What is the relevance of the desire phase for women in Kaplan's model?

Ellen Rehm

Masters and Johnson published their book in 1996 of a linear model of sexual response for both men and women. The book was composed of four stages, beginning with excitement/arousal and proceeding to plateau, orgasm, and resolution. Kaplan came along in 1979 adding the concept of desire to the model and condensed the overall response into three phases; desire, arousal, and orgasm. Over the past decade, this framework has been called into question for women for many different reasons.

This model assumes that men and women have similar sexual responses, which they do not. Many women do not move progressively through the phases as described; they may move from sexual arousal to orgasm and satisfaction without experiencing sexual desire at all. They can also experience desire, arousal, and satisfaction but no orgasm. Some researchers propose that much of female sexual desire is actually responsive rather than spontaneous. For example, a reaction to a partner being spontaneous rather then her own spontaneous feelings.

Source: Female Sexual Response. Association of Reproductive Health Professionals. March 2008. Retrieved from http://www.arhp.org/publications-and-resources/clinical-fact-sheets/female-sexual-response

How can couples increase intimacy non-sexually to complement their sex lives?

Luke Newman

            Bonnie Lynn Wright is a PhD who wrote an article explaining non-sexual forms of intimacy on behalf of the Honor Society of Nursing.  She explains that often people associate “being intimate” with being physical with one another and having sex. She argues that the word has an entirely different meaning.  Couples can be intimate but not having sex and people can be having sex and not be intimate.  The terms are mutually exclusive.  Wright lays out three things that most increase non-sexual intimacy: sharing, being kind, and giving.  Her suggestion for sharing is to listen to music together and pick out “your song.” Whenever you hear that song, you’ll always think of each other and smile.  With being kind, she suggests small actions that show you care, like holding the door open or doing chores.  For giving, Wright suggests being open in communication with partners and potentially going to church as a couple.

Wright, Bonnie L. "What Are Some Non-sexual Forms of Intimacy?" - Sex & Relationships. Sharecare.com, n.d. Web. 25 Nov. 2013. <http://www.sharecare.com/health/sex-and-relationships/non-sexual-forms-of-intimacy>.

Why isn't spirituality and personal beliefs not incorpated with sex education?

By:  Erica Haywood

Spirituality and Personal belief is a huge conflict when it comes to teaching sex education, especially in schools.  This is generally a conflict because most schools teach sex education in terms of the anatomy, physiology and emotional aspect of it over religious beliefs.  Some do stress that the only way to remain safe from HIV and STDs is total abstinence.  When sex education is taught, it's mostly in depth of how it works and the various ways of doing it, not really clarifying whether it is right or wrong in which situations.  This is a huge controversy because some parents believe that when taught about sex that it is exposing them to it and some parents don't want that for their children.  While other parents believe that exposing them to it is a good idea because in a way it protects young people from the dangers of sex.  An article in New York times suggests that schools should be diverse to the different groups and ethnicity.  This meaning that they should reach out and respect those that have the religion of saving themselves for marriage and express that it is in no way a pressure to have sex.  This topic also relates to prayer being brought into education and schools.

   http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/sex-ed-new-york-schools-fine-respect-religious-parents-opt-article-1.970783

Who is most commonly affected by asthma as far as age groups, environments, etc.?

By:  Erica Haywood

I was curious about this question because growing up, I knew a lot of peers that suffered from asthma and it seemed to have been related to the environments that they possibly grew up in.  A lot of them had to live around parents and family members smoking, some had roaches and unsanitary homes.  Learning that these are a few factors related to asthma, I want to learn more about the statistics.  Asthma is something that can occur at any age, but it is more commonly found in children and elder people.  This could be that the body is very weak at those stages in life.  As children, more males than females develop asthma and as adults, more men than women.  Asthma is something that can run in families as well.  Heavy smokers and people around second hand smoke are very likely to develop asthma.  When it comes to children, it was found that children that are born at a low birth weight, African American, raised in a low income environment and around tobacco smoke are likely to have asthma.  This research relates to my statement and answers my question because I knew a lot of children that grew up in low income environments.  A lot of times, those parents don't care that their children are exposed to these types of things and that is why asthma is very common.


http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/info/asthma/what-causes-asthma
http://www.sharecare.com/health/asthma-causes/who-is-affected-by-asthma

What are the negative side effects to flu mist?

Ellen Rehm

In the recent years, many younger children have been preferring the flu mist instead of the flu shot. My  13 year old sister included. My sister is terrified of shots therefore she thinks the flu mist is a better option for her, yet my mom is worried of the side effects.

FluMist is the brand of the flu vaccine thats given in a nasal spray. There are no needles involved in the FluMist, unlike the flu shot. FluMist is especially appealing to kids who do not like the sight of needles.
The FluMist is made from weakened live viruses. The weakened live virus reproduces inside the persons nose and produces viruses that the immune system learns to attack. It is still unclear whether the flu shot or the nasal spray flu vaccine is more effective.

Side effects with the FluMist include runny nose, headache, wheezing, vomiting, muscle aches, and fever in children. In adults, the side effects are runny nose, headache, sore throat, and cough. The Flu
Mist does not cause the flu which is a common belief.

Source: Cold, Flu, & Cough Health Center. What is FluMist? 27 August 2013. Retrieved from http://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/flu-guide/questions-answers-nasal-spray-flu-vaccine

Is there any evidence to support the claim that vaccines can cause autism in children?

by Dan Ritchey

            Last class, we had a discussion about vaccinations. Some students expressed that they would not vaccinate their children due to the risk of the children possibly developing autism from the vaccine. I had heard rumors of this possibility in the past and wanted to know if there was any evidence to support the claim that autism can be caused by vaccinations.

            According to the Center for Disease Control, “Many studies that have looked at whether there is a relationship between vaccines and autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). To date, the studies continue to show that vaccines are not associated with ASDs. However, CDC knows that some parents and others still have concerns. To address these concerns, CDC is part of the Inter-Agency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC), which is working with the National Vaccine Advisory Committee (NVAC) on this issue. The job of the NVAC is to advise and make recommendations regarding the National Vaccine Program. Communication between the IACC and NVAC will allow each group to share skills and knowledge, improve coordination, and promote better use of research resources on vaccine topics.”

References:
Related Topics. (2013, October 31). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved November 18, 2013, from http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/topics.html

Just what is in the emissions that factories put off into the air and what can that mean for your health?

There is a new movement in America to "go green," this can mean a variety of things from recycling to carpooling and even walking to many places that one may regularly drive.  Besides the obvious benefits of saving the planet and making the most of our resources what is in this movement for the people?  There is the financial incentive to save money and even make a small amount of cash for selling things like aluminum when you can but what about our health?  This is more of a question of the pollution that cars and many factories put off into the atmosphere on a constant basis.  Many of us have no idea what is in that smoke rising out of those towers that are commonly seen at factories in our own communities. There are many common gases that are released, carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide top the list.  Ozone is another emission that is harmful, although it is helpful in the upper atmosphere, in the lower atmosphere in is devastating to our health.  Animal feeding operations often release ammonia and methane into the atmosphere, both of which can cause major harm to humans.  Common diseases caused by these agents are mainly respiratory issues like COPD or emphysema but other conditions and even some cancers can be attributed to these gases that are released into the air by large factories.  There are regulations out now to limit the emissions that a company is allowed but that does not mean that it is safe to breath those things in.  Large factories can not help many of these emissions as they are necessary for the products that many of use consume and enjoy but one must think, is the possible health consequence worth it?

Tyler Hieneman

http://everydaylife.globalpost.com/environmental-pollution-caused-factories-31217.html