Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Biological Psychology Essay Example for Free

Biological Psychology Essay Abstract Psychology has its own biological boundaries. This is in the form of biological psychology or behavioral neuroscience. The main aim of this branch in psychology is to have a clearer picture of the relationship of the mind and body, and mind and brain. It tries to link the brain functions to the different mental processes and behaviors. This type of psychology investigates man’s physiological phenomena such as memory and emotions. Biological Psychology Human beings are more then a collection of systems, more than a collection of organs and more than a collection of cells.    The human body is complex. It is an operating organism which functions as a whole. The human body involves a great deal of variety of processes. By examining the parts, it does not mean that one can understand the whole organism (Arnold, 1999). Biological psychology is the field of psychology which main endeavor was to link the different brain functions to different mental processes and behaviors. Psychologists in this subdiscipline of psychology are often interested in relating biological variables to psychological or behavioral variables. It deals with biological processes and behaviors that are shared with mammalian animals. This is because biological psychologists utilize animals in their experiments. Some of these processes are sensation, perception, motivation, learning memory and control of motor movements (â€Å"Biological Psychology†).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The history of Biological psychology emerged from various philosophical views in the 18th and 19th century. However, its study started much earlier. It dates back to Avicenna, a Persian psychologist and physician. He recognized physiological psychology in the treatment of illnesses involving emotions. Avicenna also gave some psychological explanations on somatic illnesses. He believed that humidity inside the brain can cause mood disorders. Humidity is brought by the change with the amount of breath. Another is that happiness increases the breath so it contributes to the brain’s moisture. But then, too much moisture can make the brain loss control thus having mental disorders (â€Å"The Mind-Brain Problem†).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The philosophical history of Biological Psychology surfaced from philosophers like Rene Descartes. He believed that the pineal gland was the point of contact between the mind and body. He also proposed a theory that pneumatics or fluid power of bodily fluids is connected to reflexes and motor behavior (â€Å"The Mind- Brain Problem†).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another philosopher who contributed to Biological psychology is William James.   He is the one who argued that in the study of psychology there should also be consideration to the understanding of Biology. He also stressed that the functions of the brain must be included in the study of psychology. The connection between mind and brain became progressively clearer in the nineteenth century. In this century, the doctors started observing patients who suffered from head injuries. The patients usually exhibited alterations in language and memory and some variation in their personalities. One patient is a refined businessman and a loving father became a vulgar person who lacks in affection for his loved ones after a sever blow in the head. These observations is lead researchers to experiment by producing surgical lesions in animals in different regions of the brain to observe what effects these lesions have on behavior (Westen, 1999). Since its origin, one of the major issues faced by biological psychologists was localization of functions. This entails knowing which different parts of the brain control different aspects of functioning. In 1836, a physician named Marc Dax, noted that lesions on the left side of the brain were associated with aphasia or language disorder. Because of this discovery, many other discoveries linking the left hemisphere of the brain with language function appeared (Westen, 1999). These other discoveries led to the finding of Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas. Broca’s aphasia involves difficulty in production of speech, whereas Wernicke’s aphasia involves difficulty in comprehending language (Westen, 1999).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The clinical assumption of Biological psychology is that organisms share similar biological processes and behaviors. Some of the other disciplines in psychology greatly related with biological psychology are comparative psychology, evolutionary psychology, neuropsychology, clinical psychology, cognitive psychology and experimental psychology (Westen, 1999).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Comparative psychology is the study of behavior and mental processes of animals other than human beings (Westen, 1999). Biological psychologists use animals in their experiments. They compare the results done on these animals to human processes and behaviors. Evolutionary psychology, on the other hand, deals with the explanation of mental and psychological traits and how they evolved to adapt to different stimuli. Neuropsychology is an interdisciplinary field of psychology and neuroscience that aims to explain how the structure and function of the brain relate to certain psychological behaviors (â€Å"Evolutionary Psychology†).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Other fields of psychology related with biological psychology such as clinical psychology, cognitive psychology, and experimental psychology are connected with biological psychology because these fields aim to link the physiological processes with different mental processes. Clinical psychology focuses on the nature and treatment of physiological processes that lead to emotional distress. Cognitive psychology examines the nature of thought, memory and language. And, experimental psychology examines mental processes in human and other animals (Westen, 1999). Some of the noted modern biological psychologists are Nikolaas Tinbergen, Karl von Frisch, Eric Kandel and Arvid Carlsson. Nikolaas Tinbergen is a Dutch ornithologist who won the Nobel Prize for Physiology in 1973. His contribution is the organization and elicitation of individual and social behaviour patterns in animals. Karl von Frisch is an Austrian ethologist who won the same award with Tinbergen. He studied the senses of bees and identified they methods of communication(â€Å"Nobel Prize in Physiology/ Medicine 1973†)..Eric Kandel is a neuroscientist whose contribution is the analysis of biochemical changes in neurons assiciated with learning and memory storage. Arvid Carlsson is a neuroscientist most noted for his on the neurotransmitter dopmaine and Parkinson’s disease (â€Å"The Nobel Prize in Physiology/ Medicine 2000†).   Reference Arnold, T. (1999). Mind and Brian Relationship. Retrieved February 8, 2008, from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.hyponoesis.org/html/essays/e022.html Biological Psychology. Retrieved February 11, 2008, from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.psypress.com/common/supplementary/184169360X/part1.pdf Evolutionary Psychology. Retrieved February 11, 2008, from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.psychnet-uk.com/evolutionary_psychology/evolutionary_psychology.htm The Mind- Brain problem. Retrieved February 11, 2008, from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://moebius.psy.ed.ac.uk/~dualism/papers/brains.html The Nobel Prize in Physiology/ Medicine 1973. Nobelprize.org. Retrieved February 11, 2008,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   from http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1973/index.html The Nobel Prize in Physiology/ Medicine 2000. Nobelprize.org. Retrieved February 11, 2008,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   from http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2000/index.html Westen, D. (2nd Ed.). (1999). Psychology: Mind, Brain and Culture. U.S.A.: John Wiley   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Sons, Inc.

Tuesday, January 21, 2020

De Tocqueville Essay -- essays research papers

Alexis De Tocqueville, Democracy in America   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Aristocracy is a phenomenon that is perhaps as natural a summer crop, and as devastating as the locusts that eat it. De Tocqueville’s position on aristocracy is quite clear. He is a strong advocate of the aristocracy, it is a part of the natural order and necessary. His position may have some basis, however I have yet to see the “upside'; of a caste system or a good defense of it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  De Tocqueville believes that aristocracy provides stability and fellowship. De Tocqueville’s support of aristocracy is weak and ill founded. His first point of aristocracy is that of stability, “Among aristocratic nations, as families remain for centuries in the same condition,';. Stationary families have the stability to resist most circumstances and become fixed. This also allows families to gain power that they have no real right to hold. Old things often become stagnant and rotten, as did the aristocracy when families intermarried beyond their genes capacity, as well as becoming corrupted.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  De Tocqueville’s second point is that the aristocracy have great lineage and pay homage to their ancestors, “A man almost always knows his forefathers and respects them;';. This is quite true, however De Tocqueville does not mention that because of the family “blood';, wars have been fought, and many lives lost. De Tocqueville continues to say, “He willingly imposes duties on himself towards the former and latter [ancestors and descendants], and he will frequently sacrifice his personal gratifications . . .';. It is a nice sentiment, however, history has taught us that it is rare to find a self-sacrificing person, and even rarer is the benevolent overlord. De Tocqueville’s argument lacks a solid and provable basis. The fact that aristocrats look only for their ancestors or descendants is a very self-centered act. They are concerned with only their family and it’s success. De Tocqueville does not mention the “sacrifice'; an angry lord makes for his serfs and servants by throwing them off his land. It would destroy De Tocqueville’s argument to show that lords were hard, if not cruel at times, on their tenets. History has proven it.   &nb... ...o people can live lives of their own.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Equality is one of democracy’s foundations. De Tocqueville does not see this, however as he writes, “As social conditions become more equal . . . [people cannot] . . . exercise any great influence over their fellows,';. The idea behind this strange equality is that people are free to make decisions with out the fear of outside influences.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Democracy, though it works as a system designed for the masses, also works for individual rights. De Tocqueville notes that, “they are apt to imagine that their whole destiny is in their own hands.';. This is a foundation of democracy, that we have right to life. This includes the right to shape our “destiny';.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  De Tocqueville wrote sensible arguments, save the fact that they were totally unfounded and not supported in any way. I cannot say whether it is better live under democracy or feudalism. It is possible to see that in most circumstances, a democracy is better for the people. In fact, it’s better for any person to live under a democracy, except for the aristocrat.

Monday, January 13, 2020

Review of Accounting Ethics Essay

Establishing principles for ethical behavior frequently starts with a policy on ethics. Businesses acquire a policy on ethics to guide their measures and to set up a general meaning of correct versus incorrect. According to the American Library Association, code of ethics is a handbook for suitable behavior (2012). Given the corporate ethical breaches in recent times, assess whether or not you believe that the current business and regulatory environment is more conducive to ethical behavior. Provide support for your answer Existing businesses and regulatory environment is more conductive behavior because some companies and managers feel as though they can get away with it. The unpredictable increase and collapse of the Enron Company set off a long-burning fire under the American social conscience. From every crevasse and corner, voices rose demanding increased accountability, demanding tighter regulation, and demanding that the unethical be brought to justice. Clearly, in such estimation, those at fault should have been punished. In order for ethical principles to apply to such industries, it must be shown that they are inherently moral or ethically responsible institutions. Secondly, an adequate discussion of what business ethics is just be provided before we can truly investigate why the situation does not conform to those standards. Third, the role of those same ethical standards must be explained with business content. Fourth, recent societal preventative measures for unethical practice should be examined (SOX). Fifth, and finally, the contribution of philosophical trends and the current phislophical mood of society must be investigated in order to delve into the mindsets of those who perpetrate such acts as society seeks to condemn. at the very beginning it is important to make the following distraction: despite the fact most of society views business as a whole, including executives as inherently dishonest, accountants and business p ersons are not inherently more likely to choose immorality over ethical behavior than any other segment of society (De Vois, 2002). Based on your research, describe the organization, the accounting ethical breach and the impact to the organization related to ethical breach. Best Buy Chairman and founder Richard Schulze exited Monday after directors determined he used poor judgment for failing to disclose CEO Brian Dunn’s personal relationship with a young subordinate, a violation of company ethics that led to Dunn’s  departure last month. In light of these revelations, Schulze ‘acted inappropriately,’ by failing to bring the matter to the company’s audit committee. While Best Buy made it clear that Dunn did not use the company’s resources to facilitate his relationship with the female employee, the internal probe found that Dunn’s behavior showed ‘extremely poor judgment and a lack of professionalism. Determine how the organizational ethical issue was detected and how management failed to create an ethical environment. In April, Dunn abruptly decided to call it quits as the Richfield, Minnesota-based company further investigated his relationship with the subordinate employee. The internal probe was initiated by the firm’s audit committee and completed by an outside law firm. Dunn is expected to walk away with a severance package worth up to $6.6 million from the embattled consumer electronics chain. There is still no word on who will succeed him. Schulze said in a statement that when he questioned Dunn about his actions, they were denied and now he accepts the audit committee findings. Analyze the accounts impacted and/or accounting guidelines violated and the resulting impact to the business operation. According to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, within the previous three years, there has numerous businesses and audit organizations that has been held responsible for violation of accounting ethics and other monetary irregularities for rebelliousness of disclosure standards (2012). Richard Schulze, creator and chairman, neglected to take action in a method that was standard with the audit committee’s permission and excellent gove rnance procedures and he produced serious possibilities of employee revenge and corporation liability. The best news for shareholders is that the board of directors at Best Buy and HP took major steps to look after the shareholders. The board members that observe CEOs make uncertain ethical decisions, should not hang around to decide if there is an accounting violation to make alterations. As a CFO, recommend which measures could have been taken to prevent this ethical breach and how each measure should be implemented in the future. For the worthy of the business, and for the worthy of anyone’s career, it is very significant to stay away from ethical problems and equally, to act morally (Smith, 2003). Mangers and/or supervisors should be a model to the actions they want their employees to obtain. The company’s staff will observe how the managers perform and they  will perform the same exact manner. When corporations create a code of conduct, they need to make sure that they live up to it as well. As a member of staff of any company, CFO choices or events should progress the wellbeing of that business. At particular times, CFO’s could be in a situation where their judgment might influence their own wellbeing as well. On the other hand, to stay away from any form of bad behavior, CFO’s may perhaps reveal the nature of their connection to the corporation. As a result, ethics play a very important role in each choice an accountant has to obtain as it involves every investor who places their unsighted belief on the accountant to make the right decisions. Principles has to be very clear by hopeful accountants in such a approach that it combines with their ethical growth which will allow them to acquire the most excellent ethical choices in the future. It really comes down to individuals’ ethical responsibility to sustain their own honesty and increase public assurance by illustrating clearness in the shape of the ethical measures being pursued. References Code of Ethics of the American Library Association. (2012). American Library Association. Retrieved November 1, 2012, from http://www.ala.org. De Vous, P. (2002). Recovering the vocation of business. Acton Institute. Retrieved November 1, 2012, from www.acton.org. Smith, Deborah. (2003). 10 Ways Companies Can Avoid Frequent Ethical Pitfalls. American Psychological Association. Retrieved November 1, 2012, from http://www.apa.org. United States Securities and Exchange Commission. (2012). Retrieved November 1, 2012, from http://www.sec.gov.

Sunday, January 5, 2020

Role Stereotyping, Misconceptions About Nursing Career

Introduction According to Passel, Cohn and Lopez (2011), the proportion of AA by 2010 stood at 12.2% of the total US population. However, a report generated by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) in (2011) reveals that only 6% of registered nurses in the US are AA. Loftin et al. (2012) listed inadequate monetary funding, insufficient moral and emotional support, lack of academic and nursing program advising as well as scant technical support and professional socialization as some of the reasons that explain why few AA fails to pursue nursing or complete the nursing program. Role stereotyping, misconceptions about nursing career are also noted reasons (Bosher Pharris, 2008). Similarly, Literature indicates absence of existing counsellors for AA students and newly graduated nurses who are already practicing places a lot of challenges towards their achievement and future career prospects (Wesley Dobal, 2009). 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