Thursday, January 30, 2014

Short research topics from Mike related to our Sanders essay and alcohol use



Look into (research) the answer for the question I assign you or that you pick.  Then tell us what you discovered.  Post your answers in the Comments section below the blog post, and put a link for your research source or sources in your Comment.
  1. How much do Americans drink each year, and how big is this business in sales and consumers?
  2. Which alcohol products are most popular, and has this always been the case or have tastes changed?  Beer? Wine? Hard liquor?
  3. How much money is spent on advertising for alcohol each year?
  4. Why is the Super Bowl famous for alcohol advertising, and which commercials have garnered the most attention, whether praise or criticism?
  5. About how many people struggle with addiction to alcohol?
  6. What are the main drawbacks to alcoholism in the workplace or job? What effect does it have on business profits or productivity? 
  7. What are the main reasons people may choose when they abstain from drinking alcohol? 
  8. What method does Alcoholics Anonymous use to help its members kick the alcohol habit?
  9. What is the connection between violent crime and alcohol use?
  10. What is the connection between rape and alcohol use and how many college women are raped each year in the United States?
  11. What are the main reasons why people drink alcohol?  It is very popular, so it must provide benefits.  What are they?
  12. How many drinks can a person have before they are too drunk to drive a car, and how many people get DUI's each year in Ohio? What are the penalties? 
  13. What is binge drinking?  How does it happen and where might it happen? 
  14. What health benefits does drinking in moderation have?  In what ways can alcohol be good for health?
  15. What organs are most affected by the abuse of alcohol? 
  16. What do organizations like MADD do, and what is their purpose?
  17. What role does peer pressure have in underage drinking?
  18. What famous celebrities have had alcohol abuse problems, and how has this affected his or her career?  Find a specific example to share.
  19. Are there religious reasons for not drinking? What are they? 
  20. Some people claim young Americans drink a lot because we don't have a healthy rite of passage into adulthood or manhood or womanhood.  What is a rite of passage?  What rites of passage do other cultures have?
  21. Is it a trend for children to feel guilty for the addictions of the parents and “take the blame”?
  22. What is the connection between alcohol use and domestic violence? Is there any correlation?
  23. It seems that many cultures, historical and modern, use “mind-benders” or cheminsty-altering drugs or stimulants as a form of self-medication.  Why?  Look into a purpose behind mind-benders?

31 comments:

  1. #16 What do organizations like MADD do, and what is their purpose?

    Organizations like MADD:
    1)Providing emotional support
    2)Providing advocacy in the criminal and civil justice systems
    3)Accompanying victims/survivors to court
    4)Assisting in preparing a victim impact statement
    5)Referring victims/survivors to appropriate resources for additional help
    6)Offering support groups in many areas
    7)Connecting victims/survivors who share similar experiences

    Their purpose is to stop drunk driving, provide support to victims, and prevent underage drinking.

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    1. Good job to get us started, Maggie. Students should also know it stands for Mothers Against Drunk Driving and it has a good orientation story of how it began!

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    2. The moral of the whole organization is to prevent people to stop drunk driving, and their primary prospects are students. They travel nationwide to inform students not to drive under the influence and I appreciate their efforts of preventing the youth to stop making bad decisions.

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  2. # 15. The organs mainly affected by alcohol include the brain, liver, heart and pancreas. Alcohol interferes with brain communication pathways and can affect how the brain looks and works. It causes great issues with the liver as well, leading to many diseases including fibrosis and cirrhosis. Ones heart could begin to fail as they consume excessive amounts of alcohol, it could lead to strokes or irregular heart beats. The pancreas after heavy drinking begins to produce toxins and could lead to pancreatitis.

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    1. its scary how harmful alcohol can be for your body yet people still continue to abuse it! All the organs that is affects are our most important organs!

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    2. Wow it is scary the amount of bad side effects that alcohol has on your body. My dad actually has had some of these things happen to him not because of alcohol but because of cigarettes. I did not know that your heart could have been affected by alcohol that is crazy!

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  3. #12- If you are 21 and over, you are legally too drunk to drive a car if your BAC (Blood Alcohol Content) is above 0.08. You will remain within the legal limits if you consume about one standard (half ounce of alcohol) drink per hour. In Ohio, around 1,466 people get DUI's each year. The penalties of a DUI are that you could lose your license anywhere from 90 days to three years, sit a minimum of 3 days in jail, and pay expensive fines. If you have more than one DUI your penalties worsen. You can get increased fines,increased jail time, and even be charged with a felony.

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    1. It crazy how strict the punishments are for DUI, yet 1,466 people still get them a year. And that is only the people who get caught too. I hope more people will realize the dangers of driving intoxicated.

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  4. # 9. What is the connection between violent crime and alcohol use?

    While most associate the consumption of alcohol with drunk driving (whether it be through media or first thought ), most of are unaware of the connection between alcohol & (sometimes violent) crime, as it's not covered just as much as on the same level with drunk driving. Individuals who were under serious alcohol use have engaged into deviant behaviors such as domestic violence and abuse, theft, robbery, erratically violent assaults, & even sexual assaults, to name a few... Excessive consumption of alcohol eventually leads to serious criminal behaviors beyond the individuals knowledge and control. Studies conducted by the DOJ (U.S. Department of Justice), have concluded that the crimes committed by criminal offenders throughout the nation have had alcohol in their systems at the time of when the crime happened (in other words, they were under the influence! ). Today, as violent crime(s) progress, alcohol use is a contributing factor in nearly 40% of homicides committed by convicted murderers. Men, women, individuals, families, children, the young & old suffer from excessive alcohol usage. It tears families apart, and isolate family members and parents. What seemed to be just a simple drink consumed by a sober individual turned into an out-of-control raging alcoholic, whose outcome is unpredictable.

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    1. I think the strong connection between alcohol and crime is definitely concerning. People who abuse alcohol and who turn violent while under the influence not only harm themselves but harm innocent people which is really sad.

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  5. #10. What is the connection between rape and alcohol use and how many college women are raped each year in the United States?

    What is the connection between rape and alcohol use?
    It’s quite difficult to give an arcuate correlation between the rape and alcohol use because of limited reporting. With one or both of the parties having consumed alcohol, many people are unaware that what has happen qualifies rape. This is because it doesn’t meet their idea of rape, such as being dragged down an alley by a stranger at night, instead it’s often by a partner or acquaintance at one of their homes. Even with faulty data it’s often approximated that around 13% of American women have experienced sexual assault involved in alcohol.

    How many college women are raped each year in the United States?
    Approximately 2,500,000 or 3% of college women are raped within an academic year, though it should be noted that the statistics vary widely because of under reporting. While the statistics are unreliable it should also be noted that a number of college males are also raped each year.

    References:
    http://www.resurrectionafterrape.org/media/Just%20how%20many%20women%20are%20raped.pdf
    http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/arh25-1/43-51.htm
    http://www.popcenter.org/problems/rape
    http://www.crisisconnectioninc.org/sexualassault/college_campuses_and_rape.htm
    http://www.statisticbrain.com/college-enrollment-statistics/


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    1. This really sad. A lot of guys and girls get raped and it often makes me wonder if he or she even remembers what happened the night before.

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  6. #4 Why is the Super Bowl famous for alcohol advertising, and which commercials have garnered the most attention, whether praise or criticism?

    Super Bowl is famous for alcohol advertising because of the festivities held on that special day. During Super Bowl Sunday, it is known that family and friends spend time together to watch the game at their house, bars, or at the game. When there is a party, usually alcohol is involved and that is why beer industries depend on the Super Bowl every year.
    The most attention grabbing commercials during the Super Bowl in my opinion would be the Budweiser commercials. It features animals, such as dogs and horses; the last time I checked, everyone loves animals. I, myself am obsessed with animals and it warms my heart seeing dogs roaming around for 30 seconds.
    Sources:
    http://www.buffalo.edu/news/releases/2014/01/036.html

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    1. I absolutely loved those commercials! Whoever they hired to do their advertising did really well. I agree that the animals were probably one of the main reasons why everybody loved the commercials.

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    2. The commercials are awesome. Have you seen the commercial with the dog and the trampoline house it is pretty cool. The commercials for Bud Light are always funny!

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  7. #7 What are the main reasons people may chose when they abstain from drinking alcohol?

    1) Religious purposes
    2) Avoiding addiction
    3) Pregnancy
    4) Medication or mental health problems
    5) An intolerance or abnormal reaction to alcohol
    6) Health related risks such as liver problems

    http://www.drinkaware.co.uk/check-the-facts/health-effects-of-alcohol/healthy-lifestyle/abstinence-from-alcohol

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  8. #1 How much do Americans drink each year, and how big is this business in sales and consumers?


    According to the World Health Organization, it was projected that in 2008 The United States of American would consume 9.7 liters of pure alcohol per person age 15 and older. This number deceiving though because in America it is only legal for 21 and up to drink. That is not the case in most places across the world. There is a high amount of underage drinking in the U.S., but not so much by the 15 year old age group as in other countries. Most teens do not start drinking, if at all, until they are closer to 21. 9.7 liters is also referring to the amount of pure alcohol which a beer only contains 4-6% pure alcohol. There were nearly 500,000,000 gallons of distilled spirits sold in 2012 (in wine gallons) in the United States.

    According to the Distilled Spirits Council of The United States, the U.S. alcohol beverage industry was responsible for over $400 billion in U.S. economic activity in 2010. Within this were $90 billion in wages for over 3.9 million jobs for U.S. workers. 51.5% of adults 18 years and older are current regular drinkers.

    http://www.cdc.gov/
    http://www.who.int/en/
    http://www.discus.org/

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    1. Wow it is crazy how huge the alcohol industry is. It can be good for the economy, but bad for some people's health

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    2. That is a much larger number than I had expected! I wonder of that 51.5% is addiction related, rather than casual drinking. Still a lot of people and a lot of money!

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  9. #6 What are the main drawbacks to alcoholism in the workplace or job? What effect does it have on business profits or productivity?

    Drinking among U.S. workers can threaten public safety, impair job performance, and result in costly medical, social, and other problems affecting employees and employers alike. Productivity losses attributed to alcohol were estimated at $119 billion for 1995 (1). As this Alcohol Alert explains, several factors contribute to problem drinking in the workplace. Employers are in a unique position to mitigate some of these factors and to motivate employees to seek help for alcohol problems.

    Alcohol-related job performance problems are caused not only by on-the-job drinking but also by heavy drinking outside of work (15,19). Ames and colleagues (15) found a positive relationship between the frequency of being "hungover" at work and the frequency of feeling sick at work, sleeping on the job, and having problems with job tasks or co-workers. The hangover effect was demonstrated among pilots whose performance was tested in flight simulators. Yesavage and Leirer (20) found evidence of impairment 14 hours after pilots reached blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) of between 0.10 percent and 0.12 percent. Morrow and colleagues (21) found that pilots were still significantly impaired 8 hours after reaching a BAC of 0.10 percent. Drinking at work, problem drinking, and frequency of getting "drunk" in the past 30 days were positively associated with frequency of absenteeism, arriving late to work or leaving early, doing poor work, doing less work, and arguing with co-workers (19).

    http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/aa44.htm

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  11. What are the main reasons why people drink alcohol? It is very popular, so it must provide benefits. What are they?

    II. Reasons for the Use and Abuse of Alcohol:
    A. There are many reasons why people drink alcoholic beverages:
    1. social customs which they enjoy at certain times (weddings, holidays, celebrations such as births and new jobs).
    2. relaxation.
    3. adding pleasure to a meal or get-together.
    4. escaping from problems.
    B. Teenagers drink for a lot of the same reasons that adults do, but there are also other reasons teens give for drinking, such as:
    1. to feel more adult.
    2. as an act of rebellion.
    3. for experimentation.
    C. There are many reasons that people begin to misuse alcohol, for example:
    1. escaping pressures, problems, or relieving stress.
    2. changing a bad self-concept.
    3. forgetting loneliness.
    4. boosting self-confidence.
    5. masking unsatisfactory personal relationships.

    Benefits of Alcohol:
    Lowers risk of heart disease by 30-50%
    Lowers Cholesterol breaking up clots

    http://library.thinkquest.org/12875/data/alcohol/a2.html
    http://www.active.com/nutrition/articles/the-benefits-and-risks-of-alcohol?page=2

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    1. Although there are some benefits from drinking alcohol, I think tons of people forget that it's drinking in moderation. It's said that red wine is good for the heart, they mean one glass, not an entire bottle at a time.

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    2. I feel like the benefits of drinking would affect your social life. Teenagers drink because they want status but they don't know the consequence. I'm worried that future generations won't have the right mindset and therefore cause a lot of trouble.

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  12. #5. About how many people struggle with addiction to alcohol?


    According to The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Inc. (NCADD), about 17.6 million people suffer from dependence of alcohol. In addition, about 7 million children have a parent in their home who are dependent on alcohol. Unfortunately, these are just the cases that have been recorded. Something I find interesting is what the true number really is in the world. Not every case of alcoholism is able to recorded. To understand better, 17.6 million is equivalent to 1 in every 12 adults suffers from alcoholism.


    http://www.ncadd.org/index.php/learn-about-alcohol/faqsfacts

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  13. 3. How much money is spent on advertising for alcohol each year?

    worldwide, The alcohol industry spends around $2 Billion dollars/year on all media, with about $1 Billion going to do television adds.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_advertising
    http://www.camy.org/factsheets/sheets/television_alcohol_ads_and_youth.html

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  14. 13. What is binge drinking? How does it happen and where might it happen?

    The CDC defines binge drinking as a pattern of drinking that brings the blood alcohol content above 0.08 Typically it is 5+ drinks in men and 4+ drinks in women in apx that 2 hours.

    The information states binge drinking is more common among young adults age 18-34 but drinkers age 65+ report binge drinking an average of 5 to 6 times per month. 70% of binge drinking involves adults 26 years and older.
    http://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/fact-sheets/binge-drinking.html

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    1. It's amazing how many people drink, I never knew there were so many people dealing with this.

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  15. Due to the mass amounts of media coverage over the past few weeks, Justin Bieber's scandals could not be ignored. He was caught drag racing a rental car in Miami while intoxicated and under the influence of other substances. While this event, and his many other scandals have been on the news more than many other subjects lately, his album sales and overall popularity seem to remain steady. He has become too big of a sensation to his fans to do any wrong. His fans' parents may think otherwise, nut they are not the ones buying songs. Though he may soon be reaching a turning point, alcohol and substance abuse has yet to affect Justin's career in a major way.

    On the other hand, there is Amy Winehouse. Amy had been known for excessive drinking throughout her career. While the drinking did have its affect on her career, it became more of a joke to the public than anything else. Amy was made fun of on T.V. numerous occasions and still is. Alcohol not only had its affects on her career, but also her life. At only the age of 27, in her London home on the 23rd of July in 2011, Amy was found dead. Originally it was believed to be "death by misadventure," but the coroner was unqualified because she was not a registered lawyer in the U.K. When a qualified coroner made their analysis the verdict changed to an "accidental alcohol poisoning."

    http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/08/showbiz/uk-amy-winehouse-inquest/

    http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/gossip/justin-bieber-arrest-dui-drag-racing-charges-major-pr-crisis-experts-article-1.1589367

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    1. #18. What famous celebrities have had alcohol abuse problems, and how has this affected his or her career?

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    2. It's amazing how we can effectively approve of a celebrity's drinking, we can laugh at it and joke about it. Yet if it's a person we know and we see the issues we start crying foul. I think it's time for us to stop idolizing such fools.

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