Tuesday, January 28, 2020

The concept and definition of leisure

The concept and definition of leisure The word leisure is normally attributed to an individuals free time and what they choose to do during that time. Every individual at some stage in their life will participate in some form of leisure, whether it be shopping, travelling, playing sport or just relaxing. Participation must be by choice in order to be considered leisure. Throughout this essay I am going to identify and explain the different types of leisure and why individuals participate with reference to relevant academic literature. Leisure as a concept is not new, throughout history there has always been examples of leisure. If you think back to the time of ancient Rome, people enjoyed watching and in some cases taking part in the activities held within the Coliseum. Furthermore as you move through history the examples continue; Jousting and banquets in the middle ages, all the way up to what we define as leisure activities today, shopping, participating in sport etc (Pearson, 2008). Whats important to point out is the change in perception of what leisure actually is now, compared to what it was before. During the late eighteenth and nineteenth century Britain went through a massive economic change. Otherwise known as the industrial revolution, this period changed what we would define leisure as today (Bull et al, 2003). For so many people, their nature of worked changed drastically, both in terms of what they did and where. This change enabled social class to be born, and with it increased wealth. This new fou nd wealth enabled new technologies which in turn would allow new forms of leisure (2003). Trying to define leisure is often difficult; this is due to the many different forms leisure can take. Bull, Hoose and Weed, (2003) propose four approaches to define leisure. These are leisure as time, leisure as an activity, quality of leisure and personal attitude (p32). Most people work long stressful hours during the day, leisure time is often dictated by the time we are left with after working and earning money. However necessities such as sleeping, eating and personal hygiene all eat into what we define as leisure time. Under the leisure as time approach, work and leisure can be perceived as being in opposition, with one (usually work) limiting the other (p33). When it comes to activity based approaches, as the name suggests, this approach sees leisure as engaging in activities that one would do in their free time, such as shopping, playing recreational sport etc. The quality of leisure and personal attitude go hand in hand with the previous approaches. If the participant is ha ving fun their quality of leisure is improved, the opposite can be said if their attitude is negative. Its important when looking at why people participate in leisure, that these 4 approaches are taken into account. As mentioned above, leisure and work are often seen to be in opposition with each other; however that is not always the case. More and more businesses are seeing the benefits leisure can have on staff productivity and happiness. This year alone an estimated  £1.67 billion was spent on leisure activities for staff at work (Groom, 2010). That equates to 20% of all spending on expenses last year. This view is reinforced by companies partnering with leisure based businesses such as activity day planners and health clubs to offer staff a range of benefits and discounts in order to increase their leisure quality. In addition to investing in leisure for staff, businesses as a whole take part in leisure also. Sponsorship for leisure events was estimated to be around $45.2 billion last year (IEG Global Sponsorship Expenditure Reports, Cited in Sponsormap, 2009). The main concept to explore when asking why people participate in leisure is what motivates them to do so. Under ideal circumstances, the benefits from participating in leisure are numerous. As it covers such a broad range of activities, leisure allows an individual to do what they want. Linda Nazareth (Cited in Alboher,2008) provides an example of a woman who works a stressful 6 day week. By incorporating a small amount of leisure into her routine, she felt happier at work, and felt her interactions with others outside work also greatly improved. Further to this studies show that physical based leisure, such as exercise or recreational sport have a positive effect on ones wellbeing. This is due to a combination of psychological factors as well as raised endorphin levels (The Reality of the Runners High, 2008). However, an individuals leisure can often be impacted by numerous external factors such as age, race, income and gender. William R. Burch, Jr. (2009) highlights how social class (income) has an effect on what activities an individual can take part in. Activities such as going sailing, although not exclusive to upper class, is more likely to be available to than someone who is lower class. In addition an individuals gender can also affect their free time. Roberts (2010) cites a recent international survey that shows men have half an hour more leisure time every day than women. In addition, geography also plays a key role. In the same study, figures showed that the half an hour advantage men have over women in the UK, compared to 38 minutes in the US, 33 in France, 50 in Belgium, 22 in Germany and 80 in Italy. Persons surroundings similarly can limit their participation in leisure. One could argue someone who is retired will have the most leisure time out of all socio economic groups. This however is not always the case. Just as before, location has a major role on leisure, not just internationally but also locally. As Bull et al (2003) describes behavioral norms and expectations of what someone who is retired is able to do, can in fact limit what it is available to them. Further to this, social expectation can encourage social isolation and disengagement. All of these things contribute to having a negative effect on an individuals participation. Government funding can also have an effect. If the facilities arent available, what an individual may want to do as activity based leisure may not be possible. In addition if pricing of facilities is too high, what an individual has access to will be limited. On the flip side, if funding is there the quality of leisure available to individuals is greatly improved and in general so is participation. This highlights how; at least in terms of activity based leisure, opportunities can sometimes be better for some more than others. As shown, although leisure is subjective, external factors often have a role to play in the choices an individual makes. When answering why people participate in leisure, the answer is obvious. As William H. Davies said What is this life if, full of care, we have no time to stand and stare? (Cited in, Khurana 2009). Life is too short to have nothing but worry. People participate in leisure to escape from the hectic lives they have to live. Although many extrinsic factors can have an effect on leisure, there is no denying the benefits of even a little a day.

Monday, January 20, 2020

The Path into Madness in The Yellow Wallpaper -- Yellow Wallpaper essa

The Path into Madness in The Yellow Wallpaper      Ã‚  Ã‚   In the late 1800's/early 1900's, when Charlotte Perkins Gilman experienced her episode of "temporary nervous depression" (Gilman 885), and wrote her autobiographical short story, "The Yellow Wallpaper," the workings of the mind were mysteries that few medical people attempted to investigate. A patient who was poor and ill-educated and exhibiting signs of mental disorder was institutionalized -- ala Bedlam. The patient who was rich, educated, and/or from a "good family" was called eccentric and given a prescription for complete mental rest and controlled physical exercise combined with the consumption of phosphorus enriched tonics. This regimen was to be followed in an environment that allowed the patient to ingest large quantities of clean fresh air (Gilman 885, 886). In her retrospective, the author was able to present a frighteningly candid view of the ineffectiveness of this last pattern of treatment.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Ms. Gilman's heroine's adventure into madness started with an onset of post partum depression. This fairly common side effect of childbirth comes at the time in her life when the woman (according to society) is supposed to be her happiest, most satisfied self. However, with her mind suffering from the effects of her body's frantic attempt to realign its chemical components into a balanced state, the new mother is confronted by moods that are the antithesis of the euphoria she is told she should be feeling. This juxtaposition of expected and experienced emotions can create tremendous guilt in a woman, even a very strong woman. To mitigate this guilt, the mind can develop a psychosis, such as delusional disorder. Ms. Gilman was very perceptive in looking at he... ... this case -- unenlightened) treatment, progressing into dementia. And she created this scenario years, if not decades, before medical science understood the relationship between the various parts of her heroine's -- and her own -- path into madness.    Works Cited Danford, Darla Erhard. "Pica and Nutrition." Annual Review of Nutrition Issue 2 (1982): 303 - 322. Decker, Chris J., MD, FRSCS. "Pica in the Mentally Handicapped: A 15 - Year Surgical Perspective." Canadian Journal of Surgery 36.6 (1993): 551 - 554. DSM - IV Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Fourth edition. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association, 1994. 290 - 301. Gilmore, Charlotte Perkins. "The Yellow Wallpaper." Being and Becoming. Anne Mills King, and Sandra Kurtinitis editors. New York, NY: McGraw - Hill Publishing Company, 1987. 886 - 892.   

Sunday, January 12, 2020

Thought piece

We have discussed different learning theories (e. G. Classical conditioning and operant conditioning) in Lecture 3. Please derive ONE hypothesis related to any real-life issues based on one of these theories and then design an experiment to test your hypothesis. When you work on this assignment, try to think of and answer the following questions: D what Is your hypothesis? What are your independent variable (IV) and dependent variable (DVD)? How will you manipulate your IV (I. E. At is your treatment) and how will you measure your DVD? What are your experimental and control groups? What are the possible confounding variables and how would you control them? How would you decide that your hypothesis/sees have been supported? (I. E. Whether or not your hypothesis is supported by your data)? What may be potential problems with your experiment? How can they be solved? The major goal of this assignment is to apply what you have learned about the key elements of experimental design to real- life situations. You will need to describe the design of an experiment to best test your hypothesis.Please be specific about all of the key elements of your design and also about what results will be consistent or inconsistent with your predictions. Issues like sampling, group assignment, confounding factors etc. Should be considered when designing the experiment. Basically you will not need to read anything extra apart from the textbook and lecture notes for this assignment. Of course if you find it helpful to use ideas from other sources, you may do so, and in that case you should clearly state the source. Work will be penalized with severe mark reduction.Late submission will also be subject to mark reduction (marked down by 10% per day after due date). Your thought piece should be written in ENGLISH. It should be about and no more than three pages long (AY double-spacing, font: Time News Roman, size 12, 1 inch margin), excluding supplemental materials you may have (e. G. , refere nce list, table and figures, experiment materials, media clips)

Friday, January 3, 2020

Bipolar Is A Mental Disorder - 2807 Words

Bipolar Bipolar is a mental disorder which is known for a brain disorder that causes constant changing of moods, activity levels, and the ability to carry out every day activities, relationships with family and friends and possibly workplace functioning. The areas that the brain is affected by bipolar is the frontal and temporal lobes of the forebrain, the prefrontal cortex, the basal ganglia, and parts of the limbic system (Bressert, 2007). The hippocampus may also play a role in bipolar disorder, as structural changes to this area of the brain have been associated with this disorder in some individuals. It is also known by its older name â€Å"manic depression† (Bressert, 2007). A manic episode is described to be like feelings of intensified energy levels, creativity, and euphoria are common. People that experience a manic episodes talk a mile a minute, hardly sleeps, and are hyperactive; they may also feel that they’re all-powerful, invincible, or destined for the be st (Bressert, 2007). Bipolar is described as an emotional roller coaster. A person that is diagnosed with bipolar will experience highs that are known as manic episodes and lows that are known as depression (Bressert, 2007). These periods have different lengths of time, they can last for a few hours or ranging days or possibly even longer; they can last up to a few weeks up to months at one given time. This disorder is a long term and chronic condition with a variety of treatments. Treatment Advocacy CenterShow MoreRelatedBipolar Disorder : A Mental Disorder1321 Words   |  6 PagesBipolar disorder is a very serious mental illness, that can have detrimental effects on a whole family. 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