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Hormones and Learning and Memory
Running Head: HORMONES AND LEARNING AND MEMORY
Hormones and Learning and Memory
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Hormones and cognitive enhancement:
Cognitive enhancement involves enhancement of the mind capacity for various cognitive functions such as reasoning speed and memory capacity. Hormones can have a profound impact on the cognitive performance of an individual since they can have a profound impact on the neural plasticity. Moreover, sex differences between men and females indicate may result into differences in cognitive capabilities between the two sexes. Research has been done on the impact of hormones on the neural plasticity as well as sex differences that result into differences in the cognitive capabilities between men and women. This essay reviews how hormones influence neural plasticity and the cognitive enhancement of an individual. Moreover, the article reviews the differences between males and females that result into differences in cognitive functions.
How hormones influence neural plasticity:
Cognitive enhancement involves extension of the mind capacity, accomplished through improvement of various internal and external systems of perceiving and processing information (Bostron and Sandberg, 2009). Cognitive enhancement does not relate to the speed of cognitive capacities but pertains to the benefits resulting from a cognitive enhancement intervention (Bostron and Sandberg, 2009). As such, a cognitive enhanced person is one who, through cognitive enhancement intervention, has improved his cognitive performance. Neural plasticity involves the ability of the neural system to change or switch between activities functionally and in the organization. Neural plasticity has a profound impact on the cognitive enhancement of an individual. For instance, increased neural plasticity results into enhanced cognitive ability.
Neural plasticity can be affected by various factors, among them being education, training and hormones. Moreover, hormones have a profound impact on neural plasticity and the cognitive enhancement of an individual. Various researchers have found a relation between cognitive Oestradial hormone and cognitive enhancement. According to Luine (2008), Oestradial hormone has several effects on the brain those affect the neural plasticity of the brain. In other researches, progesterone and Testerone hormones are associated to neural plasticity, suggesting that the hormones act on neurons, improving the neural plasticity of the brain and thus enhancing the cognitive performance of the brain (Luine, 2008).
Sex differences between males and females that provide evidence of the hormonal and neural correlates of cognitive function
Research suggests that males and females behave differently on various cognitive functions. Various studies indicate that females produce better results compared to males on matters concerning verbal abilities, reasoning speed and memory capacity (Davies and Wilkinson, 2006). On the other hand, studies indicate that males outdo females on matters concerning mental rotation and mathematical tasks (Davies and Wilkinson, 2006).
The hormone Testerone has been associated with the cognitive difference between males and females. This is a steroid hormone that is secreted by males from the testes and females from the ovaries. Studies indicate that males produce more Testerone hormone compared to female, resulting to the difference in the cognitive abilities between males and females (Bell et al, 2005).
In the brain, Testerone affects various cognitive functions such as attention, memory and the spatial ability of an individual. According to Nugent et al. (2005), males usually produce higher levels of Testerone compared to women that explains the difference between the two sexes on memory capacity. According to Bell et al. (2005), men usually have larger brains compared to women, and that explains why men and females exhibit different cognitive capacities.
From the article, it is evident that the hormonal differences between males and females produce varying cognitive capabilities. For instance, women exhibit enhanced reasoning speed and verbal capabilities compared to men. On the other hand, men exhibit improved memory capacities compared to women. These differences are usually caused by hormonal differences between men and women. For instance, research indicates that males produce more Testerone compared to females, explaining the differences between cognitive functions between the two sexes.
References
Bell, E, Willson, M, Wilman, A, Dave, S & Silverstone, P. (2005). Males and Females Differ in
Brain Activation During Cognitive tasks. Alberta, Canada: Elsevier Inc.
Bostrom, A & Sandberg, A, (2006). Cognitive Enhancement: Methods, Ethics, Regulatory
Challenges. Springer Science + Business Media.
Davies, W & Wilkinson, L. (2006). It is not all Hormones: alternative Explanations for sexual
Differentiation of the Brain. UK: Elsevier.
Luine, V. (2008). Sex Steroid and Cognitive Function. Journal of Neuroendoclinology.
Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 20 (6).
Nugent, A, Bain, E, Thayer, J, Sollers, J & Drevets, C. (2005). Sex Differences in the Neural
Correlates of Autonomic Arousals. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 80 (3).
United States of America.
Hope Charity Event project
Hope Charity Event project
Project Outline:
Project Title: Hope
Project Justification: This project has the potential to help raise additional funds for the Rainbow Trust Children’s Charity for the purpose of helping them to increase the level of support they provide families with terminally ill children. This unique charity helps all those who are being affected by an illness across the UK, and require donations from the general public to continue supporting more families in the coming weeks, months and years.
Project Scope: This project will consist of the planning, development and running of an event in the aim of raising funds for the chosen charity. The project planning and development stages are to be carried out from October 2012 in the light of launching the event in February/March 2013, all depending on the chosen location. Areas of the event will include an Arts Exhibition, as well as music and dance performances from a range of individuals.
Project Deliverables: The project will be focused around the sale of art work created by our clients, in which several artists will be creating art based around the chosen charity. Other participants including musicians and dancers will be a form of entertainment for the customers to enjoy, but will not be the main source of income for this project. Throughout the project, the following materials will be delivered in order to successfully manage the overall project.
Progress Reports
Planning and Development Schedule
Weekly Meeting Notes
Final Event Report
Project Success: The project success will be measured through the amount of funds raised. Any profit made will be seen as a success.
Constraints: The constraints of this project are determined by the work of project members.
The successful and timely completion of project tasks in accordance with the project requirements.
Budget allocation is essential to the success of this project and may require further fundraising and or sponsorship to help fund the project.
Suitable location for the event to be undertaken in which can cater for all project requirements.
Business Case:
Project Rationale: The aim of this project is to organise a fun and enjoyable event that will raise funds for the chosen charity in order to help finance the support families require whose children are suffering from terminal illnesses. The location being suggested for this event is situated in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, which is on the boarder of North London. Communication with the necessary organisation is currently being undertaken and updates will be provided within regular progress reports. The project will be undertaken by five business management students from the University of Bedfordshire, some of whom have previous experience in organising and running charity events.
Rainbow Trust Children’s Charity require the ongoing support from the general public in order to be able to continuously provide support to the children and families who are affected by a terminal illness. Without donations from such projects, the charity would be unable to provide the level of support necessary, resulting in fewer families gaining the crucial care they so badly need. The benefits of supporting this charity is the ongoing support they can provide to many families across the United Kingdom, making those lives of those suffering that little bit easier and the continuing connections between charity and family.
Project Objectives:
To determine a suitable event in which can raise sufficient funds for the chosen charity.
To come up with the right amount of money needed for the project
To identify the right people to fund the project
To lobby for funds from well wishers
To prove to the people that the project is for charity
Chosen Project and Alternative Options: Upon initial discussions a number of event ideas were mentioned, in which the project discussed. The project chosen is based around art, which will involve an Arts Exhibition alongside performances from musicians and dancers. This event was selected by the project group due to its feasibility, customer base and the level of donations that can be achieved.
Alternative options suggested in the preliminary stages were a football tournament, an Arts Exhibition, a music show and finally a dance show. Through discussion with project members, it was agreed that a football tournament would raise very little funds due to the limit of people who are able to get involved. Furthermore, it was felt that this sort of event was too common and wouldn’t be enjoyable for all members of the team. However the other three suggestions were liked by the group but again, it was believed that none of these suggestions would raise sufficient funds for the chosen charity if they were to be run individually. The team therefore decided to combine the three ideas of art, music and dance to form one event.
Benefits of Project: The benefits of running such an event is firstly that certain team members have organised and run similar events in the past, some of which were for charity. This will provide the project with an understanding of what is required and group members can use their experiences to ensure certain issues are avoided where possible. Secondly, there are a great number of talented artists, musicians and dancers out there today that enjoy participating in such events. Participants will be carefully selected and this will be measured by previous experiences individuals have had and the passion they have for what they do in order to ensure we get participants whose talents will help to raise funds for the charity.
Thirdly, the project will be useful in appealing to the people that this organization is solely for charity, but not profit oriented as it has been claimed. Many people have organized for such events in order to benefit. Therefore, such an opportunity will be used to inform the general public on the nature of this project. This will help in creating a good image of this project particularly to the surrounding community which is expected to benefit most.
Constraints: This project comes with some constraints that will need to be managed effectively and action taken when necessary. The constraints that are currently apparent that will or may affect the project are;
Location: Currently this project is planned to take place in Hertfordshire, near North London. Some team members may not be able to get to the location, but currently all team members have stated they are happy with the selection and do not have any issues at this point in time.
Budget: Due to the desired location for this project, the budget may become an issue as the cost of the venue could potentially be higher than the initial funding. Fundraising prior to the event may be undertaken as well as the likelihood of looking to gain sponsorship.
Dependencies: This project is dependent on a variety of activities being completed to schedule in order for other activities to be undertaken on time. Such activities are dependent on one another due to the project structure so all team members must ensure they are carrying out their roles accurately and timely so that no area of the project is delayed.
Besides, there should be a proper organization of this project. The role of each and every person should be clearly stated. No one is expected to assume the role of leadership. All the people will be delegated duties based on their expertise, experience and interest. This will help to eliminate any misunderstanding which may confuse them. Hence, the project will run smoothly.
Risks: There are risks associated with a project like this, in which the project team must continuously keep in mind and ensure a contingency plan is in place that will enable action to be taken instantly if and when necessary. The risks that are currently apparent include;
Under Budget: The funds provided by the project board may be insufficient in which the project will require further funding. This will be down to the project team to raise.
Overambitious plans: the planners for this project may set unrealistic plans that may be difficult to accomplish. This will put an unnecessary pressure on the concerned parties.
Poor coordination: there may be uncooperative operations during the implementation of this project. This is true since its success is solely dependent on the commitments of the organizers.
Budget Estimates:
Due to the nature of this event, the required budget is essential to the success of the project. The key cost for this project is in terms of the project venue which could potentially reach a total of around£300.Although this will not be funded completely by the project board, Hope will look to hold fundraising events prior to the actual event to raise the required funds. Furthermore, sponsorship will be a focus of the project team, in order to raise these additional finances.
Another cost that will be incurred by the project team is that of refreshments for the event. This will be a low cost and may therefore be paid for by the project team rather than out of the allocated funds provided. However, it may be that a company would be willing to donate a variety of refreshments as a form of sponsorship. This cost is likely to be around the £30 mark if required to pay.
The projected budget currently for this event is roughly £330 but this cannot be confirmed until the venue has been agreed. Finance requirements are being kept to a minimum although the venue will be our major cost for this project.
Project Team:
The project team is consisted of five Business Management students, some of whom have previously organised and run charity events. Project Manager for this event is Sam Antrobus who arranges and conducts all meetings and ensures activities are completed to schedule. He is seen as the co-ordinator of the group as he delegates tasks effectively to the team, has a vision for the projects goals and is confident in what he does. Sam is also seen as a resource investigator, alongside his colleague Scott Shipway. Both team members are able to develop contacts and explore a range of opportunities. Scott is an outgoing and enthusiastic individual who has the potential to make the most of key opportunities.
Gemma Punnett is seen as a monitor evaluator as well as a team worker within the group. Her work style enables her to view all available options resulting in accurately judging the potential outcomes and therefore enabling her to make key decisions. Her teamwork skills allow her to effectively co-operate with her peers in which she listens to the team’s opinions and ideas and avoids any form of friction within the group.
Sameer Mansour is seen as a team worker as he listens to group ideas and looks at ways in which those ideas can be put into actions. He co-operates well with his peers and avoids any confrontation with his team members. With a bit of assistance from his team members he has the potential to become a shaper within the group has he is driven to overcome any situations that may obscure the project and has the ability to work within a challenging environment.
The final project team member is Bader Alghusn, who is a strong team-worker and also seen as the plant of the group. His creativeness and free-thinking enables him to generate ideas within the group and make suggestions that the group an act upon. His co-operation and listen skills make him a good team-worker and can help with the day to day organisation of this project.
Lessons Learned:
From previous events run by several members of the project team it is clear that a clear structure is required for the success of this event. If activities are not completed to schedule then it will make it difficult for the event to succeed. Furthermore, a strong relationship needs to be built and developed with the venue provider throughout the event process. Their expertise will be essential to this project so a strong level of communication will be vital. It is important not to over compliment things when planning this event as it will only cause problems further down the line.
Milestone Plan (Leading up to Christmas Period)
There are a number of milestones throughout this project that need to be met to schedule at all times. Leading up to the Christmas period (weeks 8 to 11) there are a number of milestones that must be met. The table below shows this and who is responsible for certain areas. Further milestones will be created during this time for the next stage of the project.
Task Week 8 Week 9 Week 10 Week 11 Person/s Responsible
Detailed Business Case Reasons Key Milestones, Expected Benefits, Risk Assessment Sam Antrobus & Gemma Punnett
Stakeholder/Communications Strategy Project Team & Project Board Clients & Consumers Suppliers Scott Shipway & Sameer Mansour
Project Plan for Delivery/Execution Activities & Time Management Assign Activites Scott Shipway & Gemma Punnett
Venue Agreement Contact Venue Contract Agreement Sam Antrobus
Project Log Update Update Update Update Sam Antrobus
Risk Register TBC TBC TBC TBC Sameer Mansour & Bader Alghusn
Quality Register TBC TBC TBC TBC Bader Alghusn & Sameer Mansour
Charity Agreement Undertake Discussion Update Report Confirm Details Receive Resources Scott Shipway & Sam Antrobus
Hope and Self-Reported Recovery Plan
Hope and Self-Reported Recovery Plan
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Institution:
Date:
Recovery of any patients depends on several factors that have been proven by different scientists and psychologists. One such factor is hope that explains how a positive attitude towards life and a strong credence that recovery is a possibility, hence able to delete any negative thoughts that might come. Hope requires any patient to be able to recognize and assent that there are real problems and focusing on ability to work to solve the problem and never viewing failure as any near option (Barker, 2003). Through hope, any patient is able to focus ahead without looking at the past experiences and encouraging him or she by celebrating any achievements made in the course of recovery however small the progress is.
It is through hope that people believe that God exists and that by trusting in Him, anything is possible and therefore at times of recovery, people exercise their spiritual connections with the Almighty in order to receive healing (Barker, & Buchanan-Barker, 2010). Hope sustains people even in situations where there is a fall back from recovery. For example, when one recovers from sickness today and then the next day the situation regresses back. It is only hope that keeps one fighting knowing that situations will be better sooner than later. Hope is always perceived in the mind and thus having positive hopes is always the beginning of healing process while any despair leads to deterioration of the current state with no healing (Deegan, 2008).
Personal Recovery Plan is important for any patient to help him or her plan on how to manage the high and low moments, plans on how to manage relapse that may occur during recovery, and plans to follow dreams in life. Recovery plans may also be set to ex patient who may be suffering from depression. James was one of our clients who for a long time had a history of depression since he recovered from a mental illness three years ago but since then he has never been able to undertake his duties as he did prior to the illness. Being a husband and further of three and an employee of a multinational company, several roles which he previously played were at a standstill. James explains that following his recovery and discharge from the hospital, he found it difficult to fit in to the society again and this was the major source of his depression. He explains that to fight the stigma associated with mental illness proved to be a great challenge to him. He explains the steps he undertook to fight the stigma as one that required commitment and staying positive in all that he did. James explains that his first step involved taking responsibility as the head of his house. He played his role as a bread winner with the support of his wife and children who viewed him as a hardworking and a loving father and husband. This positive welcome from his family facilitated his healing process to a great deal. He also explained that through the healing process, he did all his favorite activities such as listening to music, and watching his favorite team play at the local premier league matches. (Jacobson & Curtis, pg. 333-341)
Framing mental illness provides an opportunity for both the patient and the nurse to consult one another and find a way of working with an aim of helping the patient recover faster. James further states that through this interaction with his nurse, he shared his personal experiences through the healing process and thus got the best psychological guidance and counseling and helped in his healing process. (Nora, & Greenley, 2011).
James also managed to manage his mental illness recovery by himself. He explains how he struggled to gain self-esteem and how it was stigmatizing to realize that at one moment he was mentally ill. (Slade, 2009). Managing mental illness involves the ability of the patient to work towards finding ways of reducing psychological stress effects that follow recovery as mental illness from a very traumatizing case. Some patients use response and symptom monitoring techniques as a way of monitoring and reducing symptoms of mental illness (Cleary, et al., 2013).
In his current state, James explains that he is 80% healed and is still finds difficulties in a few are such engaging in majority of social activities but he is always determined to improve each day. His advice to any person recovering from any trauma be it health or anyone who may become physically handicapped through accidents is that staying positive and building hope that life will go back to normal or even better if any patients works towards improving his or her health. He explains that mental illness is very traumatizing and he has managed to go through that. His parting shot is ‘with hope, anything is possible’. One can either build or destroy his or her life. (Slade, 2009).
References
Barker, P. (2003). The Tidal Model: Psychiatric colonization, recovery and the paradigm shift in mental health care. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 12, 96–102.
Barker, P., & Buchanan-Barker, P. (2010). The Tidal Model of Mental Health Recovery and Reclamation: Application in Acute Care Settings. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 31:171–180.
Cleary, M. et al. (2013). Mental health nurses’ views of recovery within an acute setting. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 22: 205–212.
Deegan, P.E. (2008). Recovery: The Lived Experience of Rehabilitation. Psychosocial Rehabilitation Journal, 11(4):11–19.
Nora, J., & Greenley, D. (2001). What Is Recovery? A Conceptual Model and Explication. Psychiatric Services, 52:482–485.
Slade, M. (2009). 100 Ways to Support Recovery: A guide for Mental Health Professionals. Rethink Recovery Series (1).
Jacobson N, Curtis L: Recovery as policy in mental health services: strategies emerging from the states. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal 23(4):333–341, 2000