Category: critical thinking

With Donald Trump becoming the 45th President of the United States in 2016, the elected leader of the free world was now a populist. In recent years, Populism has exploded back into a place of enormous importance on the world stage. Trump joined leaders such as Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey, and Rodrigo Duterte in the Philippines as populist leaders in countries of power. French President Emmanuel Macron narrowly beat hard-right populist Marine Le Pen in 2017 but has faced some violent street protests in retaliation for his victory. Brazil’s newly-elected populist leader Jair Bolsonaro has already made worldwide headlines for allowing the systematic destruction of the Amazon rainforest.

But how did we get to this point? This most recent rise of populism has generally been agreed upon to start with the recession of 2008. Economic hard times usually allow populists to gain support based on a strong distrust of the “elite”, and “bad manners” to shock the ruling establishment, and by creating a crisis. Trump’s extended shutdown of the government in 2018-19 was a great example of this. By creating a “crisis” of Mexican immigration, he riled up his base against the establishment, elitist democrats. Rising inequality post-recession and a perception of corruption amongst the people in charge has reduced citizens’ trust in their leaders by a substantial amount, easily allowing populists to garner support through anti-elitist rhetoric.

These conditions leading to the result of populism are not a new development and have been discussed by many early modern philosophers, most notably Swiss enlightenment era philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Rousseau was very skeptical of the idea that citizens of countries were truly free apart from the election of their leaders. A known Anglophobe, Rousseau wrote about England in his autobiography The Confessions, “The people of England regard themselves free, but it is grossly mistaken; it is only free during the election of members of parliament. As soon as they are elected, slavery overtakes it, and it is nothing.” Rousseau believed that “general will” is the only basis for leaders to rule on. This radical idea was one of the main goals of the French Revolution, whose leaders revered Rousseau. Rousseau also contended that a democracy could not function unless its citizens put the needs of the group above themselves. He was a huge proponent of unconditional patriotism, doing whatever needed to be done out of love for one’s country. This is a theme that is repeated often among populist leaders. Populist leaders state that they are uprooting the establishment out of necessity and love for the country. Trump’s infamous “Make America Great Again” slogan is a direct reflection of this idea. Rousseau can be seen as somewhat of a precursor to what is now “national populism”.

Rousseau was extremely original in his thoughts for his period. Whereas most mid-18th century thinkers lauded advances in the arts and sciences as liberating the culture from dated, non-secular laws, rules, and norms, Rousseau believed that the newly emerging intellectual class simply provided cover for the powerful and corrupt. This anti-elitism is a huge part of populism and part of what makes it so appealing to the lower class. Materialistic values of the bourgeois would only hurt advances in equality and freedom. His famous term “amour propre” referred to a society where people are only interested in materialistic items to compare one another, and are consumed by self-interest. So far, I would say that this theoretical society is slowly becoming a reality. Brand new advances such as social media actively encourage comparisons based on the exterior image.

Rousseau moralized against the rich, intellectual class throughout the 20-plus books he wrote in his lifetime. He grew up unsupervised, from a struggling family, and was entirely self-taught. This is a stark contrast compared to the “establishment” philosophers of the time who generally were extremely well-educated and from wealthy backgrounds. Because of his lack of status, Rousseau found success among people adjusting to this new world that was switching from an agrarian society to a more urbanized one. New technologies being developed so quickly uprooted the traditional lifestyles of European citizens during the latter stages of the Enlightenment, and these people gravitated towards Rousseau’s distrust of the wealthy and powerful. By claiming that because the wealthy’s materialistic values were inherently corrupt, Rousseau managed to create his sort of political thought, one that would eventually be a driving force behind the French Revolution some 20 years after his death.

Rousseau’s ideas and themes in his writing provided the foundation for what populism is today. Similar to Rousseau, Trump found strong support in the citizens whose traditional values are being disrupted by enormous advances in technology and the sciences. New ideas such as big data and having everything one does online be tracked are frankly terrifying, and it is very easy to see why the public could latch on to populist ideals. Social media has become a den for “amour propre”, where comparisons of one another are centered around surface-level, exterior, materialistic values. Similar to France at the end of the 18th century, inequality is enormous and there is a strong distrust of not only politicians but of the wealthy elite in general. Rousseau’s commentary about the inevitability of populism in a society such as ours has held up even after 250 years have passed, with the themes and fears of populism remaining largely the same.

“L’Homme est tellement fait pout la société qu’il en fait son objet favori et sa principale satisfaction » wrote Nicolas de La Mare in his Traité de la Police 1705. The police commissary who served under the reign of Louis XIV explains in this quote, taken from his works on policing strategy, that Man is a social animal and is destined to hold society and its workings in the highest regard. This desire for control over how society is run is perfectly depicted during the French Revolution of the XVIII century. The desire for the people to take the reins of their nation is at the forefront of the uprisings that ultimately led to drastic socio-political change in France and across the Western world, guiding the passage from l’époque moderne to l’époque contemporaine. The notion of socio-political change is the essential point of remodeling during this period and this essay will demonstrate this. In effect, it is essential to resist the dichotomic temptation when regarding politics and society. These two concepts act upon one another heavily and one cannot be understood without elements of the other. Social revolution takes into account modifications to society, philosophy, technology, economy, and culture, these concepts will be pillars in our ongoing reflection. Political revolution consists of the overthrowing of the governing body or person in favor of another, usually by the governing body, therefore changing society drastically. This essay will now demonstrate why it is imperative to understand the French Revolution as a socio-political revolution, and why both elements are equally essential within this context.

Firstly, la question sociale is an essential concept to understanding the uprising of the French people. Most notably the tiers état or third estate, which refers to the bourgeoisie (middle class) and the sans-culottes being the common people and peasants. Even though the appellation of the social question didn’t appear until the XIX century, the notion is useful in understanding what motivated large portions of the tiers and smaller portions of the upper classes to take to the streets. Effectively misery ran rampant in the streets of the capital and rural France, fuelled by extravagant spending by the monarchy as well as international tensions leading to massive military and defence costs. This royal debt was slightly atoned for by severe taxing of the third estate, therefore leading to devastating consequences for the sans culottes of this social class. A social class that already struggled to provide food to their families due to a severe lack of technological advancements in the agricultural industry. In effect, overpopulation had become an essential problem for the French state, and scarcity and famine ran rampant. This was paired with an industrial crisis due to a treaty signed in 1786 with Great Britain leading to a huge influx of goods into France. This led to large portions of peasants losing their bye-employment in the industrial sector as well as severe consequences to the artisan trade. This now meant that anyway out of la misère, for the peasantry, was a good one. And to their understanding, the cause of all their problems was the feudal system, taxation, and their inability to possess land. Hence why this period combines necessity with a desire for change. Nothing embodies the change quite like the Enlightenment. A time period of philosophical reflection where critical thinking, liberty, and tolerance, amalgamated.

Kant’s nonage is a very accurate depiction of what socio-political reflection might look like to most inhabitants of France before the Enlightenment. In a sense it is understandable because of the harsh living conditions, peasantry was shepherded into laboring rather than reflecting on society. To a certain extent, philosophical thought was a luxury because only a small portion of the Bourgeoisie had access to education, and knowledge and therefore had means of approaching the social circle that made up Les Lumières. This circle was a guiding light during the tumultuous times of the French Revolution. These men and women questioned essential elements of the feudal system as well as other elements that were taken for granted in that society like religion. Religion is an example that embodies exactly why the French Revolution is both a social and political one. Louis XIV as well as all the kings that came before him, held their power from divine right, the national religion being Christianity. At the beginning of the Revolution, Catholicism appeared as the national religion; everywhere religious ceremonies enthusiastically accompanied the establishment of the new order. The abolition of the tithe and the transformation of church property into national property did not profoundly disturb the relationship between church and state in 1789.

Bow in a mosque, kneel in a temple, or pray in a church. Just as a flower cannot bloom without sunshine, a man cannot live without a spiritual life. Yann Martel’s novel, Life of Pi, is an exceptional piece of literature that reinforces an individual’s belief in God. Piscine Molitor Patel, also known as Pi, is a teenage boy who was born under the Hindu religion; however, a whole new world of spiritual beliefs unravels as he discovers the Bible and Quran. Religion provides individuals with the opportunity to perceive life uniquely based on their beliefs, values, and moral compasses. Adding on, belief, in a higher power, explains miraculous occurrences that take place in this world, which science itself cannot explain. Eventually, spiritual beliefs preserve a person’s mental state by creating a sense of hope for them to adhere to. By examining a different view on life, unexplained existences, and maintaining sanity through demoralizing experiences, the reader can identify that this is an educational story about religion that is trying to push one’s faith in higher superiority and put an end to contemporary conflicts caused by religious beliefs.

Primarily, it is quite educating to view Pi’s perception of God as it can create interest within people and help them pursue their faith. Nowadays, society has become close-minded and uninviting to new ideas which not only hinders the growth of themselves but also the ones around them. To prosper, a person should be diverse, understanding, and open to all beliefs. Piscine is the perfect example of a young Omnist because he can respect and recognize a multitude of religions. After practicing Hinduism from birth, Pi later adopts Christianity and Islam, allowing him to view different perspectives of the world and gain knowledge. Pi’s one goal is to love God; and because of this, he can focus on the commonality instead of the differences as he states, “To me, religion is about our dignity, not our depravity” (Martel 79). Pi tries to get his message across and wants everyone to know that religion is about the good traits in people and that one should focus on what religion has to offer, instead of what it takes away. Throughout Pi’s extraordinary journey, we see him develop into an ideal man, as he has diverse views on religion in comparison to his family and the people of Pondicherry. He also disagrees with the idea that people from different faiths are not able to go to heaven. Pi displays these traits at a young age once he starts to see the world differently, which turns out to be beneficial for his quest later on. Being able to recognize a variety of spiritual beliefs helps an individual grow and empowers their devotion to God. However, that is not the only reason as to why this story furthers one’s belief in higher superiority as unexplained existence in this world comes to be.

In addition, to strengthen one’s belief in God, it is critical to acknowledge the fact that religion preserves belief, whereas science is simply based on what is observed. Humans need light, water, and oxygen, to stay alive. The convenience of having exactly what humans need to survive available is no coincidence. There are miraculous occurrences in this world that should be left alone to God and his creations. Several scenarios in Pi’s journey demonstrate this concept. As he encounters a mysterious floating island, Pi states, “I made an exceptional botanical discovery. But there will be many who disbelieve the following episode. Still, I give it to you now because it’s part of the story and it happened to me”(Martel 284). A carnivorous island made out of pure algae, with no other organism and no roots. Pi believes that this is a blessing from God and that this experience was created for Pi to continue his journey to prosper and improve both physically and mentally. Pi creates a biblical allusion as he encounters an orange fruit, he compares his situation to the Garden of Eden and the Forbidden Fruit. This means that even though he is undergoing strange situations, he still has his faith at the back of his mind. This faith allows Pi to understand situations and handle them effectively instead of giving up. Religion is there to provide an answer to questions that cannot be explained by humans and to fill gaps that man and science could not fill themselves.

Lastly, spiritual belief can improve people’s mental health as it provides motivation, and encourages positivity through dark times. Pi’s faith in God played a crucial part in his survival, while Pi was stranded on the lifeboat, he occupied his time with various rituals and routines each day. These actions ultimately saved his life in many ways. Being mentally healthy and present is essential for survival. Had Pi not been sane throughout his journey, he would have lost hope and died at the beginning. The constant spiritual belief from all three different religions not only kept him occupied but also gave him a sense of aspiration. Being mentally strong allowed Pi to inherit some life-saving traits, as he was in the middle of nowhere drifting in the Pacific hoping to survive another day, he states, “I practiced religious rituals that I adapted to the circumstances Masses without priests or consecrated Communion hosts, darshans without murtis, and pujas with turtle meat for prasad, acts of devotion to Allah not knowing where Mecca was and getting my Arabic wrong. They brought me comfort, that is certain” (Martel 231). Pi held on to his religious beliefs and still loved God, despite the hardships. Pi’s optimism allowed him to achieve the unachievable. Instead of losing hope in such a terrible situation, he created a positive outcome. He separates himself from constricting ideas and keeps sane to survive. Piscine knew that as long as God was with him, he would not die and this mental belief was key for him to flourish. Something he did to keep his hopes from wavering and his mind in check was having faith. In addition, it gave him the courage to look forward to another day. At first, Pi wondered what he did to deserve this, but as time went on he realized that this was a quest for his identity. He thought of every weather, resource, and state as a blessing, therefore, he always rightfully thanked God throughout his journey.

To conclude, Life of Pi, by Yann Martel portrays a multitude of perceptions on life, miraculous occurrences, and mental strength, in which one can see that this is a didactic story about faith, supporting one’s belief in God and attempting to put an end to contemporary conflicts caused by religious beliefs. Faith allows individuals the chance to understand a simple life. The supernatural in this world should be left to higher superiority because studies alone can not battle against it. Inner beliefs maintain a person’s frame of mind by creating a sense of hope for them to hold onto. A teenage boy, Pi Patel goes through a series of tragedies within his journey. He Piscine experiences the misfortune of losing his loved ones in a shipwreck but continues to preserve his faith in God. Pi spends 227 days on a lifeboat, through this Yann Martel shows us that even though higher superiority will not respond immediately, the results of the prayers will eventually come in a most beneficial form.

Postmodernism is a cultural movement that emerged after World War II. When Modernism was mainly concerned with making it new; postmodernist literature examines conventional ideas like truth and fiction, suggesting that there is no ultimate truth or distinction between the two only multiple, fragments of truth. Postmodern authors, to covey those ideas use several different literary techniques. One of those is metafiction, which purposely draws attention to the fact that the reader is reading a fictional story, blurring the lines between fiction and reality. Tim O’Brien ‘s The Things They Carried is a postmodern novel that uses fragmented narrative, a collection of short stories, rather than a linear storyline and metafiction to suggest that reality is the story society retells. Tony Kushner’s Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes is a play that also uses different theatrical and story narrative tricks to bring attention to the more significant issues in society. This essay will be looking at how The Things They Carried uses metafiction to criticize how war stories get distorted into fiction and the consequences of American military overabundance. Similarly, how Angels in America uses the same technique to break the fourth wall and to comment on religious extremism

Beneath its endorsement of dominant culture, The Things They Carried challenges American ideologies on the subject of war and retellings of war stories in society. The short story “The Things They Carried” uses metafiction to comment on postmodern war narratives. The Vietnam War was the first significant war in the postmodern era that had a major backlash from the general public. Thus, as Jameson’s comments, “The first terrible postmodern war cannot be told in the traditional paradigms of the war novel or movie,” implying that classical literature techniques, previously used, cannot describe the ambiguities of the Vietnam War experience. Previous war narratives usually had “an array of typical motifs: the noble example, the test of courage, the battle as initiation”; however, this does not fit in with the realities of what happened in Vietnam. This notion acts as a background upon which “The Things They Carried” seeks to expose and complicate the realities of war through fiction. The narrator is not just telling the stories; he is in the narrative as a young soldier as well as an older version of himself that tells the narrative from the future. By retelling his narrative, commenting, and retelling his fellow soldiers’ stories, the novel becomes a reflection of the art of storytelling and the events of the Vietnam War. O’Brien seems to emphasize that society’s views on war depend on the kinds of stories retold about war. Molly Hite points out that the official history that gets retold often is structured like fiction.

The correlation between fiction and reality is perhaps best highlighted by the death of Ted Lavender. The narrative demonstrates how cultural scrips can hinder an individual’s ability to make sense of experiences that challenge those scrips. For Kiowa, this beak of cultural scrips comes in the form of watching Ted Lavender’s death and being shocked by its lack of drama;

Poverty is one of the major causes of illness and bad health among poor people. It limits the access of people to attain health facilities and care that they require. This provides a context that poverty and health are in relationship with each other and possess a very strong correlation among them. As the World Bank states, the poor are unable to afford what they need to maintain their health and to attain healthcare goals and the underpinned reason behind this is the financial resources (Spicker, 2007). Poverty does not only have one factor but it has other potential factors that limit the person’s access to good healthcare such as lack of information regarding the healthcare needs or the lack of a platform to raise their voice for their health needs.

Not only health is affected by poverty, but the poverty is also caused by bad health. This is because ill health requires finances to meet the health care requirements such as the cost incurred for consultancy and medications. Also, the healthcare providers charge for the services they are providing which causes poverty. The reason is the loss of income level which is continually being involved in healthcare (). Some more evidence shows that several people leave their jobs and education to look after their loved ones (). Often the families that are involved in bad health issues with them or their relatives are substantially facing poverty or the people who are poor state poverty as the cause of their illness. According to the layperson’s point of view, people belonging to lower socioeconomic backgrounds are being neglected in terms of providing health and have to bear with the circumstances that make them poor and sick (Dickerson et al., 2020).

In the 19th century, there have been several norms emerged for relative poverty that provided that explanation for poverty. Considering the two types of poverty; absolute and relative, absolute poverty says that a person is poor if he is unable to meet his food requirements. However, this is a narrow perspective and for this, the definition of relative substituted the idea of absolute poverty. Relative poverty has defined the attainment of food as compared to other people who are attaining food. Moreover, it does not only count food as the measure of poverty but considers the standard of living as the measure of poverty. Harrington (1962) explained relative poverty as a tragedy by mentioning the example of a bowl. He mentioned poverty as a tragedy that if one person has more than the other person, then the person with a lower level of the amount is in poverty. In support of this phenomenon, Karl Marx also stated about poverty and said that poverty is a social norm and it is emerged from the society (Bowden et al., 2008).

Layperson’s point of view provided that health and poverty are the socioeconomic domain, therefore, it can also be explained under the sociological theories. The condition of not having access to material resources due to income or wealth. Some sociologists have contributed to explaining poverty from a social perspective. The two main sociological theories or approaches for poverty are structural and culture of poverty approaches. These theories are interlinked with each other in terms of their purpose. Poverty can be explained by the sociologically developed culture and structure, with the potential involvement of people (Small et al., 2010).

The 19th century was developed with lots of destruction and left many of the people helpless. This was carried out through the years when the poor were becoming poorer and the rich people becoming richer. The theory proposed by Oscar Lewis in 1970 developed a cultural explanation of the poverty in Mexico. According to him, extreme and long-lasting poverty creates a culture of living. This culture is shared, transmitted, and learned throughout the group of people. He explains that certain practices are adopted by poor people which are unrelated to the mainstream or middle-class people. These are the practices that they adopt to survive in difficult economic circumstances. The drawback of these practices is that the people have adopted them and apply them even after they are no longer potential.

Lewis enhanced the understanding of being culturally deprived by poverty. The poor children are taught the values and norms of mainstream society. Fatalism is a common attribute found in poor people. It indicates that the children are taught to accept the situation in which they were born, rather than putting efforts to bring change. Another common element found in poor people is immediate gratification. This is the developed culture found among poor people that they do not save any amount and spend whatever they earn or get immediately. Hence, this developed culture of poverty is the reason poor children are brought up as poor adults in society. The willingness to bring change and improve their standard of living in society is omitted by the poor people.

Individuals are motivated enough to improve and enhance their abilities and capabilities of living in a society. It is assumed under the structural theory of poverty that there is strong motivation within the individual to succeed. Unfortunately, the people below the poverty line are unable to succeed due to the structural barriers. However, some evidence has proved poverty is a useful element for society. This is because the functions possessed by poor people are highly motivated to do work to remove their poverty to a certain level. Several tasks in society are dangerous and low-paying; the people who belong to the middle class are unwilling to perform those tasks. But the poor people are motivated to attain such jobs because they consider such jobs as more rewarding than having no jobs.

The explained theories are unique in their ways and have potential differences from each other. Cultural and structural poverty contrast with each other regarding several elements the nature of cultural poverty theory considers poor people as responsible for their poverty while structural poverty believes that poor people are the victims of societal barriers and inequality. It is the culture of poverty that they spend the money they have in hand and do not worry about the upcoming times, while the structural aspect in contrast to this theory says that people lack education and, therefore, are not eligible for good jobs. Cultural poverty limits poor people from growth and development as they have the nature of fatalism in their culture. Poor people are illiterate, and cannot thus work within a good job, but the structural aspect of this point is that there are people who have no skills to get out of poverty as well. The explanation of the culture of poverty theory is also known as the right-wing explanation or dependency explanation. While the structural theory is the left-wing societal explanation of the theory. The culture of poverty is explained by the New Right perspective or the Theory of culture of poverty. Whereas, the Marxists, social democrats, and the cycles of deprivation theory agree with the structural theory of poverty (Himmelfarb, 1984).

Since poverty and health have a relationship with each other, therefore, the poverty has potential to affect the health of people. There has been evidence that has shown the history of the following relationship. The 19th century was the century of industrial growth and development in Great Britain. Unfortunately, this growth brought an unpredictable impact on the health and welfare of the workforce of industries; this was unique because, in previous times of growth, it was unidentified that the growth affected the health and welfare of the workforce. According to the evidence death registration in the mid 19th century among industrial urban workers was caused by to experience of a catastrophic crisis. It was clear that the workforce was hired on a minimal wage and certainly had a low level of living in terms of standard and health. The unhealthy diet and hard work made the laborers ill and they did not have enough money to treat themselves (Shildrick and Russell, 2015).

The urban and rural poor had a lot of common things in the first half of the 19th century. There was an increased population, fewer paid employees, poor diet, no job security, and dreaded effects of illness and old age. However, the census of 1851 has shown that the urban population is greater than the rural and town population but the range of uneducated, unemployed, and unskillful people were in a great number in the rural and town areas. The historians are divided by the nature, extent, and impact of the debate around industrialization and poverty. It is argued by ‘optimists’ that industrialization is the source of higher wages and a better standard of living, while ‘pessimists’ believe that workers’ life quality was compromised due to industrialization, especially in the 1850s. It was observed at the end of the 19th century that industrialization improved the standard of life of the labor class at a certain level as the laborers began to rise, the prices started to fall, and more housing and health facilities were provided to the people (De Pennington, 2011).

A different system was being operated with the voluntary contributions distributed within the governance of the minister and elders of the Kirk in 1752. The laborers were miserable and vulnerable at that time. Aid in Scotland was provided by voluntary contributions and the able-bodied poor had no automatic right to relief. A central board of supervisors and parochial boards was created under the Scottish Poor Law Amendment Act of 1845. This authority raised local and, essential, and decided fund and their distribution among the people below the poverty line. Moreover, in 1868, the Local Government Board was created by the Scottish which made them much closer to England (Szreter and Woolcock, 2004).

Health is the fundamental concern of every individual regardless of which class he belongs. Poverty has an impact on health. There must be some potential actions taken for the people surviving in poverty. There is the social theory presented that can be used to create knowledge of interventions among policymakers and sociologists. Health issues are the major concern of this entire article and it must be intervened by the medical approaches, but this case is not of simple health issue. It also has the aspect of poverty with it which is a sociological aspect. Therefore, the issues regarding poverty and health can be resolved by medical sociology. It is the analysis of the knowledge and selection of methods taken by the medical organizations in the healthcare profession. This also includes the social and cultural effects of practicing clinical interventions. Medical interventions are as old as the existence of human beings but medical sociology is a newly emerged concept. This concept was first introduced in the 19th century with the attention towards sociology. The poor people need attention of the society, therefore, the policymakers must focus on providing interventions to improve the living standard along with their healthcare. Therefore, medical sociology can play its part in ensuring the well-being of people, especially those who are below the poverty line.

In this essay, I will discuss the ethical dilemmas that may arise in health and social care settings when attempting to balance individual rights and duty of care. Ethical dilemmas arise because care practitioners are supporting individuals to live their lives the way they want to but this also may conflict with their professional duty of care.

Duty of care is “the legal obligation to safeguard others from harm while they are in your care, using your services, or exposed to your activities” (definition of ‘duty of care’, 2020).

Confidentiality in the world of health and social care means not releasing information about a service user to anyone who either shouldn’t know or has no need to know (confidentiality in Health and Social Care, 2018). For example, Jolanda is 75 years old she has a good relationship with her son, and he visits every day, however, Jolanda tells her home carer that her son has asked her for money again so she thinks that she should give him the money. Jolanda has expressed to her home carer that she doesn’t want her son to know that she told the carer. This is an ethical dilemma balancing between the individual’s right to confidentiality and duty of care because the carer has been told private information by Jolanda and has been specifically told not to tell her son, but her carer also must make sure that Jolanda isn’t being taken advantage of. Conflicts could arise if the carer investigates like they are supposed to like the son could feel accused and think that his mother has accused him of stealing/ taking advantage of his mother. This could lead to him losing his relationship with his mother and as a result of this Jolanda would feel incredibly isolated at the loss of the relationship between her and her son. Alternatively, Jolanda could lose trust and a relationship with her carer, and Jolanda could potentially be in danger of falling or having. An accident as she would feel like she couldn’t ask her carer for anything. Jolanda’s carer could share his perspective and this would help Jolanda to understand why her carer would be worried, therefore the son wouldn’t have to be involved and the chance of conflict arising will decrease significantly.

Ethical dilemmas can arise when trying to balance the duty of care and managing own values. For example, Lina is 23 and has a learning disability. She has found out that she is pregnant and wants to have a termination, however, Lina is scared and has asked her support worker to go with her, but the support worker has religious beliefs that go against it. This is an ethical dilemma because Lina’s social worker must help Lina with whatever she is struggling with, but it collides with the social worker’s religious beliefs. Conflicts could arise in this situation because the social worker could refuse to go with Lina and could even try to convince Lina to not go through with the termination.

Risk-taking can cause an ethical dilemma in many ways. For example, Holly is 34 years old and has a heart condition, however, she has fallen pregnant. This is an ethical dilemma as it is well within Holly’s right to have a family and be pregnant but there are many risks. Some of the risks are that your blood pressure can increase very quickly an epidural during pregnancy could cause a significant drop in your blood pressure and some heart conditions can be passed down through families or develop in the womb (being pregnant with a heart condition, 2020).

Rights versus responsibilities can be an ethical dilemma because as individuals we are given the right to choose. Lilly is 21 and has a 7-month-old baby, Lilly cannot find a babysitter to look after her baby while she goes out, but she wants to. This is balancing the duty of care and individual rights because Lilly has to put her responsibilities before her rights to keep her baby from harm or abuse.

Bibliography

1. being pregnant with a heart condition. (2020, October 16). Retrieved from British Heart Foundation: https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/support/practical-support/pregnancy-with-a-heart-condition
2. confidentiality in health and social care. (2018, 0ctober 23). Retrieved from ena: https://ena.co.uk/news/confidentiality-in-health-and-social-care-how-is-it-ensured/
3. definition of ‘duty of care’. (2020, 0ctober 15). Retrieved from Collins Dictionary: https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/duty-of-care
4. Linda Wyatt, P. W. (first published in 2017). Extended Diploma in Health and Social Care. London: Hodder Education.

There are many different ways to analyze the Author Miller’s play Death of a Salesman. The critics cannot agree if the play is a Greek tragedy, a family drama, a gender study, or a morality play (Centola). Miller thought it was a Greek tragedy, CS however, the critics argued that the play did not use elevated language (Ardolino). One way to analyze the play is as a family drama. A second way to analyze the play is Miller’s unique use of time (Kolin). Chronologic time was used to show normal development (Ardolino). The play moves fluidly between the present and the past to show what is going on in Willy’s mind (Centola). Another way to analyze the play is by the poetic elements that were used. The play contains wordplay, imagery, and number patterns (Ardolino).

One way to analyze the play is as a family drama. The critics cannot agree if the play is a Greek tragedy, a family drama, a gender study, or a morality play (Centola). Miller thought it was a Greek tragedy, however, the critics argued that the play did not use elevated language (Ardolino). Family is the most intense human relationship. The play is a family drama (Kolin). Willy has a complex relationship with his family: his wife Linda, his sons Biff and Happy, and his dead brother Ben (Centola). Biff is Willy’s greatest failure (Domina). Biff never fulfilled his potential as a popular gifted athlete in high school. When the play opens Biff is not married and drifts from one low-paying job to another. Biff’s downfall Elgin’s when he discovers his father is with another woman. Biff idolizes his father as a child, but after catching his father with another woman, he conflicts with Willy (Griffin). Willy believes Biff is a bum, but is also concerned about what the affair may have done to Biff. Biff blames Willy for his failure as an adult. Willy destroys Biff’s trust, he praises Biff’s kleptomania instead of getting him to help and belittles his pleasure in working with his hands. Linda is a homemaker (Griffin). She keeps track of the expenses. She causes Willy anxiety telling him how much they owe on what and when it is due. She cooks cleans and takes care of the children when Willy is on the road.

She loves Willy and is his protector. She does not want Willy hurt. However, Willy’s behavior toward Linda becomes erratic when she darns her stockings (Ardolino). Linda does not know about the other woman and when she darns her stockings it reminds Willy of his infidelity. Linda is loyal to Willy at the expense of her relationship with her sons (Griffin). Biff and Happy do not have positive relationships with women. Happy seduces the fiances’ of his bosses, and Biff does not date (Stagg). Willy is abandoned by his father at an early age. Willy’s brother Ben disappears and is not seen for four years (Centola).

A second way to analyze the play is Miller’s unique use of time (Kolin). The importance of chronological time is that it displays normal development. Willy is stuck in the past. He keeps reliving the moment right before the big game (Ardolino). Charley and his son are not stuck in the past. Charley’s son Bernard graduated from high school, went to college, got his law degree, is married with two sons, and is going to argue a case before the Supreme Court (Ardolino). Biff and Happy are stuck in the past as well. Biff is in contrast to Bernard. Biff does not graduate from high school and moves from one low-paying job to another (Ardolino). He does not even date (Stagg). Happy is one of two assistants to the assistant buyer (Domina). This is similar to Happy being Biff’s assistant in high school. He carried Biff’s equipment instead of playing sports on his own. Happy seduces the fiances’ of his bosses (Stagg). He does not look for a nice girl to marry.

Besides chronological time, Miller moves fluidly between present and past to show what was going on in Willy’s mind (Centola). The present and the past come together at the same time on the stage. Willy would talk to the living and the dead at the same time (Kolin). Death of a Salesman was one of the first plays to flash back and forth fluidly in time (Lahr). The action on the stage continued for both the present and past. Willy has many flashbacks that take place over the same course of time. Willy is physically in Frank’s Chop House restaurant and then travels back to the hotel room in Boston where Biff finds him with the woman. The fluid movement of time is to show Willy’s mental troubles (Ardolino). Willy goes to the restaurant after being fired. He discovers Bill Oliver did not give Biff the money for the business venture. Happy is talking to inappropriate women at the restaurant. The stress of the situation sends Willy back to the hotel room in Boston. Another instant /Check your spelling/for the correct word. of a flashback when Howard Wagner does not time have time to listen to Willy. The stress pushes Willy to travel to the past to talk to Frank (Harder). Frank is dead and his son Howard is now running the business. Willy talks to his older brother Ben many times. Ben is dead. It is Ben he turns to for final advice on whether or not to commit suicide (Centola).

Another way to analyze the play is by the poetic elements that were used. The play contains wordplay, imagery, and number patterns (Ardolino). There are many words used in different ways. The word chop is used in different ways. Willy goes to Frank’s Chop House after being fired by Howard Wagner the son of his original boss (Hadomi). A chop is a cut of meat.

Willy is fired or chopped by Howard (Harder). The words stockings, sheers, and hose are used in different ways. All three words are synonyms, yet their other meanings are used as well. The woman refers to the stockings as size nine sheers (Domina). Scissors are also sheers. During the scene with the woman, Biff cuts his past idolized relationship with his dad Willy (Ardolino).

Finally, Biff finds the hose that Willy is going to use to commit suicide (Ribkoff). The word build is used in different ways. Willy can build with tools. He used tools to rebuild many parts of the house (Ardolino). Charley and Bernard do not have the skills to use a hammer to drive a nail (Kolin). Willy believes he is better than Charley because Charley cannot use tools to build anything. However, Charley can build a family and a business (Ardolino). Imagery is also used in the play. Willy is thankful his sons are like Adonis. Willy wishes he were like Adonis and could create personal interest to be more successful (Domina).

Unfortunately, Willy did not know Adonis was stupid and met with a painful death. He was given good advice from his girlfriend that he did not take. Biff and Happy do not live up to their early potential. Bernard tries to help, but he is mocked. Neither brother has a career or wife (Thompson). Willy compares Biff to Hercules. Hercules was the result of an adulteress relationship between Zeus and a mortal woman. Zeus abandons Hercules. Hercules is raised by his mother without discipline. Biff too is not disciplined. In high school, he cheated, stole, he molested, with Willy making excuses for his behavior instead of correcting him. Hercules lives a sad nomadic life, in part because Zeus’ wife punishes him for Zeus’ infidelity. Biff too lives a sad nomadic life, because of his father’s infidelity (Thompson). Willy uses the image of a bell and an open door to display Biff’s success. Willy says Biff’s name will sound like a bell and the door will open to him. However, as Biff waits to meet with Bill Oliver, he keeps sending in his name, but the door never opens (Ardolino).

Finally, the play uses number patterns. The numbers four, seventeen, thirty-six, and sixty-three are repeated and used in patterns. Willy compares Biff and Happy to four successful men (Thompson). Biff fails math by four points (Adrolino). Ben walked into the jungle at seventeen and walked out at twenty-one a rich man. Ben was in the jungle for four years (Hadomi). Biff is seventeen when he fails math, but also wins the big football game. He is seventeen when he learns of the woman (Adrolino). Ben walked into the jungle at seventeen (Hadomi). Willy is sixty-three (Thompson). Biff mocks the math teacher by lisping what is the square root of sixty-three (Adrolino). If sixty-three is transposed, thirty-six is the number of years Willy worked for the Wagner family. Howard is thirty-six and is now the head of the company (Adrolino).

There are many different ways to analyze the Author Miller’s play Death of a Salesman. One way to analyze the play is as a family drama. Willy has cheated on his wife. Willy and Biff are in constant conflict. Happy uses women. Willy turns to his dead brother for advice. A second way to analyze the play is Miller’s unique use of time (Kolin). Chronologic time was used to show normal development (Ardolino). Bernard has developed from someone’s son in high school to a grown man with his own family and career. Biff has not graduated from high school and moves from one low-paying job to another. Another use of time is the fluid movement between the present and the past to show what was going on in Willy’s mind (Centola). Another way to analyze the play is by the poetic elements that were used. The play contains wordplay, imagery, and number patterns (Ardolino).

Although the Crusades failed to conquer Jerusalem and had negative effects such as death, they still had tremendous positive impacts on the Western world, such as authority, gaining information, and trading. First, after the Crusade there were about 2-6 million dead bodies found just in the Western world, which was almost about 10% of the entire world its death was six million out of 60-70 million people at that time. Second, the Crusades increased the authority of the King. This represented a huge positive influence on the Western world because it broke down feudalism. It was an excellent change for both poor and rich people. For the King, when the nobles were dead during the Crusade, it was passed to the King. Also when someone bought lands and a farm but ended up failing in their plans, it was passed to the King as well.

Some nobles gave their serfs a chance to buy their freedom and a chance to collect money for their armor and weapons. Third, the Crusades taught significant things to Muslims. They were able to receive information about building and sailing ships and make magnetic compasses which were useful for the Crusades to know the directions more conveniently. Fourth, they increased trading goods during the Crusade, and this action was meaningful mostly for the lower classes because trading supported serfs to end their serfdom and rise to the merchant class. I believe that these effects were positive for both the poor and rich. By perceiving this information, the overall effects on the Western world weren’t extremely the worse, because although a lot of dead bodies were found people were still able to collect so many things afterward. The impact on the Eastern world was on the positive side as well, because they increased trade. The biggest impact on the Eastern world was trading. Both sides introduced new foods to each other, such as sherbet, sugar, coffee, and fruit. Moreover, the Eastern world helped to develop the Crusade’s arts, manufactures, and inventions that weren’t known in Europe. For example, China was supplied with silk and spices. South Arabia brought frankincense and myrrh. Even though the impact on the Western world was much bigger, the Eastern world was still able to observe goods and materials including more information about each other’s side. It is also acceptable that the Eastern world had a smaller effect because the Crusades happened in the Western world. “The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong in the broken places.” – Ernest Hemingway –

This quote can represent the impact of the Crusades because even though a lot of people passed out, the effects that came afterward were more bright and positive and it gave both the Western and Eastern worlds a forward-looking economy and policy.

The use of media technology increases as time passes by. People, especially children and adolescents, are exposed to a wide array of information, issues, and trends in society with the help of media. It has been a great help for society to deliver and exchange all sorts of information. However, certain issues have been raised such as racism and religious biases. These problems are the societal effects of media, but looking into the micro level, the influences of media on individuals are as problematic as the said issues. It is undeniable that media plays an important role in everyone’s lives. Media is one of the most significant tools of communication in society, aiding in spreading awareness, collecting views, and manipulating the attitude of people towards certain issues (Esolz, 2018). The technological advancements present provide avenues for everyone to be exposed to the wide array of information, issues, and trends in society. Media plays a big role in shaping people’s perception of reality, expectations of love, cultural ideals, and ideas about sex roles (Behm-Morawitz & Mastro, 2008; Herbozo, Tantleff-Dunn, Gokee-Larose & Thompson, 2004).

Films are one example of media that has an important part in shaping reality and molding the perceptions of people. Motion pictures greatly affect the views of their audience because of the vivid imagery they present. Disney princess films are examined in this study since these movies provide very descriptive and imaginative views for people, thus affecting their views. Furthermore, these films have an iconic image that is present in the global community. Their light and children-appropriate concepts, which show moral values and cultural norms that are accepted worldwide through the protagonists and the story flow, prove their global influence. The princesses, along with the characters present in the movies, are reproduced in different forms such as dolls, stickers, coloring books, and other toys. They are not just characters from a movie or fantasy, instead, they are something which the children interact with.

‘The Walt Disney Company’ is already approximately 96 years old, It started last 1923 when they released their first animated franchise, “Alice Comedies”. Years later, they launched their first ever Disney princess movie entitled “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” in 1938. Disney was able to continue its legacy up until now with the remake of “Aladdin”, which debuted last May 2019 (The Walt Disney Company, 2019). Considering the age of Disney, children watching the latest Disney princess movies are most likely repeating an action that their mothers and grandmothers have engaged in during their childhood years. This means that Disney movies are not just millennial-based, instead, it includes generation after generation. Disney can spread and maintain its influence across different ages and cultures because of its ability to adapt to the changes happening in society. It is important to study how Disney dominates the cultural perceptions of people since it has a very strong influence on communities around the globe.

There are three distinctive periods of princesses, the first era having “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”, “Cinderella”, and “Sleeping Beauty”. In this generation, the princesses are damsels in distress who wait for a prince to save her from despair. They were voiceless heroines who performed conventional gendered behaviors like housekeeping and nurturing which were the gender roles given in those ages.

“The Little Mermaid”, “Beauty and the Beast”, “Aladdin”, “Pocahontas”, and “Mulan” comprises the second era of Disney princesses. This was a new wave of princesses transforming from a damsel to a heroine with a voice and an urge for excitement and adventure. In this era, they also included women of color and culture since from the first era all of the ladies were white and American which shifted to women of color like Pocahontas and women of culture like Mulan. This approach led to decades of proactive female characters having progressive qualities and character traits that complemented completely the increasing acceptance of sex roles in a society where women have the same jobs as men.

Lastly, the most recent era has protagonists that are complex characters with a variety of traits and a different from the historical princesses of the past. This era contains the “Princess and the Frog”, “Tangled”, “Brave”, “Frozen”, “Moana”, and the latest addition, “Frozen 2” which was released on November 2019. The princesses in this era showcase a more feministic ideal of independence but reduce them to common ideals of marriage. The idea of traditional femininity is quite removed in this era, recognizing the complexity of females in the current society.

Disney and its princess concept have been a powerful influence on children’s media and product consumerism which contributes to a girly image that is defined by gender and the consumption of related messages and products (Giroux,1997; Lacroix, 2004; McRobbie, 2008; Orenstein, 2006). Although Disney princess films are produced in the United States and the norm is American, Disney has a strong international presence and marketing efforts (Disney International, 2010). This means that the Disney princess line and its sex role portrayal have significant meanings for the international viewer’s media as well.

Disney films have shown stereotypical depictions of gender which can influence a child’s socialization process and perception of gender. These processes and depictions have a direct effect on their cognitive understanding of gender itself and their behavior (Graves, 1999). The movies showcased by Disney establish beliefs on what roles men and women should play in society as well as the values they have to uphold.

Disney has been one of the most influential tools in children’s lives, as it shapes its princess concept that eventually plays an important role in continuing the endless stereotypes. Disney targets young girls in particular to personally identify with the princesses and encourages them with messages about femininity (England, Descartes & Collier-Meek, 2011).

It has been suggested that media influences children’s perceptions and that these perceptions may be carried into adulthood. Thus, romantic Disney films have a role in some insights of adolescents to romantic perceptions. Disney characters have become widely known to millions of children. An analyst of Disney Empire stated that these films motivate cultural authority and appropriateness to teach specific sex roles, values, and ideals than more traditional sites of learning like educational settings, religious institutions, and the family (Giroux, 1995, p. 25). An estimated of 1/3 of the world’s population has seen at least one Disney film (Fathergoose, 1954). Thus, it is logical to evaluate the themes and messages romantic Disney films want to send to the youth about love and romantic relationships.

Past researchers have proposed that media, including Disney princess films, portray messy and unrealistic representations of romantic relationships because they are highly idealistic and they show the development of the relationships evolving quickly which sends a wrong message of how to think and behave in forming a fruitful romantic relationship, together with encouraging unrealistic expectations of romantic partners (Bachen & Illouz, 1996; Eggermont, 2004; England et al., 2009; Johnson & Holmes, 2009; Lockhart, 2000; Richardson, 2012; Segrin & Nabi, 2002; Tanner et al., 2003).

Romantic love is portrayed in media as having repeating themes like finding love at first sight, experiencing a true love’s kiss, and living happily ever after ( Richardson 2012; Segrin & Nabi, 2002; Tanner et al., 2003). According to Segrin and Nabi (2002), these examples show an ideal romantic relationship conveyed through media because it does not show the real contexts of romantic relationships such as arguing, petty fights, and choosing solitude over company because of the partner’s misbehavior. Researchers suggest that these representations are skewed since romantic relationships are wrongly portrayed, establishing expectations that would affect behaviors and perceptions in the real world (Bachen & Illouz, 1996; Eggermont, 2004; England et al., 2009; Johnson & Holmes, 2009; Lockhart, 2000; Richardson, 2012; Segrin & Nabi, 2002; Tanner et al., 2003).

The presence of media has changed the perceptions of people. Exposure to movies creates a change in mindset, perceptions, and behaviors which are crucial to society. For instance, the continuous viewing of violent movies makes the audience immune to violent acts, and they may even view it as normal and appropriate to do in society. Similarly, watching these princess movies may mold the children’s minds on how they perceive the world, and would most likely affect their behaviors, just like how children imitate superheroes by jumping up and down everywhere (Studymoose, 2019). Furthermore, according to Kids’ Health Medical Experts (2019), exposure of children to films helps them learn educational skills, but also the persistent viewing of some movies may reinforce gender roles and racial stereotypes. Adolescents who watch risky content like drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes are most likely to be involved in such, affecting their behaviors in society (Kids’ Health Medical Experts, 2019). In addition to that, children who watch Disney Princess movies make the princesses their role models, which shapes their childhood dreams about their future. Furthermore, images created by Disney movies affect the sense of identity of a person during childhood, which is brought up until adolescence (Binkley, 2016). These impacts on the young minds, which are the future of our society, are very important. Thus, knowing the messages it conveys to the adolescents would inform parents to control such viewings.

Given that romantic beliefs and sex roles are important in living in our society, there is a need to study the implications of Disney princess films to adolescents because the shaping of their perceptions plays a big part in the success of our society. The study would now focus on the implications of the messages conveyed by the Disney princess movies to the sex roles and romantic beliefs of adolescents since past research has shown how it affects young adults ranging from 19 to 20 or even older. As the generation of Disney princesses changes, its effects may also change, thus the conduct of the study.

There is a considerable amount of research about the Disney Princess collection using different approaches to themes of femininity and masculinity, however, there is still little research conducted in the Philippines. Furthermore, the large influence of media and exposure of adolescents may affect the perceptions that were established by the Disney films. In addition to that, there are also Philippine cultural figures that influenced the interest of many Filipino children in Disney princess films such as different mythical Filipino characters like Maria Makiling, Maria Clara, and Amaya. This is evident enough to prove Filipino women’s attachment to Disney princess films. It has developed to the point that they incorporate the Philippine norms into another culture, which reflects their romantic ideologies and orientation toward sex roles. This leads to the research concerning the effect of Disney Princess’s movies on adolescents’ perception of romantic beliefs and sex roles in the Philippine setting.

This study aims to determine the messages conveyed by the construction and characterization of the Disney Princess collection’s feature films. This study will also examine the sex roles implicated by these films. Furthermore, this study will explore messages dealing with how the primary characters try to find a significant other.

This piece will give a brief reflection on the topic of Food Security and Nutrition, the key learnings from the topic based on several academic journals, which argue the area from differing viewpoints. This all comes from a food system that faces the challenge of feeding more people than ever before under conditions of dwindling natural resources. (Brzeska & Fan: 2016)

The view of Brzeska and Fan (2016) is that the challenge of greater food security and nutrition has been hampered by what they describe as oversimplified beliefs regarding the strategy required. Their paper on the issue deals with debunking some of what they call common myths surrounding food security, nutrition, and sustainability. They believe it is possible to achieve all of these with the right policy. One of the myths they focus on debunking is that there has to be a trade-off between them. If food security is to be achieved, the environment has to suffer. I found it incredible, that this “stealing from the rich to feed the poor” kind of attitude exists amongst global policymakers. Policy must strive to achieve food security and nutrition for all, in a way that is sustainable and widespread.

Another area that opened my eyes when doing some wider reading on the area was that the area of food security and nutrition is not just related to what we traditionally believe to be the “third-world” countries. The latest FAO (2018) report on Food Security and Nutrition had some really interesting statistics on malnutrition, but more interesting to me was the effect of “over-nutrition”, on the overall figures. A major problem for world nutrition at the moment is adult obesity. In 2017 more than 1 in 8 adults across the globe were classified as obese, this accounts for more than 672 million people. North America accounts for the largest proportion of this figure. It is important when looking at this area of food security and nutrition to go in with your eyes open as these problems exist all over the globe, and not where I and others would have traditionally viewed it.

A follow-up from my reading also led me to the transitional period that urbanization and nutrition are currently experiencing and the challenges and opportunities it presents. According to Thanh et al., (2005), urbanization leads to an increase in the demand for more and better food and this leads to diversification in farming and provides farmers with more opportunities. However, this growth in urbanization also leads to problems and increases pressure on the global food and agricultural systems which are already under pressure due to climate change. Shifting diets leads to a more intensive use of land and natural resources (Shenggen et al., 2017).

I have gained a far more rounded view of the challenges and opportunities linked with global food security and nutrition, with the most interesting part being, the huge impact the Western world has on these areas.