So one of the components of our community inquiry project is a poster presentation. Which is in about 4 hours actually. So while I was finishing up the paper I was thinking about and gathering materials for that.
I decided to divide my poster into three areas, left, center and right, and go with a different focus with each or them. In the center I had a copy of my paper abstract, a copy of the map from my walkthrough of Newark and a few graphs of information on substance use prevalence and the influence of risk and protective factors on substance use. So mostly pure information.
The right side I went with quotes from people I heard speak in AA meetings, along with a couple sets of song lyrics that have a lot of personal meaning to me with regards to substance use. I used multiple fonts and orientations when attaching them to mimic random conversation and make them seem more like they were coming from many different people. Which they do.
The left side I went with photos related to substance use. They start off at the top, well organized and depicting mostly "nice" casual scenes of substance use. As they descend down the poster the pictures get more serious. People passed out, police giving breathalyzers, addicts shooting up, etc. At the bottom is a body bag being led past a cop car (that pic is from Heath Ledger's OD, just to let you know). The pictures become progressively more skewed and chaotically arranged as you go down. My goal was to visually depict the continuum of substance use, starting with "normal" recreational use and proceeding through the descent addicts suffer, both in terms of visual consequences as well as the emotional and psychological consequences most people don't see.
At least that's what I was shooting for. I'll try to get a picture of it up later.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Inquiry Project Abstract
So after a later night than I would have preferred I've pretty much got my community inquiry project done. Personally I don't think it's anywhere near my best work, though my wife read it and said it was fine. I do still have to collate and type my references, but that's what work is for, right? So here is the abstract/summary of my project:
ABSTRACT
Adolescent alcohol and drug use are a major concern today. There are numerous negative consequences of substance use including medical and psychiatric disorders as well as social, economic, emotional and legal consequences. The duration and severity of these consequences is directly related to the age at which the substance use commences. In this paper, using a combination of literature review, information garnered through attending local meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and walkthroughs of urban communities in Newark, NJ, we examined the prevalence of substance use among urban adolescents as well as the consequences of substance use and the impact this use has upon adolescents. Additionally, the relationship between the urban environment and adolescent substance use was explored. We found that substance use and abuse is highly prevalent among adolescents, despite recent education efforts. In urban areas, protective factors that may act to ameliorate substance use appear to be outweighed by the risk factors found in these areas. We concluded that a better understanding of the effects these factors have upon substance use among urban adolescents in necessary in order for effective prevention of adolescent substance to be achieved.
ABSTRACT
Adolescent alcohol and drug use are a major concern today. There are numerous negative consequences of substance use including medical and psychiatric disorders as well as social, economic, emotional and legal consequences. The duration and severity of these consequences is directly related to the age at which the substance use commences. In this paper, using a combination of literature review, information garnered through attending local meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and walkthroughs of urban communities in Newark, NJ, we examined the prevalence of substance use among urban adolescents as well as the consequences of substance use and the impact this use has upon adolescents. Additionally, the relationship between the urban environment and adolescent substance use was explored. We found that substance use and abuse is highly prevalent among adolescents, despite recent education efforts. In urban areas, protective factors that may act to ameliorate substance use appear to be outweighed by the risk factors found in these areas. We concluded that a better understanding of the effects these factors have upon substance use among urban adolescents in necessary in order for effective prevention of adolescent substance to be achieved.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Inquiry Project Methodology
So here is the methodology section of my Community Inquiry Project paper. I'm not super happy with it personally. I also haven't edited it yet. I'm used to writing similar stuff, but there are enough differences between what I think we're supposed to be doing with this and what I'm used to doing with my hardcore scientific papers that it's driving me nuts. Well, more nuts than usual. Anyways, here you go:
Methodology
Literature Search and Online Statistics
The extensive reservoir of literature available in the field of substance use was searched using Google Scholar and the U.S. National library of Medicine. The focus of the literature search was on urban adolescent alcohol and drug use. More focused searches on education in this field and comparisons between urban, suburban and rural, substance use were also performed.
Online statistics relating to substance use were gathered primarily from U.S. Government Agencies specializing in health issues and are referenced as such. Additional statistics were gathered from similar State agencies.
Alcoholics Anonymous Meetings
AA meetings were attended in and around the city of interest from 2/5/08 to 12/17/08. For the purposes of this paper, information from discussion and speaker meetings was used exclusively. Speaker meetings involved 1-3 AA members speaking before the group. Speakers generally talked about their experiences with alcohol and with the AA program. Discussion meetings involved members from the group sharing their opinions or experience on a topic or problem suggested by the group. Scope of topics was extremely broad.
In deference to the principles of anonymity subscribed to by AA, we did not take notes of any kind while the meeting was in progress. After the meeting ended, we recorded our impressions and thoughts on what had transpired.
Urban Neighborhood Walkthrough
In order to gather information on the prevalence of alcohol and drugs in urban communities we initiated a walkthrough of several neighborhoods in the city of interest. There were two primary criteria for selecting an area for the walkthrough. The first was the presence of public schools. The area examined contained four pubic schools, two High Schools and two Elementary Schools. The second was the presence of a mixture of residential and commercial areas within the area. The area examined was primarily residential, but contained three larger thoroughfares that were heavily commercial.
For the walkthrough itself we traveled the selected area on foot, following roads. All street areas were covered; however areas off the street were not seen in details. Additionally, we did not enter any businesses or residences in the examined area, but focused exclusively on exterior areas. Our primary purpose during the walkthrough was to examine and map the number of liquor stores, bars, clubs and other establishments that served alcohol. We also made a note of schools and other institutions that related to the topic area. Additionally, we made general notes and observations about the area during the walkthrough.
Methodology
Literature Search and Online Statistics
The extensive reservoir of literature available in the field of substance use was searched using Google Scholar and the U.S. National library of Medicine. The focus of the literature search was on urban adolescent alcohol and drug use. More focused searches on education in this field and comparisons between urban, suburban and rural, substance use were also performed.
Online statistics relating to substance use were gathered primarily from U.S. Government Agencies specializing in health issues and are referenced as such. Additional statistics were gathered from similar State agencies.
Alcoholics Anonymous Meetings
AA meetings were attended in and around the city of interest from 2/5/08 to 12/17/08. For the purposes of this paper, information from discussion and speaker meetings was used exclusively. Speaker meetings involved 1-3 AA members speaking before the group. Speakers generally talked about their experiences with alcohol and with the AA program. Discussion meetings involved members from the group sharing their opinions or experience on a topic or problem suggested by the group. Scope of topics was extremely broad.
In deference to the principles of anonymity subscribed to by AA, we did not take notes of any kind while the meeting was in progress. After the meeting ended, we recorded our impressions and thoughts on what had transpired.
Urban Neighborhood Walkthrough
In order to gather information on the prevalence of alcohol and drugs in urban communities we initiated a walkthrough of several neighborhoods in the city of interest. There were two primary criteria for selecting an area for the walkthrough. The first was the presence of public schools. The area examined contained four pubic schools, two High Schools and two Elementary Schools. The second was the presence of a mixture of residential and commercial areas within the area. The area examined was primarily residential, but contained three larger thoroughfares that were heavily commercial.
For the walkthrough itself we traveled the selected area on foot, following roads. All street areas were covered; however areas off the street were not seen in details. Additionally, we did not enter any businesses or residences in the examined area, but focused exclusively on exterior areas. Our primary purpose during the walkthrough was to examine and map the number of liquor stores, bars, clubs and other establishments that served alcohol. We also made a note of schools and other institutions that related to the topic area. Additionally, we made general notes and observations about the area during the walkthrough.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Walking Around Newark...
So for my Urban Education classes final community inquiry project, one of the things we needed to do was create our own map of Newark. Or a portion of Newark, at least. Mapping out locations that were relevant to our project topic. As I've mentioned previously, my topic is looking at adolescent alcohol and drug use. It's starting to look like it'll really focus on abuse, not use (Yes, there is a difference!), largely because I understand abuse, but I really can't wrap my head around the idea of casual alcohol and/or drug use.
So anyways, I decided to map the area near Barringer High School. My north border was Lake St., East border was 2nd Ave., South border was Broadway and West border was Park St. I actually think this area was smaller than what we were supposed to do (instructions was to do 10 square blocks, but blocks there aren't really square) but it was still an afternoon on foot with this stupid flu bug everyone has had, which was quite enough for me!
I picked this area because A) I knew where it was and where to park, B) Barringer is right next to the Cathedral, which made finding where I parked much easier (I'm geographically challenged, see my previous posts), C) I knew there was at least one High School in my area, D) the area was mostly residential, but contained a couple major commercial strips (Bloomfield Ave., Park St., Broadway).
I was mostly looking for liquor stores and bars, but I also noted schools (Barringer and Technology HS's and Ben Franklin and something-Brook Elementaries were in my area). There was also one obvious substance-abuse treatment center that I noted as well.
What did I find? Not nearly as many alcohol sources as I thought I'd find. Sadly my explicit notes are at home right now, but in the entire area there were less than a dozen liquor stores and bars. Maybe it was the area I was in, but my perception from driving through Newark was that there would be more than that. I will say that based on my personal experience the liquor stores were doing a lot of business for a Sunday afternoon. There was also one disturbing moment when I saw a kid (8-10 years old) walking down the street by himself away from a liquor store (I did *not* see him leave the store itself) carrying two opaque plastic bags that I'm certain contained booze.
Every school had a bar or liquor store within a 3 minute walk. Bar/club across from Barringer. Liquor store across from Tech. Liquor store around the corner from the elementary schools.
The other thing that *seriously* jumped out at me were the sheer volume of empty beer and liquor bottles scattered all over the place. Throughout my entire mapped area, I couldn't go 10 feet without seeing an empty alcoholic container of some kind. Actually, it was worse in the residential areas than on the commercial roads, some of the major roads (Bloomfield Ave., Broadway) were fairly clean. And these were fairly nice neighborhoods in my estimation. In hindsight I probably picked one of the more affluent areas of Newark to survey, or so it seems to me. The houses were nice and well-maintained. Vehicles were well cared for (several people were out front washing their cars in 40 degree weather) and quite a bit nicer than what I drive. Most of the neighborhoods I walked through were nicer than where I live, in my opinion. But there was a huge ammount of litter, and a big percentage of the litter were beer and liquor bottles. (Mostly Corona and Heineken, if anyone was wondering).
So right now I'm willing to speculate that alcohol use is highly prevalent in Newark, even if there weren't as many sources in my area as I expected. From a student perspective, most of these kids likely pass liquor stores or bars going to/from school, and are walking on sidewalks covered in empty beer and liquor bottles (plus the occasional dead cat, which made me sad). Based on my experience and the people I've talked with in Alcoholics Anonymous, that is definitely the kind of environment conducive to kids drinking or at least being willing totry drinking.
So anyways, I decided to map the area near Barringer High School. My north border was Lake St., East border was 2nd Ave., South border was Broadway and West border was Park St. I actually think this area was smaller than what we were supposed to do (instructions was to do 10 square blocks, but blocks there aren't really square) but it was still an afternoon on foot with this stupid flu bug everyone has had, which was quite enough for me!
I picked this area because A) I knew where it was and where to park, B) Barringer is right next to the Cathedral, which made finding where I parked much easier (I'm geographically challenged, see my previous posts), C) I knew there was at least one High School in my area, D) the area was mostly residential, but contained a couple major commercial strips (Bloomfield Ave., Park St., Broadway).
I was mostly looking for liquor stores and bars, but I also noted schools (Barringer and Technology HS's and Ben Franklin and something-Brook Elementaries were in my area). There was also one obvious substance-abuse treatment center that I noted as well.
What did I find? Not nearly as many alcohol sources as I thought I'd find. Sadly my explicit notes are at home right now, but in the entire area there were less than a dozen liquor stores and bars. Maybe it was the area I was in, but my perception from driving through Newark was that there would be more than that. I will say that based on my personal experience the liquor stores were doing a lot of business for a Sunday afternoon. There was also one disturbing moment when I saw a kid (8-10 years old) walking down the street by himself away from a liquor store (I did *not* see him leave the store itself) carrying two opaque plastic bags that I'm certain contained booze.
Every school had a bar or liquor store within a 3 minute walk. Bar/club across from Barringer. Liquor store across from Tech. Liquor store around the corner from the elementary schools.
The other thing that *seriously* jumped out at me were the sheer volume of empty beer and liquor bottles scattered all over the place. Throughout my entire mapped area, I couldn't go 10 feet without seeing an empty alcoholic container of some kind. Actually, it was worse in the residential areas than on the commercial roads, some of the major roads (Bloomfield Ave., Broadway) were fairly clean. And these were fairly nice neighborhoods in my estimation. In hindsight I probably picked one of the more affluent areas of Newark to survey, or so it seems to me. The houses were nice and well-maintained. Vehicles were well cared for (several people were out front washing their cars in 40 degree weather) and quite a bit nicer than what I drive. Most of the neighborhoods I walked through were nicer than where I live, in my opinion. But there was a huge ammount of litter, and a big percentage of the litter were beer and liquor bottles. (Mostly Corona and Heineken, if anyone was wondering).
So right now I'm willing to speculate that alcohol use is highly prevalent in Newark, even if there weren't as many sources in my area as I expected. From a student perspective, most of these kids likely pass liquor stores or bars going to/from school, and are walking on sidewalks covered in empty beer and liquor bottles (plus the occasional dead cat, which made me sad). Based on my experience and the people I've talked with in Alcoholics Anonymous, that is definitely the kind of environment conducive to kids drinking or at least being willing totry drinking.
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