Read the chapter 8-9 from this book Indian Art, rev. ed., by Roy Assignment

Read the chapter 8-9 from this book Indian Art, rev. ed., by Roy Craven - Assignment Example According to Jonathan, the Ise shrine played an important role in the architectural structures developed in the Japanese culture after the World War II. The Japanese modernists have been seen to be the original heirs to the cultural legacy that is related to the Ise shrine. Ise which is a model of the architecture of the Japanese brought the Shinto shrine at Ise into limelight during the post war period. Therefore, after the World War II, the Ise as a symbol of religious site and also a symbol based on imperial institution changed to be an aesthetic contemplation object (Gardner et al 534). Photography played a major role in catalyzing the transformation of this site. Yoshio’s photographs that are exceptional gave an insight of shrine complex when viewed from the inside. This brought down the visual and spatial barriers that once existed when the shrines were considered to be regiopolitical aura. As a result, this has changed the nationalistic rhetoric shrill that existed during the World War II to the shrine being becoming a public institution (Gardner et al 534). According to Jonathan’s argument, modernists have embraced the fact that shrines at Ise came into being during the World War II and maintains historical legacy that is complex in nature and is related to the Japanese culture. The history from the shrine has emanated into new cultural practices. The religious practices like Ise being a site for the key purpose of worship of the divine ancestors has since changed to the aesthetic value used architectural

Healing Myth Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Healing Myth - Essay Example She spent five years stuck in tortuous dread, trying to outrun destruction, war, starvation and the ultimate commitment of an individual, the death. She challenged inhuman evil acts as if they were kindergarten toys. According to me the turning point in the story can be found when children’s mother turns them out of the home. She whispers to the children and Loung writes (2006) â€Å"If we stay together, we will die together, but if they cannot find us, they cannot kill us† (p.121). She instructs them to separate, â€Å"walk until you come to a work camp, tell them you are orphans, and change your name† (p.122). Loung stubbornly refuses to go so â€Å"Ma says sternly. ‘Your Pa is gone now, and I just cannot take care of you kids. I don’t want you here! You are too much work for me! I want you to leave!† (p.122).As the wife of a high ranking government official, her strategy was right and the children were saved but she lost sight of the human angle at that moment. That was a peculiar situation and in the situations they were placed in neither mother nor the children could be blamed. The wise saying goes that desperate situations need desperate remedies. In such a grim situation thinking power gets engulfed in confusion and no accurate decision is possible. It is wrong to conclude that the mother does not love her children. The reality is she visualizes absolute danger for their lives if they continue to stay in the house together and as such she wants them to leave hoping that destiny would favor w them with good luck if they move out of the house and seek shelter elsewhere. Loung’s position is also to be pitied. Her resentment towards her mother is perfect as children look forward for protection from their parents and family members when it is a question of life or death. What is their plan of escape and where will they hide? Neither the

Role of Botanical Garden in Conservation of Environment

Role of Botanical Garden in Conservation of Environment With the destruction and over-exploitation of forests, many plants diversity and species have been affected and forced to face the extinction. As we know, plants are the crucial part of biodiversity in our planet as they can provide the aesthetic values, cultural and economic benefits to us. For example, plants can provide the sources of food, medicine, shelter and clothing to most of the organisms in the world. Besides, plants are also the key determinant to maintain the balance of environment and biodiversity and help our ecosystem to achieve the stability. Without plants, many wild animals will place in the danger of extinction condition due to the loss of habitats. Much more natural disasters will also be occurred if the devastation of forests actions are being continuously such as cutting down the plants in the huge quantity from time to time. From these perspectives, we can clearly know that plants are essential to support the biodiversity and help us to achieve the sustainable development. However, what is the significance does plant diversity have for humanity? How much does the loss of plant diversity matter in our biodiversity? What resources should we be committing to its conservation? One of the reason why these are such difficult questions the answer lies in the enormous uncertainty associated with the loss of biodiversity. Which party is the most involved in the destruction of our biodiversity such as over-exploitation of forests and directly causing the pollution, global warming and climatic change? The answer is human being because they tends to satisfy their individual greed and vanity to achieve their materialistically life. Some of them are not aware with the significance and importance to protect and conserve our natural sources such as plants in nature. This probably is due to the lack exposure of the importance and benefits of plants that bring to our life and helps to support the ecosystem in our world. To protect our plant diversity, hum an being must be the leader and involved themselves in the conservation action such as building up botanical gardens because botanical gardens can help much in the plant conservation. Botanical gardens can also increase the awareness and understanding of publics towards the species of plants by some of the education and research purposes. Significance of plant conservation In the food chain, plants are mostly the primary producers to provide the food sources to secondary and tertiary producers. Plants are also the backbone of life to support the natural biological system in the Earth. This is because plants not only can provide the habitat infrastructure for many ecosystems, but also as the sources to prevent erosion and stabilize the soil systems. However, most of the plant communities throughout the world are under threat and approximate to extinction level. By the investigation and estimation of scientists, there are more than one-third or at least 100 000 species of plants are under the threaten of extinction. What are the main threats that affect the extinction of plants diversity? This might be due to the destruction of habitat, over-collection of plant species and the invasive species. When a plant species loss the habitat, the whole ecosystem will be affected by the devastating influences, as other species also lose their food sources and habitats or shelters. Other than that, this may cause us to loss the natural resources to support our daily life because plants can be processed as the medicine, building materials and fuels. As a result, it is essential to carry out the plant conservation to support the development of livelihoods based on the sustainable uses of plants and as the promoter to advocate the understanding and sharing of the benefits and functions of plants. Plant conservation can also help to strengthen the measurement in controlling the unsustainable uses of plant resources. In fact, plant conservation can be considered as a section of biological conservation because it focus on the conservation of the whole ecosystems and biodiversity to achieve the sustainable development. Plant conservation can enhance the long-term preservation, restoration and management of plant diversity and communities with the associated ecosystems and habitats. For instance, implement the in-situ and ex-situ conservation in which in-situ involved in the more natural and controlled environments whereas ex-situ mostly involved in the country of origin and only be applied when necessary. Furthermore, plant conservation plays the vital role to encourage the conservation of native plant habitats in every local community. For instance, plant conservation get involved with the native plant groups such as botanical gardens, zoo, garden clubs and national parks. Education institutes and centers can also advocate and encourage the plant conservation program in their curricula to increase the awareness among their students. This is because plant conservation need the cooperation from every people protect the threatened plant diversity and communities. Moreover, plants are crucial to us because it supports the functioning of every ecosystems and provides us with many direct advantages. Hence, it is necessary for us to aware the plants that are endangered to the extinction because plants are sustainably utilized and preserved for our future generations. If we need the long-term plant conservation of our natural resources, the sustainability utilization of plant and the sustainable living are necessary in general. However, in the contemporary day, we do not properly value the benefits of our natural resources to bring to us. Unfortunately, our activities tend to degrade and deplete them, even though they are essential for human-kinds survival and well-being. Additionally, plant conservation is important because extinction may occur anytime if there are the destruction of forests or without any care or preservation from human being. Plant conservation can also refer to the protection of our biodiversity from being endangered because plants can be the foundation of providing the advantages to biodiversity. The loss of plants can affect our water supply and atmosphere because plants possess the mutualism relationships between each others. Plants not only assemble the huge component of global biodiversity which approximately 320 000 species in the world, but also as the supplier to provide the major nutrient sources to food webs and provide the shelters to animals. As a result, it is crucial to promote the significance and importance of plant conservation to publics. Due to this, the government, NGO, communication, research and education centers are very important to increase the understanding, awareness and consciousness of publics. For instance, government can collaborate with the private sector and NGO to maximize the potential action and synergies to support the plant conservation. Oppositely, communication, research and education centers can cooperate with other related organizations to improve the human resources, financial support and the physical and technological infrastructure as the efforts for the plant conservation. Importance of botanical gardens Botanical gardens are the parks that consist a wide variety of plants that labeled with their botanical name. Different type of botanical gardens contain different varieties of plants. For example, some of the botanical gardens mainly consist of the plants from some specific parts in the world like tropical plants and some might take form of a green house while some of the botanical gardens or parks emphasized on the different varieties of plants such as herbs, cactus and flowering plants. Botanical gardens are mostly run by a management of universities and scientific research organizations to investigate the varieties of different plants with their unique characteristics to undergo their research experiment or project that involve with the plant taxonomy.ÂÂ   In other words, botanical garden is one of the ex-situ conservation because it involved the components of biological diversity outside their natural habitats. Ex-situ conservation is the process of protecting an endangered species of plant or animal by removing part of the population from a threatened habitat and placing it in a new location, which may be a wild area or within the care of humans. Therefore, it is undoubtedly that botanical gardens have the function to preserve the endangered plant species and to sustain our environment. The main purpose that setting up the botanical gardens is to increase publics knowledge and appreciation of plant based on the significance and conservation of plants through locally and globally and also for the ongoing benefit and enjoyment of the community. Botanical gardens also can provide visitors with an exceptional range of cultural, recreational, educational and scientific facilities which improve peoples enjoyment and understanding of the plant world. Therefore, botanical gardens is used to demonstrate their relevance characteristics and values to our society. Nowadays, botanical gardens not only as the recreational and cultural purposes, but also possess a mix of all purposes behind their incorporation ranging from economic to research as a response to the interests of horticulture and botany. As the research purposes, botanical gardens can provide the real teaching materials: plants which cannot find their whole plant body in the laboratory. This is the good exposure to students to the morphology and characteristics of the different species of plants. Botanical gardens also can display the plant diversity in form and use in a particular regions. For example, which plants grown within their particular families and which plants grown for their rarity or seed. Botanical gardens also consist of timber trees that are crucial for the research and development of the uses. Other than that, botanical gardens can play the vital role to the climatic change due to their biological functions. Due to this, some related organizations can carry up some education programs because botanical gardens can strive the change of human behavior whereas their horticultural and botanical expertise will be essential in helping ecosystems to adapt to changing conditions. Botanical gardens not only treasured for their aesthetic beauty, but can help to preserve the health and well-being of planets because plants can helps to release oxygen into the atmosphere and provide the sources of food and medicines. However, the benefits for society which accrue from their economic potential may act as an incentive to over-exploit plant resources, a situation which could threaten our health, food security, economy and environment. As a example, the biggest botanical garden in Malaysia has covered an area over 92 hectares. The park is divided into three sections which are ornamental plants, flowering plants and preservation or research purposes. The garden currently has more than 700 species of flowering plants, local plants as well as plants from the Asia-Pacific and Africa regions. This botanical garden has also set up a research center with its multi-purpose collection to promote and investigate the plant conservation and sustainable use of biological plant diversity. This research center also helps to advocate the world of plants for human benefits as well as fir its own intrinsic worth. As a summary, botanical garden is a place or garden for the culture of plants collected for the scientific and educational purposes. It contains a wide variety of plants including a herbarium, the greenhouses and the research laboratory. Botanical gardens also perform the diversified functions such as the experimentation in plant breeding and hybridization and also the collection and cultivation of plants from all parts of the world. Besides, botanical gardens also essential to helps our biodiversity to achieve the sustainable development. Roles and relationships of botanical gardens in plant conservation Most of people do not aware with the roles of botanical gardens that can bring to the plant conservation. Normally, they just think that a botanical gardens often has the high recreational value, but neglected the research purposes within it. Conventionally, botanical gardens have worked in a broad range of concerns which including the reforestation, plant exploration, the establishment of nature preserves, agricultural research, publishing, and original research in botany. However, the plant conservation and education are the main concern of the function of botanical gardens in today society. Botanical gardens should play the important role in the exploration and search for promising plants, in the recognition and conservation of species in danger of extinction, and in the establishment of reserves and protected areas. Botanical gardens can provide many benefits to sustain our environment and have the closely relationships with the plant conservation. There are several steps for research center of botanical gardens to implement the plant conservation. Firstly, botanical gardens can provide the new plants of economic importance to society, including ornamentals, medicinal, trees for reforestation, plants for industry, fruits, and cash crops. Next, some plants are collected for the study of adaptability, growth, and also the economic and genetic characteristics. After that, the workers of botanical gardens will disseminate the cultural and scientific information about plants to the general public in order to increase the awareness and consciousness of public towards the plant conservation. Finally, researchers in botanical gardens will collect and maintain the endangered and rare plants in the ecosystem and investigate the methods of plant conservation in a natural habitats. How to say botanical gardens are closely related the plant conservation to sustain our biodiversity and ecosystem? Actually, botanical gardens can help to maintain the genetic diversity of plants that cannot easily be preserved as frozen seeds, or in tissue culture. Seeds of many tropical fruit and timber trees do not remain viable long, or survive freezing. Tissue culture techniques do not work, or havent been developed yet for some plants. Due to this point, botanical gardens are crucial for the conservation of recalcitrant plants which must be preserved as living specimens. Other than that, botanical gardens can contribute to the future of agricultural productivity through the plant conservation and the distribution of the many promising but underutilized food, medicinal, industrial crops, and wild relatives of crops, which are used in plant breeding to impart resistance to drought, pest and diseases and to adapt crops to other adverse environmental conditions. How do botanical gardens support the plant conservation? What are the roles that played by botanical gardens in plant conservation? In fact, botanical gardens support plant conservation in a variety methods. Botanical gardens play the important roles in plant conservation as they possess collectively accumulated centuries of resources and expertise. Many of these activities are contribute to ex-situ conservation, but botanical gardens also play the important role in in-situ conservation such as involving the education and research and development in plant conservation. Botanical gardens maintain the living collections of plants ex-situ, often displaying plant species under various groupings, to maintain a living store of genetic diversity that can support many activities in plant conservation and research and development activities. The first role of botanical gardens in plant conservation is the horticulture and cultivation functions towards the plants. This is because botanical gardens allows the better growth of the endangered plant species with the presence of these functions. With the better growth of plant, our environment also can become better because plants helps to absorb the carbon dioxide when undergo photosynthesis process. This role of botanical gardens can also maintain the plant conservation of genetic diversity ex-situ but in the other way, they also allows plants to be used in restoration and rehabilitation of degraded habitats in-situ. Therefore, we can say that the powerful resources for plant conservation are the botanical gardens research expertise in plant science and horticulture. Next, botanical gardens may implement the research and development (RD) into plant taxonomy and genetics, useful plant properties, efficient seed banking methods, phytochemistry, plant translocation and many more botanical areas that support plant utilization and plant conservation. Due to the increasing of human activity and the climatic change that causing the imbalance of ecosystem and biodiversity, research and development group of botanical gardens is important to carry out the projects that useful for the plant conservation. For example, RD team can implement the experiments to investigate how plants can withstand the degraded and changing environments. After that, apply the best solution for the plant conservation to improve the sustainable development to our society. In addition, botanical gardens possess the capability to store the seeds or germplasm of plants for future use, research and propagation. This role of botanical gardens is known as the seed banking which is another ex-situ plant conservation that helps to maintain the species of plant and reduce the chance of facing extinction. Seeds must be carefully collected and stored to ensure maximum genetic diversity is retained. To determine the best way of storing the different seeds, much more research and development activities and projects need to be carried out. Hence, we can state that botanical gardens are useful to promote plant conservation and recovery of endangered species of plant. Moreover, the development of education is important for botanical gardens to promote and implement the activities to plant conservation. This is because education is the historic strength of botanical gardens which allowing them to communicate the importance and significance of conserving plants to a more diverse audience. Through the educational resources, the plant conservation and biodiversity education efforts can be improved because these educational resources can help to educate publics about the importance of plant conservation by demonstrating the ways it might be achieved. Furthermore, botanical gardens can be the linkage to connect the plants with the well-being of human being. This role of botanical gardens directly aid to conserve the indigenous and local knowledge towards the plant conservation. Other than that, this linkage also encourages the sustainable use of plant resources for the benefit of all, as part of sustainable development. Additionally, botanical gardens also serves as the link between botanical research and public awareness of the significance and importance of plant conservation. There are over 100 million people a year visit the botanical gardens throughout the world. This is because botanical gardens provide a convenient visual image of the beauty and value of plants. Botanical gardens and other areas which native plants are preserved and managed their natural setting which are commonly known as ex-situ conservation areas. Therefore, the awareness among publics towards the plant conservation can also be increased with the exposur e of botanical gardens to them.

Analysis of Hunger of Memory by Richard Rodriguez Essays -- Papers Hun

Analysis of Hunger of Memory by Richard Rodriguez Richard Rodriguez?s essay, Hunger of Memory, narrates the course of his educational career. Rodriguez tells of the unenthusiastic and disheartening factors that he had to endure along with his education such as isolation and lack of innovation. It becomes apparent that Rodriguez believes that only a select few go through the awful experiences that he underwent. But actually the contrary is true. The majority of students do go through the ?long, unglamorous, and demeaning process? of education, but for different reasons (Rodriguez, 68). Instead of pursuing education for the sake of learning, they pursue education for the sake of job placement. Even from an early age, Rodriguez is a successful student. Everyone is extremely proud of Rodriguez for earning awards and graduating to each subsequent level of his education. But all his success was not necessarily positive. In fact, we see that his education experience is a fairly negative one. One negative that Rodriguez endures is his solitude. Education compels him to distance himself from his family and heritage. According to Richard Hoggart, a British education theorist, this is a very natural process for a scholarship boy. Hoggart explains that the ?home and classroom are at cultural extremes,? (46). There is especially an opposition in Rodriguez?s home because his parents are poorly educated Mexicans. His home is filled with Spanish vernacular and English filled with many grammatical errors. Also, the home is filled with emotions and impetuosity, whereas the classroom lacks emotion and the teachers accentuate rational thinking and reflectiveness. The conflict between the classroom and the home environm... ... are looking at the end product. Then don?t mind changing in order to get somewhere in life. Most know that they need to change. We can?t be educated without changing. The mere word education means change or development. Obviously, students are still learning for the sake of economic utility. Rodriguez may have done his learning for the sake of being an educated man, but it was the end result he craved. Whether someone?s aim is to get a good job or to elevate themselves to a higher level of education, the product of their efforts is what counts. Bibliography: Rodriguez, Richard. Hunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodriguez. New York: Bantam Books, 1985. The U.S. Department of Education. National Center for Education Statistics. 28 Sept. 2000. The U.S. Department of Education. National Center for Education Statistics. 25 Nov. 2000

Alcoholism And Rehabilitation

Alcoholism, also known as alcohol dependence, is unfortunately a widespread ailment which spans people of all age groups and socioeconomic levels. The health risks of this disease, and alcoholism is a disease, are as widespread as the individuals who contract it. In addition to these health risks, alcoholism is also an influencing factor in another problem plaguing societies, domestic violence. Thus, alcohol and anger create a sometimes fatal combination. As a result, rehabilitation success rates are vital in the ridding alcoholism and its negative effects from society.Alcoholism is a disease which can be described by degree. Alcohol dependence describes individuals who have developed a â€Å"maladaptive pattern† of alcohol consumption which is characterized by a developing alcohol tolerance, withdrawal symptoms, or hangovers, and the inability to stop drinking. It doesn’t stop there People with alcohol dependence may progress to alcohol abuse which can significantly in terfere with their social lives, their work or their interpersonal relationships.In addition, this abuse can also cause a host of related issues including â€Å"major depression, dysthymia, mania, hypomania, panic disorder, phobias, generalized anxiety disorder, personality disorders, any drug use disorder, schizophrenia, and suicide† (Cargiulo 2007). According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), drinking up to 14 drinks in a week for men or seven drinks per week as a woman could indicate alcohol dependence. In addition, the NIAAA estimates that up to nearly 18 million Americans could be considered alcoholics (Lauer 2006).That amounts to way too many individuals who are addicted to a drug that is both physically and mentally harmful, not to mention the effects on society as a whole. Despite the many mental and physiological problems that are associated with alcoholism, some of the most frightening are the health problems associated with the brai n. Evidence exists that shows the damage that alcohol consumption does to the brain. Brain imaging studies have revealed that people with alcoholism have significant differences in parts of their brains than those without alcoholism.The brain volume is reduced in alcoholics as well as the blood flow to the brain. The reduced blood flow has been linked to a lowering of inhibitions and memory, impaired cognitive function in general and even damage to the corpus callosum (Cargiulo 2007). Thus, alcoholism can directly translate to serious problems with the mind. These problems can lead to long term brain damage. Lesions in the brain form in those with long term patterns of alcohol abuse. This can translate into Korsakoff’s disease which is characterized by motor impairment and thinking impairments which can affect a person’s ability to care for himself.In the end, the individual may have to be cared for institutionally. Alcohol affects the neurotransmitters in the brain. A s the disease progresses to chronic status, the brain cells begin to adapt to the alcohol that seems to reside permanently in the brain. As a result, the brain becomes reliant on the alcohol to work. If alcohol is removed, the symptoms of withdrawal take longer and longer to subside. Ultimately, the brain tissue will rebel, in a way, and the withdrawal symptoms can be severe, even fatal. Once the cells in the brain die, they cannot be regenerated (Shoemaker 2003).These effects seem to affect males to a greater degree than females. This fact can be explained by differences in drinking patters, choice of alcoholic drinks, rate of alcohol metabolism and the protective effects of hormones such as estrogen (de Bruin, 2005) As such, alcohol dependency and abuse is three times more prominent in men as it is in women even though evidence suggests that for both genders, the numbers are underreported (Cargiulo 2007). As if the physical effects on the body were not bad enough, the behaviors of individuals who are addicted to alcohol are also quite dangerous.The drinkers find themselves to be less inhibited and more willing to engage in risky behaviors. Many of these behaviors can be characterized as aggressive and violent. In addition to the money that society has to pay for the medical care, it is also very costly to sort through all the social issues that alcoholism may create. Galvani (2004) gives several possible reasons why this risky and damaging behavior may occur in drinkers. Physiological theories argue that ethanol, the drug in alcohol increase aggression biologically.A theory known as Disinhibition Theory notes the earlier link between alcohol and cognitive function, specifically the portion of the brain mentioned above that regulates levels if inhibition. The Deviance Disavowal theory argues that the abusers use alcohol as a reason for their behavior and consciously drinks so that they can blame the alcohol for their actions. Social Learning theories explain that people will act in a way based on their experiences around others. Therefore, parents and societal expectations can lead to alcoholic abuse and abusive behaviors (Galvani, 2004).As with many ailments, more than one option for treatment exists. Many of these options can occur in conjunction with others. For years, behavior modification such as one might find in various 12 – Step Program or other similar programs have been the way of choice. These programs focus on the addicts significantly changing the way they behave in society including the people with whom they associate. Either a professional or a group of individuals led by a former addict facilitate the alcoholic’s recovery.Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), is an organization most known for its success rates for alcoholics’ recovery. It is available to anyone who desires its services. Lately increasing research evidence has found that a 12-step program affiliation is not only effective on its own, but even mo re effective along with professional, medical treatment, including residence based programs. The truth is, â€Å"Involvement with AA is consistently and positively associated with improved drinking outcomes, replicated across a large volume of studies using a variety of treatment methods† (Cloud, Zeigler and Blondell, 2004).The reason for this success is the three core items of AA: identification of self as a member, the number of steps completed, and the quantity of meetings attended (Cloud, Zeigler and Blondell, 2004). It can be a tiring process for an already worn individual. Because so many of these types of programs rely on frequent attendance by the alcoholics. One study sought to find the correlation, if any, between the duration of treatment and the level of intensity of the treatment. Moos and Moos (2003) conducted a study of 276 alcoholics who began formal treatment for alcohol abuse.These patients were involved with out-patient programs, residential programs, or a combination of the two. The average length of treatment was 20. 7 weeks, and the average intensity, or number of contacts, was 2. 8 contacts per week. These researchers first note that the individuals who had longer duration of treatment usually had less intense treatment. They found that patients who had a short treatment duration, which is considered 1-8 weeks, were more likely to abstain from alcohol than those who received no help whatsoever.If the treatment lasted for nine weeks or more, then the patient was even more likely to abstain from alcohol. This seems to suggest that the longer the treatment duration, the better the individual may respond to the treatment (Moos and Moos, 2003). However, recently the question has arisen as to whether or not recovering alcoholics must completely abstain from alcohol or not. Most programs, such as AA, or other groups perhaps affiliated with churches or in-patient and out-patient residential programs, build potential and motivation for suc cess on complete life changes.These changes includes huge behavior shifts which focus on completely eliminating alcohol. Unfortunately, many people do not seek treatment because they don’t want to completely give up the occasional beer or social glass or wine. Humphries, Weingardt, and Hoyst (2005) agree and have encouraged programs like Moderation Management which do not force individuals to part with alcoholic beverages forever. Allowing a choice of goal may be one effective way to increase the numbers of people willing to enter alcohol treatment.It is estimated that as few as 10% of individuals with alcohol use disorders attend treatment; more flexible goals may appeal to a wider range of these people. There is also evidence that therapy can move people toward choosing a realistic drinking goal for themselves (Humphries, Weingardt, and Hoyst, 2005). On one side of this debate are those that argue in favor of abstinence. They say that the disease controls the individual and that this person will definitely lose control of they are exposed to alcohol, even a small amount . (Humphries, Weingardt, and Hoyst, 2005).Never drinking again is the surest way to â€Å"cure† this disease. Alcohol recovery patients are constantly reminded that they are and always will be an alcoholic, just like a diabetic always will be a diabetic. Opponents to the abstinence-only argument argue that people and their problems with alcohol are all different with different times of drinking and different levels of drinking. The researchers use the common phrase â€Å"different strokes for different folks† in describing this philosophy. While they agree that some problems require abstinence, but they allow that other individuals could moderate their drinking and still improve.They call this a â€Å"harm-reduction orientation toward alcohol problems† which â€Å"focuses less on the amount of alcohol consumed and more on helping individuals decrease the harms rel ated to alcohol use. Although abstinence may be desirable, it is not the primary measure of successful outcomes† (Humphries, Weingardt, aned Hoyst, 2005). Some of the personal demographics of individuals who are more likely to experience success on non-abstinent programs include younger people, those with social and psychological stability, those who are regularly employed, and those who believe that they can seriously manage a moderate drinking program.However, if the patients are pregnant, experiencing liver problems, or are in the advanced stages of alcoholism, they may be forced to consider only the abstinence route (Humphries, Weingardt, and Hoyst, 2005). Another reason that some people avoid seeking treatment for alcoholism is their reluctance to commit to residential or in-patient treatment. Luckily, recent studies have indicated that outpatient treatment is effective in treating alcoholic dependency. Studies of this type have reported abstinence rates of 34-59% for 6 m onths post-treatment, 48 % for 19 to 24-month post-treatment and 52% for the 49-month post-treatment mark.In Bottlende and Soyka’s study of 2005, their rates were slightly higher for the six month mark at 64% abstaining, and 14 % significantly reducing their alcohol intake with a 22% rate of serious relapse. Perhaps, if people understood that they could get good results with a outpatient program, they would be more inclined to seriously consider treatment. Additionally, alcoholics do not need lengthy terms of treatment. Perhaps a brief commitment would do the trick for many with alcohol problems.â€Å"Brief interventions targeting alcohol consumption have been found to be very effective in changing clients’ consumption levels† (Roche and Freeman, 2004). One study cited by these researchers noted that heavy drinkers were likely to reduce the amount of alcohol they consumed six and twelve months after a brief intervention as compared with similarly heavy drinkers who received no interventions whatsoever: A WHO study conducted in eight countries involving over 1600 participants found that brief interventions reduced daily alcohol consumption on average by 17% and intensity of drinking by 10%.Brief interventions also reduce the number of alcohol-related problems, health-care utilization and associated treatment costs and the number of emergency department admissions. Brief interventions are also highly cost-efficient due to the minimal cost of the intervention and the breadth of scope for prevention of more serious and more costly problems (Roche and Freeman, 2004). However, the same benefits were not noted for women or for low consumers of alcohol who occasionally drank at very hazardous levels, also known as binge drinkers.Evidence suggests that â€Å"the majority of alcohol-related harms† affect these moderate to low drinkers who binge (Roche and Freeman, 2004). This study just shows that people do react differently to alcohol. One h uge area of research in alcohol rehabilitation right now is in the area of gender. The above study mentioned that women do not receive the same level of benefits from brief interventions as men receive. This has led many researchers to fill the research gap between studies that focus on only males or on mixed genders and females. While women have a lower rate of substance abuse, those that are alcoholics suffer just as men do.In fact, women actually suffer more severe effects in some cases than men do. For example, women have more alcohol related health issues, â€Å"mental disorders, death rates, quicker addictions and greater social isolation and stigma† (Najavits, Rosier, and Nolan, 2007). This is unfortunate because women have become increasingly more addicted to alcohol at younger and younger years of age. However, studies also indicate that while in treatment, women show more rapid improvement and are more able to control impulsive behaviors that are so problematic for men (Najavits, Rosier, and Nolan, 2007).Of course, one rehabilitative method that is often overlooked in the search to rehabilitate alcoholics is the pharmacological method. While drugs are frequently use to aid in helping alcoholics avoid painful and dangerous withdrawal symptoms, others are now being marketed as treatment methods themselves. One such drug is Acamprosate which is a synthetic compound with a similar structure to that of the neurotransmitter GABA and the neuromodulator Taurine† (Scott, Figgitt, and Keam, 2005).Once the patient is detoxified, Acomprosate helps the patient maintain abstinence in the place of rehabilitation programs. This way, individuals can maintain his social and professional life. Several studies found this to be true a year after use had begun â€Å"irrespective of disease severity or the type of psychosocial support† (Scott, Figgitt, and Keam, 2005) the patient received. Also, the drug appears to pose few tolerance issues such as naus ea, diarrhea or the like. A second prescription medication is available for the treatment of alcoholism.Naltrexone has also produced very positive results in promoting abstinence among recovering alcoholics. This drug has also had several positive research trials and works better in conjunction with behavioral therapy. One way this drugs works is to result in a reduced urge to drink and negative physical side effects if it is taken in conjunction with alcohol (Rohsenow, 2004). Alcoholism is a horrible, addictive disease that leads not only to medical problems such as brain and liver problems, but also to psychological problems, social problems and even violent behavior.The disease affects individuals differently, and new approaches are always being considered to treat each sufferer. While abstinence only and residential programs seem to have prevailed in the past, the new approaches are leaning to more brief, outpatient programs and interventions that support both abstinence and mod eration when it comes to alcohol consumption. These new programs also take into account differences that result from race and gender. With hope, this disease will soon be tamed, or even eradicated, with better and better rehabilitation programs.. References Bottlender, M. & Soyka, M. (2005). Efficacy of an Intensive Outpatient Rehabilitation Program in Alcoholism: Predictors of Outcome 6 Months after Treatment. European Addiction Research 11 (3): 132-137. Cargiulo, T. (2007). Understanding the health impact of alcohol dependence. American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy 64: S1-S17 Cloud, RN, Ziegler, CH, & Blondell, RD. What is Alcoholics Anonymous Affiliation? Substance Use & Misuse 39(7), 2004: 1117-1136 Galvani, S. (2004). Responsible disinhibition: Alcohol, men and violence to women.Addiction Research & Theory 12 (4): 357-371 Humphreys, K, Weingardt, KR, & Horst, D. Prevalence and predictors of research participant eligibility criteria in alcohol treatment outcome studies, 197 0-98. Addiction 100(9), Sep 2005: 1249-1257 Moos, RH & Moos BS. Long-term influence of duration and intensity of treatment on previously untreated individuals with alcohol use disorders. Addiction 98 (3), March 2003: 325-337. Najavits, LM, Rosier, M, & Nolan, AL. (2007). A New Gender-Based Model for Women's Recovery From Substance Abuse: Results of a Pilot Outcome Study.American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse 33(1), 2007: 5-11 Roche, AM & Freeman, T. (2004). Brief interventions: Good in theory but weak in practice. Drug and Alcohol Review 23(1):11-18. Rohsenow, Damaris J. (2004). What Place Does Naltrexone Have in the Treatment of Alcoholism? CNS Drugs 18(9): 547-560. Scott, LJ, Figgitt, DP, and Keam, SJ. (2005). Acamprosate: A Review of its Use in the Maintenance of Abstinence in Patients with Alcohol Dependence. CNS Drugs 19(5): 445- 464 Shoemaker, W. (2003). Alcohol’s Effects on the Brain. Nutritional Health Review: The Consumer’s Medical Journal 88:

10 Herbal Medicine

The  Philippine Department of Health (DOH)  has endorsed ten (10) medicinal plants to be used as herbal medicine in Philippines due to its beneficial effects. These herbal medicines have underwent clinical studies through the Philippine Department of Health's  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Traditional Health Program†Ã‚  to offer as alternative to conventioanl medicines. Below is the list of these medicinal plants: 1. Akapulko (Cassia alata)  Common names include â€Å"bayabas-bayabasan† in tagalog, â€Å"ringworm bush or schrub† and â€Å"acapulco† in English, this Philippine herbal medicine is used to treat tinea infections, insect bites, ringworms, eczema, scabies and itchiness. . Ampalaya (Momordica charantia)  Common names include â€Å"bitter melon † or â€Å"bitter gourd † in English. This Philippine herbal medicine has been found to be effective in the treatment of diabetes (diabetes mellitus), hemofrhoids, coughs, burns and scalds, and being studie d for anti-cancer properties. 3. Bawang (Allium sativum)  Common name in english is â€Å"Garlic†. Bawang is a used in Philippine herbal medicine to treat infection with antibacterial, antiinflammatory, anti-cancer and anti-hypertensive properties. It is widely used to reduce cholesterol level in blood. . Bayabas (Psidium guajava)  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ â€Å"Guava† in English. A Philippine herbal medicine used as antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, anti-spasmodic, antioxidant hepatoprotective, anti-allergy, antimicrobial, anti-plasmodial, anti-cough, antidiabetic, and antigenotoxic in folkloric medicine. 5. Lagundi (Vitex negundo)  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ known as â€Å"5-leaved chaste tree† in english is used in Philippine herbal medicine to treat  cough, colds and fever. It is also used as a relief for asthma & pharyngitis, rheumatism, dyspepsia, boils, and diarrhea. 6. Niyog-niyogan (Quisqualis indica L.   Ã¢â‚¬â€œ is a vine known as â€Å"Chinese honey suckle†. This Philip pine herbal medicine is used to eliminate intestinal parasites. 7. Sambong (Blumea balsamifera)- English name: â€Å"Ngai camphor or Blumea camphor† is a Philippine herbal medicine used to treat  kidney stones, wounds and cuts, rheumatism, anti-diarrhea, anti spasms, colds and coughs and hypertension 8. Tsaang Gubat (Ehretia microphylla Lam. )  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ English :†Wild tea† is a Philippine herbal medicine taken as tea to treat skin allergies including eczema, scabies and itchiness wounds in child birth 9. Ulasimang Bato | Pansit-Pansitan  (Peperomia pellucida) is a Phillipine herbal medicine known for its effectivity in treating arthritis and gout. 10. Yerba Buena  (Clinopodium douglasii)  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ commonly known as Peppermint, is used in Philippine herbal medicine as analgesic to relive body aches and pain due to rheumatism and gout. It is also used to treat coughs, colds and insect bites Types Of Herbal Medicine Medicinal plants can be used by anyone, for example as part of a salad, an herbal tea or supplement. Many herbalists, both professional and amateur, often grow or wildcraft their own herbs. Making your own herbal medicine preparation is not only fun, but can be cost-effective. In using the above mentioned herbal medicines, some may require some degree of skill, you have to use your own judgement if you decide to use one. Below is a list of general ways on how to prepare your own herbal medicine. The list is not all inclusive and you have to see individual articles for the herb you use so that you will know how to prepare them. Herbal Teas There are two methods of making herbal teas, infusion and decoction. Infusion is steeping lighter parts of the plant (leaves, flowers, light stems) in boiled water for several minutes. Decoction is boiling tougher parts, such as roots or bark for a longer period of time. Herbal teas are often used as a home remedy, and as an alternative to tea and coffee. As a general rule unless recommended by a herbalist, Prepare 1 teaspoon of dried herb for every 1 cup of water. Let it steep in boiling water for 10 to 20 minutes. Strain the herbs out and drink 3 to 4 times a day. Herbal Tinctures Steeping a medicinal plant in alcohol extracts the alcohol-soluble principles into a liquid form that can be stored for long periods. Herbalists may mix several herbal tinctures to form an individualized prescription for each patient. Plant tinctures are also the basis for many homeopathic medicines. To prepare your herbal tincture you will need: 8 ounces of finely cut dried herbs, 1 large glass jar that can hold 4 cups of liquid 2 cups of vodka Instructions: Put the dried herb into a large, glass jar and pour in equal amount of liquid, making sure the herbs are completely covered (this is very important). Store the jar in a cool, dark place for at least two weeks, preferably 4. Make sure to shake the mixture every day. When ready to use, filter the mixture using a cheesecloth bag, coffee filter, or fine cloth, capturing the tincture liquid below in another container. Store the tincture in clean, dark glass containers, out of the sun. If stored properly the tincture will be preserved for two or more years. Vinegar tinctures should be refrigerated. Note: A drop of tincture is equal to 1 tsp of herb juice. For Vinegar Tinctures, use 1 ounce of herb per 5 ounces of vinegar. Fluid Extracts Fluid extracts are stronger than herbal tinctures, and can be made with alcohol or glycerin. Herbal Poultices Poultices are a solid, vegetable fat based mixture used externally. They have the shortest life span of any herbal remedy and must be made fresh for every use. Powdered Herbs And Tablets Herbs that are dried and (sometimes) certain parts are separated out then diced to powder fine consistency. Powered matter can then be compressed or put in an empty pill coating to form a tablet Herbal Creams And Ointments An ointment usually is mixed with beeswax (or something similar) to make it more applicable to outside the body, such as on a cut or scrape. Essential Oils Extraction of volatile liquid plant materials and other aromatic compounds from plants gives essential oils. These plant oils may be used internally in some forms of herbal medicine as well as in aromatherapy and generally for their perfume, although their medicinal use as a natural treatment (alternative medicine) has proved highly efficacious in the treatment of headache and muscle pain, joint pain and certain skin diseases Herbal Supplements Herbal supplements tend to be commercial products in tablet or capsule form manufactured and marketed by the health food industry for sale in retail outlets to the general public, although there are some types that are sold only to healthcare practitioners for prescription. Herbal supplements are often standardized to contain stated levels of active phytochemicals. Some herbalists may not agree with the standardization of active ingredients, preferring instead to use the whole plant.