Analyzing a Source

Authors: Starr, David S.
Source: Cortlandt Forum; Sep/Oct2008, Vol. 21 Issue 8, p35-36, 2p

"Medicine and the Law"

Found in database: Academic Search Complete

Are doctors doing the right thing?

One thing that is closer to my experiences that I may include in a research paper is the competency of doctors. It is close to me because almost four years ago my mother passed away from a reaction to a medication. It was sudden, and she was prescribed the medicine only a couple days earlier. My mother had a lot of problems like arthritis and depression that she took other medications for. Not much would work, but I did some research on the medication, and it is only normally used in extreme cases. One day, I was watching Dateline and there was a piece on that exact same drug, and how there were lawsuits against it. Teenagers who were just taking the medicine for serious sports injury suddenly died. From what? Doctors haphazardly handing out medication so the drug companies can make a buck. I believe the world of medicine needs to stop looking at commercialism over people's lives. I also believe that if less trust was put into doctors, and more effort was put into the prevention of ailments, then there would be less suffering and death today.

How has the quality of photography changed from film to digital photos?

From paper to the screen, photography has changed a lot over the past years. One thing to pinpoint is whether or not the quality of photos has changed from developing the pictures to just printing them out on a computer or sending them in an e-mail. I noticed that in my high school, the photography classroom was changed from going to a darkroom, to going on a computer and editing. The class to take and develop photos hands-on was no longer available to students. Fortunately, I was able to take that class before it was done away with. The process of developing photos takes much more time and may be painstaking, but I believe the result is very rewarding. Digital photography has made things much more convenient, and easier to publish and share photos. However, this convenience may have changed the overall quality and feeling of a photo. One can use software on a computer to edit and change an original picture. I believe that this can show one's creativity, but could take away from the meaning of the actual photo. Working in the darkroom and creating an original work of art seemed much more rewarding than taking a photo and changing it on a computer. The quality of a a digital photo could change from one screen to the next, but the quality of an original developed photo stays the same. The feeling your grandmother gets when receiving photos of that last Christmas in an paper envelope versus that attachment in an e-mail is much more cherished. She can put them in a frame or show them to other people by passing them along. Forwarding pictures may be easier online, but the quality of the photo may be lost. I guess that's what technology is doing, placing convenience before quality.

Why is Martial Arts more useful and/or safe than boxing?

One of the topics I chose that interests me a lot is Martial Arts. One of the controversial issues today, among many fans and athletes themselves is "what is more dangerous: boxing or mixed martial arts?" In my opinion, both have risks involved, being that both are heavy contact sports. I believe that both have dangerous things about them, and precautions must be taken in order to prevent serious injury. Granted, neither are completely safe, but Martial Arts is something that is not targeted at a small part of the body. Boxing mostly targets the upper body, and mainly the head. Statistics show that many more have had more serious injury and many more have died from boxing than Martial Arts. Since Martial Arts has more variety of technique, there is less of a chance for concussion or other serious injury. Mixed Martial Arts involves battling it out on the ground and standing up. This means that there are more techniques for submission where a fighter can win. Whereas, in boxing, one is judged on blunt force, and knocking the opponent out. Rounds in boxing are normally much longer than Mixed Martial Arts bouts. I know that there are a lot of fans of boxing and has been around longer as a means of entertainment. Mixed Martial Arts is quickly becoming one of the most popular sports in the world. I also believe that Mixed Martial Arts is more useful than boxing. Unlike boxing, there are more techniques that were developed for self defense that don't take years and years of training and punching a bag. Overall, I believe that knowing more about Mixed Martial Arts may change one's views on boxing.

Starting English 102

Coming from English 103, this class does not seem terribly difficult. There are a lot of different methods that were given to go about finding a topic to a research paper, and getting started. I started off by listing some of those things.

Some of the things I don't know much about, but would like to know more are:

• Asian culture
• music composition
• politics
• skiing/snowboarding
• other religions (besides Christianity)
• home schooling
• paintball
• modern day slavery
• horseback riding
• and more...

There are some things that are found in everyday life and some in people's personalities that I dislike and disagree with very much.

• I dislike very much when people are ignorant to things. Things like other people's views, the world around them, or just everyday situations.
• When people are rude it is very inconsiderate and selfish. Things would be much more pleasant in life if people weren't so rude.
• I hate the cold, period.
• I don't like when people are dishonest and purposely break someone's trust.
• Selfishness and pretentiousness are also some traits of people that irritate me.

Some of my questions I took into consideration for a research paper are:

• What are some of the major differences in Thailand's culture and/or governtment?
• Is Martial Arts more useful or safe than boxing?
• How has the quality of photography changed from developing to digitizing photos?