Positive Thinking and Health Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Positive Thinking and Health - Research Paper Example Describing her experience as a breast cancer patient, Ehrenreich castigates the elaborate positivity that is associated with the pink ribbon culture observing that the â€Å"cheerfulness of breast cancer culture goes beyond mere absence of anger to what looks, all too often, like a positive embrace of the disease†. Even though, testimonies provided in books such as The First Year of the Rest of Your Life may assert otherwise, by highlighting the understandably life altering powers of cancer that can possibly act as a source of redemption or even a bridge between an individual and the divine, Ehrenreich’s claims regarding the futility of positive thinking on physical health are echoed in the research conducted by Petticrew et al. who declare that aspects related to positive thinking such as fighting spirit, willpower and hopefulness do not have a noteworthy or significant impact on the recurrence and survival rates for cancer as reflected by the examinations of 10 cases of patients who coped with cancer by maintaining a fighting spirit and 12 patients who approached the disease with hopefulness, additionally, the findings postulate that the role of positive factors and aspects in combating diseases has been exaggerated by psychologists thereby, discrediting findings that have established a correlation between the strengthening of the immune system through positive thinking techniques. (1066). However, a study conducted at the Ben-Gurion University of Negev in Israel which questioned a sample size of 255 breast cancer patients and 367 physically fit females regarding their life experiences concluded that women who face traumatic, negative and hurtful experiences carry a higher risk of being victimized by breast cancer (Smith). This research aids the assertion that positive thinking can indeed enhance an individual’s ability of maintaining a healthy physical state and combating the occurrence of diseases such as cancer. Wilkinson and Kitzinger note that the foundations of prior literatures regarding the beneficial effects of positive thinking on cancer mortality rates and the psychological state of patients are largely dependent upon self-report data which hampers the validity and objectivity of the available evidence, this view postulates that the subjectivity of perceptions, conversational devices and the contextual meaning of positive thinking diminish the accuracy of patients’ internal cognitive statuses thereby, leading to the generation of biased data on the helpful effects of positive thinking on cancer patients (797-811). Fredrickson’s arguments in favor of the merits of positive thinking however, are not based upon self-report data whose objectivity has been questioned by Wilkinson and Kitzinger with regards to the studies conducted on cancer patients. Empirical data gathered by Fredrickson claims that the broaden-and-build theory of positive psychology is

Citizenship Education in International Schools within Hong Kong Research Proposal

Citizenship Education in International Schools within Hong Kong - Research Proposal Example The research study will particularly focus on establishing the type of Citizenship Education Curriculum that teachers believed should be utilized by teachers in the International Schools that are located within Hong Kong. This is considering that these International Schools use materials and even curriculums that are adopted from their country of origin. The concept of the global village according to the study conducted by Walker (2006), has led to the widely encouraged development of education for interdependence among learners located across the World. From the studies conducted by Williams & Humphrys(2003), in regards to global education, he argued that there has been subtle change in regards to the degree of universal awareness concerning the way of life in other countries since many people are more aware of how people in other parts of the World live. This is in conformity to the studies conducted by Phillips & Schweisfurth(2008), which urged for the collaboration and comparison in international education globally and it is among this reasons that the concept of Citizenship Education. Williams & Humphrys(2003) described this concept as an educational system that is aimed at equipping foreign students with the knowledge and skills that can enable them to be legally accepted as citizens in a foreign country and also to be simply knowledgeable about other people’s way of life in other parts of the World (Zajda, 2005). Concerns have risen regarding education in the sense that efforts should be put in place for the development of the international perspective amongst youths in order to increase their global development awareness (Postiglione & Tan, 2007). Therefore, asGrossman & Lo(2008) noted, the strengthening and implementation of the factor of universal citizenship education in cooperation with the school curriculum is an increasingly important issue in education. Hong Kong is largely dominated by people from the ethnic Chinese community, which means