What Makes Us Who We Are? PDF

What makes us who we are? NU1303/NU1401 Captioning Statement Video and audio content at the University uses closed captions generated by automatic speech recognition (ASR). The ASR process is based on machine learning algorithms which automatically transcribe voice to text. According to our technolo...

What makes us who we are? NU1303/NU1401 Captioning Statement Video and audio content at the University uses closed captions generated by automatic speech recognition (ASR). The ASR process is based on machine learning algorithms which automatically transcribe voice to text. According to our technology providers this process is approximately 70-90% accurate depending on the quality of the audio, and consequently video and audio closed captions may include some transcription errors. It is therefore important to recognise that the original recording is the most accurate reflection of the content, and not the captions. If you require accurate captions as part of your reasonable adjustments, please contact the Inclusion Centre to discuss your requirements 26 April 2024 2 26 April 2024 3 What makes us who we are? Have you ever wondered why you are you? What made you, you? As nurses and paramedics we will be working with individuals from a variety of backgrounds, a variety of ages and all will be INDIVIDUALS. But what made them who they are. Understanding this is a fundamental element of being a nurse or paramedic – being able to understand, empathise and connect with others and helps us understand people when they are at their most vulnerable – unwell or injured. This module – the sciences of being Human will look at numerous influences on what makes us human and even what makes us who we are. 26 April 2024 4 Activity 1 Take some time to consider the following scenarios and make some notes as to why people behave in these ways? two parents spend almost all the family income on heroin, leaving hardly any money for food or clothes for the children a 12-year-old gets hold of a gun and goes on a shooting spree at school with the intention of killing as many of his fellow-pupils as he can an elderly woman steals from a shop a politician accepts a bribe a group rob a bank at gunpoint, seriously injuring a bank employee a young person becomes a suicide bomber and kills themselves and 20 others in a railway station 26 April 2024 5 Potential answers Morality – greed, selfish etc.. Medical – Mental health, emotional issues, drug use etc. Past events – what they have been exposed to as they grow and age. We may be able to rationalise some of these behaviours and thus, to an extent, “excuse” them. Other behaviours we may say are as a result of the individual just being “bad”. It is good to understand our views on these behaviours as it may help us if we need to interact with people as a nurse or paramedic Key Point: Our ideas, views & theories, while correct for us, are not value free, there will be biases involved and will depend on our own experiences e.g male or female; ethnicity; culture; parent/not parent; age; healthcare professional/non-healthcare professional and so on. Our perspective will skew our view. 26 April 2024 6 Nature vs nurture Which is more important? Biological inheritance (nature) or the environment we grow up in (nurture)? The question is scientific, philosophical and political with the answers often shaping our societies and how we live. 26 April 2024 7 Activity 2 Consider the following scenarios and make notes on the questions posed? Mr and Mrs Smith are an office cleaner, and the other is long-term unemployed. Neither has any educational qualifications. Suppose they have a child. What does that make you think about the chances that the child becoming prime minister? Mr and Mrs Jones came from distinguished, wealthy families. One is a worldfamous economist, the other a TV personality. Suppose they have a child. How likely is it that their child will become an office cleaner? Mr and Mrs Smith both died in a tragic accident straight after the birth of their child, the child was then adopted and brought up as their own by Mr and Mrs Jones. How do you see this child’s future prospects? 26 April 2024 8 Potential answers Potentially the child in scenario 1 is less likely to do as well than in scenario 2. Exceptions do occur. Is it genetic and the second child has inherited genes for above average abilities? (Nature) or is it because Mr & Mrs Jones being wealthier are bale to provide better education, food, more stimulating environment (Nurture)? Scenario 3 may focus where you stand re nature vs nurture If you feel the adopted child would do just as well as any natural child then this is nurture If you feel the adopted child will still not be a high achiever despite the upbringing then this is Nature 26 April 2024 9 Nature vs Nurture Nature Nurture Genetic Environmental Inherited Before, during and after birth Genes control physical as well as emotional, cognitive and social aspects Education Cuckoos not brought up by parents but still know to lay their eggs in other bird nests Culture Spiders create webs without being taught Politics Can be fatalistic – “that’s the way things are, cant do anything about it” “Leopard can’t change its spots” “blood will out” Parenting Can provide a “off the hook” excuse for behaviour 26 April 2024 Nutrition Religion Can result in blame - ”your fault your child is like this” Linked with “left"politics – your fault you are poor 10 Nature vs Nurture In essence probably not one or other but a combination of both and other factors genetic inheritance other physical factors such as nutrition, health, physical injury, not only after birth, but from conception onwards – for example, a baby’s growth may be inhibited if a mother drinks or smokes during pregnancy, and serious brain damage can be caused by complications during the birth itself cultural factors – nationality, social class, geography (whether one grows up in the country or a town, for example), ethnic background, time in history upbringing, early relationships, position in the family (older children have a different experience from middle and youngest children, for example), traumatic and/or positive experiences random events (car accidents, lottery wins, chance meetings …) 26 April 2024 11 Other forces Existence – we are finite and eventually die, we question existence (time) Individuality – we exist separate to other things (space) We make choices Free will vs Predetermination – do we choose our paths or are they already determined for us? Consider how you ended up here today enrolled on a nursing or paramedic practice programme with a future in nursing or paramedic practice – why did that happen – nature, nurture, free will, predetermined? How many people are here today because their parent(s), grandparent(s) or wider family are nurses or paramedics? Or in the wider health profession? 26 April 2024 12 Activity 3 Take some time to consider the following true scenario. What do you think, was this nature, nurture, free will, predetermined? Why do you think this? In England in 1993, Jon Venables and Robert Thompson, then both aged 10, were found guilty of the murder of a toddler, James Bulger, whom they had picked up in a shopping mall, taken to a railway line and beaten to death by hitting him with bricks. Many have said that these boys committed this appalling act because they were ‘evil’, while others have suggested that there must have been distressing events in their previous childhood that caused them to act in this way. 26 April 2024 13 Summary We have looked at your view around other’s behaviours We have explored nature vs nurture and how this might determine an individual’s life. We have considered other forces that may “make us who we are”. We have considered free will and predetermination. We have also seen how our view on some of these scenarios will be determined by our own nature/nurture and life experiences Hopefully this means we can perhaps have a better understanding of the person we may potentially be looking after in the future and why they are who they are and very different to ourselves. 26 April 2024 14 Reading If you haven’t already, please read chapter 1 of: BECKETT, C, & TAYLOR, H. 2010 Human Growth and Development 2nd Edition, London:SAGE Publications [eBook] You can access this text through the reading list on the moodle page. Please note the 2nd edition is the eBook. 26 April 2024 15