Re-humanizing Medical Treatment

By: Naomi Sharman

Observation, the long-standing basis of science, seems to be taking a backseat in today's medical community -- a change that is harming patients.

I was misdiagnosed in one of the best
hospitals in the country

I came home from a Christian proselyting mission to the East Coast when I could no longer walk well and had a collection of other severe symptoms.

I thought I was dying.

Before I came home, I was hospitalized in a Johns Hopkins satellite hospital. I was tested for multiple sclerosis, a brain tumor, and Lyme disease. After ruling out multiple sclerosis with the final MRI, the doctor started talking to me as if I were a kindergartner: "Can you come in for bi-weekly visits with a psychiatrist?" I could tell from her tone of voice that she wondered if a nut-job would know the meaning of bi-weekly.

Let Me Speak: Including English Dialects in the Classroom

by Jessica Jenson

There are at least 38 English dialects spoken in students' homes across the United States. As English instructors, are we doing our students a disservice by correcting their native tongue just because it varies from the standard dialect?

"Speak Now," an art piece I created for my multi-cultural education
 class, represents my hope that regardless of my students' race,
ethnicity, or dialect, their voices will be heard and valued.

My great-grandmother was a high school English teacher in a town with a population smaller than my graduating class. Her students were fresh from farm fields and oil rigs, and they spoke the dialect of their country upbringing. "Ain't" and other such offenses were the norm—except in Grandma's classroom. Her instruction became well known for cleaning up her students' English and transforming them from rough field hands to well-spoken intellectuals.

While I admire my great-grandmother and the English instructors like her, the emphasis on eradicating English dialects concerns me. As I have prepared to become an English teacher, I have come to believe that English instruction should focus on the development of the students' communication and critical thinking skills, not the destruction of their language. Teachers in today's multi-cultural setting should be more accepting of non-standard dialects. Although this shift will be difficult for many of today's educators, the inclusion of all English dialects will increase student engagement, aid comprehension, raise standardized test scores, and foster empathy between differing dialect speakers.

Left Brain or Right Brain: Helpful personality descriptor or dangerous false psychology?

by Brianna Parkes

The theory of people being right brained or left brained is not corroborated by studies, but this idea is as influential as it is dangerous.

Psychology, the study of behavior and the mind, has a huge impact on everything we do. An essential part of science is communication. Any science does little good for humanity if it is reserved for the academic elite. Extreme care must be taken, however, to ensure that the principles disseminating to the public are correct. The mind is a very complicated construct, and psychology is a field filled with nuances, where context is critical to knowing how to use information. In an effort to avoid the pitfalls that come with subpar information, it is crucial that the public is guarded against the pernicious presence of outdated information or overgeneralized outcomes. Phrenology is a historical example of this danger, and the modern ideas of being right and left brained is similarly dangerous.

Free Health Care in America: A Step Toward Equality That Has Yet To Be Taken

by Pualani Havea

Although free health care is often characterized as an individual responsibility, governments with the means to provide universal health care should treat it no differently than any other basic human right.

75 million Americans forego medications due to cost

Despite the countless advances in technology and the abundance of health care organizations popping up all over the place, whether they are free standing clinics, hospitals, urgent cares, etc. many people still lack the ability to receive quality health care at an affordable price. This has become a concern throughout the world, but especially a more vocal concern for residents of the United States in the past few years. There has been an increase of rising out-of-pocket health care costs which has led many to even delay seeking treatment for health concerns in worry of the price they may have to pay which is especially concerning and problematic.

Computational Thinking: The Catalyst of Humanity

by Joshua Parmley

From the printing press to nuclear physics, the logic of computer science shaped history. Education should focus on that logic to shape the future.

Jeannette Wing, Columbia University's Data Science director, defines computational thinking as "taking an approach to solving problems, designing systems, ...[by drawing] on concepts fundamental to computing". It is an approach to problem solving guided by computational principles, such as the development of functions. For example, say your family can never agree on which restaurant to go to. You could bicker  each time you want to go out, or you could develop a function to streamline the process. For example, you might develop a tournament system. Everyone nominates restaurants in order to fill a bracket, then eliminates one name at a time by a majority vote. The last restaurant represents the overall best choice. This method develops an easy to follow procedure (function in computer and math languages) that prevents excessive contention and saves you time. It is a computational approach to decision making.

Want to Save the Environment? Print More Coupons

by Christopher Belnap

If the intended goal is to save the environment, we need to focus on passing policies that will incentivize businesses and people to adopt helpful actions without banning harmful actions. 

The congressional class of 2018

For many, the state of the environment has quickly become one of the most polarizing issues in the United States today. Since the early 2000s, we have started to see the effects of our environmental ambivalence which began during the industrial boom of the nineteenth century. In order for lasting environmental change to occur, we need to pass legislation that incentivizes companies to "go green." Government incentives are integral in causing a "Green Industrial Revolution."

Nature's Effect on Mental Health

A healthy dose of nature may be just
what a patient needs.

by Alex Roweton

Although medication and therapy are often effective for treating mental illnesses, nature may have the ability to help those who are resistant to traditional methods of treatment.

As mental health becomes less and less of a taboo subject in society, it’s important to think about the different approaches to treatment that work for different people. One person might respond well to medication and therapy as a method of treatment for their mental illness, but traditional methods may not work for another. Although medication and therapy are often effective for treating mental illnesses, nature may have the ability to help those who are resistant to traditional methods of treatment. Wilderness therapy (sometimes known as forest bathing) involves spending time in nature and may be just what a treatment-resistant patient needs.

Twitter is the Democracy

By Kendal Clawson

Social Media, but especially Twitter is one of our main ways of communicating in our society today. It should be censored more, but we also need it to keep our Democracy alive and well.

Personal Component: As an aspiring journalist, writer, author, and photographer, I feel that I have a responsibility and obligation to continually post and publish my work on different forms of social media. I love the saying, "a picture is worth a thousand words" and I love it because of my love for writing and photography. I like the idea that both of the things I love can be one. Knowing that saying to be true, I know I need to be careful about what my images could convey to someone when they see them. 

With that, I feel it necessary for me to post accurate, true and censored content. There are many sources that do not do that and create false news that others so easily believe. Expressing ourselves freely and openly on online platforms was not the start of Freedom of Speech, in fact, it dates even further back before the digital age.

The Untapped Potential of Music

By Tyler Johnson

  
Music is a powerful tool for a stronger brain that works at any point in a person's life.


Music interacts with the human brain in a unique way. Across nearly all cultures, music is used as a way to express emotion. The "feelings" part of the brain is almost always activated when music is heard. This is even observed in infants.

At the same time, as any musician will tell you, music is extremely complex. There are many scales, keys, and chords. There is a vast array of rhythmic complexity, from the simple straight time, to the counter-intuitive poly-rhythm. This requires the "logic" portions of the brain.

Having been an avid musician my whole life, I have seen the benefits of music therapy first-hand, both as a preventative and a responsive method. On February 16, 2012 I was a pedestrian that was struck by a car going 30-35 miles per hour on impact. This resulted in a traumatic brain injury, with a fairly grim prognosis. While there were many factors that played a role in my recovery–too many to list here–I can confidently say that my involvement in music played an enormous role in my recovery. I think that we can use music as an effective tool, both for treating ailments, and creating stronger brains.

Free Healthcare in America: A Step Toward Equality That Has Yet To Be Taken DRAFT

by Pualani Havea

Although free health care is often characterized as an individual responsibility, governments with the means to provide universal health care should treat it no differently than any other basic human right.

75 million Americans forego medications due to cost

Despite the countless advances in technology and the abundance of health care organizations popping up all over the place, whether they are free standing clinics, hospitals, urgent cares, etc. many people still lack the ability to receive quality health care at an affordable price. This has become a concern throughout the world, but especially a more vocal concern for residents of the United States in the past few years. There has been an increase of rising out-of-pocket health care costs which has led many to even delay seeking treatment for health concerns in worry of the price they may have to pay which is especially concerning and problematic. 

What Makes a Business Virtuous

By Kelsey Sampson

Although it is highly important for businesses to have corporate social responsibility programs, it is inadequate if the core business does not cover their more basic responsibilities. 

Cotopaxi's "Do Good" mission is at the heart of their CSR

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is any business action that addresses widespread social, community, environmental, or other issues by utilizing company resources (usually in the form of profits). Especially in the 21st century, the emergence of CSR programs in more businesses has led individuals to question what the role of business should be in approaching social issues. There has also been a push businesses to address more basic responsibilities, such as diversity in the workplace or minimizing their carbon footprint.