1. I learned that a lot of people look at you funny and often don't even want to touch you. I also learned that you really have to take care of yourself. This includes eating right, excersing, and keeping your imune system as healthy as possible.
2. I think Bob's experience is similar to other people who were promiscuous, and later found out that they were HIV +. I think the psychological effects are very much the same as well. Finding out you have an incurable disease takes a bit of getting use to. His experience is probably different from those who are not promiscuous. Someone may have contracted the disease from a cut on the fingure or in the mouth. The psychological effects for this individual might be different in that they never felt like they deserved it.
3. The route that Bob skinner talked about was that in rural areas, it is more common to have heterosexual transmission. Prevention can be limited in these rural areas because it is a lot harder to inform people in there. They don't have as many connections to the ouside world, and a lot of times they just don't want to be bothered. In some places, such as Africa, many of he people don't want to listen to what others have to say about STDs or they just don't believe them.
4. Living in a rural region makes treating HIV difficult because a lot of times those are the people who have little money so they cannot afford treatment. It is also hard to treat these people because sometimes it is hard to get such treatment out there or it is difficult for the people to come and get treatment.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Reflection
In reflecting on the term, I definitely didn't think that I would learn as much as I did. I especially didn't think that I would enjoy it as much as I did. It ended up being my favorite class. It was also the class I did the best in. I wasn't expecting to learn so much about HIV/AIDS. I knew it would be covered, but I really didn't know that there was that much information about it. I also didn't think I would learn about the ethics of STDs or the horrible things that happened in Tuskegee. I am glad that I learned about those issues because it made me think and really realize that STDs are a lot more serious than most people know.
I think the most useful information was learning about how to prevent getting infected with an STD and also how you can be infected. I thought it was a lot easier to get some STDs than just sexual acts, but I learned that it's not very easy to get an STD from a toilet seat. I honestly don't think that any of the the information that I learned in the course was useless. I thought all of it was important and necessary to know. If I were to change anything for next time I would try and make the microbiology part a little more interesting, if that was at all possible.
I think that it is great that this subject is taught at a university level, but I think it would be much more important and beneficial to be taught in a mandatory high school course. The reason is because students would HAVE to take it rather than it being an option, and they would know this information at a younger age where they might be getting into sexual activities. By giving this information at this age, it could be possible to decrease the amount of STDs that are spreading so quickly.
I think the most useful information was learning about how to prevent getting infected with an STD and also how you can be infected. I thought it was a lot easier to get some STDs than just sexual acts, but I learned that it's not very easy to get an STD from a toilet seat. I honestly don't think that any of the the information that I learned in the course was useless. I thought all of it was important and necessary to know. If I were to change anything for next time I would try and make the microbiology part a little more interesting, if that was at all possible.
I think that it is great that this subject is taught at a university level, but I think it would be much more important and beneficial to be taught in a mandatory high school course. The reason is because students would HAVE to take it rather than it being an option, and they would know this information at a younger age where they might be getting into sexual activities. By giving this information at this age, it could be possible to decrease the amount of STDs that are spreading so quickly.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
1. I learned that a lot of people look at you funny and often don't even want to touch you. I also learned that you really have to take care of yourself. This includes eating right, excersing, and keeping your imune system as healthy as possible.
2. I think Bob's experience is similar to other people who were promiscuous, and later found out that they were HIV +. I think the psychological effects are very much the same as well. Finding out you have an incurable disease takes a bit of getting use to. His experience is probably different from those who are not promiscuous. Someone may have contracted the disease from a cut on the fingure or in the mouth. The psychological effects for this individual might be different in that they never felt like they deserved it.
3.
2. I think Bob's experience is similar to other people who were promiscuous, and later found out that they were HIV +. I think the psychological effects are very much the same as well. Finding out you have an incurable disease takes a bit of getting use to. His experience is probably different from those who are not promiscuous. Someone may have contracted the disease from a cut on the fingure or in the mouth. The psychological effects for this individual might be different in that they never felt like they deserved it.
3.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
HIV Theories
In reading about the different theories, I decided to choose the 'Hunter' Theory and the Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) theory. In reading them, I think that one of them is definitely plausible, but the other seems a little far fetched.
The 'Hunter' Theory, I believe, is plausible. I think that it is definitely possible that hunters were hunting chimps and possibly cut themselves or ate the meat and infected themselves. Considering how fast HIV cells replicate, I think that theses hunters could have easily infected others they came into contact with. It is very plausible that they brought the disease back with them to wherever they were from and infected whomever they came into contact with.
The OPV Theory, I do not believe, is very plausible. I think that it is a little far fetched that that Chat was grown in kidney cells taken from local chimps infected with SIVcmz. For one thing oral administration would might make it hard for HIV to infect the body since it must be infected directly in the blood. It is also said that HIV already existed before the polio vaccines were ever created.
I think that it would be very helpful to understand how the virus was transmitted to humans because it might help to figure out how to eradicate it. I also think that the more we know about the virus, the better we can control it.
The 'Hunter' Theory, I believe, is plausible. I think that it is definitely possible that hunters were hunting chimps and possibly cut themselves or ate the meat and infected themselves. Considering how fast HIV cells replicate, I think that theses hunters could have easily infected others they came into contact with. It is very plausible that they brought the disease back with them to wherever they were from and infected whomever they came into contact with.
The OPV Theory, I do not believe, is very plausible. I think that it is a little far fetched that that Chat was grown in kidney cells taken from local chimps infected with SIVcmz. For one thing oral administration would might make it hard for HIV to infect the body since it must be infected directly in the blood. It is also said that HIV already existed before the polio vaccines were ever created.
I think that it would be very helpful to understand how the virus was transmitted to humans because it might help to figure out how to eradicate it. I also think that the more we know about the virus, the better we can control it.
White Privilege
After reading White Privilege, I would have to say that I do agree with Peggy McIntosh. One thing that stood out to me was when McIntosh said, "In proportion as my racial group was being made confident, comfortable, and oblivious, other groups were likely being made less confident, uncomfortable, and alienated." I think that people don't realize that when their race is being privileged or made welcome, that it is making other races feel underprivileged and not welcome. If your going to raise one race up, another is probably going to have to go down.
McIntosh also goes on to talk about how ignorant we are as white people. She states that most "students" don't even realize that racism even affects their race because it only affects those of color. I think that many of us are blinded by this fact. I think that there is racism towards whites as well as other races. We just don't talk about it as much or notice it because we have had such a history with racism in blacks and Native Americans.
One thing that I noticed that Peggy McIntosh didn't discuss is that other races have privileges that whites do not. For instance, Native Americans are given a certain amount of money just for being Native American. Some blacks are chosen to go to certain Universities or to receive certain scholarships just because they are black. McIntosh failed to mention this fact. Other races are privileged for some reason or another. Total equality is going to be very hard to achieve because it is hard to make everyone happy. There will always be someone who feels underprivileged or left out.
I think that privilege can affect the spread and treatment of HIV/AIDS by singling certain races or sexes out and accusing them of being more prone to STDs when this is not always true. For instance, I think that by saying that only poor people contract HIV that upper classes will think they are amune and will unknowingly contract and spread the disease.
I do think that addressing larger systems of oppression is important when talking about sexual health because there are a lot of people out there that are ignorant about HIV/AIDS and are having unprotected sex and are then spreading the disease on to other people. If larger systems of oppression were informed, it's possible that we could decrease the rate of contracting and spreading of the disease. As a result, more people would be careful and there would be less people dying of AIDS.
McIntosh also goes on to talk about how ignorant we are as white people. She states that most "students" don't even realize that racism even affects their race because it only affects those of color. I think that many of us are blinded by this fact. I think that there is racism towards whites as well as other races. We just don't talk about it as much or notice it because we have had such a history with racism in blacks and Native Americans.
One thing that I noticed that Peggy McIntosh didn't discuss is that other races have privileges that whites do not. For instance, Native Americans are given a certain amount of money just for being Native American. Some blacks are chosen to go to certain Universities or to receive certain scholarships just because they are black. McIntosh failed to mention this fact. Other races are privileged for some reason or another. Total equality is going to be very hard to achieve because it is hard to make everyone happy. There will always be someone who feels underprivileged or left out.
I think that privilege can affect the spread and treatment of HIV/AIDS by singling certain races or sexes out and accusing them of being more prone to STDs when this is not always true. For instance, I think that by saying that only poor people contract HIV that upper classes will think they are amune and will unknowingly contract and spread the disease.
I do think that addressing larger systems of oppression is important when talking about sexual health because there are a lot of people out there that are ignorant about HIV/AIDS and are having unprotected sex and are then spreading the disease on to other people. If larger systems of oppression were informed, it's possible that we could decrease the rate of contracting and spreading of the disease. As a result, more people would be careful and there would be less people dying of AIDS.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
HIV/AIDS
I actually don't know that much about HIV/AIDS. All I know is that it can be transferred by sexual intercourse or by the transfer of blood from one who is infected. I also know that HIV turns into AIDS, that there is no cure, and once a person develops AIDS, it's only a matter of time until they will die.
I have heard that there is a lot of HIV/AIDS in Africa and poorer countries. I have heard most of this information from others my age, the news, and videos. I have watched a couple of movies that have talked about people who have had HIV/AIDS. The video we watched earlier this week about HIV/AIDS in Namibia really showed how prevalent it is in poor countries, and how little access many of those who are infected have to treatments and medication.
Thinking about HIV globally, I hope to learn more about why this disease is so prevalent in such poor countries and how we can prevent this disease from getting worse. Many people are dying, and it would be grate if we could at least decrease the rate at which this is happening.
One thing that has been surprising about watching the video this week is that there are many of the people in Namibia that don't even think that HIV exists. They think that it is a lie, and they do nothing about getting treatment, and then they are spreading the disease on to others. It would be grate if we could educate these people more and try to convince them that this is a real disease and that it does exist in there country. If we could convince these people then maybe they would be more careful about not spreading the disease.
I have heard that there is a lot of HIV/AIDS in Africa and poorer countries. I have heard most of this information from others my age, the news, and videos. I have watched a couple of movies that have talked about people who have had HIV/AIDS. The video we watched earlier this week about HIV/AIDS in Namibia really showed how prevalent it is in poor countries, and how little access many of those who are infected have to treatments and medication.
Thinking about HIV globally, I hope to learn more about why this disease is so prevalent in such poor countries and how we can prevent this disease from getting worse. Many people are dying, and it would be grate if we could at least decrease the rate at which this is happening.
One thing that has been surprising about watching the video this week is that there are many of the people in Namibia that don't even think that HIV exists. They think that it is a lie, and they do nothing about getting treatment, and then they are spreading the disease on to others. It would be grate if we could educate these people more and try to convince them that this is a real disease and that it does exist in there country. If we could convince these people then maybe they would be more careful about not spreading the disease.
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