Generate an essay that explains what a student learned from these lessons (generate three essays, around 3 pages long each). Here are the lessons, and it should not draw specific information from them but reticulate understanding and give specific plausible real life examples throughout. Lessons: * 		Section 1
    * 		00:00:00 TEACHER: Hello and welcome. As we get started, do you know how has health and wellness changed? Section one. We're going to start by describing how changes in lifestyle have affected health, wellness, and disease. We're going to follow by identifying controllable and uncontrollable health risk factors, and the behaviors 
    * 		00:00:19 that can cause them. And we're going to finish this lesson by describing how individuals can address health problems and endorse health advocacy through education. Let's get started. Let's take a look at data from the 1900's. The major cause of deaths were diseases like pneumonia and influenza, tuberculosis, diarrhea, heart disease, and 
    * 		00:00:40 the others as you can see them. Well, if we put it in context, a lot of these diseases are considered to be communicable diseases. Communicable diseases are spread from person to person-- animals can pass it to humans too-- through direct contact, and indirect contact as well. Just think of a handshake with a sick person or somebody that carries a pathogen. 
    * 		00:00:59 Think of contact with sweat or blood. Or if you are in contact with soil that has a pathogen, or air, or water. Examples of other communicable diseases are pneumonia, influenza, chicken pox, polio, and tuberculosis. Now diseases have changed throughout the years. Communicable diseases are no longer as threatening as they used to be before. 
    * 		00:01:22 Why? Medical advances, first of all. We understand the diseases better. And we have more technology for treatment and diagnosis than before. Better living conditions. The sanitary conditions of work, at school, and at home are significantly better than they used to be before, 
    * 		00:01:40 preventing diseases for this person. And preventive medicines, like vaccinations, are preventing the diseases from spreading. Now let's take a look at the most recent data. Data from 2006. The major causes of death are heart disease and cancer, followed secondly by a stroke, lower respiratory disease, and the others. 
    * 		00:02:03 So do you see any communicable diseases here? I don't think so. These are considered to be the lifestyle diseases. So these are associated to the way people live. And lifestyle diseases are caused by a combination of unhealthy behaviors. So think of drinking, not sleeping well, not doing exercise, things of that nature. 
    * 		00:02:24 Heredity-- some are passed by incorrect genetic code or vulnerabilities in the genetics. And the environment-- exposure to asbestos, exposure to other chemicals or substances in the environment that can cause us harm, that can increase the chances of developing diseases. So examples of lifestyle diseases are heart decease, 
    * 		00:02:45 lung disease, cancer, and diabetes, just to name a few. Now lifestyle choices. Every day that we decide what we eat, how much to sleep, whereas we're going to exercise or not, if we choose to drink alcohol or tobacco-- we're making choices that are going to affect our body immediately, and in the long term too. That's why it's important to educate ourselves, and make 
    * 		00:03:08 the best decision for ourselves. Now some of the healthy the choices that you can make are listed here. Some of them, you may know them already. Some of them you may even practice them already. Getting enough sleep. Eating a healthy breakfast, lunch, and dinner, of course-- so that's having a healthy diet. 
    * 		00:03:25 Being active or exercising for 30 minutes at least every day, or most days if possible. Practicing safe behaviors-- preventing your body from injury or harm. Maintaining positive relationships. Managing your stress so your body doesn't react to stress. And avoiding substances like tobacco, alcohol, or drugs. So these kind of makes sense, doesn't it? 
    * 		00:03:47 Now people may think that they are the exception to the rule. Do you want to bet your life based on this? The majority of the people, lifestyle choices would allow them to live a longer, healthier, better life. So don't make an assumption that no matter what, you're going to end up dying of an accident, or something that you don't even know of. This is taking your chances, and you're not taking your 
    * 		00:04:09 chances on something mild. You're taking your chances on your life. So do you want to bet yourself to be an exception? I wouldn't. Now it's impossible to know how an individual's lifestyle choices will affect their health. You know that smoking tobacco increases the chances of developing cancer because of the carcinogens 
    * 		00:04:29 that come with it. Do you want to assume that you are the exception to the rule, and it's not going to do anything to you? Well, I wouldn't do that because you're compromising your life, there. So that's why prevention is the best policy to prevent diseases or reduce or eliminate the risk of this. Now summarizing. 
    * 		00:04:48 We started talking about the deaths, or the causes of death, a century plus ago, versus the latest data that we have available. So if you see, there's been a change in the pattern. Before, it used to be communicable diseases the major causes of death. Now we're talking about lifestyle diseases. So the things that we do-- 
    * 		00:05:07 whereas we drink or not, use tobacco or not. Follow a healthy diet, exercise, and rest can essentially make a difference in our life, how long we live, how healthy and how better of a life we can have. In the next section, we're going to talk about different controllable and uncontrollable risk factors in the behaviors that we do that can increase the chances of developing certain diseases.
* 		Section 2
    * 		00:00:00 TEACHER: Hello and welcome again. Do you know what behaviors are risky for disease? Section two, earlier, we described how changes in lifestyle have affected health, wellness, and disease. Now, it's time to identify controllable and uncontrollable health risk factors and the behaviors that can cause them. And we're going to finish this lesson by describing how 
    * 		00:00:21 individuals can address health problems and endorse health advocacy through education. Are you ready? Well, first, keep in mind that all health problems have risk factors. So, think of the junk food that you eat or if you were to start picking up the habit of alcohol, or drug use, or tobacco. 
    * 		00:00:40 All those circumstances, those behaviors, those habits are going increase the chances of developing diseases. All those are risk factors, by the way. So a risk factor is anything that increases the chances of injury, disease, or other health problems. So, look back in time. Look at yourself right now. What behaviors do you have, right now, that increase the 
    * 		00:01:00 chances of picking up a disease or getting injured? Reckless driving, not wearing a seat belt, going out with friends that I may be sick and having direct contact with them without taking precautions, well, those are risk factors. Now, these can be broken down into uncontrollable ones and controllable ones. Pretty obvious, OK, the description. 
    * 		00:01:23 But let me talk about each of these in detail. The uncontrollable risk factors are the ones for which we have no control. Example, as we get older our bodies are going to deteriorate. They're not going to perform as good. Our immune system may not be as effective fighting illnesses. 
    * 		00:01:38 Well, that's an uncontrollable factor. Heredity, OK, any genetic problems that we may have inherited from our parents or the gender. Some genders are more prone to certain type of diseases says, OK, males versus females. So keep this in mind. Other things that we have no control of is the family health history, OK. 
    * 		00:02:01 This is also a non-controllable factor. Now, the controllable risk factors-- and we're going to focus on these-- are the ones that are controlled by the individual's behaviors. So things that we do increase, or decrease, or eliminate the chances of us getting in an accident, or getting injured, or developing a disease. 
    * 		00:02:21 Now, keep in mind that the decisions that we make individually have consequences. So these are going to affect our health, as you can see or as you have experienced already in your life. Now, common risk behaviors. Let's talk about certain things that increase the possibilities of developing certain diseases. Sedentary lifestyle, for example. 
    * 		00:02:43 What does it do to you if you don't do exercise-- if you just sit or lay on the couch all the time? Sexual activity. Think about STIs, sexually transmitted infections; drug and alcohol use; tobacco use; poor diet; and injury causing behaviors, like getting into fights, being reckless about sports, how you practice them, not protecting yourself, reckless driving, things of that nature. 
    * 		00:03:06 Let's talk about each of them in detail. Sedentary lifestyle. Well, if all we do is eat and rest and we don't do any exercise, this is going to compromise our muscles and our organs, as well. This is linked to obesity, heart disease, and diabetes, among other diseases. Now, sexual activity it can lead to sexually transmitted 
    * 		00:03:29 infections. It can also lead to unplanned pregnancies. So by engaging in sexual activity and having unprotected sex, sex with multiple partners we're increasing the possibility of picking up a disease. Drug and alcohol use, keep in mind a drug is something that essentially prevents you from fully performing physically and mentally. 
    * 		00:03:53 So drug and alcohol, when you are intoxicated your abilities are going to be impaired which leads lost inhibitions, doing things that you otherwise wouldn't do. Drug and alcohol use are a major factor in accidents, fights, depression, suicide and mental disorders. Why? Because we're under the influence of a drug. It's also linked to the spread of sexually transmitted 
    * 		00:04:15 infections because under the influence, not having control of yourself, easily persuaded. You engage in unprotected sex, for example, sex with multiple partners, things of that nature. Now, tobacco use is the single leading contributor to premature death in the United States. Tobacco, on average, takes 14 years off the consumers life, just to get an idea. 
    * 		00:04:38 It's a controllable risk factor for heart disease, cancer, and respiratory disease. Have you heard of lung cancer, maybe? Well, it's because the chemicals in tobacco are carcinogens, so increase the chances are developing that type of cancer, among others. Now, poor diet, OK. Think about diets high in fats, in cholesterol. 
    * 		00:05:00 Well, those diets can affect our health as well. It Increases chances of developing many different diseases including diabetes. High fat diets are linked to heart disease, cancer, and also a stroke which can lead to death. Now, injury causing behaviors. Well, being reckless, exposing your body to harm, that increases the possibility of affecting your 
    * 		00:05:25 health, doesn't it? So behaviors that contribute to the injury of self of others. That's what it comes down to. So, think about people carrying a gun, not wearing a seat belt when you're driving, practicing a sport that can be dangerous and not protecting the necessary gear. All those are the things that can compromise your health-- 
    * 		00:05:42 are exposing you to injury essentially. Teens and risk factors. Here are some of the leading causes of death for young people in the United States-- car accidents, homicide, suicide, and other miscellaneous accidents. So look at the news. Maybe at your school already you have heard the horrific 
    * 		00:06:02 stories of individuals that have died or that have been severely injured in car accidents. Why? Because they were speeding or they were driving under the influence of alcohol of drugs that led to an accident. Well, think about this. Would you like to be one of those individuals? If you, luckily, aren't yet, start 
    * 		00:06:22 fomenting good behaviors. Not just for yourself, but for your friends and family members. So think about the decisions that can lead to increased risk in your life right now. Now, summarizing, we talked about the different risk factors. Some of them are controllable. 
    * 		00:06:39 Some of them are uncontrollable. We focus on the controllable and the behaviors that we can, essentially, act on that reduce the risk or eliminate the risk of injury and illness. Now, in the next section, we're going to address health problems. That's what we're going to be talking about. Thank you very much.
* 		Section 3
    * 		00:00:00 TEACHER: Hello and welcome again. Do you know how can I take charge of my health and wellness? Section 3. We start this lesson by describing how changes in lifestyle have affected health, wellness, and disease. We also identify controllable and uncontrollable health risk factors and the behaviors that can cause them. 
    * 		00:00:20 Well, now, it's time to describe how individuals, you, me, or others, can address health problems and endorse health advocacy through education. Let's see how we can make a difference. Taking charge. By making the right healthy decisions and educating ourselves, we are making a difference in our own health. But we can also make a difference in society by 
    * 		00:00:43 taking it to the next step. Things that we can do is becoming health literate, not only for ourselves but also to share that knowledge with others. Participating in health education programs, not only with the purpose of learning but also with the purpose of sharing with other individuals-- friends, family members, even strangers. 
    * 		00:01:02 Advocate for your health and the health of others. And be aware of the resources available. Be aware of government programs out there. So how can you become health literate? Well, taking this class already, taking this lesson is already teaching you things about health and how to improve your health and how to live a healthier life. Well, health literacy is a person's capacity to learn 
    * 		00:01:24 about and understand health information and services. Literacy applies not only to health. It applies to other topics. And you probably throughout school these many years, you are literate in so many other areas-- math, sciences, biology, social work. There are many different topics that you have touched during all these years of formal education. 
    * 		00:01:44 Even informal on your own, you are literate in many different topics. Well, health literacy uses health information and services to promote health and wellness, not only on ourselves, but we can also do it with other people. Now, what are the skills necessary? Well, if you take a look at these skills, you probably have most, if not all, of these skills already. 
    * 		00:02:07 Critical thinker. Develops criteria for health information. So essentially, you know how to find the information. And you learn to this discriminate what is true versus what isn't, what information you can use versus the one that doesn't give you that much value added. A problem solver you want to be. That is a person that knows how to make decisions and 
    * 		00:02:30 health choices. Well, you want to translate that knowledge, that fact, that data that you're getting as you're studying, as you're researching. And you want to be able to use it in your everyday life in order to make the right decisions. You want to be a responsible individual. A responsible individual is one that promotes health and 
    * 		00:02:49 chooses safe, healthy, and legal behaviors. Think about avoiding using drugs, tobacco, alcohol, for example. And being consistent. Self-directed is an individual that knows how and when to research health information. While we may know about a certain topic of health, but we may need to focus or we may want to focus about mental 
    * 		00:03:11 health now or emotional health and how we can, essentially, expand our area of knowledge. Well, that's being self-directed. We don't need to wait for somebody to come and tell us, oh, now, it's time for you to learn something new. We are always in constant search for new knowledge. You want to also be an effective communicator with the purpose of sharing that knowledge with other people 
    * 		00:03:33 more effectively. Now, health education. For health education, providing accurate health information to help people make healthy choices. Well, if we're going to participate in health education with the purpose of learning ourselves, but we can also be an active part of a health education effort and help others. 
    * 		00:03:55 It doesn't necessarily have to be in all areas of health. There may be an area of our interest that we can participate and share knowledge with. You want to show the relationship between healthy living and the quality of life. Well, where does health education take place? It takes place in the schools, for example-- elementary, junior high, high school, college. 
    * 		00:04:15 Most states require some form of health education on some topics or many different dimensions of health. Well, at schools, you learn about a wide range of health topics. And it also opens the door so you can go ahead and research on your own and become literate. So education doesn't only end up at school. You can pick it up and do it on your own too. 
    * 		00:04:38 There's also education resources a community health. Agencies out there provide health information to their community. So think about local clinics, Planned Parenthood or similar institutions like that, where you can get more knowledge, more direction on many different health topics. Government health initiatives. Here's a list of some of the initiatives that the US 
    * 		00:05:01 government has in order to promote health, prevent disease, and, essentially, try to achieve a healthier society-- Healthy People 2020, Physical Activity Guidelines and Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Now, Healthy People 2020. Every 10 years, there's an effort to consolidate whatever knowledge has been learned, any different trends, and 
    * 		00:05:26 data, and research with the purpose to assess major risks to health and wellness, changing health priorities for Americans and emerging issues related to national health, let's say, a new disease, a new epidemic that has taken place or has the potential to take place. Some of the goals of these programs is to increase the quality in years of a healthy life for Americans, essentially increase the lifespan of Americans and 
    * 		00:05:53 eliminate health disparities. Make it more uniform. If the technology is out there, everybody can enjoy them. So if there's any new research that can benefit society as a whole, make that technology accessible to everyone. Now, other initiatives are the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. 
    * 		00:06:15 So these look at the changes year on year and identify the types and amounts of physical activities that offer health benefits to the Americans, same thing with diet. Essentially, the lifestyle that we live, the foods that we eat and that are available are not the same that there were 40, 50 years ago. So that's why the recommendations, the guidelines, should change constantly. 
    * 		00:06:40 Now, how can we become a health advocate? Should we decide to become a health advocate, we want to become then a person that speaks out or argues in favor of something. So take a look at the television or the media about artists or athletes that pick up, decide to embrace a specific topic and become advocates for it, protecting children in third-world 
    * 		00:07:02 countries, eliminating poverty. Those are some examples of advocacy that public figures endorse. But you can also do it in a local level. Or you can aim higher if you want to and pick up a health topic. Things that we can do. We can lead by example. 
    * 		00:07:22 Just by living a healthy life ourselves, we are being an advocate. Volunteer your time to programs. Create public service announcements if possible. If you don't know what a PSA or public service announcement is, it's a message that is created to educate people about an issue. Look at this image here. 
    * 		00:07:40 This is about how to stop or why people should stop smoking. Well, the media that can be used, it can be radio, television, poster, or essay. So you find whatever works for and for your community, for your target audience, whichever resources you have available to you. And you want to create a public service announcement 
    * 		00:08:01 that is important to you. So you don't necessarily have to focus on all dimensions of health. Whatever difference you want to make is appreciated. So in this case, it focuses on tobacco. Some other PSAs focus on stop drinking or don't start drinking or avoid the use of illegal drugs. So you choose the topic that you want to convey. 
    * 		00:08:25 Now, summarizing. We've talked about how to take control of your health and wellness and how you can also make a difference in society. That is, essentially, trying to look after the improved healthy lifestyle and improved health of friends, family members, and community as a whole. In this lesson, we started talking about diseases. And we talked about the changes in diseases between 
    * 		00:08:49 1900 and 2006, the major improvements that have taken place in treatment, prevention, and diagnostics. We talked about risk factors, like uncontrollable and controllable risk factors and risk behaviors that increase the possibility of getting injured, picking up a disease or illness. Finally, we talked about how we can take charge, not only of our own health but also make a difference in society. 
    * 		00:09:17 Thank you.
Conflict Management
* 		Section 1
    * 		00:00:01 TEACHER: Hello, and welcome back. Let's take a look at the warm-up, where we see Betty. Oop, maybe we don't see all of Betty, we just see Betty sneer. Betty is really angry at us, really upset. But what's causing this conflict, this argument between us? The causes of conflict are what we're going to be 
    * 		00:00:19 discussing during section one of Conflict Management. There are three objectives in this lesson. The first objective is to identify the causes of conflict. The second objective is to recognize factors that influence conflict resolution. And the third is to demonstrate an understanding of conflict resolution strategies. 
    * 		00:00:37 In this section we're going to be dealing with the causes of conflict. Now, we need to start with what a conflict is. I said it was an argument. It can also be defined as a fight, a struggle, a disagreement, a clash, or even a war. And conflicts can scale in size, they can be different sizes. 
    * 		00:00:54 You can have a small conflict, maybe between two or three people. Or you can have a large conflict between tons of people, as in when two nations fight. OK? So conflicts can be different, and they're all individual to the people who are experiencing them. And the causes of conflict, the main causes of conflict, 
    * 		00:01:15 are universal. Everyone goes through these feelings, goes through these causes when they're experiencing conflict. And conflicts happen when essential needs are denied, when perceptions vary, when values differ or are questioned, when power is used to manipulate others, and when feelings dominate or differ. And we're going to be talking about each of these in a 
    * 		00:01:39 little bit more detail. So the first thing we're going to talk about is essential needs. Every person has essential needs. You have the need for food, shelter, water. You have the need for love, and affection from others, understanding, a feeling of belonging. When any of those essential needs are not met, there's 
    * 		00:01:59 going to be some sort of conflict. Especially when they are not met as a result of being denied by someone, perhaps we feel unjustly, when they are taken away, or when they're just flat out ignored. People have these needs as part of their being, and so when they're taken away we get really angry. So think of a time when, maybe, an older sister or brother ordered a pizza for themselves when you were 
    * 		00:02:26 really hungry, and then didn't share anything with you. They ignored your feelings of hunger and they denied you the food that you needed to meet that need. There's other kinds of needs that maybe aren't essential but would still result in a conflict. Say, if your brother or sister took your bike when you want to ride it. They're kind of ignoring what you want to do in order to 
    * 		00:02:49 exercise or to alleviate some stress for yourself. So, essential needs are definitely an important root cause of many conflicts. Then there's perceptions, the way you see things. And there's often more than one way of looking at a situation. But when somebody tries to say that their perception is more right than another person's perception, they're going to 
    * 		00:03:10 have a conflict. If I see a political argument, and I feel that there's one take on it that's a little better than another take and you disagree with me, we could have a conflict there very easily. Another root cause of conflict is power. And power can cause conflict in a number of ways. In fact, sometimes the mere presence of somebody with more 
    * 		00:03:35 power than another person is enough to start a conflict. When power is wielded over others, when it's used to take advantage of others, and when it's taken from others, it can all cause conflict. So think about bullies at school who use their power to terrorize other kids. Think about the boss at work whose going to be causing conflicts by belittling their workers or by asking them to 
    * 		00:03:58 work extra hours for no extra pay. Power causes lots of conflict in our society. The next thing to think about is values, and values are your beliefs or principles. And when they're not accepted, when you have a disagreement with someone about your beliefs or principles, that can be a real problem for you. The most common causes of value based conflict are 
    * 		00:04:21 religion, politics, and abstract ideas like loyalty, freedom and friendship. There's been many wars over religion and many arguments. Politics should be pretty self explanatory especially considering we live in a country where you have to have a conflict even in order to get into office-- we call them elections-- and abstract ideas such as loyalty, freedom and 
    * 		00:04:42 friendship. Have you ever had an argument over whether someone was your friend or not? You feel they're not and they feel they are. It's pretty simple and pretty intuitive, really. And then there's feelings. We all have feelings, we all have emotions, and we all have a certain amount of emotional health. 
    * 		00:05:00 And when our feelings or emotions dictate an action, sometimes that can lead to a conflict, especially if we have friends or family or the people in our lives who are ignoring what we're feeling and what we're emoting. And if our feelings and emotions differ about something, then we can easily have a conflict. So for our cool down we want to think about how needs, perception, power, values, and feelings are all root causes 
    * 		00:05:25 of conflict. And, additionally, I want you to take a look at something. Perceptions-- the way you see something-- your feelings-- your emotional thoughts about something-- and your values-- your beliefs about something-- 
    * 		00:05:38 are all kind of connected into your world view. So whenever you're world view is challenged, there's a conflict in the making. And then power and needs are both separate entities. So make sure that you're aware of that. Now, thinking ahead. Let's take a look at Barney here, who seems to be internally conflicted. 
    * 		00:05:59 He's arguing with himself. Well, what is the nature of his conflict resolution going to be, and what's going to influence how soon he can get himself back together?
* 		Section 2
    * 		00:00:00 TEACHER: Hello and welcome back. Let's take a look at the warm-up, where we saw that Barney was having some problems internally. And we were wondering, what's going to cause him to get back together? What's going to influence his ability to resolve his own conflict? Well, that's what we're going to talk about in section two 
    * 		00:00:18 of Conflict Management. And there are three objectives in this lesson. The first objective is to identify the causes of conflict. The second objective is going to be to recognize factors that influence conflict resolution. And the third factor is going to demonstrate an understanding of conflict resolution strategies. 
    * 		00:00:35 In this section, we're going to be dealing with the second objective, recognizing factors that influence conflict resolution. Now first, what is conflict resolution? Well, it's a non-violent, which is important, method or process of finding a solution to a conflict that satisfies every person who's involved in that conflict. That's also an important point. 
    * 		00:00:58 It takes all the people who are engaged in the conflict and it puts them together and it makes them come up with a solution. And it usually involves some sort of negotiation or talking back and forth and diplomacy, trying to see the other person's point of view and give them some of what they want without giving up too much of what I want. So there's a little bit of compromise in there too. 
    * 		00:01:20 Now, there are three main influences on conflict resolution. Those factors are personal attitudes, the nature of the conflict itself, and the capability of the people inside the conflict to negotiate the conflict out. We'll talk about each of these three in a little more detail and some of the questions to ask about the parties in a conflict in order to determine what the influences will be. 
    * 		00:01:47 So for personal attitudes, the question we're really asking is, how do the people involved, including yourself if you're involved in a conflict, feel about the issue that you're having a conflict over? Think about your prejudices. Think about what you think beforehand about any factor in the argument, if there's any personal biases you have that are going to influence your decision making here, or that 
    * 		00:02:10 you need to let go of in order to get past the conflict. Think about your prior experiences, both with this person and with conflicts of this type. It often occurs that we have more than one conflict in our lives about the topics that we have conflicts about more often. Some people have lots of arguments about religion. Some people have lots of arguments about friendship. 
    * 		00:02:34 If you seem to find yourself in more and more of those kinds of conflicts, maybe there's something that you need to change. And also, think about the level of importance that this conflict has to you. If it's something that's not very important to you, it might be the best thing for all parties involved for you just to let it go. 
    * 		00:02:53 So you're the only one that can control your own attitude about these issues. You have these beliefs. You have these opinions, perceptions, values, and feelings. But you control your own attitude. How am I going to let this get to me? If you try to control other people's attitudes and try to 
    * 		00:03:11 convince them that they should change how they think about things, you're going to run into even more problems because then you're exercising power over them. You're telling them, you need to change. Doesn't usually work. You need to change yourself. Think about yourself and reflect on how you can make this situation better. 
    * 		00:03:30 Let them worry about themselves. Now, let's talk about the nature of the conflict. This is really asking, what is the conflict about? You can ask, what is the root cause of this conflict, going back to last section. And know that personal conflicts need to be handled differently than work conflicts. If you're in a personal conflict, it might seem like 
    * 		00:03:54 an OK idea to start throwing out ad hominem attacks, which are personal attacks, mean things, saying someone is stupid or dumb or so on. It's not a good idea in the workplace, of course, where you could be fired for such behavior. But it's not a good idea in personal conflicts either, because it can really poison the well and make it difficult for you to reestablish a connection with that person. 
    * 		00:04:18 So think about how severe the conflict is. Is this something you're willing to lose a friendship over? Is this something you willing to lose a job over? If not, reassess how you're coming into the conflict. Is it something that could be resolved easily? Is it one point of many that's causing something to stop or block? 
    * 		00:04:36 Well, it might be that you just need to compromise on that one issue. Is it going to take a lot of sacrifice from one person to fix the issue? Is the issue all in one person's square? Sometimes that's fair and sometimes that's not. But you need to figure it out before you start resolving the conflict. 
    * 		00:04:52 And then think about how heated this conflict can get. If there's a disagreement between two people who are very level headed, you probably shouldn't be too worried about how heated it's going to get. But if you've got a couple of people who are known for having big tempers and a lot of anger in them, you probably want to try and resolve that conflict as soon and quickly as possible so that tempers don't flare. 
    * 		00:05:15 Finally, we want to think about the capability of the people involved in the conflict. What are the communications skills of the people involved? Are they people who can talk to each other without having at serious argument? Or are they people who need a lot of drifting, a lot of help, a lot of people to come and mediate between them? It really is going to matter to the resolution of the 
    * 		00:05:40 conflict to figure that out. And then think, is everyone on the same level? You don't argue with children. Because if you argue with very young children, you're going to lose because they think an argument is about being loud and getting their way. Well, that's not really an argument. That's like a small dictatorship. 
    * 		00:05:59 Does everyone have what they need to work on the conflict? Do you have enough money, time, and support in order to win your way if the conflict is at work or in your personal life? You think about these factors before you start deciding to resolve the conflict or deciding to make the conflict a bigger issue. So for our cool down, the influences on our conflict or 
    * 		00:06:21 our personal attitudes, the nature of the conflict, and the capability of the people involved. And remember that the thing that you have the most control over are your own personal attitudes. So that's probably the area where you should focus when you start conflict resolution. Now, we take a look at Fred. And Fred has just gotten into a conflict. 
    * 		00:06:42 And he made a compromise. And he didn't really feel good about it, so he's conflicted inside again. How can we help him come to better conflict resolutions? 
* 		Section 3
    * 		00:00:00 TEACHER: Hello, and welcome back. Let's take a look at the warm up where Fred just had an argument, but he has mixed feelings about how it came out. How can we ensure that when we get into some sort of argument or conflict that we come out feeling whole, that we feel like the resolution process has actually worked? Well, that's what we're really going to be talking about 
    * 		00:00:21 today in section three of Conflict Management. Now, there are three objectives in this lesson. The first objective is to identify the causes of conflict. The second objective is to recognize factors that influence conflict resolution. And the third objective is to demonstrate an understanding of conflict resolution strategies. 
    * 		00:00:38 And that's going to be what we talk about during this section. Now, the conflict resolution process is something that you can put into place for any conflict no matter how small or how large it is. And the steps in the process are to define the problem, propose a solution, listen carefully, agree on shared values, then we brainstorm, and then we have to agree on a 
    * 		00:01:01 resolution to the process. And there are four possible resolutions compromise, arbitration, mediation, and agreeing to disagree. We're going to go through this whole process and I want you to take careful notes so that you can understand how to solve your own conflict. Now the first thing before anything that happens is you have to set some ground rules. 
    * 		00:01:23 You have to make sure that both people agree that there needs to be a conflict resolution and that you're going to follow this strategy. You have to agree to follow the strategy. Because otherwise, you're going to be working at cross purposes. Now, it's important also that we use neutral arguments. And what that means is you don't want to start out 
    * 		00:01:44 setting the ground rules by being accusatory and accusing the other person of arguing or going through the resolution process in bad faith. You want to make sure that everybody's on board. You want to make sure that you don't sully the waters by being negative at the very beginning. Now, you've got to define your problem is the first step in a conflict. 
    * 		00:02:08 If you don't both agree on what the problem is you'll never be able to solve it. So you have to agree on what the issue is. And the best way to start getting at that is to use I statements, not you statements. Say something like, I feel that the issue is. Well, when you make that statement the other person can't argue with you, because you do feel that way. 
    * 		00:02:32 Or if you say, I think that. Well, they can't argue about what you're thinking. You see how that makes it a little easier? The other person can't argue with what you're saying, they have to listen. Whereas, if you use a use statement like you said this, well, now it's open for interpretation. I don't remember saying that. 
    * 		00:02:53 So use I statements nor you statements and get to the bottom of it. If you both think that you have different problems, well, what you should do is agree to work on each problem individually as part of its own conflict resolution process. So even that's not going to derail you. Then you've got to propose a solution. 
    * 		00:03:15 You have to be clear about what you want to do. OK? And you have to avoid arguments from emotion. Don't try and get everything in a conflict resolution crisis. You're going to want to be able to give some and get some. OK? 
    * 		00:03:30 Avoid personal attacks, it doesn't help. Personal attacks are also called ad hominem attacks, and it's when you call someone a name or when you accuse somebody of not being fair or so on. So you want to make sure that when you are presenting your solution it's something that not only you can live with but you know the other person might be willing to agree to. Don't ask for the moon because you might get nothing. 
    * 		00:03:56 Now, this is a step where you've got to listen carefully, because you've already proposed your solution. Now, you've got to listen to the other person layout of their solution. And make sure you're being an active listener. If you think you understand what they said, say something like, I think I understand you. 
    * 		00:04:14 Now, let me rephrase that and see if I got it. And then actually say what they said in your own words. And then they can clarify. So that way you both know that you're on the same page. And don't argue with them. This is not the time for arguing. You are supposed to be listening and taking it all in. 
    * 		00:04:34 Make sure you've established exactly what they said and that you both agree on what was said and what was meant before you have any sort of conflict. Now, this is time to agree on shared values. You both had your say. You both know what the issue is, now we've got to figure out where we actually agree and where we can come together. 
    * 		00:04:56 So establish that common ground. And then you've got to also set boundaries. You need to think about what's important to you, what you have to have, out of this conflict resolution and what it would be nice to have. Because that list of nice to haves is going to be your bargaining chips. You want to set the boundaries over here on these things that 
    * 		00:05:14 you have to have, and you're not going to budge those much. But this area over here, these nice to haves, well, you're going to wheel and deal with those. And we'll talk about that in a second. So you definitely want to prioritize your needs and your wants. Now it's time to brainstorm. You're going to be thinking creatively. 
    * 		00:05:31 How can we get through this solution? If you guys agreed on the shared values and it solved your problem, boy, you're done there. But now if you've still got the issue, you've got to think about how you can make it work for everybody involved. Make some new suggestions. Think outside the box. Try to come up with something that 
    * 		00:05:49 nobody's suggested before. And negotiate, this is where your wants come into play. Because you can say, I wanted this, but I'd be willing to give it up if you could just, and then ask for something. Make sure you're not asking for something that the other person is never going to give up. Because that puts you in an awkward position. And if you're not making progress, it's 
    * 		00:06:14 OK to take a break. You don't have to actually sit there and negotiate until there's a solution. You can leave, say, hey, I need 5 minutes. I'm getting really frustrated, and I want to come back and I want us to be fresh, and I want us to have a good conflict resolution. So leave for 5 minutes, take a break, get some air, come 
    * 		00:06:33 back, you'll actually feel refreshed and you might have some new ideas. Now you've gone through the entire process and it's time to come to a resolution. And there are four kinds of resolutions that you can come to. There's compromise, arbitration, mediation, and agreeing to disagree. 
    * 		00:06:52 Let's talk about each of those and what the benefits and disadvantages are. First, there's a compromise. And what a compromise is is a joint solution where you give a little and get a little. In other words, you give up some of your wants and the other person gives up some of their wants so that you both get what you need but neither one has a total victory. 
    * 		00:07:13 Compromise is really an effective way to be able to move forward with a new renewed interest and common goal. Whereas arbitration is a little bit different. You've decided that you can't really agree what's fair. Both of you can't come to an agreement, so you decide that a third party is going to decide the outcome. You take a third person who's not involved and you say, you 
    * 		00:07:36 know what, we can't agree. We need you to make the decision. And we both agree that whatever decision you make, that's what's going to happen. Now, the real trick is getting everybody to agree on that. This happens, arbitration sometimes happens, in the US Court system. And in that case, the arbiter has the force of law. 
    * 		00:07:57 In other words, they can make people do what they agreed to. But in a casual conflict, it can be a little more difficult. So you really have to be trusting of the person there. And you have to agree to go by what the arbiter says. Then there's mediation. And mediation is a little bit like arbitration except the endpoint is different. 
    * 		00:08:16 You're still going and finding that neutral third party, but that neutral third party isn't there to make the decision for you. They're there to facilitate the discussion. Mediation is really good if you are both getting so frustrated and you just can't talk to each other anymore. A mediator is a third party that you can talk to who's going to help you overcome those negative feelings and 
    * 		00:08:37 help you reach a joint solution. So a mediator is going to help you really arrive at a compromise if you can't do it on your own. A final option for you is to agree to disagree. Sometimes you just can't agree on what the common solution is going to be, so you just have to walk away from the conflict and put it behind you. Now, what that means is that you didn't come to a solution, 
    * 		00:09:03 but this is important, both parties have to agree that there's no more arguing allowed at all. So you kind of leave it and forget about it. You're not going to bring it up. You're not going to make snide comments. It's just done. OK? So it's not really a satisfying solution. 
    * 		00:09:21 But sometimes it's necessary for the good of your mental health, emotional health to just say, you know what, this argument's not going to get solved at this point. Maybe we can come back to it later when we've thought about it, when we've had time to cool off. But for now, we just have to agree to disagree. So for our cool down, I want you to think about this process. 
    * 		00:09:43 You define the problem. You propose your solution. You listen carefully to the other person's solution. You agree on what values you all share. And then you brainstorm, you think creatively about how you can solve the issue. And then you agree on a resolution, either a compromise, arbitration, mediation, 
    * 		00:10:00 or agreeing to disagree. So now we're at the lesson summary and we need to talk about what we learned during this lesson. In our causes of conflict, we know that conflict is caused by need, perceptions, power, values, and feelings. So need, if you need something you don't have it, that can make it really awkward for you and cause a conflict. If people have differing perceptions about what's going 
    * 		00:10:45 on or what needs to happen, that can cause a conflict. Of course, anybody having more power than another person can cause a conflict. That should be a lightning bolt. That's a little better. Values, of course, are very important to people. And, of course, feelings can influence a conflict. Then there's conflict resolution. 
    * 		00:11:10 And in general, conflict resolution is going to have three different components that are going to affect how the conflict resolution plays out. And those are attitudes you have towards the argument in general or towards the other person that you're having a conflict with, the nature of the argument, what the argument is about whether it's something that really matters to you, whether it's a matter of fairness or not, and the 
    * 		00:11:45 capability of the people involved, whether they're able to argue effectively or whether they are arguing from different levels of power, and maturity. OK? And then we have the conflict resolution strategy. And the strategy is to define the problem, to propose your solution, to listen carefully, to agree on your shared values, to brainstorm, and then come up with the 
    * 		00:12:27 resolution. So I hope you learned a little bit about conflict and how to resolve any conflicts that you see.

Peer Pressure and Refusal Skills
* 		Section 1
    * 		00:00:01 TEACHER: Hello, and welcome to this lesson on peer pressure. As we get started, do you know what is peer pressure? Section one, today we're going to differentiate between positive and negative peer pressure. Later we're going to identify causes of peer pressure. And we're going to describe situations in which peer pressure is most common. And we're going to finish by discussing that refusal skills 
    * 		00:00:23 needed to make responsible decisions under pressure. Let's start with today's objective. What is peer pressure? It can be defined as the influence that people your age may have on you. It's the feeling that you should do or like something because others do-- the clothes you wear, the food you eat, the sports you 
    * 		00:00:42 practice, the things you like to do. Probably a friend or a family member had some influence on what you're doing today, what you did in the past, or in the future. Peer pressure can be active or passive. And it can be positive or negative. Let's talk more details about each of this. First, active peer pressure is when somebody tries to 
    * 		00:01:03 directly persuade you to do something. Take a look at this example. You're asking a friend, or somebody's asking you to skip classes. Well, it can take the form of a tease, a persuasion, even a threat or a put-down, which can lead us to make an action that otherwise we wouldn't do. Now, passive peer pressure, on the other hand, it happens 
    * 		00:01:26 when someone is swayed to do something because others are doing it. Let's say you are at school. Somebody starts whistling. Then more people start whistling. Well, you think it's fun. Everybody's doing it. You don't want to look odd. 
    * 		00:01:40 You start whistling too. It does not involve direct persuasion to do something. It can be very subtle, too. An example is you decide to buy a new car after seeing it in a commercial. Let's say that you're 18 years of age, and there's a kid star around the same age that has that same car. Well, you want that same car because that person is 
    * 		00:02:01 advertising it. He or she looks good in it. So you want to look good, too. You go and buy that vehicle. That is passive peer pressure. Now positive peer pressure, which is one of the consequences, is when positive role models encourage you, or you associate with them, and do positive things. 
    * 		00:02:21 Being influenced to do something beneficial, that's typically what comes out of this. Let's say you join a high performance academic club. You join a sports activity club. Or you decide to do good things for society. You join a community program. You decide to donate time or resources to charity, for example. 
    * 		00:02:41 Also, it can be just abstaining from risky behavior. With yourself in a party, there's a group of people that are smoking or drinking. On the other hand, you have your friends that aren't doing those activities. People ask you to join the folks that are drinking or smoking. 
    * 		00:02:58 Your friends are keeping you away from that group. They encourage you to stay clean and don't start the behavior of start smoking or drinking. So that positive group is positive peer pressure not to do something that can harm you in the long term or the short term. The benefits of positive peer pressure, well, you find friendships and acceptance in that group. 
    * 		00:03:21 It leads to positive examples within that group as you're doing good things. Or the external group sees you as a positive example. You get good and honest feedback and advice. If you have questions about what to do on a personal situation, a work or school situation or conflict that you may have, this groups, there's higher chances that you're going to get good and honest advice on that problem. 
    * 		00:03:46 It allows you to socialize. It gives you encouragement to do things that otherwise you wouldn't do, because you have group support. And it opens you up to new experiences. That new sport that you haven't practiced, let's say this group wants to go and do bungee jumping. You wouldn't do it yourself. It's safe if you do it under the right conditions. 
    * 		00:04:04 Well, these people give you the motivation. You guys go on a trip, and you all decide to do bungee jumping, something safe, a new experience. You practice it. Otherwise you wouldn't have done it in your life. Things of that nature-- you're exposed to positive things, safe things, too. Now on the negative side, the negative peer pressure is 
    * 		00:04:24 being pressured to do something unproductive or harmful, even illegal. Example here these two gentlemen are in trouble, probably because they did some graffiti on the walls when they weren't supposed to. It's feeling pressure to do something against our will. Let's say we are in a party. A discussion, an argument between two groups arises. 
    * 		00:04:43 You're in the middle of the fight or the argument. You are being pressured to jump in a fight or essentially heat up the environment through confrontation. Well, that is negative peer pressure you are experiencing. The disadvantages of negative peer pressure can be questionable friendships. If you don't do as they tell you, you can get in trouble with that group. 
    * 		00:05:04 Or they may just stop talking to you. If it's a bad group, don't worry too much about it. It leads to poor examples within the group or outside of the group. They see you as a poor example. It adds stress and pressure with your friends, with your family, and authority as you're doing things that you shouldn't be doing. 
    * 		00:05:21 It discourages you from achieving your goals if you have positive goals. And it can lead to harmful experiences, not just for you, but for the others. Let's say that you decide to do prank jokes on somebody else, an innocent person. You could harm that person. Summarizing peer pressure. 
    * 		00:05:38 We defined what it is. We also identified that it can be negative and positive. And it can take an active or a passive approach. Well, in the next section we're going to be talking about the consequences that negative peer pressure can have on us and other people. Thank you.
* 		Section 2
    * 		00:00:00 TEACHER: Hello and welcome again. As we continue talking about peer pressure, ask yourself, in what situations can peer pressure cause problems? If you've been exposed to peer pressure or a victim of peer pressure before, you probably can identify some situations. Section two. So far, we differentiated between positive and negative peer pressure. 
    * 		00:00:21 Right now we're going to identify causes of peer pressure and the most common situations where it takes place. And later we're going to finish by discussing the refusal skills that allow us to make responsible decisions when we face peer pressure. Ready? The victims of negative peer pressure. 
    * 		00:00:40 It typically falls on people that have low confidence, people that are followers rather than leaders, people that are inexperienced handling with certain personalities, or people who are new to a group, like say a school, work, you move into a new city. Now keep in mind, we may not fall in these categories right now, but let's say something happens in our life. We have a life altering event, like our parents die, a dear 
    * 		00:01:07 friend of ours die, and suddenly our confidence goes down. Well, at that point we're going to be vulnerable. So keep this in mind so when you know yourself or somebody you care for being vulnerable, try to avoid those situations where negative peer pressure can take place. Now, why do I give in or people give in to negative peer pressure? 
    * 		00:01:28 Here's some examples. We want to be accepted. We don't want to feel awkward in a situation. We want to look like the grown up people. We hang out with older people, older than 21 and they drink already because it's legal age. Well, we want to look all grown up so we start drinking along with them. 
    * 		00:01:46 That is illegal, by the way. Fears for ridicule. Fear of offending peers, also. Feeling ambiguous about the situation or poor or nonexistent refusal skills. Sometimes we don't want to get in trouble. We don't want to compromise our health, we don't want to get being made fun of or being bullied by somebody, so trying 
    * 		00:02:07 to avoid those situations and because we don't know how to say no, we just fall for the pressure. We start bullying people, we make fun of people, we do things we shouldn't be doing, stealing, getting in fights, things of that sort. What you want to do is you want to use your best judgment. [INAUDIBLE]. 
    * 		00:02:26 Do not compromise your values, do [? those ?] things that go against your values, the values that you have embraced through your family, friends, or your religion. Do not damage your health or others. Don't do things that are going to cause you harm or cause harm to others, like prank jokes, getting into fights, situations of those sorts. Do not diminish your chances of attaining your goals. 
    * 		00:02:50 Let's say that you're an A student and people are asking you to skip class. That goes against your goal, especially if you're compromising your future because you were eligible for an athletic scholarship or an academic scholarship. Do you want to waste all this time that you've invested on that and give it away because of peer pressure? I don't think so. 
    * 		00:03:14 Bad decisions. Negative peer pressure can lead to, here are some of the worst examples, feelings of regret. You do something and your values, your mind, tells you that that's not something right. There's going to be internal conflict. You're going to start having conflicts and stress with your parents, if they know you're smoking and you shouldn't, 
    * 		00:03:32 drinking and you shouldn't. At school. If your grades go down, you're going to get in trouble. If you start skipping class, you're going to get in trouble. Law enforcement. You start doing illegal activities, getting in fights or start stealing, do graffiti, you're going to go 
    * 		00:03:47 to jail, like these two ladies in the example. Now, the most common situations or the context where negative peer pressure takes place, where drugs are involved, alcohol, tobacco, shoplifting, people ask you to steal, truancy, academic dishonesty, like people ask you to cheat or give them the exam responses, or sexual activity. These are flags of situations where you shouldn't be in or 
    * 		00:04:19 you should be avoiding at all cost. And here is an example of where negative peer pressure can take place. As you can see, it's everywhere. At school people can ask you to cheat, skip process. At work, skip work, put in extra hours when you're not working, stealing from work. At home, if your brother, sister asks you not to tell 
    * 		00:04:43 something to your parents. It can be at the mall or it can be at school or a social club or an athletic club. So literally it can take place anywhere. But on the other hand, positive peer pressure can take place in these contexts too. So you can be looking for people to associate with that do negative things, or people that do positive things. 
    * 		00:05:05 What do you want to be? Summarizing this lesson, we talked about the why's or the people that are most vulnerable and we talked about where negative peer pressure can take place. Keep this in mind, as it is important to identify where I'm the most vulnerable or somebody that I care for so we can avoid this context and not get in trouble. And just look into the future. 
    * 		00:05:28 In the next lesson, currently we talked about where it takes place. Well next thing, if you happen to be in those places, we're going to tell you how to be able to come out of those situations and say no. Thank you.
* 		Section 3
    * 		00:00:01 TEACHER: Hello, and welcome again. As we continue talking about peer pressure, ask yourself, how do we keep peer pressure from controlling us? If you've ever been in a situation where people are asking you something negative, how have you come out of that situation? Section three. So far for this lesson, we differentiated between the 
    * 		00:00:22 positive and the negative peer pressure. We also identified causes of peer pressure and we described the most common situations where it takes place. And today, we're going to discuss the refusal skills that we need to make responsible decisions when faced with negative peer pressure. Well, let's talk about this last objective, refusal skills. 
    * 		00:00:45 A refusal skill is a strategy of communication that helps individuals avoid participating in unsafe or risky behaviors which are the product of negative peer pressure. So we're going to cover different techniques on how to come across of those situations if you're already there. Now, what is most important is, try to avoid those 
    * 		00:01:05 situations altogether. So we already talked about the different contexts where it takes place. Analyze those before you get to that place-- before you go to the school, before things are happening in your social group, and try to avoid those negative situations altogether. That's the most important thing. 
    * 		00:01:23 Now, why do we want to refuse to negative peer pressure? Well, we want to protect our self esteem. Sometimes we do things we regret the next day, or that we know we will regret the next day. Those are going to cause internal conflicts. We want to protect our dignity, too, and our values-- the core things that we believe in that we've been striving or steering our life with. 
    * 		00:01:48 Now, if we're going to refuse a negative action through peer pressure, it is very important that we refuse with confidence. We know we're right. We know that our values and our ethics are correct when we're being asked to smoke, use alcohol, make fun of somebody, or do negative things. So we have to be assertive. 
    * 		00:02:10 We know what we're doing. We know why we're saying "no." We can say it with respect. We don't need to get into an argument. And we need to practice if possible, so we're ready when those situations arise and we come out of them gracefully. Now, the first technique, say no. Simply. 
    * 		00:02:29 You're asked or you're offered for a drink. Just say no, thank you. You don't need it. Stop there. No need for justifications. Now, finding strength in numbers. Firstly, associate with people that are not doing those actions. 
    * 		00:02:42 So let's say you're at a party. Hang out with the people that don't smoke. Hang out with the people that do not drink or use drugs. So firstly, they don't come and approach to you to exert pressure on you. Or if you happen to be being put pressure on, you can use your friends or the people you're hanging with to try to avoid the situation. 
    * 		00:03:03 Divert the pressure. Blame someone else. Blame your parents-- I'll get in trouble if I do such a thing. Give a reason. If I do drugs, I'm going to mess up my health, for example. So make them put-- 
    * 		00:03:16 or put in context what is happening, and what harm is going to cause you or others by doing it. Or make an excuse-- you know what, I have to go, things like that. Anything goes, in order to try to get away from that negative situation. Use humor. If you're graceful enough and if you have a fast mind, come 
    * 		00:03:36 up with a joke and try to divert the situation. Use sarcasm on the situation. Avoiding the pressure. Suggest an alternative action. A lot of times, bad ideas come out of doing nothing. You're just hanging out at home at a friend's house or at school, you have nothing to do. Oh, let's go and get us some drinks, or let's go and get 
    * 		00:03:56 ourselves in some sort of trouble. Well, suggest something positive instead. Let's go and play sports, or let's go and watch a movie. Just try to avoid the situation. And by doing that, you're not just doing yourself a favor. You're getting the group out of trouble. Change the topic. If you're elaborating on an idea that is not going 
    * 		00:04:15 somewhere good, change the topic. Talk about something else. Distract them, so they don't think about the bad action anymore. Ignore the situation, and ultimately, if the pressure is strong enough and you have an out, leave the place. You can avoid it altogether. Make your own choice. 
    * 		00:04:33 Ultimately, don't do anything that makes you uncomfortable. Don't do anything that compromises your value or that can get you in trouble or harm yourself or others. Now, summarizing. We talked about why we are saying "no" to peer pressure. We want to protect our values. We want to protect our self-esteem-- not regret something later-- 
    * 		00:04:52 and protect our dignity. And we talked about the many techniques for refusing negative situations. As easy as say "no," avoiding pressure, ultimately making the choice that is right for you. Remember, try to practice to come out gracefully of those negative situations. And practice all these different techniques. 
    * 		00:05:11 All of them are good as long as you're out of trouble. Finally, last thing this lesson, we initiated by talking about peer pressure, what it was, and how it can be positive and negative, and how it can be passive and active. So stay aware of those situations. We talked about the context, and which people are most vulnerable to fall for negative peer pressure. And we also talked about some of the consequences of 
    * 		00:05:35 negative peer pressure, such as going to jail, alienating yourself from friends and family, ultimately, you can even die if you get in so much trouble. And lastly, what we discovered, we talked about refusing with confidence. We know we're doing the right thing. We're in our right. So be confident about what you're saying and what 
    * 		00:05:54 you're saying it. And use and practice the various techniques that we just talked about. Ultimately, try to avoid those negative situations. But if you happen to fall in a context where people is exerting pressure on you, you know that you have the tools in order to come out ahead and don't incur in any trouble. Thank you very much.
Defining Communicable Diseases
* 		Section 1
    * 		00:00:00 TEACHER: Hello and welcome. As we get started, do you know what causes communicable diseases? Section one. Today, we're going to identify the types of pathogens that cause communicable diseases. Later, we're going to describe ways in which communicable diseases are spread. 
    * 		00:00:16 And we're going to finish by naming common treatments for communicable diseases. Let's get started. What are communicable diseases? Well these are diseases transmitted by a pathogen. A pathogen is a disease causing organism. We're going to describe them shortly. It can be acquired from other organisms or from the 
    * 		00:00:36 environment. Let's say something you pick up through the air, you contact somebody that had a disease, you pick that disease from him or her. Also, if you drink contaminated water or food, you could also get a disease that way. Those are communicable diseases. Now there's different types of pathogens. 
    * 		00:00:55 We're going to talk about viruses, bacteria, protozoa, and fungi. Viruses first. It's genetic material surrounded by a protein shell. Here's a microscopic image. Also, a graphic illustration of what a virus is. They infect all types of life. They infect humans. 
    * 		00:01:13 They can also infect animals, plants as well. They use the host cell to reproduce. They are very basic organisms. They need a host cell to reproduce. Some example of viral diseases are cold, influenza, and chickenpox, just to name a few. Now bacteria. They are single-celled organisms. 
    * 		00:01:34 They have different shapes. Here are some spherical ones. They also have the shape of rods and spirals as well. Some of them cause diseases, others do not. Examples are bacterial diseases are a strep throat and pneumonia to name a few. And they are essential to life. In our body, we have millions of bacteria 
    * 		00:01:54 throughout our body. Some of them have a critical function in our digestive process. They reside in our stomach. Another application of bacteria is in yogurt manufacturing. They process the milk actually that turns into yogurt, just to name an example. 
    * 		00:02:09 Fungi. These are organisms that absorb nutrients from their surroundings. Example, yeast or mold. Some of them are pathogenic, other ones are not. Examples of fungi infections are athlete's foot, yeast infections, or lung infections to name a few. And lastly, we have the protozoa. 
    * 		00:02:27 They're single-celled organisms more complex than bacteria. And like bacteria and fungi, not all of them are pathogenic, but they are very aggressive in individuals with a vulnerable immune system. An example of protozoa disease is malaria, which can be deadly. Summarizing. 
    * 		00:02:48 We talked about the different pathogens that transmit diseases or cause diseases. These are viruses, bacteria, fungi, and protozoa. Keep these in mind as in the next lesson, we're going to talk about how communicable diseases are spread. 
* 		Section 2
    * 		00:00:00 TEACHER: Hello, again. As we continue, do you know how are communicable diseases spread? Section 2. Earlier, we identified the types of pathogens that cause communicable diseases. Now, we're going to describe ways in which communicable diseases are spread. 
    * 		00:00:16 And we're going to finish by naming common treatments for communicable diseases. Let's focus on today's objective. How do communicable diseases spread? Well, they can be spread through direct contact; food and water; through a vector; airborne; or through contaminated objects. Let's talk about each of them. 
    * 		00:00:36 Well, direct contact. When you have physical contact with an infected organism. It can be another human being. It can be an animal, too. Contact with infected blood or saliva. So think about boxing. See how they test the fighters. Someone happens to have AIDS, they picked up AIDS before the 
    * 		00:00:56 fight, they will not let them fight because, why? Possibilities are that blood is going to be in contact from one fighter to the other, so they can get AIDS that way. That's an example of how a communicable disease can be transmitted. Now, food and water. Well, pathogens can be transmitted through eating or drinking contaminated food or water. 
    * 		00:01:18 Also, if we swim or bathe in contaminated waters, too. So when you're going outside, outdoors, eating on the street, or in a restaurant that doesn't look that it meets the necessary health codes to make the food, do not eat it there. If they're not washing their hands, things of that nature, do not eat there because, potentially, you can get sick through picking up a pathogen there. 
    * 		00:01:41 Now, if you go to a swimming pool, swimming pools, they do have chlorine. But sometimes, that chlorine is not enough to kill all the pathogens that are floating in the water, especially if there are sick people out there. So keep that in mind as well. Now, a vector, what is it? Well, it's an organism, like an insect here, a mosquito, 
    * 		00:01:58 that carries pathogens, transmitting them to other organisms. They're not sick themselves, but they carry the virus or the bacteria. They give it to human beings or animals through, like biting them, sucking their blood, or in their legs. If feces carry the organism there-- the virus or the bacteria-- 
    * 		00:02:17 the feces stay in our bodies, and then we get sick that way. So insects are the most common vectors that you can be exposed to. Now, airborne, too. Some pathogens have the capability to remain suspended, floating, and alive in the air affecting organisms that inhale them. It can be animals, too. 
    * 		00:02:35 It can be human beings getting sick. Sneezing or coughing are very common ways of transmitting communicable diseases. But also, if you're in a room with a sick person and the room doesn't have enough circulation, and he has a communicable disease, chances are you can get sick, too. So keep that in mind. Lastly, contaminated objects. 
    * 		00:02:57 Let's say somebody that is sick, that carries viruses or bacterias on their hands, they touch the doorknob. You follow back them minutes afterwards or hours later, you pick up the same doorknob, that same object, so that virus or other pathogens are transmitted to you now. Potentially, you're sick at this point. So avoid being in the environment where somebody is sick or where there's virus and bacteria floating around 
    * 		00:03:21 that you're aware of because there's chances that you're going to something that can transmit a pathogen to you. Another example is at the gym. If you see nowadays at the gym, they have these wipes that you can use in order to clean the equipment before or after you use it. Why? Because they realized that some people may be sick or may 
    * 		00:03:40 have pathogens in them or on them and put them on the equipment. That's why keeping it sanitized, keeping it clean prevent diseases from spreading. So what did we see today? We talked about communicable diseases and how they are transmitted. We talked about direct contact; food and water; a 
    * 		00:03:57 vector can transmit a disease; airborne and contaminated objects can transmit diseases. In the next section, we're going to be talking about the treatment for the most common communicable diseases. 
* 		Section 3
    * 		00:00:00 TEACHER: Hello, and welcome again. As we continue, do you know how a communicable disease is treated? Section Three. Earlier we identified the types of pathogens that cause communicable diseases. We also described ways in which communicable diseases are spread. 
    * 		00:00:16 And now we're going to name common treatments for communicable diseases. Let's focus on our last objective. Treatment of infectious diseases. Well, there's three aspects to that. Medication to eradicate infection-- keep in mind that bacteria responds better to medication than viruses-- 
    * 		00:00:32 alleviation of symptoms when we can address the infectious disease itself, or prevention. Now let's talk about viral infections. Sometimes we don't have medicine or medication for the viral infection itself. So the best we can do is we can treat the symptoms, making us feel better. A viral infection typically lasts from 7 to 10 days. 
    * 		00:00:54 The immune system takes care of it by itself. In some cases though, there's anti-viral drugs, which are used for certain specific viral infections, like herpes, respiratory viruses, or HIV. Now keep in mind though, there's many different type of viral infections. Not for all of them we have medication. Bacterial infections. 
    * 		00:01:15 Well, for these we typically use antibiotics. These are generated through bacteria itself, molds, or through synthetic processes. The type of antibiotic has to be selected based on the bacterial infection that we are experiencing. A doctor can recommend. We have to follow his or her instructions on how to use it. These antibiotics are most commonly administered orally 
    * 		00:01:39 through the mouth, or intravenously through the bloodstream. Now fungal infections. Well, depending on the severity and that location of the fungal infection-- sometimes it's on our skin, sometimes inside our body-- anti-fungal medication can be administered orally or topically, which is on the surface where the infection is 
    * 		00:01:58 taking place. Protozoan infections. Well, these are highly variable, and medications need to be specific to the infection that we are experiencing at that time. Now let's talk about vaccinations. It's another resource that we have available. And it's a mixture that contain either parts of the 
    * 		00:02:16 pathogens or the entire pathogen that essentially get into our body, and our immune system is going to create defenses against these pathogens so when the real thing comes in, we're prepared and we can attack it effectively. It's given for bacterial and viral infections. Example of the most common vaccines are to my right. So chicken pox, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, all these. 
    * 		00:02:42 Some of them have been administered to us when we were babies. Sometimes we get them later in life or when we get sick, at that time we get them. Type of vaccinations. We have active immunization, which causes the body to create defenses against the pathogen. So that is preventive. 
    * 		00:03:00 We use it before we get sick. So those are the vaccines that we get when we're very little or later in life too. Now passive immunization, these ones provide the individual with the necessary defenses to address a pathogen. So now we have the potential of getting the infection disease, like rabies for example. 
    * 		00:03:20 So we take a shot, the vaccination, to help us address it. It's given to people with weakened immune systems or those who have an existing infection, going back to the rabies example. Also when you go overseas, the Center for Disease Control makes suggestions as to what shots you need to take or vaccinations you need to take before you go there. 
    * 		00:03:41 Because those countries are known for their focus on specific diseases. So you take those shots, those vaccines, you go to that country, chances are your body is going to be immune to it. Summarizing. Treatment of infection diseases. Well, we have medication, alleviation of symptoms, and prevention. 
    * 		00:03:58 And we saw some of the tools that we have available. This lesson, what did we cover? Well, we started talking about pathogens, which are disease causing organisms. We identified them as being viruses, bacteria, fungi, and protozoan. We also talked about the spread of diseases. They can spread through direct contact, saliva, blood, 
    * 		00:04:21 contaminated food and water, a vector-- typically an insect that transmit the disease-- through the air, or through contact with contaminated objects. Lastly we talked about the treatment of diseases. We talked about medication to eradicate the disease. We talked about alleviation of the symptoms and prevention, vaccines being some of them. 
    * 		00:04:42 Keep all these resources in mind. Recognize that you can make a difference in the environment when you're at. Try to prevent getting yourself sick or getting others sick as well, by controlling the environment, keeping it clean, staying away from people that you know that have the disease as well. And if you're going on a trip overseas where you know that 
    * 		00:05:02 there's a potential of a disease, take the necessary precautions. Take your shots. Thank you very much.
Preventing Communicable Diseases
* 		Section 1
    * 		00:00:00 TEACHER: Hello and welcome. As we get started, let me ask you, do you know how does the body protect itself against pathogens? Section one. Today, we're going to examine the ways the body protects itself against invading pathogens. Later, we're going to list ways to care for the immune system and prevent the spread of diseases. 
    * 		00:00:20 Finally, we're going to identify community resources available to help treat and prevent the spread of communicable diseases. Ready to get started? Body defenses. We have nonspecific body defenses like physical and chemical barriers. On the specific side, we have the immune system. 
    * 		00:00:39 Let's talk about each of them. Physical barriers. First, we have the skin. The skin blocks essentially any pathogen from the outside environment or any other threat from getting into our body. The sweat and the tears, they're going to wash off any pathogens that is trying to make it through the skin. 
    * 		00:00:57 And mucus membranes, what they're going to do is, they're going to block pathogens from making it into our body. Think about the mucus in our nose, for example. Chemical barriers. The sweat and oil, for example, they have chemicals in them which are going to react with the pathogens destroying them through a chemical reaction, same thing 
    * 		00:01:16 with enzymes like tears, saliva, and mucus. And inside our body, the stomach acid, should we have eaten and ingested some pathogen through food, the stomach acid is going to destroy it preventing this way, any illness. Now, inflammatory response is another defense mechanism. Think of yourself, when you get burned, when you get cut, or you get hit with something. 
    * 		00:01:41 So what happens there is an inflammatory response. The blood vessels are going to dilate, and chemicals are going to be released. The blood vessels are going to essentially start flowing blood to the damaged area. It's going to generate some swelling, which essentially is going to block physically the pathogens from spreading through the body, and it's going to attract the 
    * 		00:02:05 phagocytes. Phagocytes, what they do, they're white blood cells, which are going to destroy the pathogens that come from the environment. Here's some example of inflammation, one related to a previous cut and the other one associated to a burn. See how the area swells? Immune system. 
    * 		00:02:24 Well, the immune system is a very complex system whose purpose is to prevent from the body to fall prey of pathogens or a cancer, for example. It combats a wide variety of foreign substances. It targets specific substances as it can identify what is supposed to be within our body and what is a foreign particle or a threatening particle like a cancer. It reacts quickly to previously-encountered foreign 
    * 		00:02:54 substances. Think of a vaccine. The vaccine will put a pathogen in our body. The body creates immunity and then when the real thing comes in, we have the immunity to address that pathogen. Once again, it distinguishes between its own cells and foreign substance. Now, cells and viruses have proteins on the 
    * 		00:03:14 surface called antigens. The immune system is going to learn to read these antigens identifying what is a good antigen and what is a threatening antigen, taking care of it. Immune system cells. Here's the blood. We have white blood cells, red blood cells, and the platelet. All the white blood cells are key players 
    * 		00:03:34 in the immune system. These ones are the ones that are going to address the pathogens. The white blood cells can be broken down into T cells, which attack the antigen and control the immune response and the B cells, which produce the antibodies. The antibodies identify and neutralize the pathogens. Summarizing. 
    * 		00:03:54 We talked about physical barriers and chemical barriers that our body has. And within our body, we're talking about the immune system, which is a very complex system and process that essentially identifies and address any pathogen in our body. In the next lesson, we're going to talk about how to take care of our immune system and how to prevent the spread 
    * 		00:04:16 of communicable diseases.
* 		Section 2
    * 		00:00:01 TEACHER: Hello again. As we continue with this lesson, how can we care for our immune system? Section two. Earlier, we examined the ways the body protects itself against invading pathogens. Well, now we're going to list ways to care for the immune system and prevent the spread of diseases. 
    * 		00:00:18 Lastly, we're going to identify community resources available to help, treat, and prevent the spread of communicable diseases. Let's focus on today's objective. Some products claim to boost immune system health. Well, these results aren't proven. There's no scientific evidence that this is true-- that there's a pill or a shot that can help you achieve a better 
    * 		00:00:41 or more effective immune system. However, preliminary test results indicate that maintaining a healthy lifestyle is going to help your immune system to do its function more effectively. How come? Well, if you give it the right nutrients, enough rest, and enough physical activity, your immune system can work better with the body in keeping it healthy. 
    * 		00:01:02 Now, ways to maintain a healthy immune system are proper nutrition-- you want to give your body the right nutrients, so it has the right mix of fuel in order to address pathogens. You want to give it adequate rest, based on the age and your lifestyle. And you want to have daily physical activity, [? whereas ?] it's through work or exercise, which 
    * 		00:01:22 essentially keeps your body in good shape. Now preventing the spread of diseases. We want to avoid sharing personal items like clothes or brushes-- things of that nature. If the other person or you are sick, it's a really easy way for pathogens to be transmitted. You want to wash your hands before and after you go to the 
    * 		00:01:42 bathroom, if you are in contact with things that are potentially containing pathogens, too. You want to stay away from public places when ill, so you don't get another person sick, so you don't spread pathogens through the air or contact with other people. And you want to limit exposure to people with communicable diseases. You may have a friend or a relative member that is sick. 
    * 		00:02:03 You want to go and pay them a visit. If you do, keep it to a minimal. Keep a distance between the two individuals, so you don't get sick. And you try to avoid any physical contact with that person as well. It's for everybody's best interest. Sometimes, if you have family members, your little brother 
    * 		00:02:19 or sister gets sick, it passes the flu or any other disease to the father, then it goes to the mother, then it comes back to you, and then the cycle repeats over and over again. Additional preventive measures. You want to get regular medical checkups-- depending on your age, your symptoms, recommendations as to how often you should go to the doctor and what tests should be done on you. 
    * 		00:02:42 You want to schedule the necessary immunizations. When you are a baby, you are given certain vaccinations to help your immune system build up defenses against certain diseases. As you get older, you parents may not walk to the doctor so you get your shots, but it's your responsibility to identify which vaccinations you need or you're missing and get them. 
    * 		00:03:02 You want to reduce the stress levels, too. If the body is stressed, it's going to essentially wear it out, and it's going to make your immune system less effective to address pathogens. Summarizing. We talked about the things that we can do to help our immune system do its job. We want to have the right lifestyle choices, we want to 
    * 		00:03:23 keep the proper sanitation, and we want to take preventive measures in order to ensure our immune system is in the best position to address any pathogens that come into our bodies. In the next lesson, we're going to talk about the resources that communities have in order to treat and prevent the spread of communicable diseases. 
* 		Section 3
    * 		00:00:00 TEACHER: Hello and welcome again. As we continue, do you know how can communities protect against the spread of communicable diseases? Section three. Earlier, we examined the ways the body protects itself against invading pathogens. We also listed ways to care for the immune system and prevent the spread of diseases. 
    * 		00:00:19 Well now, we're going to identify community resources available to help treat and prevent the spread of communicable diseases. Ready? Community resources and communicable diseases. Well communities focus on treatment and prevention. The resources they have-- on treatment, they have community clinics and 
    * 		00:00:38 continuing research. And on prevention, they have warming systems, food regulations, and water systems, among others. Let's talk about this. Community clinics. Additional to the big hospitals or private practices, communities have community clinics which provide free or low cost medical 
    * 		00:00:56 services to their community. They provide vaccinations or help treat certain illnesses. Some of these are temporary in nature, like in the case of an outbreak. And some of them are permanent, like in a big city. Now continuing research. We know that bacteria and viruses can become immune to established treatments like antibiotics or vaccines. 
    * 		00:01:14 We know that they evolve-- that they mutate. So communities continue the research to further understand the new threats of a given virus or a new bacteria. They develop new treatments in order to prevent an outbreak off a new type of pathogen. Now warning systems. These warn communities about potential 
    * 		00:01:36 communicable disease threats. These are like the television channels, the radio stations, magazines-- any type of media, they have, essentially, agreements with the government so they can be used in the event of an outbreak. These provide communities with the strategies to avoid the spread of communicable diseases. 
    * 		00:01:56 Let's say there's an outbreak of flu. Well these warning systems are going to educate the community as to what to do regarding the outbreak, how they need to address it, and what to do should they be sick. Water systems-- we know that diseases spread through contaminated water. This can be drinking water and sewer systems. So the companies that manage drinking water and sewer 
    * 		00:02:18 systems, they have mechanisms that prevent it from being contaminated. And they treat it in order to reduce the risk of people getting sick when they consume those waters or are in contact with them. On food-- we know that diseases spread through contaminated food. And this can be limited by regulations on food handling. 
    * 		00:02:38 That's when the federal drug-- Food and Drug Administration comes in. Also, the use of clean water for growing crops or washing vegetables and fruits and meats before we eat them-- and thoroughly cooking the food-- reduces or eliminates the risk of ingesting contaminated food. Summarizing-- 
    * 		00:02:59 community goal is to stay healthy. Well, they do have resources in order to treat the diseases and prevent the diseases from spreading. Now talking about the entire lesson. We started talking about body defenses-- that we have physical defenses and chemical defenses that prevent pathogens from getting into our body. Within our body, we have the immune system, which addresses 
    * 		00:03:22 the pathogens, and prevents or address illness as they appear in our body. On the immune system side, how we can help it to do its function-- well, proper nutrition, adequate rest, and daily physical activity are things that we can do to have a healthy body so the immune system can do its job more effectively. Lastly, we talked about community resources and what 
    * 		00:03:46 resources are available in the shape of treatment and prevention. Thank you.
Common Communicable Diseases
* 		Section 1
    * 		00:00:01 TEACHER: Hello and welcome. As we start with this lesson of communicable diseases, do you know what common diseases are bacterial and viral? Section one. Today, we're going to explain the causes, transmission, and treatment of common bacterial and viral diseases. Later, we're going to focus on fungal, protozoan, and parasitic diseases. 
    * 		00:00:21 And lastly, we're going to determine how technology has affected the health status of the world. Let's focus on our first objective. Common communicable diseases-- well, the most common communicable diseases affect the respiratory tract all the way from the nose through the lungs. They occur anywhere in those areas, and they're mostly 
    * 		00:00:43 caused by bacteria or viruses. Some examples of them is strep throat and bacterial pneumonia on the bacterial disease side. In viral, you have common cold and influenza. Let's talk about each of them. Strep throat-- what is it? Well, it's a bacterial infection of the throat and the tonsils. 
    * 		00:01:01 It's focused here. The throat becomes irritated and inflamed. And it's caused by the streptococcal bacteria. There's many different variations of it, but that is the main cause for strep throat. Now, how is it spread? It's a communicable disease just like the other ones we're going to see. 
    * 		00:01:19 Direct content from person to person, droplets containing bacteria in the air, or through exposure to coughing or sneezing. Now this disease, it takes two to five days after exposure to show the symptoms. So this bacteria sits in our body, it starts evolving, and three to five days afterwards, we're going to start feeling sick. 
    * 		00:01:39 So keep in mind who you've begin interacting with so when you realize that you have the strep at this point, look back, figure out how you got it. What are the symptoms? Sudden, severe sore throat, pain when swallowing, it's very painful. You're going to have a fever over 101 Fahrenheit. Swollen tonsils and lymph nodes, making it very 
    * 		00:02:00 uncomfortable, and white or yellow spots on the throat. Look at this image here. Look at the white and yellow spots on the back of the throat. How is it diagnosed? Well, there's a physical exam. And then there's a very rapid strep test that can be done. Or you can also do a throat culture, a doctor can. 
    * 		00:02:17 How is it treated? Well, we can use antibiotics. So that is going to help to reduce how long the person is contagious. That reduces to two to three days versus a whole week if you don't take antibiotics, reduces the risk of the bacteria spreading to other parts of the body. That bacteria can not only live in the throat, it can go 
    * 		00:02:37 to other parts of the body, worsening the situation. You can also think over-the-counter medicine, but this only addresses the symptoms, and it doesn't address the fact that you are contagious. Bacterial pneumonia-- what is it? Well, it's a bacterial infection of the lungs. It's a collection of many different diseases, and it's 
    * 		00:02:59 one of the 10 causes of death in the United States. So this disease is very common. And it can be lethal, as well. Who's at risk? Well, the most vulnerable people, such as people that are elder or very young children, babies, or individuals that currently have health problems. Now, how is it spread? 
    * 		00:03:19 Just like the other ones. Through the air, contact with people, or objects. The symptoms of pneumonia-- coughing with mucus, fever, shortness of breath or rapid breathing too, chest pains, nausea and vomiting, and diarrhea. So keep these symptoms in mind so if you or somebody is experiencing them, you can identify, tell a doctor so 
    * 		00:03:39 they can help you detect it or diagnose it faster. How is it diagnosed? Well, physical exams and review of the symptoms are good indicators. Possibly a chest X-ray is necessary and a blood test, or additional tests may be needed if it's a severe pneumonia already. How is it treated? 
    * 		00:03:58 Antibiotics, the specific antibiotics for pneumonia, or additional strategies that you can use to feel better and recover faster. You want to get plenty of rest, you want to drink lots of liquids to help you, and do not smoke, as it compromises your immune system. Common cold. What is it? 
    * 		00:04:17 Well, it's a viral infection of the upper respiratory tract, typically the nose and the throat. It's unpleasant, but usually harmless. Keep in mind that there's over 200 different viruses that can cause it, though. It is very common. On average, in the United States adults get it two to four times a year. 
    * 		00:04:35 It's very short in duration. Children, on the other hand, can have it as many times as 6 to 10 times a year. Now, it spreads, just like the other communicable diseases, through the air, contact with other people, things of that nature. The symptoms-- runny and stuffy nose, itchy or sore throat, cough, 
    * 		00:04:56 congestion, the body aches or you have a mild headache, sneezing and watery eyes. They are symptoms of a cold. Now, there's no real medical test to identify or diagnosis a cold. Typically, unless needed or escalated, you feel really bad, you want to go and see a doctor to see if you have something else instead of a cold. 
    * 		00:05:18 How is it treated? Well, there's no medical treatment to cure the cold. There's over-the-counter medications that help address the symptoms, make you feel better, like decongestants and antihistamines, nasal sprays, cough medications, or pain relievers. These just make you feel better, though. Influenza, known also as the flu. 
    * 		00:05:40 It's a viral infection of the entire respiratory system. It's caused by the influenza A, B, or C virus. And there's always new strains evolving, mutating all the time. Now, how is it spread? Just like the other ones-- through the air, through contact with other people or contaminated objects. 
    * 		00:05:59 The symptoms-- high fever, chills and sweats, fatigue and weakness, headache, muscle aches, diarrhea, cough and congestion are some of the symptoms of the flu or influenza. Now, how can we diagnose it? Well, based on the symptoms, or there's a really rapid or fast influenza test. Now, how can we treat it? 
    * 		00:06:23 You can use antiviral medication. Bed rest and fluids are necessary. And you want to prevent getting influenza by taking the annual flu shot. The annual flu shots are revised constantly, adding the new strains of the flu virus in order to protect you from the many different types of viruses out there. Other communicable diseases on the bacterial side, we have 
    * 		00:06:46 meningitis and tuberculosis. In viral, hepatitis A, B, C, mononucleosis, encephalitis, or meningitis are some other communicable diseases. Summarizing, we just focused on bacterial, such as strep throat and pneumonia. And we talked about some of the viral infections, such as common cold and influenza. In the next section, we're going to talk about fungal, 
    * 		00:07:11 protozoan, and parasitic infections that we can get and how we can treat them and diagnose them. Thank you.
* 		Section 2
    * 		00:00:00 TEACHER: Hello, and welcome again. As we continue, do you know what diseases are not bacterial or viral? Section 2. Earlier, we explained that causes, transmission, and treatment of common bacterial and viral disease. Now we're going to focus on fungal, protozoan, and parasitic diseases. 
    * 		00:00:18 Lastly, we're going to be determine how technology has affected the health status of the world. Let's focus on today's objective, common areas of infection. Fungal infections are typically infecting the skin and the lungs, while parasitic infections mainly the intestines and the skin. And protozoan infections typically infect the blood and 
    * 		00:00:39 the intestines. Now types of diseases, examples of them. Fungal disease, you have athlete's foot. On the parasitic side, you have tapeworms. And protozoan diseases, malaria is a good example of it. Athlete's foot, it's a fungal infection that develops on the foot. 
    * 		00:00:56 Why that area? Because this fungal infection thrives in damp, enclosed environments. Typically feet are enclosed by the socks and the shoes where's there's moisture and sweat. So it's a good climate for it to develop. It's caused by the dermatophyte fungal group. See an example of athlete's foot there with the broken 
    * 		00:01:15 skin and the peeling of the skin. Now how is it spread? Person-to-person contact through sweat or contact of the skin. Object-to-person contact, you're walking bare foot, and you're walking over a carpet that has the fungus, you're picking it up. Or animal-to-person contact as you're touching them, too, 
    * 		00:01:33 because they can carry it. What are the symptoms? Itching, stinging, and burning skin, cracking and peeling of the skin, excessive dryness, and thick, discolored toenails are symptoms of athlete's foot. Now diagnosis. Skin scrapings and fluid samples are necessary. Doctors want to discard there's nothing else or worse 
    * 		00:01:53 associated with those symptoms. And it can be identifiable under a microscope. The sample is identified. You pick it up. And then you put it on the microscope. And you can identify it. Now how is it treated? Well, you can use over-the-counter antifungals. 
    * 		00:02:08 Or if you need prescription-strength medicine, you go to the doctor. They're going to prescribe it to you. It can be topical in that it is applied to that area of the body, or oral antifungals. Now things that you need to keep in mind to avoid athlete's foot. You want to keep your feet dry. 
    * 		00:02:26 You want to change your socks regularly. You want to wear well-ventilated shoes, especially if you're exercising on them or if you're on them all day. You want to protect your feet in public places so you don't pick up fungus. And you don't want to borrow shoes from anybody. Tapeworms. 
    * 		00:02:43 What are they? Well, take a look at this image. It's nothing pretty. It's an intestinal parasite caused by ingesting tapeworm eggs or larvae. The adult ones can have a head, neck, and segments. Take a look this image. They can live up to 20 years. 
    * 		00:02:58 And they can measure up to 50 feet long. They will reside in our bodies, so imagine that. How do they spread? Well, by ingesting food or water contaminated with feces from an infected person or animal that had the larvae, ingesting raw or undercooked meat from an infected animal. They carry the eggs or the larvae, get in our body. That sits in our body and starts growing in us. 
    * 		00:03:24 Now symptoms. Most of these are asymptomatic. That means that they don't have symptoms. But you can experience nausea, weakness, loss of appetite, abdominal pain, diarrhea, or weight loss. Now diagnosis. You want to look for eggs and segments of the larvae found in stool samples. 
    * 		00:03:44 These are subject to microscopic identification to identify if it's there and how it can be treated. We can use antimicrobial medication, which kills it. But as you're going through the treatment, you want to check the stool samples after completing the medication to make sure it's completely gone, make sure the environment is clean so you don't pick it up again, put it in your body or somebody else's by accident. 
    * 		00:04:07 Malaria, this is a protozoan disease caused by the plasmodium parasite. Only four of these cause malaria in humans. It's very prevalent in tropical and subtropical countries. But people can get it in northern parts of the globe because of travel or exposure to people that have been there. 
    * 		00:04:24 It's one of the deadliest diseases in the world today. Now take a look at this world map. If you see, the areas with the color is the areas with the highest concentration of malaria diseases in the world. How is it spread? Well, mosquitoes are a vector that is acting as a transmitter of the disease. Also pregnant mothers can pass it on to their children. 
    * 		00:04:48 The symptoms? Shaking chills, high fever, profuse sweating, headaches, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea are very common. Now testing and treatment of it. It requires a blood test for diagnosis. Now there's multiple types of malaria drugs. And its prescription depends on the age, the severity, and the location of the infection. 
    * 		00:05:11 Lastly, you can take preventive medicines when you're going to an area where infection is very common. You can take the medication, vaccines some of them before, during, and after the trip. This doesn't guarantee that you're not going to get sick. But it's going to increase your chances of not getting sick. Other types of communicable diseases on the fungal side, 
    * 		00:05:31 we have ringworms and jock itch. Parasitic diseases, we have pinworms and roundworms. And on the protozoan side, we have giardia and toxoplasmosis. These are some of the most common ones. There's many others out there. Now summarizing, today we focused on fungal, parasitic, and protozoan diseases, what are they, how they can be 
    * 		00:05:51 diagnosed, treated, and prevented. In the next section, we're going to be talking about how technology has changed our lives and our health. Thank you very much.
* 		Section 3
    * 		00:00:00 TEACHER: Hello and welcome again. Do you know how does technology benefit health? Section three. When we started this lesson, we explained the causes, transmission, and treatment of common bacterial and viral diseases. Later, we did the same with common fungal, protozoan, and parasitic diseases. 
    * 		00:00:18 Now it's time to determine how technology has affected the health status of the world. Are you ready? Well, technological advancements in the medical field and in health sciences has increased the overall health of the people of the world. Not only in the US, but throughout the entire world. Now people are living longer lives. 
    * 		00:00:37 Life span has even doubled compared to centuries ago. People experience less diseases and are exposed to less pathogens. Some diseases have been eradicated, or about to be eradicated, as well. And more diseases can be treated versus decades ago. Now, these technological advancements, we can break them down into diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. 
    * 		00:00:56 Let me talk about each. Diagnostic testing-- OK, well, these tests identify the cause of the symptoms that are manifested in our body. In some cases, there are these diseases that are asymptomatic that can also be detected through diagnostic testing. Well, there's different kinds of tests. Some of them relate to blood, some of them relate to urine, 
    * 		00:01:17 and imaging technologies, too. Let me talk about each. Blood tests-- here are some common blood tests. The comprehensive metabolic panel is going to look at that metabolic process of our body. It looks for the protein levels, cholesterol levels, and glucose levels in the blood. 
    * 		00:01:35 Now the complete blood count, it takes a snapshot of the blood, determines how many red versus white cells we have, the size of this, among other things, too. And blood type determination is a test that is done to determine our blood type. This is particularly important when the individual goes to surgery or needs a transfusion. Now urinalysis-- 
    * 		00:01:57 this is a test that relates to the urine. Essentially it can help us detect urinary tract infections, kidney problems, and diabetes. Imaging-- you probably think about X-ray. OK, when you have a broken bone, you typically use an X-ray. Well, there's other technologies out there that 
    * 		00:02:13 have higher resolution and more capabilities than X-ray does. One of them is magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI. As you see this big machine. So essentially, this machine uses radio waves, a magnet, and a computer to generate images of the body. Well, with this technology, now we can address tumors, brain damage, and blood flow and identify them. 
    * 		00:02:38 Now regarding medical treatment, we're going to talk about some tools available, like hemodialysis and the insulin pump. We're going to see how they benefit humanity. Hemodialysis-- this one essentially takes the role of the kidney. What it does-- it removes the blood from the body, it filters and cleans it, and then replacing it 
    * 		00:02:57 back into the body. If this didn't exist, individuals without an organ transplant, they will die, essentially. So this gives them time or replaces the function that the kidney does in the short or the long term. Now the insulin pump, this helps people who are diabetic. Essentially, this tool pumps insulin into the body through a needle. 
    * 		00:03:19 Some of them are portable, some of them are done at the hospital. So there's many different variations. So essentially what it does, it provides the insulin that the body cannot generate, or doesn't generate enough. Now some preventive practices. What we have, diagnostic medical testing. We talked about the tests already. 
    * 		00:03:39 We also are going to talk about water treatment and pasteurization. So essentially, boiling water, not just at home, but as an industrial process before it gets to us for drinking. And pasteurization, which applies to food, mostly liquid. But what it does-- essentially kills the pathogens and it reduces the [? growth ?] rate of some bacteria that can be 
    * 		00:04:00 present in food. And also, research on every aspect of human health, too. How that has improved, essentially, over the last years. How it has benefited humanity as far as making the contributions that allows us to live longer and healthier lives. Summarizing-- 
    * 		00:04:18 we talked about technology and health and how it has touched these different areas, improving the life of individuals throughout the entire world. During this lesson, we started talking about bacterial and viral diseases. We talked about some of the common bacterial and viral diseases, what they are, and if there's treatment for some of them. 
    * 		00:04:37 Fungal and parasitic diseases, we did the same breaking them down in categories and mentioning examples of this. And lastly, we just talked about technology and health and how it has benefited humanity. Thank you.
Evaluating Mental and Emotional Health
* 		Section 1
    * 		00:00:00 TEACHER: Hello, and welcome. As we get started, do you have good mental and emotional health? Section 1. Well, today, we're going to identify characteristics of good mental and emotional health. Later, we're going to describe how mental and emotional health fit into the stages of Maslow's hierarchy of needs. 
    * 		00:00:21 And we're going to finish by explaining how personality influences a person's overall mental and emotional health. Why don't we get started? Mental and emotional health. First let's talk about the definitions. What are they? Mental health is a person's ability to recognize and cope with the demands of daily life. 
    * 		00:00:40 It's essentially awareness and balance between our thoughts and our behaviors. Emotional health is the person's ability to express feelings in appropriate ways. So essentially it's the control and understandings of our feelings. Now how do these fit in overall health? We're talking about emotional and mental health, but there's 
    * 		00:01:00 other dimensions to your health, like physical health, environmental health among others. So keep this in mind. We're going to talk about these two dimensions of many others. Now the characteristics of mental and emotional health are high self-esteem, sense of purpose, sense of belonging and contentment, and independence. 
    * 		00:01:20 Let's talk about each of them. What do you manifest in your life? Now high self-esteem. It's how we see ourselves, our self value. Being better able to accept challenges and take failure in stride. We're open to new challenges, to new responsibilities in life. 
    * 		00:01:37 We're realistic about the strengths and our weaknesses. We know ourselves so well that we understand what our strengths and our weaknesses. And we accept them, we exploit them, and we work on them. And it's respect for self and for others. So we not only respect ourselves, but also respect other people. Everybody's valuable here. 
    * 		00:01:56 Now the sense of purpose. It recognizes our personal value, achieves goals, engages in activities, is not afraid of participating in things. Puts abilities to good use-- we know our strengths and weaknesses. We use what we can. Avoids high risk behavior. So we don't compromise our body, 
    * 		00:02:13 our health, our emotions. And we're open minded to new experiences. Now the sense of belonging, it provides comfort and assurance. Like belonging to a group. It can be a school, friends, family, depending. It seeks out nurturing relationships. So we understand that we cannot be alone all the time, 
    * 		00:02:32 that we have to seek for association with other individuals, whereas they're friends, family, coworkers, et cetera. So we look for that. And sense of contentment is the ability to see events positively. It's a balance between work and play, rest and activity. So it's finding a balance in life. 
    * 		00:02:50 It's the zest for living, ability to laugh and have fun, enjoying life, and expresses appropriate emotions too. Depending on the circumstances, we don't let the emotions control us. Independence is the confidence to make decisions, and it is the responsibility for personal behavior. So how independent are you? Are you independent to make all your decisions for work, 
    * 		00:03:11 the school, personal relationships? This gives us a sense of autonomy. Now what is a healthy response? Let's put ourselves in this context. This gentleman here, his team is not winning, while his friends are enjoying the game because their teams are winning. Well, that person can act healthy or unhealthy as far as 
    * 		00:03:32 the situation goes. An unhealthy response, he may get upset. He may want to leave or leave all together. A healthy response will be to keep engaging with your friends, enjoying the situation, making fun, chitchatting, appreciating the fact that his friends are having a good time, and so is he too. The outcome may not be what he wants, but he still can have a 
    * 		00:03:53 good time in the situation. So some healthy responses are open mindedness and being flexible to the situation and the outcome, expressing emotions in the appropriate way, and being respectful to others as well. So how do you react to circumstances that don't go out your way? Think about it. 
    * 		00:04:12 Now let's stop and think here. Out of all of these that we just said, what are some characteristics that apply to you? Do some apply more than others? What are some signs that you have good mental and emotional health? So are you mentally and emotionally healthy as we described it earlier? 
    * 		00:04:28 How about your friends and family members? Well summarizing, we talked about positive mental and emotional health and how it relates to overall health, the characteristics, and we described some of them. In the next section, we're going to be talking about how mental and emotional health fits into Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Thank you.
* 		Section 2
    * 		00:00:00 TEACHER: Hello, and welcome again. Do you know what are our most basic needs? Section two. Earlier, we identified characteristics of good mental and emotional health. Now it's time to describe how mental and emotional health fit into the stages of Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Later on, we're going to explain how personality 
    * 		00:00:19 influences a person's overall mental and emotional health. Let's continue. Abraham Maslow-- as you can see here, he was a very happy individual. Well, he was a psychologist, and he lived in the 1900s. While other professionals were studying sick individuals, their behaviors, and their mental problems, he studied well-adjusted people. 
    * 		00:00:39 In his research, he noticed people whose basic needs were met-- they were happy. By doing this research, he developed a hierarchy of needs. This hierarchy of needs is based on the premise that everyone has a basic right to achieve self-actualization. If you don't know what that is, it's being the best that 
    * 		00:00:57 you can be. It's the realization of one's full potential. Have you ever thought, what would take-- or what would you like that self-actualization to be for you? Well to achieve this state, people have to fulfill all the more basic needs. Well let's talk about those basic needs and how meeting them can take us to achieve self-actualization. 
    * 		00:01:18 Here's the hierarchy of needs. As you can see, it takes the shape of a pyramid. On the very bottom, you have the physical needs. And then as you go up the ladder, you are supposed to meet your safety needs, social needs, esteem needs, and then you are able to reach self-actualization. Notice in the bottom, you have the most basic, most tangible needs. 
    * 		00:01:39 Later on, it gets more complex and is less tangible. It's more addressing the emotional needs-- the mental needs of the body. Now physical and safety needs. Just to make it clear, physical needs are the need for food, water, sleep, and exercise. Essentially, the basic things for our body to function. Safety needs is the need for shelter and protection from 
    * 		00:02:00 danger, and knowing that we are safe. Well if you look at yourself, probably these needs are taken for granted. Yeah, maybe one day or one weekend, you're hungry. But other than that, your basic needs are taken care of. But look around. Look at the community. Look at [? other ?] 
    * 		00:02:14 [? countries ?] or war zones. Those individuals in those areas, they may not have the food. They may have not the shelter. Or they may live in violent areas, or areas where there's risk of disaster, or war, or violence. So think about this. 
    * 		00:02:30 Not everybody has been able to meet these basic needs. Now, we also have social needs-- which is the need for love, affection and acceptance. We look at those sometimes when we're trying to find friends or relationships. Esteem needs is that need to have self-respect and achieve the goals that we set for ourselves. Have you been able to meet all of these? 
    * 		00:02:52 Well, here's the hierarchy of needs again. We have the basic needs and as we go up the pyramid, once we fulfill all these, we can reach a level of self-actualization. So see how this makes sense? As a summary, we talked about the hierarchy of needs. How we have to meet the basic needs first, and then we go and address the more complex, the more challenging types of 
    * 		00:03:15 needs in order to be able to reach our full potential-- our state of self-actualization. In the next section, we're going to be talking about the interaction of personality and how it relates with mental health and emotional health.
* 		Section 3
    * 		00:00:00 TEACHER: Hello, and welcome again. Do you know if your personality influences your health? The answer is yes on the emotional and all other types of health. Section 3. Earlier, we identified characteristics of good mental and emotional health. 
    * 		00:00:15 We also described how mental and emotional health fit into the stages of Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Now it's time to explain how personality influences a person's overall mental and emotional health. Are you ready to continue? First, you have to realize that every person is different. You're different than your parents. 
    * 		00:00:34 If you had a twin brother or sister, you're different than him or her, much more from friends, family members, coworkers, or friends at school. So everyone possesses unique traits, behaviors, tendencies, preferences, thoughts, and emotions. So do this experiment. Or you've probably done it in the past. You're in a room with certain people. 
    * 		00:00:55 And something takes place. An accident takes place or something important takes place that affects everyone in that room. Do you react different than your friends or than family members in that situation? Where everybody's different. Everybody is special. Personality is a person's individual nature. 
    * 		00:01:14 And it is formed by two primary factors, heredity and environment. We all have personalities. We all have unique personalities again. Now heredity is nature while environment is nurture. So heredity is genetically based. So it's passed by our parents through conception. Environment is experience based, the experiences, the 
    * 		00:01:35 learning, that we have gone through so far. So heredity, these are traits passed on from parents of children, physical traits but also creativity, aptitude, any abilities and a sense of well-being. On the other hand, environment gives us safety, support, love, care, and security. Have you have been experiencing these throughout your life? 
    * 		00:01:58 Have these been passed to you or developed to you through heredity or the environment? Think about that. Let's focus on heredity now, genetic tendencies and traits passed from parent to child through conception. Some physical attributes that you can see are the hair and the eye color, your physical shape, your skin color, blood type, the tendency to be ambitious and happy, for 
    * 		00:02:20 example, the susceptibility to addiction and depression, or an inclination to work hard are some examples of heredity factors that are passed along. Now on the environment side, these are the surroundings, conditions, and influences that you may encounter and experience throughout your life. So influences like the way you treat and your family treats you, as well as friends or at work. 
    * 		00:02:44 The attitude towards the culture and the choice of role models, too. Now learned traits like language, the language you learn, or the many languages that you acquired through life, education, formal and informal, and religion. So think of how you would have ended up if you were born in a different country with a different set of parents, even at a different time, like 40, 50 years ago. 
    * 		00:03:06 Your personality would have probably been different. Now personality and mental and emotional health trigger behavior, or the way we act, we have acted before, and we will continue acting in the future. This changes as we get older, of course, because these are dynamic. Now behavioral effects of personality. Good emotional or mental health can override negative 
    * 		00:03:30 tendencies of personality because mental and emotional health allow us to make a good decision. So we have a personality trait that we may be inclined to manifest, like a tendency to be-- I don't know-- upset all the time. Emotional and mental health will overwrite that because we know that we have to act better given the circumstances. 
    * 		00:03:55 Now poor emotional or mental health can lead to poor behavior. Let's say you are sick today. You are really sick. And you have to go to work. Your mental health may be affected because you're feeling sick. So you don't have complete control of your mental health 
    * 		00:04:11 at this point. So you're not reacting good to a bad experience at work. So that may lead for you to get upset and your behavior to be an inappropriate one at work. So see how we can be compromised if your mental and emotional health-- let's say that you were upset and you're facing situations that are challenging. So see the impact. 
    * 		00:04:29 And see how it has impacted you in the past. Now summarizing. We talked about the interaction between personality and mental and emotional health. It is important for us to always try to keep healthy, mentally and emotionally speaking. Also we have to acknowledge the influences that the environment and genetics have on us as far as our 
    * 		00:04:50 personality goes. Because as we take actions in life, we do things, and we react to circumstances, we can have a positive behavior or a poor behavior, which can compromise because all of them have consequences-- positive or neutral consequences or negative consequences that will affect us and potentially others as well. 
    * 		00:05:09 Now in this lesson, we talked about mental and emotional health. These are part of overall health, all the other dimensions, like physical health, environmental health, and all others, characteristics of this and the healthy response to situations. When we are in a situation that doesn't go the way that we want, how we should react, what skills should we present 
    * 		00:05:29 our abilities, or same thing when the situation doesn't go the way we want. We talked about Maslow's hierarchy of needs. We talked about the basic needs, and how meeting all these needs progressively leads to self-actualization. Lastly, we talked about personality and behavior, heredity and the environment affect personality, and how there's a relationship between mental and emotional health 
    * 		00:05:52 and personality. And these essentially shape our behavior throughout our life. So keep this in mind. Be aware of your personality and the impact of emotional and mental health. And strive towards staying healthy all the time. Thank you.
Coping with Stress
* 		Section 1
    * 		00:00:00 TEACHER: Hello and welcome. Do you know what can you do to reduce stress in your life? Section one. Today we're going to develop healthy behaviors that help reduce stress. Later, we're going to describe positive and negative strategies for coping with it. You ready to start? 
    * 		00:00:17 Well, what causes us stress? It is stressors. Stressors are any situation or event that causes us stress. Personal life-- taking a big exam, changing jobs, changing schools, marriage, a new relationship. Meeting somebody can act as a stressor in your life. You probably experienced some of those already. 
    * 		00:00:37 Identifying stress. Well, we can break them down into life events, which can be like marriage, graduation, illness, or the death of somebody. It's a major event that changes our life. Physical stress can be pollution-- the effect on our body. Noise-- 
    * 		00:00:53 try to focus when you have construction noise or a loud music in your bedroom because of somebody else, that's going to cause stress. Or living in unsafe neighborhood-- war zones, or areas with drug activity, gang activity-- those areas can also trigger stress. Daily hassles, too-- school work, exams, peer pressures, deliverables at work, conflict with family members or 
    * 		00:01:18 friends, or even authority for example-- those can act as stressors as well. Think of your life, think what of these you've been exposed to that has caused stress in your life. Now behaviors-- once stressors are identified, behaviors can be implemented to lessen or eliminate stress all together. What is a behavior? 
    * 		00:01:40 Well, it's the way we act. Healthy behaviors promote a state of well being. Let me show you. Healthy behaviors-- things that we can do to reduce or eliminate stress. Plan ahead, getting sleep, refusal skills, physical activity to burn the energy, eating well, and avoiding dangerous substances are things that we can do-- 
    * 		00:02:01 behaviors-- to reduce or eliminate stress. Planning ahead. We have a situation-- let's say an exam next week which is a very important exam. If we have control of the situation by planning ahead, and executing our plan, and accounting for any 
    * 		00:02:17 contingencies, we know that we are doing the right thing to meet that goal. So by doing this, the stress level is going to reduce because we feel in control. So decide ahead of time what you want to accomplish. Do you just want to pass? Do you want the highest grade? Figure out the necessary steps to get there-- 
    * 		00:02:35 when, where, what topics I have to study. Consider any possible surprises that may creep up. Changes in the schedules, changes in exam content, for example. Are they possible or not? Should you worry about them or not? Set possible limits for yourself, don't overkill yourself studying. 
    * 		00:02:52 Construct a flexible plan too, should your schedule have to change, so you know that you have everything in control in order to face the situation that could potentially trigger stress. Getting sleep-- our body's a machine, it needs rest. It needs eight to nine hours of sleep a night for an exam, or for any situation that we face the next day. 
    * 		00:03:13 It gives you better concentration, it puts you in a better mood, clearer thoughts so you can rationalize, and understand situations and face those challenges, improve physical health because you're rested. And overall, it improves your chances of success. Whether it's an exam or something physical that you need to do the next day. Refusal skills-- 
    * 		00:03:33 you want to say no when a situation has a potential of becoming threatening, out of control, unfavorable to you or others, or is stressful. You're at a party, you're invited to have a cigarette, or alcohol, or illegal drugs. That's not good for you. It goes against your values, your ethics, so you don't want to do that. 
    * 		00:03:53 By doing it, you are going to cause stress because now you're breaking your own sets of values and objectives, goals, and ethics. So that can cause stress. Say no, come out clean of the situation, and you won't have to worry about the stress that will come afterwards. Physical activity-- you want to release extra energy 
    * 		00:04:13 through physical activity. Whereas it's work, or a bear comes out in the middle of nowhere and you have to fight it, your body is going to react the same way. It's going to generate energy that's supposed to be used to face that stressor. Well, work-- it's not like we're going to use the energy, so we need to 
    * 		00:04:31 burn that energy. So release the tension of the muscles that are in this fight or flight mode by doing exercise, or some sort of physical activity. It can be anything. It can be team sports, working out, hiking, or even doing household chores. Essentially, just burn the energy out. 
    * 		00:04:50 Eat well. Poor diet can lead to fatigue or inability to concentrate. On the other hand eating a healthy diet is going to strengthen the immune system, is going to give you the nutrients that you need-- the energy-- and is going to limit stress-related illnesses too. Because if you're stressed, but you're eating a healthy diet and your immune system is good, essentially it's 
    * 		00:05:10 battling off the effects of the stress more effectively. You want to drink plenty of water, and you want to limit comfort foods, or limit caffeine too. You want to also avoid dangerous substances-- illegal drugs, tobacco, alcohol. They're not going to decrease the stress or tensions unlike what people say-- that is not true. 
    * 		00:05:30 On the contrary, it's going to increase the stress, because now you're doing something else that is against the law in some cases, or that is going to be in conflict with your values, or in conflict with what family members or friends are telling you-- because they'll tell you not use those drugs or substances. And also, it's harmful to physical and mental health, which is going to increase your 
    * 		00:05:50 susceptibility to diseases. So that is not good for you. It's not a good escape alternative for you. You might as well just face the challenge. So dangerous substances are not good for you. Summarizing-- healthy life with minimal stress-- things that we can do. 
    * 		00:06:09 Let's follow healthy behaviors like we talked about earlier. Now, keep in mind, in your life-- throughout your entire life-- you're going to be facing stress. So there's certain things that you can do, like we talked about, to minimize them or reduce them. So by doing this, you're going to be able to increase your chances of effectively addressing those situations 
    * 		00:06:29 and coming ahead the way you want to. In the next section, we're going to talk about positive and negative strategies for dealing with stress. 
* 		Section 2
    * 		00:00:01 TEACHER: Hello, and welcome again. As we continue with this lesson, do you know what can you do to cope with stress? Section Two. Earlier, we develop healthy behaviors that help reduce stress. Well now we're going to describe positive and negative strategies for coping with stress. 
    * 		00:00:18 Are you ready? Coping with stress. Some stress is simply unavoidable, there's some responsibilities or things that we have to face. At this point it is important to develop coping strategies. But what is coping? Well, it's dealing with difficulties or responsibilities in a successful manner. 
    * 		00:00:37 Let's see what we can do. In order to cope with stress, we can choose to use negative coping strategies or positive coping strategies. Think about it, what positive or negative things have you've done in your life that can help you deal with stress? Negative coping strategies, let's talk about the negative first. Well some of the things that you can do that are going to 
    * 		00:01:00 lead to negative consequences is smoking, drinking alcohol or using drugs. These are escapes from the stress. But as you can realize, smoking, drinking alcohol, or using illegal drugs can get you other sorts of trouble with your family, with your friends, even with authorities, and your compromising your health as well. 
    * 		00:01:20 Overeating and under-eating that's also not good, it makes you feel good at that moment, and it puts the focus on something else rather than the stress that you're going through but you're compromising your health. Lashing out at others. Essentially if you have a boss that is putting a lot of responsibility on you because that's the work demand, you don't want to start lashing out at your boss because 
    * 		00:01:42 that's not going to get you anywhere. It potentially could get you fired. Yes, you may not have the stress of work anymore, but you're not going to have a job anymore. So what would you rather deal with? Now avoiding the problem is also a negative strategy. Procrastinating, sleeping too much, so you don't wake up, wake up late, make it late to work or school, spending hours 
    * 		00:02:02 in front of the TV, not doing anything productive, things of that nature. Those are negative things that you end up doing that can put yourself in a worse position. Let's say that you got into a confrontation with a friend weeks ago and in order to avoid the stress of making up with a friend, addressing the conflict, you decide to avoid him or her and his group of friends so this 
    * 		00:02:24 doesn't come out. Well you're compromising a relationship because you don't want to deal with the conflict. Now on the other side, we have positive coping strategies. What can we do here? We can express ourselves, seek for support, have a positive attitude, relax and laugh through activities, and redirect our energy. 
    * 		00:02:45 Let's talk about each of them. Redirect our energy first, things that we can do. Let's say we have a very busy day at work so what we want to do is we want to embrace into a create project. Let's say we like photography, that's go outdoors. Let's take pictures of plants, landscape, or people. Some people decide to do physical exercise, go on a run, practice martial arts, do some sort of group activity, 
    * 		00:03:10 something else that you really enjoy. Essentially put your energy somewhere else so you don't have to keep thinking in the stressor as it is affecting your life. Now try to relax and laugh as well. Relaxing recharges your batteries. Relaxation techniques like meditation can be very helpful. 
    * 		00:03:29 You can also read, gaze at the stars, just stare at them, and play. You may want to also spend time with people who make you laugh so you can start laughing with them. Participate in activities that make you laugh like certain games that make you laugh as well. Laughter and relaxation boost the immune system and actually help you stay healthy because by doing this, you body gets 
    * 		00:03:50 in balance, any release of separate chemicals that your body needs that your immune system benefits from. Now have a positive attitude too. Think of the positive potential of the situation rather than the negative. Let's think about a job interview. We're looking for a job, and they gave us the opportunity for an interview. 
    * 		00:04:09 We can be stressed about it in a negative way, or I'm not going to do good at the interview, I'm going to get the job. Or you could see it as the potential, oh I'm going to give the greatest impression, and I'm going to get that job. See the difference in perspective? You want to be confident about yourself. Well, you're dealing with a situation, this stress is 
    * 		00:04:27 already present. You may want to be confident that you're going to do good, that you are going to overcome this situation, that attitude itself can get you farther away than just having a negative thought, having low self esteem that you're not going to make it. You want to embrace positive attitudes and values, like caring, integrity, and honesty, and you want to 
    * 		00:04:49 accept that somethings cannot be controlled. Let's say that you are going to work, you're driving, and you're in the middle of traffics. There's little to nothing you can do at the time, just deal with it. Seek for support. Say that a family member passed away, that's a very unfortunate event. 
    * 		00:05:07 Now, you don't have to deal with the pain and the loss by yourself. You want to turn to others in your life for help and understanding. Sometimes just the fact that somebody's listening to you, not even giving you advice, is good enough. We need to be listened to sometimes. Express ourselves. 
    * 		00:05:24 In the same line, express your feelings, your thoughts, and your desires in a enough positive and productive way. Especially if you're facing a stress, you want to express yourself. You don't want to keep it to yourself, you're not alone in this work, you don't live in a vacuum. You want to seek for help but you also want to express what you're feeling as it is healthy. 
    * 		00:05:44 Talk to others, keep a journal, write on it and be creative too. There's other ways to express yourself. Paint if you want. Summarize it. There's multiple stress management strategies. Some of them are negative which are going to lead to worse situation. 
    * 		00:05:59 Some of them are positive and that's what we focused on today. Redirecting our energy, relaxing and laughing through activities, positive attitude, seeking support, and expressing yourself in different ways can help you coping with stress. Now going back to the entire lesson. We started talking about how to reduce stress. 
    * 		00:06:19 We identify a stressor and the sources of stress. We also mentioned that behavioral changes can help us deal with the stress. Adopting healthy behaviors is going to help us tremendously. Now some stress is unavoidable. That's when we cope with stress. And there's positive and negative strategies that we just talked about. 
    * 		00:06:40 Thank you.
Here is my Custom Corpus Data that shows my technical, academic writing style, but this essay is for a wellness course, so it doesn't have to be this formal, technical, or prosaic.
One factor that damaged the image of the Church in the late Middle Ages was the Great Schism. The existence of multiple competing papal administrations led to increased taxation and financial burdens on the faithful. Furthermore, Pope Urban VI and Pope Clement VII claimed the other was illegitimate as the antichrist, and both attempted to leverage political alliances. For the majority, who were already struggling with the effects of the Black Death and the Hundred Years' War, this divide worsened the perception of the Church as being more concerned with wealth and government than spiritual matters. Since the Church was formed as a divinely ordained institution, the schism may have also led people to question the structure of leadership and the roots of their faith.
The is not structured or written the best to answer directly "How does this call for a crusade demonstrate the power of the Pope and the Catholic Church?" That power should mean "power over Europe." Also consider that, without background information, people would not know how large the Church was and how great was its expanse.
It can be used to check in with the listener because the statement shows consideration for the listener's reaction. The speaker has implicit permission while still allowing the listener to object or give feedback. (example scenarios: after a meeting, ending a phone call)
The "checking in" isn't always conscious but is a politeness ingrained in how this grammar point is used when the action directly affects the listener's situation.

Although colonial education helped Africans train for jobs in colonial administration and European economic affairs, the system impacted Africa negatively by reinforcing the grip of European colonialism, bringing up elites that were distant from the majority of society, and not training people in ordinary and practical skills.

	First, the European colonial system was designed by Europeans, so it worked to protect their power over Africa. Document 1 first exposes this by saying that the colonial education system was “one which sought to instill a sense of deference towards all that was European and capitalist.” This self-promotion created a sense of attachment between the colonized and the colonizers. Because European history and literature were taught and held in a high position, people would be less likely to resist and more likely to comply with European demands to see the positives.

	Next, very few Africans could understand the issues with governance and sovereignty in colonies. Document 4 explains that the European colonial institutions brought up an elite. However, it says, “They were people who worshiped European culture, equating it with civilization, and looked down upon their own culture. . . . Unfortunately, it is this very alienated and badly oriented elite that have dominated both the political and the social scene in Africa since independence.” Because the African elite were so isolated from traditional African culture, when they ruled later after decolonization, they could not understand well the needs of the people. The elite were those who had the most power to drive change, but they were trained by the colonial education system to value Europe and likely appreciate all of the infrastructure and trade that Europe brought to Africa.

	Finally, the colonial education system was not valuable for the vast majority of the African population. Document 1 says that “[it] was not an educational system that grew out of the African environment or one that was designed to promote the most rational use of material and social resources.” This meant that, after decolonization, African society would likely struggle to rebuild their economy because Africa was very dependent on Europe. Africans would be required to rebuild those lost skills, but it would take lots of time. Today, the impacts of hindered development are very apparent in Africa, and this is partly due to the colonial education system imposed by Europe.
My Overview of the Hundred Years’ War
Joshua King

From 1337 to 1453, the Hundred Years’ War was a succession of battles fought between England and France. Its great effects on the two kingdoms would place it high on the pedestal as one of the most important events in European history.

Firstly, how did it begin? To start, French and English tensions had gone many years back, but one of the last causes happened in 1328 when Charles IV of France died without any sons or brothers. Surprisingly, Edward the III of England was the closest relative, being King Charles’ nephew. However, the claim came from his mother, Isabella, when female succession was disallowed. French nobles instead argued that Philip of Valois, a native Frenchman, should rule. Almost four months later, Philip would be crowned King of France. Edward III initially protested this but let it pass. However, as the relationship between the two monarchs grew more tense, things fell out of control. Aquitaine, a region in southwestern France, was owned by England at the time, but King Philip decided to reclaim it. Fiefs were very important to England’s economy, so this, in addition to Edward’s failed claim to the French throne, prompted King Edward III to start the Hundred Years’ War in 1337.

During the Edwardian phase of the war, King Edward III and his eldest son, Edward the “Black Prince,” launched many successful offensives against France. King Edward promoted the Cult of St. George, a supporter of warfare and chivalry, and encouraged people to pray for soldiers. In the Battle of Crécy, the French saw heavy losses due to charging too fast and the English’s use of the innovative longbow. After King Phillip the VI died, the French were even more defeated after the English moved south and won in the Battle of Poitiers, capturing many French nobles and the new French King John II. France would sign the Treaty of Brétigny in 1360 that set King John’s ransom to an amount equivalent to around three years of revenue for the crown of France. Nine years of peace between the two nations would follow, but it would not last long.

Next, the Caroline War would take place from 1369 to 1389, named after King Charles V of France (King John died four years after his ransom). Its cause? England had fought a civil war, so Prince Edward decided to strengthen their financial situation by taxing the people in Aquitaine. After receiving complaints from residents, King Charles summoned the Black Prince to court in Paris. However, the Prince refused, and, seeing no agreeable solution, King Charles commenced the second phase of the Hundred Years’ War. This time, conditions were far more favorable for France, as Edward III was too old to command, and his son, the Prince, was ill. In addition to losing one of their strongest generals, England would see major defeats on sea and land. However, the successors of Edward III and Charles V both agreed on a truce because both kingdoms were brutalized by the Black Death, had economic troubles, and saw a decline in royal authority.

Twenty years later: the third and final Lancastrian phase. King Henry V saw it advantageous to resume the war when King Charles VI of France became mentally ill and a French civil war began. England was very efficient with their longbows in the Battle of Agincourt in 1415 despite being outnumbered. English forces would be largely successful and continue to battle for decades, but a hidden French heroine would emerge: Joan of Arc. She joined the French army in 1429, and after receiving divine visions to act, King Charles gave her a small force of troops. With them, she led a surprise attack on the English to free the city of Orléans, and she also inspired the French to retake many other cities from the English. However, after Burgundian troops captured her, she was turned over to the English court. In 1431, at the age of 19, she was burned at the stake after being convicted of multiple charges. As a result, French morale was boosted to a high. France also had better supplies, whereas England was away from home where there were still political issues. These factors helped France gain the upper hand and progressively eliminate fighting in their territory. France would finally take back Bordeaux in the decisive Battle of Castillon in 1453.

After a treaty formally ended the Hundred Years’ War in 1475, France had freed all but one territory from English control. Both England and France gained a sense of national unity following the war, and feudalism was ended. People in the different regions of France would all feel French, and the war would lead to the formation of a central government. However, trade was also devastated by it, and peasants were heavily taxed afterward. England’s treasury was depleted after the war and shifted to focus on naval expansion, but victorious France would ultimately emerge stronger than before and continue to exert its influence on the world.

Although Emperor Qin unified China and accomplished great achievements, to a greater extent he was responsible for the fall of the Qin empire because he focused on centralization and administration, employed harsh legalist policies, and forced high labor and taxation.
One of the first factors that led to the downfall of the Qin dynasty was that Emperor Qin Shi Huang sought to consolidate power by implementing a highly centralized administration for the immense country. While this allowed for efficient governance, it also created a system that relied heavily upon the emperor's authority. Document A addresses this, explaining that the concentration of power alienated regional lords and aristocrats. As a matter of fact, the source says that Emperor Qin “appointed educated men instead of nobles and officials to run his government.” Consequentially, this fueled dissent and resistance among the higher people of China.

According to Document E, Emperor Qin Shi Huang implemented strict legalist policies to maintain control and suppress dissidence because strength was seen as a ruler's greatest virtue and it had been effective in previous feudal states. These policies included the harsh punishment of critics and intellectuals and book-burning campaigns. One can infer that these repressive measures bred discontent among the general population, causing a widespread sense of resentment towards the emperor and his dynasty. This would ultimately lead to rebellion. However, the source emphasizes that the laws were "so cruel that later generations despised Legalism." Document B additionally venerates this idea, with the author Jia Yi, who was born shortly after the fall of the Qin, stating that "...had he emptied the prisons and reduced harsh punishments..." and a multitude of other things, "he would have certainly brought peace and quiet to the world."
Additionally. high labor and taxation affected the people under Emperor Qinʼs rule. Document D highlights that the emperor had the Great Wall of China built alongside his enormous tomb with a terracotta army that was believed to help him in the afterlife. However, these projects were massive and took the effort of thousands of forced laborers. In fact, around the emperor’s army of over 8,000 individually and gruelingly detailed clay soldiers, hundreds of bodies were buried. To fund these goals, citizens were taxed heavily also. Again, in Document B, Jia Yi criticizes the heavy taxation, statutes, and oppression of the Qin dynasty, and Document E cites that “...anger over heavy taxes, forced labor, and cruel policies exploded into revolts.” Gao Zu would then rise from peasant life to defeat all of Emperor Qin’s army—who had not yet defected to the other side—and found the new Han dynasty only four years later.
Thus, in spite of Qin Shi Huang's reign witnessing extraordinary achievements like the Great Wall and standardized systems, examining these paragraphs yields that Emperor Qin Shi Huang also bore significant responsibility for the downfall of the Qin Dynasty

Joshua King
Weidig
Honors Freshman English
06 December 2023
The Effects of Technological Abuse on Society in Fahrenheit 451
What would life be with endless leisure but without the use of critical thought? After some time, one might ask oneself, “Are you happy?” (Bradbury 7). Those are the words spoken to the protagonist Montag in Ray Bradbury’s dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451, where a future totalitarian United States of America outlaws books and has firemen, such as Montag, burn them. But how did it come to be, and why do the majority of citizens show no dissent? In Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury uses symbolism to argue that technology can be exploited to isolate and control society.
One of the first symbols that Fahrenheit 451 presents to claim that technology can be used to restrain society is the Mechanical Hound. The novel describes how Montag’s colleagues, firemen, would program the Hound to hunt defenseless animals for entertainment: “The animals were turned loose. Three seconds later the game was done, the rat, cat, or chicken caught half across the areaway, gripped in gentling paws while a four-inch hollow steel needle plunged down from the proboscis of the Hound to inject massive jolts of morphine or procaine. The pawn was then tossed in the incinerator. A new game began” (Bradbury 22). In this passage, the Mechanical Hound contrasts the proverbial “man’s best friend” of normal society; it is instead an elite terminator of life that embodies governmental control. In the text, Bradbury illustrates that the machine is programmed to be mindless and unceasingly vigilant. Thus, it does not hesitate to follow orders, as demonstrated by the brisk immobilization of its quarry. To Montag, the Hound is an unsettling entity that “. . . slept but did not sleep, lived but did not live” (Bradbury 21). Employed by the government, the Hound’s constant surveillance of society affects the habits of people and their actions. Bradbury’s particular choice of having the Hound hunt small, helpless animals reinforces the notion that technology can be abused, for the animals represent people in Montag’s society. The government, with its unchecked authority, can exert its power over the citizens at will; and the animals, called “pawns,” are incinerated after being subjugated by the Mechanical Hound. When the Hound sniffs out non-conformity, those who go against the government face being injected with “massive jolts of morphine or procaine.” The choice becomes clear: submission or rebellion. Indeed, the Hound is used to intimidate society and sustain the common idea that rebellion leads to death.
Additionally, Bradbury uses the symbol of the parlor walls to convey technology’s power when exploited. After Montag’s escape from the city, his wife Mildred still remains inside when a fighter jet drops a bomb on the bleak metropolis. The text details Montag, who envisions Mildred staring at her parlor walls, writing, “He saw her leaning toward the great shimmering walls of color and motion where the family talked and talked and talked to her, where the family prattled and chatted and said her name and smiled at her and said nothing of the bomb that was an inch, now a half inch, now a quarter inch from the top of the hotel. Leaning into the wall as if the hunger of looking would find the secret of her sleepless unease there. Mildred, leaning anxiously nervously, as if to plunge, drop, fall into that swarming immensity of color to drown in its bright happiness” (Bradbury 152). Bradbury’s mention of the parlor walls during one of the most consequential events of the novel displayed society’s old life before it transitioned into the new. Before the city’s destruction, the parlor walls were like large televisions that formed a room and displayed propaganda and entertainment to distract people from the true emptiness of their lives—Mildred’s “sleepless unease.” This escapism prevented citizens from engaging with the outer world and dulled their minds with droning voices and programs. Deliberately attractive with “that swarming immensity of color” and their “bright happiness,” the parlor walls provide overwhelming sensation to forge a spurious world wherein no worries pervade. To equate the book to current society, the parlor walls epitomize drugs. They are enticingly stimulating and provide dazzling sights, as Mildred was about to “drown” herself in its halcyon beauty; but their effects are vain hallucinations when addiction brings no satisfaction and erodes finances and human connections. The parlor walls were so isolating that, after Montag fled the city’s draconian domain, he said, “It’s strange, I don’t miss [Mildred], it’s strange I don’t feel much of anything . . . Even if she dies, I realized a moment ago, I don’t think I’ll feel sad” (Bradbury 148). These images in the story illustrate the government’s insidious control of technology that actively discourages intellectual curiosity. Furthermore, the fact that citizens were convinced of having intangible relatives on screens and became indifferent to their genuine families demonstrates how influential technology is. When the bomb detonated, all in the city were killed, and the parlor walls were destroyed. Montag could rebuild society at last, but the walls had already been used for deceit and contributed to the decimation of many lives.
In sum, Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 demonstrates the powerful potential of technology to control and quarantine people when abused. The formidable Mechanical Hound and the parlor walls in the society where Montag was once trapped show how prominently technology can affect the minds of humans. Moreover, the fate of those in the government’s technological grasp prompts the Earth’s current societies to think and consider how technology can be harnessed for change and the benefit—the happiness—of humankind.

Works Cited
Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. 1953. 60th Anniversary Edition, Simon & Schuster, 2013.
‌


 How did the Holocaust begin? It was not an instantaneous occurrence, but rather it necessitated constant toiling over many years to reach the “Final Solution,” the euphemistic term for Nazi Germany’s plan to exterminate European Jewry. After the fall of Nazi Germany’s ruler, Hitler, survivors chose to disseminate their accounts, encompassing Maus by Art Spiegelman; Shores Beyond Shores: From Holocaust to Hope, My True Story by Irene Butter; and an excerpt of “Hitler Youth” from A Child of Hitler by Alfons Heck. These texts tell that as the Holocaust transpired, the Nazi regime employed the strategies of impoverishment and youth indoctrination to subjugate the Jewish population.
Firstly, impoverishment was a salient contributor to the Nazis’ Final Solution. Nazis systematically debilitated Jews by divesting them of status and property to make them more controllable. In Maus, Art Spiegelman delineates the life of his father, Vladek, as a Jew in Poland, which exemplifies this tactic considerably. In a family discussion in 1940, indications of Nazi oppression emerged. One person said, “Each of us gets coupons for 8 ounces of bread a day, and a tiny bit of margarine, sugar and jam per week. That’s all!” (75) In response, another gentleman asks how they could feasibly subsist, but the text discloses that numerous individuals relied upon the illicit and dangerous black market. The marginalization Nazis created left many Jews vulnerable and scared, with a pair of mothers asserting that people would be jailed for breaking minor laws. Jews were oppressed by the Nazis, and jobs and money were taken away. Two men conversed on page 76, saying, “Don’t you know? All Jewish businesses have been taken over by ‘Aryan managers’... I went to our factory in Lodz, and they said, ‘Better go home today, old man... Tomorrow we’ll carry you out.’” With people concerned over savings and finances, Nazis could begin confinement with little resistance from weakened communities. Analogous to Maus, in “2 Berlin, Germany Spring 1937” of Shores Beyond Shores, author Irene Butter recounts the experiences of her family as Jews in 1930s Berlin. Her father needed to find a new job after the bank he worked in was turned over to a non-Jew. (2) The distressed father said that even his colleagues from WWI had turned against him. (17) Impoverishment isolated Jews from society when their status, in the perspectives of

 others, was lowered by Nazi propaganda. These texts demonstrate that impoverishment was a method used by Nazi Germany to control the lives of Jews.
In addition to the strategy of impoverishment, Nazis used youth indoctrination to help in the Final Solution. The excerpt of “Hitler Youth” from A Child of Hitler by Alfons Heck evidences this, wherein the author describes how he was indoctrinated into the Hitler Youth at the young age of ten. Through an alluring amalgam of action and prestige, the Hitler Youth movement made Germany’s juveniles fanatic for Hitler. Heck writes, “There were the paraphernalia and the symbols, the pomp and the mysticism, very close in feeling to religious rituals.” (12) Then, the oath was sworn, saying, “I promise in the Hitler Youth to do my duty at all times in love and faithfulness to help the Fuhrer—so help me God.” (3-5) Hitler’s successful indoctrination raised an obedient, race-conscious generation designed to follow his antisemitic worldview and eventually support him in committing genocide against all Jews. In Butter’s third chapter of “Berlin, Germany Spring 1937” from Shores Beyond Shores, the indoctrination of the Hitler Youth, over millions of children, continued to directly affect Jews. After Butter was denied from attending a party—proving that Germany’s youth was raised to be antisemitic—the soldierlike Hitler Youth marched by while chanting loudly. In response, Butter’s mother said that her grandfather would walk her and her brother to school. (45) Butter thought that her brother would be upset because he wanted to be “big like [the] boys who passed.” (46) Youth indoctrination caused children to support Nazis and think of them as strong. However, Werner told his sister that a group of German boys had assaulted him and his friends, calling them Jewish swine. (51) Nazi ideology was instilled in Germans for years and strengthened Hitler’s popularity, so strongly that persecution emanated from it.
In summation, over many years of effort, the Nazis used the strategies of impoverishment and propaganda to slowly and incrementally erode the humanity and autonomy of Jews in Europe. This was successful in controlling the Jews, but Hitler’s aspirations of reaching dominance over the Jewish reveal more about humanity: people do wrong for selfish gain. By demoralizing others, people try to live up to a

 grandiose self-image and raise their status. To apply this to modern life, it is crucial that society recognizes and counteracts such tactics quickly to negate creeping effects more effectively than before the Holocaust.

 Destruction and Renewal: Mount St. Helens and America
Amidst low thunderings, a gargantuan column of ash, as if from an atomic bomb, belched titanically from stratovolcano Mount St. Helens, presenting itself hundreds of miles outward. Preceding the eruption, volcanic activity of Mt. Saint Helens commenced as magma penetrated the shield volcano’s edifice on March 27, 1980. Alongside series of localized tremors, steam-blast eruptions quickly formed a large crater, and the volcano’s activity additionally catalyzed a growing bulge on its north slope that grew northward to a height that would paradoxically surpass the mountain’s summit.[1] The north face would approach maximum frailty on May 18 when a magnitude 5.1 earthquake centered underneath the north slope would detach the entire face in a giant landslide, with the volcano erupting cataclysmically seconds later.[2] The eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980 had profound effects on America’s ecosystems and society while providing valuable research for many, making it a significant event in modern history.
The eruption of Mount St. Helens on May 18, 1980, resulted in major ecological damage, with ecosystems close to the volcano being immediately affected. Lahars (violent debris flows resulting from volcanic eruptions) that traveled down the slope of the mountain were devastating, as they deposited everything they could carry into lakes and rivers, resulting in salient damage. Thousands of acres of forest were extirpated, and lakes and rivers were flooded by sediment, markedly disturbing the landscape and environment.[3] The landscape was desolated by the eruption, being first “sterilized by heat and noxious gas, and then buried under tens of meters of ash, mud, and rock,” with

 only seeds, spores, and chiefly small burrowing animals below the land or water surface surviving.[4][5] After U.S. President Jimmy Carter surveyed the panorama, he remarked, “Someone said this area looked like a moonscape. But the Moon looks more like a golf course compared to [the destruction] there.”[6] Additionally, lightning strikes from static electricity generated by ash clouds caused many forest fires, but many fires were short-lived once the fatal 300mph pyroclastic flows engulfed the area. [7] The pyroclastic flows were so fast that volcanic bombs flung into the air up to 8 miles from the eruption crashed somewhere into the ground already obliterated, contributing relatively small damage to the ghostly landscape where approximately 230 square miles of forest had been destroyed, thousands of animals had been killed, and over 11 million fish from rivers and 26 lakes had died.[8] The disaster at Mount St. Helens raised the question: will the environment ever recover?
By the time the eruption ceased, the volcano’s plume had traveled to the central United States, affecting communities abroad, not restricted only to the blast zone of Mount St. Helens. The cataclysm killed 57 people directly, making it the deadliest eruption in U.S. history, but four indirect deaths (from vehicle accidents due to poor visibility and heart attacks initiated by shoveling ash) also demonstrated the effects of the eruption. [9] The fine, abrasive particles would travel far as they were remobilized by wind and moving vehicles, and a haze would envelop cities. In some places, ash veiled the sun, leaving streetlights on during the day. Though cities closer to Mount St. Helens were affected more heavily, the ash would engender eye and upper respiratory system irritation in many individuals across the country.[c] Tephra and lahars from the volcano damaged main water

 supplies and sewage systems when they were destroyed by the mud or contaminated and damaged by high turbidity and debris. Thereby, water was rationed in many places and required purification. This and the ashfall upon crops affected farmers negatively when they could not sustain agriculture. Additionally, people were ordered to remain indoors because of the dangers of exposure to ash, and many were not confident of its effects on the body.[11] Tourism was also majorly affected in Oregon and Washington, states closest to the explosion, because of the damage the states sustained. People did not want to travel to a place "knee deep" in ash. Clean-up efforts also required time, leaving roads inaccessible for many, and many products spoiled and kept communities isolated. Owing to the eruption, unemployment rates rose, and people became stressed after the crisis. In response to the ash, machinery, storage, and electrical equipment were damaged, and blackouts followed thereupon. Additionally, the ash cloud had significant implications for aviation, forcing the closure of many airports and the cancellation of over one-thousand flights with contaminated airspaces.[12] In all, the damages estimated by the U.S. International Trade Commission at the request of Congress equated to 1.2 billion dollars (adjusted to nearly 4.5 billion dollars today).[13]
Although the eruption of Mount St. Helens had devastating ecological, social, and economic impacts, it also provided scientists with a unique opportunity to study the effects of volcanic eruptions and the subsequent recovery of ecosystems. The valuable research gained from the event has contributed to a better understanding of volcanic processes, ecological resilience, and disaster preparedness. Immediately following the eruption, scientists began to monitor the volcano and its surrounding areas, which included

 measuring seismic activity, gas emissions, and ground deformation. As a result, researchers gained new insights into the dynamics of volcanic eruptions, allowing them to better predict and prepare for future events.[14] Additionally, the eruption of Mount St. Helens served as a natural laboratory for studying the effects of large-scale disturbances on ecosystems, and scientists were able to observe the recovery of plant and animal populations as well as the succession of species in the affected areas. In fact, within a few months, plants, and fungus sprouted readily from out of the tephra that actually absorbed water and leached nutrients into buried soil. Nature began to colonize the once sterile land. It was a remarkable demonstration of recovery for ecologists to observe.[15] Moreover, people were reattracted to Washington after U.S. President Ronald Reagan established the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, 110,000 acres of land surrounding the volcano.[16] Despite the major destruction, the eruption has had a lasting impact on public awareness and education about volcanic hazards. The event captured the attention of millions of people, leading to increased interest in and understanding of volcanology and natural disasters. Exhibits established because of the eruption inform people about volcanology to this day and promote awareness to mitigate impacts that may come. Lessons learned from the 1980 eruption have been utilized to ameliorate monitoring systems and early warning protocols for volcanic eruptions. The establishment of the Cascade Volcano Observatory and the expansion of the United States Geological Survey's (USGS) Volcano Hazards Program are direct results of the experiences and knowledge gained from the Mount St. Helens eruption.[17] In spite of the destruction it caused, society overall benefited afterward.

 The eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980 proved to be a pivotal moment in modern history, for, amidst the terror of the eruption's gray obelisk, it provided an unparalleled opportunity for researchers to spread awareness and study volcanic processes and ecological recovery, proving that even in the difficult times, important knowledge can be gained and progress can be made.
References [1] https://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/msh/reawakening.html
[2] https://www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/mount-st.-helens/1980-cataclysmic-eruption
[3] https://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/msh/ash.html
[4] https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2020/05/18/past-present-and-future-research-mount -st-helens
[5] https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/82151/life-reclaims-mount-st-helens
[6] https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CREC-2005-05-17/pdf/CREC-2005-05-17-pt1-PgS 5251-3.pdf
[7] https://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/msh/ash.html
[8] https://www.rgs.org/CMSPages/GetFile.aspx?nodeguid=0ed1d2d1-77ad-4fc4-be31-b3da0 ea1554d

 [9] https://volcano.oregonstate.edu/faq/what-were-effects-people-when-mt-st-helens-erupte d
[10] https://www.weather.gov/safety/airquality-volcanic-ash
[11] https://digitalcommons.wou.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1039&context=his [12]https://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/msh/impact.html
[13] https://www.usitc.gov/publications/332/pub1096.pdf
[14] https://www.usgs.gov/news/featured-story/mount-st-helens-1980-eruption-changed-futu re-volcanology
[15] https://andrewsforest.oregonstate.edu/sites/default/files/lter/pubs/pdf/pub170.pdf [16] https://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/msh/monument.html
[17] https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/cascades-volcano-observatory/who-we-are-and-wha t-we-do

Joshua King
Mrs. Weathers-Weidig
English 108
16 April 2024
Love as a Force of Tragedy in Romeo and Juliet
It can be argued that love is one of the most important feelings that humankind has experienced. Love’s expanse is wide, and its influence, complex. Although it is frequently idealized as a benevolent force, love has many different forms that can distract and control. Shakespeare argues in his play Romeo and Juliet that love can drive individuals to extreme measures and cause tragedy because it can create seemingly insurmountable obstacles.
Firstly, the love of feuding was instrumental in generating the societal antipathy that engendered the play’s tragic denouement. Prince Escalus’s denunciation of the feuding families elucidates this impetus:
Where be these enemies? Capulet, Montague,
See what a scourge is laid upon your hate,
That heaven finds means to kill your joys with love;
And I, for winking at your discords too,
Have lost a brace of kinsmen. All are punished. (5.3.291-295)
As the Prince speaks of the past, when both families tried to constrain the lovers, this was by “hate”; the prolonged feud created a deep separation between Romeo and Juliet. In their youthful minds, their isolation in juxtaposition with intense love creates a sense of urgency and desperation that fuels their actions, as the Chorus reads, “But passion lends them power, time means, to meet, / Temp’ring extremities with extreme sweet” (2.0.13-14). However, Juliet’s plan to be with Romeo fails amidst the enemies’ internecine “discords” in Verona. Preceding their double suicide, the feud does not allow for calm in Act III Scene I when Tybalt, an opposing Capulet, goaded by Mercutio’s mordant jibes and Romeo’s irenic demurral, engages the latter in a duel that precipitates Mercutio’s demise and Romeo’s avenging slaying of Tybalt, whom Benvolio describes shortly thereafter as “deaf to peace” (3.1.160). This event, excited by the love of the feud, propels the Prince’s edict of exile upon Romeo, thereby catalyzing Juliet’s risky stratagem with the Friar. The play presents the stress Juliet experiences through this in Act III Scene II, and both lovers threaten to kill themselves on multiple occasions throughout the play due to their hopelessness of unification. As William C. Carroll observes, “Romeo and Juliet are rarely alone on the stage, as many readers have noted. They are almost always entangled in family webs of one sort or another, the feud being the largest one, surrounded by well-meaning but interfering authority figures who guide and misguide their lives” (Carroll 57). In the quote, Carroll writes that Shakespeare directly portrays the enmeshment of Romeo and Juliet into the omnipresent “web” to convey the extent to which their actions are dictated by external forces rather than autonomous volition. In essence, the feuding families build the pyre over which Romeo and Juliet are bound, and the lovers are only close in death. 
Likewise, the play illustrates the potential of unrequited love to give rise to disaster. Initially, Romeo pines for Rosaline, who does not return his affections. Romeo describes his feelings to his cousin, Benvolio:
Why then, O brawling love, O loving hate,
O any thing of nothing first created!
O heavy lightness, serious vanity,
Misshapen chaos of well-seeming forms,
Feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health,
Still-waking sleep that is not what it is.
This love feel I, that feel no love in this. (1.1.174-180)
Analyzing the evidence, Romeo’s oxymoronic diction illustrates the confusion and turmoil within him as he attempts to reconcile his intense emotions with Rosaline’s indifference. In lines 129-153 of Act I Scene I, his father, Lord Montague, describes how Romeo is like a “bud bit with an envious worm” and that Romeo’s woeful disposition alarmed family and friends. Romeo’s behavior suggests that unrequited love possesses the potential to fester and consume an individual and then manifest as external actions—such as those that lead to his infatuation with Juliet, which is hasty due to Romeo’s desperation for love. Additionally, the vicissitude that is Juliet’s arranged marriage to Paris instantiates the danger caused by this unreciprocated form of love. After Lord and Lady Capulet, not knowing Juliet’s relationship with Romeo, finally force their daughter to marry Paris, Juliet heads to the Friar for advice because she would rather die than marry him (4.1.50-54, 77-88). Paul A. Kottman explains, “Either way, she would belong to the Capulets as a lifeless body. In seeking a ‘remedy,’ what Juliet wants is a third option—something other than this marriage or suicide” (Kottman 31). Juliet’s desire for this “third option” displays her unwillingness to fall to her parent’s ultimatum, which her lack of attachment to Paris does cause. This love that disappears also leaves Juliet yearning stronger for a solution to rejoin with Romeo. Juliet’s example again demonstrates unrequited love’s effectiveness in obstructing views that see hope, and the Friar’s plan for Juliet in her unique position will not be effective in obviating tragedy.
In sum, Romeo and Juliet serves as a potent exploration of love's capacity to instigate tragic consequences due to the obstacles it can create. The love of feuding and unrequited love are two examples of this because they conflict with Romeo and Juliet’s romance to spur emotions that affect rationality and critical decisions, which eventually culminate in the lovers’ deaths. Hundreds of years after its creation, Shakespeare’s play continues to remind society that while love can be an enriching force, its path is rarely smooth.


Works Cited
Carroll, William C. “‘We Were Born to Die’: ‘Romeo and Juliet.’” Comparative Drama, vol. 15, no. 1, 1981, pp. 54–71. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/41152929. Accessed 11 Apr. 2024.
Kottman, Paul A. “Defying the Stars: Tragic Love as the Struggle for Freedom in ‘Romeo and Juliet.’” Shakespeare Quarterly, vol. 63, no. 1, 2012, pp. 1–38. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/41350167. Accessed 12 Apr. 2024.

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