Research — SmilingDogTheProfWants

Posted on November 18, 2020 by SmilingDogTheProfWants

Kids Make Themselves Fat

Kids make themselves fat. A child from the ages of 4-18 makes the decision to turn on the TV over going outside or picking up a controller to play games over picking up a pencil to do their homework, so why do we think that childhood obesity is a different issue and blame parents for their child’s unhealthy lifestyle? A child is responsible for what they choose to do and for what they want; this means a child that makes poor decisions could end up overweight and won’t choose to do anything about that weight. A kid that wants fast-food everyday, the newest console, watches TV and YouTube constantly will almost always be behind physically when compared to kids who play outside. Children are responsible for their weight issues because they refuse to acknowledge the consequences their actions have on their physical health.

The reason children are obese is because they want fast food more than the other alternatives like a home cooked meal, fruit, or vegetables In fact, 34% of kids ages 2-19 ate fast-food on any given day according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics. A child only wants the sugary, salty, greasy food because it’s appealing to what they love and crave without caring for the issues of daily or even monthly consumption of fast-food that their schools and parents have told them about. Schools have put a lot of time and money into getting the information and holding classes that inform kids of the health issues revolving around all sorts of things, but the biggest being obesity, with around 18.5% of children ages 2-19 being considered overweight or obese (20%+ over expected weight for age, height, and sex), the education system slowly begins to cover more about the issues from being overweight and provide ways to alleviate the issue like physical activities and more in-depth classes about eating correctly (CDC). With 18.5% of all children in the United States being recorded overweight and obese it should be hard to believe that in every case a parent is to blame and should provide some ideas to how a child has more capabilities of controlling what they do and eat than the avearage day person would come to expect them to. With the education their parents and schools provide them most kids from the age of 12 and up should have no problem maintaining a healthy life through making independent lifestyle choices like eating and exercising. Those under the age of 12 are at more of a loss than their older counterparts because they may have less of a capacity to understand the consequences but they do know that there are issues and that those issues should be avoided, if a child chooses that they will not follow the advice from those around them then the child has made the decision without any outside influence suggesting he pick one lifestyle over the other.

We hear more and more about how funding is needed to put forth educational and physical programs outside and inside schools to try to prevent, alleviate, and solve the obesity issues in our youth, yet the only thing that is focused on is the need for more funding and the correct targeted audience. Funding also does not equate to children paying attention to the instructor or slides, because the chances are if the kid is obese they already aren’t intreseted in caring about being healthy. Most programs warn you about the health issues of being obese and the statistics that show high mortality rates like the American Public Health Association stating that obese individuals are 20-40% more likely to get a cardio vascular disease and on average losing 3.5-5 years of their total life just from being obese in which at least 14% of all children are. If the kid is overweight they aren’t going to care about the 5 year loss because they’ll think it’s so far in the future and that all the issues with mobility and energy are noticeable when you’re young because your body is still growing.

The lack of energy one gets from not exercising and eating junk found is another negative effect that only adds onto the back of the kids that thought it would be that big of a deal to stay inside and play video games and watch TV or videos on Youtube, but those kids aren’t going to care anyway because they may think that it either doesn’t apply to them, they’re not willing to put in the work to alleviate their issues, or worse, doesn’t think they can get overweight. A child thinking it can’t happen to them or lacking the enthusiasm to change themselves because to them other than being larger than the other kids they don’t see any issues, everyday they’ll wake up with no pain in their knees and no loss of breath or energy because it takes time for those issues to develop and for their bodies to not be able to handle the excess weight anymore. 

The idea that a child wants the newest toys and devices relates to obesity in the sense that it forms bad mental habits that make it easier for a kid to become addicted to fast food and distracting content that keeps them from playing outside with their friends. A bad mental habit can easily be derived from sedentary lifestyles that become more and more prevalent in today’s day and age. Sedentary means that you spend most of your time seated or without much exercise, which perfectly sums up what playing a video game or watching a video or TV is mostly about. For a child to be surrounded by all sorts of new and interesting things it’s no wonder they’re obsessed with it all, but to get the newest thing when it comes out to use it as much as possible before something new comes along is dangerous for kids that need exercise and healthy diets also because the only thing they care about is those new things and they won’t have time to go outside. They choose to partake in life’s guilty pleasures over pleasures attained from playing with your friends outside building forts, playing tag, making up stories and acting them out, playing basketball or soccer, so many things that keep their attention but some choose to play a video game instead because it’s how they perceive to be a better use of their time. The conscious decision that they would rather hit buttons on a controller or keypad over playing basketball is a choice that they make knowing that it’s better for them to go outside and that mentality only gets worse the longer they stay in that mindset (Leitzmann). 

The responsibility of a child wanting to watch YouTube over playing outside falls on the child, not the parent. A child will avoid going outside in order to watch the newest video of something that peaks their interests like any adult would consider doing, but what a young child will consider being interesting is something that’s flashy and brightly colored or something breaking, stuff that they can’t replicate which is expected of a child as well but to not realize that they rather look at someone playing football than going out with their friends and doing it themselves is a problem that a parent can’t force their kid to fix and would only lead to the kid being more stubborn if they punished him for it. If the kid has played outside they should be able to understand that both watching and doing something are extremely entertaining and fun to do, but when sedentary behavior outweighs playing outside it is because they chose to be lazy and have created their own issues that people other than themselves will have to deal with.

Most people would blame video games and other new electronics for the cause of obesity, especially in children, but statistics showed that obesity has been a rising problem since the late 80’s all the way to the dramtic difference from a reference point in the 70s to the year 2000 where a child was 3 times as likely to be obese (GHinstitute). This sudden change wouldn’t have been caused by video games because the industry was very small at the time. Most of the distractions that draw kids to a sedentary lifestyle would be entertainment in general, of which the TV is the most influential. Most people would probably say then that both video games and television have caused a wave of obesity in the youth with Children spending on average 44.5 hours a week in front of electronic screens they will always say that the kids would rather watch TV or play video games than go outside but never consider the issue of why that is (American Psychological Association, 2004). So while people go out blaming TV for the physical issues their daughter has or the problem their son has with staying up to play video games, they’ll never focus their energy on the fact that the child wants to watch the TV and not play outside. It is a game of pointing fingers but those vengeful fingers never point at the right source of the problem.

A parent can’t be held responsible for the desires of their child or how their mind works, so obesity cannot be directly controlled by the parents, and is instead left for the child to choose a healthy or normal eating and exercise habit over temporary pleasures. A child is faced with a lot of independent decisions, one important one is a healthy lifestyle that will follow them for the rest of their life that most will cast away at the first sign of their favorite Youtuber posting a video. 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2019). Prevalence of Childhood Obesity in the United States. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/childhood.html 

Borrell, L. N., & Samuel, L. (2014). Body Mass Index Categories and Mortality Risk in US Adults: The Effect of Overweight and Obesity on Advancing Death. American Journal of Public Health, 104(3), 512-519. doi:10.2105/ajph.2013.301597 Facts and figures on childhood obesity. (2014, October). Retrieved from http://www.who.int/end-childhood-obesity/facts/en/

American Psychological Association. (n.d.-a). Psychology Topics: The impact of Food Advertising on Childhood Obesity. Washington, D.C.: Author. Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/topics/kids-media/food.aspx?item=1 

ghInstitute, O. M., Board, O. H. P. A. D., Food, A. N. B., & Committee, O. P. O. O. I. (2005). Preventing childhood obesity : Health in the balance. ProQuest Ebook Central https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/rowan/detail.action?docID=3377891&pq-origsite=primo 

Leitzmann, M., Jochem, C., & Schmid, D. (2019). Sedentary behaviour epidemiology (1st ed. 2018.). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-61552-3

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Research Paper – BabyGoat

Posted on November 18, 2020 by BabyGoat

Does Music Really Affect Us?

Sounds… No. Music… Yes! Better yet, we can still feel their music. Music has this weird magical ability to send a message to our brain and  make us react, whether we know the words or not. Is music some type of witchcraft? Should we be worried about the control music has over the human body?

Tunes. Jam. Bop. Banger. All similes for the collection of sounds we call music. Hearing is the ability to perceive sound. In the world, we have disturbing sounds and we have pleasing sounds. According to Oxford Languages, music is “vocal or instrumental sounds (or both) combined in such a way as to produce beauty of form, harmony, and expression of emotion.” Music is a language that can connect people from all over. Even if we can’t quite understand the words of a foreigner, we can still hear them. But isn’t it weird how music can cause most of our senses to react? We obviously can hear and listen to music, but have you heard a song and seen a movie in your head? Has a song brought you back to a happy place where you can feel the energy, raise those hair on your arms? Well, maybe you haven’t smelled or tasted something from a song unless it brings back a specific memory. If so, then music most likely has affected all of your senses before. Maybe the emotional and cognitive effects of music are truly overlooked.

Do different types of music have different effects? We have slow music. We have fast music. We have dark music. We have bright music. With research published back in 1998, we have insight on whether the question at hand may be true. In Alternative Therapies Volume 4, Number 1, the test results stated, “With grunge rock music, significant increases were found in hostility, sadness, tension, and fatigue…” also stated, “…after listening to the designer music (music designed to have specific effects on the listener), significant increases in caring, relaxation, mental clarity, and vigor were measured…” We could speculate that this may be because of various variables. Usually grunge music has a darker tone with harsher instrumentation. And this designer music has brighter instrumentation with a happy tone. Think of grunge music as motocross. Loud sounds of motorcycles, dirty images. A very dirty setting, with a very strong sense of risk taking. The term grunge even means dirt.

Now let’s think of designer music. Maybe a skating rink and arcade would picture this perfectly. The fast paced, happy people in the middle, while there are still some people chilling out the side. The programmed drums and synth sounds are very inviting. 

While rap music gets a bad rep for the explicitness, we have to wonder, what benefits come from such music? Well, if you think about the image of a rapper, it is one of hard work and success. Most people associate the rapper image with nice cars, a lot of women, and a lot of jewelry. So what might the listener think about? Exactly! Rap music can help promote confidence. Maybe the rawness and flashy music isn’t so negative after all. 

But what about sad music? Why do people like listening to sad music if sadness is associated with pain? With research done by a group of Japanese collectives, they pronounce that, “the results revealed that although sad music was perceived to be more tragic, listening to sad music actually induced participants to feel more romantic, blither, and less tragic. Thus, the participants seemed to experience ambivalent emotions when listening to sad music. This is possibly because the emotion induced by music is indirect, that is, not induced by personal events, which somehow induces participants to feel pleasure as well.” For something to make us feel more romantic, blither, and ambivalent, we must feel vulnerable. And maybe the feeling of vulnerability in a safe place is what can make us happy. In a society with pressure and expectations, we have the need to be strong. But you can’t be strong 24/7. And maybe this when the need to feel vulnerable comes into play. When you feel vulnerable, you want to be comforted. To feel comforted, you would want someone to be by your side who can understand your pain and will listen to you. Most people would not go out to a party to feel comforted, most people would call that avoiding the issue. So we can think of sad music as an emotional connection. We have the singer as the friend by your side and the instrumentation telling you that it’s human to feel weak. 

But obviously, if you’re someone who doesn’t like a certain type of music, you would be affected differently. You may be annoyed by grunge if you’re someone who likes RnB Music. But if you do like that certain genre of music, the effects should remain. 

Now that we know music definitely has an effect, maybe we can figure out how and why it does. Hearing these instruments and people have an affect on us but what is this weird science behind it all?

Take a moment to clear your head. Think about the last song you listened to. How did it make you feel? Think about what type of music you listen to often. Is it happy music? Is it sad music? Or, is it sinister? Many people listen to different music, and many people listen to music differently. Music enthusiasts may listen to lots of music carefully and enjoy every single element. The casual listener may only listen to music with a basic view and enjoy it for what it is. But either way, people listen because it makes them feel a certain way. 

Music has the ability to put us in another dimension if we let it. The sound waves enter the ears, which sends signals to our brain, which then tells us how to react. But, these zones also affect people’s emotional states as well as cognitive abilities. 

One big reason we can feel music as we hear it is because each note has a different frequency. These frequencies go to the brain and our brain reacts. Now, when multiple keys are played, whether it’s at the same time or in the form of a melody, the group of frequencies create a feeling or emotion. And this is when scales and key signatures come into play. Each key has a certain group of notes that can be played, giving each key a different feel. We also have the Major and Minor scales. Usually, the Major scale sounds happy, while the Minor scale sounds dark. For example, most kid nursery rhymes are in a Major scale. Mary Had Little Lamb is in the key of C Major. Happy songs for kids keep them innocent, happy, and fresh.

 Now, in the mainstream pop world, let’s think of an example for adults. Ariana Grande. Her new 2020 hit “Positions” in the key of C Major and promotes happiness. In this song, she describes how she would do many things to keep her man happy. The emotional feeling of the song is happiness. LedgerNote.com describes C Major as, “Completely pure. Simplicity and naivety. The key of children. Free of burden, full of imagination. Powerful resolve. Earnestness. Can feel religious.” In opposition, Ariana’s 2019 hit “7 Rings” in the key of Db Minor, which is also the same as C# Minor. Immediately the aura of the song is different. This song is basically her bragging about being able to get whatever she wants. WMich.edu describes C# Minor as “…sighs of disappointed friendship and love lie in its radius.” While the lyrics are not described as this, although some could think bragging about material possessions does mean one is too snobby to be a good friend, the instrumentation definitely has this feeling. But this is one example of the scales and emotions having a nice relation. 

Do songs in a specific ever not feel how the key was intended for it to feel? One artist in particular whose music we can compare is The Weeknd. His new 2019 hit, Blinding Lights is the key of Db Major. Db Major is described as “Rapture in sadness. A grimacing key of choking back tears. It is capable of a laugh or smile to pacify those around, but the truth is in despair. Fullness of tone, sonority, and euphony.” When you hear the song it doesn’t seem like there’s any type of pain. But it’s when you actually listen and dissect the lyrics. Genius.com says “The track finds Abel in a constant state of distraction that he only gets relief from when in the presence of a significant other.” Depending who is asked, this song feels to be a happy song as he’s trying hard for love, or could be a song of destruction as he continues to rely on the need of a female. But remove the lyrics and the song definitely seems like a very happy tune. This 80s inspired song has no signs of making people feel sad or angry, unless you have a bad memory or don’t like the song. But for a twist, on The Weeknd’s same album, his song After Hours in the key of F Minor. This song has a darker, ambient feel. Ledgernote.com describes F Minor’s feeling as, “Deepest depression, lament over death and loss, groans of misery, ready to expire. Harrowing. Melancholic.” If we played these songs back to back, we could quickly point out the difference of the emotional feelings. But one of The Weeknd’s older songs “The Party & The After Party” is also in F Minor. But, this song sounds a little more happy and brighter than “After Hours.” If these two songs are in the same exact key, why do they sound different? 

Now we can see the misconception of a key having a specific feeling. Now let’s get into the real cause of the emotional feeling from music. There’s multiple reasons for this. 

One reason relates to the instruments used. Different instruments give off a certain type of sound, or have a certain timbre. Brighter sounds like those from bells and high octaves on a piano tend to make things seem happier and safer. Darker sounds like those from a bass or low octave on a piano tend to keep things powerful and edgy. Another reason, which is more on the sound engineering side, is the perception of the instrument. By this, I mean the way the instrument is manipulated to give depth or character. I could have a bell, but if I process it to take away the higher frequencies, it would sound darker. 

But also, if I add delay (echo) and reverb (space), it would make the bell seem ambient and distant. The sense of space could make something feel different, maybe ery in some instincts. Think of walking through the forest and you hear a bell in the distance. Depending on the circumstances, like if you seek refuge, you could be glad to hear something that shows a sign of hope. But maybe, it is night time and you plan on being alone, the sound could startle you and cause panic. I say this to show that the other instruments and their characteristics also affect how we perceive another instrument to fit the song. 

The third reasoning is the tempo and rhythm of the song. Slow songs tend to drag, causing more suspense or a more mellow feel. Fast songs tend to bring action. Think of action movies, they tend to keep people on their toes and entertained. But, another key is the rhythm. Usually, “off-beats” tend to add bounce, which could make people want to move and dance. 

But the most important reasoning for a happy or dark sound is the tension with the keys. This is an important cause as every Major key has a Minor relative key, which means a Major key would have the same notes as a Minor key. The only difference is that the center of the scales are focused on different spots. The way to figure out the relative key of the Major key is to drop down three notes. An example would be F Major turning into D Minor. These keys have the same exact notes, but the center focus is different. In the D Minor key, the next two in key notes are E and F, which are right next to each other and cause tension. The next two notes in F Major are G and A, which have a note gap in between. This is the reason some say Major scales could seem happier, because the focus of the scale has less tension. On musical instruments, the closer the notes are to each other, the more tension there will be. SchoolOfComposition.com says, “Musical tension is a sense of unrest, instability, excitement or anticipation, an impression that more is coming and a curiosity for what’s next.” The more or less tension there is, depending on the notes chosen in the specific scale, some songs will be happier, scarier, adventurous, or even more depressing. 

In conclusion, many factors cause the emotional connection between music and human responses, not just the specific key scale itself. The frequency change of each note and putting them in a group changes the feeling of the sounds. But other factors like the type of sound and the distance and timing of sounds, also affect the emotional ride.

If we ask different people their opinion on music, they may all most likely say that they like listening to music. Some may not like certain types of music, or no music at all. If we ask them if they think listening to music all day could help them in regular tasks, some may agree and some may say it’s a distraction. Or, some people may say music is just noise and has no effect on mood, and that people are responsible for their own mood. 

Now, some people actually do not feel a connection to music, which makes them not hear music the same as others. Divya Abhat, from TheAtlantic.com says, “…in the brains of people with specific musical anhedonia, researchers found that the auditory and reward regions of the brain simply didn’t interact in response to music. As a control, to make sure that musical anhedonics responded to other stimuli, researchers also had participants play a gambling game and found that winning money activated the brain’s reward system just fine.” With knowing this information, it is reasonable to see why the effects of music may seem overrated to them. This is the same type of thing for people who don’t appreciate painted art.

But, there’s a group of people that specifically dislike new music and bash it. The people are likely to say “music isn’t like it used to be.” Others could argue that the content of certain music can have a negative impact on the youth. It is very normal nowadays for The older, experienced, humans to say that pop music is glorifying sex. Rap is glorifying drugs and violence. And others may argue that everything mainstream is pushing these images because it sells. 

Others may even say that some of the same ideas were in past music, but people now just can’t seem to accept something new. And others may argue that if you dive deeper into the music, you can actually find good substance. Music is all subjective, just taste. I can understand parents wanting to protect their children from the explicit content. Six year olds should not be singing along with the song WAP, which is an adult song made by Cardi B and Meg The Stallion. But, that same parent should not shame someone else from listening to this song, that isn’t her responsibility. This song may not be good to one mom, but it may make another mom feel a special feeling. But, as a society, it is kind of weird that, for the most part, we can agree on what is a bad or good song. It’s like we evolved to have a standard. Special elements can help us agree, in general. The elements are instrumentation, voice of the singer, lyrics, rhythm, flow, and how the words flow over the instrumentation. All of these elements have evolved as we evolved as humans.

Some people may even say that music has no psychological effect and is a placebo. Sadly, it is proven that listening to music does have its benefits. Music can help while doing fast tasks like cleaning the house, driving to work, writing a quick paper, or even constructing other arts like painting. According to Dogra Shim, “Other important benefits include: Learning creative thinking, Learning to express feelings and emotions, Improving language and reasoning skills. Some studies show music programs can raise intelligence. Music can also improve something called spatial intelligence. This important ability helps with seeing the world and making sense out of what is seen. children who took music increased their IQ. It may be because of the focused attention, memorization, and concentration skills needed to study music.” Sure, for kids exposure to music has a wide spectrum of long term benefits. But even adults can experience effects along these lines. This is evident in many different ways. Sporting event stadiums use uptempo music  to get the fans in the mood for some action. The rhythm of music makes it easier to remember something because it is essentially a repeating pattern. You may not know the lyrics, but you can mumble the melody until you remember. Or, you do not know the words, but you can get a feel with the drums on a song.

Even for depressed musicians, musical therapy is said to decrease the feeling. According to The British Journal of Psychiatry, “…the act of playing musical instruments requires purposeful physical movement. The role of physical activity in averting depression and alleviating its effects is well recognised.” Even though it is making music, it is still related to the concept as the musician making the music will still have to listen and be satisfied with what they are hearing. 

But also, what about the people who say people curse too much in music, but they’re the same people who curse a lot in real life? I understand you can control what you listen to, but that kind of makes you a hypocrite. You can curse up a storm, but you get mad when people curse in their own music?

In the end, the emotional and cognitive effects of music are overlooked. Music helps please our senses. It creates a feeling. The sound waves enter the ears, which sends signals to our brain, which then tells us how to react. Different music affects us differently. Uptempo music can motivate us, while slow music can help us relax. Rap music can bring confidence, while R&B could make us feel in love. But, before bashing something, realize that people have different relationships to different things. Certain types of music makes more people more comfortable in certain situations. Different music affects different people differently.

References

McCraty, R. (1998, January). The Effects of Different Types of Music on Mood, Tension, and Mental Clarity. Retrieved from https://www.heartmath.org/assets/uploads/2015/01/music-mood-effects.pdf

Kawakami, A., Furukawa, K., Katahira, K., & Okanoya, K. (2013, May 14). Sad music induces pleasant emotion. Retrieved December 03, 2020, from https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00311/full?library=true

Shim, D. (2017, March). MUSIC AND SPORTS – A PSYCHOPHYSICAL EFFECT. Retrieved from https://ijrssis.in/upload_papers/11072017050511112%20sharmila%20Dogra%20133.pdf

Abhat, D. (2017, March 10). Why Some People Just Don’t Like Music. Retrieved December 03, 2020, from https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2017/03/please-dont-stop-the-music-or-do-stop-the-music-i-dont-really-mind/519099/

E, M. (2019, January 20). What is Tension and Release in Music? (and how do you create it?). Retrieved December 03, 2020, from https://www.schoolofcomposition.com/what-is-tension-and-release-in-music/

H., J. (2020, September 17). Musical Key Characteristics & Emotions. Retrieved December 03, 2020, from https://ledgernote.com/blog/interesting/musical-key-characteristics-emotions/

(n.d.). Retrieved December 03, 2020, from https://www.wmich.edu/mus-theo/courses/keys.html

The Weeknd – Blinding Lights. (2019, November 29). Retrieved December 03, 2020, from https://genius.com/The-weeknd-blinding-lights-lyrics

Maratos, A., Crawford, M., & Procter, S. (2018, January 02). Music therapy for depression: It seems to work, but how?: The British Journal of Psychiatry. Retrieved December 03, 2020, from https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/the-british-journal-of-psychiatry/article/music-therapy-for-depression-it-seems-to-work-but-how/2E07649AADFE2F027CF0F5951B89C004

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Bibliography – BabyGoat

Posted on November 18, 2020 by BabyGoat


Annotated Bibliography

  1. “The Effects of Different Types of Music on Mood, Tension, and Mental Clarity”

McCraty, Rollin, et al. “The Effects of Different Types of Music on Mood, Tension, and Mental Clarity.” HeartMath.org, Jan. 1998, http://www.heartmath.org/assets/uploads/2015/01/music-mood-effects.pdf. 

Background: A study was done to see how different music affects the well being of the listener. There were four groups of music tested, grunge rock, new age, designer, and classical. Grunge rock seemed to have a high increase in sadness, tension and hostility, and designer music had a increase in relaxation and mental clarity.

How I used this: I used this information to help explain the relationship the type of music someone listens to and how it affects them consciously. 

  1. “Sad Music Induces Pleasant Emotion”

Kawakami, Ai, et al. “Sad Music Induces Pleasant Emotion.” Frontiers, Frontiers, 14 May 2013, http://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00311/full?library=true. 

Background: With this writing, the writer explains why people listen to music and how it makes the listener feel pleasant. Even though the music is sad, sad music gives the listener a sense of comfort and relatability.

How I used this: I used this in my writing to explain how different emotions of music affects the emotional well-being of the listener.

  1. “The cognitive effects of listening to background music on older adults: processing speed improves with upbeat music, while memory seems to benefit from both upbeat and downbeat music”

Bottiroli, Sara, et al. “The Cognitive Effects of Listening to Background Music on Older Adults: Processing Speed Improves with Upbeat Music, While Memory Seems to Benefit from Both Upbeat and Downbeat Music.” Frontiers, Frontiers, 26 Sept. 2014, http://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnagi.2014.00284/full. 

Background: Background music is examined throughout the work. There is a study done with older people to see how they perform with music. We see how different types of music can affect people’s mood and productivity. Music seems to affect arousal, mood and enjoyment, which all in return can affect cognitive performance. Fast tempo music seems to have benefits for tasks tapping processing speed and visuospatial abilities. With that said, it can also have a negative effect in complex tasks. It may be due to a limited pool of resources that is available for cognitive processing. The test was done to measure vocabulary, depressive behavior, and memory, processing speed. The test results seem to aid positive results overall.

How I Used This: I used it to help support my idea. 

  1. What is Tension and Release in Music?

E, Matt. “What Is Tension and Release in Music? (and How Do You Create It?).” School of Composition, 20 Jan. 2019, http://www.schoolofcomposition.com/what-is-tension-and-release-in-music/. 

Background: The writing explains what is tension and release in music, and why it is used. It gives a better understanding on how to create suspense or dramatics in music.

How I used this: I used this writing to explain the powerful nature of using tension in songs. The closer the notes are in a scale, the more tension they have. More tension tends to make a song more dramatic in emotion.

  1. Musical Key Characteristics & Emotions

H., Jared. “Musical Key Characteristics & Emotions.” LedgerNote, 17 Sept. 2020, ledgernote.com/blog/interesting/musical-key-characteristics-emotions/. 

Background: This explains musical keys and their characteristics. There are 12 Major keys and 12 Minor keys. Each key gives off a specific emotional feel to the listener. Learning the different emotions each key gives helps us better under how an artist can create a story within their musical art. 

How I used this: I used this to help describe the different emotions from the different scales.

  1. Musical Key Characteristics

Musical Key Characteristics, wmich.edu/mus-theo/courses/keys.html. 

Background: This explains musical keys and their characteristics. There are 12 Major keys and 12 Minor keys. Each key gives off a specific emotional feel to the listener. Learning the different emotions each key gives helps us better under how an artist can create a story within their musical art.

How I used this: I used this to help describe the different emotions from the different scales. In particular I used this to explain the C# Minor key.

  1. The Weeknd – Blinding Lights

“The Weeknd – Blinding Lights.” Genius, 29 Nov. 2019, genius.com/The-weeknd-blinding-lights-lyrics. 

Background: In the song Blinding Lights by The Weeknd, we are met with very interesting production choices. It is very inspired by 1980’s styled music with a lot of synth production. The Weeknd sings over this production by stating that he needs his significant other.

How I used it: I used this song as an example to help dissect the emotional feeling of songs. 

  1. Music and Sports – A Psychophysical Effect

Dogra, Shim. MUSIC AND SPORTS – A PSYCHOPHYSICAL EFFECT. Mar. 2017, ijrssis.in/upload_papers/11072017050511112%20sharmila%20Dogra%20133.pdf. 

Background: This article shows the relation between sports and music. It touches on how sporting areas use music to pump up the fans and get them excited, and how people in the gym use music as motivation.

How I used it: I used this article to show the benefits listening to music has for people, even kids. Music can help with concentration, memorization, and improve intelligence.

  1. “Music therapy and neurological rehabilitation: Recognition and the performed body in an ecological niche.”

Aldridge, David. “Music Therapy and Neurological Rehabilitation: Recognition and the Performed Body in an Ecological Niche.” Music Therapy World, 2001, http://www.wfmt.info/Musictherapyworld/modules/mmmagazine/issues/20020321100743/20020321102122/NeurorehabE.pdf. 

Background: In this writing, the writer, David Aldridge, explains why he thinks music therapy is a great thing. From reading, to first hand accounts, David Aldridge realizes the change in people after music therapy. He explains music therapy is repetition and that when you repeat something, the ideas are easier to remember and obtain. A small study was done on children who were delayed on the learning scale, but after music therapy, these kids scored higher on a mini test than they did beforehand. He says, “Music therapy is about these elements; the therapeutic relationship, within a specific hearing/listening environment involving the active performance of sounds using integrated movements, which promote development.” 

How I Used: I did not use this, but I am thinking about adding this.

  1. “The Effects of Music Therapy on Vital Signs, Feeding, and Sleep in Premature Infants”

Loewy, Joanne, et al. “The Effects of Music Therapy on Vital Signs, Feeding, and Sleep in Premature Infants.” American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Pediatrics, 1 May 2013, pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/131/5/902.short. 

Background: Music was used to test critical areas such as sucking, weight gain, sleep, and recovery from painful procedures. Parents’ voices were also shown to enhance vocalization in premature infants. During the lullaby and rhythm intervention, lower heart rates occurred. Entrained breath sounds produced lower heart rates and differences in sleep patterns. With parent-preferred lullabies, caloric intake and sucking behavior were higher. Parental stress perception decreased because of music. Music therapy sessions include parental assessment skills, like their own breathing, heartbeat, and voice, and how they help in their infant’s growth. With this in mind, parents should learn to use their bodies as an instrument.

How I used: I did not use, but I want to add this.

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Research – l8tersk8ter

Posted on November 18, 2020 by l8tersk8ter

Competitive Teams Support Adolescent Mental Growth

Adolescents are in a period of life that is unavoidable and runs risk of shaping their futures in a negative way. These teenagers fall under the classification of a vulnerable population and if not properly guided can develop mental illnesses due to poor social interaction. High school administration should require adolescents to participate in a competitive team activity in order to combat the possible negative outcome of adolescence. The competitive team environment will provide the adolescents with life skills and social skills that they can utilize in this development stage in their life.

While there are a plethora of experiences adolescents encounter during this period of time, one of the most common milestones is the high school experience. According to the Education Data Organization on school enrollment statistics, as of 2018 there were 15.8 million students enrolled in secondary/high school, with the rate of enrollment trending up. While that does not include every teenager in the nation, almost 16 million is a significantly notable number of teenagers in schools. Focusing on this population of adolescents that are enrolled in a school, attention can be brought to mental vulnerability of this age group. Teenagers are a population of people that are very unique from their preceding and succeeding age groups. They have vast differences from the children they are growing up from being and the adults they are growing into. Their minds are developing and new life experiences can influence them strongly. They are at high risk of mental issues if not properly guided, which is why they can be considered a vulnerable population.

It is important to first understand the concept of a vulnerable population. In the article “Defining and Measuring Vulnerability in Young People,” the authors state that the literal definition of vulnerability means the state or condition of being weak or poorly defended. Basically, the people that fall into these categories of vulnerable populations are susceptible to adversity. There is a high chance that a problem will arise among these people as opposed to among the people that are not included in a vulnerable population. Holly R. Farley in her assessment of adolescent mental health identifies that the most commonly considered vulnerable populations are ethnic minorities, low SES, the LGBTQ+ community, and people with disabilities, all circumstances out of the individuals control. In the case of adolescents, the population they are grouped with is definitely not a choice considering no one can decide what age they would like to be. A person will inevitably go through their teenage years whether they want to or not.

One of the vulnerabilities teenagers as a population face is to mental health illnesses. According to Farley’s assessment of mental health, a big reason adolescents are a vulnerable population is because they are in a prime developmental stage. Most teenagers experience the feeling of being awkwardly stuck in the middle of childhood and adulthood. They are becoming too old to be treated like a child but are not yet old enough to be treated like an adult. This is their transition stage from one level of maturity to the next and it is accompanied by a lot of pressure. The teenagers have gained more responsibilities than they previously had both in school and at home. On top of that the intensity of school has increased and suddenly they have to learn organization and time management. There is no longer someone holding their hand and guiding them the way they were used to.

Another risk factor to mental health during this developmental stage is the social pressures. In the article about defining and measuring vulnerability the authors Shah, Dheeraj, et al. allude specifically to the vulnerability of young people as being found among those more exposed to risks than their surrounding peers. Some teenagers may find their place quicker or already have an established friend group that they have to rely on in any social situations that may arise. But the risk is higher for the teenagers that have to try to establish themselves and those friendships, whether it be they just never really had close friends or they are at a school that none of their friends attend. These adolescents can be pressured into doing things that they do not actually want to do as an attempt to fit in and have friends. They are easily shaped by the environment around them as they try to conform to what they think they are supposed to be. This also is tied with the next risk factor because of their potential choices of bad behavior to fit in.

Teenagers are vulnerable not only to their environment, but also to themselves. While the decisions they make can be attributed to the social pressures they experience, at the end of the day they do have free will and choose to make decisions. Some of the influencing factors that Farley lists are the want to fit in and exploration of sexual identity. Their longing to fit in is probably the biggest inducer of self-destruction. They could go to the extreme and get involved with substances like drugs and alcohol or could engage in minor delinquencies like cracking jokes in class at the expense of their reputation and success. While trying to explore their sexuality they could become involved in situations they are not quite ready for in order to combat feeling like an outsider when “everyone else is doing it.” They could also face challenges of coming to terms with a sexual preference that they may not feel is accepted but that they ultimately do not have a choice to decide. This could lead them to doing things to avoid this feelings or having to deal with rejection if they do not fit a societal norm (although in this age all sexualities are more of a norm). Without guidance, these teenagers can dig themselves in holes too deep to get out of and become sent on the wrong path.

A prominent mental health illnesses the adolescents are vulnerable to is depression. Farley provides statistics that of the 12% of the US population that is made up of adolescents, 30% are reporting symptoms of depression each year. A striking statistic is that suicide is the second leading cause of death between ages 10-24, a range that starts just short of adolescence and goes just a few years past. These high rates of illness can be due to the fact that these teenage years are a time of physical and emotional changes, as previously discussed. Another large mental health issue is anxiety, which could be generalized or attributed to social interactions. The illness could inhibit the ability to make friends or to get involved, which are important factors to the healthy development of adolescents. High schools can provide an environment for adolescents to avoid these mental illnesses by requiring their participation in a competitive team sport.

Any participation in competitive team activities, but specifically among adolescents, will result in literal winners and losers, but figuratively there are no real losers. Both teams can face setbacks with either outcome but are given the opportunity to learn and improve. Just because the team wins does not mean they had a perfect performance, and if the team loses that does not mean they did awful. They can learn and improve in both their activity specific skills as well as social and general life skills leading to a desirable increase in self-esteem of adolescents. Participation on a competitive team of any kind will benefit adolescents by arming them with social skills and life skills they need to navigate this period of their life.

The percentage of adolescents that are currently not engaged in any extracurricular activities is low, meaning only this small number of students would need to be convinced to become involved in a competitive team activity. In an analysis of adolescent extracurricular activity, Andrew M. Guest and Nick McRee state that around 75% of youths in grades 7 through 12 already participate in at least one extracurricular activity during the school year. Therefore if high schools required students to participate in a competitive team activity then a large percentage of adolescents would already be on board. Even if their current extracurricular is not of competitive nature, it can be assumed since these teenagers are willing to be involved, they will be open to competition based. This means only a small 25% of adolescents in this age range would potentially oppose starting a competitive team activity.

Mark Leary discusses in his chapter on self-esteem importance that psychologists have three main assumptions about aiming for positive self-esteem. The first is that it is universally accepted that people want to enhance self-esteem. Human nature pushes us towards wanting to feel good about ourselves. The second is that it is more desirable to have a high self-esteem, once again wanting to feel good rather than bad. The third is that raising a low self-esteem can improve the well mental wellbeing of a person as a result of a more positive mindset. People that have a high self-esteem have been found to have better social skills, be more adaptive, and have overall more socially acceptable interactions. The development of self-esteem through competitive activities is one way these activities are beneficial to adolescents.

The self-perception of success is what can help raise the self-esteem of adolescents despite the overall outcome of their teams event. According to a case study by Pedersen and Seidman on self-esteem development of adolescent girls, when the teen girls got involved in sports their self-evaluations increased to a more positive nature. In the case study they had the girls take assessments that measured their personal view of themselves overall before and after being involved. It was hypothesized and proven that the self-perception of success in a team sport can be connected to the global self-esteem of adolescent girls. The most important part of the findings is that self-perceived success pushes self-esteem in the right direction. This does not always mean success in the competitive match but could also be micro successes in personal goals. For example, answering more questions right during academic club than they did last time. Even if the teen still gets some wrong, they are happy with the improvement and success they are able to achieve. Or if they are struggling to improve, they can learn to change their mindset to be easy on themselves and acknowledge they are trying their best. Afterall, no one can excel at every task they take on. The positive self-evaluations in the study led to an increase in general positive self-esteem. Simple pride in ones actions can positively influence the way someone feels about themselves, and eventually lead to a confidence that will help them thrive.

Despite the possibility of a positive outcome, this is not guaranteed if there is not proper leadership and positive influence in place. Guest and McRee, in their study of extracurriculars, warn of the potential for any possible benefits of competitive teamwork to completely disappear if the activities are not properly constructed. An important way to avoid overpowering of the negative is by the proper guidance of coaches, club leaders and even parents or other family members. These influential adults in the adolescents’ lives need to be encouraging and willing to teach the life lessons that are available. Most importantly, school administration requiring the competitive team involvement need to carefully select the coaches and teams leaders. These positions should be filled with those that can maximize the benefits and positive outcomes of the participation. Constant tearing down of players and participants by poorly chosen coaches and leaders will harm the adolescents mentally instead of helping them.

An example of a well-appointed coach is seen in the case study of youth learning life skills through high school sport involvement written by Nicholas Holt, et al. This study followed a boys high school soccer team, players and coaches, through their academics and athletics to see if their sport participation benefited them in their day-to-day life. The head coach in this study valued the philosophy of developing personal relationships with the players. He was not just a coach there to do a job but took on the role of a mentor that all coaches should strive to be. He found it important to teach his players that even when one cannot change a situation, they can change their attitude about the situation. It is this concept that turns failure into success. While the game or match may go in the books as a loss, the lessons learned from the setbacks are positive outcomes in the midst of disappointment. A coach focused on teaching how to find the positives in that situation is important to teaching the valuable lesson needed of not dwelling in defeat. Very few people make it through life without experiencing a setback or some type of adversity. When this happens there is always the option to give up and succumb to the failure. If these adolescents are taught through competition how to cope properly and move forward from disappointment then in the future, they will be more likely to keep pushing towards success.

If schools were to require students to participate on a competitive team it would not be surprising that they would face pushback by some parents and/or students. Forcing or requiring someone to do something runs the risk of perceived negatively, especially by those that don’t want to be forced. Most people do not like to be told what to do and they can feel like they have no control over a situation. A main combative argument that could arise would be that those with social phobias would not benefit from this forced participation. However, requiring first year students at a high school to participate in a competitive team activity will ultimately benefit them despite this likely objection.

One of the biggest oppositions to requiring the adolescents to participate in a team activity is that all not all teenagers do well in social situations. A large reasoning for the lack of functioning well during social interaction is that they are struggling with social anxiety or social phobias. Forcing them into these social situations could have detrimental effects on their mental health and well-being from all of the stress and anxiety caused. According to Kenneth Walters and Debra Hope in their analysis of social behavior, social phobia embodies an excessive fear of social situations that stems from the anticipation of scrutiny leading to expectations of humiliation and embarrassment. People classified as social anxious are said to have activated defense systems. During social interaction they are submissive. The don’t engage in dominant behavior but instead have the goal of avoiding rejection to remain in the situation, or if needed they focus on escaping or avoiding the situations all together.

Luckily, the submissiveness is not a problem when the activity is happening. In the study conducted by Walters and Hope they tested the social interactions of those with social phobia against non-anxious people in the same kind of interaction. The results showed that the aforementioned characteristics of the socially anxious are predominately through verbal interaction, which is something they would need for their “dominance”. When the adolescents join a team the focus is not solely on speaking to their peers, which minimizes the threat to the teenagers that may be socially anxious. This is definitely true with sports. During practices and games the focus is on the sport activities. While you may be the focus for a few seconds while a play is happening the crowd is overall watching the team as a whole. In practice the coaches are focusing on everyone and teammates are focused on their own success at what they are doing. There is no pressure to carry a conversation during these times. The aspects of playing the sport that are beneficial, such as reaching personal goals and achieving personal satisfaction with one’s performance, are in turn not actually causing harm to the social well-being of the individual.

Of course there are times when that social interaction does need to occur, or the competitive team may be more verbally focused, such as a scholastic competition team. In the case of the latter, there may be more social pressures that could cause anxiety. However, as time goes on and the adolescent is more involved in the activity and the benefits of doing so are seen, any negativity that may arise at the beginning would be counteracted. As skill improves and the teenager starts to positively participate the fear of being rejected decreases. The more comfortable the teenagers become in their environment the easier their social skills will emerge, and this comfort can come from team relationships being built.

As the team bonds and the adolescent becomes closer to the whole team or just certain individual, the teen no longer has to worry about trying to get out of the situation because it will be a situation that they are comfortable being in. In any of the competitive team sports, in order to succeed as a team that bonding does need to occur. This means that all of the participants will have to eventually verbally interact as they get to know their team. This may seem daunting, but actually is the type of situations that adolescents need to develop positive social behaviors. Annette La Greca and Nadja Lopez did a study to evaluate social anxiety among adolescents, which differs from the more commonly studied and utilized data from among adults. Their study analyzed adolescents interactions with peers and their general social environment and the linkages to social anxiety. The results showed that a major important factor in development of adolescent social functioning is having close friendships. These relationships result in emotional support, intimacy, and an expression of emotions, which are all beneficial to the emotional development of a teenager. When the adolescents have at least one person that they are close with the relationship makes them feel like they are not an outsider and helps prevent shying away from further social interactions. Teenagers that are socially anxious may keep to themselves in school, so being on a team will place the teen with a group they will inevitably have to interact with. The placement will relieve the pressure of having to seek out relationships on the adolescents own account.

A common psychotherapy approach to combating disorders like social anxiety is exposure therapy. If a patient was afraid of snakes the therapist would start by having one in the same room as the patient and then eventually have the patient able to tolerate the snake being on their body. The best way to combat a fear is to face it head on. This therapy exposes someone to the very thing they fear the most which in turn eliminates the fear or at the very least makes it manageable. In an article by Steven Shearer about treatment of anxiety disorders discusses how these this time of cognitive behavioral therapy is useful. He says that even if its self-conducted any gradual exposure lasting long enough from the anxiety to diminish is effective in combating it. Prolonged exposure, such as an hour-long practice or meeting, provides optimal time for adolescents to face their fear of interacting with their peers at the rates they are ready. The teenagers learn how to deal with the social situations that they are uncomfortable in. As more time is spent with a team the more comfortable an individual gets, which makes it easier to work on these skills. Competitive teams provide adolescents the environment they need to have positive mental growth during this major developmental period of their lives.

References

Bustamante, Jaleesa. K-12 Enrollment Statistics [2020]: Totals by Grade Level + More. 6 Sept. 2019, educationdata.org/k12-enrollment-statistics.

Farley, Holly R. “Assessing Mental Health in Vulnerable Adolescents.” Nursing, vol. 50, no. 10, 2020, pp. 48–53., doi:10.1097/01.nurse.0000697168.39814.93.

Guest, Andrew M., and Nick Mcree. “A School-Level Analysis of Adolescent Extracurricular Activity, Delinquency, and Depression: The Importance of Situational Context.” Journal of Youth and Adolescence, vol. 38, no. 1, 2008, pp. 51–62., doi:10.1007/s10964-008-9279-6.

Holt, Nicholas L., et al. “Do Youth Learn Life Skills through Their Involvement in High School Sport? A Case Study.” Canadian Journal of Education, vol. 31, no. 2, May 2008, pp. 281–304. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=508035517&site=ehost-live.

La Greca, Annette M., and Nadja Lopez. “Social Anxiety among Adolescents: Linkages with Peer Relations and Friendships.” Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, vol. 26, no. 2, Apr. 1998, pp. 83–94. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=507634802&site=ehost-live.

Leary, Mark R. “The Social and Psychological Importance of Self-Esteem.” The Social Psychology of Emotional and Behavioral Problems: Interfaces of Social and Clinical Psychology., American Psychological Association, 1999, pp. 197–221. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1037/10320-007

Pedersen, Sara, and Edward Seidman. “Team Sports Achievement and Self-Esteem Development Among Urban Adolescent Girls.” Psychology of Women Quarterly, vol. 28, no. 4, 2004, pp. 412–422., doi:10.1111/j.1471-6402.2004.00158.x.

Shah, Dheeraj, et al. “Defining and Measuring Vulnerability in Young People.” Indian Journal of Community Medicine, vol. 40, no. 3, 2015, p. 193., doi:10.4103/0970-0218.158868.

Shearer, Steven. “Recent Advances in the Understanding and Treatment of Anxiety Disorders.” Primary Care, vol. 34, no. 3, Elsevier Inc, 2007, pp. 475–504, doi:10.1016/j.pop.2007.05.002.

Walters, Kenneth S., and Debra A. Hope. “Analysis of Social Behavior in Individuals with Social Phobia and Nonanxious Participants Using a Psychobiological Model.” Behavior Therapy, vol. 29, no. 3, 1998, pp. 387–407., doi:10.1016/s0005-7894(98)80039-7.

Posted in l8tersk8ter, Portfolio L8terSk8ter, Research | 10 Comments

Research- oaktree1234

Posted on November 18, 2020 by oaktree1234

The Privilege of Underprivileged

Alex is an 8 year old boy attending an underfunded school and living in a single parent home. Academics are a challenge for Alex and he receives little support from his caretaker and school administrators. One might say that Alex’s lack of privilege is doing him a disservice but this is simply false. Despite his situation being a challenging one, Alex will ultimately be better prepared for the real world. The grit of underprivileged young people outweighs the advantages of those with privilege. 

Grit is a term that is commonly used to describe a person’s character. It can be used to define men, women, children, ect. This begs the question; what is grit? How do people develop it? These are questions that do not have one clear answer. They depend heavily on the population in which you are focused on and the context of the situation. Grit in young people ranging from elementary school to college will be defined. Understanding this relationship between grit and predetermined circumstances will help to more clearly illustrate how grit directly correlates to success. 

“Without grit, talent may be nothing more than unmet potential,” Caren Baruch-Feldman, PhD and author of The Grit Guide For Teens explains. “Grit is important because it is a driver of achievement and success, independent of and beyond what talent and intelligence contribute. Grit is a character trait that is acquired; not learned. The experiences a young person has in their early years are likely to determine whether or not they develop grit. A student exhibiting such a trait will not allow predetermined conditions or circumstances to hinder their performance. For example, working long hours, unfavorable studying environment, low household income, and learning disabilities are all factors that may discourage a student without grit. Grit does not diminish over time. In college, the workplace, and for the years to come, this individual will continue to be a diligent, hard worker. A student with the type of grit we are analyzing will overcome any challenges they may face to achieve success in all aspects of life. 

It’s important to mention that grit does not directly correlate to high grades and vice versa. In fact, many students who make these academic achievements lack grit the most. Commonly, it’s the average students or those who struggle with their studies who must adapt grit as a mechanism. The naturally gifted students often achieve these high grades without little to any effort being applied. Students with learning disabilities such as ADHD, dyslexia, ect are more likely to be perserent, as the result of a more challenging educational career. Infact, a study conducted by the Hamilton Institute reports a significant correlation between high grade point average and self determination in students with learning disabilities. Overcoming adversities like this as a teen will only make the individual that much more prepared for the future. When defining grit in this context, it is often associated with those who fit the underdog role opposed to the gleaming, perfect, straight-a student.

The term grit is most commonly associated with overcoming obstacles and unfortunate circumstances. When referring to students, an individual growing up in a stable household is less likely to develop grit since they face less adversity. Those who experience poverty, broken homes, single parent homes, or abusive homes must expel much more effort just to accomplish that of kids from stable homes. Also, students in these households commonly don’t have access to adequate tutoring, technology, or necessary school supplies. This alone demands the individual to be perseverent. The Child Fund reports that 30% of children raised in poverty will not finish high school. Although some may view this statistic as an indication of a lack of grit, it is rather a demonstration of true grit among the majority.

In 2016, many low income schools across the country began installing programs that taught grit to their elementary students.  “Here, though, is the fundamental problem with the notion that the importance of grit has to do with bettering the chances of disadvantaged students. Children raised in poverty display ample amounts of grit every day, and they don’t need more of it in school,” Ethan Ris, doctoral candidate in education at Stanford University expresses. Students from these lower income areas face challenges that many others never will. When these elementary students become young adults, the grit they’ve developed will continue to aid them in the workplace and beyond. Meanwhile, the higher income students most likely won’t have the same crucial experience. 

 In addition to challenges at home, many students from underprivileged  communities work during the school year. These students must learn how to balance school and a job while maintaining other aspects of their life. A survey of students at the Manchester Metropolitan University demonstrated that a larger population of students are working while in school than ever before. Almost twice the amount of lower class high school students are working while attending school than upper class high school students. Although these students do believe their grades would be a little higher if they weren’t working, they are being benefited in the long run. “Nevertheless, students highlight the benefits of working, which are not only monetary but include the development of skills, greater understanding of the world of business and an increase in confidence, all of which are advantageous to their studies, both at the present time and in the future,” Susan Curtis  & Najah Shani with the Journal of Further and Higher Education report. Not only will these skills help students develop and integrate grit into their lives, they will be better  prepared for their future work environment. 

As we consider all the possible meanings of a word, it’s evident that context is always important. Grit in athletes versus business professionals will take completely different forms. Likewise, grit instilled in students is very specific. These individuals learn, through their experiences, the magnitude of their actions and decisions. More specifically, the students that overcome challenges while pursuing their education are most likely to develop the kind of grit that will aid them through adulthood. 

Straight-a students don’t always get everything right. No one assumes the boy in the back of the class with mediocre grades will go on to encounter more success later in life than anyone else. Despite this, it happens more often than we’re willing to believe. Although they may display excellence in the classroom, above average students do not always have the same success beyond graduation. Book smarts is not commonly thought of as privilege, but in the modern education system, it is just that. It may sound counterintuitive but achieving good grades is not a direct cause of a successful career later in life. 

“If you always succeed in school, you’re not setting yourself up for success in life,” Dr. Grant, organizational psychologist, explains that good grades can only get you so far. After the first year out of college there is almost no correlation between grades and job performance. “For example at google, once employees are two or three years out of college, their grades have no bearing on their performance,” Grant explains in his NY times article. Although one’s education may help them prepare for their desired field of work, in the long run, it won’t have too much impact on how much they excel. In his book, Unbeatable Resumes, Tony Beshara interviews some of the most powerful bosses in the country on what gets them to hire an applicant. The findings varied from strong morals to flexibility and willingness to face failure, with very little mention of  educational history. The issue is that those who get good grades aren’t necessarily prepared for the workforce, they just know how to memorize information. Also, Traditional schooling does not evaluate creativity, problem solving ability, and many of the other traits that will be utilized in the workplace. Students in the top of the class are also more likely to miss out on social and real world experiences that may be more useful to them. 

For many outstanding students who fall behind in the real world, it wasn’t what they did in high school that put them at a disadvantage but what they didn’t do. The majority of these exceptional students never experienced a teacher failing their project or being told they could resubmit their essay for a passing grade. Although this is not entirely their fault, it does put them at a disadvantage in some ways. When they enter the workforce they will eventually have a boss or overseer that will not be pleased with their work. Since they have had little experience with failure, they will not be equipped with the skills needed to resolve the situation. “Parents tend to see their mission as helping their kids succeed. But there’s a growing realization among teachers and other professionals who work with children that kids increasingly need help learning how to fail. Not learning to tolerate failure leaves them vulnerable to anxiety,” Beth Arky with the Child Mind Institute explains. By facing failure at a young age, individuals accept it as a part of life and do not respond as negatively to it later on.

The case is always made that these exceptional students are more likely to receive a higher corporate position or a better paying job than their C minus counterparts. Although an outstanding high school or college transcript is a wonderful asset to have when applying for a job, it’s important to acknowledge the logistics of this said advantage. Although you may have been “one in a million” in your graduating class, remember how many high schools are in your state as well as your country. There are always going to be other valedictorians and straight-a students applying for the same position. In the United States, roughly 25,000 valedictorians and another 25,000 salutatorians graduate each year, according to the National Center for Educational Statistics. This is not taking into consideration the amount of students who graduate in the top ten, achieved straight a’s, and other notable academic accomplishments. Meanwhile, the individual who did not receive remarkable grades may stand out in other ways. A perfect example of this could be displaying good time management skills by working or volunteering in addition to attending school. Crucial qualities, such as, wit, creativity, drive, and empathy, cannot be demonstrated in the classroom.

The biggest reason good students struggle in the real world is that school is very different from work. “In school, in order to get the grade, you learned to provide the authority figure—the teacher—what he or she wanted. In the workplace, that translates into asking ‘good girl’ questions: ‘What does this boss want from me? Which of my boss’s needs aren’t being met? What do I need to do to get an A?” In a Business Insider article, Whitney Johnson, author of Dare, Dream, Do, explains the difference between educational success and corporate success in an article for the Harvard Business Review. “This approach may get you some initial gold stars, but it won’t get you what you really want, which is to be an indispensable player, not just to your boss, but in your industry. To become an all-star, you need to develop a new skill: you need to learn how to challenge and influence authority, rather than simply giving the authority figures what they want.” Most straight-a students have dismissed the idea of thinking outside of the box. Their educational career has taught them to do exactly what they’re supposed to with no room for no ideas or questions. This mindset may allow the individual to keep their job but not be promoted or earn a raise. 

The education system in America urges young students to maintain good grades if they wish to be successful outside of the classroom. Although this mindset isn’t completely inaccurate, it’s quite flawed. The issue arises when students and officials believe that strong academic performance can single handedly get someone to the top of the corporate food chain. It’s becoming more and more apparent in today’s society that the workforce demands more than strong mathematical skills and good grammar. Clear determination, creativity, passion, and companionship are far more likely to be the cause for a student’s success later in life. 

Children with educated parents would be more likely to succeed in school and the workplace, right? This is simply not true. Although education may be emphasized by these parents, the child has to be motivated on their own inorder to see results. As we’ve observed, children in less supportive environments, where education is not a priority, tend to be more self-motivated. Likewise, many parents who value education believe sending their child to private school will set them up for success. This actually has the opposite effect since receiving a private education hinders the child’s ability to adapt to the real world.

It’s very hard to succeed in school or work without grit. Some believe that second generation college students display more grit than disadvantaged students whose parents never had the option of attending college. This belief stems from the idea that students who grow up in a household with educated caregivers better understand the value of education. In some cases, this holds true but is surely not a rule of thumb. A study done at Curtin University attempted to demonstrate that students who were not the first in their family to go to college exhibited the most grit. “In qualitative responses, students were most commonly motivated by a desire for personal development, career aspirations, and family. Grit was found to positively correlate to parents’ educational attainment, and to students who were not first in the family to attend university”, Cathay Cupitt with Semantic Scholar explains. It’s important to acknowledge that students stating they are motivated is very different than actually demonstrating this motivation through hard work and perseverance. Surely these students were motivated to attend college, but not for the same reason as the disadvantaged students. In many financially affluent areas, attending college is a social must. These second generation students are often attending college solely because that’s what’s expected of them. Considering this, it makes sense that these students’ grit was seen to correlate to their parents’ educational achievements. 

On the other hand, the first generation college students from less stable backgrounds are likely going to college with hope of turning around their situation. They’ve already witnessed what poverty or lack of resources can do to a family. These students will not let the challenges they face hinder their educational career because they’ve already overcome so many. Meanwhile, the second generation students do not have the same motives. Special awards and scholarships are given to “legacies” or students who attend a college or university after a family member. This makes it more likely that these second generation students will pursue an education, not because they have grit, but because they’re predispositioned to. Essentially, being a second generation college student isn’t a true indication of grit, until proven otherwise. The only thing this status demonstrates is that the individual most likely had a comfortable, more supported upbringing. 

Commonly, parents who have graduated college and preach educational success send their children to private schools. They believe this exclusive education will guide their child down the right path. Unfortunately, enrolling students in private school most oftenly has an adverse effect. Most private school students will graduate without obtaining any real world experience or skills. 

When exploring the effects of a private versus public education, the findings of the WISE (Women in Science and Engineering) program cannot be ignored. WISE was designed as an experiential learning experience for female high school students to get exposure to STEM. Initially, the program was only offered to private school students in Virginia. Later, they opened this opportunity up to public school students, as well. Right off the bat, there was a big difference in the experience that the private school students had versus the public school students. For example, the private schools implementing WISE had more specialized staff members available to help, along with high quality materials. Meanwhile, public schools were not able to provide summer research opportunities since the majority of students held part-time jobs. Despite the obvious advantages the private school students had, both groups displayed equal success during the final evaluation. 

How do the results of this study demonstrate that a public education can be more beneficial than a private one? The answer lies in the drastic difference in opportunity. Private school WISE participants were given more aid throughout the corresponding weeks than the public school students. Despite this, the public school students were able to be just as successful within the program. “At the private school, the students are enrolled in a research course and participate in WISE as a cohort with a teacher who provides feedback on the students’ presentations, reviews their journals weekly, visits the students in their research lab and intervenes if necessary to resolve issues between a mentor and student or faculty and student,” the several authors of “Realities of Mentoring High School Students from Inner City Public Schools vs. Private Schools in STEM Research at an R1 University” explain. The Wise program emulates one of the major flaws in private education. Over time, private school students become used to having these privileges, yet fail to use them to their advantage. On the other hand, public school students had to work harder and more diligently to make this program fit into their lifestyle. It’s very counterintuitive to claim that well educated parents and a private education can hurt a child’s chances of success, yet that seems to be the case. It’s not the direct effect of these two factors, rather the second hand effects that are so detrimental. Students growing up in what may be seen as unfavorable conditions ultimately experience positive long term effects. 

During this crucial period of development, Alex’s hardships will allow him to become perseverent. Needless to say, not every underprivileged child will be a success story, but each one is given an undeniable edge. At some point during their lives, underprivileged individuals like Alex will recognize that their hardships made them a stronger, better person. When we allow ourselves to see it, life is full of silver linings.

References 

Newman, Christine, et al. “Realities of Mentoring High School Students from Inner City Public Schools vs. Private Schools in STEM Research at an R1 University.” ASEE PEER Document Repository, 13 May 2019,

Strauss, Valerie. “The Problem with Teaching ‘Grit’ to Poor Kids? They Already Have It. Here’s What They Really Need.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 18 Apr. 2019,

Cupitt, Cathy, and N. Golshan. “[PDF] Participation in Higher Education Online: Demographics, Motivators, and Grit: Semantic Scholar.” [PDF] Participation in Higher Education Online: Demographics, Motivators, and Grit | Semantic Scholar, 1 Jan. 1970,  

Grant, Adam. “What Straight-A Students Get Wrong.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 8 Dec. 2018,

“The Effect of Taking Paid Employment During Term-Time on Students’ Academic Studies.” Taylor & Francis,

Beth Arky is a Brooklyn-based freelance writer and editor covering parenting, health and children’s learning and developmental issues. “Help Kids Learn to Fail: Building Self-Esteem in Children.” Child Mind Institute, 29 June 2020,

Giang, Vivian. “14 Things High Schoolers Should Know Before They Go To College.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 16 July 2013,

“The NCES Fast Facts Tool Provides Quick Answers to Many Education Questions (National Center for Education Statistics).” National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Home Page, a Part of the U.S. Department of Education,

Karantzas, Myra “Gifted and Talented Students Will Succeed Anyway, Won’t They? Helping the students you might think don’t need any help.” Agora; 2019, Vol. 54 Issue 2, p49-52, 4p

“Figure 2—Source Data 1. Distribution of Edu + and EdU- Spermatocytes at the First Prophase 40 Hr after EdU and CisPt Injection.” doi:10.7554/elife.42511.004. Sharon Field, Mary D. Sarver. “Self-Determination: A Key to Success in Postsecondary Education for Students with Learning Disabilities –

Sharon Field, Mary D. Sarver, Stan F. Shaw, 2003.” SAGE Journals, 1 Jan. 1997,  Beshara, Tony. Unbeatable Résumés: America’s Top Recruiter Reveals What Really Gets You Hired. American Management Association, 2011.

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Research- Pardonmyfrench

Posted on November 18, 2020 by pardonmyfrench13

The Social Media Muddle

Social Media platforms are used by one in three people in the world and continuing to rise in popularity. Social sites such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, rule the web with user generated content. The content that is uploaded then receives likes and comments which are the lifeblood that keeps the sites alive. Social status outside of the internet has now started to be determined due to the amount of likes and followers a person has online. 90 % of social media users fall between the ages of 18 and 29 years old. This age group is most easily influenced and if their social status is affected negatively from social likes, their vision of self-worth could be as well. This could soon become a much bigger issue and become associated with psychological problems such as depression, stress, anxiety, and vulnerability. People with depression are more likely to have suicidal thoughts compared to those who are not depressed. With that being said, if social media sites were to get rid of allowing the amount of likes a user gets on to be shown on their uploaded digital content, suicide rates will lower, and self-worth will improve all due to a more equal appearance of social status.

Although there is no specific statistic to show just how many American teens commit suicide and lay the blame on social media available, we can look at suicide as whole first. A recent CDC study found that teen suicide jumped 56% from 2007 to 2017. Suicide claimed the lives of 5,016 males and 1,225 females between 15 and 24 in the United States during 2019, researchers from the Journal of the American Medical Assn. report. It only can be assumed that the rise in rates can be correlated with the rise in social media platforms and technology. This is a giant problem for American citizens. Suicide has become the second leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 10 and 34 throughout the U.S. Cutting off social media, which will take away hurtful comments and the “like” contest and in turn taking time to focus on ones self, is looking more and more detrimental to the mental health of society.

52% of students have reported being the victim of cyberbullying with 84.2% naming Facebook as the site through which they have been bullied, followed by Instagram (23.4%), Twitter (21.4%), and Snapchat (13.5%). This bullying can stem from photos posted, the number of likes a picture has or how many followers a user has. Students who range younger in age take this sort of bullying into a different head space. Middle school children who are victims of cyberbullying are almost twice as likely to attempt suicide than a high school student. A different 2016 study found that overuse of social media as an adolescent may decrease success in relationships later in life as online communication hinders the development of conflict management skills and awareness of interpersonal cues. In turn, this can cause low self esteem and a lot of future issues with self-appreciation. Instead of doing away with being able to see the amount of likes a user is getting to assist in bringing these statistics down, opposing viewpoints say to get off of the site completely. This is not possible and would never work in today’s society.

Many people would refute the idea of social media not having likes as part of the site. Anyone that uses the platforms for business, school, or to promote themselves, benefit from allowing likes to be seen which attracts users to visit the profile. These opponents would say that those negatively effected by the likes, cyber bullying, and abuse from other users should just remove themselves from social media completely. But to just drop social media isn’t actually a solution at all. Teens need social media to complete schoolwork and familiarity of social media is a needed life skill. Social life and friendships flow through these platforms and cutting them off would not be ideal. Even the option of removing users who are most effected by negative online comments, and fall victim to lower self-worth because of these circumstances, teens could still not be monitored 24/7 to stay offline.

Deleting social media all together seems like a peaceful getaway. Sure, it’s a semi permeant solution to end cyberbullying, low self-esteem and suicide caused by social media, but not an everlasting one. Parents think they have full control over their children at all times and can limit what they are seeing online. Facts are, they don’t. Kids will never stop migrating to new apps that are foreign to parents. Banning social media just isn’t realistic. All that is needed to be a new user on a social site is an email address and internet access. With this being said, students would still be able to access the sites and find themselves in the same position they are now. This could also end worse than if likes were just deleted because the young users would have no one to turn to if they were being bullied and felt low since they have been hiding the accounts. This is the ultimate backfire and would be the opposite of what success would look like.

Not only would banning teens from social media be nearly impossible, it can also lead to issues in school. There’s a risk of social marginalization for kids who are not allowed to socialize in this way that’s now so embedded in social lives. If a teenager is at the age where all of their friends are on social media it can lead to feelings of being left out, isolated and socially ostracized from peers. As previously stated, this could lead to self-harm and irreversible neurological damage. Just another reason banning social media can have the reverse effect.

Another reason the argument of banning social media is invalid and unattainable in today’s world is due to work and school flow through the sites. 48% of job-seekers credit social media for helping find their current job and 69% of students use social media when finding internships. Ignoring these sites would hurt the value that they bring to the table. Social media is also sometimes required for school research and to network with fellow students. In the United States more than 80% of college and university faculty use social media; more than 50% use it for teaching; and 30% for communicating with students. This is a need and another reason deleting the site as a whole would hinder students and not aid to their success.

Social media is seen for all of its negatives at most times but deleting it would be detrimental in case of emergency. Federal, state, and local law enforcement professionals surveyed say that they use social media to notify the public of emergencies or disasters. Facebook also allows people to mark themselves safe in the event of a crisis which notifies the friends list that the user is okay. This would be otherwise impossible without an account.

The critics who emphasize the concept of deleting social media as a whole have a ridiculous concept. Sure not only is this nearly impossible but the negatives surely outweigh the positives. A parent can “ban” their child from social media, but they can still sneak on anyway and see worse effects in isolation and becoming ostracized. Businesses thrive on social media existence and taking it away completely would only create a collapse of them. Schools (especially since COVID) have been using social media sites to communicate with students and allow students to get in touch with one another as well. Taking away this avenue could affect learning completely. Lastly, it all sounds amazing to live a social media free life until a crisis occurs. Marking ourselves safe and becoming aware of surrounding dangers in the world in a timely manner would be taken way if social media wasn’t in Americans lives. Deleting social media as a whole is just not the answer. Maybe doing the lesser of two and taking away the likes social media presents to users would be a perfect, intermediate point. Not showing likes would allow for the use of social media for all the positives, without giving users a reason to feel insecure and low.

Times have changed since the advancement and availability of technology. Social media sites have taken over the internet, drawing people of many different backgrounds. Users consist of several races, genders, ages, and sexual orientations, growing the sites diverse crowd. Younger users are the most frequent visitors to most social media sites. This age group is still developing in many areas so they seem to be most effected by social media; whether that be for positive or negative reasons. Some negative effects of social media interaction have even been proven to lead to depression, anxiety and even suicide among teenage users who do not feel verified enough through their profiles.

Developing teenagers are not only trying to find their place in the world, but also who they want to identify as. Social media is only making this even harder. There are certain body standards represented through social media, as well as the goal of becoming an “influencer”, and getting enough likes on posted content. Gaining approval from peers online is what everyone wants, but heavily weighs on teens due to their development. During the teen and young adult years, a person is developing emotionally, physically and mentally which can lead to stress without a solid network of support. Without this network, or when troubling situations occur, someone without such provision can fall through the cracks leading to a hefty consideration of suicide. Teen suicide has been on the rise for years. In 2019 the highest amount of suicides among teens was recorded. Teens and young adults have stripped the title of group most likely to take their own lives. Teen suicide is clearly a large issue that needs to be solved. There are tons of warning signs that need to be caught and addressed as a way to prevent such a sad outcome.

Since teens are most likely to seek approval from peers and these days anyone online, negative responses or disapproval can really crush one’s ego. Teens in general are looked at to suffer from a lower self-worth and self-esteem than that of an older, more matured age group. They are more easily influenced by other’s opinions of them, which makes teens an extremely vulnerable group. Once negative self-image has crept in it takes over every thought and can affect everyday life. Over 70% of girls age 15 to 17 avoid normal daily activities, such as attending school, when they feel bad about their looks. The teenage brain is also nowhere close to developed which could be one of the reasons they are so easily influences by other people’s opinions. The frontal lobe doesn’t develop until mid-twenties, which is in charge of processing and reasoning and making rational decisions. As for self-esteem and social media platforms, that also goes hand in hand.

Social media sites are one of the main places people, especially teens, experience judgment on posted content. Users thrive on fitting in and social acceptance in the public eye. Social media sites will always be known to host rude comments and contain bullying. Its inevitable even with anti-cyberbullying programs in place.  90% of teens have been known to use social media sites. If their profile is left with social disapproval, this could be detrimental to one’s self-esteem. Cyberbullying is particularly dangerous because it takes away the human interaction aspect. Those who bully cant see what its doing to the person on the other side of the screen. Empathy among this community is being lost. Students who do experience a form of cyberbullying are nearly 2 times more likely to attempt suicide.

Likes on social media are the driver and reason people post content. Seeing which users like and comment on the media posted gives a feeling of instant gratification. Some people view every like as positive affirmation. The likes become addictive and stimulate the brain, believe it or not. Likes and comments begin to symbolize reputation and social status. Users can easily compare themselves to others with more likes them. Comments online can also be misinterpreted. Not enough comments or likes as well as certain emojis being used can be misunderstood and lead to the beginning of a downfall, not only on a user’s profile but internally in their head as well.

Social media platforms are leading down a rabbit hole of negative effects. Teenagers interaction with the sites and how easily they are influenced and seek approval is just the start of the volatile mix. Teens are the neediest group that seeks constant approval leading to lower self-esteem and bigger reactions. They misinterpret content from other users and therefor become the most effected all together. Suicide is also on the rise for this age group making the mix of these triggers high and putting teens at risk. Social media needs to be placed on a lower pedestal in everyday life, in order to save teens lives and mental health.

According to Igor Pantic’s online article called “Online Social Networking and Mental Health,” anxiety, depression, psychotic disorders and low self-esteem are all the likely results of social networking sites, especially Facebook. These sites have high probability for cyber bullying and the ability to spread rumors and inappropriate pictures. Social media sites have also been seen to be used to try and combat loneliness but often lead to becoming more dissatisfied. All social networking platforms where self-presentation is the principal user activity cause or at least promote narcissistic behavior among users. This toxic mix that social media creates among users give insight to why a impressable teen may take their life because of it.

The type of satisfaction that social media brings users is an addiction similar to one of drugs. Highs and lows of the platform keep people returning to the site. Users get hooked on the feeling of being recognized through social media. Jen Hillard, who wrote an article about social media addiction on the Addiction Center website states “Similar to drug addicts, excessive social networking site (SNS) users display a preoccupation with social media platforms when they are not using them, mood modification when they access these sites, and tolerance to the social rewards obtained on these sites from interactions.” This can be attributed to the standard society has set. Social media sites themselves also have no incentive to decrease the amount of people coming to their sites or want to take away being able to view the interactions that take place. They are in the business to encourage users to become addicted to their site. They do not care about each individual, only their sites success. Therefore, taking likes away would not be something on their horizon, even if it would benefit the welfare of society.  

Many social media sites have teamed up with agencies to try and prevent suicide and increase the self-worth that society and social media platforms destroyed in the first place. The American Academy of Pediatrics warned that social media use can cause depression. Since many negative claims about social media have come to fruition, they are trying to now flip the script. Several social sites are teaming with suicide watch hotlines to create a difference. Facebook even made a new feature which allows users to flag posts that seem suicidal. Mental health researchers are also increasingly analyzing tweets and Facebook messages to find out who is suicidal and try to take steps to better understand suicide prevention.  Social sites will never stop the amount of likes they get because that would be counterintuitive to their mission, so instead they team with suicide prevention to keep the sites popular.

Social media is so relevant in todays society that it can’t just be washed away, nor would businesses, schools or anyone who likes to communicate over the web, allow it. The next best thing would be getting rid of and removing likes from the platforms. This would greatly benefit teen users that have low self-confidence, are bullied, and who feel attacked over the use of them. Instead of having teens who are anxiety ridden, depressed and contemplate suicide, removing these likes would lead to a more stable mental health state among users. An enjoyer of these sites would no longer have to worry about their image or how many people are paying attention to their content. Its time for big names like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, to make the change. Taking away likes on uploaded digital content to social media sites would drastically drop suicide rates in teens and raise morale and self-worth among users due to a more equal appearance of social status.

References

Alblooshi, A. (2015, December 16). Self-Esteem Levels & Selfies: The Relationship between Self-Esteem Levels and the Number of Selfies People Take and Post, and the Uses and Gratifications of Taking and Posting Selfies. JEWLScholar@MTSU Home. https://jewlscholar.mtsu.edu/handle/mtsu/4760.

Bonds, D. (2019). Cyberbullying Defined [web log]. https://socialmedia160wrt.weebly.com/cyber-bullying.html.

Burrow, A. L., & Rainone, N. (2016, September 14). How many likes did I get?: Purpose moderates links between positive social media feedback and self-esteem. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022103116303377.

Jan, M., Soomro, S., & Ahmad, N. (2017, September 5). Impact of Social Media on Self-Esteem. SSRN. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3030048.

Larry, B. (2016). Self-Esteem Levels & Selfies (dissertation). Retrieved from http://jewlscholar.mtsu.edu/handle/mtsu/4760

Luxton, D. D., June, J. D., & Fairall, J. M. (2012). Social Media and Suicide: A Public Health Perspective. American Journal of Public Health, 102(S2). https://doi.org/10.2105/ajph.2011.300608

Mirsky, Elizabeth L. and Omar, Hatim A., “Cyberbullying in Adolescents: The Prevalence of Mental Disorders and Suicidal Behavior” (2015). Pediatrics Faculty Publications. 170.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/pediatrics_facpub/170

Ruder, D. B. (2008, October 16). The Teen Brain. Harvard Magazine. https://harvardmagazine.com/2008/09/the-teen-brain.html.

Tierney, L. (2019, March 29). Perspective | Why it’s a mistake to ban social media – and what to do instead. The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/parenting/wp/2018/06/12/why-its-a-mistake-to-ban-social-media-and-what-to-do-instead/.

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Research – gooferious

Posted on November 18, 2020 by gooferious

Therapy… The Right Way To Go

Life for many of us has been a rollercoaster. The trauma we experience haunts us if we don’t or refuse to seek professional help, it’s actually quite idiotic to refuse treatment. One method that is highly proved to be beneficial for these bad experiences also known as traumatic experiences is therapy. Therapy can be described as treatment intended to relieve or heal a traumatic experience that has occurred. Therapy is not everyone’s first option for method of treatment for traumatic experiences but it should be. Why? Therapy is a place to sit down and talk to someone who is trained to handle situations that are out of the ordinary and those trained professionals are there to guide you into the right direction. Why would anyone resist the obvious, best solution to their problem? Maybe they shouldn’t be allowed to. Young adults may feel reluctant to want to discuss their emotions to a stranger. While it’s understandable, it’s idiotic that our society permits its youth to suffer needlessly. A suggestion that could be put into place is that of forcing young adults into therapy rather than the voluntary choice which will increase the likelihood of them becoming outstanding members of society in the future. The option for success is that of forcing young adults who’ve experienced trauma into therapy.

The American and Depression Association of America (ADAA), published a sublet article on their website titled Facts & Statistics. In this article, the contributors give statistical data regarding various anxiety and depressive disorders such as: Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Depression, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and many more. The overall concept of these disorders tends to explain that people who are suffering from them deal with nervousness and fear on a regular, more intense basis than what is considered normal. This can be due to the trauma one has endured in life. In the United States alone, 40 million people suffer from anxiety. If 40 million Americans suffer some degree of this mental illness, they must function well and hold down jobs for the most part; otherwise, we’d have a hard time holding our society together. One way to make sure our society’s mental health doesn’t plummet is by forcing these adults to go to therapy. It’s said that the earlier one is placed into therapy the faster it is to deal with their problems and make an effective plan to ensure their recovery at a steady pace. One of the leading causes of anxiety disorders in young adults arises from traumatic childhood life experiences such as abuse or neglect. Choosing to ignore their mental illness due to these experiences could lead to rebellion during the teen years which leads to substance abuse which then could lead to substance dependency. In an article titled The developmental course of anxiety symptoms during adolescence, the authors, Oort, Verhulst, Huizink and others discuss the transition into adolescence and the levels of anxiety that come with it. They describe early adolescence which can be considered the ages 13 to 15 as having low levels of anxiety due to starting to experience drama in school and the start of crushes. Middle adolescence which can be considered ages 15 to 16, bring an elevated level of anxiety to life with these teens wanting to start working and handling school work at the same time. Late adolescence which can be considered ages 16 to 18, teens are faced with even higher levels of anxiety with the pressure of more responsibility and life after high school slowly approaching. Imagine what the teens with traumatic experiences are feeling, those anxiety levels are going through the roof and need to be contained and controlled in a healthy manner. One way to guarantee this is by making teens go into therapy to discuss their issues so they can come out ready to face the real world after high school with the best chance of survival possible.

James P. McNulty, author of Commentary: Mental Illness, Society, Stigma, and Research, writes about the trails and tribulations he endures while suffering from bipolar disease, which is considered a mental illness. In the article, McNulty describes him having the perfect life but it comes to abrupt end when his mental illness gets in the way of him and his family. His wife divorces him after his many petty arguments and constant hurtful words towards her. With his entire world falling apart in front of him, McNulty decides he does not want to live anymore and attempts suicide at the age of 38. After repressing his feelings toward getting help for so long and his attempt at taking his own life, McNulty finally decides it’s time to get help. After losing everything and only having his car to show for his accomplishments in life, he is forced to give it up to be considered as a patient of the state’s psychological facility. McNulty experiences a form of discrimination/stigma against him when he is told by a nurse that people like him, with a mental illness, don’t go back to work. This is a reality that many people in our society who suffer from mental illness go through on a regular basis. That misconception that a mental illness forever impotent one’s abilities is toxic and should be forgotten. One of the more inappropriate examples of stigma against those with a mental illness has to be when McNulty describes a newspaper published by The Daily Trentonian. In that article, an image of a burning psychiatric hospital is shown with the caption of “Roasted Nuts.” It’s meant to portray a dehumanizing way of expression towards those who suffer from mental illness. Anyone in today’s society would find that to be offensive and not appropriate, especially those who currently suffer from a mental illness. Now one way to prevent those who are more likely to be offended by that horrible article would be to place those who suffer from a mental disorder into therapy. A study done that was published in an article titled Two-year course of generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, and panic disorder with agoraphobia in a sample of Latino adults, which was published by Bjornsson, Sibrava, Beard, Moitra and Weisberg claims that Latinos are more likely not to consider therapy an option as their culture makes those who attend therapy feel ashamed and is an over exaggeration. This is an example of why as a society we need to make therapy a wise and conscious decision for getting help so it can in turn influence other societies to do the same. Latinos are not as likely to recover from these mental illnesses as they lack support from their families and tend to not have access to these resources due to ignorance.

What young adults who do deal with mental illness will endure is stigma. Stigma can be defined as a mark of disgrace upon a person or group, in this case we are talking about those with a mental illness. In the article Stigma as a barrier to recognizing personal mental illness and seeking help: A prospective study among untreated persons with mental illness, the authors highlight the fact that stigma has been identified as a huge barrier in the help-seeking process. Studies have shown that one’s own stigmatizing attitude plays a far more important role for making the decision not to seek help, for this we can blame society as it has been frown upon that therapy even be considered an option for treatment of mental illness. Young adults are slowly killing themselves internally at a faster rate due to the fact of having low mental health. The complex process while difficult can be broken down into four steps: 1) Self-identifying as having a mental health problem, 2) Need for treatment, 3) Help-seeking intentions & 4) Help-seeking. If as a society we made it mandatory for those in need of aid, we can lower the rate of those who suffer from a mental illness substantially. One thing we can say about those with a mental illness is that they are more inclined to make decisions based on emotion and not fact or reality which can be dangerous in certain situations such as important life decisions or the type of relationships they allow.

The article Characteristics and one-year outcome of untreated anxiety and depression, details the work done by the Netherlands Study of Anxiety and Depression which illustrates what occurs to patients who have previously been diagnosed as having a mental illness. The 743 participating patients were placed into two categories: either having anxiety or depression. After collecting their answers from the surveys and converting it into data, researchers Beljouw and Verhaak concluded and presented the data into three separate categories. The first category, which was, those who expressed a need for care regarding mental disorders that could not be met came to a total of 371 patients. That is half of the patients who stated they felt a need for care but it was not met due to the resources not being around or cost. As a society we need to ensure we give everyone an equal opportunity in life. We cannot blame those who have gone through traumatic experiences as most of the time they did not ask to be in that situation. What we can do though is give them a fair shot at life with mandatory free sessions with a mental health professional. The remaining two categories were those who concluded they either did not perceive a mental disorder or they did not perceive a need for care regarding their mental disorder; both had 25% of the patients in each category. Now while these patients said one thing in that moment, what’s to say they won’t experience another life event that’ll bring them back to those suppressed memories and pain. It is our obligation to give them as well those mandatory sessions with a mental health professional to ensure that outcome does not happen.

In a separate article, various authors wrote The Role of a Prescription in Anxiety Medication Use, Abuse, and Dependence. This article emphasizes the role that prescribed medication has on those who suffer from anxiety and have rode on the path of numbing the pain instead of embracing it and healing after. While medication is another form of treatment for anxiety and other mental health disorders, it is also a gateway into other forms of treatment, which can be described as the bad side of prescription drugs. By that we are discussing non-prescript drugs that have been stolen, illicit illegal drugs, alcohol, etc. The article explains that these prescription drugs that are meant to help individuals with anxiety are being used in non-medical ways, by that we mean that these drugs are being sold to people who do not need them but are using them to either get high or buying to distribute to other people. Young adults who have past trauma are absolutely the target audience for these suppliers, they want to take advantage of the fact that they want to not feel their pain. Should therapy be implemented as a mandatory form of treatment, the spread of these drugs could be limited vastly and not as many people would be effected. Face-to-face surveys of about 35,000 people resulted that many individuals who use these medications either for good or bad intentions are becoming dependent on these drugs. They simply cannot function in daily life without them. One would agree that the last thing any of us want is to be dependent on a little pill to get us through the day. Therapy can eliminate this way of coping as individuals will learn how to express their feelings and know that there are safe, non-prescription methods available. Most people who take these drugs want to numb their pain so they don’t have to live with and face their emotions from traumatic experiences, this route however usually leads to drug dependency or even worse, drug addiction.

All that has been described has been that therapy should be the form of treatment for those who suffer from a mental illness. Now let’s discuss why it’s the best form of treatment. From author of Psychoanalysis and History, Hans-Ulrich Wehler goes on to talk about how therapy is an effective form of treatment. To begin, Wehler describes therapy as an effective way to uncover the unconscious motives of why we act the way we act. This can be done be analyzing what a patient has to say during their sessions with a therapist. A therapist can analyze a person’s feelings about a past traumatic experience, how their feelings have effected every part of their life since the experience and even how their dreams could be influenced from past traumatic experiences. Wehler claims “therapy can help victims understand the problems in their lives that have occurred due to trauma and what can be done to help find methods that can best reduce their inner demons and make the ‘reality distorting’ effects bearable to live with.” Therapists are described as instruments of understanding. Patients are encouraged to offer their interpretations of how problems due to trauma have effected their lives. Many methods are offered during the therapy treatment process. Some of the methods that Wehler writes about include: learning how to cope, learning ways to relax and learning ways that help improve problem solving skills. Learning how to cope is essential as it guarantees victims know what to do in a situation that triggers their memories of trauma. Learning ways to relax are helpful as it teaches victims there are plenty are healthy methods available that do not include indulging in substances that can prove to be harmful to both their physical and mental health. Learning how to problem solve is essential as it helps victims find ways that are most beneficial for them to solve a problem that may arise in their daily life that may seem too overwhelming for them. Young adults, especially those with trauma, should definitely learn all these methods to increase the chance of them becoming outstanding members of society in the future.

In a fairly recent article, Anna Lente titles her work 12 Benefits of Having a Mental Illness. In this article, Lente gives a different approach of how to look at having a mental illness. While therapy is an effective way of treating mental disorders, nothing is 100% in curing mental illnesses. While there are many negative effects that come with having a mental illness, staying positive and finding the good from having a mental illness graciously helps. Lente lists twelve benefits, which she calls blessings, she’s realized as being a person who lives with having a mental illness:

  1. The deep friendship/brotherhood with diverse and beautiful warriors of mental illness
  2. Being able to encourage others
  3. Appreciating small acts of kindness
  4. Appreciating the good days
  5. Knowing who your real friends are
  6. Being ready to handle whatever life throws at them
  7. Inspiring creativity
  8. Teaches those to think creatively to solve problems
  9. Makes life more interesting
  10. That sense of brokenness allows others to be real/open with you
  11. The emotional strength and courage gained by managing a mental illness
  12. Being better equipped to be a counselor

This list proves that even though one is at constant battle within themselves, people who have mental illnesses matter and actually do think of those around them. Being able to find a way to help others while sometimes not being able to help yourself is extremely selfless and inspiring. These blessings would truly help young adults who suffer on a day-to-day basis with their trauma baggage. I only hope to one day be able to extend this form of gratitude upon others when needed and to continue for as long as humanly possible.

Fitzpatrick, Darcy & Vierhile come together to write the article titled Delivering Cognitive Behavior Therapy to Young Adults With Symptoms of Depression and Anxiety Using a Fully Automated Conversational Agent (Woebot): A Randomized Controlled Trial. In their article, the authors conduct a study that analyzes the effectiveness of those who have self diagnosed themselves as having symptoms of anxiety and depression with going through a self-help program. In this program, participants were given methods they could practice at home to help with the severity of their symptoms. The data that was first collected appeared to show that mental health problems are both increasing in prevalence and severity. This study while does conclude that self-help programs are effective in treating symptoms of anxiety, is somewhat inconclusive as the symptoms were diagnosed by the participants themselves. No professional was brought in to discuss with the participants about their symptoms, so the participants could easily have exaggerated and/or faked their symptoms to sabotage the study. With that in mind, it is not guaranteed that this method will help all those who suffer from past trauma. Therapy on the other hand does have a substantial more probability of learning how to handle and deal with mental illnesses.

Therapy in general has been proven to be an effective way of treatment for mental health problems. It’s far more effective than medication and self-help programs. Therapy teaches those with these issues to learn how to cope, relax and using their problem solving skills to guide them through daily life. As a society, we must make it an obligation to do right by these people and offer these mandatory services to them at little to no cost. By making these services available we can ensure, young adults especially, that they have a fighting chance and a higher probability of the likelihood of them becoming outstanding members of society.

References

Beljouw, I. V., & Verhaak, P. (2010, January 01). Characteristics and one-year outcome of untreated anxiety and depression. Retrieved November 17, 2020, from https://www-clinicalkey-com.ezproxy.rowan.edu/#!/content/playContent/1-s2.0-S0924933810702212?returnurl=null&referrer=null

Bjornsson, A. S., Sibrava, N. J., Beard, C., Moitra, E., & Weisberg, R. B. (2014, December). Two-year course of generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, and panic disorder with agoraphobia in a sample of Latino adults. Retrieved November 17, 2020, from https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.rowan.edu/docview/1515979365?accountid=13605&rfr_id=info%3Axri%2Fsid%3Aprimo

Facts & Statistics. (n.d.). Retrieved November 17, 2020, from https://adaa.org/about-adaa/press-room/facts-statistics

Fenton, M. C., Keyes, K. M., Martins, S. S., & Hasin, D. S. (2010, October 01). The Role of a Prescription in Anxiety Medication Use, Abuse, and Dependence. Retrieved November 17, 2020, from https://ajp-psychiatryonline-org.ezproxy.rowan.edu/doi/full/10.1176/appi.ajp.2010.09081132

Fitzpatrick, K., Darcy, A., & Vierhile, M. (2017, June 06). Delivering Cognitive Behavior Therapy to Young Adults With Symptoms of Depression and Anxiety Using a Fully Automated Conversational Agent (Woebot): A Randomized Controlled Trial. Retrieved November 17, 2020, from https://mental.jmir.org/2017/2/e19/

Lente, A. (n.d.). 12 Benefits of Having a Mental Illness. Retrieved October 10, 2020, from https://themighty.com/2017/05/benefits-of-having-a-mental-illness/

McNulty, J. P. (n.d.). Commentary: Mental Illness, Society, Stigma, and Research. Retrieved October 10, 2020, from https://bit.ly/2Uybv4w

Oort, F., Greaves‐Lord, K., Verhulst, F., Ormel, J., & Huizink, A. (2009, April 14). The developmental course of anxiety symptoms during adolescence: The TRAILS study. Retrieved November 17, 2020, from https://acamh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1469-7610.2009.02092.x

Schomerus, G., Stolzenburg, S., Freitag, S., Speerforck, S., Janowitz, D., Evans-Lacko, S., . . . Schmidt, S. (2019, June). Stigma as a barrier to recognizing personal mental illness and seeking help: A prospective study among untreated persons with mental illness. Retrieved November 17, 2020, from https://web-a-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.rowan.edu/ehost/detail/detail?vid=0&sid=e04d8bd0-37f6-44a5-8ba6-b7e35b412e44%40sessionmgr4006&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN=136523962&db=a9h

Wehler, H. (n.d.). Psychoanalysis and History. Retrieved November 17, 2020, from https://bit.ly/2UcohFJ

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Research–dayzur

Posted on November 18, 2020 by dayzur

Teaching Schools to Reform

Modern day education needs to be changed. No one takes the time to think about it and really wonder if the newly coming graduates are prepared enough to lead their lives in the outside world. We don’t question anything and find it odd when students go off to college and end up failing out. Or in fact, they might not even make it to college. Something needs to be done to keep our world working at the highest quality.

High school students tend to get the same curriculum. They partake in similar courses year by year with a schedule pushed upon them. Each student spends 4 years learning the same things, the same general things, and then gets sent off to college or wherever they shall go. With a broad plain of general knowledge how far can they go without roadblocks. Now we can think about the other side. “Useful knowledge.” The knowledge that prepares these students specifically for college and the workforce. For myself, I think that I received an education providing me with useful knowledge from my time before college. I opted into the choice to attend a vocational school with a wide range of career focused academies, in which I had partaken in the engineering academy. Each student took courses from any high school curriculum, as well as pure vocationally focused courses. These vocational courses focused students towards different fields that they wished to work in for the future but these courses aren’t given to everyone. Students lacking college and career preparation courses tend to have a more troublesome time than their counterparts. My experience with the vocational education system leads me to firmly believe this. I  went into a vocational high school for engineering and ultimately turned away from it. Even though I went a different direction, I still got the career focused and college preparation courses. Some students don’t even think about what they want to do after high school and get left behind while other students like myself are much further ahead of the game because I got to experience a different system than the majority.

Not all students are the same.  Some may know what job field they want to go into after high school and others may not even know until after college. This is the importance of variety. A vocational student may not know entirely what they want to pursue yet but they have the options available to them. Whereas, a non vocational student may know exactly what they want to pursue but get caught years behind because they aren’t given the opportunity. These students should have the same chances to do what they wish. Everyone will come along eventually to pursue what they want and holding someone back simply based on where they go to school is highly unfair. Students should have the same general curriculums but be given a choice. Both vocational and non-vocational students should be given these courses that will interest them. Not only will the courses interest them but they will also prepare them. The career focused courses are designed to prepare students for the similar higher level courses and a continuation to the study of the field they will experience in college.

As said by the author of Career Education Now, Sidney P Marland Jr, “It is terribly important to teach a youngster the skills he needs to live, whether we call them academic or vocational, whether he tends to make his living with a wrench or a slide rule or a folio of Shakespeare. But it is critically important to equip that youngster to live his life as a fulfilled human being.” She is 100% correct in this judgement. Say, for example, a student is looking into internships or job options after high school and each one describes a specific set of requirements that they would not even think possible at their age because of what they have been given. All the while, another student was given the exact subjects and materials that they need from their schooling system for this position. Cases can arise where non-vocational students can excel just as much as vocational students but they are barely given the chance. The opportunities for the vocational students to stay ahead compared differs heavily. These said students falling behind can lead to needing more classes which can result in more work and more unnecessary stress for students who would otherwise be excelling in their fields. 

Students drop out for a multitude of reasons, some able to be controlled. One reason being the knowledge these kids are receiving is just plain boring to them. The students aren’t engaged in the courses and feel as if dropping out will be better for them. In the writing College Knowledge the authors, Sarah Hooker and Betsy Brand state, “High school dropouts report that their primary reason for leaving school were that the classes were uninteresting or irrelevant to the world beyond high school or that they felt alienated and unsupported.” It has even gotten to the extreme point where “Approximately 7200 students drop out of U.S. schools each day.” In one year, this adds up to 1.3 million students who, if were given more of a chance, could have done great things for our world.

Keeping students engaged is one of, if not, the most important thing for schooling. Teaching every student, no matter where they wanna go or what they wanna be, the same knowledge produces a bad look on the schooling system and really makes a person think, what are we even teaching the kids these days? Students should be given the resources they need and be taught things that will progress their education to a point where they feel confident and ready to enter college, and soon after the working world. Schooling that gives a student the right tools to further their education tends to show much greater results than schooling which does not. It feels like these schools aren’t even trying to engage their students. The “general knowledge” received by the non-vocational students proves to be much more inferior to its counterpart. While the vocational group is thriving, getting ready for college and their future life in their careers at an earlier stage, non-vocational students seem to sit there in confusion when exposed to the world after high school.

I was lucky enough to have a choice here. I had two main options, to attend my local high school or apply for a vocational school in my county, to which I chose the latter. I was entering a new environment that excelled me above the students at my home high school. Comparing the curriculum of those students who went to my local high school with those in my vocational school was like night and day. Students who were in the same courses as me the year prior to high school graduated with about the same amount of courses I took in my freshman and sophomore year. Entering my freshman year of college, I show up in the system as a sophomore because of how many credits I was able to transfer from my highschool. Not only did I receive college credits but I also received a taste of college work ethic before any of my peers. My school was part of a dual enrollment high school program where I was able to take courses at a community college campus for my senior year and truly get a feel for what it was like.  Those who went to my local high school didn’t seem to have as much of an opportunity as me in this regard. Looking back and seeing the disparity between my two choices, I am a firm believer that students who partake in vocational education and or early college options provide major benefits over those who don’t have this option or choose not to pursue it.

Joel Vargas,  the author of “Blending high school and college can sharpen the focus of each”, states that “Earning a high school diploma is a necessary but insufficient step toward supporting oneself and one’s family.” This is the complete truth. A high school diploma is no guarantee of a job at an engineering firm or medical center. The blending of high school and college gives graduates a head start on their career. The article compared early college students to regular high school goers. The results were as follows: 90% of early college students graduated high school compared to 78% annually, 30% of early college students earn an associate’s degree or postsecondary certificate with their high school diploma compared to very few nationally, and that early college graduates are more likely to earn a degree than those who did not attend early college. 

It is inevitable that students will drop out of high school each year for reasons in and out of our control. So let’s focus on what is in our control. As stated previously, students are dissatisfied with their courses and find them boring, leading them to the end of their school career. How to fix this, give the students a choice. It is highly more likely that a student in a class they are interested in will produce greater results and efforts than a class they are much more dissatisfied with. For example, someone who loves working with computers will most definitely feel more willing to take a class focused around computer software than one where they are not. As stated in College Knowledge by Sarah Hooker and Betsy Brand “High school dropouts report their primary reasons for leaving school were that classes were uninteresting or irrelevant to the world beyond high school.” Each student is different so when what they are interested in isn’t an option, it feels like there is no reason to participate. That is where career academies and early college high schools change the game. 

Career academies provide a wide arrangement of different fields to be focused in such as engineering, medical, computer science, and construction just to name a few. No two schools are the same, and the same can be said about these career academies but they typically have the same goal. To give the students a learning environment with concentration focused curriculums for different fields and hands on experience. I can say from personal experience that I am not one who loves the cookie cutter schooling format. That is why I was so fond of this new system that I was introduced to. My courses concentrated towards different parts of the engineering field and other related courses bundled in made me much more intrigued with school in general. I was enjoying what I was doing and much more willing to perform to a higher degree in these classes. And with that, the results showed positively, and I was much more interested in going to school each day to learn something new.

This isn’t only for me as the career academy approach has engaged and encouraged students for multiple decades and still proves to be working. As we see in “High School Career Academies: A 40-Year Proven Model for Improving College and Career Readiness”, the author, Betsy Brand states “career academies are one of the very few educational models that has developed “National Standards of Practice” to encourage continuous improvement.” This is a great point and what we need to start doing more of. Putting someone in a position that they don’t want to be in or don’t feel comfortable with and giving them an objective will not produce results comparable to those in their comfort zone. Schools need to be willing to work with the students and cater to their needs and interests. Students will be much more willing to work with their schools to the highest potential if the effort they put in is being matched by the schooling system. This isn’t a fair trade for the students. Give these kids more variety towards what they want and the results will begin to show. Trying to force the same curriculum onto every student is nowhere near a fair trade for both parties. The students tend to work with the schooling system, so they should expect a fair amount of effort put in on the other end.

No questions seem to arise on the topic of children’s schooling simply based on the fact that the results produced seem good enough for people. We’ve all heard the quote “if it isn’t broke, why fix it”, so why should we implement a new reformed education style if the current techniques work? I would like to think of this in a sense of, yes, it may work, but can it be better, or, is this the true potential the educational system can reach? Are we really alright with our education now? Each student takes the same courses, gets taught all the general concepts of said courses, and is off to college or wherever they may go after their schooling ends. But can these students really say that they have mastered these courses? What students receive today in schooling is the outline, not the full picture, and this needs to be changed.  

In the article “Can Depth Replace Coverage in the High School Curriculum?”, the author, Fred W. Newmann, talks about, as mentioned in the title, two different factors to look at in teaching: depth and coverage. “We expose students to broad surveys of the disciplines and to endless sets of skills and competencies.” Coverage endorses quantity over quality. Classes are set up in a way so every single topic is covered to a broad extent instead of important topics being practiced and mastered. To master something, you must practice it and continue to use and build off of it, so if something is taught one day and the next day an entirely new topic is forced onto you with no relevance to the prior topic. If this pattern stays true, how is someone supposed to master something? “They passively allow teachers and textbooks to pour materials into their heads, where they will store it for future use in educational exercise. However, the press to “cover” offers little opportunity to develop that material in ways that will help students meet more authentic intellectual challenges.” Think of it like so, there is only so much water each day to water plants. Adding more plants means there is less water for each plant and overall a more unhealthy growth on each plant. There may be a lot of plants but they aren’t the best they can possibly be. Whereas, say there are a few important plants to water and look after. Water is even distributed and the plants are each being developed evenly. Inevitably, much better results will be produced from this group.

Now, we can look at the quality side, or what we call here: depth. As I have stated before, you cannot expect someone to master all aspects of a topic at once and instead need to focus and build upon certain elements to fully master them. “Depth has been summarized as “less is more.” Now I know how this sounds, less knowledge is more? That makes no sense. What Newmann means by less in this sense is the majority of surface level information. Whereas information taught with much more depth has a greater tendency to be retained and used more beneficially. This said information is usually expanded upon year by year, class by class, and applicable in classes other than the one it was taught in. 

If this knowledge is so great then why isn’t it applied to all classes then by now? Obviously, the implementation of more in depth teaching will come with complications. “We must recognize that the point of education is, in a sense, to cover material — that is, to expose students to and make them familiar with new information.” That is the whole point behind school, to expose us to these ideas and things and as an end goal to truly “be educated.” In today’s society what really is it to “be educated.” To master multiple subjects and topics letting us be able to apply them to our daily lives. We are under the illusion that because the teaching works, then it doesn’t need to be changed. One cannot possibly learn all there is to learn about subjects in their time in school so they get taught the basics and move on. They feel as if this is fine and fall into the trap of general education. If this implementation were to go through, other problems would be uprooted among students as well. More in depth learning leads to more in depth work which may be a complete change of pace from what each student is used to and content with, which could cause complications in learning such as burnout and even the possibility of dropping out.

With these problems, comes solutions. If the curriculum is to be changed then aspects of it need to be changed to accommodate it. Newmann states these aspects as “assessments, textbook selection, state curriculum requirements, school improvement programs, and teacher education. First of all, assessments need change. Multiple choice memorization questions don’t actually show the use of knowledge if someone can just remember a quote from a textbook or teacher. All the small surface level information questions can be removed and replaced with questions that can demonstrate the example of the students mastery of the topics. Second, textbook selection should be focused on in depth details and not just a data dump aimed just for basic exposure of the topics. Third, state curriculum requirements need to work together to create a system for students to get more in depth learning with less redundant electives and unnecessary, useless work. Fourth, schools must be willing to help the students in need and provide them services able to help them if they are having trouble working in depth. Someone can’t just fully comprehend a subject by reading quotes in a book but must be actively engaging in the material. Finally, teachers need to be teaching what is useful and not just what is on the table of contents. Degrees can be earned by just reciting information read once before where instead it should be the teachers job to fully grasp the students and devote great portions of their teaching to the in-depth studies of their respective academic areas.

The people seem to be okay with students playing a memory game to see who will prosper and who will fail. The schooling system needs to be reformed somehow and some way to incorporate actual engagement and useful information. Give the students a choice, they are the ones you are teaching and someday could be teaching the next group of students if they are given the resources they need to achieve their goal. The students today are the people running the world tomorrow but not if they are dropping out of school before they are even given a fair chance to play their part in society.

References

Marland, Sidney. “Career Education Now.” Sagepub, 1 May 1971, journals-sagepub-com.ezproxy.rowan.edu/doi/pdf/10.1177/019263657105535501

Brand, Betsy. “High School Career Academies: A 40-Year Proven Model for Improving College and Career Readiness.” Givewell, Nov. 2009, files.givewell.org/files/unitedstates/NAF/Betsy%20Brand%20AYPF%20Career%20Academy%20paper.pdf. 

Hooker, Sarah. “College Knowledge: A Critical Component of College and Career Readiness.” Onlinelibrary-Wiley-Com, 2010, onlinelibrary-wiley-com.ezproxy.rowan.edu/doi/epdf/10.1002/yd.364. 

Newmann, Fred M. “Can Depth Replace Coverage in the High School Curriculum?” JSTOR, Jan. 1988, www-jstor-org.ezproxy.rowan.edu/stable/20403629?seq=4#metadata_info_tab_contents.

Vargas, Joel, et al. “Blending High School and College Can Sharpen the Focus of Each.” Sagepub, 23 Oct. 2017, journals-sagepub-com.ezproxy.rowan.edu/doi/pdf/10.1177/0031721717739587.

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Research-rowanstudent24

Posted on November 18, 2020 by rowanstudent24

Origins of Animal Abuse

Animal abuse occurs throughout the world and the facts and statistics surrounding this abuse are devastating. Aleksander Hrubenja, in his article, “37 Deeply Disturbing Animal Abuse Statistics and Facts,” says, “Every day, thousands of animal abuse cases are reported. However, animal abuse statistics reveal that the majority of animal and pet abuse cases are never brought to light. Cruelty to animals is a very real issue that happens in all parts of the world, no matter the social or economic status of the abuser. There are various types of animal cruelty: organized cruelty (like dogfighting and cockfighting), neglect, and intentional cruelty.” Statistically, Hrubenja reports  that every sixty seconds an animal suffers abuse; 65% of all abused animals are dogs; and each year more than 10 million animals die of animal abuse in the US alone. These are staggering numbers that continue to grow as this problem continues to get worse.

There is a lot of research to support that the root cause of animal abuse begins in the home environment.  According to the Humane Society, “all animal cruelty is a concern because it is wrong to inflict suffering on any living creature. Intentional cruelty is a particular concern because it is a sign of psychological distress and often indicates that an individual either has already been a victim of violence or might be predisposed to committing acts of violence.” Domestic violence and/or a dysfunctional home environment significantly impacts the occurrence of animal abuse. Some major questions surrounding the issue of animal abuse are “What are the main reasons that it occurs?” and,  “Is there a particular cause?” There may be a variety of things impacting poor treatment of animals, but one of the causes may be domestic violence and/or a poor home environment that includes parents being negative role models for their children regarding animal treatment. Children will observe their parents’ treatment of pets and if it is negative or abusive, they learn that this is the way you handle pets in their home. This in turn causes a lack of education to children on how to properly care for pets or animals in their home.

To take this idea a little further, research indicates that violence within families and animal abuse are linked to each other. Many people think of their pets as family members and if an abuser feels that way, there is nothing to stop them from abusing their family members or pets. According to the author of “Animal Abuse, Family Violence, and Child Well-being: A Review,” Sarah McPhedran, “Animals may become victims of violence in troubled homes because they are thought of as property.” She also comments that other people believe violence extends to pets because they are thought of as family members. It seems there are two kinds of people that can be abusers. The first are those who think of their pets as property and the second are those abusers who consider pets to be part of their family. If they abuse their family members, that automatically could mean they become abusers of their pets as well. 

Desiring the ability to have dominance or control over others can also contribute to animal abuse. By abusing an animal, the abuser believes they are showing dominance and control to intimidate or control other people. It can also be present in relationships as well. In the same article, McPhedran continues, “It is common for women in shelters to talk about companion animal abuse , and suggest that women may delay leaving abusive relationships out of fear for the wellbeing of their pets.” Many domestic violence victims get stuck in this cycle due to fear regarding abusers threats to harm the victim or other family members and pets. McPhedran also states in the article that “In the United States, Ascione’s (1998) widely cited research found that 71% of 38 women in a Utah shelter, who owned a pet, reported that their partner had threatened to, or had actually harmed, that pet.” The fact that abusive partners threaten to abuse family pets significantly impacts the occurrence of animal abuse. According to Hrubenj in his article “37 Deeply Disturbing Animal Abuse Statistics and Facts,” he states, “The animal abuse and domestic violence statistics show a clear correlation between domestic violence and animal abuse. Victims of domestic violence have reported that in the great majority of cases their abuser has also maltreated their pet.” Research indicates that an abusive home environment can increase the chance that an abuser would mistreat a family pet.

Home environment and how family pets are treated in the home also impacts the occurrence of animal abuse. Poor treatment of family pets can be a learned behavior. So a child in this type of home environment, can learn to treat animals poorly if their parents were abusive to family pets. In his article, Hrubenj states, “Animal abuse is very common in families with child abuse. Unfortunately, abuse leads to more abuse, so statistics show that 26% of the people who abuse animals were abused in their childhood. Children who witness domestic violence are three times more likely to abuse animals.” Children observe how their parents treat each other and learn from that relationship as well. If that relationship is abusive then the children grow up believing that this is the way you treat other living things. That can significantly impact an occurrence of animal abuse. According to McPhedran in the same article, she states that “In the Utah shelter study, 22 women had children, and 32% (or 7 women) reported that one or more of their children had abused or killed companion animals.” Children are learning these behaviors in their home environment from their parents, which can continue the cycle of abuse through to the next generation.  

Animal abuse also continues to occur because some veterinarians are failing to report suspected abuse. Some veterinarians choose to report it while others don’t. According to Georgina Mills, who wrote the article, “Reporting cases of animal abuse,” she states that “A study carried out by psychologists at the University of Kent, found that almost a third of the vets had suspected at least one incident of animal abuse in the past year, but only half of those had reported cases to authorities.” Based on this information it seems that veterinarians are not getting enough training and therefore are lacking the confidence and skills to make the authorities aware of the suspected animal abuse. Mills also states in her article that ” Those with self-belief were more likely to report cases of suspected abuse; this self-belief tended to come from training and experience.” Mills also stated that in the United Kingdom, Vets only receive two hours of training on this subject when in school. Vets should receive more training on this subject just because animal abuse happens more frequently than one would think.

Animal Abuse has been linked to other poor behaviors as well. According to Thomas J. Mowen and John H. Boman, they state in their article “Animal Abuse among High-Risk Youth: A Test of Agnew’s Theory,” that “Animal abuse has been tied to other deviant behaviors including interpersonal violence, illegal gun possession, substance use, and antisocial behaviors later on in life.” Unfortunately, a negative home environment where abuse or domestic violence is present, seems to indicate a higher risk of animal abuse in future generations. According to Dr. Hovel, child abuse, woman battering, elder abuse, sibling abuse, and pet abuse are all types of “domestic violence.” 

Imagine a household where there is significant violence occurring toward both family members and family pets. Results of this violence could create a scene in this home that includes smashed items and belongings, injuries amongst family members, and beloved pets cowering in the corner,  unable to stand out of fear and terror. This could all be the result of a violent family member expressing his anger in inappropriate and destructional ways. Society has demonstrated in a number of different ways how often mistreatment of animals is a growing problem in the world today. Awareness of animal abuse can be an issue. Research indicates that animal abuse appears to be more common in dysfunctional homes in which people are less knowledgeable about anger management and/or caring for animals properly. 

Dysfunctional homes are the main cause of animal abuse. The children within the house observe parents’ abuse toward other family members and they learn that this is the way a “healthy” family operates. In her article “Animal Abuse, Family Violence, and Child Wellbeing: Review,” McPhedran states that “Indeed, childhood incidents of witnessing and/or perpetrating animal cruelty are by no means distinct from violent or abusive home environments.” This may be carried to the next generation when these children grow up and have families of their own. This can result in family abuse which can lead to animal abuse.

Children will not only see other family members being abused, but the pets in the house being abused as well. McPhedran continues in her article, “Consequently, in families where any given form of family violence exists, animal abuse may also be more likely to exist.” This becomes a never ending cycle of animal abuse living in each generational family which then just continues to spread the problem.

Some abusers or family members of these abusers will take their pets to the veterinarian following an abusive incident involving their pet. These families may not always be forthcoming with the cause of the pet’s injury due to fear of retaliation from the abuser. People become veterinarians for their love of animals. Some veterinarians may suspect animal abuse but may not report it. According to Rebecca Wisch, she states in her article, “Table of Veterinary Reporting Requirement and Immunity Laws,” that “About 20 states place a mandatory duty upon state-licensed veterinarians (and sometimes vet techs) to report suspected animal cruelty to the proper authorities including California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, Oklahoma, and West Virginia. Usually, this consists of reporting the abuse to local law enforcement agencies. A couple states limit mandatory reporting to aggravated cruelty or suspected instances of dogfighting. Pennsylvania is unique in that it requires certain reporting of cruelty by other veterinarians.”  As you can see, this is a handful of states that are regulating reporting but in several states it still appears to be underreported. This is another thing that causes an extension and increase in the spread of animal abuse. If more states attempted regulation, this could help to reduce the spread.

Many animals continue to suffer because of the abuse they endure and some are even killed. However, it is speculated that the abuser commits this abuse because it is learned from growing up in a dysfunctional home. The nature versus nurture debate has a place here. Dr. Hovel conveys that some psychologists and geneticists might argue that there are “bad genes” and that a newborn may be predisposed to violence. Other genetics may play some role, but the “nurture,” or a child’s treatment, is argued to be a far more significant influence. A child’s parents are the biggest  role models in his or her life. Children brought up in a home with love, understanding, respect, and pro-social values  are likely to become adults who are valued and responsible members of society. It is expected that they will repeat such a positive upbringing with their own children and create a positive, loving and nurturing home environment. Dr. Hovel goes on to describe  an opposing view of a child brought up in an abusive home, who suffers neglect, abandonment, sexual, or physical abuse, and/or witnesses abuse of his or her mother. This child learns that violence is a “normal way of life.” It is very likely that they would repeat that cycle when they become an adult. In his article, “The Connection Between Animal Abuse and Human Violence,” Dr. Hovel states that “Along the way, the child may take out his or her anger and frustration on others weaker than he or she is, likely starting with animals and often becoming a school bully and a future child or spouse abuser. As statistics from federal and state prisons and criminal psychiatric facilities show, a high percentage of violent individuals were abused as children, and over 60% of them began their violent careers with animal cruelty.” Some would argue the abuse of an animal is caused from a number of different other things such as an abuser’s negative attitude towards animals, an abuser involved in an organization having to do with animal abuse, or an abuser could even suffer from mental disorders that causes them to abuse the animal.

One argument is that an abuser commits animal abuse simply because of their negative attitude toward animals. Some would argue that an abuser doesn’t care what happens to an animal and believe animals don’t experience pain the same way humans do. According to Robert Agnew in his article, “The Causes of Animal Abuse: A Social-Psychological Analysis,” he states that “Many individuals believe that animals do not experience pain or, in less extreme forms, that animals have a higher threshold of pain or do not experience pain in response to the same stimuli as humans.” Abusers in this situation don’t think animals experience pain  as other living things do and use them as an outlet for their anger. From this viewpoint, their attitude toward animals causes them to lash out against animals. However a conflicting argument comes from research  in the article, “Animal Cruelty and Neglect FAQ,” from the Humane Society,“Animal cruelty, like any other form of violence, is often committed by a person who feels powerless, unnoticed or under the control of others. The motive may be to shock, threaten, intimidate or offend others or to demonstrate rejection of society’s rules. Some who are cruel to animals copy acts they have seen or that have been done to them. Others see harming an animal as a safe way to get revenge against—or threaten—someone who cares about that animal.” This research supports that animal cruelty could be committed from a person who may feel powerless as a result of an abusive or dysfunctional home environment. Many victims of abuse feel powerless, unnoticed or under the control of others. 

Others would argue that animal abuse is also caused by an abuser being involved in some sort of organization that involves animal abuse or cruelty. Hunters and cockfighters would be some examples of this. Agnew has stated in his article, “The Causes of Animal Abuse: A Social-Psychological Analysis,” that “Cockfighters, for example, often claim that it is in the animals’ nature to fight and die: God placed them on earth for this reason and the birds are voluntary and enthusiastic participants in the fighting activity.” The abusers involved in cockfighting believe the birds are on this earth to fight. According to some alternative research in his article, Dr. Hovel writes, “The cruelty involved in animal fighting for human “entertainment” is almost unimaginable. Cockfighting and dogfighting have become epidemic in the U.S. and are common in many parts of the world. In the United States, both are felonies in all 50 states. In cockfighting, roosters are fitted out with razors or small knives attached to their feet, or alternately 3-inch-long spike-like“gaffs.” In fights they slash each other or stab each other until the blood loss and torn flesh render one or both unable to continue.” Dr. Hovel goes on to say, “Children are born with a love of animals, but the home environment plays a major role in determining a child’s prosocial or antisocial personality and behavior. Child abuse, neglect, abandonment, and witnessing domestic  violence are major factors in creating violent individuals, along with poverty, alcoholism, and toxic neighborhoods.” This article supports the argument that a violent or dysfunctional home environment significantly increases the likelihood of animal abuse or cruelty. 

Suffering from a mental disorder is also argued to be a reason for the abuse of an animal. Antisocial behavior is the main disorder that causes the abuse. According to Elleonora Gullone, in her article “Conceptualising Animal Abuse with an Antisocial Behaviour Framework,” she states, “Further, both animal abuse and bullying have been related to later antisocial behaviours and antisocial personality disorder.” People being antisocial has also increased as well with all the technology we have now in today’s age. The more antisocial people the more there is a chance for those people to become animal abusers. Antisocial behavior is proven to almost always be in relation to animal abuse and continues to further increase the problem. Alternately, in his article Dr. Hovel writes, “Stopping domestic violence is a key to reducing our violent culture. Most violent criminals (60-70%) and violent psychiatric patients were abused as children, and a majority (>60%) started committing animal cruelty at an early age.” According to Dr. Hovel, one could come to the conclusion that the abuse precedes the antisocial behavior which in turn increases the likelihood of animal abuse. This article proves that a dysfunctional or abusive home environment significantly impacts the occurrence of animal abuse. 

The number of cases of the abuse of animals continues to grow and it is a problem that continues to be ignored throughout the world. There are a number of different causes being presented as stated earlier but abusive and dysfunctional home environments seem to remain at the root of this issue. Research supports that abusive home environments continue to spread the problem around the world. Animal abuse is frequently linked to a dysfunctional home where domestic violence is present. In his article, Dr. Hovel states, “Animal cruelty is linked directly or indirectly with every type of violent crime, and, what is not as well known, also with most nonviolent crime. Human beings would benefit enormously if fighting animal cruelty (investigating, prosecuting) were taken seriously. Many human lives would be saved and much human suffering would be prevented.” The statistics surrounding animal abuse are staggering and the effect it leaves on the animals includes fear, pain, and desperation. This problem can no longer be ignored. 

References

Mcphedran, S. (2009). Animal abuse, family violence, and child wellbeing: A review. Journal of Family Violence, 24(1), 41-52. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.rowan.edu/10.1007/s10896-008-9206-3

Hrubenja, A. (2020, July 14). 37 Deeply Disturbing Animal Abuse Statistics & Facts. Retrieved November 4, 2020, from https://petpedia.co/animal-abuse-statistics/

Georgina Mills. Reporting cases of animal abuse. (2019). The Veterinary Record, 185(17), 524. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.rowan.edu/10.1136/vr.l6294

Thomas J. Mowen, John H. Boman. (2020) Explaining Animal Abuse Among Adolescents: The Role of Speciesism. Journal of Interpersonal Violence 36, pages 088626052095964. https://www-tandfonline-com.ezproxy.rowan.edu/doi/full/10.1080/01639625.2019.1595373?scroll=top&needAccess=true

Wisch, R. F. (1970, January 01). Full Title Name:  Table of Veterinary Reporting Requirement and Immunity Laws. Retrieved November 4, 2020, from https://www.animallaw.info/topic/table-veterinary-reporting-requirement-and-immunity-laws

Agnew, R. (1998). The Causes of Animal Abuse: A Social-Psychological Analysis. Theoretical Criminology, 2(2), 177–209. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362480698002002003 

Gullone, E. (2011). Conceptualising Animal Abuse with an Antisocial Behaviour Framework. Animals (Basel), 1(1), 144–160. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani1010144

Humane Society. (n.d.). Animal cruelty and neglect FAQ. Retrieved November 18, 2020, from https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/animal-cruelty-and-neglect-faq

Hovel, H. (2019). The Connection Between Animal Abuse and Human Violence. Kingston, New York: New York State Humane Association. doi:https://www.nyshumane.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Hovell-H-Animal-Abuse-Web-print-2-2020-edition-OPTIM-ToC-revised3.pdf

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Rebuttal Rewrite—612119

Posted on November 18, 2020 by 612119d

Mask up

Rebuttal Argument-612119d

New thesis

Requiring a mandatory Mass program in the United States would have a positive effect on saving human lives while doing great things for the economy. This idea to be true because the less human life  lost the more the faster the economy would be able to open back up since businesses would be able to run since the wide spread of covid-19 wouldn’t occur so fast. It would also help prevent another massive shutdown of the local and Country by wearing such a cheap product over the face.  Keeping Americans healthy should be the primary goal in defeating the virus.

The COST

While wearing a mask could give Americans a false sense of security it is the only way to continue living with this pandemic.  This system is far from perfect but having it in place will help keep things going. A claim that wearing a mask gives you a false sense of security is a big one.While yes you can still be infected by the virus while wearing a mask the odds are extremely low and combining it with the other recommendations is our best way. According to Dr Lisa Lockerd Maragakis “Wearing a face mask in public helps prevent the spread of COVID-19 — but only if worn properly, covering both your nose and mouth.” In the case where people don’t do this it defeats the purpose of wearing the mask in the first place and won’t prevent the spread and wont prevent you from getting sick. As a country we need to fight this together or we will end up wasting years of our lives because we don’t. If we viewed this as a World War and got everyone on board with containing this virus we would have a chance to go back to normal without a vaccine out for the masses.

Another counter to that would be Americans would get sick from these masks if they keep wearing them without washing them or getting a new mask putting more lives at risk. Obviously Putting a dirty mask on could potentially spread the virus. Considering this is a concern for some it is understandable to be the solution is simple.  A NEW MASK. “To avoid contamination (which can happen if you touch it, set it down or just if you’re out and about), throw your cloth mask in the washing machine at the end of each day or after each use, says Dr. Burgess. Since we are in a pandemic people need to be more cautious of others since this has the power to shut down our country. So it’s not giving a false sense of security it more or so using common sense you wouldn’t want a dirty mask on your face in the first place. Being more clean at the end of the day will help Americans as a whole to prevent other sickness. Being extra careful will never hurt anyone and if anything we will prepared.

Someone who wore the mask at all times would be California’s assemblymember Miss Autumn Burke; she believes she got the covid-19 virus while wearing her mask indoors at a meeting where social distancing wasn’t practiced. cases like these will still pop-up even though they wore their mask but that’s how contagious this virus actually is. “While masks are effective, they are not 100% foolproof,” says Dr. Burgess. Maintaining a distance of at least six feet between yourself and others adds an extra layer of protection”. On top of preaching how important mask our hand washing and social distancing should even be practiced better since they are both important to containing the virus.  Important now we should be stressing and washing, which  is  efficient against the virus. Nothing is going to be truly 100 percent against this virus. We just have to do our best everyday to end it so we can get back to normal life. Mask cant and wont be 100 percent effective but if they save 1 life it shouldn’t be a question.

Wearing a mask also won’t weaken your immune system. So people’s first instincts were they didn’t want to wear it to repress their immune system which isn’t the case.  A healthy immune system is very important against fighting off any virus and when covid 19 first came out a rumor that was out there was that wearing a mask could repress your immune system. This claim is false and is looked down on in the medical community. The immune system is the body’s natural defense system.  The immune system works and its function as a whole, which is crucial in preventing infection or disease which Covid is. Dr Sullivan said in the article Can face masks lower oxygen levels or weaken the immune system? Here’s what health experts say “I can pretty much guarantee to you that wearing a mask intermittently throughout the day or even all day long is not going to weaken your immune system.” Wearing a mask won’t affect your health in any way actually. Even your breathing which some people brought up as a cause of concern is really non existent. Facemask may be uncomfortable and may be a bother to wear but they aren’t meant for style here meant to protect you. Some facebook articles have flooded the internet where some guy passed out because he was wearing a face mask. It came out to be false but it was spread to thousands of people. It doesn’t affect your breathing to the point where Co2 levels rise or you can pass out. It’s going to be harder to breathe, yes but it’s because there is a piece of cloth covering your face.

A Mask mandation might sound a little harsh at first but in the end it will end up preventing thousands if not  tens of thousands of deaths this year alone in the United States. We need to sense up an act on it before it’s too late And not let unexpected Americans die.

References

CBS Los Angeles, unknown. “Experts Warn Masks Can Give Some False Sense Of Security, Encourage People To Socially Distance.” CBS Los Angeles, CBS Los Angeles, 7 July 2020, losangeles.cbslocal.com/2020/07/07/masks-scientists-covid-19-airborne/

Lazzarino, Antonio. “Covid-19: Important Potential Side Effects of Wearing Face …” Thebjm, 20 Apr. 2020, www.bmj.com/content/369/bmj.m1435/rr-40

Nicolaides, Dr. “Handwashing Slows the Virus More Effectively than Face Masks.” Clinical Trials, 7 May 2020, www.cmbclinicaltrials.com/post/handwashing-slows-the-virus-more-effectively-than-face-masks

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