Guns for PTSD Treatment

On February 2, 2013, retired Navy SEAL Chris Kyle brought out retired Marine Reservist Eddie Routh to go shoot some firearms. Hours later, Routh shot and killed Kyle and his friend. Kyle had been taking out veterans out to the shooting range to help them cope with PTSD. The story is from NPR.

www.people.com

What Kyle tried to do for veterans was a form of cognitive therapy using exposure to help with their PTSD. For example, a therapist might force a patient to touch a snake if the person has a fear of snakes or hold a  bug if the person has a fear for bugs. Todd Vance is an Iraqi war veteran fighting in Mixed Martial Arts and the reasoning for him is so that he can remember a situation and not remember the trauma.

At first it might not seem a good idea to remember a traumatic event. But the veterans coming back with horrid memories of war are a different story. Maybe it helps them find closure, like how the military will do everything in their power to get a body of a deceased military member back home. It’s better to know what happened instead of not knowing because there are a lot of possibilities.

Vance says “‘Everybody deals with it differently’”. It’s because no case of PTSD is similar. What Kyle tried to do is considered dangerous without the supervision of a doctor. Someone with PTSD can have flashbacks to a memory that causes them to snap. It could be simple as a the smell of gunpowder, a barking dog, and of course gunfire.


FUTURE RESEARCH: What's the Pentagon's solution for this? What can they do for the veterans that sacrificed so much only to come back home with their country abandoning them?

How long could we survive without the internet?

What would happen if the internet would Just stop?  If terrorists developed an EMP device so large If all the satellites would just stop?  

Our phones would become practically useless.  No calling, no texting,  no gps.  We would have all cable tv channels go offline.  The world would go into panic mode.  We would have to start writing letters to each other again to communicate long distances.  But the internet... The internet is used for practically everything.  Entertainment would be one, no YouTube, Netflix, or online video games.  If you wanted to know a simple answer or learn how to do something, you couldn't just look it up.  For more information, visit this reliable website.

I personally find it interesting that we always count on the internet for everything, and we always expect it to be there.  But one day we may wake up, and its gone.  That could mean it’s the end of the world for some of us.  So how do you think internet has changed our daily lives, and think about how that would be changed.

Photo credits:  http://support1.gearguy.com

Experimentation on our morals.

 In this article the Animal Equality Association speaks about the hardships animals go through during experimentation.

While reading I weighed the main ideas and came up with some of my own interpretation:

“Scientific advancement is one of the foundations of our culture. It implies great benefits for humans, but this advance has certain limits. For example, the majority of society would be against experimentation on humans against their will even if this would lead to great advances in the search for vaccines and cures. The same criteria should also apply to other animals since they, just like us, they are sentient and the emotions and sensations they feel matter to them just as much as ours do to us. Like us, they don’t want to die and want to enjoy a free life.” (Animal Equality- Experimentation)

This passage points out something very important, humans would refuse experimentation. These animals are still living organisms who experience pain and have emotional problems so looking at them like they are nothing is unacceptable. In the U.S., people once believed that African Americans were nothing leaving them to suffer during long days of work, beatings, zero rights, and being somebody else’s property. Now 250 years later we have realized that it was barbaric the way we treated African Americans. In 250 do we want to look back on another mistake and be embarrassed and feel regret towards something as inhumane as animal treatment.

SOURCE: http://upload.wikimedia.org

New study methods include direct human surgery observation, human patient simulations, use of human corpses donated to medical research, sophisticated computer programs, specialist learning models, etc. (Animal Equality- Experimentation)

In order to really discover things about our species it is necessary to study our own species. Animals are not the same as us we have variations so studying them could cause us to be affected negatively. People have the choice to donate themselves to be researched for science which is the more humane and effective choice.

In fact, a multitude of medical advances have come about without the use of other animals and if they invested the quantity of resources which currently go into vivisection into animal-free research methods we might quickly advance much more.

There is no question that animal testing have done good for humans. We must take this into account instead of just denying the fact. In order to convince others that animal experimentation is wrong, counterarguments are needed to show why we shouldn’t test. Counterarguments for this have been stated earlier such as the tortuous effects on animals and the reliability of testing on another species. I hope that representatives can lift this hardship off of animals and allow them to live harmoniously with us.

FUTURE RESEARCH: How is aquatic life affected by human activity?

Technology: is it really worth it?

In this blog post I will state my opinion on the question: Is technology ultimately good or bad for the human race?

The article The Evolution of Social Media 2004 - 2014: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly of It ! by Ambika Choudhary Mahajan explains how social media is helpful and not so helpful.

Thesis: Technology is good for the human race because of interaction and amount of lives saved, but bad because the lack of communication/productivity, stolen identities, harassment, and break ups.

Technology has given us many reasons to be grateful. We’re able to keep in touch will family and friends even if they live thousands of miles away. Facebooks and Twitters help businesses reach out to wider audiences and improve their products. Discounts, deals, and advertising are increasing through promoting on social media. It’s not stated in the article but as I explained in previous blog posts medical technology increases the amount of lives saved. It is obvious there are more reasons as to how technology has helped out the human race, but these reasons are most significant.

http://dazeinfo.com

Although social networking has created many great opportunities for people, there are also various reasons it has made society worse. It is clear people are now communicating through technology rather than face-to-face interaction. The article explains how he witnessed a coffee date and the man had been too attached to his phone to realize his date’s disapproval. Technology has also played a role on the lack of productivity. People often absentmindedly wander onto his or her social media account and make sure nothing happen during the last fifteen minutes he or she wasn't on their phone. It has also created more opportunities or stolen identities and loss of wealth. Not only does social media allow more harassment, but it gives the bully a chance to hide behind a screen and possibly a fake identity. Finally, it is not uncommon to see many relationships broken up because of boundaries that were crossed online.

It is clear the numerous ways technology has negatively impacted our lives outnumbers the positive ways. Therefore, I believe social media is ultimately bad for the human race. Although I confess I am sort of hypocritical towards this topic because of the fact I commonly use social media; in fact one might say I use it too often. After sitting down and noting how ugly technology can truly make the world seem, I conclude that we would be better off without it.

Future Research: To what extent does technology affect the way we practice religion?

Meticulous Mammals

Have you ever wondered how mammals live and what allows them to survive? If so, keep reading...

Q: Does geography affect how mammals live?

A: Geography definitely affects how animal live because depending on their climate, they adapt in different ways. According to National Geographics Article, an ecosystem relies on many factors. Animals depend on the areas food and shelter so if there is the slightest change in the ecosystem, animals learn how to adapt. If one type of mammal were to live in the rain forest with many trees, rivers, and other plants, they would have to learn how to climb and stay cool in the hot temperatures. They have to get used to their surroundings in order to survive. Mammals must hunt for food whether that may be other animals or plants. The landscape may prevent mammals to get from one location to another and cause a problem for migration. Geography affects how animals live in many ways but these were the most important.

Q: How do mammals adapt to their environment?

A: Mammals learn to adapt in many different ways. One way is they learn how to find and create shelter for themselves. They start to recognize and become used to their surroundings. Mammals may climb or dig to hide from predators. They may even camouflage themselves in fear of other animals. According to Animal Corner,they go out to hunt for food when they know it is safe and they won’t be in danger. Mammals tend to be cautious around predators and at night, if they don’t have good sight.

Q: Is speed important for survival?

A: Not all mammals have speed. Some are very fast and others are very slow. In order to catch prey or run from predators, speed is sometimes necessary. Although, some mammals like the sloth don’t move very  quick and still survive well. Speed is not important for survival depending on which animal. According to Animal Corner, the cheetah is the fastest mammal but can run out of energy in thirty seconds after a sprint. The sloth is the slowest mammal but it never needs speed to do a task.


FUTURE RESEARCH: I'm interested in learning more about land animals that are fast (e.g. jaguars, cheetahs, lions, etc.)

Ten Things About What we Know About PTSD

Here are some of the things that you may have not known about PTSD with facts from the Veteran Affair's page on PTSD. 

www.pandys.org

10. Some veterans that might not screen positive for PTSD have a high chance of showing signs of PTSD 6 months later. Other veterans however might screen positive but later show less symptoms. Having this effect on veterans means that all veterans who want to be screened for PTSD when they first get back from combat and times later down the road.

9. This inconsistency makes it hard to study veterans who are affected by PTSD because there are a lot of people with ranging PTSD symptoms. This poses as a problem for the VA because it complicates studies to show how to fix PTSD. This can prolong the solution for PTSD.

8. The lower level of schooling may increase the risk of getting PTSD.
Education as a high school degree, which is the minimum for service, are still at rsik for developing PTSD. Maybe not used to the stress.

7. Not all veterans seek help when showing symptoms with PTSD because of the fear of looking weak or different. This serves as a massive problem as some veterans don't even seek help.

6. Research show that 10%-18% of veterans that return from Iraq and Afghanistan have PTSD. I think this is because of the war we are fighting. IEDS and being in state of constant awareness may attribute to this.

5. Depression has been linked to combat stress in veterans. So not only are veterans faced with PTSD but also depression.

4. The use of alcohol and tobacco has shown an increase of use in veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. This worsens as veterans sometimes resort to drugs as a cure for their PTSD. Veterans may use alcohol but this ends up creating a spiraling down cycle.

3. Veterans that had a combat Military Occupational Specialty are more likely to develop PTSD because they are exposed to more combat. This is to be expected since combat is one of the main reasons for PTSD.

2. Not having family around to support their veteran family member might increase PTSD chances because the veteran has no one to trust. People need others to rely on and to help them through this tough time.

1.There is no clear solution for PTSD, although there are solutions that show potential results for a solution to PTSD such as “gun therapy” Gun therapy has shown to help veterans has been shown to help veterans. But sometimes it has a negative effect such as the event involving Chris Kyle as shown in American Sniper.

FUTURE RESEARCH: What are ways you can treat or cope with PTSD?

Koalas in Their Natural Habitat

In this post I am focusing specifically on the arboreal animal, the koala. My research question will be: How do koalas adapt to their environment? Why is this important? I used National Geographic as my source. This source is reliable because we use it in schools to get reliable information about Earth’s geography and its features. 

Koalas live mainly in Eastern Australia because the tree they primarily feed on is most plentiful there. Koalas briefly leave the eucalyptus trees on occasion, but they spend most of their time in these trees. Koalas also barely drink any water, they get all their moisture that they need in the leaves the eat. Most koalas eat around 2 ½ pounds of leaves a day and store more leaves in their cheeks as well. They sleep up to 18 hours.  This eating and sleeping patterns is an example of how koalas adapt because since they live in the trees, that decides what they have to eat. They also have to have different digestive systems than other animals that can handle to extreme amounts of food they eat per day. Koalas adapt to their environment around them by having smaller bodies, which allow them to get higher in trees, faster, and also balance better. With smaller bodies, they are able to get into smaller places and around branches in trees more easily.  By having a different digestive system than other animals, which allows them to eat large masses of leaves, they are able to live their lives in trees, eating whatever is around them. If they didn’t have these digestive systems, they would not be able to be arboreal animals.

www.animalfact.com

In my next blog post,I plan on studying more in depth about koalas. Koalas are one of the major kind of arboreal animals, so if I am able to understand more about their adaption to the environment, I will be able to get a much larger idea on how other arboreal animals adapt as well.

Who's Using Technology?

I am looking to learn more about: How is technology changing our lives in this post?  

In this article by Pew Research center I am going to learn about how technology is changing our lives.  The researchers surveyed thousands of people in over 32 developing nations.   

1. The internet is affecting younger people the most out of any other age group.  Younger people are much more likely to use the internet than any other age group.  Younger people use the internet 83% out of everyone else.  this shows that the younger people use technology more.

2. Online shopping is growing in some countries such as China.  In China over half of the people use online shopping often.  This is a very large amount of people considering the size of China’s population.  This shows that technology is changing our culture by allowing people to buy items without leaving their house.

3. In the Philippines over 93% of adults use social media.   Only 74% of adults in the United States are using social media.  This is also well above the international average of total people using social media. This shows that their culture is using technology to socialize more than any other.
   

Future Research Topics:

What age groups are being effected most by technology?

 

Technology, The Ultimate Change of Our Culture

What is the difference in peoples daily routines now, and their daily routines twenty years ago?  Technology.  We may not realize it, but technology has weaved its way into our lives to the point where we can not function without it.  You couldn't count the technological devices you see every day simply because it’s all around us. your microwave, your phone, your speakers, the lights in your room, the buses or cars we take to school everyday.  My question is how does technology affect people’s cultures?

Resources I will use to address this question include:

• Library Databases: Proquest, Gale
• Magazines: Popular Science, Wired, etc.
• TED Talks on Technology

Your Peers May Be the Reason For Self Esteem Issues

Negative self esteem has gotten worse throughout the years, so we need to take a stand and change that.

In this post, I would like to ask this question: If the effects of paying attention to the media are so dangerous because of the way we then think of ourselves, why do we keep acknowledging it?

I found out the answer throughout the article I am about to discuss, “Is Social Media Giving Your Teen a Negative Body Image?”. This source is reliable because its from an actual organization that helps kids.

www.glogster.com

Not only does the media affect how young teenagers think of themselves, but their own friends do to.

1. Social Media is a place where girls and boys can post pictures of themselves, and lately, people have been using that as a terrible advantage. People can rate each other on how good looking they are, and some people ask the question to the public if they are pretty or not. Kids keep using the media not stop because asking these questions to others will reassure what they think they look like.
2. According to a study by the Keep it Real Campaign, 80% of ten year old American girls have been on a diet before. This crazes my mind because they are at such a vulnerable age, so doing any harm to their body can lead to serious damage in the future. This statement shows that the media not only has a huge affect on teenagers, but it has a major affect on little girls longing to look unreal.
3. This article talks about how the plus size population is suffering and drastically has decreased. With this being said, plus size women all over America are beginning to love their own bodies again, and should be thankful they are not in danger. It’s odd to think that America has this stereotype that everyone will become obese sooner or later, but in reality, it’s starting to become the complete opposite.
4. Although magazines and celebrities have a huge role in making you do extra pushups, or forcing you to workout right before summer, I found out that they aren’t the only ones pressuring us teenagers into attempting to change our looks to look the “ideal” look. Our peers have a part in doing this too. Them posting pictures of themselves on social media make cause others to want to be like them, or look and have their confidence. All in all, it isn’t a very good thing to envy your own friend.

Future Question: Will the media soon realize that their models are harming young men and women? And when they do realize, what will they do about it?

Creatures in the Waters

BLOG POST #4  Creatures in the Waters

We have all heard about the “Loch Ness Monster” that wonders the waters. But, who has really seen the Loch Ness Monster? History.com gives a lot of info about this creature.

A Loch Ness monster found in the water

The creature dates back to over 1,500 years ago. The modern legend made rise at on May 2, 1933. The aquatic monster can be found living in Scotland. The couple said they saw “an enormous animal rolling and plunging on the service.”

The story of the monster became socially famous on the media when London Newspapers sending correspondents to Scotland and a circus offering a 20,000 pound sterling reward for the capture of the Monster.

The Loch Ness monster has been seen in the Scottish Highlands. The Scottish Highlands have the largest volume of fresh water in Great Britain. The Body of water reaches a depth of nearly 800 feet and a length of about 23 miles.

Scholars of the Loch Ness monster find many references in Scottish History. Dating back to A.D. 500, when local picts carved a strange aquatic into creature standing stones near Loch Ness.

There was another reference made by Saint Columba, the Irish Missionary who introduced Christianity to Scotland. It is said that Columbus was on his way to visit the kinds of northern picts near inverness when he stopped at Loch Ness to confront a beast that had been killing people in the lake. Seeing the creature about to kill another man, Columba screamed at the creature “go back with all speed.” Then the monster never killed anyone again.

The Story of the Loch Ness monster dates back to before time. Still there are so many unanswered questions about if this myth is really true. No matter if its true of not, always check what creatures are in the lake before you go in…

Future research: Anabelle dolls

Bloody Reflections: Faces in the Mirror

Lit a candle and go into a dark room with a mirror. Hold the mirror and spin in a circle three times while slowly saying “Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary.” Look into the mirror and you will see a face of a women.

When you look in the mirror you will see a women with a pale face and glowing eyes named “Bloody Mary.” Do you believed that or do you just think its a spam? Bloody Mary still remains a mystery. She goes by several names like Mary Worth, Mary Jane, Mary Washington, Mary Whales and Mary Johnson. But, the most popular of them all is Bloody Mary.

There are several different stories of Bloody Mary. Discovery News tells a few of the most famous versions of the story. One of the more popular ones is that Mary is a witch. They say that she was burned alive at the infamous Salem Witch Trials. That is the story that I grew up hearing.

Two girls following the routine of Bloody Mary 

Another story is that Mary is a beautiful hitchhiker who was killed in a horrible car crash. This story says that before she died she was very badly mutilated.

Some people think Mary has something to do with the legend of La Llorona, the crying hispanic women who drowned her babies and searched endlessly for their souls.

Other people say she traces back to Mary I, Queen of England. For she was infamous for her killing of protestants.

To meet this strange women there is a routine of events you have to follow… This works best on young girls… Chant “Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary” etc. a set number of times, the times vary from 3, 10, 50, 100 and even more, into a mirror in a darkroom (often a bathroom.) It works best if there are candles lit in the room because it summons the spirit of the Witch.

Sometimes, Mary appears without even summoning her. Mary has rarely been known to appear after a toilet has been flushed or a candle is blown out. Sometimes, when a room with a mirror becomes foggy and steamy, weird images form on the translucent mirror.

So, what actually happens when you summon Mary? Most people get too scared before they can finish the process and run out screaming. However, few people have been brave enough to last and sometimes it doesn’t work on someone. Some people say Mary will appear on the mirror with blood dripping down her face, others say that your reflection will appear and there will be blood dripping down your face. Also, it is said that Mary will appear in the mirror and then come out of the mirror and scratch your face.

Others say that you will see Mary in the mirror looking harmless, but then she will haunt you.

The story of Bloody Mary is still unsure and confusing. No one exactly knows if it is true and who Bloody Mary exactly is. Her story has been apart of my childhood and I will never forget the fear she would give me to go in dark bathrooms…

Future Research:

-The Lockness Monster

-fear of dolls (anabelle)

Hockey Belongs to Canada

Ice hockey is Canada’s national sport, and the country was the birthplace of the modern NHL: the league did not add its first American team until 1924, its eighth season.  Following years when the league’s center of gravity has been drifting north, global economic trends could soon push hockey’s best players away from the country where they are most beloved.

According to the The Economist website, hockey is Canada's national and modern sport so it means way more to their country than any of the others.  We know this website is very reliable because it is used by many people and speaks the truth always when talking about sports.


                                                 http://www.economist.com/

     Hockey the cold-weather sport has been brought into warmer climates, creating teams or moving existing ones to San Jose, Tampa Bay, Anaheim, Miami, Dallas, Phoenix, Raleigh, Nashville and Atlanta. However, in many of these cities, the game has failed to take root.
 I agree with this statement because I once lived in Atlanta Georgia and I went to all of the Atlanta Thrashers games but sadly not many other people did so that ended up causing Atlanta to have to move their NHL team to Canada because their organization wasn't making enough money to keep it themselves.

   The decline in the Canadian dollar will put American teams in a stronger position to sign elite players, and will probably cause talent to migrate in the medium term. 
  I also agree with this because like most professional athletes, they go where the money is at and if one team has a better offer than the other, they usually don't care about moving because they need to make as much money as they can since a player isn't in their prime during their whole entire career. 

Source: http://www.economist.com/blogs/gametheory/2015/01/currency-and-ice-hockey

SHOTS FIRED

freethoughtblogs.com

This is a news report from TF1, that shows footage of the terrorist, it also walks us through the events that occurred that day, this video was also taken shortly after the events occurred before they had caught the terrorists. It begins by showing footage of the terrorists leaving the building and screaming “ we are avenging the prophet Mohammed” and “we killed Charlie Hebdo.”

It explains that they killed a receptionist and went on to the floor where the meeting was taking place. Then they started shooting at the wrong door, they later realized it was the wrong door and entered the correct one. They ran in and first killed the police officer that was in the room, then demanding for the director, Charb. Then they open fired on all the journalists in the room. Including the paper’s most important journalists Charb,Cabu,Wolinski,Tignous, Maris, and Honoré.

In the video one of the people that they interviewed said that he was horrified by how they could kill 12 people some who were just pedestrians on the street who had nothing to do with the journal, the police officer who was killed in the room who himself was muslim, and the journalists who were loved by the people of France.
I believe that by targeting a major News corporation they were trying to silence the company's views on muslims and islam. They used this terrorist attack as a way of saying we are more powerful then you and anyone who speaks out against us will be killed. Because freedom of speech is not something that the islam countries have and because they tried to create the same for the France.

I plan to further research Al Qaeda because they were the group associated with the attack.

Ignition of Football Rivlaries

In this article, John Cohen of the Wall Street Journal describes the ignition for football rivalries and the effects that they have on the fans, players, and coaches.

During my research, I asked frequently myself the question, how are football fans and players effected with sports rivalries?

http://www.realclearsports.com

1. Rivalries are so important because of the competition over time.  I believe that this is interesting because I now have a better understanding to why rivalries are more important that other games to fans. I have discovered that rivals play each other much more than any other team since the beginning of the sport, so fans and players emphasize that specific game each year. They believe that the games get more and more intense each time, so that's what sikes them up.history
2. The oomph of every rivalry comes from similarity, proximity and of the two teams. All of these three things are main contributors to hype up rivalries. First, teams that are similar academically like Harvard and Yale or teams that are in the same conference like Michigan and Ohio State all share qualities that aid their rivalry. Secondly, teams that are close together like Auburn and Alabama have the extra oomph because fans are interacting with each other everyday. Lastly, the history of the two schools hypes up fans and players because they are always trying recreate history.
3. Athletes testosterone spikes from regular games to rivalries. This is very interesting to me because they actually ran tests to find out this data, and it proves a lot about rivalries. The more testosterone in the players, the better they play, so better competition and talent is displayed from each team in a rivalry, making them more interesting to watch.
4. Rivalries lead to overconfidence, riskier strategies, unethical actions, and behavioral shifts. All of these ingredients make games much more exciting to watch, so fans are always on their toes at these games. This cause and effect relationship is the ignition to all rivalries because if the players are more hyped up, then the fans are as well.

Future Research Question: How does pschycology affect sports rivalries?