Analyse Conan Doyles The Hound of the Baskervilles Essay Example for Free

Analyse Conan Doyles The Hound of the Baskervilles Essay These two findings are very important as they provide the reader with shocking information. This is because we discover that Mr and Mrs Stapleton are actually husband and wife. Even more we realise that Mr and Mrs Stapleton are actually the Vandeleurs. As a result of this great deception the finger points to Mr and Mrs Stapleton as being the murderers. This information is the most vital information which will help to solve the mystery. There are points in the novel where events simply provide Watson and Holmes with information. The events which provide information are almost always false leads which create a sense of uncertainty as to who is the criminal. Go back to London! Start tonight! Hush my brother is coming! chapter 7 This quote is said by Miss. Stapleton to Dr. Watson as she mistakes him for Sir Henry. This prompts Watson to investigate further into the Stapletons as it is very mysterious as to why she would like Sir Henry to go back to London. This is because she doesnt want her brother Mr. Stapleton to find out that she has said this and when she discovers that she was actually talking to Watson she takes back her comment. This was actually a false lead as we discover in the later part of the investigation, which was put in by Conan Doyle so the reader is kept in suspense as to whether she had a hand in the death of Sir Charles until the di nouement. Even though there is the interviewing of people in THOTB, they dont provide their own version of events of the crime. Dr. Mortimer is the only person who really provides Holmes with information of what he thought happened at the murder scene. Conan Doyle has used a different approach to the nature of the investigation because most of the information is gathered behind the scenes or events provide information. By doing this Conan Doyle has made his novel unique and perhaps more interesting than the typical investigation as there is a greater anticipation as to whom the killer could be. Sherlock Holmes fits the profile of a classic detective very well and this is evident in THOTB from the start of the novel. The detective is usually more or less socially isolated and referred to as a loner. We can see this in THOTB from the fact that Holmes only socialises with Watson, but then one could argue that he only socialises with Watson because he enhances his intellect by comparison. Holmes does not have any family and the fact that he rests upon the moor for a lengthy period of time suggests that he is used to being alone. I knew that seclusion and solitude were very necessary for my friend in these hours of intense mental concentration in which he weighed every particle of evidence

Winter Dreams Essay Example for Free

Winter Dreams Essay Matthew Bruccoli wrote, â€Å"The four closing paragraphs of this story are distinguished by Fitzgerald’s complex explication of Dexter’s sense of mutability: he grieves for the loss of his capacity to grieve. † This statement is about the main character Dexter, in Scott Fitzgerald’s â€Å"Winter Dreams†. I agree that the last four paragraphs show a man whose dream does not turn out the way expects it. Dexter worked hard and in the end, the dream was gone, taken from him. The last line supports Bruccoli’s statement, â€Å" I cannot cry. I cannot care. That thing will come back no more. What Dexter is talking about is his dream or the classic â€Å"American Dream. † The main character of this story Dexter has a vision of success; he wants to pursue the American Dream, money, status, and class. While chasing his goals he wants to climb the latter of wealth and then marry beautiful Judy Jones. Little does Dexter know where this journey is going to take him, the American Dream is something that every person would like to someday reach, but what happens when you get the American Dream? Fitzgerald’s voice is clearly heard in this novel because he shows the parallels’ between Dexter’s â€Å"Winters Dream† and the American Dream. He presents this idea of idealism in a negative way, telling the reader the underlying opinion that the American Dream isn’t real and that all there is left after the glitz and glam are gone is a shuddering feel of emptiness. â€Å"Winter Dreams† is a short story that takes place over a time period of twenty years. The American Dream is something that came about in the mid-1900’s this is something that Dexter strives to have. He wants to be a part of the elite and when he graduates from a prestigious eastern college he becomes a partner in a laundry company. This makes Dexter very wealthy and successful and he realizes that he has two things that are important to American Character: confidence and hard work. He has always had the drive to succeed, even when he quit his job as a caddy his boss begged him â€Å"with tears in his eyes,† not to quit the job. He also exudes confidence when he quits because he knows that he can do better for himself. Also he wanted to be seen as equal not inferior to Judy Jones and he works very hard throughout this entire story to achieve that. Dexter Greens whole life, personal choices, and aspirations were dramatically influenced by the incredible power Judy had on him. His fatal attraction towards her is something that he can never quite shake until the end of this novel. Judy Jones represents all of the things that Dexter can’t have. She is unattainable, just as money, power and success are to a four-teen year old boy; four-teen was the age Judy and Dexter first met. At twenty three Dexter met Judy again in a golf country club, where they became sentimentally involved. Very soon in the story the reader realizes that Judys good looks and flirtatious behavior has the great power to conquer numerous men, including Dexter, making them absolutely powerless and blindly fall in love with her. Judy becomes the ammunition to Dexter’s American Dream she is the ultimate goal Dexter wants to achieve. When he finally catches her eye and they being to date, it doesn’t take long for Judy’s destructive character and shallowness to emerge. Dexter realizes that he is just something that she can play with and when she gets bored with one suitor she quickly throws them out and replaces them with a new one. Her ultimate concern is for her own desires and she doesn’t care about anyone she steps on along the way. Unfortunately for Dexter this destructive game causes nothing but hurt and disparaging sadness for him. Judy and Dexter are briefly engaged and during this time they both suffer a great deal of disillusionment and pain. . â€Å"Winter Dreams,† explores many themes that stand out, but the main theme that Fitzgerald addresses is by far the American Dream and its hollowness at the end of the road. This is a classic story of life lessons, love, and pursuing inner dreams and goals. The way that Fitzgerald uses Judy Jones to represent and entire lifestyle and goal of a character is genius. The American Dream is something that a person works towards and cannot reach by impatience it’s a goal that should be reached overtime, something that should not be allowed to take over your life. Because we are encouraged to chase our goals and follow our dreams, people get caught up in the dream and the illusion and don’t look towards the reality. Then you end up without the capability of grieving and miss the loss of even that. The last four paragraphs summarize all the aspirations Dexter had, lost. He said they had existed once but no longer do, and will never return again.

Mental Illness And Social Theory

Mental Illness And Social Theory Throughout history, there have been differing views of how mental illness was thought to occur, and how it should be subsequently treated. For example Greek and Roman philosophers such as Hippocrates and Plato advocated that abnormal behaviour resulted from an internal disease, with Hippocrates believing it was an imbalance of the four humours that were thought to flow through the body (Comer, 2005). As such, physicians of the time treated it accordingly, using a mixture of methods such as bleeding and restraining (Comer, 2005: 8) to more supportive techniques such as calming atmospheres and music. However with the decline of the Roman Empire from roughly 500 A.D., a change in perceptions of abnormal behaviour occurred with religion dominating thought over science. As such, mental illness became viewed as arising through possession of the Devil, with the only cure being an exorcism by clergymen, or beating and starving the individual (Comer, 2005). However it was only around the 1400 s that mental illness became viewed as a sickness within the mind (Comer, 2005: 10), and as such the asylum was created as an institution to care for the mentally ill, and while often a cruel place, it was seen as the establishment charged with caring for those deemed mentally ill (Scull, 2006). Yet the main so called change in reform of the mentally ill was attributed to the work of Tuke and Pinel (Comer, 2005: 11) where instead of promoting treatment involving beatings and restraint, they used methods where the mentally ill were allowed to be unrestrained and encouraged to monitor their own behaviour, in methods known as moral treatment (Scull, 2006: 115). These methods transformed the way mental illness was handled, however, into the 20th century; many of the mentally ill were still being confined to long term stays in asylums (Comer, 2005). While this is a very brief history of mental illness, the changing perceptions of the causes and subsequent treatment of the mentally ill throughout history raises several important issues. Firstly, the definition of mental illness has not remained constant and indeed mental illness itself has been called madness, insanity (Comer, 2005: 10) and in the field of psychology, is studied as abnormal psychology. This raises the second issue, in that mental illness is still defined as something which could be considered deviant or not normal, and as such requires the individual to receive treatment. The field that has been associated and subsequently dominated diagnosis and treatment of mental illness in the 20th century (Summerfield, 2001) is psychiatry. Psychiatry typically draws upon positivist thinking, in that a mental illness is a real and observable phenomenon (Eisenberg, 1988: 2) that must be diagnosed and subsequently treated, with the usual assumption that the illness has manifest ed due to some biological abnormality (Fisher, 2003). However while this view continues to dominate thinking within psychiatry, it can be argued that these concepts of mental illness have been heavily criticised and indeed, the institution of psychiatry itself has also been criticised. Therefore the aims of this essay are to firstly examine the problems of the psychiatric approach and how social theory has provided a useful evaluation of how mental illness, rather than existing as real and observable illnesses which psychiatrists must find and treat, could actually be seen as socially constructed. This will then lead into a discussion of the debates around how useful a social constructionist perspective is, before evaluating the institution of psychiatry as a whole, drawing on the work of Foucault and associated theorists, arguing that the psychiatric institution, instead of being a liberating force for the mentally ill, actually exercises methods of social control. Finally this will allow for an assessment of whether these evaluations are more useful to consider than continuing adopting the dominant positivist methods forwarded by psychiatry. The Problem of Psychiatric Approaches to Mental Illness The current system which psychiatry utilizes in order to define and diagnose mental illness is the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). This manual, currently in its fourth edition lists what it has defined as mental illness onto 5 axes. For example Axis 1 contains all disorders considered to be related to mental health, from mood disorders to sexual disorders with the exception of personality disorders and what is termed mental retardation, which is placed on Axis 2 (Comer, 2005). In addition to this, certain criteria are listed, in order to determine if an individual can be diagnosed with a specific mental illness. For example, depression would be classified as a mood disorder and in order to be diagnosed as having a major depressive episode, an individual would need to exhibit five out of eight symptoms listed persistently for at least two weeks, with one symptom being either depressed mood or loss of interest or pleasure (Davidson and Neale, 2001: 242) While this is a useful approach, should a positivist stance be taken in that mental illness is an observable fact, waiting to be uncovered in an individual (Eisenberg, 1988), it becomes problematic when considering two issues. Firstly what has been defined as mental illness has not remained constant within psychiatry and has also faced criticism over how it is diagnosed, and secondly, the categorisation of an individual as mentally ill can have serious social consequences such as producing stigma (Thornicroft, 2006). In addressing the first issue, at the inception of the DSM in 1952, sixty categories were listed as being mental illnesses, and this number increased to one hundred and forty five illnesses in the second edition in 1968 (Balon, 2008), however it was perhaps in the third edition, published in 1980, where the biggest change occurred. Not only has 230 illnesses been identified and classified as illnesses, but a change occurred in which homosexuality was removed as being a mental disorder after campaigning from Gay activist groups (Silverstein, 2008). However the DSM in its current form continues to cause controversy over classifications, especially with those surrounding sexuality, for example it has been questioned as to whether issues such as female orgasmic disorder or certain fetishes should actually be classified as disorders (Ussher, 1997: 5). Similarly, classifications for diagnosis have also been somewhat vague. For example, while diagnoses for depression typically include a tim eframe in which the symptoms must be present, there is no such temporal criterion for sexual disorders, meaning that diagnosis could be somewhat ambiguous (Balon, 2008: 190). This idea of the DSMs criteria making diagnosis somewhat vague was highlighted in the classic study by Rosenhan (1973) in which eight participants were each sent to twelve different psychiatric hospitals and instructed, at admissions, to say they had been hearing voices, and had heard the words empty, hollow and thud (Rosenhan, 1973: 251). Each participant was subsequently admitted to the respective hospital, and upon admission, apart from general nervousness of their situation, continued to behave normally and told staff they were no longer experiencing any symptoms. Despite this, participants were admitted to the hospitals for periods ranging between 7 and 52 days, and all but one was discharged with the diagnosis Schizophrenia in remission (Rosenhan, 1973: 252). While this study is flawed due to its deception and would not have been ethically allowed in modern times, it did raise some serious issues about psychiatric evaluation and diagnosis, with perhaps one of the most troublin g aspects being that perfectly sane individuals were labelled as schizophrenic, and likely would have been stuck with that label (Rosenhan, 1973: 252). This leads onto the second problem of psychiatric definitions of mental illness, in that individuals become labelled as having an illness, meaning they are more readily seen as deviating from social norms and as such, reactions to the individual with the mental illness change radically (Bowers, 1998:7). This can often produce a stigma of mental illness meaning once individuals are classified as being mentally ill, they may suffer problems with their family and friends or discrimination at work and this can often be fuelled by media interpretations of mental illness (Thornicroft, 2006). For example because a mental illness such as schizophrenia is classified by the DSM as having at least 2 symptoms including hallucinations, delusions disorganised speech etc, for a significant proportion of time for a least a month (Comer, 2005: 360), it becomes simplified by the media as meaning a person with a mental illness will be mad and dangerous (Thornicroft, 2006: 113). Similarly this transfers into the public who are found to have a profound ignorance (Thornicroft, 2006: 231) over what it means to be mentally ill and also problems for mentally ill individuals who are often targets for discrimination and, as such, find their lives change as a result of the label of mentally ill that is imposed upon them. Alternative Methods of Defining Mental Illness Given the problems that appear to arise from the dominant psychiatric methods of defining and diagnosing mental illness, it would seem that alternative methods should be considered as to how mental illness should be viewed. One method is to take the definitions of mental illnesses themselves and determine how they have arisen through discourse and how they can be subsequently viewed as socially constructed (Ussher, 1997, 4). For example, the psychiatric viewpoint of mental illness is framed as objectively diagnosing an individual with a mental illness, which is seen to be real and identifiable. However if a postmodern approach was adopted, which asserts that there are no absolute truths, e.g. a mental illness doesnt just exist, but instead is different interpretations are formed through language (Walker, 2006: 71). This would imply that instead of psychiatry objectively discovering a mental illness within an individual, they have actually created a perspective whereby someone who has a mental illness is ill and deviating form the norm, and as such needs to be diagnosed and treated (Walker, 2006: 72). This social construction of mental illness is done so through the utilization of discourse. In the case of the psychiatric perspective, the view that mental illness is identifiable and diagnosable is taken as truth, with the psychiatrist patient relationship dominated by the psychiatrist who diagnoses the illness and proceeds to medicate the individual (Armstrong, 1994: 19; Walker, 2006: 74). However while the feelings that an individual presents to a psychiatrist may be very real, the associated labels such as schizophrenia or depression only exist as they have been agreed upon as taking a certain meaning through language. This can also be the case in viewing mental illness as a whole; the psychiatric discourse has created these categories of mental illness, which become associated with wholly negative connotations, producing severe consequences for the individual. For example, if Foucauldian discourse perspective is taken, this categorisation would provide a definition of how the individual understands their identity, and perhaps more importantly how others view their identity (Roberts, 2005: 38). However this can also end up becoming their identity. For example, instead of being an individual with schizophrenia, they become schizophrenic and that is their identity. However if the postmodernist perspective of mental illness is followed through, it suggests that mental illness does not actually exist, nor do the labels that follow it, such as schizophrenia or depression. Instead these are just constructions formed by psychiatry to allow them to categorise people as they feel necessary (Walker, 2006: 75). However this also suggests that individuals who experience these symptoms should not merely be categorised as psychiatry dictates, because, as has been discussed previously, this often produces stigma. Instead, by adopting a postmodernist perspective, subjective accounts of individuals experiences should be used to determine how they construct their illness, rather than viewing them as ill patients who are deviating from the norm. For example by allowing individuals who have been diagnosed with, say, depression to construct their own discourse around their experiences, more useful information may be sought about how they feel in relation to this diagnosis and may also help to reduce stigma that is associated by the categorisation process employed by psychiatry. For example a study by LaFrance, (2007) utilized the discourse of women, to examine how they constructed their experiences of depression having received a medical diagnosis of depression. The findings from adopting a discourse analytic approach found that the women, upon receiving a diagnosis of depression often felt relieved as they could then interpret it as its not my fault (LaFrance, 2007: 134), however in relation to more physical illnesses, they felt it was difficult to gain a legitimacy for their pain as the actual illness was not readily observable what I wish we could do is like stick a thermometer in your ear and check your serotonin level (La France, 2007: 134). By allowing individuals who are diagnosed with depression to discuss more openly their experiences of having being labelled as such, it can allow for a reinterpretation of what these illnesses are. Rather than being objectively defined as a pathological entity within the body, using a postmodernist perspective utilizing discourse, mental illness can be viewed from the perspective of the individuals experiences of the pain, illness and distress (LaFrance, 2007: 137) they encounter. This allows for a removal of mere categorisation and may also help to minimize stigma. However it should also be noted that while taking a postmodern perspective by deconstructing the labels of mental illness could be useful in providing more insight into individuals experiences and as such, minimise stigma, it can have limitations. For example as Ussher (1997) notes, if you take an extreme deconstructionist perspective, a situation is created whereby nothing is real, everything is just a social label; an invention of those in power (Ussher, 1997: 5). This could have consequences, in that there are no longer categories which define a sexual problem or a crime, as they merely become constructions of language. If this argument was followed through, it would mean that issues such as paedophilia would be justified as there would no longer be any reason to warrant criminalising sexual acts with children (Ussher, 1997: 6) and this is clearly wrong. However if a certain level of deconstruction is acknowledged, as mentioned above, it could be useful in creating a shift away fr om the dominant psychiatric view of an objective diagnosis and labelling system of mental illness. The Continuing Dominance of Psychiatry Social Control of Psychiatry It has been outlined above that drawing on a postmodern perspective of utilizing discourse to deconstruct categories of mental illness forwarded by psychiatry could be useful, particularly in gaining insight into those who experience mental illness and also using that to help reduce the stigma which evolves from labelling and categorising. However, despite the clear faults the psychiatric methods have in defining and diagnosing mental illness, these alternative approaches have not been introduced. It could be said that this is due to the power that psychiatry yields over the mentally ill. For example, Scull (2006) notes, in the early 19th century, reform of how mental illness was treated occurred by which it became a condition which could only be authoritatively diagnosed, certified and treated by a group of legally recognised experts (Scull, 2006: 111). While this change occurred as to who could legitimately deal with the mentally ill, a change, as mentioned above, also occurred into how the mentally ill should be treated, with Pinel and Tuke advocating the notion of treating the mentally ill rationally and humanely (Scull, 2006: 114). This may therefore suggest that the 19th century revolutionised how mental illness was viewed and treated, with the idea of the mentally ill being liberated. However, in drawing on the works of Foucault, it could be said that this view is quite misguided. While Foucaults work is complex and wide ranging, his concepts of power/knowledge and the body have been central to providing an alternative account of the domination of psychiatry and how society views mental illness. For example in Foucaults (1967 [2001]) work Madness and Civilization, a detailed history is provided on how madness has been changed and redefined throughout history. In brief, it is argued that a transformation occurred in that there was a change from the sane person being able to communicate effectively with the madman, to a state whereby the madman is segregated and not to be communicated with (Matthews, 1995: 24). This occurred, as from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance period, madness was seen as moving from an entity which was beyond human life, to something that was inherent within the self. As such, it was seen as something that required individuals with the affliction of madness to be confined, and indeed by the 17th century those who were considered deviant were to be segregated, including the mad, the unemployed, prisoners etc (Matthews, 1995: 25). However, it was seen that they were not confined for their own wellbeing or safety, but instead because they were not contributing effectively to society as normal citizens. Towards the 18th century, it is argued that even with the introduction of more humane methods of treating the mentally ill, such as those forwarded by Pinel and Tuke, this was still seen as a method of control, attempting to transform the mad individual into someone deemed socially normal (Matthews, 1995: 25). For example, Foucault (1967 [2001: 255-256]) notes that: the asylum of the age of positivism, which is Pinels glory to have founded, is not a free realm of observation, diagnosis and therapeutics; it is a juridical space where one is accused, judged and condemned, and from which one is never released except by the version of this trial in psychological depth -that is, by remorse This implies that the methods considered as being the liberation of the mentally ill in the 19th century, which pre-empted modern psychiatry, were actually methods of controlling the mentally ill. They are labelled as having an illness such as depression or schizophrenia, which is a deviation from normal functioning, reasonable individuals, and as such, require treatment in order to attempt to return to them to normative state. With this view of modern psychiatry, it could be said that as it is the dominiant institution responsible for mental illness, it acts as a method of social control by having the power to identify deviant individuals and attempt to treat them, subsequently cure them of their illness and return them to normality. Social Control through Surveillance However, crucial to understanding this method of social control, is to also understand the power that the psychiatric institution holds over the mentally ill, and it could be argued that it is through Foucaults (Rabinow, 1991) ideas of disciplinary power. For example, Foucault argued that instead of old methods of control of deviant bodies being used, such as physical punishment (Armstrong, 1994: 21), new methods were created which allowed for bodies to be observed and analysed (Armstrong, 1994: 21) through methods of surveillance. To illustrate this idea, Foucault uses the idea of Benthams design for an ideal prison, known as the panopticon, where a central watchtower looks over cells distributed in a circular fashion (Roberts, 2005: 34). The method of the panopticon was to be able to continuously observe inmates, however from the inmates point of view, they would never know when they were being watched, or if they were being watched at all. This allows for a dynamic in which a powe r relation is created and maintained, whereby the individual is made a subject, never free from knowing when they are being observed and thus having to correct and monitor their behaviour accordingly (Roberts, 2005: 34). For example as Foucault notes, it must be possible to hold the prisoner under permanent observation, every report that can be made about him must be recorded and computed (Foucault, cited in Rabinow, 1994: 217). While this was referring to prisoners being held as criminals, the concept can also be identified and analysed in relation to psychiatric institutions. For example after a diagnosis of a mental illness has been made, individuals become analysed and evaluations for treatment made, and this becomes documented within medical records. While, as Roberts (2005) notes, that this is standard procedures for care, from a Foucauldian perspective, it could be seen as a panoptic method of ensuring the individual is continually watched and assessed, and should any deviations occur, interventions may used, to correct the deviancy (Roberts, 2005: 36). However this does not merely occur within an institution, but the levels of panoptic surveillance may occur within an individuals community. For example if someone is given the identity of schizophrenic, they will be monitored by many different professional staff that will assess their treatment and symptoms but they will also be subject to surveillance from family members or friends (Roberts, 2005: 36). This would imply that the methods of psychiatric social control extend beyond simply having the authority to correct deviancy, but instead psychiatric disciplinary power infiltrates many aspects of an individuals life, meaning they may never be free from surveillance of their illness or having an identity of being mentally ill. This Foucauldian perspective is rather critical of the psychiatric institution, however when considering the stigma that those with a mental illness encounter, it could be a useful theoretical approach to take when considering the dominance of psychiatry. For example, as mentioned previously and highlighted by the Rosenhan (1973) study, a diagnosis and labelling of being mentally ill can become a lifelong issue and often, while being subject to surveillance by psychiatric and medical institutions, individuals are also subject to surveillance by their friends, family and peers, however if what is viewed is negatively perceived, or if the individual does not correct their behaviour this can have consequences. For example as Thornicroft (2006: 25) states from an individual with mental illness, I have lost all my friends since the onset of my illnessà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦I lost my career, my own flat, my car. Mental illness has destroyed my life. This suggests that again, the dominance of psych iatry, even in modern times, if taken from a Foucauldian perspective, can have drastic consequences for those who are diagnosed with mental illness. Other Power Relations as Explanations for Psychiatric Dominance Foucauldian perspectives clearly illustrate that psychiatry can be considered the dominant institution for monitoring those with mental illness, as they are able to correct them by means of social control and also the very manner in which psychiatry functions, allows them to survey those with a mental illness indefinitely, through the ideas of disciplinary power. However one other aspect that should be considered as to why psychiatry has continued to be the dominant institution for identifying those who are mentally ill, is their intrinsic affiliations to the pharmaceutical companies (Scull, 2006: 127). For example, in returning to the methods of the psychiatric institution, they take a positivist view that mental illness is real and observable and requiring treatment and they usually identify it as underlying a biological abnormality of brain functioning, such as serotonin deficencies in depression (Comer, 2005). However it could be argued that it is pharmaceutical industry that continues to allow this approach to be taken. For example, if classifying a mental illness as real and observable with an underlying biological cause, this allows for the assumption that it can be treated, and the pharmaceutical industry fuels this, by providing the medication (Fisher, 2003: 66). However this view is also advocated by psychiatry, because as Scull (2006) and Fisher (2003) argue, the profits that pharmaceutical companies make contribute towards funding research, the journals and the departments of psychiatry (Fisher, 2003: 66). As such, the psychiatric profession have an invested interest in maintaining their positivist standpoint, and as this happens to conform to the positivist natural model of scientific research, it has asserted itself as the only reality, due to holding this power (LaFrance, 2007: 128). Usefulness of the Critical Evaluation of Psychiatry As can be seen in the discussions above, the evaluations of psychiatry drawing on social theory perspectives have been quite critical, both in terms of how psychiatry defines and diagnoses mental illness, but also how the institution of psychiatry as a whole functions. For example it has drawn from post modern perspectives to suggest that the very notion of mental illness is socially constructed through discourse (Walker, 2006) and from a Foucauldian perspective, the psychiatric institution serves to control the deviant population by attempting to normalise them again through the use of disciplinary power (Roberts, 2005). However, while these evaluations are certainly useful and provide a perspective into how psychiatry and mental illness can be viewed, to take this wholly negative view may be just as problematic as adopting the purely positivist assumptions forwarded by psychiatry. For example, in addressing the first evaluation that mental illness can be considered to be socially constructed through discourse, as explained by Ussher (1997), if this is taken to the point of an extreme social constructionist perspective, then nothing will actually be considered real, just multiple realities created through discourse. This could be problematic for those who do suffer from mental illness. For example interpreting mental illness as something that doesnt actually exist, or is not definable but merely a social construction is not very helpful for an individual with real symptoms which they experience. For example as Bowers (1998) mentions, to take a view that mental illness is something that could be considered beneficial or non existent is a failing to accept the reality of their suffering and disability (Bowers, 1998: 104). As such, theoretically it may be useful to consider mental illness as socially constructed, and indeed given the study by Rosenhan (1973), diag nosis can often be difficult or misinterpreted, for those who actually suffer from mental illness, a diagnosis may actually be comforting. For example, in an excerpt from an individual with mental illness, it can be seen that often a diagnosis means that it feels something can then be done. The individual, when discussing her initial diagnosis of schizophrenia recalls it was so enormously helpful to think; (a) this was something diagnosable, and (b) there are self help groups (Thornicroft, 2006: 48). As such, while the psychiatric methods of defining and diagnosing mental illness could be seen as theoretically problematic, as they are known, individuals who are diagnosed may feel comforted to know that the symptoms they experience are not simple constructions, but an actual treatable illness. In addressing the second criticism social theory has levelled at psychiatry, in that from a Foucauldian perspective, it can be seen as an institution of continual surveillance and social control (Roberts, 2005). This implies that psychiatry exists with a unidirectional form of power, selecting deviant individuals and attempting to normalise them through treatment and surveillance. However it could be said that this power/knowledge approach to psychiatry is somewhat simplistic, implying only psychiatric experts are involved in addressing the diagnosis and treatment of lay peoples' mental illness, however this may not be the case. As mentioned in the LaFrance (2007) study, sufferers of mental illness have been invited to express their views on their experiences of mental illness and how they viewed their treatment and this can often be used to inform and re-evaluate how these with mental illness should be treated by experts. For example Pilgrim and Rogers (1997) highlight that often those who had experienced mental illness could not contribute the onset to a singular cause but, identified numerous causes such as a loss of a child, previous abuse, having a broken engagement etc (Pilgrim and Rogers, 1997: 42). However psychiatrists typically noted onset as originating from something which was termed biomedical (Pilgrim and Rogers, 1997: 43) and as such, by identifying how sufferers view their illness, this can help further inform the experts. Similarly, Pilgrim and Rogers (1997) also highlight that there is not expert knowledge of mental illness and lay knowledge of mental illness but often the two are often intertwined, with expert knowledge becoming subject to layification (Pilgrim and Rogers, 39). Therefore to simply assert that psychiatry exerts social control and surveillance over mental illness suffers appears to be ignoring the notion that individuals may not be passive patients and may have their o wn interpretations and views on their illness. Conclusion It is somewhat difficult to determine whether the critical evaluation social theory provides in reaction to the methods psychiatry uses to define and treat mental illness are more useful. For example, while the positivist methodology currently adopted by psychiatry has been problematic given their changing of what constitutes as mental illness (Balon, 2008) and also the reported difficulties in diagnosis (Rosenhan, 1973), it is unclear whether adopting a social constructionist approach would be useful in practice. While it certainly has highlighted the faults of positivist notions of schizophrenia and depression simply existing (Walker, 2006) and this may help to reduce stigma, given that it is such a widely accepted approach, people in some cases may find comfort in being given a diagnosis (Thornicroft, 2006). Similarly, while the works of Foucault are certainly insightful in suggesting that the liberation of the insane was merely a different form of confinement through social control, it does provide an assumption that psychiatry is merely an institution whose aims are to normalise individuals through medication and view them as simple, passive recipients of care. However as Pilgrim and Rogers (1997) highlighted, often knowledge which lay and experts hold of mental illness can become intertwined and, indeed, psychiatrists have utilized research into patients experiences in order to provide a better standard of care for them. Therefore this essay would advocate, in a similar manner to Ussher (1997) that neither the psychiatric positivist methods are completely flawless and neither are social theory approaches, such as post modernism or a Foucauldian analysis. However a combination of the two may not provide a better system either, therefore while it is acknowledged that social theory has provided a useful critical evaluation of psychiatry, it is not necessarily a correct one. As such, it may be more useful to consider the individuals who suffer from mental illness as the ones who should advocate h

The Characterization within Hamlet Essay -- GCSE English Literature Co

The Characterization within Hamlet      Ã‚   This essay will inform the reader regarding the characterization found in Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet – whether the dramatis personae are three-dimensional or two-dimensional, dynamic or static, and other aspects of the character portrayal.    John Dover Wilson in What happens in Hamlet tells how the Bard is capable of even bringing realism to a ghost:    Shakespeare’s Ghost is both a revenge-ghost and a prologue-ghost, that is to say from the technical point of view it corresponds with its Senecan prototype. But there the likeness ends; for it is one of Shakespeare’s glories that he took the conventional puppet, humanised it, christianized it, and made it a figure that his spectators would recognize as real, as something which might be encountered in any lonely graveyard at midnight.[. . .] The Ghost in Hamlet comes, not from a mythical Tartarus, but from the place of departed spirits in which post-medieval England, despite a veneer of Protestantism, still believed at the end of the sixteenth century. And in doing this, in making horror more awesome by giving it a contemporary spiritual background, Shakespeare managed at the same time to lift the whole ghost-business on to a higher level, to transform a ranting roistering abstraction into a thing at once tender and majestical. (56-57)    The genius of the Bard is revealed in his characterization. Brian Wilkie and James Hurt in Literature of the Western World examine the universal appeal of   Shakespeare resulting from his â€Å"sharply etched characters†:    Every age from Shakespeare’s time to the present has found something different in him to admire. All ages, however, have recognized his supreme skill in inv... ...tts Institute of Technology. 1995. http://www.chemicool.com/Shakespeare/hamlet/full.html    West, Rebecca. â€Å"A Court and World Infected by the Disease of Corruption.† Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. from The Court and the Castle. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1957.    Wilkie, Brian and James Hurt. â€Å"Shakespeare.† Literature of the Western World. Ed. Brian Wilkie and James Hurt. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1992.    Wilson, John Dover. What happens in Hamlet. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1959.    Wright, Louis B. and Virginia A. LaMar. â€Å"Hamlet: A Man Who Thinks Before He Acts.† Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. from The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Ed. Louis B. Wright and Virginia A. LaMar. N. p.: Pocket Books, 1958.      

The Beef with TV Essay -- essays research papers

Television: Our Nations Drug of Choice   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Television is our era’s escape from what we now consider a chaotic struggle of life. I think we as a people feel life can be solved in an hour long Monday night special and that exact attitude is our society’s problem today. Frankly we are a group of cowards who do not take the bull by the horns; rather we retreat to routine episode line up that we can supposedly relate to. Ladies and gentlemen we need to break free like Plato’s slave in the myth of the cave, by realizing that life is not â€Å"Ragged, loose and something hard to cope with† (Dove) but rather a beautiful journey far off into the beyond.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Over ninety-eight percent of homes in America have television, while only ninety percent have telephones. Most often the programs the viewer receives are quite harmful to them physically, mentally, developmentally, and even financially.†(Paul) The theory that ‘The Tube’ is a bad thing should be no longer be pondered, it is a very bad thing. People who sit in front of the T.V. religiously often feel that they can quit at whatever time they want to, and pick up where they left off in their daily activities. Most often, nevertheless, people grow to be very flaccid about their lives; the individual sees their once everyday behavior less attractive and more complex. The scariest part of this bad habit we as a nation develop from watching television is its uncanny resemblance to heroine u...

Swiss Government :: essays research papers

Switzerland is a decentralized federal republic composed of 20 cantons and six half cantons. These in turn are divided into communes. Legislative power is the responsibility of the dual-chamber Federal Assembly. One chamber consists of 200 representatives chosen by the electorate for four-year terms. The other, which has 46 representatives, is selected directly by the cantons. Each sends two representatives, but the mode of their election and the terms of their service depend on the laws of the individual cantons. Executive power is in the hands of the Federal Council, which is chosen by the assembly. The council consists of seven members elected for four-year terms, and they act as a cabinet. One of the members of the council is chosen as president but serves for only one year. The president's powers are therefore extremely limited. Women did not attain suffrage until 1971. While men in one of the half cantons continued to reject proposals to allow women the right to vote on local matters, the nation's high court in 1990 ordered them to grant women the right. In the 16th century Switzerland was the focus of the Protestant Reformation, and the cantons split along religious lines. One of the greatest political and religious leaders of the Reformation was John Calvin. His success lay in his extraordinary ability to combine extreme political convictions with administrative talent. Calvin made much of Switzerland a tower of Protestant strength. Both civil and secular law were dominated by Calvin's preachings. His religious base was Geneva, but his ideas spread rapidly to Scotland, the Netherlands, and even to southern France. Another famous religious leader was Huldrych Zwingli, who preached in Zurich and led the Protestants in an extended civil war with their Roman Catholic neighbors (see Calvin; Zwingli). Switzerland's secession from the Holy Roman Empire was recognized by the Treaty of Westphalia, which followed the Thirty Years' War early in the 17th century. The desire for independence ultimately overshadowed religious conflict, and the new state soon regained political stability. There was an intellectual flourishing of literature and philosophy in centers like Geneva, Basel, Bern, and Zurich. During the Napoleonic era that followed, Switzerland was occupied by the French, who imposed their institutions on the country. This all ended with the defeat of the French and the convening of the Congress of Vienna in 1815, which guaranteed Swiss neutrality for the foreseeable future.

Bang & Olufsen

Bang & Olufsen How the tiny family-owned company Bang and Olufsen survives and prospers in spite of all the multi-nationals can do. Consumer electronics is dominated by multi-nationals who believe growth and acquisitions are the keys to survival in this price-point conscious industry. So how come in a remote country town in the north west of Denmark, an organisation with a mere 3000 employees is prospering and charging premium prices? B&0 is still in the hands of the families who started it back in 1925. Young Peter Bang and Svend Olufsen were both keen experimenters from boyhood with electricity and their first radios were built in the attic of the Olufsen house. Right from the start the company followed a philosophy of innovation. The company has always striven to set higher standards of performance than its competitors and, as a consequence found itself moving inevitably towards the upper-end of the market. Along the way styling became an important element of the B&O philosophy. A number of their products are in the permanent design collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. The company uses freelance designers who are answerable to the product strategy department who are responsible for marketing planning and the technical feasibility of ideas. It took more than style, however, to give Bang & Olufsen its unique positioning in the marketplace. A long time ago it was realised that the key to survival lay in offering products which were not only different but had qualities which could not be found elsewhere. Back in 1938 they produced a radio with a preset programming function for 16 stations. In 1943 a B&O gramophone had an option for rogramming a 3 minute pause between tracks – time to allow you to bow to your new dancing partner! The first B&O TV receiver appeared in 1952. In 1951 they produced the world's first stereo cartridge. They invented the HX professional recording system which increases the headroom available for recording high frequency signals on all tape types. This system is now found in most good quality tape decks. In 1982 they int roduced the Beolink system which gives round the house sound and round the house remote-control. For all their small size Bang and Olufsen produce practically everything themselves. They even ake much of their own production equipment. Such are their capabilities that they supply injection moulding equipment to other manufacturers and have developed such diverse products as an insulin pen and extension units for telephone switching exchanges. Their entry into the telephone receiver business grew out of a contract to develop a new standard telephone for Danish Telecom. Since then they have sold over 200, 000 units of their elegant and distinctive handsets. The company regularly gets suggestions for new product categories. These are considered but unless there is scope for a distinctively B&0 concept, it will not proceed. Car audio is an example. Because the car stereo has to fit into a set size hole in a console, there is little or no scope to produce a distinctively different product that would fit into the B family of products. Today, B operate in more than 20 countries around the world. Their biggest single export market in terms of combined TV, video and hi-fi sales is the United Kingdom. As mentioned earlier, this equipment does not fit into an existing selling or price-point structure and would face an uphill struggle in the bazaar atmosphere of the typical electrical retailer. This led to the decision to carry out the entire marketing, distribution, and selling (retailing) operations in- house. The calm and luxurious atmosphere of a Bang and Olufsen showroom is highly conducive to the appreciation not only of the performance of the product but the elegant styling too. The arrangement leaves no place for opposition or competitors for, as B&0 will gladly tell you, there aren't any. At the same time, haggling over such mundane matters as discounts seems very much out of place in such surroundings. It’s a far cry from the rest of the industry where the sales staff can usually tell you very little but the price. The showroom decor is simple and subdued to highlight the discreet styling of the equipment. The staff are very much part of this presentation. Fast talking and pressure to buy have no place here. When people are spending the kind of money a B&O system costs (the 1owest priced sound system is listed at $8,000 and you can go over $30,000 with the greatest of ease) they want time to relax and consider their choice very carefully indeed. The staff are there as consultants and advisors. In fact, of course they are very effective sales people who really know their products and ow to present them. There are several six B&O showroom in Australia, all in major capital cities. Sales of audio and video products run 50/50 and in both categories the best sellers are the top models in the range. So who buys this expensive equipment? It is probably easier to say who does not. The true hi-fi buff who loves electronics and fiddling dials & buttons tends to treat B&O with the same disdain that a spor ts-car buff has for an automatic Mercedes family car. Your typical B&O owner is more interested in music and entertainment than electronics. While he r she appreciates the unique styling, sheer quality and performance of the equipment, it is the ability to deliver at the touch of a button or even a glass plate which probably counts for more. B&0 have recognised that the hi-fi industry has made its products so complex and intimidating to the average person that he only become frustrated and confused by all the conflicting advice he receives. Visiting the hi-fi specialist can be an unnerving experience which ends up giving the prospective buyer an inferiority complex. B&0's approach is to put all the complexity to one side. Technology is used to simplify. So, lthough B equipment has possibly the most sophisticated control systems of anyone in the industry, it is, paradoxically, probably the simplest of all to operate. Once you have a B unit in your home you become a prospect for upgra des and extensions. B were the first to bring round-the-house sound and later video which can be controlled from anywhere in the house. Called the Beolink, it first came out in l982 and it is only 10 years later that any other such systems are beginning to appear. Any B model can be extended to give quality hi-fi or video to any room in the house. It is not B po1icy to bring out new models each year. Rather they introduce them to meet market requirements and then upgrade them when and as required. Very often existing equipment can be brought up to the latest specifications. It is also policy that all parts are fully available for 8 years after a model goes out of production. B still regularly gets calls to service equipment over 20 years old. All parts are airfreighted from Denmark. B are too small to develop original products like the CD or even the VCR. Their role is to take such products and enhance them, make them easier to use, and package them very uniquely and attractively. A considerable proportion of B systems are sold with an older model taken as a trade-in. The quality of the products is such that they have a ready second-hand market and owner loyalty is the highest in the industry. An organisation pf just 3000 people in a very high cost country taking on the established giants of the electronics world sounds like an extreme case of wishful thinking. Band and Olufsen will tell that they think differently. They do. And it works. Do you know of any other business which has no direct competitors? Q: Identify, Understand Analyse competition and suggest appropriate competitive positioning strategies.