What are split-brain studies?

Introduction

The study of laterality, or the specialized asymmetric functions throughout the body, is not a new and novel field, as might be suggested by the popularization of “left brain-right brain” dichotomies. Lateralization of functions in the brain, sometimes referred to as hemispheric asymmetries, was demonstrated in 1861 by Paul Broca, a well-known physician at the time. He found that patients suffering from damage to certain regions of the left cerebral hemisphere exhibited more frequent speech and language disorders than did those with right cerebral hemisphere damage. Based on these findings, Broca correctly reasoned that the left hemisphere is specialized for speech and language in the vast majority of people. However, these results were quickly transformed into an overly simplistic dichotomization of cerebral functioning in which the left hemisphere was conceptualized as the dominant hemisphere and the right hemisphere as a rather minor, perhaps even unimportant, hemisphere. From split-brain studies performed since 1940, it has become obvious that the right hemisphere is essential for normal visuospatial functioning.

Commissurotomy Effects

Split-brain surgery, sometimes referred to as commissurotomy, was first performed on a human patient by the neurosurgeon William Van Wagenen in 1940 to reduce the severity of life-threatening epileptic seizures. Other early commissurotomies were performed by two neurosurgeons, Philip Vogel and Joseph Bogen. The rationale for commissurotomies is rather simple: By severing the cerebral commissures, the major interconnecting fiber bundles that allow communication between the cerebral hemispheres, surgeons can prevent epileptic seizures from spreading beyond their focal hemisphere. Commissurotomies are performed only as a last resort, after traditional drug therapy fails to control seizure activity.

Surprising as it may seem, commissurotomy patients show few long-term alterations in behavior. All subjects suffer from acute disconnection syndrome, in which they are mute and partially paralyzed on the left side of the body for an interval ranging from a few days to a few weeks. Otherwise, commissurotomy patients exhibit relatively normal behavior. Moreover, the severity and frequency of seizure activity decline, sometimes quite dramatically, in response to this surgical procedure.

Hemispheric Asymmetries in Information Processing

On closer examination with a tachistoscope (an experimental apparatus for presenting visual information very briefly to the right or left visual field, sometimes called a T-scope) of split-brain patients, however, hemispheric asymmetries in information processing are evident. These asymmetries are investigated in T-scope or divided visual field studies. The split-brain patient is required to fixate on a central point, while visual stimulation is presented to the right or left visual field. Assuming that the patient is fixated on the central point, stimulation in the right visual field is projected to the left hemisphere, and left visual field stimulation to the right hemisphere. Once the information is available to the left or right hemisphere of a split-brain patient, it is not able to cross the cerebral commissures, principally the corpus callosum, because those fibers have been partially or completely severed.

The pioneering studies of the divided visual field in split-brain patients are described in The Bisected Brain (1970) by Michael Gazzaniga, who was a coprincipal investigator with Roger Sperry in those studies. In one of their investigations, pictures of common objects were presented to either the right visual field or the left visual field of split-brain patients. All patients were able to identify the information verbally when it was presented in the right visual field (left hemisphere), but not in the left visual field (right hemisphere). These results suggested specialization for verbal tasks in the left cerebral hemisphere but did not address functioning in the right cerebral hemisphere.

To assess the psychological functions of the right cerebral hemisphere, the researchers repeated the procedure described in the previous experiment, except that subjects were asked to reach under a curtain with their left or right hand to select the object from among several alternatives (rather than verbally identifying the picture of the object). Subjects were able to perform this task competently with their left hand, which is controlled primarily by the right cerebral hemisphere. Therefore, stimulation presented to the left visual field is projected to the right cerebral hemisphere, which controls the left hand. The opposite is true for stimulation presented to the right visual field. Correct identification of objects with the left hand indicated right cerebral hemisphere involvement in recognition of nonverbal stimuli.

Support for the superiority of the right hemisphere on visuospatial tasks came from a study in which split-brain patients were required to assemble patterned blocks into particular designs. Even though all patients were right-handed, they were much better at this task with the left hand, presumably because the right cerebral hemisphere controls that hand. Yet another test of the abilities of the left cerebral hemisphere was performed by requesting subjects to copy pictures of line drawings. Again, despite being right-handed, all subjects performed better with the left hand. Their left-handed efforts were rather clumsy, but the spatial dimensions of the line drawings were proportionally correct. Overall, split-brain studies seem to indicate left-hemisphere superiority on verbal tasks and right-hemisphere superiority on nonverbal, visuospatial tasks.

Further proposals for differences between the right and left hemispheres have been suggested from split-brain research. For example, it now appears that the left hemisphere is specialized for verbal tasks, but only as a consequence of its analytical, logical, information-processing style—of which language is one manifestation. Similarly, the right hemisphere is specialized for visuospatial tasks because of its synthetic, holistic manner of processing information. Support for these hemispheric asymmetries was derived from a 1974 study conducted by Jere Levy in which split-brain patients were given ambiguous instructions; they were simply to match similar pictorial stimuli. These pictures could be matched either by their functions, such as a cake on a plate matched with either a spoon or a fork, or by their appearance, such as a cake on a plate matched with a hat with a brim. When the pictures were presented to the right visual field (left hemisphere), matching was accomplished by function, while pictures projected in the left visual field (right hemisphere) were matched according to appearance. Matching by function was construed to involve logical, analytical information processing; matching by appearance was interpreted as involving holistic, synthetic information processing.

Most of the basic findings on hemispheric asymmetries in split-brain patients have been extended to normal subjects whose cerebral commissures are intact, with the exception that right-hemisphere superiority for visuospatial tasks seems to be slightly weaker in normal subjects. Investigations with normal subjects require measurement of reaction time, because information projected to one visual field can quickly and easily transfer to the opposite hemisphere.

In the twenty-first century, Gazzaniga and others have also begun to research how the hemispheres interact with one another in subjects with intact brains. These studies have found that right-hemisphere regions of the brain are more likely to interact across hemispheres, while left-hemisphere regions often interact primarily with each other, and that inter-hemispheral communication is greater when a stimulus is introduced to the side of the brain that is not specialized for it (e.g. if verbal information is introduced to the right hemisphere instead of the left).

Real-World Phenomena

When generalizing basic laboratory research findings to real-world situations, it is important to note that information transfer across the cerebral commissures is nearly instantaneous in normal subjects. In addition, the real-world environment provides prolonged visual stimulation, which is typically scanned with continuous eye movements. In these situations, environmental stimulation is available to both cerebral hemispheres. Therefore, one must be cautious not to overstate the case for a relationship between hemispheric asymmetries and real-world phenomena. The two cerebral hemispheres do work in combination as a unified brain in normal subjects. Even in split-brain patients, the prolonged availability of environmental stimulation and continuous eye scanning movements result, for the most part, in unified overt behavior. Behavioral, perceptual, and motor differences in split-brain patients are evident only with highly specialized and artificial laboratory testing with such instruments as the tachistoscope. Generalizations, then, from divided visual field studies of asymmetry to everyday situations require actual research evidence rather than the speculation that is popular among some segments of both the scientific and lay community.

Stuttering Research

Stuttering
is one real-world phenomenon for which laterality research has practical implications. There is some evidence that stutterers are bilaterally represented for speech and language to a greater extent than are nonstutterers. In one investigation, R. K. Jones, a neurosurgeon, was presented with four stutterers who had blood clots or tumors located near the normal speech center in the left hemisphere. Because of concern that removal of the blood clots or tumors would produce muteness in his patients by damaging the speech center, Jones performed the Wada test to determine where the speech center was located in each patient. This test involves the injection of an anesthetic agent, sodium amobarbital, into the right or left carotid artery. The carotid arteries provide the frontal regions of the brain, where the speech center is located, with oxygenated blood. The sodium amobarbital anesthetizes the particular hemisphere into whose carotid artery the drug is injected. If speech is disrupted by this procedure, either the speech center is located in the opposite hemisphere or the patient is bilaterally represented for speech. Additional testing of the opposite hemisphere will reveal whether the patient is bilaterally represented.

Using this procedure, Jones found that all four stutterers possessed bilateral speech representation. After the surgery, all four patients stopped stuttering and began to speak normally. These findings raise the question as to why stuttering is related to bilateralization of speech functions. One explanation is that stuttering occurs in these patients because, unlike normal people, they have a speech center in one hemisphere that is competitive with the speech center in the opposite hemisphere. Neural impulses from the two speech centers arrive out of synchrony at the muscles that control speech, which produces stuttering. What are the practical implications of these findings? It is quite obvious that producing irreparable damage to the brain for the sole purpose of eliminating a speech disorder, such as stuttering, would be highly unethical at current levels of medical technology and knowledge about the brain. Additional research on the hemispheric basis of stuttering will need to be conducted, and technological advances will be required before stuttering can be eliminated in bilaterally represented patients by means of neurosurgery; however, findings such as these may be increasingly useful in future applications of laterality research.

Dyslexia Research

Yet another phenomenon linked with laterality research is dyslexia, a disorder of reading that is not associated with sensory impairment, retardation, or emotional disturbances. In 1937, a physician by the name of Samuel T. Orton was the first to propose a link between hemispheric asymmetries and dyslexia. He observed mirror-image reversals of letters and words in reading and writing among children with reading problems. Orton also noted that many of these children exhibited unstable hand preferences, often accomplishing tasks normally reserved for a preferred hand with either hand on a given occasion. To account for these observations, Orton proposed that these children were insufficiently lateralized for speech and language functions. In other words, neither hemisphere was specialized for speech and language.

Evidence to support the hypothesis that dyslexia is attributable to incomplete lateralization was generated in 1970 by E. B. Zurif and G. Carson, who compared the performance of fourteen normal readers in the fourth grade with fourteen dyslexic fourth graders on a dichotic listening task. Dichotic listening involves presenting simultaneous, competing verbal stimuli of differing content to each ear through headphones. The subjects’ task is to identify the words, letters, or digits presented to each ear. Since the right ear primarily transmits auditory input to the left hemisphere, and the left ear to the right hemisphere, detectable differences in the processing of verbal stimulation can be used to suggest hemispheric asymmetries. In the foregoing study, presentation of a dichotic digits task showed a significant right-ear (left-hemisphere) advantage for the normal children and a weak, insignificant left-ear (right-hemisphere) advantage for the dyslexic children. Failure to find a significant hemispheric advantage in processing dichotically presented verbal stimulation suggests that dyslexic children may, indeed, be incompletely lateralized for speech and language. Before practical applications of this finding are realized, further explorations on the development of hemispheric asymmetries will be necessary to determine whether lateralization of functions can be influenced by environmental manipulation. Only if such modifications are possible can the development of incomplete lateralization be altered in dyslexics.

Early Roots of Research

Modern research on hemispheric asymmetries has its origins in a short paper read at an 1836 medical conference in Montpellier, France. Marc Dax, an obscure country physician, reported that aphasia
(any loss of the ability to use or understand language) is related to left-hemisphere brain damage and concluded that each hemisphere is specialized for different function. Unfortunately, the paper received little attention and Dax died the following year, never knowing that he had anticipated one of the most exciting and productive research fields to emerge in the twentieth century. Because Dax’s paper was not widely known, credit for the discovery of hemispheric asymmetries was incorrectly given to Broca, who presented a similar paper in 1861 to a meeting of the Society of Anthropology in Paris. Broca does deserve some of the credit for the discovery of hemispheric asymmetries in that he suggested an exact area of the left frontal lobe that produces an expressive aphasia when damaged. Furthermore, Broca presented a much more impressive case for left-hemisphere lateralization of speech and language; his paper was received with enthusiasm and controversy.

In 1868, British neurologist John Hughlings Jackson proposed the idea of a “leading” hemisphere, which preceded the modern concept of “cerebral dominance,” the idea that one hemisphere is dominant for psychological functions over the other hemisphere. By 1870, Carl Wernicke, a German neurologist, had presented evidence that a specific region of the temporal lobe in the left cerebral hemisphere is essential for comprehending language and, when damaged, produces a receptive aphasia. In combination, these findings led to a widely held position that one hemisphere, usually the left, is dominant for verbal tasks and other higher functions, while the opposite hemisphere, usually the right, possesses no special function or only minor, limited functions. Even though the term “cerebral dominance” is still used today, it is generally recognized that there are no “major” or “minor” hemispheres; they are simply specialized for different tasks and information-processing styles.

The strongest early evidence for a specific function mediated primarily by the right hemisphere came from widespread assessment of brain-damaged patients on spatial relationship tests. After testing more than two hundred brain-damaged patients, T. Weisenberg and K. E. McBride concluded in 1935 that the right hemisphere is specialized for spatial relationships. These results refuted the notion of a single dominant hemisphere for all psychological functions.

Modern contributions made by Sperry, Gazzaniga, and their colleagues have been, perhaps, most instrumental in establishing the functions of the cerebral hemispheres. Their results, as well as those of neuropsychologists, have been incorporated into such areas as biological psychology, cognition, and perception. Biological psychologists are concerned with establishing the functions of various brain structures in normal subjects, including the cerebral hemispheres. Neuropsychologists contribute to laterality research by specifying the cognitive, motor, and behavioral deficits that arise following brain damage to a specific region in the cerebral cortex. Laterality research also provides information about hemispheric specialization for cognitive and perceptual processes.

Future explorations on laterality will continue to examine performance for specific tasks and information-processing strategies in each hemisphere, but with greater emphasis on localizing functions to specific brain structures. In addition, more effort will be expended on developing practical applications of laterality research in clinical and educational settings.

Bibliography

Bakker, Lars N., ed. Brain Mapping Research Developments. New York: Nova Biomedical, 2008. Print.

Davidson, Richard J., and Kenneth Hugdahl, eds. Brain Asymmetry. Cambridge: MIT P, 1996. Print.

Doron, Karl W., Danielle S. Bassett, and Michael S. Gazzaniga. "Dynamic Network Structure of Interhemispheric Coordination." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 109.46 (2012): 18661–8. Print.

Gotts, Stephen J., et al. "Two Distinct Forms of Functional Lateralization in the Human Brain." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 110.36 (2013): E3435–44. Print.

Hellige, Joseph B. Hemispheric Asymmetry: What’s Right and What’s Left. Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1993. Print.

Hugdahl, Kenneth, and Richard J. Davidson, eds. The Asymmetrical Brain. Cambridge: MIT P, 2003. Print.

Laureys, Steven, and Giulio Tononi. The Neurology of Consciousness: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuropathology. London: Academic, 2009. Print.

Springer, Sally P., and Georg Deutsch. Left Brain, Right Brain. 5th ed. New York: Freeman, 1997. Print.

What would be a good thesis statement for the themes of prejudice and discrimination in the novel The Boy in the Striped Pajamas?

Thesis Statement:

Boyne explores the theme of prejudice and discrimination throughout the novel The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by examining the relationships between characters and the adverse environment in which individuals are treated with contempt and disdain.

There are numerous scenes throughout the novel that depict certain characters expressing their prejudiced thoughts and feelings. Bruno's mother tells Pavel not to tell the Commandant that he cleaned and bandaged Bruno's wound because the Commandant would be appalled that a Jewish individual touched his son. The Commandant is prejudiced towards Jews and discriminates against them by giving the orders to Nazi soldiers to systematically slaughter them in the concentration camp. Bruno's father also displays his prejudiced towards Maria by calling her an over-paid maid. Gretel comments to Bruno that she would never play with the children at Out-With because they are dirty, which depicts her prejudiced feelings towards lower-class individuals. Lieutenant Kotler discriminates and mistreats both Pavel and Shmuel because they are Jewish. He feels that because he is German, he is superior, which gives him the right to physically assault both of them. Bruno even displays his prejudiced feelings toward other countries when he tells Shmuel that Germany is better than Poland. Bruno's grandmother is prejudiced towards the Nazi regime and voices her displeasure during a family get together.

What about the boarding house rules make it hard for Lyddie to have Rachel with her?

When Lyddie's uncle Judah brings Rachel to Lyddie for her to take care of, Lyddie introduces her to Mrs. Bedlow, the keeper of the boarding house. Immediately she sees the warning in Mrs. Bedlows's eyes that Rachel will not be able to stay there. The boarding house is owned by the Concord Corporation specifically for the purpose of housing the female factory workers. No men or children, other than the keeper's own children, are allowed to stay in the boardinghouse. Lyddie suggests that Rachel could work for the factory as a doffer, and in that case, she would be allowed to stay. Mrs. Bedlow replies that Rachel is not old enough nor physically strong enough to do even the easiest jobs at the factory. Mrs. Bedlow agrees to bend the rules to let Rachel stay for no more than two weeks. She says that Rachel can't go outside--no one must see her, or Mrs. Bedlow could get in trouble for breaking the rules of the corporation's boarding house. Lyddie has to pay Mrs. Bedlow full room and board for her to keep Rachel, but even so, Mrs. Bedlow is terse with Rachel because she is "just scared to break a rule," as Lyddie explains to Rachel. Lyddie knows she is taking a risk as well. If she breaks the rules of the corporation, she can be fired from her job, and then, as she says to Rachel, "then what would we do, ey?" 

What are three ways in which Lady Macbeth influences Macbeth to kill people?

Lady Macbeth attempts to take control of everything, she wounds Macbeth's pride, and she uses guilt to try to coerce him to kill Duncan.  When he first arrives home, she tells him exactly how to act and what to do.  She says,

"you shall put / This night's great business into my dispatch, / Which shall to all our nights and days to come / Give solely sovereign sway and masterdom" (1.5.79-82). 

She wants Macbeth to let her make all the decisions about the evening, presumably including the murder of Duncan as well, because she believes that tonight will change all their future days and nights for the better (because it will lead to them becoming king and queen).  In attempting to control everything, she seems to try to make it very easy for him to go along with her plans.

Later, when Macbeth tries to back out of their plan, Lady Macbeth tells him that if he doesn't go through with it, he will have to "live a coward in [his] own esteem" and that his hope must have been drunk when he committed, though now it "look[s] so green and pale / At what it did so freely" (1.7.47, 1.7.41-42).  Further, she says that "When [he] durst do it, then [he was] a man" (1.7.56).  In other words, he will not really be a man if he doesn't go through with the murder, and he will have to think of himself as a coward for the rest of his life.  In wounding his pride this way, Lady Macbeth attempts to compel him to recommit to their plan.

Finally, she tries to guilt-trip Macbeth into killing Duncan.  She says that she would kill her own baby if she had promised him she would rather than renege on that promise, "had [she] so sworn as [he] / [Has] done to this" (1.7.66-67).  In other words, she wants him to feel really guilty for promising her that he would do something and then backing out.  Lady Macbeth also says, "From this time / Such I account thy love" (1.7.42-43).  So, she says that he must not love her very much if he is willing to be such a coward and break a promise to her.  By trying to make him feel guilty and wounding his pride, Lady Macbeth successfully appeals to Macbeth to proceed with Duncan's murder.

The narrator of “The Love of a Good Woman” by Alice Munro says of Enid that “[s]he had never thought of nursing as just something to do until...

In reality, there is no “right” answer to the question as to whether Enid is a "good woman" or not.  You can use specifics in the text to prove that Enid is not a “good woman” due to the fact that Enid is not a rich wife and mother.  Likewise, you can use specifics in the text to prove that Enid is a good woman in that she has compassion for others, wants to find out the truth, and has normal urges.

In my opinion, Enid is most definitely a “good woman,” but not necessarily in the way society defines.  In fact, Enid laments that society defines a “good woman” as a simple homemaker:  a wife and mother.  Enid is neither of those things; however, Enid is an amazing nurse who shows great compassion for Mrs. Quinn, who is quite young and dying of kidney failure.  Society’s definition of a “good woman” can be summed up in the following quote:

Her mother had not wanted Enid to go into nursing in the first place, claiming that it was something poor girls did.

Enid is obviously not rich and is going against her mother’s wishes when she decides to become a nurse.  However, Enid is exceptional in the profession she has chosen.  Enid always listens to Mrs. Quinn’s outlandish stories, and she cares for her patient well and with compassion.  A “good woman” like Enid is perfectly able to feel love for men (such as Rupert in the story) as well as have very normal dreams of an erotic nature.  It is also normal for Enid to want to test questionable characters (such as Rupert) to see if they can be trusted.  Enid wants to believe that true love and real trust exist.  This is why she tests Rupert.  Unfortunately, the reader never learns the outcome and is left wondering about many things.

What would happen if we remove a producer from a food web?

Every trophic level in a food web is important because each level depends on the level below it for food energy. 

The producers or autotrophs, which include green plants and algae, capture solar energy and transform it into the chemical energy found in food, such as glucose sugar. They do this by carrying out photosynthesis--chemically combining water and carbon dioxide in the presence of light energy to produce glucose sugar plus oxygen.

The removal of the producers would cause the collapse of the entire food web. Primary consumers or herbivores, which feed on producers directly, would die off. The next to be affected would be the secondary consumers or carnivores that eat the primary consumers. Higher level consumers would suffer as organisms from lower trophic levels start to die off. Decomposers would break down the bodies of dead organisms, returning their basic elements and compounds to the environment. However, even these dead organisms would run out and the entire food web would collapse.

To conclude, in a food web, the removal of any trophic level upsets the balance within the web and can cause its eventual collapse. Because producers capture solar energy and convert it to food energy, their loss would affect every other level of the food web.

I have attached a link with a great diagram of a food web in Chesapeake Bay.

In Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, what is the purpose of bringing the Nurse and Friar Laurence together in Act 3, Scene 3? Could it have been...

The reason for bringing the Nurse and Friar Laurence together in Act 3, Scene 3 depends upon the reading of the play. Let's examine a couple of possible reasons these characters interact, and you can determine whether or how the scene could have been different.

One reason the Nurse and Friar Laurence meet in Act 3, Scene 3 speaks to the theme of fate in the play. Throughout the play, Shakespeare reinforces the idea that these "star-crossed lovers" are doomed. Therefore, the Nurse and Friar Laurence must meet in order to set the action of the finale in motion. The Nurse comes with assurances that Juliet still loves Romeo, and Friar Laurence chides Romeo for wailing like a girl when his Juliet lives and still loves him. The Nurse and Friar Laurence aid in reconciling the young lovers, sealing their fate.

Another reason the Nurse and Friar Laurence meet could be an instance of dramatic irony. Though it's become popular to view Romeo and Juliet's marriage as normal for the Elizabethan era, the opposite is true. Historians agree that men and women typically did not marry until their 20s or even 30s -- even nobles. It's critically important to understand that Romeo and Juliet are children, as Shakespeare shows both of them exhibiting the best and worst qualities of children (impetuousness, devotion, forgiveness, lack of control).

In bringing the Nurse and Friar Laurence together, Shakespeare brings together the two adult characters that have enough sway over Romeo and Juliet to put an end to the highly emotional fallout of Tybalt's death. Alas, the adults do not step in and protect the children, but instead conspire to bring them together. Because the children achieve their own desires, and no adult steps in to guide them, the play ends tragically.

How does "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" by Ambrose Bierce develop its genre(s) as it addresses particular social, cultural and historical...

"An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" is a short story that is difficult, if not impossible to categorize. Certainly, there are elements of the literary movements of Realism and Naturalism and the genre of satire, but at the same time, there is a manipulation of language, perspective, and time in the narrative that evince elements of psychological fiction.

• Realism and Naturalism

In Part I of Bierce's narrative, there is very close attention to realistic detail as the story opens with an objective point of view. There is a journalistic reporting of the setting and action, of the instruments of war, and of the men who attend to military etiquette in "silence and fixity."
Furthermore, with the description of death as a dignitary, Bierce emphasizes the insensitive military efficiency and the detachment of the scene. The use of the word "body," rather than man, also conveys the insensitivity of war and the indifference of nature to what transpires as is characteristic of Naturalism. 

As third-person narrator, Ambrose Bierce, who himself served in the Civil War, takes rather caustic aim at the "well-to-do planter" who has not enlisted in the army, but now wishes "to perform in the aid of the South." Bierce depicts without sentiment Peyton Farquhar's having been so easily deceived by the Northern soldier who tempts him to sabotage the bridge, thereby ridiculing those who feel themselves socially superior. Also, through his characterization of Farquhar, Bierce satires the romantic illusions that some held about war. The man's romantic escape from death is cynically terminated with the matter-of-fact ending:

Peyton Farquhar was dead; his body, with a broken neck, swung gently from side to side beneath the timbers of the Owl Creek bridge.

• Psychological fiction

At the end of Section I, Bierce changes the realistic reporting of the narrative as the narration slows time and amplifies sound, thus moving the narration into Farquar's perspective. Then, Sections II and III become more psychological narratives as they are revelations of Farquar's thoughts and sensations. Interestingly, in Section III Bierce vacillates between a first-person and third-person limited narration that conveys Farquar's dream-like state as he disassociates himself from his own body:

He opened his eyes in the darkness and saw above him a gleam of light, but how distant, how inaccessible!....He was not conscious of an effort, but a sharp pain in his wrist apprised him that he was trying to free his hands. He gave the struggle his attention, as an idler might observe the feat of a juggler, without interest in the outcome.

Here in this passage, as in subsequent passages, are allusions to Freudian dream theories and Freud's contention that man is adept at self-deception. For, Freud held that when faced with a reality that is too difficult to accept, man's mind escapes into fantasy. 

• Social, cultural, and historical topics

The interpretation of the Union soldier's trick invites various responses. While some readers may feel that Bierce is sympathetic to the Confederates, others may think that Bierce ridicules the naive complacency of Southern aristocrats. Also, some may interpret the story as an examination of the waste and brutality of war. Certainly, "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" points to the tragic rift which occurred between the North and the South, a rift which has never entirely healed from a war that destroyed the innocence of a nation.

In To Kill a Mockingbird, what is the relationship between Scout and Atticus?

Atticus and Scout have a traditional father-daughter relationship in some aspects, but in other aspects they interact more like friends. Atticus has expectations and rules for Scout. He teaches her about respect and good manners. Atticus trusts Scout and speaks to her like an adult. He shows that he respects her. Scout goes to her father with difficult questions, and he speaks to her without censoring his words.

The relationship Atticus has with Scout it a combination of parent and friend. Scout describes her father as someone who "played with us, read to us, and treated us with courteous detachment" (Chapter 1).

Scout trusts and admires her father. Atticus admires Scout's courage and willingness to confront problems. Scout feels safe when her father is around. She knows that he loves her. Atticus gives Scout and Jem space to play and explore. He rarely gets involved with their playtime.

What are cancer pain management medications?

Cancers diagnosed or treated: Medications and other therapies that control pain symptoms are used in patients with any type of cancer; types of treatment depend on the type of pain experienced, which can be determined by the type of cancer or type of treatment (chemotherapy, radiation, surgery) used.

Subclasses of this group: Numerous classes of drugs are useful in the treatment of cancer pain, including nonopioid analgesics, opioid analgesics, tricyclic antidepressants, and anticonvulsants.

Delivery routes: These drugs may be administered orally in tablets, capsules, or solutions; topically as patches, creams, or intranasal sprays; rectally as suppositories; submucosally as lozenges; or intravenously, intramuscularly, or subcutaneously as injectable solutions and suspensions. The drugs may be administered in outpatient, inpatient, or drop-in clinic settings.

How these drugs work: Cancer pain has historically been a cause for concern in patients and caregivers alike. The treatment of pain as a whole and in cancer patients is often poorly or inadequately managed, despite numerous available treatment options. Implementation of pain management guidelines and increased awareness of health professionals about the role of pain and the importance of pain assessment in cancer therapy, however, have improved the control of many types of cancer pain.

Different types of pain require different forms of treatment. Two main types of pain include nociceptive pain resulting from actual damage to or inflammation of a tissue or organ (visceral pain) or to bone (somatic pain) and neuropathic pain, which results from nerve damage or compression. Any source of pain may cause acute, chronic, or breakthrough pain.

Nociceptive or neuropathic pain occurring in the cancer patient may result from various sources, all with differing mechanisms. Approximately 75 percent of cancer-related pain results from the tumor itself because of invasion or compression of soft tissue, bone, or nerves. Another 20 percent results from treatments such as radiation, chemotherapy, and surgical biopsy, all of which can be associated with mucositis, neuropathy, infection, and other complications.

Although many options are available to control cancer pain, pharmacologic therapy is the primary, most successful method. Other options include removal of cancer in patients whose tumor compression is the pain source; neurosurgical treatments such as epidural blocks in patients whose pain is not adequately controlled with other options; complementary therapies such as relaxation techniques, massage, and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS); and psychological treatments that include behavioral or lifestyle changes and support groups.

Analgesic pharmacotherapy and adjuvant medications are primarily used to control cancer pain, and most patients experience pain severe enough to require opioid analgesia. Pain falls into many categories, which then dictate treatment options. These categories include mild-to-moderate pain, moderate-to-severe pain, breakthrough pain, and neuropathic pain. Most types of pain in cancer patients are considered chronic, with only breakthrough pain being an acute situation that requires quick-acting relief.

Mild-to-moderate pain may be relieved with nonopioid medications; aspirin, acetaminophen, and ibuprofen or other
nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are the primary options. Nonopioid analgesics act primarily on the peripheral nervous system to reduce pain or inflammation at the tissue, organ, bone, or incision site. The anti-inflammatory activity of NSAIDs is useful in particular for bone pain, muscle compression, and some tissue pains from swelling.

Moderate-to-severe pain often requires opioid analgesic therapy. Drugs in the opioid class include oxycodone, propoxyphene, hydrocodone, morphine, hydromorphone, meperidine, and fentanyl. Opioids work in the central nervous system by binding to pain receptors, namely mu, kappa, and/or delta, to induce analgesia. Opioids fall into three categories of activity: pure agonists (such as morphine, codeine, fentanyl, hydromorphine, oxycodone, methadone), pure antagonists (such as naloxone) used to reverse opioid toxicity but without their own analgesia, and mixed or partial agonists/antagonists (such as pentazocine, butorphanol, buprenorphine) that are used in more acute settings because of limited analgesic activity. Pure receptor agonists are primarily used for the control of chronic pain. Most opioid agonists are mu or kappa receptor-selective, although individual agents may have varying amounts of activity at the two receptor subtypes and can be synergistic with each other. Because each opioid agonist interacts uniquely and to differing degrees with mu and kappa receptors, and because patient response to each drug varies, substitutions within the class should be considered before giving up on opioid therapy when pain control is incomplete.

Cancer patients often require high doses of opioids for long periods of time. Important considerations in the long-term management of pain using analgesic therapy are tolerance, withdrawal, addiction, inadequate control, and breakthrough pain. Psychological dependence, or addiction, is uncommon with the appropriate use of opiates, even when doses are increased in response to tolerance. Although the mechanisms driving opiate tolerance are unclear, dosage increases usually improve tolerance of a single agent and are limited only by side effects. Although withdrawal symptoms are possible as a result of physical dependence, tapering doses in reverse often ameliorates these concerns. Adequate control is difficult because of the highly subjective nature of pain. Patients respond differently to pain and to pain medications, and they often fail to report inadequate relief because of personal concerns about dependence or addiction. Communication between health care professionals and patients, however, often resolves this concern, and patients become comfortable with around-the-clock pain control.

Breakthrough pain, or pain that occurs despite existing pain medications, usually requires a quick-acting, short-acting secondary medication (such as immediate-release morphine tablets or submucosal fentanyl) to provide relief.

Opioids do provide confirmed relief of peripherally mediated neuropathic pain as well. Adjuvant therapies also play a large role in the treatment of specific pain situations, including neuropathic pain. Common adjuvant drug classes used for neuropathic pain control include tricyclic antidepressants, anticonvulsants, benzodiazepines, and corticosteroids. Tricyclic antidepressants (such as amitriptyline, nortriptyline, and desimpramine) provide established analgesic effects for chronic neuropathic pain through monoamine-related pain-modulating systems in addition to and often prior to the separate relief of depressive symptoms by neurotransmitter alterations. Anticonvulsants (such as phenytoin, valproate, carbamazepine, and clonazepam) usually provide analgesia through the reduction of neuronal excitation or abnormal discharge. Benzodiazepines (such as diazepam and midazolam) have established benefits, through psychotropic and muscle-relaxant activity, in the treatment of neuropathic pain, and they reduce anxiety and associated muscle spasm. Finally, corticosteroids (such as dexamethasone) provide nonselective analgesic effects that are useful for malignant, advanced pain at long-term, low doses and for severe, unresponsive neuropathic pain at short-term, very high doses. Steroids also have nonanalgesic anti-inflammatory benefits that reduce tumor-associated swelling.

Side effects: Because of the varied treatments used to control cancer pain, side effects also differ. General concerns include breakthrough pain, medication tolerance, and withdrawal symptoms. Withdrawal symptoms vary with medication choice and length of use but include rapid breathing, yawning, perspiration, agitation, increased heart rate, muscle twitching, and loss of appetite.

Nonopioid analgesics are not associated with dependence, tolerance, or addiction, although all have a maximum analgesic dose. Select concerns with these agents include liver function damage with acetaminophen and gastrointestinal disturbances or damage with aspirin and NSAIDs.

Opioid side effects include constipation (which can be prophylactically treated with stool softeners), nausea, vomiting, pruritus, and sedation. Respiratory depression is possible in patients with decreased pulmonary function. Many side effects can limit the potential use of a particular opiate but do not rule out the entire class, because the side effects (like the analgesic effects) are linked to specific mu and kappa receptors. For example, constipation and respiratory depression are linked to mu receptor activity.

Adjuvant side effects vary drastically; overlapping toxicities are a primary concern, because adjuvant medications are often combined with each other or with opioids to provide pain relief.

Ballantyne, J. C. “Opioid Analgesia: Perspectives on Right Use and Utility.” Pain Physician 10.3 (2007): 479–91. Print.

Brennan, F., D. B. Carr, and M. Cousins. “Pain Management: A Fundamental Human Right.” Anesthesia & Analgesia 105.1 (2007): 205–21. Print.

Burton, A. W., et al. “Chronic Pain in the Cancer Survivor: A New Frontier.” Pain Medicine 8.2 (2007): 189–98. Print.

Davies, Pamela Stitzlein, and Yvonne M D'Arcy. Compact Clinical Guide to Cancer Pain Management: An Evidence-Based Approach for Nurses. New York: Springer, 2013. Digital file.

Farquhar-Smith, Paul, and Tim Wigmore. Anaesthesia, Intensive Care, and Pain Management for the Cancer Patient. New York: Oxford UP, 2011. Print.

Fisch, Michael J., and Allen W. Burton, eds. Cancer Pain Management. New York: McGraw, 2007. Print.

Hester, Joan, Nigel Sykes, and Sue Peat. Interventional Pain Control in Cancer Pain Management. New York: Oxford UP, 2012. Print.

Waldman, Steven D. Pain Management. 2nd ed. Philadelphia: Elsevier/Saunders, 2011. Print.

After she stands in front of the Radley house that night, what does Scout realize that Boo has done?

Boo quietly asked Scout to take him home. She took his arm and walked him home down the dark street. Scout walked him up to the porch and he went inside. This was the last time she ever saw Boo Radley.

Scout stood in front of the Radley house and thought about Boo. He had given her and Jem so much. He was a neighbor, but he was more than that. He had become their friend. She thought about all that Boo had given them:

He gave us two soap dolls, a broken watch and chain, a pair of good-luck pennies, and our lives (To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 31).

Boo had saved their lives that night. Without him, Bob Ewell would have killed them both. Sadly, Scout realized that she and Jem had never given anything to Boo. He had left them gifts in the knot-hole, and she and Jem had eagerly accepted them. They had not given him gifts in return.

Which elements have 2 electrons in their outermost orbit? Which family do they belong to?

The electrons located in the outermost orbit of an atom are called valence electrons.

The family of elements that contain two valence electrons is called the Alkaline Earth Metal family. The Alkaline Earth Metal elements are located in column 2 of the periodic table. The elements in this family are: Beryllium (Be), Magnesium (Mg), Calcium (Ca), Strontium (Sr), Barium (Ba), and Radium (Ra). 

The elements in column 1 of the periodic table are called the Alkali Metals. These elements have 1 valence electron.

The elements in column 13 of the periodic table have 3 valence electrons.

The elements in column 14 of the periodic table have 4 valence electrons.

The elements in column 15 of the periodic table have 5 valence electrons.

The elements in column 16 of the periodic table have 6 valence electrons.

The elements in column 17 of the periodic table are called the Halogens. These elements have 7 valence electrons.

The elements in column 18 of the periodic table are called the Noble Gases. These elements have 8 valence electrons, except for helium (He) which has 2 valence electrons.

In Lyddie by Katherine Paterson, why does Lyddie feel envious in Chapter 18, and what does she do with that feeling?

At the start of Chapter 18, Charlie has come to visit Lyddie.  He tells Lyddie that he has a very good life living with the Phinneys.  He gets to go to school and live in a house with a mother and father of sorts.  He gets to be "normal," and he seems quite happy.  Additionally, the Phinneys would like to take Rachel on as their daughter, too.  The entire situation makes Lyddie feel jealous, because she has been working her fingers to the bone to try and scrape up enough money to keep the farm and pay off all of the family debt.  She's envious because she feels that she is doing all of the work and Charlie is the one getting the good life.  

Lyddie doesn't do anything with those feelings, though.  She quietly swallows her thoughts and allows Rachel to be taken back to the country with Charlie.  The feelings of jealously do not last long, but they are replaced with all around depression.  At the beginning of Chapter 19, the reader sees Lyddie struggling to find a purpose for herself at all.  

My heart is heavy, she thought. It’s not just a saying. It is what is— heavy, a great stone lodged in my breast, pressing down my whole being. How can I even stand straight and look out upon the world? I am doubled over into myself and, for all the weight, find only emptiness.

What does the domestic setting of "A Jury of Her Peers" contribute to the story?

Before Mrs. Hale, Mrs. Peters, and the three men even get to the domestic setting, Glaspell sets the mood with the external setting. Describing the Wright house, she notes: 

It looked very lonesome this cold March morning. It had always been a lonesome-looking place. 

This initial mood of coldness and loneliness will correspond to the cold and loveless marriage between Mr. and Mrs. Wright. This is something that only Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters notice and acknowledge. 

As Mrs. Hale walks in the door to the kitchen, she realizes this is the first time she's been there. She regrets not having visited Minnie (Foster) Wright before. This underscores how lonely Minnie must have been. The domestic setting is significant because it is the place where Minnie spent most of her time. Later, Mrs. Hale explains how Minnie used to sing in the choir, "But that--oh, that was twenty years ago." So, the domestic setting is also somewhat of a prison for Minnie. Perhaps this occurred to Minnie when she decided to kill her husband. In other words, trading one prison for another would not make much difference. 

The other significant aspect about the domestic setting is how the men and women interpret it differently. The men are looking through the house for evidence to incriminate Minnie. The women end up discovering evidence of a lonely life, an abusive husband (the dead bird), and a dreary environment in general: 

Everyone in the kitchen looked at the rocker. It came into Mrs. Hale's mind that that rocker didn't look in the least like Minnie Foster--the Minnie Foster of twenty years before. It was a dingy red, with wooden rungs up the back, and the middle rung was gone, and the chair sagged to one side. 

Mrs. Hale's thoughts show how Minnie used to be much more full of life. The person she had become, Minnie Wright, is symbolized by this rundown, damaged chair. In this domestic setting, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters see evidence of a neglected house and this suggests a neglected wife. 

In Animal Farm, why is it significant that the milk disappears?

The disappearance of the milk demonstrates that the pigs are starting to exert control.  The animals assume that the milk and apples will be shared by all animals.  The cows have to be milked, and the apples that fall on the ground have to be eaten.  Animal Farm is supposed to be a collective effort. 

This also demonstrates the sneaky manner in which the pigs took the milk and apples.  They did not announce that they were doing it, and did not explain until they were questioned.  Napoleon said, "Never mind the milk, comrades!"  He obviously had plans for the pigs to steal it.

The mystery of where the milk went to was soon cleared up. It was mixed every day into the pigs' mash. … The animals had assumed as a matter of course that [the apples] would be shared out equally; one day, however, the order went forth that all the windfalls were to be collected and brought to the harness room for the use of the pigs. (Ch. 3) 

Squealer explains that the pigs are the brainworkers of the farm, and they need the milk and apples because they have to work to keep the farm running.  The pigs are making themselves in charge.  They are taking the best things for themselves. 

The way the pigs took the milk and apples is only the beginning.  Slowly, the pigs alter all of the Seven Commandments as they find they need to.  They begin sleeping in the house, they drink alcohol, and kill sheep and hens that were supposedly in league with Snowball, whom they say is a traitor.  They also begin trading with the humans. Eventually, the pigs actually walk on two legs and carry whips in their trotters.  They are soon no different from the people they replaced.

From chapter 11 of To Kill a Mockingbird, please provide examples of imagery, personification, metaphor and dialect.

Chapter 11 discusses the Mrs. Dubose saga, which brings with it many opportunities to find examples in the text for imagery, metaphors, and dialect because it is full of verbal and physical drama. First, Mrs. Dubose likes to holler rude and crude things from her porch at Jem and Scout. This creates most of the drama. "Jem was scarlet" (102) is an example of a metaphor about how he reacts to Mrs. Dubose calling his father insulting names. Jem perpetuates the drama by chopping off the tops of her camellia bushes. The description of Atticus coming home after finding out what Jem had done that day includes images that have to do with the senses of sight and sound, as follows:

"Two geological ages later, we heard the soles of Atticus's shoes scrape the front steps. The screen door slammed, there was a pause--Atticus was at the hat rack in the hall--and we heard him call, 'Jem!' His voice was like the winter wind" (103).

Scout uses the words "scrape," "slammed" and "wind" to describe the sounds associated with how a father comes home after learning upsetting news about his son's behavior that day. She also adds a cold simile--"like the winter wind"--to accentuate what the atmosphere felt like when Jem was called to his father's attention.

Dialect has to do with the way people from a specific geographical area speak. For the South in the 1930s, for example, people didn't think twice before using the N-word in any form--politely or disrespectfully. Mrs. Dubose is a great example because she has no filter with that word at all. She's also not shy to use it when referring to the children's father, Atticus. Other trends in dialect can be seen when characters talk to each other in informal settings. For example, when some people in Maycomb talk casually to each other, they drop the last letters of their words. Lee places apostrophes where sounds of letters are dropped from certain words, such as "an'" for the word "and," "goin'" for the word "going," and then some words are changed completely like "ain't" for "isn't. This also helps the reader to detect the southern accent normally associated with people from the southern states.

In "The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry, what is the irony of describing Madame Sofronie as "large, too white, chilly," of and that she "hardly...

In the story, the irony is that Madame Sofronie does not live up to the possibilities in her name. Due to the foreign character of the name 'Sofronie,' images of elegance or even mystery come to mind when we imagine what the proprietor is like. Perhaps, part of this is due to our presumptions and preconceived notions about names.

When Della meets her, Madame Sofronie is 'large, too white, chilly.' In other words, she is unfriendly, overweight, and definitely very common. She exhibits neither charm nor manners. The pretty Della receives a cold reception from Madame Sofronie. Because Della is also poor, the hair dealer thinks that she can get away with her contemptuous treatment of the young woman. Her very abrupt 'Take yer hat off and let’s have a sight at the look's of it' is both business-like as well as patronizing. Her brusque manner demonstrates her petty attitude and her callous disregard for her customer. Madame Sofronie hardly looks 'the Sofronie' to Della, and she doesn't seem to care.

Her practiced business acumen leads her to announce that she will only give Della twenty dollars for her beautiful brown hair. Della has no choice but to accept the offer. Madame Sofronie is the complete opposite of everything her name implies; therein lies the irony.

Of all the secrets revealed in An Inspector Calls, which one is the most shocking to an audience and why?

The most shocking secret is probably the fact that Eric had made Eva Smith pregnant and that he had, out of desperation, stolen money from his father's business in order to support her. 

The reason why the revelation is so powerful is because firstly, Eric is the youngest member of the Birling family and that one would expect that he would, due to his youth, have had the least involvement with the unfortunate young woman. He appears, from the outset, to be quite upset about inspector Goole's assertions and, at one time, accuses him of having spoilt their little get-together. He is quite uncomfortable and promises to leave. He blurts out toward the end of act one, "Look here, I've had enough of this." He then informs the inspector that he had a little too much to drink and feels that he is in the way and wishes to go to bed.

Eric is also strongly critical of those he believes had done Eva Smith an injustice and continuously makes derisive comments in this regard. We do gradually learn throughout the play, though, that he lives a fairly secretive life. Both Sheila Birling and Gerald Croft  reveal that he had been steadily drinking more and more for the past two years - a revelation that shocks his mother.

What also makes the revelation about Eric's complicity in Eva's death surprising is the fact that she had been turned down for assistance when she approached the charity organization, chaired by Mrs. Birling, for financial assistance.  She rejected the destitute young woman's appeal for she thought her impudent and 'putting on airs.' She told Eva that the father of her unborn child was responsible and that she should approach him for help.

At this point, we have a growing suspicion about Eric's involvement, but we are not quite sure. Sheila displays a growing awareness of where the inspector is heading to with his interrogation of Mrs. Birling, which heightens not only the tension but also our expectation of what is to come next.

Even though the audience is prepared for the actual disclosure about Eric's role in the affair, it does not make it any less shocking when the truth is finally revealed: He had initially forced himself upon her and they later met again. Eva fell pregnant but did not want to marry Eric. It was then that he started stealing money from his father's firm to support her. When she discovered that he was providing her stolen money, she refused to accept any more. It was then that she decided to appeal to the charity for help. Her request was coldly rejected by the haughty Mrs. Birling.

In the end, Eva felt that she had no way out other than to kill herself. Her death, therefore, was as a direct result of Eric's actions and his mother's uncaring arrogance. Although all of the other characters had a role to play in her gradual descent into hopelessness, his actions were what eventually 'broke the camel's back.'

Where was Black Beauty born and raised in Black Beauty by Anna Sewell?

Black Beauty is born and grows up in the English countryside.

Beauty remembers first a pleasant meadow in which he lives with his mother. He has many a happy day, frolicking in this meadow and being well-treated by the master. His mother teaches "Darkie," as he is called by the master, to not bite or kick, telling him of the proud line from which he has come. His mother tells him of his grandmother, who had a very sweet temperament, and his father, who had a great name, as well as his grandfather, who won the "cup" at the Newmarket races on two occasions.

As "Darkie" grows to adulthood, Squire Gordon comes to look at him and seems to like the young stallion. He tells the master that when the horse is trained, he will be interested in purchasing him. "Darkie" learns to pull a carriage by going in double harness with his mother, whose example he follows. She instructs him to behave well in order to be treated well.

Then, in early May a man comes from Squire Gordon's and takes "Darkie" to Birtwick Park, which is outside the village of Birtwick. He lives with the Gordons, who rename him Beauty, for a number of years. Later on, Mrs. Gordon's health becomes endangered and she must move to a warmer climate. Beauty and the other horses are sold. He and Ginger are sold as a pair to pull a carriage and go to Earlshall Park.

What is trachoma?

Causes and Symptoms

Trachoma is caused by the
Chlamydia trachomatia bacteria. It is carried primarily by children throughout the developing world, where water is scarce and washing is difficult. Combined with a general lack of hygiene, blowing dust and smoke from cooking fires provide a perfect environment for Chlamydia trachomatia
bacteria to take hold.

Flies
from refuse areas crawl on faces of children who sleep in crowded conditions. The insects
touch those children with the bacteria, then infect and reinfect others rapidly throughout an entire village. The eyes
become red, painful, and sticky, causing irritation to the underside of the eyelid. Infection easily spreads as children touch the faces of their mothers and other children.

Left untreated, the eyelid and eyelashes turn in, damaging the cornea. The disease becomes more painful and injurious to adults as the eyelashes break off. This bristle-like effect lacerates the cornea and opaque scarring builds (a condition called trichiasis).
Blindness
is inevitable, usually by the age of forty to fifty.

Treatment and Therapy

Tetracycline eye ointment, twice a day for six weeks, gets rid of the infection. Face cleansing, especially for children, is the best way to prevent infection, along with environmental improvement and education. After the disease has advanced, the last hope is a surgical procedure to rotate the eyelid to its original position. The procedure is relatively simple. Nurses, medical assistants, and technicians can be trained to perform it at local clinics. Efforts to eliminate Musca sorbens, the aggressive flies in Africa and Asia, are also effective in controlling trachoma.

Perspective and Prospects

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates trachoma has blinded 6 million of the 38 million blind people in the world. Active infectious trachoma affects 150 million children. Areas most affected are Mexico, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Egypt, Kenya, China, Myanmar, and interior Australia.

In 1997, WHO launched a concerted effort to control trachomatous blindness by forming a consortium, the Global Elimination of Trachoma by 2020 (GET 2020). Strategy for GET 2020 is summarized by the acronym “SAFE,” which refers to the four field-tested activities for control of trachoma; surgery, antibiotics (tetracycline), clean faces, and environmental change. Trachoma control is one of the most affordable health interventions.

Education of the peoples involved is difficult. Because the disease is not fatal, they have little concern, accepting the disease as a fact of life. Mothers are being educated to find time to retrieve well water for washing their children’s faces even when drought and poverty make feeding their families a trial. Mothers are being taught to understand the relationship between dirt on children’s faces and the eye diseases making their own eyes red and sore. As such environmental improvement techniques are taught, villages are motivated to cooperate with worldwide and local agencies in the interest of curing trachoma.

Bibliography:

Buettner, Helmut, ed. Mayo Clinic on Vision and Eye Health: Practical Answers on Glaucoma, Cataracts, Macular Degeneration, and Other Conditions. Rochester, Minn.: Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 2002.

Dawson, Chandler. “Flies and the Elimination of Blinding Trachoma.” The Lancet 353, no. 9162 (April 24, 1999): 1376.

Hertle, Richard, David B. Schaffer, and Jill A. Foster, eds. Pediatric Eye Disease: Color Atlas and Synopsis. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2002.

Johnson, Gordon J., et al., eds. The Epidemiology of Eye Disease. 2d ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.

Mayo Clinic. "Trachoma." Mayo Clinic, October 3, 2012.

Miller, Stephen J. H. Parsons’ Diseases of the Eye. 19th ed. New York: Elsevier, 2002.

Schachterm, J., et al. “Azithromycin in Control of Trachoma.” The Lancet 354, no. 9179 (May, 1999): 630.

Sutton, Amy L., ed. Eye Care Sourcebook: Basic Consumer Health Information About Eye Care and Eye Disorders. 3d ed. Detroit, Mich.: Omnigraphics, 2008.

Vorvick, Linda J. "Trachoma." MedlinePlus, September 3, 2012.

World Health Organization. "Global Health Observatory: Trachoma." World Health Organization, 2013.

In "The Black Cat" by Edgar Allan Poe, how do the narrator's feelings differ when he kills the cat and when he kills his wife?

The narrator in "The Black Cat" is an obvious sociopath, incapable of feeling true remorse or guilt. Nevertheless, as he tells his tale, he recounts a regression into further depths of depravity. Therefore, when he kills his first cat, Pluto, he is somewhat horrified at his deed, and for months it bothers him with a "half-sentiment that seemed, but was not, remorse." Still, as he reports it, he is not satisfied with himself after killing the cat, and he plunges further into alcoholism.

After killing his wife, however, no such half-sentiments plague him. Instead, he is intent on covering up his crime, and when he has carefully hidden the corpse behind a brick wall in the cellar, he is pleased with himself, stating, "I felt satisfied that all was right." He only resolves after that to kill the cat, and when he believes it has run away, he experiences great relief. He begins to believe that his future happiness is guaranteed and reports, "The guilt of my dark deed disturbed me but little." Strangely, he is actually proud of his cover-up, so much so that he draws the police who are investigating his wife's disappearance into the cellar to further confirm to himself his skill at obfuscating his crime. He feels absolutely no guilt at this point--only pride in successfully hiding the body.

The difference in the way the narrator reacts to the two killings, if we can trust his account, reflects his further descent into depravity to the point where he is not only not quite capable of feeling remorse for his evil deed, but in the end completely incapable of feeling guilt. However, keeping in mind that the narrator in the story is highly unreliable, one might question whether he actually feels any level of remorse over the death of the cat and is troubled by it only because his crime is apparent to his neighbors and his wife. When his later crime is fully hidden, on the other hand, he feels comfortable with it. Such reactions are consistent with sociopathic attitudes and behavior.

What are personality disorders?

Introduction

Personality is a term used to describe long-standing patterns of thinking, behaving, and feeling. A group of traits that are consistently displayed are considered to be part of a person’s personality. A person’s mood, for example, is considered to be a more fleeting expression of one’s overall personality. Personality comprises traits, attitudes, behaviors, and coping styles that develop throughout childhood and adolescence. Personality can be thought of as a relatively consistent style of relating to others and the environment, developing as a result of genetic and environmental influences. Psychologists have developed several theories to explain personality development. Austrian psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud
believed that personality development originates in early childhood. Freud proposed that personality emerges as a result of unconscious conflicts between unacceptable aggressive and hedonistic instincts and societal mores. According to Freud, unresolved unconscious conflicts from childhood later influence personality development. In contrast to Freud’s psychoanalytic theories about personality, other researchers focused on specific traits as the building blocks of personality development. Many classification systems have been developed in an attempt to organize and categorize personality traits and styles. The Big Five system proposes that five basic trait dimensions underlie personality structure: extroversion versus introversion, agreeableness versus disagreeableness, conscientiousness versus impulsiveness, emotional stability versus neuroticism, and openness to experience versus rigidity. Personality disorders may reflect extreme variants of these basic personality dimensions.

The personality disorders are a group of psychological disorders characterized by inflexible and maladaptive patterns of relating to others that result in impairments in day-to-day functioning. The personality disorders are reflected by personality traits that are significantly extreme or exaggerated, making it difficult to establish functional relationships with others. According to the
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
(DSM-V) of the American Psychiatric Association, the personality disorders are defined by an enduring pattern of inner experience and behavior that is consistently dysfunctional and creates impairment in functioning. Symptoms of personality disorders are usually evident by early adulthood, coinciding with the developmental period when personality patterns have become established in most people. The DSM-V identifies ten major personality disorders: paranoid personality disorder, schizoid personality disorder, schizotypal personality disorder, borderline personality disorder, antisocial personality disorder, narcissistic personality disorder, histrionic personality disorder, avoidant personality disorder, dependent personality disorder, and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder. The personality disorders are broken down into three groups, or clusters, based on similar symptomatology.

Cluster A

The personality disorders in Cluster A consist of paranoid personality disorder, schizoid personality disorder, and schizotypal personality disorder. The behavior of people with a cluster A personality disorder is described as odd or eccentric.

Paranoid personality disorder is characterized by a pervasive distrust of others, chronic suspicion about others’ motives, and paranoid thinking. Others often avoid individuals with paranoid personality disorder, which reinforces their mistrust of others. The suspicion is chronic and creates a difficulty in establishing and maintaining interpersonal relationships. Paranoid personality disorder is more prevalent in males than females.

Schizoid personality disorder is characterized by a pervasive and long-lasting indifference toward others. The term “schizoid” was initially chosen to refer to the preliminary symptoms or latent symptoms of schizophrenia. A person with this disorder has little or no interest in interacting with others and is viewed as a loner. People with schizoid personality disorder have little interest in intimacy and tend to display a limited range of emotions. These individuals often are dull and lack a sense of humor. They are perceived by others as being aloof or apathetic and may appear disheveled or unkempt.

Schizotypal personality disorder is characterized by peculiar patterns of behaving and thinking. People with this disorder may express superstitious beliefs or may engage in fantasy-based thinking. Although their thought processes might be unusual, their beliefs are not considered to be of delusional proportions. Because the symptoms of cluster A personality disorders resemble symptoms of schizophrenia, researchers believe these disorders may be genetically related to schizophrenia.

Cluster B

The personality disorders of cluster B are borderline personality disorder, antisocial personality disorder, narcissistic personality disorder, and histrionic personality disorder. The cluster B personality disorders are described as dramatic, erratic, and emotional. The behavior of people with such a disorder creates significant impairment in establishing and maintaining interpersonal relationships. Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is the most prevalent personality disorder. It is diagnosed twice as often among women as men and is characterized by a long-standing and inflexible pattern of emotional instability and unstable personal relationships. Individuals with BPD have an intense fear of abandonment and tend to form intense and unstable relationships with others. They tend to fluctuate between having positive and negative feelings about significant people in their lives. This behavior is referred to as splitting and may contribute to the emotional instability displayed by these people. People with BPD often engage in self-destructive behavior, such as self-mutilation, suicidal acts, or drug abuse. Those with BPD report chronic feelings of emptiness.

Antisocial personality disorder is exemplified by an enduring pattern of behavior that disregards and violates the rights of others. The term “antisocial” refers to behaviors that are antisociety. Antisocial personality disorder is preceded by conduct disorder
in the adolescent stages of development. People with antisocial personality disorder often appear initially to be charming and intelligent, yet they are also manipulative and grandiose. They lack a moral code that would disallow unacceptable or hurtful behaviors. Therefore, an individual with antisocial personality disorder is likely to engage in criminal acts, manipulative behavior, and the exploitation of others.

Freud coined the term “narcissistic personality disorder” in reference to the Greek myth of Narcissus, who fell in love with his own reflection in a pool of water, preventing him from forming relationships with others. The essential feature of narcissistic personality disorder is an exaggerated sense of self-importance. This disorder is characterized by a need to be the center of attention and a preoccupation with fantasies of one’s success or power. A person with narcissistic personality disorder has difficulty understanding the feelings of others and constantly demands attention. These grandiose behaviors typically mask feelings of insecurity.

Symptoms of histrionic personality disorder include excessive emotionality and attention-seeking behavior. A person with histrionic personality disorder is overly dramatic and emotional and is inappropriately seductive to gain the attention of others. Histrionic personality disorder is more prevalent among females than males.

Cluster C

Cluster C disorders include avoidant personality disorder, dependent personality disorder, and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder. The behavior of people with a cluster C personality disorder is described as anxious or fearful.

People with avoidant personality disorder display a pervasive pattern of social discomfort and a fear of being disliked by others. Because of these feelings, a person with this disorder avoids social interactions with others. People with avoidant personality disorder are extremely shy and have great difficulty establishing interpersonal relationships. They want to be liked by others, but their social discomfort and insecurities prevent them from engaging in interpersonal relationships with others.

Dependent personality disorder is characterized by a chronic pattern of dependent and needy behavior, with an intense fear of being alone. People with this disorder attempt to please other people to avoid potential abandonment. They may say certain things just to be liked by others. They have difficulty making their own decisions and are submissive with others. Individuals with this disorder have difficulty separating from others.

Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder is characterized by an inflexible and enduring need for control and order. People who suffer from obsessive-compulsive personality disorder are so preoccupied with order and organization that they may lose sight of the main objective of an activity. People with this disorder are usually excessively work-oriented and have little patience for leisure time. They are intolerant of indecisiveness or emotionality in others and favor intellect over affect. People with this disorder are perceived as difficult to get along with and unwilling to be a team player. Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder is different from obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), which is categorized as an anxiety disorder and involves obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors.

Diagnosis

A number of issues have created debate related to the difficulty in and reliability of the diagnosis of personality disorders. The distinction between “normal” personality characteristics and a personality disorder is not necessarily clear in the clinical definition of a personality disorder. The DSM-V notes that when personality traits are inflexible and create distress or impairment in functioning they constitute a personality disorder. Some argue that there is considerable room for debate about the point at which a trait is considered to create impairment.

The personality disorders have been the subject of criticism by researchers because of the difficulty in diagnosing them reliably. Individuals with a personality disorder often display symptoms of other personality disorders. For example, researchers have debated about the distinction between schizoid personality disorder and avoidant personality disorder, as both disorders are characterized by an extreme in social isolation. Individuals with personality disorders are more likely than the general population to suffer from other psychological disorders, such as depression, bulimia, or substance abuse. This overlap of symptoms may lead to difficulty with diagnostic reliability. The personality disorders occur so frequently with other types of psychological disorders that it is challenging to sort through symptoms to determine what is evidence of each disorder. It is difficult to estimate the prevalence of personality disorders in the United States, as individuals with these disorders do not recognize that they are dysfunctional and are therefore less likely to seek treatment for their disorder.

Although it was not accepted as the official classification, an alternative, hybrid classification of personality disorders was included in the DSM-V for further study in response to the difficulties practitioners had with diagnosis. In this system, there are only six personality disorders: borderline personality disorder, obsessive-compulsive personality disorder, avoidant personality disorder, schizotypal personality disorder, antisocial personality disorder, narcissistic personality disorder. The method outlines specific impairments and traits that define each disorder. It also allows for a Personality Disorder-Trait Specified (PD-TS) diagnosis, where a practitioner may identity several traits of a disorder that a patient exhibits, even if they do not meet all the criteria to be diagnosed with the disorder itself.

Researchers have explored the problem of gender bias in the diagnosis of personality disorders. It is believed that some of the symptoms of certain personality disorders are more characteristic of one gender than the other. For example, the aggression and hostility associated with antisocial personality disorder may be traits associated more frequently with the average male population, thus affecting the diagnosis among men compared with women. This supposed gender bias is theorized to be related to the greater prevalence of borderline personality disorder and histrionic personality disorder among women compared with men. Perhaps some of the diagnostic symptoms of this disorder, such as emotionality or fears of abandonment, are simply behaviors more characteristic of the female population than the male population.

Causes

Various theories have been developed to explain the etiology of personality disorders. The biological perspective examines the roles of genetics and brain functioning in the development of personality disorders. Evidence suggests that the cluster A disorders (paranoid, schizoid, and schizotypal personality disorders) are more prevalent among first-degree relatives of individuals suffering from schizophrenia, suggesting a possible genetic commonality among those disorders.

The underlying symptoms of borderline personality disorder (impulsivity and emotionality) are inherited. Much research confirms that borderline patients are more likely to report a childhood family history that included sexual abuse, domestic violence, and the early loss (either through death or abandonment) of a parental figure. It is believed that this history may be related to the later development of borderline personality disorder. According to developmental theorist Erik H. Erikson
, a sense of basic trust during childhood is an essential component of normal personality development. Erikson stated that a basic sense of trust or mistrust in the self and the world develops in the first year of life. The experience of being abandoned by a parent, then, would foster a sense of mistrust in the world and would affect personality development. In the 1950’s, University of Wisconsin psychologist Harry Harlow explored the effects of attachment on later personality development. Harlow concluded that rhesus
monkeys who were separated from their mothers shortly after birth displayed abnormal behaviors later in life, such as unusual fear or aggression, difficulty engaging in mating behaviors, and difficulty with parenting their offspring. Maternally deprived animals, therefore, were more likely to display dysfunction, as is seen in individuals with disorders associated with maternal deprivation, such as borderline and antisocial personality disorders.

Genetic factors may be influential in the development of antisocial personality disorder, as children of biological parents who engage in criminal behavior are more likely to engage in criminal behavior themselves. Learning theorists
propose that antisocial behaviors may be learned by mimicking parents with similar behaviors. Individuals with antisocial personality disorder have displayed an abnormally low arousal level, which might enable them to ignore physiological cues that indicate danger or punishment. Research has also suggested that the unusually low level of arousal may cause the antisocial individual to engage in behaviors that increase physiological arousal, or create a “rush.”

Treatment

Treatment of a personality disorder is difficult because of certain key issues related to these disorders. People with personality disorders tend to lack insight about their dysfunctional ways of interacting with others. Because they do not see themselves as having a problem, they are unlikely to pursue treatment. When a person with a personality disorder does seek treatment, it is usually for some secondary issue, such as alcoholism or depression. People suffering from personality disorders tend to end therapy prematurely because of their perception that their behavior is not the source of problems. One of the central features of the personality disorders is an impaired ability to maintain relationships with others; therefore, developing a relationship with a therapist is difficult. When the opportunity for treatment does arise, treatment approaches differ depending on the unique characteristics of each of the personality disorders.

The treatment of borderline personality disorder has received much research attention. American psychologist Marsha M. Linehan is credited with the development of dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), a treatment approach for borderline personality disorder that integrates cognitive, behavioral, and Zen principles to help the patient to develop essential coping skills. One of the basic tenets of DBT is that individuals with borderline personality disorder may react abnormally to a normal stimulus (such as an interaction with another person) because of negative or traumatic past experiences (such as sexual abuse). Such individuals may quickly display an increase in emotion and may take a longer period of time to reduce their emotional arousal. Treatment focuses on decreasing self-destructive behaviors and helping individuals to regulate their emotions.

People with antisocial personality disorder who participate in treatment usually are made to do so by the legal system. Efficacy of treatment interventions for the person with antisocial personality disorder is often measured in terms of the number of crimes committed by the person after treatment, rather than by any significant change in personality characteristics. Treating any substance abuse
issues is an integral component of treatment of antisocial personality disorder. Some believe that prevention is the most important part of managing antisocial behavior.

Researchers have found that low levels of antipsychotic medications are effective in alleviating some symptoms of schizotypal personality disorder. Several studies suggest that antipsychotic medications such as haloperidol may decrease symptoms of depression and impulsivity in the schizotypal individual. People with narcissistic personality disorder are more apt than those with other personality disorders to seek out treatment, using the therapist’s office as yet another stage to be the center of attention.

Bibliography

Claridge, Gordon. Origins of Mental Illness. 2d ed. Cambridge: Malor, 1996.

Dobbert, Duane L. Understanding Personality Disorders: An Introduction. Westport: Praeger, 2007.

Erikson, Erik H. Identity: Youth and Crisis. New York: Norton, 1994.

Linehan, Marsha M. Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder. New York: Guilford, 1993.

Livesley, W. John, Marsha L. Schroeder, Douglas N. Jackson, and Kerry L. Jang. “Categorical Distinctions in the Study of Personality Disorder—Implications for Classification.” Journal of Abnormal Psychology 103.1 (1994): 6–17.

Maxmen, Jerrold S., Mark Kilgus, and Nicholas G. Ward. Essential Psychopathology and Its Treatment. 3d ed. New York: Norton, 2009.

Nathan, Peter E., Jack M. Gorman, and Neil J. Salkind. Treating Mental Disorders: A Guide to What Works. New York: Oxford UP, 2000.

Paris, Joel. “A Diathesis-Stress Model of Personality Disorders.” Psychiatric Annals 29.12 (1999): 692–97.

"Personality Disorders." American Psychiatric Association. American Psychiatric Publishing, 2013. Web. 30 Nov. 2015.

Widiger, Thomas A., and Paul T. Costa. “Personality and Personality Disorders.” Journal of Abnormal Psychology 103.1 (1994): 78–91.

How was Pearl Harbor important for victory in the Pacific?

The U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor was the home base for the core strength of the U.S. Navy in the Pacific in early 1941. Admiral Yamamoto was the brilliant Japanese strategist who led the Imperial Japanese Navy at that time and he knew that the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor was strong, but not as strong as the Japanese Navy. However, he had previously studied in the U.S. and had some familiarity with the overwhelming size, abilities, and resources of the U.S. as a country. Although the U.S. in general was not strongly prepared for war in 1941, Yamamoto knew that the U.S. could quickly build up its military. Therefore, he knew he had to do a quick, decisive knockout blow at Pearl Harbor to keep the Japanese Navy's advantage. History strongly indicates that Yamamoto was correct. The attack removed the U.S. battleships from action in the new war for many months and Japan expanded its control over the Pacific islands and southeast Asia. This was an era when battleships were still considered the most powerful and important ships. However, the U.S. aircraft carriers happened to be away from Pearl Harbor on the day of the attack. War technology was changing and it resulted in aircraft on aircraft carriers having more offensive impact than the big gun battleships. This became very evident in the Battle of Midway several months after Pearl Harbor when the U.S. aircraft carriers's planes severely damaged/sunk several Japanese aircraft carriers. This U.S. victory early in the war is considered the turning point where Japan began to lose the war.

Therefore, Pearl Harbor was crucial to Japan having a good chance to quickly overpower the larger U.S., but because the attack was not complete enough, Japan was eventually defeated. Major factors in the attack were: 1) some U.S. battleships were destroyed/sunk, but others were repaired and returned to action because repair facilities were not destroyed; 2) the aircraft carriers were missed; 3) U.S. submarines and their harbor facilities were not significantly damaged and they were a major fighting asset; 4) the huge fuel storage tanks and facilities were not destroyed; and 5) psychologically, the attack was strongly considered by Americans to be a very dishonorable "sneak" attack by a country that had apparently been claiming to be hoping for peaceful relations, and so the American population suddenly became highly motivated to do everything it could to wage successful war, which it did.

The destructive actions of the U.S. from the 1940s to the 1970s were justified by the need to fight totalitarianism. Reference: World War II, The...

It could be argued that the destructive actions of the U.S. from 1940 to the 1970s were made in an attempt to fight different forms of totalitarianism. In 1941, the United States became involved in fighting with the Allies in World War II to fight the Axis powers, including the Nazis in Germany. The Axis powers all practiced a form of totalitarianism, meaning a political system in which the state has complete control.

After World War II, the U.S. engaged in a series of wars to fight communism, which was another form of totalitarianism. The series of wars to contain and then roll back communism was referred to the Cold War, as it was usually fought through a series of proxy wars rather than direct engagement with the other world superpower, the Soviet Union.

The first major action of the U.S. that could be considered destructive after World War II was the Korean War, technically fought under the aegis of the United Nations (though U.S. troops made up most of the forces that were allied with South Korea). The war was in part a result of decolonization, as the Japanese had occupied Korea during World War II, and after the war, Korea remained divided between the communist north and the nominally democratic south. The North Koreans crossed the line that separated the two nations (at the 38th parallel) in 1950, and the three-year war was in part an attempt to contain communism and fight totalitarianism. The war ended in a stalemate, and the country remains divided between a communist North and democratic South. 

The Vietnam War, in which the U.S. engaged troops in 1965 (after several years of sending advisers to the South Vietnamese military), was an attempt to fight the communist forces of North Vietnam and communist sympathizers in South Vietnam. Like the Korean War, the war in Vietnam was in part an effect of decolonization, as Vietnam had been occupied by the Japanese during World War II. After the war, the French, who had been the former colonial power in that part of Indochina, tried to reassert control, but they were pushed out in 1954. The country was divided at the 17th parallel, and the war started when the North allegedly fired on a U.S. destroyer in the Gulf of Tonkin. The war, which the U.S. lost by 1975 with the fall of Saigon, was an attempt to roll back communism, a form of totalitarianism. 

What are Maslow's hierarchy of needs?

Introduction

The concept of a hierarchy of needs became the central organizing principle in
Abraham Maslow’s theory of human motivation. A research psychologist who began his career in the 1940’s with a series of studies on motivation, culminating with his book Motivation and Personality (1954), Maslow greatly furthered the understanding of human motives. When Maslow began his research, psychology largely regarded hunger as the paradigm for all other motives and examined motivation through animal studies, behaviorist theory, or both. Maslow rejected these early theories as insufficient to account for the human dimensions of motivation. He supplemented experimental study with clinical evidence and redirected the focus from drives to goals and from isolated determinants to a sense of the person as an integrated and dynamic whole.

The most important aspect of Maslow’s theory of motivation was the notion of a hierarchy of needs. Maslow first articulated this theory in his early works, including “A Theory of Human Motivation,” which appeared in Psychological Review in 1943, and he would continue to develop his theory over time. He first identified and differentiated among various clusters of motives. The five clusters he identified were as follows:

•physiological needs

•safety needs

•belongingness or love needs

•esteem needs

•need for self-actualization

He noted that, in the order listed, the clusters formed a hierarchy from lower to higher motives. He pointed out that there is no final satiation point at which the person is no longer motivated, but rather that as a particular motivation is sufficiently gratified, another, higher motive will emerge more prominently. In Maslow’s terms, the higher motives are therefore “prepotent” with regard to the lower ones. Furthermore, there is a basic directionality in the order in which each motivational cluster becomes prominent.

Later Developments

In 1955, following the success of his early studies, Maslow was invited to present his work at the prestigious Nebraska Symposium on Motivation. There he advanced his thesis by making a key distinction between deficiency motivation and growth motivation. The first four clusters of motives tend to be motivating precisely when they are lacking, when there is a deficit or empty hole that must be filled. In contrast, people who are very healthy psychologically have sufficiently gratified their basic needs. This does not mean they have obtained more in an objective sense, but rather that their experience is not structured by a sense of lack. With this experienced sense of sufficiency, healthy people are free to develop their motive toward
self-actualization, which Maslow defined as an “ongoing tendency toward actualizing potentials, capacities and talents . . . of the person’s own intrinsic nature.” Thus self-actualization can be seen as a trend toward fulfillment and integration. He described thirteen specific observable characteristics of such self-actualizing people, including being more perceptive, more accepting of the self and others, more spontaneous, more autonomous, more appreciative, and more creative, and having a richer emotional life and more frequent peak experiences.

Applications

As Maslow continued working, he began more and more to examine the lives of “self-actualizers,” those people whom he identified as exemplary of being directed by self-actualizing motivation. He saw that a person’s psychological life is lived differently when that individual is oriented not to the gratification of deficiency needs but to growth. This emphasis on growth soon became the focus of an emerging paradigm, known as
humanistic psychology, studied by many other psychologists, including Carl R. Rogers. This emphasis on personal growth reoriented the study of psychology, focusing it not on issues of disease and negativity but rather on themes of personal enrichment and fulfillment, and of living an intrinsically meaningful life. Maslow’s book Toward a Psychology of Being (1962) is one of the hallmarks of this movement, which swept beyond academic psychology into pop psychology.

Maslow’s theory of motivation also influenced other disciplines, such as education and business. Mark Zimmeran’s emotional literacy education project, for example, explicitly draws from Maslow’s motivational theory. Research continues into the role of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs in the fields of business, management, leadership, entrepreneurship, organizational development, and marketing. Issues such as optimally motivating workplace environments and incentives for employees continue to be particularly engaging topics for these studies. Though many of the specific applications often oversimplify Maslow’s theory, the hierarchy of needs is still widely used, especially as the basis for management theories based on a vision of employees as most productive when synergistically and cooperatively engaged through opportunities for self-directed creativity rather than when subjected to authoritarian structures. Maslow himself considered this application important and contributed to it with his book Eupsychian Management: A Journal (1965). Maslow’s position was that the more psychologically healthy people became, the more important such enlightened management would be for any competitive business.

Bibliography

DeCarvalho, Roy Jose. The Growth Hypothesis in Psychology: The Humanistic Psychology of Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers. San Francisco: Mellen Research UP, 1991. Print.

King, Daniel, and Scott Lawley. Organizational Behavior. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2013. Print.

Lowry, Richard. A. H. Maslow: An Intellectual Portrait. Monterey: Brooks/Cole, 1973. Print.

Moss, Donald, ed. Humanistic and Transpersonal Psychology. Westport: Greenwood, 1999. Print.

Stephens, Deborah C., ed. The Maslow Business Reader. New York: Wiley, 2000. Print.