Thursday, October 31, 2019

Problems of Defining and Measurement of Development Essay

Problems of Defining and Measurement of Development - Essay Example There are many geographers that measure the development in the terms of countries Human Development Index. On the other hand in various countries economists link the development with the developed or either with developing countries economies and use the GNP (Gross National Product) and GDP (Gross Domestic Product) for measuring it (Pieterse 2009). As the definition of development, it is important that technological justice and improvements are even interrelated features that require being considered. The study has been conducted for defining the problems that occur while defining the development taking place in the economy and the various measures adopted by the economists for measuring it on the specific index. The study will also include different theories that are applied in the development for defining it. The study will also include examples drawn from various countries for defining the development, as most of the countries use the income level for defining the development taking place in different countries (Jaffee 1998). The term development has been used from the past few decades and there are several definitions which are associated with the training, seminars, workshops, certificate programs, college and degree programs and also the books and other reading materials. The term development when initially discussed was treated as the synonym of the term improvement of individuals of a lot of individuals in society. With the passage of time, with the emergence of new initiatives and innovations, there is an addition to the confusion in the definition of the term development. There is confusion in the terminology that is used for defining the term â€Å"development†. From the international perspective, it can be said to be as an integral part of a large and broader process of the social and community change (Love and Guthrie 2011). The goal of this change is to bring in the efficiency and improvement in the activities related to economic and social justice.  

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer Essay Example for Free

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer Essay Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer are the best of friends with remarkably different personalities. Each brings their unique characteristics into this comical friendship giving the novel numerous amusing passages. Throughout the tale, Tom is often the leader while Huck is the reluctant follower. It doesnt matter that Toms ideas are ridiculous and extravagant, and Hucks are simple and practical, together they always proceed with Toms imaginative plans. In contrast to Toms great imagination and creativity, Huck is humorless and literal minded. Toms imaginativeness comes only from knowledge he has gained through books. Huck, on the other hand, actually lives out the fantasies Tom can only imagine. Tom Sawyer, already civilized, follows the values and beliefs of society. Due to these convictions, Tom always abides by the laws. For these reasons, Tom would never have helped free Jim unless he knew that Jim had already been freed. Conversely, Huck Finn rejects the philosophy of political beliefs for the fear of becoming civilized. He usually runs away at the first notion of him becoming sivilized. Huck is able to function in any society with the help of his adaptability and survival skills. He is able to go from the freedom of the raft, to the perceived harshness of civilization, and back again with ease. Although Tom has been able to slip past Deaths grip so far, his chances of escaping may not always work out to his liking. Of the two, Huck will always be the survivor in life. Together this pair achieves their goals because of their intelligence and witty personalities. They have the ability to put the knowledge they obtain into their every day lives. They are two adventurous souls in search of fresh and exhilarating escapades. Their ages united with their exceptional education keeps them on their toes. Hucks humorless personality and Toms extravagance has made The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, a popular adventure for all ages. The American people have forever enjoyed this novel and have made it the American literary classic that it is today. So there aint nothing more to write about an we is rottin glad of it, because if wed a knowed what a trouble it was to make this essay, and, we wouldnt a tackled it, and aint a-going to no more. -Mark Twain pg. 283

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Critical Social Work Theoretical Frameworks Social Work Essay

Critical Social Work Theoretical Frameworks Social Work Essay Introduction The essay shall explore and analyse the theoretical underpinnings and key elements of critical social work. The account shall then describe assessment in social work practice contexts and consider how critical social work theories like Marxism, Feminism, Radical Social work and Post Modernism have shaped practice. A range of values ranging from personal, professional, institutional, organisational or agency, political, religious and cultural inevitably feature and must be dealt with in practice. Over and above this lies the social justice, emancipatory agenda vehicle by anti-oppressive approaches. Empathy is required and the social worker must be in the clients shoes (Egan, 1998). Theoretical bases and approaches enable practitioners to cross social divides and be with the client in a supportive way in an accountable and ethical manner. Vast energy must be invested to dispel and challenge both the personal and the structural dominant forces of oppressive practices. The author shall a ttempt to demonstrate how theories have shaped the response approaches to service delivery and contributed to professional practice. Critical Social Work Theoretical Frameworks The emergence of Socialism, Marxism, Liberalism and Conservativism shaped the emerging social professions at the turn of the twentieth century totally and reshaped the manner in which life was understood. How the social, political, economic shaped that reality became core in conceptualising reality and the way humans reacted to the world around them. In most cases socially constructed realities could be explained through the material realities if one was to look at the world through a Marxist perspective. The 1960-70s interpretation of social problems, described as the rediscovery of poverty. Marxist principles understood the world as socially divided by class, rendering some classes more susceptible to poverty than others as economically determined by having no control of the means of production. Marxist theory locates class struggle as a means of redressing this kind of socio-economic imbalance and the inequality The core elements in this phase were modes of production and power, t he equality that came with the package and the desire for change, social change could only be achieved through class struggle. The human position could thus be understood as driven and controlled by the external, in this case the poor as the oppressed group desired change. Social works role involves working with peoples lives, social problems centred on poverty and disadvantage and the core business involves establishing balance, social stability and social justice. Intervention without challenging social exclusion, inequality and poverty has proved to be insufficient yet traditional social work pathologised the individual. At the early phases social work was more about maintaining public order and suppressing civil unrest and class struggle rather than getting down to the core issues of poverty alleviation and challenging the sources and reasons for the differences that affected the people. Norms of behaviour and lifestyle for the people were determined by the eligibility criteria as the beneficiary elements of philanthropic interventions more than rights driven determinants. Radical social work emerged to instil that it was in fact a political activity. Social work should be about supporting those in need, challenging inequality and social change, not social control dealing with material realities. With radical social work emerged the community element in social work, conscious raising approach, gradual incremental change in the process and oppositional activism. As the profession developed critical social work begins to understand oppressive forces and work to reconstruct power imbalances (Thompson, 2007; Dominelli, 1988; Braye and Preston-Shoot Radical social work had been too minimalistic and was criticised for over focussing on class and paying no attention to other forms of inequalities. Bhatti- Sinclair (2011) argues that social workers remain committed to human rights, ethics and values and continuously seek a sharper understanding of how to apply theoretical concepts found in universal humanitarian principles, professional ethics and national law, policy and procedure. (xii) Inclusivity and citizenship are the main targets in critical social work practice as opposed to viewing people as collective groups (Glaister, 2008). Anti-oppressive practice thereby pursues social justice and challenges practice discrimination and oppression bluntly. Engagement with social reality must involve critiquing of social systems and structures, and set platforms for social change and difference. The approach has an ethical commitment to social justice by exposing inequalities and challenging unequal power dynamics in society. The manner in which society functions has structures that can either oppress or liberate some social groups. As the practitioner works, there is undoubtedly the challenge of professionally compliant. Social Work Practice Approaches Critical social work practice at all times engages with how other people on the other social, cultural, religious divide are understood by us. Understanding diversity and how personal views and values are located must be a constant reflective professional commitment. Personal or societal perceptions are shaped over time or driven by historical and socio-political realities/environments must be understood. Where stereotypes have been shaped over time in individuals; a professional operational base must be adopted. Braye, S Preston-Shoot, M (2003) challenge hypocritical professionalism by arguing that personal values and attitudes will always be there, the issue is that they should not affect effective service delivery. This is the heart of critical social work practice; being able to transcend the personal and being a professional. Social work can challenge or maintain status quo and that social workers are invested with power to care and control. In the context of what shall be discussed later about assessments, Braye Preston-Shoot (2003) state that, Preparation for and review of practice requires workers to understand themselves, their relationship with and impact on others, and their strengths and weaknesses in relation to maintaining a professional role (2003:135). Respect is necessary both when working with service users and fellow colleagues. As explored in Thompsons model PCS, Social work must explore the personal, cultural and structural dimensions of discrimination, and how these come together, and can be challenged in different ways (Dominelli, 2009). Social work must not reinforce oppression, discrimination or any inequality. Social work can reinforce patriarchal and other oppressive systems and power relations. There are social realities that social work either challenges reinforce, statistically ethnic minority groups generally experience higher rates of unemployment, live in poorer housing, have poorer health, lower levels of academic achievement, higher rates of exclusions from schools and are over-represented in prison statistics. Families who are from black and ethnic minority groups are more likely to be referred to childrens social work services, receive support services later, and children are more likely to go into the care system. There are other forms of prejudice, inequality and discrimination which can intersect, and these can affect people in many different ways. In light of these objective realities, what could be the drivers of such realities? What ideas are generated about the social group and how could this impact on a practitioners judgement when dealing with an individual from BME groups. The same applies when working with Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children, awareness of professional responsibility and a social justice approach when conducting an age assessment must be the practice base. The Human rights and child rights must be appropriately accorded without discrimination. Another example is that of mother blaming in a child protection cases. Feminist theory has challenged this gendered approach to problem solving where the female is mostly at the centre of the problem yet ignores the men from the social causal matrix. As a result of critical social work a shift has developed where the whole domestic environment and people must be part of the issue at hand. If all are not challenged this practice reinforces the interests of some groups over others and oppresses women. Assessment Process Middleton (1997) describes assessment as part of the planning agenda involving gathering and interpreting information in order to understand a person and their circumstances. It involves making judgements based on information. (Middleton, 1997:5). The process here involves respect for the individuals values, their core identity and judgements are made without being judgemental. Selective and stereotypical considerations must be avoided, labelling and categorising people and overlooking their individuality and can allow elements of discrimination to permeate the process which must otherwise not be affected by individual values and perspectives. As argued by Clifford (1998) it is important that social workers check their individual biases and ensure that these do not affect the manner in which they undertake assessments. In direct link with critical social work, assessments must be informed by critical theory to enhance a balanced, just and anti-oppressive assessment process. Personal views held by the social worker must not occupy any space in the assessment process for the sake of justice, fair access to services anti-discriminatory practice. Parker and Bradley (2005) argue that a balanced approach of an assessment involves wisdom, skills, appreciation of diversity and systematically applied knowledge in direct practice. Service users must feel that they benefit from the assessment process for it to be effective (Addock, 2001) and the social worker and family members must collectively contribute to the process. This involvement enriches the process and eliminates subjective approaches to the assessment. Social work practice and critical approaches intersect; the worker must be conscious of their personal beliefs and values and strike a responsible, ethical and professional balance in the manner the assessment and intervention is conducted and be honest and explicit with service users. (Parker Bradley, 2005: 7). Extensive knowledge of the service users environmental and living systems and the wider systems that impinge on them must be key determinants in assessments (Parker Bradley 2005:13) .Service user involvement is empowering and demonstrates citizenship and self driven responsibility as human worth. Understanding power dynamics in assessments Power relations inherent in the social work process must be carefully managed and ensure a balanced contributory approach whereby an exchange model would can adopted to acknowledge that the service users are experts of their situations. Service users and social workers exchange ideas, information and ways forward to make a difference and find alternative ways of approaching as collective partners (Parker Bradley, 2005:14). In terms of skills this involves actively listening to service users being available for them, a professional and non-judgemental or non directive approach, straight and honest talk and social justice pursuit. (Parker Bradley, 2005). Child centred assessments must be informed by child development theories, ecological approaches, ensuring equality of opportunity, involvement of families and an interagency approach ensures collective creative interventions. When working with unaccompanied asylum seeking children for example, Culturegrams help in analysing the impact of culture in the lives of those individuals and families being assessed (Parker Bradley, 2005:50-53). This can be very useful when working with BME groups as well as refugees and asylum seekers in a broader context. Values of the families and individuals are explored and these help shape the nature of the intervention where the individual shapes the course of the intervention as opposed to it being driven by the powerful professionals. Multiculturalism and social work Multiculturalism is a 21st Century challenge as citizenship recognition and integration a modern society characteristic. Critical multiculturalism suggests that social workers need to intellectually engage with the issues of difference and citizenship, in a manner that detaches practice from monoculturalist norms (Powell, 2001:146). Social workers are practically challenged to interrogate the value assumptions of their approach and assess principles and values they use in practice. If social workers are to avoid narrative repression, they need to be capable of challenging discursive hierarchies of meaning in their practice. (Powell, 2001:146). This becomes the reflexive component in the intervention. This involves challenging the very systems that they use and lobby for the change in structural elements that could be oppressing the very people they would be working with. Feminist social work engages in redressing gender inequalities, this could be the mother blaming attitude that it challenges. Critical social work engages a need for awareness by practitioners, a transformation of cultural attitudes around race relations, gay rights and the relationship between sexuality, culture and power and of the need for anti-discriminatory practice (Powell, 2001:149). In order to meet the professional demands of the profession, social workers must seek guidance and close the gap between personal values and professional practice. This must make constant reference to human rights, equality, discrimination and racism (Bhatti- Sinclair, 2011). Fook (2000) argues that expert critical social workers are able to create critical knowledge which challenges and resists all forms of domination. Anti-racist practice Dominelli (2008) points out that anti-racist practice beyond that presented in Thompsons (2007) PCS model by emphasising on its interactional nature. For Dominelli (2008) racism is a multidimensional form of oppression over and above discrimination Institutional and Cultural racism are structurally associated and viewed as less evil than the personal racism which society frowns upon, yet the is no better racism. If practitioners hand over responsibility of BME issues to BME staff this may be problematic as it may result in a lack of obligation by white social workers to anti-racist practice and reinforce difference. Institutional practices must be professionally compliant (Bhatti- Sinclair, 2011:128) at their own level. Treatment of black families/children hits them every day and there are challenges that the social workers have to deal with in the face of these ingrained stereotypical views of the good white family and the bad black family. Dominelli (2008) argues that challenging how white people perceive black families is only possible within positive trusting relationships. Nomadic settlers fall into the same category where as the minority ethnic groups where stereotypical assumptions exist that can influence the social work process. To work with individuals on the autistic spectrum requires knowledge and understanding of autism. Knowledge of the conditions characteristics, the basic understanding of the triad of impairments is necessary for use in the social work process. The individuals must not be viewed as unwilling to engage due their limited social interaction skills but must be understood and appropriate communication systems used. For example, instead of talking through an assessment; picture boards, games of their interest, familiar environments and using their preferred mode of communication would help to involve them, engage them and remove a possible stereotypical view that they cannot make decisions. If this process does not involve them, the likelihood is that anti-oppressive practice would have been failed. Good practice recognises individuality and this permeates through the social work process. Assessment process in practice The authors work experience with a forty year old autistic man in Coventry stands as a unique example of the complexity of service user involvement and creativity aimed at raising the level of positive outcomes in reviewing a care plan. The only established access point for his contributions was when he was away from home, on the bus. During any travel by bus, he livened up and opened up, expressed his views about the service he was receiving and it was the best time to evaluate the support care plan, conversationally in a bus. Working around the individuals world helped the social care provider to reach out to the very important needs that an office based assessment could not achieve. The bus environment had no powerful/powerless unequal binary dynamic in it. It was his comfort zone. Failure to recognise individual likes, obsessions and sensory issues in autistic individuals can hinders the social work process. Effective assessments can only be achievable when the service user is lo cated at the centre of the process by use of approaches that promote social change and justice. Challenging discrimination in practice Children are often described as vulnerable, innocent, in need of protection and lacking experience. If not carefully approached the child may be sidelined from the assessment process and overshadowed by adult ideas. If it is around abuse in the home, it is the childs experience and not the adults experience that must take precedence with the child as the expert. The Lamming Report emphasised the need to see the world through the eyes of the child. The role of the social worker in practice is to challenge discrimination, exclusion of socially excluded groups like children. Children have been looked at as subjects and the critical approach locates them as able to shape and voice. Failure to recognise children and the social workers relatively powerful position practitioners reinforce oppression. The critical practitioner engages service users to facilitate the telling of their stories in the assessment process. Law is used to counter oppressive practice and sets out operational parameters for professionals to deal with racism and be aware that discrimination is unlawful (Race relations Act 1976 Equality Act 2006, Bhatti- Sinclair, 2011).To overcome the practice challenge, social workers have looked up to anti-racist advocates for guidance on methods and models which respond ethically, effectively and efficiently to daily challenges and dilemmas (Bhatti- Sinclair, 2011). Training and existing regulatory bodies like the HCPC enable practice to be justice based by requiring professionalism by the workforce through compliance and guidance. The Professional capabilities Framework requires the worker to Recognise and manage the impact on people of the power invested in your role (PCF 33) and standards of proficiency calls on the need to recognise the power dynamics in relationships with service users and carers and be able to manage those dynamics appropriately (SoPS 2.8). Formalised assessments aid in injecting consistency Crisp et al (2005) argues that the absence of a formalised assessment framework results in subjective assessments. Professionally trained and skilled workers enhance a fair assessment. Assessments must not just look at behaviour, but also the cause of the behaviour in a holistic way in order to make correct judgements and this is achieved through service user participation in the process. Milner Byrne, (2002) postulate that the assess ment there is need for mapping before planning the assessment journey. This involves knowing the child, engaging them and drawing their strengths in order to shape appropriate support (Dominelli Payne, 2002). Involvement Effective anti-racist, anti-oppressive practice must be drawn from practice intelligence, applied research and service users involvement. Empowering practice has an involvement and integration component as opposed to exclusion practice approaches by lack of appropriate language and culture awareness (Bhatti- Sinclair, 2011).Structurally, well planned and coordinated assessments and interventions involve the service user and must respond sensitively to their needs. Awareness of our own prejudices and past experiences and ideas must be non-threatening to clients (Lindsay, 2010) .Interactive polarisation between the social worker and client can undermine social work effectiveness whereupon families and individuals are pathologised either as unreachable or resistant. Positive communication enhances the relationship building (Kaprowska 2010:5) which is the key to an accurate assessment. Individuals with disabilities often argue that social workers assessments of them emphasise more on impairment and less on being seen as human, instead assessments must explore their individual abilities. In addition when working with individuals who use minority languages it can become a barrier for an accurate assessment hence the need to plan assessments for these individuals with full awareness of this key communication element in order to ensure the service users involvement. This could be necessitated by translators or minority language speaking social workers. Similarly, when working with the elderly, assessments must detect abilities and not reinforce ageist stereotypes, shared power and agreed direction principle. Conclusion The concept of critical practice locates the social worker as an active participant in a process of interpreting and understanding relationships and communication that must cut across difference. Over and above assumptions, prejudices, personal beliefs, structural frameworks; the critical practitioner must be reflexive and engaged in an empowering way whilst being aware of personal and socio-cultural origins and belief systems and challenging all forms of oppression. Appropriate skills and knowledge must be incorporated for the social work process to be effective.

Friday, October 25, 2019

Culture Through Generations :: essays papers

Culture Through Generations This essay will explain how I learned culture through generations of my family. The first thing I noticed when analyzing my chart is that there has been considerable migration through generations of my family. My family came from Europe to Central America , because they had made investments there which was their initial reason for leaving Spain. My parents generation left Central America for political reasons which lead them to financial disaster. Opportunity, can be said is the reason why generations of my families have lived in the Americas. Cultural values in my family are still rooted to those which exist in Spain. When they first came to the Americas , they moved to a very close nit European community. This is what set a precedent for cultural values and family through the passing down of European traditions from generation to generation. In the neighborhoods where my parents grew up it made a difference what your name was, so it was important to inter-marry between people of the same class and on the same cultural level. This also meant that your surnames created support networks which created a financial backbone for the family .This in turn is lead to not what I’d call a pre- arranged marriage but a suggestive marriage. That means your parents would suggest to you that a certain person from a certain family would be a suitable mate because of their family and background. This was common practice in my parents community. These kinds of marriages were accepted by previous generations because of a respect of your parents opinions, and because of the tight nit family structure. These traditions have been passed down form generation to generation, with exception to the American generation of my family. This also meant my family had expectations of each succeeding generation. Every generation was insisted upon having a college degree, it was completely unacceptable to not have a college education in my family. This particular culture and society was lived by two generations of my family. When communism came to power my parents needed to leave the country because all of their possessions were seized by the poor rebellious communists. Communism was also not parents political affiliation so they chose to come to America for opportunity and freedom.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Explain the Biological Mechanisms by Which Stress Can Induce Depressive Behaviour

Explain the biological mechanisms by which stress can induce depressive behaviour. Introduction Depressive behaviour is a core feature of several major psychological disorders, most obviously major depression (MD) and depressive episodes of bipolar depression (BP). Depression is also frequently found to be co-morbid with psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia and with anxiety-related disorders (e. g. social phobia or OCD). Depression is the biggest major risk factor for self-harm and suicide, thus posing a real clinical problem to try to understand and reverse the mechanisms involved.Traditional anti-depressant treatment has only shown a modest benefit to placebos in treating the disorder; therefore, more effective drugs that target the right biological mechanisms are imminently needed. The majority of experimental research in the area has used rodents to test medication and model known psychopathological aspects of depression in humans, such as learned helplessness, cognitive def icits and increased co-morbidity with anxiety-related behaviours. There are many factors that may explain why some people (around 16% of the population) will experience a depressive episode in their lifetime and others won’t.Genetic vulnerability and epigenetic changes, psychosocial support, socioeconomic status or even climate-related factors all have to be considered in considering the right treatment for individual cases. Whilst the causal link between many of these and the onset of depression is somewhat inconclusive, the strong association between chronic mild stress (CMS) and depressive behaviour is now a huge area of research, resulting in the stress-induced model of depression.Even where there is evidence for the role of genes in depression, such as allele variants for the 5-HTT promoter region, it is shown to vary as a function of exposure to stressful life events. The mechanisms by which environmental stressors can lead to depressive behaviour have been explored tho roughly, with a strong focus on the role of the Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis and its dysfunction in depression. The consequent rise in levels of the glucocorticoid hormone cortisol, following HPA activation, has been shown to become chronic increased in depressed patients.This is thought to be due to the development of glucocorticoid resistance, whereby high levels of cortisol are present in the bloodstream and peripheral tissue but negative feedback to shut down the HPA axis no longer works. Due to the numerous roles of cortisol within the body, several biological processes may be affected as a consequence of CMS that may lead to depressive behaviour. Direct and indirect effects of HPA dysfunction include changes in immune response, neuronal damage, decreased rates of neurogenesis and the serotonin pathways.These processes tend to interact and exacerbate one another; therefore, understanding each proposed biological mechanism of stress-induced depression and their impa ct upon each other is likely to lead to a better treatment outcome. Acute Stress and the HPA Axis The experience of acute mild stress is a normal and adaptive process, triggered by an environmental ‘stressor’ deemed to be potentially harmful. From an evolutionary perspective, this serves to protect the individual from danger via activation of the sympathetic nervous system, preparing the individual for ‘fight or flight’ mode.Stress, as well as input from the amygdala, hippocampus and midbrain, directly activates the ‘stress response’ via the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis. The first immediate response is the release of corticotrophin releasing hormone (CRH) from the hypothalamus, which travels to the pituitary where it binds to CRH Receptor 1 (CRHR1). CRH can also act directly on other brain regions, e. g. the amygdala at this early stage. CRH1 activation stimulates the release of adrenocorticotrophin release hormone (ACTH), which tr avels via the bloodstream to the kidneys, stimulating the delayed release of the glucocorticoid (steroid) cortisol.Cortisol acts throughout the body in all cells, via binding to cytoplasmic glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid receptors (GR and MR) (see Figure 1). Figure 1: Cortisol can pass through the cell membrane due to its lipophillic properties. Binding of cortisol to the GR complex in the cytoplasm causes dissociation of GR from the complex, resulting in an active GR monomer. Two GRs then dimerise to form a GR dimer. This can act as a transcription factor in itself by attaching to Glucocorticoid Binding Elements (GBE), or it can interact with other Hormone Binding Elements and transcription factors to initiate gene transcription. http://jimlund. org/blog/? m=200910] A rise in cortisol levels, alongside CRH, leads to adaptive changes in behaviour, cognition and immune function. Importantly, this rise is followed by a negative feedback loop of cortisol and CRH acting upon its o wn receptors (NC3R1 and CHR2, respectively) to shut down the HPA axis once the ‘threat’ has been resolved. This homeostatic mechanism terminates the production of any more CRH and therefore brings cortisol levels back to baseline (pre-stressor), vital for returning the individual back to a normal ‘resting’ state.It is this negative feedback mechanism which has been shown to be disrupted in patients with depression. Chronic Stress and Glucocorticoid Resistance In a situation of CMS, the prolonged activation of the HPA axis leads to abnormally elevated cortisol levels. However, chronically elevated cortisol can be dangerous, due to its role in suppressing the immune system and increasing vulnerability to infection. It is possible that in order to counteract the constant influx of circulating cortisol causing potentially unwanted downstream effects, GRs in lymphocytes become unresponsive or resistant to glucocorticoids.This dysfunction of GRs is typically seen in depressed patients and has been shown numerous times using the dexamethasone suppression test (DST). Dexamethasone (a synthetic glucocorticoid) mimics cortisol by binding to GRs and shutting down HPA activity in healthy controls. Therefore, dexamethasone-treated individuals have almost no detectable cortisol over the course of the following day. On the other hand, in depressed patients, the DST doesn’t show any significant repression of HPA activity.Whilst they already show significantly higher overall levels of cortisol, they also show reduced suppression of dexamethasone during the DST. This shows that the GRs are unresponsive to glucocorticoids, leading to the typical feature of glucocorticoid resistance in depressed patients. The Inflammation/Cytokine Hypothesis Glucocorticoid resistance has important implications for immune system function. Under normal acute stress, cortisol suppresses lymphocytes in peripheral tissue from producing pro-inflammatory cytokines by act ivating intracellular GRs and leading to transcription of downstream regulatory genes.Key targets of GR-mediated transcription related to immune function include the upregulation of anti-inflammatory genes annexin-1, IL-10 and I? B? (inhibits NF-? B) and down-regulation of pro-inflammatory cytokine genes, such as IL1-6, 9, 11-13, 16-18 and TNF-?. However, glucocorticoid resistance following chronic stress can mean that lymphocytes stop responding to cortisol, so there is an increase in the proliferation of leukocytes and production of pro-inflammatory cytokines.The proposed mechanism for how these peripherally-generated cytokines are able to affect the central nervous system (CNS) involves several pathways. These cytokines (IL-1? , TNF-? and IL-6) cannot typically diffuse across the blood-brain-barrier, but they can enter the CNS in regions of high BBB permeability or be actively transported across the BBB by endothelial cell transporters. Additionally, without crossing the BBB, cyt okines are able to activate endothelial cells to produce soluble factors (e. g.PG-E2) to indirectly activate neurons, as well as activating certain afferent neurons (e. g. the vagus nerve) that carry information to the CNS about the inflammation. In these ways, peripheral inflammation can cause typical changes in the CNS and ‘sickness behaviour’ seen in depressed patients: lethargy, anhedonia, reduced locomotor activity and sleep and weight disturbances. Support for this proposed mechanism comes from findings that clinically depressed patients show an abnormally high production of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1? IL-6 and TNF-? ), cytokine-based immunotherapy often causes depression in cancer or hepatitis C patients and cytokine administration causes depressive behaviour in animal models. Reversal of this depressive behaviour can be seen by administration of anti-depressants, which target and reduce the inflammatory response in both patients and animal models. In a sim ilar fashion, anti-inflammatories such as cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 inhibitors or omega-3 have strong anti-depressant effects on behaviour. Inflammation-Induced NeurodegenerationAnother approach to modelling stress-induced depression has focused on the controversial findings of clinically depressed patients show changes in volume of structural brain regions, including the hippocampus, amygdala, anterior cingulated, prefrontal cortex and basal ganglia. The mechanisms by which some brain regions, in particular the hippocampus as implicated in stress-induced depression, might decrease in volume appear to be a combination of both neurodegeneration (increased apoptosis of neurons) and a decrease in adult neurogenesis in the subgranular zone of the dentate gyrus (DG).Stress-induced HPA hyper-activity may explain the atrophy seen in some brain regions of clinically depressed patients. Glucocorticoids stimulate the breakdown of tissue into glucose for the quick release of energy; therefore, ch ronically increased levels may result in brain tissue loss in regions where cortisol acts, such as the hippocampus. Furthermore, the link between stress, inflammation and an increase in oxidative stress may also explain a large portion of the neurodegeneration apparent in depression.Inflammation has been shown to increase oxidation and the fact that the CNS has no proper defence against oxidative damage makes it very vulnerable to oxidative stress (OS). This has been demonstrated as a key feature in neurodegenerative diseases and depression, implicating a causal role of stress-induced inflammation in triggering degeneration. The damage caused by OS can lead to mitochondrial dysfunction, which can lead to further intracellular build up of damaging oxidised proteins.The only way for cells to cope in this situation is to activate programmed cell death (apoptosis), or in less controlled circumstances, necrosis can occur, leading to a decline in cell numbers and lateral effects on the ne ural network. This mechanism of oxidative stress-induced neurodegeneration can be slowed down and treated by the application of antioxidant enzymes, which serve a neuro-protective role. These enzymes eradicate free radical oxidising particles and also suppress pro-inflammatory cytokine action.A further damaging feature seen in neurodegeneration and depression is nitrosative stress (NS), which may contribute to neurotoxicity and therefore cell death. An increase in the production of cortisol after acute stress will temporarily cause a suppression of neurogenesis in the DG. Neurogenesis in the DG has been demonstrated to be vital for healthy cognition and memory, impacting mood, the sleep-wake cycle and appetite; all affected in depression. Therefore, CMS leads to prolonged suppression of neurogenesis and may explain the behavioural outcomes typical of depression.The decrease in neurogenesis following exposure to stress may possibly involve the neurotrophin Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF), shown to be greatly reduced in regions that also show a decrease in neurogenesis and related to brain regions typically affected in depression. Animal models exposed to CMS show decreased neurogenesis and BDNF levels in overlapping brain regions and elicit depressive behaviours associated with dysfunction of these regions. Furthermore, anti-depressant treatment that successfully increases BDNF levels also leads to recovery from depressive behavioural symptoms.However, the causation here is not clear; whether the BDNF levels dropping are a result of other stress-induced mechanisms or whether it is partly the cause of the behaviour. Some evidence suggests that anti-depressants can work independently of BDNF restoration. Hagen and colleagues set out to control for possible variables such as age, time of cortisol readings and overall brain volume. Whilst there has been no robust evidence for a link between baseline cortisol levels and hippocampal volume, this study did fi nd that hippocampal volume was negatively correlated with length of depressive episode pre-hospitalisation.Furthermore, better responsiveness (lowering of cortisol levels) after treatment was predicted by greater hippocampal volume (relative to overall brain volume). b) antineurogenic effects and reduced brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels; and c) apoptosis with reduced levels of Bcl-2 and BAG1 (Bcl-2 associated athanogene 1), and increased levels of caspase-3. Stress-induced inflammation, e. g. increased IL-1? , but not reduced neurogenesis, is sufficient to cause depression. Antidepressants a) reduce peripheral and central inflammatory pathways by decreasing IL-1? TNF? and IL-6 levels; b) stimulate neuronal differentiation, synaptic plasticity, axonal growth and regeneration through stimulatory effects on the expression of different neurotrophic factors, e. g. trkB, the receptor for brain-derived neurotrophic factor; and c) attenuate apoptotic pathways by activating Bc l-2 and Bcl-xl proteins, and suppressing caspase-3. It is concluded that external stressors may provoke depression-like behaviours through activation of inflammatory, oxidative, apoptotic and antineurogenic mechanisms.The clinical efficacy of antidepressants may be ascribed to their ability to reverse these different pathways. Neuronal damage and apoptosis Activation of the Kynurenine Pathway (KP) 5-HT Accumulated evidence indicates a role of the hippocampal 5-hydroxy-tryptamine (5-HT) and neuropeptide Y (NPY) in the response to stress and modulation of depression, but it is unclear whether and how the hippocampal 5-HT and NPY systems make contributions to chronic unpredicted mild stress (CUMS)-induced depression.Here we observed that rats receiving a variety of chronic unpredictable mild stressors for 3 weeks showed a variety of depression-like behavioral changes, including a significant reduction in body weight, sucrose preference, and locomotion, rearing and grooming in open fiel d test, and a significant increase in immobility time in forced swimming test. These CUMS-induced behavioral changes were suppressed or blocked by intra-hippocampal injection of 5-HT (31. 25 microg/microl) or NPY (10 microg/microl). These data suggest a critical role of reduced hippocampal 5-HT and NPY neurotransmission in CUMS-induced depression.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Free Essays on The Beatitudes

Description: The beatitudes are eight statements taught by Jesus. They are concerned with virtue and how a believer in Jesus Christ can achieve that virtue. The Beatitudes are a map of life, a series of directives helping us on our journey to be with God. They also designate the actual condition of people who follow God's guidelines. BeatitudesTheir Significance And Meaning They are simply stated, but are profound in meaning. They guide. They point. They teach. They show us the values that Christ cares about. These values if followed, can not only bring a believer into a state of peace and happiness, but also right into the Kingdom of God after our journey on this earth is over. The Latin word for blessed is beatus, from which we get the word beatitude. The beatitudes are found at Matthew 5: 3-12 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall possess the earth. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for justice, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are they who suffer persecution for justice sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As you read about each of the beatitudes you might look into your own heart and examine your feelings towards them. Are you trying to follow each one of them? I think you will find that you need a rather humble, almost a childlike attitude towards each one of them if you are to be successful in following them. In fact Our Lord mentioned many times about how we needed to become more like children in our attitude and in our thinking towards many of th... Free Essays on The Beatitudes Free Essays on The Beatitudes Description: The beatitudes are eight statements taught by Jesus. They are concerned with virtue and how a believer in Jesus Christ can achieve that virtue. The Beatitudes are a map of life, a series of directives helping us on our journey to be with God. They also designate the actual condition of people who follow God's guidelines. BeatitudesTheir Significance And Meaning They are simply stated, but are profound in meaning. They guide. They point. They teach. They show us the values that Christ cares about. These values if followed, can not only bring a believer into a state of peace and happiness, but also right into the Kingdom of God after our journey on this earth is over. The Latin word for blessed is beatus, from which we get the word beatitude. The beatitudes are found at Matthew 5: 3-12 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall possess the earth. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for justice, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are they who suffer persecution for justice sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As you read about each of the beatitudes you might look into your own heart and examine your feelings towards them. Are you trying to follow each one of them? I think you will find that you need a rather humble, almost a childlike attitude towards each one of them if you are to be successful in following them. In fact Our Lord mentioned many times about how we needed to become more like children in our attitude and in our thinking towards many of th...