E110 FA19 Class Blog

Topics

Is there segregation to this day?

is there supremacy to this day?

Most of the ideas I have relate to mental health and illness within certain groups of people. Some of the topics I’m interested in exploring are:

• mental health/illness in prisoners
• mental health in teenagers
• how the media/film portrays mental illness
• how social media influences mental health

Mental health is a topic that is really important to me because I struggle with anxiety myself. Mental illness is something that affects so many people and families and I think it’s so important to study to figure out how it should be dealt with. I want to research one of these specific groups so I can have a more focused argument rather than being too broad.

I am struggling to decide about what I want to write in my research essay, I have a couple options, but I am not sure how to make it all into one cohesive essay or if all of my topics would work better separately.

A list of my ideas are

• breaking down the binary in schools-
• importance of gender neutral bathrooms, trans students allowed to use whatever bathroom/ changing room they wish
• health class/ teacher professional development lessons on the gender and sexuality spectrums, starting children younger so can make smarter decisions, feel more comfortable with themselves
• understanding of masculinity, its consequences, and how to reverse toxic masculinity in young men for teachers and staff- combat education gap in STEM
• reversing/ preventing gender socialization in children
• Importance of LGBTQ+ education in history and english classes
• Importance of inclusive LGBTQ+ sex education

Since all of these topics are school related and share the same theme of gender (and sexuality) inclusivity, I thought many would flow well together, but I do not want to overdo it and get on a soapbox and not do each specific topic the justice it deserves.

I plan to write my research paper on the life and story of Jordan Belfort. Most people know about Jordan Belfort from the movie, The Wolf of Wall Street. What no one really knows about is his life before the fame and the life after getting caught in the act. Of course, the story of him getting famous and rich will be included, but that will not be the only thing I will write about. For those of you who aren’t sure who Jordan Belfort is I’ll give you some background. For starters, when he was 22 years old he was eager to get out and make some money, so he went to the one place where he knew he could, Wall Street. This is where it all began. His boss got Jordan into the mindset of not caring about the investor, to just take their money for himself. I’m going to jump to the conclusion because there are too many details to go through, but years go by and the cops know what he’s up to. The cops finally catch up to him and arrest him for securities fraud and money laundering.

Diving right in, I plan to write my research paper on LSD. I want the audience to take away a few things from the paper. The first being the real history about its use in the past and why it became illegal. The second being that the reality of LSD use is that it’s only dangerous if you use too much of it; it’s like any other drug. (That being said, I don’t want to promote the illegal use of LSD.) With these two topics behind me, I really want to drive home the idea of allowing scientists to begin researching LSD again. I would cite other scientists that have made this claim to show that this is something that is being considered already, so it’s not a total stretch to make it happen. I would address that old LSD experiments showed promising results in helping ease the minds of people with PTSD, severe anxiety, and other debilitating mental disorders. I would support this by citing those medical journals and breaking down the content so it’s easier for my audience to understand.

Why LSD? Well, I wanted my paper to tap into my major, neuroscience. I also wanted my paper to be on something that isn’t normally talked about. I like exploring the unknown and learning about topics that might be considered taboo. I also want to share the truth on LSD now that I know more about it. People have so many misconceptions about it, so I think it’s time to explain what it actually is and why it needs to be reconsidered as a usable drug in the medical/research field.

For my research project, I want to do something that has to do with my major, music education. Last week in my women’s studies class, we started talking about gender and education and that got my gears turning about how that applies to music ed. Then, the next day in my MuEd seminar we read some articles about the gender differences in music education. This is a topic that really peaked my interest, and I want to look further into it. I don’t know what my focus will be yet, but I’m sure by reading more sources I will be able to narrow in on a thesis/question.

For my project, I would like to research the phenomenon of the “glass cliff”. I only heard about it recently, as it is a fairly new concept in our society. The gist of the theory is that women and minority groups are more likely to be put in positions of power when a business or company is doing poorly, and therefore have a higher likelihood of failing. I think this is a very interesting concept, especially since gender and racial disparity in the workplace is still a huge issue. I plan on researching instances of where the phenomena of the glass cliff occurred, and it’s repercussions. I’m excited to dive deeper into this, and I would love some feedback from anyone who is interested in the topic as well!

When I heard we get to do research for this next project, my mind went in a million directions, but all my ideas were tied to my major: environmental science. I have narrowed down my options to the environmental health impact from farm and agricultural runoff. This topic is interesting to me because not enough is being done to regulate the chemicals, herbicides, pesticides, and waste products that are used and produced on farms. These products seep into the ground or go into nearby water supplies. This harmful pollution should be more strictly regulated by government agencies so we can live in a cleaner (and safer!!) environment.

I would like to research the effects of meditation on anxiety. In my psychology class we watched a video where a person practiced meditation and mindfulness to see if it would change the way their brain functioned. In general, I have heard a lot of people acclaim meditation to have strong positive effects on their anxiety levels. Although there could definitely be a correlation between the two, it might not be the case for everyone. Personally, I definitely believe that practicing meditation has a positive effect on individuals that deal with anxiety, or any other mental health issue for that matter.

Researching this topic is very important because Gen Z and millennials have anxiety rates that are high above the average amount (https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/2018/stress-gen-z.pdf). A popular way to help people deal with anxiety is through prescribing medication. Though this can be a great way to help others cope with anxiety, it may not be the answer for everyone. If we can find an alternate solution, like meditation, for people that don’t want to take medication or don’t need it it could be very beneficial in improving their quality of life.

Considering meditation has become a lot more popular over the last few years I would have a lot of evidence from many legitimate sources to support my claim.