A Rough Review

A passage from Michael Mohammed Ahmad's The Tribe (pages 33-35)

This is a remarkable passage, because, it reflects the distinctive qualities that are illustrated throughout the book.  Literally, it describes a typical family squabble. Uncle Osama shouts at Mum: ‘Your kalb of son! Where is he?’ (Ahmad 33).  This is an interesting dialogue, considering the insulting word of ‘kalb’ means (dog) as an unclean and aggressive animal in Arabic culture.  Uncle Osama is not just complaining with Mum about her son’s “aggression” toward his daughter, but he also contends that the mother, herself, is a female dog.  Finally; no human being can ever produce a dog. 

The story is told from the perspective of the first person. His name is ‘Bani’, a young member of The House of Adam. A narrator who is young - presumably in the second decades of his life - along with appropriate using of metaphor, has allowed the author to create a unique way, by which a binary characterisation of two Arab men appeared to happen in the same sentence. ‘He’s wearing old leather boots that my dad gave him’ (Ahmad 33). It will be wondering what will happen if the Dad replaced Uncle Osama.  Putting father in Uncle Osama’s shoes, does he do the same shouting? This is rather a rhetorical question.  Certainly, his father does feel and react the same in a similar situation.  In fact, when it comes to yelling at a woman, almost all men are the same in The Tribe.  On the other hand, the Mum repeatedly says ‘There’s no one here. Go back upstairs, there are no men here, there’s no one to fight’ (Ahmad 33). However, Mum has been exposed to Uncle Osama’s anger, but she is not going to fight.  Apparently, Mum, in her very own idea is “no one” to be fought with.  And, Uncle Osama is also agreeing on this. That is why he shouts for several times at Mum. ‘Call him. I’ll fight your husband. Go call your husband!’ (Ahmad 34).

Throughout this passage, the narrator switches between subject matters in a very eloquent approach of storytelling. ‘I told her that day, that very moment – while she moved prayer beads and recited words from the Qur’an – that I used to watch Uncle Ibrahim through the keyhole at night’ (Ahmad 34).   Watching into Uncle Ibrahim’s private place, while he intimates with his girlfriends, and recounting it to Tayta (grandmother) during her citation of the holy book, creates a deep allusion. Tayta’s religious norm is challenged by Uncle Ibrahim’s immorality and furthermore by her grandson’s indecent act of looking through a keyhole.

The narrator’s point of view about his identity is a major issue discussed throughout the book, particularly in this passage. As a comparison with all those girlfriends that Uncle Ibrahim bring them in; Bani finds his hands ‘neither black nor white’ (Ahmad 34).  Even, his hands do not match perfectly with the hands of the rest of the family. However, the colour of his skin is quite similar to his father and Uncle Ibrahim’s hands, nevertheless; they are unlike ‘I was ashamed of Ibrahim’s hands because of where they’d been, and ashamed of mine because they’d been nowhere’ (Ahmad 34). Bani’s does have a sense of identity, it is a limbo personality, just like his hands ‘nothing from anywhere’ (Ahmad 35).  Perhaps, this is the identity of the new generation of immigrated Arabs in Australia.

Reference:
Ahmad, Michael M. The Tribe. Sydney: Giramondo, 2015. Print.

“If you control language you control yourself, and you probably control other people too” (Hale & Basides, 2013, p.88). Discuss this claim in relation to official uses of PC.

        The official usage of political correctness occurs in a variety of ways. It can happen through introducing new terms to avoid excluding particular groups of people; it can also occur by euphemising linguistic terms, for instance, the attempts to change the name of social groups and institutional departments so as to neutralise referencing to them, and it can also happen by coding the language to hide meanings from other people. This essay highlights political correctness in the official instances and discusses this issue in accordance with the claim of Hale & Basides (2013) that having the ability to control language not just enables that person to control oneself, but it might also lead to controlling other people. Although this idea appears to be practical, language itself affects everyone including those who intend to control others, because language shapes the way in which controlling happens.

Political ambition has always been the force behind euphemism. Euphemising language is the endeavour to moderate those expressions which discriminate against particular groups in society. The people who may affect by derogatory terms are different groups including racial, religious, gender, sexuality, social class, and physical conditions. Those disagreeable terms used instead of a pleasant or neutral term are called dysphemism. Subsequently, euphemism is used to replace and prevent dysphemism through avoiding prejudicial and pejorative terms. Euphemism has always coexisted within language: “the prevalence of the euphemism in the history of languages can hardly be denied” (Strozier, 1966 p. 63). From the very beginning, political correctness was intertwined with euphemism to some extent in the purpose of controlling language, as Allan & Burridge (2006) assert, “the phrase politically correct is now completely entangled with euphemism” (p. 96). Nevertheless, euphemising language in order to control language, and applying power to other people through official uses of political correctness, has been challenged and resisted by some other people.

Although the fundamental idea behind political correctness is to diminish or eliminate discriminatory language, some complain that political correctness has not been effective to eradicate prejudice and improve conditions of those who suffered because political correctness just aims to “camouflage life’s harsh realities” (Halmari, 2011, p. 828). Nonetheless, there has been a growing intention to euphemise further terms following the massive publication in favour of euphemism as a major tool of political correctness. According to Halmari (2011), during the early 1990s, in order to reference people more explicitly and unswervingly the idea of “people first” dominated educational and psychological literature. This led to remodifying nouns to be replaced by post-modifying nouns; for instance, instead of “disabled people” the term “people with disabilities” became the politically correct expression (p. 829).  Since then, euphemism has been used frequently by some politicians as an unreserved tactic to control language.  The famous phrase of Australian politician Pauline Hanson that Australia was “swamped by Asians” (Ahluwalia & McCarthy, 1998, p. 81) dissolves the rigid dichotomy between euphemism and discrimination.  Although political correctness and the intention of controlling language has benefited a lot from euphemism, the relatively huge sphere of euphemism’s utilisation by those seeking power can hardly be defined.  

Language is subject to change in both structural and element levels. English particularly encompasses further changes because it is “the language controlled by the people who use it” (Hale & Basides, 2013, p. 8). Despite the fact that politicians benefit from the official uses of political correctness in various approaches to control language, language itself can also affect power. Language consists of multi-layered associations with power, which is extremely dynamic and inevitably subject to the role of language (Reid & Ng, 1999).  This mediation between language and power and its relation to the claim that controlling language may lead to the control of other people can be discussed more in-depth. In the instance of Australian politician Pauline Hanson, she has euphemised language but meanwhile, her position has been surrounded by the very fundamental rules of language. Hence “language, far from being a simple refection [sic] of power, underpins the creation of power, its maintenance and change” (Reid & Ng, 1999, p. 123). In other words, power exists within language, so it can affect everyone. As far as the official uses of political correctness, irrespective of using any approaches; the position of controlling language have bounded to language instructions.

Political correctness is powerful and it can be effective in either provoking people or in controlling them, but it is quite difficult to streamline the process as a simple way of prescribing to other people how to use language. However, there is strong evidence which suggests that political correctness is effective in controlling language to some extent, and thus governing other people is possible through such means (Fairclough 2003), Pauline Hanson could be an instance. On the contrary, there has been a resilient assertion of how difficult it can be to manage those ‘words that wound’ and enact against discriminatory terms because “language is not a perfect, logical, consistent and transparent linguistic system” (Allan & Burridge, 2006, p. 99). In fact, as time passes a discourse may lead to a complete change of the value or meaning of a term.  To put it differently, euphemising a specific term may have twisted back to dysphemism. According to Allan & Burridge (2006), this cannot just happen through “contamination by the taboos” but also because language itself “is full of vagueness, indeterminacy, variability and ambiguity” (p.99). One way or another, when it comes to language, controlling it is almost inconceivable without having impacted by language itself, and the official uses of political correctness is not an exception. 

In conclusion, one can control itself by controlling language, and controlling language might also lead to governing other people, but the issue becomes more complex when considering the intrinsic characteristics of language. Despite the fact that the lexeme and accepted norms of conventional usage have always been subject to change, but language by itself is effective because the overall interactions are bound to the conventions of language. Language determines the way in which people express how and what they are thinking. Therefore, language shapes the methods by which controlling occurs. To put it another way, power operates within language, particularly in relation to official uses of political correctness.

References:

Ahluwalia, P. & McCarthy, G. (1998). ‘Political correctness’: Pauline Hanson and the construction of Australian identity. Australian Journal of Public Administration, 57(3), 79-85.

Allan, K. & Burridge, K. (2006). Forbidden words: Taboo and the censoring of language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from http://uwsau.eblib.com.au/patron/FullRecord.aspx?p=307385

Fairclough, N. (2003). 'Political correctness': The politics of culture and language. Discourse & Society: An International Journal for the Study of Discourse and Communication in Their Social, Political and Cultural Contexts,14(1), 17-28.

Hale, A. & Basides, H. (2013). The keys to academic English. Melbourne: Palgrave Macmillan.

Halmari, H. (2011). Political correctness, euphemism, and language change: The case of ‘people first’. Journal of Pragmatics, 43(3), 828-840.


Reid, S. & Ng, S. (1999). Language, power, and intergroup relations. Journal of Social Issues, 55(1), 119-139.

Strozier, R. (1966). The euphemism. Language Learning, 16(1‐2), 63-70. Retrieved from: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.ezproxy.uws.edu.au/doi/10.1111/j.1467-1770.1966.tb00809.x/epdf

Official Uses of Political Correctness

The widespread intention to avoid using discriminatory language has been going on for decades. Euphemism has been used along with creating alternative terms to blunting the prejudicial undertone in the language. The “attempt to artificially manipulate language use for a social goal” (Hale & Basides 2013, p. 77) is called Political Correctness (PC).  As an established purposeful effort to “camouflage life’s harsh realities” (Halmari, 2011, p. 828), PC dates back to the 1990s.  Since then, PC has expanded extensively and governed the language in various parts of societal discourses including the official uses of language. This essay identifies the approach toward the official uses of PC and discusses the ways in which PC has been utilised as a pretext to manipulate other people’s language use. Although the legacy of equality and use of non-discriminatory language have sustained PC, the idea of prescribing people how to use the language is intrinsically unequal. 

Political correctness is powerful (Hale, 2016); it means that PC can affect people in various ways. Through governing the use of language, PC changes the way in which people think about one another as well as affecting how they perceive themselves. The very fundamental consent of PC as the “idea of appropriateness” (Hale, 2016) was appeared to be sound at the beginning and accepted extensively upon as beneficial.  Nevertheless, the power of PC, in practice, has not been complying its initial intent as Rojas-Lizana (2014) contends “it centres on those who have the power to impose their views and how their discourse is used to perpetuate and ‘normalize’ dominant ideologies” (p. 3).  Consequently, the influence of PC is exploited to manipulate the use of language and PC has utilised in favour of power rather than in avoiding discrimination. Thus, to some extent, PC is being criticised because of various reasons. One of the foremost critiques of PC is that it is imposing an adverse effect on equality, therefore, it has lost its credibility. Allan & Burridge (2006) argue that “something supportive of equal opportunity, tolerance, sensitivity, open-mindedness, courtesy, and decency, become so disparaged?” (p. 91). Discussing the official uses of PC could be of assistance to identify its power and effects in society.

The idea of scepticism and freedom of questioning everything including the official uses of PC is highly important. Emerging as a commanding force of society, PC has been challenged not only through authoritative critiques but also by public resistance “because it is seen as highly arbitrary and imposed, and without wide social conventionality” (Hale & Basides 2013, p. 77). The instance of referencing to gender in a discourse of official language shows a perfect pattern of official uses of PC while resisted by others.  According to Yoong (2014), “term chairman, the male generic, can be used to denote either a man or a woman. But feminists have argued that male generics are not generic at all. Maleness is presumed and women are rendered invisible when it is used” (p. 1). While the resistance based on gender or any other social categories is continuing, the more important issue which still remains experimental is that how far the PC can really improve the social inequality in favour of those who suffered.   

The official uses of PC are more observable in the speech of politicians.  Following the 9/11 attacks in 2001, the US President said: “Islam is peace” (The Press Secretary of the White House, 2001). In fact, Islam is not peace, it is a religion for worshiping God, and seeks peace after the resurrection rather than in the actual reality of the contemporary world. In some extent the desire of political aspiration has always been the force behind euphemism, therefore, PC is stretched beyond its original intention which was avoiding discrimination. Following the massive publication for euphemism and attempts in bringing syntactic and lexical change in referencing social categories as well as the renaming of various organisation departments and institutions (Halmari, 2011), official uses of PC have been remarkably successful in forcing people to change their linguistic behaviours. 

In conclusion, PC will continue to be utilised as an excuse of manipulating the use of language, unless the intention of prescribing people how to use the language does not replace euphemism.

References:

Allan, K. & Burridge, K. (2006). Forbidden words: Taboo and the censoring of language. New York, USA: Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from http://uwsau.eblib.com.au/patron/FullRecord.aspx?p=307385

Hale, A. (2016). Week 9 lecture, Western Sydney University

Hale, A. & Basides, H. (2013). The keys to academic English. Melbourne: Palgrave Macmillan.

Halmari, H. (2011). Political correctness, euphemism, and language change: The case of ‘people first’. Journal of Pragmatics, 43(3), 828-840.

Office of the Press Secretary. (2001). "Islam is peace" says president: Remarks by the president at Islamic centre of Washington, D.C. Retrieved on 23/04/16 from http://georgewbushwhitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2001/09/20010917-11.html

Rojas-Lizana, I. (2014). Perceived discrimination in LGBTIQ from Australia: A typology of verbal discrimination. Journal of Multidisciplinary International Studies, 11(1), Retrieved on  25/04/2016 from https://epress.lib.uts.edu.au/journals/index.php/portal/article/view/3303/4363

Yoong, Y. (2014). Pull up a chair, we need to talk about sexist language at work. The Conversation. Retrieved on  25/04/2016 from  https://theconversation.com/pull-up-a-chair-we-need-to-talk-about-sexist-language-at-work-31869

Essay Report on the Efficacy and Safety of Herbal Medicine

Abstract

Herbal medicines are products originating from herbs which may have some ingredients with health benefits.  During recent years, there has been a dramatic increase in the use of herbal products as an alternative medicinal treatment around the world.  The efficacy and safety of using herbal medicinal products have been discussed for a long time.  The safety of herbal medicine is a complex issue interrelated to a variety of factors including methods of production, public perception, and attitudes with regards to the products, and the nature of the plants. There are many herbal medicines with the potential for toxicity and problems with contamination.  Furthermore, some herbal medicines may have particular side effects.  Another issue is that herbal medicine lacks a comprehensive, scientific universal standard.

Therefore, regulation of herbal medicine is required to assure consistency between studies and to develop the efficacy and safety of herbal drugs.

Introduction

Herbal medicines have been used for thousands of years.  In the last few decades, there has been significant growth in using herbal medicines, particularly in developed countries like Australia. This report highlights different aspects of herbal medicine including definition, the extent of use, safety and efficacy as well as the potential side effects and adverse reactions.

Description of Herbal Medicine

Herbal medicines are products originating from herb materials which may have health benefits. According to the World Health Organization (2000), ‘herbal materials include leaves, flowers, fruit, seed, stems, wood, bark, roots, and rhizomes’. Any of these given herb materials contain multiple ingredients which can be extracted in different forms like, fresh juices, gums, fixed oils, essential oils, resins, and dry powders.  The preparation of herbal medicine varies in different parts of the world. The production process may include steaming, roasting, stir baking with honey, alcoholic beverages or other materials, (WHO, 2000).

The Extent of Use of Herbal Medicine

The herbal medicine includes a significant proportion of alternative medicinal treatments around the world. As Chan (2003) mentions ‘around 70–8o percent of the world populations rely on non-conventional medicine mainly of herbal sources.’  Despite scientific improvements in conventional medicine and recent innovations in the sector of health services, data indicates a remarkable growth in using herbal medicine in developed countries.  ‘Nearly 1 in 5 adults in the United States report taking an herbal product’ (Bent, 2008). In other developed countries, the extent of use of herbal medicine is also quite high.  As Shaw (1998), states that ‘In 1994 the European herbal medicine market was worth over £1.8 billion at retail selling prices.’

Efficacy of Herbal Medicine

The efficacy of herbal medicinal products has been debated for quite a long time. Scientifically, the efficacy of any herbal remedy requires an evidence-based examination. Scientific examination of several herbal medicines and suggest that the following herbal medicines might have efficiency on specific health problems. Woolf (2003), states that the effectiveness of these three herbal medicines is scientifically approved in these particular treatments: Tea Tree Oil may be useful to remedying fungal skin disorders, Artemisia seems to be associated with chloroquine in the treatment of a specific kind of malaria, and St John’s Wort may help to treat mild depression in adults. Furthermore, according to Myers and Cheras (2004), garlic may reduce blood concentration; however, it may affect other conventional medicines like paracetamol and chlorpropamide. Although the efficacy of some herbal medicine has been examined, the effectiveness of other herbal medicine remains unverified, inadequately observed or not even examined at all.

Safety of Herbal Medicine

The safety of herbal medicine is a complex issue interrelated to different factors including public perception and the nature of plants. As Firenzuoli & Gori (2007) state, some herbal medicines have a foundation in magical or religious beliefs. Furthermore, according to Calixto (2000), most people think herbals are safe because they are natural substances. However, there are un-scientific perceptions and cultural superstitions with regards to using of herbal medicine, but the major circumstances by which the safety of herbal medicines could be affected include, but not limited to toxic hazards, side effects due to interaction with prescription medicine; lack of regulation of herbal medicine; and contamination, adulteration, and overdose usage.

·    Toxic Side Effects

There are many herbal medicines with the potential for toxicity. The degree of toxicity may vary in different herbal medicines. Furthermore, the toxic contaminants can originate from environmental situations as well as the periods and processes of preparation, storage and carriage, (Chan, 2003).  Even though some toxic herbals have been identified, many remain hazardous.  As Calixto (2000), has noted ‘since 1978, more than 4000 herbal medicines have been … marked out because of important toxic effects and risks for human use.’

·     Side Effects due to Interaction with Prescription Drug

There are particular side effects for some kind of herbal medicine. ‘Although herbs are often perceived as “natural” and therefore safe, many different side effects have been reported owing to active ingredients, contaminants, or interactions with drugs’ (Bent, 2008).  According to Ekor (2014), the ordinary side effects associated with Kava vary from headache and dizziness to gastrointestinal discomfort and redness of the eyes.  Even though, side effects may be inherent in some herbal medicine, when taken with prescription drugs there may be serious side effects. In addition, due to the non-prescription availability of herbal medicine, the potential risks of interaction with other drugs, is quite difficult to be documented.  Myers and Cheras (2004) state that patients often do not advise their doctors that they are using herbal products and when combined with prescription medicines the effect can be serious.

·    Regulation of Herbal Medicine

Regulation of herbal medicine is required to assure consistency between studies and to ensure the efficacy and safety of herbal drugs. Regulation of herbal medicine differs based on regions and countries in the world. ‘Several regulatory models for herbal medicines currently exist (Calixto, 2000). In many countries including the United States herbal medicines are sold as a dietary supplement and there is no regulation, while in some other countries like the UK, drug regulations are applicable to some specific kind of herbals products. Global harmonization is essential to assure the efficacy and safety of herbal medicine, which will be achieved through well-controlled and randomized clinical trials and regulation processes (Calixto, 2000).   

·      Contaminated and Adulteration

Herbal medicine can be contaminated in a variety of ways. Primarily contamination accrues during the preparation of herbal medicine, though, contamination can happen in the periods of storage (Shaw, 1998).  The intentional accumulation of extra ingredients with herbal medicine is called adulteration, in which a safe herb may be substituted with a wrong constituent. Contamination and adulteration are potential factors for either study interference in research or serious health effects for patients. Furthermore, there are herbal products which are deliberately manipulated with the purpose of boosting its efficacy. This herbal process is called adulteration. ‘Adulteration complicates adverse reaction monitoring since the wrong plant may be investigated, and documented effects may be associated with the wrong herb, (Shaw, 1998). 

·     Toxicity by heavy metals

Toxicity can be caused by a higher concentration of heavy metals. According to Singh, et al (2011) “Prolonged exposure to heavy metals such as cadmium, copper, lead, nickel, and zinc can cause deleterious health effects in humans. Molecular understanding of plant metal accumulation has numerous biotechnological implications also, the long term effects of which might not be yet known.”

Conclusion

There has been a long history of using herbal medicine, yet, the efficacy and safety of many herbal medicines remain experimental. Even though, a variety of side effects, either intrinsic or extrinsic have been observed, herbal medicine seems to be beneficial for health. Therefore, further research to assess the the efficacy and safety of herbal product is required.   

Recommendations

·       Governments and related institutions should launch a strategic work plan to ensure local regulation of herbal medicine leading to global and international standardization. 

·       Related institutions along with governments should work to raise public awareness regarding the risks and side effects of natural retrieved drugs particularly herbal medicine. This requires a cumulative public awareness campaign, targeting the misperceptions of using herbal medicine, emphasizing neither every natural substance is safe nor every cultural attitude is accurate.  

·       Manufacturers should feature the major side effects on every individual herbal medicine packaging.

·       Further studies and research need to be done aiming not only to find the positive aspects but also investigate side effects of herbal medicine.  In order to conduct further research studies, government should raise funding in this field. 

Acknowledgment

The writer gratefully acknowledges the support provided by the writing teacher, Jenny Parry during the course of preparation of this report.

Reference List

Bent, S. (2008). Herbal medicine in the United States: Review of efficacy, safety, and regulation. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 23 (6). 854-859. doi:10.1007/s11606-008-0632-y.  

Calixto, J. B. (2000). Efficacy, safety, quality control, marketing and regulatory guidelines for herbal medicines (Phytotherapeutic agents). Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research, 33(2),179-189. Retrieved from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0100-879X2000000200004

Chan, K. (2003). Review Some aspects of toxic contaminants in herbal medicines. Chemosphere, 52. p.1361–1371. Retrieved from: http://faculty.ksu.edu.sa/alqasoumi/Documents/Some%20aspects%20of%20toxic%20contaminants%20in%20herbal%20medicines.pdf

Ekor, M. (2014) The growing use of herbal medicines: issues relating to adverse reactions and challenges in monitoring safety. Frontiers in Pharmacology, 4. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2013.00177

Firenzuoli, F., and Gori, L. (2007). Herbal medicine today: clinical and research issues. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 4(1), 37–40. Retrieved from doi: 10.1093/ecam/nem096 

Myers, S.P. and Cheras, P.A. (2004) The other side of the coin: safety of complementary and alternative medicine. Medical Journal of Australia 181(4),222-225.

Shaw, D. (1998) Risks or remedies? safety aspects of herbal remedies in the UK.  Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 91, 294-296. Retrieved from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1296770/pdf/jrsocmed00024-0008.pdf

Woolf, A, D. (2003) Herbal remedies and children: Do they work? are they harmful? the American Academy of Pediatrics. 112:240. Retrieved from: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/112/Supplement_1/240.full.html#ref-list-1

World Health Organization. (2000). General guidelines for methodologies on research and evaluation of traditional medicine, (1), p.3. Retrieved from: http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/66783/1/WHO_EDM_TRM_2000.1.pdf