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  2. 2. N A R A T I V E
  3. 3. N A R A T I V E• IT IS USED TO ENTERTAIN, that is to gain and hold the reader’s interest in a story.• TO TEACH and TO INFORM writer’s reflections on experience• IT CAN BE IMAGINARY or FACTUAL (fairy tales, mysteries, fables, romances, adventures stories, myths and legends), or it can be complicated event that leads to a crises that finally find a solution.
  4. 4. Generic structure : N A R A T I V EORIENTATION - introduces participants/character (who) - sets the scene (when & where)COMPLICATION - Development of a Crises: a crisis arises, something happened unexpectedlyRESOLUTION - Solution of the crisis: for better or for worseRE-ORIENTATION - closing to the narrative (optional) - coda: changes of characters, lesson taken from the story
  5. 5. LANGUAGE FEATURES OFNARRATIVE• Certain nouns are as pronoun of person, animal, certain thing in a story. E.g.. Stepsister, house work.• Adjectives that form noun phrases, for example : long black air, two red apples, etc.• Time connectives and conjunction to arrange the events, for example: then, before that, soon, etc.• Adverb and adverbial phrase to point the place of event, for example: here, in the mountain, happily ever after.
  6. 6. LANGUAGE FEATURES OFNARRATIVE• Action verbs are past tense: stayed, climbed, etc.• Saying verbs that refer to what the human participants said, told, promised; and thinking verbs indicating thought, perception or feeling of the characters in a story, for example: felt, thought, understood• Dialog often included and the tenses change according to the circumstances
  7. 7. Example and Generic Structure• Orientation Once upon the time the live a little girl named snow White.• Complication; Development of the crises One day she heard her uncle and aunt talking About leaving Snow White in the castle because They both wanted to go to American and they Didn’t have enough money to take Snow White.
  8. 8. • Resolution of the crises Snow White did not want her uncle and Aunt to do this so she decided it would be best if she ran away. The next morning she ran away into the woods• Complication; Development of the crises Then she saw this little cottage. She knocked but no one answered so she went inside and fell asleep• Resolution of the crises Mean while, she seven dwarfs were coming home from work They went inside. There they found Snow White sleeping. Then Snow White woke up She saw the dwarfs said, “What is your name? Snow White said, “My name is Snow White” And, one of the dwarfs, said, “If you wish, You my live here with us. Snow White said, “Oh could I? Thank you.” Then Snow White told the dwarfs the hole story and snow white and the 7 dwarfs lived happily ever after.
  9. 9. RECOUNT
  10. 10. RECOUNT• IT IS USED TO TELL PAST EXPERIENCE (what we or someone did, what took place) that is aimed at informing and entertaining• TYPES: - Personal recount ( retelling of an activity that the speaker/writer has been personally involved) e.g. oral anecdote, diary entry, biography - Factual recount (recording the particulars of an incident e.g. police report, news report) - Imaginative recount (taking on an imaginary role and giving details of events) e.g. a day in the life of ………
  11. 11. generic structure : R E C O U N T ORIENTATION : provides information about the setting (when & where) and introduces participants/character (who)EVENTS : tell what happened, in temporal sequence (personal comment/expression of evaluation)RE-ORIENTATION (optional) : closure of events (e.g. comments or conclusion)
  12. 12. LANGUAGE FEATURES OF RECOUNT• Noun and pronoun as substitution of person, animal, involved thing, E.g.: David, the Monkey, We, etc.• Specific participants (Mr./Mrs ……, our dog, the thief)• Simple past tense
  13. 13. • Action verbs/material processes (went, slept, ran, caught, arrived, bought, looked at) E.g. He went to the zoo; She was happy .• Temporal sequence (on Friday, one day, at the beginning, in the end, first, then, next, before, later, finally, etc)
  14. 14. Example and Generic Structure• Orientation On Friday we went to the blue montains. We stayed at David and delta’s house. It has a big garden with lots of colorful flowers and a tennis court.• Complication; Development of the crises On Sunday we saw the Three Sisters and went on the scenic railway. It was scary. Then, Mummy and went shopping with Della. We went to some antique shops and I tried on some old hats.
  15. 15. • Closing On Sunday we went on the scenic Skyway and it rocked. We saw cockatoos having a shower. In the afternoon we went home.
  16. 16. NEWS ITEM
  17. 17. NEWS ITEM• It is used to report to the readers, listeners or viewers about events of the day which are considered newsworthy or important.
  18. 18. generic structure: NEWS ITEM• NEWSWORTHY EVENT(S) recounts of the event in summary form• BACKGROUND EVENTS elaborate what happened, to whom, in what situation/circumstances• SOURCES original comments by participants, witnesses to and authorities expert on the event, etc.
  19. 19. Language Features of News Item• Short, telegraphic information about story captured in headline• Use of material processes/action verbs to retell the story or event• Use of projecting verbal processes in “Source” stage (e.g. the police said…; the witness thought …)* Using adverb like: badly injured, the most beautiful bride in the world.• Focus on circumstances (e.g. last night, just this morning, at that time, etc)
  20. 20. Example and Generic Structure Town ContaminatedNEWSWORTHY EVENT Moscow: A Russian journalist has uncovered evidence of another Soviet nuclear catastrophe, which killed 10 sailors and contaminated an entire town
  21. 21. Background/elaborationVelena Vazrshavskya is the first journalist tospeak to people who witnessed the explotion ofa nuclear submarine at the nava bas ofshkotovo – 22 near Vladivostock.The accident, which occurred 13 months beforethe Chaernobyl disaster, spread radioactive fall– out over the base and nearby town, but wascovered up by officials of the Soviet Union.
  22. 22. Residents were told the explosion in thereactor of the Victor class submarineduring a refit had been a thermal and not anuclear explosion. And those involved inthe clean up operation to remove morethan 600 tones of contaminated materialwere sworn to secrecy.
  23. 23. Source of Information A board of investigators was later to describe it as the worst accident in the history of the Soviet Navy.
  25. 25. DESCRIPTION• Is used to describe a particular thing/object, place, or person. For example: My cat, My bike, My favorite room in the house, The Wildest Amazon River, My favorite actor.
  26. 26. Generic Structure ofDESCRIPTIONIDENTIFICATION (Pengenalan subject) : identifies phenomenon to be describedDESCRIPTION : describes parts (Ciri-ciri subject, physical appearance), qualities, general attitude, characteristics
  27. 27. LANGUAGE FEATURES• Use certain noun: teacher, house, my cat.• Use of simple present tense• Use of attributive and epithets (e.g. adjectives)• Detail noun phrase to give information about subject, for example: it was a large open rowboat, a sweet young lady, etc.
  28. 28. • Vary of adjectives to describe, number, classify for example: two strong legs, sharp white fang, etc.• Relating verb to give information about subject such as: my mom is really cool, it has very thick fur, etc.• Thinking verb and feeling verbs to express writer’s view about subject, such as: Police believe that suspect is armed, I think it is a clever animal, etc.
  29. 29. • Action verbs, like: Our new puppy bites our shoes, etc.• Adverbial to give additional information about behaviour, for example: fast.• Figurative language, for example simile, metaphor; John is white as chalk.
  30. 30. Example and Generic Structure• Subject Macquarie University is one of the largest Universities in Australia. This year, in 2004, it celebrates its 40th anniversary.• Description The university is located at the north Ryde Greenbelt, Sydney, where the New South
  31. 31. Wales government sets aside 135 hectares forthe institution. In 1964, Macquarie area was asurrounding have evolved beyond recognition.The North Ryde District has grown in a district ofintensive occupation anchored by a vibrant andgrowing university.Blessed with a fortune location and room tobreath, Macquire can be proud of that carefulplanning that retains and enrich the university’smost attractive natural features. A pleasingbalance between buildings and plating is evidentacross the campus.
  32. 32. This emphasis on the importance oflandscape has created images ofMacquire as a place that members of theUniversity are most likely to pleasurablyrecollect.One of the highlights of the ;andscape isthe Mars Creek Zone. It empriseslandscaped creek sides and valley floor, agrass amphitheatre, and artificial lake …surrounded by rocks and pebbles, nativeplants and eucalypts.
  33. 33. Today, a railway station is underconstruction. In three years 1 time,Macquirie will be the only university inAustralia with a railway station on site.Macquirie is polsed to be the most readilyaccessible in Sydney region by rail andmotorway, yet retaining its beautiful site.
  34. 34. REPORT
  36. 36. R E P O R T• To inform something as it is• It is the product of systematic or analyses observation• Something described can be: natural phenomena, environment, made up-things, social phenomena.• Descriptive text can be: general conclusion, such as Whale is mammal because it give birth.
  37. 37. • To make this report students need to observe, compare the whale with aother animals whose characteristics are the same. For example: - A simple house (by describing this house characteristics, it can be called a simple house) - A hospital - school canteen
  38. 38. generic structure: R E P O R T• GENERAL CLASSIFICATION : tells what the phenomenon under discussion is• DESCRIPTION : describes the phenomenon in terms of parts, qualities, habits or behaviors
  39. 39. LANGUAGE FEATURES OFREPORT• Generalized participants: a whole class of things (volcanoes, newspapers, the royal family)• Action verbs/material processes• Simple present tense. It states general thing, like: comodo dragon usually weight more tha 160 kg.• Language for defining, classifying, comparing, contrasting (are called, belong to, can be classified as, are similar to, are more powerful than)• May contain technical vocabulary e.g. water contains oxygen and hydrogen• Is written in a formal and objective style
  40. 40. Example and GenericStructureGeneral Classification/Statement of the reported object: The white pelican is one of the most successful fish eating birds. The success is largely due to its command hunting behavior. A group, perhaps two dozen birds, will gather in curved are some distance offshore. The birds then begin to move forward towards the shore, beating the water furiously with their wings, driving the fish before them.
  41. 41. • Description When the water is shallow enough for the birds to reach the fish, the formation breaks up as its meal. As the bird lifts its head, the water drains from its bill leaving the fish which are then swallowed. Pelicans are among the oldest group of birds, Foss is of this genus have been found dating back 40 million years.
  43. 43. EXPLANATION• To explain the processes involved in the formation or workings of natural or socio cultural phenomena• To give reasons why things are they are• Examples: texts in science or social studies
  45. 45. Language Features of Explanation• Focus on generic, non-human participants (e.g. clouds, rains, the air, moisture, gas, petrol, oil, urbanization, flood, tornado)• Use of simple present tense, passive voice is used sometimes to get theme right.• Use mainly of Material and Relational Process
  46. 46. • Use of temporal circumstances and conjunctions (e.g. before, first, then, in the end, finally)• Use of causal conjunctions (e.g. if, when, until, so, as, why)
  47. 47. Example and Generic Structure Bread Almost everyone eats bread daily, especially for breakfast. Bread making is not a complicated task. You must have an oven, water, sugar, salt, flour, and yeast. The basic ingredient is flour comes from wheat. There are two kinds of flour, which is the soft, and the hard one;
  48. 48. Hard flour, made by winter wheat, is betterchoice for making bread. Bread using hard flourproduces better texture and taste, Luke warmwater is added to the flour to make dough.Yeast is a microscopic organism. The size maynot be impressive but it is capable of producingcarbon dioxide. It is also easy to use. Poweredyeast needs only be dissolved in water to beused instantly. Yeast works best in the presenceof sugar and warmth.
  49. 49. Besides, encouraging yeast to growquickly in the dough, sugar is added togive flour to the bread. Salt is added forsame purpose, to make the bread tastenice. However, it has the reverse effect onyeast, unlike sugar. The next ingredient isoil; com oil, peanut oil or butter. It isessential for making the bread tender.After mixing with all these ingredients, theflour is hand beaten before sent to theoven
  50. 50. DISCUSSION
  51. 51. DISCUSSION• It is to present (at least) two points of view about an issue
  52. 52. Generic structure of Discussion• Issue - Statement - Preview• Arguments for against or statement of differing points of view *Pro-Point - Main Point (gagasan pokok 1) - Elaboration (uraian) - Main Point (gagasan pokok 2) - Elaboration (uraian 2)
  53. 53. *Contra-Point - Main Point - Elaboration• Conclusion or Recommendation
  54. 54. Language Features of Discussion• Focus on generic human and generic non- human Participants• General noun stating category such as: uniforms, alcohol, etc.• Relating verbs giving information about discussed issue, e.g.: smoking is harmful.• Thinking verbs (mental process) expressing writer’s idea, e.g.: feel, believe, hope, etc.
  55. 55. • Use of Material process, e.g.: has produced, have developed, to feed, etc.• Use of Relational Process, e.g.: is, are, cause, etc.• Modalities, like: perhaps, must, should, should have been, could be, could have
  56. 56. • Use of Comparative: Contrastive and Consequential conjunctions to relate argument, e.g.: similarly, on the other hand, however, etc• Adverb of Manner: hopefully, deliberately• Detailed noun group, like: the dumping of unwanted kittens, etc.
  57. 57. Example and Generic Structure HomeworkIssue Statement/Preview I have been wondering if homework is necessary.Argument Supported Point I think we should have homework because it helps us to learn and revise or work Homework helps people who aren’t very smart to remember what they have learned. Homework is really good because it helps with our education.
  58. 58. Statement of different point of view/Contradicted idea:But, my times, doing homework is not a great idea. Ithink we shouldn’t have homework because I like to goout after school to a restaurant or the movies.Sometimes homework is boring and not important. I thinkhomework is bad because I like to play and discussthings with my family.
  60. 60. Analytical Exposition• To persuade the reader or listener that there is something that, certainly, needs to get attention• To analyze a topic and to persuade the reader that this opinion is correct and supported by arguments• Examples: argumentative essay, exploratory essay
  61. 61. Generic structure of Analytical ExpositionTHESIS - Position: introduces topic and indicates writer’s position. - Preview: give outlines of the arguments to be presented.ARGUMENTS - Point: restates main arguments - Elaboration: elaborate or develop and support each point/the argument with evidence, facts, etc.REITERATION restates writer’s position
  62. 62. Language Features ofAnalytical Exposition• Focus on generic human and non-human participants, e.g.: car, pollution, leaded petrol car• Use abstract noun, e.g.: policy, government• Use of relational processes, e.g.: It is important• Modal verbs, e.g.: we must preserve• Modal adverbs, e.g.: certainly we.
  63. 63. • Connective or Use of internal conjunction to state argument, e.g.: first, secondly, then, finally)• Evaluative language, e.g.: important, valuable, trustworthy, etc.• Giving reasons through causal conjunction (e.g. so, thus, therefore, hence)• Use of present tense• Passive sentence
  64. 64. Example and Generic Structure CAR SHOULD BE BANNED IN THE CITY• Theses Car should be banned in the city. As we all know, cars create pollution, and cause a lot of road and other accidents.• Argument Firstly, cars, as well as we all k now, contribute to most of the pollution in the world.
  65. 65. Car emit a deadly gas that cause illnessessuch as bronchitis; lung cancer, and triggers’ offasthma. Some of these illnesses are so bad thatpeople candled from them. Secondly, the city is very busy. Pedestrianswander everywhere and cars commonly hitpedestrians in the city, which causes them todie. Cars today are our roads biggest killers. Thirdly, cars are very noisy. If you live in thecity, you may find it hard to sleep at night, orconcentrate on your homework, and especiallytalk to someone.
  66. 66. REITERATION• In conclusion, cars should be banned from the city for the reasons listed.
  68. 68. Exposition (Hortatory)• To persuade the reader or listener that something should or should not be the case• The reader or listener is persuaded to agree with the writer’s or speaker’s point of view/thesis• Examples: letters to the editor, newspaper editorials, political speeches
  69. 69. Generic Structure ofHortatory Exposition• THESIS - announcement of issue concern• ARGUMENTS - reasons why there is concern leading to recommendation• RECOMMENDATION - statement of what ought or ought not to happen
  70. 70. Language Features ofHortatory Exposition• Focus on generic human and non-human participants (issues, ideas, opinions)• Use of mental processes to state what writer thinks or feels (e.g. realize, feel, appreciate, think, believe, recognize, know)• Use of material processes/action verbs to state what happens• Use of relational processes (e.g. to be, to have)• Use of simple present tense and modals
  71. 71. Example and Generic Structure Country ConcernTHESIS In all discussion over the removal of lead from petrol (and the atmosphere) there doesn’t seem to have been any mention of the difference between driving in the city and in the country.ARGUMENTS While I realize my leaded petrol car is polluting the air wherever I drive, I feel that when you travel through the country, where you only see another car every five to ten minutes, the problem is not as severe as when traffic is concentrated on city roads.
  72. 72. ARGUMENTS Those who want to penalize elder, leaded petrol vehicles and their owners don’t seem to appreciate that in the country there in public transport to fall back upon and one’s vehicle is the only was to get about.RECOMMENDATION I feel that country people, who often have to travel huge distance to the nearest town and who already spend a great deal of money on petrol, should be treated to the people who live in the city
  73. 73. ANECDOTE
  74. 74. Generic structure: ANECDOTE• ABSTRACT signals the retelling of an unusual incident• ORIENTATION sets the scene (when & where)• CRISIS provides details of the unusual incident• REACTION reaction to crisis• CODA (optional) reflection on or evaluation of the incident
  75. 75. ANECDOTE• To share with others an account of an unusual or amusing incident• Deals with something unexpected or out of the ordinary• It is the unexpected events which makes the story worth telling• Almost exclusively used for oral genre
  76. 76. Language Features of Anecdote• Use of material processes/action verbs to tell what happened• Use of exclamations (e.g. ‘guess what?!’ ; ‘I couldn’t believe it!’)• Use of intensifiers (e.g. ‘really?!’; ‘very amazing’)• Use of temporal conjunctions (e.g. and, then)
  77. 77. Example and Generic Structure Al Brown was very good at fixing things around the house when they broke. One day he went to another city to do some works there, and his wife was alone in the house. While Mr. Brown was away, one of the faucets on the bathtub broke. Mrs. Brown didn’t know much about fixing broken faucets, so she telephoned a plumber.
  78. 78. The plumber came to the house that afternoon and fixedthe faucet in a few minutes. When he finished, he gaveMrs. Brown his bill for the work.She looked at it for several seconds and then said, “Yourprices are very high, aren’t they? Do you know, thedoctor costs less than this when he comes to thehouse?”“Yes, I know,” answered the plumber. “I know that verywell, because I was a doctor until I was lucky enough tofind this job a few months ago.”
  79. 79. P R O C E D U R E
  80. 80. P R O C E D U R E• IS USED TO INFORM AND TO DIRECT SOMEONE ON HOW TO DO or MAKE SOMETHING, or HOW TO ACHIEVE A GOAL• A very important genre in a society because it enables people to get things done• Is commonly used in the oral and written mode• Examples: recipes, games rules, appliance manuals, directions to reach a destination, instructions to do something
  81. 81. generic structure: P R O C E D U RE• GOAL :purpose of doing something• MATERIALS : things needed to realize goal• STEPS : things to do to realize goal
  82. 82. LANGUAGE FEATURES OFPROCEDURE• Generalized participants (things/objects)• The reader or the person following the instructions is referred to in a general way (ONE/YOU) or is not mentioned (Pour the boiling water into a bowl)• Temporal sequence/adverbial of time (first, at the beginning, then, next, finally)• Simple present tense (i.e. imperatives)• Action verbs/material processes (go, hold, take, spread)
  83. 83. Example and Generic Structure• Goal How to make a cheese Omelet• Materials - Ingredients 1 egg, 50 gr cheese, ¼ cup milk, 3 tablespoon cooking oil, a pinch of salt and pepper. - Utensils Frying pan, fork, spatula, cheese grater, bowl, plate.• Steps 1. Crack an egg into a bowl
  84. 84. 2. whisk the egg with a fork until it is smooth3. add milk and whisk well4. grate the cheese into the bowl and stir5. heat the oil in the frying pan6. pour the mixture into the frying pan7. turn the omelet with the spatula when it browns8. cook both sides9. place on a plate; season with salt and pepper10. eat while warm.
  85. 85. SPOOF
  86. 86. SPOOF• IT IS USED TO TELL AN ODD OR FUNNY EVENT BASED ON THE REAL LIFE which is aimed at entertaining. It is usually ended by an unexpected event (TWIST).
  87. 87. generic structure : S P O O F ORIENTATION (Pengenalan) : provides information about the setting (when & where) and introduces participants/character (who)EVENTS (Rekaman Peristiwa, kejadian atau kegiatan yang biasanya disajikan dengan urutan kronoligis)) : tell what happened, in temporal sequence (personal comment/expression of evaluation)TWIST (Unexpected Ending or Funny)
  88. 88. LANGUAGE FEATURES OF SPOOF• Focus on person, animal, certain thing.• Use of action verbs, e.g.: run, eat, etc.• Using adverbs of time and place• Use of Simple Past Tense• Told in chronological order
  90. 90. Example and Generic Structure Penguin in the Park• Orientation Once a man was walking in a park when he came across a penguin.• Event/Activity 1 He took him to a policeman and said, “I have just found this penguin. What should I do ? The policeman replied, “Take him to the zoo.”
  91. 91. • Event/Activity 2 The next day the policeman saw the same man in the same park and the man was still carrying the penguin with him. The policeman was rather surprised and walked up to the man and asked, ”Why are you still carrying that penguin about ? Didn’t you take it to the zoo ?” “I certainly did, “ replied the man.• Twist “and it was a great idea because he really enjoyed it, so today I’m taking him to the movies !”
  92. 92. Example and Generic Structure Penguin in the ParkORIENTATION Once a man was walking in a park when he came across a penguin.EVENT He took him to a policeman and said, “I have just found this penguin. What should I do ? The policeman replied, “Take him to the zoo.”EVENT The next day the policeman saw the same man in the same park and the man was still carrying the penguin with him. The policeman was rather surprised and walked up to the man and asked, ”Why are you still carrying that penguin about ? Didn’t you take it to the zoo ?” “I certainly did, “ replied the man.TWIST “and it was a great idea because he really enjoyed it, so today I’m taking him to the movies !”
  93. 93. REVIEW
  94. 94. REVIEW• To critique an art work, event for a public audience.• Examples: work of arts include: movies, TV shows, books, plays, operas, recordings, exhibitions, concerts and ballets
  95. 95. generic structure: R E V I E W• Orientation Place the work in its general and particular context, often by comparing it with others of its kind or through analogue with a non-art object or event.• Interpretive Recount Summarizes the plot and/or provides an account of how the reviewed rendition of the work came into being; is optional, but if present, often recursive.
  96. 96. • Evaluation (It can be more than one evaluation) provides an evaluation of the work and/or its performance or production; is usually recursive• Evaluative summation (Summary) provides a kind of punch line which sums up the reviewer’s opinion of the art event as a whole; is optional.
  97. 97. LANGUAGE FEATURES OF REVIEW• Focus on Particular Participants (Participant tertentu)• Direct expression of options through use of Attitudinal Epithets in nominal groups; qualitative Attributes and Affective Mental Processes• Use Adjectives showing attitude, e.g.: good, bad, etc.• Use of long and complex clauses• Use of metaphorical language (e.g., the wit was there, dexterously pingponged to and fro …)
  98. 98. Example and Generic Structure Harry Potter Order the Phoenix• Orientation I absolutely love the Harry Potter series, and all of the books will always hold a special place in my heart.• Evaluation 1 I have to say that of all of the books, however, this was not my favorite
  99. 99. • Evaluation 2 When the series began it was as much of a “feel good” experience as a huge mug of hot cocoa. The stories were bright, fast-faced, intriguing, and ultimately satisfying.• Interpretative Recount (tafsiran) Order of the Phoenix is different kind of book. In some instances this works … you feel a whole new; level of intensity and excitement by the time you get to the end. I was truly move by the last page. Other time the book just has a slightly dreary, depressing feel.
  100. 100. The galloping pace of the other books hasslowed to a trot here, and parts of it do seemlong, as if were reading all about Harry “justhanging out” instead of having his usualadventures. Reading in detail about Harrycleaning up an old house, for example-housekeeping is still housekeeping, magical or no, andI’m not very interested in doing it or readingabout other people doing it.
  101. 101. • Summary A few other changes in this book-the “real” world comes much more in to play rather than fantasy universe of the previous books, and Harry is apparently been taken off his meds. I know that he has a lot of to be grumpy in this book, especially with being a teenager and all, but the sudden change in his character seemed too drastic. He goes from being a warm-hearted, considerate person to someone who will bite his best friend’s heads off over nothing. It just seemed like it didn’t fit with his character, like he turned into a walking cliché of the “angry teen” overnight.
  102. 102. The “real” story seemed to happen in thelast 1/3 of the book, and this part I loved. Iactually liked the ending (and yes, I cried)as sad as it was. I packed a punch and itmade me care about the story even more.Still a really good book, with some editingit would have been great.


Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Embodied Education

I’m currently wrapping up teaching spring semester at Middlebury College.  As a freelance choreographer and dancer who is blessed right now to hold a temporary academic position, my mind frequently ricochets between the fortune of my temporary financial stability and the oppression of working for a private school that exemplifies the problematic American capitalist education system.
Though I could easily dedicate this blog to the anger that arises in me from witnessing privilege, cloaked as education, I will instead focus it on what I learned this year from the subject matter I engaged in with my students.  For though the system is deeply flawed, individual students, conversations, and colleagues, continuously rose above the party line this spring and reminded me that education is on-going for all of us.

When the semester started I thought I was teaching 2 classes that would have little cross over; Anatomy/Kinesiology, and a course I designed called Ethics/Aesthetics/Body(I also taught advanced technique, choreographed a solo on a Sr  Dance Major, advised two Sr thesis projects, performed my own solo work locally and internationally, danced as a guest artist with Richard Move, and choreographed a few scenes for a film… but those experiences are for other blogs)

These two classes, one on how we feel, articulate, and move the gross matter of our bodies, and one on how we perceive, judge and value ourselves and each other, seemed highly oppositional when I made the syllabi.  The ethics course is deeply rooted in my graduate research into gender representation, which is a field that looks at everything one does as evidence of gender expression, but decidedly does not engage biology in the discussion.  Anatomy/Kinesiology is designed to explore the opposite, not what we do with our raced/gendered/(dis)abled bodies, but what we are; energy organized into mass, saturated with sensation, separated into muscles, bones, connective tissue, and systems with fancy names.

But as the semester wore on I noticed that while the readings and discussions may have been based in different disciplines, the point of the teaching was the same.  I kept coming back to one thing; what do you see or experience so regularly that it is invisible to you?

In Anatomy/Kinesiology I found that many students had never considered their bodies except for on occasions when they were injured.  Most of them had no concept of the beauty and complexity of the physical systems they utilize everyday to get from bed to class.  All of us develop physical habits that simplify our mind/body connection. These habits can be extremely helpful or extremely detrimental to our well being, but unless we know what we are doing (from slouching, to always standing with our weight on our left leg, to grinding our teeth) and that there are other options, we cannot determine the number of choices we are denying ourselves.  It is impossible to see the value of our body’s intelligence when we are entirely attached to the way we have patterned our selves through repetition

Repetition is also what transforms our various gender performances into our sense of self.  Repetition of the practice of confidence or victimization creates our personality and our concept of our role in the world.  Culture’s repetitions in the form of mass-media-marketing-strategies, capitalist government systems that support a particular family structure, and the on-going struggle for equal wages for equal work among different classes, genders, nationalities and races of people, create assumptions for all of us within a system of, “the way things are.”  Unconsciously, we fit ourselves into these systems and pattern ourselves in line with, or against their standards.  In this value-laden conception of self, we again cannot determine the value of our heart’s intelligence, and/or our attachments to the way we have patterned our selves through both conscious and unconscious repetition, until we can see that our habits are actually choices.

Frequently in my years of teaching dance related subjects, I have found that the best of what I have to offer the students I work with comes from my 18-year (and counting) study of vinyasa yoga.  This semester proved to be no exception, in fact Hinduism, Buddhism and Yoga even have a single word for this shockingly interdisciplinary habitual body/mind; Samskara.

Samskara defines physical and mental patterning as not only the product of this lifetime, but a response to the accumulation of multiple lifetimes of habit building.  Whether or not you believe in reincarnation, the habits of multiple lifetimes are surely what create the cultural/social traditions that enmesh, condition and define us.  Samskara explains how the habits of consciousness we develop in this lifetime, which manifest as our physical posture, intertwine with cultural, raced, gendered, classed memory causing our bodies and minds to be subjected to infinitely more unconscious instructions than conscious ones.

Whether we are talking about tucking our pelvis under as a weakness in our lower back and strain on our hip flexors, or a conditioned response to being told that our butt is too big to be in a certain kind of dance class, we are talking about a detrimental physical/mental habit that the practitioner needs to become aware of, before they can respond to it in a healthy way.  If the realization of pelvic miss-alignment comes through a conversation about the relationship between the curved sacrum and pelvis or an articulation of the lingering Western European dominance in popular dance and marketing aesthetics, it doesn’t really matter.  What the student needs to do is to pause their habitual reactions to what they are experiencing long enough to actually feel their own pelvis.  Where is it right now?

Why am I doing what I am doing?” is an excellent question, but useless, unless one first knows what they are doing and that, more often than not, it is a choice.

One cannot make a change unless one knows where one is to begin with.  That requires listening, feeling, and not holding on so tightly to what you think you know that you cannot see that, "you are a victim of the rules you live by." (Jenny Holzer).

Our embodied experience is contextual and always in motion.  The body's inescapability as our main sensory means of experiencing the world we live in, and its constant state of change, can teach us that mental constructs such as Right/Wrong, Good/Bad, Beautiful/Ugly are also contextual concepts.

It is interesting to teach in a liberal arts institution.  There are a lot of ideas bouncing around.  But in terms of giving the students an opportunity to actually learn something, I am increasingly grateful that I teach an embodied discipline... mostly so that I don't need to justify teaching meditation.   All this liberal arts education is pretty useless with out enough space in it for students to occasionally pause and witness the journey they are on. It is through this understanding, that we are all changing constantly, and that all of life is a process, that students will be able to manifest their own power to contribute to/conduct that flow.


Why clinical trials exist, and how to sign up

A clinical trial is a research method that compares the effects of one treatment with another. The subjects of a clinical trial can be patients, healthy people, or both.

If you are interested to take part in a clinical trial, you can ask your doctor or a patient organisation if they know of any clinical trials that you may be eligible to join. Other ways of finding out including registering your interest in taking part in research online.

The UK Clinical Trials Gateway (UKCTG) website searches through different registers and pulls through information about clinical trials and other research from several different UK registers. When you sign up to it, researchers will get in touch about research that might be suitable for you.

While this is the main method of contact, you can also search the UKCTG site to find trials relevant to you, and you can contact researchers yourself.

If you are looking for something on a global basis, the World Health Organization’s Clinical Trials Search Portal provides access to clinical trials in countries all around the world.

Charities can also be a good source of clinical trials.

Some charities which look for people to take part in clinical trials include:

  • Arthritis Research UK: current clinical trials and studies
  • Cancer Research UK: find a clinical trial
  • Multiple Sclerosis Society: MS clinical trials
  • Target Ovarian Cancer: clinical trials information centre
  • Parkinson’s UK: clinical research

Why would anyone consider being a human guinea pig? If we are brutally honest, that is what it amounts to. And if we were being very honest, we might fine-tune it down to two reasons: treatment and financial incentives.

Clinical trials help doctors to understand about how they can treat a particular disease or condition. It may benefit you, or others like you, in the future. And if you participate in a clinical trial, you may be one of the first people to benefit from a new treatment. However, you must be prepared that the new treatment may turn out to be no better, or worse, than the standard treatment, and that your participation is the method through which they find out. However, you may be placed in the control group, which means you not receive any treatment, but others who do have their results compared to you – and that can be very disappointing.

Some clinical trials offer payment, which can vary from hundreds to thousands of pounds depending on what is involved and expected from you. The majority of trials however are unlikely to offer payment beyond your travel expenses.

Before you sign up to a trial, it is important to find out about the inconvenience and risks involved and to carefully weigh up whether it is worth it. You have to remember that trials can be time consuming – you may be expected to attend a number of screening and follow-up sessions, and some trials require you to stay overnight. In addition to the constraints placed on your time, there may be restrictions on what you can and cannot do – for example, you may be asked to not eat or drink alcohol for a period of time. As trials are essentially the assessment of treatment in their experimental stages, you may experience unknown side effects from the treatment.

All clinical trials of new medicines go through three or four phases to test whether they are safe and whether they work. The medicines will usually be tested against another treatment called a control and the results compared to note any significant effect. The control will either be a dummy treatment (a placebo) or a standard treatment already in use.

The first phase of the trials involves a small number of people, who may be healthy volunteers, are they are given the medicine. In this phase, the drug is being trialled in human volunteers for the first time and the purpose is for the researchers to test for side effects and calculate what the right dose might be to use in treatment. Unfortunately if the doseage is too high side effects can be uncomfortable. Researchers start with small doses and only increase the dose if the volunteers don’t experience any side effects, or if they only experience minor side effects. Sometimes the threshold to which side effects occur is sought – not nice!

In the second phase, the new medicine is tested on a larger group of people who are ill. After having passed the side effects filter, this stage is to get a better idea of its effects in the short term.

The third phase involves medicines that have passed phases one and two. These medicines are tested in larger groups of people who are ill, and then they are compared against an existing treatment or a placebo to compare the benefits or side effects. Often after this stage the treatment is examined for its cost-effectiveness as well.

Some medicines undergo a fourth trial phase while they have been passed for use. The safety, side effects and effectiveness of the medicine continue to be studied while it is being used in practice. However, this is not required for every medicine. It is only carried out on medicines that have passed all the previous stages and have been given marketing licences – a licence means the medicine can be made available on prescription. You can find out about the whole process here in greater detail.

You cannot choose which group you are put in when you are accepted for a clinical trial. You will usually be randomly assigned to either the treatment group – where you’ll be given the treatment being assessed, or the control group – where you’ll be given an existing standard treatment, or a placebo if no proven standard treatment exists.

And while the treatments are different in the two groups, researchers try to keep as many of the other conditions the same as possible, so that the effect of the treatment can be fully quantified. The conditions may extend to the trial groups. For example, both groups should have people of a similar age, with a similar proportion of men and women, who are in similar overall health. In most trials, a computer will be used to randomly decide which group each patient will be allocated to, in order to avoid human bias in selection. In many trials, nobody knows who’s been allocated to receive which treatment. This is known as blinding, and it helps reduce the effects of bias when comparing the outcomes of the treatments.

If you do express interest in a trial, a doctor or nurse is likely to tell you something about it in person before you undergo it. You’ll also be given some printed literature to take away, and if you have concerns over the trial you may come back with some questions you feel haven’t been answered.

Some questions you may ask may include:

Who is funding the trial?
What would happen if something went wrong? It’s rare for patients to be harmed by trial treatments, but you may want to ask about compensation if this were to happen.
Practical questions
How much of my time will be needed?
Will I need to take time off work?
Will I be paid?
Will I have to complete questionnaires or keep a diary?
What are the possible side effects of my treatment?
How could the treatments affect me physically and emotionally?
Who can I contact if I have a problem?
Will someone be available 24 hours a day?
How do I find out the results of the trial?

There are many questions you may have and it is best to feel fully secure before you undergo a trial. As in the case with any treatment, you can’t be sure of the outcome. And if you are part of the treatment group, you may be given a new treatment that turns out not to be as effective as the standard treatment. As with all medicines, it’s possible you’ll experience unexpected side effects. And while it is rare, you must be prepared that you may leave the trial in a slightly poorer state of health than when you entered it! You may decide to stop taking part in a trial if your condition is getting worse or if you feel the treatment isn’t helping you. Your departure can be at any point without giving a reason and without it affecting the care you receive.

A good thing to also bear in mind about trials, too, is that you may have to visit your place of treatment more often, or have more tests, treatments or monitoring, than you would if you were receiving the standard treatment in usual care.

At the end of the trial, the results are published by the researchers and are then made available to anyone who took part and wanted to know the results. If the researchers neglect to offer you the results and you want to know, you are well within your right to ask for them. Bigger agencies such as the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), have websites where they publish the results of the research they have supported.

Trials are regulated and judged ethical by the MHRA. Before a clinical trial of a new medicine can begin, a government agency called the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) needs to review and authorise it. One of the functions the MHRA performs is in inspecting sites where trials take place to make sure they’re conducted in line with good clinical practice.

Another body, the Health Research Authority (HRA) works to protect and promote the interests of patients and the public in health research. It is responsible for research ethics committees up and down the country.

All medical research involving people in the UK, whether in the NHS or the private sector, first has to be approved by an independent research ethics committee. The committee protects the rights and interests of the people who will be in the trial.

What are the benefit of clinical trials? Well, they can benefit us in many ways. For example, clinical trials can:

  • prevent illnesses by testing a vaccine
  • detect or diagnose illnesses by testing a scan or blood test
  • treat illnesses by testing new or existing medicines
  • find out how best to provide psychological support
  • find out how people can control their symptoms or improve their quality of life – for example, by testing how a particular diet affects a condition

Many clinical trials are designed to show whether new medicines work as expected. These results are sent to the MHRA, which decides whether to allow the company making the medicine to market it for a particular use. The company usually applies for a twenty year patent to cover the research and marketing of the drug exclusively.

If research has identified a new medicine, the MHRA must license it before it can be marketed. Licensing shows a treatment has met certain standards of safety and effectiveness. The safety of the medicine must be monitored carefully over the first few years of a newly licensed treatment. This is because rare side effects that weren’t obvious in clinical trials may show up for the first time.

You may not have been selected for a trial but you may express interest in the results. You can find various results of clinical trials from sources such as:

  • The Lancet medical journal
  • British Medical Journal (BMJ)
  • The New England Journal of Medicine
  • Cochrane Library – a collection of high-quality evidence
  • NHS Evidence database

Many of these publications offer abstracts, which are shorter summaries of the research. If you wish to delve deeper,
you usually have to take up a subscription to the journal. But before you do so, consider that research papers are not written in plain English and often use many medical, scientific and statistical terms which then make them possibly very difficult to understand.

The mainstream media offer a more readable version of the research. But do bear in mind, too, that while news stories are easier to read than original research papers, sometimes the findings are exaggerated or sensationalised in order to sell papers!

Mental Health Medication – Concerns and Ethics

One of the most common questions about mental health problems is whether people need medication to deal with them, or whether they can be simply dealt with through therapy. Mental health problems can range from the not so severe – such as mild anxiety – to more severe problems like long-term depression. There are some that see medication as a short term, quick fix solution – it will give relief fast, but it doesn’t really teach one to deal with the heart of the problem – hence the suggestion of therapy and counselling. Yet there are those that remain convinced that while therapy re-educates the patient and deals with mental health difficulties on a long term basis, sometimes medication provides a greater level of immediacy in providing a solution, that its role cannot be denied. Should I take medication for _______” is one of the most frequent queries received. The ideal solution is probably a combination of medication and therapy, whilst gradually reducing the level of medication and therapy as the patient progresses.

Medication can be useful. For example, for those with paralysing anxiety, medication can minimise the stress and anxiety placed upon an individual by these stressors until the level of anxiety is at a comfortable and manageable level, enabling one to live their daily life while keeping their anxiety at a level they can control. However, for individuals with a severe mental health condition such as schizophrenia, the use of medication may be necessary in order to attain a level of mental stability and hence safety.

But medication is not just for a stabilising calm influence. For those, however, for whom facing the day is a burden, and who remain unable to get out of bed in the morning because depression has stolen all motivation, mental health medication can provide a jumpstart, an impetus to face the day. Certain people may benefit from taking psychotropic medication. For example, a study funded by the National Institute of Mental Health found that some individuals who were prescribed the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) Paxil, because they experienced moderate to severe depression, experienced positive changes in mood, together with significant improvements in depressive symptoms. There was a marked decrease in the level of neuroticism and a similar increase in extroversion. These effects occured over a period of eight weeks and were nearly equivalent to the changes most adults experience in the course of a lifetime.

According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, human beings must satisfy more basic needs such as food and shelter before they attend to more self-actualising needs. It is difficult for most people to focus on avenues of self-growth when they are in crisis or struggling with anxiety, depression, or other mental health conditions. In some cases the polarisation can even lead them further into depression. In this instance, medication can support the psychotherapy process, and a stabilised person can progress further in psychotherapy having had the needs at the lower end of the hierarchy addressed. For example, a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that cognitive behavioural therapy combined with targeted medication tends to lead to significant improvement of attention deficit hyperactivity symptoms in adults. And in the long term, of course, a common outcome of successful psychotherapy is the reduction or elimination of the need for medications, so medication can be viewed as a temporary measure.

And while we have to recognise its benefits for the short term, we have to realise that medication can be harmful for some individuals if taken over a prolonged period. Most, if not all, drugs come with potential risks and side effects. Some can be minimal and tolerable while others carry disadvantages best considered as trade-offs. The side effects range from physical ones to emotional and psychological ones. Physical side effects range from dizziness, drowsiness, or changes in appetite, and/or weight gain. Emotional and psychological side effects may range from mood swings, disinterest in activities, or emotional numbness and a lack of empathy. Prescribed over a long term, antipsychotics may cause permanent damage by leading to conditions such as tardive dyskinesia or Parkinsonism, and may even cause death. The death may not be triggered by physical caused, but by mental irrational thinking. A 2005 article in the Harvard Mental Health Letter spelt out in detail the increasing awareness of risks associated with SSRI antidepressants, such as a potential increase in suicidal thinking and behaviours for adults and children under 24 years of age. One could, however, speculate if the suicidal thoughts were triggered by the medication directly, or whether it was the prospect of lifetime medication without an apparent cure that caused these feelings of hopelessness. Whichever you look at it, it is fair to say that there are people who will benefit from taking these medications, but also people who may experience lasting harm as a result of antidepressant use. The use of medication remains a double-edged sword.

But there are lines of thought that ascribe that medication is not always a necessary process. While medication may be effective for treating certain conditions, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and Vanderbilt University suggested that, over a period of 16 months, cognitive therapy was a more effective means of preventing a relapse into depression than antidepressants alone. Research findings published in the Journal of the Amercan Medical Association found that while antidepressants were helpful for those experiencing severe depression, milder to moderate forms of depression derived more benefit from other treatment options, such as therapy. A 2010 article published in Newsweek arrived at the same conclusions, suggesting that, for some individuals, antidepressants are little more than a placebo.

To summarise what I’ve said so far: mental health is best addressed through a combination of therapy and medication. Severe forms of mental depression, which require more immediate intervention, would benefit from prescription drugs and therapy, while therapy alone may be sufficient enough for milder forms. Medication provides short-term benefit, especially in higher forms of depression, but we must be cautious over its long-term use because it can have side effects.

Medication can interfere with the emotions as well as the psychotherapy process. One of the most common side effects of psychotropic medication is difficulty feeling certain emotions, perhaps even a lack of empathy, once enough doseage of a drug accumulates in a person’s system. When we consume too much of a drug that is meant to limit our nerves, for example, many people complain of losing the feelings they used to have, report a reduction in their ability to laugh or cry, or experience a decrease in libido. These are the effects of medicines with a calming influence. Other side effects extend to one’s sexuality and love relationships, such as diminished sexual interest. Medication can also limit hyperactivity in the brain, acting as an emotional relaxant, but this slows emotional processing for some, and in doing so, covering up underlying issues and causing the psychotherapy process to be slowed down. A possible consequence of taking too much medication and becoming numb to feelings is the increased likelihood that a person will not become conscious of the emotional or somatic burdens which can cause of stress and suicidal feelings. It may be stretching things a little, but if you view medication as a substance, just like we view alcohol – too much consumption leads to physical health problems, as well as a capacity for clear thought processing – we can get a better idea of how the prescription of medication might not always be a clear-cut issue.

Proponents of a little- or no-medication approach to mental health point out that many emotional and mental health issues are not reducible to a biochemical imbalance. Life events — what happens to and around us – can impact on our mental health, and because medications do not change how people relate psychologically to their experiences, medication alone cannot “fix” all psychological issues. In fact, the temporal masking of life circumstances by medication is probably what induces people to overdose in the first place, taking more medication to completely obviate one to one’s surroundings. Treatment with medication alone can be like stitching up a bullet wound without taking the bullet out first – dealing with the effects without dealing with the cause. It is one of the main criticisms of the medical profession.

Furthermore, an over-simplification of what causes depression has led to the development of anti-depressant drugs that are actually designed to treat or minimise stress. These medications are often of little use because they have been tested on animals, and for the laboratory animals such as rats chronic stress does not cause depression. Psychotherapy, on the other hand, is often able to discover and treat some of the mental health issues that may contribute to depression, such as psychological trauma and anxiety. For example, a 1995 Consumer Reports study shows that some individuals experiencing mental health issues were significantly helped by psychotherapy. The study found that long-term therapy had, in general, the most beneficial effect, and that treatment with therapy alone was no less effective than treatment with medication and psychotherapy.

In an article “Mind over Meds,” which appeared in a 2010 issue of The New York Times Magazine, Dr. Daniel Carlat, a psychopharmacologist, found that the individuals he treated responded better to a combination of treatment with psychotherapy and medication together than they did purely with medication alone. The provision of counselling in addition to medication helped them to be better able to understand the true nature of their concerns. His findings are supported by research that therapy can stimulate the growth of neurons and synaptic connections between neurons. However, medication for depression, anxiety, and other emotional problems do not stimulate the brain; instead they dampen the brain’s mental activity. Therapy is capable of healing core problems and facilitating long-term changes, and why medication alone cannot. But medication is important in areas where the mental thoughts of the individual needs to be reduced to a lower level of activity.

Psychotropic drugs are prescribed to treat a variety of mental health issues when those issues cause significant impairment to healthy functioning. They work by changing or balancing the amount of important chemicals in the brain called neurotransmitters. The reduction or increase of neurotransmitters such as dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine have shown better mood improvements in some individuals. The ideal s to achieve a tolerable balance of these chemicals in order for the individual to attain a healthy life. Psychotropic drugs are usually prescribed by a psychiatrist, a psychiatric nurse practitioner (PMHNP), or a primary care physician

According to the WHO, one in four individuals will experience a mental health issue at some point in their lives. Depression and anxiety are among the most common issues, and these issues can affect people regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, or background. Researchers cannot point to the triggers of mental health impairment, but they can be attributable to environmental factors, genetics, traumatic events or serious injuries and result in psychological symptoms that persist for years.

As we have seen before, for some individuals psychotropic drugs are often not enough are best used as a supplement, and not a replacement, to therapy. Social support from family and friends, structured therapy, lifestyle changes – all leading to a change of environment – can all be important factors in the recovery process. But in some severe mental health issues may require inpatient rehabilitation before the person experiencing them can return to everyday life.

Certain individuals who are prescribed psychiatric medications may prefer not to take them, or they find that these medications do not improve their symptoms enough to outweigh any side effects or risks. Before you take any medication, it is always advisable to speak with your GP or seek specialist advice.

One major cause of concern regarding mental health and medication is the practice of prescribing medications that were originally developed for adults to children. The increase in diagnoses of psychiatric conditions in children – bipolar in particular – has led to an increase in the amount of children who take psychiatric medications. Many of which have only been fully tested in adults, and children take them in smaller doses, but the long-term impact of medication, as well as the effect on children who have yet to reach puberty needs to be examined.

Several different types of medications are used to treat mental health conditions. These include antipsychotics and anti-depressants.

Antipsychotics: These medications are most often prescribed for the treatment of psychotic issues such as schizophrenia. These drugs fall into two categories, typical and atypical antipsychotics.

The brand name is listed first, and the active ingredient is in parentheses.

Typical antipsychotics include:
Thorazine (chlorpromazine)
Trilafon (perphenazine)
Stelazine (trifluoperazine)
Serentil (mesoridazine)
Prolixin (fluphenazine)
Navane (thiothixene)
Moban (molindone)
Mellaril (thioridazine)
Loxitane (loxapine)
Haldol (haloperidol)

Atypical antipsychotics include:
Abilify (aripiprazole)
Clozaril (clozapine)
Geodon (ziprasidone)
Risperdal (risperidone)
Seroquel (quetiapine)
Zyprexa (olanzapine)

Antidepressants are a broad category of psychotropic drugs used for treating depression. There are several different classifications of antidepressants:

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs): These medications gradually increase the amount of serotonin, a neurotransmitter, in the brain. Common SSRIs include:

Celexa (citalopram)
Lexapro (escitalopram)
Luvox (fluvoxamine)
Paxil (paroxetine)
Prozac (fluoxetine)
Zoloft (sertraline)

Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs): A less common variety of antidepressant drugs, MAOIs are often a last option with complex, treatment-resistant depression. Common MAOIs include:

Emsam (selegiline)
Marplan (isocarboxazid)
Nardil (phenelzine)
Parnate (tranylcypromine)

Tricyclics (TCAs): These older antidepressant medications have been pushed to the sidelines by newer, generally safer medications. Still, some people do not respond to the new antidepressants, so TCAs may be prescribed. Tricyclic medications include:

Anafranil (clomipramine)
Asendin (amoxapine)
Elavil (amitriptyline)
Norpramin (desipramine)
Pamelor (nortriptyline)
Sinequan (doxepin)
Surmontil (trimipramine)
Tofranil (imipramine)
Vivactil (protiptyline)

Selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs): These medications work by slowly increasing the amount of norepinephrine in the brain. Common SNRIs include:

Pristiq (desvenlafaxine)
Effexor (venlafaxine)
Cymbalta (duloxetine)

Antianxiety/antipanic medications: These medications are used to treat a variety of chronic and acute anxiety issues, from generalized anxiety to panic attacks. Antianxiety and antipanic medications on the market include:

Ativan (lorazepam)
BuSpar (buspirone)
Inderal (propranolol)
Klonopin (clonazepam)
Librium (chlordiazepoxide)
Serax (oxazepam)
Tenormin (atenolol)
Tranxene (clorazepate)
Valium (diazepam)
Xanax (alprazolam)

Stimulants: Typically, stimulants are prescribed to people with attention-deficit hyperactivity (ADHD). They help regulate disorganized thought processes. Psychomotor stimulants include:

Adderall (amphetamine and dextroamphetamine)
Dexedrine (dextroamphetamine)
Ritalin (methylphenidate)

Mood stabilisers: This category of psychotropic medication is typically used to treat intense, repeated shifts in a person’s mood, which may be common for those experiencing bipolar, schizophrenia, or borderline personality. Many mood stabiliser drugs are also commonly categorized as anticonvulsant medications.

Lamictal (lamotrigine)

In 2013, the most prescribed psychotropic drugs in the United States (with the number of prescriptions written during the year) were:

Xanax (alprazolam), 48.5 million
Zoloft (sertraline), 41.4 million
Celexa (citalopram), 39.4 million
Prozac (fluoxetine), 28.3 million
Ativan (lorazepam), 27.9 million
Desyrel (trazodone HCL), 26.2 million
Lexapro (escitalopram), 24.9 million
Cymbalta (duloxetine), 18.6 million
Wellbutrin XL (bupropion HCL XL), 16.1 million
Effexor XR (venlafaxine HCL ER), 15.8 million

Should one be dismayed by the number of prescriptions in a YEAR alone, as well as the various types of medications available? However you feel about them, they all point to mental health as a significant issue, one that we cannot ignore. We have, however, to cautiously consider that medications that seem appropriate at this time may not be at a later stage. Ultimately, it is best that we learn to function without additive medication in the long term, not just because of their side effects – but if we are being cynical, under pressures of financial cost, medical research may in time suggest that certain forms of mental health medication were inadequate in the first place, and if funding is withdrawn patients may find themselves dependent on medication that they have to make their own provisions for – or worryingly, do without.

And it would be unfortunately ironic if the concerns over provision for mental health became another life stressor.

Beta blockers and their impact on heart attack sufferers

Recent research suggests that the prescription of beta blockers for heart attack patients may not have the benefit ascribed to them.

In the UK, the prescription of beta blockers is routine for patients who have had a heart attack. There are two categories of patients – those who have had a heart attack, and those who have had a heart attack with heart failure, the latter of which is the more severe case. A heart attack involving heart failure is a complication in which the heart muscle has experienced damage and where proper function is compromised.

Beta blockers work by reducing the activity of the heart and lower blood pressure. In essence, the pressure on the heart is lessened by a reduced demand on it.

Current guidelines recommend that the first group of patients are prescribed beta blockers, while for those in the second group, who have experienced heart failure, beta blockers are mandatory.

The research investigated the effect of beta blockers on the first group, for whom beta blockers are recommended but not compulsory. The findings suggested that 95% of patients in the first group did not experience a significantly longer life span and beta blockers did not have any significant impact. There was no statistical difference in death rates within a year large enough to attribute to any positive impact of the beta blockers.

As the data involved tracking a very large sample size of 179,810 people, the results could be deemed to be fairly accurate.

So what the ramifications of this research?

The first is that the vast majority of the first group of heart attack patients are being over-prescribed beta blockers. Beta blockers, while reducing the workload of the heart, can induce side effects such as drowsiness and fatigue as a result of lower blood pressure. Patients may be experiencing these burdens on their health unnecessarily.

The second issue is that over-prescription causes an unnecessary burden on the NHS if it is prescribing drugs unnecessarily. Imagine a patient who has just had a heart operation. While he or she is recuperating in hospital, beta blockers are prescribed as part of the medication. Multiply that by over 100,000, and the result is an unnecessary annual cost to the NHS if the drugs that are needless and have no impact.

Furthermore, the use of drugs with no apparent benefit can, in the long run, only weaken the body’s immunity.

The findings of the survey, however, do not reflect on the impact of beta blockers on the second group of patients – those who have had a heart attack involving heart failure. Another outcome of the findings was the suggestion that treatment be more personalised in order to locate and target patients in the first group who would benefit from the prescription of beta blockers for heart attacks which did not involve heart failure.

Beta-blockers are prescription-only medicines, commonly referred to as POMS, which means they cannot be obtained over the counter. They must be prescribed by a GP or pharmacist. They work by blocking the action of hormones like adrenaline in order to reduce the activity of the heart.

Examples of commonly used beta-blockers include:

  • atenolol (Tenormin)
  • bisoprolol (Cardicor, Emcor)
  • carvedilol metoprolol (Betaloc, Lopresor)
  • nebivolol (Nebilet)
  • propranolol (Inderal)

The generic name which contains the active ingredient is named first, the brand name is in parentheses.

There are many types of beta-blockers and they may be used to treat symptoms such as angina, heart failure, atrial fibrillation (irregular heartbeat), heart attack or high blood pressure. Those are the more common uses of beta-blockers, also they can also be used for migraine or to treat an overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism), anxiety, tremor, anxiety conditions or even glaucoma.

Beta-blockers, including beta-blocker eye drops, can interact with other medicines, and in doing so alter the effects of one of the medicines. Some of the more common medicines that can cause interference through interaction with beta-blockers include medicines such as anti-arrhythmics (used to control irregular heartbeats), antihypertensives (medicines for lowering blood pressure), antipsychotics, and clonidine, which is commonly used to treat high blood pressure and migraine.

While the most common side-effects of beta-blockers are dizziness and tiredness, other arising side-effects can include blurred vision, cold hands and feet, and slow heartbeat.

Less common symptoms may include sleep disturbance (insomnia), depression, impotence or libido.

The majority of beta-blockers are to be taken once a day, with the exception of certain beta-blockers that are used during pregnancy and the beta-blocker Sotalol, which is administered two or three times a day. The NHS estimates the annual cost of Sotalol per patient to be 77.09 a year.

On the face of it, the results of the research are pretty straightforward. But are they as almost too straightfoward, to warrant the question of why such research needed to be conducted in the first place?
One cannot blame the cynics for questioning what outcomes the research is meant to arrive at.

Let’s consider the matter in a different light. It is estimated that heart attack survivors have a higher risk of recurrent heart attacks or cardiac death, and 10% of heart attack sufferers die within two years. Only 50% of initial survivors are alive at 10 years.

It is not unreasonable to surmise that those who suffer initial heart attacks either experience mortality between the first and second year or develop recurrent attacks which push them to a compulsory prescription of beta-blockers.

Critics to the research point out that a fairer assessment on the effects of beta-blockers should have examined an extended time period of two years rather than one year. They also point out that the research should have focussed on how many heart attack sufferers, who did not have heart failure, and who then did not use beta-blockers, went on to develop recurrent heart attacks, or heart attacks that included heart failure, as it would be more indicative of the effectiveness of beta blockers.

So why did the findings choose to use the timeframe of a year?

The NHS makes baseline assessments on the cost effectiveness of medicines and treatments according to a scale of quality-adjusted life years, or QALYs. It weighs the cost of treatment against the number of years of significant benefit to the patient gained from the treatment. According to the NHS, a figure of twenty thousand pounds per QALY represents treatment that is value for money. In other words, if a treatment can extend and improve a patient’s life for a year, and costs under 20,000, it is worth it.

The NHS’s Regional Drug and Therapeutic Centre, based in Newcastle, gives the cost of beta blockers as between 10 and 512 pounds annually, depending on the type of beta-blocker required. While this falls well within the QALY threshold of 20,000 pounds, using the research findings that beta blockers have no significant impact on health within the first year allows it to scrap the cost of funding this treatment because beta-blockers supposedly offer no significant benefit. The research has focussed on a time period that cannot significantly examine the effectiveness of beta blockers.

Cynics suggest that the research is merely an attempt to reframe the data regarding beta-blockers in order to minimise the cost of healthcare in an NHS which is lacking in resources.

Medical research, is unfortunately often subservient to economics and often the research appears to be carried out to arrive at a pre-planned conclusion. Wasn’t it long ago, when the economic crisis was looming and the government was looking to raise tax on alcohol, that we were told a glass of red wine a day had health benefits? Yet when the NHS struggled years later and was overburdened by drunken citizens dialling emergency services the evidence peddled about red wine was to the contrary.

Risks of stomach bleeding increased by aspirin in over-75s

A recent study by researchers in Oxford in June this year suggested that taking aspirin daily may have led to higher incidences of bleeding in the over-75 age group.

BBC News reported that those in the over-75 age group taking daily aspirin as a precautionary measure after a stroke or heart attack were at a higher risk of stomach bleeds than had been previously conceived.

The Oxford Vascular Study was carried out by researchers from the University of Oxford and funded by the Wellcome Trust, Wolfson Foundation, British Heart Foundation, Dunhill Medical Trust, National Institute of Health Research (NIHR), and the NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre.

The study aimed to assess the bleeding risk for people taking aspirin for the secondary prevention of cardiovascular events. In other words, the people in the research had already had a stroke or heart attack and were taking aspirin to try and prevent them having another. The follow-up period was for up to 10 years with the intention of seeing how many of them were admitted to hospital with bleeds.

Aspirin performs the function of a blood thinner and hence it is often given to people thought to be at risk from blood clots, which, if left unchecked, could trigger a heart attack or stroke. Unfortunately, a potential downside is that it can trigger bleeding in the digestive system or brain.

The researchers found that for under-75s taking aspirin, the annual risk of bleeding is around 1%. However, this risk factor is tripled for those over the age of 75. What was more disturbing was the bleeds were particularly associated with those of the stomach and upper digestive tract. 405 bleeding events required medical attention during the follow-up period, and of these, 187 of which were major bleeds. 40% of bleeds were in the upper digestive tract. The risk of disabling or fatal bleeding of the upper digestive tract was 10 times higher for over-75s compared with younger adults.

The findings of the research suggested that prescribing proton pump inhibitor (PPIs) could significantly reduce these risks in older adults. PPIs are drugs which help defend the lining of the stomach and the risk of a bleed is minimised.

Currently, the prescription of PPIs together with aspirin is not routine for over-75s. While PPIs can considerably reduce the risk of digestive bleeding for regular aspirin users, there are concerns over their side effects, which can include nausea and constipation.

The findings, however, only apply to people taking regular aspirin for secondary prevention of cardiovascular events, and cannot be directly applied to people for primary prevention (that is, people with risk factors for cardiovascular disease but who have not yet had an event such as a stroke or heart attack), or to people using aspirin for brief periods for example to treat pain or fever.

But it must be stressed that no-one should come off the pills quickly, or without consulting their doctor, as doing so would create an immediate risk of heart attacks.

Around 40 per cent of pensioners in the UK take aspirin daily. This estimate is also evenly split between those who have already suffered a heart attack or stroke, and those taking it as a precaution.

Prof Peter Rothwell, the lead author from the University of Oxford said aspirin was causing around 20,000 bleeds annually – and causing at least 3,000 deaths.

Prof Rothwell said: “We know clearly from trials and other research that aspirin is effective at preventing recurrent heart attacks and strokes. Twenty per cent of potential recurrent heart attacks and strokes are prevented by aspirin.

“Nevertheless, there are also about 3,000 excess bleeding deaths attributable to blood-thinners like aspirin across all age-groups,” he said, warning that the risk of serious bleeding is much higher among the over 75s.

“You would probably be advised to stop it in your late 60s or around 70 because at that point the risk of bleeding does start to take off – the risks may well outweigh the benefits,” he said.

Dr Tim Chico, consultant cardiologist, University of Sheffield, said the risks of aspirin were often understimated. “Although bleeding is a well-recognised side effect of aspirin, this drug is still seen by many people as harmless, perhaps because of how easily it can be bought over the counter, “ he said. “Prescription of any drug is a balance between the benefits of the medication against its risks, and aspirin is no different,” he said.

The need for cautious antibiotic usage

Antibiotics are medicines which are used to treat forms of bacterial infection or prevent their spread. As the name “antibiotics” suggest, they are anti-bodies and work by killing bacteria or preventing them from reproducing and spreading.

That all sounds impressive. But unfortunately antibodies don’t work for everything. For example, antibiotics don’t work for viral infections such as colds and flu, and most coughs and sore throats. Someone suffering from these infections usually get better without the use of antibiotics. The use of antibiotics to treat these is actually counter-productive, as taking antibiotics when you don’t need them encourages dangerous bacteria that live inside you to become resistant. Over time, this will mean that when you require the help of antibiotics most, they may not work for you as you may have actually been encouraging the tolerance of bacteria by suppressing your body’s ability to fight bacteria.

So don’t use antibiotics for common ailments that can get better on their own. In these situations, what you need is pain relief, and there are many options to choose from. However, antibiotics may be used to treat bacterial infections in cases such as when bacteria could infect others unless treated or infections are not likely to clear up without antibiotics. In other words, if there is further risk of infection to others, or complications which may arise from a lack of treatment, then a course of antibiotics is best followed.

The doses of antibiotics vary but if you are prescribed a course, then take the antibiotics as directed on the packet or the patient information leaflet that comes with the medication. If in doubt then seek advice from the pharmacist.

Antibiotics can be administered in various ways. The most common antibiotics are oral ones, in the form of capsules, tablets or liquid. These are commonly used to treat moderate infections or infections which are milder. There are also topical antibiotics, which are basically creams, lotions, sprays or drops, which are often administered for skin infections.

Topical and oral antibiotics are for less-serious infections. More serious infections, where the medicine has to be absorbed more quickly into the bloodstream, have to be treated by antibiotics administered through injection or drip infusion.

It is essential to finish taking a prescribed course of antibiotics, even if you feel better before the course has ended The prescribed doseage is the estimated time it will take to completely kill off the bacteria. Midway through a course, you may have killed off enough bacteria to not be under the effect of the infection, but stopping the course of antibiotics then can leave the remaining bacteria become resistant to the antibiotic.

But what if you missing a dose of antibiotics? If that is the case, then it is advisable to take that dose as soon as you remember and then continue to take your course of antibiotics as normal. However, if you have missed a dose and only remembered it when it is nearly time for the next dose, it is preferable to simply skip it and merely to continue your regular dosing schedule. Taking two doses only encourages the body to anticipate needing the double doseage in order to fight the infection, and messes up the body’s resistance levels.

Furthermore, there is a higher risk of side effects if you take two doses closer together than recommended. You may experience effects such as pain in your stomach, diarrhoea, and feeling or being sick. Most side effects are gastro-intestinal, and overdosing on anti-biotics may cause bloating, indigestion and diarrhoea.

Some people may have an allergic reaction to antibiotics, especially penicillin and a type called cephalosporins. In very rare cases, this can lead to a serious allergic reaction (anaphylaxis), which is a medical emergency. Sufferers carry an epi-pen and the drug is administered in the bloodstream through injection.

Antibiotics are not over the counter medicines and you should never use any remaining tablets arising from someonbe else’s incomplete course, as you may experience different reactions to the drug. Some antibiotics are also not suitable for people with certain medical conditions, or women who are pregnant or breastfeeding, as they may, for example, adversely affect the lining of the stomach. You should only ever take antibiotics prescribed for you and also never pass them on to someone else.

Antibiotics are only still chemicals and depending on the constituents, some can also react unpredictably with other medications, such as the oral contraceptive pill and alcohol. It’s important to read the information leaflet that comes with your medication carefully and discuss any concerns with your pharmacist or GP.

Aminoglycosides (such as gentamicin and tobramycin) – tend to only be used in hospital to treat very serious illnesses such as septicaemia, as they can cause serious side effects, including hearing loss and kidney damage; they’re usually given by injection, but may be given as drops for some ear or eye infections

Tetracyclines (such as tetracycline and doxycycline)– can be used to treat a wide range of infections, but are commonly used to treat moderate to severe acne and rosacea

Macrolides (such as erythromycin and clarithromycin) – can be particularly useful for treating lung and chest infections, or an alternative for people with a penicillin allergy, or to treat penicillin-resistant strains of bacteria

Fluoroquinolones (such as ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin) – broad-spectrum antibiotics that can be used to treat a wide range of infections

The use of antibiotics especially for conditions that aren’t serious has led to a rise in the number of high-tolerant infections, or superbugs. These superbugs and have a high tolerance to many anti-bodies and include:

methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)
Clostridium difficile (C. diff)
the bacteria that cause multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB)
carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE)

Ridding the world of these types of infections can be challenging, and these superbugs are becoming an increasing cause of disability and death across the world. The biggest worry is that new strains of bacteria may emerge with higher levels of resistance and that can’t be effectively treated by any existing antibiotics, so we have to be wary in how we use them, and when we suffer from minor infections, let the body try to fight off the infection instead of relying on antibiotics which may weaken the body’s immunity in the long run.

Drugs and Side Effects

All drugs come with side effects, whether they be common off-the-counter medicines or ones that require specialist prescription. Most of these effects can be minor, and some can just be an inconvenience – like having to go to the toilet more often than usual. But a few are serious, and some can just have unforeseen effects that address other ailments.

The most common set of side effects for drugs taken internally involves the gastrointestinal system. Because all prescription drugs invariably end up broken down in the stomach, nearly any drug can cause nausea or an upset stomach. The chances of these happening are quite rare, though for the handful of users this happens too the results can be quite upsetting. For drugs used externally, skin irritation is a common complaint. Which leads me to wonder – if you are merely replacing one symptom with another, is medicine merely an elimination of an ill-effect by replacement through increasingly minor symptoms, until they are bearable?

Side effects fall into several categories. The most common allergic reactions can happen with any drug and can range from itching and rash, which cause flaring on the skin and trigger even more itching and rash. They can be serious all the way up to a life-threatening anaphylactic reaction.

So if drugs have side effects, why not just get rid of these effects in the course of construction? Surely the likes of Glaxo Smith Kline, with their huge companies and research budget, can afford to genetically alter the drugs and lower the side effects? Some drugs can’t help but trigger side effects because of their chemical structure. One example is the common allergy drug diphenhydramine (more commonly known by the brand name Benadryl). It eases allergy symptoms but in the course of doing so, it also suppresses the activity of the body chemical acetylcholine. The side effect it causes is drowsiness and a host of other side effects, including dry mouth. It seems like to minimise allergies, it makes you fall asleep. Surely any fool could do that? Want to stop scratching? Go to bed!

Some drugs typically have barely noticeable side effects when dosed properly. The side effects can be minimal externally but internally they can be quite serious. For example, Warfarin (also known as Coumadin or marketed as Jantoven), is used to prevent blood clots, and while it is usually well tolerated, it can cause serious internal bleeding. I suppose it is like cancer, or heavy consumption of alcohol.

And while side effects may exist within the drug itself, further complications may also occur when certain drugs are mixed with certain other things. If you are mixing different types of drugs together, the combined chemical properties might cause complications. I suppose this is why my mother used to say never take Neurofen and Paracetamol within hours of each other. These might also be considered drug interactions. Drinking alcohol with narcotic painkillers has also caused an alarming increase in accidental overdose deaths. What??? Again, part of me wonders whether it isthe interactions of these chemicals that induced these, or whether it was because drinkers thought they had taken drugs to counter the effects like headaches, and then proceeded to consume more than they would normally have. Drinking grapefruit juice can affect the blood levels of several drugs, including some blood pressure and cholesterol medicines. Citrus fruits tend not to mix well with other foods, although vodka and orange seem a common mix?

Information about drugs legally has to be made available on the label of over-the-counter drug products and on package inserts or printed materials included with the packaging. Usually on the outer box you will find the concise version of all the drug does, and the inserts include the longer version. Because this could be potentially be a long list of possible bad effects, and written in a technical style, it is very helpful to also talk to pharmacists or doctors if you have any queries regarding a drug’s side effects.

Drugs are sometimes prescribed to young children – the more common examples are for hyperactivity, although depression prescriptions are becoming increasingly common, even for children under the age of ten. In the case of hyperactivity, for example, we should always be mindful of simply prescribing medication because it may be that the behaviour is a response to the demands of the task. In the case of depression, it may be that the individual is overwhelmed by demands, and coping strategies, rather than medication, may provide better help. Drugs should be carefully considered because one of the long term side effects is addiction and resistance to medication.

In America, before a drug is released on the market it must be approved by the FDA. Pharmaceutical companies typically submitted New Drug Applications (NDAs) which contain the pre-requisite clinical evidence demonstrating that the drug has the therapeutic effect it is supposed to have. The NDA must also contain proof that the drug is safe for human use. Unfortunately this proof comes from testing of the drug, first in animals and then in humans. Is it fair that rabbits and rats should suffer for the human race, in cages, doused with experimental acids to see if they develop irritations or severe symptoms? I guess you have to decide for yourself where you stand on that.

Homeopathic remedies may still be a long way away before they can be relied wholly on as a cure, but the day where herbal or plant-based remedies replace animal-treated alternatives is one we can look forward to. Once the basic questions of safety are settled, the FDA will approve the drug if it deems that the benefits outweigh its risks.

Sometimes not everything is known about a drug’s side effects until after it enters the marketplace and more people start using it. The pool of human testers is fairly small, so until a large data sample of users is obtained the side effects are not wholly known. MedWatch, the FDA’s post-marketing surveillance program seeks voluntary input, mainly from health care professionals, on adverse effects they may be seeing in ”the real world”. Sometimes these reports are numerous and serious enough for the FDA to take regulatory action, either through the addition of warnings to a drug’s label. One example of that involves the psoriasis drug Raptiva. The FDA required that the drug carry the agency’s strongest warning, known as a black box warning, after reports of brain infections and meningitis in patients taking the drug were received. The side effects were deemed so dangerous that the drug was later withdrawn from the market. Did the testers not recognise this when the lab mice died?

In soliciting feedback, the FDA also wants input from consumers using the various prescription drugs. All prescription drugs must be labelled with a toll-free number maintained by the agency for the purpose of reporting side effects with drugs. The FDA labels these “adverse events.” Severe side-effects can be reported through calling MedWatch at 1-800-FDA-1088 or through the FDA web site: www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch/HowToReport/default.htm.

As we have seen earlier, the post-marketing information coming in to the FDA is so disturbing that it results in a drug coming off the market. Another case can be seen with the drug Baycol, which lowers cholesterol, after it was strongly linked to a potentially fatal breakdown of muscle tissue. While it had been initially approved in 1997, it was voluntarily withdrawn just four years later when evidence of its side effects was published. The anti-inflammatory drug Duract spent just one year on the market. It had been approved as a product strictly for short-term use, but the FDA found serious liver problems with people taking the drug for longer than what was recommended. Which begs the question: “Who is responsible for regulating patients’ consumption of medicines?” While they are safety guards in place, such as some drugs available only on prescription, what is to stop patients obtaining multiple prescriptions?

That aside, drug companies are also required to report adverse events to the FDA, and failure to do so can lead to prosecution. In 1985, two drug companies were fined and sentenced to community service for not reporting adverse events involving the blood pressure drug Selacryn and arthritis drug Oraflex. Both products were pulled from the market.

In the UK, licenses can only be granted by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

The stages through which potential medicines are first thoroughly researched start first with the use of tissue culture, followed by computer analysis techniques and finally animal testing.

Likewise, if strict standards of safety and effectiveness are met, clinical trials involving humans can then be used. The license for wider use is approved only if a medicine passes all the phases of clinical trials.

The whole process from discovery to licensing can take a long time, around 10 to 15 years, which means pharmaceutical labs work under a cloak of secrecy and also explains why they may not be willing to withdraw a drug for its side effects if they have invested that much time and money in it.

Not every side effect is a bad one. Some are downright welcome. Take finasteride. Introduced in 1992 to treat noncancerous enlargement of the prostate gland, it was found to regrow hair (and is marketed for that purpose under the name Propecia). Patient: “Doctor, how’s my prostrate?” Doctor: “Under control, but a bit hairy.”

Today, millions of men use a low dose of finasteride to treat male pattern baldness. Minoxidil, originally marketed as an oral tablet for high blood pressure, was found to grow hair in those using it. Today, as a topical lotion or foam, it is a popular over-the-counter remedy for baldness. But can you imagine the doctor going “Your blood pressure is normal, Chewbacca”?


Sequence viewing > Index - Cameras - lenses - optics - Resource - © Lloyd Godman

Film - Digital

Slow shutter speeds

The use of slow shutter speeds can give impact to an image - when you use these you need to play with the shutter speed to gain the required effect - if the shutter speed produces an image with a small amount of blur the image can be unconvincing and just look un sharp. However, when we use a much longer shutter speed the subject can gain a sense of visually vibrating which can be inter testing.

This image is taken with a shutter speed of 1/20 second and with a wide angle lens produces a relatively sharp image.

This slower shutter speed of several seconds gives the image a sense of movement.

This image, taken of a reflection out the front of an underground transporter, is taken with the same shutter speed (1/10 sec) as the image on the right - the difference is on the right the transporter is moving faster.

However, in this image, (taken with the same shutter speed) the faster motion of the transporter produces blurred lines and extenuates the feeling of motion and speed.


Maxwell v. Dow

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176 U.S. 581 (1900), argued 4 Dec. 1899, decided 26 Feb. 1900 by vote of 8 to 1; Peckham for the Court, Harlan in dissent. Charles L. Maxwell challenged his conviction for robbery on two grounds: use of an information rather than indictment by a grand jury to initiate a prosecution; and trial before a jury of eight, not twelve. Both grounds, according to Maxwell, violated his privileges and immunities as protected by the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments. He also argued that conviction by an eight-member jury violated the due process guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment.

Justice Rufus W. Peckham brusquely dismissed Maxwell's arguments and upheld the conviction, noting that the issues had been resolved in prior decisions. With that assertion, the Court continued to minimize the scope of the Privileges and Immunities Clause, a process begun in the Slaughterhouse Cases (1873). Any other approach, Peckham reasoned, relying on the pre-Civil War case of Corfield v. Coryell (Pa., 1823), would so “fetter and degrade the state governments by subjecting them to the control of Congress” as to violate “the structure and spirit of our institutions” (p. 590). Thus, in the Court's view, the states remained the primary protectors of most rights.

Justice John Marshall Harlan's dissent was a paean to the jury. He emphasized that at a minimum the Bill of Rights identified the privileges and immunities that the Fourteenth Amendment protected. Harlan therefore concluded that the states could not avoid the Sixth Amendment's guarantee of a trial by a jury of twelve members. He reached the same conclusion about due process, foreshadowing the Court's gradual incorporation of the Bill of Rights into the Fourteenth Amendment after World War II.

Walter F. Pratt, Jr.

Subjects: Law.

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