Causal Argument – thathawkman

Poor, Poor Scientists

As innovation comes directly from the scientists, Scientists are put under massive amounts of pressure for publishing. This pressure to publish has directly resulted in the ever-growing publication rates that seeminlgy has no end. With this massive influx of studies, there is a large portion of studies that are partial truths due to many different biases that scientists are forced to work through, intentional or not. The reason why there is so much potential for bias is due to the fractured system that scientific studies are based off.

Due to the emphasis of quantity over quality, for both payments and value, scientists are morelenient to not publish the full potential of what studies could have achieved. As scientists are essentiallyforced to focus on the number of intriguing thesis they make instead of quality and accurate studies,more and more faulty studies start to accumulate. To combat this, replication tests are very valuable asthey attempt to retest the study exactly in order to test the study’s validity. These tests are essentially afail-safe, where another scientific group that is independent to the original does everything that thestudy did to see if it produces similar results. Erick Turner from the FDA spoke about the replication testsheld in 2008. The FDA retested 74 studies that proved the effectiveness of numerous FDA-registeredantidepressants. From the replication tests, they found that 23 of them did not even have evidence of publication, which left 51 studies to examine. It was reported that 48 of those 51 studies that were leftoriginally showed positive results, yet when the FDA concluded the replication studies they found thatonly 38 studies out of the original 74 had positive results, thus completely disproving studies that were now found to be selling ineffective antidepressants.

If such a test is so valuable to validate incorrect tests, then there should not be so many tests thatpeople can view where the study essentially publishes false claims. Sadly, these faulty studies are unlikely to be corrected as there is no incentive within the scientific community to replicate the tests. Even though the FDA made replication tests, the company is not a good representation of the entirety of the community as the FDA is a government funded organization whose primary focus is to regulate issues such as the biased studies. This is known as the replication crisis.

As noted before, scientists’ payment are incentivized to push the claims of whatever will help their career. If the scientists are able to sustain themselves using replication test, researchers would have used these replication tests. However, there is no monetary value for replication tests so scientists avoid the very test that helps counteract faulty claims. As scientists are only human and will tend to prioritize their own living for the expense of integrity, they are forced to push plentiful theses for money and do not focus on retesting as there is no monetary value for validating what someone has already stated. This phenomenon essentially eliminates the fail-safe that is made to get rid of the faulty studies, which means that the number of studies that are essentially inaccurate are going to steadily increase with little resistance.

This phenomenon is very detrimental for the future of science. In the article, “Pressure to ‘Publish or

Perish’ May Discourage Innovative Research, UCLA Study Suggests,” author Phil Hampton discusses a study lead by Jacob Foster that measures the risks and innovation studies take and the implications that it makes. Foster found in biomedicine and chemistry that more than sixty percent of the studies that were analyzed showed no new connections. This essentially means that innovation is slowly grinding to a halt due to the flawed system. As scientists are fixated with their publications to make a steady income, they must push whatever will allow the safest income. Even though going with the more innovative idea may result in a breakthrough that will net massive amounts of revenue from publication, there is an even greater chance that the study will not result in a positive study, which would not be beneficial to the scientist. This risk versus reward scenario causes scientists to then make a choice on what they value more. There, the non-innovative route becomes the favored choice as scientist do not have a safety net that can warrant the risk. Thus, innovation is slowly starting to slow down. This is one of the worst outcomes as only innovation causes new leaps and bounds to be made from science. If innovation is starting to slow down, science as a whole slows down as well.

Since all of these issues can be solved by money, funding from organizations seem to be one of the best solutions. Money is being given to the researchers which allows the researchers to remove the restraint of income so better tests are made. However, this harmonious relationship becomes detrimental as both parties benefit too much. A claim from a scientific study is very valuable for a business. The faith people have with how rigid scientific studies are causes people to believe essentially anything a scientific study proves. As a result, companies are willing to invest a lot of money for scientific studies that positively help whatever the company is pushing. This investment would ultimately result in more money for the future. This interest itself causes a cycle that makes this issue worse. A business wants to be able to push their values to gain more money or popularity, so the businesses are more willing to pay money to inevitably reap the benefits. As the business itself pays money for the studies that prove their values, scientists are more enticed to make a study that proves the business’s value for a better living, giving more and more incentive to produce more or alter claims that prove the value.

This cycle results in countless biased articles that unjustifiably prove the claim of the business that affect the public. Companies such as pharmaceuticals and sport drink companies are repeatedly found in the obvious malpractice. For example, in the study “Association of Funding And Conclusions in Randomized Drug Trials,” Bodil ALs-Nielsen randomly selected 370 random drug trials to see if there was an effect on the result of the test being funded by a non-profit organization or a for profit organization. With only 16% of the studies recommending the drugs when it was funded by a non-profit organization and 51% of the studies when funded by a for-profit organization, it is painfully obvious to see the effect that funding sources has.

Works Cited:

Turner, Erick H. “Selective Publication of Antidepressant Trials and Its Influence on Apparent Efficacy — NEJM.” New England Journal of Medicine. N.p., 17 Jan. 2008. Web. 28 Nov. 2016.

Hampton, Phil. “Pressure to ‘publish or Perish’ May Discourage Innovative Research, UCLA Study Suggests.” UCLA Newsroom. N.p., 08 Oct. 2015. Web. 018 Nov. 2016

Nielsen, MD Bodil. “Association of Funding and Conclusions in Randomized Drug Trials.”Association of Funding and Conclusions in Randomized Drug Trials. The JAMA Network, 20 Aug. 2003. Web. 01 Dec. 2016.

Definition Argument – thathawkman

The Truth Can Be Skewed

Scientific studies allow science to expand its knowledge, from finding relationships for two seemingly different entities to testing and explaining phenomena that the world doesn’t quite understand. With correct use of scientific studies scientist can achieve feats that would not have been deemed possible without the newly found knowledge. More cures can be found, larger realizations and trends can be identified, and even more knowledge of a field can potentially make grows as even more studies can elaborate. However, the massive influence that scientific studies is a double-edged sword. With the massive influence studies have, these studies can determine what is the truth. However, studies are still fallible and studies that push false claims can skew what the common people believe is the truth.

As expected, scientific studies have a very rigid system that permits what studies have to accomplish to make a claim. In order for a scientific study to prove a claim, scientifically known as a hypothesis, the study must prove that the hypothesis must have an undeniable relationship. In order to prove the hypothesis, the scientists then form what is known as a null hypothesis, which assumes the that there is no correlation between the two. For example, if the hypothesis is that a newly made drug increases dopamine levels, the null hypothesis would be that the drug did not exhibit any change in dopamine levels. The scientists then attempt to prove the actual hypothesis by rejecting the null hypothesis.

The data, which is found by the carefully thought-out tests and conditions that researchers place, is then analyzed to see if the data was statistically significant to see whether the scientists can or cannot reject the null hypothesis. This test to see if something is statistically significant is essentially finding whether the data was gotten due to random chance or if the claim is the reason behind the data. The researchers then use many different methods to calculate the probability of how likely the data that was given could have shown up, also known as the p-value. To say something was statistically significant, the probability must be lower than 5 percent. This magic number of 5 percent is the key part or the bane of scientists, as any study that produces a p value lower than 5 percent is determined to be validated as the probability of the null hypothesis being true statistically improbable and rejected, which therefore makes the actual hypothesis true. Any p-value that is 5 percent or higher cannot reject the null hypothesis and cannot prove the claim that the study was trying to make which causes the scientist to either reattempt the study or change the claim altogether.

This system is not a perfect system by any means. Natural errors can still occur when validating the claim. As the data still have a factor of chance in them, some errors can occur without any influence from the scientists. These errors are known as Type I error and Type II error. A Type I error occurs when you reject the null hypothesis and say that the claim was true even though it was false. For example, a type I error would be stating that someone had a disease even though the person does not have the disease. A type II error is the exact opposite, where you reject the null hypothesis and make the actual claim false even though it was true. For example, in the same scenario a type II error would state that someone did not have a disease even though it the person did have it.  Both errors are bad, but these errors are accounted for by scientists. However, the issue comes when scientists intentionally publish what is supposed to be a type I error.

Intentional errors become a major issue as the scientific studies that people take at face value flood the scientific journals become either misleading or entirely untrue. Studies that affect the percentage of c undergo effects such as publication bias and the file-drawer effect describe parts The author Megan L. Head, in the article “The Extent and Consequences of P-Hacking in Science,” defines publication bias as, “the phenomenon in which studies with positive results are more likely to be published than studies with negative results.” The file-drawer effect is the tendency for scientists to refrain from publishing negative studies as due to the lack of money. These effects are very detrimental as there is a noticeable underrepresentation of negative published studies. In “The file drawer problem and tolerance for null results,” Robert Rosenthal describes this effect by saying, “the extreme view of the ‘file drawer problem’  is that journals are filled with the 5% of the studies that show Type I errors, while the file drawers are filled with the 95% of the studies that show nonsignificant results.” This is direct result of scientist attempting to push studies that innately get more attention, as positive-resulting, intriguing studies will be more popular than negative-resulting studies.

However, the bias can even be more direct with something known as p-hacking. Through p-hacking, Scientist can attempt to alter the way they compute the p-value with any given data, since the essential part of a study is primarily based on the comparison of the p-value, in order to find something that is statistically probable.  In the web article “Is Science Broken?” author Christie Aschwanden simulated how easy it is to find something is statistically significant for many different hypothesis with the same data. In his simulation, we are given to choose a category on which political party, Republican or Democratic, we want the hypothesis to support. Aschwanden then demonstrated that, by choosing what choosing to keep and omit some parts of the data such as the type of politicians that we want to consider as politicians and including recessions, the combination of different parts of the data can prove hypothesis for both sides. Even with the same data, the fact that the use of p-hacking can prove completely opposite ideologies shows the massive influence that p-hacking can have.

Works Cited:

Head, M. L. “The Extent and Consequences of P-Hacking in Science.” The Extent and Consequences of P-Hacking in Science. PLoS Biol, n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2016.

Aschwanden, Christie. “Science Isn’t Broken.” FiveThirtyEight. N.p., 19 Aug. 2016. Web. 15 Nov. 2016.

Rosenthal, Robert. “The File Drawer Problem And Tolerance For Null Results.” Psychological Bulletin 86.3 (1979): 638-641. PsycARTICLES. Web. 15 Nov. 2016.

Rebutal Argument – thathawkman

The FDA Does Its’ Best

In order to make sure that  harmful products do not go the people, organizations such as the FDA-also known as the Food and Drug Administration-place very rigid requirements. However, regulatory associations such as the FDA are simply not enough to keep the influence of drug companies away from scientific studies.

Petter Hutt’s paper, “Untangling the Vioxx-Celebrex Controversy: A Story about Responsibility.” on the controversy describes the exact context on how the FDA approves a drug.  The FDA first requires what is known as an NDA or new drug application. The new drug then undergoes the Investigation New Drug, or IND, and three Phases. The IND test to see if the production and analyzation had, “protection of the human research project, animal studies completed and analyzed, scientific merit, and qualifications of the investigator.” From the IND, the drug then undergoes Phase I, II, and III. Phase I tests the drug on one subject to check for adverse side effects, which moves on to phase II if successful. Phase II administers the drug multiple times on a small group,, which will move on to phase III. In this phase the drug is given to thousands of patients with many different methodologies in order to check for drug interactions/reactions. It is estimated that this entire process takes around 7 to 13 years before the application is finished. After the application is submitted, the FDA then makes a committee to push the new drug and either authorize the drug or stop the process there.

This very methodical authorization system should be able to handle drug after numerous checks. However,the unreliability of the FDA is completely exposed with the Vioxx controversy. DrugWatch, in the web article “Vioxx Recall – Merck and FDA,” discusses the painkiller Vioxx and how it was spread to many different doctors with the primary goal of giving the drug to as many patients as possible. However, in only 5 years ,this seemingly harmless drug was found to more the double the risk of heart attacks and death. Eventually, in 2004 Merck recalled Vioxx after being put in the spotlight for their drug. DrugWatch described the havoc Vioxx  caused, with over 38,000 deaths, as potentially, “ the worst drug disaster in history”

The drug went through the entire rigid appeal process of the FDA and was approved in 1999. Not once did the FDA stop the drug until the symptoms the heart issues started to appear and an anylazation was made. But by the time the FDA caught on, Vioxx already damaged thousands of lives. The reason why this disaster even occurred was due manipulating data. In order for the Merck scientists to show that the drug was safe enough for use, they omitted the detrimental data pertaining to patients with heart complications or else the drug couldn’t have been released.  In fact Hutt stated that, “the General Accounting Office found that of 198 drugs approved by the FDA between 1976-1985, about half had serious post-approval problems.”

Not only that, but this controversy also shed light on corruption of the FDA. It was noted that Merck persuaded the FDA to remove warning labels for digestive issue with Vioxx even before the drug was approved. The FDA also ignored the doctors claims of patients’ hearts problem until in 2002 a study that showed the relationship between heart complications and Vioxx. When that integral piece of information came out, all the FDA did was simply add a label.

The FDA had numerous times to prevent a disaster from happening and the organization was built to do just that. However, the bias that Merck was push forward to push their product slipped through, which means shows even the FDA struggles to mitigate the effect of bias in scientific studies.

Works Cited:

Hutt, Peter Barton. “Untangling the Vioxx-Celebrex Controversy: A Story about Responsibility.”Tran, Lan. N.p., 4 May 2005. Web. 18 Nov. 2016.

“Vioxx Recall – Merck and FDA.” DrugWatch. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2016.

causal rewrite – smokesdabear

Esports in The Public

What really is holding back competitive gaming from becoming part of the mainstream, is the public. Accepting up and coming new trends can be difficult for the people who are accustom to the already established norm of their culture. Media outlets like CBS, HBO and TMZ in the past all have incorrectly defined the sport and have also given it a image that they believe fits their agendas. TMZ goes to the extant of writing “Question — What do pimply-faced geeks who play video games all day have in common with the 6’8″ demigods who roam NBA courts on a nightly basis???” In the description portions of one of their YouTube videos. In this video they interview Rick Fox owner of Echo Fox (eSport Franchise) and also former NBA star for the Boston Celtics and LA Lakers.

Now its fair to assume that TMZ learned their lesson after the backlash they received from the eSport community for writing something like that. Well in less than a month TMZ does another interview with Rick Fox and instead of fixing their mistakes they just repeat the cycle. TMZ goes onto writing “Beware NHL fans … Rick Fox says your sport will be overtaken … by nerds … ’cause the “League of Legends” team owner thinks eSports is primed to take hockey’s place as the fourth major sport in the U.S. in just TWO YEARS!”. This constant cycle of misjudging the eSport community just doesn’t end even with the professional world of news/media.

For a news/media outlet to set specific physical standards for sports players just goes to show how ignorant some can be. Can this trend end? will the image that society gives video game playing ever change? If our media cannot accept this new outlet then the casual viewer will have no desire to follow eSports or learn about it. How did our culture come to know and love the sport of basketball or football? Well soon after the creation of these sports back in the late 1800’s, the creation of leagues rose and opened up the gates to the world of professional sports. with their own rules and regulations. They could turn a fun game to play and pass time, to something that can be considered a career, grant fame, fortune and set a standard of living that is now portrayed as the perfect life to regular society.

Esports just like professional sports started with its creation of leagues. Leagues that go by the name of Electronic Sports League (ESL) and League of Legends Championship Series (LCS). These are some of the larger brand leagues that come along with their own rules and regulations, Which is no different from from the NBA or the NFL What makes basketball and football so popular in North America is its ability to create rivalries between fans and players stemming off of the fact that each team represents a state or city. Which then causes an increase in enthusiasm and support for teams. Esports on the other hand is on the international level of fan bases. Where organisations can represent multiple countries rather than just national states.

Community and fan base is everything when it comes to sports along with professionalism and extreme consistency in the skill of said athletes. But if an entire culture is going to misinterpret the underlying definition of what a sport really is and what it adds to society then without a doubt mindsets will not change and this sport will belong in the niche category of sports.

Works cited

TMZSports. “Rick Fox- ESports Jocks Are Just Like NBA Players…Real Athletes | TMZ Sports.” YouTube. YouTube, 12 Mar. 2016. Web. 02 Dec. 2016.

TMZSports. “Rick Fox- ESports Will Overtake NHL In 2 Years!! | TMZ Sports.” YouTube. YouTube, 21 Mar. 2016. Web. 02 Dec. 2016.

Annotated Bibliography

1. Fogelholm, M., et al. “Parent-child relationship of physical activity patterns and obesity.” International journal of obesity 23 (1999): 1262-1268.

Background:  This article explains the relationship between parents and their children.  This article goes on to explain how bad habits are formed and continued.  This article goes on to show that the media attacks children more than adults which ultimately affect the adults in the long run.

How I used it:  I used this article to show the parent to child relationship. This relationship is one of the most difficult to understand as every relationship is different.  This article is a scholarly source I retrieved from google scholar that helped me better comprehend other information I received from other sources.

2. Lobstein, Tim, and Rachel Jackson-Leach. “Child overweight and obesity in the USA: prevalence rates according to IOTF definitions.” International Journal of Pediatric Obesity 2.1 (2007): 62-64.

Background:  This article talks about obesity found in children in the USA.  This source helps strengthen my argument as it supports my argument that obesity is a big problem we face in America today.

How I used it:  I used this article to strengthen my own.  Childhood obesity is a problem that could be easily resolved with the help of their parents.  Without proper guidance we continue to fall into the same consistent bad eating habits which end up getting brought down onto their children.

3.  Locard, Elisabeth, et al. “Risk factors of obesity in a five year old population. Parental versus environmental factors.” International journal of obesity and related metabolic disorders: journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity 16.10 (1992): 721-729.

Background: This article goes into depth talking about risk factors of obesity in a five year old population.  This article shows how important prevention of obesity is and that obesity is affected by many different other environmental factors.

How I used it:  I utilized this article to show the importance and how easy it is to prevent obesity in children just by monitoring what they watch on television.  Using this and other prevention methods childhood obesity can be prevented and obesity could ultimately be lowered.

4.  Puhl, Rebecca M., and Chelsea A. Heuer. “The stigma of obesity: a review and update.” Obesity 17.5 (2009): 941-964.

Background:  The article goes into depth talking about the stigma that surrounds obese America.  This article talks about the many different types of stereotypes that also goes on to talk about bias and discrimination that people face in more places than just the workplace.

How I utilized it:  I used this source to get an in depth side of view of those who feel they are victimized by the disease.  How this affects their every day living and how they learn to live and cope with it.  This source gives me the availability to utilize their first person knowledge to utilize into my argument.

5.  Wang, Youfa, et al. “Will all Americans become overweight or obese? Estimating the progression and cost of the US obesity epidemic.” Obesity 16.10 (2008): 2323-2330.

Background: A source that projects the results from the National Health and Nutrition Examination study which began in the 1970’s and concluded in 2004. Very dependable and a good scholarly source.

How I used it: I’m going to use their results to support my argument.  Their study goes into depth about how big obesity is becoming in the United States.

6. Wang Y Beydoun MA. “The obesity epidemic in the United States—gender, age, socioeconomic, racial/ethnic, and geographic characteristics: a systematic review and meta-regression analysis.” Epidemiol Rev 2007; vol 29: 6–28

Background: This source gave statistics regarding obesity.  Gave me more factual evidence.

How I used it: I used their data and noted it in my paper.

7.  Klein, S., Allison, D. B., Heymsfield, S. B., Kelley, D. E., Leibel, R. L., Nonas, C. and Kahn, R. (2007), Waist Circumference and Cardiometabolic Risk: A Consensus Statement from Shaping America’s Health: Association for Weight Management and Obesity Prevention; NAASO, The Obesity Society; the American Society for Nutrition; and the American Diabetes

Background: A very well written article by a credible author in The Obesity Society.  Gave good preventive measures to fighting obesity.

How I used it:  I used their statistics and opinion.  I appreciated and noted their preventive solutions to obesity.

8.  Reilly John J, Armstrong Julie Dorosty, Ahmad R, Emmett Pauline M,  Ness A,Rogers I  et al.  “Early life risk factors for obesity in childhood: cohort study” BMJ 2005; 330: 1357.

Background: A credible source that addresses early life risk facts for obesity in childhood and adolescence.

How I used it:  This was a source I may or may not use in my final research paper.

9.  Laroche, Helena. “Concession Stand Makeovers: A Pilot Study of Offering Healthy Foods at High School Concession Stands.” Food and Brand Lab |. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Oct. 2016.

Background:  Just a popular source I found which talks about statistics which also offers an alternative attack on obesity.

How I used it:  Offering an alternative approach to the ongoing battle on obesity.

10.  Hyppönen, Elina, et al. “Obesity, increased linear growth, and risk of type 1 diabetes in children.” Diabetes care 23.12 (2000): 1755-1760.

Background:  A scholarly source which explains a recent study in the very rapid increase of type 1 diabetes found in children.

How I used it:  I used this to explain the increased growth of obesity found in children.  Going along with preventive measures.

Bibliography – smokesdabear

  1. Befon. “Cloud9 CSGO: Tips for New Players & Becoming Pro.” YouTube. YouTube, 04 Aug. 2015. Web. 07 Dec. 2016. Background: Video interview with the professional CSGO team Cloud 9. In this interview they discuss the topic of newcomers coming into the world of eSports and if there is to be a chance for success for those people.How I used it: I used this video to help explain the amount of time and effort is needed to pusue a professional career in eSports. Also to help explain the skills needed to become a top playe.
  2. Casselman, Ben. “Resistance Is Futile: ESports Is the Future.” ESPN.com. N.p., 22 May 2015. Web. 07 Dec. 2016.

Background: This article provides the statistical viewership data of eSport championship events and nationally televised sports championship events. Also the number and types of sponsors backing eSports organisations.

How I used it: by listing the viewership numbers for eSport events it allowed me to better understand the poularity competitive gaming events have compared to other traditional sports. Therefore proving my point of its exponential growth in the industry.

3. HBOsports. “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel: ESports Discussion (HBO Sports).” YouTube. YouTube, 13 Dec. 2013. Web. 07 Dec. 2016.

Background: This was an episode of a sports documentary series. On this episode they presented the new phenomenon that is eSports and how big it was becoming at the time.

How I used it: I used this documentary to give an example of the mindset of some older demographics when first learning about eSports and how the media has created this false image that society has taken as truth.

4. “National League of Baseball Is Founded.” History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 07 Dec. 2016.

Background: This article specifically gives information on the first crreted sports league in America which was baseball, becoming established in 1876.

How I used it: I used this article to help better explain and understand how sports become professionally played sports. With the start of a professional league these games such as baseball and football were turned into brands.

5. NewzooHQ. “ESports Reaches Tipping Point as Media Brands Scramble to Get Involved.” Newzoo. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Dec. 2016.

background: This article contains the percentages of people who watch eSports and also view big name T.V channels such as CNN or ESPN.

How I used it: This helped prove my point that there is not a specific stereotype for people who enjoy watching or playing competitive games. Instead it showed the great diversity of people within the eSport community.

6. Peckham, Matt. “Why ESPN Is So Serious About Covering Esports.” Time. Time, 1 Mar. 2016. Web. 07 Dec. 2016.

Background: ESPN website head gets interviewed on the reasoning behind their push for more eSport coverage on their platforms.

How I used it: I used to learn about how they are covering eSports on their platforms. And to see how much success has come out of it.

7. Poladian, Charles. “‘ELeague’ ESports On TBS Debuts May 24 With Three-Hour ‘Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’ Broadcasts.” International Business Times. N.p., 28 Jan. 2016. Web. 07 Dec. 2016.

Background: This article is about the announcement of a brand new eSports league debuting a Counter Strike: Global Offensive tournament on national television on TBS during its sport segment.

How I used it: This is the very first successful U.S/ T.V broadcasted eSport tournament. ELeague is showing very promising viewership figures on TBS. Only helping the fact that eSports is growing exponentially.

8. Staff, TMZ. “Rick Fox: ESports Jocks Are Just Like NBA Players … Real Athletes.” TMZ. N.p., 29 June 2016. Web. 07 Dec. 2016.

Background: This article shows an interview TMZ did with Rick Fox, a former basketball player, businessman and actor who owns his own eSports team/organisation.

How I used it: That the media and the majority of society are very biased and ignorant toward the fact that eSports cannot turn into a mainstream sport like football or soccer.

9. TMZSports. “Rick Fox- ESports Will Overtake NHL In 2 Years!! | TMZ Sports.” YouTube. YouTube, 21 Mar. 2016. Web. 07 Dec. 2016.

Background: TMZ does a very quick interview with Rick Fox, former NBA star and now owner of Echo Fox, an eSport franchise.

How I used it: I used this interview to show how biased and close minded Americcan media can be. It shows the image that some news/media outlets hold on video games.

10.  Wagner, Michael G. “On the Scientific Relevance of ESports.” Researchgate.net. N.p., Jan. 2006. Web. 11 Nov. 2016.

Background: This article provides information about the lack of scientific research behind eSports.

How I used it: This source proves that eSports is more than just a casual game that anybody can pick up and play. It shows that it requires a physical form that not everybody has.

 

Research Position Paper-Collegekid9

Fight With Drugs!

In Vancouver, many are aware of the darkness that tries to hide behind the beauty of the city.  Unfortunately, the use of heroin has become very popular and widely known.  Those who have taken the drug usually become an addict; their body and spirit become consumed by it.  These peoples lives are engulfed by this drug and eventually they will run out of the heroin.  Addicts will resort to doing something drastic/irrational just so they can get their fix.  This has left the city of Vancouver with a high crime rate to deal with. The thing about Vancouver’s problem is that it is actually their solution.  Fight heroin with heroin!

When traditional rehab didn’t work, “Insite” was created as a safe zone to help get rid of the negative effects of those who use and have become addicted to heroin. These clinics are providing clean equipment as well as free heroin to addicts in an effort to remove all the additional problems that come with addiction. Even though doctors know that this will not cure their addiction, they believe that this will help addicts have a healthier life.  Kurt Lock, a research coordinator for SALOME, says that the reason for giving the heroin to a heroin addict is all about stability.  This gives the addicts a way to have a more normal life where they can work on other issues that got them into their horrible lifestyle.  Insite also works to connect those individuals with health care services which can range from primary care to addictions counseling.  This clinic provides hope that through repeated  usage of this program, the drug violence in Vancouver will slowly decrease and the heroin problem with lower.

Vancouver isn’t the only place that has adapted clinics to help addicts.  In Europe they have been successful in reducing crime rates related to drugs through their program.  Also the Danish National Board Of Health has reported that through their treatment, crime rate has reduced, addicts have found permanent homes, and they have reduced the amount of drinking done by addicts.  The clinics are always trying new ways to help ease addicts from the drugs. Some of the treatments have users cut down the amount of heroin that is given as well as replace it with a more legal drug without crime. With everyone that comes in for help there’s always a few that end up leaving and going somewhere else that doesn’t use heroin as a way to beat their addiction.

With the efforts of many communities, similar attempts have been made to benefit heroin addicts.  Methadone Clinics are the most significant ones that have been seen. Methadone is an opioid/narcotic medication. This opioid is used on people that are experiencing withdrawal symptoms such as those addicted to heroin that does not give a high as drastic as heroin, but it reduces the urge to use.  This in return will reduce the effect addicts have on the community and it will benefit an addicts life. Unfortunately, methadone is not as victorious as the free heroin clinics.  Studies have shown that only 54 percent of methadone patients came back for treatments but, 90 percent return for more free heroin.

A key aspect to the eventual success of the program is embedded within the users of the drugs themselves. They are the driving force behind everything, and therefore have the ability to create both success and failure. This being said, the most happiness should be coming from them if a program is truly successful. For if this is true, then certainly something is being done correctly.  With all these programs that are trying to help addicts beat their problem there’s only one key aspect that can actually keep them running. This aspect is the drug user itself.  Each user is their own motivation behind everything that can be applied from the programs. Their happiness could come from the success that they’ve been given. Their sadness could be from them failing.  There is no correct way to help a drug user get over their problem. It is all about this addicts state of mind. CNN had interviewed one of their addicts name Steve who had been using the Insite clinic regularly for multiple years. He said that he had overdosed three times while he was there and that he was happy he was at the clinic when he did. Although Steve is 48 years old, he believes that there is still hope that he can possibly get clean.  Steve states, “..it’s just, it’s common sense! When you have a problem that’s grown for whatever reason to the epic proportions that it has in this city, it’s time to come up with a really good solution, and this is it.”  With this statement we as readers can safely assume that someone finds this program to be successful and a real solution.

To many, heroin is just a bad drug but to anyone that has tried heroin, it is a leading cause into the downward spiral of addiction resulting in a lot of life problems.  Addiction is not something that the world takes lightly. There is no fast cure and the treatment is not easy.  A person’s brain creates dopamine which is spread from a neurotransmitter to send signals to other nerve cells. This plays a distinct part in the brain’s reward circuit.  The reward circuit plays a big role in the involvement of reinforcing behavior, motor control, and various hormones.  With the continuous use of the drug, the brain will adjust itself to the exceeding amount of dopamine. This in turn will force the brain to make less of it and/or reduce the ability of cells in the reward circuit to respond to it.  With the reduction of the natural high, addicts must use the drug to replace it. Even after someone quits, one small relapse can bring them back to square one because the addiction will always be there.

With the large amount of heroin addicts in Vancouver, you can only imagine what the spread of diseases through unsanitary needles was like. HIV, AIDS, and Hepatitis are just a few of the diseases that come to mind when you think about sharing needles. The Safe needle exchange program is truly a blessing for the people of Vancouver. This program as well as Insite has provided addicts to freely help themselves with sterile injections. Since the opening of these clinics the spread of these diseases has significantly decreased by almost 70% of the people not sharing needles after visiting the clinic. Not only has the rate of HIV and other diseases from spreading, it has also reduce the number of overdoses. Many users have hurt themselves because they inject the drug in a wrong way. Insite provides highly skilled medical practitioners that are always around to help them no matter what happens. There’s been a study done by Vancouver health that had shown that fatal overdoses within a 500 meter radius of the Insite facility had decreased by 35%.  These numbers just prove the success rate that are coming from these clinics.

The crime rate of patients with a heroin addiction, that received the drug for free from the clinics had significantly decreased.  This was noticed during a four year trial in Britain.  In this trial patients were split up into three groups which consisted of oral methadone clinic patients, intravenous methadone clinic patients, and free heroin clinic patients.  In the end the results showed that the three groups all had improved, but the ones that received the free heroin benefited the most.  After about a half a year, three-quarters of the group had stopped taking street heroin. The number of crimes that had been committed by those in the group 30 days before the program began, dropped from 1,700 to 547 in the first six months of the trial.

With Vancouver opening up these heroin clinics, they are providing a safe haven for addicts to have another chance at a normal life and to finally part of society again. These programs are helping to tighten the rains and control addiction and give a sense of security for all drug users. For many Insite is their last bit of hope for asked to take control of their own lives and to be the one to save themselves on the downward spiral that heroin brings them. We can see the drug related crimes and the spread of diseases has decreased which in return is making their city safe again. Although it may sound crazy fighting her one with heroin is actually helping. In time we will find a permanent cure but for an out what we are doing is working.

 

London, Gaëlle Faure /. “Why Doctors Are Giving Heroin to Heroin Addicts.” Time. Time Inc., 28 Sept. 2009. Web. 11 Dec. 2016.
Vince Beiser / Miller-McCune Magazine. “Vancouver’s Radical Approach to Drugs: Let Junkies Be Junkies.” Alternet. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2016.
https://www.facebook.com/NIDANIH. “Understanding Drug Use and Addiction.” DrugFacts: Understanding Drug Use and Addiction | National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2016.
CNN. Cable News Network, n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2016.
“Heroin Clinics Improve Addicts’ Lives.” Sciencenordic.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2016.
Hiebert, Paul. “The Only Place Where They’ll Inject You With Heroin for Free.” Pacific Standard. N.p., 31 May 2016. Web. 11 Dec. 2016.
Mulvenna, Alexis. “Supervised Injection Sites and Vancouver’s ‘Insite’ Experiment.” The Public Policy & Governance Review. N.p., 09 Feb. 2015. Web. 11 Dec. 2016.

Definition Rewrite-Prof2020

The separation of church and state is a concept that has been misinterpreted and blown out of proportion more times than it’s possible to keep track of. It defines the distance in the relationship between organized religion and the nation state. Thomas Jefferson wrote a letter to the Danbury Baptist Association in 1802 referencing the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. It includes this excerpt:

“Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should ‘make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,’ thus building a wall of separation between Church and State.” [1]

He’s explaining that the Bill of Rights impedes the establishment of a national church, in turn, preventing the government from interfering with a person’s right to expression of religion by means of supporting one religion over others. After all, this is the reason English pilgrims came to America in the first place. Nicknamed separatists because their religious practices didn’t conform to those of the Church of England, they sailed to America so that they could be free to practice their own religion without fear of persecution or discrimination. In fact, there was a time when America was likely the most accepting as well as diverse nation in terms of religion. People from all over the world fled to America seeking religious liberty. The early colonies were populated by Dutch Calvinists, English Puritans, English Catholics, Scottish Presbyterians, French Huguenots, German and Swedish Lutherans, as well as Mennonites, Jews, and Amish from various European countries. Thomas Jefferson was adamant about supporting and maintaining the separation of church and state to ensure that each citizen felt welcome and protected by our society, regardless of who they chose to pray to.

Over time, the phrase has been so widely used and interpreted that it’s lost some of its salt. The separation of church and state is also tied to more broad religious freedoms such as being able to practice whatever religion you choose in the way you see fit. The United States was founded on biblical principles, most of which serve our country well and support the values of most American citizens, christian or not. However, we cannot claim to be upholding the values of the First Amendment while our laws still solely reflect the values of one religion.

In addition, having legal freedoms yet being oppressed by the general societal stance isn’t true freedom. For example, muslims are legally permitted to practice their religion in America as they see fit but after the Twin Tower attacks on 9/11, animosity towards Muslim Americans has skyrocketed. One in four Muslims either knows someone who has or have personally experienced an act of anti-muslim discrimination, harassment, verbal abuse or physical attack since 9/11.

American citizens are being misinformed about the reality of the situation. This extreme instance of widespread prejudice has blinded us to the truth about the groups involved, resulting in their abuse and our ignorance. Because of the censorship in schools on what pertaining to religion can and can’t be taught, a lot of the details we learn about the 9/11 attacks comes from outside and often biased sources and so forms our own opinions on what actually happened. This is the reason we need to properly educate people on as many religions as possible. Religion is incredibly controversial and a lot of the friction could most likely be reduced if more people truly understood what they were arguing about.

This education needs to start early, in our middle and elementary schools. Far too often, children grow up with convictions they adopted from their parents. Their beliefs aren’t even their own but if they heard it from their parents it has to be right..right? Sadly, that’s not always true but no one has the right to tell them that.

This is why it’s so important to foster an environment conducive to their progress in making these discoveries and decisions for themselves. We have complete control over how we view the world but depending on the lens we use, what filters through will be vastly different. By properly educating our citizens about different religions and cultural practices, we’re giving them a better opportunity to make informed decisions about how they interact with others.

While I truly believe in this concept, there are far too many rigid restrictions for this to flow smoothly. When the separation of church and state policy was adopted by the United States, it prevented one problems but started another. With the way the policy is currently being enforced, teaching students in public schools about religious practices becomes very difficult because the government can’t be seen throwing support behind a religious movement. This also prohibits the government from providing any funding or support to a private school, especially those with a religious affiliation.

However, there is a loophole. Separation of church and state prevents government funded schools from teaching religion so in 2000, the public school district in Modesto, California began teaching about religion. The World Religions program is heavily regulated and monitored. Each class receives the same textbooks, study guides, visual aids, and lesson plan as every other class in the district. As long as the instructors aren’t giving more attention or support to one religion over others, the plan works and has worked brilliantly.

A group of researchers from the First Amendment Center has been following the program since its inception. The team admitted they were unsure of what their investigation would conclude. Students enrolled in the program were interviewed before, during and immediately after the course ended and then again six months later. They found that the student body involved became far more tolerant of other religions and cultural practices and even more likely to stand up for them and protect the religious rights of others. Students themselves said that the course had broadened their views and prepared them to fight back against faith based bullying. [2]

Perhaps the biggest concern of parents in the district is that it would weaken the faith of children who were raised with a religious background. Contrary to expectations, this increased tolerance resulted in no change in the faiths of students. Students who entered the program with religious convictions ended the course with the same convictions. [2]

With religion and religious beliefs being such a controversial topic, particularly in America, we need to take great strides as individuals and as a nation to mold our country and communities into those that cultivate and reflect the diversity growing within them. Diversity should not divide us. It should better prepare us to face controversy and handle it fairly and with an open mind.

Citations

  1. “Jefferson’s Letter to the Danbury BaptistsThe Final Letter, as Sent.” Jefferson’s Letter to the Danbury Baptists (June 1998). N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2016.
  2. Kilman, Carrie. “One Nation, Many Gods.” Teaching Tolerance. N.p., 2007. Web. 30 Oct. 2016.

Research paper- Juniorgirlblog

   Black Lives Matter 

                   When the police officers take an oath they promise to protect and serve the community. We are taught that the police officers are there to protect us from harm, but who do we turn to when the police are the ones harming us? The past year , there has been an increase in police involved shootings where many citizens, who are unarmed, are injured by the officers. Based on current research, these acts of violence involve citizens who are also African American. In this paper, I will discuss how African American males are historically targets of these senseless acts.

Before New Year’s day in 2009,  a black man name Oscar Grant was killed by a officer name Johannes Mehserle in Oakland, California. Mehserle and several other officers responded to a fight on a crowded Bay Area Rapid Transit. The officers caught Grant and his friends from the train.  While Grant was lying face down, Mehserle and another officer were restraining Grant. Because Mehserle was unable to remove Grant’s arm from under his body in order to handcuff him, Mehserle drew his pistol and shot Grant once in the back(Centuries of Rage,2016).  During this incident, many people recorded what was happening up until Grant, who was unarmed, was shot.  Officer Mehserle resigned from his position and pleaded not guilty during an investigation into the shooting.  Later that year, Mehserle was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and not guilty of second degree murder and voluntary manslaughter(Centuries of Rage,2016). This case shows that the officer had no reason to kill Grant; he only shot him because he was unable to remove his arm to be handcuffed.  The public and the jury had a video to show what happened during the officer’s interaction with Grant, but yet only charged the police officer with involuntary manslaughter.  According to the Washington Post, it stated that all violent crimes in 2009 where someone was charged, black Americans were charged 62 percent of the time, compared to other races.  Additionally, 57 percent of murders and 45 percent of assaults in the country were identified as crimes committed by African Americans.

In the year of 2014 , an African American  boy named Tamir Rice was shot by a police officer.  Two officers on November 22,2014 named Timothy Loehmann and Frank Garmback responded to a call that a young black boy was sitting on a swing and pointing a gun at people.  However, the call also stated that the “gun” might have been fake and believed that Rice might be a juvenile that is doing this(Clevel, 2016). When both officers arrived on the scene, Loehmann claimed that he saw a black gun on the table and the young boy put it in his waistband.  Both officers told Rice to put his hands up, but they both stated that Rice reached into his waistband and pulled out the gun.  Due to this observation by the officers, Loehmann began to shoot.  Later, a video was released and in the video you can see that Rice wasn’t threatening the officers verbally or physically. Loehmann started to shoot as soon as he arrived on the scene.  The gun that they stated Rice had was a Airsoft,which is known to be an air gun which was designed to shoot non-lethal plastic pellets and has a safety tip on it. Loehmann shot Rice in the torso.  Rice had injuries in his major vessels, intestines, and the pelvis(Clevel, 2016).  In this case, both of the officers were placed on leave with pay, but the grand jury decided to dismiss all the charges against each officer. This case shows that even if the city had a video that showed that the officers killed Tamir Rice for no reason, the justice system would dismiss the case, which seems unfair.  This caused many people to protest all over the world and make African Americans as a whole stand together to work toward peace.  

In the year 2015, Freddie Gray, Jr. was arrested by the Baltimore Police Department for possessing what the police thought was an illegal switchblade. BBC News states that  While Gray was being transported in a police van, he fell into a coma, and later died .  When the doctor described Gray’s death, he stated that there were injuries to his spinal cord.  During this, witnesses to this interaction were recording the whole event. The video showed Gray screaming as the officers were dragging him to the police van.  Those witnessing Gray’s arrest saw one officer bending Gray’s legs backwards, and another holding him down with the officer’s knee pressing into Gray’s neck(News, BBC,2016).  Each of the officers who were involved in this case were not charged with his death. This made the African American community protest until the verdict changed because the evidence showed a video and that the van that held  Gray stopped three times before taking him to the hospital, plus you even had two witnesses stating that they saw what the officer was doing to him and the only consequences they got was suspension with pay. A Washington Post article stated that in 2015, there was a real-time database to track fatal police shootings. In 2015, 1,502 people had been shot and killed by a on-duty police officer.  It was reported that 382 of these murders were of African Americans and 732 were white. Police have shot and killed 175  young black men from ages 18 to 29 since January 2015.  Reports also showed that police shot and killed 172 young white men, 18 of whom were unarmed.  This data shows that in terms of police related shootings, majority of the victims are African American men (some of whom are unarmed(Lowery, Wesley,2016).

Philando Castile was shot by officer Jeronimo Yanez on July 6, 2016.  Castile was driving  in the car with his girlfriend Diamond Reynold and her daughter when being asked to pull over. When officer Yanez asked for Castile’s license and registration, Castile told the officer that he had a license to carry a weapon that was in his pocket during this time.  Castile was shot seven times while reaching for his ID after telling Officer Yanez he had a gun permit and was armed.  Castile’s girlfriend (who was in the car with him) recorded the incident and put it online(5).  Yanez was charged with three felonies.  In this case, justice was served with the officer being charged for a crime that he did with evidence including a video that aired immediately after it happened. Officer Yanez didn’t have a reason to kill Castile; once he saw Castile reaching for his ID, he reacted by shooting him.  Castile girlfriend also stated that the other officers who were on scene didn’t check Castile as he was slumped over on the chair, they automatically comforted Officer Yanez who was crying after he realized what he had done(Ellis, 2016). 

“Black Lives Matter” was a nonviolent movement created because of the the racism and killings that African Americans faced  This movement was created by a group of African Americans after the killing of the teenager Treyvon Martian.  Over the past couple of years there has been a dramatic increase of police brutality. We know that the police are supposed to protect us, not to kill us.  This movement helps African Americans to seek out for help in a non violent way by protecting and marching until justice is serve for our people. This has been a major problem in today’s society and in the African American community. African American  males are more of a target than the females.  Because of the increase of African American killings, there is no cause for fear within the community.

Not only are African American males a target, but the African American females are too. For example, Sandra Bland was killed by a police officer while incarcerated. Bland was pulled over because she failed to signal when she was changing lanes. In the dashcam video, it shows that when the officer first pulled her over and was telling her to get out the car, he was being aggressive.  Her death was mysterious because she only spent three nights in jail and was alive during booking, but she then suddenly died in police custody(Bult,2016). According to CNN News , the video that was showed was of her dead in what was  supposed to be mugshot that was placed next to the mugshot she took when she first arrived at the jail.  When the case went to trial, the officer who pulled her over  and the other officer in the jail were put on trial. There was evidence against each of the officers, but when it came to determining whether or not the officers would be found guilty or innocent,  the court found the officers to be innocent and they were allowed to go back to work. This was another incident that made the African American community outraged and riots started to break out worldwide because of the decision that was made, even with the evidence they had. That’s where the Black Lives Matter movement came about because they understood that people are upset, but that starting riots would not make this go away. The Black Lives Matter movement made people understand that the justice system is unfair, but we have to remain together in order to stand strong.

In conclusion,  unarmed African Americans are more likely to be killed by a police officer and police officers are more likely to not be charged with any crime, even with evidence against them. Overall, police shootings of African Americans have increased, just from 2009 to 2016.  According to International Business Times, a  five-year study reported “ 77.7 percent of people killed by officers were men, and 51.51 percent were black men, while 46.3 percent were white , 2.6 percent were of other races , and the races of 130 victims were unknown.”  Once again unarmed black men are being targets more than any other race.

A08: Definition Argument – anonymous

Global Warming by definition is a gradual increase in the overall temperature of the earth’s atmosphere generally attributed to the greenhouse effect caused by increased levels of carbon dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons, and other pollutants. The name “Global Warming” can give off a less than threatening vibe to many young adults, seasoned old timers, or to anything in between.