Learning Journal 2

Last week in class we watched videos of The Real Life of Margaret (in India). Although she attempted to not show any videos of herself, we were able to witness some moments of life in her shoes. Aside from being in awe about Margaret studying the language for hour after hour, we also were able to observe the daily living condition of the people in India. I am sure that it was good for everyone in our class to see where we will be living and the characteristics of the community around us. I was expecting a lot of what we saw, but I enjoyed seeing the specific village that we will be staying in. I am sure my family would love to see some of the videos that we saw in class so that they can get an idea of what it will be like as well (hint hint Margaret).
I am excited to prepare for my travel over there. I will not need much, as I noticed from watching the videos that they did not have much either. I will mainly need resources for performing my research, a few clothes, and money to buy the rest of what I will need. I will want some sort of small laptop or electronic device, voice recorder, paper and supplies, and anything else I can think of. I noticed that most of what I will be doing will mainly just involve me getting out into the community and getting to know the people.
I have been thinking and know that I really need to narrow down my research to something that can be observed or gathered. I have been working on trying to get my credit hours set up so that I can check that off of my list and work on preparing my specific research topic. Reading the annotated sources has been a great way for me to collect some ideas and get a better idea of what is plausible while over there.

Source 3

Source Document Analysis Worksheet

Dandi Kiran Kumar, Rao Epari Venkat, Margabandhu Shanti				26 November 2011
Author’s name (last, first)				Publication date
Dental pain as a determinant of expressed need for dental care among 12-year old school children in India
Title
Indian Journal of Dental Research		Andhra Pradesh, India, Indian Journal of Dental Research
Book series OR Journal		Location and publisher OR volume, issue, pages

1. What is the source’s stated purpose (the argument or thesis)?

The purpose of this paper was to assess factors associated with dental pain that determine the expressed need for dental care among 12-year old school going children in India. Oral health is an integral part of general health and well-being and is therefore important in the understanding of the overall health of children. The perception of need for dental care plays a key role as to whether people in general will seek dental care. If the perception of dental care is unneeded then there will not be a utilization of healthcare services. If the perception is good then oral care will have more prevalence and there will be an improvement in psychological and social well-being. They wanted to determine the simultaneous effects of sociodemographic characteristics, pain characteristics, and the impact of pain on daily living.

2. What evidence does the author provide to support his or her main argument? How is the author attempting to logically prove his or her thesis and how does this affect the organization of the document?

The authors provide us with a lot of very useful data. Much of what they discussed can be very beneficial for my study of oral care in India. A lot of the questions that they asked and analyzed are similar to questions that I could ask. Their main results were that 71.4% of school going children had pain within the past month that they survey was conducted. Out of this group, only 27.7% sought professional advice. Within this group, about 22% reported experiencing severe pain, whereas 42.4% and 36% of the respondents reported having moderate and mild pain, respectively. They also found that about 55% of the respondents reported continuous pain throughout the day, and 74% of the respondents reported having felt pain in one tooth. Pain on thermal stimuli was reported by about 67% of the respondents, while difficulty in swallowing was reported by about 57% of the respondents. Out of those with pain, 70.4% had a rural background. Public transportation was the most common mode of transportation being used by the respondents.

The authors also try to determine the impact of pain on daily living characteristics. They found that a difficulty in brushing teeth was the highest, with 83% reporting difficulty in performing this routine task. It was followed by difficulty in eating and drinking and embarrassment in showing teeth, both being reported by about 64% of the studied population. Speaking and pronouncing was the third in order of magnitude to be affected with 55.4% reporting difficulty in carrying out this activity. Sleeping and regular school activities were reported to have been affected by 40.7% of the respondents. The least reported impact was observed for playing and laughing with 31.1% and 29.8%, respectively.

There was no statistically significant difference between genders, even though the expressed need for dental pain was higher among females. More severe the pain, more continuous the pain and pain that aggravated on thermal stimuli had a significantly higher expressed need for dental care in comparison with the counterpart. Other determinants like the duration of the pain, pain experienced in one or multiple teeth, and difficulty in swallowing were found to have statistically insignificant association with expressed needs. It was found that embarrassment in showing teeth was very important determinant of expressed need for dental treatment. Other daily living characteristics that were significantly associated with expressed needs for dental care were pain while brushing and cleaning of teeth, pain while eating or drinking, inability in attending or performing school work, difficulty in getting sleep, and inability to go for playing.

3. Who is the audience? What does the author assume the audience already knows about the topic?

The audience that is being addressed is any individual, group, organization, or government interested in the dental condition of India. Dentists may be curious how much work they might have in India. The government might be interested in the need for oral care. Organizations may be curious about what are the most pressing needs and how they can help. This information is all very helpful for determining what steps can be taken to improve oral health care. The audience does not need to know anything about the oral condition in order to understand this article because the author provides all relevant information.

4. Describe the author’s methods (i.e. how does the author know what he or she knows)?  In your opinion were they appropriate why or why not?

The authors were very appropriate in the way that they gathered their information. They took a random survey of schools and used a large number of students to gather their data. There was equal representation of males and females. They also took into account a lot of the other sociodemographic conditions.

5. To what other sources (theorist, researchers, artists) does the author refer? Explain the specific ideas the author draws upon from these other sources to support his or her own argument (the theoretical framework).

The author refers to various studies in other countries that gathered similar research. They compare and contrast what they gathered to observe the difference and similarities between various countries in similar conditions. This allows the authors to identify how serious a problem is in a certain country and what can be done to help fix that problem.

6. What are the connections between this source and your project? How useful or applicable is this source’s approach to your own project? How is yours new and different? 

This source provides a very good framework for what I will be doing in India. It gives me the most similar types of questions that I will be asking while over there. I can also assess many of the sociodemographic conditions that they assessed too. It was great to be able to read about the problems that their research encountered and the reasons that they occurred. Much of what they did was questionnaire based which will be helpful for me because I will be setting up my study in a similar way. Their research involved a lot of statistical data dealing with what percentages of people were in certain categories. I still have not picked my research topic, but I believe a lot of what I gather will compare to this. 

Indian Dentist

25 Questions

Since this is a class to prepare and propose a research topic, I have been thinking about what I could focus on. My study will most likely involve data that I gather through conversing with local people, rather than data I gather through opening their mouth. My research can involve anything dental related, but in order to be effective I need to narrow down what I will be asking. Some thoughts that might be beneficial to understanding the dental condition in India: 

Have you ever been to the dentist?

What was your reason for going to the dentist? Pain? Check up?

Have you ever had your teeth cleaned?

Have you ever had work done on your teeth aside from a normal cleaning?

How often do you brush your teeth?

How often do you floss?

Do you use any alternatives to these two preferred ways of cleaning?

Do your gums bleed when you brush or floss or even if you don't do either?

Do you ever have pain in your mouth?

Is it a constant pain or throbbing?

How do you deal with the pain?

Can you afford to attend the dentist?

What prevents you from going to a dentist?

Do other members of your family go to the dentist?

These are more general questions that I can answer as I uncover research about the above topics.

What is the perception of dental hygiene among families?

What is the perception of dental hygiene among kids and teenagers vs adults?

Is there an understanding of health benefits for proper hygiene?

Are dentists available in urban/rural development?

Does the upper class get preferred treatment?

Is the upper class the only group that attends a dental clinic on a regular basis?

What kind of availability is there for oral hygiene products?

If given the items to properly care for oral hygiene, would the population properly take care of their oral health?

Are there alternative forms of dental hygiene among the people?

Do dentists provide charity to those in the community that cannot afford dental care?

Does the upper class care more for dental hygiene since they have they can afford it?

What is the sociological view of those who prioritize dental care?

This is just the foundation for what will eventually turn into my research paper, but I am excited to prepare more for it. This is going to be a great journey.

Source 2

Source Document Analysis Worksheet

Bhardwaj, VK, Veeresha KL, Sharma, KR				26 November 2011
Author’s name (last, first)				Publication date
Prevalence of malocclusion and orthodontic treatment needs among 16 and 17 year-old school-going children in Shimla city, Himachal Pradesh
Title
Indian Journal of Dental Research		Shimla City, Himachal Pradesh, Indian Journal of Dental Research
Book series OR Journal		Location and publisher OR volume, issue, pages

1. What is the source’s stated purpose (the argument or thesis)?

The purpose of this research paper is to determine the prevalence of malocclusion (irregularity of the teeth or a molar relationship of the dental arches beyond the accepted range of normal) and orthodontic treatment needs among 16 and 17 year old school- going children in Shimla city, Himachal Pradesh. The other purpose is determining what steps should be taken to help prevent or care for malocclusion in India. It will help determine the demand for orthodontists and in accessing the resources required for such services. It can also lead to government intervention for oral care. They conducted the survey on children between the ages of 16 and 17 because it is the age that most of the malocclusion can be corrected since most of the growth and maturation of the jaws gets completed around this time.

2. What evidence does the author provide to support his or her main argument? How is the author attempting to logically prove his or her thesis and how does this affect the organization of the document?

The authors provide us with data that was gathered through their own efforts and research. They had a question in mind and wanted to determine its significance. Their major findings revealed that 20.28% of the male and 24.52% of the female students were affected with malocclusion. This results in 79.58% of the students having no abnormality or minor malocclusion and 20.42% of the children having malocclusion that required treatment.

3. Who is the audience? What does the author assume the audience already knows about the topic?

The audience involves any orthodontist interested in opening a practice in India. This is also beneficial to the government or support groups that are interested in providing oral care.

4. Describe the author’s methods (i.e. how does the author know what he or she knows)?  In your opinion were they appropriate why or why not?

The methods that the authors’ used were appropriate. They observed the mouths of school going students in the city they were interested in and used a very common and known database for comparison. They followed the guidelines established by the DAI to get consistent results. The only problem is that I don’t know what percentage of the population attends the school system. If a large population does not attend the schools, then a large population is being left out of the research and there could potentially be a higher percentage of children with malocclusion.

5. To what other sources (theorist, researchers, artists) does the author refer? Explain the specific ideas the author draws upon from these other sources to support his or her own argument (the theoretical framework).

Since this is the first study like this within that city there is not much reference to similar research. However, the authors do reference other researchers from that have performed similar studies in other parts of the world. Some locations have had higher percentages of malocclusion, while other countries have had lower percentages. It was found that the school children in this city had a lower percentage of malocclusion than children in the US.

6. What are the connections between this source and your project? How useful or applicable is this source’s approach to your own project? How is yours new and different? 

This source is a great reference for the orthodontic condition and perception in India. It shows that 1/5 school going children suffer from malocclusion. It also demonstrates the availability of oral care within the region. Not only does there seem to be a lack in ability to obtain dental care, but there also doesn’t seem to be as much of a want for it. This is a great resource for my project because I will mainly be involved with asking the community questions about their oral condition since I cannot open and observe their mouth. I will be able to take this data and know that around 1/5 of Indian school going children probably have malocclusion. This will be helpful when I want to understand results from my own research. 

Source 1

Source Document Analysis Worksheet

Grewal, Harpreet & Verma, Mahesh & Kumar, Ashok				26 November 2011
Author’s name (last, first)				Publication date
Prevalence of dental caries and treatment needs amongst the school children of three educational zones of urban Delhi, India
Title
Indian Journal of Dental Research		New Delhi, India, Department of Pediatric and Preventative Dentistry
Book series OR Journal		Location and publisher OR volume, issue, pages

1. What is the source’s stated purpose (the argument or thesis)?

The main purpose of this paper was to estimate the prevalence of dental caries (cavities) and treatment needs in the school going children of Delhi.

2. What evidence does the author provide to support his or her main argument? How is the author attempting to logically prove his or her thesis and how does this affect the organization of the document?

The authors are simply gathering information from school children in Delhi on dental availability and dental care. They take data that has been previously gathered by researchers about percentages of students with dental caries and compare it with what they learn. They discover that dental caries are on the rise, especially in developing nations. They also recognize that little research has been done regarding caries prevalence in Delhi school children, so much of what they find will be unique.

This is a research-based article, so the procedure, materials, analysis, and conclusions are drawn out. Their main findings were that 50.45% of boys and 55.61% of girls between the ages of 9 to 12 have dental caries. The total percentage was 52.3% amongst school children in Delhi. They also researched how much dental care would need to occur in each child’s mouth to fix their oral condition. About 50% of those children with dental caries would require one or two fillings, while the other 50% would require more extensive dental care.

The results of the increasing prevalence of dental caries could be a result of the fast changing lifestyles and eating habits of the metropolis. Much of the problem with dental caries comes from a lack of knowledge, positive attitudes, and affordability to the dental facilities available.

The authors stated, “it is difficult to provide curative treatment to such a vast and diverse population as access and affordability to the dental facilities become a constraint for majority of the population. The curative approach is limited only to the people who can afford the expenses and impose a financial burden on the remaining population. Therefore, for effective management of dental caries, emphasis should be laid upon designing suitable preventive and promotional oral health strategies.”

3. Who is the audience? What does the author assume the audience already knows about the topic?

The audience is anyone involved in or curious about the dental condition in India. Dentists may be curious what percentage of the population suffers from a very common oral problem and the business that their clinic has the potential to pull in. This information is also helpful for organizations or services that seek to aid those that cannot afford dental care. Hopefully, this data can be used by the government to create programs that will help curb this increasing problem.

4. Describe the author’s methods (i.e. how does the author know what he or she knows)?  In your opinion were they appropriate why or why not?

The authors know what they know from firsthand experience. They were able to travel to India and perform this study to observe the condition of oral care. They chose the city of Delhi and split it into three educational zones. A school from each zone was then selected at random. They were very appropriate in what they obtained and the manner in which it was done.

5. To what other sources (theorist, researchers, artists) does the author refer? Explain the specific ideas the author draws upon from these other sources to support his or her own argument (the theoretical framework).

The authors refer to a few previous researchers who had performed similar studies. Those that were referenced were National Oral Health Survey, Das et al., Rodrigues and Damle, and Shourie. Previous research about oral care, specifically dental caries, has been performed in the past by these groups. They all gather similar data as to the percentage of children with caries, which helps support that the data is being obtained in a verifiable manner. All of these studies support the concern and attention that needs to be taken to help slow down this oral health problem.

6. What are the connections between this source and your project? How useful or applicable is this source’s approach to your own project? How is yours new and different? 

My project will be heavily dental related. It will not be as quantifiable as this since I will not be able to look into patients’ mouth and observe the dental condition. I will also not be able to know the treatment that can be performed to help each individual patient. But, this article does give a great deal of information on the oral condition in India. It also shows the importance and availability of dental care within an urban population. I will most likely be able to observe the sociological view of dental care amongst the people and their perception of it. I might be able to gather information from local dentists if needs be and apply that to my research, but most of my research will be obtained through conversation. My research will focus on a specific aspect of dental care and how the people view it, while this paper mainly focused on whether cavities were prevalent amongst school children in an urban population. I will take what they studied and ask if people are concerned about it.

Learning Journal 1

This post reflects some of my first thoughts with regards to the opportunity that a field study to India will provide. I have had the privilege to sit through a few prep classes for a field study and my understanding has been opened as to how to take this all in. I have realized the importance of preparing myself now to assimilate into a new culture. It's so important that I don't offend, make a mockery of, or disregard things that the people of India do on a daily basis. What I learned is that I might not even be trying to offend them for this to happen. Sometimes our cultures are so different that something that is common to me, may be foreign to them.
I have not taken many sociology classes or learned too much about cultural diversity since most of my study involves learning about the sciences, but my understanding is opening to not just about knowing how they dress, eat, or practice religion. Instead, I need to dig deeper. I need to understand what feelings or thoughts are associated with daily aspects of life. This can be done as I strive to learn more than just what Wikipedia says about the culture in a general sense. I now realize that there is a deeper aspect of culture that sinks below the appearance, I just need to prepare for it.