Introduction
The purpose of this report is to capture drug abuse in the U.S. Navy and to analyze some of the measures that the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) has put in place to control the problem. The report presents a critical analysis of drug abuse in the U.S. Navy by taking a look at the background information on drug abuse, the types of drugs abused by the Navy, the possible causes of drug abuse as well as the prevention measures and treatments available for those involved in drug abuse in the U.S. Navy.
The report applied several research methodologies and strategies during information collection, analysis and presentation. The sources of data included both primary and secondary data. In the collection of the data for the report, questionnaires, interviews as well as reviews of secondary sources of information were used. Data analysis involved both qualitative and quantitative analysis.
Literature Review from Secondary Sources of Information
Published and non-published texts related to drug abuse in the U.S. Navy were used to acquire information and data. These were majorly from journals, books, internet sources, written articles and this information and data included case studies, reports and analytical studies on drug abuse in the US military and in particular the US Navy. These sources provide the necessary background information regarding the historical context of drug use in the US military as the rationale behind the use of drug abuse in the U.S. military. Written literature was used to obtain an accurate definition of drug abuse so as to differentiate it from normal drug use. Both printed and non-printed sources which included books, journals, internet sources particularly information from the Department of US Navy were used to trace the history of drug abuse and the types of drugs that were used and still continue to be used even before the 18th century. The secondary sources were used to acquire information on the reasons for the initial use and abuse of drugs in the U.S. military and also to collect scientific knowledge and perspectives on drug use. The secondary sources of information were used to gather information on the mandate of the NCIS in relation to drug abuse control, prevention and treatment in the U.S. Navy. Written literature was used to obtain information on the extent of the problem of drug abuse in the U.S. Navy as well as its spread to other disciplined forces in the US and its impacts on society as a whole. Written literature on drug abuse in the US Navy provided essential information regarding the types of drugs abused in the US military and the factors that influence and reinforce their abuse as well as the relationship between post-traumatic stress disorders and drug abuse in the US military.
Case Study Methodology
The written sources were used to collect reliable statistical information and evidence on the existence and the extent of drug abuse. The statistical information also included statistical information showing the trends of drug abuse in the US Navy. This information was collected from reports and journals written by various relevant agencies which included the Office of the National Control Policy (ONDCP), Naval Alcohol and Drug Management Information Tracking System (ADMITS) among other agencies as well as from other research reports and case studies. The statistical information included the level of drug abuse in other forces in the US military and the overall drug abuse level in the military. The statistical information from both the published and non-published sources provided more insight into the most widely abused drugs in the military in the US.
Interviews
Various personnel in the US Navy and relevant agencies were interviewed both formally and informally so as to confirm the truth on drug abuse in the military and to acquire information on the roles of the NCIS in combating drug abuse in the military. Interviews provided more insight into the types of drugs abused in the US Navy. It also helped gather information on the historical background of drug abuse in the US military and in particular, the US Navy. It also helped acquire information on the programs put in place regarding drug testing, rehabilitation, educational awareness on drug abuse as well as documentation of drug abuse statistics in the US Navy.
Questionnaires
Questionnaires were also used to gather more accurate information on the problem of drug abuse in the US Navy. Questionnaires were used to collect information from the mental health department in the US Navy Department and from the relevant agencies. The information collected through this methodology included statistical information on the trends and levels of drug abuse as well as the reasons for concerns on drug abuse in the US Navy.
Data Analysis
Qualitative Analysis
Data and information were gathered from different written scientific and sociological perspectives from books, journals and internet sources to analyze the rationale behind drug abuse, the implications of drug abuse as well as to provide psychological justification of drug use and abuse in the military.
Quantitative Analysis
Statistical information and data that was gathered from cases studies and research reports done by research institutions and relevant agencies documented in books, journals and unwritten sources were used to provide a critical analysis on drug abuse in the US Navy. In presenting the quantitative analysis, statistics and bar graphs were used to make the information easier to understand. Quantitative analysis was used to reinforce the assertion and to provide critical insight into the levels and trends of drug abuse in the US Navy. It was used to analyze the trends of drug abuse in the US Navy and to provide the critical analysis and comparison of drug abuse among the Air Force, the Army and the Navy as well as comparison of the rates of different drugs abuse in the US Navy.
Conclusion
The research strategies and methodologies used in the report were to enable the presentation of objective information and data on drug abuse in the US Navy. The information and data presented were critically analyzed to ensure the presentation of unbiased information.
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): Symptoms And Causes
Introduction
Coronavirus disease (2019) is an illness triggered by a brand new virus that can infect an individual in case he or she inhales the droplets of coughing, sneezing, or particles generated by breathing. Another way of becoming infected is touching a contaminated surface and then touching oneself (especially, eyes and face). As it is known, the Covid-19 outbreak started in Wuhan, China and then reached the pandemic level. It should be mentioned that the exact number of coronavirus-19 cases worldwide quickly exceeded the number of cases registered in China. The given paper will examine causes, symptoms, myths, and consequences of the coronavirus pandemic.
Causes of the Covid-19 Pandemic
The late 2019 was marked by the outbreak of a novel betacoronavirus infection (SARS-CoV-2), which was reported in those patients who had visited one seafood market in Wuhan (China) or been somehow exposed to the animals and fish from that market (Mackenzie, 2020). The most significant characteristic of this Chinese market is that buyers can find live animals being sold there. Therefore, similarly to all other infectious outbreaks, the emergence of new type of coronavirus is thoroughly connected to the contact with animals. In the case of COVID-19, it might take years or even decades to find the mysterious 0-patient. However, it is possible to assume that the COVID disease outbreak was caused by a bat-to-human transmission of this notorious novel virus type.
It should be said that it is not the first case of human coronavirus. This SARS-CoV-2 is believed to be the 7th of already known human coronavirus (Clerkin et al., 2020). At the same time, this new type of single-stranded RNA virus is completely unlike the existing coronaviruses (229E, NL63, HKU1, OC43) that cause cold. On the other hand, it is a bit but similar to the already known coronavirus (SARS-CoV) that led to zoonotic severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus in 2002 and the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) coronavirus from 2012 (Clerkin et al., 2020). Despite the common misconception or myth, coronavirus is not caused by bacteria; it is caused by a novel type of virus. According to the most popular and accurate definition, COVID-19 is caused by “severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, which invades cells through the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 receptor” (Clerkin et al., 2020, p.1648). That underlines that although coronaviruses usually cause only certain symptoms of catching a cold, betacoronaviruses (SARS-CoV-1, MERS-CoV, SARS-CoV-2) might lead to severe pneumonia, respiratory problems, and fatal exodus.
SARS-CoV-2 is proved to infect host cells through ACE2, which may cause COVID-19. At the same time, this process of infecting the cells usually causes damage to the myocardium. Nevertheless, it is still necessary to conduct further analysis to define the specific mechanisms of infecting host cells and how it affects the organism of a patient. It is quite compelling that patients with CVD or SARS-CoV-2 infection might have different symptoms. However, it should be noted that some particular groups (elderly people, for instance) have quite an adverse prognosis. As a consequence, much attention must be dedicated to the protection of their cardiovascular system during their treatment.
COVID-19: Symptoms
Symptoms of COVID-19 may drastically vary. It is true, however, that the patients infected with the virus usually experience some mild (or moderate) respiratory illness and are able to recover without the need to require special care and medical treatment. It was proven that the most common symptoms of the COVID-19 disease might be fever (reported by 88% of the infected patients) and dry cough (reported by 67.7% of patients) (Han et al., 2020). At the same time, these symptoms are usually shared with a range of other viral syndromes: rhinorrhea (shown by 4.8% of patients) and gastrointestinal symptoms, such as diarrhea (reported by 4% to 14% of patients), nausea or emesis (experienced by only 5% of all patients) (Han et al., 2020). It should be mentioned that the presence of gastrointestinal symptoms is extremely rare for the COVID-19 disease.
As for other less common symptoms, the World Health Organization points out the following: “aches and pains, sore throat, diarrhea, conjunctivitis, headache, loss of taste or smell, a rash on skin, or discoloration of fingers or toes”(“Coronavirus. Symptoms”, 2020). As can be seen, the most common symptoms (fever, dry cough, tiredness) should be the first sign to a person to check for the COVID-19 virus. With the flow of time, these common symptoms might turn into the more serious ones: respiratory problems (e.g., shortness of breath), chest pain, chest pressure, and inability to speak of speech or move.
It is also necessary to mention that elderly people as well as the patients suffering from medical problems, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease, and cancer are more likely to develop serious illness (“Coronavirus. Symptoms”, 2020). Considering all the mentioned above, evaluation and treatment of Covid-19 should depend on the severity of a particular case. For example, patients with mild symptoms can recover at home, while consulting with their family doctor or under tutelage of medical workers. On average, it might take about two weeks for patients with mild symptoms to recover at home. On the other hand, those patients who have moderate or severe Covid-19 have to be hospitalized for detailed observation, personalized treatment, and supportive care. This tactic is aimed to save money and reserve hospital beds for those who really need it.
COVID-19: Prevention
It is also necessary to add that proven therapies for Covid-19 do not exist yet. The creation and trials of some vaccines or treatments for COVID-19 are still an ongoing process. For the present moment, however, there are no official drugs and treatment licensed for the prevention of COVID-19. As for diagnosis of Covid-19, the process is entirely based on the detection of SARS-CoV-2 by PCR testing of a nasopharyngeal swab or other specimen (“COVID-19 Mythbusters”, 2020). It should be noted that may take approximately five days for symptoms to come up. However, sometimes it can take about two weeks. It is necessary to seek medical attention if a person notices the first symptoms that remind those of the COVID-19 disease.
To prevent catching the notorious virus and assist in slowing down the transmission form people to people, it is necessary to often wash one’s hands (longer than thirty seconds) with soap, clean hands and surfaces with sanitizer/alcohol-based rub. People also should maintain a healthy distance (at least one meter; especially if others are sneezing or coughing) and follow the etiquette of coughing (flexed elbow or napkins instead hands). In addition to that, it is important to avoid touching one’s face and trying to stay home most of the time.
COVID-19: Myths
Another good way to slow down the transmission of the COVID-19 is to stay well informed about the particularities of this novel virus type and how it can be spread. The COVID-19 virus can spread through droplets of the infected person’s saliva or discharge from the nose (while sneezing, for example). As for now, there are some myths floating the Internet that might lead to misconception and diffusing the wrong information. For example, adding pepper to a soup or meals does not assist in preventing or curing COVID-19 (“COVID-19 Mythbusters”, 2020). As for houseflies and mosquitoes, the World Health Organization states that there is still no evidence to claim that the COVID-19 virus transmitted through houseflies (“COVID-19 Mythbusters”, 2020). As for spraying and introducing bleach into one’s body, this practice is not only useless but can be highly dangerous to one’s health. Finally, thermal scanners only serve to detect a fever (i.e. a higher body temperature), but not the COVID-19 virus. In addition to that, it is possible to notice some people who are running and doing exercises in masks. Nevertheless, it might affect badly their health since a mask decrease one’s ability to breathe in a normal way and sweat leads to the increase of deleterious microorganisms. Therefore, it is better to keep in mind the necessity to maintaining the acceptable social distance instead of wearing a mask.
The Covid-19: Consequences
The spread of the pandemic led both to a great number of deaths and severe economic consequences for all the countries. First of all, a significant number of employees have lost their jobs, while others noticed that their incomes were cut. For example, the statistics gathered in the United States by International Monetary Fund (IMF) showed that the proportion of unemployed people has hit 10.4%, which ended “the decade of expansion for one of the world’s largest economies” (“Coronavirus: A visual guide to the economic impact”, 2020). Secondly, entrepreneurs and owners of small businesses had to close their shops, restaurants, and other facilities. Therefore, it is possible to state that those damages associated with the illness itself, severe symptoms, and the mortality rate are lower than most of indirect losses that were caused by the crisis. As for psychological consequences, it can be seen that people tend to experience more anxiety, depression, the feeling of uncertainty, and worrying. On the other hand, the outbreak of the pandemic helped to discover some weak points in the health care systems in all countries across the globe.
As can be seen, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a pandemic that started in Wuhan, China, and was caused by a novel type of betacoronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). It can be seen that the COVID-19 disease may trigger different symptoms among different people. As a rule, the severity or mildness of the symptoms can be predicted by the overall level of health and the age of a particular patient. The elderly patients as well as those with cancer, artery and cardiovascular diseases might be at risk since their cases can turn out to be the fatal ones. However, the majority of infected patients show mild and moderate symptoms of the disease, which lets them recover without any hospitalization. Excluding the medical ones, the COVID-19 pandemic has both financial, social, psychological and cultural on the global community.
References
Clerkin, K. J., Fried, J. A., Raikhelkar, J., Sayer, G., Griffin, J. M., Masoumi, A., & Schwartz, A. (2020). COVID-19 and cardiovascular disease. Circulation, 141(20), 1648-1655.
Coronavirus: A visual guide to the economic impact. (2020). BBC News. Web.
Coronavirus. Symptoms. (2020). Who.int (World Health Organization). Web.
COVID-19 Mythbusters. (2020). Who.int (World Health Organization). Web.
Han, C., Duan, C., Zhang, S., Spiegel, B., Shi, H., Wang, W., Zhang, L., Lin, R., Liu, J., Ding, Z., & Hou, X. (2020). Digestive Symptoms in COVID-19 Patients With Mild Disease Severity: Clinical Presentation, Stool Viral RNA Testing, and Outcomes. The American Journal of Gastroenterology, 115(6), 916–923.
Mackenzie, J. S., & Smith, D. W. (2020). COVID-19: A novel zoonotic disease caused by a coronavirus from China: What we know and what we don’t. Microbiology Australia, 41(1), 45.
Applications And Groupware: Wikia Site
There are numerous websites online offering tools to build wiki-sites. The websites range from offering enterprise solutions to offering personal spaces for individuals. The present paper will provide an overview of Wikia, and which provides the capabilities for building a wiki, based on preset categories (Wikia).
Wikia has an initial feel of being directed toward individual users, rather than organizations. Such feel is supported through the examples of pages provided at Wikia’s home page. The factors contributing to the selection of Wikia can be seen through the easy-going style of the homepage, and the omission of a premium plan for usage, although as it turned out they are present. The process of creating your own wiki starts with a simple registration procedure. In such procedure, in addition to the indicating some personal information, the user has the possibility to name the wiki, provide a URL, which will end with wikia.com, select a language for the interface, and choose a category from a list of about 17 pre-set categories. The choice of category is stated to aid the search process within the content of the created wiki.
I decided to devote the website to the sports of boxing, where the category of sports was selected. The creation process of the wiki can be divided into small simple stages. As in the majority of wiki sites, the tools provided are based on WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editing, i.e. the manipulation and the editing of the content is instantly formatted into the webpage. The initial step consists of providing a description of the wiki, through writing a short introduction. The intro provided a description of the contents of the wiki, its target audience and the overall purpose of the website. The next step is choosing a theme for the wiki. The selection for the theme is rather poor, being limited to choosing a color palette only from 12 preset themes. Providing a few starting names for the pages to be created, the construction process moves to editing the content of the created wikis. The last step is preceded with the choice to select a premium or a basic plan, for $4.95 and Free respectively. The difference is only in removing ads for visitors in the premium version. Other than that there are no restrictions in terms of storage, bandwidth, or tools.
Generally, the wiki has the feel of a personal space rather than an enterprise solution, which is certainly reflected through its target audience. Among the top created pages are those devoted to popular TV series and video games. The number of tools provided is sufficient for such purposes, including text formatting options and options allowing the insertion of photos and videos. The video s can be linked to supported websites only, including such popular services as YouTube, Vimeo, and others. Among the useful tools, which also reflects the target audience of Wikia is its social tools, having the option to comment, link, and “like” in Facebook, any created page in the wiki.
It can be concluded that Wikia is a useful source for those who want to create a personal space that reflects their interests which they want to share with others. The capabilities provided to users are sufficient for any content editing tasks, and there are no apparent reasons for switching to other premium plans. Personally, I will use Wikia to share a particular interest with another groups, collaboratively posting news, stories, and interesting links, and receiving feedback on them through comments. Analyzing such website is an example of the way collaborative work can be used for leisure, collaboratively creating content for the web.
Reference
Wikia. “Welcome to Wikia”. 2011. Web.