User:Cscully

=Freshman Seminar=

Always Wanted To Schedule

 * Topic

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 * Research Component

I will explain the difference between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.

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 * Start testing my blood sugar more regularly, preferably 4 times a day and most importantly in the morning and at night. I will also start to record my numbers more frequently and keep a self monitoring diary. I will use all the advantages of keeping notes about my day, such as, if I had a low blood sugar, if I ate in the middle of the night, or if I forgot to give insulin etc. Also in this six week time span I will be playing around with the dosage of my long acting insulin, for example should I take 17 units in the morning, or split it up to 10 units in the morning and at night. This will have a substantial effect on my A1C levels because I am still in the process of seeing which dosages work best for me. I was recently diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in December of 2007 since then I haven't done my best to keep track of my blood sugars and take my insulin at the correct times. Therefore making these adjustments to my life on the daily, instead of when "i feel like it" will be a rewarding experience that I am very ready to adjust to. Another challenge I might encounter during this project is feeling low when my blood sugar is actually normal. 

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 * During this week I will still be taking 17 units of my long acting insulin in the mornings. My doctor told me to do this for about two to three weeks and if my blood sugars are still high in the morning, that means the insulin isn't staying in my body for 24 hours. Therefore I should split it up to 10 units in the morning, and ten at night. My biggest challenge with this is at night I tend to forget about the long acting. After this week if my numbers are still high in the morning I will make this adjustment. I should still be trying to test as much as possible. This will be a bit of a challenge for me because i tend to forget, especially before bed

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 * This week I will decide whether to change my long acting dosage. I will also make it a must to test 4 times a day. I will start to research the differences between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, I find this very interesting because people tend to have a one sided view on diabetes, that it only happens to overweight or old people. I want to teach more about juvenile diabetes which I feel tends to get pushed aside when people hear the word diabetes

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 * This week I will continue researching. Along with explaining the differences between Type 1 and Type 2, I also want to research on how far care for diabetes has come in the past 40 years and maybe look into what is in store for the future, such as a cure, or an easier way to manage it, and learn about the risks if it goes untreated for too long

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 * This will be a week before my doctors appointment so I want to make sure I am doing my best to record because with out recordings the doctors can't really determine much. By now I will have found which dosage of long acting insulin works best for me. Also once I learn more details about how the final project is going to be presented i will finish up researching and start to plan my final presentation. 

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 * By now I will have had about 6 weeks since my last doctors appointment to make a significant change in my blood sugar levels and hopefully have brought my A1C level down. Although I'm shooting for 7 anything below ten will be good too. On Tuesday the 17th I will go to Renton for my follow up appointment, get my blood work done and within the next 7 days I should have my results.

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 * I should have received my blood work and will find out if i reached my goal! If I did, then my new routine I have adapted from this project shouldn't stop there. I will continue to do these things more seriously throughout my life and eventually have an A1C of 6. This week I will finish up my project and all of the formalities so I can be prepared to give my practice presentation week 8.

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 * I will give my practice presentation to my group in class. Once I receive feedback from them I will make the final adjustments to my project so I am ready for the presentation.

Midterm Assignment 1: Taste & Aesthetics
Sculptures have always been hard for me to fall in love with. One sculpture I found that I wasn’t fond of at the Olympic Park was a piece called Rivera by artist Anthony Caro. I had a problem with its abstract parts and no real end use. I wouldn’t say that I was able to manipulate myself into suddenly liking the piece but after some research I was able to gain a more open perspective to this style of work. After learning about the artists past, how the sculptures are made, and reviewing some of his other pieces I was able to appreciate things about this sculpture that other people might find appealing. So in a way I suppose that I was able to manipulate myself into changing my mind. I feel that if people are ignorant to a subject they can be quick to judge. But with more knowledge, stories, and or images about the subject it can be very easy for a person to change their mind without even realizing why they took the stance they did in the first place. I feel that something like this took place with me when I was reviewing the sculpture. At first glance I had already made up my mind it was ugly and I felt no emotion. But after gaining some facts and history I was now starting to have feeling associated with the sculpture which then changed the way I viewed it. I wasn’t just looking at it with my eyes now; I was looking at it with feelings, opinions, and knowledge. I am not depressed that my mind was able to change the way it did. I believe I can control my own brain but when new ideas are presented to me it allows me to question my old views.

Midterm Assignment 2: Manipulation
1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tykkLaFpKok

This is an example of Dubious Authority because they are using the dermatologist in the ad to make claims about the product.

2. My second example stems from a conversation I had with my aunt, she made the statement "Barack Obama is Muslim". This is an example of Alness because it is a statement made without evidence to back it up.

Final Presentation

 * Topic (10%)

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 * Research (20%)

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 * 1) Internet site: American Diabetes Association. "Type 2." Diabtetes.org. Web. 13 Dec. 2009.

MedicineNet. "Hemoglobin A1C definition - Medical Dictionary definitions of popular medical terms easily defined on MedTerms." Web. 14 Dec. 2009.

Nutrition Click®. "Type 1 Diabetes Type 2 Diabetes." Diabetes Planner - Diabetes Menus Grocery Lists Diabetes Recipes & Nutrition Facts. Web. 14 Dec. 2009.


 * 2) Book: N/A


 * 3) Scholarly Journal: N/A


 * 4) Other (interview, TV show,etc): Http://www.encognitive.com. "Diabetes, Type 1, Type 2, Glucose, Insulin." Video blog post. Youtube.com. Web. 13 Dec. 2009.


 * Your accomplishment (20%)

I believe I am definitely on the right track to reaching my final goal. I know that if I continue to practice what I acclimatized throughout my project I will have no problem successfully lowering my A1C in the future. Besides from the major goal of the project, I feel I have also reached tinier ones that I set up in order to create the final goal. I have productively accomplished the smaller ones. Therefore I may have not reached my goal in 8 weeks, but I am on the appropriate path towards achievement.


 * Project Review (50%)
 * 1) There were a few things that went really well for me. One of those was getting back on a daily insulin routine. Knowing about this project and having a goal really helped me take action. I remembered doing daily tasks that I had set aside in the past. Since the beginning of the project I have successfully incorporated things such as carb counting and taking my insulin at appropriate times. All these things are key steps that I needed to perform in order to get to my end result. I also discussed in my plan something about changing my insulin regimen half way through. I did in fact change it and it went over smoothly and works about better as opposed to the dosage I was taking when I began the project. So basically adjusting to an insulin regimen, carb counting, and testing all went well for me. In the end the doctor wasn’t able to test my A1C at that particular appointment. She wanted me to wait two more months, but from the numbers I did have recorded the drop in high blood sugars is obvious and I am headed down the right path.


 * 2) Even though I now have my blood sugars under control there were a couple things that went poorly or didn't go quite as intended. One being that I still don’t test up to four times a day. I tested barely enough to provide information on how my body was reacting to the insulin, but still not as much as I should. The more I test the better I will know my body. Even though they can draw my blood to see where my blood sugar levels are at, basically an A1C, it is helpful to have numbers written down though. This was the major thing I struggled with throughout the whole project. I also planned to have my A1C tested at my doctor’s appointment, but unfortunately that didn't go as planned. This kind of upset me because the timeline of the date when the project was given and the date of my doctors appointment matched up so well. It was one of the main reasons I had chosen this as my topic in the first place. But I have to wait two more months. So I can’t say that I reached my goal exactly, but I am taking the appropriate steps.


 * 3) This whole project was beneficial in many ways. Knowing that in the end I would have to share this with the class really helped with my motivation. I also feel a lot healthier. Since these tasks are now second nature to me I have no problem with forgetting things. Since I will have diabetes for the rest of my life everything I have learned and practiced in this project will continue to be utilized every day. It was really nice getting back on track and organized. My newly adapted, but long overdue, routine will not stop here. I will continue to practice and set goals such as lowering my A1C, throughout my life, to ensure a future of health and happiness.

Self-Assessment
General Education was actually one of my classes that I really enjoyed. It was a really good class to have during my first quarter at the Art Institute because it gave a preview of what to expect but comfortably allowed us to ease in. I really enjoyed all of the information that you provided about the library, free websites to help with school, and other various information about the city. All of this has helped me with other subjects as well. I don’t feel that I could easily find this information anywhere else and I appreciate you taking the time to show all of your students step by step. I feel the class accurately summarized what to look for when researching and how to distinguish a good source from a bad source. The final project I really liked and I also benefited personally from it. I feel this class has prepared me for future classes. As a student I feel that I could have participated more and this is something I will continue to work on. I believe if I had participated more then I might have contributed to the experiences of another student in the class, but as of now I do not feel that I have. Looking ahead I know that I have a lot left to learn, but I definitely feel more readily prepared.