Physiological Psychology and Ocd Essay

Physiological Psychology is as described by Kalat (1998) as the study of the physiological, evolutionary, and developmental mechanisms of behaviour and experience. It is devoted to the study of brain functioning, how Neurons and Glia convey messages to one another and other parts of the body for it to function and work accordingly. Future studies of physiological psychology will help predict behavioural patterns in society and how brain functions can be â€Å"rewritten† through cognitive therapies .e.g. alcoholism, drug addictions. Kalat (1998) further goes onto explain that a Biological psychologist (physiological psychologist) try to answer four types of questions about any given behaviour, how it relates to the physiology of the brain (what parts of the brain are active) and other organs, how it develops within the individual, how did the capacity for this behaviour evolve and why did this behaviour evolve. Without the physiological understanding of how brain process work in relation to behaviour it is difficult to correctly diagnose a behaviour pattern and its cause. Kalat (1998) describes that â€Å"having a little anxiety can be useful†, however OCD is a condition in which there is excessive anxiety. OCD can be explained to a patient in simple physiological terms explaining the behaviour of the brain, for example: OCD patients often have a broken mechanism (being a synapse interaction) in their brain that would usually stop a thought once you have it. In an OCD patient it does not (stop the thought) – so the thought is allowed to revolve. This seems in description that it would sound more like a broken record than OCD really does, but that isn’t what really happens. OCD can be genetic but is most certainly physiological in nature. Without an understanding of brain functioning and how these neurons interact, how can psychologists work to alleviate the symptoms of the disorder? Research into the biological causes and effects of OCD has revealed a link between OCD and insufficient levels of the brain chemical, serotonin. Serotonin is one of the brain’s chemical messengers that transmit signals between brain cells. Serotonin plays a role in the regulation of mood, aggression, impulse control, sleep, appetite, body temperature and pain. For example persons with unregulated serotonin lead to destructive antisocial behaviour patterns, which society commonly experiences on a growing scale. All of the medicines used to treat OCD raise the levels of serotonin available to transmit messages. Without physiological psychological research into the effects that these medicines have on the brain society would lack the knowledge and understanding of how to diagnose and appropriately treat disorders such as OCD. Modern brain imaging techniques have allowed researchers to study the activity of specific areas of the brain. Such studies have shown that people with OCD have more than usual activity in three areas of the brain. These are: The caudate nucleus, specific brain cells in the basal ganglia, located deep in the centre of the brain this area of the brain acts as a filter for thoughts coming in from other areas. The caudate nucleus is also considered to be important in managing habitual and repetitive behaviours. When OCD is successfully treated with drugs or therapy, the activity in this area of the brain usually decreases. This shows that both drugs and a change in â€Å"thinking† can alter the physical functioning of the brain. The prefrontal orbital cortex, located in the front area of the brain the level of activity in the prefrontal orbital cortex is believed to affect appropriate social behaviour. Lowered activity or damage in this region is linked to feeling uninhibited, making bad judgments and feeling a lack of guilt. More activity may therefore cause more worry about social concerns. Such concerns include: being meticulous, neat and preoccupied with cleanliness, and being afraid of acting inappropriately. All of these concerns are symptoms of OCD. The cingulate gyrus, in the centre of the brain the cingulate gyrus is believed to contribute the emotional response to obsessive thoughts. This area of the brain tells you to perform compulsions to relieve anxiety. This region is highly interconnected to the prefrontal orbital cortex and the basal ganglia via a number of brain cell pathways. The basal ganglia, the prefrontal orbital cortex and the cingulate gyrus all have many brain cells affected by serotonin. Researchers believe that medicines that raise the levels of serotonin available to transmit messages may change the level of activity in these areas of the brain. Kalat (1998) offers the idea that drugs intended to control anxiety alter activity at amygdale synapses. â€Å"One of the amygdala’s main excitatory neuromodulators is CCK (cholecystokinin), which increases anxiety, and the main inhibitory transmitter is GABA, which inhibits anxiety.† Without physiological research into the how and why of brain function, people with disorders such as OCD would not be able to function â€Å"normally† within society. However this type of research and study is not limited just too diagnosing disorders in those with suspected behavioural problems but also allows insight into society as a whole and its interaction socially, emotionally and habitually. New and innovative studies through physiological research have shown that cognitive behavioural therapy can change activity in certain areas of the brain. The discovery could have important clinical implications on how talk therapies improve brain function and advance mental health. Researchers discovered significant changes in activity in certain regions of the brain can be produced with as little as four weeks of daily therapy in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder as published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry. â€Å"The study is exciting because it tells us more about how cognitive-behavioural therapy works for OCD and shows that both robust clinical improvements and changes in brain activity occur after only four weeks of intensive treatment,† said Saxena. Past studies using functional brain imaging studies of patients with OCD have demonstrated that elevated activity along the frontal-sub cortical circuits of the brain decreases in response to treatment with serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SRI) medications or cognitive-behavioural therapy. However, clinical improvement of OCD symptoms was expected to require up to 12 weeks of behavioural therapy or medication treatment, the standard treatments for OCD. Only a handful of studies have looked at how therapy affects brain function, and all previous studies had examined changes over several months of treatment. Continual studies into physiological psychology will enhance clinical practises and provide a platform for more effective treatment of the symptoms related to this disorder. Saxena and colleagues at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA made two novel discoveries in their study of 10 OCD patients and 12 control subjects. â€Å"First of all, we discovered significant changes in brain activity solely as the result of four weeks of intensive cognitive-behavioural therapy,† said Saxena. â€Å"Secondly, these changes were different than those seen in past studies after a standard 12-week therapeutic approach using SRI medications or weekly behavioural therapy.† The researchers obtained positron emission tomography (PET) scans of the ten OCD patients both before and after they received four weeks of a therapy known as â€Å"exposure and response prevention,† which gradually desensitizes patients to things that provoke obsession fears or worries. However, the PET scans in this study also showed a significant increase in activity in an area of the brain called the right dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, a region involved in reappraisal and suppression of negative emotions. Increasing activity in this region corresponded to the OCD patients’ improvement in clinical symptoms after the four-week course of intensive therapy. It is possible to see the huge amount of information that physiological research has bought forth to society through just these examples alone. Physiological psychology is the study of the physiological basis of how we think, connecting the physical operation of the brain with what we actually say and do. It is thus concerned with brain cells, brain structures and components, brain chemistry, and how all this leads to speech and action. Further research as to how growing debilitating disorders such as OCD could be eliminated or drastically reduced in severity has weight in its importance. The research however does not stop with OCD diagnosis but has relevant importance to understand how we take in information in general from our five senses. Future studies based on OCD research could be more relevant than we think to other major issues facing society such as depression, drug addiction and mental health. It is imperative for governing bodies to fund education and research into the study of physiological psychology for this very reason. References: Kalat 1998 Biological Psychology Molecular Psychiatry Molecular Psychiatry 14, 197-205 (February 2009) | doi:10.1038/sj.mp.400213

The Vampire Diaries: Dark Reunion Chapter Three

Vickie's screams went out of control. Bonnie could feel panic rising in her chest. â€Å"Vickie, stop it! Come on; we've got to get out of here!† Meredith was shouting to be heard. â€Å"It's your house, Caroline. Everybody grab hands and you lead us to the front door.† â€Å"Okay,† Caroline said. She didn't sound as frightened as everybody else. That was the advantage to having no imagination, Bonnie thought. You couldn't picture the terrible things that were going to happen to you. She felt better with Meredith's narrow, cold hand grasping hers. She fumbled on the other side and caught Caroline's, feeling the hardness of long fingernails. She could see nothing. Her eyes should be adjusting to the dark by now, but she couldn't make out even a glimmer of light or shadow as Caroline started leading them. There was no light coming through the windows from the street; the power seemed to be out everywhere. Caroline cursed, running into some piece of furniture, and Bonnie stumbled against her. Vickie was whimpering softly from the back of the line. â€Å"Hang on,† whispered Sue. â€Å"Hang on, Vickie, we'll make it.† They made slow, shuffling progress in the dark. Then Bonnie felt tile under her feet. â€Å"This is the front hall,† Caroline said. â€Å"Stay here a minute while I find the door.† Her fingers slipped out of Bonnie's. â€Å"Caroline! Don't let go-where are you? Caroline, give me your hand!† Bonnie cried, groping frantically like a blind person. Out of the darkness something large and moist closed around her fingers. It was a hand. It wasn't Caroline's. Bonnie screamed. Vickie immediately picked it up, shrieking wildly. The hot, moist hand was dragging Bonnie forward. She kicked out, struggling, but it made no difference. Then she felt Meredith's arms around her waist, both arms, wrenching her back. Her hand came free of the big one. And then she was turning and running, just running, only dimly aware that Meredith was be-side her. She wasn't at all aware that she was still screaming until she slammed into a large armchair that stopped her progress, and she heard herself. â€Å"Hush! Bonnie, hush, stop!† Meredith was shaking her. They had slid down the back of the chair to the floor. â€Å"Something had me! Something grabbed me, Meredith!† â€Å"I know. Be quiet! It's still around,† Meredith said. Bonnie jammed her face into Meredith's shoulder to keep from screaming again. What if it was here in the room with them? Seconds crawled past, and the silence pooled around them. No matter how Bonnie strained her ears, she could hear no sound except their own breathing and the dull thudding of her heart. Bonnie started to nod miserably, then abruptly lifted her head. â€Å"Where's Vickie?† she whispered hoarsely. â€Å"I don't know. I had to let go of her hand to pull you away from that thing. Let's move.† Bonnie held her back. â€Å"But why isn't she screaming?† A shudder went through Meredith. â€Å"I don't know.† â€Å"Oh, God. Oh, God. We can't leave her, Meredith.† â€Å"We have to.† â€Å"We can't. Meredith, I made Caroline invite her. She wouldn't be here except for me. We have to get her out.† There was a pause, and then Meredith hissed, â€Å"All right! But you pick the strangest times to turn noble, Bonnie.† A door slammed, causing both of them to jump. Then there was a crashing, like feet on stairs, Bonnie thought. And briefly, a voice was raised. â€Å"Vickie, where are you? Don't-Vickie, no! No!† â€Å"That was Sue,† gasped Bonnie, jumping up. â€Å"From upstairs!† â€Å"Why don't we have a flashlight?† Meredith was raging. Bonnie knew what she meant. It was too dark to go running blindly around this house; it was too frightening. There was a primitive panic hammering in her brain. She needed light, any light. She couldn't go fumbling into that darkness again, exposed on all sides. She couldn't do it. Nevertheless, she took one shaky step away from the chair. â€Å"Come on,† she gasped, and Meredith came with her, step by step, into the blackness. Bonnie kept expecting that moist, hot hand to reach out and grab her again. Every inch of her skin tingled in anticipation of its touch, and especially her own hand, which she had outstretched to feel her way. Then she made the mistake of remembering the dream. Instantly, the sickly sweet smell of garbage overwhelmed her. She imagined things crawling out of the ground and then remembered Elena's face, gray and hairless, with lips shriveled back from grinning teeth. If that thing grabbed hold of her†¦ I can't go any farther; I can't, I can't, she thought. I'm sorry for Vickie, but I can't go on. Please, just let me stop here. It was a whole series of sounds, actually, but they all came so close together that they blended into one terrible swell of noise. First there was screaming, Sue's voice screaming, â€Å"Vickie! Vickie! No!† Then a resonant crash, the sound of glass shattering, as if a hundred windows were breaking at once. And over that a sustained scream, on a note of pure, exquisite terror. Then it all stopped. â€Å"What was it? What happened, Meredith?† â€Å"Something bad.† Meredith's voice was taut and choked. â€Å"Something very bad. Bonnie, let go. I'm going to see.† â€Å"Not alone, you're not,† Bonnie said fiercely. They found the staircase and made their way up it. When they reached the landing, Bonnie could hear a strange and oddly sickening sound, the tinkle of glass shards falling. And then the lights went on. It was too sudden; Bonnie screamed involuntarily. Turning to Meredith she almost screamed again. Meredith's dark hair was disheveled and her cheekbones looked too sharp; her face was pale and hollow with fear. Tinkle, tinkle. It was worse with the lights on. Meredith was walking toward the last door down the hall, where the noise was coming from. Bonnie followed, but she knew suddenly, with all her heart, that she didn't want to see inside that room. Meredith pulled the door open. She froze for a minute in the doorway and then lunged quickly inside. Bonnie started for the door. â€Å"Oh, my God, don't come any farther!† Bonnie didn't even pause. She plunged into the doorway and then pulled up short. At first glance it looked as if the whole side of the house was gone. The French windows that connected the master bedroom to the balcony seemed to have exploded outward, the wood splintered, the glass shattered. Little pieces of glass were hanging precariously here and there from the remnants of the wood frame. They tinkled as they fell. Diaphanous white curtains billowed in and out of the gaping hole in the house. In front of them, in silhouette, Bonnie could see Vickie. She was standing with her hands at her sides, as motionless as a block of stone. â€Å"Vickie, are you okay?† Bonnie was so relieved to see her alive that it was painful. â€Å"Vickie?† Vickie didn't turn, didn't answer. Bonnie maneuvered around her cautiously, looking into her face. Vickie was staring straight ahead, her pupils pinpoints. She was sucking in little whistling breaths, chest heaving. Shuddering, Bonnie reeled away. Meredith was on the balcony. She turned as Bonnie reached the curtains and tried to block the way. â€Å"Don't look. Don't look down there,† she said. Down where? Suddenly Bonnie understood. She shoved past Meredith, who caught her arm to stop her on the edge of a dizzying drop. The balcony railing had been blasted out like the French windows and Bonnie could see straight down to the lighted yard below. On the ground there was a twisted figure like a broken doll, limbs askew, neck bent at a grotesque angle, blond hair fanned on the dark soil of the garden. It was Sue Carson. And throughout all the confusion that raged afterward, two thoughts kept vying for dominance in Bonnie's mind. One was that Caroline would never have her foursome now. And the other was that it wasn't fair for this to happen on Meredith's birthday. It just wasn't fair. â€Å"I'm sorry, Meredith. I don't think she's up to it right now.† Bonnie heard her father's voice at the front door as she listlessly stirred sweetener into a cup of chamomile tea. She put the spoon down at once. What she wasn't up to was sitting in this kitchen one minute longer. She needed out. â€Å"I'll be right there, Dad.† Meredith looked almost as bad as she had last night, face peaked, eyes shadowed. Her mouth was set in a tight line. â€Å"We'll just go out driving for a little while,† Bonnie said to her father. â€Å"Maybe see some of the kids. After all, you're the one who said it isn't dangerous, right?† What could he say? Mr. McCullough looked down at his petite daughter, who stuck out the stubborn chin she'd inherited from him and met his gaze squarely. He lifted his hands. â€Å"It's almost four o'clock now. Be back before dark,† he said. â€Å"They want it both ways,† Bonnie said to Meredith on the way to Meredith's car. Once inside, both girls immediately locked their doors. As Meredith put the car in gear she gave Bonnie a glance of grim understanding. â€Å"Your parents didn't believe you, either.† â€Å"Oh, they believe everything I told them-except anything important. How can they be so stupid?† Meredith laughed shortly. â€Å"You've got to look at it from their point of view. They find one dead body without a mark on it except those caused by the fall. They find that the lights were off in the neighborhood because of a malfunction at Virginia Electric. They find us, hysterical, giving answers to their questions that must have seemed pretty weird. Who did it? Some monster with sweaty hands. How do we know? Our dead friend Elena told us through a Ouija board. Is it any wonder they have their doubts?† â€Å"They're forgetting already,† Meredith replied softly. â€Å"You predicted it yourself. Life has gone back to normal, and everybody in Fell's Church feels safer that way. They all feel like they've woken up from a bad dream, and the last thing they want is to get sucked in again.† Bonnie just shook her head. â€Å"And so it's easier to believe that a bunch of teenage girls got riled up playing with a Ouija board, and that when the lights went out they just freaked and ran. And one of them got so scared and confused she ran right out a window.† There was a silence and then Meredith added, â€Å"I wish Alaric were here.† Normally, Bonnie would have given her a dig in the ribs and answered, â€Å"So do I,† in a lecherous voice. Alaric was one of the handsomest guys she'd ever seen, even if he was a doddering twenty-two years old. Now, she just gave Meredith's arm a disconsolate squeeze. â€Å"Can't you call him somehow?† â€Å"In Russia? I don't even know where in Russia he is now.† Bonnie bit her lip. Then she sat up. Meredith was driving down Lee Street, and in the high school parking lot they could see a crowd. She and Meredith exchanged glances, and Meredith nodded. â€Å"We might as well,† she said. â€Å"Let's see if they're any smarter than their parents.† Bonnie could see startled faces turning as the car cruised slowly into the lot. When she and Meredith got out, people moved back, making a path for them to the center of the crowd. Caroline was there, clutching her elbows with her hands and shaking back her auburn hair distractedly. â€Å"We're not going to sleep in that house again until it's repaired,† she was saying, shivering in her white sweater. â€Å"Daddy says we'll take an apartment in Heron until it's over.† â€Å"What difference does that make? He can follow you to Heron, I'm sure,† said Meredith. Caroline turned, but her green cat's eyes wouldn't quite meet Meredith's. â€Å"Who?† she said vaguely. â€Å"Oh, Caroline, not you too!† Bonnie exploded. Her eyes came up and for an instant Bonnie saw how frightened she was. â€Å"I can't take any more.† As if she had to prove her words that minute, she pushed her way through the crowd. â€Å"Let her go, Bonnie,† Meredith said. â€Å"It's no use.† â€Å"She's no use,† said Bonnie furiously. If Caroline, who knew, was acting this way, what about the other kids? She saw the answer-in the faces around her. Everybody looked scared, as scared as if she and Meredith had brought some loathsome disease with them. As if she and Meredith were the problem. â€Å"I don't believe this,† Bonnie muttered. â€Å"I don't believe it either,† said Deanna Kennedy, a friend of Sue's. She was in the front of the crowd, and she didn't look as uneasy as the others. â€Å"I talked with Sue yesterday afternoon and she was so up, so happy. She can't be dead.† Deanna began to sob. Her boyfriend put an arm around her, and several other girls began to cry. The guys in the crowd shifted, their faces rigid. Bonnie felt a little surge of hope. â€Å"And she's not going to be the only one dead,† she added. â€Å"Elena told us that the whole town is in danger. Elena said†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Despite herself Bonnie heard her voice failing. She could see it in the way their eyes glazed up when she mentioned Elena's name. Meredith was right; they'd put everything that had happened last winter behind them. They didn't believe anymore. â€Å"What's wrong with you all?† she said helplessly, wanting to hit something. â€Å"You don't really think Sue threw herself off that balcony!† â€Å"People are saying-† Deanna's boyfriend started and then shrugged defensively. â€Å"Well-you told the police Vickie Bennett was in the room, right? And now she's off her head again. And just a little bit earlier you'd heard Sue shouting, ‘No, Vickie, no!'?† Bonnie felt as if the wind had been knocked out of her. â€Å"You think that Vickie- oh, God, you're out of your mind! Listen to me. Something grabbed my hand in that house, and it wasn't Vickie. And Vickie had nothing to do with throwing Sue off that balcony.† â€Å"She's hardly strong enough, for one thing,† Meredith said pointedly. â€Å"She weighs about ninety-five pounds soaking wet.† Somebody from the back of the crowd muttered about insane people having superhuman strength. â€Å"Vickie has a psychiatric record-â€Å" â€Å"Elena told us it was a guy!† Bonnie almost shouted, losing her battle with self-control. The faces tilted toward her were shuttered, unyielding. Then she saw one that made her chest loosen. â€Å"Matt! Tell them you believe us.† Matt Honeycutt was standing on the fringe with his hands in his pockets and his blond head bowed. Now he looked up, and what Bonnie saw in his blue eyes made her draw in her breath. They weren't hard and shuttered like everyone else's, but they were full of a flat despair that was just as bad. He shrugged without taking his hands from his pockets. Bonnie, for one of the first times in her life, was speechless. Matt had been upset ever since Elena died, but this†¦ â€Å"He does believe it, though,† Meredith was saying quickly, capitalizing on the moment. â€Å"Now what have we got to do to convince the rest of you?† â€Å"Channel Elvis for us, maybe,† said a voice that immediately set Bonnie's blood boiling. Tyler. Tyler Smallwood. Grinning like an ape in his overexpensive Perry Ellis sweater, showing a mouthful of strong white teeth. â€Å"It's not as good as psychic e-mail from a dead Homecoming Queen, but it's a start,† Tyler added. Matt always said that grin was asking for a punch in the nose. But Matt, the only guy in the crowd with close to Tyler's physique, was staring dully at the ground. â€Å"Shut up, Tyler! You don't know what happened in that house,† Bonnie said. â€Å"Well, neither do you, apparently. Maybe if you hadn't been hiding in the living room, you'd have seen what happened. Then somebody might believe you.† Bonnie's retort died on her tongue. She stared at Tyler, opened her mouth, and then closed it. Tyler waited. When she didn't speak, he showed his teeth again. â€Å"For my money, Vickie did it,† he said, winking at Dick Carter, Vickie's ex-boyfriend. â€Å"She's a strong little babe, right, Dick? She could have done it.† He turned and added deliberately over his shoulder, â€Å"Or else that Salvatore guy is back in town.† â€Å"You creep!† shouted Bonnie. Even Meredith cried out in frustration. Because of course at the very mention of Stefan pandemonium ensued, as Tyler must have known it would. Everyone was turning to the person next to them and exclaiming in alarm, horror, excitement. It was primarily the girls who were excited. Effectively, it put an end to the gathering. People had been edging away surreptitiously before, and now they broke up into twos and threes, arguing and hastening off. Bonnie gazed after them angrily. â€Å"Supposing they did believe you. What did you want them to do, anyway?† Matt said. She hadn't noticed him beside her. â€Å"I don't know. Something besides just standing around waiting to be picked off.† She tried to look him in the face. â€Å"Matt, are you all right?† â€Å"I don't know. Are you?† Bonnie thought. â€Å"No. I mean, in one way I'm surprised I'm doing as well as I am, because when Elena died, I just couldn't deal. At all. But then I wasn't as close to Sue, and besides†¦ I don't know!† She wanted to hit something again. â€Å"It's just all too much!† Bonnie thought. â€Å"No. I mean, in one way I'm surprised I'm doing as well as I am, because when Elena died, I just couldn't deal. At all. But then I wasn't as close to Sue, and besides†¦ I don't know!† She wanted to hit something again. â€Å"It's just all too much!† â€Å"Yes, I'm mad.† Suddenly Bonnie understood the feelings she'd been having all day. â€Å"Killing Sue wasn't just wrong, it was evil. Truly evil. And whoever did it isn't going to get away with it. That would be-if the world is like that, a place where that can happen and go unpunished†¦ if that's the truth†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She found she didn't have a way to finish. â€Å"Then what? You don't want to live here anymore? What if the world is like that?† His eyes were so lost, so bitter. Bonnie was shaken. But she said staunchly, â€Å"I won't let it be that way. And you won't either.† He simply looked at her as if she were a kid insisting there was so a Santa Claus. Meredith spoke up. â€Å"If we expect other people to take us seriously, we'd better take ourselves seriously. Elena did communicate with us. She wanted us to do something. Now if we really believe that, we'd better figure out what it is.† Matt's face had flexed at the mention of Elena. You poor guy, you're still as much in love with her as ever, thought Bonnie. I wonder if anything could make you forget her? She said, â€Å"Are you going to help us, Matt?† â€Å"I'll help,† Matt said quietly. â€Å"But I still don't know what it is you're doing.† â€Å"We're going to stop that murdering creep before he kills anybody else,† said Bonnie. It was the first time she'd fully realized herself that this was what she meant to do. â€Å"Alone? Because you are alone, you know.† â€Å"We are alone,† Meredith corrected. â€Å"But that's what Elena was trying to tell us. She said we had to do a summoning spell to call for help.† â€Å"An easy spell with only two ingredients,† Bonnie remembered from her dream. She was getting excited. â€Å"And she said she'd already told me the ingredients-but she hadn't.† â€Å"Last night she said there were corrupting influences distorting her communication,† Meredith said. â€Å"Now to me that sounds like what was happening in the dream. Do you think it really was Elena you were drinking tea with?† â€Å"Yes,† Bonnie said positively. â€Å"I mean, I know we weren't really having a mad tea party at Warm Springs, but I think Elena was sending that message into my brain. And then partway through something else took over and pushed her out. But she fought, and for a minute at the end she got back control.† â€Å"Okay. Then that means we have to concentrate on the beginning of the dream, when it was still Elena communicating with you. But if what she was saying was already being distorted by other influences, then maybe it came out weird. Maybe it wasn't something she actually said, maybe it was something she did†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"What?† â€Å"Hair! I asked her who did hers, and we talked about it, and she said, ‘Hair is very important.' And Meredith-when she was trying to tell us the ingredients last night, the first letter of one of them was H!† â€Å"That's it!† Meredith's dark eyes were flashing. â€Å"Now we just have to think of the other one.† â€Å"But I know that too!† Bonnie's laughter bubbled up exuberantly. â€Å"She told me right after we talked about hair, and I thought she was just being strange. She said, ‘Blood is important too.' â€Å" Meredith shut her eyes in realization. â€Å"And last night, the Ouija board said ‘Bloodblood-blood.' I thought it was the other thing threatening us, but it wasn't,† she said. She opened her eyes. â€Å"Bonnie, do you think that's really it? Are those the ingredients, or do we have to start worrying about mud and sandwiches and mice and tea?† â€Å"Those are the ingredients,† Bonnie said firmly. â€Å"They're the kind of ingredients that make sense for a summoning spell. I'm sure I can find a ritual to do with them in one of my Celtic magic books. We just have to figure out the person we're supposed to summon†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Something struck her, and her voice trailed off in dismay. â€Å"I was wondering when you'd notice,† Matt said, speaking for the first time in a long while. â€Å"You don't know who it is, do you?†

Education and Mark Twain Tags

â€Å"Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever. †Ã‚   ? Mahatma Gandhi tags:  carpe-diem,  education,  inspirational,  learning 38,294 people liked it like â€Å"I have never let my schooling interfere with my education. †Ã‚   ? Mark Twain tags:  education 11,482 people liked it like â€Å"You can never be overdressed or overeducated. † ?  Oscar Wilde tags:  education,  fashion 6,803 people liked it like â€Å"You educate a man; you educate a man. You educate a woman; you educate a generation. †Ã‚   ? Brigham Young tags:  education,  feminism,  men,  women 3,833 people liked it like â€Å"The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.    ? Augustine of Hippo tags:  allegory,  books,  broad-mindedness,  classic,  education,  imagery,  travel,  world 3,650 people liked it like â€Å"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. â⠂¬ Ã‚   ? Nelson Mandela tags:  change,  education 2,344 people liked it like â€Å"Whatever the cost of our libraries, the price is cheap compared to that of an ignorant nation. †Ã‚   ? Walter Cronkite tags:  education,  ignorance,  intelligence,  libraries 2,006 people liked it like â€Å"Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self-confidence.    ? Robert Frost tags:  education 1,846 people liked it like â€Å"When you know better you do better. † ?  Maya Angelou tags:  education,  intelligence,  knowledge,  wisdom 1,709 people liked it like â€Å"The past has no power over the present moment. † ?  Eckhart Tolle tags:  education,  inspirational,  life,  philosophy,  truth,  wisdom 1,564 people liked it like â€Å"Education: the path from cocky ignorance to miserable uncertainty. †Ã‚   ? Mark Twain tags:  education 1,267 people liked it like â€Å"Intelligence plus character-that is the goal of true education. †Ã‚   ? Martin Luther King, Jr. tags:  education ,160 people liked it like â€Å"The task of the modern educator is not to cut down jungles, but to irrigate deserts. †Ã‚   ? C. S. Lewis tags:  education 1,111 people liked it like â€Å"The best thing for being sad,† replied Merlin, beginning to puff and blow, â€Å"is to learn something. That's the only thing that never fails. You may grow old and trembling in your anatomies, you may lie awake at night listening to the disorder of your veins, you may miss your only love, you may see the world about you devastated by evil lunatics, or know your honour trampled in the sewers of baser minds.There is only one thing for it then — to learn. Learn why the world wags and what wags it. That is the only thing which the mind can never exhaust, never alienate, never be tortured by, never fear or distrust, and never dream of regretting. Learning is the only thing for you. Look what a lot of things there are to learn. †Ã‚   ? T. H. White,  The Once and Future King tags:  curiosity,  depression,  education,  learning,  teaching 1,045 people liked it like â€Å"If you want to get laid, go to college. If you want an education, go to the library. †Ã‚   ? Frank Zappa tags:  education,  sex 1,013 people liked it ike â€Å"Give a girl an education and introduce her properly into the world, and ten to one but she has the means of settling well, without further expense to anybody. †Ã‚   ? Jane Austen tags:  education,  women 980 people liked it like â€Å"Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make man a more clever devil. †Ã‚   ? C. S. Lewis tags:  character-development,  education,  ethics 834 people liked it like â€Å"Eragon looked back at him, confused. â€Å"I don't understand. † â€Å"Of course you don't,† said Brom impatiently. â€Å"That's why I'm teac hing you and not the other way around. †Ã‚   ?Christopher Paolini,  Eragon tags:  education,  humor 828 people liked it like â€Å"I am not a teacher, but an awakener. † ?  Robert Frost tags:  carpe-diem,  education,  inspirational,  learning,  mentoring 819 people liked it like â€Å"In real life, I assure you, there is no such thing as algebra. †Ã‚   ? Fran Lebowitz tags:  algebra,  education,  humor,  mathematics 775 people liked it like â€Å"[Kids] don't remember what you try to teach them. They remember what you are. †Ã‚   ? Jim Henson,  It's Not Easy Being Green: And Other Things to Consider tags:  childhood,  education,  learning,  teaching 773 people liked it like Ideally, what should be said to every child, repeatedly, throughout his or her school life is something like this: ‘You are in the process of being indoctrinated. We have not yet evolved a system of education that is not a system of indoctrinatio n. We are sorry, but it is the best we can do. What you are being taught here is an amalgam of current prejudice and the choices of this particular culture. The slightest look at history will show how impermanent these must be. You are being taught by people who have been able to accommodate themselves to a regime of thought laid down by their predecessors.It is a self-perpetuating system. Those of you who are more robust and individual than others will be encouraged to leave and find ways of educating yourself — educating your own judgements. Those that stay must remember, always, and all the time, that they are being moulded and patterned to fit into the narrow and particular needs of this particular society. †Ã‚   ? Doris Lessing,  The Golden Notebook tags:  conformity,  education,  feminism,  knowledge-power,  quip,  school 740 people liked it like â€Å"Study without desire spoils the memory, and it retains nothing that it takes in. †Ã‚   ? Leo nardo da Vinci ags:  education,  schooling,  university 734 people liked it like â€Å"Prejudices, it is well known, are most difficult to eradicate from the heart whose soil has never been loosened or fertilised by education: they grow there, firm as weeds among stones. †Ã‚   ? Charlotte Bronte,  Jane Eyre tags:  education,  prejudice 700 people liked it like â€Å"The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled. †Ã‚   ? Plutarch tags:  curiosity,  education,  mentoring,  mind,  thinking 669 people liked it like â€Å"Without education, we are in a horrible and deadly danger of taking educated people seriously. †Ã‚   ? G. K.Chesterton tags:  education,  ignorance,  indoctrination 667 people liked it like â€Å"Often, it’s not about becoming a new person, but becoming the person you were meant to be, and already are, but don’t know how to be. †Ã‚   ? Heath L. Buckmaster,  Box of Hair: A Fairy Tal e tags:  education,  growth,  life,  self-acceptance,  self-realization 664 people liked it like â€Å"You know, sometimes kids get bad grades in school because the class moves too slow for them. Einstein got D's in school. Well guess what, I get F's!!! †Ã‚   ? Bill Watterson tags:  calvin-and-hobbes,  comic,  education,  funny,  school 662 people liked it like The educated differ from the uneducated as much as the living differ from the dead. †Ã‚   ? Aristotle tags:  education 625 people liked it like â€Å"Try not to have a good time†¦ this is supposed to be educational. †Ã‚   ? Charles M. Schulz tags:  education,  humor 589 people liked it like * Home * Authors * Topics * Quote of the Day * Pictures * Top of Form Bottom of Form Authors:  A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z ————————â €”———————- Education Quotes * Grid  List * * Prev * 1 * 2 * 3 * 4 * .. * 40 * Next * Share220309 Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.Nelson Mandela Change,  Powerful,  Weapon It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. Aristotle Mind,  Without,  Thought A liberal education is at the heart of a civil society, and at the heart of a liberal education is the act of teaching. A. Bartlett Giamatti Society,  Heart,  Act An education isn't how much you have committed to memory, or even how much you know. It's being able to differentiate between what you know and what you don't. Anatole France Between,  Able,  Memory My mother said I must always be intolerant of ignorance but understanding of lliteracy. That some people, unable to go to school, were more educated and more intelligent than college professors. Maya Angelou Mother,  Scho ol,  Ignorance Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught. Oscar Wilde Time,  Nothing,  Remember Ads by Google Church Online Tired of your life? Find hope at Church Online westside-family. churchonline. org Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self-confidence. Robert Frost Without,  Anything,  LosingEducation is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire. William Butler Yeats Fire,  Lighting,  Filling Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow. Anthony J. D'Angelo Learning,  Passion,  Grow An investment in knowledge pays the best interest. Benjamin Franklin Knowledge,  Best,  Interest In the first place, God made idiots. That was for practice. Then he made school boards. Mark Twain God,  School,  Made The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet. Aristotle Sweet,  Bitte r,  Roots Education is the key to unlock the golden door of freedom.George Washington Carver Freedom,  Door,  Key Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself. John Dewey Life,  Itself The only person who is educated is the one who has learned how to learn and change. Carl Rogers Change,  Person,  Learned Education is the best friend. An educated person is respected everywhere. Education beats the beauty and the youth. Chanakya Beauty,  Best,  Friend He who opens a school door, closes a prison. Victor Hugo School,  Door,  Prison I spent three days a week for 10 years educating myself in the public library, and it's better than college.People should educate themselves – you can get a complete education for no money. At the end of 10 years, I had read every book in the library and I'd written a thousand stories. Ray Bradbury Money,  Myself,  End Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance. Will Durant Ignorance,  Discov ery The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education. Albert Einstein Learning,  Interferes It is a thousand times better to have common sense without education than to have education without common sense. Robert Green Ingersoll Better,  Without,  SenseA human being is not attaining his full heights until he is educated. Horace Mann Human,  Until,  Full Education is a better safeguard of liberty than a standing army. Edward Everett Better,  Liberty,  Army No one has yet realized the wealth of sympathy, the kindness and generosity hidden in the soul of a child. The effort of every true education should be to unlock that treasure. Emma Goldman Sympathy,  Kindness,  True An educated person is one who has learned that information almost always turns out to be at best incomplete and very often false, misleading, fictitious, mendacious – just dead wrong.Russell Baker Best,  Person,  Learned —————— Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€- Share with your Friends Share Everyone likes a good quote – don't forget to share. ————————————————- Popular Authors Abraham Lincoln Albert Einstein Buddha C. S. Lewis Dalai Lama Eleanor Roosevelt Helen Keller John F. Kennedy Khalil Gibran Marilyn Monroe Mark Twain Martin Luther King, Jr. Maya Angelou Mother Teresa Oscar Wilde Ronald Reagan Socrates Thomas Jefferson William Shakespeare Winston Churchill More authors * Grid  List * * Prev * 1 * 2 * 3 * 4 .. * 40 * Next ————————————————- Popular Topics Love Quotes Life Quotes Friendship Quotes Motivational Quotes Inspirational Quotes Success Quotes Funny Quotes Wisdom Quotes More topics —————â€⠀Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€- Get Social with BrainyQuote BrainyQuote Desktop BrainyQuote Mobile ————————————————- Site Home Quote of the Day Topics Authors Pictures Professions Birthdays ————————————————- Social BQ on Facebook BQ on Twitter BQ on Pinterest BQ on Google+ ———————————————— Syndication Quote Feed Art Quote Feed Funny Quote Feed Love Quote Feed Nature Quote Feed ————————————————- About Us Our Story Inquire Advertise Submit Privacy Terms AdChoices Copyright © 2001 – 201 3 BrainyQuote ®          BookRags Media Network ————————————————- Sharing Successful! Share again! You've successfully shared using Po. st! Welcome to po. st! Powered by Po. stPrivacy Read more at  http://www. brainyquote. com/quotes/topics/topic_education. html#z1aYzpTLODgGBg7Q. 99

3 mistakes of my life Essay

1. Review of ‘The3 Mistakes OfMy Life’By- ShubhamBhutada. 2. ï‚›Name Of Book :The 3 mistakesof my lifeï‚›Author :Chetan Bhagatï‚›Publisher : Rupa Booksï‚›Price: `95 3. CharactersIt’s the story about three friendsOmi, Govind and Ishaan. The storyis presented through Govind’seyes and it’s his three mistakes oflife that are presented along.Govind is, interested in coming upon his own in life, through business. 4. Ish is cricket player whose passionlies in playing, teaching andwatching cricket. Omi is a priest‘sson who doesn’t have anyambition of his own and justmoves along with his two friends. 5. Storyï‚› The book is based on real life events.What follows is a mix of cricket,religion, business, love and friendship.ï‚›Story begins with Bhagat receivingan e-mail from Govind who hadtaken many sleeping pill.ï‚›Govind set up Cricket Shop alongwith his friends in the templecompound with Omi’s family’s help. 6. ï‚›The shop prospers as Ishaancoaches young boys in cricket andGovind teaches maths to someboys and Ishaan’ sister Vidya.ï‚›They want to expand business innew mall in city. They select theprime location in mall for their shopand pay the advance. 7. ï‚›Omi’s Bittoo Mama (maternal uncle),a communal party man bent onconverting the young into fighters inthe name of Hinduism and wantsthat these boys should work for theresecular party.ï‚›Ishan then meets Ali, a Muslim childmaster with reflex condition hit eachball for a six but can’t play more thanan over due to weakness. 8. ï‚›They agreed to provide cricketcoaching and maths tuitions free ofcost to Ali. Ali displays the talent whichIshaan never had and Ali’s destinybecomes his own.ï‚›It is the Republic day, earthquakecame in Gujarat. Mall in which theyhad booked shop get fully destroyed.Money invested (`110000) in mall shopturns into first big mistake of Govind. 9. ï‚›They endure great pains to take Aliall the way to Sydney at thesuggestion of one of the Australianplayers. There, Ali is offered acontract on the condition that hehave to become an Australiancitizen is refused by Ali.ï‚›Govind falls in love with Vidya . Thatwas his second big mistake. 10. ï‚›Bittoo Mama sends his son andOmi’s mother with other Sevak toAyodhya. On their return journeyMuslim mob put on fire the bogie ofSevaks. In that Mama lost his son.ï‚›Ahmedabad burns in riot fires.Bittoo mama with his party workerskills Ali’s family. Now mama wantsto kill Ali. 11. ï‚›Omi dies while saving Ali fromMama’s attack.ï‚›Ishaan finds out about Vidya andGovind, a betrayal he does notforgive.ï‚›Govind while protecting Ali formMama make his third mistake. Dueto a second delay a blade ofmama’s trishul jabbed Ali’s Wrist. 12. ï‚›After these events Ishaan not talkwith Govind for more than twoyears. These events lead Govind tohis death-bed and that is when hewrites the email to Chetan. Chetan Bhagat trigger thereconciliation between Ish andGovind, rekindle the love betweenGovind and Vidya & instill in himthe desire to stay alive. 13. Commentï‚›Content: The Three Mistakes of myLife’ is a story well told. Book hasmany interesting settings andsituation.ï‚›Language: This book is written simplyand has the quality that makes onewant to read the book cover tocover in one sitting. 14. ï‚›Other: None of reason for saving Aliare based on the fact that hes aMuslim, or they save Ali out of anymoral obligation apart from thefact that he is a potentialcricketing great. Chetans notionsof nationalism and patriotism arejust too immature and simplistic. 15. Conclusionï‚›Many times our dreams crash intopieces by unexpected events butwith support from people around, wecan get back on track, focus andrebuild our dreams.ï‚›Life will have many setbacks. Peopleclose to you will hurt you. But youdon’t break it off. You don’t hurtthem more. You try to heal it. 16. Thank You†¦

Communications & IT Technology and its impact on Poverty Essay

Communications & IT Technology and its impact on Poverty - Essay Example ess the potential to act as tools in support of poverty reduction because of their flexibility, addressing issues in education, healthcare, banking, and livelihoods. They can also empower people locally and strengthen promotion of human rights, which makes them an increasingly essential presence in emerging economies (UNCTD 94). By basing these economies around information and technology, governments in emerging economies could potentially enhance the livelihoods of their citizens, while also creating new livelihoods. Technology can help reduce poverty in rural areas of emerging economies through lending support to agriculture activities. An example is the Israeli state-owned Techno-Agriculture Program that seeks to shore up food security in sub-Saharan Africa and already boasts successful initiatives in Niger, as well as South Africa (Chilimo & Ngulube 98). By partnering with NGOs in these countries, such as World Vision and Green Senegal, the program has also been successfully introduced in Senegal. These programs make information better available to farmers in rural areas about best practices, especially when there is drought. ICT can also create employment opportunities directly through manufacture of hardware and indirectly by increasing their productivity, for example, through improving market information access and decreasing costs of transaction for poor traders and farmers. E-commerce programs can also help artisans in rural areas bypass exploitative middlemen, as well as corrupt governa nce, to market their products directly to the market (Chilimo & Ngulube 98). In addition, ICT provides multimedia applications for use in schools, thus enhancing skills and knowledge. This will provide students with knowledge required to become employers and skilled or semi-skilled employees. Overall ICT implementation is also a potential contributor to national GDP since a highly skilled, well informed, and skilled workforce will strengthen and complement multi-sectoral

Social work Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Social work - Essay Example The beauty of both theories is that both, almost in the same way, believe in the clients’ desire to solve the problems, and both aim to improve the problem solving skills of the clients, thus promoting independence instead of dependency. The Applicability with Diverse Groups The beauty of these two approaches, according to Hepworth, Rooney and GD Rooney et al (2009, p. 364) is their applicability with different groups, especially the poor, minority and ethnocultural groups. This is largely because they emphasise on the right of clients to identify issues and focus on empowering the marginalised clients. In addition, they are helpful in removing the barriers to multicultural clinical practices as they largely accept the clients’ view of problems. However, the advantage of crisis intervention strategy and task centered approach is their use with different populations. Researchers like James (2008, p. 39) are of the belief that crisis intervention has universal application to people of color as it is common for people of color to experience crisis and due to barriers of culture, ethnicity, and racism. By the time they seek help, the issue will be in a chronic state. This approach has six stages namely: defining the problem, ensuring client safety, providing support, examining alternatives, making plans, and obtaining commitment (ibid). Now, it becomes evident that both the approaches are highly beneficial tools in social work as both believe in the centeredness of individuals and both are based on the theory of empowering the clients to manage their situation themselves, thus promoting independence instead of dependency. Below are certain features that make these approaches more preferable in social situations. The Patient Centeredness Both the approaches are patient-centered in nature. The task centered approach believes in the ability of the clients to solve their problems themselves or to ameliorate their issues to a tolerable level. The task cent ered approach is based on the assumption that most people possess adequate skills and resources to solve their problems themselves. In addition, it is believed that people have their innate desire to solve their problems. Problems arise in individual, family or social spheres that can block the resolution of problems. The task centered approach believes that people have the inborn capabilities to solve their problems or to remodel the situation to a tolerable level. Similarly, crisis intervention method too is based on the assumption that intervention becomes necessary when an individual is not able to manage the disorganisation and confusion caused by a crisis. This too accepts the fact that crisis can arise in families, groups, communities, and nations. In fact, both the approaches concentrate on empowering the patient, improving the level of functioning, and developing a place for handling crisis. In addition, both believe in the active participation of clients and both are short -term in nature. The purpose of the two approaches is to regain the lost equilibrium in the client’s life. The specialty of these approaches is the total participation of the clients in the procedure, and the success of the approaches is fully dependent on the client’s readiness to perform the tasks they are assigned. In both the cases, once the tasks and goals are set, there are regular meetings to monitor progress and to offer support in the effort to achieve the goals. The skills at this juncture required for a social

Media Practice in the UK Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Media Practice in the UK - Personal Statement Example After this, I hope to either join an animation team for the production of a television programme or film or, alternatively, set up one myself. It is unwise to be too focused on the current economic climate, so although I remain ambitious, I am keeping my mind open to whatever comes along. Describe why you feel your background, experience and aptitude make you a suitable candidate for the Animation Direction course. Personally, I cannot help but feel that the Animation Direction course is the best thing I could possibly do with my life at the moment. As a teenager, I felt caged in my surroundings and found that I could only release my emotions through the creation of a story and the visualization of ideas. Since I was nine years old and started making flip books, I have spent much of my free time – and all of my time in higher education – writing novels and drawing comic books. Such a hobby came naturally to me, and happily, it is something at which I am skilled. This is why I am applying, specifically, to the Animation Direction course. I studied the Media, Art and Design Foundation course at the London College of Communication; I have a BA in Animation from the University of Westminster, and an MA in Illustration and Animation from Kingston University. I have excelled in these courses, due to both my passion and my talent. I have studied film theory in depth and developed both practical and mental skills necessary for the type of career I am entering. I am also a confident person and have never been shy to communicate my artistic visions: I am always discussing projects with my peers and potential colleagues. Given your choice of specialization, describe in your own words the role you would expect to take in the process of development and production of an animated film. I would welcome the chance to work at the highest possible level, as a director. The director of an animated film holds the most senior position in the animation department, and a s such is ultimately and personally responsible not only for the quality of the animation but also for the department's ability to produce results on time. This means that from the very beginning I would have to liaise with the writers to understand their vision and help communicate that vision to the artists. Delegation is an important part of being a director, so I would need to be able to identify the strengths and weaknesses of each team member to be able to assign work fairly and to the best advantage; later on, I would critically review the work of my staff, encouraging or suggesting improvement as necessary. Select one item from your submission and write an evaluation of the dramatic strengths and weaknesses including that of your own creative contribution. One of my submission items was the opening live-action footage of my experimental animation. I challenged myself to create an effective atmosphere without using sound effects. The series of close-ups of banal items such as shoes and gloves heighten the senses, and the cinematic color I used creates a feeling of suspense in the audience. More astute members of the audience will work themselves into a state of fear, creating links between the blue saturation and bathroom, in silence. I believe I have succeeded in making an atmospheric opening scene without resorting to music or sound effects.