Thesis Statements

Obesity:
Over one-third of America’s children are overweight or obese, awareness needs to be raised now, so that children can get help before it’s too late.

Smoking ban:
Secondhand smoke has been proven to cause cancer and death in those who don’t smoke.

Therapy Dogs:
It has been documented that animals can help lower blood pressure and help promote overall well-being of people.

Narrowed Topics

1. Obesity:
Does Obesity effect the overall well-being of children?

2. Smoking ban:
Will the smoking ban make Fort Wayne a better place to live?

3. Dogs:
Are therapy dogs really beneficial?

LexisNexis Articles

Benefits of Pet Therapy

1. The Comfort of a Kind Paw. St. Petersburg Times (Florida). Michelle Miller January 14, 2007

This article’s main argument was that regular visits from therapy dogs to hospitals, help promote their overall well-being and give sick patients emotional support. This article basically outlined the journey two dogs made to becoming therapy dogs and how much hope they gave the patients they went to see. This article also said a little bit about what a dog must go through to become a certified therapy dog.

2. Teachers Say Therapy Dogs Signify Unconditional Love. The Associated press State and Local Wire. Liz Shepard. November 27, 2006

This article was about a dog that does therapy at a middle school. The main point was that while student counselors can offer their understanding and support in so many ways, they cannot offer the unconditional love and understanding that a dog can. This article outlined the story of a dog named Sadie and how she has been able to help many children. “Students receive unconditional love from these dogs they don’t care what you look like or what type of clothes you wear.” Nancy Head, a middle school teacher said, “Sadie is definitely an asset, especially in middle school when they sometimes just need a friend.” The article goes on to say that using Sadie as a therapy dog encourages students to pay attention and that she has a calming effect on the students and can even relieve their anxiety.

3. Super Furry Animals. Edmonton Sun (Alberta). Chad Hucalak. October 4, 2006-12-28

“Animals have been documented to lower blood pressure and keep people happy,” states Geffner, a dog breeder herself. “A dog is unconditional love.” This article was about a pet society in Northern Alberta, and how their main goal is to provide assistance and education to people in nursing homes and hospitals. The article goes on to say what dogs would qualify to become a therapy dog, and how many of the owners of therapy dogs have an emotional story about someone who responded positively from a visit from an animal. The Pet Therapy Society also works with disabled children and gives those children a chance to get out in the community.

Obesity

1. America’s Obesity Epidemic Getting Worse; New Report Finds Adult Obesity Rates Up In 31 States; The South is ‘Biggest Belt.’ U.S. Newswire. August 26, 2006.

This article was about the rise of obesity in 31 states over the year 2006. Indiana ranked eighth for overall obesity out of all 50 states. Mississippi was number one, followed by Alabama and West Virginia. Overall the South was found to have the “Biggest Belt” being that it is home to 9 of the 10 states with the highest diabetes and hypertension, the two major health problems related to obesity. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that nearly two-thirds of all adult Americans are either overweight or obese and over one-third of all children are overweight or obese. This article basically told about how America is becoming increasingly obese and that something needs to be done about it. There is a campaign started “F is for Fat, 2006,” that offers recommendations to help ‘curb’ the obesity crisis, which includes a 20-step action plan to address the health burden and financial cost of obesity.

2. Obesity Cited Number-One Kid’s Health Issue; Americans Split on Who’s Responsible. U.S. Newswire. December 13, 2006.

The main point of this article is to address the fact that obesity is seen to the be most important health issue for U.S. children, according to a poll done by Research! America and the Endocrine Society. 27% of Americans ranked childhood obesity as the top health issue for kids. However, Americans are also divided on who is responsible. 52% of people polled think that obesity is a public health issue that society should help solve, while the other 46% of people believe it is a private issue that should people should deal with themselves. The poll does show, however, that the public thinks obesity should be addressed only to get individuals and parents active in treating the problem. The article stresses that there needs to be more awareness and education in regards to childhood obesity.

3. State-Specific Prevalence of Obesity Among adults --- United States, 2005. Centers For Disease Control and Prevention Documents and Publications. September 15, 2006

This article mostly gave statistics of obesity ratings among Americans in the year 2005. It talked about body mass index and its relationship to obesity. It also said that obesity is one of the 10 leading U.S. health indicators associated with increased risk of diabetes, certain cancers, hypertension, stroke, coronary heart disease, and dyslipidemia. This article also said that its goals for the year 2010 is to reduce to 15% the prevalence of obesity among adults in the United States.

Smoking Ban

1. The Smoking Ban: Even If We Think It Was Justified, We Should Consider the Tradeoffs involved. The News-Sentinel (Fort Wayne, Indiana).

On January 25, 2007 the ban is here!! Smoking has been forbidden in almost all “public” places in Fort Wayne, as of June 1, 2007. While smokers will become less visible, the nonsmokers will have fresher air. The vote on the 25th was so overwhelming. Seven agreed, one opposed, and one abstained from voting. The question now is will the number of nonsmokers who start going to these once smoking facilities be greater than the number of smokers who stop going. This article basically debated this topic and in the end said, “Of all our self-indulgences, smoking is the only one that requires everyone around the user to participate, whether they want to or not. Health effects aside, secondhand smoke is nasty and unpleasant for the nonsmoker.”

2. Smoking Bans Roll On: The Debate is Now Mostly Over the How of Restrictions, But the Why Still Matters, Too. The News-Sentinel (Fort Wayne, Indiana). August 31, 2006.

On August 31, 2006 Allen county proposed stronger restrictions be put on smoking in public places. This article outlines the positives and negatives of putting a smoking ban on Fort Wayne. While some say its taking away a freedom, others are happy they might possible be able to go into a bar, and not have to smell smoke anymore. This article as well as the first article emphasizes that smoking is the one habit that requires those around the smoker to participate in as well, but without choice. The base of the matter is that the smoking debate is about values as well as science. Individuals liberties competes with society’s needs, and property rights competes with governments reach.

3. Board of Health Urges Smoke Ban: Its Recommendations Go Beyond Allen County’s Proposed Ordinance. The News-Sentinel (Fort Wayne, Indiana) September 19, 2006

On September 19, 2006 the Allen County Board of Health unanimously adopted the recommendations that call for a city wide smoking ban. The Board of Health cannot directly affect whether a ban will go into place, however, they are able to offer their expertise on the matter and attempt to influence county commissioners that way

Fulkerson Article

I learned so much from reading the Fulkerson article. I can't believe how much helpful information there was in it. I really liked when he said to pick a topic that matters to you. I completely agree that picking a topic you are interested will make writing the paper that much easier and enjoyable. On page 13, the third reason the author gave for picking a topic you are interested in stuck out to me. Fulkerson said, "if you care about the topic, that interest will probably come through in the writing. Instead of a lifeless report, you will end up with an energetic text, one likely to make a good reading and to enlighten its audience." Reading this article made me think a lot about what I will choose as a topic. I loved how during this whole article the author was always giving examples of everything he was trying to teach. It made understanding the point of what he was saying so much easier. I learned from him that by using an expert in the field you are researching can be more helpful than I originally thought. Not only can you get helpful information that they themselves know, they can hopefully lead you in the direction of good books, articles, etc... Even though the whole article was very interesting to read, I would have to say the section on "Making Your Research Thorough (and Current)" stuck out the most to me. It helped me realized what time and effort is necessary for writing a good research paper. It also got me thinking about where I want to begin looking for information. Overall, I really enjoyed reading this article and found it extremely educational.

Possible Topics

1. Benefit of having a dog for a pet- A dog can be good therapy. They will show you love no matter what.
2. ICU- (Not really sure where to go with this one!)
3. Photography- How Henri Cartier Bresson or Ernst Hass changed the face of photography, through their work.
4. Embryo Cryopreservation- the freezing of fertilized embryos for later use. Even years later. Not really sure where I would go. I think it is amazing it can be done. But it’s a little weird to me, freezing a fertilized egg and sperm for future use.
5. Ban on smoking in Fort Wayne- I want to try to make the point that it might not be as bad as everyone is speculating. There are many programs that the hospital and the city of Fort Wayne are trying to put together to help people quit.
6. Advancements in healthcare- It is amazing what can be done with healthcare these days.
7. Medical Ethics- There are many directions I can go, not sure which one I would want to take.

Global Warming

When I look at the map on global warming I honestly get a little confused about what it is trying to show. I see that when you click on the boxes, some will describe that the overall temperature has risen in the recent years. Other boxes I clicked on told me how the population and growth of animal and plant life has shifted over the years. I tend to agree with the politicians that believe global warming to be a hoax. In BIO 117 I had to read an article on global warming and write an essay. The essay was titled Should Society Act Now to Forestall Global Warming, I do not still have the article so I am unsure of an author, but I learned a lot from that essay on global warming. Global warming is said to be caused from the effect of carbon dioxide and other “greenhouse” gases holding in heat, preventing the heat from escaping the earth’s atmosphere. Actually, it is this process that allows life to live on the earth. There are many things that affect the changes in temperature. The supporters of global warming want to portray the increase of production of carbon dioxide as a really bad thing, when in fact; carbon dioxide within the environment is actually a very good thing. Carbon dioxide is very good for plants; it helps them to grow faster. And with faster growth of plants, comes faster production of oxygen—which just happens to be vital to our survival along with many other species. There is not enough supporting evidence on this website for it to convince me otherwise. Weather changes, it is not something that stays the same. One day will be cold, the next warm.

Critical Reading

Critical reading is very important because it allows readers to fully understand the paper in which they are reading. I know from personal experience, reading something one time has never been very helpful. I am always so surprised to find things that I missed the first time when I read something a second time. I also think it is important, because it enables you to become more educated. Instead of reading over a word you may not understand, highlight or underline and look it up later. Then the next time you come across that word you will be able to read it and actually understand its meaning. This is true for events and places as well. If a story is set in Belgium, and you have never heard of it, looking it up will give you a better mental picture of the setting. Critical reading also helps you to identify the claims the author is trying to make. Also, you can’t just believe what is being told to you in the paper. So by learning about it you can make your own opinion based on what the author presents. Ultimately, critical reading will only make you a better writer because you will be able to effectively look at your paper and see if it has all the necessary pieces to be a “good paper.”

Comparable Issue

A comparable issue to the effect DDT had on the environment would be the effect that second hand smoke is having on the community. There are quite a few debates on the issue right now especially with the city of Fort Wayne working towards becoming a smoke-free city. I know that in May of this year Lutheran Hospital will become a non-smoking campus. When Lutheran Hospital decided to do this, they knew there would be a fight. The smoking community of the hospital are very upset most of which are saying “they won’t make me quit,” and “it’s not fair.” However, the hospital is making every attempt to help these smoker’s quit. They are offering smoking cessation classes and after completing a sequence of five classes, the hospital will pay for a medication to help you stop smoking. I think that it is pretty amazing that the hospital is taking steps for a healthier community, meanwhile trying to help those who want to quit. According to the American Lung Association, http://www.lungusa.org, second hand smoke lingers in the air for hours after a cigarette has been put out. Second hand smoke can cause many bad health effects. Some examples being cancer, asthma, and other respiratory infection, not to mention making someone with a poor immune system very susceptible to the effects of second hand smoke. On that website you can view many different statistics, but being that I work in the healthcare field I am particularly interested to see that secondhand smoke causes about 3400 lung cancer deaths in adult non-smokers. I also found it interesting that non-smokers who were exposed to secondhand smoke were 25% more likely to have coronary heart disease than non-smokers who were not exposed.

"Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

Rachel Carson’s book “Silent Spring” had a huge impact on what the American people thought about the use of DDT. Her book was very successful in raising the awareness of what DDT was actually doing to the environment. I believe the biggest reason “Silent Spring” had such an impact is because she carefully thought about who her audience was going to be. Not only did she appeal to the scientific community, she also translated those scientific terms and statements into sentences anyone could read. In doing so, she successfully reached the general public, and enabled them to be educated on subject. She gave them the opportunity to take a stand for what they believed to be right. Another reason I think her book was successful is the introduction she decided to use. Sometimes giving the reader a mental picture can be more useful than diving right into the scientific terms of the subject matter.

Stuart Greene

While reading the article by Stuart Greene I learned a few different things. First, I really agree with the very first sentence of the article. “Argument is very much a part of what we do every day.” I don’t think that could be any truer. I don’t think that there is a day that goes by where I don’t have an “argument” with someone. Whether it is trying to convince my dad of something or having a heated debate with a co-worker on medical ethics. From this article, I learned the importance of finding out whom else has argued the position you are trying to take, and what were some of the conflicts associated with it. On page 146 the author states “Like verbal conversations you have with others, effective arguments never take place in a vacuum; they take into account previous conversations that have taken place about the subject under discussion.” This sentence only reinforces the importance of taking previous work on your subject matter into account. I also learned that the way you position yourself within an argument is based on three things. The first being what arguments you share that were previously stated, secondly what arguments you want to refute that were previously stated, and lastly what new information and arguments do you want to bring to the paper. I also liked in the conclusion where the author said “research can be conceived as the discovery and purposeful use of information.” This article was helpful to read and learn about what makes up an effective argument.

All about me

My name is Tiffany Haggard and I am a junior at IPFW. I am majoring in Biology for pre-dental. My goal is to become a dentist. I am currently taking four classes this semester; Calculus, Biostatistics, Photography, and English. This is my first semester since I started college that I will not be taking any science courses. I have not really come across a class that I would call my favorite, however, I think I am going to enjoy my photography class I’m taking this semester. When I am not studying and going to class, I work.

I work at Lutheran Hospital in the Intensive Care Unit as a patient care assistant. I really enjoy my job and have learned a lot from it. As a patient care assistant I do a lot of different “jobs” during a 12 hour shift. As a patient care assistant in an intensive care, I also serve as unit secretary; therefore, I do a lot of paperwork and ordering for my unit. As well as secretary work, I do a lot of patient care as well. Working in an intensive care I have been able to see quite a few procedures and tests and have loved learning what I have from working there. When I have free time from work and school I try to spend some time with my family.

I am one of eight children in my family. I have three brothers and 4 sisters. My dad works at a construction company in the planning department. My mom lives in Florida with the youngest of my three brothers. My other two brothers both work at car dealerships in the finance department. My oldest sister lives in Mississippi and has two children. My next oldest sister lives in New Mexico and is in the Air Force. She has a 4 year old little boy and a baby girl on the way. She is due to arrive next week actually. My younger sister will be graduating this year and will be attending Butler University next fall for Speech Pathology. Another big part of my life is my dogs and my boyfriend.

My boyfriend, Nathan, also works in the planning department in the same construction company as my dad. He is 21 years old, and we have been dating for three and a half years. Nathan and I have two dogs, both boxers, together. The older of the two is Kaya. She is two years old and very much a big baby. The baby is Sadi, and she is only nine months old. Sadi is our brave, daring little puppy. They are both very spoiled animals.

When I have time, I like to watch movies. I watch all types of movies, but I most commonly watch comedy. My favorite movie is The Sweetest Thing. I also enjoy going to the Coliseum and watching hockey games when I get a chance. Even though hockey is a low scoring game, it can be exciting when both teams are good.