Placebos Essays (1376 words) - Clinical Research, Medical Ethics

Placebos Why we need placebos English/ History By Jj wallis A placebo is defined as an inactive substance resembling a medication, given for psychological effect or as a control in evaluating a medicine believed to be active. However the placebo only fits this description under the restraints it has been given by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which refers to the placebo as an investigational new drug. In actuality, up until the present much of medicine was built on placebos. Not very long ago, the rituals and symbols of healing constituted the bulk of the physicians armamentarium. In the early decades of the 20th century, most of the medication that doctors carried in their little black bags and kept in their office cabinets had little or no pharmacological value against the maladies for which they were prescribed. Nevertheless, their use in the appropriate clinical context was no doubt frequently beneficial.(Brown, 6) Even though placebos have been proven effective medicine time and time again the FDA remains reluctant to approve them for anything more than clinical research. The FDA stands on their disapproval of placebos as medicine on the basis that patients are to be given the best treatment available. Who is to say that a placebo is not as, if not more effective than the accepted remedy? There are an endless variety of cases that have proven placebos inconclusively effective. Among the most famous of these cases is the story of Mr. Wright, who was found to have cancer and in 1957 was given only days to live. Hospitalized in Long Beach, California, with tumors the size of oranges, he heard that scientists had discovered a horse serum, Krebiozen, that appeared to be effective against cancer. After Wright begged to receive the serum, his physician, Dr. Philip West, finally agreed and gave wright the injection on a Friday afternoon, not telling Wright that injection consisted only of water. The following Monday the doctor was astonished to find that the patient's tumors were gone. Dr. West later wrote the tumors, had melted like snowballs on a hot stove. At Tulane University, Dr. Eileen Palace has been using a placebo to restore sexual arousal in women who say they are nonorgasmic. The women are hooked up to a biofeedback machine that they are told measures their vaginal blood flow, an index of arousal. Then they are shown sexual stimuli that would arouse most women. The experiment then tricks the women by sending a false feedback signal, within 30 seconds, that their vaginal blood flow has increased. Almost immediately after they become genuinely aroused. In another case a study was carried out in Japan on 13 people that were extremely allergic to poison ivy. Each individual was rubbed on one arm with a harmless leaf and told that it was poison ivy and then rubbed on the opposite arm with poison ivy and told that it was harmless. All thirteen broke out in a rash where the harmless leaf had contacted their arm. Only two reacted to the poison ivy leaves. (Blakeslee, 2) In yet another example, patients with angina pectoris, chest pain, associated with heart disease, have been shown to improve substantially following an operation that involved nothing more than a simple skin incision. Angina also improved following a type of artery surgery once thought to be effective but later found to be ineffective. (Turner, 1) These are just a few of a great number of cases that prove the effectiveness of placebos. How do placebos work? There are many theories on how placebos work but really no definite answers. Many believe that the response to placebos is one of conditioning. That is that the site of a doctor, his white coat, the sterile smell, and a prescribed medication is equated with being cured, and because we think that we will get better we do. Some think that a placebo might reduce stress, allowing the body to regain some natural optimum level of health. Others believe that special molecules in the brain help carry out the placebo effect. A recent study found that stressed animals could produce a valium like substance in their brain if they have some control over the source of the stress. People must certainly share

William Quantrill and Jesse James

William Quantrill and Jesse James It wasn’t always possible to determine on which side certain individuals fought for during the U.S. Civil War, especially when Confederate guerrillas were involved in the State of Missouri. Although Missouri was a border state that stayed neutral during the Civil War, the state provided more than 150,000 troops who fought during this conflict- 40,000 on the Confederate side and 110,000 for the Union.   In 1860, Missouri held a Constitutional Convention where the main topic was secession and the vote was to stay in the Union but to remain neutral. In the 1860 Presidential election, Missouri was one of only two states that the Democratic candidate, Stephen A. Douglas, carried (New Jersey being the other) over Republican Abraham Lincoln. The two candidates had met in a series of debates where they discussed their individual beliefs. Douglas had run on a platform that wanted to maintain the status quo, while Lincoln believed that slavery was an issue that needed to be dealt with by the Union as a whole. The Rise of William Quantrill After the onset of the Civil War, Missouri continued its’ attempt to remain neutral but ended up with two different governments that supported opposite sides. This caused many instances where neighbors were fighting neighbors. It also led to famed guerrilla leaders like William Quantrill, who built his own army that fought for the Confederacy. William Quantrill was born in Ohio but eventually settled in Missouri. When the Civil War started Quantrill was in Texas where he befriended Joel B. Mayes who would later be elected as Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation in 1887. It was during this association with Mayes that he had learned the art of guerrilla warfare from Native Americans.   Quantrill returned to Missouri and in August 1861, he fought with General Sterling Price at the Battle of Wilson’s Creek near Springfield. Shortly after this battle, Quantrill left the Confederate Army in order to form his own so-called army of irregulars that infamously became known at Quantrill’s Raiders. At first, Quantrill’s Raiders consisted of just over a dozen men and they patrolled the Kansas-Missouri border where they ambushed both Union soldiers and Union sympathizers. Their main opposition were  the Jayhawkers- guerillas from Kansas whose loyalty was pro-Union. The violence got so bad that the area became known as Bleeding Kansas.   By 1862, Quantrill had approximately 200 men under his command and focused their attacks around the town Kansas City and Independence. Since Missouri was divided between Union and Confederate loyalists, Quantrill was easily able to recruit Southern men who resented what they perceived to be the harsh Union rule. James Brothers and Quantrills Raiders In 1863, Quantrill’s force had grown to over 450 men, one of whom was Frank James, older brother of Jesse James. In August 1863, Quantrill and his men committed what became known as the Lawrence Massacre. They torched the town of Lawrence, Kansas and killed more than 175 men and boys, many of them in front of their families. Although Quantrill targeted Lawrence because it was a center for Jayhawkers, it is believed that the terror that was imposed on the cities’ residents stemmed from the Union imprisoning family members of Quantrill supporters and allies, including the sisters of William T. Anderson – who was a key member of Quantrill’s Raiders.  A number of these women died, including one of Anderson’s sisters while imprisoned by the Union.  Anderson who was nicknamed Bloody Bill. Quantrill would later have a falling out that caused Anderson to become the leader of most of Quantrill’s group of guerrillas which would include sixteen-year -old Jesse James. Quantrill, on the other hand now had a force that only a few dozen. The Centralia Massacre In September 1864, Anderson had an army that totaled approximately 400 guerrillas and they were preparing to assist the Confederate Army in a campaign to invade Missouri. Anderson took about 80 of his guerrillas to Centralia, Missouri to gather information. Just outside the town, Anderson stopped a train. On board were 22 Union soldiers who were on leave and they were unarmed.  After ordering these men to remove their uniforms, Anderson’s men then executed all 22 of them. Anderson would later use these Union uniforms as disguises. A nearby Union force of approximately 125 soldiers began to pursue Anderson, who by this time had rejoined his entire. Anderson set a trap using a small number of his force as bait which the Union soldiers fell for. Anderson and his men then surrounded the Union force and killed every soldier, mutilating and scalping bodies. Frank and Jesse James, as well as a future member of their gang Cole Younger,  all rode with Anderson that day. The Centralia Massacre was one of the worst atrocities that occurred during the Civil War. The Union Army made it a top priority to kill Anderson and only one month after Centralia they accomplished this goal.  In early 1865, Quantrill and his guerrillas had moved on to Western Kentucky and in May, after Robert E. Lee had surrendered, Quantrill and his men were ambushed. During this skirmish, Quantrill was shot in the back causing him to be paralyzed from the chest down. Quantrill died the following as a result of his injuries.

Dusicyon (Warrah) - Facts and Figures

Dusicyon (Warrah) - Facts and Figures Name: Dusicyon (Greek for foolish dog); pronounced DOO-sih-SIGH-on; also known as the Warrah Habitat: Falkland Islands Historical Epoch: Pleistocene-Modern (2 million-100 years ago) Size and Weight: About three feet long and 25 pounds Diet: Birds, insects and shellfish Distinguishing Characteristics: Small size; strange diet About Dusicyon (Warrah) Dusicyon, also known as the Warrah, is one of the most fascinating (and most obscure) animals to have gone extinct in modern times, certainly not anywhere as well-known as the Dodo Bird. Not only was Dusicyon the only prehistoric dog to live on the Falkland Islands (a few hundred miles off the coast of Argentina), but it was the only mammal, periodmeaning it preyed not on cats, rats or pigs, but birds, insects, and possibly even shellfish that washed up along the shore. Exactly how Dusicyon wound up on the Falklands is a bit of a mystery; the most likely scenario is that it hitched a ride with early human visitors from South America thousands of years ago. Dusicyon earned its amusing nameGreek for foolish dogbecause, like many animals restricted to island habitats, it didnt know enough to be afraid of the second wave of human settlers to the Falklands during the 17th century. The problem was, these settlers arrived with the intention of herding sheep, and thus felt compelled to hunt Dusicyon to extinction (the usual method: luring it near with a tasty piece of meat, and then clubbing it to death when it took the bait). The last Dusicyon individuals expired in 1876, only a few years after Charles Darwin had the opportunity to learn aboutand be puzzled bytheir existence.

CRITICALLY REVIEWING A JOURNAL ARTICLE Assignment

CRITICALLY REVIEWING A JOURNAL ARTICLE - Assignment Example Researchers have outlined several practises of strategic human resources management and HR management policies and impacts of such policies on performance of various firms of China. Ngo, Lau, and Foley, has contrasted SHRM and HR policies in terms of ownership structure (Ngo et al., 2008). Integration of SHRM and HR practices in the ownership or management structure will increase operational efficiency, financial performance, and employee management. Researchers have outlined feasible strategies for organisational performance. In addition, researchers have developed investigation on various SHRM practises on the expansion, acquisition, and employee motivation strategies. In the page 74 of research paper, strategic HRM is recognised as the key HR strategy in terms of increasing organisational efficiency (Armstrong and Armstrong, 2000). Activities of HR managers are modified to increase competence of employees. HR managers must adapt performance appraisal policies to motivate efficient and performing employees. However, compensation of employees and improvement programs are essential to maintain employee relationship and motivation. Managing employee behaviours is one of the major strategies that will be followed by the HR managers. Globalised firms are increasing use of long-term strategies so that they are able to achieve objectives, growth and sustainability in the competitive firms. Ngo, Lau, and Foley, reported that strategic human resource will align different functions of the employees in order to competitiveness of the firms. However, growth and sustainability strategies of the firms are depending on employee’s performance as per predetermined goals (Armstrong and Armstrong, 2011). Researchers have investigated on the HR practices adopted in the developing countries. Effective HR policies will increase the competitive advantage of the firms in global and

Business environment Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Business environment - Coursework Example A language barrier presents a cultural issue among the large passenger population. The main issues include different preference on the meals, on board entertainment and overall flight communication problems between the crew and passengers. Virgin Atlantic airline overcomes legal challenges of handling arising misunderstandings during the cargo business. Different commitments within American and the United Kingdom players translate to varying results. Virgin Atlantic invests on the cargo business to ensure consistency and service reliability. As such, the airline is an award winning company over the last years. The airline uses â€Å"VEX† as an express courier, â€Å"MUST RIDE† to ensure urgency and the â€Å"PETS† to fly the pets. The airline also uses different sized cargo equipment such as p6p, ALF and AKE to ensure goods safety. The involved agreement policy honor terms of business delivery irrespective of the destination. Virgin Atlantic airlines also incorporates advanced information technology to deliver quality services. The airline combines advanced technology with available top-notch skilled power to change passenger experiences. A change of the communication channels in the airline entails the use of mobile technologies for the restaurant services. Services to passenger entails sending direct complimentary food vouchers top passengers’ mobile device. The flexibility in technology enables Virgin Atlantic to lead the airline industry. Virgin Atlantic airlines operate under a digitalized environment. The company’s expenditures revolve around employing the wide use of the internet to offer services, advertise company offers and to enhance customer transactions. As such, the airline manages to increase about 2% of the total number of passengers

The Importance of Teachers in Fostering Students’ Creativity Essay Example for Free

The Importance of Teachers in Fostering Students’ Creativity Essay The Importance of Teachers in Fostering Students’ Creativity Teacher attitudes, beliefs and classroom practices are deemed to be of crucial influence in the development of students’ creativity; however the importance of promoting creativity in schools is a controversial topic. There’s no doubt about it. Creativity is as natural and necessary for children as fresh air! By exposing our young learners to creative experiences, we give them the gift of a rich and memorable school experience while laying the foundation for a lifetime of creative expression and important learning skills that are essential at the individual, social, and global levels of society. Creativity is found in the obvious subjects such as art and music, but can also be found in science and play. We automatically associate creative thinking with art, music, dance, and drama. However, we must recognize that creative thinking can be found in all aspects of a child? life and can be learned and used daily. Creativity is important at so many levels of our society, including both the individual and the social levels. For example, at the individual level creativity is relevant to solving real life problems. At the social level, creative individuals pioneer progress in science and technology and the beauty in arts. Furthermore, creativity is important at the global level. Creative accomplishments help to build a more interactive world that fortifies human civilization. In fact, Starko argues that humans would have no advancement in art, literature, science or invention if human creativity did not exist. Ironically educators frequently teach students about creative and eminent people, but ignore teaching methods that foster students’ creative thinking in the classroom. The importance of the school’s role in the development of students’ creativity has been highlighted in many studies regarding creativity. The classroom is construed to open new pathways in children’s creativity (Cropley, 1994; Sternbeg, 1999; Starko, 1995). Therefore, teachers must play important roles to enhance the components of student’s creativity. Unfortunately, often times we are faced with a significant problem: What happens if this teacher is not a real leader? In education, as in so many other areas of society, new kinds of organizations and models of leadership are needed. Organization and leadership are symbiotic; meaning one cannot thrive without the other. The work of new leaders is precisely to help create such new organizational models through new models of leadership. But what constitutes leadership in education? The word education comes from the Latin word educare meaning, â€Å"To lead out of†. Therefore, we could argue that to study education is to study leadership and educators must be leaders by definition. There are many reasons as to why teachers have not assumed the appropriate leadership roles necessary in schools and education. First of all, there has been confusion between the meaning of leadership and that of management supervision and administration. Historically, â€Å"professional† teachers were not only expected to obey their superiors and restrain from questioning authority, but also were expected to view their calling as a vocation – not primarily a career. A â€Å"good† teacher was expected to stay in the classroom and teach the students, motivate them, and encourage their creativity no less than a â€Å"good woman† was expected to stay at home and take care of the children. Teachers themselves need to become agents of change in order to fulfill the necessary role of leader in the classroom. For example, engaging in collaborative activities and personal reflection could help them be a good leader. The behavior of the teacher and whether or not they have assumed the role of leader has a significant influence on students’ creative thinking in the classroom. It is incredibly important that a teacher is aware of one’s own behavior and the environment they create in the classroom. For example, the teacher must act as a positive role model, since the behaviors that the teacher displays shape the behaviors students develop. Also, the teacher must build a classroom atmosphere that allows for creativity to flourish. This could be an atmosphere that is constructively responsive to unusual ideas. Finally, the teacher must put forward an effort to reward and foster students’ creativity through instructional activities. These three aspects of the teacher’s role in the classroom reflect personality (e. g. openness), intellectual (e. g. creativity), and knowledge prerequisites (e. g. instructional knowledge) that a teacher needs to foster creativity in their students. Unfortunately, many teachers are not prepared to foster creativity or simply do not value creativity in the classroom, which leads to problems among creative children. Some behavioral and personality traits that are common among creative children include, impulsiveness, nonconformist, disorganized, adventurous and imaginative. In general, teachers have a negative view of the characteristics associated with creativity, and therefore could be the root of teachers’ unwillingness to foster creativity in the classroom. If a teacher is a real leader and has sufficient knowledge about â€Å"creativity†, one can modify his/her relationship with these students. There are many ways to modify content, process, learning environment, and products that are challenging for creative students; nonetheless, teachers are slow to integrate modifications into their teaching learning practices because of administration problems. Regarding content and process modifications, if we consider all learning activities valuable for fostering the creativity of children; we can perceive the importance of independent learning and collaboration for creativity. Starko states that a classroom environment that supports universal ideas provides freedom of thought and freedom of choice and is conclusive to creative achievement. In conclusion, we can see that teachers who respect children’s ideas succeed in helping them learn to think and solve problems for themselves. Children who feel free to make mistakes, explore, and experiment, will also feel free to invent, create, and find new ways to do things. The side benefit is that fostering creativity in our classroom makes teaching more rewarding and fun and gives children a zest for imagining and learning that could last a lifetime.

Christina Rossettis Poetry: Controlled and Passionate Essay -- Cousin

Christina Rossetti's Poetry: Controlled and Passionate Rossetti's poetry has been described as both controlled and passionate. Making clear what you understand by the terms discuss which of these two views you have more sympathy with and why. Refer closely to at least three of the set poems. Christina Rossetti poetry uses concise structures but through these she expresses immense emotion; in this respect her poetry can accurately described as "both controlled and passionate" yet the two words are almost a paradox as passion is frequently seen to be at odds with controlled tight structures. Other poets have also followed in Rossetti's footsteps by combining tight structured poetic forms with emotion e.g. Dylan Thomas. L.E.L is a prime example of Rossetti's technique; it combines a complex structure with a very emotive outcry. The structure is very precise with each verse not only rhyming within itself, in an A, B, A, B, C, C, C pattern, but also within pairs of stanzas containing a pattern between them on the 5th to 8th lines. The 2nd and fourth lines provide visually rhyming lines throughout the poem connecting each verse although when the poem is read aloud the lines do not rhyme verbally. Rossetti also plays with structures in the poem, beginning with an elegiac stanza form ("a Quatrain of four iambic pentameters rhyming A, B, A, B" - Pears Cyclopaedia) before diversifying into her own version ending with C, C, C. The elegiac stanza form helps contribute to the passion by setting the tone for the poem while at the same time Rossetti alters the form to suit her needs showing creativity within her "control". The latter section of each stanza is in a different tone relating and contrasting the emot... ... with more flair in her earlier poetry, with later works settling into more conventional forms. Thus it is difficult to decide which argument to have more sympathy with as both control and passion are constantly intertwined and also changed as Rossetti grew older. Work Cited Rossetti, Christina. The Poetical Works of Christina Georgina Rossetti. With Memoir and Notes &c. Ed. William Michael Rossetti. London; New York: Macmillan, 1904. Works Consulted Armstrong, Isobel. 'A Music of Thine Own': Women's Poetry. in: Joseph Bristow, Victorian Women Poets. Emily Bronte, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Christina Rossetti. Basingstoke and London: Macmillan Press Limited, 1995, 32-63. Harrison, Antony H. Christina Rossetti in Context. Brighton: The Harvester Press, 1988. Marsh, Jan. Christina Rossetti. A Literary Biography. London and Sydney: Pimlico, 1995.