Psychology Case Study - Eric B. Essays - Psychology,

Psychology: Case Study - Eric B. Case History of Eric B. Eric is a 6-year old African-american male who was raised in an impoverished inner city neighborhood in Chicago. Drugs and violence surrounded his daily life. With a single-mother who involved herself in a series of relationships with abusive boyfriends, Eric found himself beat with a belt, and may have been sexually assaulted. His mother was not home that often, and he was forced to sit outside on the stoop so that his grandmother, that also lived with them, could sell drugs. His mother was uneducated and supported the family with her public assistance grant. He has never met his father, and his uncles are in jail. His father was convicted of robbery and drug charges but Eric was told that he was shot to death in an attempted robbery. He dreams of one day avenging his father's death and acts it out when he plays alone. He has a history of terrorizing animals and killed the family cat. He also did poorly in school, being diagnosed with attention deficit disorder. He is constantly inv olved in fights and has no companions. When home, he mostly involved himself in action movies and cartoons. Eric b efriends a boy who lived next door to him. One day he steals the boys bicycle and when the family comes to claim it, Eric threate ns the boy by saying that he was going to kill his baby brother. A few weeks later, Eric broke into the apartment and assaulted the baby, beating him nearly to death. According to Eric Erikson, a student of Freud, his psychosocial theory states that you have to move through stages of development to have your needs met. One needs to be psychologically ready to move on to the next stage. This depends on the social environment they are in Eric, being six years old is in the iniative vs. guilt stage of Erikson's Stage Theories. In this stage, he is suppose to be ready to take iniative in his own activities and make plans and goals for the future. If his mother does not allow him to take iniative then he will feel guilt for his attempts at independence. He may also be in the industry vs. inferiority stage. This means he should be aware of his responsibilities such as homework and chores. He should be able create a sense of industry, if praised and rewarded by his mother. If not, then he will feel inferior. He would also be influenced by his peers and teachers. However, this is merely how is should be, but is not how it is for Eric. Lack of iniative is not the problem. Without a parental figure present, Eric was forced to take on too much iniative and make too many decisions on is own. He feels no guilt in being independent but according to Erikson, should feel inferior due to the lack of praise and reward from his mother. According to Jean Piaget, and his stages of cognitive development, kids construct their knowledge of the world through reorganization and they move to higher levels of psychological functioning. Piaget looked at how kids think of themselves and their environment, when moving through each stage. In these stages, children select what they see and they interpret. In the preoperational stage, ranging from ages 2-7, children should have a mastery of language and use words to represent objects. In this stage, children cannot use developmental capacities systematically. They are quite egocentric, having the tendency to interpret the world through your own position. They attribute their own thoughts to inanimate objects, known as animism. For example, a child may say that the sky is sad because the sun is not shining. They have no sense of centration, a tendency to concentrate on one aspect of a problem, like having tunnel vision. These are called conservation studies, which are a series of tests for children to test their concepts of length, quantity, area, and volume. For example, if you were to place two glasses in front of a child, one tall and thin, the other short and stout, filled with the same amount of liquid in each, he will think

Battle of Omdurman in the Mahdist War

Battle of Omdurman in the Mahdist War The Battle of Omdurman took place in present-day Sudan during the Mahdist War (1881-1899). Battle of Omdurman - Date The British triumphed on September 2, 1898. Armies Commanders British: Major General Horatio Kitchener8,200 British, 17,600 Egyptian Sudanese Mahdists: Abdullah al-Taashiapprox. 52,000 men Battle of Omdurman - Background Following the capture of Khartoum by the Mahdists and the death Major General Charles Gordon on January 26, 1885, British leaders began contemplating how to retake power in Sudan. Over the next several years, the urgency of this operation waxed and waned as William Gladstones Liberal Party exchanged power with Lord Salisburys Conservatives. In 1895, the British consul-general of Egypt, Sir Evelyn Baring, Earl of Cromer, finally convinced Salisburys government to take action citing the desire to create a Cape-to-Cairo chain of colonies and the need to prevent foreign powers from entering the area. Concerned about the nations finances and international opinion, Salisbury gave permission for Cromer to began planning the reconquest of Sudan, but stipulated that he was to use only Egyptian forces and that all actions were to appear to take place under Egyptian authority. To lead Egypts army, Cromer selected Colonel Horatio Kitchener of the Royal Engineers. An efficient planner, Kitchener was promoted to major general (in Egyptian service) and appointed sirdar (commander-in-chief). Taking command of Egypts forces, Kitchener began a rigorous training program and equipped his men with modern weapons. Battle of Omdurman - Planning By 1896, the sirdars army numbered around 18,000 well-trained men. Advancing up the Nile in March 1896, Kitcheners forces moved slowly, consolidating their gains as they went. By September, they had occupied Dongala, just above the third cataract of the Nile, and had met little resistance from the Mahdists. With his supply lines badly stretched, Kitchener turned to Cromer for additional funding. Playing on the governments fears of French intrigue in East Africa, Cromer was able to secure more money from London. With this in hand, Kitchener began building the Sudan Military Railroad from his base at Wadi Halfa to a terminus at Abu Hamed, 200 miles to the southeast. As the construction crews pressed through the desert, Kitchener dispatched troops under Sir Archibald Hunter to clear Abu Hamed of Mahdist forces. This was accomplished with minimal casualties on August 7, 1897. With the completion of the railroad on in late October, Salisbury decided to expand the governments commitment to the operation and began sending the first of 8,200 British troops to Kitchener. These were joined by several gunboats. Battle of Omdurman - Kitcheners Victory Concerned about the Kitcheners advance, the leader of the Mahdist army, Abdullah al-Taashi sent 14,000 men to attack the British near Atara. On April 7, 1898, they were badly defeated and suffered 3,000 dead. As Kitchener prepared for the push to Khartoum, Abdullah raised a force of 52,000 to block the Anglo-Egyptian advance. Armed with a mix of spears and antique firearms they mustered near the Mahdist capital of Omdurman. On September 1, British gunboats appeared in the river off Omdurman and shelled the city. This was followed by the arrival of Kitcheners army in the nearby village of Egeiga. Forming a perimeter around the village, with the  river at their back, Kitcheners men waited for the arrival of the Mahdist army. Around dawn on September 2, Abdullah attacked the Anglo-Egyptian position with 15,000 men while a second Mahdist force continued moving north. Equipped with the latest European rifles, Maxim machine guns, and artillery, Kitcheners men mowed down the attacking Mahdist dervishes (infantry). With the attack defeated, the 21st Lancers were ordered to reconnoiter in force towards Omdurman. Moving out, they met a group of 700 Hadenoa tribesman. Switching to the attack, they were soon confronted by 2,500 dervishes which had been hiding in a dry streambed. Charging through the enemy, they fought a bitter battle before rejoining the main army. Around 9:15, believing the battle won, Kitchener ordered his men to begin advancing on Omdurman. This movement exposed his right flank to a Mahdist force that was lurking to west. Shortly after beginning their march, three Sudanese and one Egyptian battalion came under fire from this force. Compounding the situation was the arrival of 20,000 men under Osman Shiekh El Din which had moved north earlier in the battle. Shiekh El Dins men soon began attacking the Sudanese brigade of Colonel Hector MacDonald. While the threatened units made a stand and poured disciplined fire into the approaching enemy, Kitchener began wheeling the rest of the army around to join the fight. As at Egeiga, modern weaponry triumphed and the dervishes were shot down in alarming numbers. By 11:30, Abdullah gave up the battle as lost and fled the field. With the Mahdist army destroyed, the march to Omdurman and Khartoum was resumed. Battle of Omdurman - Aftermath The Battle of Omdurman cost the Mahdists a stunning 9,700 killed, 13,000 wounded, and 5,000 captured. Kitcheners losses were a mere 47 dead and 340 wounded. The victory at Omdurman concluded the campaign to retake Sudan and Khartoum was quickly reoccupied. Despite the victory, several officers were critical of Kitcheners handling of the battle and cited MacDonalds stand for saving the day. Arriving at Khartoum, Kitchener was ordered to proceed south to Fashoda to block French incursions in the area.