Article - New Volvo Brings New Safety Features

I read an article the other day in the newspaper about the new Volvo XC60.

The new Volvo has many new safety features that help prevent crashes and may be leading the way to cars actually communicating with each other to prevent crashes. The car has airbags, rollover and side-impact protection, and an automated braking system. These safety features could make roads a lot safer. A study says that the best safety feature is electronic stability control that can help prevent a car from skidding. In Europe, if all vehicles had this feature, the number of people killed by car accidents would be decreased by 17%. The automated braking systems in some of Germany's cars give a warning when a crash seems imminent and if the driver does not touch the brake, it automatically applies the brake to avoid the crash. In the article, it says that all of these safety features will eventually lead to them being in all cars and cars will be "aware" of their surroundings.

Research Notes

Source #1: Article -- http://find.galegroup.com/ips/retrieve.do?contentSet=IAC-Documents&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&qrySerId=Locale%28en%2C%2C%29%3AFQE%3D%28ke%2CNone%2C10%29euthanasia%24&sgHitCountType=None&inPS=true&sort=DateDescend&searchType=BasicSearchForm&tabID=T003&prodId=IPS&searchId=R3&currentPosition=5&userGroupName=mnkedinahs&docId=A187579002&docType=IAC&contentSet=IAC-Documents

Source#2: Article -- http://find.galegroup.com/ips/retrieve.do?contentSet=IAC-Documents&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&qrySerId=Locale%28en%2C%2C%29%3AFQE%3D%28ke%2CNone%2C10%29euthanasia%3AAnd%3ALQE%3D%28AC%2CNone%2C8%29fulltext%24&sgHitCountType=None&inPS=true&sort=DateDescend&searchType=BasicSearchForm&tabID=T002&prodId=IPS&searchId=R4&currentPosition=13&userGroupName=mnkedinahs&docId=A179031642&docType=IAC&contentSet=IAC-Documents

Source #3: Interview -- http://www.pbs.org/newshour/forum/october99/assisted_suicide4.html

Source #4: Interview -- http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/law/june97/suicide_6-26.html

Pros and Cons Websites: -- http://www.euthanasia.com/proscons.html
http://euthanasia.procon.org/viewresource.asp?resourceID=126

Research Sources

Research Question:
Is euthanasia ever an appropriate treatment option?

Pavlat, Eric. "Pulling the Plug." Crisis Magazine Apr 2006: 12-18. SIRS Researcher. SIRS Knowledge Source. Edina High School. 6 Dec 2008 http://www.sirs.com

Eric Pavlat is a convert from pro-choice agnosticism and is a board member for Democrats for Life of Maryland, Inc. In this article, Pavlat discusses the misconceptions of euthanasia and what you should know about the issue. He says that patients often do not have access to pain relief, so hospitals should support patients' rights. Pavlat also explains that many pain problems can be relieved or reduced. He also says that assisted suicide is not comfort care, because in the end the patient is not comfortable, they are dead. Pavlat realizes euthanasia is a very emotional and controversial topic that people have differing views on and says that people should know the whole issue before they do anything about the subject. If a patient requests to die, Pavlat explains that they may be having the same thoughts as someone who isn't terminally ill but is depressed, so regardless of one's physical condition, they still may have thoughts of suicide. Finally, he says that if we have better pain management for patients, euthanasia would not be necessary and no one would need the option.

Stolinsky, David. "Assisted Suicide of the Medical Profession." 20 Mar 2006 6 Dec 2008 .

David Stolinsky is a doctor who writes on political and social issues. He says that killing people is not what doctors are meant to do, they are meant to save lives. Stolinsky explains that an article published in 1920 said that killing was a "healing treatment" for people who were supposedly "unworthy" of life. He also explains that some believe starving and dehydrating people is "peaceful," while sedating people is "barbaric." If killing and healing are put together, he says that a doctor's loyalty goes to the state instead of the patient.

Article - Charter School Shares Minneapolis Space

I read in article on the Star Tribune website a few days ago.

Dunwoody Academy is an independent vocational school that is going to be moving to North Community High School next fall. This will also be the first time a charter school and metro area school share the same building. I thought this was interesting because there are a lot of changes happening in the Minneapolis school district and merging parts of these schools will cut costs for both. Also, the enrollment at Dunwoody is growing while the enrollment at North High is shrinking. There are many changes that need to be done to make the transition for both the schools and district officials are continuing to talk about the plans. They began discussions of this earlier this year and have been hoping to transform North High into a science, technology, engineering, and math focused school.

I think that bringing these schools together will help cut costs and make it easier for both of these schools to function.