Hegemony - what's that?

There is a school of thought which states that regularly learning and using new words is good for the brain.  A radio presenter introduces new words into her radio programme for this purpose.  Chris Packham on BBCTV Springwatch this week, is also bringing new words to the audience, as he was doing on TV ten years ago. 

Last Sunday, I was introduced to a new word. Hegemony. 

A dictionary definition: the social, cultural, ideological, or economic influence exerted by a dominant group. 

I was reading this article in The Observer:
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/24/joseph-stiglitz-interview-uk-economy-lost-decade-zero-growth

It was about a man called Joseph Stiglitz, who foresaw the 2008 financial crash, but was ignored, due to hegemony. I recalled a friend, a financier in America, who on a home visit in September 2006, showed us a letter he had written to his bosses warning them of what he believed was around the corner. He only received criticism for his warnings and his colleagues became unfriendly.

As I have mentioned in the previous blog, my husband warned about large, out-of-town supermarkets becoming white elephants  back in the 1990s and experienced ridicule from some people with vested interests. Perhaps Tescos could have saved billions of pounds? 

In my own line of work, I have recently read about problems with GPs over prescribing and ineffective treatment, especially in in the area of mental health and elderly care. These problems were highlighted by my tutors, also in the 1990s. The pharmaceutical industry is another dominant group with damaging influence.

The media, journalists and effective PR companies have their part to play in giving such groups power, but they also try to highlight wrongdoing too. The are many excellent articles and books written about various scandals, but they who shout the loudest (have more money) has more influence.

When I started to write this blog, the FIFA scandal was just hitting the headlines. As we read about journalists having highlighted corruption in FIFA on TV and in books ten years ago and with the new word ''hegemony' in my brain, I wondered if it could be used in the context of FIFA and Sepp Blatter?

Then I read this in the Independent:

"If Sepp Blatter had a grain of dignity left, he would stand down. How many Fifa corruption charges would it take for him to decide that he has delighted us long enough?
This morning's stunning dawn raid on fotball's world governing body leaves Mr Blatter unable to resort ti his stock response - attacking the British media for daring to question his hegemony, for exposing corruption, and accusing us of sour grapes over England's failed World Cup bid."

Albert Einstein is quoted as saying:

"Three great forces rule the world. Stupidity, Fear and Greed."

From psychology, we learn that fear and greed are emotions that give rise to emotional reactions and correspondingly lessening rational thought. In turn, these emotions can cause stupid behaviours. What the world could do with is greater emotional intelligence, but fear is so often our driving force. Especially a childhood fear of not being good enough.

"The world is full of frightened children."

Kurt Vonnegut

I will add '...and hegemony'.

©AlisonRRussell2015

Adaptability is underestimated.

This is the *extended Wellbeing column from the York Press, May 
4th, 2015
http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/features/health/12929817.Body__Mind___Soul__Adaptability_is_underestimated/

Spring is here! Now to choose what to wear. The weather is so changeable that making the right choice can be a problem, especially if travelling. Some springs are warmer, wetter and windier than others, but this year spring has gone from warm to cold and back again several times in a few weeks. Just when we think about wearing less clothing, using lighter bedclothes and turning the heating down, the temperature drops and we go back to needing to feel warm and cosy again. 


It amuses me when we wear clothing in April that we wouldn’t have worn in January, even though the temperature is the same. We adapt, our bodies acclimatise. Just as they do when going abroad or experiencing extremes of temperature in the UK. At first, the body can be overwhelmed, but then we become more used to it. Though possibly still uncomfortable, we are able to tolerate the change more easily than when first experienced.

*Many people say that they wouldn't live 'in the north' because it's colder and my mother was one of them. We love the cooler, less polluted weather up here in Yorkshire and do not find the thought of a possible move south in the years to come, an attractive one. Though we would acclimatise, as we did coming north over twenty years ago. It fascinates me how the spring sunshine brings out the 'T' shirt and shorts wearers, even if the temperature then turns to below 10c and wind is biting, which it has done too many times this year. It would seem that once out of the wardrobe, they are staying out, whatever the conditions. Living in a seaside town, this phenomenon is highlighted. The variety of clothes worn can be a picture. Someone wearing a strappy top, standing next to someone in boots, coat and scarf, even a hat maybe. Looking at pictures from a race meeting can be even more entertaining! I know that living in the north appears to highlight the choice of clothing.

Adaptability is an underrated skill. People express displeasure in change, but necessity can often mean having to adapt quickly. Most human brains are equipped for changing and learning, while we should remember that no success is reached, without failing on the way. Our brains adapt to change all the time. It could be a new phone, TV, computer, workplace, washing machine, car or a different climate. 

*We have spent many holidays doing self-catering in a variety of  locations and accommodation. At first, the kitchen is a voyage of discovery, but we quickly adapt to a very different set of crockery, cutlery and kitchen equipment and it soon becomes 'normal'.

Interestingly, as we adapt, especially using something technical, deep rooted feelings of failure can quickly rise to the surface. We become frustrated, emotional and our logical brain shuts down, which makes decision-making poor and we can panic and become angry.* If it’s something we really don’t have to do, we may stop trying. Forget the unhelpful, ‘practise makes perfect,' but remember, ‘practice does makes better.’ Keep going!

* Supermarkets can be an irritation. People are generally short of time and do not want to spend their time trying to find where something has been moved to. This is one of the reasons for the popularity of the smaller/local shop, which the major chains have discovered. Less choice, quickly done. My husband, Adrian, wrote about the eventual decline of out-of-town large supermarkets in the 1997. Very few wanted to know. Certainly not the companies, developers, councils, planners and anyone else with financial gain in mind. Perhaps if Tescos had taken notice, instead of rubbishing the ideas, they wouldn't have made such a enormous loss recently. 

 http://www.usablebuildings.co.uk/Pages/Unprotected/Logistical1.pdf

Scientists talk of the brain being plastic, as it can be remoulded in different ways. New neural pathways are developed. Like computers, new software can be installed and hardwired. There is plenty of evidence of people who have recovered from major illnesses or brain injuries.

* In practice, I found that using the computer metaphor was helpful for the majority of clients. Obviously, for those that used computers. It proved even more helpful in guided visualisation, when creating new folders and moving old files to the 'trash can'. 

James, a teenage boy, was at home where there was a large, family dog, Casper. James had smoked cannabis and was now convinced that he’d damaged his brain. I couldn’t promise him that he hadn’t, but I could say that the brain can adapt well if old neural pathways are damaged. New pathways are created and repetitive action sets them in place.  He was questioning the validity of what I was saying, when I saw the dog. “Look at Casper," I said, “he was badly injured by a bus and lost a leg, but does that stop him behaving as a dog should do?” Casper was bounding around the room on his three legs, as I spoke. “He has learnt to adapt or rather his brain has.” James smiled, looked at the evidence and believed me. He had given himself a shock, but chose not to take the risk with cannabis again.

©AlisonRRussell2015