This Issues Feature Article –
Sponsored by Lloyd Healthcare
Is the T.V. Show CSI For Real?
By Paul D. Rosevear
There's no doubt about it: Between CSI's contagiously spreading viewership, similar spin-offs ruling the remote and exploding enrollments in forensics programs at many colleges and universities, the current crop of on-screen case-crackers are certainly proving inspiring. The field of forensics is certainly entertaining a multitude of people - 50 million each week, to be exact.
But is the line between entertainment and education getting blurred? Read on to explore the difference between forensics and faux-rensics...
The Prosecution
In light of the public's rabid appetite for "CSI" and programs like it, experts have mixed feelings on the impact the show's popularity is having. "'CSI' is getting more people interested in the science, which is fantastic," explains Dr. Jennifer Thompson, program director of multidisciplinary studies at University of Nevada (Las Vegas, NV), which offers a forensic science degree program. "The shows themselves are idealized versions of the field. They've got wonderful technology that just isn't available in real life, and everything gets solved in a neat and tidy hour!" In fact, one of the professors teaching in UNLV's program is Daniel Holstein - the real-life inspiration for Gil Grissom, CSI's leading character.
If it seems like each episode's investigators spending time collecting data at crime scenes, conducting tests and experiments at laboratories, reviewing evidence at police departments, and questioning suspects is too good to be true, it' s because it is. In reality, there are highly trained specialists who do each of these tasks separately, and case resolution is anything from TV-perfect.
Data analysis often takes weeks and months. "It's the speed and the specificity more than anything," says Dr. Stephen Theberge, assistant professor of chemistry at Merrimack College (North Andover, MA). Theberge teaches a forensic analysis course and offers a forensics concentration for chemistry majors.
"You don't just stick something into a machine and immediately find out it's got Maybelline lipstick ...............
Article continues...
 The Importance of Goals Later in Life
By Marty Nemko
Many older people seem to derive pleasure mainly by reminiscing or by waiting for their children to call. That is a formula for unhappiness, for feeling your life is essentially over.
Even if your drive isn’t what it once was, it is critical to create goals for yourself, exciting goals. Even if you don’t achieve them, you’ll probably accomplish quite a bit in the attempt. Plus, you’ll have experienced the excitement of going for something big, and may even start to feel that your best days may still be ahead of you.
Even if you’re not ready to start working toward that big goal, having it in mind will both buoy you as well as provide time to further develop that idea.
To start you thinking, here’s a baker’s dozen of big goals for which being older won’t hurt you, and .........
Article continues...  Moms Heading Back to School
By Vicki Salemi
For many mothers, both new and not--so--new, advancing their education usually falls way behind things like raising a family, managing everyone's busy schedules, and -- let's face it -- maintaining one's sanity. Then again, if you peruse a recent survey on adult education conducted by the U.S. Department of Education, adults with children under the age of 10 are growing at a rapid rate as higher education participants.
Does that mean moms are neglecting their upbringing duties? Not at all, says Frank Mayadas, program director at the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, an association of more than 900 institutions and organizations of higher education engaged in online learning. Rather, eLearning gives students with busy schedules -- like moms -- the opportunity to receive a quality education on their own terms. As Mayadas explains, online programs remove the obstacles of transportation and time, and provide a way for individuals to balance their professional goals with their personal priorities.
"Online learning provides the flexibility individuals wouldn't otherwise have in a traditional [classroom] setting," he notes. And, online learning enables moms specifically ...... Article continues...  Why Have We Become a Prozac Nation?
By William Katrina
Without a doubt, our world has become more complicated. Stress, anxiety and insomnia have become a way of life for many of us, and in turn, we are all reaching for pills to alleviate the symptoms.
When did this trend begin? And as a result, how many of us are now taking medications that we have tried to stop -- without success?
Only three years ago, Alesandra Rain, co-founder of Label Me Sane, was addicted to a cocktail of medications. She was not someone who doctor-shopped or took them other than how they were prescribed. But over a ten-year period, she watched her health deteriorate.
“I was prescribed a tranquilizer first, as I couldn’t sleep,” states Rain. “As time went ...... Article continues...
Have a comment, a problem with nursing, or a story to share?
Send a letter to the editor. |
|
