CVD

The Role of the Family in Preventing the Onset of Cardiovascular Disease among At-risk Members

Underlying Question

How can family members help prevent the onset of cardiovascular diseases among at-risk members?

Introduction

Cardiovascular technology is the use imaging technology to help physicians diagnose cardiac (heart) and peripheral vascular (blood vessel) ailments in patients. Cardiovascular technologists and technicians are among the first contacts of potential cardiovascular patients in cardiovascular clinics and laboratories. An understanding of the cardiovascular system and familiarity with cardiovascular diseases are necessary for a cardiovascular technologist or technician to do his or her job of assisting physicians diagnosing illnesses related to the cardiovascular system. As part of the health care team, the knowledge of the risk factors and prevention of cardiovascular diseases would help cardiovascular technologists deal  with patients and  their families with empathy.

Risk factors for cardiovascular diseases such as acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and coronary artery diseases  (CAD) are classified as modifiable and un-modifiable. The un-modifiable risk factors to cardiovascular diseases   are age, sex, heredity and family history. The   modifiable risk factors are mainly due to unhealthy lifestyles that involve smoking, obesity  and lack of exercises.

Using the functionalist perspective theories, the paper will look into three  of the key functions of family namely:1)  socialization;     2) economic and psychological support; and 3) social status.  The two key functions of functionalist perspective theories will be used to explore the role of the family and how effective it is to reduce the risks of cardiovascular diseases to at-risk family members. Conflict perspective theories will be employed as a secondary framework in looking at how modifiable risk factors contribute to the progression of cardiovascular diseases.

The paper attempts to enumerate forces that could reinforce or restrain family members from helping at-risk family members prevent the onset of cardiovascular diseases.  Situations and examples presented are insights based on my own family of orientation.

Background

The Center for Disease Control (CDC), the National Institute of Health’s (NIH)  Medline Plus, Healthy People.gov among other government entities have  been focusing on issues related to the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases.  Mr. Byron Marshall, a cardiovascular technologist and registered nurse who happens to be my instructor at the Health Occupations Division of Grossmont College has emphasized to my class the magnitude problem of cardiovascular diseases on PowerPoint presentation in blaring statements:

1.       Acute Coronary Syndromes (ACS)  are responsible for  1  in 5 deaths in  the United States

2.       There are 1.2 million ACS cases each year

3.       Of the 1.2 million ACS cases, 40% would likely die

4.       In 2010, the treatment of ACS among other related cardiovascular diseases amounted to  more than $500 billion dollars!

With an optimistic note, the Healthy People.gov  who provides a scientific based 10 year  national objectives for improving the health of all Americans, hopes to improve cardiovascular health and quality of life of at-risk individuals through prevention, detection and treatment.  Given the magnitude and the alarming cost of the problem, it is a known fact that cardiovascular diseases like ACS or stroke are highly preventable because of the modifiable risks factors.  According to the HealthPeople.gov, the leading modifiable risk factors in the onset of cardiovascular diseases are:

1.       High blood pressure

2.       High cholesterol

3.       Cigarette smoking

4.       Diabetes

5.       Poor diet and physical inactivity , and

6.       Overweight and Obesity

Viewing the Modifiable Risk Factors of Cardiovascular Diseases in the context of Conflict Perspective Theories

The conflict perspective theory tells much about the etiology of cardiovascular diseases. Etiology, which is the manner of causation of a disease,  includes not just the clinical aspect of the disorder   but also the psychosocial factors  that contribute to the progression of a disease. Conflict theory which claims that society is in a state of perpetual conflict and competition for limited resources may also be true with a working class family trying to live a healthy life.

Chronic job stressors along with a poor diet contribute to the prevalence of high blood pressure. A poor diet which is an easy option for a working family who has no time to prepare healthy meals is laden with salt. A fast easy inexpensive meal comes with the least expensive meat parts which contains the most animal fat that are the sources of cholesterol. Because of the competition between fast food operators, a family is made to believe that they are making bargains with low cost food in super sizes. Overweight and obesity ensue and progress into atherosclerosis, the buildup of plaque in a coronary artery that could later lead to ACS or stroke.

I am including job stressors and relationship breakdown as additional risk factors in the etiology of cardiovascular diseases. Such factors that may lead to family dysfunction and mostly contextualized in the conflict perspective theory will be taken into consideration in exploring the role of the family in helping prevent the onset of cardiovascular diseases.

Using the Functionalist Perspective Theorist to Enumerate the Role of the Family in Preventing the Onset of Cardiovascular Diseases to At-risk Family Members

Except for sexual regulation, the three other function of family are the more accurate indicators for exploring and enumerating the roles of the family in preventing the onset of cardiovascular diseases to at-risk family members.  Without ruling out family dysfunction which has become prevalent in every society, I am including conflict resolution and mediation as an added function to the role of a family in helping an at-risk member.

Job stressors, relationship breakdown such estrangement and divorce, smoking and other forms of addiction are also major modifiable risk factors to cardiovascular disease. These and such other factors that may lead to family dysfunction as contextualized in conflict perspective theories are being taken into consideration in exploring the role of the family in helping prevent the onset of cardiovascular diseases to at-risk members.

The non-modifiable risk factors to cardiovascular diseases which include age, sex and heredity are basically family-oriented. Cardiovascular diseases run in families. It is for this reason that the family history is always considered in the etiology of cardiovascular diseases.

Socialization

In my family of orientation, the concept of socialization is focused on how a child copes up in school and relates with peers.  There is less intimacy for families meant to be larger so there could be more help for production in the farm.  The unhealthy lifestyle brought about social patterns learned in school and the workplace of the member at-risk for cardiovascular disease should first be assessed. One of this unhealthy lifestyle learned from socialization is cigarette smoking.

Social Status

The position of a family in a community is the eventual result of its other functions such as socialization and economic and psychological support. My father who was known to provide well for the basic needs of his family and my mother who had complemented my father's role as a  provider earned the good reputation for providing well for their family.

Conflict Resolution and Mediation

Because of individual differences and opinions, conflicts arise within families. There are sibling rivalries and petty quarrels among family members. During crisis situations,  some leadership as well as dissent arise. Some conflicts resolve itself by cooperation or consensus. Other times, families get divided upon an issue. There are times that mediation from parents are necessary to resolve the conflicts among family members such as brothers and sisters. In the case of parents fighting with each other, the most influential grown-up children with the approval of other siblings can also mediate and resolve conflicts between parents.

Conclusion

By recognizing the interplay of modifiable risk factors and key family functions contribute to the etiology of cardiovascular diseases, the family can prevent the onset of cardiovascular diseases to at-risk family members.  Cardiovascular diseases which may be inherent to at-risk family members due to age, sex predisposition and hereditary factor such as genes are most vulnerable to aging parents.  The family members most likely to take care of aging parents are identified by their social status and their capability to provide economic and psychological support to the needs of the aging parents. Their ability to resolved conflicts that arise among other family members regarding the care of the at-risk members or aging parents is also  crucial so as not result to further stress and conflicts.

 

Bibliography:

Hammond, Ron, “Introduction to Sociology”, Family, Smashwords Edition , Copyright 2010

Huffman, Karen, “Psychology in Action”, Stress and Health Psychology , Tenth Edition,  Copyright 2012, page 106-108

Marshall, Byron, “Acute Coronary Syndromes” , a PowerPoint Presentation to CVT 104/105 Health Occupations Division, Grossmont College, September 2013

“Healthy People 2020” Heart Diseases and Stroke, http://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topicsobjectives2020/overview

consciousness

Aldous Huxley, in the novel Brave New World, wrote about an imaginary drug (soma) that made people feel extremely happy and cooperative. If such a drug existed, would you take it?  What if it was as safe as aspirin?  Should everyone be forced to take the drug?  What would the world be like if everyone took the drug? 

You must also comment on at least one other student's posting.  There are no right or wrong answers.  Remember, be respectful in your answer.

Like Bernard Marx, I may not take the Soma because I am a non-conformist myself. Not even my primary care physician can let me take a drug that I think is not doing me any good unless it is an antibiotic and I have to finish the full course of the medication so as to avoid the adverse effects of being non-compliant.

I somehow associate the imaginary drug Soma as a combination of Fluoxetine and Lorazepam. Would I take Prozac or Ativan? In my mind, I would say I have no need of any drug that would take me out of depression or anxiety but I do need coffee to keep me awake and sometimes  half a tablet of Unisom to make me sleep. Most or all drugs have their adverse effects if they are misused.  

I find the storyline of the Brave New World kind of  corny for a futuristic novel. Maybe the imaginary drug that could make people feel extremely happy and cooperative has been around for decades and 2540 in the Gregorian calendar came too soon. I haven't taken any drugs similar to Soma for recreational use. As for anyone being forced to take psychoactive drugs, it can happen by peer pressure or in a lifestyle one chooses.

I don't know what the world be like if everyone took the drug.

Religion and Education

How does religion contribute to social control and support for the government?
How does education contribute to social control and support for the government?
Is either one of these more effective in maintaining social control? Should maintenance of social control be a function of religion and/or education?

For me, religion is something cultural that one is born into it. Being born into it doesn't mean having to embrace it. Not in my case. Religion is something one can adopt, ignore and even capitalize on. To some cultures  or sects, religion is such a big deal as religion is like the supreme being itself, like God, Jesus Christ!
If religion is the opium of the masses as Karl Marx said, then religion is thus  a  very powerful tool for social control tool for the government. Religion could provide the illusions of being in such a perfect place that all one needs is to have faith and devotion to the supreme powers and wait for divine intervention.
As to how education contribute to social control and support for the government, I like to go back to a quote I have used earlier by Nelson Mandela: "Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world."
With Mandela in mind, I am also reminded of Paulo Friere's approaches to liberating education that transcends social control and support from the government. Education is definitely the more effective tool in maintaining social control. Education which paves way for understanding and communication  or dialogue however does not have to disregard other factors which might bring about social control and support for the government.


What are your thoughts on the separation of church and state with regards to public education? Is the government doing its job?
I am inclined to favor the separation of church from state when it comes to public education. Part of my early education was from a catholic school and my agnosticism started mostly during my years of catholic education.
The separation of church and state paves the  way for religious freedom for every individual. Religious freedom, which is a civil right granted by the first amendment of the US Constitution, may however be studied in public schools in the context of history.

The word "church" is even vague. Yahoo lists some 21 major religions practiced in US and with each religion comes a church, a mosque, a shrine or even a tower. The church can't also representative a god who is referred to in another name in other religions.

As for the government doing its job in public education, I think it does for the most part. But public education is not sole responsibility of the government of any level, it should always be the partnership between parents, the community and perhaps even the church or sect that the student belongs to. The parents who are the foundation of each family should be responsible for the religious education of the child, if any. Parents always have the option to  use the resources available in the community or the church to educate the child about their specific beliefs with regards to their faith.

stress and health pyschology

What are the most important sources of stress in our society? What could be done to combat these stressors on a societal level? As an individual? What were the most important stressors for your parents when they were your age? Do you have more or less stress in your life compared to your parents? What about your resources for coping with stress, are they better than your parents? Why or why not?

The major sources of stress in the American society is the economy. It's the economy, not just according to James Carville and former President Bill Clinton. The stress that comes with every major economic activity like finding and keeping a job are basically the source of every chronic stressor, hassle, frustration, conflict and sometimes even life changes.  The only way to combat these stressors on a societal level is to suck it up. In military terms according to urban dictionary, this means coping up by just dealing with it without whining.
As an individual, I suck it up, in a way, combatting stressors by doing outdoor activity at every chance. I just came back from boulder scrambling in Anza Borrego and forgot about everything until someone from my group explained that the pictograph trails drawings on boulders were work of  stressed-up Kumeyaay youngsters about to have their very first hunting event which were also big event rites. Their stress explains a lot of the  drawings that resembled body parts.
My parents' stress were mostly on their agricultural tasks and how to go about the hand-to-mouth existence that they had. My parents' life in the farm was a lot less stressful compared to the  life mostly spent on the freeway and the assembly line that I have now. My resources for coping with stress are more varied than it was with my parents. Back then there were no  smartphones and mobile devices and social networking sites.

What if I have a Dysfunctional Family?

The questions were inteded to help me start thinking about and processing information for Paper 1.
Question 1: Explain/define the function of family called sexual regulation (sexualilty and reproduction) and give  example from your family.

The function of family called sexual regulation is all about sexual intercourse without contraceptives for the wife or the female partner to get pregnant. I cringed at the thought of going back to basics. The book of Genesis is the most boring book I have ever heard about. God begot Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve ate the apple and the rest was a very long story.

I don't know how to make an example from my family. Don't everybody beget children the same way? I want to make things up. But the instruction says I have to give an example from my family. I am not sure which family I would make an example of. The family that I came from or the family that I have now. I emailed Ms. Hines about my most pressing concern: What if I have a dysfunctional family?

Psycho Discussion Board

Question: Some people believed that "all you are" is determined by the types and amount of neurotransmitters that ooze through your synaptic gaps. Do you think that all of your thoughts, hopes, dreams and aspirations are results of physiological processes; your love, your hate, anger and memories are only at the synaptic level? Why or why not?

My answer: Nope, I would never think that all my thoughts and everything that goes in between are results of physiological processes or only at the synaptic level and neither are they determined by the types and amount of neurotransmitters that ooze through my synaptic gaps. I would go back to Chapter 1 and think about modern psychology's seven major perspectives such as psychodynamic, behavioral, humanistic, cognitive among others. While I do acknowledge the fact that neurotransmitters could enhance my thoughts, dreams, hopes and aspirations, Ido think these neurotransmitters are only temporary. As for my memories being only at the synaptic level, I don't think so. As opposed to neurotransmitters that come and go, my memories have a better storage area far from my synaptic gaps. To quote Dory from Finding Nemo: "I suffer from short term memory loss. It runs in my family. At least I think it does. Where are they?"
Discussion board question number 2 is the more intriguing to me so let me go around the bush of my choice. I never heard about Anais Nin saying "We don't see the world as it is but as we are" before. About.com says that Anais Nin was a writer known for her published diaries. Like Anne Frank? Not really, she was born to Spanish-Cuban parents in France. Her name reminds me of Anais Anais which I pronounce as a neigh, a neigh, that characteristic high pitch sound uttered by a horse. The perfume, course! Was Anais Nin trying to tell her readers that they don't get it?

"Look guys, it's not what you think it is!"

I don't get it, either!

I could actually relate more with the Johari Window. Those windows tell a lot: part of it tells that what you see is what it is; what you didn't see; what nobody saw and who knows what nobody would ever see.



Thanks to cross-eyed kittens with lazy eyes, David Hubel and and Torsten Wiesel were able to study the effects of visual deprivation during the critical period for development of vision. Like half of the class who would be devastated to lose their vision, my sense of vision is the most important and would do everything to save it.

As for illusions, I understand illusions to be false perceptions. Like I have illusions of being so smart, then I talk smart when in reality, I really don't know what I am talking about
A Flashbulb memory:
 just got home from work and it was 9 PM in Whereimfrom, a country in Southeast Asia. The TV was blaring from some commercial and suddenly there was this breaking news alert. The TV showed footages of a burning building and then a plane come into the picture from out of nowhere and flies right into the other building standing close to the burning building. The TV footage was aired over and over on TV for the next days and weeks and I watched everytime waiting for the plane to come out of nowhere and hitting the second building.
Does childhood matter?
No, childhood should not matter more than adulthood or any other human development stages. Everyone must grow up, including politicians.

Children are resilient and can often overcome some problems related to physical abuse, neglect, separation from parents, mentally ill parents and inadequate parenting. When should society intervene to protect children?
Societal intervention should be the last resort to the protection of children. It cost so much taxpayers' money to take care of anybody's child. Minors who have become resilient and were able to overcome problems related to parental neglect or inadequate parenting should probably be offered a chance to be emancipated. It's the parents who never grew up who needs societal intervention such as correctional facilities.


Should we all speak up and object when we see parents verbally abusing their children in supermarkets, restaurants, or parks? What if they are physically abusive?
I would rather not say anything if I hear an adult who is probably the parent using adult language to a child. The cussing and swearing may be the regular language in the household. If the child uses in school the profanities he or she learned at home, that's probably the time the teacher or any adult within hearing distance should speak up. If I see an adult who is probably the parent, smacking a child in a supermarket, I'll look the other way. But if I see an adult, who is probably the parent, strangling a child in a supermarket, I would definitely call the police.

The three words that describe my personalities are:

• Agreeable
• Serious
• Self-assured

My parents who both have ancestors from China and believed in Chinese Astrology thought that I should be cheerful, perceptive and talented because I was born in the year of the horse. My friends who do not know much about Chinese Astrology think I may have been born in the year of the donkey instead. My friends are not as agreeable as a I am but they are still my friends. I agree to those who say global warming is a hoax.

Seriously, I also agree with Karen Horney (pronounced HORN-eye) disagreeing with Freud on penis envy.

Ten years ago I may have been less of being an agreeable, serious and self-assured person. Ten years from now I am sure I would still be myself.
If a learner died during the course of the Milgram Obedience Study, Milgram who is the designer of the study should recieve the longest sentence. The experimenter who conducted the study who is more of an accessory to the death of the learner could recieve a lesser sentence and the teacher who was instructed to give the shock that cause the death of the learner should be acquitted.

If I was a participant in the study, I might have been like everyone who are instructed to play the role of a teacher giving shocks as far as the experimenter tells me to go. As was shown in the video, the participant playing the role of a teacher was being instructed by the experimenter to continue giving shocks. As a participant, I would trust the experimenter and would have the understanding that the environment is simulated since I know that I am taking part in experiment. I would plead my innocence to the death of the learner I happen to shock to death. In the first place, I was deceived into taking part of the study having been told that the study is a learning and memory study.

Replicating Adolf Eichmann's behavior based on his denying responsibility in the Holocaust in the Milgram obedience study is, to me, rather farcical and sick. The reliability as well as the validity of the study is very questionable. Eichmann was a top henchman of Hitler and I don't see any correlation of his denying responsibility in the Holocaust to any kind of obedience that Milgram was trying to replicate. I can't imagine how deceived I would feel if I was a participant to the Milgram study and came out obediently capable of shocking a learner to death and would learn a year later that Adolf Eichmann was executed for his war crimes in Israel.

Learning about the Milgram Obedience Study however does not change my view about Social Psychology. Another experiment presented in the video was the experiment on leadership styles by Kurt Lewin. Some of Kurt Lewin's concepts were used in some community organizing models, a personal favorite was the Force Field Analysis. The concept was used to identify the driving and restraining forces in a community. I do come from a collectivistic culture.
After reading through articles and watching videos about polygraph testing, I decided I could not possibly beat a polygraph test by lying. The polygraph seems to me a very scientific device relying on physiological and biological responses of the body like respiration rates, heart rates and electro dermal changes. Given the chance, I would however take part in an experiment designed to prove that anyone can successfully beat a polygraph test by lying. I would love to do an experiment to see if I could beat a polygraph test by admitting to a crime I did not commit.

WikiHow.com has some interesting recommendations on how to beat a polygraph test.

1. Learn about polygraphs
2. Conceal your knowledge about polygraphs
3. Take a high quality antiperspirant and put it in your fingers and palm the night before and repeat the day you are taking the polygraph testing.

The Employee Polygraph Protection Act of 1988 answers the question whether a polygraph testing as a requirement for employment is a good idea. The EPPA prohibits private employers from using a lie detector tests either for employment screening or during the course of employment. I would not mind however being subjected to polygraph testing if I want to work with the Department of Homeland Securities or National Security Agency. I am sure I could pass a polygraph test.

If I were to be born again, or reincarnated, I would choose to be born in Germany where I would be an intersex individual. I find being born straight in my current life very restricting. There would be things I could easily do if I was gender free. As a child, I develop the aversion to pink that I opted for rainbow colors early on. I never bought the idea that women are from Venus and that men are from Mars. To me, it takes someone from Uranus to come up with such an absurd idea.

As to who has it easier, society with all the myth that come with gender and sexuality does not make things easier for either men or women. Not every woman could be a goddess of love, beauty, sex or fertility and neither every man should be equated to any Roman god of war. Emerging laws and policies however like the legalization of same-sex marriages in some states and the don't ask don't tell policy are making things easier for both sexes.

Polygraph Testing

After reading through articles and watching videos about polygraph testing, I decided I could not possibly beat a polygraph test by lying. The polygraph seems to me a very scientific device relying on physiological and biological responses of the body like respiration rates, heart rates and electro dermal changes at every response. Given the chance, I would however take part in an experiment designed to prove that anyone can successfully beat a polygraph test by lying. I would love to do an experiment to see if I could beat a polygraph test by admitting to a crime I did not commit.
WikiHow.com has some interesting recommendations on how to beat a polygraph test.

1. Learn about polygraphs
2. Conceal your knowledge about polygraphs
3. Take a high quality antiperspirant and put it in your fingers and palm the night before and repeat the day you are taking the polygraph testing.

The Employee Polygraph Protection Act of 1988 answers the question whether a polygraph testing as a requirement for employment is  a good idea. The EPPA prohibits private employers from using a lie detector tests either for employment screening or during the course of employment. I would not mind however being subjected to polygraph testing if I want to work with the  Department of Homeland Securities or National Security Agency. I am sure I could pass a polygraph test.

Response to Ursula

 My hometown used to be in a rural Third World country accross the Pacific ocean until I plucked  my roots out  from this rural Third World country home town more than eight years ago. Since then, my home has been along the canyons of the northeast county of San Diego. I must be a fish in another life, I have always been in school. I am currently enrolled in an health occupations program at Grossmont College. I am taking this class because it was made available to me by an add code (thanks, Ursula!) and it is a bettter option for me, rather than taking ESL classes.  Among my interests are hiking and gardening. I have uploaded a picture of a grasshopper in my profile. Where I come from grasshoppers are pests, they can also be a delicacy.

Author: Access the profile card for user: Melissa Smith Melissa Smith
Date: Friday, August 30, 2013 2:28:03 PM PDT
Subject: RE: Post 2: Sociological Research

I did this experiment with ten different people. I wanted to keep it equal, so, five were strangers and the other five were friends. All of my friends helped me when I dropped my bag and the contents went everywhere. Four of my friends laughed at me but still helped me pick up my stuff without me asking. However, only three of the strangers helped and one of the strangers that did not help just stood there and gave me a lecture about how to properly carry a bag. I personally found it surprising that three strangers actually helped. I expected that only two people out of the five would help. In conclusion, because friends know the person in need, they are more willing to help than a stranger who one has never met.

Independent Variable	Dependent Variable
Co-worker 1	yes, instantly
Co-worker 2	no, with question why I dropped a binder on the floor, the floor is dirty
Housekeeping staff	yes, very friendly
Per Diem staff 1	no
Per Diem staff 2	yes
Stranger at the cafeteria	yes, asked if I was OK
Co-worker and friend	no, asked if I am losing "it"

I was at work when I checked the blackboard and saw  the instructions for the experiment. That was when I started dropping things: pens, binder, dirty linens, a book,  car keys. I work in an environment where anyone can be greeted with "How may I help you?" or "Have you been helped?" My workplace is culturally diverse by the way. Co-worker 1 is female, caucasian; co-worker 2 is male, Asian; housekeeping staff is female, Asian/Hispanic; per diem staff 1 is a male, Asian; per diem staff 2 is female, Middle Eastern; stranger from cafeteria is male, caucasian and  co-worker and  friend is female, orignally from Kenya.

 

 

Author: Access the profile card for user: Ursula Hines Ursula Hines
Date: Monday, August 26, 2013 5:37:42 PM PDT
Subject: Post 1: Sociological Theories

For this discussion, take a moment to go to Lesson 2, locate, and take the Theories Survey. Share your results here. What theory do you lean towards more? Were you surprised at your results? Why or why not?

The results of the survey seem to tell me that I am leaning more strongly  toward Functionalist  Theory, Symbolic Interaction Theory and and Development Theory. While I seem to have some reservations on the Confilict Theory, the theory  could come in handy in some situations. I have one NA answer in both Social Exchange Theory and Family Systems Theory.


I seem to be getting your point, Jessica. The article is the simply the dyslexic way of looking at how Americans deal with their bodies.  In the article, I feel like I am simply reading an American anthropologist' perspective on a foreign culture. I find the fascination of an outsider such that of the author more interesting than the practices of Nacirema (read backwards as American) people. While the practices described seem primitive and exotic to the author, to me, these practices have their own modern counterparts. The holy mouth men are now called dentists and hygienists; the latipso is the medical examination room; and  the listener would be the modern day clinical  psychologists. Long before the invention of dental floss, there were hog hairs.

I stopped reading the article when the author pointed out "the gleam in the eye of a holy mouth man as he jabs around into the exposed nerve". Finding the Nacirema tribal practices having sadistic and masochistic tendencies seem to me an easy and unfair judgement made by an outsider to a foreign culture. In the US people would have tattoos, piercings and would go under the knife for anything: self-expression, to enhance their image or just to belong or be cool. Limiting intercourse to the phase of the moon is also nothing new to devout Catholics who would not go for artificial birth control because of the dictates of the holy men in the Catholic church. Catholics practice the natural family planning method, nothing lunar but close.  
I thought of two old movies while I was reading the article. These are 1) Full Metal Jacket (1987) and, 2)  GI Jane (1997). Full Metal Jacket begins with the recruits of US Marines at Parris Island. GI Jane, on the other hand, revolves around a female soldier's undergoing training in US Navy Special Warfare group. Although I am thinking of movies with fictitious characters, the article of Gwynne Dyer which has a documentary film presentation is closer to reality in depicting how US Marines socialize their recruits.  I realized reading through my classmates' comments that there actually individuals in the class who have connections to the US Marines, being a wife or a veteran, a brother or a son perhaps. How do the US Marines socialize recruits?  I read from one of the comments about isolation techniques that recruits go through.

Growing up in the rural area, my socialization is not that rigid to that of a US Marine recruit. Perhaps if I grew in an urban area like a big city, I would probably be street smart and no different from a soldier protecting his territory.

I am not sure how the socialization of US Marine recruits could be so effective on anyone. Despite of the preparations for tough situations at the front lines, many still come home to their families a changed person.

I was reminded of GI Jane while reading the article because of how US Marine recruits were thought of to be anybody's son.

http://www.pbs.org/pov/regardingwar/conversations/women-and-war/introductions-on-not-being-a-nasty-female-in-the-marine-corps.php


 

 

Who am I kidding?

Prof Sky High Standards that makes me a C stupidest asks in the discussion board what are the three words to describe my personality.
Agreeable.
Serious.
Self-assured.

If my friends learn how I am projecting myself now, they would ask who am I kidding. They are not as agreeable as I am but they are still my friends. I agree to those who say that global warming is a hoax.

Seriously?
Seriously, I agree with Karen Horney (pronounced HORN-eye) disagreeing with Freud on penis envy.

I am self-assured with what I seriously agree with and that's my personality.

Discussion board drafts

Does childhood matter?
No, childhood should not matter more than adulthood or any other human development stages. Everyone must grow up, including politicians. 
Children are resilient and can often overcome some problems related to physical abuse, neglect, separation from parents, mentally ill parents and inadequate parenting. When should society intervene to protect children?
Societal intervention should be the last resort to the protection of children.  It cost so much taxpayers' money to take care of anybody's child. Minors who have become resilient and were able to overcome problems related to parental neglect or inadequate parenting should probably be offered a chance to be emancipated. It's the parents who never grew up who needs societal intervention such as correctional facilities.
Should we all speak up and object when we see parents verbally abusing their children in supermarkets, restaurants, or parks?  What if they are physically abusive?
I would rather not say anything if I hear an adult who probably be the parent using adult language to a child. The cussing and swearing may be the regular language in the household. If the child uses in school the profanities he or she learned at home,  that's probably the time the teacher or any adult within hearing distance should speak up. If I see an adult who is probably the parent, smacking a child in a supermarket, I'll look the other way. But if I see an adult, probably the parent, strangling a child in a supermarket, I would definitely call the police.  

Some brainfart musings

1. Is intelligence testing a useful method of measuring a person's potential for academic achievement?  I say that intelligence testing is still a useful method of measuring a person's potential for academic achievement. When it comes to the reliability of intelligence testing however, the concerns of Eric B, a Caucasian bilingual teacher at the  Escondido Unified School District who I carpooled with going to a hike at Three Sisters Waterfalls in Descanso  last February, echoes in my mind. Most of Mr. B's students are children of new immigrants from Mexico who have settled in eastern area of Escondido. Mr. B talked about his teaching strategies which to him worked but lamented the fact that his students did not do well in the in the  state standardized tests especially in language proficiencies. As a teacher, he had seen the progress of his students, progress that no standardized testing could measure.
2. If you were an employer would you prefer a highly motivated worker of average intelligence or a worker with average motivation and high intelligence?  Had my employer preferred applicants with high intelligence and average motivation five years ago, I would be out of work today. If I were an employer myself, I would take the cue from employer and would give a chance to highly motivated applicants even with borderline intelligence.
3. Which would you prefer for a romantic partner?  Duh
4. Which would you prefer to be--highly motivated or highly intelligent? I would prefer to be highly motivated but I wish I was highly intelligent.
5. Should colleges and universities base admissions more on SAT and ACT scores or high school grades and activities?  Ivy league schools should still base their admissions on SAT and ACT scores to maintain their status quo.  State universities could use some SAT scores but as they seem to be doing now requiring a higher GPA. Community colleges, on the other hand, should keep their doors open to the community for everyone wanting to learn, like what they are doing now.
6. Discuss the relative effects of motivation and intelligence on achievement. My goal is to finish the course with a grade that would help me  qualify  on a program I am waitlisted on. Given my previous scores on the chapter quizzes however, I am beginning to wonder if my brain is apt for the SQ3R technique that are supposed to improve my scores. I still have my motivation though.

Just another night shit with Die Vahkkendjaab

"Are you a nursing student?" Joyce Fulton asked.
"Nope."
"What are you studying?"
"Nothing."
"Sorry, I didn't mean to be nosy."
"I am fine."
I was working with Joyce, a registered nurse from the resource float pool for the first time. Joy probably got her RN degree through the Plus 50 Initiative. I could sense her interest. I just finished my activity record on Centricity and was browsing at the flash cards I have accessed through the Blackboard. Joyce was going back to her computer and probably got curious with what I was doing online other than working on my electronic documentations.
I have made friends with a few other resource float pool RNs. There's Beth Miller, who sang blues with an ETOH patient a few months ago, Eun Kim, Julie Cheng, and Florence Ebiya who I am always glad to see on the floor. The getting to know you working relationship phase with Joyce seemed to have gotten off on the wrong foot.

Son of a Grasshopper

Should I leave the effing son a grasshopper alone?
The mother fire trucker son of gun has nothing to do with the effing  result of my chapter quiz on sensation and perception.
What part of his ear did Van Gogh cut?
So this is American college education is all about. But I am having the most fun on the Blackboard Learn
https://gcccd.blackboard.com/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_1_1

I would be most devastated with losing my vision too Eqbal. Now I know how it feels. I am so devastated with the results of the chapter quiz because I almost lost it. I am trying not to go insane though. But if I ever lose my vision, I would have to tell myself that it's not the end of the world. I probably would not  be a Helen Keller but  I would get by. There's my sense of touch, sense of smell  and I would definitely add in a sense of humor.

Of cross-eyed kittens and Anais Nin

Discussion board question number 2 is the more intriguing to me so let me go around the bush of my choice. I never heard about Anais Nin saying "We don't see the world as it is but as we are" before. About.com says that Anais Nin was a writer known for her published diaries. Like Anne Frank? Not really, she was born to Spanish-Cuban parents in France. Her name reminds me of Anais Anais which I pronounce as a neigh, a neigh, that characteristic high pitch sound uttered by a horse. The perfume, course! Was Anais Nin trying to tell her readers that they don't get it?
"Look guys, it's not what you think it is!"
I don't get it, either!
I could actually relate more with the Johari Window. Those windows tell a lot: tell what you see is what it is, what you didn't see, what nobody saw and who knows what nobody would ever see.

Thanks to cross-eyed kittens with lazy eyes, David Hubel and and Torsten Wiesel were able to study the effects of visual deprivation during the critical period for development of vision. Like half of the class who would be devastated to lose their vision, my sense of vision is the most important and would do everything to save it.

As for illusions, I understand illusions to be false perceptions. Like I have illusions of being so smart, then I talk smart when in reality, I really don't know what I am talking about.

A View to my Exotic Origins

I just finished a required reading in SOC 120, the article "Body Ritual Among the Nacirema" by Horace Miner. The Nacirema people were a little-known tribe in the Antiles archipelago by the Caribbean Sea to the south and the Gulf of Mexico to the Northwest. I am glad the author did not call the Nacirema tribe Indians but instead  North American tribe. Nacirema is actually American read backwards.

I felt like I was reading an American anthropologist' perspective on a culture that could have been mine. I found the fascination of an outsider to a foreign culture more interesting that the bizarre practice of the Nacirema women he was describing where they bake their heads in small ovens for about an hour.

"What are your general thoughts on the article?" Ursula asks.
"The article seems to be about Americans. Nacirema backwards is American." Jessica Doyle points out.
I reply to Jessica Doyle's comment.
I seem to be getting your point, Jessica. The article is the simply the dyslexic way of looking at how Americans deal with their bodies.  In the article, I feel like I am simply reading an American anthropologist' perspective on a foreign culture. I find the fascination of an outsider such that of the author more interesting than the practices of Nacirema (read backwards as American) people. While the practices described seem primitive and exotic to the author, to me, these practices have their own modern counterparts. The holy mouth men are now called dentists and hygienists; the latipso is the medical examination room; and  the listener would be the modern day clinical  psychologists. Long before the invention of dental floss, there were hog hairs.

I stopped reading the article when the author pointed out "the gleam in the eye of a holy mouth man as he jabs around into the exposed nerve". Finding the Nacirema tribal practices having sadistic and masochistic tendencies seem to me an easy and unfair judgment made by an outsider to a foreign culture. In the US people would have tattoos, piercings and would go under the knife for anything: self-expression, to enhance their image or just to belong or be cool. Limiting intercourse to the phase of the moon is also nothing new to devout Catholics who would not go for artificial birth control because of the dictates of the holy men in the Catholic church. Catholics practice the natural family planning method, nothing lunar but close.

The article even if it could have just been a joke reminds me a book I recently read.  It is a book by a Japanese author, Koji Suzuki.  Paradise!

The author has no relations to the makers of Vitaras and Forenzas. In the only book of his that I have read so far, he weaved his story from the prehistoric distant lands where modern day Asians in America come from. I am quite familiar about legends when there were land bridges between islands  across the Pacific. I have read about Native  Americans coming all the way from Asia by the Bering Strait along the northern part of the  Pacific coast in a series of migrations. Suzuki is definitely referring to people from Mongolia, now a landlocked country in east and central Asia bordering Russia to the north and China to the south. Scholars dispute how long these people from Mongolia have been in North America . Some say 25, 000 years based on evidence while others counted less years and made it 12, 500 basing on their own evidences.

I take interest on migration patterns of Asians to North America

Eight Years Ago at the Brooklyn Borough Hall

RN gave me his right hand for me to put  the ring on. Ronald, the best man who was also the concierge at a building at Remsen St. looked on without saying a word.
"It's the left hand," Mary,  the officiating minister told RN.
"Sorry, I haven't done this for awhile!"

From Old School to the Web Classroom

 

I am officially an adult student. I opted for online classes with Sky as one of my professors. Doctor Sky is for real. She has a Ph. D in Psychology. I asked if Dr. Phil of the Dr. Phil Show if a pseudo psychologist. She says no, Dr. Phil of the Dr. Phil Show has a Ph. D in psychology, and a clinical psychologist. I stop and postpone being a smartass.                                                                                 

 

I borrowed the photo from Djeline. a friend from the old school. Djeline and I are among the few fishes from the old school who swim the cyber ocean alongside Dory and Marlin in finding Nemo.

"Which ass are you?"

I picked the first from the left.

"No you're more of the second from the right."

Smart ass. At least I am not an asshole.

 



 

 

 

 

 



Anak siya ng tipaklong...

Kilala ko siya noon pa man. Noon pa man, pesteng yawa na siya. Walang pinatawad, masiba sa lahat. Heto, nagkita ulit kami. Pinagmamasdan ko ang mga dahon ng Oro Blanco na replica ng  Oro Blanco ni  Vilma sa Phoenix. Unti-unting nauubos ang mga dahon pero wala akong nakikitang   caterpillar. Minsan, pinagmasdan kong maging isang paru-paro ang isang caterpillar na kinuha ko sa puno ng kalamansi. Naging cocoon at napisa bilang isang paru-paro. Pesteng yawa talaga. Anak ng tipaklong pala ang mga kumakain sa nga dahon ng Oro Blanco na replica sa Oro Blanco ni Vilma sa Phoenix.

Kung ikaw ba'y may pagkakataon mag-ibang anyo ng ilang sandali sa buhay mo. Magiging paru-paro ka ba o magiging tipaklong?

The Vagrants

The novel is about China by Yiyun Li. The story is set in the late 1970s when Beijing was rocked by the Democratic Wall Movement. The setting of the story reminds me of a patterns I am familiar with: rural to urban migration patterns in Third World, a world that will always be mine no matter where I am.

 

 

From vast farmlands owned by big landowners, tenants get to own a parcel. Small parcels of land are like plate waste from a landlord's dining table. Tenants migrate to urban areas or cities for better chances of livelihood such as some employment or other entrepreneurial activities. Livelihood options are based on one's own creativity and resilience.

 

The vagrants in the story are an older couple who subsist on scavenging and other odd jobs. The story depicts the time before China's one child policy where couples would not stop procreation until they have a son to carry the family's name. The story revolves on the characters of Nini, a crippled young girl; Bashi, an idle  son of a better off family; Old Hua and his wife; Teacher Gu and daughter Gu Shan; Tong, a boy who recently came to the city from the rural areas; and Kai, a radio announcer turned revolutionary.

 

Nini, born with deformities is the oldest of 6 daughters and tasked with child care responsibilities and doomed to be a spinster because no man would even consider her potential as a wife because of her ugliness. Her mother  who was  still trying for a son had at several times wished she'd thrown Nini as an infant because of her deformities and her gender. Old Hua's wife, who together with her husband, raised daughters they picked up from their scavenging, was kind to Nini finding treats for Nini who was always hungry. While Nini's parents worked, Nini was also tasked with preparing the family's meals. Bashi befriended Nini in the marketplace where Nini bought her families everyday needs.

Bashi, who was kind of a village bum or idiot was never taken seriously by potential parents-in laws. Bashi's friendliness to Nini soon became a mutual relationship unbeknownst to anyone. Teacher Gu who is aware that it was his daughter who caused the deformity of Nini was also kind to Nini.

 

As in any repressive societies, freedom of speech is curtailed. The story begins with an event, the execution of the daughter of Teacher Gu, once a revolutionary zealot who at 14 kicked Nini's mother who was eight months pregnant. Gu Shan was betrayed at 18 by her boyfriend who wanted a post in the army upon a remark she made. Her imprisonment led to her killing ten years after and tasked to cover the broadcast was Kai, once a classmate of Gu Shan and a wife of a distinguished man from a political family.  

Utong ng Kamote

Ika ni Djeline, utong sa Pangasinan ay talbos. Ang utong ng mga Tagalog naman ay malaki ng pinagkaiba sa utong ng mga Ilocano. Ang utong ng mga Bisaya ay ibang usapin din.

Ang ensaladang utong!
Ang kitang kitang utong!
Ang inadobong utong!
Utong, ingon nako, utong!