Grant Wood's Family Life and How it Influenced His Work

(Left: Woman with Plants, photo credit to jondresner, Right: American Gothic, photo credit to Mark Heard) 

Everyone, no matter who we are, has experiences and relationships that influence their life. These relationships shape who we are and how we perceive others. This can be seen in Grant Wood’s painting American Gothic. The famous image depicts an older man and woman, presumed to be a couple, in front of their simple country home. The expressionless, blank faces on the couple are intriguing to man that observe this image and try to decipher its message. In her article “Grant Wood’s Family Album,” Taylor analyzes the aspects of Wood’s personal life with his family and interprets her beliefs of how these relationships influenced his artwork. Taylor brings to light many facts about Wood’s childhood and his relationships with his father, mother, and younger sister and analyzes the information and how it affected his famous piece American Gothic.

According to Park Rinard, Wood’s confidant, Maryville Wood, Grant’s father, was a very reserved and mysterious man. He took discipline very seriously as well. In the memoir “Return from Bohemia (Wood’s unfinished life story, recorded by Rinard),” Maryville saved a young Grant from a grazing bull’s pasture, and then whipped him for trespassing in the first place. Wood insisted that he didn’t mind the discipline, and that he had no harsh feelings towards his father. However, a theory by Taylor draws reference to a theory by Sigmund Freud that the the concepts of God and the devil are included in one’s feelings towards their father. Wood himself had said that “he was more of a god than a father to me,” in “Return from Bohemia.” Taylor’s theory is that Wood represents his father with a stern, expressionless face wielding a pitchfork, which is commonly associated with the devil. This theory is backed by other evidence, such as the man Wood used as the sitter for American Gothic. This man was Wood’s dentist, another man who caused Wood physical pain in his childhood (pulling several teeth and replacing them with a bridge). Taylor believes that by using his dentist as the sitter for the painting, Wood was able to revisit the pain from his father’s lashings and convey that into the painting, in the form of the pitchfork.

Wood had a closer relationship with the women in his family. His mother, Hattie, and sister, Nan, were the two members of his family who he kept contact with. After the death of his father, Wood stayed with his mother until her death. Taylor notes that Nan was the only sibling that Wood kept in touch with after they moved out of the family’s home. She was also the female sitter used for American Gothic. Despite this, the woman in the painting resembles the portrait of Hattie Wood, called Woman with Plants. The plant behind the woman in American Gothic is the same as the plant Hattie holds in Woman with Plants. Wood also shows Nan in the same dress wearing the same brooch as Hattie wears in Woman with Plants.

Though hard to see, the plant behind and to the left of the woman in American Gothic is the same as the one in Woman with Plants. Also, the woman wears the same black dress with the same brooch. This is Wood’s way of inserting his mother’s persona into the work. Taylor believes that Wood aimed to reunite his mother and father as a couple in front of a modest Iowa home in American Gothic. As noted above, Taylor believes that Wood’s intention with American Gothic was to psychologically reunite his mother and father. However, Wood’s sister Nan stated that the painting was of a small-town man and his daughter, not the farmer and his wife most people assume the couple to represent. The painting has consistently perplexed those who have analyzed it, as there are many possible interpretations that can be made. Take the aspects of the figures in the painting, mainly the expressionless faces and blank stares, for example. Wood stated that the ancestors of his family had developed a quality similar to the Iowa prairie that they inhabited. This information leads one to believe that the figures are meant to be of Wood’s family. Personally, I agree with Taylor’s theory that Wood subconsciously conveyed an image of his father, still alive, and his mother, still young. This theory, however, contradicts what Wood’s sister says was his intention with the piece. A strong case can be made for either interpretation, but due to the information provided about Wood’s relationship with his mother and his father unexpectedly dying when Wood was just 10 years old, I believe the piece to signify Wood’s parents reunited as a couple.

To conclude, Grant Wood’s painting American Gothic has consistently been misinterpreted, due to the assumptions of the people that view the painting, and the level of ambiguity of the female figure in the painting. Wood’s personal life also adds another layer of possible interpretations to the work. His childhood life and relationship with his family add a subconscious aspect to the piece. American Gothic is a fascinating work, and one that can be interpreted differently by each viewer, making it a masterpiece.

Works Cited
Taylor, Sue. "Grant Wood's Family Album." American Art 19.2 (2005): 48-67. Art Full Text (H.W. Wilson). Web. 27 Apr. 2012.

Michelangelo's Letters

In “The Role of Letters in Biographies of Michelangelo”, Deborah Parker examines the role that Michelangelo’s letters have played in the biographies of the artist. Her examination focuses on the Renaissance Period and also the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In Michelangelo’s case, there is an exceptionally rich archive of personal letters. It is seen in this article that personal letters have grave importance in the composition of biographies. As the principal source of information on Michelangelo’s life, these letters provide considerable information on his multi-faceted character, complicated business affairs, his family trials, his anxieties, etc. As biographers seek to unveil the man that is Michelangelo, it is evident that they all have a variety of interests. The object of the study is to uncover these investments in order to show particular concerns and different social and material conditions have affected the way in which biographers used the letters. This will also uncover information about the life of Michelangelo.

In many of the Renaissance biographies, the information presented about his life is not an accurate representation of the views of Michelangelo. Vasari was one writer who admired Michelangelo but did not provide the most accurate information using the letters of Michelangelo.

During the ninteenth and twentieth centuries, more letters became avaliable although the process of retrieving them was extremely slow and fitful. The writers of this time that constructed biographies of Michelangelo were Hartford, Grimm, Gotti, Symonds, and Papini. They all wrote in the wake of positivism.

Christ Blessing: A Deeper Meaning

The Triumphant Christ

Welcome to the Anthropocene (Exhumation > Resurrection)

The Falls at Tivoli with the Temple of the Sibyl

The Skin Game

“The Starry Night,” Musings of Mortality

                               

(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ea/Van_Gogh_-_Starry_Night_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg/300px-Van_Gogh_-_Starry_Night_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg)

            Death is highly debated among many religions today.  Some religions believe in reincarnation, while others believe in the ascension to heaven or the condemnation to hell.  While many fear death, Vincent van Gogh welcomed death to the point where he took his own life.  Approximately a year before his death, Van Gogh checked himself into a mental institution because he had attacked himself twice in approximately a year.  The first act of self-mutilation is famous because Van Gogh removed his own ear.  The second attack is much less well known but led to Van Gogh’s self-admission into a mental institution.  Van Gogh’s self-mutilations and time at the mental institution indicate his declining mental state.  At his time of death, Van Gogh desired to push past human limitations such as his ailing mental health.  In “The Shower and the Sheaf: Biblical Metaphor in the Art of Vincent van Gogh,” Judy Sund argues that the darkened edge of the town and the dark Cyprus tell onlookers that “The Starry Night” displays Van Gogh’s poor state of mental health and desire for a life in which he is a superior being.

            The darkened edge of the town “suggests the limits of earthly life” (Sund).  At this point in his life, Van Gogh was contemplating his own demise and had cut off his own ear.  Van Gogh’s discontent with his bodily constraints is obviously seen in the removal of his ear.  The contrast between the brightness in the night sky and the darkness of the town make Van Gogh’s discontent apparent in his art.  The night sky remains bright as if there is hope and health beyond this world while the town below remains dark to symbolize issues with life on earth such as the declining mental and physical abilities that come with age.  This sharp contrast creates a painful feeling inside the viewer.  The depiction of the night sky and the town also contain very exaggerated brush strokes.  These exaggerated brush strokes stress the pain that exists on earth.  These overstressed brush strokes also serve to stretch the grandeur that may be experienced after death.  These exaggerations make the onlooker want to push past the dark town just as Van Gogh wanted to push past the limitations of life towards the more limitless unknown.

            The dark Cyprus is a Mediterranean memento mori.  Memento mori is Latin for remember your mortality.  The large size of the Cyprus in comparison to the rest of the painting allows the viewer to become overwhelmingly aware of his or her physical limitations.  The gigantic Cyprus forces the viewer to feel very small in a world that is very broad.  As the Cyprus pushes towards the night sky, it is clear that Van Gogh was aware of his own physical struggles and that soon they would push him towards the heavens just as the Cyprus pushes towards the great beyond.  This is validated in Van Gogh’s life since soon after checking himself into a mental hospital, Van Gogh claimed his own life.  This shows that his poor mental health eventually drove him to take his own life in the hopes of living under improved existence on the “other side.”

            Judy Sund acutely points out Vincent van Gogh’s deep emotional turmoil through observations of Van Gogh’s famous painting, “The Starry Night.”  Van Gogh’s use of exaggerated brush strokes, contrast between the dark town and the lighter night sky, and utilization of the Cyprus as a memento mori convey his longing for death to the viewers.  Van Gogh desired to become a superior being and live a better life in the after-life while he painted one of his most famous paintings that displays his deteriorating mental health.

Citations:

Sund, Judy. "The Sower And The Sheaf: Biblical Metaphor In The Art Of Vincent Van Gogh." Art Bulletin 70.(1988): 660-676. Art Full Text (H.W. Wilson). Web. 8 Apr. 2012.

           

            

Unraveling Frida Kahlo

The Art of Romare Bearden

Michelangelo's Creation of Adam

Grant Wood: Stone City and Regionalism

Vincent van Gogh, "Self-Portrait Without a Beard"

Art is Alive!

Frida Kahlo’s artwork was only considered great or noteworthy after she had died; it was not recognized until after her life was dramatized in films. Only then were others able to realize that Kahlo was no ordinary artist, she was a genuinely creative person that portrayed her life experiences through her work. “A life lived artistically and intensely becomes the outward manifestation of the creative spirit that lies within...” argues Tina Lent, author of “Life as Art/Art as Life.” Lent believes that, when heightened, the emotional nature of the female artist drives the creativity they use to make masterpieces.

In order to be recognized and respected as a successful artist, Kahlo had to be removed from the conventional stereotype of a female artist and placed into the monograph of talented male artists. A monograph is something that conceptualizes an artist based off of similarities in facades that exist between other talented artists. The monograph of male artists is that they are born with talent and predestines their own greatness – making them seem almost godlike. In contrast, the monograph of a female artist is that she must be exceptional and her talent is only achieved by diligence, not genius as their male counterparts, and a male mentor has initiated their talents or success. Only after Kahlo’s life had been dramatized by Julie Taymor’s film, Frida, did people understand the complexity of her artwork and the stories hidden within them.

Between 2000 and 2002, there was a spark of renewed interest in Kahlo’s work and her life was dramatized in seven works. By using the films as examples, the public is able to see the life of Frida Kahlo and what inspired many of her grotesque, and somewhat disturbing pieces of art. Kahlo escaped the generalizations and preconceptions of female artists, and emerged as one of the most unique, profound artist of her time, regardless of the biases that exist within the art world.

According to Lent, the film Frida “went further than the other media by portraying the fictional Frida’s life as a work of art itself and then showing how her art is a direct transcription of that life.” The movie was not the usual, lackluster biography providing us with events that occurred in her life, but instead provides an emotional insight of Kahlo’s life. The movie removes Kahlo from the traditional monographs of female artists and highlights what defines as a great artist. Kahlo was a bisexual, disabled woman of mixed race – making her an ideal contemporary choice for the film. She represents monographs of both male and female. She is hypersexual, self-taught, suffering, and exceptional, as a male artist would be. She is strongly influenced by the males in her life, so as most female artists. I think that this is what sets Kahlo apart from other female artists of her time. She was not just your typical artist, she was unique and captivating - there was no way that Kahlo’s work could go unnoticed, nor her physical being.

The film was also to capture and focus on the emotional suffering that Kahlo experienced. Marriage, Divorce, Abortion, Accidents, Remarriage, and Disease are all emotional factors of Kahlo’s life that are portrayed in her pieces of work. The focus of the film was mainly of her life, with her husband Rivera. The pain and suffering that she endured while with him, was transferred into creative – art was created out of the worst circumstances. Proof of these events can be found in many of Kahlo’s pieces of work. For example, the painting A Few Small Nips represents the pain and rage that she felt after she learned of the affair her husband had with her younger sister. These pieces of art that Kahlo created were not things that randomly came into her mind, these were real life experiences that she endured.

I think that Kahlo treated her canvas as others treat journals; art was her very own diary that she shared to the world. She used her canvas as an outlet to release her emotions and thoughts; it was a way for her to escape her tragic life. I never thought of art as a representation of life and vice versa until I read this article. It is clear to see that Tina Lent is indeed correct when she said that an interesting life becomes a “manifestation of the creative spirit.”

Source: Lent, Tina. "Life as Art/Art as Life." JPF&T - Journal of Popular Film and Television. 2007. Vol. 35 Issue 2. p 68-76.

Romare Bearden

There was a time when people were racially segregated and treated differently because their skin color was tinted a different shade. Society has become a lot more accepting to date but in the past, artists struggled with their artistic expression and identity. The famous, African-American artist, Romare Bearden used his artistic methods to express the tragedies African-Americans had to endure but he had to do so without causing controversy within the real world. In “The Art of Romare Bearden” by Ralph Ellison, he describes the difficulty that the true artist had with being an African-American and fitting into that culture as well as having their art be socially accepted from White America.

Throughout the entire article, Ralph Ellison interjects his opinion on our society. Ellison feels like the American society is imbalanced and turns a blind eye to diverse cultures. He explains that a true artist ignores the social imbalance while creating a piece of art and “dominates all the world” through their artwork (Ellison 674). A true artist is also able to reveal unseen issues. Ellison describes Romare Bearden as being the definition of a true artist.

Since Bearden evolved in a time where African-American artists were not too popular, he was forced to break through the mold and create a name for himself and his people. This is where everything became tricky. Many people in society were not accepting when it came to African-American artists and Ellison argues that these artists had a difficult time fitting in to a White America because segregation was unfortunately prevalent. Ellison describes a myth where people use to believe that African-Americans were alienated from society. There were two sides to this myth. On one side you had mainstream America where people believed that America did not include anything that had to do with African-American culture. On the other side were the African-Americans that had it engrained in their minds that society was racist and therefore they did not even try to become artists because they felt like they would be segregated against. This myth deemed true in Bearden’s mind for a long time which is why he did not evolve as an artist in the beginning.

Even though Bearden was a true artist he truly had difficulty trying to fit in to a different culture. Bearden had a negative outlook on the world because of the predicaments he had been through and his experience shaped his reality and artwork. Bearden was stuck in the mindset that he did not have much of a chance to blossom as an artist because he was a minority unlike someone like Picasso who had no problem evolving into a popular artist. Some will argue this was not the case because talent is talent and you do not automatically know a person’s race by looking at a painting. However, since Bearden constantly felt this way, Ellison described that Bearden wanted to define the African-American identity through paintings and collages and reclaim justice for his people. There was always a constant battle between sticking up for his race through art and leaving his mark on the world through art. It was hard as a minority artist to balance race, culture and individuality through art.

A popular piece of art that voiced the issues within the African-American society was a painting Bearden did to describe the Depression in Harlem. In this piece he illustrated the people and the surrounding conditions. Before this, it was nearly unheard of to translate the African-American experience to art. Bearden unearthed what society was trying to conceal through his paintings by illustrating scenes that everyone already knew about. Bearden took on the responsibility and gave a voice to the people that were not able to speak for themselves by recreating traumatic incidences in history.

Although Bearden was faced with much opposition, he conquered his struggles and evolved as a successful artist and became socially accepted within White America. It was difficult for Bearden to balance trying to be an individual and fit into both cultures. Many artists faced this difficulty and unfortunately not many were able to succeed and leave the mindset that all society was racist. Many scholars will disagree with people like Ellison’s and Bearden’s mindsets on society and minority artists. Personally, being a minority and also living in a socially accepting time allows me to see both sides of the spectrum. I understand that the time period Bearden lived in was very difficult and minorities struggled to make a difference and voice their opinions. However, if Bearden was alive now and creating pieces he would automatically be accepted based on pure talent. The evidence that Ellison posed in this article was very convincing. He explained that times were hard, meaning racially segregated, when Bearden was evolving as an artist. The fact that Bearden still made a voice for his people and left an individual mark on society through his artwork deemed him as a very talented artist.

Works Cited

Ellison, Ralph. "The Art of Romare Bearden." Jstor.org. Web. 15 Apr. 2012. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/25088793?seq=1>.

Dysfunctional Attitudes Towards Weight & Shape

“Increased levels of body dissatisfaction and a disturbed body image are serious problems associated with obesity (Adami et al., 1998; Friedman & Brownell, 1995).” Today, society pressures many girls to look exactly how other girls are portrayed by magazines, music, videos and television. This leads many girls to believe that the way their body shape and face looks is not good enough which is a disturbed body image symptom. When these girls develop a disturbed body image, this also leads to other issues surrounding their nutrition, such as eating disorders, which is used as a coping mechanism. The study conducted by Leignbuer, and others, will explore the effects that BED, binge eating disorder, has on the body image, size perception and behavioral aspects of fifteen obese girls versus fifteen females who do not have an eating disorder. The researchers of this study predicted that for the participants with the presence of a BED will have higher body dissatisfaction, a greater distortion in the perception of their own body, and stronger body-related avoidance behaviors. From this prediction, you can see that there is a preconceived idea about obese girls who suffer from a BED, differing from girls who are obese with no BED. Girls who suffer from obesity are most often aware of their condition, although they make no efforts to change their body image. Girls who suffer from obesity, in addition to BED, often feel guilty about their body image and will go to any length in order to improve their body to how they think it should look. When someone suffers from BED, or binge eating disorder, they often eat an unusual large amount of food and feel out of control during the binges. They do not throw up their food or exercise a lot as people do who suffer from bulimia or anorexia. They often “eat until they are uncomfortably full, eat when they are not hungry, when they aren’t hungry, eat alone because of embarrassment, and fell disgusted, depressed or guilty after overeating.” From this information, perhaps it can be concluded that the females who suffer from BED only became obese after their continued eating habits. Had it not been for their BED, they would have never felt the way they did about their bodies. Their disorder clearly suggests that they have an issue with the way they look and the only way they know how to cope with the pain is to eat their problems away. Females who suffer from BED need to learn how to cope with their own body image issues and find a healthy outlet in order to improve their self-esteem. Just because an individual is obese, or severely overweight, does not mean that they should have low self-esteem or that they will have issues with their body image. Even though many females are pressured by the media to look a certain way and be a certain size, this does not mean that all females fall victim to the media. Many females are able to be comfortable within their own skin, regardless of their size. Being obese does not mean that you aren’t less significant than anyone else nor does it mean that you should feel guilty about the way you look. When someone suffers from obesity, they can be comfortable with their own body image – even if they do want to change how they look. The underlying difference between obesity and obesity and BED is that with obesity, the girls are not desperate and willing to do anything to change how they look. They understand that they must be healthier and exercise and the change will be gradual, it is a change they are willing to make – rather than feeling like they are forced by society to change. They do not badger themselves for the way they look; instead they accept it and do what is necessary to change. To test their hypothesis, the researchers performed a series of tests on the participants including a questionnaire, in which they rated their own body satisfaction, drive to be thinner, and body dissatisfaction; and a photo distortion test, in which they were shown an adjusted photo of themselves to see how they felt about their own body image. The questionnaire asked the participants questions regarding restraint, eating concern, shape concern and weight concern, which were rated on a 7-point scale. The photo distortion method used a photo of participants in leggings and a tight fitting shirt that was distorted to 80% width and 120% width. The goal was to get to the correct, original width of 100%. If the participants formatted the picture <100% then they were identified as having a slimmer distortion and >100% was identified larger body distortion. Both methods proved that participants who had a BED had a lower self-esteem (from the questionnaire) and had a distorted body image (photo distortion method). The researchers’ prediction was proved to be correct. 

Source: Legenbauer, Vocks, Betz, Benecke, Troje, Ruddel, Puigcerver. "Aspects of Body Image

Eating Disorder: An Exploratory Study Including Static and Dynamic Female Obese Individuals With Versus Without a Comorbid Binge Differences in the Nature of Body Image Disturbances Between". Behavior Modification. 35. 162. 2011 

http://bmo.sagepub.com/content/35/2/162.full.pdf+html 

Hydrate, Your Body Will Thank You Later

HIV Linked to Depression

HIV is a serious viral infection that claims the lives of many people today. When observing and thinking about this disease, most people know what causes it: unprotected sex or using used needles. However, there are certain things that could make this disease worse. It has been found that depression is something that can make the effects of HIV worse. The connection between depression and HIV progression involves the interaction of various biological, behavioral, and environmental variables. Untreated depression leads to behavioral and psychological risk factors resulting in faster disease progression which is measured by immunological markers.

Major depressions results in overactivation of the HPA axis. This results in excessive secretion and inhibited regulation of glucocorticoids. Glucocorticoids are anti-inflammatory compounds that are involved in carbohydrate, fat, and protein metabolism, and many other bodily activites.The elevated levels of these hormones compromises some of the mechanisms of the immune response system against antigens. Some of these compromises include induced cell death and removal of T cells from the circulation as the lymphocyte production in the thymus is interrupted. Studies have also shown that glucocorticoids enhance HIV replication. Depression also leads to blunted production and activity of coxycotic lymphocytes (NK cells) and an elevation of inflammatory cytokines which disturbs immune response. Elevated cortisol is also likely to play a primary role in the link between depression and HIV progression. What leads to elevated cortisol levels?

There is also found to be an association between HIV, depression, and substance abuse. The HIV Cost and Services Utilization Study, which is a large national study of HIV infected individuals receiving medical care, documented elevated rates for substance abuse . Among the HIV-positive individuals suffering from substance abuse, depression was well documented. The studies showed that HIV positive individuals who suffered from substance abuse were more likely to report elevated levels of depression than HIV positive individuals who were substance users. One of the problems associated with HIV- positive individulas sufferieng from substance abuse is elevated cortisol levels caused by drugs/alcohol. This is linked with immunosupression.

http://bmo.sagepub.com/content/36/2/123.full.pdf+html

Posture- Results

Sleep More, Feel Less Tired: Experimentally Proven

An Experiment in Hydration--Results

Healthy Eating: What's The Big Deal?

Being Healthy Pays Off!

Posture

Hydrate, Your Body Will Thank You Later

Behavior Modification: Time Slept Each Night

BOOST YOURSELF!!!

Losing Weight The Right Way

Exercise: A Simple Preventative Measure Against Heart Disease

In the modern era, twenty percent of people will suffer a heart attack. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention states America’s leading cause of death as heart disease. Heart disease kills approximately 600,000 people each year and affects 11.8% of the population. This translates to approximately 27.1 million Americans having heart disease. To prevent becoming a statistic, citizens can exercise for 30 minutes a day. Exercise can prevent hypertension, hypercholesterolemia (cholesterol in the blood), and even Type II diabetes. Exercise becomes increasingly more important as technology continues to advance because more and more people will live sedentary lifestyles. It is in everyone’s best interest to exercise for 30 minutes a day to prevent the health risks associated with our increasingly sedentary lifestyle.

Over the course of nine years, the amount of cardiologists who prescribed routine exercise as a preventative measure against a second heart attack for patients who had suffered from a heart attack nearly quadrupled, rising from 24% to 83% from 1970 to 1979. The spike in the amount of prescribed exercise programs was onset by studies that showed the routines to be safe for post-heart attack patients, and preferable to alternative measures that could result in the absence of exercise, such as a costly second bypass surgery. This information may seem irrelevant to you; however, exercise not only prevents second heart attacks, it lowers the chances of heart disease and other health risks that can lead to heart attacks. As stated before, there is only a 1-in-5 chance of suffering from a heart attack, but is that chance one you really want to take when your life could be at stake if you are the one of the five?

Hypertension is not directly responsible for heart disease, but if left untreated for long periods of time, it can be detrimental to the cardiovascular system. Those who have chronic hypertension face irreversible damage to their blood vessels and some vital organs, mainly the heart. Hypertension can be alleviated or even averted by exercising. A study by a clinic in Dallas showed a risk factor of 1.52 of developing hypertension between people who aren’t physically fit versus those who are in good physical condition. This is just one of the beneficial results of exercising on a daily basis.

Hypercholesterolemia is becoming quite a problem for many Americans. We all know that too much cholesterol in the blood leads to buildups that can block arteries and induce heart attacks. Most of us also know that there are both a “good” and a “bad” type of cholesterol. The good type of cholesterol is called high-density lipid (HDL). The bad type of cholesterol is called low-density lipid (LDL). LDL levels are directly proportional to heart disease whereas HDL levels are inversely proportional to the onset of heart disease, meaning that the higher the level of HDL cholesterol in the blood, the less likely the person is to suffer from heart disease. Exercise has been shown to have a strong correlation with high HDL levels, and is substituted for diet change or medication for people with high LDL cholesterol levels.

People with either Type I or Type II diabetes can receive beneficial effects from daily exercise as well. For those with Type I diabetes, exercise has been shown to increase insulin sensitivity. This is a good thing for Type I diabetics, as their bodies do not naturally produce insulin. For those with Type II Diabetes, an exercise program is an alternative to insulin treatment. If overweight Type II diabetics exercise regularly with an aim of weight loss, the combined effects of weight loss and increased activity levels are effective replacements for insulin treatments. Exercise can also be a preventative measure for overweight Type II diabetes. If everyone exercised routinely, the percentages of people who develop the condition would drastically decrease.

Obesity is now widely considered an epidemic in America. Roughly 34% of Americans age 20 and older are now considered obese. Obese people are among the most likely to suffer from heart disease. Weight gain and weight loss play important roles in the onset and prevention of heart disease. It has been shown that for each 10% increase in weight, the chance of developing heart disease increases by approximately 30%. As for weight loss, with each 10% weight reduction, the chance of suffering from heart disease decreases by about 20%. Exercise and weight reduction go hand-in-hand.

Heart disease is a growing issue within the United States, yet it is one that is surprisingly preventable. With exercise, one can lower their chances of suffering from heart disease and other factors that cause its onset. All it takes is 30 minutes of exercise per day for a healthier you. Everyone should be able to find 30 minutes in their day, no matter how hectic, to prevent themselves from being the one out of five.

"Cutting Calories" is it Really a Good Idea?

(http://www.howtoloseitfast.com/images/scalesfat.jpg)

            Obese bodies are extremely efficient when compared with “lean” bodies.  An obese body expends less energy while performing daily activities than a “lean” body expends.  Studies show that obese people have a lower resting metabolic rate (RMR) than thin individuals.  This difference means that overweight individuals actually save more calories each day than lean individuals.  The high efficiency level in the obese population caused a calorie restriction study between obese and lean individuals.  This study showed that obese individuals’ resting metabolic rate decreased by about 15%, making them more efficient!  This increased efficiency counteracts the weight loss that is expected to occur (Perkins et al, 293).  Obese individuals should strive to obtain a favorable nutrient balance in their diets instead of restricting calories to reach their desired weight loss goals because calorie restriction makes the body conserve more energy, not lose more weight.              

Maintaining your bodyweight depends on the balance of energy intake and energy usage.  This is understood as the balance on the calories you ingest and the calories you burn.  This relates directly to each person’s metabolic rate.  According to "The Relevance of Metabolic Rate in Behavioral Medicine Research,” “metabolic rate is the rate at which the body converts nutrients into energy, or the rate at which the body burns calories.”  Even more important, a person’s resting metabolic rate is the rate they burn calories while keeping effort exertion to a minimum.  Thus a person with a slow metabolic rate is expected to easily gain weight because calorie consumption will exceed the calories that are burned.

“Cutting calories” is a common plan that often fails to combat a slow metabolism.  Many people who are overweight blame their body composition on their slow metabolism.  Many of these overweight individuals try to change their diet by “cutting calories.”  Initially, they have great results, but soon they hit a barrier that they cannot penetrate.  The reason their diet stops working is because “cutting calories” has been shown to decrease a person’s resting metabolic rate.  This makes their body even more efficient since the body is now conserving calories.  This will result in the body maintaining its weight rather than losing excess weight.

The difference in resting metabolic rate from person to person is someone’s caloric efficiency.  Some people will be more efficient than others and struggle to lose weight.  Losing weight depends on the nutrient composition that is consumed and routinely exercising.  Trying to lose weight by starving yourself only results in your body conserving the calories you consume.  This odd quality of your resting metabolic rate should be understood when trying to lose weight.

Citation:

            Perkins, Kenneth A. et al. "The Relevance of Metabolic Rate in Behavioral Medicine Research." Behavioral Modification 11.3 (1987): 287-307. Web.

              

Training With Aggressive Children

Currently, 42% of child welfare recipients suffer from behavioral disorders. Today, the child welfare system has dramatic effects on the children within the program. Since these children come from conflicted homes, many people expect them to have a behavioral disorder. To try and solve this problem, German child psychologists and psychotherapists conducted a study to test whether TAC (training with aggressive children) affects children in the Center of Child and Youth Welfare. Dennis Nitkowski, Franz Petermann, Peter Büttner, Carsten Krause-Leipoldt and Ulrike Petermann predict that the child welfare system paired with TAC causes less behavioral problems as opposed to solely a child welfare system.

When a child is suspected of being abused or neglected the Child Protective Services are forced to investigate. A child proven to be abused or neglected is taken and placed in an out-of-home care facility. In Germany, parents that are not suitable to care for their children are protected under the German code of social law which “guarantees parents or caregivers support”(Nitkowski, F.Petermann, Büttner, Krause-Leipoldt and U.Petermann 2009). There are three specific ways that the welfare program will intervene. On the first level, the program will offer advice to struggling families. On the second level, the program will offer daycare groups. At this point, the children have not been taken from the household. On the third level, the children are taken to a residential home since the parents are deemed insufficient.

“Behavioral psychology is a branch of psychology that focuses on the study and alteration of people’s behaviors, including their actions, emotions and thoughts” (“What Is Behavioral Psychology?”). This specific study evaluates children with two different types of aggressive behavior, oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder. Oppositional defiant disorder is mostly prevalent in younger children. This behavior causes children to be extremely defiant, angry, irritable and vindictive. Conduct disorder can occur during childhood or adolescence and is a little more extreme than oppositional defiant disorder. This behavior causes children to behave aggressively towards people, animals and property. Some children with this disorder also tend to steal. Because children with these disorders are prevalent within the child welfare system, a study needed to be conducted to solve these behavioral problems.

The German psychologists and psychotherapists took 24 children from ages seven to eleven that were already in the German Child and Youth Welfare Institution. These children were divided into two equal groups of twelve. One group was a combined intervention of TAC and the child welfare system whereas the other group was a control group of just children from the welfare system without any type of behavioral fixing tactic. TAC or Training Aggressive Children is a behavior modification for aggressive children. This training teaches children how to adapt a different mindset when put in conflicting situations. The children are taught how to use self-control in these situations instead of acting out and being disruptive. The children are taught in individual and group therapy sessions and the parents are given counseling.

Throughout the experiment the children were measured using four different techniques: psychiatric diagnosis, psychopathological syndromes, aggressive reaction pattern, behavioral strengths and difficulties. The psychiatric diagnosis used was called Kinder-DIPS. This was a clinical interview done in the German language which would determine different types of psychiatric disorders within the children. The psychopathological syndrome consisted of a child behavior checklist and teacher report form. The Child Behavior Checklist was a questionnaire for parents to complete which allowed parents to tell if their children had symptoms for specific syndromes. The Teacher Report Form measured behavior problems in the classroom. The Aggressive Reaction Pattern was a questionnaire for the children. A child was given different scenarios to read and had to choose how he or she would respond. Based on the answer doctors could see if the child depicted a socially accepted or aggressive behavior. The Strengths and Difficulties questionnaire measured “emotional symptoms, hyperactivity/inattention, peer relationship problems and prosocial behavior” (Nitkowski, F.Petermann, Büttner, Krause-Leipoldt and U.Petermann 2009).

After five months of TAC paired with the German Child and Youth Welfare Institution, psychologists, psychotherapists and parents noticed a decrease in social and conduct issues within the children. Teachers also noted that the children were more socially acceptable in the classroom and knew how to handle conflicting situations. On the other hand, the control group of children continued to have their behavioral disorders. Behavioral disorders within our youth will always be a serious issue. This study was able to find a way to decrease these behavioral disorders and make the children more socially acceptable. All children suffering from behavioral disorders in child welfare systems should be exposed to TAC; this will allow them to better themselves and have better relationships with the people surrounding them.

Works Cited

Nitkowski, Dennis, Franz Petermann, Peter Büttner, Carsten Krause-Leipoldt, and Ulrike Petermann. "Behavior Modification." 1 July 2009. Web. 14 Mar. 2012. <http://bmo.sagepub.com/content/33/4/474.full.pdf html>.

"What Is Behavioral Psychology?" Degreedirectory.org. Web. 14 Mar. 2012. <http://degreedirectory.org/articles/What_is_Behavioral_Psychology.html>.

Elephants In Australia?

“On 7 February 2009 — now known as Black Saturday — a massive firestorm consumed more than 400,000 hectares in southern Australia.” Australia’s terrain is very prone to suffer from wildfires on more occasions than expected. Order and restoration is desperately needed within Australia’s ecosystem. The article, “Conservation: Bring Elephants to Australia,” suggests that introducing an “über-herbivore” will aid in controlling the flammable grasses and its spread across the Australia. Such über-herbivore is later named to be the elephant. Before deciding to introduce a mammal that is not an Australian native to deal with the increasing wildfires that are occurring, the elephants’ normal habitat must be considered as well as their diet and any issues that might arise with the Australia’s population.

While the author did not state specifically which type of elephants, African or Asian, should be introduced to Australia’s continent, it is important to determine risks that are involved with either species. African savannah elephants are found in savannah zones, areas such as western and central Africa, while Asian elephants are found in countries such as Sri Lanka, India and China. The typical climate in the savannah biome ranges from 68 to 86 degrees Fahrenheit and Asia has a tropical-hot, humid climate. Taking these climates into consideration, Australia’s climate must now be examined; survival of the elephants must be considered as well. Australia’s climate is 40% desert with only the eastern and northern areas having temperate weather. Thus, regardless of which species is introduced to Australia, there must be some type of physical boundary that exists in order to prevent elephants going into areas that they are not equipped to survive in. Elephants are already considered as an endangered species and removing them from their native areas may provoke a negative response killing even more elephants.

“80% of an elephant’s day is spent feeding; [consuming] grasses, small plants, bushes, fruit, twigs, tree bark, and roots.” The Nature article, “Conservation: Bring Elephants to Australia” says that a major “source of fuel” for Australia’s wildfires is gamba grass, a giant African grass that has “invaded” Australia’s savannas. While it can be understood that an animal large enough to consume the gamba grass needs to be introduced to Australia, that animal’s diet needs to be carefully examined. Being that the gamba grass, which is the main issue surrounding the wildfires, is an African plant, will Asian elephants respond differently than African elephants? Even if both the Asian and African elephants eat the gamba grass along with all the other vegetation that Australia has to offer, what will be their limit? As earlier stated, elephants spend majority of their day eating grasses. If elephants are introduced to Australia’s continent, there must be some type of barrier present that not only prevents them from going into areas that they are not equipped to survive in but also areas that can not supply their eating habits. Caution must be exercised in order to make sure that there is still vegetation left once elephants are done feeding.

If there are no precautions made surrounding the possibility that the elephants may eat more than expected, then Australia may be presented with yet another problem: barren land. The elephants, depending on how many are introduced to Australia, will eat and eat and eat to the point where vegetation will be lacking in Australia. This may provide even more fuel for the wildfires that occur in Australia. The dry conditions will make conditions even more favorable for wildfires to spark, destroying the rest of Australia’s vegetation.

Since 1990, incidents have been reported including “15 human deaths and more than 135 injuries to humans [due to elephants]”. This data is representative just for elephants that are located in the United States. The only elephants that exist in the United States are those that are held in captivity, whether it is in a zoo or in the circus. If there are so many accidents present in the United States with elephants that are held in captivity, imagine how many incidents there could be with elephants that are free to roam wherever they please in Australia. If the gamba grass that the article stated as being a major source of fuel for the wildfires is anywhere close to urbanization, then elephants cannot be the chosen “über-herbivore” that the article wishes to introduce to Australia.

Elephants that are constantly surrounded by bright lights and the constant roar of the city will become agitated and release their frustrations to near by buildings or even people. Elephants are massive, powerful animals that must be respected and humans must cautiously coexist with them in their own, natural habitats, not introduced habitats that are proposed solutions to fix wildfires.

Australia’s continent is constantly suffering from wildfires, due to the masive spread of gamba grass. Gamba grass is an African plant that is massive and most Australian herbivores are not big enough to consume it. This is the main reason that the Nature article suggests that elephants be introduced to Australia; they are big enough to consume the mass amount of gamba grass that is invading Australia. However, other important factors must be examined including the elephants’ diet and habitat, as well as concerns that Australia’s population might need to consider. Because of the threats that elephants pose to Australia’s population and vegetation, they are not the correct choice to try to eliminate wildfires that are rampant in Australia. More consideration should be placed behind the idea of bringing an “über-herbivore” into Australia in order to the animal that best fits the needs of Australia and that will also keep the animal safe and comfortable.

Sources:
http://www.mediapeta.com/peta/pdf/Elephant-Incident-List-US-only.pdf
http://www.seaworld.org/animal-info/info-books/elephants/diet.htm

Animal Research: An Ethical and Logical Issue

As the American public becomes more concerned with the welfare of animals and the web of ethical issues that the use of research animals creates, one type of animal research is becoming more scrutinized than the others: the use of chimpanzees for drug research and development. Two facilities in particular, the National Institutes of Health and the New Iberia Research Center, have taken much fire opposing their apparent breach of a sixteen year-old sanction on the breeding of more chimpanzees solely for medical research. Although Americans have generally become more concerned with the ethical treatment of research animals, the testing of new drugs on animals is seen by many as a must for simply one reason: it is less ethical to test the new drugs on humans.

In my personal opinion, animal research should continue to be sanctioned.

Albeit animal research seems cruel, it is indeed more ethical to test new medicines and drugs on an animal than on a fellow human being. The side effects of new medicines need to be discovered before people are allowed to use the medicine; this is something everyone can agree on. Being that the majority of people think that testing drugs with unknown side effects on people is unethical, a substitute is needed. Chimpanzees are the closest genetically related species to humans, possessing 48 chromosomes to the human 46. This makes the chimpanzee a vital tool to new medicine development. As I mentioned earlier, this practice may seem cruel, but it is a necessary cruelty. The amount of people’s lives that have been saved using drugs that have been developed via animal research serves as enough evidence that it should be continued. “Treatments for diseases such as diabetes and polio were made possible through animal research, the researchers said, and animals are currently being used in hepatitis-, HIV- and stem cell-related research, among others” (Discovery News, Para. 4). People on the fence about the issue or those blatantly opposed to the issue should ask themselves the following question: “Would I rather new medicines with unknown side effects be tested on myself or an animal?”

In current times, animal research is being met with less and less popular support. A recent study by Princeton University shows that the American public is becoming more opposed to animal research as time goes on. The study revealed that 67% of Americans said they would be more inclined to donate to charitable health organizations that never fund animal research than a charitable health organization that did fund such research. The study also showed the trend of younger people being more opposed to animal research in comparison to the older generations.

In the article “Breeding Contempt”, the author is not opposed to animal research, as long as the animals are treated as ethically as possible. A claim is made that the National Institutes of Health (NIH), headquartered in Maryland, has not enforced a moratorium imposed in 1995, which prohibits the breeding of chimpanzees specifically for medical research. The moratorium was enacted in 1995 for financial reasons, predominately because “it costs at least $300,000 to support a single chimp for its lifetime” (Breeding Contempt, Para. 6). The author claims that the American public supports this type of research in faith that the animals being used are treated as humanely as possible, and that we the people deserve more honesty from the institutions conducting said research. The Humane Society has presented evidence of 137 chimp births at the NIH facility to the US Senate committee that appropriates funds to the NIH, which forced the New Iberia Research Center (NIRC) to confess the births of the chimps. The revelation of this new information has decreased the amount of public support of medical research on chimpanzees in the United States, due to the research facility’s lack of compliance with the sanction of breeding more animals.

The author also implies that because the NIH has responded to recent inquiries into the matter with silence that the NIH must be guilty and trying not to shoot themselves in the foot so to say. Has anyone thought that the NIH has not responded to the further questions because they have nothing further to say about the matter? It is quite possible that they have reported all the information they have, or are tired of being harassed about the issue.

To conclude, animal research is a controversial topic, as it has been for some time and will continue to be. However, this practice is one of importance to the well being of mankind, as it has produced vaccines and treatments for many, many diseases that puzzled the medical community for years on end. Imagine what our world today would be like had no vaccine for polio been developed. There would be many more sick people in the world today had a vaccine not been developed, and there would have been no vaccine developed without animal research.







"Animal Experimentation Public Opinion. An Update." Of Human and Non-Human

Animals. 04 Apr. 2008. Web. 20 Feb. 2012. <http://globalphilosophy.blogspot.com/2008/04/animal-experimentation-public-opinion.html>.



"US Researchers Defend Animal Testing : Discovery News." Discovery News: Earth,

Space, Tech, Animals, History, Adventure, Human, Autos. 21 Feb. 2011. Web. 20 Feb. 2012. <http://news.discovery.com/animals/animal-research-medical-defended-110221.html>.