and education modules (Huitt, 2003) Albert Bandura initially studied human behavior through the eyes of behaviorism, but realized that the mind absorbs information differently depending on the circumstances surrounding a person, and as such the processing is equally important as the information being fed. (Boeree, 2006). He is often considered the initiator of the cognitive movement, when his realization of the various factors contributing to the retention, processing and memory of information began to emerge in the expansion of studies in psychology (Boeree, 2006). The last noted contributor to the development of cognitive psychology was George Miller. His publication of â€Å"The Lucky Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two† illustrated the limitation of the human brain and its capacity to retain and process data (Miller, 1956). Miller points out the ability to retain a data set exceeding the value of seven becomes more challenging and the average human does not have the capacity to accurately process information in excess of seven. He illustrates this theory by tying it to the numerical representation of the number seven in significant events and happenings around the world. The seven seas, the seven deadly sins, the seven days of the week and the coincidental assignment of seven-digit phone numbers serve as related findings of astonishing fascination. The value of observations in cognitive psychology can not be ignored due to the nature of cognitive psychology. It was founded on the basis of many schools of thought and as such it is the study of the mind, which functions based on external factors as well as internal happenings. Unlike a computer, which functions the same, regardless of how the information was entered, a human being will react and process the information differently. For instance, a computer will carry out a calculation in the same way, without regard to the emotional state the person enters the data. To a computer it is irrelevant how the person feels. A person will process information depending on the state he or she is in and this varying state of mind influences a person’s ability to retain data, misinterpret instructions or react to situations. This can be evident in ability to focus on simple tasks when a person is in strenuous or emotionally charged situations. The observation of behavior in cognitive psychology will give clues on the effects of mental disposition prior to receiving data and the various outcomes. This approach sheds light on the dependence of behavior and attitude towards the ability to simply process data. Without consideration of other factors the field of cognitive science would be unreliable as the physical process of data as it enters the brain results in vastly different reaction in people. This difference can be attributed to personality, experience and other factors of the human mind. Cognitive psychology is a fairly new science, though the many branches have laid the foundation of it over the past centuries. The fascination of human behavior has taken many shape and forms and given birth to the many approaches of study. Cognitive psychology has accepted the challenge to not only look at the behavior or what causes it, but also how this determination is made in the human brain. This perspective of psychology can be challenging and as such, the study will continue for many years, as the observation is not visible to the human eye. With the help of modern technology, the process of translating immeasurable data happening inside the human brain to evidential data in explaining the functions of thinking, reasoning, memory and retention has become vast and continues to inspire further interest in the exploration of the complex human mind. Boeree, George. (2006). Albert bandura. Retrieved from http://webspace. ship. edu/cgboer/bandura. html Boeree, George. (2006). Jean piaget. Retrieved from http://webspace. ship. edu/cgboer/piaget. html Bjork, Daniel. (2010). B. f. kinner (1904 – 1990) behavioral analysis, social service, educational reform. Retrieved from http://education. stateuniversity. com/pages/2421/Skinner-B-F-1904-1990. html Huitt, W. , & Hummel, J. (2003). Piaget's theory of cognitive development. Educational Psychology Interactive. Valdosta, GA: Valdosta State University. Retrieved from http://www. edpsycinteractive. org/topics/cogsys/piaget. html Miller, George. (1956). The Magical number seven, plus or minus two: some limits on our capacity for processing information. Retrieved from http://www. musanim. com/miller1956/ Cognitive Psychology Cognitive Psychology Brian Shrum Psy/360 April 11, 2013 Dr. Turner Cognitive Psychology Hermann Ebbinghaus said, â€Å"Psychology has a long past, yet its real history is short† (Goodwin, 2008, p. 28). He was referring to the belief that while the study of human thought, emotion, and behavior is firmly entrenched in philosophy, psychology as its own discipline has only been around a short time. During this short time, different branches of psychology have come out, one of them is cognitive psychology, which is only roughly 50 years old.Cognitive psychology expands upon other fields of psychology to further reveal why human beings act in the way they do. This paper will define cognitive psychology, explore key milestones in its development, and discuss the importance of observation as it relates to cognitive psychology. While human behavior has been observed since the beginnings of psychology, the different fields focused only on observable behaviors. In contrast to that, cogni tive psychology is a perspective that looks at the mental processes involved with human intelligence and behavior.These processes include thinking, speaking, perceiving, memory, and problem-solving (Willingham, 2007). This field of psychology researches the unobservable nature of these processes, and uses abstract constructs to better understand these processes (Willingham, 2007). Cognitive psychology has evolved from other fields of psychology, one of which is behaviorism. Behaviorism was a very popular field of study during the early part of the 20th century.Many well-known psychologists like Pavlov, Watson, and Skinner made their mark during this behaviorist revolution. The behaviorist movement was firmly rooted in the scientific method and relied heavily on the observable actions. While behaviorism was a useful tool in explaining behaviors based on instinct and drives, it had several large hold-ups in being useful for humans. First, most of the experiments were done using non-hu man animals such as Pavlov’s dogs, which had no real usefulness in explaining the aspects of human intelligence.The second, and most destructive shortcoming for behaviorism, was that it did not observe, nor could it explain, human language, or intrinsic drives (Willingham, 2007). From these short comings, it became evident that parts of the human psyche had to be studied, which is where cognitive psychology began to form. However, this shortcoming has not been the only development to help cognitive psychology become what it is. The metaphor comparing the human mind to a computer was a big leap for cognitive psychology.It allowed new abstract ideas to formulate on how the human brain works like an information processing center (Willingham, 2007). The basic break down of this is sensory input gives way to processing, and from processing a behavior is chosen and performed. This behavior could be internal or external dependant on what the input necessitates. For instance the comp uter currently being used to write this paper is receiving input from the keyboard. This information is translated as a bunch of zeroes and ones, which are then output to the monitor in the form of the letters being typed on the keyboard.Combine this metaphorical approach with the onset of technology, specifically neuroscience, and cognitive psychology continues to evolve. Neuroscience has tremendously helped cognitive psychology evolve. With the development of brain studying equipment such EEGs, CT scans, and MRIs cognitive psychologists, and scientists, are better able to understand how the brain is used in receiving input. A patient can be hooked up to one of these machines and be asked to perform a task, either physical or mental, and the brain patterns can be observed.While the direct process of the interaction between brain cells cannot be directly observed, the patterns can be. These observations can be used to determine if the inferences made by the observing cognitive speci alist are accurate (Willingham, 2007). Observing how the brain reacts during these experiments can show links between the structure of the brain and the associated functions performed (Willingham, 2007). Even with technology playing a key role in cognitive psychology, behavioral observation does still play a key in cognitive psychology.Behavioral observation is still vital in cognitive psychology. This is because it has shown that two different people may develop different ways to solve similar problems. Through these observations it has been suggested that how people solve problems helps to develop new cognitive skills. Also, without observation, the only tests that can be run are thinking tests, which entails a large amount of logic being applied to the results (Willingham, 2007). Observing how different people handle different situations allows for generalization to not become a problem.The continued technology movement has fueled the cognitive psychology movement. Combing experi ments with a machine that can view the brain functions while the behavior is also being observed has produced many new theories. This cognitive movement has been founded on the failures of the past, and is growing with the technology of the future. References Goodwin, J. C. (2008). A history of modern psychology (3rd ed. ). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. Willingham, D. T. (2007). CognitionL The thinking animal (3rd ed. ). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Allyn & Bacon. Cognitive Psychology Cognitive Psychology Brian Shrum Psy/360 April 11, 2013 Dr. Turner Cognitive Psychology Hermann Ebbinghaus said, â€Å"Psychology has a long past, yet its real history is short† (Goodwin, 2008, p. 28). He was referring to the belief that while the study of human thought, emotion, and behavior is firmly entrenched in philosophy, psychology as its own discipline has only been around a short time. During this short time, different branches of psychology have come out, one of them is cognitive psychology, which is only roughly 50 years old.Cognitive psychology expands upon other fields of psychology to further reveal why human beings act in the way they do. This paper will define cognitive psychology, explore key milestones in its development, and discuss the importance of observation as it relates to cognitive psychology. While human behavior has been observed since the beginnings of psychology, the different fields focused only on observable behaviors. In contrast to that, cogni tive psychology is a perspective that looks at the mental processes involved with human intelligence and behavior.These processes include thinking, speaking, perceiving, memory, and problem-solving (Willingham, 2007). This field of psychology researches the unobservable nature of these processes, and uses abstract constructs to better understand these processes (Willingham, 2007). Cognitive psychology has evolved from other fields of psychology, one of which is behaviorism. Behaviorism was a very popular field of study during the early part of the 20th century.Many well-known psychologists like Pavlov, Watson, and Skinner made their mark during this behaviorist revolution. The behaviorist movement was firmly rooted in the scientific method and relied heavily on the observable actions. While behaviorism was a useful tool in explaining behaviors based on instinct and drives, it had several large hold-ups in being useful for humans. First, most of the experiments were done using non-hu man animals such as Pavlov’s dogs, which had no real usefulness in explaining the aspects of human intelligence.The second, and most destructive shortcoming for behaviorism, was that it did not observe, nor could it explain, human language, or intrinsic drives (Willingham, 2007). From these short comings, it became evident that parts of the human psyche had to be studied, which is where cognitive psychology began to form. However, this shortcoming has not been the only development to help cognitive psychology become what it is. The metaphor comparing the human mind to a computer was a big leap for cognitive psychology.It allowed new abstract ideas to formulate on how the human brain works like an information processing center (Willingham, 2007). The basic break down of this is sensory input gives way to processing, and from processing a behavior is chosen and performed. This behavior could be internal or external dependant on what the input necessitates. For instance the comp uter currently being used to write this paper is receiving input from the keyboard. This information is translated as a bunch of zeroes and ones, which are then output to the monitor in the form of the letters being typed on the keyboard.Combine this metaphorical approach with the onset of technology, specifically neuroscience, and cognitive psychology continues to evolve. Neuroscience has tremendously helped cognitive psychology evolve. With the development of brain studying equipment such EEGs, CT scans, and MRIs cognitive psychologists, and scientists, are better able to understand how the brain is used in receiving input. A patient can be hooked up to one of these machines and be asked to perform a task, either physical or mental, and the brain patterns can be observed.While the direct process of the interaction between brain cells cannot be directly observed, the patterns can be. These observations can be used to determine if the inferences made by the observing cognitive speci alist are accurate (Willingham, 2007). Observing how the brain reacts during these experiments can show links between the structure of the brain and the associated functions performed (Willingham, 2007). Even with technology playing a key role in cognitive psychology, behavioral observation does still play a key in cognitive psychology.Behavioral observation is still vital in cognitive psychology. This is because it has shown that two different people may develop different ways to solve similar problems. Through these observations it has been suggested that how people solve problems helps to develop new cognitive skills. Also, without observation, the only tests that can be run are thinking tests, which entails a large amount of logic being applied to the results (Willingham, 2007). Observing how different people handle different situations allows for generalization to not become a problem.The continued technology movement has fueled the cognitive psychology movement. Combing experi ments with a machine that can view the brain functions while the behavior is also being observed has produced many new theories. This cognitive movement has been founded on the failures of the past, and is growing with the technology of the future. References Goodwin, J. C. (2008). A history of modern psychology (3rd ed. ). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. Willingham, D. T. (2007). CognitionL The thinking animal (3rd ed. ). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Allyn & Bacon.