Discussion reply

Discussion 1: REPLY

Description:  

     The source I found was entitled "Community Options for Safe Needle Disposal" and published by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). I found this source through a Google search of "needle disposal programs." While researching sources, it was important that I found support for my thesis statement. I selected this source because it was from a government agency and, therefore, a reliable source. Using a source from a government agency allows me to trust the statistics and facts presented. Also, because a government agency published this article, it will be easily available for my audience to access and check my source. This source supports my claim and provides me with credibility. As Clements states in his podcast, (2015, p.2) "Using material from sources that leave questions in your readers’ minds will not bode well for your credibility and could, in fact, jeopardize the strength and merit of what you have to say." 

Paraphrase: 

     It takes months from the time of a needle-stick injury for an individual to learn whether or not he/she has contracted a disease. Diseases such as HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis B or C take months to appear in testing, leaving the individual to incur the costs of testing and long periods of worry and uncertainty. Improper needle disposal is a public health risk that can be improved by implementing safe needle disposal programs. (Environmental Protection Agency, 2004, p.1).  

Original: 

"People exposed to sharps face not only the risk of a painful stick, but also the risk of contracting a life-altering disease such as HIV/AIDS or Hepatitis B or C. All needle-stick injuries are treated as if the needle were infected with a disease. Victims of sharps-related injuries face the cost of post-injury testing, disease prevention measures, and counseling, even if no infection or disease was spread. Some diseases can take a long time to appear on test results, leading to months of testing and apprehension. Needle-stick injuries are a preventable health risk, and states and municipalities can take specific actions to protect their residents from this risk." (Environmental Protection Agency, 2004, p.1). 

Discussion 2: REPLY

My thesis is:  By treating violence the same as infectious disease epidemics, violence rates in our community can be reduced.

The secondary source that I found is titled: “Public Health, Youth Violence, and Perpetrator Well-Being.” I found this source by using the search term violence and public health. It is written by Anna J. Gavine, Damien J. Williams, and Peter D. Donnelly from the University of St. Andrews. It was published in 2015. It is repetitive because I have seen several articles and videos suggesting the same solution to violence. It follows the 3 R’s of credibility, so I think that it is reliable as a secondary source. I chose this source because it is reliable and it supports my argument for change in my community. The passage that I chose for this assignment is as follows:

. The public health approach has been successful in reducing the incidence of a range of non-communicable diseases (e.g., road traffic fatalities; Hemenway, 2009), type II diabetes mellitus (Orozco et al., 2008), and acute coronary syndrome (Callinan, Clarke, Doherty, & Kelleher, 2010), (Gavine. A, Williams. D, Donnelly. P, 2015 P 323).

What the authors are saying is that violence can and should be treated a public health issue rather than just a criminal justice issue (Gavine. A, Williams. D, Donnelly. P, 2015 P 323). This supports my argument because I believe that we can determine early on if someone will be a victim or will commit violence, and that if we catch it early enough, we can prevent it from happening.