Tuesday, January 28, 2020

Investigation on Resources for Childhood Immunization Rates

Investigation on Resources for Childhood Immunization Rates Immunization: an Investigation on Resources for Childhood Immunization and Health Professional Immunization Rates Zhou Yun Richard Wu Website University of Pittsburgh. (2012). Childhood Immunization Refusal: The Return of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases.  Retrieved from  http://www.omicsonline.org/2157-7560/2157-7560-3-e115.pdf Journal Article Koharchik, L.S., Salman, K., Hardy, E., Mayle-Towns, K. (2012)  Influenza immunization status among nursing students. Journal of Infection Prevention, 13(3), 84-87. doi:10.1177/1757177412442433 Introduction Immunization against infectious disease has been one of human’s first defenses against pathogens for the past few decades. Measles, mumps, rubella. Vaccinations have saved thousands, if not millions of people from these diseases, and seen the eradication of others, like smallpox, during the 1960’s and 70’s. Yet with seemingly endless benefits to mankind, in the recent years people have questioned the legitimacy and whether the risks involved with vaccines truly outweigh the benefits. Discussions have risen whether to vaccinate children, whether leaving the natural immune system to fend for itself will lead to an inherently ‘stronger’ immune system, and whether our own health professionals choose to vaccinate themselves. I personally find this topic intriguing as I personally chose not to have a vaccine as a child. Raised in a ‘let nature take its course’ household, and having such beliefs like taking the pain, not the painkiller, I chose this topic as I wanted to investigate immunization, learn the true scientific statistics and see how the wider scientific community views what some may call the 21st century wonder [preventative] drug. Website Educational Value The editorial title provides brief expectations on what is to follow. Shimi goes into profuse detail into the subject, and cites highly regarded health organizations for statistics and information to educate her audience. As Shimi explores the consequences of opting against vaccinations, the reader is presented with statistics from three decades ago to the current date. This shows great range of information and informs the reader of many details of how health has changed over time. Each survey, statistic or health information across the US, UK and Canada is supported by respective references to relevant educational institutions or health organizations. The wide range of educational value and the compilation of highly regarded and referenced material gives an impression of a highly credible resource. As a publically available webpage about vaccines it was important to check on the credibility of the author and editorial itself, as corporation funding or bias may influence the arguments presented. Online-marketing and social media to advertise medication is becoming more prevalent in the 21st century (Liang Mackey, 2011). Readers looking online must take note of the arguments and consider the true educational value of material on the Internet before deciding credibility. Notably, Shimi studies both sides of the spectrum, with respective references, presenting a well-informed perspective on immunization. Thus, one would find her resource highly credible. Intent The editorial article was supported by a leading research University (The Center for Measuring University Performance, 2009). The article briefly introduced childhood immunization before delving into the mindset behind opting for or against vaccination, and history behind infectious diseases. Collective information was presented, from surveys completed by parents, to proportion of disease outbreak relative to proportion of children who remained unvaccinated. Though not conclusive, Shimi explored many facets of childhood immunization and gave the reader a broad perspective on what, how and why vaccination exists. Being relatively recent and citing an extensive spectrum of resources, one would find this online editorial to a credible resource. Internet users have migrated from passive information sources to actively seeking the information they require (Liang Mackey, 2011). Internet users must continually be mindful of online material, where their funding comes from, why their phrasing is more favored to one drug over the other, and whether the online material exists to educate readers or promote to readers (Liang Mackey, 2011). This criterion is relevant for investigating online resources, as it is vital to continually question the intentions of publically available material, and why anyone may access it so easily. The article in question is backed by the University of Pittsburgh and cites numerous other highly respected organization and statistical institutes, and thus one concludes it is a highly credible resource. Journal Article Quality Research from the article was clearly presented and aims were established early. Relevant findings were elaborated under a ‘Literature review’ section, giving readers a defined perspective on relevant research as well as gaps in the current knowledge. The authors developed an original procedure, which was approved by a university review board (Koharchik, Salman Hardy 2012), to investigate the subject. This assumed their ideas were supported by informed academics. The authors’ original research and findings were consistent with other peer-reviewed studies (Ali, Khakoo, Fisher Hobbs, 2007; Nichol, D’Heilly Ehlinger, 2008), giving the impression their arguments and methods were informed and highly credible. The journal article provided different facets of information for the reader to understand the research that occurred before the study itself. In contrast, other sources failed to grasp the topic with an omniscient perspective (Shepherd, 2011) or giving reference to previous or current research. As an editorial, the author’s choice of words and selected details portrayed a strong emotional argument. The reader feels they are being convinced to adopt the author’s perspective, as conflicting arguments are neither portrayed nor referenced. Although other sources may have varying purposes to reach out to the audience, students would not use these sources as their arguments seem much less informed, absent of strong academic support, and consequently of an overall lower quality. Authority Streams of references follow every argument or statistic included in the article. The authors had other works published in the same topic, showing they had expertise in the subject and had past experience researching immunization. However, the authors had only published two works including the article in question, within a few months of each other. This could indicate that their knowledge was still budding and possibly lacking in a well-rounded experienced judgment. The study was undertaken at Duquesne University, Pittsburgh. The Journal of Infection Prevention is also a leading authority on medical research and development. One should not be excessively impressed by famed academic journals as mistakes do occur (Harzing, 2002), but it does give an indication of the authors and their work to have their work published for the greater scientific community. The Journal of Infection Prevention is renown in its articles and contributing authors. Commonly referenced, the content published by its authors are backed by other experts and thus act as credible sources for research in the content area. Koharchik, Salman, Hardy Mayle-Towns references previous research in the area and presents original research consistent with similar studies. One should consider the article, its authors’ expertise and whether other experts support the study to determine credibility. Koharchik, Salman, Hardy Mayle-Towns fulfill all these aspects and as such one would find the article highly credible. Summary The website and journal article were generally credible sources to read or use for an academic paper. Both resources are presented neutrally and there is no emotional bias in the writing. Arguments are presented for and against the content. Statistics included in both resources are relevant and are cited accordingly, with both resources providing an extensive range of high-regarded references. The reader is thoroughly informed and there is no obvious bias due to financial sponsor or affiliation. The authors for both resources are clearly stated and contact details are left, and both resources are supported by respected academic organizations renown for its respective authority in the medical field. References University of Pittsburgh. (2012). Childhood Immunization Refusal: The Return of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases. Retrieved from  http://www.omicsonline.org/2157-7560/2157-7560-3-e115.pdf Koharchik, L.S., Salman, K., Hardy, E., Mayle-Towns, K. (2012). Influenza immunization status among nursing students. Journal of Infection Prevention, 13(3), 84-87. doi:10.1177/1757177412442433 Liang, B.A. Mackey, T.K. (2011). Prevalence and Global Health Implications of Social Media in Direct-to-Consumer Drug Advertising. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 13(3), doi:10.2196/jmir.1775 The Center for Measuring University Performance. (2009). The Top American Research Universities: 2009 Annual Report.  Retrieved from  http://mup.asu.edu/research2009.pdf Ali, S., Khakoo, R., Fisher, M. Hobbs, G.R. (2007). An assessment of influenza vaccinations among health profession students. Scandinavian Journal of Infectious Diseases 3: 822-825. Nichol, K.L., D’Heilly S. Ehlinger E.P. (2008). Influenza Vaccination among college and university students. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine 16(22):1113-18. Shepherd, T. (2011, May 31). Deadly parenting choices in the vaccination debate. The Punch. Retrieved from http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/deadly-parenting-choices-in-the-vaccination-debate/ Harzing, A.W. (2002). Are our referencing errors undermining our scholarship and credibility: The case of expatriate failure rates. Journal of Organizational Behavior 23(1): 127-148.

Monday, January 20, 2020

The Problem of Lack of Exercise for Children Essay example -- Children

The Problem of Lack of Exercise for Children 10 years ago, many Parents didn't have to work at getting young children to be active. Most children were constantly in continual motion. But these days even young children are inactive and more dependent upon adults to provide them with different forms of exercise such as sport. Lack of exercise is a major reason for the growing rate of obesity among children. One cause of this is the new modern day technologies which have boomed in this generation and therefore have created ‘couch potato’ children. Examples of these ‘distractions’ are computer games and television. Watching TV for even as few as two to five hours per week is linked to being overweight and as a result of this, the percentage of overweight children had doubled in the last 30 years. Dr Aric Sigman, of the British Psychological Society explains that most of the unpleasant health affects recognized that are linked with TV viewing are related to duration of viewing. He quotes that â€Å"There's nothing to be lost by watching less TV but a great deal to be lost by continuing to watch as we do†. Another Cause of obesity is unhealthy junk food. The varieties of foods have also changed in the last 10 years. Nowadays, children are excessively eating more fatty foods such as chocolate or chips which therefore increase the figures of obesity in children every year. 2o percent of British children are overweight and 10 percent are obese. Benefits of exercise: Exercise can help strengthen children's bones now as well as later in life. Children who partake in weight-bearing, impact sports such as running, gymnastics a... ...PA's (The British United Provident Association is a global health and care organisation) assistant medical director Dr. Paula Franklin says: "With the growing problems of childhood and adult obesity in Britain it is vital that we inspire young people to exercise regularly and eat healthily. Research also suggests that regular exercise affects overall well-being and can even have a positive impact on academic grades." In conclusion, yes it is a problem that our children aren’t enough exercise due to all the health problems they could face in the future. Daily exercise has many positive factors which is why adults should encourage physical activities such as sport as much as possible, especially because of all the modern day unhealthy distractions that children face.

Sunday, January 12, 2020

Of Mice And Men: Book vs Movie

As we all know, there’s one thing about books that appeal to every avid reader in the world; the visualization and imagination. This is something that movies can either enrich or abolish. For the book entitled ‘Of Mice And Men’, the movie acted as a detriment to the book. The differences between the movie and the book are insurmountable. To start thing off, the first thing that was dissimilar was when George and Lennie are shown sneaking into a train at night to escape from Weed. However, if one recalls on the book accurately, they will remember that no such seen in the book was described.Another flawless example is when a worker named Mike approached Slim and asked him whether or not he could switch jobs with someone else as he could not keep up with Lennie. Again, this was not mentioned in the book what-so-ever. The next part was an important part, but was cut from the movie for unknown reasons. The part is when Lennie is in the river and begins to hallucinate a bout his aunt Clara and the giant rabbit. In addition to that, and also near the ending of the book, when George shoots Lennie with the Luger pistol. In the film, the gun he was holding was a Colt Revolver, and was again changed for unspecified reasons.This brings me to how the ending of the book was changed: in the book, George remains on the ranch, whilst in the film, George is seen riding alone in yet another boxcar to his next destination in both the introduction and ending. This is indicative of George fleeing after killing Lennie and reminisces on past events during the ride. In spite of all this alterations or modifications, there are still an innumerable amount to be spoken of. Thus, vividly showing us that movies can indeed sometimes take away from the free-thinking, imagination that books exclusively hold.

Saturday, January 4, 2020

Comparing O Briens The Things They Carried and Ninhs...

Comparing O Briens The Things They Carried and Ninhs The Sorrow of War Bao Ninhs The Sorrow of War is a contrapuntal reading to American literature on the Vietnam War. But rather than stand in stark contrast to Tim O Briens The Things They Carried, The Sorrow of War is strangely similar, yet different at the same time. From a post-colonialist standpoint, one must take in account both works to get an accurate image of the war. The Sorrow of War is an excellent counterpoint because it is truthful. Tim O Brien writes: . . . you can tell a true war story by its absolute and uncompromising allegiance to obscenity and evil. (O Brien, 42) Bao Ninh succeeds in this respect. And it was for this reason that the Vietnamese†¦show more content†¦Not only were American soldiers well muscled and athletes, (191) but some of them were black. Whites were not particularly strange, as Vietnam had been under French rule, but blacks must have been something of a frightening, unfamiliar novelty. This too is reflected in the text. When Kien and Hoa encounter an Americ an platoon in the jungle, the blacks in the platoon are the first thing Kien describes, after describing what was not a man, but a tracker dog as big as a calf. (189) And when the soldiers smoke rosa canina, one of the things they hallucinate is groups of headless black American soldiers right along with hallucinations about fantastic creatures and extinct animal species. With these counterpoints to the American views of Vietnamese soldiers, an American certainly gets a different picture of the war. Bao Ninhs portrayal of postwar Vietnam also fosters a more objective viewpoint of the war. After the war, the Americans took their twisted memories back home, to an unscathed country where nearly everyone had something to go back to. For North Vietnamese soldiers, home was where the horror had been, and in many ways still was. He is plain in his message: The recent years of war had brought enough suffering and pain to last them a thousand years. (75) Kiens slow, painful demise is brought on by the heavy sorrow of war as he is haunted by an eternal past. (88) During the war North Vietnamese soldiers were but insects or an ant who