Baby Boomers Essays - Demographics, Counterculture Of The 1960s

Baby Boomers Our children are our future; our seniors are our foundation (Wissel L. 2000). Fifty five million Americans are age fifty five and older, according to the United States Census Bureau, of that number, thirty five million are age sixty five and older. By the year 2030, the sixty five and older population will double to seventy million, and the fastest growing segment of the older population is age eighty five and older. The baby boomer generation will soon reach the retirement age, and expected to redefine old age. Just as they have redefine every stage of their lives because boomers will be the largest generation of elderly, they will impact everything from housing to health care as the market and society caters to their wealth, longevity, and interest in new technology (Dytchweld K. 1999). The baby boomer generations also the first to have the luxury to examine personal issues and raise questions concerning work, health care, technology, politics, and social and moral issues (USA Today Magazine, November 19, 1999). No other generation reflects the complex world we live in today. The baby boomers have left their indelible mark on Americas social landscape. The baby boomers created pop culture and a new form of political activism (Breaux J. November 1999). Education, medical advances, and technology afforded more freedom and independence. Soon America will look different; the average age of the population will go up to fifty-five. The baby boomers will have the benefits and face the challenges of longevity. Can America afford the social, medical, and political issues the aging baby boomers demand? Will our transportation system ensure more old drivers have safe alternatives? How will our national housing policy adapt to the senior boom? How about the pension and financial plans that allow older Americans to move in and out of retirement (Breaux, J. November 1999). The size and distinct characters of the baby boomers will not only create a sense of urgency to current issues, but also create a whol e new set of aging issues. Among the many cultural contributions of the baby boomers along with the free love, the drug scenes and Grateful Dead ties, was the concept of generation gap (Veith G.). In every other culture and throughout history, children were socialized to be adults. When children grew up they took their parents places, roles and their values. There was no separate subculture, no music and fashion to set off the younger generation from their parents. Children were dressed, for the most part, like little adults, but in the mid twentieth century, American culture became stratified along generational lines (Veith G.). The generation prior to the baby boomers, after World War II, had extra ordinary prosperity and better living through technology, may have spoiled their children a little. The baby boomer generation never concentrated on learning their parents skills and disciplines, but worked hard on entertaining themselves. This process was helped along with not only television, but perhaps even mo re importantly radios and record players, which made possible the mass production and nationwide distribution of music (Veith G.) The baby boom generation has always been in the spotlight reshaping every American institution. As children, the public school systems were reinvented to meet their needs. As young adults, music and pop culture was drastically changed by their participation. As they move towards old age, they will also redefine and revolutionize the American aging experience. Baby boomers have reaped the benefits of change. They grew up with more education and high expectations, technology and medical research have blossomed throughout their lives and they have come to expect lifestyle improvements in every turn. With their political clout, they will expect the government, corporate America, the research community and the health care sector to meet their growing needs. Government policies should encourage private sector investments in products and services to help the needs of the aging baby boomers and reflect the diversity in lifestyle, race and income of the future senior citizens. For the last few decades the influential baby boomer segment of the population dominated the American culture virtually in any aspect. Television programming may not specifically target baby boomers, but since baby boomers fit into the prime eighteen to forty nine year old or

Anorexia Nervosa Essays - Eating Disorders, Psychiatric Diagnosis

Anorexia Nervosa Essays - Eating Disorders, Psychiatric Diagnosis Anorexia Nervosa Many people suffer from the condition known as anorexia nervosa. Often the victims go through a number of symptoms that can lead to a serious amount of problems concerning a persons weight, happiness, and personality. People should keep a close eye out for anyone who shows signs of certain symptoms that become present later on in the future. What is Anorexia Nervosa? In medicine, Anorexia Nervosa is a condition characterized by an intense fear of gaining weight or becoming obese, along with a distorted body image, which leads to excessive weight loss from restricting food intake and exercising excessively. It is essentially self-starvation leading to a loss of body weight 15% below normal, accompanied with hyperactivity, hypothermia, and amenorrhea. Between 5 and 18 percent of known anorexia nervosa victims die of starvation, and the condition may also lead to abnormalities in the menstrual cycle and increased susceptibility to infection. (Bruch, 53) Anorexia is an illness of several causes. The weight loss that triggers the illness is often the result of either a normal diet (the sort that is typical of many normal adolescent girls) or unhappiness or illness. The personalities of those with the illness tend to be conformist, compliant, and hard working. These traits are usually accentuated by the disorder. The families of anorexics are mainly high achieving with high expectations of their children. They often seem to discourage individual growth and encourage conformity. There is frequently a failure to express emotional issues. There are often a lot of pressures such as exams when the illness starts and stresses arising from difficulties in relationships with friends are also common. (Claude-Pierre, 102) How does it develop? Perfectionist parents drive their children to be the best and the brightest. These parents fixate on order, prestige, power and/or perfect appearances. Depriving parents withhold attention and encouragement from their children. They love conditionally, giving affection when a child pleases them and withdrawing it when displeased. What are some signs? Anorexia may not be noticed in the early stages because it often starts as an innocent diet. In the later and more dangerous stages, family members may not notice the disease because the anorexic usually wears layered and baggy clothes (Costin, 138). However, there are many warning signs that a person is developing anorexia. An obsession with diet and exercise are two early signs that a person is becoming anorexic. This can include difficulty eating in public places or in front of others, secrecy about eating patterns and food intake, and excessive exercise despite visible weight loss. A pre- occupation with weight and body image develops, and the anorexic will frequently check their weight on a scale or examine their body in a mirror. Other warning signs include disturbed sleep, hyperactivity, irritability, social withdrawal, depression, sensitivity to cold temperature, and fainting spells. (Claude-Pierre, 202) What problems arise from it? The human body copes with periods of semi-starvation and weight loss fairly well. However, rapid weight loss, the use of vomiting or laxatives to promote weight loss, and the loss of more than 35% of normal body weight are all associated with danger. Prolonged weight loss during adolescence may eventually lead to permanent failure of normal growth and an increased risk of osteoporosis in later life. In extreme cases anorexia can lead to cardiac arrest and death, and it is estimated that up to 10% of known anorexics die from complications due to the illness. (Bruch, 147) Other physical problems associated with anorexia are dehydration, stomach pain, constipation, dry skin, decreased heart and metabolic rates, lowered body temperature, dizziness, fatigue, sleeping problems, headaches, cold hands and feet, and abnormalities of the menstruation cycle. (Costin, 167) What kinds of treatment are there? No generally recognized treatment or therapy for anorexia nervosa exists. Regaining normal weight with a normal eating pattern is the first step of treatment and when the illness is severe this may require admission to hospital. Psychotherapy, regular medical monitoring, and nutritional guidance should be part of any treatment program for anorexia. The goals are to restore weight to correct the effects of malnutrition, to control abnormal eating behavior and to prevent recurrence by addressing the associated psychological and family issues. Close cooperation among all medical, nutritional and psychological health professionals involved is important.

The Correct Recognition Of Words Based On The Depth Of Processing Research Paper

The Correct Recognition Of Words Based On The Depth Of Processing - Research Paper Example Long term memory, which is defined to be the component of memory where information is never lost and can be retained at any given moment. However, these three components are not the only components of memory, a different breakdown of memory is included. This breakdown includes the idea of how deep one thinks about information. There are many variables that can help one remember information, capacity and duration are one, but depth is also another component. How deep someone thinks about a piece of information is critical in being able to retrieve it later. How deep someone thinks about information can be portrayed in many ways depending on how the information is presented. It can be in ways like in a sentence or next to another word that has the same definition, or even the number of vowels and consonants is presented. How deep one thinks about the information depends on how well they will retrieve it in a later task. Experiments prior to this one tested how recognition is affected by the depth of processing. The article by Craik and Tulving (1975), profoundly describes how processing words in different depth levels affects the retrieval of those words in a recognition task. Craik and Tulving used three levels of encoding, shallow, medium, and deep. Their shallow level included typescript words which was asking if the word was in upper case or lower case. The medium level of encoding was asking rhyme questions, if the words rhymed with other presented words. The deep level of encoding included fill in the blank questions. Each participant was shown these question formats in a sum of 60 trials.