Inquiry Project Final Draft

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inquiryproject

My final result!

https://treegirlblog.wordpress.com/ultrasound-the-road-most-traveled-rough-draft/

Hope you all have a good rest of your summer. 🙂

Inquiry Project Rough Draft

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inquiryprojectroughdraft

I still need to cite my sources, although they are hyperlinked throughout the project.

https://treegirlblog.wordpress.com/ultrasound-the-road-most-traveled-rough-draft/

 

Inquiry Project Outline

Just a very rough outline!

1. Introduction

a) What is a gold standard?

b) Types of medical testing

– Ultrasound

– Computed Tomography

– Venography

– Angiography

2. Ultrasound is an operator dependent modality

a. Used by many, understood by few

b. Training Required for Ultrasound

3. Limitations of Ultrasound

a. patient obesity/edema

b. pain and inability to tolerate exam

c. dressing/external fixators

4. Gold standard

a. Quality Assurance

b. ultrasound vs gold standard

– Computed tomography

– venography

– angiography

5. Conclusion

6. Sources

 

 

Persuasion Map

Inquiry Project Map

Even with future technological progression ultrasound can never be a gold standard for medical testing. The main reason for this is because there are several factors that prevent ultrasound from being fully reliable such as patient obesity, edema, dressing, and tenderness. Also, ultrasound is an operator dependent modality – considered “used by many, understood by few“. It requires extensive training and experience to correctly operate the machine and diagnose disease. While ultrasound is the most often chosen modality because of cost effectiveness and its noninvasive manner, it is not the most accurate. Studies have shown that computed tomography (CT scan), angiography, and venography are considered gold standards over ultrasound. I could give you several reasons why ultrasound might be the gold standard in medical treatment, however I can point out far greater technological deficiencies of ultrasound, therefore preventing it from becoming the true golden standard for treatment in the medical field.

Concept Experience # 5

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Part 1: In the article If the World Began Again, Would Life as We Know It Exist the one thing that I noticed and appreciated was the restatement of certain quotes and key points that emphasized the authors point. This showed me what the author considered to be important to the argument he was stating. The images and media that was used didn’t do much to persuade me one way or the other. They pertained to the article, however, didn’t extend much more than that.  As the article was more factual than argumentative, the platform worked well. It was straightforward with no major frills so as not to distract from the point.

Part 2:

I have decided to use a page on my WordPress account for my inquiry project. I contemplated using Medium because I liked the format of it, however, it did not seem to accommodate media very well. I want to be able to have the option of using a variety of media in the form of pictures, gifs, and videos. Familiarity is another reason for choosing WordPress. Blogging in itself is foreign to me and I want to be able to focus on the project rather than how to use my platform. Based on the above reasoning I feel that WordPress would best assist me in creating an argumentative and informative inquiry project.

If The World Began Again…

• What is the thesis or main claim that the author is making?

In the thesis of this article, Zach Zorich is posing the question as to whether evolution would repeat itself in the same manner if given the opportunity. Would the ape become the neanderthal, would the neanderthal become the human and so on.

• Does the author make sub-claims? If so, which ones?

The author makes a claim on both sides of the argument. He based one side on the hypothesis that evolution would be unable to recreate its steps and the course of the world would be drastically different the “second time around”. The other side or the argument was the very opposite. Even if evolution would not have taken the same course, the end result would have ended similarly…with human life.

• What kinds of evidence does the author use? (scholarly? Peer-reviewed? Secondary?)

The author used resources from scholars and scientists.

• Is the evidence credible? Why or why not?

I would consider the evidence credible based on the resources used from scholarly scientists who have done years (even decades) of intellectual data gathering.

• What kinds of rhetorical strategies does the author use?

I found evidence of all three types of rhetorical strategies in this article. The author used logo type in that it was a scientific article…facts were necessary. I also recognized ethos type with the credible sources. The author also managed to tie into the pathos type, especially towards the end, bringing it to a close with more of an emotional appeal.

• Does the author make a logical argument? If so, why?

Yes. And no. He stated the facts of both sides of his argument in a way that didn’t make him seem biased. However, at the end of the article I was having a hard time deciphering which side of the argument he was trying to prove.

• Did you find any logical fallacies?

As someone who doesn’t really believe in evolution, I would have to say yes…but that’s just my own personal opinion. 😛 Based on the research and authors he used to back up his theories, I would have to say no.

• Overall, did you find the argument persuasive? Why or why not?

Not really, mainly because of what I stated above. I was unsure of which side was the “persuasive” side.

Nugget Week 6

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Considering children as the users radiates a compelling excitement when viewed from a number of different perspectives. First, the children really can write programs that do serious things. Their programs use symbols to stand for objects, contain loops and recursions, require a fair amount of visualization of alternative strategies before a tactic is chosen, and involve interactive discovery and removal of “bugs” in their ideas.

One young girl, who had never programmed before, decided that a pointing device ought to let her draw on the screen. She then built a sketching tool without ever seeing ours. She constantly embellished it with new features including a menu for brushes selected by pointing. She later wrote a program for building tangram designs.

As I read this article by Alan Kay and Adele Goldberg, I was struck with the pure genius of using a child’s input for the creation of these technologies and programs. A higher awareness of the world gave them the ability to see things from a different perspective. Also, why not let the large population of users have an input in the program they will be using? Everyone who puts Facebook, Instagram, Microsoft, Windows etc. to use most likely has something that they would change about the program/software that the manufacturer doesn’t necessarily see or think about. As young adults, Bill Gates and Paul Allen come up with the idea of Microsoft. I would like to think that they saw the slow and mistake-ridden process of typewriting and envisioned a more productive and user friendly method. The number of young inventors throughout history is astounding and backs up something that I believe Kay and Goldberg realized. The younger generation is an “expressive power”.

Inquiry Project Proposal Revised

Why is ultrasound not considered a gold standard?

Although ultrasound is a frequently ordered test, it is not considered a gold standard due to limitations. It is, however, frequently ordered for reasons such as it is less expensive, noninvasive, and in patients lacking certain limitations can lead to the same results. With the current economical situation and new healthcare costs, these reasons become very important. In my research project I will be discussing these limitations in further detail. I will also try to prove whether or not future progression of ultrasound could cause it to become a gold standard and what the new digital age will mean for the future of ultrasound.

With my initial research proposal, I had a topic but I didn’t have a definite direction. Without this direction I could see myself branching off in multiple subsets and give facts but not establish nor solve an argument. Now that I have an argumentative question I can focus on that and give my inquiry project a clear direction.

Inquiry Project Week 5 Reflection

This week I realized that it was going to be difficult to find the research needed to back up my inquiry project argument. It was rather frustrating.

But then I watched the Google+ Hangout about research and it opened up a wide variety of other possibilities for research. I look forward to using the VCU online library. The hangout was good to watch because it helped me realize that there is more options for research that just Google. This week I plan to search in more discreet locations such as the SVU (Society for Vascular Ultrasound), SDMS (Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonography), and the VCU online library. I guess I just assumed that using Google would eventually lead me to websites like this, however, I was limiting myself with this mindset.

Inquiry Project Reflection #2

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Ok, I have an official research question.

“Why is ultrasound not the gold standard for medical testing?”