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Table of contents

1. Tuskegee Experiment essay introduction
2. Discussion
3. Conclusion
4. References

Tuskegee Experiment essay introduction

Introduction: If one was ever told that a government agency deceived a group of socioeconomic, disadvantaged, sick people and put them in an experiment where they never gave consent nor were, they ever treated of their diseases when the cure was made available. ‘Evil’, ‘cruel’, ‘barbaric’, would be few of the words used to describe the scenario. But this exactly what happened in the 1930s to a group of African Americans in the Tuskegee experiment, which is the topic of this essay. Long before the bioethical concepts of: doing only what is right and beneficial to the patient/subject, treating the patient/subject as a human being and making sure the patient has full knowledge of what is being done to him/her, the described scenario was a common practice.

Conducted under the guise of a scientific experiment, the Tuskegee Syphilis Study was a racial unethical medical study which can be considered one of the most horrific medical scandals of the 21st century (Brandt, 1978). This begs the question, what was the Tuskegee experiment? How were black people convinced to take part in such an experiment – what elements prompted dedicated participation in such an experiment? Thesis statement: The following paragraphs will answer these questions, discuss the Tuskegee experiment in depth, the moral and logical reasons/excuses used to keep the government health department running such a horrendous experiment and the impact the Tuskegee Syphilis Study has had on modern day Bioethics shall also be discussed.

Discussion

Background: So, what really was the Tuskegee experiment? To fully understand this experiment it is imperative to understand that by the early twentieth century, the social and scientific prevalent thought was that African Americans were lesser humans, primitive, prone to diseases and crime. They were believed to always need structure and finding it difficult to assimilate to white society after slavery. Various “scientific studies” conducted showed that emancipation deteriorated the mental, physical and moral capabilities of the black population (Brandt, 21).

Also, viewed as sexual deviants, they were considered prone to venereal diseases due to their overdeveloped genital organs and insatiable sex drive. The socioeconomic condition of African Americans was totally discounted, and medical care was seen as wasteful on this population.

Caused by the spirochete bacterium, Syphilis is a sexually contracted disease, that leaves those infected with catastrophic results, ultimately resulting in death. At that time, there were no known safe/effective treatment or cure for syphilis, and it was an epidemic among rural Southerners of all ethnicities. Due to their low socioeconomic state, African Americans were most affected and often went untreated for most of their life’s. The United States Public Health Service (USPHS) saw this as a ready-made environment and decided to use these African Americans in Macon County in the Tuskegee experiment (Baker, Brawley & Marks, 1259).

Topic sentence: African American organizations, doctors and nurses took part in the study by recruiting the poorer African Americans and ensuring their continuous participation in the experiment. It should be noted that years before the Tuskegee study, a similar study looking at the effects of untreated syphilis had been carried out on whites in Oslo, Norway but was stopped in 1910 when arsenic therapy was discovered and considered as a viable means of syphilis treatment at that time.

Topic sentence: Funded by the Rosenwald Fund, the experiment was initially supposed to just study the effects of untreated syphilis in the black male, as it was believed that the effect of syphilis in blacks were different than in whites. The Rosenwald Fund was a foundation that funded many successful programs for African Americans such as education, healthcare. Unfortunately, the Rosenwald Fund was hit hard by the stock market crashing (which ultimately led to the Great Depression) hence, they had to withdraw their funding for the study.

Due to this lack of funding, the health department was unable to continue providing medication for the participants of the study and decided to continue using them for a scientific experiment without their realization. Evidence & citing: The participants were never informed of the fact that they were involved in an experiment and hence did not grant consent. Instead they were told they were being treated for “bad blood”, a term that was typically used to cover a wide range of diseases (Hagen, 33). The men were offered incentives of free check-ups, free treatment of any diseases other than syphilis, free meals and free burial autopsy postmortem.

Evidence & citing: Primarily intended to last between six to twelve months, the experiment went on for about four decades, twenty years after the discovery of penicillin as treatment for syphilis (Hagen, 33). Commentary: Throughout these years, the USPHS went to great lengths to make sure the subjects of the experiment did not receive treatment even after the discovery of penicillin. Evidence & citing: In 1934, a member of the experiment, Dr. Robert Vonderlehr, met with various local black doctors, telling them not to treat any of the experiment subjects (Brandt, 25). He also warned the Alabama Health Department not to treat any subjects who may come to them for treatment.

Vonderlehr provided a list of the subjects to these doctors and organizations, encouraging they be denied treatment. By 1941, the USPHS supplied the list of 256 names to the army draft board, requesting they be excluded from the draft. Commentary: Despite their best efforts, some subjects were able to secure treatment. This angered Vonderlehr, who wrote a report stating that those subjects receiving treatment and the physicians administering it were jeopardizing the experiment.

Evidence & citing: In the 1960s, the USPHS convened to evaluate the experiment, they rationalized continuing it, by arguing that the subjects were already at the point where no therapy could help them, and the subjects were getting the best care given their situation (Brandt, 26). This was a lie of course, as the subjects never received any medication which directly treats syphilis. In 1969, during a meeting at the Center for Disease Control, a group of physicians excluding one, agreed to keep the experiment going stating they would never have this opportunity again.

Evidence & citing: It wasn’t until 1972 when the study made national headlines, that a Tuskegee Syphilis Study Advisory panel was created. The panel focused on the issue of informed consent and penicillin therapy. The subjects were not aware they were part of an experiment and were also misled on what the experiment really was about hence they were unable to have given informed consent (Brandt, 27). Commentary: Also, at the time of the experiment, arsenotherapy was considered to produce some good results in treating syphilis but the subjects were not administered this nor were they given penicillin when it was discovered. The panel ultimately concluded that the experiment unethical and the experiment was terminated.

Topic sentence: Let’s go back to the start of this experiment. How were the African americans convinced to partake in this experiment and what was the motive of some USPHS members. As previously mentioned, the social climate when the experiment was carried out was not the best for African Americans. A vast majority of African Americans were poor sharecroppers with little to no education, living as debtors under white landowners (Britt Rusert, 156). In addition, their living conditions were deplorable compared to poor whites. They had no running/clean water, electricity, or medical care and had higher mortality and morbidity rates due to the substandard living conditions they were exposed to.

Evidence & citing: Consequently, and in conjunction with other racist factors of the time, they were viewed as lesser citizens and constitutionally disposable. Therefore, many individuals in power believed that providing medical care for African Americans was a waste of already scarce resources in the Depression-era (Hagen, 32). This argument did not sit well with some members of the United States Public Health Service (USPHS), and they embarked on a mission to prove this argument wrong (Hagen, 32-33). Commentary: They aimed to show that, not only do African Americans contract the same diseases as white people, they also get sick in the same ways and at the same rates as white people.

Topic sentence: Keeping the above in mind, let’s look at this experiment through the lens of Aristotle’s triangle. The Greek philosopher Aristotle divided the means of persuasion appeals, into three categories – Logos, Ethos, and Pathos. Logos means persuading by the use of reasoning using facts, truth and logic. Ethos refers to the trustworthiness or credibility of the writer or speaker, and Pathos means persuading by appealing to the emotions of the audience.

Evidence & citing: Per Aristotle’s triangle, the logos of the situation was to portray African Americans as being just as human as white people. Other aspects of logos include the health data about the African American population – 50% of African American population in Alabama was infected with syphilis (Brandt, 22). In addition to that, there were so many negative assumptions made about the African American population which were also taken for fact especially about the mental and sexual capacities. Also, the morbidity and mortality rates of the black people constituted facts that caused the African Americans to get involved in the experiment.

The fact that the USPHS, a credible and trustworthy health authority and it’s member were involved, was the Ethos of the situation. Furthermore, the presence of prominent African American doctors and nurses like Nurse Rivers going around ensuring black participation, provided more credibility, as the African americans felt they were trustworthy. Evidence & citing: The Pathos – what appealed to this population’s emotions were the fact that they saw hope for their deplorable situation. The vast majority that had possibly never had a medical checkup now had ‘free’ and ‘great’ healthcare at their disposal – treatment for other illnesses and free burial after autopsy, upon death (Brandt, 24). Commentary: These were benefits several of those African Americans only dreamed of.

Topic sentence: Despite the general consensus that the experiment was evil, there is a different school of thought when it comes to the Tuskegee experiment. These people believe and state that the Tuskegee experiment was not all evil because it started off with good intentions, as mentioned above.

Evidence & citing: However, this argument is quickly crippled by a simple question – why was no white person included in the experiment? This does not encourage humane actions in any way. At the time, there were rural, poor whites living in similar (granted much better) conditions as their African american counterparts as Kimberly Hagen stated, “syphilis was epidemic among rural Southerners of all ethnicities, no safe or effective treatment for it existed” (Hagen, 33). They could be considered a financial burden as well, but they were excluded from the study. Commentary: Also, the claim that the intentions were so good fails to stand in the face of the fact that the subjects were not given penicillin as soon as it was discovered as a treatment for syphilis.

Topic sentence: Now, that the Tuskegee experiment has been discussed in depth, let’s explore its influence on modern day bioethics. Over the years, the definition and depth of the subject of bioethics has evolved drastically. Evidence & citing: Today, bioethics can be defined as “a discipline dealing with the ethical implications of biological research and applications, specifically in field of medicine” (Meriam Webster Dictionary). From surgical protocols to pharmaceutical research, bioethics has integrated itself into deep into each medical niche.

However, although the specifics of how bioethics is defined varies among different areas of medicine, bioethics stands upon a common foundation. Evidence & citing: According to Lisa M. Lee, in her recent article “Public Health Ethics Theory: Review and Path to Convergence,” she cites that bioethics stand upon four main principles: autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice (Lee, 86). Commentary: These four guiding pillars have come about in response to the events that have transpired over the years in the healthcare system, one of those arguably being the Tuskegee experiment.

Today, the Tuskegee Experiment acts as a reminder and an example of what can occur in the absence of standard bioethics, which can give way to personal preference, bias, and prejudice influencing the reason of a healthcare provider. In the 1930s, the Tuskegee Experiment blatantly defied the personal autonomy of their human subjects. The African Americans were not told of the full gravity and extent of the research of which they were part, denying the chance at autonomy with respect to their bodies and medical treatment. In modern medicine, there is an underlying goal of always doing what is in the “best interest of the patient.”

Conclusion

Conclusion paragraph: As seen in the dangerous, unprecedented treatments and practices that were inflicted upon the black community, the violation of interhuman beneficence was clearly disregarded in earlier years, which has served as fuel to enforce stricter adherence to that which the patient his or herself desires of their time under medical care if capable. Hand in hand with beneficence lies the concept of nonmaleficence.

Nonmaleficence encompasses the act of taking the safest way to ensuring full recovery, avoiding at all costs most harmful and harsh treatment plans unless absolutely necessary. As noted above, the actions that inflicted against the lower class African American subjects of the Tuskegee Experiment could be characterized as maleficent. The patients were outright denied access to syphilis medicine, allowing them to undergo the crippling effects of the disease which left the patients and their families with not only physical, but emotional damage as well.

From this experience, as well as others, modern medicine now stresses nonmaleficence to ensure that their patients right to life, liberty, and happiness are no longer violated during their time under medical supervision, but tended to, allowing all patients to receive the fair care at medical facilities around the nation. Lastly, is the principle of justice, providing just treatment, to patients also exists all of the main principles of bioethics. This principle relates the closest to the events surrounding the Tuskegee Experiment. Firstly, poor African Americans were the only subject used in this study.

Since they were poor and suffering with syphilis, they lacked the economic means to acquire better healthcare. As such, these subjects were taken advantage of as easy targets to take place in the experiment. Furthermore, only African Americans were used in this experiment. Due to the racial climate of the United States at the time, sentiments of prejudice and bias overtly affected the treatment of the subjects, as they received no justice.

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It wasn’t until 1997 that the survivors of Tuskegee and African Americans as a whole received an official apology from then president Bill Clinton and funding was pledged to the National Center for Bioethics in Research and Health Care at Tuskegee University. As aspiring healthcare professionals, it is important that to know the history of the field, so future patients can be given proper care and their fears /concerns can be dealt with accordingly. Also, while the past history cannot be changed, it can guide in making future legislations, just like modern day bioethics principles were due to the unethical nature of studies such as the Tuskegee experiment.

References

1. “The Tuskegee Timeline.” Center for Disease Control and Prevention https://www.cdc.gov/tuskegee/timeline.htm (accessed on March 30, 2019).
2. Brandt, M. Allan. “Racism and Research: The Case of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study.” The Hastings Center 8, no. 6 (December 1978): 21-29. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3561468 (accessed on March 30, 2019).
3. Cambridge English Dictionary (2019). Apology. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/apology (accessed on March 30, 2019).
4. Hagen, S. Kimberly. “Bad Blood: The Tuskegee Syphilis Study and Legacy Recruitment for Experimental AIDS Vaccines.” Wiley online library 2005, no. 105, (February 28, 2005): 31-41. https://doi.org/10.1002/ace.167 (accessed on March 30, 2019).
5. Hudson, Jennifer. “Logos and Logical Fallacies: Logos, Pathos and Ethos.” Lecture given in class on January 16, 2019.
6. Lee, L. M. “Public Health Ethics Theory: Review and Path to Convergence.” The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics 40, no. 1 (March 1, 2012): 85–98. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-720X.2012.00648.x (accessed on March 30, 2019).
7. Meriam Webster Dictionary (2019). Bioethics. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bioethics (accessed on April 10, 2019).
8. Rusert, Britt. “A Study in Nature”: The Tuskegee Experiments and the New South Plantation. Journal of Medical Humanities 30, no. 3, (September 2009): 155–171. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10912-009-9086-4 (accessed on March 30, 2019).
9. Shamim M. Baker, Otis W. Brawley, Leonard S. Marks. “Effects of untreated syphilis in the negro male, 1932 to 1972: A closure comes to the Tuskegee study, 2004.” Science Direct 65, no. 6 (June 2005): 1259-1262. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.urology.2004.10.023 (accessed on April 10, 2019).
10. Walker, Charles A. 'Lest We Forget: The Tuskegee Experiment.' The Journal of Theory Construction & Testing 13, no. 1 (Spring/Summer 2009): 5-6. http://web.a.ebscohost.com.libproxy.utdallas.edu/chc/pdf?vid=4&sid=19295099-f7ac-44a4-a6d6-5ffaf74d9074%40sdc-v-sessmgr02 (accessed on April 19, 2019).

Introduction

Should follow an “upside down” triangle format, meaning, the writer should start off broad and introduce the text and author or topic being discussed, and then get more specific to the thesis statement.

Background

Provides a foundational overview, outlining the historical context and introducing keyinformation that will be further explored in the essay, setting the stage for the argument to follow.

Thesis statement

Cornerstone of the essay, presenting the central argument that will be elaborated upon and supported with evidence and analysis throughout the rest of the paper.

Topic sentence

The topic sentence serves as the main point or focus of a paragraph in an essay, summarizing the key idea that will be discussed in that paragraph.

Evidence & citing

The body of each paragraph builds an argument in support of the topic sentence, citing information from sources as evidence.

Commentary

After each piece of evidence is provided, the author should explain HOW and WHY the evidence supports the claim.

Conclusion paragraph

Should follow a right side up triangle format, meaning, specifics should be mentioned first such as restating the thesis, and then get more broad aboutthe topic at hand. Lastly, leave the reader with something to think about and ponder once they are done reading.

Table of contents

1. Abstract
Killing vs. letting dieArtificial and Natural Life SupportPAS Aligning with Proper Palliative CareThe Harm of ExistingInconclusive Evidence
2. Conclusion

Abstract

This review covers the current legal and ethical perspectives of scholars in the field of bioethics concerning physician-assisted suicide (PAS). It covers the development of new arguments for or against PAS that have been posited by various authors. These arguments vary in their interpretation of what constitutes “killing someone” in comparison to what constitutes “letting someone die.” This literature review will cover the opinions of scholars who claim that these distinctions are clear and noticeable, as well as the views of others who believe that no separation should be drawn between voluntary passive euthanasia and voluntary active euthanasia. Besides stating the trends that the discussion has been following, this review predicts where the field will go in the future.

Killing vs. letting die

In order to determine whether or not euthanasia is ethical, philosophers and physicians alike have worked to draw a distinction between actively or passively causing a death. This topic was addressed by Jeff McMahan in 1993 when he claimed that the difference between letting a person die and killing them involves the attribution of reason for that person’s near-death state. [1] He argues that if one withdraws aid from another person after causing that person to need aid, one is effectively killing that person. Alternatively, if one withdraws aid after a person was put into a critical state by independent causes, then one is letting that person die. In relation to the physician-assisted suicide (hereafter PAS) argument, this implies that a doctor removing life support would be letting that person die and not killing them unless the doctor caused the patient to need life support in the first place. While this argument attempts to clarify the distinction between actively killing a person and passively letting them die, it does not address the moral value of each case.

Artificial and Natural Life Support

Alternatively, David Shaw strives to lessen the distinction between voluntary passive euthanasia (VPE) and voluntary active euthanasia (VAE). Rather than dividing the two as McMahon does, Shaw claims that removing life support in VPE equates to the provision of lethal injection or similar actions in VAE because both are eliminating the forces that keep a person alive; in the case of VPE, this force is the artificially applied life support, while in VAE, this force is the very body that a person’s mind is trapped within.2 Both the life support and the living body are keeping the person alive against their will, so killing a person’s body is similar to removing a person’s ventilator or other type of life supporting equipment. Shaw’s view supports the use of VAE and VPE by claiming that VAE is simply another form of VPE, a process that is generally accepted more often.

A critic of this view, Hugh McClachlan does not accept the assertion that a person is defined by their mind. 3 He feels that one’s desire to commit suicide warrants a doctor’s assistance. A doctor’s advice does not require the doctor to actively participate in the consequent actions. McClachlan cites an analogous situation, the offering of sex advice from a doctor, as an example of how a doctor can provide suggestions or care without engaging in the implementation of those suggestions. The statement that VPE and VAE are ethically moral is often disputed by the popular opinion that only VPE should be legalized. Essentially, McClachlan does not agree with Shaw’s argument that the two forms of euthanasia are morally similar.

PAS Aligning with Proper Palliative Care

Michael Gill proposes an argument that is founded upon similar premises to those provided by Jeff McMahon. He works to confirm the idea that PAS does not violate the ideals of proper end-of-life care from physicians.4 Detractors claim that physical pain should be eliminated if proper palliative care is in place and that psychological pain is not enough to warrant PAS, but Gill disagrees, asserting that the subjectivity of psychological pain, such as hopelessness, can be based in realistic judgments of a person’s future well-being. In those cases, it is right for a patient to feel that their death would be preferable to continued or impending suffering. Gill also proposes that not all physical pain can be eradicated with the use of palliative care, so physicians have a right to euthanize patients if the patients request PAS while mentally healthy. In contrast to the previous opinion of McMahon, this approach does not focus on drawing a distinction between active or passive euthanasia, but it does work to prove the permissibility of both actions.[2]

The Harm of Existing

According to David Benatar, determining whether any form of physician-assisted suicide is permissible requires one to compare the harm faced by continued existence with the relief from pain that not existing can provide. 5 The primary proposition of his book, Better Never to Have Been, is that humans are harmed by coming into existence, but they are not harmed if the never come into existence, so preventing humans from coming into existence is preferable. He clarifies that this view does not encourage suicide in all cases by acknowledging the fact that there is a difference between a continuing existence and preventing existence from occurring. It might be in a person’s best interest to continue existing once they exist, but it could also be beneficial for them to cease existing if their life is unbearably bad. Benatar’s perspective ultimately supports the argument of Michael Gill that death may be better for a suffering person than a painful, prolonged existence. In this case, physician-assisted suicide is supported on the basis of its benefit to people whose lives are full of enough pain and suffering that death is a more appealing option than life.

Inconclusive Evidence

While many scholars have taken firm stances on how they view PAS as a moral and legal dilemma, others, like Bonnie Steinbock, have remained uncertain due to the diverse mixture of evidence for and against PAS.6 In Steinbock’s opinion, the need for PAS is currently “not proven,” so continued discussion must take place for some conclusions to be effectively drawn. She acknowledges both sides of the debate, citing the arguments from suffering and from autonomy that Michael Gill supports, but she also considers the other side by referencing religious arguments and the idea of physicians as individuals who heal, rather than hurt, their patients. Steinbeck evaluates several cases of individuals who spent prolonged periods of time suffering through terminal illness. She looks at two patients- one who chose PAS and one who didn’t- to analyze the factors contributing to their decisions while offering perspectives that simultaneously support and detract from those who value PAS. Her technique of referencing both sides where she sees fit is one that allows for an unbiased perspective on[3] PAS. Ultimately, she contends that more work needs to be done in this area since case studies of specific individuals’ experiences with PAS can’t be used as the basis for changing laws.

Taking a less neutral stance in his article “Organized Obfuscation: Advocacy for Physician-Assisted Suicide,” Daniel Callahan criticizes those who support euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide for utilizing organized obfuscation, or coordinated efforts to make arguments unclear. He references the Dutch response to a publication in The Hastings Center Report that claimed the Dutch were failing to control the practice of PAS in their country7.

Although it is legal in the country for individuals to request PAS without any terminal illness, the published article claimed that informed consent was not consistently given to patients. In response to this, Dutch supporters of euthanasia stated that the there was a misunderstanding over the process of euthanasia in the Netherlands due to differences in the definition of the term. Callahan also presents the cases of the existing legislation in Oregon and the proposed legislation in Washington. Each piece of legislation implicitly or explicitly states that information collected about clinical decisions that are made may not be inspected by the public, making it seem as if there will not be any public surveys about the effectiveness and safety of each state’s program. Callahan, like Steinbock, is skeptical of the evidence provided by proponents of the view that legalization of PAS is justified. His reasoning, however, is based on the attempts to make ambiguous statements about the information collected from PAS programs while Steinbock is concerned with the moral strength of each argument.

In Steinbock’s view, it is unclear whether or not PAS can be justified given the current arguments that both sides have made, but it is clear that the evidence for both sides will progress with a focus on legal rather than moral reasoning.

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Conclusion

Ultimately, the current perspectives on the field of PAS are broken into two primary constituent debates- the debate over what constitutes VAE or VPE and the debate over whether these two are compatible with doctor’s obligations to their patients. According to the trend of research in the field, it appears that the broader definition of PAS as a process that allows both VAE and VPE will be the future focus of this debate. Because of these definitive considerations, it seems that the discussion will shift a philosophical debate on moral ethics to a focused argument concerning legal philosophy that questions the legitimacy of these applications to those who face terminal illnesses.

Table of contents

1. Who is Egon Schiele?
2. Portrait of Gerti Schiele
3. Dead Mother I
4. Female Nude
5. Self-Portrait with Physalis
6. Death and the Maiden
7. Edith Schiele

Who is Egon Schiele?

Every generation has their punks. Be they musicians, writers, or artists, those individuals ahead of their times – while infamous during their lives – create legacies that last years after their deaths. Austrian painter Egon Schiele is certainly one of these controversial and memorable personalities. Best identified as a 20th century Expressionist painter, the short-lived artist’s explicit female nudes, distinctive style, and controversial biography mark him as a brief yet bright influence to the Expressionist movement.

Though his experimental self-portraits are certainly notable, Schiele is best known for his sexually provocative female nudes. A prolific artist, Schiele typically painted in gouache, oil, and watercolor. Many of his ink, crayon, and pencil drawings also survive today. The artist worked on wood and paper, and with multiple mediums, often painting atop previously finished drawings. Most distinctive and celebrated of all, however, is Schiele’s unique style, which can only be described as grotesque. His violent brush strokes, elongated figures, and intentionally disorienting foreshortening make his work as distinct as it does ghastly.

Schiele was born June 12, 1890, to Adolf Schiele and Marie Soukupova. Schiele’s family lived in Tulln, Austria, where his father worked as the station master of the town’s train station. The young artist was drawn to the trains and drew them so obsessively that his father, at one point, felt compelled to destroy his sketchbooks (Davies, “A Legend Laid Bare”).

Many of his siblings tragically died young; his mother dealt not only with the death of a daughter at birth and a stillborn son, but also lost her elder daughter, Elvira, at the age of ten due to childhood illness. Schiele still had two sisters; Melanie, older, and Gertrude, four years his younger. Historians are mostly drawn to the artist’s relationship with his younger sister, Gertrude, for whom he displayed incestuous tendencies (Lucie-Smith, Lives). “Gerti” was often the subject of many of Schiele’s female nudes and is thought to be his first model. Gerti would later marry Anton Peschka, a fellow painter and friend of Schiele’s (Steiner, Egon Schiele).

When Schiele was fifteen, his father died of syphilis, and he was made the ward of his maternal uncle, Leopold Czihaczec. Recognizing his artistic talent, his uncle enrolled him in Vienna’s School of Arts and Crafts (Kunstgewerbeschule) in 1906. This is the same school that Gustav Klimt – who would later take Schiele under his wing as his protégé – had graduated from in 1883.

Schiele, however, was transferred within the year to Vienna’s Academy of Fine Arts (Akademie der Bildenden Kunste) at the insistence of his teachers. Frustrated with his new school’s conservatism, Schiele left after three years and formed the “New Art Group” with likeminded students in 1909, writing a manifesto condemning the principles of the Academy and exhibiting work independently at the Kunstsalon Pisko (Artbios).

Overlapping his academic studies is Schiele’s private instruction with famed Art Nouveau painter Gustav Klimt, known for mentoring promising artists. Schiele sought him out in 1907; Klimt, recognizing the younger man’s talent, took special interest in Schiele, exhibiting his work and providing models for his new student. Klimt was vital to Schiele’s artistic growth, exposing the young painter to not only his own work, but that of Van Gogh, Georges Minne, and Ferdinand Hodler (Artbios), whose influences can often be seen in Schiele’s distinctive style. Free to disregard the stuffy ideals of his past educators, Schiele began to more heavily explore death, sexuality, and human form in explicit and often offensive detail.

Schiele, now 21, met and fell in love with 17-year-old Valerie “Wally” Neuzil in 1911. Wally, who had originally posed for Klimt, quickly became the inspiration and subject of much of Schiele’s work. The young couple soon moved to Krumau, Bohemia, where Schiele’s mother had grown up (Steiner, Egon Schiele). Though the young couple’s cohabitation was of little controversy in Vienna, they faced condemnation in the small town not only for their lifestyle, but for Schiele’s habit of using the town’s young teenage girls as models, often outside and in plain sight (Davies, “A Legend Laid Bare”).

Schiele and Wally moved instead to Neulengbach, Austria, where the artist was able to set up a studio in 1912. The couple’s residence quickly became a haven for young delinquents (Artbios). Neulengbach was just as disapproving of Schiele’s conduct as Krumau, calling out his inclination towards young girls (Steiner, Egon Schiele), and his exposure of explicit art to the town’s youth. In April, 1912, Schiele was charged with statutory rape, arrested, and placed in jail for roughly a month (Davies, “A Legend Laid Bare”). At the time of his arrest, over a hundred drawings considered to be pornographic were seized, and a magistrate went so far as to burn one of the pieces (Lucie-Smith, Lives).

Wally and Schiele moved back to Vienna soon after the artist’s release. In 1914, the well-off Harms family moved in across the street from them; Schiele quickly became enamored with their two daughters, Edith and Adéle. Wishing for a socially acceptable marriage, the artist decided to marry the younger sister, Edith, despite her parents’ disapproval. Though Edith demanded monogamy (Davies, “A Legend Laid Bare”), Schiele also intended to remain romantically involved with Wally. When Schiele described the situation to Wally she left him immediately, never to be seen by the artist again.

With World War I and Schiele’s conscription soon approaching, Edith and Schiele rushed to marry in June of 1915. Schiele reported for service only four days after their wedding, though he never saw combat (Artbios). The artist was stationed in Prague guarding Russian prisoners of war, and was able to continue painting and sketching along with seeing Edith on a regular basis. The two were back in Vienna by 1917, and though WWI caused them little hardship, the Spanish flu would soon claim both of their lives. Edith, who was six months pregnant at the time, contracted the disease and died on October 28, 1918. Schiele completed a handful of sketches of Edith before dying three days later, on October 31, 1918, at the young age of 28.

The controversial and tumultuous nature of Schiele’s life can be seen within his work. Schiele’s bizarre exaggeration of anatomy and sickly color choices are complimented well by his expert use of line and composition, using inventive new perspectives from which to paint his subjects to further expand on the disconcerting atmosphere of his paintings. His enthusiastic experimentation with subjects of death and sexuality, while condemned during his short life, make his works a celebrated contribution to art history today.

Schiele’s avant-garde approach to art precedes modern art’s similar principles. His unique distortions of anatomy and near violent application of paint can be seen mirrored in many Neo-Expressionist artists’ work, such as Lubomir Tkacik and Francis Bacon, and the brunt, unapologetic sexuality of his paintings is shared with 20th century painters like Jean-Michel Basquait and Keith Harring.

Schiele’s prolific and well-documented contributions to his movement mark him as a cornerstone of 20th century Expressionism. Short lived though he may have been, he is survived by the gritty sexuality and bold defiance of his oeuvre, and while his work may have been the cause of controversy during his time, it is cherished today by artists, historians, and aesthetes alike. After all, we were all punks once.

Portrait of Gerti Schiele

The artist’s sister sits, feet dangling in space. She is turned away from the viewer to smile to herself, eyes closed. There is no background, the blank negative space around her forcing her form as the only focal point. Though the rendering is relatively flat, Schiele suggests planar changes with his deliberate line work and coloring. The unusual cropping of the image, along with its unnaturally golden tones, mark it as a unique piece of art.

At this point, Schiele had been working closely with famed Art Nouveau artist Gustav Klimt for roughly two years. The influence of Klimt’s unique style is unmistakable. Schiele’s flat rendering and elongated figure alone are comparative to the elder artist’s style. Bearing even more influence, however, are the distinct golden tones and intricate patterning that Schiele uses to adorn his subject.

That is not to say that Schiele is directly copying Klimt’s work; his mentor did not usually leave his figures floating in space the way Schiele nearly always did, and Gerti’s clothing, though simplified to only a few shapes, works with her body to accentuate the form. Klimt, in comparison, dwarfed his figures in brightly patterned robes, often concealing everything but their face and hands. Schiele also uses a more subtle, silvery color scheme than his mentor’s gleaming golden compositions.

Schiele was incredibly close with his sister – many would say even too close. Not only was Gerti one of his dearest childhood friends, but she was also his first model. We can clearly see Schiele’s love for Gerti in this painting. She is rendered as a beautiful golden figure, slender and lovely.

A shy and charming smile lights up her idealized face, despite Schiele’s tendency to exaggerate his models’ features to the point of caricature. There is nothing else in the composition because there is nothing else important for Schiele to render; the focus is solely placed on the centrally placed figure. Here, we see none of the grotesque exaggeration of anatomy that Schiele became so famous for. Instead, we see an undeniably lovely young woman, smiling to herself in a small and happy moment.

Dead Mother I

Two distorted and disturbing figures wrap around each other in a canvas full of black, nondescript brushstrokes. A frail, corpselike woman wraps her arms around and rests her head on what can only be described as a womb, though, indescribably, it does not seem to be attached to her. She glances listlessly towards the center of the canvas, where a fetal form bulges and contorts from a too-tight window of space. Two hands, seemingly too large for the figure they must belong to, float near it with no indication of wrist or arm. The ghastly figure almost seems to smile, staring almost but not quite out to the viewer.

The near violent brush strokes and grossly exaggerated figures mark this as a distinctly expressionist piece. The delicate patterns and flat, graphic rendering of Gerti are nowhere to be found, and Klimt’s influence on Schiele, though still visible through a similar distortion of form, has been set aside in favor of exploration of individual style. Some could argue that the thickly applied paint may have been inspired by the work of Van Gogh, whose sunflower series Schiele had often painted tributes to. However, the short, near pointillist way Van Gogh often used his paint has instead been replaced with deliberately long and linear strokes.

Dead Mother is full of meaning and deliberate choices. The fetus that Schiele portrays is, however ghastly, distinctly alive. Unlike anything else in the composition, this central form is painted with bright reds and oranges. One could almost see the blood coursing through its small body, in contrast with the drab greenish black tones achieved throughout the rest of the piece. The womb is surrounded by the mother my all sides; she rests her head atop him and glances, emotionless, down at it; a skeletal hand comes up to support him from the bottom, and her thin shoulders and drab hair surround the fetus from the left and right.

What did Schiele mean to accomplish with this macabre piece? Surely he was inspired by the many tragedies his family faced when it came to babies and children – his family lost one sister as a child, another right at birth, and his mother had even delivered a stillborn boy at one point. Though his inspiration is clear, what was the interpretation? Is the contorted fetus an innocent form entrapped by a cold and unfeeling mother, or is it sucking the life out of her? It quite literally seems to have blood on its hands.

Dead Mother I belongs to a series that Schiele worked on throughout his career, starting with his striking Madonna and Child from 1908. Schiele painted multiple disturbing images of young children or infants with their ominous or corpselike mothers, with similar symbolism and themes. The personal meaning to Schiele certainly must have been of great importance.

Mystery surrounds this grotesque and fascinating painting, and meaning can be found on a distinctly individual level. Like many of Schiele’s pieces, this deeply personal work easily resonates with its audience, leaving it open for interpretation for years to come.

Female Nude

A woman lays reclined on her back, peering up at us from an otherwise blank canvas. The cropping of the picture is odd, deliberately cutting of the woman’s legs and forcing a highly asymmetrical composition. Here, Schiele hasn’t even completed the figure. Her legs cut off at the thighs, and she has no arms, only the implication of a shoulder and a single gnarled hand, delicately resting against her ribcage.

That is not to say that the drawing is incomplete. Schiele focuses beautifully on the subtle color and reflected light of her abdomen, showing off his expert draughtmanship with deliberate black lines, and suggests weight and emphasis by changing the line quality. He highlights the figure with a bright white outline to set her off from the rest of the page. A great detail is how he follows the kinetic energy of the woman’s hair, spread out around her, by using short radial strokes with his white paint.

This piece is typical of Schiele’s female nudes. The artist was still studying under Klimt during this time, who often experimented with figure drawing in similar ways, and most likely provided him with the model. Like most of his figure drawings, there is a blatant sexuality to this piece. The woman is angled with an unusual perspective typical of Schiele.

The pose forces the viewer to look up her body, her legs spread slightly and suggestively, hips opening up towards us. Her body, particularly her breasts, is flushed with heat, and she stares at her audience confidently. There is an objectifying quality to the piece; Schiele has portrayed only her torso in any semi-realistic detail, opting to greatly simplify her features and disregard her limbs entirely. Though his rendering of the female form is beautiful, one can’t help be reminded of a carved piece of meat.

This drawing could even be considered tame compared to Schiele’s other female nudes, which often focused more explicitly on their genitals. Though the eroticism in Schiele’s work is certainly why he struggled with public outcry and censorship throughout his career, it is lovely to see his themes reoccur multiple times, and to be able to group his works together in such finite categories.

Self-Portrait with Physalis

Schiele paints himself peering out haughtily at the viewer, head tilted above and away from us and shoulders angled delicately. Behind him is a mostly abstract background, the orange plant on the left side forcing an even more asymmetrical composition. Swirling brush strokes in varying color patches of pale gray fill the rest of the canvas, and his sparse and delicate outlining help to bring the various forms of the piece together.

Though Schiele was often incredibly deliberate with his brush strokes, there is something particularly wonderful about the way he uses his paint here. The mottled, muddy blotches of color in his face are well-balanced by the smoother strokes of the background behind him. The angular, almost patterned shapes that Schiele depicts in the color of his shirt help to make an otherwise formless and uninteresting shape come to life.

If not for his nudes, Schiele would certainly be best known for his self-portraits. The artist depicted himself countless times and in varying ways; sometimes as a swooping, graceful figure as in his 1910 Seated Male Nude; others as a fool, or with a comically pinched grimace. That being said, Schiele’s 1912 Self-Portrait takes on a pose and expression also typical of the artist.

What is not typical, however, is how complete the image is, including a full background and working in deliberately textured brush strokes far different than the blank spaces typically left around his figures. Even though he works throughout the entire canvas, however, the emptiness of space normally found in his paper drawings is still found here, only the gangly form of the Physalis and the subtle whorls and tonal changes in the gray paint breaking up the background.

Schiele gives us a self-portrait that exudes confidence, practically preening from within the canvas. He looks at the audience from, essentially, down his nose, yet somehow manages to maintain an inquisitive air. One cannot help but compare the pose and expression to that of a modern-day selfie, especially when considering the youthful, curious mood his likeness presents. As far ahead of his time as he was, perhaps Schiele may have fit in with today’s media- and appearance-based culture.

Death and the Maiden

Though many of Schiele’s paintings are haunting and tragic, few can compare to the scene depicted in Death and the Maiden. Two muddily-painted figures contort and twists towards each other in an embrace, nearly weightless on the backdrop of a white cloth. The two teeter dangerously on an abstractly painted cliff, perhaps already in the process of falling off the edge. In fact, little of the perspective in this piece makes much sense; our subjects do not sit in a rational space.

The fractured, indistinct shapes of the rocks help to make the unease of the two figures more apparent, and the figures do not rest the weight of their bodies in any way. The woman is on her knees, but still appears to be adrift in a sea of cloth, and the man’s body does not behave in a rational way at all, his elongated form existing solely to curl around her.

There is something undeniably haunting in the man’s expression. Though his entire body reacts and curves towards the woman he is entwined with, his eyes are distant, almost unseeing. It is an expression of great mourning or shock. In contrast, we cannot see the woman’s eyes at all, concealed by her bangs. Though she looks down and away from the figure she embraces, we can still see the sternness of her mouth. The piece almost echoes Ilya Repin’s 1885 Ivan the Terrible Killing his Son, a scene of the aftermath of great violence and tragedy.

By this point, Schiele certainly has his own style. His muddy brush strokes bring a dark and graphic atmosphere to the entire piece, and the distortion of anatomy here is distinctly his own. Even here, however, we can still see the influence that Klimt had on the younger artist. The woman’s dress holds the sort of abstract, rectangular pattern that Klimt had imprinted on him. Schiele also allows the male from to become lost in his robes, placing emphasis only on where the body is not concealed – the head, hands, and legs, in this case. This was also a distinctly Klimt idea, and one that seemed to follow Schiele throughout his life’s work.

Many of this artist’s paintings have deep personal meanings that seem to shine through the layers of oil. In this case, Death and the Maiden represents profound loss and heartbreak. Schiele’s lover Wally stood by his side through court trials, public condemnation, and even jail time, yet the artist still decided to marry a more respectable woman instead.

In 1914, when Schiele suggested to Wally that she remain his mistress while marrying the more socially acceptable Edith Harms, his former lover left him immediately. This piece is undeniably the aftermath of her loss. Schiele takes on the persona of Death, a grieving, corpselike thing, and clings to his lively and youthful Maiden. His expression is one of absolute anguish and regret. Yet, even here, in this embrace, there is distance between the two figures; Wally’s legs angle out and away from Schiele, only making contact with him from the chest up.

This is symbolic of the distance between them that Schiele had caused, and the fact that he had lost what he had once held most dear. The painting screams grief in the fractured, disarrayed state of the rocks and the grungy colors and brushstrokes that Schiele employs. This is not just two lovers holding each other; this painting is a goodbye for what the artist had been foolish enough to lose.

Edith Schiele

Little more than a sketch, a stylized portrait of the artist’s wife, Edith, sits off-center on an otherwise blank sheet of paper. She leans back and watches the audience with tired eyes, resting a gnarled hand on her face. Her wedding ring sits visibly on her finger. Other than her collar and the start of an arm, perhaps the sleeve of her clothing, there is nothing else in the piece. Schiele relies entirely on actual line to create this image, adding no color or shading to the image. His strokes become significantly looser in her hair, becoming swirls of blurred line instead of form.

The entire image gives off the atmosphere of an old candid photograph, as if Edith is glanced up from something else to find the camera raised and taking a snapshot. Still, something deeper still remains in Edith’s face. Her eyes are hooded and almost unfocused, the lines around them visibly detailing her exhaustion.

Edith Schiele is a haunting final portrait of the artist’s wife, drawn the day she died. The young couple both succumbed to the Influenza pandemic of 1918 within three days of each other. Edith had been six months pregnant with their child at the time of her death – almost poetic, considering Schiele’s own parents’ struggles with pregnancies.

Something in Schiele’s pieces matured after his marriage to Edith. While his work was still often erotic, particularly relating to female forms, his figures gained realistic weight and mass in a way they hadn’t in his previous work. The artist often painted couples, most likely portraits of himself and his wife, depicting women with maturity and strength and men as foolish, sexual beings. Edith became one of his favorite subjects, tending to depict her as something beautiful and almost idealized rather than the unflattering caricatures he became known for. It only makes sense that here, three days before his death, he would do little more than sketch his deceased wife.

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Instead of focusing on his own mourning and loss, the way he did with Death and the Maiden, Schiele shifts the focus more selflessly to those who are actually gone. This piece is not the frantic dismay of a lover scorned. Instead, it is remembrance of the woman Schiele loved and died with. This last work gives us a chance, as his audience, to also remember the life of the couple.

Through the history of rock and roll music, there have been many groups and artists that have come and gone, and have made a significant impact on the lives of promising young musicians such as Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, Nirvana and many more. There was one artist from the 1970s who not only made an impact musically, but he also changed the rules of rock and roll and showed millions of fans that there is nothing wrong with being unique to oneself. Who is this guy? David Bowie was one of the greatest rockers and forward-thinking songwriter of all time. Most people referred to him as a musical chameleon because he would always change his appearance and sound throughout his career. Through the years, Bowie helped create new trends and music styles that not only gave rock its edge but a sense of self-appreciation so that any artist would be able to express their feelings and emotions. David Bowie was born David Robert Jones on January 8, 1947, in a poor suburb called Brixton in London, England.

Bowie began to show an interest in music at an early age. He started to play the saxophone at age 13. He was greatly influenced by his half-brother Terry, who exposed him to the world of rock music and beat literature. From then on, Bowie began to get a feel of playing rock music himself. After he graduated high school, he led a group called Davy Jones and the Lower Third. Eventually, Bowie went out on his own. However, after recording an unsuccessful solo album, Bowie took a break from the music world. By early 1969, David had returned to music full time. He signed a deal with Mercury Records, and that summer he released quite possibly the most famous song of David Bowie to date: “Space Oddity.”:

Ground Control to Major Tom

Take your protein pills and put your helmet on

Ground Control to Major Tom (ten, nine, eight, seven, six)

Commencing countdown, engines on (five, four, three)

Check ignition and may God’s love be with you (two, one, liftoff)

This is Ground Control to Major Tom

You’ve really made the grade

And the papers want to know whose shirts you wear

Now it’s time to leave the capsule if you dare.

It was an extraordinarily intimate song including a conversation between an astronaut and his ground control team. This song was all about alienation and distancing oneself away from people by getting so caught up in one’s mind that he or she are so above everyone else. It is about seeing the world as a sad place, but not being able to communicate with anyone about it. The first verse “Ground Control to Major Tom, Ground Control to Major Tom,” explains how he had lost all communication with those that were on the ground. The lines “And the papers want to know whose shirts you wear” something so small and unimportant that no one would ever worry about, is metaphorically the same as looking up into space from Earth. These lyrics were inspired by a 1968 science-fiction film “2001: A Space Odyssey.” The song has a very acoustic sound to it. When this single was released, it was around the same time American astronauts landed on the moon, leading many people to believe that this event inspired the song. In a 2003 interview with magazine Performing Songwriter, David Bowie commented:

“In England, it was always presumed that it was written about the space landing because it came to prominence around the same time. But it wasn’t. It was written because of going to see the film 2001, which I found surprising. I was out of my gourd anyway, I was very stoned when I went to see it, several times, and it was a revelation to me. It got the song flowing”.

From then on, Bowie went on to release even more quite successful albums. The album “The Man Who Sold the World” released a year later in 1970. It was not as successful as his first, but it did bring him further into stardom. It showed people that David had potential and that he was on a path to becoming a groundbreaking artist. This album had more of a massive abrasive hard rock sound, something Bowie was not accumulated too. Most people considered this to be a prototype for punk rock. Also, his fans considered this album to be the beginning of his classic era. The collection also included the song “All the Madmen”:

Day after day

They send my friends away

To mansions cold and grey

To the far side of town

Where the thin men stalk the streets

While the sane stay underground

Day after day

They tell me I can go

They tell me I can blow

To the far side of town

Where it’s pointless to be high

Cause it’s such a long way down

This song is all about someone that is primarily about to go insane. It sort of puts a perspective on how Bowie’s attitude was towards asylums. He idealizes the life and the people that are placed into asylums. In the first line “Day after day, they send my friends away,” the speaker is expressing how all of his friends are suddenly leaving to go put into these homes. Then it continues to repeat himself in the first verse. “While the sane stay underground,” he expresses how those that are not mentally ill live a healthy life on Earth, while those who are mentally ill, are high above ground because their minds are different from ours. The song was inspired by his half-brother Terry, who had a mental illness. He was committed to an insane asylum where he later committed suicide.

His next piece, “Hunky Dory” was released in 1971. It showed his maturity as a singer and songwriter. It also included songs titled “Andy Warhol” and “Song for Bob Dylan,” that shows that these two artists greatly influenced him. The albums biggest highlight was the song, “Life on Mars,” which had such a powerful ballad:

It’s a God-awful small affair

To the girl with the mousy hair

But her mummy is yelling no

And her daddy has told her to go

But her friend is nowhere to be seen

Now she walks through her sunken dream

To the seat with the clearest view

And she’s hooked to the silver screen

The song had quite possibly one of the strangest lyrics ever written by Bowie. It began with such an amazing piano sound, and then it tied in with an electric guitar and drums. This song is all about how our entertainment has become so all-encompassing and important that our lives have begun to mimic it. The first line of the song says, “the girl with the mousy hair,” which shows that the girl has a lot of problems in her life that involves dealing with her parents. The song was released in 1971, where teenagers were becoming rebels against their parents. After she was kicked out by her parents for her drama-filled life, her friend is nowhere to be found, so she has no one. To deal with her drama, she confides in entertainment to escape. This song helped the album reach a huge chart success in Britain and even in the States. Another song “Changes”:

Still, don’t know what I was waitin’ for

And my time was runnin’ wild

A million dead-end streets and

Every time I thought I’d got it made

It seemed the taste was not so sweet

So, I turned myself to face me

But I’ve never caught a glimpse

How the others must see the faker

I’m much too fast to take that test

This song is all about growing up and doing wild things, but that one does not notice what he or she is doing at the moment. Then people grow up, and they witness others (teens) doing the same; there is not much one can do to control them. “Still don’t know what I was waitin’ for, and my time was runnin’ wild” He remembers his younger years, and how he let it get away without worrying so much about time. This song kind of personified Bowie because there was some speculation about Bowie’s sexual orientation, and whether he was gay, due to his androgynous appearance. He did not give an answer towards the statement. In the next year, Bowie would do something that no other musician would have ever thought to do, and he would forever change the way others viewed rock and roll music. In 1972, David Bowie released one of his most famous and significant album titled “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.” He wanted to create a concept based on an alien rock star, Ziggy Stardust, who had come to earth in hopes of becoming some vast superstar until he decides to end his career in England and head back off into outer space. Ziggy had become Bowie’s new persona, and from now on he would introduce himself that way in all of his concerts. The name Ziggy Stardust was chosen from his friend Iggy Pop and a cowboy named Stardust. His main inspiration for the character was an early pre-Beatles era British rock musician named Vince Taylor. Bowie was now leading the glam rock movement. Ziggy Stardust was a huge hit in England and even some parts of America. Songs such as “5 years,” “Starman” and “Suffragette City” are thought to be some of the best works Bowie has ever done alongside with “Space Oddity”. The album became enormously successful and was seen as a turning point in Bowie’s career. Also, Bowie’s song “Heroes”:

Though nothing, nothing will keep us together

We can beat them, forever and ever

Oh, we can be heroes just for one day

For a long time, David told people that the song was about two lovers both near the Berlin Wall, but the song was inspired by Bowie’s producer/engineer Tony Visconti and his girlfriend. Due to their secret relationship, he could never really give the true meaning of the song “Heroes” until now, and the lyrics sort of spoke for themselves, “Though nothing, nothing will keep us together, We can beat them, forever and ever” This meant that they would not stop fighting until they were together in the end. Both the lovers had a huge desire for happiness and love, despite their flaws and the feeling that the world would keep them apart. Bowie’s album “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust” and “The Spiders from Mars” was just one of the first of his albums that enabled him to fulfill his ideas concerning the combination of both rock music and theater. Since the beginning of David Bowie’s career, he sought to perform rock as theatre, which is one of the main reasons for his everlasting change of his on-stage appearances. According to Philip Auslander (2009), he noticed:

“Bowie not only envisioned the rock concert as a staged, costumed and theatrical performance, he understood his performances and his relationship to his audience in actorly terms […] Rather than developing a consistent persona, Bowie sang in many voices and from many subject positions without identifying clearly with any of them.”

Bowie’s interest in theater has always been the main cornerstone of his career. Bowie wrote his lyrics, which were later viewed as dramas like the ones seen in a theater, and these lyrics would tie into whatever new character that happened to strike his imagination. He felt that the world needed to know.

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David Bowie changed music in ways no one would have ever imagined through his androgyny, sexuality, ever-changing appearance, and love for theater and science fiction storylines. He surfaced from the 1960s with a force of uniqueness and individuality. David was undoubtedly the most creative rock ‘n’ roll musician there ever was, and he has even inspired artist till this very generation and maybe even to come. Bowie was always pushing the boundaries of his art. He was never afraid to try new things and step out of the box. He never repeated his style. He forever changed it up, and he was never dull. Each of his songs had a different style, and it was new, and always had a story behind it. Even though Bowie had some dark moments in his career, he found a way to escape them through his music. This does not summarize the whole movement behind his music and the influence he had on others. There is no doubt that Bowie changed rock and roll music and the culture behind it. Through his ever-changing image, his love for theater and his ever-loving spirit.

Works Cited

1. Spitz, M. (2009). Bowie: A biography. W. W. Norton & Company.
2. Pegg, N. (2011). The complete David Bowie. Titan Books.
3. Cann, K. (2015). Any day now: David Bowie: The London years, 1947-1974. Adelita Ltd.
4. Buckley, D. (2005). Strange fascination: David Bowie, the definitive story. Virgin Books.
5. Simpson, P. (2016). David Bowie: The Golden Years. Overlook Press.
6. Doggett, P. (2012). The man who sold the world: David Bowie and the 1970s. HarperCollins.
7. O’Leary, C. (2019). Ashes to ashes: The songs of David Bowie, 1976-2016. Repeater Books.
8. Brown, M. (2015). David Bowie Made Me Gay: 100 Years of LGBT Music. Overlook Press.
9. Shelton, R. (2005). No direction home: The life and music of Bob Dylan. Hal Leonard Corporation.
10. Gilmore, M. (2016). A hard rain: America in the 1960s, our decade of hope, possibility, and innocence lost. Crown/Archetype.

Born in 1962 John L. Flannery is an American business executive. He is currently the CEO and chairman of General Electric, as appointed in August 2017.

John L. Flannery was born in 1962 in Alexandria, Virginia. He completed his graduation from Northwest Catholic High School in 1979. It was after this that Flannery received a bachelor's degree in finance from the Fairfield University Dolan School of Business in 1983. He later went to business school at the University of Pennsylvania, where he received a MBA from the Wharton School of Business in 1987. Flannery is married, and has three children.

John Flannery is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of GE. He is GE’s eleventh CEO and the company’s tenth Chairman. He led the turnaround of GE Healthcare, establishing technology leadership in core imaging, creating digital platforms and solutions, and expanding its Life Sciences and cell therapy systems businesses before his appointment as the CEO. He also launched extensive solutions in Sustainable Healthcare, bringing disruptive technologies to healthcare providers across emerging markets.

Beginning his career at GE in 1987, he has spent over 20 years at GE Capital holding various leadership roles in the United States, Latin America, and Asia. He was named as a Company Officer in 2005. In 2009, he was appointed President and CEO of GE India, and in 2013, head of Business Development for all of GE. Flannery helped oversee significant portfolio transformation including significant acquisitions and divestitures in GE’s financial services and industrial portfolios.

On his first day as the new chief executive of GE, John Flannery sent an internal letter to the company’s 300,000 employees to ensure that the directions were clear. “I have a relentless focus on three things,” Flannery stated in the letter. Those three things are: “Customers, team, and execution/accountability.” Flannery said every employee should focus on the customer as their “guiding principle.” He said a great team is one that welcomes transparency and candor. And finally, Flannery said he met with 100 investors who expect “better execution on cash, margins, and…costs.”

Flannery understands an essential rule of business communication — people can only carry about three or four key messages in short term memory. Offering too many action items at once will result in what researchers call ‘cognitive backlog. Flannery is a fan of using the rule of three. In a 2015 conference, Flannery—then CEO of GE Healthcare— took to the stage and said, “I can talk about a number of different aspects, but I’d say there are three basic things that keep coming back to me from my customer interactions…passion, rate of change, and trusted partners.”

In the press conference when Flannery was named the new CEO to replace Jeffery Immelt, he was asked to talk for a few minutes. Flannery stood up and spoke briefly about the “three reasons” he felt humbled to accept the position:

1. Humbled to follow in Immelt’s footsteps.
2. Humbled to lead a company that has transformed life around the world.
3. Humbled and proud to have worked for the company for thirty years. Flannery is a skilled communicator.

In addition, to help pay for the remaking of the company, G.E. announced that it would cut its dividend, only the second time it has done so since the Great Depression. The quarterly payout will be sliced in half, to 12 cents a share. Flannery following his reoriented strategy to build GE stated that he aimed at the future with a view of having a smaller company with fewer but highly profitable business. The goal is to make G.E. “simpler and easier to operate,” Mr. Flannery said. “Complexity has hurt us.”

G.E. has lowered its earnings target for next year and reiterated that 2018 would be a “reset year.” And the outlook for 2019, while improving, is expected to be challenging as well for its big power-turbine business, which fell off sharply this year. The complexion of the company will also change in the years to come. G.E., the country’s largest manufacturing company, had nearly 300,000 employees worldwide at the end of last year. The impending sales of several businesses and other cost-cutting initiatives will undoubtedly leave it with far fewer in the coming years, in more focused areas.

“John Flannery is generally saying and doing the right things,” said Scott Davis, chief executive of Melius Research, an independent financial analysis firm.

Mr. Flannery had previously given broad outlines of his strategy, including that the company would shed at least $20 billion in assets over the next two years. What then came were details that confirmed a shortlist of businesses that are up for sale, like lighting, which has quietly been on sale for months. He also emphasized his belief in the vitality of a smaller G.E., and nodded to products like electric generators, jet engines and medical-imaging equipment. Because of those products, Mr. Flannery said, the company will continue to “power the world,” “transport people safely” and “save lives.”

He also described other parts of the businesses as “fundamentally strong,” including wind turbines for renewable energy, and the company’s railroad-equipment unit, which is expected to be sold off.

Mr. Flannery’s strategy will accelerate the streamlining job begun by his immediate predecessor. Mr. Immelt described the company he inherited as a “classic conglomerate.”

Table of contents

1. Introduction
2. Human Brain
3. Drug Addiction
4. Brain Process
5. Dopamine
6. Behavioral problem of the Drug Intake
7. Understanding the Addiction process
8. The circuitry of the brain reward system
9. Reward Vs Risk human brain

Introduction

Addiction has an enormous impact on the people lives especially in the manner in which it affects their lives. Furthermore, this also affects their families since it has the tendencies of putting the relationships at risks due to the behavioral problems depicted by those with drugs issues. It is important to identify that drugs addiction is one of the major contributors to the loss of jobs since it affects people performances and their ability to fully execute their day to day activities since such individuals lose control of their behaviors. Even though the expenses associated with the drug purchases may be high, this does not hinder individuals access to such drugs which further increases its consumption.

The tendency or the individual inability to restrain themselves as a result of access to drugs possess a major threat to their health and the relationship with others. Cases of relapses are often evident which makes it difficult to manage the drug’s use which raises the importance of the biological approach to the addiction. Even though individuals are aware of the dangers that the drugs have on the human brain, they are unable to adopt the new mechanism to resist such drugs given that the brain activity is highly compromised. As a result, the operation of the therapeutic process is highly affected due to the inability of the personalities to respond to the changes that in a way may affect the functioning of the brain.

The main challenge in the drug addiction is the developing of an understanding relating to the addiction and the neurobiology and examining their individuals’ relations. This helps in making sure that a person mind is able to respond to the urge of taking the drug by creating a resistance in the human brain. The process of addiction in relation to biology makes it difficult to for the brain process to reject the urge to take drugs especially during the therapy process and the need to eliminate cases of relapses.

Human Brain

The three parts that are often affected by addiction or the abuse of the drugs include the brain stem, limbic system and the cortex which has different roles. The functions of the brain such as the sleeping, breathing, and the heart rate are normally regulated by the functioning of the brain stem. On the other hand, the decision-making process, the ability to identify and solve problems, planning process, thinking, and taste, hear, feel and also the ability to see is normally cerebral cortex. The part responsible for the reward system is the limbic system (Kalant, 2010).

Therefore, the individuals’ tendency feel please is regulated by this part and this, however, helps a person to ensure that the duplication of the activities is done since it helps the individuals to survive. As a result, other activities that range from the ability to interact with the others, as well as eating, emanates from the limbic system. However, the system is also prone to the cases of drugs abuse. In addition, the drug addiction affects the limbic system thereby adjusting the emotions of the individuals. The nerve cells or the neurons dictate the actions of the human brain since they transmit information from one part to another.

Drug Addiction

The drug addiction normally affects the brain communication process by altering the functioning of the neurons in the brain. As a result, the normal process of communication is interrupted which makes it difficult for a person to respond to the reward system. Furthermore, the Neurotransmitters are vital in the communication and the ability of the most of the drugs to mimic the system helps in triggering the communication process even though in this case negative messages are conveyed. The Neurotransmitters in the brain (dopamine) can be released in higher qualities especially with the increase in the consumptions of the drugs which affects the normal commutation process since their overall flow is limited.

The drug addiction emanates from the contamination of the brain reward system or the limbic system which controls a person able to respond to various activities. The rewards system enables a person to access the benefits as well as the risks before engaging in certain activities. As a result of the drug addiction, the user is unable to respond to the negative impact that the drug has since the system has the ability to trigger aspects of the feeling of pleasure and as a result motivating the individuals to continue with the drug consumption. Therefore, by modifying the brain reward system, the human brain is unable to respond to the urge to take the drugs even with the knowledge that such rugs will have a negative impact on the people lives (Caulkins, Reuter, and Coulson, 2011).

The consistent use of drugs often triggers the limbic system which causes the system to the individuals’ brain to record that such actions are necessary. The reward system in the human brain helps a person in making the necessary adjustments since it provides the brain with the information that the activities that a person engages in are necessary if they are to succeed or survive. Therefore, the addiction process creates a scenario where the brain motivates a person to keep utilizing the drugs since the brain cannot be able to identify the risks and the rewards of such actions.

Since the brain reward system is also triggered by the drinks and then food which helps the individuals to respond to cases of hinder and thirst, the same process is trigger with the consistent use of drugs. The drug addiction either alters the brain process by creating a situation where dopamine is overproduced or else it creates a situation where it is able to mimic the dopamine activities.

Even though aspects such as willpower and the good intentions in dealing with addiction is significant, there is always a need to structure another approach in order to prevent scenarios where there may relapse in the long run elucidations that can be accomplished with the use of the biological basis. Furthermore, the addiction alters the human brain which is a biological process (Kalat, 2007). At the initial stage, people often have an idea that taking or drugs is a social and a moral problem which is true but in case of addiction, they have less control of their actions.

According to Carter, and de Lecea, (2011) the functioning of the brain is highly affected with the addiction which makes it difficult to reverse those changes which highly contributes to the cases of relapses whenever this happens. Therefore, individuals with addiction problem often face an uphill battle in overcoming those challenges considering that they are prone especially when exposed to drug and alcohol.

Besides, there are various elements that can contribute to triggering the relapses which may include the kind of environment that a person is exposed to. The brain controls every aspect of the human body and the ability that people have to interact with others including the relationship that they are able to create with their families. Moreover, other aspects such as bonding, eating and the exercising which are main contributors to the health of the individuals are largely affected by the destruction of the brain as result of the addiction process (Cooper, Bloom, & Roth, 2003).

The brain also helps in triggering responses relating to its ability to create the warning to the individuals and as the result, the ability to use self-control is a major part of its success and this is affected by the inability of the brain to trigger those responses in cases of addiction. The brain process is largely affected by the increased use of drugs and therefore the personal mechanism and the ability to protect the individuals from the external influences is highly hampered as a result. The inability to control, one’s actions may cause mental health issues and in some cases, this may be fatal.

Brain Process

The brain is an integral part of the human brain and largely dictates the conduct of the individuals. A healthy brain has a protection mechanism in place which helps in providing the necessary guidance to the individuals in the decision-making process (Witten et al, 2011).

Therefore, there is always a need to ensure that the brain process works in the right manner to help in making sure that persons’ decision making is not affected and at the same time control individuals emotions which is vital in safeguarding the relationships. Parts of the brain such as the prefrontal cortex acts as a protection to the individuals and its condition is vital to the behavior of the individuals and the avoidance of substances such as the drugs and alcohol. People are often aware of the repercussions associated with the drug intake but it is the functioning of their brain that dictates whether they are able to respond to such changes (Kandel, Schwartz, and Jessell, 2000).

The functioning of the brain also relies on the limbic system which is responsible for regulating the brain in order to help in the behavioral adjustments and the decision-making process that aid individuals in avoiding dangers that they may be exposed to. Furthermore, the effect that dopamine

Dopamine

Dopamine has a significant role in human brain due to its role in signaling brain and communicating with various parts of the brain. Therefore, an increase in the levels of dopamine in the human brain complicates the learning processes due it sends mixed signals which further affects the learning process. Since it forms the main core of the communication process, the dopamine is responsible for relaying the messages to various parts of the brain to trigger responses against the intake of drugs which can help in avoiding cases of relapses.

There is a biological mechanism in the human body that helps in minimizing the excessive production of the dopamine by relying on the dopamine receptors in the human brain. However, the functioning of the dopamine receptors depends on whether they have the capability of regulating the dopamine in the human brain (van Amsterdam, Opperhuizen, Koeter, and van den Brink, 2010). This is mainly the ability of the brain to make sure that neurons are free from the excess dopamine since they largely affect the brain communication process.

However, the miscommunication within the brain makes it difficult to receive or send the appropriate signals that help in controlling the cases of relapses. The plasticity of the brain dictates its success in terms of modifying various behaviors portrayed by the brain in response to the drug addiction. The main challenge, however, is the inability of the dopamine receptors to function in the cases of drug addiction process makes it difficult to control the communication process.

However, the drug addiction or the drug intake triggers a mechanism where the brain is unable to regulate the production and the inflow of the dopamine which largely compromises the communication with the brain (Julien, 2005). As a result, the available mechanism including the work of the dopamine receptors do not lead to the reduction in the production especially after a person is addicted.

As a neurotransmitter, Dopamine plays a critical role in the brain especially in the manner in which the communication of brain is executed. Through this, the dopamine main role is to provide the necessary transmission of the signals in term of nerve cells and this helps in facilitating the actions of the brain. Through this, the actions of the brain are regulated by the uptake and the flow of dopamine in the brain, however, one of the main challenges, in this case, is the role that drug addiction has on the people lives since it affects the production and the flow of Dopamine.

The increase in dopamine neuronal activity motivated by the dopamine activities given that its increase in the brain affects the functioning of the brain which largely contributes to individuals behaving in an abnormal manner. However, the activities of the Dopamine in the human brain creates a major problem to the individual given that its increase in the brain also affects other types of hormones that are released in the human brain which affects person inactivity or the way they can respond to other challenges. According to Kolb, and Whishsaw, (2003), the main role of Dopamine is to act as a message in various body organs including brain but it must be regulated to ensure that it does not create issues in the human body.

Activities such as nausea, lactation, reward system, reinforcement, arousal, motivation, motor control, and the executive functions in the human brain and other parts of the body. Furthermore, the increase in the supply of the dopamine in the human brain has a huge significance since it is only located in the certain part of the brain and increase in the products limits individuals response to such changes. This affects the individuals’ nervous system and has the huge implication on the individual life.

The effect of the dopamine in the human reward system also creates a major challenge in altering the individuals’ behavior but this can only be avoided if the human brain has the capability to alter its excess production. This helps in maintaining the level of production and the activity of the brain which helps in regulating individuals’ behavior. Through different mechanism, the drug addiction triggers excess production of dopamine and at the same time inhibit its spread to other parts of the brain which results to overconcentration. This triggers activities such as the unable to deal with the reality or inability to identify what is real and what is not and at the same time increase the level of anxiety.

The effect of the reward system by the drug intakes affects the inability of the dopamine to communicate and use the reward system in the brain to motivate individuals to live a healthy lifestyle. However, the effect of the reward system triggers subsequent communication in case of addiction motivating individuals to continue with the drug intake and this negatively affects their inability to restrain themselves from taking more drugs. Other aspects ion the human body such as the use of the drinks and the food in triggering dopamine does not have the similar effect due to the excessive release of the dopamine as a result of the drug use.

According to Nutt, King, and Phillips, (2010) shows the effect that high drug intake has on the production of dopamine production and its subsequent effect on the reward system. The consumption of drugs almost causes a 10 times increase in the production of dopamine when compared to what is normally triggered by the food consumption.

Behavioral problem of the Drug Intake

The drug addiction often arises as a result of the individuals’ inability to control the intake of drugs. Even though individuals are aware of the consequences that the drug has on their body, they do not shy away from the subsequent intake which drastically affects their lifestyle. Drug addictions are associated with cases of low productivity, deaths, cases of cirrhosis, issues such as lung cancer and the spread of AIDS.

The main challenge relating to the drug addiction is the inability of the current method to help in treating the addiction. Even though a person may undergo a rehabilitation and reduce the drug intake, there is always a possibility that relapses may occur in the long run. As a result, the sustainability of the treatments, in the long run, is a challenge to many especially due to the exposure that a person has to other external conditions (Nutt, King, Saulsbury, and Blakemore, 2007). Even though people are aware of the consequences of taking drugs at times once they lose control, they are often unable to regulate the drug intakes. There has been a wide range of increase in the rehabilitation centers to help in regulating the drug intakes but still, they have been unable to sufficiently deal with the addiction.

Understanding the Addiction process

Drug-related use has the psychological along with the social implications and this fundamentally affects their lives and the manner in which they relate to others. Drug intakes trigger a biological process especially with the production of dopamine. The consumption of the rugs such as the nicotine, alcohol, cocaine, heroin, and others have a biological effect on the brain. Being a biological process it is vital to provide the biological solutions to the addiction process. However, the existing research of the biological and the behavioral problems have been centered on the animals and this helps in replicating the similar behavioral problems in human beings.

Through this, there has been the major development in examining the methods that can be used to provide the understanding the biological process of the drug addiction process. Behavioral effects such as the activation, sedation and the euphoria are normally triggered by the effect that the drugs have on the various proteins of the brain. Therefore the biological effect of the drug intake causes the reactions of the cellular as well as the molecular changes which alter the behavioral process in the long run.

According to Tye et al (2012), almost half of the individuals with addiction problems are related to the genetic issues. Furthermore, family past history on the mental health has a major implication on the effect that the drug addiction is likely to have on the individuals in the long run. The synaptic diffusion of the human brain especially with the relations to the protein in the brain affects the individuals’ behaviors in the course of the drugs intake.

Cellular along with the molecular changes in the brain also has a subsequent effect on the individuals’ behaviors especially with the composition of the brain. Therefore, the biological process creates a platform where one is able to understand the level of brain alteration especially with the increased intake of drugs. Nerves have an important role to play in human body especially since they regulate the individual actions and the manner in which individuals behave when exposed to different conditions. Even though this is the case, the development and the understanding of the biological activities in terms of brain cells and the addiction process is limited.

The circuitry of the brain reward system

The intake of different drugs in the human body still has similar effect even though they have different chemical compositions. However, they have a tendency of triggering the dopamine which affects the circuitry reward system of the brain. The circuitry of the brain reward system is often triggered in the same manner even with the use of the different drugs since they often act on amplifying the production of the dopamine.

The actions of the drugs trigger similar reactions which are instrumental changes in the brain and this has an important part by altering the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and its functions in the brain. The reward system in the brain activity to protect the individuals from undertaking some of the actions that may in a way affect the effectiveness of the individuals especially by understanding the biological composition of the brain. Even though the brain has the mechanism in place to act against the actions of the drug intake, such responsiveness is often affected by overproduction of the dopamine which largely affects the brain activity.

However, this creates the urge to ensure that there is increased consumption of the drugs which in turn generates Drug overrode has become a major issue across the globe and has contributed to cases of addiction. This includes those drugs that are bought over the counters and others that individuals purchase for personal satisfaction. The brain plasticity is largely affected by the consistent use of the drugs which limits its effectiveness of the individual ability to ensure that they remember and at the same time learn which one of the functions of the human brain is (McKim, 2003).

The plasticity of the brain, however, comprises of the structure along with the chemical compositions that help in the communication process and altering the brain process. Therefore, the drug addiction triggers the mechanism where a person develops the tendency of learning the ability to take drugs which further makes it difficult for them to adopt another habit. Furthermore, the circuitry of the brain, therefore, is often unable to let individual brain adopt the mechanism of taking the drug.

The high intake of the drugs alters the individual mechanical and chemical reactions in the human brain make it difficult for the brain to alter the addiction process. Since the brain mechanism is highly altered it makes it difficult for the plasticity of the brain to learn other behaviors and it its place adopts the high consumption of drugs. This explains the reason as to why after the addiction, the patients often find it difficult to unlearn a new way of doing things in their brain. Furthermore, the addiction process also affects the individual ability to rely on the biological functioning especially on the manner in which the rewards are attained by the human body.

The brain normally has a learning process in place which teaches individuals new ways of doing things which often is a challenge when the addiction occurs. Since the functioning of the brain result from biological and the chemical process, the altering of the biological process makes it difficult for the brain to learn new things. This involves the consumptions of the drugs ranging from the cocaine, alcohol, as well as nicotine but they trigger similar actions from the alteration of the brain processes.

The research on the human brain has been derived from the functioning of the animal brain which is used to understand the mechanical and the biological process. as a result one of the learning processes of the brain are negatively influenced by blocking the pathway that facilitates the learning process given that individuals continue to take drugs even in cases where they are aware of the negative effects that this is likely to have on their lives. The use of the animals as a center of the research equips people with the capability on the ways of dealing with challenges and adopting new ways to ensure that cases of relapses are avoided by understanding the brain pathways by recalibrating the human brain.

Reward Vs Risk human brain

The brains form a system that helps in motivating individuals to engage in certain activities and at the same time the mechanism to help in eliminating the risks that individuals face when engaging in certain activities. Intake of products in terms of food, drinks or even drugs triggers a reward system where a person is able to identify or contemplate whether they are likely to engage in certain activities or not. As a result, when taking the drugs, the reward system is triggered and at the same time, the risk system within the brain helps in creating a situation where one develops the ability to avoid certain activities. However, the reward and the risk system are often compromised in case of the drug intake which normally results from the chemical processes.

Through the chemical processes in the brain, a person largely changes the normal approach due to the negative effect that the drugs have on the reward process. Furthermore, according to Bernstein, and Boyden, (2011) the relapses are normally affected by the changes especially relating to the effect that the process has the prefrontal cortex and the nerve cells in the brain. Furthermore, the brain should ensure that it develops the capability to develop the balance between the brain reward and the risks system.

The brain has a system in place to help in makings sure that individuals are able to identify the risk they face and in the process ensure that the prefrontal cortex persons in the right manner depending on the activities that one engages in. as a result, the increasing drug intake affects prefrontal cortex activities especially in the manner in which it responds to abdication or prevention of relapses.

The brain has a mechanism in place which helps in making sure that a person can decide whether to take the drugs or avoid it through the existing brain cells. However, the reward system that is generated by the brain overcomes the need to avoid taking the drugs (Gazzaniga, Ivry, & Mangun, 2002).

The production of dopamine normally emanates from the middle of the brain which structures the communication process. Different parts of the brain play different roles which are further affected by alteration and the production of dopamine. As a result, there are elements such as the working memory, and thinking process which is affected by the addiction process since their efficiency is affected. In addition, the limbic aspect of the brain is also affected by the changes in the dopamine especially in cases where this interferes with the emotional part of the brain. Therefore, the dopamine helps in facilitating the reward system in the brain, movement, and the thinking process.

Drug addiction often affects the normal functioning of the brain. The brain requires a Homeostasis process which is a biological system that helps in maintaining the equilibrium including the production of the dopamine which is the center of the communication process. The biological balance of the human brain there is altered in the case of the drug addiction which minimizes the individuals’ ability to respond to normal challenges that a person may face.

As a result of the changes of the patters in the communication process, a person is not able to respond to certain activities in a similar manner. Even though the drugs have the ability to mimic the dopamine instructions, they often transmit messages in a different manner since they relay irregular messages to the brain. Therefore, the brain reward system which plays a critical role in identifying the upright and the immoral behaviors is often inhibited by the addiction process.

The brain cells have the system in place that regulates the release of dopamine’s which facilitates the communication but with the ability to trigger its release, the drugs addiction helps increasing its supply thereby affecting the manner in which brain functions. Neurons in the brain have a significant role in the human brain given that they play a significant role in terms of working in relation to the control of the impulses of the human brain. Individuals’ decision making is influenced by the prefrontal cortex conditions and the flow of the dopamine in the human brain.

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As a result, the role played by the neurons in the human brain helps in making sure that they have the capability of performing to their best even in cases where they may be inhibited by the altering of the brain processes. In normal situations, the brain processes should have the ability to warn individuals against high intake of drugs due to its long-term implication but the brain inactivity makes it difficult to respond to the temptations activated by the drug intake.

Table of contents

1. Biological hazard
TeratogenCarcinogenMutagen
2. Chemical Hazard
3. Physical Hazard

Biological hazard

A biological hazard is a hazard that can cause harm to a human or a living organism. These hazards can vary from a microorganisms, viruses or toxins.

Teratogen

A teratogen is anything that may cause a problem with an embryo. It may also cause a complete stop to the pregnancy. Alcohol is a known teratogen. It can cause abnormalities to the child and stop the growth. It may also cause mental problems and retardation. Another teratogen is drugs such as cocaine or marijuana. These drugs may cause brain problems and even cause you to have a gap in your skull/brain or may cause the child to be addicted without trying the drug. One last example would be pregnant women smoking. Nicotine is very lethal when pregnant as it may lead to the fetus having breathing problems and suffocation to death. It may also lead straight to low weight when born and health problems in the child’s future.

Carcinogen

A carcinogen is a factor that will end up causing you to have cancer. An example is pesticides for bugs which may cause lymphoma or leukemia of exposed for a very long time. Another example is the air which is filled with many carcinogens that you would breathe in every day. One last example of carcinogen are cigarettes as they contain many chemicals such as; methane, methanol, hexamine, stearic acid, arsenic, and many more. All these are hazardous as they are all bad chemicals bad for the health of a human. These all can lead to a cancer, especially lung cancer.

Mutagen

A mutagen is anything that will cause a mutation to occur. One huge problem is solar UV radiation; this is with us when we go outside when the sun is shining. The thing with UV is that it mainly damages the skin and the cells inside. It may also cause problems with the eye and the cornea will be burnt which will lead to cataracts, which is most commonly seen on the elderly.

Another mutagen is from going to too many X-rays as this will cause your cells to mutate and cause cancer. If exposed too long than this will happen, so it is best not to have a lot in a period of time. One last thing is if you are exposed to a large amount of radiation. This may be from where you work or where you travel to. Nuclear power plant workers must make sure they don’t work too much at the power plant and workers must wear extra protective clothing so they aren’t heavily exposed. Bosses make sure to check each worker to see how much they have been exposed to as the more amount you have been exposed to, the more dangerous for your health it is.

Chemical Hazard

A chemical hazard is a hazard that can be caused through chemicals in the air and on surfaces at the workplace. It may cause short or long term health problems. Some chemicals can be cleaning agents, disinfectants, compressed gases and drugs. The effects can be difficulty breathing or get irritation on your skin, flammable, explosive or affect the environment.

A worker at the workplace may be affected by inhaling dangerous fumes, chemical on skin or eyes, swallowed food that contained a chemical and when you have been exposed to a needle on your skin that’s been accidently injected.

If you inhale irritants or toxic chemicals, it may cause the worker to have irritation to the airways, headaches or dizziness.

A problem with drugs, e.g. Xanax (Alprazolam), may cause significant memory loss, brain damage, lack of concentration.

Compressed gases are dangerous because if they have a break/ crack in the case then it may spiral and burst.

To protect yourself, make sure you are wearing a mask and make sure that you check the compressed gas before using it. Don’t take any drugs as they will affect your health and you may become addicted to them. If you smell gases, make sure you go to someone for help or open some doors and windows to let out the gas.

Physical Hazard

A physical hazard is a hazard that can be caused in the environment you are in and it can cause harm to you. A few examples may be from heat, objects that fall, construction work, etc.

Heat will hurt a human because it may cause first, second or third degree burns. These burns affect the skin very severely. Objects that fall is very dangerous as something heavy may fall on you and cause a broken bone or even death. Construction workers have a hard time because they need to be careful at all times otherwise they may end up injured.

To protect yourself from heat, wear special fire and heat resistant clothes that contain a special material called Nomex and make sure to fully protect yourself so there is full protection. You would need to wear boots with a metal toe cap and a hard hat, different workers have different hard hats, even visitors get a different coloured hat, make sure their whole body is well insulated with the correct clothing, wear gloves at all times, goggles, and for those who are working high up in the sky, they would need to make sure they are wearing their safety harness.

The word homeostasis come from the ancient Greek, and it’s the union of the two words homeo and stasis. Homois means “similar”, and stasis means “staying still”, which gives the idea of “staying the same”. The human body consists of millions of cells working together to maintain the whole organism, and whereas the cells have different functions they all require the same metabolic requirements. To ensure the survival of the cells in the human body, oxygen, glucose, minerals, and waste removals are necessary; as well as maintaining a constant internal environment, in order to ensure the well-being of the single cells and the entire body (BBC, 2011). Homeostasis like the etymology suggest is the process by which the systems in the body regulates its internal environment. Homeostasis is the attempt from the human body to maintain a constant and stable internal environment, and in order to do so it needs a constant monitoring and adjustments as a condition changes. Homeostasis is very important because processes like osmosis or diffusion needs a stable and controlled environment, in order to be successful, whereas is the wrong condition of the internal environment, even a simple process can go wrong (My Tutor, 2017). The human body relies on a series of negative feedbacks, in order to adjust, limit fluctuations, and maintain a good internal environment. Negative feedback is the action of reversing the direction of a change, with the intent of maintaining stability, reason why it’s used in homeostasis. An example of negative feedback occurs in thermoregulation. When the temperature of the body increases, the skin receptors senses the change, together with the hypothalamus, and trigger a command from the brain. This command will correct the change, by telling the sweat glands to decrease the body temperature level by sweating. This adjustment made by each single system constantly, it’s called homeostasis regulation. This regulation is mainly formed by three mechanism: receptor, control centre, and effector. The receptor senses the change in the environment, whereas the control centre process the information received by the receptor. Finally the effector carries out the information received from the control centre, by decreasing or increasing the stimulus. In the example of the thermoregulation in the human body, the temperature receptors in the skin are the receptors, the hypothalamus and the brain in general are the control centre, and the blood vessels together with the sweat gland are the effectors.

Homeostasis is the process in which all the systems in the human body, even seemingly unrelated, work together to maintain balance, stability, and a good internal environment. The circulatory system, is a good example of how the systems work together for constantly. The hearth in the circulatory system, pumps blood through the blood vessels to the entire body, delivering nutrient collected from the digestive system, oxygen from collected the respiratory system, and hormones collected from the endocrine system. Seemingly it collects the waste products produced by each single cell of the body, and deliver it to the exocrine system or the excretory system. The brain and the nervous system constantly receive fresh oxygen from the circulatory system, and in exchange they make the hearth beat, regulate the heath rate, and the blood pressure. The respiratory system relay on the blood vessels to collect and deliver the oxygen inhaled, meanwhile the muscles of the hearth relay on the lungs to provide oxygen in order to function. The excretory system is expected to remove the waste product from the body, that’s why it’s constantly provided with oxygen-rich blood (Revere Health, 2016).

Works Cited

1. British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). (2011). Homeostasis. BBC Science and Nature. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/body/factfiles/homeostasis/homeostasis.shtml
2. My Tutor. (2017). Homeostasis. My Tutor Blog. Retrieved from https://www.mytutor.co.uk/blog/gcse/biology/what-is-homeostasis/
3. Revere Health. (2016). How the body systems work together. Revere Health. Retrieved from https://reverehealth.com/live-better/how-the-body-systems-work-together/
4. Saladin, K. S. (2018). Anatomy & Physiology: The Unity of Form and Function (8th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.
5. Tortora, G. J., Derrickson, B. H., & Derrickson, K. (2020). Principles of Anatomy and Physiology (15th ed.). Wiley.
6. Marieb, E. N., & Hoehn, K. (2022). Human Anatomy & Physiology (11th ed.). Pearson.
7. McKinley, M. P., O'Loughlin, V. D., & Bidle, T. S. (2020). Anatomy & Physiology: An Integrative Approach (3rd ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.
8. Sherwood, L. (2020). Human Physiology: From Cells to Systems (10th ed.). Cengage Learning.
9. Patton, K. T., & Thibodeau, G. A. (2019). Anatomy & Physiology (10th ed.). Elsevier.
10. Hole, J. W. (2021). Human Anatomy & Physiology (16th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.

Table of contents

1. Understanding Bipolar Disorder
2. Social Indicator
3. Conclusion

Mood is the changing expression of emotion and can be described as a spectrum describing how the various expressions of human happiness and sadness may be experienced. The outermost ends of this spectrum highlight two states, the lowest low, melancholia, and the highest high, mania. These mood extremes have been studied and documented repeatedly in human history, it was first studied and described by Hippocrates. Nineteenth century contemporaries Falret and Baillarger described two forms of an extreme mood disorder, with the validity and accuracy of both debated. Regardless, the concept of a cycling mood disease was highly discussed and the concept was accepted before the end of the 19th century. Kraepelin then described “manic depressive insanity” and gave a description of a full range of mood dysfunction which included single episodes of mania or depression or a complement of many episodes of each. It was this concept which was incorporated into the first DSM and carried out until DSM-III, in which the description of episodic mood dysfunction was used to build a diagnosis of bipolar disorder.

The first attempt to categorize and standardize mental illness in DSM-I (1952) classified manic-depression as a psychotic disorder, “characterized by a varying degree of personality integration and a failure to test and evaluate correctly external reality in various spheres”. “Manic depressive reaction” details symptoms of mania true to the diagnosis today, severe mood swings and a tendency to remit and recur. However, earlier psychotic features of illusions, delusions and hallucinations where also listed as possible additions to the diagnosis which are now known to be only a minor section of the wider disease. This diagnosis approaches more closely the Kraeplinian understanding of manic-depressive insanity, and the dominant mood presentation of a patient would be described using the specific type.

Three types were detailed: manic, depressed and other. The manic type details what is most similar to the modern definition of mania, “elation or irritability, with overtalkativeness, flight of ideas, and increased motor activity”, with depression only present in fleeting episodes. The depressed type resembled what is now Major Depressive Disorder, “outstanding depression of mood and with mental and motor retardation and inhibition; in some cases there is much uneasiness and apprehension. Perplexity, stupor or agitation may be prominent symptoms”. It is only in the other type in which mixed states or cycling is characterized as a feature, “marked mixtures of the cardinal manifestations of the above two phases (mixed type), or those cases where continuous alternation of the two phases occur (circular type)”. These classifications allow for cases which do not easily fit into a primary manic or primary depressive description to be typed; however, the modern understanding of bipolar with a primary characteristic of cycling between mania and depression is not a fundamental component of the major disorder. In addition, the mixed state is mentioned but again was not fully characterized.

Understanding Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorders are characterized by an unpredictable behavior, resulting in depressive, hypomanic or manic episodes alternating with span of normal states. A multi-parametric approach can be followed to diagnose mood states by analyzing information coming from different physiological signals and from the changes in voice and behavior

Bipolar disorder is a mood disorder that presents with symptoms of cycling between periods of extreme excitement (mania) and sadness; it is hereditary and often linked to brain injury. Between one and two percent of all Australians suffer from bipolar disorder, although in many the symptoms are mild and have limited impact on functioning (Mitchell, 2013; Kulkarni et al., 2012). For those with severe cases, symptoms can impact all major life areas, including work, school, and interpersonal and community relationships.

The three subcategories are organized by increasing severity of bipolar disorder. The first subcategory is Bipolar 1 Disorder. The main symptom of Bipolar I Disorder is an increase in manic mood swings which generally affects daily activities such as work, school, or family. Manic mood swings commonly cause effects such as extreme optimism, aggressive behavior, agitation/irritation, loss of sleep, abuse of drugs/alcohol, or delusion. The second category is Bipolar II Disorder. In this subcategory, people endure depressive mood swings including emotions of sadness, anger, happiness, anxiety, guilt, irritability, and suicidal thoughts. The final subcategory of bipolar disorder is Cylothymia which is the least severe form of bipolar disorder, but does include highs and lows of depression. Other symptoms of bipolar disorder include mood swings over a period of a few years, days, or hours varying on season change, as well as psychosis (hallucinations/delusions).

Symptoms of the disease are behavioral, with limited and disputed indications of change of brain activity during certain mood episodes. Bullock, Murray and Meyer (2017), in a study of the effects of environmental factors on bipolar mood episodes, found that few clear physiological tests exist. Further, there are not consistent environmental factors beyond a slight correlation with increased environment temperature that would predict when mood changes might occur. Periods of extreme mood can last anywhere from a few hours to weeks at a time, making differentiation between symptoms and the patient’s normal functioning even more difficult, particularly in early stages of the disease.

In this disease as observed, there is no fixed pattern for the dramatic episodes of elevated and low moods. Someone may feel the same mood (depressed or manic) several times before changing to the opposite mood for an extended period of time. How serious it becomes varies from individual to individual and with time it can also alter, becoming more or less serious.

Symptoms of mania ('the highs'):

• Excessive happiness, hope, and excitement
• Sudden shift from being joyful to being irritable, angry, and hostile
• Restlessness
• Rapid speech and poor concentration
• Increased energy and less need for sleep
• Unusually high sex drive
• Making grand and unrealistic plans
• Showing poor judgment
• Drug and alcohol abuse
• Becoming more impulsive.

During depressive periods ('the lows'), a person with bipolar disorder may have:

• Sadness
• Loss of energy
• Feelings of hopelessness or worthlessness
• Not enjoying things they once liked
• Trouble concentrating
• Uncontrollable crying
• Trouble making decisions
• Irritability
• Needing more sleep
• Insomnia
• Appetite changes that make them loose or gain weight
• Thoughts of death or suicide
• Attempting suicide.
• Psychological indicator

People with bipolar disorder may also have another health to treat along with bipolar disorder. Some circumstances can render symptoms of bipolar disorder worse or less effective in therapy. Examples include the following:

• Anxiety disorders
• Eating disorders
• Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
• Alcohol or drug abuse
• Physical health problems, such as heart disease, thyroid problems, headaches or obesity.

Researchers have noted that in the households of those with bipolar disorders mood, anxiety and psychotic disorders happen more frequently than in the general population. Studies of identical twins, which all share the same genes, show that variables other than genes, such as extremely stressful events, also play a part in precipitating bipolar disorder.

Research into cognitive styles suggests evidence for unstable self-esteem and elevated positive self-appraisal in BD. Prospectively, low explicit self-esteem appears to predict increased risk of both mania and depression in individuals diagnosed with BD. We have also observed low and unstable explicit self-esteem in teenage offspring of bipolar parents. Although these phenomena seem to be specifically associated with the presence of depressive symptoms, there is some evidence that manic symptoms in high-risk teenagers are associated with low implicit self-esteem.

It was discovered through observation that patients with bipolar disorder have trouble coping and become suicidal. Suicide in a depressive or mixed episode is more probable to happen.

1. Illicit drugs such as cocaine, “designer drugs” such as Ecstasy and amphetamines.
2. Excessive doses of certain over-the-counter drugs, including appetite suppressants and cold preparations.
3. Non-psychiatric medications, such as medicine for thyroid problems and corticosteroids like prednisone.
4. Excessive caffeine (moderate amounts of caffeine are fine).

If a person is vulnerable to bipolar disorder, stress, frequent use of stimulants or alcohol, and lack of sleep may prompt onset of the disorder. Certain medications also may set off a depressive or manic episode.

Social Indicator

Bipolar disorder develops usually when people are in late adolescence or young adulthood. It has been observed that bipolar disorder can happen earlier in childhood but the chances are low. Bipolar disorder can run in families.

Men and women are equally likely to get it.. Women are more probable to go through 'rapid cycling,' than males, which has four or more separate episodes of mood within a year. Women also tend to spend more time depressed than men with bipolar disorder. Reports show that individuals with bipolar disorder often experience overall poor quality of life and life functioning. We also found that females had lower quality of life than males. Patients who were married, living as married, divorced, or separated had worse functional impairment compared with patients who were single or never married.

Social disadvantage was significantly associated with worse functioning and symptoms, but unexpectedly only marginally associated with quality of life. The multivariate models suggested that depression and irritability together were the strongest indicators of poor quality of life and functioning in individuals with bipolar disorder. Consistent with prior studies patients with greater clinical severity (i.e., total, depression, anxiety, irritability) had lower quality of life, patients with greater manic severity reported marginally better quality of life. No association was found between manic severity and functioning, consistent with the literature, and mania was not associated with social disadvantage.

Many people with the condition abuse alcohol or other drugs when manic or depressed. People with bipolar disorder are more likely to have seasonal depression, co-existing anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Biological approach towards bipolar disorder explain the impact and roots of the disorder “The biological approach looks for its roots of mental disorder in the brain’s circuitry”.

The present observation is that this is a predominantly neurobiological disease that arises in a particular portion of the brain and is caused by a malfunction of certain brain chemicals (which happens in both the brain and body). In — serotonin, dopamine, and noradrenaline — three particular brain chemicals were attracted. It can be predisposed and activated unexpectedly as a neurobiological illness or it can be caused by stressors in life.

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Conclusion

This essay have explored bipolar disorder, its characterization, categories, symptoms, and major indicators. Bipolar disorder is mainly a biological disease occurring in a particular brain region owing to the dysfunction in the brain of certain neurotransmitters or chemical messengers. Neurotransmitters such as norepinephrine, serotonin, and likely many others may be involved in these chemicals. It may lie dormant and be activated on its own as a biological disease, or it may be caused by external variables such as psychological stress and social conditions.

Table of contents

1. The Birdwatchers
2. Proper Etiquette
3. Works Cited

Bird watching as a hobby has long been contested by the birders, saying that the two are not in any way the same. While birdwatchers do such as part of an activity during recreation, birders are into it with intense dedication. The Birders May it be in the UK or in the United States, birders say that what they are doing is far from just a pastime or a relaxation thing. For them, they do such to study not only the species of birds but also their patterns. They don’t base their analogies on mere observation and they invest on the latest optical equipments to strengthen their claims. Instead of going where the birdwatchers usually go, the birders are always on the lookout for new and unexplored sites, hoping to find more information. They would even allot a budget for travel, however far it will take them, just to expand their knowledge and to discern a lot more about the subject that they are most interested about, birds.

The Birdwatchers

These people go about bird watching by only observing with their eyes. They may also opt for binoculars but aren’t really focusing on the technology. They wouldn’t care if their apparels are not the latest in the market, they can even go about without those gadgets. What’s important is that they get a sense of fulfillment from what they are doing, they get to relax, see the birds and enjoy the sights.

The birdwatchers couldn’t care less where they do their stuff. They would even do it on their own backyards or just go to nature reserves nearest to them. If they happen to be on vacation, they can do it wherever they are, whenever they please to do it. These people has the love for the birds but don’t really want to take that feeling further by going the scientific route, because by doing so, they might miss out the fun that they intend to have.

Bird watching on regions that have temperate weather are most active in the spring and fall migrations. During such time, the widest array of birds could be seen as these birds relocate northbound or southbound in trying to find nesting sites. For the hobbyists and professionals, it is advisable to do the act in the early morning where the birds are looking for food. This way, observation can be done at a lengthier time and you can see them easily while they are onto their task.

This type of bird watching is for people who would go near coastal areas to find watch points like the headland to be able to see the birds flying over to the sea. The birds that can be observed from such are called the pelagic kinds. The pelagic species of birds can also be observed when one is aboard a seagoing vessel.

Proper Etiquette

Whether you’re a birder or a birdwatcher, you should always look out for the wellbeing of the birds and also have some positive notes on what you are doing. You can lead the way to promote cleanliness of the environment so that the natural habitat for this kind wouldn’t be harmed. Also, you should be vigilant about the latest technology when you use them as part of the activity, that it won’t affect the birds in a negative manner. Bird watching may just be a hobby but one that must be done with passion and concern about the birds and their welfare.

Works Cited

1. Chandler, R. (2019). Birding Without Borders: An Obsession, a Quest, and the Biggest Year in the World. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
2. Sibley, D. A. (2009). The Sibley Guide to Birds (2nd ed.). Knopf.
3. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. (n.d.). All About Birds. Retrieved from https://www.allaboutbirds.org/
4. American Birding Association. (n.d.). About Us. Retrieved from https://www.aba.org/about-us/
5. British Trust for Ornithology. (n.d.). BirdTrack: Bird Recording Made Easy. Retrieved from https://www.bto.org/our-science/projects/birdtrack
6. National Audubon Society. (n.d.). Birding Basics. Retrieved from https://www.audubon.org/birding/birding-basics
7. Kaufman, K. (2018). Kaufman Field Guide to Birds of North America (1st ed.). Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
8. Dunn, J. L., & Alderfer, J. (2011). National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America (6th ed.). National Geographic Society.
9. Peterson, R. T., & Peterson, V. M. (2008). Peterson Field Guide to Birds of Eastern and Central North America (6th ed.). Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
10. Proctor, N. S., & Lynch, P. J. (2013). Manual of Ornithology: Avian Structure and Function. Yale University Press.