1.) Abuse of prescription drugs: I am a pre-pharmacy student and thus am interested in drugs that are prescribed by doctors and whether patients are following the correct dosages. I also know that there is a large problem with people selling prescription drugs that were prescribed for them to other people. This is a pressing issue because these drugs can be fatal if not taken appropriately or for the correct reasons.
2.) Corporate farming/ animal protection: I am a huge animal lover and believe that all animals should be treated humanely. I was also an Animal Science TA in high school and taught about many livestock farms being owned by large corporations such as Tyson. The famers who raise these animals are paid by the corporations to raise the animals a certain way and also to remain quite on the methods used. On these farms, animals are raised in tight quarters, in unsanitary conditions, and are handled inhumanely.
3.) Contact sports for children: There has recently been an increase in the number of concussions in young teenagers as a result of playing contact sports. I have a friend who played hockey, and in a span of three years, was diagnosed with six concussions. He is now no longer able to participate in any contact sport as permanent brain damage has already occurred and could only progress. Many children playing these sports are developing concussions and other brain injuries at such a young age which can be detrimental in the future.
These are some awesome topics, Natalie. It seems like you and Jessica are on the same wavelength as far as the abuse of prescription drugs. I think that this issue only gets more important as the years go on--these drugs become more easily available over the years as we become more dependent on medications and they are more easily prescribed. This topic could extend out to the legislation of drugs and healthcare in general as well as the change in society's view on taking drugs--what used to be a stigma is not accepted as commonplace. I also wonder about the specific effect of de-regulated certain drugs from prescription to over-the-counter. I know they are talking about doing this for Plan B--I wonder what effect that will have upon unprotected sex in the future? What happens when we de-regulate certain drugs? If you're interested in this, you could start this project very broad, but then end up focusing in on one particular drug and its use/abuse.
ReplyDeleteCorporate farming is also intensely interesting. I think you're making it fresh by focusing on the animal half of it. So many people stay focused on corporate farming taking away work from small farms or producing genetically modified foods. This is such an important angle that gets overlooked a lot. It's especially interesting because we focus on the treatment of other human beings in situations like these--for instance, many people make sure to buy fair trade coffee or diamonds, because it means the workers were not exploited…but what about the animals? We began regulating the meat market as the result of appalling packaging conditions that could be harmful to human health to consume at the beginning of the 1900s…but why have we stopped there?
I'm so sorry to hear about your friend! Contact sports is such a big issue, especially in a society where children are pushed to "go big or go home" on the field. I'm curious as to whether you'll be able to stretch this issue the whole semester though--will there be enough stakeholders for a group of 3-4, with everyone having a different one? It could be…and I just need to be better informed!