Tuesday, December 31, 2019

What Is the Recency Effect in Psychology

The recency effect refers to the finding that people tend to have a better memory for information they were told more recently. Below, we’ll review how researchers study the recency effect, the conditions under which it occurs, and how it can impact the judgments we make. Key Takeaways: Recency Effect The recency effect refers to the fact that we are more likely to remember information that has been given to us more recently.Psychologists have found evidence both for a recency effect and a primacy effect (better memory for information presented earlier).In addition to being studied by memory researchers, social psychologists have investigated how the recency effect can impact our evaluations of others. Recency Effect Definition One demonstration of the recency effect can be found in a 1962 paper by psychologist Bennet Murdock. Murdock investigated how the ordering of words in a list affects our ability to remember them (what is known as the serial position effect). In the study, participants had lists of words read out loud to them (depending on the version of the study, participants heard as few as 10 words or as many as 40). After hearing the words, participants were given a minute and a half to write down as many words as they could remember from the list. Murdock found that the likelihood of a word being remembered depended on where in the list it had appeared. He found that the first few words in the list were remembered fairly well, which is known as the primacy effect. After this, the likelihood of remembering a word dropped significantly, but it began to increase again for the last eight items on the list—and the likelihood of remembering a word was highest for the last few items on the list (i.e. the recency effect). Graph demonstrating the serial position effect. Obli / Wikimedia Commons /  Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Murdock charted out these results in a graph. On the x axis, he put the word’s order in the list (e.g. whether it was presented first, second, and so on). On the y axis, he put the chance that a participant was able to remember the word. The resulting data showed what is called the serial position curve: memory for a word starts out moderate to high at the beginning of the list, quickly drops (and, if the list is longer, stays low for a while), and then increases for words at the end of the list. When Does the Recency Effect Occur? Psychologists have found that the recency effect occurs when participants complete the memory test immediately after being presented with a list of items. However, in other research studies, psychologists have presented participants with items to remember, given participants a brief distraction (such as asking them to count backwards by threes), and then asked them to try to remember the words from the list. The results of these studies show that, when people are briefly distracted before completing the memory test, the recency effect is not found. Interestingly, in studies such as this one, the primacy effect (having a better memory for earlier items in a list) still occurs. This finding caused some psychologists to suggest that the primacy effect and recency effect could be due to different processes, and that the recency effect might involve short-term memory. However, other research has suggested that the recency effect may be more complicated than this, and that it may be due to more than just short-term memory processes. The Recency Effect in Social Psychology While the recency effect has long been studied by psychologists who study memory, social psychologists have also explored whether it can affect how we perceive others. As an example, imagine that your friend is describing someone they want to introduce you to, and they describe this person as kind, smart, generous, and boring. Because of the recency effect, the last item on the list—boring—might have a disproportionate effect on your judgment of the person, and you might have a less positive impression of them (compared to if boring had been in the middle of the list of words). As Simon Laham and Joseph Forgas explain, we can experience a recency effect or a primacy effect (where the adjectives presented first have a stronger impact), depending on the circumstances. For example, we’re more likely to experience a recency effect if we’re given a long list of information about the person, or if we’re asked to form an impression of the person right after we’re given information about them. On the other hand, we’d be more strongly impacted by the first items in a list if we know in advance that we’re going to be asked to form an impression of the person. Conclusion The recency effect, a finding from researchers studying the psychology of recall, suggests that we tend to remember more recent things better. The primacy effect suggests that we also tend to have better memory for things that came first—in other words, the items in the middle are the ones that we’re most likely to forget. Research shows that things tend to be most memorable if they occur at the beginning or end of something. Sources and Additional Reading: Baddeley, Alan. Essentials of Human Memory (Classic Edition). Psychology Press (Taylor Francis Group), 2014. https://books.google.com/books?id2YY3AAAAQBAJCuncic, Arlin. â€Å"Understanding the Primacy Effect.† Verywell Mind (2019, May 30). https://www.verywellmind.com/understanding-the-primacy-effect-4685243Gilovich, Thomas, Dacher Keltner, and Richard E. Nisbett.  Social Psychology.  1st edition, W.W. Norton Company, 2006.  https://books.google.com/books?idGxXEtwEACAAJLaham, Simon and Joseph P. Forgas. â€Å"Recency Effect.† Encyclopedia of Social Psychology. Edited by Roy F. Baumeister and Kathleen D. Vohs, SAGE Publications, 2007, 728-729. https://sk.sagepub.com/Reference//socialpsychology/n436.xmlMurdock Jr., Bennet B. (1962). â€Å"The Serial Position Effect of Free Recall.† Journal of Experimental Psychology, vol. 64, no. 5, 482-488. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1963-06156-001Richardson, John T.E. â€Å"Measures of Short-Term Memory: A Historical Review.†Ã‚  Cortex  vol. 43 no. 5 (2007): 635-650. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0010945208704933

Monday, December 23, 2019

The Age Of Aids By Rock Hudson - 2282 Words

a) One of the most powerful scenes in the documentary â€Å"The Age of Aids† is the scene where society learned about the death of the well-known actor Rock Hudson. When Rock Hudson died from AIDS, panic emerges all over the United States. It was then evident that AIDS was not a â€Å"gay man s disease†, but rather a disease that anyone could contract. Now women, straight men, and the rest of the population were at risk of contracting AIDS. This scene is very powerful because it demonstrates that society is ignorant and does not care about others unless something affects them, loved ones, or someone famous. Furthermore, when gay people were believed to be the only individuals that could be affected by AIDS, society did not care because the†¦show more content†¦In that scene, the memorial quilts were laid out in front of Congress by family members in memory of loved ones who passed away from AIDS. When the first AIDS quilts were being placed in front of Congres s, forty thousand Americans had already died of AIDS. This scene is very powerful because it really emphasizes the impact that AIDS had on Americans. Seeing the crowds of people standing around the AIDS quilts really puts into perspective how serious AIDS was and that many people showed support and hoped that a cure could be found or the spreading of AIDS could be stopped. The United States government and many Americans were now able to realize the impact that AIDS was having on American citizens. They decided that changes had to be made to help stop the spread of AIDS and possibly help cure the individuals infected by it as it was now becoming a worldwide epidemic. I found it very painful to watch people come up to the AIDS quilts and remember loved ones that passed away from this tragic disease. Watching people share memories with others and cry was difficult as well because it angered me as what came to my mind was the United States government not doing anything to put a stop to the spread of AIDS. All the government had to do was provide some money to the United States Center for Disease Control (CDC) and they would try to find a cure for AIDS or find a way to stop it from spreading

Sunday, December 15, 2019

The Great Gatsby †Reactions to Myrtle Wilson’s Death Free Essays

Reactions to Myrtle Wilson’s Death in The Great Gatsby In the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Jay Gatsby is a passenger in the car which strikes Myrtle Wilson, which is driven by Daisy Buchanan. After the car hits Myrtle, Daisy continues to drive, but collapses on Gatsby, forcing him to drive. We will write a custom essay sample on The Great Gatsby – Reactions to Myrtle Wilson’s Death or any similar topic only for you Order Now At the Buchanan’s house, Nick Carraway talks to Gatsby, who â€Å"[speaks] as if Daisy’s reaction [is] the only thing that [matters]† (136). Due to his incessant love for daisy, he only focuses towards Daisy’s emotions and even takes the blame for her. Regardless Myrtle’s death, Gatsby’s dream of having Daisy to himself makes him center his attention to her feelings after the accident. In the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Nick Carraway arrives at George Wilson’s garage with Jordan Baker and Tom Buchanan after Myrtle Wilson dies. After leaving the crime scene, Nick arrives at the Buchanan house and is approached by Jordan. She tries to comfort Nick, however, he declines her invitation to the house and starts to feel â€Å"a little sick and [wants] to be alone†¦ He [has] had enough of all of them for one day† (135/136). He becomes tired of being tied into all the drama and secrets of New York and tries to isolate himself from the others in order to find a peace of mind. As a result of all the sudden occurrences in East Egg and West Egg, he concludes that leaving the situation will lead to his own contentment. In the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Daisy Buchanan is the driver of the vehicle which strikes Myrtle Wilson. Daisy continues to drive after hitting her, however she collapses on Jay Gatsby as he pulls on the emergency brake, forcing him to take over the vehicle. After they arrive at the Buchanan house, Daisy â€Å"[locks] herself into her room,† (137) while in a state of shock. She cannot believe that she hit another person on the road and isolates herself for a moment, in order to sort out her emotions. As a result of losing her nerve on the road, she hides from the others and places herself in disbelief. In the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Tom Buchanan arrives at George Wilson’s garage with Jordan Baker and Nick Carraway after Myrtle Wilson dies. After Tom comforts George, he comes to a conclusion Gatsby hit Myrtle and denounces him as a coward on his way back to his house. As Tom is speaking, Nick realizes â€Å"a change [has] come over [Tom], [as] he [speaks] gravely, and with decision† (135). Gatsby’s intrusion in his personal life creates a spark within Tom, in which he begins to care more for his wife. With the belief of Gatsby killing his mistress, Tom changes his attitude, in order to prove his love for his wife and to make sure that Gatsby cannot achieve his goal of taking Daisy away from him. In the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Jordan Baker arrives at George Wilson’s garage with Tom Buchanan and Nick Carraway after Myrtle Wilson dies. She leaves with the rest of her group, and tries to comfort Nick at the Buchanan house. After being rejected by him, â€Å"she [turns] abruptly away and [runs] up the porch steps into the house† (136). As a result of being dishonest, cynical, and self-centered, she is unwilling to change her attitude in order to persist on consoling Nick. She stays true to her deceitful nature as she is reluctant to suit his needs. In the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald George Wilson is the husband of Myrtle Wilson, who dies after being hit by a car. Before the accident, he suspects his wife is having an affair with another man. After her death, he becomes speechless and â€Å"[stands] on the raised threshold of his office, swaying back and forth and holding to the doorposts with both hands† (132). The sudden death of his wife places him in a state of shock, where he is having trouble sorting out his emotions and thoughts. Despite Tom’s efforts at comforting him, George remains distraught at the fact that he could not stop his wife from running out and instantly dying on the road. How to cite The Great Gatsby – Reactions to Myrtle Wilson’s Death, Papers

Saturday, December 7, 2019

Environmental and Global Health Issues for Vector-Borne Diseases

Question: Discuss about theEnvironmental and Global Health Issues for Vector-Borne Diseases. Answer: Introduction Vector-borne diseases can be described as the infection that is spread or transmitted by an infected certain species that carry the virus within their body. The vector can be a bat, fly, tick and mosquito. Weather plays a major role in influencing the population of the vectors, abundance, distribution, habitat suitability. Temporal pattern and the intensity of the vector activity all over the year. Not just the climatic factors but also the land use pattern, density of host and habitat destruction plays a major role in the spread of diseases. In this study, Ebola disease is used as vector-borne disease and Africa is selected as the geographical location where the impact of the Ebola is noticed (Altizer et al., 2013). The study also deals with the usage of the DPSEEA framework for the analysis of the disease; how Ebola is managed by the health and the other agencies and the suggestions that address the gaps in the current policy and the management of the environmental health issue. DPSEEA framework The World Health Organization developed a framework called the DPSEEA framework, and this framework is the basis of the development of the environmental health indicators. Initially, the DPSIR was recognized and then it was done by recognising environmental state through the exposures to major health effects. The DPSSEA framework stands for the driving forces, pressure, state, exposure, health effects and the actions. The framework takes into account the various environmental and the health issues and problems that are associated with the driving forces like the technological change, economic development, population growth and the policies underlying the above mentioned (Gentry-Shields Bartram, 2014). Ebola analysis based on the DPSEEA framework Driving force- a study was conducted jointly by the National academy of sciences and the London school of hygiene and tropical medicine found that the 61 percent of the cases were caused by the 3 percent of the people that are infected. The study also concluded that the although the infected people are buried in a proper way, however, the unsafe funeral procedures followed are one of the major reason for the spread of the transmission of Ebola. The study even highlights that there are biological and the social factors that have led to the spread of the disease. The research also pointed that the children aged 15 years and the adults aged 45 years are more like to spread the disease in comparison to the other people. There is a possibility that there is a combination of the factors that led to the spread of the disease. Also, there is another way by which the disease spread unknowingly. The people that were taking care of the infected people who were already suffering from the disease led to the spread of the disease (Baize et al., 2014). Pressure- the countries that became affected are one of the poorest countries in the world. Guinea is the only place in the world that the Bats travel to. Guinea ranks 178 out of the 187 in human development index which is framed by United Nations. Half of the Guinea population live under the poverty line and the country is slowly trying to get out of the civil war. When the disease out broke, there was a widespread lack of the proper coordination system and were poorly equipped. The country was unable to monitor the movement of the people across the different regions. Guinea even lacked a robust healthcare system and they were unable to respond with the basic health resources. Due to poverty, the people further went to the forest to meet their day to day needs. The Ebola virus which was already circulating in Guinea but in a suppressed way, however, the disease received a further chance to spread when the animals carrying the Ebola virus came in contact with people (Alexander et al. , 2015). State changes- Due to the increased poverty among the people of Guinea, forced them to move to the forest to full fill the daily needs of food. Within the forest ecosystem, the animals were already carrying the Ebola virus, and the movement of the humans further into the forest led to the establishment of contact with the humans. The pressure on the environment increased due to the excessive human interference into the forest ecosystem due to the extraction of minerals from mines and to bring firewood to make charcoal. The extreme dry season also triggered the outbreak of Ebola (Feldmann, 2014). Exposure- The increased activity into the forest is the prime reason for the increased exposure of the people to the animals that are already exposed to the Ebola virus. The humans that went to the forest for sustaining the livelihood primarily came in contact with the animals that were affected by the virus and this further increased the spread of the virus within the humans (Muyembe-Tamfum et al., 2012). Effects- Initially the people of Guinea were infected with the Ebola virus mildly. The increased activity of the humans into the forest has led to the virulent strains of Ebola to come in contact with the human subjects. Assessment- the people that are affected by the Ebola experience pain in muscles, joints, chest and abdomen. A person may also experience vomiting blood, nausea and diarrhoea. Gaps in the DPSEEA framework The DPSEEA framework failed to take in to account the economic, political and the social influences because the framework is unable to highlight the social conditions of the people of Guinea and the political scenario of the country that were it was experiencing during this moment of Ebola outbreak. The country was just out from a civil war and this aspect was included within the framework. The framework only also fails to explicitly deal with the social issues that were prevalent during the Ebola outbreak and the spread of the Ebola dynamics was only restricted to the environmental aspects. The vector-borne disease is only looked through the lens of how the humans and the environment contributed to the spread of the disease. The biological elements are only considered in the framework (World Health Organization, UNICEF, 2012). Ebola management Presently, there is no medication available that are approved by the food and the drug administration for the cure of the patients that have already been exposed to the virus but is yet to become ill. Thus, the patients are treated maintaining the standard operating procedure, through the replenishment of the nutrition, pain control, ventilation support, electrolytes and fluid are provided to the patients in order to manage them and prevent the complications and the symptoms of the Ebola disease. The survivors of the disease are able to produce the infectious virions for an extended period and the patient needs to be isolated throughout the occurrence of illness (Chertow et al., 2014). The healthcare professionals that are attending the infected persons must wear the personal protective equipment (PPE) which includes wearing the gloves and the surgical masks. Also at this time the infected mother's breast is also not allowed to be fed to her child. The symptomatic management of the d isease is also vital for relieving the patients of the pain, fever, diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting. Morphine is used as the opioid analgesics and paracetamol is used as the first line agent for the treatment of the pain and fever. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are not recommended during the pain treatment due to the increased risk of bleeding. The pharmacological drug therapy is used for the safe treatment of the Ebola virus disease. a potent drug called the favipiravir (T-705) is found to be effective against the RNA virus (Sivanandy et al., 2016). Role of the existing health agencies and the others Since the outbreak of Ebola, Centres for the Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) undertook one of the major parts in response to the Ebola diseases. In the human history, more than three thousand staffs have been actively involved in the system. More than twelve hundred staffs were deployed in West Africa to work for 50,000 work days. The efforts that were involved in the management of the of the disease are communication, healthcare infection control, contact investigation, epidemiology, strengthening the laboratory, mobilizing the partners, and the border screening in the United States, Senegal, Mali, Nigeria, West Africa. The efforts were undertaken at the national and the international level along with the different partner organizations. CDC was able to international, national, public health for the prevention of the worst events. The epidemic Ebola virus disease also led to the strengthening of the international and the national events for the purpose of the system detection a nd the respond to the prevention of the spread of the disease in the future (Frieden Damon, 2015). The community health worker played a major role in the spread of the Ebola disease and its outbreaks by educating and engaging the communities. There were reports that the rapid containment of the Ebola disease was possible only in those regions where there were a strong bond and understanding between the community worker and the community people. The community health worker when provided with the proper health training, support, supervision can lead to better health outcomes. The community health workers also made a significant contribution for the rapid containment of the spread of the Ebola virus disease is through the engagement, outreach and education. The knowledge of acting quickly is one of the major reason that can lead to the reducing the risk of the disease. The community health workers also contributed to the building and strengthening of the health systems that are affected by the virus and other countries (Perry et al., 2016). Critical infrastructure- firstly, the response to Ebola led to the coordination of the multiple partners into a single system. The ministry of health in Liberia established a national IMS in the year 2014, this was also supported by the CDC, WHO and other major partners. The daily activities were managed by the emergency operations centres which improved the coordination system at the national and the local level. The outbreak response in Sierra Leone was done through the district and the national Ebola response centres that are supported by the military and the civilians. New infrastructures were created which led to the build-up of the emergency response teams and the increased coordination capacities. In Guinea, the national Coordination cell was formed along with the support provided by the public health agency of Canada, CDC and WHO (Marston et al., 2017). Changes in the legislature at the state and federal level due to the Ebola outbreak-During the complex events that were occurring in Africa. The African president revealed the ground reality. Not a single African country devoted and dedicated its office to technology and science. The advisors at the presidents house lack the administrative, financial and the legislative capacities (Juma, 2018). Suggestions to address the gaps in the management of the health issue The suggestion for the management of the health issues related to the Ebola virus are as follows: Science presidential advisory can be established that will make the African engineers and the scientists contribute effectively to the development and improvement of the humans. This can be done through the development of channels like the Network of African Science Academies. Proper legislatures were evenly lacking throughout the African nations. Thus, the government must emphasize on the framing of the legislation that will be in accordance with the prevailing situation in African countries. The external nations have done their part by sending the doctors and the health workers that can also help and train the regional health workers regarding the proper handling of the dead carcass. Bats and the other primates are the prime vectors of the disease and thus, this knowledge can be effectively provided to the common people so they can stay aware of the present condition. Conclusion From the above study, it can be concluded that the vector-borne disease like Ebola generally depends on the human activity and the activity of the animal species. Humans that are coming in contact with the animal species is the prime reason for the spread of the disease in the first instance. The increase in the human interference into the forest ecology and the lack of the knowledge of the disease has led to the increase in the spread of the Ebola disease. Reference Alexander, K. A., Sanderson, C. E., Marathe, M., Lewis, B. L., Rivers, C. M., Shaman, J., ... Eubank, S. (2015). What factors might have led to the emergence of Ebola in West Africa?. PLoS neglected tropical diseases, 9(6), e0003652. Altizer, S., Ostfeld, R. S., Johnson, P. T., Kutz, S., Harvell, C. D. (2013). Climate change and infectious diseases: from evidence to a predictive framework. science, 341(6145), 514-519. Baize, S., Pannetier, D., Oestereich, L., Rieger, T., Koivogui, L., Magassouba, N. F., ... Tiffany, A. (2014). Emergence of Zaire Ebola virus disease in Guinea. New England Journal of Medicine, 371(15), 1418-1425. Chertow, D. S., Kleine, C., Edwards, J. K., Scaini, R., Giuliani, R., Sprecher, A. (2014). Ebola virus disease in West Africaclinical manifestations and management. New England Journal of Medicine, 371(22), 2054-2057. Feldmann, H. (2014). Ebolaa growing threat?. New England Journal of Medicine, 371(15), 1375-1378. Frieden, T. R., Damon, I. K. (2015). Ebola in West AfricaCDCs role in epidemic detection, control, and prevention. Emerging infectious diseases, 21(11), 1897. Gentry-Shields, J., Bartram, J. (2014). Human health and the water environment: Using the DPSEEA framework to identify the driving forces of disease. Science of the Total Environment, 468, 306-314. Juma, C. (2018).Africa Ebola outbreak: How do we prevent it?.Aljazeera.com. Retrieved 11 April 2018, from https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2014/08/africa-ebola-outbreak-how-do-pre-20148138355590807.html Marston, B. J., Dokubo, E., van Steelandt, A., Martel, L., Williams, D., Hersey, S....Redd, J. T. (2017). Ebola Response Impact on Public Health Programs, West Africa, 20142017. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 23(13). https://dx.doi.org/10.3201/eid2313.170727. Muyembe-Tamfum, J. J., Mulangu, S., Masumu, J., Kayembe, J. M., Kemp, A., Paweska, J. T. (2012). Ebola virus outbreaks in Africa: past and present. Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Research, 79(2), 06-13. Perry, H. B., Dhillon, R. S., Liu, A., Chitnis, K., Panjabi, R., Palazuelos, D., ... Nyenswah, T. (2016). Community health worker programmes after the 20132016 Ebola outbreak. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 94(7), 551. Sivanandy, P., Sin, S. H., Ching, O. Y., Rajasekar, D., Woon, G. S., Chiew, H. H., ... Leng, Y. W. (2016). Current trends in the management of Ebola virus disease-an updated systematic review. Asian Pacific journal of tropical disease, 6(8), 589-595. World Health Organization, UNICEF. (2012). Assessment of research needs for public health adaptation to social, environmental and climate change impacts on vector-borne diseases in Africa: an informal expert consultation convened by the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, February 27-29, 2012.