Category: Body

Video games have played a key part of entertainment in life for some people since October 1958. After then, people have remained ‘entertained’ even more so, that for a lot of individuals it has begun (or resumed) to seep into their everyday lives. Video games, in which nearly a third of the planet’s population plays, have started to affect people’s bodies and the way they function, in both good ways, and bad ways. In fact, they can improve vision-related senses/coordination, and even help with consistent physical activity habits. Although there are many people who disagree, exclaiming how video games do not show any result, neither virtuous nor poor, there is a clear valid statement that they do.

Playing video games can improve hand-eye coordination and visual attention. In the article, study author Daphne Bavelier reports that, “action video game play changes the way our brains process visual information”, declaring that simply after 30 hours, video gamers have shown a “substantial increase in the spatial resolution of their vision, the text elaborates”. Playing video games do, clearly, improve an individual’s ‘seeing’ skills after an exceptional amount of time, in a positive way. In an analysis, the article says, “they could see figures like those way down on an eye chart more clearly”, displaying that the “subjects” were affected by the time they spent in front of the screen playing games. She also explains how “…action video game playing trains the same part of the visual cortex (located in the back of the brain) as that which has a dysfunction in people with lazy eye”, revealing that video games even show a path to rehabilitation for people with this diagnosis. In regards to this information, video games can, in fact, and do show result in people, helping with hand eye-coordination, possibly including one’s affected by a condition such as lazy eye.

Playing video games does not affect solely one part of your body, but your body overall. In one article states that the Wii, which had sold over 30 million consoles across only the Americas, came with a controller that encouraged people to move whilst they play. These games using this mechanism included a variety of sports games, which allowed players to move their arms, and the Wii Fit, that allowed players to dance steps or to try yoga. Located as well in the article, Maria Lambiris (an 18-year-old illustration student at the FIT in New York) had said the game system helped her lose five pounds. “You really get into it sometimes and you can use your whole body”, she said. This variety of games don’t necessarily offer the same amount of physical past time, but can act as a way to encourage people to get on with a healthier lifestyle. As a separate section in the article writes, Yancy (Clyde Yancy, AHA president; an association that provides and funds cardiovascular medical research) says: “It is a first step for someone who Is sedentary” (someone who is accustomed to sitting, not doing much exercise), further elaborating the point that someone who doesn’t have the best habits/body conditions can change that and become more active. One who’s second nature is not exercising could be affected by body moving video games, like the Nintendo Wii provided.

Although a galore of people do give credit to the statement that video games affect your body in some way (positive and negative), many people disagree. In the core set of videogames, one would only use fingers, creating the case that your ‘actual’ body doesn’t have much contact with the games. Considering this, some people who do believe this fact also support that it may cause a small bit of strain in the fingers. Though this evidence is not very significant, concluding that this is not enough to support that they do affect most of the body. For a wide variety of people, video games do not have a significant negative nor positive effect on the body, although most of the public claim differently.

At long last, video games do have a significant effect, either unfavorable or favorable, on an individual’s body. Although a portion believe else ways, they can affect your eyesight/visual issues, and can get one into exercising habits, by just the movement of arms. And in spite of these facts being fortunate, there are also damaging ones.

Would you believe me if I had told you that newborn babies actually have more bones than fully grown adults? Crazy, right? The human body and the many parts that make it up are extremely incredible. If one part or organ within the body fails it can also cause failure to many other parts within the body. Each part does what it needs, and works together with the other parts of the body to make a happy, healthy, human life. Every role from organ, bone, or organ system plays a very important role in a person’s life. The anatomy of the human body includes bones, bone density, and the organ systems.

Furthermore, bones play a crucial role in the human body. A bone is a type of rigid, living, growing tissue made up of collagen. Collagen is the main protein found in the tissues within the human body and it provides a soft framework. Calcium phosphate is a mineral that adds a certain amount of strength and will harden the framework of the collagen, and allow the bones to be strong and flexible. Bones don’t only protect the organs of the body, but they also produce white and red blood cells, enable mobility, store minerals, and provide both structure and support for the body. A human adult has 206 bones within their body; 80 of them being in the axial skeleton, and the other 126 in the appendicular skeleton. There are five types of bones in the body, being, short, long, flat, irregular, and sesamoid. Short bones are mostly cube-shaped and consist mostly of spongy bone, being the bone in both the ankles and wrists. Long bones are a more compact type of bone and are sponge-like at the end. Long bones are the bones in the arms, legs, forearms, and thighs. Flat bones are just what they sound like, flat, thin, and most of the time curve. Irregular bones are a mix of long, short, and flat bones. The irregular bones are mostly spongy with a thin layer of compact bone on the outside, and the irregular bones are in the vertebrae and skull. Sesamoid bones are small, round bones embedded within the tendons, and are found in the hands, knees, and feet. The bones play a crucial role when it comes to protecting the body and its organs.

Likewise, bone density is the number of bone minerals that a person has within their bone tissue. Bone density is measured from the mass of minerals per volume of bone. Bone density will be measured when trying to find a disease within the bones or see if your bones have a higher fracture risk than normal. A condition that is most commonly looked for when measuring bone density is osteoporosis or osteopenia. Osteoporosis is a condition that is caused by deteriorating bone and low bone mass, which cause fragility within the bones. Astronauts lose an average of 1-2% of bone mineral density each month they’re in space.

Moreover, the human body doesn’t revolve around only one organ system but actually revolves around them all pretty equally. There are a total of eleven major organ systems in the human body; including the integumentary, skeletal, muscular, nervous, cardiovascular, endocrine, lymphatic, respiratory, urinary, digestive, and reproductive systems. All of the systems play a major role in keeping the body healthy and alive. The integumentary system includes the skin, nails, and hair. The major role of the integumentary system is to protect the inside of the body, including the skeleton and organs. The skeletal system is the literal backbone of the body, and completely gives the body its shape and overall movement. The skeletal system includes bones, teeth, and joints; the bones act as a protectant to the internal organs. The muscular system is made up of three different types of muscles, smooth, cardiac, and skeletal muscles. The muscular system does everything from controlling the regulation of body temperature, the beating of the heart, and allowing the overall voluntary movement of the body. The nervous system includes the brain, spinal cord, and nerves, which control both voluntary and involuntary responses within the body. The nerves make up the peripheral nervous system, and the brain and spinal cord make up the central nervous system. The cardiovascular system is more of a transportation system than anything. The cardiovascular system or the “circulatory system” allows for the transportation of oxygen into your lungs, carbon dioxide, and waste into your kidneys, to then filter out of your system, and also allows the pumping of blood from your heart to your blood vessels. The cardiovascular system is made up of the heart, blood, veins, arteries, and capillaries. The endocrine system is made up of a gland called the pituitary gland, and that gland allows hormones to be transported through the body for growth, metabolism, and sexual development. The lymphatic system is mostly made up of the spleen and lymph nodes. The lymphatic system removes debris and certain pathogens from the bloodstream. The respiratory system allows the delivery of oxygen into the blood and the removal of carbon dioxide from the body. The respiratory system includes the lungs, trachea, and nasal passages. The urinary system is made up of a pair of kidneys, two ureter tubes, and a urethra. The main role of the urinary system is to excrete urinary waste from your body. The digestive system includes many organs, being, as the mouth, stomach, esophagus, and small and large intestines. The digestive system moves food through the GI tract until it is ingested and the nutrients from the food are absorbed. The reproductive system includes the parts of both females and males, so the reproductive system will be different depending on gender. The main role of the reproductive system is to reproduce and make offspring.

Finally, the human body has so many parts to it, and each part has a specific job within the body. All of the parts find a way to work together and allow movement, growth, emotions, and overall allow life. The anatomy and some of the most important parts of the human body are bones, bone density, and the organ systems. The human body is completely incredible, and I have already learned so much about just within this first semester. I can’t wait to go into the second semester and learn even more about the body and what it can do.

Stress has affected people in a harmful way throughout time. It is identified when the individual passes through a certain tragedy or uncomfortable moment in their life, the body can automatically identify if the situation the person is going through is either threatening or non-threatening to them, and stress can either affect them long term or for a short amount of time. Stress factors also depend on the person’s gender, age, personality, etc. the individuals will react in different ways, some may react very anxious, heart rate goes faster, their blood pressure rises, breathing is much heavier, the muscles tighten up. This helps the person to react faster to a situation, for example, when you are about to have a car accident, your body automatically reacts to access the break in order to prevent any accident.

The human body is designed to react to stress, in order to protect itself against threats or any aggressive situations or person, that project a threat to oneself. Stressors, for example, could be and are work-related situations, worrying too much about providing for their family, when taking care of family members such as children or elderly relatives, that require extra help and extra care. In which the body automatically considers a stressor as a threat.

Stressors are always present in our life due to living in a very fast-paced society, where everyone demands to do everything correctly and in a certain amount of short time. The body can automatically feel under attack, and the fight-or-flight reaction may occur. According to (Shaw 2003), any exposure to intense situations during an individual’s developmental years have long-lasting effects and may result in an increased risk of anxiety and other mood disorders, aggressive behaviors hypo-immune dysfunction. According to (Shaw 2003).

Stressful life events come prior to anxiety disorders. Studies have shown that anxiety occurs most of the time before depression, which more likely individuals with anxiety will develop different kinds of mental disorders, for example; major depression after stressful, traumatic life events. (Angst &Vollrath 1991, Breslau et al. 1995). Negative impacts of Stress in an individual life will likely cause health negative impacts after traumatic events in their life. These individuals are at high risk to develop; Anxiety, Depression, Digestive problems, Heart disease, sleep problems, weight gain, post-traumatic stress disorders. Many people think that drinking, smoking, using any kind of substance, or even sleeping more than usual, using the internet, or watching television may help them, and relax them for the moment, but in reality, their depression or any other disorder may worsen.

The most common stressors for children and adolescents are exposed to violence, and any kind of abuse, or even divorce. (Cicchetti 2005). Survivors of childhood sexual abuse have higher levels of general distress and physiological and disturbances, including personality disorders. (Polusny & Follet 1995). Which may suffer in more antisocial behavior, depression, and anxiety, compared to those who did not suffer from any of those kinds of tragedies in their childhoods. People that live in more stressful situations have more increases in individuals having alcohol, smoking, and substance abuse, sleep, and eating disorders.

Although stress can affect a person’s health, there are also ways the individual going through any stressful situations can manage their stress and increase their health benefits and likely reduce their stress. Some examples of ways to control stress or anxiety are getting regular physical activity, practicing relaxation techniques, which may include meditating, etc. Spending time with family members, finding a hobby that they enjoy doing, reading, or listening to music, may help reduce the stress.

Conclusion

In conclusion, while stress can cause a lot of harm to you both mentally and physically, there are ways to manage your stress. By learning to manage your stress, will lessen your risk of developing depression or an anxiety disorder.

An autopsy is a traditional and classic technique of forensic medicine, but due to the need to destroy the body, the autopsy is sometimes resisted and rejected. Virtual anatomy provides a non-invasive test for forensic examination, which can objectively and accurately reflect fractures, soft tissue injuries, invasive diseases, organ damage, etc., providing intuitive and powerful evidence for forensic identification practice. “Virtual anatomy” is “virtopsy”, which is a combination of “virtual” and “autopsy”. It is mainly used to introduce modern imaging examination technology into forensic corpse examination, thus creating a non-invasive and non-invasive (or minimally invasive) anatomy. This essay will examine the pros and cons of the new technology.

Compared with the traditional autopsy, the virtual anatomy can perform a full-body examination and can make a more accurate diagnosis in a short time, while also respecting some religious beliefs that are not willing to dissect the body. In some cases, virtual anatomy can even replace traditional autopsy. With the development of virtual anatomy technology, it plays an increasingly important role in forensic practice and has been affirmed by many domestic and foreign forensic scientists. For the first instance, the damage information obtained by virtual anatomy is relatively comprehensive, and the result judgment is objective and independent. Moreover, the repeatability is good. The main purpose of forensic examination is to record, analyze and depict the damage and pathological changes found in living or corpses. The most direct information can be obtained by visual observation and dissection of the corpse, but the judgment of the anatomical results is subjective and depends on the ability of case-handling forensics. The autopsy is a highly destructive operation, and of poor reproducibility. The amount and quality of the information provided by the second anatomy will be greatly reduced, and the more autopsy, the less gains. The emergence of imaging techniques such as X-ray, CT, and MRI provide a non-invasive test procedure that replaces scalpels with surface scans, X-rays, magnetic resonances, etc. Also, no longer autopsy records are written in understandable regulatory language. Instead, an objective image photo is generated. This technology enables high-quality control and expert participation, and enables image transmission and remote consultation, making the confirmation of the evidence more realistic and effective, and facilitating expert consultation in difficult and complicated cases. And for the anatomy of complex body parts (such as the head and face, neck, pelvis, etc.), virtual anatomy provides an alternative or more means of forensic corpse testing.

Moreover, in cases where laws, religions, and cultures prohibit the infringement of the body, and certain infectious bodies are not suitable for autopsy, virtual anatomy provides an alternative method of examination that can play an important role under certain conditions. Virtual anatomy is definitely safe and non-toxic. Conventional anatomy experiment teaching is inseparable from the ‘formaldehyde’ antiseptic fixed treatment of cadaver specimens. Formaldehyde can evaporate a strong pungent odor, which will stimulate the teacher’s and students’ respiratory and visual organs and have long-term damage. Therefore, reducing the time and opportunity of exposure to formaldehyde is beneficial to the physical and mental health of teachers and students.

It is undeniable that the digital human anatomy system is powerful, but it also increases the amount of information and the complexity of the operation. Operators need special training and it’s hard to use them proficiently in a short time. The digital human anatomy system is powerful and resource-rich, resulting in higher prices. It takes hundreds of thousands of dollars to establish a standard digital anatomy laboratory. Anatomical cadaver specimens have numerous anatomical structures, and some of the fine structures cannot be marked in detail in the digital human anatomy system. In addition, the anatomical structure in the digital human anatomy system is reconstructed in three dimensions, and all the structural levels on the cadaver specimen do not correspond completely in the digital human anatomy system, such as the structural level of the superficial fascia and deep fascia. The color is also artificially colored, which means that there is still a certain color difference with the actual cadaver specimen. Therefore, the study of anatomical knowledge cannot be completely dependent on the digital human anatomy system, and the phase of human specimens and digital human systems is still needed to be mutually integrated. At present, the virtual operation in the digital human anatomy system can not completely replace the real anatomical operation process. Especially in the experimental teaching process of partial anatomy, the digital human anatomy system can not let students personally understand the true texture of human organ structure. Therefore, local anatomy still needs to be based on cadaver specimens and the digital human anatomy system serves as a supplement. These limitations make virtual anatomy technology difficult to apply as a routine method to forensic corpse examination in China in a short time.

Virtual anatomy technology has the advantages of objectivity, accuracy, and non-invasiveness, which can lay a foundation for the establishment of a high-quality identification procedure for forensic science. However, it also has certain limitations and cannot completely replace the traditional autopsy. However, it is undoubted that the importance of imaging methods in forensic identification will become more and more prominent. What’s more, it is controversial that the image of the proposed autopsy can be modified. In the context of the increasing emphasis on the value of image legal information in the judicial system, it is essential for image quality requirements in order to solve the problem that images may be forged. Whether virtual anatomy is an evolution or a revolution in forensic science, this new forensic concept will surely be agreed upon by more professionals.

“Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder.” In society today, the ideals of how individuals are expected to look are everywhere. Expectations of body image can be found all over, whether it be in a magazine with an ultra-thin model, the friend who is always obsessing over her weight, or the mother telling her child that he or she needs to lose weight. The media, peers, and family can have a significant influence on body image which can lead to multiple psychological, emotional, and physical problems. With the advancements made in technology, the media’s role in impacting how one perceives themselves has increased drastically. In today’s society, people value how others view them, such as the number of likes they receive on their Instagram posts. Overall, it can be seen that the media has a negative impact on one’s body image as the body ideals being portrayed are misleading and unrealistic, which in turn results in unhealthy habits, as well as mental and eating disorders.

In most circumstances, the media presents an unrealistic body type for young adolescents to look up to. For instance, the most fashionable, sought-after magazines are saturated with beautiful, thin women who display the ideal body image that every young girl aspires to have.

Starting from an early age, young children are already introduced to society’s perfect body ideals when playing with their Barbie dolls, and GI Joe figurines, and even when watching Disney princesses or superhero movies. According to an article written by Martin (2010), the ideal body image was first developed in the minds of young girls from playing with skinny dolls with an unnatural body proportions and unhealthy body mass index. The article notes that because of the figures of the dolls, may have influenced the young girls’ self-esteem, as well as the formation of their own ideal body image as they mature (Martin, 2010, para. 12). … However, this does not exclude young males. With the release of multiple action figures and superhero movies also comes an entirely new set of body ideals. With reference to the same article written by Martin (2010), the muscular body image of male dolls young boys play with, such as Batman and GI Joe, is the ideal body image that they would most likely normalize and presumably desire to imitate. Similar to females, young males’ perception of ideal body image formed from playing with muscular action figures (Martin, 2010, para. 13) …

With the advancements made in modern technology, it has become increasingly possible to access any media platform effortlessly. Using this newfound technology, teenagers can easily comprehend what is expected of them in regard to appearance, as well as what is considered to be healthy and beautiful. However, the distinction between a healthy relationship with food, dieting, weight loss, exercise, and anorexia is becoming further and further blurred. According to an article published by the University of California, Berkeley, and written by Barcellos (2017), popular trends such as ‘thinspiration’ and ‘fitspiration’ Instagram pages have spread the message of promoting thinness, health, and wellness. In spite of this, the article indicated that these ‘thinspiration’ and ‘fitspiration’ pages glamorize the image of bony bodies and the restriction of food intake under the disguise of promoting a healthy diet and weight loss (Barcellos, 2017, para. 4). Pages that endorse this message may promote destructive habits and diets that can lead people towards unhealthy disordered eating and excessive exercise, which is disguised as dieting, health promotion, and wellness. Ultimately, eating disorders are often hard to catch, easy to ignore, and can leave long-lasting negative impacts on relationships with food and exercise.

Considering that the media’s negative impacts have now been acknowledged, it is clear that the media has a significant impact on the lives of adolescents. As discussed, the body ideals being portrayed on different media platforms are misleading and unrealistic, which can lead to the development of mental and eating disorders. Recalling how the media manipulates teenagers more than any other age group, it is important for teens to learn to sift out the truth from the lies and to stop trying to confine themselves to certain people and lifestyles. Ultimately, every individual should learn to ignore the media and remember that being themselves is better than conforming to what the media wants them to be.

Introduction

The viewpoint of individuals surrounding the use of caffeine, with some saying it can be detrimental whilst others believe it can be beneficial for our health. Caffeine is a neurological stimulant drug, which many people rely on during their everyday lives, as it makes the user more alert and awake. Caffeine is found naturally in coffee, cocoa beans, and tea, and is also found in products such as energy and soft drinks. The table to the left shows the amount of caffeine in different foods and beverages that someone would most likely consume on a daily basis.

Caffeine consumption

Caffeine, being a neurological drug, namely targets the brain and neurological system. Once caffeine enters the body, it acts by blocking adenosine receptors in our brain and replaces them with caffeine. Adenosine is a natural hormone that promotes sleep and tells us that we are becoming tired, when replaced with caffeine the adenosine levels drop providing us with energy surges and more alert activity. As adenosine levels lower, adrenaline levels rise, also providing further energy. The diagram to the left shows that C (adenosine), is replaced with A (caffeine) to provide the body with these boosted moods and alerted activity.

As all drugs should be, caffeine is to be consumed proportionately, and for users to understand how much caffeine is too much. It needs to be noted, that although it is rare if too much caffeine is taken it can cause a lethal overdose. The recommended daily intake for an adult is 400mg, and for an adolescent, it is recommended to not exceed 100mg. It is also to be considered how long caffeine has, and how long it will last in an individual’s body. Caffeine has a half-life of 6 hours, meaning that after 6 hours half of the caffeine would most likely be eliminated from the user’s body, and after 48 hours all of the caffeine would be gone. Though when saying this, many people need a coffee refill before the end of the day, showing that most feel the effects on their body after only half of the caffeine is utilized. The graph presented to the right demonstrates the half-life of caffeine and how it progressively drops over time until there is no caffeine left to be used in one’s body.

Benefits & Detriments of Caffeine

There are a number of long and short-term effects on the body after consuming caffeine and can be variable depending on the circumstances of each individual.

Benefits

• Alertness to our body
• Can minimize the risk of certain diseases and sickness
  • Parkinson’s Disease
  • Alzheimer’s
  • Melanoma

Detriments

• Can cause addiction/withdrawal effects and symptoms
• Anxiety or trouble sleeping
• Physical side effects such as – higher heart rate and higher blood pressure

Withdrawal and Addiction

When an individual has become addicted to caffeine it is because their body has adapted to the caffeine meaning they will require more to have a substantial effect. They will start to need caffeine daily to feel as if they can function. Withdrawal is when one stops their intake of caffeine and their body begins to have side effects without the stimulant acting upon their brain.

Signs of Addiction

• Continued caffeine use
• Craving caffeine multiple times throughout the day
• Unsuccessful efforts on trying to limit caffeine use
• Caffeine is taken in large amounts

Symptoms of Addiction

• Sleep disruption
• Migraines
• Quickened heartbeat
• Muscle tremors
• Nausea

If someone is experiencing caffeine addiction, they should try cutting back their caffeine consumption but not totally cut it off as it could lead to withdrawal.

Symptoms of Withdrawal Include

• Headaches
• Irritability
• Muscle aches and pains
• Constipation
• Lack of Concentration
• Fatigue
• Anxiety

The best way to avoid caffeine withdrawal is for the individual to slowly lower their intake of caffeine and not stop it totally all at once, so that their body can slowly adjust.

As stated above, there are multiple positive and negative effects of caffeine. It is more than often a benefit rather than detrimental to one’s health, as can help prevent diseases and provide one with a stimulant throughout the day. Caffeine only becomes a negative aspect when its use is abused and causes one to have addiction and withdrawal struggles.

Depression & Anxiety

Depending on the individual’s circumstance caffeine can either help or hinder someone if they suffer from depression and/or anxiety. If caffeine is consumed in moderate amounts it can improve their mood and can alleviate their depression to some extent. Though, after the effects of caffeine wear off their mood could instantly drop again.

With heavy use and intake of caffeine an individual, especially with anxiety, could be triggered into something similar to a fight-or-flight situation. Where their body is dealing with excess adrenaline levels and reacts with high heart rate and blood pressure, nausea, and restlessness.

Overall if someone is suffering from depression or anxiety, it is best to drink or consume caffeine in extreme moderation, as it can cause short-term fixes or cause them to go into a situation worse for their own mental health.

Conclusion

Overall, I believe that although caffeine can provide our body with detrimental effects it is the misuse of caffeine that causes these effects. If one consumes caffeine safely and in the right amounts is more beneficial and won’t cause either short or long-term issues that occur from overdose or abuse of the drug. Caffeine is not detrimental to our body and health as long as individuals know how caffeine works as a stimulant drug and overdoses can occur leading to major issues.

Bibliography

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In ‘The Story of My Body’ by Judith Cofer, she and Julia share the experience of moving from one country to another and getting accustomed to a new culture. Some differences between them are that Julia had a tough time struggling with her name, while Judith struggled with her body image. In both situations, their self-values changed over time. In ‘Names Nombres’ by Julia Alvarez, she went from feeling self-conscious about her names to feeling confident about them and accepting them as a part of her daily life. Her new attitude is shown ‘after the commencement ceremony, my family waited outside in the parking lot while my friends and I signed yearbooks with nicknames that recalled our high school good times: ‘Beans’ and ‘Pepperoni’ and ‘Alcatraz’. We hugged and cried and promised to keep in touch (Alvarez). In Judith’s case, she learned to be more accepting of her body and decided not to let others change her for who she is. After understanding that she was too focused on what others’ opinions were of her, Judith decided that ‘my studies, later my writing, the respect of people who saw me as an individual person they cared about. These were the criteria for my sense of self-worth that I would concentrate on in my adult life’ (Cofer).

In ‘The Story of My Body’ by Judith Cofer, she expresses the idea that while one’s culture can make them stand out, it can also make them labeled and overlooked as well. When her crush declined their dance, ‘Ted’s father had known Puerto Ricans in the army. He had lived in New York City while studying architecture and had seen how the course lived. Like rats. Ted repeated his father’s words to me as if I should understand his predicament when I heard why he was breaking our date'(Cofer). This reveals that because of her cultural background, she was judged by someone who had never met her and couldn’t have possibly known her as an individual person. Ted’s father grouped her in with the Puerto Ricans that he met before and didn’t give her a chance to even introduce herself. Nancy Lee can relate to this situation because she was denied the art award after the award managers discovered that she was of African American descent. Nancy Lee was discriminated against because of her skin color and grouped with all other African Americans. As a result, her artistic talent was overlooked because of her culture. Julia Alvarez also experienced a similar situation when her classmates were asking about her name. Julia knew ‘they were just being curious, I knew, but I burned with shame whenever they singled me out as a ‘foreigner’, a rare, exotic, friend'(Alvarez). Julia felt overlooked because even though her classmates were being curious, no one was taking the time to understand her as an individual person or some of the things she liked. Her classmates only asked about her culture and where she was from. When one is grouped or labeled because of their culture it can make them feel overwhelmed and underappreciated. In ‘Saboteur’ by Ha Jin, Mr. Chiu is unfairly arrested and detained by policemen in Muji, China. Soon after being arrested, he is told that ‘your crime is sabotage, although it hasn’t induced serious consequences, yet. Because you are a Party member, you should be punished more (Jin). Mr. Chiu’s belief in equality caused him to stand out because he was a Party member. As a result, he was treated differently than the other prisoners. This is ironic because he is supposed to believe in equality for all and because of his beliefs he is being treated unfairly. He demonstrates brave and heroic traits from the beginning when he sends his wife home so she isn’t in danger, and how he refuses to sign the papers bearing false claims about him and saying he is a saboteur. In the police report, “Mr. Chiu was dazed to see the different handwritings, which all stated that he had shouted in the square to attract attention and refused to obey the police”(Jin) and “something stirred in Mr. Chiu’s stomach, a pain rising to his ribs. He gave out a faint moan(Jin). The pain in his stomach symbolizes his negative experiences in jail, and things going downhill for him. By being brave and standing up for himself, he just worsened his time in jail and made things even worse for himself. By disagreeing with the police to go with the false reports, Mr. Chiu only lengthened his time in jail, which caused him to seek revenge on his way out. In “One Friday Morning” by Langston Hughes, Nancy Lee shows similar traits to Mr. Chiu, such as bravery and heroism. However, her personality leads to positive consequences and she even gets her teacher to help her with her newfound goal. After she was rejected for the art award, she displays bravery because instead of keeping her feelings bottled up inside of her, she expressed her feelings to her teacher and she made a promise to prevent others from being targets of discrimination in the future. As a result, Miss O’Shay was glad to help and Nancy Lee held no malice toward those who rejected her because of her skin color.

On the other hand, in “The Story of My Body” By Judith Cofer, she isn’t as brave as Nancy Lee and Mr. Chiu were. When she was a child, she was at a grocery store when discriminated against because of her race. She was shooed out of the store and berated by the owners. After Judith touched the doll she wanted for Christmas, one of the store owners yelled at her, and “I felt him approach, and when I knew he was behind me, I turned around to face the bloody butcher’s apron. His large chest was at my eye level. He blocked my way. I started to run out of the place, but even as I reached the door I heard him shout after me”(Cofer). She ran away because she was afraid and alone. Judith didn’t have anything or anyone to help her in that situation. If she did stand up to the store owner, things would have gotten ugly for her and she would have gotten into even more trouble. Judith cares about her self-image and where she comes from, but it isn’t worth getting beat up and yelled at to make her point, so she took the high road and ran away.

Structure and function of the muscular system

Muscle types

In our body, there are multiple different types of muscles and they can be put into groups these groups Smooth, Cardiac, and Skeletal. Smooth muscles are the building blocks of hollow organs such as the intestine. The heart, the sole domain of cardiac muscles, is the exception here. Unlike the other types of muscles, smooth muscles typically exist at a cellular level. That means that everyone’s body has just about countless amounts of smooth muscles. Similar to the cardiac muscles of the heart, smooth muscles are also under involuntary control. The cardiac muscle is the muscle that makes up the wall of the heart. This essential muscle group is what enables the heart to contract. It’s also the easiest muscle group to remember when the test rolls around because all human bodies contain only one cardiac muscle: the heart itself. Skeletal muscle very much relies on the skeleton itself to perform the body’s most basic movements. Without the 206 bones of the human skeleton pulling against contracting skeletal muscle fibers, you simply wouldn’t be able to walk, run, stand, or even sit down.

Major muscles in the body

The biceps are a large muscle situated on the front of the upper arm between the shoulder and the elbow. The muscle’s primary function is to flex the elbow and rotate the forearm. The main functions of the biceps are the flexion and supination (outward rotation) of the forearm. This is facilitated, in part, by the 90-degree rotation of the muscle as it connects to the radius. The triceps is a major muscle of the upper arm in the human body. The triceps run along the humerus (the main bone of the upper arm) between the shoulder and the elbow. Along with the biceps, it enables extension and retraction of the forearm. When the triceps are contracted, the forearm extends and the elbow straightens; if the triceps are relaxed and the biceps flexed, the forearm retracts and the elbow bends. The deltoid muscle is the main muscle of the shoulder. It consists of three muscle heads: the anterior deltoid, lateral deltoid, and posterior deltoid. All assist with arm elevation during a process called glenohumeral elevation and play a large role in the movement and overall stability of the shoulder joint and upper arm.

The pectoralis major is a fan-shaped muscle in the front of your chest wall. The muscle has two heads: the clavicular head and the sternocostal head. The clavicular head originates from the front of your collar bone (medial clavicle), then continues down your upper arm bone (humerus) where it attaches at the intertubercular sulcus. The pectoralis major is superficial, making it easy to see and feel (palpate). If you place one hand on the front of your shoulder and slide it in toward your breast bone, your pecs reside under the layer of fatty tissue or breast tissue of your chest. The rectus abdominis muscle is located in the front of the body, beginning at the pubic bone and ending at the sternum. It is located inside the abdominal region. You can use this muscle when doing sit-ups or crunches and you can see these if a person has a six-pack on their stomach. The strengthening of the rectus abdominus muscle can boost performance in a sport that requires jumping. The quadriceps femoris muscle, commonly known as the quad muscle, is the strongest muscle in the human body. It is located in the anterior compartment of the thigh, together with the sartorius. The quadriceps femoris muscle translates to four-headed muscle from Latin. It bears this name because it consists of four individual muscles; rectus femoris, vastus medialis, vastus lateralis, and vastus intermedius. Out of all four muscles, only the rectus femoris crosses both the hip and knee joints.

The hamstrings are a group of muscles that cross the hip and knee joints and are responsible for walking, running, jumping, and many other physical activities. The hamstrings flex the knee joint and extend the thigh backward to propel movement. Located at the backs of the legs; the hamstrings are the opposing muscles to the quadriceps. Because the hamstrings originate at the sitting bones, they are naturally stretched while sitting. The hamstring can get injured quickly because they are a critical muscle in most sports so a hamstring injury can be frequent across a number of sports. The calf is composed of two muscles, the soleus and the gastrocnemius, which is a large muscle located in the back of your lower leg. The gastrocnemius muscle is an important mover of your lower leg and is responsible for normal walking and running actions. The gastrocnemius joins the soleus to form the Achilles tendon, the large tendon that attaches to your heel bone. You have two gastrocs, one in each lower leg. The soleus muscle is a wide flat leg muscle found on the posterior leg. It runs from just below the knee to the heel and lies immediately deep into the gastrocnemius. These two muscles, along with the plantaris muscle, belong to the group of superficial posterior compartment calf muscles. Soleus contraction results in strong plantar flexion. The tibialis anterior muscle is the large muscle that runs down the outside of the shin. It connects to the foot via a tendon that passes across the front of the ankle and attaches to the inside of the foot. The tendon can be felt at the front of the ankle, especially when the tibialis anterior muscle contracts. The erector spinae muscles make up the middle layer of the deep (inner) back muscles. They extend to both sides of the spine between the base of the skull and the pelvis. The erector spinae muscles are divided into three groups, from medial to lateral.

The teres minor muscle is the thick, oval muscle of the upper arm. Despite their similar names, the teres minor muscle has different behaviors and innervation than the teres minor muscle. It is primarily involved in the medial rotation of the arm and also contributes to static posture and arms sway. Reduce the lateral margin and angle of the scapula. The trapezius muscle is a wide, flat-surfaced muscle that extends from the neck to the chest behind the neck and torso. The muscle is divided into three parts: descending (upper), upper (lower), and medium. Muscles contribute to the rhythm of the scapula through attachment to the clavicle and scapula and contribute to head balance through muscle control of the cervical spine. The latissimus dorsi is a large triangular back muscle that helps with chin-ups, swimming, and even breathing. Helps stabilize your back and straighten your shoulders. The latissimus dorsi is often referred to as the ‘latissimus dorsi’ or abbreviated as the latissimus dorsi. The latissimus dorsi is superficial. That is, it is clearly visible (when the skin is removed). In other words, you don’t need to cut the muscle layer to find the latissimus dorsi. When used in combination with the abdominal muscles, the diagonal muscles are the muscles that run on both sides of the center, from the sides of the abdominal muscles to the latissimus dorsi. The slope is beneficial for several reasons. For compound exercises, you need to lean abruptly to maintain balance. For example, when squatting, you need to be sharp so that you don’t lean forward too much and lose shape. In the absence of steep slopes, complex movements can be injured due to imbalances and a lack of strong posture. The gluteus maximus is the largest gluteus maximus in the buttocks. It not only moves the thighs but also gives shape to the buttocks themselves. The other two muscles, most commonly called the gluteal muscles, are the gluteal and gluteal muscles. The gluteus muscles run under the gluteus muscles, and the gluteus minimus is in front of (or below) the gluteus minimus. Together, the gluteal muscles help support your lower back.

The function of the muscular system

The muscular system has 3 main functions apart from holding all of our muscles within our body and the 3 functions are Movement, Heat production, and muscle contraction. Movement is important because the muscular system supports your body when you want to move. This is because if you do not have any muscles, you will not be able to move. When muscles contract, heat is generated. About 70% of the heat in our body is generated by the energy present in muscle tissue. Blood is a fundamental part of thermoregulation during exercise. It absorbs heat from the core of our body and the muscles we work in and transfers heat to our skin when our body overheats. Muscle contraction is defined as a change in muscle length during contraction. Muscles contract in different ways, producing different movements. Isotonic contraction-The muscle creates tension and controls the rate of muscle contraction. This movement can be a concentric or eccentric muscle contraction.

Sliding Filament Theory

Sliding filament theory is a proposed mechanism of contraction of striated muscle, more specifically actin and myosin filaments, resulting in shorter muscle fiber lengths. Actin (thin) filaments in combination with myosin (thick filaments) carry out cell movements. Myosin is a protein that converts ATP (chemical energy) into mechanical energy to produce thrust and movement. This movement produces muscle contraction and movement of non-muscle cells such as mitosis and meiosis (cell division). Actin polymerization and actin-myosin interaction are also involved in cell movement on the surface. Actin filaments have a myosin binding site that becomes visible when troponin molecules bind to calcium ions in the filament, facilitating actin-myosin cross-linking. This process utilizes ATP, which acts as an energy source. ATP is hydrolyzed at the head of the myosin molecule, changing the shape of the head and binding to actin filaments.

How muscles work

An agonist’s muscle is the muscle that gets stretched or ‘strewn’ during execution and acts as the main engine in any action. It is an absolutely vital part of any type of action and works together with the antagonist’s muscles to produce contractions and stretching. In any pair, the agonist muscle contracts, while the antagonist’s muscle relaxes, allowing free movement of our joints and muscles. Let’s use an everyday example of an agonist and an antagonist pair to fully understand the definition of an antagonist and its counterpart biceps and triceps. Together with the agonist. The antagonist’s muscle acts as a pair that work in tandem to allow the joints and limbs to perform more complex movements. These muscles move in the opposite direction of the agonist’s muscles and compensate for the force exerted by these muscles so we don’t injure our fragile joints. The important information to note is that a muscle can only move in one direction. The antagonists of this pair stretch or lengthen, while the agonist’s contract, thereby creating the motion we’re looking for.

The fixator is the muscle, The muscle immobilizes the attachments of the agonist, antagonist, and synergist. What is an example of a fixed muscle? In the human body, we have many examples of muscle immobilization. Fixed muscles are the muscles that stabilize the origin of the agonist and the joint that the origin covers (replacing the suppressed motors) to help the agonist work more efficiently with less effort. For biceps flexion, it will be the muscles of the rotator cuff, the ‘guardian of the shoulder joint’. Most of the fixative muscles work around the hip and shoulder joints.

Isometric muscle contractions do not involve any movement. An isometric contraction occurs when your muscles push against a fixed resistance and no joint or body movement occurs. Even though there is no movement, your muscles are still working and contracting. If you are going to include isometric contractions in your workout, don’t push too hard. Isometric contractions can significantly increase blood pressure, so don’t hold your breath when doing these exercises, and give yourself plenty of breaks. Talk to your doctor if you feel lightheaded or experience any chest pain during an exercise.

Concentric contraction is a type of muscle trigger that causes muscle tension when the muscle shortens. When your muscle shortens, it generates enough force to move an object. This is the most common type of muscle contraction. In weight training, the biceps curl is a very recognizable concentric movement. When you lift a dumbbell toward your shoulders, you may notice that your biceps muscle swells and swells as it shortens. This type of movement is one of the main ways to strengthen your muscles and encourage hypertrophy, i.e. increasing your muscle size.

Eccentric muscle contraction occurs when the total length of the muscle increases as tension is created. For example, the lowering phase of the biceps curl forms an eccentric contraction. Muscles can exert more force in eccentric conditions than in concentric or isometric contraction. Eccentric muscle is when the muscle extends.

Isokinetic exercises are a type of strength training. It uses specialized machines that produce a constant speed no matter how hard you work. These machines control the speed of an exercise by varying the resistance in your range of motion. Your speed remains the same regardless of the force you apply. You can adjust your target workout speed and range of motion to your needs. Different attachments on the machine can isolate and target specific muscle groups. You can use isokinetic exercises to test and improve muscle strength and endurance. Isokinetic exercise refers to movement at a constant speed regardless of the force applied. The muscle contracts and shortens at a constant rate during isokinetic contraction. Isokinetic exercises allow muscles to gain consistent strength throughout the range of motion.

Fibre Types

Type 1 fibers are also known as slow-twitch fibers. They are red due to the presence of a large amount of myoglobin and oxygen and a large number of mitochondria. For this reason, they are resistant to fatigue and are capable of producing repetitive low-level contractions by generating large amounts of ATP during a cycle of aerobic metabolism. They are also used for endurance runs like 10,000m so they can contract multiple times with minimal force applied and they have high concentrations of myoglobin and mitochondria. Having a high concentration of myoglobin in type 1 muscle fibers is very good because there will be more oxygen inside and it will be transported to the mitochondria and which will make the muscles work harder and longer due to the oxygen and energy associated with it. customary. assigned to large muscle groups to be used. The reason why type 1 muscle fibers are good when there is a high concentration of mitochondria is that they are responsible for energy production and are an important part of aerobic energy production. They also have a large capillary network and that would be great because blood, oxygen, and nutrients can be transported much faster and waste can be removed much faster, which would be suitable for Endurance activities will be performed.

Type 2a fibers are a mixture of type 1 and type 2 fibers. These fibers contain a large number of mitochondria and myoglobin. They generate and destroy ATP at a rapid rate using both aerobic and anaerobic metabolism, thereby producing fast and strong muscle contractions. Although they are more prone to fatigue than type 1 fibers. They are used for aerobic energy systems. They are usually used for medium-distance type activities like 400m and they also have pretty good fatigue resistance. They are moderately potent and have moderate concentrations of myoglobin and mitochondria. Having an average concentration of myoglobin and mitochondria in this muscle fiber would be suitable for the 400m because the artist won’t be running as long as the marathon runner, so he will need less myoglobin and mitochondria because the muscle is built use will not need much. oxygen and energy because the events will last as long as the type 1 muscle fibers are active and the muscles will not need as much oxygen and energy to deal with the race as the race will be fairly short in duration. time 23 minutes. Type 2a muscle fibers also have a large capillary network so that they can transport the necessary energy and oxygen at the right time so that the performer does not get fatigued, which makes type 2a muscle fibers quite resistant to fatigue.

Type 2b is white due to low myoglobin levels and also contains few mitochondria. They produce ATP at a slow rate through anaerobic metabolism and break it down very quickly. This leads to a short burst of strength that is quick and tiring. Type 2b muscle fibers are white and also contract rapidly, but they are used for anaerobic energy systems. They are used for speed and strength-based activities like the 100m. They tire easily and exert a lot of effort, and they have low levels of myoglobin and mitochondria because they are anaerobic living muscle fibers. They also have few capillaries because the type 2b muscle fibers are used for anaerobic activities and the muscles will not require large amounts of oxygen and energy since the run will only last about 10 seconds and most movements will not be as large as they should be. Encourage not breathing during this time. the period of time in the race because it’s so fast and it allows them to use that quick power and energy to their advantage and the muscles get tired much more easily because they don’t get as much oxygen and nutrients transported to the active muscle used during the run.

Type 1 fibers are associated with a high level of endurance, as opposed to type 2b fibers which are the opposite, this is because they have low endurance and are suited to strength and power, type 2a fibers are the compromise of endurance and power. This means that people with type 1 fibers are best suited to events such as long-distance running, power walking, and long-distance swimming and cycling. Also, people with type 2a fibers are best suited for medium-distance running, medium short-distance swimming, hockey, basketball, and football. Also, people with type 2b fibers are best suited to sprinting, boxing, rugby, American football, judo, shot-put, javelin, weight lifting, discus, long jump, and high jump.

Reference list

1. https:www.healthline.comhealthisokinetic
2. https:www.sciencedirect.comtopicsmedicine-and-dentistryeccentric-muscle-contraction
3. https:www.stayfitwithanand.com201910fixator-muscle.html
4. https:www.healthline.comhealthfunctions-of-the-muscular-system#digestion
5. https:www.verywellhealth.comgluteus-maximus-anatomy-4690997
6. https:www.verywellhealth.comgastrocnemius-muscle-anatomy-4684083
7. https:www.healthline.comhealthquadriceps#function
8. https:www.modernheal.commuscle-types

“Investigating the effects that the fashion industry and its promotional materials has on body image in female consumers of different ages”

Background and Rationale

This particular subject has been explored and researched in many different books and journal articles, all of which find links between how different aspects of the fashion industry, such as fashion advertising and social media, tend to affect the body image of a woman and create body dissatisfaction. The most recognized cause for this is the use of size zero models, which caused women to be left with a “thin ideal”, which generally can make a woman want to be thinner to fit into the current appearance-based society that we live in.

An article titled “Does size matter?” showed a study into whether different-sized models changed a female consumer’s perception of a brand. The findings described that older consumers were not as significantly impacted by brand images, whether they involved an underweight or obese model. However, consumers aged between 18 and 25 seemed to be slightly more affected when images of slender models were used (Watson et al., 2015). Although this study does have limitations such as the sample size being small and limited to the city of Berlin, Germany, it still creates an outline of how other female consumers may react to the same study.

A study investigating what might “negatively influence the self-image perceptions of young women, causing them to strive for an “ultra-thin” ideal” found that social media influencers and social media networking can be a significant cause for a woman to have this perception of what their body should look like. The same article agreed that thin models used within the fashion industry are extremely influential to young women especially and can result in issues such as low self-esteem and body image, causing further problems like anorexia, bulimia, and depression (Grover et al., 2016). However, studies finding issues such as mental health and eating disorders being linked to social media and fashion cannot always take into account other factors that cause these specific outcomes.

Yu and Jung (2018) focused on the effects on young women’s body image and self-esteem after media image exposure. After 380 university students responded to a survey consisting of thin and nonidealized images in fashion advertisements, the findings were that there was a decrease in body dissatisfaction, self-esteem and increased levels of body image problems, whereas motivational media was seen to improve self-esteem and body anxiety (Yun and Jung, 2018).

Moreno-Domínguez et al., 2018 also correlated the findings of previous studies after exposing 145 women to a range of thin and plus-size models. They found that women who had seen the thin models had a decrease in body image, whereas women who were exposed to overweight models had an improvement in body image – potentially due to feeling less of a need to compare themselves to a slim model (Moreno-Domínguez et al., 2018)

Studies into the digital manipulation of models in advertisements found that imagery in the fashion industry promotes “unrealistic beauty standards that have harmful effects on public health” (McBride et al., 2019). These studies confirm that there is a definite relationship between fashion and the body image of a woman.

Slater et al., 2019 looked into the difference in the mood of a woman who viewed an Instagram post of a thin celebrity model and then a parody of the same Instagram image. 102 women aged between 18 and 30 participated in the study which found that exposure to the parody images led to increased body satisfaction and an overall positive mood. This specific article explains how the findings can provide support for the use of “humorous, parody images” to improve mood in young females, giving social media and fashion advertisements the chance to have positive effects on women (Slater et al., 2019). To further prove these findings, Cohen et al., 2019 studied the effects of viewing body-positive content on the mood of young women, along with their body image. The 195 females ages 18-30 who participated were asked to view body-positive, thin-ideal, or appearance-neutral Instagram posts. They found that exposure to body-positive posts made improvements to the participants’ mood and body appreciation, whereas exposure to thin-ideal posts was associated with increased self-objectification (Cohen et al., 2019)

“The Thin Ideal and the Practice of Fashion” is an article that argues how even though there is a growing trend in obesity, the fashion industry and fashion consumers still have an ideal of thinness, due to it being “incorporated into habits, routines, objects and the bodies themselves” (Volonté, 2017). Years of the use of thin models in advertisements along with years of females with the need to be thin may have caused a habit that will prove difficult to break.

Overall, this is an important topic to research with it being an ongoing problem for the majority of women. It needs to be understood more in terms of the fashion industry and how a brand can advertise with their female consumer in mind and how this consumer may be affected by, in particular, the “thin ideal” and what this brings for negative body image and lack of self-worth. Studies that have been previously conducted show many limitations, in particular, the inconsideration of mature women and how they may be affected by today’s current fashion industry, due to the problem seemingly affecting younger females more. This research study will look at why these issues are not as detrimental to the mature female fashion consumer, which could potentially be due to the way older women are advertised by the fashion industry.

Project Aim

To investigate in depth how women of different ages are affected by the fashion industry – specifically in terms of body image. The research will specifically show why women are affected differently according to their age and why this may be – for example, how fashion advertisements are created for different age groups or the huge impact of social media and its influencers on more of the younger generation than the elder.

Project Objectives

1. To research the link between the fashion industry and the body image of young and mature women
2. To identify the use of body image in fashion promotion – e.g. fashion retailers’ advertisements and social media etc
3. To identify the effect of body image presented in fashion promotion on female consumers of different age groups
4. To make a comparative analysis of findings from the above objectives

Methodology

A mixture of qualitative and quantitative research will be used for this research study. The main source of data however will be qualitative, as the point of the research is to find underlying causes and explanations for the relationship between the fashion industry and how it affects women. This can be achieved by analyzing existing articles and studies on this topic, but also by conducting primary research such as questionnaires with women to gain first-hand knowledge. Following on from the questionnaires, an in-depth interview could be carried out with a person(s) from the younger age group and with a person(s) from the older age group – this will give more information into the topic.

The use of quantitative data collection methods will also be beneficial to the outcome of this research study. Collecting numerical data such as statistics will outline any trends between body image and the fashion industry – this will be helpful in comparing the differences between young and mature women and how they are affected. These statistics will be found through existing studies, for example, what percentage of women are affected in terms of body image by promotional material in the fashion industry. This sort of data can also be collected by asking questions in a survey that require a numerical answer.

Methods

I will use the method of literature review to research the link between body image and the fashion industry, and also to identify how body image is used within fashion promotion materials. This will be an effective method for the first two objectives due to the large sample sizes used across existing studies. For the third objective, the use of surveys and interviews will allow me to identify how a woman’s body image is affected by fashion promotion. This will be done by asking a variety of questions to women through an online survey to gain information about the main issues for body image – this information can be further correlated by using an in-depth interview with a small sample of female consumers, where I can gain more information and establish how the effects on body image differ between ages. Finally, I will utilize findings from literature reviews, surveys, and interviews to make a comparative analysis of how the fashion industry and its promotional materials affect female consumers of different ages and why this happens.

Limitations and Ethical Considerations

• Using literature reviews as a method may have limitations when comparing existing research – for example, if participant samples are not similar enough to draw a trend from
• Sample sizes of female consumers in surveys for primary research may not be large enough to establish a firm trend – will need to gain as many participants as possible
• If questions used for surveys and interviews are not clear, it may be difficult to gain accurate opinions and answers
• The use of female participants when conducting surveys and interviews may not be ethical – especially if the participants suffer from self-esteem issues. I will apply for ethics approval through EThoS, the MMU online system
• I will gain signed consent through a participant information sheet and consent form when using interview methods
• Participants will be informed that their data will be used purely for this research study and all personal data will be protected under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), 2018, and the Data Protection Act (DPA), 2018.
• Any personal data collected through primary research methods will be stored securely, for example, in locked cabinets at MMU or on the MMU Hard-Drive which is password protected
• Participants will be kept anonymous, apart from their age

References

1. Cohen, R., Fardouly, J., Newton-John, T. and Slater, A. (2019) ‘#BoPo on Instagram: An experimental investigation of the effects of viewing body positive content on young women’s mood and body image’. New Media & Society, 21(7) pp.1546-1564.
2. Grover, A., Foreman, J. and Burckes-Miller, M. (2016) ‘“Infecting” those we care about social network effects on body image’. International Journal of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Marketing, 10(3) pp.323-338.
3. McBride, C., Costello, N., Ambwani, S., Wilhite, B. and Austin, S. (2019) ‘Digital Manipulation of Images of Models’ Appearance in Advertising: Strategies for Action Through Law and Corporate Social Responsibility Incentives to Protect Public Health’. American Journal of Law & Medicine, 45(1) pp.7-31.
4. Moreno-Domínguez, S., Servián-Franco, F., Reyes del Paso, G. and Cepeda-Benito, A. (2018) ‘Images of Thin and Plus-Size Models Produce Opposite Effects on Women’s Body Image, Body Dissatisfaction, and Anxiety’. Sex Roles, 80(9-10) pp.607-616.
5. Slater, A., Cole, N. and Fardouly, J. (2019) ‘The effect of exposure to parodies of thin-ideal images on young women’s body image and mood’. Body Image, 29 pp.82-89.
6. Volonté, P. (2017) ‘The thin ideal and the practice of fashion’. Journal of Consumer Culture, 19(2) pp.252-270.
7. Watson, A., Leckie, N. and Lebcir, M. (2015) ‘Executive summary of “Does size matter? An exploration of the role of body size on brand image perceptions”’. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 24(3).
8. Yu, U. and Jung, J. (2018) ‘Effects of Self-Discrepancy and Self-Schema on Young Women’s Body Image and Self-Esteem after Media Image Exposure’. Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal, 47(2) pp.142-160.

After learning where we stand in what our current situation is, what technologies have we already acquired, and which we are soon to have available, only one question comes to mind: what will be of humans, both as individuals and as a community?

Throughout history, many philosophers have tried to define what a human is. Plato described humans as a being with a body, made from matter, and a soul, similar to an idea according to his philosophical teachings, a perfect thing that comes from the world of ideas, a world where the concepts of everything resided, and thus Plato was the first to propose a dualism within the body. But later on, Aristotle opened a second line in this anthropological debate, defending that humans were not two separate parts but one, a mix of matter and soul.

Both of these ideas are important and the implications both have when you add the augmentation factor is really interesting. From an Aristotelian perspective, the body and soul are mixed, and contrary to the platonic belief, both of them are equally important. So let’s say in a hundred years someone suffers a terrible accident, and the only way to save them is to replace a great part of their body with a robotic prosthesis, now how much percent of a human must be substituted for them to stop being human? Can someone be called human even if only the nervous system remains and the rest are just robotics? Plato would say that as long as the soul is the same, the body doesn’t matter how it is made therefore yes it would be called a human being as we know today, an Homo Sapiens Sapiens. In this case, I believe Aristotle’s ideas would be much more interesting. Since humans are a balanced mix of soul and body, if one of the two parts is changed then it can no longer be called a human, or at least not the human as we know it today. Changing the body would mean that their capacities to adapt have fully changed, for example, fuel would be different, reproduction would be impossible, and there would be no natural growth (in any case it would be an artificial growth that would happen when changing parts of the body) and the respiratory system would change, so now the question is what do we call what would clearly be this new species? It would definitely be part of the homo family and it has the same brain capacities as normal homo sapiens but with different bodies and different needs, my proposal is Homo Sapiens Machina, which would be a wise man of devices.

The concept that the soul and body are two different entities was first conceptualized by (427-348 BCE) to be known as dualism, Plato would suggest that the body was a host for the soul for it to experience the events of life (Broadie, 2001). He extended this to state that the body was mortal whilst the soul was immortal, and explains this through the chariot allegory. The mind and body work like a chariot in which the driver illustrates the soul trying to guide the two horses (one represents the body, the other represents the mind), and the soul attempts to lead both (Hebbar, 2020). Combining this with the belief that the soul operates with 3 levels: spiritual, thought reason, and appetite desire (Hunt,2007). With this, Plato compares the soul in the Phaedrus to a pair of two steeds, one possesses a ‘lively yet obedient’ character that represents the spirit, and the other depicts ‘violence and unruliness’ illustrating appetite that is both combined and charioted (by reason), they work together (Hunt,2007). Amazingly, Plato`s comparison foretells Freud’s understanding of the unconscious mind over two thousand years prior. Additionally, Plato thought the soul`s destination seems to be ‘the world of the forms’ (theory of forms), whereby the forms ‘exist in an abstract state but are independent of the minds in their own realm’ (Macintosh, 2012). Essentially, as Plato believes knowledge is innate following Socrates, he believes one needs to be taught to retrieve knowledge from another realm (Macintosh, 2012). Furthermore, the theory of forms aligns with the idealist view that any object can be altered or destroyed as material objects are temporary, it cannot be regarded as genuine (Hunt,2007). For instance, if we were to touch a soft or hard object, it is not our sensory receptors that recognize this, but our mind. Plato would suggest the two operate separately and in a way, despite the soul belonging to the world of ideas, it is limited by the body as it can only experience interaction through the body. Frustratingly, due to the nature of dualism and idealism, it proves difficult to validate the theories despite the understanding they provided of how the physical and mental entities operate, and yet remains relevant to the field of psychology today.

Despite the progress dualism and idealism have provided, it fails to acknowledge that objects continue to exist beyond the mind. Aristotle (384-322 BCE) combats this with realism, despite being taught by the idealist Plato at the academy for twenty years (Hunt, 2007). Realism is defined as the view that objects are perceived independently in their own existence regardless of our perception and understanding (Broadie, 1993). Aristotle instead leads with knowledge being derived from sensation and experience, he addresses the section of the soul where thinking occurs the ‘psyche’ and remains consistent in believing the location of where ideas are assembled remains the mind (Hunt, 2007). With realism, it allows for observable proof that is undeniable, as Granger suggests the realistic outlook on Aristotle`s theory of perception sets him as one of the first ‘respectable’ in the history of science (Granger, 1993).

Though the concept originated from Plato, it was Renee Descartes (1596-1650) who coined dualism (Hunt, 2007). In the height of the 15th-16th century, religion was central to Western society despite the growing scientific findings of humans and the world, society was not accommodating scientific developments. Descartes once had an epiphany that encouraged him to disregard the opinions of the ancients (Plato) and instead use reasoning and logic to arrive at his conclusions (Hunt, 2007). With Descartes’s doctrine of ideas, it provides two possible explanations (Hunt, 2007): derived ideas which are a result of experiences of the senses, and innate ideas which are abstract concepts such as Heaven or Hell which cannot be experienced in this realm. Descartes argues that one is not born complete with these ideas but develops as they grow, which describes John Locke`s ‘tabula rasa’ which directly translates to blank slate (Duschinsky, 2012). Yet this line of reasoning would not digest well within society at the time as it was believed that one was born with original sin and is tainted, considering how resistant they were to anything but religious explanations (Weldon, 2010). Descartes expanded on Plato`s dualist theory through a realistic approach and provided an observable understanding that overall strengthens the theory of dualism.