15. April 2009 by student.

I did my project on HIV/AIDS (Human Immunodeficiency Virus/ Acquired Immune Deficient Syndrome).  I found too many interesting data that I would like to share with all of you. 

 HIV is a virus was originally transmitted to Humans by Chimpanzees/Gorillas with SID (Simian Immunodeficiency Virus).   AIDS was first identified in the USA in 1981 by a gay man in New York and California.  Even though, there is a lot of stigma about that HIV is more popular for gay people is a disease that affects everyone.  Yes, it is the riskiest in gay because they practice anal sex, not because they are gay. Anal sex is the riskiest due to the facility of broken capillaries in the anus by friction.  HIV/ AIDS is an epidemic worldwide that is affecting 33 million people.  HIV does not care about religion, ethnicity, culture, or sex. There is no sure for HIV, but is in the hands of everyone to control the epidemic.  HIV/AIDS is a sexually transmitted disease anal, vaginal or oral sex also, by sharing needles.  People need to get educated about HIV.  HIV is real and is among us there are 2 million children that are living with AIDS. The majority of them were born with the disease. They acquired HIV though their mothers during pregnancy, labour, or breast feeding. Statistics show that new children infected in 2007 were .37 million.  Women living with AIDS are 15.5 million.  New people infected at the end of 2007 were 2.7 million. Deaths in 2007 were 2 million.  In Florida alone 125,000 people live with AIDS.  There is a lot to do in order to fight this disease and the government and many other countries are trying to look for a cure, but the cure and the stop of this epidemic is in everyone’s hands.  Practice safe sex by using a condom.  There is a lot of information out there that help to find the proper condom of your needs, and the most important part is to learn to use a condom.  Avoid sharing needle. Do not mix alcohol with sex.  And try to have only one sexual partner at a time.  Think rationally before making any decision.

  The challenge of HIV and AIDS has been proven to be difficult because they differ from culture to culture.  Different countries and different culture still same history HIV.  Anyone can have HIV/AIDS and do not even know it. GET TESTED and take part of the action of controlling the spread. HIV is a social problem is an EPIDEMIC WORLWIDE.  Women are part of the inequality due to their vulnerability to HIV. 50 % of HIV occurs in women worldwide in the US 27 %. Hello, my name is Keinddrelle. I am 22 years old and I am HIV positive. I was diagnosed on November 22, 2004 and it’s been a tough time for me. I’m married, but separated from me husband due to Mental, Physical, and Verbal Abuse.  

Posted in Introduction to Sociology | 1 Comment »

15. April 2009 by student.

Every year over 13 million Americans are arrested with around 95% of those people returning back to society. But how can these people improve their lives if they are not treated humanly and taught how to live civally in society? there is no doubt that many of these people belong in prison and deserve their time, but then what happens when they get out? They come out just as bad in many cases.

The violence in prison is ridiculous, I do not know firsthand, but I have heard firsthand stories and it is a well-known fact. First of all, I doubt that most correctional officers even care if violence goes on, they probably love it. North Dakota, South Dakota, and Arkansas all reported zero cases of assault in their prisons back in 2000. ZERO???? This is the number that they gave the U.S Justice Department….think about that…zero, zip, nada…..I would bet anything that at least one case of assault occured in a prison in one of the three states. Off that number alone I see how much 3 states care about prison violence, they care just as much as they reported, ZERO.

A big part of leaving prison is being able to cope in society, for which they offer classes inside the prison. However, since 1990 there has been a double in the population of inmates. But, there has not been a double in the funding of educational classes to help inmates return to society. So we just put these criminals back into society without deligently attempting to rehabilatate them.

Most people will hear somehting like this and act like it does not matter, but these people can be your neighbors or they can come back and commit a crime on you in part to them not rehabing at all while incarcerated. I only 2 people who have done prison time, and damn they learned nothing, because the effort is piss poor by the system. If they do not care, then why should these inmates and convicted felons? We act like we do not care, but we will when we see it affect someone we know, or when a careless ex-con hurts you.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2006-06-11-our-view_x.htm

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15. April 2009 by student.

Tobacco. We all know that smoking leads to cancer of the mouth, throat, lungs, and birth defects, taking the lives of many Americans everyday. Chew leads to nasty teeth, rotten gums, Tongue, and mouth cancer, but many Americans can’t get enough of it. Should something be done about it? Some argue that it’s no ones business what they put in their bodies, but in the case of cigarette’s this affects more than just themselves, pollution and secondhand smoke are everyone’s problem. Banning the production, and sale of tobacco products has come across the minds of many but even though tobacco companies are selling “cancer sticks” they have rights too. But the deaths, and heartache this causes must be addressed. I think taxes should be increased on these products. Currently a pack of cigarettes are about $5.08 and still going strong. Increasing the taxes on the products to where a pack could cost about $8-9 dollars or more would definitely drop the amount of people purchasing the product. Some may argue that this is unfair or wrong but so is slowly killing the planet and the people around them. I believe doing so will reduce cancer and birth defect rates significantly and make America a better, more healthy place. Imagine the amount of money currently being spent on treating people with these diseases being put to other more beneficial uses.

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15. April 2009 by student.

In the last week alone there has been two seperate events of pirate attacks on American ships. My whole life I have never heard of pirate attacks unless it involved Johnny Depp or Captain Hook, but the two in the last week was eyeopening to me. First off I question the intelligence of these so called pirates. I mean you can not just disappear into the sea and hide from society like they used to back in the days. I mean did they really believe that the Unitewd States would give up 2 million dollars in exchange for one life, even when we had our Navy surrounding the captured ship? Even if they did get the money, do you think that our military would just let them disappear and leave unharmed? Hell no. Wheteher they went back onto land or remained at sea, I am sure we would bring those pirates to justice. But this money making way or piracy would not still exist, if they had not been successful in the past…but all good things need to come to an end.

Piracy is a form of terrorism in my eyes, and there should be no tolerance on these terrorists.

“We sent out 14 boats full of well-armed men, and we are looking for vessels of U.S. and French nationals,” said Hassan Mohamud, a pirate leader based Gara’ad in Puntland, a semi-autonomous Somali region with a long coastline along the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden.

Is that not a person deliberalty saying that they are out hunting for Americans? I mean are they really made at Americans because we saved a citizen of ours from those pirates? Hell if they want problems, let’s prepare ourselves for those problems. Our sailors and fishermne or whoever else may be threatened by pirates should be given the right to carry automatic weapons on board their boats. there is no need to risk any lives, not even one, so maybe we whould prepare ourselves for these terrorists and put them where they belong.

Posted in Introduction to Sociology | 1 Comment »

15. April 2009 by student.

Should we have the right to decide to take our own lives?  Assume you have terminal cancer and you have less than one year to live.  You know that you will be in extreme pain and there is no cure.  Should you have the right to take your own life?  Should you be able to ask your doctor to assist you in dying peacefully?

For those that are against euthanasia and/or physician-assisted suicide worry that if it becomes legalized that it could eventually lead to murder.  They also believe that doctors took the Hippocratic Oath and have a responsibility to keep their patient alive.  In addition, there are many that have a concern for how the poor and disabled groups would be impacted if it is legalized because many of them do not have access to medical care.  

For those that are for euthanasia and/or physician-assisted suicide believe that is an individual right and it is a compassionate choice.  They believe that it spares the individual pain and suffering. 

A May 2006 Gallop Poll found that 69% of Americans answered yes to the question ” When a person has a disease that cannot be cured, do you think a doctor should be allowed by law to end the patent’s life by some painless means if the patient and his family request it,” (www.euthanasia.procon.org)?

In 2006, I would have been part of the 31% of the people who answered no to this question.  I was taught that this would be a sin or that it is murder.  However, today I would say yes to that question.  In late 2006, my Uncle was diagnosed with cancer of the stomach.  They told him it was in Stage 4 and there was not much hope for survival.  I watched my Uncle go through different treatments that made him basically wither away to nothing.   When we talked about why he was putting himself through all this pain, he explained to me that it was mostly because of his faith (we are Catholic) and that God ultimately had the master plan and who was he to interfere with it.  I also think his family (his children, my father, etc) kept telling him to fight the good fight, that they could find a cure.  Was that due to our own selfishness versus our true concern for him and what his wishes were?  Unfortunately, after 8 months of treatment and the Cancer spreading to his brain my Uncle lost his battle with Cancer and passed away. 

What I took away from this experience is that every individual should have the right to decide what is best for them.  That if euthanasia and/or physician-assisted suicide was legalized maybe my Uncle and my family would have made a different decision, but in the end it should have been his decision on what he wanted to do. 

I no longer believe that euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide is murder or a sin.  What about you?  Think about if it is you, a family member, or a best friend, wouldn’t you want to be able to have the right to decide for yourself?

Posted in Introduction to Sociology | No Comments »

15. April 2009 by student.

The degeneration of music

America is coming of age in fields of technology and science. Popular music is not on the rise. Repetitive, ignorant, dumb and regurgitated- new music is a social problem. Music is a very powerful mean of communication. Music has the power to induce emotion, empowerment, sadness, joy and anger.  There is a lot of amazing music that has been created throughout history, from Mozart to Led Zeppelin, Vivaldi to The Pixies, Pink Floyd to Jack Johnson. These are true artists. They went beyond the box of their time, experimented with sound, lyrics and rhythm. Today the majority of music fed to the masses is array of rap and pop artists who don’t speak of things that can change the world, but rather spit lyrics that degrade women and promote lifestyles of waste. If music can affect people so strongly is there a connection between music that is blatantly violent and obscene, to crime, teen pregnancy, and drug use?

According to a document titled ‘Exploring the Drugs-Crime Connection within the Electronic Dance Music and Hip-Hop Night club Scenes’ Since the mid-1980s, the rave and Electronic Dance Music (EDM) scene has been linked to the use and sale of club drugs such as ecstasy, GHB, Rohypnol, and cocaine. The drug market in the EDM scene - particularly with respect to ecstasy - has been linked to organized criminal networks (DEA 2000). The sale of drugs at EDM events is associated with gang activity and risk of violent victimization. In addition to documenting patterns related to illegal drug sale and consumption, research has also found that EDM club attendees engage in numerous risk behaviors related to drug use. Behaviors such as driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol, increased sexual promiscuity and exposure to STD’s, dependence and addiction.

The Hip-Hop (HH) scene has been troubled by reports of weapons offenses, assault, and other violence. Studies on the influence of HH have found that HH music elicits significantly more anger than other kinds of music. Other studies have shown that HH and rap music perpetuates rigid gender stereotypes and misogyny and can facilitate sexually aggressive behavior. HH and rap music have also been shown to promote violence and time in prison as acceptable parts of life. In a recent study of college-aged bar patrons, Graham, Osgood, Wells and Stockwell (2006) found that listening to rap music in this social context was significantly and positively associated with all of the aforementioned behaviors - problematic alcohol use, illicit drug use, and aggressive behavior.

I’m not saying that everyone who listens to this type of music is a gang banging, drug addict, but I do believe there is a connection between the de-evolution of human behavior and some of the worthless music that is being produced.

 Sources:

The power of music

http://www.hinduonnet.com/folio/fo0012/00120420.htm

Exploring the Drugs-Crime Connection within the Electronic Dance Music and Hip-Hop Nightclub Scenes p. 19-28

http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/219381.pdf

Posted in Social Problems | 1 Comment »

15. April 2009 by student.

Body Image and the Media

Media, including magazines, T.V., and movies are setting the stage for what we “think” we should look like. I’m so sick of it! I’m sick of hearing my friends who wear smaller clothes than me say they are fat. I’m sick of looking at ads in magazines that depict beauty as cover girls the size of a stick. Why has our culture come to this shallow point? Why can’t people be content with how they look? And people, who do need to lose weight, make the change and move on. Overall, 30% of Americans say they are seriously trying to lose weight, up slightly — although not significantly — from the 28% recorded each of the past two years. This includes 38% of women who are seriously trying to lose weight, up from 32% in 2007 and the highest level seen for women since the start of the decade. The 22% of men seriously trying to lose weight today is not much different from the levels men have reported in recent years, although it is slightly higher than in 2001 and 2002.  Our bodies are fading. Why spend so much time obsessing over looking a certain way when there are so many more things in this life we can invest in?!  Barbie and G.I. Joe Extreme are great examples of the image many Americans think they need to live up to. If Barbie were life-sized, she’d be at 76% of a healthy body weight – a weight consistent with acute hospitalization. And GI Joe would have biceps almost as big as his waist, and bigger than most competitive body-builders! 

Jean Kilbourne, creator of the award-winning documentary Killing Us Softly stated:

“…these images certainly contribute to the body-hatred…and to some of the resulting eating problems, which range from bulimia to compulsive overeating, to simply being obsessed with controlling one’s appetite. Advertising does promote abusive and abnormal attitudes about eating, drinking, and thinness. It thus provides fertile soil for these obsessions to take root in and creates a climate of denial in which these diseases flourish.”

It’s physiologically impossible to gain unlimited pounds of pure, bulging muscle mass while maintaining an ultra-lean, ripped body – even when following the “perfect” training and diet program. Once you reach your maximal muscle mass, any further gains will come from both muscle AND fat. So, men who have greater muscle mass/size tend to have higher body fat percentages as well.”(Both of these statements came from Brown University’s Health Education website) Although women are more prone to eating disorders, men can also develop them. Men are more prone to want to gain weight rather than loss. It’s interesting how you’ll see a McDonald’s ad right next to an ad for skinny jeans. Studies at Stanford University and the University of Massachusetts found that 70% of college women say they feel worse about their own looks after reading women’s magazines. This culture is contradictory! We’re told to look a certain way, yet it’s impossible to look that way for one, especially when you eat crap and don’t exercise. Obsessing over anything isn’t healthy, especially your body image. Enjoy life, be healthy, but don’t give yourself a complex over it. Gandhi said to be the change you want to see…own it! (I added that last bit). 

Sources: 

http://www.gallup.com/poll/112426/Americans-Weight-Issues-Going-Away.aspx

http://www.brown.edu/Student_Services/Health_Services/Health_Education/nutrition/bodyimage.htm#4 

Posted in Social Problems | 1 Comment »

15. April 2009 by student.

           Parents want what’s best for their children. But many parents are not sure about the best way to talk with their children about important topics like puberty, sex, sexuality, sexual orientation, and relationships. Every family teaches about sexuality — sometimes without realizing it. Some families never talk about it — but by not talking about it, they send the message that it’s taboo. When parents talk openly about sexuality, it helps their children to learn and to understand their family’s values. You may have many questions about it and it’s normal to have these questions. And while there is not one perfect way to talk with your children about sexuality, there are many tools you can use to find what’s right for you and your family.There is many sites on the internet and books that can give you clear information that helps you better understand how to communicate with your children. Just remember that communication with your kids is a lot more helpful than keeping this kind of knowledge away from their minds.

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15. April 2009 by student.

Body Image

          Body image is the way you see yourself and imagine how you look. Having a positive body image means that, most of the time, you see yourself accurately, you feel comfortable in your body, and you feel good about the way you  look. It is common to struggle with body image, no matter who you are.  Severe negative body image can lead to serious eating and exercise disorders.We all have a body image. We all have feelings about the way we look. And we have ideas and feelings about how others think about our looks. Your overall body image can range from very positive to very negative. You may feel good about certain parts of your body or the way you look and not as good about others — that’s totally normal. Body image is also how you feel in your body — if you feel strong, able, attractive, and in control.Many of us struggle with body image. Sometimes it is difficult to understand all of the feelings we have about our bodies and ourselves. You may have questions about body image and whether the things you think and feel are normal.

There is a lot you can do to improve your body image, even without changing your body. Remember, body image is not about how you look, but how you feel about the way you look.

Some people choose to change the way they feel about their bodies. Many times, talking with a person you trust, such as a friend or family member, about the way you feel can help. Professional help from a therapist may also be useful. Talking about your negative feelings and developing new ways to think about your body and your self-worth is a good way to address a negative body image.

Think differently about your body. Pay attention to the times when you feel bad about your body. Did you just weigh yourself? Did you just read a magazine? Did you just talk to a friend or family member who is negative about her or his body?

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15. April 2009 by student.

The Rewards Of CollegeCollege life has a lot of rewards and is a great experience. Unfortunately,

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