Language :: Communication, Māori Language

The three key ideas that I have explored during my on-line and discussions are: firstly the importance of maintaining of Te reo MÄ ori in New Zealand. Secondly, the role of teachers in maintaining Te Reo MÄ ori in centres and finally I realised the need to acquire second language. Fishman (1996) point out that to lose a language means to lose a culture. Base on this point, I strongly agree that regeneration and maintenance of MÄ ori language is the most imperative action that we should take. Te Kohanga Reo was developed in response to MÄ ori concern ensuring the continuing survival of the Maori language. The DVD expressed that "all kohanga's reflects kaupapa of MÄ ori regeneration" (Te Rere a Te Amokura, 2003). One particular kohanga reo is Te Kohanga Reo o Te Amokura, which provides the opportunities of regeneration and maintenance of the MÄ ori language to tamariki through daily routines Hence teachers have a hugely role in incorporating Te Reo into our centres as much as possible. Teachers can support MÄ ori language through prayer, greeting, storytelling and singing, exercises (Te Rere a Te Amokura, 2003). In order for it to be effective though, I think it needs to be carried on outside of the centres, like it mentioned in the DVD (Te Rere a Te Amokura, 2003). The children's whÄ nau needs to be on board and understand the importance of it to really make an impact. Moreover, Aneta in the lecture mentioned that revitalising language involves regenerating bonds between families and communities. Te WhÄ riki (1996) states children should experience an environment where: connecting links with the family and the wider world are affirmed and extended (p. 54). Furthermore I realize the need for children acquire a second language .New Zealand is a multicultural country. To put this into perspective we can also look at the proportion of people talking in some other second languages in New Zealand. May (2005) points out that the 2001 Census indicates that there are now over 100,000 speakers of Pasifika language. The vast majority of who are Samoan speakers (81,033). This means that Samoan is officially the third largest language group in New Zealand behind English (3,425,301) and MÄ ori (160,527) (p. 369). These ideas have shifted my thinking. As MÄ ori is the indigenous language of this country only. This is quite different to me as Indian because Fiji is a country where we could keep its language and culture, so if the new generations of Indian forgo their culture in New Zealand that does not mean Indian have lost their culture in the world.

Forty Studies That Changed Psychology Essay

Something important in psychology is to differentiate between what is considered normal and abnormal. Psychologists need to do this to decide what to diagnose as a mental illness, and the treatment for this mental illness. Unfortunately, for everyone involved, it is not always easy to discern between what is normal behavior, sometimes called effective psychological functioning, and abnormal behavior, which could possibly be the result of a psychological disorder. To help determine between, psychologists use a few decisive factors. This includes the context in which someone observes the behavior. In relation to context, it means that the situation matters because in one situation a behavior may be normal, but not necessarily in all situations. Another factor is the persistence of the behavior or how often, over time, the behavior continues or occurs. How far, from the accepted social norm, the behavior deviates is also an important factor. Whether or not someone is aware of his or her own psychological difficulties is subjective distress. This subjective distress is often a great help to mental health professionals in making a psychological diagnosis. When a person finds it impossible to be satisfied with life due to psychological problems, this is considered a psychological handicap. Effect on functioning could be considered the bottom line in psychological diagnosis: the extent to which the behaviors in question interfere with a person’s ability to live the life that he or she desires and that society will accept. These â€Å"symptoms† and characteristics of mental illness all involve judgments on the part of psychologists, psychiatrists, and others. So these mental health professionals still need to answer to important questions. Are mental health professionals truly able to distinguish between the mentally ill and the mentally healthy? In addition, what are the consequences of mistakes? These are the questions addressed by David Rosenhan in his study. Rosenhan questioned whether the characteristics that lead to psychological diagnoses reside in the patients themselves or in the in which the people diagnosing find the patients. He reasoned that if the training mental health professionals have received for diagnosing mental illness are adequate, then those professionals should be able to distinguish correctly. Rosenhan proposed that one way to test mental health professionals’ ability to correctly categorize would be to admit normal people to psychiatric facilities to see if they would be categorized as healthy. If these â€Å"pseudo patients† behaved in the hospital as they would on the outside, and if they were not discovered to be healthy/normal, this would be evidence that diagnoses of the mentally ill are tied more to the situation than to the patient. Rosenhan recruited eight subjects to serve as pseudo patients. The subjects’ mission was to try to be admitted to twelve different psychological hospitals. All of the pseudo patients followed the same instructions. They called the hospital and made an appointment. Upon arrival at the hospital, they complained of hearing voices that said specific things. Other than this one thing, all subjects acted completely normal and gave very truthful information to the interviewer other than personal information. All the subjects were admitted to the various hospitals, and all but one was admitted with a diagnosis of â€Å"schizophrenia. Once inside the hospital, the pseudo patients simply behaved normally. The subjects had no idea of when they would be allowed to leave the hospital. It was up to them to gain their release by convincing the hospital staff that they were healthy enough to be discharged. All of the subjects took notes of their experiences. At first, they tried to conceal this activity, but soon it was clear to all that this secrecy was unnecessary, since this was seen as just another symptom of their illness. They all wanted to be released as soon as possible, so they behaved as model patients, cooperating with the staff and accepting all medications (which were not swallowed, but flushed down the toilet). The key finding in this study was that not one of the pseudo patients was detected by anyone on the hospital staff. When they were released, their mental health status was recorded in their files as â€Å"schizophrenia in remission. † There were other interesting findings and observations. While the hospital’s staff of doctors, nurses, and attendants failed to detect the subjects, the other patients could not be so easily fooled. Contacts between the patients and the staff were minimal and often bizarre. One of the tests made by the pseudo patients in the study was to approach various staff members and attempt to make verbal contact by asking common, normal questions. Rosenhan’s study demonstrated that normal people cannot be distinguished from the mentally ill in a hospital setting. According to Rosenhan, this is because of the overwhelming influence of the psychiatric hospital setting on the staff’s judgment of the individual’s behavior. Once patients are admitted to such a facility, there is a strong tendency for them to be viewed in ways that remove all individuality. The attitude created is that if they are there, then they must be crazy. More important is what Rosenhan refers to as the stickiness of the label. That is, when a patient is labeled as schizophrenic, it becomes his or her central characteristic or personality trait. From the moment, the label is given and the staff knows it, they perceive all of the patient’s behavior as stemming from that label. The hospital staff tended to ignore the situational pressures on patients and saw only the behavior relevant to the pathological traits assigned to the patients. Remember that all the subjects gave honest accounts of their pasts and families. The results pointed out two crucial factors. First, it appeared that the sane could not be distinguished from the insane in mental hospital settings. Second, Rosenhan demonstrated the danger of diagnostic labels. Once a person is labeled as, having a certain psychological condition that label overcomes all of his or her other characteristics. The worst part of this sort of treatment is that it can become self-confirming. That is, if a person is treated in a certain way consistently over time, he or she may begin to behave that way. Out of Rosenhan’s work grew greater care in diagnostic procedures and increased awareness of the dangers of applying labels to patients.

Is Leni Riefenstahl guilty or not guilty Free Essay Example, 2000 words

â€Å"Un-German† art was that which was pure art and had nothing to do with the â€Å"good† of the Nazi ideologies and Germany as a whole. The power to control artists was handed to him by the March 1933 Enabling Act, and through it, he could enforce whatever Nazi ideologies he wished into the artists’ world, whether it was painting, drawing, dancing, performing arts, or architecture. In his abuse of the Act, Hitler directed that artists were to be â€Å"politically reliable†. This elaborated, Hitler meant that all art should praise him, and if one failed to apply this in their art, they would be denied the right to conduct their activities in Nazi Germany. This twist of events expelled many artists from Germany, but Leni Riefenstahl did not seem affected. The lives of artists were further made worse when Hitler displayed what he termed as â€Å"degenerate art†, which was a display set up in Munich in 1936 to act as a guide of telling artists what was acceptable and what was rejected. In concealing his agenda, Hitler hosted hundreds of art competitions and offered cash prizes to those who presented works with strong Nazi and German ideologies. Leni Riefenstahl was not spared either. We will write a custom essay sample on Is Leni Riefenstahl guilty or not guilty or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now Rather, Hitler tried to keep her as a friend of his Nazi party because he liked her way of applying aesthetics in film to direct motion pictures. His idea was to use her unique abilities of reaching the audience to spread his rule all over Germany and the world. Her tools of work included cameras and motion picture video captures unique in that she used to track rails and cranes to get amazing shots which were unique at that time. Amongst her first works for the Nazi regime was the Victory of Faith film, which she shot at a party rally in Nuremberg. Her work impressed Hitler, who offered her a large reward which she was hesitant in taking. She, however accepted his offer of providing her with full license to run her motion pictures and unlimited resources to foster her work. It is unclear whether the offers were responsible for her success which followed such as the shooting of Olympia which captured the Berlin Summer Olympic Games of 1936 which ear ned her several awards and global recognition3. However, her later relationships with the Nazi party were not as she expected, especially after witnessing the brutality and attacks of the British troops whom she accompanied at times. She was as confident as to approach Hitler and request him to end the brutality of his army, and from there, her association with the Nazis began fading.