Consciousness and the Placebo Effect
In controlled studies, experimenters use placebos as medium to compare the efficacy of a drug. Double-blind controlled studies provide information on whether a drug is effective or if it is not better than placebo. The results of double-blind studies usually depict the latter. Rarely are drugs found to be significantly more effective than placebo because of the placebo effect. The phenomenal effectiveness of the placebo in controlled experiments is mind boggling. Experimenters can not fully understand the etiology of the placebo effect in relation to the nervous system but they have proposed plausible suggestions to the underlying mechanisms involved. An intriguing question raised is the placebo's ability to cure numerous symptoms. I hypothesize that the level of consciousness or alertness of the I-function, within the individual, may be the deciding factor in whether the placebo effect occurs.
The objective of a placebo is to compare and assure that a new drug or operational procedure is effective. In experiments, the placebo is an inactive substance or procedure used as a control in an experiment (1). The placebo looks, tastes or feels just like the actual treatment (2). A false procedure for example, may consist of advising a person that he/she will be operated on and then making an incision into a person without operating. Subjects are advised of their probability of receiving actual treatment in order to maintain the expectation level of the participants. The efficacy of making an incision maintains the expectation level of the subject because the presence of a scar raises their belief that they were placed in the actual treatment group. Whether the placebo is a 'sugar pill' or an...
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...) Alternative and Complementary Therapies: The Placebo Effect
http://www.cancer.org/alt_therapies/articles/placebo.html
3) Alpha Omega Pain Medicine Associates: Placebo Power , date: 4/18/99
http://www.painmasters.com/
4) Healthline Magazine: Placebo Effects on Pain , date: 4/18/99
http://www.health-line.com/articles/hl950404.htm
5) The Reward System, by Aryeh Routtenberg (located on N & B Reserve)
6) Thalamocortical Aspects of Consciousness From the Perspective of a Neurobiologist , date: 5/5/99
http://www.phil.vt.edu/assc/newman/grace.html
7) Why It Must Be Consciousness- For Real !
http://www.phil.vt.edu/assc/newman/baars.html
8)Other Links
9)Mind/Brain/Behavior The Pleasing Placebo
http://www.med.harvard.edu/publications/Focus/Jan20_1995/Mind.html
10)What's the Placebo Effect?
http://www.oakland.edu/~djcarlst/abx_plac.htm
According to Lewis and associates, DM is a chronic disease that affects multiple body systems. For the purpose of this paper, only DM type 2 will be discussed based on the assumption that a majority of patients aged 60 years or older have this type. The primary defects of this disease consist of insulin resistance, decreased insulin production, inappropriate glucose production by the liver, and alterations in production of adipokines. Insulin resistance is the result of defects in the body’s insulin receptors. This finding predates all cases of DM type 2 and the development of impaired glucose tolerance. In insulin resistance, beta cells in the pancreas are stimulated to increase insulin production to compensate for the lack of response by the insulin receptors. Gradually, the beta cells begin to fail to secrete enough insulin to meet the body’s demands resulting in hyperglycemia. As a result of increased glucose in the liver, the liver begins to malfunction and release glucose at inappropriate times, thereby worsening hyperglycemia. Adding to the problem, glucose and fat metabolism is altered in adipose tissue, which is generally abundant in those with DM type 2. (Lewis et al., 2011)
In each of these instances those supporting government involvement in, and endorsement of religion have justified their assumptions by referencing the words and beliefs of the founding fathers, most notably Thomas Jefferson. They point out that he, like most of the other founders, was a religious man, and that his writings exposed a conviction America was essentially a Christian nation. After all, wasn’t it Jefferson who spoke of inalienable rights bestowed upon man by God in the Declaration of Independence? A more detailed examination of his beliefs, though, reveals exactly the opposite was the case, as Jefferson was actually a champion of s...
Boston, Robert. Why the Religious Right is Wrong: About Separation of Church and State. Buffalo, New York: Prometheus Books, 1993.
Church and State seem to be two words which are entirely inseparable from each other. Religion in politics and the government has been present since the federal government was first put into place. The issue of religion is present in such varied topics as the public school system, presidential elections, right down to the National Anthem. The fact of the matter is, Church and State are very far from being separate in the United States.
Levine, S. (1998) Getting to resolution turning conflict into collaboration. San Francisco, CA, Berrett-Koehler, (p.125)
“Too black for the white kids, too white for the black kids.” “Where do I fit in?” These are common question one may ask himself if he is struggling with double consciousness. Many people struggle with double consciousness every day without even realizing the effects it has on themselves or even the people around them. Double consciousness was discovered in 1903 by W.E.B. Du Bois which he referenced the internal conflict experienced by subordinated groups in an oppressive society. He relayed his message in his writing “The Souls of Black Folk”. Like stated before, double consciousness has many different effects on a person such as them trying to fit in, them having to feel like they have to pick a side (black side or white side), or eventually losing himself.
“Too black for the white kids, too white for the black kids.” “Where do I fit in?” These are common questions one may ask themselves if he or she is struggling with double consciousness. Many people struggle with a double consciousness every day without even realizing the effects it has on them or even the people around them. Double consciousness was discovered in 1903 by W.E.B. Du Bois which he referenced the internal conflict experienced by subordinated groups in an oppressive society. He relayed his message in his writing “The Souls of Black Folk”. As stated before, double consciousness has many different effects on a person such as them trying to fit in, having to feel like they have to pick a side (black side or white side), or eventually losing themselves.
Victim-offender mediation emanated from Canada, in Ontario precisely where in the early 1970s, two young offenders who committed vandalism were asked to meet the victims their crime had affected . Following the meetings, the judge decided that the two offenders should pay restitution to those victims. The justification for victim-offender mediation was therefore initially that it would benefit both the victim and the offender, it is based on the value of reconciliation that is lacking in the traditional system and it was brought by the way of probation. Mediation can be seen as a progress from the...
Mediation first took off when Baron and Kenny published their manuscript in 1986. Since then it has been cited 72,357 times (2017). Titled “The Moderator-Mediator Distinction,” they set out to conceptually define what these variables were and how could be applied to social psychological research. Although mediation has been around before Baron and Kenny’s paper, many researchers today refer to the “Baron and Kenny” method when approaching a potential mediation model. As suggested, there are three regression equations to test for mediation, and these three factors must be true. First, the independent variable must affect the mediator. Second, the independent variable must affect the dependent variable (Baron & Kenny, 1986); others have suggested this second assumption can be violated, this will be examined later on. Third, the mediator must affect the dependent variable (Baron & Kenny, 1986). It is then a perfect mediation when the independent variable has no effect on the dependent variable when the mediator is controlled. When using multiple
In the past century, America has made great leaps in terms of equality. With the efforts made by the civil rights and suffrage movements, all people gained the right to vote. We are even moving forward with marriage equality, and currently fifteen states recognize same-sex marriage. But regardless of all of our progressive institutional movements forward, we continue to socially oppress women. Men’s violence against women has grown to be an internationally recognized epidemic, and will continue to grow unless measures be made to stop it. Domestic violence continues to be prevalent in the lives of many families, and is the primary cause of homelessness in half of cases for women in children. Many women have been forced to alter their behaviors out of fear of being sexually or physically assaulted. One out of every three women is sexually or physically abused in their lifetimes. The first thing that comes to mind is, there are a lot of people abusing women out there. Many people with opposing ideas may claim that men can be victims of violence perpetrated by women, but in instances not used for self-defense, it is rarely part of a systematic pattern of power and control through force or threat of force. In fact, 99% of rape is perpetrated by men, but when confronting men about the issue of violence against women, it is often combated with denial. Jackson Katz writes in his book, The Macho Paradox, “We take comfort in the idea of the aforementioned child-rapist murderer as a horrible aberration. A monster. We’re nothing like him.”(Katz 30). The sad truth is that most women who are raped are raped by men they know, or even men they love. Many men have a hard time believing that saying that most violence is perpetuated by men does not...
Matthews, Dylan. "You Give Religions More than $82.5 Billion a Year." Washingtonpost.com. N.p., 22 Aug. 2013. Web. 8 Nov. 2013.
Reinarman, Craig and Peter D. A. Cohen and Hendrien L. Kaal. “The Limited Relevance of Drug
...l (Choi, Gilbert, & Green, 2013:129). Maximizing the sensitivity of RJ practitioners towards the victims and offenders would result in thoughtfully processed mediation, a foundation in achieving the promises of RJ.
Ott, Marvin C. "Mediation as a Method of Conflict Resolution: Two Cases." International Organization 26.04 (1972): 595-618. JSTOR. Web. 3 Dec. 2013.
Poitras, J. (2007). The Paradox of Accepting One's Share of Responsibility in Mediation. Negotiation Journal, 23(3), 267-282. Retrieved January 23, 2012, from ABI/INFORM Global. (Document ID: 1313496891).