Zach's Blog

I-Search Paper: What I Learned

zmorgan — Wed, 12 May 2010 21:37:00 +0000

Zach Morgan

Mrs. Lester

Hon W Lit/comp

13 May 2010

I-Search: What I Learned

My first research question was, “What are the causes of suicides among veterans?” The answers that I found were that veterans often turn to substance abuse, feel depressed, and feel rejected by society after returning from war; therefore, they turn to suicide. These soldiers turn to substance abuse because they feel that drugs and alcohol are a good way to relieve them of pain; however, this is only true on a short-term basis. In the long run, this substance abuse only causes them to act out in violent ways and either hurt themselves or their friends and family. Also, if the veteran overcomes the urges of suicide these substances will shorten their life. The soldiers often feel depressed because of the memories of enemies that they have killed and because of the sights of their fallen comrades. They could also feel depressed due to guilt that they may feel. This guilt could arise if they survived and their comrades died; therefore, leading them to think that they should die too. Another reason that veterans may become depressed is if they feel like they bear a burden because of their memories of war. This could be a mental strain that they put on themselves or a physical limitation that could make them feel like they are less able to perform daily activities. The final reason that I found that soldiers commit suicide is if the soldier feels rejected by society. The main reason that this problem can leads to suicide is because the soldiers have been affected by many other things, such as a mental or physical limitation and that combined with substance abuse or depression can cause the soldier to detach themselves from society and isolate themselves. Another thing that causes soldier to feel rejected by society is if the world changes while they are gone. For example, changes in technology and daily human activities could be too much for a soldier to have to return home and cope with. The source that helped me answer this question was my interview with Dr. Paul Fisher. Dr. Fisher helped me the most by both answering my question directly using his own person knowledge and opinions, but he also sent me links to information sources to help me gain a greater understanding of the causes of suicides. The information that Dr. Fisher provided helped me arrive at the answers to my research question. I believe that these are the main causes of suicide among veterans; however, I believe that this issue cannot be answered as simply as this, and that there are endless possibilities. I also believe that this issue determines on the individual soldier and that these answers cannot be used to describe all of the veterans. This is true because while one soldier may become depressed, another may start substance abuse and cut himself off from society; therefore, all cases are different. To sum it all up, I believe that this is my most important research question and that it has helped give me inspiration for my entire research project.

My second research question was, “Do aspects of a soldier’s life such as age, gender, and background affect whether or not they commit suicide?” One answer that I found was that age and gender have a lot to do with whether or not a veteran will omit suicide or sufferer from other post service issues. In my research I found that men are more susceptible to considering suicide as an option once returning from war. This factor has been proven to be caused because men in war feel more attached to their comrades than women due, and are therefore more likely to suffer from a mental problem due to grief or separation from their comrades. Another reason for this statistic is that men are much more likely to develop substance addictions once they return home; therefore, they are put at an even greater risk of suicide. The source that helped me answer this question was a news video called “Vets’ Suicide Epidemic”, and was from a CBS Evening News report. This video addressed which veterans were most likely to try and commit suicide and why. This video was very informational and contained interviews with families and experts on veterans’ suicides. All of the information in this video helped me answer my research question. I believe that this is a very important part of my research project because when I answered this question I helped to understand which veterans were most likely to commit suicide and why these types of veterans were committing suicide over the others. All in all, this research question was the easiest to answer, but it also surprised me because I thought that women would have been more likely to commit suicide.

My third research question was, “Why has the suicide rate increased in recent wars rather than in previous wars?” One answer that I found was because of the advances in technology on and off of the battlefield. On the battlefield, many things can cause soldiers to become confused and hamper their mental abilities. For example, a majority of the enemies that they are fighting are untrained civilians who have been threatened by terrorist groups. This type of enemy causes soldiers to forget that the enemies are human; therefore, they are more likely to be hurt mentally because of the guilt they may feel from killing the innocent civilians. I believe that this causes a problem because the soldiers relate the civilians to the normal life that they have left behind. Another advancement in technology is causing a problem for veterans; this problem is that the weapons are a lot more powerful and brutal. Therefore, soldiers are in a lot more danger and have to be on edge because the enemy can always harm them. These new weapons can also cause trauma that can lead to mental disabilities that have a direct correlation with suicide and its effects. Off of the battlefield, things such as society and technology changing everyday life can create a problem for soldiers when they return home. Things such as economic crisis’s and advancements in everyday communication such as cell phones and the internet could cause soldiers to feel lost when they come back to a strange new world that is nothing like the one that they left before the war. The sources that helped me answer this question were my expert, Dr. Fisher, and a SIRS database article called “Iraq, Afghan Vets at Risk for Suicides.” The database article helped me because it talked about the way the world of war has changed which affects veterans. It described the atmosphere of war as a heavy burden on soldiers, and how it affects them for the rest of their life. My expert answered this research question directly and helped me understand how the changing world can be a troublesome thing for veterans to have to return home to. All of the information provided by my expert and the information obtained from the database article helped me answer my research question. I believe that this was an important part of my research project because it helped me gain a basis for why the suicide rates are going up now instead of another time. I was over all expecting the factor of modern warfare to play a key role in veteran’s suicides, and I was not surprised at this information. All things considered, this research question was my favorite one to learn about and was very interesting to research about.

I believe that this project has been very beneficial to me because I have learned a lot about my topic and about researching skills. I am proud of all of the new information that I have gained about this topic, and I am also proud of my ability to use my research skills to find this information. I am mainly proud of my ability to tell the credibility of a source. This is true because I used to just use the first source that came up in a Google search, but now I know how to find the perfect source to answer my questions. This has also helped me to be assured that my information is true, because I do not want to sound stupid when I am describing my issue to other people. Another thing that I am proud of that have learned from this project is how to use web tools to organize my information and research sources. One of the new tool that I was able to use this semester was Evernote. Evernote helped me keep all of my sources organized in one convenient location, and the program was very easy to use. One other organizational tool that I was introduced to was Netvibes. Netvibes is a learning portal that contains information that can be easily accessed by both myself and others who are looking to find out the information that I have compiled from this project. I enjoyed using Evernote because it has features that are similar to I-Google, but is more centered on user creation instead of set applications. I am also proud of my creativity during this project in the creation of all of my Multigenre elements. I believe that I did a good job with coming up with good ideas for my Multigenre elements as well as my ability to create a piece that would effectively help my research project. I am also proud of my artistic ability and my ability as a writer in creating my Multigenre elements. In conclusion, I believe that I did an excellent job with this research project in all areas, and I am proud of my work.

I believe that if I could have gone back and changed things that I did about this project it would be to spend my class time more wisely so that I did not have to complete everything last minute and at home. The most important thing that I wish I hadn’t put off would be my interview. This is true because I waited until I only had a couple of days left before I started sending out requests for a interview. This delay combined with slow responses made the interview a stressful process. I would have also liked to have added a lot more elements to my Netvibes page because I only did the bare minimum, and I would have liked to played around with the features some more. I would have also liked to have done some more in-depth research on the mental aspects of suicide, because I only found out a little on the effects of war on the brain as it relates to suicide. This issue is very important because the veterans that suffer from suicide have risked their lives to fight for our country, and we need to find a way to help them in any way possible.

In general, I believe that I did a good job with this project and have really learned a lot from it. However, I would give myself a `B’ on this project because of my lack of attention to the final elements of the online portion of the project. To be honest, I believe that I could have done much better finishing up my Google site as well as my Netvibes page. I believe that, in comparison to me work from last semester; I have done much worse in getting everything done and putting forth my best effort. However, I have gained a lot of knowledge about my topic, and I will never forget he research and organizational skills that I have learned from this research project. I have also learned more about my web tools such as Google, Netvibes, and Evernote. I believe that my new found knowledge will help me in my future school career as well as in the rest of my life.

I believe that my online elements were the weaker portion of my research project for this semester, and I am a little disappointed in them. I failed to thoroughly complete my Google site, and I did not spend as much time as probably should have on it. However, I believe that over all my Netvibes and Google site show how much I have learned about this topic, and they also reflect some of my creative aspects. I also believe that these elements allow others to see the work that I have accomplished and the information that I have compiled and put into a very accessible place. I believe that this information could help someone else if they were locking for knowledge on veterans’ suicides. Therefore, my digital elements show my effort and what I have accomplished as a student this semester.

Research Reflection 5 (4-30)

zmorgan — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 02:48:49 +0000

When it was time to start searching for an expert to interview I had no idea where to start. I started scanning through my sources in search of an important name or website. After looking for an entire class period, I found the link to the veterans’ section of the National Suicide Prevention’s website. On this site, you could search by zip code to find suicide prevention coordinators near your location. I found many names with email addresses, and started sending out an email to each expert in hopes of getting positive feedback. I was later contacted by Dr. Paul Fisher, and he was willing to help me with my research project. These were the steps that I took to find my expert.

The process of writing emails to my expert was a totally new experience for me. I have never had to write a formal email to someone before, so I learned what to say and what not to say when requesting an interview. However, it was not very hard once I got the hang of it, and in no time at all I had written an email that could be easily adapted in order to be sent to all of my possible experts. In my email, I introduced myself using my first and last name, where Creekview was, and I informed him of my research project and my topic. I also stated my request to have an email interview with him, and I attached the interview questions.

I learned from my expert that even when someone is a very credible and knowledgeable source they may not be willing to comply with your requests. I contacted five experts on my topic, and only one was even willing to hear about what I had to say. However, he did not agree to answer all of my questions, but instead he sent me many more emails with links to sources that he believed would help answer my questions. Even though I had already been using some of the resources he sent me, I was very grateful for his willingness to respond. He gave me some resources that helped me see the rise in suicides, the mental effects of war on veterans, and what actions are being taken by the military in order to prevent suicide.

I learned many things throughout the whole process of finding and interacting with my expert. The first thing that I learned was that in order to find an expert, you must be very determined and not give up or lose hope if you do not succeed at first. I learned that patience is necessary when you are trying to contact someone because they may not always respond immediately. I also learned that some experts do not write formal emails, and instead use slang words and add very personal and informal aspects to their responses. This experience with my expert has lead me to see that some people either do not have the time, or do not care enough to respond to a high school student who is requesting a simple interview. However, I believe that I was fortunate to find an expert that would take the time to send me some additional resources. I hope that in the future I will not have this problem when contacting an expert.

I have a lot of advice for any fellow and future students who may use this same research process. First, start looking for an expert immediately because it may take some time. Also, try and contact your expert as soon as you find them since some of them may take a while to get back to you. Some other advice that I would give would be to expect anything, because some people will be willing to help, some will decline your requests, and others might not be very considerate when they respond. However, the most important piece of advice that I can give would be to stay on task and get your interview done efficiently but thoroughly.

Multigenre Musings

zmorgan — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 03:51:30 +0000

For my research project I had a variety of different Multigenre elements to choose from. I have chosen to create the message in a bottle, a Glogster, a found poem, and a piece of original artwork. For my message in a bottle I plan to write a suicide letter form a soldier who has just got home from duty in Iraq. I believe that this will help me reflect on what I have learned because it will give me a chance to step into the shoes of a soldier who is about to commit suicide. I hope to create my Glogster in order to create an effective visual information source to help people get a taste of what my topic is about. I believe that a Glogster would help me better organize my ideas so that I can see what I have really learned from this research project. I chose o do a found poem because I think that I will be able to create a very informational piece of art that will show my creativity and researching skills. Finally, my original work of art will be both artistic and a helpful asset to my research project. I believe that it will give me a chance to show a very personalized element since it will be my own drawings. This will help me to express what I have learned in this project.

Research Reflection 4 (4-23)

zmorgan — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 03:20:09 +0000

Since the start of my research project I have found many useful and helpful resources. The top two resources that I have found so far is a video from CBS Evening news titled Vet’s Suicide Epidemic and the other was a chart from the SIRS database that showed the number of suicides over recent years. The CBS video has been very helpful to me because it gave reports and interviews of family members of soldiers that had committed suicide. This was helpful because it gave me a firsthand account of what kinds of issues soldiers go through when they have decided that they might commit suicide. Also, since this video was from an actual news report from the CBS news station, I knew that it was credible and contained valuable information. The chart showing suicide rates was helpful because it gave me a visual awareness of how drastically this threat is rising. I found this resource useful because I can now use it on my Netvibes page to show my viewers how bad this issue has become. I knew that this source was credible because it was from the SIRS database; also, its original source was from the McClatchy Washington Bureau in Washington D.C.

The research skill that I have learned from this research project is how to look for all different kinds of information sources as well as finding helpful ones. It has been a very interesting research process, and I have changed my research methods I the process. I believe that my new knowledge on looking at sources such as videos, database articles, pictures, and web searches has helped me through this research project. I believe that without this skill, I would not have found as much of a variety of sources as I did. Therefore, I would not have gained as much knowledge and information as I did by refining this skill and using it to my advantage.

Netvibes Check 1 Narrative: Telling the Story of Your Research Experience

zmorgan — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 00:56:01 +0000

Zach Morgan

Mrs. Lester

Hon World Lit/ Comp

18 April 2010

So far, I have added many widgets and tools to my Netvibes page. The widgets that I have already added are as follows: our libguides pathfinder, Gale tools, Evernote, my blog, the comments from my blog, our class agenda and announcements, a chart showing the increase in suicide rates in recent years, my CC license, and two videos on the suicide epidemic. I use these tools everyday to help me when I am researching about veterans’ suicide. My Netvibes page acts as a shortcut and an organizational tool. It keeps all of my important sites and resources in an organized format, and it also keeps it all in one convenient place. These widgets help both myself and others access all of the notes and web pages that I have clipped in Evernote, and help them to utilize the sources that Mrs. Hamilton has already put into our research pathfinder. I also have a couple of news videos to help give viewers a visual look at my issue and how it affects soldiers. I believe that Netvibes is an excellent way to help me stay organized, and it also helps me by saving time since I do not have to search for the resources that I have already found. I have enjoyed creating my Netvibes page and I love using it every day in class.

Netvibes is an excellent organizational tool and shortcut to all of my information and research; however, it is also a big help to other people as well. Since my Netvibes page is public, anyone who visits the site may look at and utilize the research and information that I have already collected. It could help other people because of all of the information that it will contain when I am done compiling my research; therefore, it would let others benefit from the work that I have already done, which will save them time when they are researching about this topic too. My Netvibes page says a lot about me as a learner because it shows that I can be creative. I am not really creative when it comes to web pages and computer designs, but I have managed to create a very well organized and useful Netvibes page. I think that this project has helped to change the way that I learn. It has taught me to be open to using my creativity and imagination and be open to new ideas when I am trying to do research on a topic. I like how Netvibes keeps all of my information organized, and I believe that might even use it later in my high school or college careers.

Research Reflection 3 (4-16)

zmorgan — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 18:39:16 +0000

This past week I have been brainstorming and creating research questions for my topic on the veterans’ suicide epidemic. I came up with most of my research questions as soon as I knew that my topic was going to be about suicides. I thought of questions such as why and for what reasons veterans are committing suicide after returning from battle. I thought of these immediately because I was appalled at the fact that after someone survived war that they would kill themselves. Therefore, the main reason for doing research on these questions was because I was surprised. Even after formulating these research questions I still have many more questions to ask my expert. I am glad that I have been introduced to all of these new research organization tools because this helped me take my research and put it in a place that I could go back and access all of the information when I needed to do some in depth information gathering after deciding on my three main research questions. I think that some of the causes could be stress, memories of events that impacted them mentally, and having nothing to go back to after the war; however, I think that there could be many more causes of suicide. The other research question that I decided on has to deal with whether or not the aspects of a soldier’s life such as age, gender, and background affect whether or not they commit suicide. I am very anxious to answer these questions and learn more about my topic.

Reading Response Journal for April 15

zmorgan — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 02:44:34 +0000

Zach

Chapter 4

14 April 2010

What Was Asked of Us

By: Trish Wood

This chapter of the book has stood out to me over all of the rest, and in my opinion it contains the most meaningful and moving accounts of war that I have ever read about. I feel that some of the events and realizations in this chapter were long overdue. The beginning and middle of the book was like a broken record in the sense that all of the stories were about violence and how much the war affected the soldiers in a negative way. However, this chapter contains accounts of soldiers that have realized the true harm of war and what the purpose of the US presence in Iraq was about. I believe that, without this chapter, the book would not have been as good, nor would it have had as much of an impact on me.

For example, one soldier tells of how the Iraqis had their first free election. This election was significant because it was a powerful symbol to the Iraqis since it represented the first time that the people of their country had the right to control their own destiny. Other soldiers addressed what kinds of things happen to soldiers after they leave the fighting. They tell about how PTSD has torn apart the lives of their fiends and themselves, and how violence and thoughts of suicide linger around every corner. I believe that this was the most important part of the book because it is the most meaningful and informational since it provides readers with a firsthand account of the horrible things that can happen to veterans.

Research Reflection 2 (4-2)

zmorgan — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 01:22:52 +0000

This week I found myself loving Evernote more and more. Therefore, I feel that it is necessary to continue to put out good vibes about this wonderful bookmarking tool. I have found Evernote to be one of the most helpful tools that we have been introduced to this year because of how well it organizes and displays all of my notes. This has made it very easy to go back and read some of the information that I have found without having to search for it at all. I have also found Evernote very helpful in creating notes that contain ideas that have come to me about my research project that I may need later. For example, I create done note yesterday so that I could remind myself to include a section of very powerful text that I found while searching one of the Gale databases.

One other thing that I look forward to for the rest of this research project is my Netvibes page. This week I completed the triage for Netvibes and I am now so interested in my Netvibes page that I can hardly contain my excitement when I walk into class and get to work on it. I am interested to see what kinds of gadgets I can incorporate into my site as well as helpful pieces of information that will strengthen my research portfolio. Along with my Netvibes page, I am also excited to see how my Google site is going to take shape over the next couple of weeks.

Reading Response Journal for April 1

zmorgan — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 01:19:38 +0000

Zach

Chapter 3

31 March 2010

What Was Asked of Us

By: Trish Wood

One quote that stood out to me was “It was one of the things that I told everybody not to do: not to use the marines’ names-that when they came in the door, everybody had a rank and everyone that came through the door got a number. And so either you’re done with the lance corporal or you’re not done with the lance corporal. You’re done with number sixty-two or you’re not done with number sixty-two. But it was such a shock that the marines just couldn’t help it: they were using his name.” (Wood 114). This quote shocked me because this soldier is not even referring to the soldiers by their name because it could weaken him mentally. This was so shocking because this soldier was sacrificing the one sense of formality that he had with his fellow marines, and he was only doing this in order to keep himself strong. This quote also seemed to be similar to others in both What Was Asked of Us and AQOTWF since it has to do with how humanization of other soldiers can affect another soldier mentally. I also believe that this quote shows how the soldier is afraid of dealing with the reality and deaths of war. Therefore, this soldier takes drastic measures when dealing with this fear.

One of the things that surprised me about this chapter was how much more violent and disturbing it was than the other two. In this chapter they discussed some f the most violent and excessive means of torture and death that I have ever heard. This chapter also discussed how, after the Iraqis had tortured the American soldiers, they would burn the Americans and throw them into the streets so that everyone could see that they had killed them. I believe that these means were extremely violent and very disgraceful and demeaning for the American soldiers. However, it was clear that these account never said anything bad of what the American soldiers did when they captured enemy Iraqis.

One other recurring theme that I observed that caught my attention was the test of peoples’ faith in the belief in their religion and in themselves. In this chapter, just like in the other ones, some of the soldiers refer to the belief in God as nothing but a hopeful falsehood and that your fate is left up to luck. I believe that it is horrible for these soldiers to lose belief in their religion, even though they are being battered by a lot of mental and physical pain. However, I feel that when times are tough people need their faith more than any other time because it makes them remember who they truly are and what tier purpose is. I hope that the causes of this theme and others in the book can be answered by our discussions, research, and project in general.

I-Search Paper: What I Knew About My Topic

zmorgan — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 19:24:36 +0000

I-Search Paper: What I Knew About My Topic

Zach M

Veterans’’ Suicide

March 26, 2010

7^th period

For my research topic I have chosen veterans’’ suicide. I was first interested din this topic when Mrs. Lester mentioned it to my lit circle group. Then, I went and searched on our many pathfinder and database tools and found some interesting articles about this topic that further convinced me that this was the topic that I wanted to use in my research. After a long search I found around 13 websites, videos, and database articles that I may use for my final project. Later I found this I did some in-depth studying of this topic noticed how it further caught my eye because of the many causes of these events and how much these events can lead to the suicide of a soldier.

Before this research project I knew very little about the issues of veterans in today’s world. The only information at all that I had about this topic was the information that I attained from watching the news, and what I saw on other TV channels. I was aware of the kinds of stress that soldiers were under while in and after returning from combat; however, I was not aware that this stress could cause soldiers to commit suicide. I would like to learn some more facts about this topic, and would also like to learn about the major causes and effects of these suicides. I am looking forward to researching and gaining more knowledge about this topic and look forward to the entire research project.