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UES FGM, CAM answer question 1-4
What is the role of biology in shaping personality? Cite relevant examples to support your position.
The role of biology in shaping relationships revolves around the genetic makeup of an individual, which determines not only his or her physical features such as height, complexion and hair texture, but also innate characteristics such as personality. This is seen, for example, in cases of twins who have been found to have similar personalities whether they are raised apart or together. For example, fraternal twins have been found to have similar sexual preferences irrespective of whether they are raised apart or together.
What is the role of culture in personality development? Cite relevant examples to support your position.
A society’s cultural features create certain unique features in the socialization of the children. Common socialization mechanisms and elements may be used to form common features personality features or even a configuration of personality features that are typical for the members of the immediate society. For example, African Americans are different from their African brothers irrespective of their shared lineage, thanks to their socialization in America.
Some social scientists argue that there is some truth in cultural stereotypes; others argue that there is so much individual variation in behavior within any society that stereotypes are invalid. What do you think?
As much as there is an element of uniqueness in every individual in the society, there are those characteristics that are inherent in a certain society. These characteristics are passed from one generation to another or even from one individual to another through socialization. In essence, there exists some truth in stereotypes as far as certain societies having certain characteristics is concerned.
How do you account for the increasing popularity of alternative health care practices at this point in the history of the United States?
The increase in the popularity of alternative healthcare practices can be attributed to their being natural in which case there are few complications. In addition, most of the alternative healthcare practices can be carried out at home, in which case they save a lot of time and money. Apart from their low costs, alternative healthcare practices have been practiced for a long time and has sometimes been considered as the most appropriate in dealing with certain ailments especially where individuals are not responding to conventional medication.
USE CAM2005, SPECTOR5 ANSWER QUESTION 1-14
What differences in meaning are implied by the terms disease, illness, sickness, injury, and disability? Which terms are used most commonly in your profession? Why?
Disease refers to the malfunction of the body processes or rather the explanatory model of illness that is bases on the complex development mechanisms. Illness is the expression of the experience of an individual with deviations from a state that he or she defines as healthy, as well as the significance that he, his environment and his family gives to the deviations and their personal EM on the generation. Sickness combines both the illness and disease sides of the coin, in which case it includes the technical and the socialized, personal, explanatory models of being ill. Disability reflects an interaction between the features of an individual’s body and the societal features, while injury is a body wound that emanates from accident, violence or sudden physical injury.
What is the role of culture in sickness and healing?
Culture influences an individual’s personality and outlook of life. In essence, it determines how an individual views a certain ailment or sickness, as well as his or her views on the effectiveness of remedies given for the ailment. This, eventually, has a bearing on the effectiveness of the medication as pertaining to the placebo effect and the nocebo effect, especially having in mind that traditional healing acknowledges that healing results from the connection with the spiritual world.
What is meant by the social construction of illness and the production of health?
Social construction of illness and the production of health revolve around the idea that all illnesses are constructed socially at the experiential level on the basis of how individuals understand and live with the illness. Some illnesses are certainly embedded with cultural meaning, which shapes the response of the society to the afflicted, as well as the experiences of the illness. In the production of health, medical knowledge pertaining to a disease or illness is not necessarily derived from nature but may be developed or constructed by the claims-makers, as well as other interested parties.
In what ways is the western biomedical system similar and dissimilar to other ethno-medical systems you have learned about? How does CAM bridge this gap?
Western biomedical systems and ethno-medical systems are similar in the acknowledgement of the role of the unseen as far as the health of an individual is concerned. However, they differ in the techniques that they use to restore the health of an individual since ethno-medical systems mostly emphasize on treating the spirit and the emotional aspect of the patient, while western medical systems lay emphasis on the physical. CAM bridges this gap by incorporating treatments that cater for the physical and the spiritual, as well as the emotional or psychological aspect.
How can you explain the continuing role of Shamans and Folk healers in societies around the world? Is this CAM?
Shamans and folk-healers have continued to play a role in the contemporary society thanks to the realization of the interconnectedness of the various aspects of an individual such as the spiritual aspect, emotions and the physical aspect. These are Complementally Alternative Medicine since it tends to move away from the traditional or standard methods of healing. These healers understand that illnesses emanate from human being’s alienation from the world around them and, therefore, try to restore the connection between the physical and the unseen world.
How might one’s perception of the body relate to one’s understanding of the causation of sickness?
An individual’s perception as to the cause of ailment is shaped by his or her perception of the body in that a person’s life lend him to isolation, anxiety and varied ailments that stem from his alienation with the world around him. If an individual believes that he or she is predisposed to a certain illness, there are high chances that he will get sick from those causes. This belief, however, is shaped by an individual’s understanding on the connectedness of the physical and the spiritual realms. In any case, the appropriate understanding of the would allow an individual to eliminate the predisposing factors or causes.
Explain the placebo effect and discuss the relationship of symbol and belief. How is placebo related to nocebo?
The placebo effect of healing occurs when an observable or measurable effect is noticed on an individual simply because he or she believes that the treatment will be effective. This effect underlines a relationship where symbols and sensory experiences such as sight and gullibility, or even thoughts trigger an effect in an individual’s biological and neurochemical systems, which triggers a hopeful outlook on the treatment and affects the physical well-being. The relationship between placebo and nocebo lies in the fact that they are both founded on the role of belief as far as the effectiveness of treatment is concerned, only that nocebo outlines that negative thoughts on the effectiveness of treatment would negatively impact the effectiveness of the same.
Compare Shamanism with professionalism in any health oriented profession. In what ways are they similar and dissimilar?
Shamanism and professional services such as psychiatry can be compared in that both of them pay attention to the unseen in looking for a cure for the varied illnesses. However, the shamanism is a healing modality where healing is accomplished through interaction and relationship with the spiritual or trans-physical world, while the professional psychiatry mainly concentrates on the emotional or psychological aspect. Shamanism healing and rituals may assist individuals to deepen their connections to life and empower them to create relationships with both the unseen and the seen world.
What have you learned from this chapter that might impact how you work with patients or clients in the future?
The key lesson in this chapter revolves around paying attention to the emotional, psychological, as well as the spiritual aspects of a patient when making prescription. This is especially considering that an individual’s spiritual well-being has a bearing on his or her health, and the possibility of recovery. The elimination of negative thoughts that may have a nocebo effect on the individual would, therefore, be imperative.
Discuss the various destinations and purposes of spiritual journeys.
Many people make spiritual journeys to various destinations including the Shrine of Our Lady of Leche, Our Lady of San Juan and the Shrine of St. Peregrine, as well as traditional pilgrimage destinations such as Mecca, Rome and Jerusalem. While many people make the journey in an effort to gain favors such as healing, the key reason for the journey is to search for meaning or something that is missing in an individual’s life. It is taken for the purpose of finding one’s true self with the main focus being on spirituality.
Healing is a term with countless connotations. What does “healing” mean to you? Differentiate between “healing” and “curing.”
In my opinion, healing goes beyond basic curing and revolves around the restoration of an individual’s wholeness where all aspects of an individual would be in harmony. Curing by its nature and concentration on measurable outcomes, focuses on the pathological modifications of the body such as tumor markers, the size of the tumor and other tests. On the other hand, healing takes into consideration the individual who is showing these physical modifications and integrates the emotional and mental aspect of the ailment.
What rituals does your family follow when the birth of a family member occurs? Are they similar or different than those illustrated in the text?
In my family, the birth of a family member is met with rituals such as male circumcision and baptism. In addition, the newborn child is taken to the church as a dedication to God. While there is a definite similarity between these rituals and the ones described in the text, there is a difference as to their context. Most of the rituals described in the text have something to do with the world of spirits and taboos, while circumcision in our family is a matter of cleanliness and religion.
What rituals does your family follow when a death of a family member occurs? Are they similar or different than those illustrated in the text?
In case of the death of a family member, my family engages in washing the body, ritual purification and dressing of the same in line with Judaism. The funeral takes place either immediately after the death or some few days after the death. This is quite different from the rituals described in the text such as cremation, making of masks or even crying loudly.
Write a paragraph about your thoughts on CAM.
In my opinion, Complementally Alternative Medicine (CAM) is safe and effective in curing ailments especially in cases where conventional or standard medication has been proven ineffective. However, I believe that CAM would work best when integrated with standard medications in which case the standard medication would be carrying out the curing process while the CAM would be involved in healing. This is especially having in mind that CAM would incorporate some aspects that cater for emotional and psychological being of the patient.
USE ELABORATING, SPECTOR 8 answer 1-9 questions
Give an example of vantage using examples from your own experience. How might an understanding of vantage impact your professional practices with patients or clients?
I would say that I have a vantage position as far as the knowledge of the interconnectedness of body processes is concerned, which gives me an element of authority in the determination of the appropriate remedies for certain ailments. An understanding of vantage gives an individual the capacity to determine the things that he or she should pay attention to in a certain situation. This is because vantage presents a position, opportunity or condition that provides an advantage and superiority.
What kind of training about observational skills do students in your profession receive? What percentage of professionals in your discipline regularly applies nontechnical observation in their normal interactions with patients and/or clients?
Students in my profession are taught on the importance of making eye contact with patients and all individuals that one comes across. In addition, paying attention to body language would be imperative as it indicates a desire and willingness to communicate or interact. This is especially when combined with a reciprocated eye contact, which may signal that the individual is observing or engaging back. Observational skills are extremely crucial in my profession and, therefore, quite a large percentage of people apply them when dealing with people.
What is the meaning of mutual accommodation? How might mutual accommodation apply in your work place?
Mutual accommodation refers to a process of mutual adaptations that occurs between groups of people or even between individuals, and is usually achieved by reducing or eliminating hostilities, as by arbitration and compromise. In my workplace, mutual accommodation may be achieved though compromise especially having in mind that all individuals have their own likes and preferences which may always be on a collision course. In cases where individuals cannot find a common ground, it is always imperative that outside forces are used to arbitrate disputes among the staff.
What is analytic ethnography?
Analytic ethnography refers to research products and processes in which researchers attempt to offer generic prepositional answers to questions on social organization and life, and uses data based on deep familiarity with a social situation or setting gained by approximation or personal participation. It aims at producing generic and systemic propositions pertaining to social organizations and processes via attention to varied, overlapping research principles. Analytic ethnography enhances dialogue across methods and fields by offering a trans-situational language, and may promote ethnographically-based contributions to policy and intervention.
American Indians, the original inhabitants of North America, are the smallest population cohort. There are countless issues related to the health care needs of the people. Describe several traditional ways of defining health among American Indians.
American Indians believed that health reflect that an individual is living in total synchronization with nature and has the capacity to survive under extremely difficult situations. They believed that the earth is a living organism with desire and will, in which case, human beings must maintain a healthy relationship with nature so as to maintain their health. There were others who believed that the absence of health resulted from lack of prevention using charms, or rather the presence of material objects that intrude one’s body through sorcery.
The knowledge of plants that are used as herbs is a large part of American Indian healing wisdom and practice. Describe examples of traditional herbal remedies.
American Indians used globe mallow to treat wounds and cuts, where the plant’s roots would be chewed to mend broken bones. A person who suffered spider bites would bathe in water where sunflower is soaked, while snakebites would be treated using bladder pod where the plant’s bitter roots would be chewed and placed on the bite. Indian Americans used to grind lichens into powder and rub it on affected gums, while headaches would be treated using fleabane, where the entire herb would be infused and drunk as tea or bound to the head.
There are several variances in mortality rates between the American Indian community and the general population. What are the leading causes of death among American Indians as compared with the causes of death among the entire population of the United States? Discuss reasons for this difference.
Some of the leading causes of mortality among American Indians include heart diseases, unintentional injuries, diabetes mellitus, cerebrovascular diseases, malignant neoplasms, suicide, nephritis, persistent liver diseases and cirrhosis, as well as chronic lower respiratory diseases. The high mortality rates among American Indians may be attributed to historical variations in healthcare distribution, high illiteracy rates, unemployment and overreliance on traditional healing methods. These communities also have relatively higher rates of alcoholism which results in suicide, unintentional injuries and chronic liver diseases and cirrhosis, as well as domestic violence prevalence.
Each of the more than 560 Nations that comprise the American Indian population has both a unique history and HEALTH traditions. Explore the history and HEALTH traditions of a nation not included in the textbook
Native American health traditions are based on the belief in the interconnectedness of everything and everyone one earth. They believed that illnesses are rooted in spiritual problems and are highly likely to invade an individual who has negative thinking, is imbalanced and leads an unhealthy lifestyle. There health traditions aimed at healing rather than curing and used varied practices such as shamanism, purifying rituals, symbolic healing rituals and herbal remedies.
Write a paragraph about a cultural group, ethnography or cultural practice that you find interesting, shocking, thought provoking etc. Discuss your findings and feelings in a culturally relative light.
One of the most shocking cultural practices in Egypt is female genital mutilation, where a lady’s clitoris is cut out the entire or a part of the female genitalia. While this cultural practice is quite painful and comes with a number of serious risks, it is surprising that women are the main advocates of the cut. Female genital mutilation started when soldiers going for war decided to cut a part of their women’s genitalia to prevent them from philandering. The women were kept from philandering, alright, but they remained sickly for the entire time. It is, therefore, surprising that women are the most outspoken advocates of this archaic practice.
