The study hopes to examine the correlation between sports participation and acedemic performance. Previously, a positive correlation has been seen between sports participation and acedemic performance; however, the correlation did not guarantee causation. The effects of sports on acedemic performance still remain ambigious because, in reality, sports is assumed to decrease the amount of time available for studying and learning. In several research studies that were examined, sports were argued to increase student motivation and self-discipline. The data came from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, which was conducted by the Carolina Populatiom Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The survey was administered to over 20,746 adolescents randomly selected from across the United States. The initial survey was conducted between April and December of 1995 and a follow-up survey was provided approximately an year later. The formula used to analyze the results was quite complex; however, it is evident that the researchers utilized t-tests in order analyze the statistical significance of the results. The results were also compared based on gender and race, in order to examine if sports participation had any influence on these arbitary categories. It examined that participation in an active sport one or two times per week is associated with 0.109 increase in math and english GPA. As the participation in sports per week increased, there was a continued increase in math and english GPA. The study showed that students who participate in sports have higher grades, greater college aspirations, and less difficulty completing homework or paying attention in class. However, the study also concluded that it can not be overstated there is a direct correlation between sports participation and acedemic performance because there is substantial causation behind unmeasured factors.

Citation: Rees, Daniel I., and Joseph J. Sabia. “Sports Participation and Academic Performance: Evidence from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health.”Economics of Education Review, vol. 29, no. 5, 2010, pp. 751–759., doi:10.1016/j.econedurev.2010.04.008.

120 female undergraduate students self-reported whether or not they had engaged in a single night of  total sleep deprivation (SN-TSD) (whether once or on several occasions) and researchers viewed the subsequent effects on their motivation and grade point averages. Measures included the Owl-Lark Scale of circadian preference; the Beck Depression Inventory; and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI); as well as self-reported usual bedtime, rise time, and total sleep time. Students’ cumulative grade point averages (GPAs) were also obtained; these were reported from the university registrar. Engagement in SN-TSD was associated with later self-reported bedtimes, evening preference, and poorer academic achievement as measured by GPA. A trend for increased symptoms of depression was detected; sleep quality as measured by the PSQI was not related to engagement in SN-TSD.

Data Set:

Thacher, P. V. (2008). University Students and the “All Nighter”: Correlates and Patterns of Students’ Engagement in a Single Night of Total Sleep Deprivation. Behavioral Sleep Medicine, 6(1), 16-31. doi:10.1080/15402000701796114

Throughout history, the debate of foreign policy has continuously evolved based on the environment and circumstances in which the country or countries has been undergoing. Foreign policy refers to how the state manages international relations, from the initial agenda to executing the policy. There are three major instruments that conduct foreign policy including diplomacy, foreign aid, and military force. In the years after the Cold War, the notion of foreign policy has been questioned. Individuals have contradicting opinions about the proper approach that the United States should consider on the global scale.

Diplomacy is a way of dealing with other nations through compromise and communication. It requires different governments and leaders to meet and discuss various issues. Modern diplomacy is one of the main elements of foreign policy. Individuals view diplomacy as a form of peacemaking without the externalities that war brings about. In the article “The Functions of Diplomacy” by Christopher Amacker, he argues the importance of diplomacy in order to retain harmony between nations. Amacker states that without the implementation of diplomacy in international policy, nations would be in constant state of war. He considers the main four functions of diplomacy as representation of a state, gather of information, better relations between states, and observation of international laws.

Citation:

Amacker, Christopher. “The Functions of Diplomacy.” E-International Relations, www.e-ir.info/2011/07/20/the-functions-of-diplomacy/. Accessed 12 Sept. 2017.

On the other hand, individuals argue that diplomacy is substantiated by military force. In some cases, nations use military force or the threat of military force as a way to drive a certain foreign policy. It requires the presence of a standing army and the built up of overall military power.  As a result, the United States has been able to aid in the security of citizens, both at home and abroad in areas such as terrorism, even trade, environmental issues, and etc. In a monogram by James Willard which is titled “Military Diplomacy: An Essential Tool of Foreign Policy at the Theater Strategic Level,” he explains the importance of the idea of military force and diplomacy allows for the United States implementation of international policies. Willard establishes that due to military force and the availability of resources, the United States is seamlessly able to execute and develop the diplomatic agenda.

Citation:

Willard, James. “Http://Ljournal.ru/Wp-Content/Uploads/2016/08/d-2016-154.Pdf.” Military Diplomacy: An Essential Tool of Foreign Policy at the Theater Strategic Level , 2016. Accessed 12 Sept. 2017.

To Study or to Sleep? The Academic Costs of Extra Studying at the Expense of Sleep

By:Cari Gillen-O’Neel, Virginia W. Huynh, Andrew J. Fuligni

Summary: The study was conducted by several individuals from California State University and examined students’ sleep schedule versus amount of time dedicated to studying versus the academic issues that followed either the following day or during an examination. The study involves students from three different high schools in the California area ranging across all three economic backgrounds. There were 535 participants that spanned 9th,10th, and 12th grade; it was unclear why students from the 11th grade were not recorded. The students were monitored for two weeks as they continued their education from grade to grade. They were given daily checklists that noted and documented the amount of sleep each student had, academic problems each incurred in class the following day, and the amount of time each studied for class. It was examined that students increasingly had more academic problems as they progressed through high school. As a result, the students gradually got less amount of sleep as they increased their studying time. However, the less amount of sleep did cause more academic problems for students the following day and in future examinations. The study was quite ambiguous about the type of academic problems that the students incurred and due to the population and specific location that the study was conducted in there was a lot of bias.

Citation: Gillen-O’Neel, C., Huynh, V. W. and Fuligni, A. J. (2013), To Study or to Sleep? The Academic Costs of Extra Studying at the Expense of Sleep. Child Development, 84: 133–142. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2012.01834.x

Jolanta Airey, Frank R. Albano, Daphne C. Sawlwin, Alison Graves Jones, Neil Formica, Vince Matassa, Jane Leong, “Immunogenicity and safety of a quadrivalent inactivated influenza virus vaccine compared with a comparator quadrivalent inactivated influenza vaccine in a pediatric population: A phase 3, randomized noninferiority study”. Vaccine. Volume 35, Issue 20, 2017, Pages 2745-2752, ISSN 0264-410X, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2017.03.028.

The purpose of this article was to address the safety of the inactivated influenza virus vaccine (Seqirus/CSL IIV3). Fevers in children were reported after having received the vaccination; because of this a new strain of the vaccination (IIV4) was tested to determine if the resulting fevers were a side effect of the new vaccination.

The researchers conducted the study in 32 centers across the United States. 2278 children were involved in the study with a ratio of 3:1 receiving the IIV4 or the comparator IIV4. The children were stratified by age into groups consisting of the age group 5-8 and 9-17. In the 5-8 age group severe fever was reported for 1.2% in the IIV4 and for comparator IIV4 it was reported for 0.7%. In the 9-17% severe fever was reported for 0.5% in the IIV4 group and no severe fever was reported for the comparator IIV4 group.

The results for this study showed that the effects of each were similar in both groups and well tolerated for both age groups. Most of the side effects that arose were mild and were resolved within a few days. This study proved that the IIV4 is more favorable and safe to use in younger children.

A Clinical Psychological Study

Patients that are suffering from depression are placed on a one month’s treatment with daily oral doses of LSD.

Psychedelics are a class of hallucinogens which historically have been used as certain treatments and religious rituals. Psychedelics, specifically LSD, can affect visual, cognitive, physical, and in some cases auditory functions. It was invented in 1938 by Albert Hoffman, a Swiss scientist known as the father of LSD. However, the subject and research on psychedelics has been shelved for several years. It was not until Hoffman accidentally ingested the substance that he realized its able to produce psychic effects in extremely low dosages. As it gained publicity, it raised the attention of government figures. In the years following, the government outlawed the use of the substance. There are a variety of opinions to the reasons behind the immediate ban on the substance including the fact that the substance was unpredictable because minimal research was conduct at the time. Prior to 1962, doctors were able to distribute investigational drugs, such as LSD, without the authorization of governmental associates. The Kefauver-Harris Drug amendment limited the distribution of such drugs to the general public. After the act, the government completely ban the selling of LSD and limited it to only one distributor, Sandoz Pharmaceuticals; the company that Hoffman had used to test out the substance. Additional legislation was passed to completely curb the use of LSD and other psychedelics in 1970, known as the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970. It divided all drugs into five different schedules and placed psychedelics as schedule 1, adjacent to heroin and ecstasy. Hence, all motivation to continue research in the subject ended. The medicinal use of substance still remains unknown due to the criminalization of the drug by the federal government.

Citation:

F. Gordon Johnson. (1969) LSD in the Treatment of Alcoholism. American Journal of Psychiatry 126:4, 481-487. Online publication date: 1-Apr-2006.