Personality factors that underlie belief in the paranormal

Personality factors that underlie belief in the paranormal Although the term paranormal refers to hypothesized processes that in principle are physically impossible or outside the realm of human capabilities (Thalbourne, 1982; as cited in Irwin, 1993, p. 1), belief in the paranormal seem to be surprisingly common in this modern, technologically sophisticated world. The influence of paranormal phenomena can be observed in the entertaining media as well as in the news, in sports, in business and in peoples everyday lives (Goode, 2000). But why people believe in the paranormal phenomena or what persuade them to do so? Skeptics as well as non-skeptics have interests in investigating the nature of belief in the paranormal, albeit with somewhat different objectives in mind. The majority of previous research examining paranormal belief and personality correlates has taken a skeptical view, which suggests that paranormal believers are psychologically dysfunctional, for example, psychotic, neurotic and depressive. Non-skeptics however, at the same ti me have tried to challenge this hypothesis. The purpose of this study is to support skeptical point of view; firstly, personality factors that may underlie belief in the paranormal phenomena will be described and evaluated. Secondly, the impact of culture and subjective experience on belief in paranormal phenomena will be evaluated. According to Irwin (1993) paranormal beliefs are held because they serve significant psychodynamic needs of the individual and in general this statement is called psychodynamic functions hypothesis (p. 21). According to this hypothesis, skeptics very often consider paranormal believers as psychologically deviant and relate their behaviour with psychopathology. Not without a reason, however. The vast majority of evidence (i.e. Irwin Green, 1998; Hergovich et al., 2008) indicates that people who believe in paranormal phenomena expose schizotypal tendencies. The findings of Irwin and Green (1998) suggest that people who have schizotypal tendencies (schizotypal personality disorder is a condition that resembles a less severe version of schizophrenia, Vyse, 1997) in the cognitive-perceptual area are likely to confirm beliefs in Spiritualism and Precognition as well as in Extraordinary Life Forms and Witchcraft. Hergovichs et al. (2008) findings give a support to the hypothesis that schiz otypy is heavily associated with paranormal belief and approve that belief in Precognition, Psi, Witchcraft and Spiritualism can also be predicted very well by schizotypy. Moreover, previous studies (i.e. Sica et al., 2002) also confirm that a high involvement in superstition seems to play a role in obsessive-compulsive disorder. Although non-skeptics argue that paranormal beliefs and obsessive-complusive disorder or schizotypal personality disorder remain unrelated (Vyse, 1997), evidence suggests that disorders mentioned above do seem to be associated with belief in paranormal phenomena. Additionally, from the objective and scientific point of view, people who endorse beliefs in paranormal phenomena are irrational, even though the irrationality of most believers is mild compared to psychopathological behaviour. And although, such individuals are not disturbed by their experiences and stay psychologically healthy (notion of the happy schizotype, Lawrence Peters, 2004), they are, however similar to people diagnosed with schizophrenia on a number of correlates as well as are at higher risk to experience more severe psychotic-like experiences and to deve lop psychotic disorders (Clardige, 1994). Thus, scientific evidence in this case seems to be pervasive; less pervasive however seem to be evidence relating to extraversion, a measure of the individuals sociability. According to Maltby et al. (2007) individuals who score highly on extraversion are very sociable, energetic, optimistic, friendly and assertive and are labelled extraverts. However, individuals with low scores are labelled introverts, often described as reserved and independent. Some of the evidence does not support a relationship between extraversion and paranormal belief (i.e. Williams et al., 2007); however, a number of studies have found a correlation between extraversion and ESP performance (i.e. Lawrence, 2001). The reason why extraversion is not as obvious predictor of belief in paranormal phenomena may be limited reliability of this psychological trait (Tam Shiah, 2004). Meanwhile, the association of extraversion with belief in paranormal phenomena remain to some extent uncertain; therefore more scientific research has to be conducted. According to Williams et al. (2007), neuroticism is fundamental to individual differences in paranormal belief. Moreover, Thalbourne et al. (1995) has found neuroticism to be significantly correlated with an overall Paranormal Belief Scale score, Traditional Religious Belief, Psi, Witchcraft, as well as with the Australian Sheep-Goat Scale, which addresses belief in and personal experience of ESP, Telepathy, Precognition, and Life After Death. Neuroticism, can be described as the tendency to experience negative emotions, especially anxiety, depression, anger. Therefore neurotic individuals can be characterized as emotionally unstable, irrational personalities with often low self-esteem (Chamorro-Premuzic, 2007). Wiseman Watt (2004) indicate that people who are anxious are more superstitious than those who are not. However, non-skeptics argue that even though a person is more likely to engage in superstitious behaviour while experiencing certain emotions, specifically fear and anxiet y, belief in paranormal is not usually the cause of emotional difficulties (Vyse, 1997). Thus, according to non-skeptical point of view, claiming that superstitious people are more anxious than those who are not superstitious is overlapping. However, the vast majority of scientific evidence suggests this personality dimension to positively correlate with belief in paranormal phenomena. In addition, an association between paranormal belief and a depressive attributional style when using the Attributional Style Questionnaire as an indicator of depression has also been found (Dudley Whisnand, 2000). The results of this study demonstrate significantly higher depressive attributional styles among college students with high scores on paranormal phenomena than college students with low scores. Thus, the vast majority of evidence indicating relationship between belief in paranormal phenomena and neuroticism seem to be more pervasive than non-scientific evidence demonstrated by non-skeptics. Psychoticism has also been found to be associated with belief in paranormal phenomena (Francis et al., 2010). It is claimed that those who score high on the psychoticism scale can be characterised as cold, aggressive, tough-minded, antisocial and impersonal. Francis et al. (2010) study aimed to investigate personality dimensions associated with conventional Christian belief and unconventional paranormal belief. It has been found that conventional Christian belief is associated with lower psychoticism scores, whereas unconventional paranormal belief is associated with higher psychoticism scores. Thus, it may be concluded that paranormal believers behaviour may be more aggressive and antisocial than paranormal non-believers behaviour. According to Irwin and Watt (2007) people who believe in paranormal may be little concerned about the needs or attitudes of other people, may be socially alienated, may display low social interest and have a grandiose sense of their own importance and uniqueness. This description indicates on narcissism, another personality dimension associated with belief in paranormal phenomena. Positive correlation between narcissism dimension and belief in Psi, Precognition, Witchcraft and Spiritualism has been reported, which means that believers in paranormal may be preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited power and success (as cited in Irwin Watt, 2007). Recent studies therefore seem to confirm Tobacyk and Mitchells (1987) findings, where although a small, but significant correlation between narcissism and the paranormal beliefs of Psi and Precognition has been found. Thus, having found correlation between narcissism and belief in paranormal may indicate problems associated with psychological adjustment amongst people who believe in paranormal phenomena (Irwin Watt, 2007). There is also a general trend for paranormal belief to be associated with the locus of control. Locus of control refers to a dimension of personality and to do with whether or not a person perceives their behaviour to be related to outcomes, such as rewards and punishments (Pennington, 2003, p. 253). Individuals who believe personal outcomes are contingent largely on their own behaviour and attributes are said to have an internal locus of. However, people with external locus of control see personal outcomes as chance or luck (Pennington, 2003). It is claimed that people who believe in paranormal phenomena are inclined to maintain that they are especially vulnerable to external forces beyond their control; thus posses external locus of control (Irwin Watt, 2007). This relationship has been well documented, especially in regard to ESP, Witchcraft, Precognition, Spiritualism and Extraordinary Life Forms (as cited in Irwin Watt, 2007). Groth-Mamat and Pegden (1998) also have found external locus of control to be associated with greater overall paranormal belief, although this was not quite significant. This study has provided some support to the claim that those who believe that their life is dependent on external factors are more likely to believe in the paranormal. However, a more external locus of control was significantly related to greater belief in Spirituality and Precognition. Presumably, belief in Spirituality is associated to external locus of control due to a belief that spiritual forces have an impact on peoples lives. Peoples beliefs in Precognition can also be associated with an external locus of control because their lives might be perceived somewhat pre-determined. However, greater belief in superstition was related to a more internal locus of control. The results of this study suggest rather than there being a direct association between paranormal belief in general and an external locus of control, it may be that those who believe in Precognition and Spirituality are more likely to have an external locus of control while those who believe in Superstition are more likely to have an internal locus of control (p. 293). Thus, this study demonstrates that paranormal belief is not only related to external locus of control but the association between internal locus of control and paranormal belief (Superstition in this case) has also been found. Paranormal belief seem to also be correlated positively with measures of creativity, sensation seeking and hypnotic susceptibility what suggest a linkage to a cognitive style of fantasizing (as cited in Irwin Watt, 2007). It is claimed that personality factor of fantasy proneness correlates positively with nearly all dimensions of paranormal belief, such as global paranormal belief, Precognition, Psi, Witchcraft, Extraordinary Life Forms and Spiritualism (Irwin, 1993). It has been established that fantasy prone people fantasize a lot and while fantasizing they are deeply absorbed in or fully experience what is being fantasized. This cognitive style has interested many scientists wanting to investigate the origins of paranormal belief. It has been found that one of the major factors related with the development of this personality dimension may be a history of physical abuse or other trauma during childhood; this may be an important factor in explaining individuals openness to parano rmal. Rabeyron and Watt (2010), for example, found a strong significant correlation between paranormal experiences and traumas. Nevertheless, further research on correlation between paranormal belief and trauma is needed, especially because there are other factors that might need to be taken into account. According to Lynn and Rhue (1988) childrens fantasy proneness can be fostered by parental encouragement, and the development of paranormal belief therefore should be investigated also in relation to these more positive aspects of the family setting than just the level of physical abuse. Nevertheless, the vast majority of evidence indicates fantasy proneness to be strongly correlated with belief in paranormal phenomena. This claim seem to be also accepted by non-skeptics (Vyse, 1997). Recapitulating, it is important to mention that despite of the dispute between skeptics and non-skeptics, personality dimensions seem to have a considerable impact on peoples belief in paranormal phenomena. Some researchers claim that there are other factors that have an impact on peoples belief in paranormal phenomena, such as culture, media, social influence or subjective experience. According to Irwin (1993) the level of paranormal belief in an individual is in part a function of that persons cultural environment. However, it should not be argued that the origin of paranormal beliefs lies in the individuals culture. It is more acceptable to claim that culture is responsible not for paranormal belief, but rather for the specific forms of the beliefs. For instance, people may be members of various cultural groups, whereas this membership will rule the characteristics of paranormal beliefs accepted by the individual. In summary, paranormal beliefs may be modelled on examples provided by parents, friends or other persuasive people. Ridolfo et al. (2010) for example found relatively strong evidence that individuals are more likely to accept paranormal claims as true when they believe such claims have popular support. However, the exact relationship between paranormal beliefs and social-group influences remains uncertain (Markovsky Thye, 2001). Furthermore, even a little exposure to paranormal concepts through the media and social interaction may incline individual to unintentionally interpret personal encounters with anomalous events as paranormal phenomena. Thus, it is assumed that some correlates of individual dimensions of paranormal belief may reflect the operation of cultural and sub-cultural factors (Irwin, 1993, p. 26). However, individual must be intrinsically vulnerable for these cultural impacts to be effective. Therefore, even though paranormal beliefs might have cultural basis, the basis of vulnerability to the beliefs must be investigated in the psychodynamic domain (Schumaker, 1990; as cited in Irwin, 1993). It is also worth noting that the most common reason given for believing in paranormal phenomena is personal experience (Blackmore 1984, as cited in Blackmore, 1997) and strength of paranormal belief is positively correlated with number of subjective paranormal experiences (Glicksohn, 1990). However, Blackmore (1997) indicates that people who believe in the paranormal are more likely to interpret normal events as paranormal as well as are more likely to misinterpret normal events as paranormal what encourages their belief. As mentioned before the term paranormal refers to hypothesized processes that in principle are physically impossible or outside the realm of human capabilities (Thalbourne, 1982; as cited in Irwin, 1993, p. 1). Although scientists very often disagree about the meaning of empirical tests, data, empiricism is a highly valued source of knowledge. There is clearly still much empirical work yet to be done to investigate personality correlates with paranormal beliefs. The popularity of paranormal beliefs in the society and the evident influence of these beliefs on peoples life call for further investigation and verification for providing a better understanding of the functions and origins of paranormal belief. And even though, there is still a lot of uncertainty about which personality factors have an impact on individuals belief in the paranormal phenomena, skeptical point of view, considered as more scientific, seem to be more persuasive than non-skeptical. Word count: 2 396

Piercing the Corporate Veil Essay -- Papers

Piercing the Corporate Veil Since the establishment in Salomon v Salomon, the separate legal personality has been long recognised in English law for centuries, that is to say, a limited liability company has its own legal identity distinct from its shareholders or directors. However, in certain circumstances the courts may be prepared to look behind the company at the actions of the directors and shareholders. This is known as "piercing the corporate veil". There are numerous cases concerning the "piercing the corporate veil", among which, Jones v Lipman[1] was a typical case. Lipman sold land to Jones by a written contract but refused to complete the sale because of another good deal, instead he offered damages for breach of contract. To put the house out of reach of Jones, he bought a company "off the shelf" and conveyed the house to it. In an action against Lipman and the company, the court granted the specific performance and ruled that "the defendant company is the creature of the first defendant, a device and ...

How to differentiate literary texts Essay

Carter argues that there are six particular features which can help differentiate literary texts from others and that a literary texts will exhibit most or all of them. These features are medium independence, genre-mixing, semantic density, polysemy, displaced interaction and text patterning. (Carter, 1997, cited in Thornborrow, 2006, p.81-85) If I look at the first feature identified by Carter, medium independence which means that a literary text does not rely on another medium or media to be read ,(Carter, 1997, cited in Thornborrow, 2006, p.81 ) and apply it to my texts, I can see that the extract from The Lord of The Rings is indeed medium independent. The extract does not need photos and the text â€Å"stands up on its own†, it needs no additional information. By contrast, the advertisement from the online catalogue is media dependant. The text at the beginning and the end describes a ring which is obviously for sale so a photo seems to be quite necessary as I do not think many people would buy a piece of jewellery without seeing it no matter how appealing the description is. The text itself seems to beg for an accompanying photo so I think it can safely be said that it is medium dependant. The second feature identified by Carter is genre-mixing which is the idea that any style of writing not necessarily associated with a literary context can be used to create a literary effect. (Carter, 1997, cited in Thornborrow, 2006, p.82) If I am to look at the Lord of The Rings extract, there is some genre-mixing although not very much, the extract is obviously part of a novel but the last two lines read like poetry. Of course poetic features are usually associated with a literary context by their very nature so what those last two poetic lines do for the rest of the text is to â€Å"elevate† it, that is, convey the feeling that the extract has literary pretences at the very least or is simply literary in some ways. In the second text, genre-mixing is more obviously present, the first paragraph is concise as it describes a ring which is for sale but the rest of the text which introduces Jade Jagger as the designer of the ring is mainly written in journalistic style. The las t two lines go back to â€Å"advertisement† written style. Semantic density, the third feature identified by Carter is deemed by him to be very important. He believes that semantic density is a clear sign of the literariness of a text. (Carter, 1997, cited in Thornborrow, 2006, p.82) The Lord of The Rings extract has semantic density. One cannot escape the sound patterning and many alliterations which are present in a lot of the text. The text is actually peppered with it. For example, â€Å"†¦the wizard stood looking at the fire ; then he stooped and removed the ring†¦.† or: â€Å"†¦..he now saw fine lines, finer than the finest pen-strokes, running along the ring, outside and inside:lines of fire that seemed to form the letters of a flowing script.† The actual sound patterning along with the syntactic arrangement shows clear semantic density. The use of the adjective fine along with two of its adverbs finer and finest coupled with the sound patterning serves to show how â€Å"fine† the script on the ring actually is. Similarly, the alliteration in â€Å"running† and â€Å"ring† plus the sound patterning as well as the two opposites adjectives â€Å"outside and inside† that immediately follow before going back to the â€Å"lines† which are now made of â€Å"fire† that â€Å"form† the letters of a â€Å"flowing† script (alliteration plus sound patterning again) give the reader a vivid picture of the actual ring. There is also contrast in the text. One example is â€Å"silent† and â€Å"clack†, another is â€Å"bright† and â€Å"remote†, it is as if those contrasts reflect the contrast between the two worlds, one which is Mordor, faint but unmistakeably dangerous and the normal peaceful world of the Shire. I must point out the seemingly random word association of the â€Å"clack† of â€Å"Sam’s shears†. The â€Å"clack† which is surely onomatopoeic because the sound â€Å"which makes up the word mimics the sound which the word refers to† (Short,1996, p.115) and the wonderful alliteration of Sam’s shears which once again produces a incredibly vivid picture, accompanied by sound no less! There is also some semantic density in the second text about the Jade Jagger ring. The first sentence has sound patterning as well as the syntactic arrangement: â€Å"†¦..sterling silver ring†¦.stylised†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..design decorated†¦..a scattering of sparkling†¦. zirconias. Sound patterning and syntax aside, the alliteration â€Å"s†starting almost every word having to do  with the ring offers a mental picture of that ring, a very shiny one at that. The last sentence of the first paragraph also has the repeat alliteration in â€Å"edgy, contemporary, jewellery† which once again gives information about the ring but also about its potential buyer. Semantic density is also shown in this text by the reference to the â€Å" halcyon† days and the sentence stating that Jade Jagger â€Å"has since carved a feted reputation as an artist†.This is an abnormal paradigm as carving has to do with a concrete material such as stone or wood and it is not possible to physically carve a reputation. It is of course a metaphor (Mick Short,1996, p.7). The fourth criteria in Carter’s theory is polysemy which is the possibility for a text to be read in different ways. (Carter, 1997, cited in Thornborrow, 2006, p.84) For example, in the Lord of The Rings extract, the room â€Å"becomes dark and silent†. It could of course be because Gandalf has closed the shutters and drawn the curtains, but it could also be due to the fact that the ring is in the fire and â€Å"waking up† revealing its true â€Å"dark† nature therefore affecting the atmosphere of the room. The reader is also told of Gandalf’s â€Å"bristling brows†, it could mean that Gandalf has stiff and coarse eyebrows which I indeed imagine him to have but it could also infer that Gandalf is showing irritation at Frodo’s trying to get the ring out of the fire, hence the â€Å"Wait!† before the â€Å"bristling brows†. The word â€Å"fiery† is also good because we have been told that the letters are â€Å"lines of fire† so they are obviously fiery but â€Å"fiery† could also allude to the dark language of â€Å"Mordor† or the quick and dangerous temper of Sauron’s spirit which is of course in the ring itself. My last example is that when Frodo receives the ring, â€Å"it seemed to have become thicker and heavier†. It can actually be that the fire, by revealing what the ring is, has also physically altered it and made it thicker and heavier but it may just seem thicker and heavier in Frodo’s hand because it is a dark ring, a ring of power and evil which the fire has just awakened. In the second text on the other hand, I cannot see any obvious example of polysemy apart from the â€Å"halcyon days† which can be read as the â€Å"carefree days† or the â€Å"mythical days† as it can refer to the mythical bird. Both meanings are plausible as the pop art scene in New York was famously â€Å"carefree and happy† and it has since acquired a â€Å"mythical† type of reputation. There is also the metaphor â€Å"carved a feted reputation† but I cannot see it other evidence of polysemy. The fifth feature of Carter’s is displaced interaction which means that the text is there for the reader to â€Å"read† and interpret as it wishes. (Carter, 1997, cited in Thornborrow, 2006, p.84) The Lord of The Rings text is a perfect example of displaced interaction as there is nothing for the reader to do but read and provide meaning to the text. The Jade Jagger ring online advert however is not an example of displaced interaction as the aim of the text is to persuade the reader to buy a piece of jewellery. The last feature identified by Carter is text patterning which is similar to the idea of parallelism in which some features remain the same while others change. The variant features are usually words while the remaining features are structural. (Carter, 1997, cited in Thornborrow, 2006, p.85) (Short,1996 p.14) The most obvious example of parallelism in the Lord of The Rings extract is the last two lines. While the structure stays the same with the same subject, The Ring, the verbs are different. What this does is attract attention to the verbs themselves which is presumably what Tolkien wanted as the verbs tell us what the ring actually does. It â€Å"rules, finds, brings and binds† Although different verbs with slightly different meanings, it gives a general idea of power. There is another example of parallelism in this text : â€Å" The letters are Elvish, of an ancient mode but the language is that of Mordor, which I will not utter here† Again, the structure stays mo re or less the same but the Lexis is different so as to focus the reader’s attention on the difference between the â€Å"letters† and the â€Å"language† and â€Å"Elvish† and â€Å"Mordor†. Tolkien wants to highlight these differences are they are crucial to the understanding of the story. In those two lines we also have an example of deviation, when something in the texts deviates from the perceived rules of English which makes it particularly memorable. Deviation is a part of foregrounding, the produce of â€Å"deviation from linguistic and non-linguistic norms† (Short,1996, p.12) The deviation in the last two lines is the invention of the word â€Å"Mordor† which Tolkien made up for the particulars of his story. This is called a neologism (Short, 1996, p.45) Finally, I must mention that the last two lines of the Lord of The Rings are an internal deviation, that is, they are two rhyming lines structured like lines of a poem but this is a departure from the rest of the text which has been written in prose. (Short,1996, p.59) Of course this internal deviation makes those two last lines even more memorable. Although there is some text patterning in the second text, particularly around the word â€Å"Jade†, I do not feel it can be compared to the other Lord of The Ring text as it doesn’t seem to actually reinforce an important message. So, if we follow Carter’s criteria when it comes to identifying a literary text, the Lord of The Rings extract seems to be more literary than the Jade Jagger’s online ring advertisement. The Lord of The Rings extract is not medium dependant, it has some genre-mixing, it has semantic density, polysemy, displaced interaction and text patterning. The Jade Jagger’s online ring advertisement is medium dependant,it is not really polysemic, it is not an example of displaced interaction, I don’t feel it has important text patterning but it does have some semantic density. On Carter’s cline of literariness, The Lord of The Rings is indeed a literary text as it possesses all of the features which usually identify literariness. Jade Jagger’s ring advertisement does not seem to be a literary text according to Carter’s cline. Are the two texts creative? I am tempted to answer that if a text is considered literary then it must be creative which would make the Lord of The Rings extract creative as well as literary. I refer to Papen and Tusting who state that â€Å"creativity refers to making something which is new, which did not exist before the creative act† (Papen and Tusting,2006, p.315) Taking this into account, both texts analysed in this paper are indeed creative. â€Å"Cognitive poetics† which combines â€Å"linguistic analysis with insights from cognitive science in order to explain the relationship between  the language of texts and reader’s responses to texts† (Semino, 2006, p.37) is interesting as it implies that creativity is always present in literary and non-literary texts but that literary texts â€Å"are characterised by particular novel and creative uses of the linguistic and cognitive resources used in everyday communication.† (Seen and Gavins, 2003, p1 , cited in Elena Semino,2006, p.37) Following from this is the assumption that, yet again, both the texts analysed in this paper are creative, none more so than the other but that the Lord of The Rings text analysed here would be considered more literary than the Jade Jagger’s ring advertisement as it showcases especially new and creative uses of language and â€Å"cognitive resources used in everyday communication.†(Seen and Gavins, 2003, p1, cited in Elena Semino,2006, p.37) Eagleton with his sociocultural approach would imply that The Lord of The Rings text was definitely literary since the sociocultural approach states that literature is made so by society, whether the text had pretence to literariness or not.( Eagleton, 1983, p.11, cited in Maybin and Pearce, 2006, p.12) Since The Lord of The Rings has been widely accepted by society in the last 40 years as being a literary work, then it must be, according to the sociocultural approach. As a conclusion, I feel that there is an agreement across different school of thoughts that creativity is present in most texts so I would say that both the texts I analysed in this paper are creative in different ways. According to Carter’s inherency approach, the Lord of The Rings text is more literary than Jade Jagger’s ring advertisement and although I realise that Carter’s method of analysis is not without its weaknesses, I must say that I feel that The Lord of The Rings extract is indeed more literary than the advertisement because of the degree of inventiveness involved in the language (I could have added so much more to the analysis of the text) and imagination. I think that the extract (and the book it comes from) combines the two most important things when it comes to literature: beautiful language and a fantastic imagination. References: Maybin,J., Pearce,M., 2006, Literature and creativity in English, â€Å"The Art of English:Literary Creativity†, Palgrave McMillan, The Open University Eagleton,T. (1993), Literary Theory: An Introduction, Oxford, Blackwell,pp.9-11) Carter, R, (1997), Investigating English Discourse:Language, Literacy and Literature, London, Routledge Thornborrow J., 2006, chapter 2: †Poetic Language†, The Art of English:Literary Creativity,, Palgrave McMillan, The Open University Short,M.,1996, Exploring The Language of Poems, Plays, and Prose, Addison Wesley Longman Limited Papen, U&Tusting, K, 2006, Chapter 7:Literacies, Collaboration and Context,The Art of English:Everyday Creativity, Palgrave McMillan, The Open University. Semino, S., 2006, Reading C:Cognitive Poetics, The Art of English: Literary Creativity, Palgrave McMillan, The Open University Seen,G. And Gavins, J. (2003), Contextualising cognitive poetics, in J.Gavins and G.Steen (eds), Cognitive Poetics in Practice, London, Routledge

Children At Risk For Late Onset Diseases - 3939 Words

Many parents claim that they should have the right to have their children tested for any late-onset diseases if that child is at risk. The professional consensus of most medical professionals (Kopelman), do not agree and claim that testing children for late-onset diseases not only affects the child in a negative manner, but also negatively influences the parents’ relationship with that specific child (Davis). I argue that children at risk for late-onset disorders, such as Huntington’s or Alzheimer’s disease, should not be tested for such genetic markers at the request of their parents. The decision to test a child for a late-onset disease restricts the child’s right to an open future (Davis). These diseases will affect that child as an adult and, as an adult, the child should have the right to choose for themselves whether they want to be tested or not. Not only does testing children for late-onset diseases restrict the child’s future, but it also leaves a significant impact on the child to parent relationship which is vital for development throughout the early stages of life (Davis). Oftentimes, the parents find themselves treating a â€Å"diseased† or â€Å"affected† child with more care and precaution in comparison to their other children (Kopelman), as if the â€Å"diseased† child is fragile. However, parents who claim late-onset disease testing for their children should be an option also have strong objections to this professional consensus. Objections include the idea that theShow MoreRelatedEffects Of Group B Streptoccus In Neonates1051 Words   |  5 Pagesinvasive infection (VanMeter, 2016, pg.389). Some risk factors may include premature labor, water breaking 18 hours before delivery and a high fever during labor. 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Essay1698 Words   |  7 Pages What is Alzheimer’s Disease? Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is a type of dementia that is irreversible and it causes problems with memory, thinking and behavior. The symptoms usually develop slowly and get worse over time, becoming severe enough to interfere with daily tasks. (â€Å"Alzheimer’s Disease Dementia,† n.d.). Dementia is a term for a decrease in the intellectual ability which it can be severe enough to interfere with an individual’s day to day life. The German neurologist Alois Alzheimer was theRead MoreCracking Your Genetic Code: A Review of Genetic Testing1538 Words   |  7 PagesTesting In Gattaca, the plot focuses on the ethics, the risks, and the emotional impact of genetic testing in the nearby future. The film was released in the 90s; yet in the present, the film does not give the impression of science fiction. Today, genetic testing is prevalent in many aspects of the scientific community. This paper will describe genetic testing, its purpose, diagnostic techniques that use genetic testing, relating Huntington’s disease to genetic testing, and the pros and cons of geneticRead MoreIs Schizophrenia A Serious Mental Illness?934 Words   |  4 Pagesto think clearly, manage emotions, make decisions and relate to others. It is a complex, long-term medical illness Affects about 1% of Americans. The average age of onset tends to be in the late teens to the early 20s for men, and the late 20s to early 30s for women. Patho We do not completely understand the patho of the disease however, Neuroimaging studies show differences between the brains of those with schizophrenia and those without this disorder. For example, the ventricles are somewhatRead MoreDealing With Dementia Essay979 Words   |  4 Pagesmemory and performance issues were due to a disease. (Life with ALZ)† This disease causes the loss of brain function that occurs with certain diseases. Dementia, is one form of this disease that gradually gets worse over time. It affects memory, thinking, and behavior. (WebMD, 1995) â€Å"Changes that take place in the brains of people. These brain changes may cause the memory loss and decline in other mental abilities that occur with Alzheimers disease. Alzheimer’s generally affects the brain makingRead MoreThe Disadvantages of Genetic Testing on Children Discussed in Dena Davis Book Genetic Dilemmas2357 Words   |  10 PagesIn chapter four of her book Genetic Dilemmas, Dena Dav is asserts that it is unethical for parents to subject their children to genetic testing for the markers of adult-onset genetic diseases because it places an unfair constraint on a child’s right to an open future. It both removes the child’s ability to choose whether to be tested as an adult and has the potential to negatively alter the overall trajectory of their lives. While the current consensus amongst medical professionals is that suchRead MoreDementia And It s Types Essay1429 Words   |  6 Pagesby Alzheimer’s disease, dementia with lewy bodies, vascular dementia, and frontotemporal dementia. Dementia mainly affects older people. Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. Prevalence 44.4 million people were diagnosed with dementia worldwide in 2013. It is forecasted that the number of people with dementia will increase to an estimated 75.6 million in 2030, and 135.5 million in 2050. Much of the increase will be in developing countries. Alzheimer s disease is largely diagnosedRead MoreDifferent Depressive Disorders1397 Words   |  6 PagesIntroduction: Major depressive disorder is characterized by a myriad of symptoms that interferes with a persons daily activities including ability to work, sleep, study, eat, and enjoy once-pleasurable activities. Major depression is a debilitating disease and prevents a person from being functional socially and professionally. Major depressive disorder is known to have significant potential morbidity and mortality, and contributes to suicide, incidences and adverse outcomes of medical illness, disruptionRead MoreAlzheimer s Disease ( Ad )1361 Words   |  6 PagesAlzheimer’s disease (AD), according to Shan (2013), â€Å"is the most common form of dementia. It is a degenerative, incurable, and terminal disease.† (p. 32). AD is a disease in which the brain essentially deteriorates, is vastly progressive, and complex. Because there is no cure for this disease, scientists and researchers should continue seeking effective prevention measures. Alzheimer’s disease accounts for hundreds of thousands of geriatric deaths each year, and affects not only the patient, but