Bibliography–BloomingMystery

Posted on May 5, 2020 by renee_white

1. Human Brain Development Does Not Stop At Adolescence: Research

https://www.news-medical.net/news/20110923/human-brain-development-does-not-stop-at-adolescence-research.aspx

Background: This source explains that the human brain does not stop developing at adolescence, but it instead keeps on developing well into our 20’s. Research conducted at  the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Alberta provides evidence that indeed confirms that fact. By using a type of imaging that examines brain wiring, researchers were able to see that in the white matter changes were still occurring, well into young adulthood. The changes were happening, for young adults, in the frontal lobe part of the brain.

How I Used It: This was one of the first sources that I found that educated me on how brain development does not stop by twenty-one like I originally thought. This is the article that peaked my interest and made me dive head first into this topic to build my argument on why alcohol four years before finished development is bad in the long run of things. I built my argument off of this single article, this is the one that made me sure of sticking to my topic. 

2. 3 Things That Happen To The Human Brain At 25

https://www.inverse.com/article/33753-brain-changes-health-25-quarter-life-crisis-neurology

Background: In a certain section of this source, the final part of brain development (which is the prefrontal cortex) is discussed. The author explains how at twenty-five, the risk management and long-term planning skills are starting to kick in at this point. Scientists have said that this part of the brain takes the longest to fully develop, and that by the age of twenty-five, the so-called “remodel” of the brain comes to its end after its beginning at the age of thirteen. 

How I Used It: This article, just like the one before, is another one that made me want to dive further down this side of the argument. This article opened my eyes to the prefrontal cortex and why it is important for adults, and I used this article to help strengthen my argument by using the prefrontal cortex knowledge to go farther with that when discussing my side. 

3. Prefrontal Cortex 

https://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/psychpedia/prefrontal-cortex

Background: This source delves deeper into the prefrontal cortex and what role it plays, how it develops, and the different parts of the prefrontal cortex. In terms of the role that the prefrontal cortex plays, it is a huge part of personality development, and like the previous source stated, this part of the brain deals with those complex emotions and behaviours. For how it develops, the brain does its development in a back to front order thus the prefrontal cortex is the last in line. For this development, experience plays a big role, so most neurologists can agree that by the time someone reaches twenty-five, the prefrontal cortex is fully developed. There are three different parts of the prefrontal cortex: the medial, the orbital, and the lateral. The medial cortex contributes to attention and motivation, and it can be simplified as a sort of start button. The orbital cortex controls impulses and ignores distractions, but it also helps keep strong emotions in check. The lateral cortex allows for plans to be created, organized in a certain sequence, and then be executed. It is safe to say that the prefrontal cortex is an important part of the human brain. 

How I Used It: This source was great in helping me build upon my knowledge of the prefrontal cortex and using that as a huge part of my entire argument, as my main focus. It offered valuable information about what this section of the brain does and explored more of its most known feature: the executive function. 

4. Effects of Alcohol on Brain: Damage and Treatment

Background: This source goes into both the short and long term effects of alcohol on the brain, and it also states the areas of the brain that are the most susceptible to being harmed by alcohol use. The prefrontal cortex is mentioned as one that changes personality and emotions drastically when damaged by alcohol and this is an important area of the brain, however another part controls an important part of the brain. The Hippocampus is in charge of memory creation and when this is messed with, it can be difficult for a person to create new memories. In terms of the short term effects of alcohol, blackouts are the most common and these have problems of their own with forgetting what happened while intoxicated, which can be very dangerous. The long term effects are more centered around worsened memory, thinking, and emotion control. Overall, both short and long term effects offer bad conclusions in their own way. 

How I Used It: This source added specifics into the effects of how alcohol affects the brain, these included short and long term effects, and this helped build my argument more by showcasing the damaging effects of using alcohol.  

5. How Does Alcohol Affect The Brain? (It’s Not Pretty)

Background: This source discusses specifics when it comes to alcoholism and the damaging effects that it can have on one’s brain and even the body as well. The main focus seems to be on alcoholism itself and how badly that affects those with that problem, but there are some effects around a sub-article that speak about certain parts of the brain, how alcohol affects those parts, and what outcomes can be expected for the long run.

How I Used It: This source helped me tie together the effects of alcohol, and while it was the last source I used on this portion of my paper, it did help me further understand how drastic the effects could really be. Even though this article mainly focused on alcoholism, which is something I never really mentioned in my paper, it did set up how drastic things could get over a long period of time of abuse.

6. Alcoholism and Brain Damage: Does Drinking Kill Brain Cells?

https://addictionresource.com/alcohol/effects/brain/

Background: This source is another one that focuses on the overall effect of alcohol on the brain, and how that in turn causes big problems for people in the future. This article branched on different circumstances, different effects and where they could then lead to, and how alcohol acts within a teenage brain. This source offered valuable information overall about how the brain works under the influence and how excessive consumption can cause irreversible damage to how the brain functions and develops, if said person is still under the age of twenty-five. 

How I Used It: I used this article to further strengthen my argument about the dangerous effects of alcohol use on the brain. While I had two other articles about the same thing, they all went into detail regarding different effects and had varying short term and long term effects when it came to alcohol, so it was useful to take information from all three. 

7. Should the Legal Drinking Age be Increased to 25

Background: This source discussed the issue around the drinking age and whether it should be raised to twenty-five or not. There were two sides introduced: the good of raising the age versus the bad of raising the age. The bad had more substance compared to the good, as raising the drinking age would just encourage young adults to drink in secret and basically smuggle drinks at that point. The good was based around brain development and how drinking stunts this process, but also how accidents are prevented with the rise in age.

How I Used It: I used this source more towards the rebuttal because it offered the opposing side of my argument, so I used their points from their why it would be bad section to build up strong arguments to tackle for my rebuttal essay and for that portion of my paper.

8. Why 21?

Background: This source discussed the reasons as to why the legal drinking age is twenty-one and not lowered or raised. There were also discussions surrounding what lowering the age would do and if parents can teach their teens to drink responsibly, but the main one I focused on was the reason as to why twenty-one is the perfect age for being able to drink. Many of the reasons for this being the acceptable age are the prevention of damage to the youth as well as there being less accidents if the age limit stays where it is now. 

How I Used It: I used this source for another article to build up the opposing side’s argument so I could efficiently tear them apart and use evidence against them to further build up my side of the argument. 

Posted in Bibliography | Leave a comment

Research–BloomingMystery

Posted on May 5, 2020 by renee_white

Raising the Legal Drinking Age

 The brain is the most complex organ in the body, research and tests always unveil something new regarding functionality, especially in terms of which parts of the brain control what. Development is an important factor of how the brain operates because if damage occurs here, functionality can be stunted or simply removed after a period of time depending on the level of damage. In more specific terms, the prefrontal cortex is involved in many functions that are important to a human being, especially one that is still growing and changing. It has been proven that when it comes to the brain developing, the prefrontal cortex is a crucial part of an adult’s life and should be given the time to develop properly without interference. So, this must raise the question: why is the prefrontal cortex so important when it comes to a person, but additionally, what role does this part of the brain have exactly?

The prefrontal cortex, as described by its name, lies at the front of the brain and overall, makes up about ten percent of the brain. In turn, this makes the prefrontal cortex involved in many functions throughout the brain, and these functions play a huge part in an adult’s life. However, the prefrontal cortex is best known for its executive functions as pointed out by Neuroscientifically Challenged in their article, “Know your brain: Prefrontal cortex.” The author goes on to explain what an executive function is: “In general, executive functions focus on controlling short-sighted, reflexive behaviors,” and these can include functions such as the ability for a person to make decisions, to plan, and to have self-control just to name a few. All in all, the prefrontal cortex offers logic and stops a person from behaving solely on impulse, it allows a person to act based on long-term goals instead of being rash which benefits greatly to an adult more so than to a teenager. Teenagers are not fully developed when compared to an adult as they are driven by desire rather than a goal they’d like to reach, whereas adults with a developed prefrontal cortex understand the logic behind acting with an end goal in mind. 

With the prefrontal cortex consisting of many different functions, it can be divided into three sections depending on functionality. The website Good Therapy introduces the three parts as follows: the medial prefrontal cortex, the orbital prefrontal cortex, and the lateral prefrontal cortex. The medial section contributes to attention and motivation, and if this part receives some damage or interference from an outside substance, such as alcohol, a person can lose all focus and have trouble trying to concentrate on things. The orbital section helps in controlling impulses while ignoring distractions, and it also helps to keep strong emotions in check as to follow social norms/ques. An interference on this part may cause a person to act out of character, getting too riled up, becoming extremely moody, or just showing signs that are out the norm which again can be caused by the consumption of alcohol. Finally, the lateral section allows a person to not only create a plan, but to then execute it. This section is also important for following a specific sequence and when this part of the prefrontal cortex is interfered with, a person stops being able to properly follow step-by-step instructions and the process of making a plan and following through with such is thrown out the window. These sections are especially affected with the use of alcohol like previously mentioned, and although nothing is fully damaged or taken away, if something as dangerous as alcohol is used consistently enough, it can cause irreversible damage to the brain, especially to the prefrontal cortex. 

When it comes down to it, the prefrontal cortex is of course the last to fully develop as the brain develops in a back to front motion. This can explain why teenagers have mood swings and have trouble controlling such strong emotions, their prefrontal cortex isn’t fully done developing so their impulses aren’t being held back just yet. On the contrary, young adults start to behave more maturely: acting on logic rather than desires, thinking of future plans and then dictating their actions based around said plan, and understanding how to maintain self-control in terms of emotions and actions. Additionally, a website dedicated to medical and life sciences has an article titled, “ Human brain development does not stop at adolescence: Research” which provides further evidence that the brain does not come to a stop development wise until a person reaches their mid-twenties, around the age of twenty-five to be more specific. The author of this article also mentioned why the brain may not be fully developed until the mid-twenties: “this may be due to a plethora of life experiences in young adulthood such as pursuing post-secondary education, starting a career, independence and developing new social and family relationships.” When looking at this, it is clear that brain development also relies on the person themselves and what life experiences they go through, which may also explain why others mature faster compared to their peers. Every brain is different and every brain develops at a different speed, yet there is evidence and research that goes to show that relatively, brains don’t stop development until about age twenty-five, so one can conclude that max maturity, brain wise, can be chalked up to the mid-twenties.  

Alcohol is a dangerous substance that continuously flies under society’s radar. When compared to other substances like drugs or vaping, alcohol rarely gets discussed in terms of the irreversible damage that it can have on the human brain. The brain and its functionality are a key factor to a person living up to their full potential and becoming a useful member to the society around them, however when alcohol comes into the mix at an age where the brain is not yet fully developed, this hinders a person’s ability to be at their absolute best. Some may disagree with this and express that raising the legal limit by only a few years would do nothing in terms of helping brain functionality. The argument presented here is that since the brain finishes developing at twenty-five, why is the legal drinking age set at twenty-one?

We can start this discussion off by looking deeper into alcohol and its effects on the brain. The brain in general is a delicate part of the body and is quite vulnerable to injury, but when it comes to alcohol consumption, the level of damage that the brain may take varies person to person depending on a multitude of factors that could be at play such as how much alcohol is consumed, and how often said alcohol is consumed. No matter what the answers are to the previously mentioned factors, those under twenty-five who consume alcohol will cause quite a bit of damage to their prefrontal cortex because this section of the brain is not yet developed. The website Alcorehab further supports this notion by explaining that the effects of alcohol “cause this region to shrink and reduce in mass while lowering the number of neurons within the prefrontal cortex.” All in all, research has shown that even drinking occasionally before the brain has time to fully develop can cause irreversible damage to an area that is involved in a lot of the overall functionality of the brain.

Even those who rarely consume alcohol can cause a considerable amount of damage to their brain. On the website Alcorehab, they explain the most common short-term effect that alcohol has on the brain: blackouts. Now, there are two types of blackouts that drinkers can experience, partial and complete. Simply put, partial blackouts come from small intakes of alcohol and include forgetting basic information like someone’s name or where they may be at that time. On the other hand, complete blackouts cause an impairment of someone’s memory that makes said person forget everything that had taken place the previous night, and they usually need help from others to tell them what had occurred before.While these blackouts are short-term effects of alcohol use and are relatively innocent, the long-term effects on a person’s brain are irreversible, and unlike blackouts, these effects are not temporary. 

The long-term effects of consuming alcohol can be terrifying as excessive consumption can severely damage the brain. On the website Addiction Resource, the author discusses the topic of brain shrinkage, and like previously mentioned, any sort of loss in terms of mass can lead to irreversible damage and changes to the brain overall, especially to the prefrontal cortex as it is still developing. Changes can include but are not limited to: “learning difficulties, memory disruption, unstable mood, unstable sleep patterns, unusual fluctuations in body temperature, and a declining ability to control muscle movement.” These issues relate more so to the prefrontal cortex because this section of the brain helps to regulate emotions, memory, and usually is related to the logical part of thinking, and based on the previous changes mentioned, the learning difficulties connect to the logical part, the unstable mood connects to the emotional part, and the disruption of memory of course connects to the memory portion of the prefrontal cortex. Now of course these issues occur over time with the use of alcohol, however they remain a serious threat to twenty-one year olds as they drink when their brain is still coming into itself, and this may cause stunted development or parts just not developing to their absolute best as compared to if the law was changed to make them wait until everything had developed properly. 

The brain is fragile and the core of a person, controlling things ranging from emotions to movements to everything in between, and even if someone experiences those short-term effects rather than the long-term, they can still have devastating results later on. Blacking out time and time again, even if for short periods of time, can still cause memory damage later on down the line. All in all, regardless of whether someone is affected by the short-term or long-term effects that come with alcohol use, it still messes with the overall functionality and does not allow their brain to achieve maximum efficiency. 

In the world, there are people who come into power and have the ability to pass or change up certain laws pertaining to our society. In the United States, we have laws and regulations designed to keep us safe and are there to benefit society as a whole, but are these laws/regulations always right? Of course not, those in charge can be wrong, the society around us can be wrong, and one of these laws that is wrong right now is the drinking age being set at twenty-one. Now, those that are for the drinking age being twenty-one may bring up the fact that being twenty-one makes you responsible, and having the set age where it is now prevents any harm that may be caused if the age was lowered like some other countries out there. While these statements have good reasoning behind them, thinking about them realistically and with science in mind, these statements made by the opposing side are incorrect. The prefrontal cortex is the most important part of the brain as this section stores memory, experience, emotions, and other functions that are still being figured out to this day. With this part of the brain being so important to who we are as people, wouldn’t it be only natural to want to protect the development of such a core element when it comes to human beings?

The opposing side sees twenty-one as being a better fit because people at this age are, in society’s eyes, more mature. This is due to the fact that twenty-one-year-olds hold a job, they can drive and own their own car, they go to college, can serve in the military, and are even able to marry. While this may seem like a solid point, all of these things are able to be accomplished also by eighteen-year-olds, who are still at an age where they are immature for the most part and still trying to get a grasp on the real world. Why is it so special for a twenty-one-year-old to have all these things when an eighteen-year-old can obtain them just as easily? Being able to do these things alone does not make anyone mature in the slightest, rather what really makes someone mature is the ability to not act on desire alone or get things simply because they can, but to be able to think logically and create a plan to achieve the goals that they want in life. Basing maturity on the general age of twenty-one is irrational because once this age is reached that does not mean that the person automatically gains maturity as well, that comes with experience and with having those sections of the brain that regulate logic and planning fully developed. On the website Inverse, there is an article titled “3 Life-Changing Things That Happen To The Human Brain At 25,” and the author of said article mentions that “by quarter-life, most of us have figured out how to control our impulses, plan and prioritize well, and organize our lives in a way that gets us to our end goals.” This further supports the notion that twenty-one does not make someone mature, it is the experiences that happen with growing up and by the age of twenty-five, most people have come to a point where they have matured completely, brain-wise and personality-wise. Just like the author pointed out, twenty-five-year-olds, for the most part, have their life together and start acting on logic rather than impulse.  

Additionally, the opposing side sees the drinking age at twenty-one as beneficial to the brain compared to places where the drinking age is lowered, usually at eighteen. Once again, while this does prevent harm for those under the legal age, what about the last four years that contribute to brain development? Is it acceptable to simply ignore four important years of development to the core of a human? Let’s compare the brain to a computer for a moment. Now, no one would expect a computer to fully function with some of its pieces missing, there would be an error somewhere along the way. The brain is the same way, it cannot function to the best of its ability if development is cut short by the interference of alcohol four years too early. To recap, drinking alcohol can impair one’s judgment, long and short term memory, and it makes impulse control virtually nonexistent. All these effects put a strain on your prefrontal cortex and can affect this part of your brain long term if alcohol is abused. As to why raising the drinking age to twenty-five is so important, it’s that it gives a person, while growing, the ability to have experiences and to have logical thinking implanted before alcohol is introduced.

When the brain is hindered while still growing and implementing those important pieces for an adult to have, this can cause irreversible changes to the way a person thinks and how they act. Once your brain is damaged and development stops, there is no way for the brain to repair any of this or for it to go back and finish developing, even if alcohol use stops before things can get worse. Having every part of the body mature is vital for human functionality, and since the brain develops in the back to front motion, the prefrontal cortex, one of the most important parts of the brain, is the last one to reach full development. This has been proven as fact by extensive research from doctors and scientists alike, and the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Alberta is one of many places to come forth with findings that show that brain development does not stop until the mid-twenties. Even if society has dubbed twenty-one as the right age to be able to drink, this does not mean it shouldn’t or couldn’t be changed. Our society is ever changing and will never be the same when compared back to later years, even as week by week passes, new things happen and change seemingly by the minute. People also constantly change their viewpoints and reasoning just as much as the society built around us does. When it comes to the prefrontal cortex and brain development, however, these are set in stone facts that have been backed up by extensive research, not some opinion that can change later on down the line. Overall, the brain should be given as much time as needed in order to develop fully and ensure that an individual has everything set in order to go about their lives with maximum efficiency. 

References:

2011, Sep 23. “Human Brain Development Does Not Stop at Adolescence: Research.” News, 19 June 2019, https://www.news-medical.net/news/20110923/human-brain-development-does-not-stop-at-adolescence-research.aspx

Cummins, Eleanor. “3 Things That Happen to the Human Brain at 25.” Inverse, Inverse, 6 July 2017, http://www.inverse.com/article/33753-brain-changes-health-25-quarter-life-crisis-neurology.

Neurosci. “Know Your Brain: Prefrontal Cortex.” Neuroscientifically Challenged, Neuroscientifically Challenged, 18 May 2014, http://www.neuroscientificallychallenged.com/blog/2014/5/16/know-your-brain-prefrontal-cortex.

“Prefrontal Cortex.” GoodTherapy.org Therapy Blog, 4 Sept. 2019, http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/psychpedia/prefrontal-cortex.

Manarang-Obsioma, Marixie Ann. “Long- and Short-Term Effects of Alcohol on Brain: Damage Symptoms.” AlcoRehab.org, AlcoRehab, 7 Aug. 2019, alcorehab.org/the-effects-of-alcohol/brain/.

“Long and Short-Term Effects of Alcoholism on the Brain.” Addiction Resource, 9 Mar. 2018, addictionresource.com/alcohol/effects/brain/.

Keck, Rachel. “How Does Alcohol Affect the Brain? (It’s Not Pretty).” Dr. Axe, 21 Feb. 2019, draxe.com/health/how-does-alcohol-affect-the-brain/.

Posted in Research Position Paper | Leave a comment

Rebuttal–BloomingMystery

Posted on May 5, 2020 by renee_white

Raising The Legal Drinking Age

In the world, there are people who come into power and have the ability to pass or change up certain laws pertaining to our society. In the United States, we have laws and regulations designed to keep us safe and are there to benefit society as a whole, but are these laws/regulations always right? Of course not, those in charge can be wrong, the society around us can be wrong, and one of these laws that is wrong right now is the drinking age being set at twenty-one. Now, those that are for the drinking age being twenty-one may bring up the fact that being twenty-one makes you responsible, and having the set age where it is now prevents any harm that may be caused if the age was lowered like some other countries out there. While these statements have good reasoning behind them, thinking about them realistically and with science in mind, these statements made by the opposing side are incorrect. The prefrontal cortex is the most important part of the brain as this section stores memory, experience, emotions, and other functions that are still being figured out to this day. With this part of the brain being so important to who we are as people, wouldn’t it be only natural to want to protect the development of such a core element when it comes to human beings?

The opposing side sees twenty-one as being a better fit because people at this age are, in society’s eyes, more mature. This is due to the fact that twenty-one-year-olds hold a job, they can drive and own their own car, they go to college, can serve in the military, and are even able to marry. While this may seem like a solid point, all of these things are able to be accomplished also by eighteen-year-olds, who are still at an age where they are immature for the most part and still trying to get a grasp on the real world. Why is it so special for a twenty-one-year-old to have all these things when an eighteen-year-old can obtain them just as easily? Being able to do these things alone does not make anyone mature in the slightest, rather what really makes someone mature is the ability to not act on desire alone or get things simply because they can, but to be able to think logically and create a plan to achieve the goals that they want in life. Basing maturity on the general age of twenty-one is irrational because once this age is reached that does not mean that the person automatically gains maturity as well, that comes with experience and with having those sections of the brain that regulate logic and planning fully developed. On the website Inverse, there is an article titled “3 Life-Changing Things That Happen To The Human Brain At 25,” and the author of said article mentions that “by quarter-life, most of us have figured out how to control our impulses, plan and prioritize well, and organize our lives in a way that gets us to our end goals.” This further supports the notion that twenty-one does not make someone mature, it is the experiences that happen with growing up and by the age of twenty-five, most people have come to a point where they have matured completely, brain-wise and personality-wise. Just like the author pointed out, twenty-five-year-olds, for the most part, have their life together and start acting on logic rather than impulse.  

Additionally, the opposing side sees the drinking age at twenty-one as beneficial to the brain compared to places where the drinking age is lowered, usually at eighteen. Once again, while this does prevent harm for those under the legal age, what about the last four years that contribute to brain development? Is it acceptable to simply ignore four important years of development to the core of a human? Let’s compare the brain to a computer for a moment. Now, no one would expect a computer to fully function with some of its pieces missing, there would be an error somewhere along the way. The brain is the same way, it cannot function to the best of its ability if development is cut short by the interference of alcohol four years too early. To recap, drinking alcohol can impair one’s judgment, long and short term memory, and it makes impulse control virtually nonexistent. All these effects put a strain on your prefrontal cortex and can affect this part of your brain long term if alcohol is abused. As to why raising the drinking age to twenty-five is so important, it’s that it gives a person, while growing, the ability to have experiences and to have logical thinking implanted before alcohol is introduced.

When the brain is hindered while still growing and implementing those important pieces for an adult to have, this can cause irreversible changes to the way a person thinks and how they act. Once your brain is damaged and development stops, there is no way for the brain to repair any of this or for it to go back and finish developing, even if alcohol use stops before things can get worse. Having every part of the body mature is vital for human functionality, and since the brain develops in the back to front motion, the prefrontal cortex, one of the most important parts of the brain, is the last one to reach full development. This has been proven as fact by extensive research from doctors and scientists alike, and the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Alberta is one of many places to come forth with findings that show that brain development does not stop until the mid-twenties. Even if society has dubbed twenty-one as the right age to be able to drink, this does not mean it shouldn’t or couldn’t be changed. Our society is ever changing and will never be the same when compared back to later years, even as week by week passes, new things happen and change seemingly by the minute. People also constantly change their viewpoints and reasoning just as much as the society built around us does. When it comes to the prefrontal cortex and brain development, however, these are set in stone facts that have been backed up by extensive research, not some opinion that can change later on down the line. Overall, the brain should be given as much time as needed in order to develop fully and ensure that an individual has everything set in order to go about their lives with maximum efficiency. 

References:

“Prefrontal Cortex.” GoodTherapy.org Therapy Blog, 4 Sept. 2019, www.goodtherapy.org/blog/psychpedia/prefrontal-cortex. 

“Long and Short-Term Effects of Alcoholism on the Brain.” Addiction Resource, 9 Mar. 2018, https://addictionresource.com/alcohol/effects/brain/

2011, Sep 23. “Human Brain Development Does Not Stop at Adolescence: Research.” News, 19 June 2019, www.news-medical.net/news/20110923/human-brain-development-does-not-stop-at-adolescence-research.aspx.

Cummins, Eleanor. “3 Things That Happen to the Human Brain at 25.” Inverse, Inverse, 6 July 2017, www.inverse.com/article/33753-brain-changes-health-25-quarter-life-crisis-neurology.

Posted in Rebuttal Draft | Leave a comment

Causal Rewrite–BloomingMystery

Posted on May 5, 2020 by renee_white

Raising the Legal Drinking Age Creates More Efficient People

Alcohol is a dangerous substance that continuously flies under society’s radar. When compared to other substances like drugs or vaping, alcohol rarely gets discussed in terms of the irreversible damage that it can have on the human brain. The brain and its functionality are a key factor to a person living up to their full potential and becoming a useful member to the society around them, however when alcohol comes into the mix at an age where the brain is not yet fully developed, this hinders a person’s ability to be at their absolute best. Some may disagree with this and express that raising the legal limit by only a few years would do nothing in terms of helping brain functionality. The argument presented here is that since the brain finishes developing at twenty-five, why is the legal drinking age set at twenty-one?

We can start this discussion off by looking deeper into alcohol and its effects on the brain. The brain in general is a delicate part of the body and is quite vulnerable to injury, but when it comes to alcohol consumption, the level of damage that the brain may take varies person to person depending on a multitude of factors that could be at play such as how much alcohol is consumed, and how often said alcohol is consumed. No matter what the answers are to the previously mentioned factors, those under twenty-five who consume alcohol will cause quite a bit of damage to their prefrontal cortex because this section of the brain is not yet developed. The website Alcorehab further supports this notion by explaining that the effects of alcohol “cause this region to shrink and reduce in mass while lowering the number of neurons within the prefrontal cortex.” All in all, research has shown that even drinking occasionally before the brain has time to fully develop can cause irreversible damage to an area that is involved in a lot of the overall functionality of the brain.

Even those who rarely consume alcohol can cause a considerable amount of damage to their brain. On the website Alcorehab, they explain the most common short-term effect that alcohol has on the brain: blackouts. Now, there are two types of blackouts that drinkers can experience, partial and complete. Simply put, partial blackouts come from small intakes of alcohol and include forgetting basic information like someone’s name or where they may be at that time. On the other hand, complete blackouts cause an impairment of someone’s memory that makes said person forget everything that had taken place the previous night, and they usually need help from others to tell them what had occurred before. While these blackouts are short-term effects of alcohol use and are relatively innocent, the long-term effects on a person’s brain are irreversible, and unlike blackouts, these effects are not temporary. 

The long-term effects of consuming alcohol can be terrifying as excessive consumption can severely damage the brain. On the website Addiction Resource, the author discusses the topic of brain shrinkage, and like previously mentioned, any sort of loss in terms of mass can lead to irreversible damage and changes to the brain overall, especially to the prefrontal cortex as it is still developing. Changes can include but are not limited to: “learning difficulties, memory disruption, unstable mood, unstable sleep patterns, unusual fluctuations in body temperature, and a declining ability to control muscle movement.” These issues relate more so to the prefrontal cortex because this section of the brain helps to regulate emotions, memory, and usually is related to the logical part of thinking, and based on the previous changes mentioned, the learning difficulties connect to the logical part, the unstable mood connects to the emotional part, and the disruption of memory of course connects to the memory portion of the prefrontal cortex. Now of course these issues occur over time with the use of alcohol, however they remain a serious threat to twenty-one year old’s as they drink when their brain is still coming into itself, and this may cause stunted development or parts just not developing to their absolute best as compared to if the law was changed to make them wait until everything had developed properly. 

The brain is fragile and the core of a person, controlling things ranging from emotions to movements to everything in between, and even if someone experiences those short-term effects rather than the long-term, they can still have devastating results later on. Blacking out time and time again, even if for short periods of time, can still cause memory damage later on down the line. All in all, regardless of whether someone is affected by the short-term or long-term effects that come with alcohol use, it still messes with the overall functionality and does not allow their brain to achieve maximum efficiency. 

References:

Manarang-Obsioma, Marixie Ann. “Long- and Short-Term Effects of Alcohol on Brain: Damage Symptoms.” AlcoRehab.org, AlcoRehab, 7 Aug. 2019, https://alcorehab.org/the-effects-of-alcohol/brain/

“Long and Short-Term Effects of Alcoholism on the Brain.” Addiction Resource, 9 Mar. 2018, https://addictionresource.com/alcohol/effects/brain/

Keck, Rachel. “How Does Alcohol Affect the Brain? (It’s Not Pretty).” Dr. Axe, 21 Feb. 2019, https://draxe.com/health/how-does-alcohol-affect-the-brain/

Posted in Causal Rewrite | Leave a comment

Causal–BloomingMystery

Posted on May 5, 2020 by renee_white

Raising The Legal Drinking Age Creates More Efficient People

Alcohol is a dangerous substance that flies under society’s radar. Compared to other abuses such as drugs or vaping/smoking, alcohol is rarely discussed in terms of its irreversible impacts on the human brain. The brain and its functionality are a key factor to a person living up to their full potential and becoming a useful member to the society around them, however when alcohol comes into the mix at an age where the brain is not yet fully developed, this hinders a person’s ability to be at their absolute best. Some may disagree and express that raising the legal age by a few years would do nothing in terms of functionality. The argument presented here is that since the brain finishes developing at twenty-five, why is the legal drinking age twenty-one?

We can start this discussion off by looking deeper into alcohol and its effects on the brain. The brain in general is a delicate part of the body and is quite vulnerable to injury, but when it comes to alcohol consumption, the level of damage that the brain may take varies person to person depending on a multitude of factors that could be at play. Specifically, the prefrontal cortex would take a sizable hit no matter the person because of the sole fact that at twenty-one this portion of the brain is not done developing. The website Alcorehab explains that, “Effects of alcoholism cause this region to shrink and reduce in mass while lowering the number of neurons within the prefrontal cortex.” In turn, this causes a drastic change when it comes to personality and emotions, which can easily be seen in how a drunk person acts and how they present themselves when under the influence. Now, this is an extreme case as it relates to those who abuse alcohol on a daily basis, but even just consuming alcohol every once in a while can have lasting impacts on the brain. 

Occasional drinkers share a common effect from the use of alcohol: blackouts. On the website Alcorehab, they list two types of blackouts: partial and complete. Partial blackouts are simple, they come from small intakes of alcohol, and it usually means forgetting names or other basic pieces of information. On the other hand, complete blackouts are an impairment of the memory that makes the person forget everything that happened the previous night, and they usually need someone else to tell them what had taken place. These blackouts are short-term effects when it comes to alcohol use and they are relatively innocent, however the long-term effects on a person’s brain are irreversible, and unlike those blackouts, these are not temporary. 

The long-term effects of consuming alcohol can be terrifying as excessive consumption can severely damage the brain. On the website Addiction Resource, the author discusses the topic of brain shrinkage and like previously mentioned, any sort of loss in terms of mass can lead to drastic changes. These drastic changes can include but are not limited to: “learning difficulties, memory disruption, unstable mood, unstable sleep patterns, unusual fluctuations in body temperature, and a declining ability to control muscle movement.” Now, these issues occur over time and are due to the use of alcohol over the course of years and years, however they still remain a huge threat in terms of the brain and how that affects a person overall. 

The brain is fragile and is the core of a person, controlling things ranging from emotions to movements to everything in between, and even if someone experiences those short-term effects rather than the long-term, those still can have devastating impacts later on. Blacking out time and time again, even if for a short period of time, can still cause memory damage later on. All in all, regardless of whether someone is affected by the short-term or long-term effects that come with alcohol use, it still messes with the overall functionality and doesn’t allow their brain to achieve maximum efficiency. 

References:

Manarang-Obsioma, Marixie Ann. “Long- and Short-Term Effects of Alcohol on Brain: Damage Symptoms.” AlcoRehab.org, AlcoRehab, 7 Aug. 2019, https://alcorehab.org/the-effects-of-alcohol/brain/

“Long and Short-Term Effects of Alcoholism on the Brain.” Addiction Resource, 9 Mar. 2018, https://addictionresource.com/alcohol/effects/brain/

Keck, Rachel. “How Does Alcohol Affect the Brain? (It’s Not Pretty).” Dr. Axe, 21 Feb. 2019, https://draxe.com/health/how-does-alcohol-affect-the-brain/

Posted in Causal Draft | Leave a comment

Definition–BloomingMystery

Posted on May 4, 2020 by renee_white

The Prefrontal Cortex and Brain Development

 The brain is the most complex organ in the body, research and tests always unveil something new regarding functionality, especially in terms of which parts of the brain control what. Development is an important factor of how the brain operates because if damage occurs here, functionality can be stunted or simply removed after a period of time depending on the level of damage. In more specific terms, the prefrontal cortex is involved in many functions that are important to a human being, especially one that is still growing and changing. It has been proven that when it comes to the brain developing, the prefrontal cortex is a crucial part of an adult’s life and should be given the time to develop properly without interference. So, this must raise the question: why is the prefrontal cortex so important when it comes to a person, but additionally, what role does this part of the brain have exactly?

The prefrontal cortex, as described by its name, lies at the front of the brain and overall, makes up about ten percent of the brain. In turn, this makes the prefrontal cortex involved in many functions throughout the brain, and these functions play a huge part in an adult’s life. However, the prefrontal cortex is best known for its executive functions as pointed out by Neuroscientifically Challenged in their article, “Know your brain: Prefrontal cortex.” The author goes on to explain what an executive function is: “In general, executive functions focus on controlling short-sighted, reflexive behaviors,” and these can include functions such as the ability for a person to make decisions, to plan, and to have self-control just to name a few. All in all, the prefrontal cortex offers logic and prohibits a person from behaving solely on impulse, it allows a person to act based on long-term goals instead of being rash which benefits greatly to an adult more so than to a teenager. Teenagers are not fully developed when compared to an adult as they are driven by desire rather than a goal they’d like to reach, whereas adults with a developed prefrontal cortex understand the logic behind acting with an end goal in mind. 

With the prefrontal cortex consisting of many different functions, it can be divided into three sections depending on functionality. The website Good Therapy introduces the three parts as follows: the medial prefrontal cortex, the orbital prefrontal cortex, and the lateral prefrontal cortex. The medial section contributes to attention and motivation, and if this part receives some damage or interference from an outside substance, such as alcohol, a person can lose all focus and have trouble trying to concentrate on things. The orbital section helps in controlling impulses while ignoring distractions, and it also helps to keep strong emotions in check as to follow social norms/ques. An interference on this part may cause a person to act out of character, getting too riled up, becoming extremely moody, or just showing signs that are out the norm which again can be caused by the consumption of alcohol. Finally, the lateral section allows a person to not only create a plan, but to then execute it. This section is also important for following a specific sequence and when this part of the prefrontal cortex is interfered with, a person stops being able to properly follow step-by-step instructions and the process of making a plan and following through with such is thrown out the window. These sections are especially affected with the use of alcohol like previously mentioned, and although nothing is fully damaged or taken away, if something as dangerous as alcohol is used consistently enough, it can cause irreversible damage to the brain, especially to the prefrontal cortex. 

When it comes down to it, the prefrontal cortex is of course the last to fully develop as the brain develops in a back to front motion. This can explain why teenagers have mood swings and have trouble controlling such strong emotions, their prefrontal cortex hasn’t fully developed yet, so their impulses aren’t being held back just yet. On the contrary, young adults start to behave more maturely: acting on logic rather than desires, thinking of future plans and then dictating their actions based around said plan, and understanding how to maintain self-control in terms of emotions and actions. Additionally, a website dedicated to medical and life sciences has an article titled, “ Human brain development does not stop at adolescence: Research” which provides further evidence that the brain does not come to a stop development wise until a person reaches their mid-twenties, around the age of twenty-five to be more specific. The author of this article also mentioned why the brain may not be fully developed until the mid-twenties: “this may be due to a plethora of life experiences in young adulthood such as pursuing post-secondary education, starting a career, independence and developing new social and family relationships.” When looking at this, it is clear that brain development also relies on the person themselves and what life experiences they go through, which may also explain why others mature faster compared to their peers. Every brain is different and every brain develops at a different speed, yet there is evidence and research that goes to show that relatively, brains don’t stop development until about age twenty-five, so one can conclude that max maturity, brain wise, can be chalked up to the mid-twenties.  

References:

2011, Sep 23. “Human Brain Development Does Not Stop at Adolescence: Research.” News, 19 June 2019, www.news-medical.net/news/20110923/human-brain-development-does-not-stop-at-adolescence-research.aspx.

Neurosci. “Know Your Brain: Prefrontal Cortex.” Neuroscientifically Challenged, Neuroscientifically Challenged, 18 May 2014, www.neuroscientificallychallenged.com/blog/2014/5/16/know-your-brain-prefrontal-cortex.

“Prefrontal Cortex.” GoodTherapy.org Therapy Blog, 4 Sept. 2019, www.goodtherapy.org/blog/psychpedia/prefrontal-cortex.

Posted in Definition Argument | Leave a comment

Bibliography- StripedSweater

Posted on May 4, 2020 by stripedsweater21

Proposal +5

Source 1: High School Depression and Suicide Prevention Program

https://shapeamerica.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/19325037.2002.10604730?needAccess=true

Background: This source talks about a mental health course that was implemented in high school with the goal of raising awareness of teenage depression and provide resource information for those who are feeling depressed or suicidal. After the study, results have shown that not only students who are struggling have found help, but even those who don’t have depression have been able to pick up on signs from their peers who may be silently struggling, and have helped them.

How I intend to use it: I will use this source as evidence to strengthen my argument that raising awareness about mental illnesses and providing healthy coping methods could help, whether coping methods include seeing professional help or other ways of coping, which I will further continue my research.

Source 2: Mental Health Programs in schools

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12310-010-9038-1

Background: This source explains a school-based intervention to reduce depression and PTSD for young children who have been exposed to traumatic events. The study explores factors that influence the implementation of a specific evidence-based practice in schools, more specifically, the Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools (CBITS). This study demonstrates that these evidence-based practice do help students with dealing with depression and trauma, but only more likely when previously exposed to these practices.

How I intend to use it: This source stresses the importance of dealing with depression and trauma; although trauma itself isn’t mentioned in my hypothesis, it could definitely be related to my research. I plan to use the information found to either support the idea that addressing mental health could benefit students or not, or maybe that this study specifically could or could not work for the outcome of my research.

Source 3: Addressing Students’ Social and Emotional Needshttps://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=1&sid=737dd111-bb98-4e11-8a1a-7f7ea20603d9%40sessionmgr4008

Background: This source talks about schools that have recognized the importance for mental health and personal needs for students; not just teaching material but also providing strategies for effectively dealing with highly stressful situations. Multiple studies have been conducted and the results have shown positive outcomes for managing stress for the students.

How I intend to use it: The studies could present useful information for determining the effectiveness for these mental health efforts. The results have shown that addressing mental health yields positive results, but I will analyze this source for how effective it really is.

Source 4: Evolving Roles for School Nurses

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1942602X09353915

Background: This source argues that aside from teaching academic sources, which is required by the NCLB, that mental health services are equally important for the student body. This article also addresses issues for districts without these services, such as the budget not being able to cover the cost of hiring professionals. However, with the students in luck, solutions are available. This source dives into the importance of mental health of students as they grow.

How I intend to use it: This source seems to support my hypothesis with the explanation of how important mental health is for students. I believe that this source could strengthen my argument that making mental health aware in school and providing help could greatly benefit the students.

Source 5: Mental Health and System Restructuring

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272735898000713

Background: This source talks about mental health awareness in a different light in terms of schools. The source explains that a school’s mandate is to educate; they are not in the health business. This may be somewhat of an explanation for why not every school has a program or effective way for mental care. This article continues to explain that too few schools have enough mental care resources for all the students. This can be understandable to an extent: for a large student body, resources need to increase in quantity while not decreasing in quality.

How I intend to use it: This source made me look at mental health awareness in schools in another way. A school’s goal is to educate students and to help them realize their dreams in terms of a profession. It is not to provide mental care, that is why professional therapy exists. However, after addressing the mandate of school and the benefits of bringing mental care into school through studies and experiments, I intend to question the idea of mental care into an educational course; not only in a way of recognizing that our emotional well being matters but also to educate on what to do if one’s emotional state is not as it should be.

Bibliography:

Source 1: High School Depression and Suicide Prevention Program

Moilanen, D., & Bradbury, S. (2002). A High School Depression and Suicide Prevention Program. American Journal of Health Education, 33(3), 148–153.

Background: This source talks about a mental health course that was implemented in high school with the goal of raising awareness of teenage depression and provide resource information for those who are feeling depressed or suicidal. After the study, results have shown that not only students who are struggling have found help, but even those who don’t have depression have been able to pick up on signs from their peers who may be silently struggling, and have helped them.

How I Used It: I used this source to support my hypothesis that implementing a program with a mandatory course and professional help nearby is beneficial to students with an unexpected finding: that students may also contribute to detecting warning signals of depression, not just authority figures. This “broadens the horizon” in terms of helping detect warning signals.

Source 2: Depression Symptoms and Warning Signs

“Depression Symptoms and Warning Signs.” HelpGuide.org, 15 Apr. 2020.

Background: Provides a list of warning signs of depression. This list provided was intended for self-analysis; yet behavior, moods and expressions can be observed by others. The author states that anger and agitation are noticeable symptoms of depression, not sadness. This may be inaccurate to a degree, yet it provides valuable information.

How I Used It: I used this article to partially outline what it means when searching for a warning signal. This source provided evidence that anger and agitation are common symptoms of depression in teenagers, which is a symptom many wouldn’t expect, rather, they would expect to see sadness. Referring to sources that define warning signs is essential to not misjudge one’s behavior for a sign of depression.

Source 3: Teens & Depression: Recognizing Red Flags

Teens & Depression: Recognizing Red Flags. (1999). National Women’s Health Report, 21(2), 5.

Background: This source provides another list of warning signs of depression. This includes more than a list; it emphasizes the need to be prepared to detect warning signs, such as an example of approaching one’s child who may be struggling.

How I Used It: The article mentioned a warning signal that was mentioned in “Depression Symptoms and Warning Signs”: loss in interest in daily activities. However, this article went into more detail, saying how parents should be on the lookout for their child limiting their activities or performance. This strengthens my argument because it gives a realistic image of what a “loss of interest in daily activities” may look like.

Source 4: Why Don’t We Treat Mental Illness like We Do Physical Illness?

Team, Choices Psychotherapy. “Why Don’t We Treat Mental Illness like We Do Physical Illness?” Choices Psychotherapy, 19 Nov. 2019.

Background: This article talks about a negative stigma associated with depression: people with this mental illness are viewed as lazy and lacking willpower; it discourages people from acknowledging the possibility that they may have depression. This denial could lead to a much worse mental condition. However, the source mentions that despite the negative stigma, mental health should be taken care of with similar protocols and care as physical health.

How I Used It: I used this article in my Definition and Rebuttal Argument, as the source contributed to the discussion of both arguments. I emphasized the author’s description of the negative stigma and proposed that educating people on how to detect warning signs as well as how to respond to them will cause the negative stigma to disappear. I used this again in my Rebuttal argument, as the author mentioned that to another person, a depressed person can look normal. However, the purpose of teaching the detection of warning signs is to differentiate people who “look normal” to those who may actually be normal. In other words, teaching what a warning signal looks like may change how “normal” a person may look.

Source 5: Genetics and Genomics of Depression

Hamet, P., & Tremblay, J. (2005). Genetics and genomics of depression. Metabolism, 54(5), 10–15.

Background: This article brings to light a risk factor that has not been considered in this research yet. Although environmental factors may cause depression, scientists found a link between depression and genetics. This doesn’t refute the hypothesis, instead the hypothesis is challenged. Perhaps depression can’t be a fully preventable illness, but “lowering the rate of depression” is pretty much preventing it in those who would have had the illness.

How I Used It: As mentioned above, this doesn’t necessarily refute my hypothesis. It makes it a harder challenge to overcome, which further emphasizes the need to recognize and respond to warning signs as soon as possible. This is used in my Rebuttal Argument, supporting the claim that supports my hypothesis through the counterpoint- that approaching students who show warning signs of depression can be seen as invasion of privacy.

Source 6: MindMatters, a Whole-School Approach Promoting Mental Health and Well Being

Wyn, J., Cahill, H., Holdsworth, R., Rowling, L., & Carson, S. (2000). MindMatters, a Whole-School Approach Promoting Mental Health and Wellbeing. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 34(4), 594–601. doi: 10.1080/j.1440-1614.2000.00748.x

Background: Similarly to a few other sources in this list, this source mentions that before applications to detecting warning signs, students must feel that they are in a safe and trusted community. The authors point out that the school environment must be positive in order to maximize the chances of an effective effort to reduce symptoms of depression.

How I Used It: I used this source to support my rebuttal argument that creating a welcoming school environment is essential for preventing depression. As an ethical issue counters my hypothesis(approaching students may be invasion of privacy), a positive school community will replace the intrusive behavior with a caring and concerned behavior.

Source 7: Teachers as Builders of Respectful School Climates

LaRusso, M., Romer, D., & Selman, R. (2008). Teachers as Builders of Respectful School Climates: Implications for Adolescent Drug Use Norms and Depressive Symptoms in High School. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 37(4), 386–398.

Background: This source is similar to the previous source, saying that not only building a positive environment, but also to build a level of respect and trust between the student and teacher. This would further reinforce the tendency to rely on authority figures and avoid the ethical controversy. Ultimately, a respectful relationship in a community is the foundation of helping someone who is struggling with depresion.

How I Used It: I used this in my causal argument. I used this source to set up my argument that approaching students who show warning signs is more beneficial than waiting for them to seek help. The respectful relationship is a stepping stone that I needed to confront and mention before jumping into the details of what approaching students really means.

Source 8: Teen Depression and Suicide: Effective Prevention and Intervention Strategies

King, K., & Vidourek, R. (2012). Teen Depression and Suicide: Effective Prevention and Intervention Strategies. Prevention Researcher, 19(4), 15–17.

Background: This source talks about the role of peers in society in terms of catching warning signs of depression. The source states that parents, coaches, teachers and even youth can detect warning signs and intervene appropriately if proper measures are taken. This source suggests that youth may help with this cause; maybe it is not just the role of authority figures. Source number 1 strengthens this point.

How I Used It: I used this source to outline those who should be on the lookout for warning signs in my causal argument. This source also suggests that authority figures and peers being able to detect warning signs will create a more mature and welcoming environment in school, this lowering the rate of depression.

Source 9: Warning Signs for Suicide: Theory, Research, and Clinical Applications

Rudd, M., Berman, A., Joiner, T., Nock, M., Silverman, M., Mandrusiak, M., … Witte, T. (2006). Warning Signs for Suicide: Theory, Research, and Clinical Applications. Suicide and Life‐Threatening Behavior, 36(3), 255–262.

Background: This source briefly mentions that there is a clear noticeable difference in responses to physical illness and injury and mental illness. This source continued to explain the differences between risk factors and warning signs of depression.

How I Used It: I didn’t quote this source in my research paper, yet it provided insight on risk factors, such as genetics, environment, home situation, etc. I believe this source repeated a point I already had sources to support: that mental health and physical health should be treated with similar protocol.

Source 10: Warning Signs and Symptoms

Warning Signs and Symptoms. (n.d.).

Background: This source simply lists warning signs of depression. It’s goal is for viewers to analyze their own mental state, and the site provides resources such as phone numbers links to contact professional help.

How I Used It: This was the first source I found regarding warning signs of depression; I used this as a “lead” or a guideline as for what the warning signs were to find a source that could be more than a “checklist.”

Source 11: Ecology of Youth Depression

Kim, K. (2012). The Ecology of Youth Depression. Prevention Researcher, 19(4), 3–7.

Background: This source reviews multiple layers of the issue with lowering the rate of depression. The author of this source concludes that depression has multiple warning signs, predictors and consequences that may occur multiple times for an adolescent. For the future generation, it is essential for their mental health to be nurtured and healthy to perform and live their life at highest quality.

How I Used It: This source provided insight on how severe warning signs can be if they are ignored. Although I didn’t use quotes from this source, it helped me gather arguments and strengthen my research.

Source 12: Suicide and Suicide Attempts in Adolescents

Shain, B., Braverman, P., Adelman, W., Alderman, E., Breuner, C., Levine, D., … O’Brien, R. (2016). Suicide and Suicide Attempts in Adolescents. Pediatrics, 138(1), e20161420–e20161420.

Background: This source observes the statistics of teen suicide, which is heavily correlated(and in many cases, caused by) depression. This source sets the target age group in my research: depression in students who are 15-19 years old. This time in age is essential- it is the time of transition between children and adults. Preventing mental illness in this stage of life determines the performance of students in school, altering their personal relationships and career choices.

How I Used it: This source led me to the conclusion that detecting warning signs and responding to them in teenagers(approximately those in the first two years of high school) will lead to a healthy mental state in adult life, as well as access to professional help for those who are struggling with depression.

Posted in Bibliography, X Archive | Leave a comment

Reflective—Dupreeh

Posted on May 4, 2020 by dupreeh79

Core Value 1. My work demonstrates that I used a variety of social and interactive practices that involve recursive stages of exploration, discovery, conceptualization, and development.

Through out the first half of this semester I struggled with developing a perfect thesis for my research paper. Through a lot of trial and error while researching my topic I discovered things that would cause me to alter my thesis or even strengthen it. Through conferences with my professor I was able to develop a thesis that was arguable and interesting enough to put a large amount of research into. Not only were conferences with my professor beneficial to me in reforming my thesis but I was able to gain valuable feedback that would help me revise my papers and become a better writer. More specifically with my rebuttal paper after gaining feedback on my argument I was able to make my paper’s argument stronger.

Core Value 2. My work demonstrates that I read critically, and that I placed texts into conversation with one another to create meaning by synthesizing ideas from various discourse communities. 

My rebuttal argument paper demonstrates that I read critically, and that I placed texts into conversations. Through the process of researching for this paper I found many articles that proved to be enough in allowing me to strengthen my rebuttal. For me to succeed in arguing my rebuttal I had to spend a large amount of time researching and discovering sources that would help my writing process. Taking notes while researching for my rebuttal argument helped me stay focus and find topics that would help my argument. When I quoted a statistic or some other informing quote in paper it helped me argue my thesis. For example, statistics on deaths from climate change helped me argue that nuclear is far safer then burning fossil fuels.

Core Value 3. My work demonstrates that I rhetorically analyzed the purpose, audience, and contexts of my own writing and other texts and visual arguments.

While writing my research paper I understood that some people would agree and disagree with my argument. My primary goal while writing the paper was to pursue the people who disagreed with my proposal of a clean power gird utilizing both nuclear and renewable sources of power to change their mind and agree with me. More specially in my rebuttal paper I tackled the some of the biggest arguments to my thesis and attempted to argue against them. This argument targeted in persuading people that are against my thesis. But I also had the purpose to better inform the people who agreed with my proposal. While arguments mostly have the goal in changing someone’s mind, I believe my research paper can better inform the audience about nuclear and renewable sources of power.

Core Value 4: My work demonstrates that I have met the expectations of academic writing by locating, evaluating, and incorporating illustrations and evidence to support my own ideas and interpretations.

Writing all my papers that eventually formed my final research paper, I was able to find a large variety of sources that to strengthen my arguments. While researching for each paper I was able to develop new ideas and arguments that would strengthen each paper. I believe my writings did meet expectations of academic writing; I used a large variety of sources to provide a logical argument in my research paper without plagiarizing.  In all my papers I made sure when a quote I would not throw it in randomly without context. Instead I would make sure the placement of the quote would make sense and support my argument. I also made sure to give context with each quote that I used and explained each quote in my writing.

Core Value 5. My work demonstrates that I respect my ethical responsibility to represent complex ideas fairly and to the sources of my information with appropriate citation. 

My writings including my research paper demonstrated that I was ethical and gave correct citation to every source I came across. Academic sources become essential to me when writing my research paper. They were either useful in researching my topic to develop a better understand of my argument or they become useful in allowing me to quote them in order to strengthen my argument. But when quoting each source, I was sure to give full credit to the author. In each paper I wrote I provided a reference page that correctly cited every source that was used throughout my writing.

Posted in Reflective | 1 Comment

Annotated Bibliography-Dupreeh

Posted on May 4, 2020 by dupreeh79

1. Magill, B., & @bobbymagill, F. (2014, August 28). Coal Plants Lock in 300 Billion Tons ofCO2 Emissions.

Background: This article analyzes coal-based power plants. The author spends most of the text to describe the dangers of coal power plants and how much carbon dioxide they release into the environment. The article also states statistics on how much greenhouse gases these power plants release into the atmosphere. The article then goes into describing climate change and how there needs to be a change in the power industry.

How I used it: I used this article to put the dangers of coal-based power plants in perspective. I used a quote from the article the offers a statistic that explains how much carbon dioxide these coal power plants release into the environment. This helped set an introduction for the danger of coal power plants.

2. MacMillan, A. (2020, March 9). Global Warming 101.

Background: This article mostly focuses on what global warming really is and describing it. The article follows a question and answer format, where it describes questions such as, “What is global warming.” The article not only describes what global warming is but describes what causes global warming and what global warming can cause.

How I used it: I used this article to put global warming in perspective and help define what global warming is. I specifically used it to describe to the reader how global warming is the global temperature increasing.

3. How Do Wind Turbines Work? (n.d.).

Background: This article describes the how wind turbines operate. The article goes onto explain how they work technically, describing how wind turbines generate power. The article also describes other operations involve in wind turbines like wind patterns.

How I used it: I used this article to describe how wind turbines are a valuable renewable energy source. I also used a quote from the article to help describe how a wind turbine operates. This helped strengthen my detention of renewable sources of power.

4. How Do Solar Panels Work? (n.d.).

Background: This article goes into a lot of detail in explaining how solar panels operate. The article explains how harnessing the power of the sun can be used to create power. Even though the article mostly explains how the most common solar panels operates, photovoltaic solar panels, it also mentions other types of solar panels, solar thermal and concentrated solar power.

How I used it: I used this article to help define renewable sources of energy specifically solar panels. This article proved to be useful in defining the technical aspect of a solar panel. This was used to strengthen my overall definition of renewables and solar panels.

5. How a Nuclear Reactor Works. (n.d.).

Background: This article goes into detail explaining nuclear power. The article goes over the different types of reactors, primarily the ones used in the United States. The author also explains the process in how nuclear reactors produce energy. Technologic advancements of nuclear reactors are also described in this article.

How I used it: I used this article to help strengthen my definition of clean power sources, more specifically nuclear. I was able to use this article to help describe how a nuclear reactor generates power.

6. Jenkins, J. D., Zhou, Z., Ponciroli, R., Vilim, R. B., Ganda, F., Sisternes, F. de, & Botterud, A. (2018, April 24). The benefits of nuclear flexibility in power system operations with renewable energy.

Background: This article describes how nuclear reactors usually operate a maximum capacity but can be operated more flexible. The article goes onto explain how operating a nuclear reactor with more flexibility is safer and more efficient.

How I used it: I used this article to help argue that nuclear reactors are safer than most people think. I described that nuclear reactors can operate more flexible and because of this makes them safer. This article helped me argue that with a lower production output we can make nuclear reactors safer than they already are.

7. McPharlin, K. (2019, November 22). Is Nuclear Energy Safe?

Background: This article spends time going through and agreeing how nuclear reactors are safe. The author arguers that nuclear reactors have high safety standards and safety protocols that make it extremely unlikely for a disaster to happen. The author also goes onto argue that nuclear power plants are regulated frequently making them even more safe.

How I used it: I used this article to help argue that nuclear power plants are a lot safer than people may think. I described the safety layers described in the article, which strengthened my argument in nuclear power safety.

8. Shellenberger, M. (n.d.). Why renewables can’t save the planet: Michael Shellenberger:TEDxDanubia.

Background: In this Ted Talk Micheal Shellenberger spends most of the time describing the issues of renewables. He spends a large portion talking about the geographical issues renewables impose. He also argues that solar panels take up large spaces of land, killing off animals in the process.

How I used it: I used this article to help argue how renewables can not generate all of the words power without nuclear power. I described how if we were to only use renewables, we would have to take up large amounts of land, killing animals.

9. Suman, S. (2018, February 1). Hybrid nuclear-renewable energy systems: A review.

Background: This article starts off describing the issues of renewables and nuclear power plants operating individually. But the author explains how a power grid with nuclear and renewables would be more efficient. The author describes that utilizing both would reduce climate change and give energy security.

How I used it: I used this article to help argue that renewable sources of energy are not efficient enough to operate on their own. This article helped me argue how renewables depend on geographical locations and weather conditions. Making them inefficient by themselves.\

10. Renewable Energy: Why Don’t We Use It More If It’s So Great? (2015, February 13).

Background: This article starts off by introducing renewables and giving a brief overview on how the energy industry needs to change soon. The article the n goes onto explain the benefits of renewable sources but also explains the cons of renewable sources of power.

How I used it: I used this article to battle the argument of just using renewables for our main source of power. This argue was used to strengthen my argument in that renewables are not always reliable, and they require perfect conditions to operate at max efficiency, making them inefficient in providing power for our growing power usage.

11. Pielke, R. (2020, March 10). Every Day 10,000 People Die Due To Air Pollution From Fossil Fuels.

Background: This article focuses on going over the problems of burning fossil fuels. The article does not just focus on climate change but explain how burning fossil fuels kill people every day. The article also describes how climate change is affecting the word.

How I used it: I used this article to argue that nuclear power is a lot safer than some climate deniers believe. I used a statistic from the article to put how many people die from burring fossil fuels to prove nuclear power is a much safer form of energy production.

12. France: A Study of French Nuclear Policy After Fukushima. (2012, July 17).

Background: This article gives a overview of the nuclear power history of France. The article explains how France has been using nuclear power for their main source of power for a large majority of time. The article also describes how France reacted to other nuclear reactor disasters that happened elsewhere and how they improved their own.

How I used it: I used this article to strengthen my argument of nuclear power safety. I used France as an example, in how they have been using nuclear power for a large majority of time. I used the fact they haven’t had many disasters as my main argument with this source.

13. Steinberg, D., Bielen, D., Eichman, J., Eurek, K., Logan, J., Mai, T., … Wilson, E. (2017). Electrification and Decarbonization: Exploring U.S. Energy Use and Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Scenarios with Widespread Electrification and Power Sector Decarbonization. doi: 10.2172/1372620

Background: This article is a large overview of greenhouse gases andsources of power. This article spends a large majority of time describing both greenhouse gases and what caused carbon emissions. The article also goes over overall power usage and predictions of power usage in the future.

How I used it: I used this article to help argue how power consumption is increasing every day and the renewables will not be reliable enough to keep up with energy consumption. But the usage of renewable and nuclear will prove to be sufficient.

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Customer Proposal—killerbeanforever

Posted on May 4, 2020 by killerbeanforever

Mushroom Tourism 

Everyone at some point in their life has wondered about what LSD (Lysergic acid diethylamide) (acid), Psilocin Mushrooms (Magic Mushrooms), or DMT (N,N-Dimethyltryptamine) do to the mind.  If they were legal, thousands of people would travel just to try psychedelics in a legal and safe environment.  So that’s what I intend  on doing, I am making a tripping facility called Trip Sitters.  Trip Sitters is a company that gives people a safe and regulated environment to experience these drugs.  These drugs are relatively harmless if done right which isn’t hard to do.  As long as you are in a healthy state with a good mindset and a trusted individual is watching, you should be in the clear.  

There are four steps in making an appointment.  You must have a background check with a psychiatrist to ensure you’re mentally healthy enough. You must provide a list of allergies to any medications, if any, to ensure that you may safely be dosed a trip kiler if needed. You must make your appointment a week in advance and really get your mind together. To help prepare yourself for your trip try meditation, listening to calming music, breathing exercises, and avoid any negativity.  If you have any small life problems such as a relationship issue please try and fix the problem before your trip as it can and likely will create unneeded stress which can induce a challenging trip.   We also encourage last minute cancellation with a small fee or free rescheduling because we find it very important that the customer has an opportunity to cancel if they are not in a good state and are emotionally ready.  

 Our number one concern is the safety of the customer.  We want them to be in a good mind set and make sure they’re in a good enough place to trip.  The Psychiatrist appointment is to ensure that the user is emotionally stable and ready for the experience.  The use of these drugs is a serious thing. They are like a mini vacation that lasts for only a few hours, but those few hours can feel like days.  When you’re tripping you have no sense of time, 5 minutes can feel like 2 hours or 10 seconds.  

Bad trips are part of the experience and they are not meaningless, if anything a bad trip can be one of the most powerful trips u can have because everything that happens in a trip is happening in your mind.  So this means that any problems you are having in your trip are already in your mind without you knowing and it takes the destruction of the ego to reveal them.    Bad trips “can unlock a door and show us secretive aspects of our personality or psyche or things that we need to heal in our life” (Psychedsubstance, 1:46).  But if you find yourself in a nightmarish terror trip that you can’t handle, we have safe trip killers such as Lorazepam(Ativan) and Diazepam(Valium), both drugs classified as benzodiazepines.   These are drugs that are typically used for anxiety. Once a trip killer has been orally taken and rubbed on gums it will take a few hours to fully take effect, but typically anxiety and paranoia will be slowly revealed as soon as the drug is taken to to the fact that you know your trip will be over soon and everything is going to be okay.  Due to Benzodiazepines being very addictive they are only used in emergency situations and will not be used by anyone that has had an addiction to benzodiazepines or has an addictive personality. 

The facility will have a very comfortable feel with 5 tripping rooms with a sitter for each room. Your trip sitter is there to tend you while tripping, they can bring you water or a snack, play whatever music you’d like them to, get u things to enhance your trip like kaleidoscopes and psychedelic picture books. They can also get the on site doctor if u think u may need a trip killer or are concerned that u may need to go to the hospital.  Each room is equipped with a bean bag, an incredibly comfortable couch, a TV with access to hulu, netflix and youtube, a bluetooth speaker, blankets, one time use eye masks, and plenty of things to feast your eyes on such as colorful tapestry, artwork by Alex Grey and even an outside garden area to look at flowers and enjoy the outdoors.  Smoking so both tobacco and marijuana is allowed but the mixing or psychedelics and alcohol is prohibited.  

We offer three different psychedelics, LSD, Mushroom, and DMT.  LSD being the most expensive because it is the longest and DMT being the cheapest.  LSD costs $620 per trip, it is $20 for the tab, $250 for the doctor, $100 to the sitter and $250 for using the facility.  Mushrooms cost $445, $60 for Mushrooms, $125 for the doctor, $60 for the tripsitter and $200 for using the facility.  DMT costs $175, $55 for the DMT itself, $50 for the doctor, $20 for the tripsitter and $50 for using the facility. Trip killers are not in the basic price because not everyone needs one, they cost an extra $75 but are covered by some insurances. Despite the cheapest option being DMT we do not allow people to try that their first time unless u have experimented with psychedelics before.  DMT is the most intense psychedelic experience one can have and is not for beginners.  You must have at least one other experience tripping before trying this drug.   

Trip Sitters brings an experience like no other.  The only place you can legally and safely explore your mind and see what it’s like is to live like the hippies of the 60’s.  Come explore and begin healing your mind with us.  Take a trip with Trip Sitters   

References

“Shrooms High: What Does It Feel Like and How Long It Lasts.” Addiction Resource, addictionresource.com/drugs/shrooms/shrooms-high/. 

“Lysergide (LSD) Drug Profile.” Lysergide (LSD) Drug Profile, 1 June 2018, http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/publications/drug-profiles/lsd.psychedsubstance.

“How To End A Terror Trip Using ‘Trip Killers’ | Educational.” Youtube, 15 June 2019, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNumchkj1XQ.

Posted in Proposal for Customers | 1 Comment