Earning a degree online is so much easier than it was ten years ago. Getting an education online has grown in the United States in recent years.

In 2010 Sloan Survey of Online Learning showed that over five million students took at least one online course during the fall, 2009 semester.

There was also a twenty-one percent growth of individuals taking online courses from the year before.

There are more choices when an individual decides to go through an online program as some courses aren’t available at certain schools, and credits are easily transferred nowadays ( Hervey, 2013).

Source:
Hervey, J. O. (2014, July 23). How Online Innovators Are Disrupting Education. Retrieved May 29, 2017, from https://hbr.org/2011/11/how-online-innovators-are-disr

All about herbal supplements

In 1994, the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act was passed. This gave the supplement industry permission to regulate itself.
Even with three hundred and fifty reports of moderate or adverse events, the companies who create the products remain unregulated.
The Food and Drug Administration believes that there are many medical events go unreported, and even estimates the number of adverse effects because of dietary supplements up to fifty thousand individuals (Kabat, 2012).
When an individual decides to add dietary supplements into their diet, it’s important that they contact their doctor before starting anything new.

It’s also important that the individual does their research on the product before use, and then decide if the product is right for them.
Dietary supplements usually add small print to the label of the product “The label claims have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
Consult your healthcare professionals before taking any dietary supplements” (Stoler, 2012)
The use of dietary supplements vary from person to person and although individuals may experience adverse effects, those who are healthy may benefit from using dietary supplements to aid in their sports.

Those who use dietary supplements should be healthy, and use the supplements as directed. If an individual is not healthy, the risks of intoxication are very high.
Dietary supplements are currently unregulated, so it’s important that those who choose to use dietary supplements do research on the product of their choice.


Resources:

• Allen, J. M. (2004). Herbal Supplements Can Be Harmful. In A. Ojeda (Ed.), Opposing Viewpoints. Health. San Diego: Greenhaven Press. (Reprinted from Skeptical Inquirer, 2001, January, 25, 36) Retrieved from http://link.galegroup.com.clcc.idm.oclc.org/apps/doc/EJ3010141247/OVIC?u=22506&xid=3b74187d
• Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. (n.d.). Consumers - Dietary Supplements: What You Need to Know. Retrieved May 15, 2017, from https://www.fda.gov/food/resourcesforyou/consumers/ucm109760.htm
• Council for Responsible Nutrition. (2003). Performance-Enhancing Dietary Supplements Are Safe. In J. Haley (Ed.), At Issue. Performance-Enhancing Drugs. San Diego: Greenhaven Press. (Reprinted from Sports Supplements: Common Sense and Responsible Regulation, www.crnusa.org, 2001, May 16) Retrieved from http://link.galegroup.com.clcc.idm.oclc.org/apps/doc/EJ3010285216/OVIC?u=22506&xid=f85e5176
• Kabat, G. (2012, November 26). Herbal Medicines Must Be Safe Because They’re Natural? So Are Strychnine, Arsenic, and Cyanide. Retrieved May 15, 2017, from http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/medical_examiner/2012/11/herbal_supplement_dangers_fda_does_not_regulate_supplements_and_they_can.html
• Office of Dietary Supplements - Dietary Supplements: What You Need to Know. (n.d.). Retrieved May 15, 2017, from https://ods.od.nih.gov/HealthInformation/DS_WhatYouNeedToKnow.aspx
• Stoler, F. (2012, March 23). The skinny on FDA regulation of dietary supplements. Retrieved May 15, 2017, from http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/03/23/skinny-on-fda-regulation-dietary-supplements.html
• Williams, M. H. (2004, December 31). Dietary Supplements and Sports Performance: Introduction and Vitamins. Retrieved May 15, 2017, from https://jissn.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1550-2783-1-2-1

Benefits of the Internet: Working From Home

There is an increasing number of individuals who are now working from home, forty-three percent of employed Americans have worked from home at least once in their careers.

Working remotely allows the employees to work from anywhere, which increases time with family, eliminate those long commutes, avoid traffic, and save gas (Kruse, 2013).

Twenty-four percent of individuals who are employed did all or some of their work from home. Working from home is a time saver, as those who work from home don’t get dressed up for work, or commute long hours from work to home which allows those workers to sleep in, and have more time for themselves which lowers depression. Bosses even report that workers are more productive when working from home.

Those individuals who work from home are generally happier, less stressed, and have a less work-family conflict (Dill, 2010). North West University and the University of Namibia investigated the psychological conditions of working from home and working at a location.

The participants were one thousand four hundred and sixty-eight employees of a uranium mine in Namibia. The type of measuring instruments which were used for the study was Survey Work-Home Interaction,-Nikmegen, Psychological Conditions Scale, and Work Engagement Scale. The study was done by providing the questionnaire to those who work from home and those who work on site. The results were forty-six percent felt it was positive to work from home, while the rest felt like working on location negatively impacted their life and family life.

The workers who worked on site began to feel distant towards their roles, and to other people. “Given the physical distance between the employees' work and homes, it is understandable that psychological availability is negatively associated with negative home-work interaction” (Rothmann, Sebastiaan, Baumann, Candice, 2014).

So in the grand scheme of things, working from home is beneficial in many ways.

Sources:

• Rothmann, Sebastiaan, & Baumann, Candice. (2014). Employee engagement: The effects of work-home/home-work interaction and psychological conditions. South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences, 17(4), 515-530. Retrieved May 13, 2017, from http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2222-34362014000400011&lng=en&tlng=en.
• Dill-Shackleford, K. (2010, September 08). Working From Home? You're Not Alone (Pun Intended). Retrieved May 13, 2017, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/how-fantasy-becomes-reality/201009/working-home-you-re-not-alone-pun-intended
• Kruse, K. (2013, May 12). Top 10 Benefits of Working From Home (Survey Results). Retrieved May 10, 2017, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/kevinkruse/2012/12/18/benefits-working-from-home/#7bf3e09a1d4c

How Insecure Attachment Impacts Development

There are different kinds of insecure attachments which include ambivalent attachment, avoidant attachment, and disorganized attachment.
Ambivalent attachment is when a child becomes upset when they get separated from his parent, which can mean the child doesn’t feel as if he or she can’t rely on the caregiver when the need arises.
Avoidant attachment stays away from his parents, those children to show avoidant attachment may have parents who are neglecting or abusing them. Disorganized attachment is when there isn’t a clear attachment between the child and the caregiver (Sincero, n.d.).

Reference:
Sincero. (n.d.). Bowlby Attachment Theory - Core emotional development in humans. Retrieved June 06, 2017, from https://explorable.com/bowlby-attachment-theory

The Hartford Circus Fire of 1944, and it's Tribute

Today I wanted to write about the Hartford circus fire of 1944. This fire affected many families, including patients in which I cared for while working in an assisted living facility and as a certified nurse aide.  Patients I helped were either hurt or had brothers, sisters, or mothers who were either hurt or died in the fire. When choosing a statue, the topic of choice is the Hartford Circus Fire Memorial. The memorial was built on July 6, 2005, and lies behind Fred. D Wish Elementary School. The memorial is laid out to mark the exact location of the tent that burned on that day.

It was a steamy Thursday afternoon, and the gigantic Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Baily circus tent were packed with seven thousand people, most of them children who were enjoying their summer vacation with their mothers. This took place during World War II, so many fathers were either at war or creating war machinery to defend our country. Bandleader Evans saw the first sign of trouble, with a small flame near the canvas’ main entrance, but because there wasn’t water handy, it was not doused in time. A small flame became one of Hartford, Connecticut’s worst disaster. Flash forward to July 6, 2005, on a previously empty field behind Fred D. Wish Elementary School lies a beautiful center ring, four granite benches and a bronze disc bearing the names of the victims of their ages (Flood, 2015).

The Hartford Circus fire was the worst disaster in Hartford’s history. There were four hundred and eighty-seven people who were injured. One hundred and sixty-seven people were killed, and one hundred of the dead were older than fifteen. It began with a small flame, which escalated to a deadly fire because of the gasoline-paraffin soaked canvas which was used to waterproof the tent. In those days there weren’t fire codes, which established rules on tents being waterproof yet fireproof. After the disaster, fire codes were used to prevent future tragedies like this one, but it was too late (Hensler, 2012).

On July 6, 2005, in the middle of Barbour Street, Cleveland Avenue, Hampton Street, and Kensington Street near the site of the Stowe Housing Project hundreds of people attended a dedication ceremony on a field behind Fred D. Wish Elementary School. The dedication is laid out to mark the exact location of the tent that burned on that day. In the middle of the dedication, lies a center ring, which has four granite benches, and a bronze disc bearing names of victims and ages. This dedication took four years of the hard world by the Hartford Circus Fire Memorial Foundation, and one hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars from seven hundred private donations (Flood, 2015). DuBose Associates designed the memorial, and TO Design, alongside granite benches, the memorial has pedestrian walkways which have bricks that have the victims’ names on them. The center of the memorial has a bronze medallion where the center of the ring was located (Unfinished Business, 2004).

In visiting the memorial, it has a very simplistic design, and it lies in a beautiful field behind the elementary school. It is impressive to see how big the tent was, which is marked by trees which mark where the tent stood. When you’re in the middle of the memorial, there are bricks which state all the victim’s names, and tablets which give a timeline of what happened during the fire. The location of the memorial is not in a great area; times seem to have changed since the circus fire. People were hanging out, smoking, and loud music nearby, and there was litter everywhere. The grounds where the memorial sits seem a bit unkempt. The grass was tall, full of weeds, and relatively not well maintained. It is a real shame that the city does not take care of such a memorial that means so much too many.

References:

• "10 human panic factors that made a circus fire deadly." Fire Rescue 1. Bruce Hensler, n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2017.
• "The Hartford Circus Fire." The Hartford Circus Fire. Kevin Flood, n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2017.
• "Unfinished Business." Tribune digital-courant. N.p., 16 Feb. 2004. Web. 27 Apr. 2017.