Technology is everywhere, wouldn't you agree? The U.S Department of Health and Human Services takes into consideration the new age we live in. The majority of American citizens have access to a cell phone, at least that's what it seems like. This very short article, "HHS selects challenge for Facebook app" released by the HHS Press Office informs us about the winners for a very special challenge sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR). The Facebook Lifeline Application Challenge "called on software
application developers to design new Facebook applications that could
enhance individual and community resilience by establishing social
connections in advance of an emergency" (HHS, 2012).
The use of the app would serve as easy access to millions of Americans on important reminders and notes in regards to their health and well being. For example, it would help people communicate in case on a national disaster. The first place winners' from Brown University app gives you the option to print out emergency preparedness card, it contains credible information from reliable sources and provides a news feed of friends and family in case of an emergency. The second place winners JAMAJIC 360 received $5,000 for second place, and TrueTeamEffort received $1,000 for third place, while 1st place winners, Lifeline won $10,000.
Here is what a rsaid Nicole Lurie, M.D., HHS
assistant secretary for preparedness and response and a rear admiral in
the U.S. Public Health Service had to say about the app:
“We’re really excited about the potential of the lifeline app to help
people not only to reach out to friends and family for the kinds of
assistance they may need in an emergency, but also to help improve their
personal health and preparedness. Having people you can depend on for
help is especially important during a disaster, so we want to encourage
everyone to identify those people in advance. Since so many people use
Facebook to connect with one another, it seemed like a natural way to
help people to identify their lifelines.” (2012)
I have to agree and say that this was a genius way of making this type of information to many Americans like myself who are users of Facebook. Cal State Monterey Bay, also has started a very similar initiative, "The “Ideas of March,” a 54-hour Android Development Camp and
Competition, which is open to college students, software engineers and
programming professionals from the tri-county area who are interested in
producing mobile apps. This event is sponsored by the Institute
for Innovation and Economic Development at CSU Monterey Bay, the
Monterey County Business Council and the university’s School of
Information Technology and Communication Design, supported by
organizations in the Monterey Bay area and Silicon Valley. Registration deadline is March 1st and I would highly recommend this to anyone who's savvy in this field.
At this time, I do not own a smart phone to download apps but when I do, I will have to say this will be in my top to download. I feel that apps are being used for many valuable things like protection not just for entertainment.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Healthy Valentine's Day
In honor of Valentine's Day, I'm inspired to write about this article I came across from the CDC, "Here's to a Healthy Valentine". This is a short article provided by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention sharing a few tips and ideas to keep healthy choices as you plan for Valentines.
Regardless of whether you spend your Valentine's day with a friend, your family or significant other, you should do your best to spent a happy and healthy day. The first tip the CDC provides, is the idea of having a heart healthy meal with lots of fruits and vegetables. For Valentine's Day, my boyfriend and I had Sushi. I would say this was a healthy choice for us because we typically go out for Mexican. The second tip was to planned a physical activity. I will admit though, that instead we sat down and watch t.v. Normally I'm a very active woman which is why I decided Valentine's day was a rest day. The third tip was to give an alternative to candy. I'm a chocolate lover but instead I just got flowers, so I guess I followed the two out of three tips from the CDC.
Living a healthy lifestyle can be challenging for some of us, especially around the holidays. I did my best to try to follow the advice provided by this article. I'm curious to know how you spent your Valentine's Day? Was it healthier than mine, if so how?
Here is a link if you would like to send health-e card.
Regardless of whether you spend your Valentine's day with a friend, your family or significant other, you should do your best to spent a happy and healthy day. The first tip the CDC provides, is the idea of having a heart healthy meal with lots of fruits and vegetables. For Valentine's Day, my boyfriend and I had Sushi. I would say this was a healthy choice for us because we typically go out for Mexican. The second tip was to planned a physical activity. I will admit though, that instead we sat down and watch t.v. Normally I'm a very active woman which is why I decided Valentine's day was a rest day. The third tip was to give an alternative to candy. I'm a chocolate lover but instead I just got flowers, so I guess I followed the two out of three tips from the CDC.
Living a healthy lifestyle can be challenging for some of us, especially around the holidays. I did my best to try to follow the advice provided by this article. I'm curious to know how you spent your Valentine's Day? Was it healthier than mine, if so how?
Here is a link if you would like to send health-e card.
Helping, Fixing, or Serving?
As a collaborative health and human services major, I have a passion for serving my community. I read this article by Rachel Naomi Ramen about two years ago that changed my perspective on my career. The article is called Helping, Serving, or Fixing, it helps differentiate between the three words that are commonly misused in the health and human service field.
Overall the focus of this article is to describe that helping, serving and fixing are three different ways of viewing life. According to Ramen, "When we help, we see life as weak. When we fix, we see life as broken but when we serve we see life as a whole. Fixing and helping may be the work of the ego, and service the work of the soul". This is a very powerful statement because although many like myself say we enjoy helping others, we don't realize that this statement makes us feel superior. When we fix things, we are saying we know what the right answer is but the truth of the matter is, it is not up to us to fix other people's problem. As a a health and human professional we should give people the tools so that they may advocate for themselves and be there for them when they ask us to be there.
A great quote she shares is, "Fixing and helping create a distance between people, but we cannot serve at a distance. We can only serve that to which we are profoundly connected". The idea of distance is relevant to the fact that through fixing and helping we feed our ego. We want to help people because we feel we are superior to the ones in need and we want to fix because we know the answers. When we differentiate with one another we create a gap, we create a distance. Being distant will never solve any problems because we never address the real problem without a trustful an equal relationship. When we can finally put ourselves at the same level as others we can create a bond and build connection with one another. This will help facilitate the process of meeting our needs.
The challenges to helping and and fixing is that we usually address the surface problem immediately. Most social service employees for example are familiar with the term "burn out", It refers to the process of feeling defeated with what you do, physically, mentally and emotionally. After trying so hard to save the world, you come to realize that you are only one person and there is only so much you can do. Burnouts are more common with people who want to fix and help everyone. The benefits to serving is that you don't burnout so soon because you realize you are just a human being like the person you are trying to help.
Rachel later in the article shares two different stories about how serving has really been a life changing experience to many not just health and human service professionals. I have to say that when I read this article at first, I found it difficult to believe that the idea of "helping" wasn't always good but as I have gained more experience in the health and human service field I am more familiar with her beliefs. Serving creates a balance between helping and fixing, it's a win-win.
Overall the focus of this article is to describe that helping, serving and fixing are three different ways of viewing life. According to Ramen, "When we help, we see life as weak. When we fix, we see life as broken but when we serve we see life as a whole. Fixing and helping may be the work of the ego, and service the work of the soul". This is a very powerful statement because although many like myself say we enjoy helping others, we don't realize that this statement makes us feel superior. When we fix things, we are saying we know what the right answer is but the truth of the matter is, it is not up to us to fix other people's problem. As a a health and human professional we should give people the tools so that they may advocate for themselves and be there for them when they ask us to be there.
A great quote she shares is, "Fixing and helping create a distance between people, but we cannot serve at a distance. We can only serve that to which we are profoundly connected". The idea of distance is relevant to the fact that through fixing and helping we feed our ego. We want to help people because we feel we are superior to the ones in need and we want to fix because we know the answers. When we differentiate with one another we create a gap, we create a distance. Being distant will never solve any problems because we never address the real problem without a trustful an equal relationship. When we can finally put ourselves at the same level as others we can create a bond and build connection with one another. This will help facilitate the process of meeting our needs.
The challenges to helping and and fixing is that we usually address the surface problem immediately. Most social service employees for example are familiar with the term "burn out", It refers to the process of feeling defeated with what you do, physically, mentally and emotionally. After trying so hard to save the world, you come to realize that you are only one person and there is only so much you can do. Burnouts are more common with people who want to fix and help everyone. The benefits to serving is that you don't burnout so soon because you realize you are just a human being like the person you are trying to help.
Rachel later in the article shares two different stories about how serving has really been a life changing experience to many not just health and human service professionals. I have to say that when I read this article at first, I found it difficult to believe that the idea of "helping" wasn't always good but as I have gained more experience in the health and human service field I am more familiar with her beliefs. Serving creates a balance between helping and fixing, it's a win-win.
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