Laura

In the United States, growth hormones are legal to use on cattle.  Growth hormones are used to speed up the growth process in cattle on their way to the slaughterhouse.  Over 90 percent of cattle are injected or consume growth hormones. 

There are 6 growth hormones that are FDA approved.  Out of the 6 growth hormones that are legal only 3 can be naturally found in the body of a cow or a human.  The 3 naturally produced hormones are the following:  estradiol, testosterone and progesterone.  The other 3 growth hormones are made synthetically and are as follows:  trenbolone acetate, melengestrol acetate and zerol.  Two of the 6 hormones are considered to be carcinogens by the National Institutes of Health.  Estradiol (a type of estrogen) and progesterous may cause cancer.  Research is still being conducted, but growth hormones have already been banned from several countries, including Europe.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) tests cattle for synthetic hormones and illegal hormones, but cannot test for naturally produced hormones found in the body because the animal will always test positive.  It is hard to determine exactly how many farmers are using illegal growth hormones on their cattle.  The USDA does there best to prevent the usage of growth hormones, but sometimes their best is not enough.

There are alternatives to eating meat that has been exposed to growth hormones.  Organic meat does not contain any growth hormones and is very safe to consume, but it is expensive to purchase.  Another option is to become a vegetarian, that’s a little too extreme for most people, but vegetarians do not have to worry about growth hormones in meat.  Basically, all anyone can do is be aware of what you are consuming; your body will thank you in the long run.  

Technology is constantly changing.  As technology the mediums of mass media change too.  One of the first forms of media was the newspaper.  Newspapers were widely distributed after the printing press was invented in the 1430’s.  Today there are multiple mediums of mass communications.  The public is able to get their news through the following mediums:  newspapers, radio, television, and the internet.

The internet is the newest medium to get news.  News is easily accessible through the internet and news companies have the ability to up date news quickly as news is occurring.  News companies can also publish their stories with an unlimited amount of space (pages) and color.  The internet is now and it is the way of the future.  Teens of today are the future of tomorrow and teens prefer the internet for their main source of news medium.

In 10 years I think that the internet will be the dominant medium.  The internet is easy and convenient for everyone to use.  News can be accessed from practically anywhere if you have a cell phone.  You can access the news 24/7 at your own convenience.  Convenience is key to our society; if something is convenient then we like it.  News through the internet is convenient and so we like it.

All mediums (newspapers, radio, television, and internet) will probably last for at least another 50 years or so.  Take the newspaper for example, it has been around for hundreds of years and I don’t think that newspapers will become nonexistent anytime soon.  People like variety.  Offering a variety of mediums to get news is what the people want.  It is the news companies to give the people what they want, so all mediums remain as resources. However, I think that the internet will dominate over all other mediums in 10 years.  More and more people are turning to the internet to get their news already.  Until a new piece of technology is invented, and I am sure it will be, I think that the internet will be the lead medium to get news.

Ethics is determining right from wrong.  Everyone has their own opinion about what is right and what is wrong; this makes the decision of whether or not something is ethical in the media hard to call.  Ethics have to do more so with personal beliefs.  Just because something is legal does not mean that it is ethical. 

The history of media ethics primarily dealt with scandals, controversies, and the different understandings of media ethics. Throughout history, most controversies occurred during specified periods.  The periods were known as the following:  the print era, the electronic era, and the digital era. We are currently living in the digital era. 

The print era occurred during the 15^th century after the printing press had been invented.  Inventing the printing press led to the mass production of bibles.  Anything that was printed had to support the royalty’s opinion.  If the literature was not in favor of the royal opinion it was considered to be unethical.

The Electric Era was the second controversy period.  This was the time when technology had been put onto the market.  We had television and radio, but we needed something to put on the air.  Sex and violence is very entertaining, but is often considered to be unethical to put those types of programs on the air.  Rating systems were put into play to help determine what was ethical and what was not.

The Digital Era is what we are living in today.  With the invention of the internet came a lot of controversies.  We now have access to just about anything that you can think of at our fingertips.  One controversy that arose was, is it ethical for the internet to have sex, hate, violence and so forth on the internet?  There is no limit to what you can view on the internet.  The internet has provided the public with things that we like and things that we hate.  You have to take the good with bad.  The websites can’t all be good.  If you don’t like something, here’s an idea, don’t look at it!  Everyone has their own idea of what is ethical and what is not ethical.  Respect other people’s right to express themselves.  If you don’t like something that is being presented to you then don’t look/listen.

The media does try to control what is ethical for the general public to watch/listen/read.  Councils try to objectively observe the media performance, this helps to ensure ethnicity.  One person’s opinion could be completely different from another person’s opinion and that makes media ethics a little fuzzy and hard to make judgments on ethnicity of programs.  No one can really ensure ethnicity.

Every child will go through the stage of, what most people would call, the “Terrible Twos.”  The terrible twos can occur anytime after the child has turned one year old, and sometimes earlier.  It is hard to believe, but the terrible twos is in-fact a good thing.  It is a sign that your little one is growing up mentally; simply put, the terrible twos is a development stage that your toddler is experiencing. 

Babies will often mimic the people around them.  You smile at them and they smile back.  You say “woof, woof” and they say “woof, woof” too.  Then one day, your child begins to push you away and disagrees with just about everything that you have to say.  When the terrible twos begin you’ll know it.  Welcome to the terrible twos!  

It is important to understand why the terrible twos are occurring.  This development stage is occurring, because the child does not have the ability to ask for what he/she needs.  His/her language skills are not well developed enough.  This is frustrating to the little one.  He/she needs something but doesn’t know how to ask for it, which often results in hitting, biting, and temper tantrums.  The child is not trying to be intentionally bad or disobedient; it is their way of trying to get what they need.

Exploration and independence is your little one’s goal.  They will disagree with you and they will often disagree with themselves.  They will say “no” when they sometimes mean “yes.”  How confusing and frustrating for the parents?  Understanding the terrible twos is important, because it will help you to cope with what seems to be a terrible time.

Some tips for making the terrible twos not so terrible:

·        Keep to a set routine everyday.  Your child can know what to expect and when to expect it.

·        Limit choices.  As the parent, you have to be in control, but give your little one the opportunity to feel as though he/she is in control sometimes with decision making.  For example, let them pick what they want to eat.  Say, “Do you want a banana or an apple?” Instead of saying, “What do you want to eat?”

·        Set limits.  Set limits, but do not be surprised when your toddler pushes the limits as well as your buttons. 

·        DO NOT GIVE IN TO TANTRUMS!  If you give into your child’s tantrums you will be prolong the tantrums.

·        Time-out and lack of privileges.  Use time-out or take away a privilege when your child is misbehaving.

·        Safe environment.  Set-up a safe environment and let your child learn and explore freely.

·        Avoid “yes” and “no” questions.  Asking “yes” or “no” questions is simply asking for trouble.

Understanding what your little one is going through is key.  Do not get upset at your little one for learning and exploring.  Let them become their own person and encourage their development.

For more information about your child’s mental development visit http://pediatrics.about.com

For those of you that don’t know, Jim Karol came to LVC Friday, November 16^th.  His performance was good; I enjoyed it.  Magic is not something that I would normally go see.  I am very skeptic when it comes to magic.  It bothers me when I don’t know how something is done.  Jim Karol held my attention throughout his entire performance.  He was funny, very entertaining and had me asking myself ‘How did he do that?’

I never heard of Jim Karol or saw any of his performances until he was listed to come to LVC.  Apparently he is quite famous.  He performs for a lot of famous people and attends a lot of famous people events.  For example, Jim Karol attends parties at the Playboy Mansion and P. Diddy’s “White Party” every year.

Everyone likes to be entertained.  Most people enjoy magic; I on the other hand do not.  However, Jim Karol was not just a magician; he is an entertainer.  Throughout his performance he made jokes which were enough to keep me entertained.  I would go to another one of Jim Karol’s performances and I think that everyone should see him perform too.

This year over 1,150,000 women worldwide will be diagnosed with breast cancer; that is equivalent to 1 out of 8 women.  Out of the 1,150,000 women diagnosed with breast cancer 411,000 will die from this disease.  Breast cancer is the leading cause of death in women ages 20-59.

About 1 million women at this very moment have breast cancer and do not know it yet.  The symptoms of breast cancer often go unnoticed by most women.  Some symptoms that may be notice are as follows: 

·        A change in how the nipple/breast feels or looks

·        A lump in the breast/underarm area

·        A change in the size/shape of the breast

·        A nipple turned inward toward the breast

·        Redness or swollen breast/nipple

Most women go in for a yearly mammogram and that is great.  It is important to know that mammograms do not always detect breast cancer.  Mammograms have a failing rate of 20% in women over 50 and 40% in younger women.  Doing self breast examinations are the quickest, cheapest, and easiest way to check for breast cancer.  You know your body better than anyone else.  Go ahead, touch your boobs!  It’s good for you!

If something feels different you should tell your doctor to check for breast cancer; even if you feel normal you should be checked for breast cancer.  If your doctor suspects that you may have breast cancer he/she will confirm his/her opinion by performing any of the following detection systems:  clinical breast exam, diagnostic mammogram, ultrasound, magnetic resance image (MRI), or a biopsy.

If cancer is found treatment will begin.  There are two types of therapy that can be used to treat breast cancer.  One way is to use local therapy.  Local therapy includes treatments such as surgery and radiation to remove or reduce the cancer.  Another way is to use systemic therapy.  Systemic therapy uses hormones to rid the body of the cancer or to control the cancer through the bloodstream. 

Breast cancer is scary, because there are few symptoms and the causes are usually unknown.  50% of all breast cancer cases are unexplainable.  During your lifetime you may be diagnosed with breast cancer or you will know someone with breast cancer.  Knowing the symptoms and performing self breast examinations frequently will help to increase your survival of this deadly disease.

To learn more about self breast examinations and how to perform the visit    http://www.breastcancer.org/symptoms 

Jim Karol is a comedian, mentalist, and has the ability to memorize more information than the average person.  He has preformed on the Tonight Show, Today Show, Ellen, E Entertainment, CNN, and Phenomenon, just to name a few.  He has also been in the movie Jackass 2 and will be featured in Jackass 3 in the near future.  

Karol has performed for some of today’s top stars.  He has performed for people such as Coolio, George W. Bush, Carmen Electra, P. Diddy and many others.  By hanging around famous people and performing for them, Jim Karol became famous himself.  Most people do not know him by name, but they do know him by his performances.  Not only does he perform for stars, he also performs for the everyday average Joe like you and me.  

Card tricks play a big role in Karol’s performance.  He likes to involve his audience in his show.  While performing his tricks, he tells jokes to keep the audience laughing and entertained.  The magic tricks are entertaining, but his ability to memorize massive amounts of information is not impressive.  Who cares if he memorized zip codes and the entire Scrabble Dictionary?  

If you are interested in seeing one of Jim Karol’s performances you can see him on television or in person.  For a list of Karol’s performing dates and locations visit jimkarol.com.

Everyone experiences sadness throughout their lives, but when is sadness classified as depression?  It is sometimes hard to diagnose depression.  About 2/3 of depressed people do not receive proper treatment, because they do not realize that they are depressed and need to be treated.  According to Psychology Information Online, over 17 million adults experience a period of clinical depression.

The signs and symptoms of depression are greater than sadness and vary from person to person.  Some of the basic signs and symptoms of depression are as follows:

            1.  Withdraw from social events (not spending time with family and friends)

            2.  Thoughts of suicide (death or self harm of any kind)

            3.  Crying (crying for long periods of time)

            4.  Feeling hopeless (as if nothing will ever get better)

            5.  Daily activities are no longer enjoyable (hobbies, social things, and sex are no

                  longer fun)

            6.  Weight changes (weight gain or weight loss of more than 5% body weight                       within a month)

            7. Loss of energy (physically drained and fatigued)

            8.  Concentration problems (unable to focus on anything other then problems)

            9.  Irritability (annoyed easily)

            10.  Aches and pains (physically hurting)

Some possible causes for depression are the following:  loneliness, not enough social support, stressful experiences, family history of depression, relationship problems, monetary issues, alcohol or drug abuse, health problems, job stress and the list goes on.  Numerous experiences in life can cause depression.  Depression is not something that should be overlooked.  It affects the entire body and involves your mood, thoughts and body.  According to the Center of Disease Control and Prevention, suicide is the third leading cause of death among 15-24 year olds.

If you or someone you know appears to be depressed, the best thing to do is to visit a doctor.  What appears to be depression might not be, and what appears to be simple sadness could be depression.  It is best to let a doctor diagnose, or not diagnose, your situation.  If you are diagnosed with depression, you may be treated with medication or therapy or a combination of the two.  Help does exist; it is just a matter of getting the help that is needed. To learn more about depression and getting help visit www.helpguide.com

Everyone experiences stress in their life at one point or another, but the way in which stress is dealt with varies from person to person.  One person might smoke cigarettes when they are stressed out; another person might over eat when they are stressed and another person might under eat. 

Anorexia Nervosa is defined by dictionary.com as “An eating disorder primarily affecting adolescent girls and young woman, characterized by pathological fear of becoming fat, distorted body image, excessive dieting, and emaciation.” Anorexia is more of a mental disease than it is a physical disease, but it does affect both.  One out of every hundred people is diagnosed with anorexia.  90% of all anorexia cases are female.

Sexual abuse, physical or emotional abuse, depression, stress, anxiety, unhappiness, and unhealthy weight obsession are just a few causes of anorexia.  Every reason for Anorexia is very emotionally complex.  This disease is sometimes overlooked and therefore is untreated.  Some people have a more serious case of Anorexia than others.  Most females will experience an eating disorder at some point in their life, but it will probably be overlooked and last for a short period of time. 

About 2% of American females are diagnosed with Anorexia.  Signs of Anorexia include the following:  obsessive exercising, calorie/fat counting, starvation, food restriction, constant concern with body image and diet pills, laxatives, and diuretics are often used in controlling weight.  Most anorexics will hide food instead of consuming it and will claim to have already eaten in order to avoid food intake.  The majority of anorexics will drink diet sodas, coffee, and tea because they all have zero calories and are stimulants that help to fight fatigue.  Cigarettes are often smoked to fight fatigue and reduce hunger.

Although Anorexia is more of a mental disease than it is a physical disease, the effects of anorexia affect the body physically.  An anorexic is always tried and has no energy.  Their metabolism slows and they lose their menstrual cycle (if female).  They are always cold due to a lack of needed fat and their body will naturally grow fine hairs all over their body to stay warm.  They have very little muscle and no strength.  All of these symptoms occur just to fit into a pair of jeans?  It doesn’t seem worth it.

Anorexia can be treated.  Treatment usually requires visiting a team of doctors.  Medical care is required for the physical part of Anorexia.  Psychotherapy is required for the psychiatric part of the disease.  Nutritional therapy helps the patient learn how to eat in a healthy way.  Medications can be prescribed but a mainly antidepressants or psychiatric medications to help the patient overcome the mental part of the disease.

5 million Americans will/have experienced an eating disorder.  Out of all of the people that experience an eating disorder only half will have a full recovery.  Some patients never recovery and struggle with the disease everyday. 

The question still remains:  Is skinny in?  The answer is:  Who cares?  Is being skinny more important than your health?

For more information and help with fighting Anorexia visit http://www.anorexiahelp.net/

Advertisements are everywhere!  Advertisements appear in all forms of media.  The reason why all forms of media include advertisements is because advertisements are a major source of their income.  Advertisements dominate some forms of media; for example, the newspaper.  Newspapers have more advertisements than news.  So, what is an advertisement exactly?  An advertisement is “any paid form of nonpersonal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods, or services by an identified sponsor,” according to The American Marketing Association.

Advertisements have been around for many years.  It is unknown when exactly advertisements began.  Advertisements in America appeared in America as soon as the “New World” was discovered in order to get people from England to settle in America.  Some advertisements were misleading, or lies, to get people to live in America.

There are many types of advertisements that can be used to get your message out to large amounts of people.  Trade advertisements are used to promote businesses to other businesses.  Consumer advertisements are used to promote retail items to potential buyers.  Display advertisements are used to get the potential buyers attention.  Trade cards were used for businesses to put a message on one side and artwork on the other. 

The Industrial Revolution relied on advertisements to create massive demands for new products.  Producing large amounts of a product would allow companies to supply the product to the consumer at a cheaper cost.  Advertisements worked to the consumers benefit in some cases; however, it did not benefit them in all cases.  Some products that were being advertised sounded good, but in reality harmed the consumer’s health!  In 1924 a code of ethics was published to avoid misleading the consumer.  Some would say the advertising came a long way over the past hundred years or so; I think that we still have a long way to go.  Advertising still seems misleading, only now it does not harm your health.  It is good to know the truth about a product before it is purchased.