Journals

Monthly Inquiry Journals

October Journal

1. I chose my topic because of seeing problems caused by our band director when he had illnesses the past two years. His illnesses disrupted what was going on greatly and other people had to do extra things. I worry that he gets too stressed out and is pretty unhealthy since he never has time to go home. I also picked the topic because I consider myself a pretty healthy person. Running seems to release a lot of stress after school and seems to make me more relaxed. I already have good knowledge about what a healthy lifestyle is so I wouldn’t be starting from square one.

2. I guess I will try to maintain a healthy lifestyle when I’m working as an adult. I will be able to recognize if others around me are having problems also. I don’t want to learn all this stuff about the benefits of good nutrition and exercise and then just do the opposite after high school. It would probably pretty easy to forget about this stuff in college when you are very busy and don’t have time to think about what you are eating.

3. The experiences with Mr. Jones are the first things that come to my mind when I thought about this topic. The band lost valuable practice time in preparation for the concert contest both years. When he had his heart attack, it was the day of the first performance of the spring musical. Luckily, Dr. Armstrong was a music major and was able to direct the orchestra. We were very fortunate to have Dr. Armstrong around.

4. I would define physical fitness as a person’s ability to maintain their strength, aerobic endurance, and flexibility. General health would deal with physical fitness, but also a person’s mental health and their ability to cope with stress. Efficiency in the workplace would be how profitable a business is and the elimination of unnecessary costs.

5. The most interesting thing is probably how much money smoking and alcoholism cost businesses and companies. I knew there was a problem, but I didn’t know it was that large. The tobacco companies should have to pay almost a trillion dollars for damages and not just several billion dollars. If smoking cost companies 27 billion dollars in 1979, that figure has probably grown tremendously in the last 18 years with inflation. I don’t think people realize that tobacco companies are getting off easy when they have to only pay a few billion dollars. President Clinton was right to stop the agreement the government and the tobacco industry made this year because it was not significant enough.

6. I feel a lot more comfortable with my topic after reading my nonfiction book and doing the Great Books research. I was a little worried after the fiction book when I really did not find much. I think I need to make sure that my topic does not become too large. I should try to stay away from mental health because that would double the amount of research. I think I should probably eliminate the subquestion about elderly people meeting the same demands as younger employees. The effect of people working in offices instead of outdoors or on a farm is also a topic that I have not found any research on.

7. Since band and cross country are now over, I should be able to have time to work on school nights. I really didn’t have any problem meeting any of the time commitments though. I was able to read my books on the bus going to band contests and cross country meets. I read about the same amount each week, too. My note taking could be improved since I just read straight through the book and did not write anything down. I also need to figure out what is going on with IUPUI’s renewal through the internet. I emailed them four days before my books were due and I never got anything reply confirming that. I also sent them an email asking for confirmation that books have been renewed. It should not take that much effort to respond to a renewal request.

November Journal

1a. technical definitions

physical health- includes fitness, diet, disease, injury, medication, lifting, and handling (Creating Healthy Work Organizations)

physical health- height/weight/body mass index, flexibility, back and grip strength, and stamina (CHWO)

organizational health-environmental health, physical health, mental health, and social health (CHWO)

health- a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease or infirmity (CHWO)

healthy diet- variety of foods, increase carbohydrate consumption to at least 55% of total energy intake, reduce sucrose to 25% of total carbohydrate intake, reduce saturated fat consumption to 33% of total fat intake, reduce cholesterol consumption to less than 300mg/day, reduce salt intake to about 5g/day, increase consumption of cereals, fruits, and vegetables (The Lore of Running, 580)

fitness- efficient cardiovascular and fuel-metabolizing systems, adequate joint flexibility, and an acceptable body composition (Better Training for Distance Runners, 254)

fitness-endurance, strength, aerobic capicity, and flexibility (American Medical Association)

b. philosophical definitions-more research needed

idleness- the absence of labor (Tolstoy, 275)

working hours-the lengthening of the working day becomes compatible only with a lower degree of intensity, and higher degree of intensity only with shortening of the work day (Marx)

c. figurative definitions-need to research society’s definition of terms especially, fiction book really didn’t have any definitions since it was sort of off topic

d. legal definitions-more research needed

2a. Hercules would probably be the one mythological character that goes most with my topic. In Edith Hamilton’s book it says Hercules had great strength in addition to compassion and intellect. Hercules could probably motivate others to follow him and do things that he does. He could encourage a healthy body that resembles himself, but of course not with the same magnitude of strength. The problem of workers being physically unfit is likely a problem that Hercules could solve. His own personal experience would be valuable in giving workers tips on how to improve their lifestyle.

b. Tithonus would likely have compassion for those who were out of shape and suffering from health problems. He would be able to relate since he was suffering from being in a body that was decaying to a point where being turned into a grasshopper was a benefit. Both Tithonus and workers can makes choices about their lives. Although Tithonus’s choice was permanent, workers can be effected in the long run by decisions they make at an early age. Smoking and alcohol are two factors that come to mind. Tithonus and workers would be able to have sympathy for each other’s similar problems. I believe Tithonus could be a very motivational figure.

c. I think my topic could be compared with the sirens. The sirens were able to lure sailors off course and many people change their lifestyles because they think something looks pleasurable or cool. Tobacco and alcohol are two things that come to mind that can change one’s health dramatically. Many sailors thought just one glimpse at the sirens would not hurt, but they end up dying because of that one glimpse. In the same way, one exposure to tobacco or even possibly tobacco could addict someone to these for life. A solution to the sirens and health problems is preventing problems from every developing. Sailors that were warned would not go near the sirens. People who understand the benefits of exercise and good nutrition are likely to maintain these good habits and not off course.

3. By reading Creating Healthy Work Organizations, I gained a perspective of the problem from the United Kingdom’s point of view. They had similar programs compared to the United States. Also I read a newspaper article in the Indianapolis Star that talked about leisure and work. It talked about how a six hour work shift was being experimented with and employees seemed to have a higher morale and much more energy throughout their shift. The lack of productivity in 8 hour shifts could be due to lack of energy(possibly caused by physical health). The six hours were more efficient since businesses did not have to hire people during the lunch hour(the business was a bakery). The six hours shifts received the same amount of salary as eight hour shifts. I also talked to my dad about health problems with employees at work. He said people could not be forced into exercise programs and they must do it on their own. He also said that unfit people in the company have much higher insurance claims and it does cost the company money.

4. The most interesting thing is probably the story about the six hour work shift. It seems like a interesting idea that could make the workplace more efficient. I have to question whether or not it would be possible to hire more employees and pay them the same money as 8 hour shifts and still make more money. The efficiency of the six hour shifts would have to be a lot greater than 8 hour shifts to make this a societal norm.

5. I need to look into how society defines health. So far I have mainly gotten technical definitions and probably have all that I need. I need to check the Congressional record to see if they made any laws concerning occupational health. Also I need a fiction book that is somewhat related to my topic. The last fiction book was really a waste of time. I need to get the definition paper started in early December so I am not rushed at Christmas time. I plan to start the web page about my inquiry project over Christmas break. I was able to renew books again at IUPUI, but should probably go down there sometime over Christmas break.

December Journal

1. I would say the early 70’s are the most pivotal era or event for my topic. The two reasons are the gain in awareness that smoking and tobacco cause disease and early death, and the idea that exercise would be beneficial to just about everyone. Tobacco commercials were banned from television and radio so children would be less likely to take up the habit. More people started exercising, running in particular. The United State’s failure in Vietnam also suggested to some people that the American population was becoming weak and need to change. Exercise was one answer to improve American’s image of themselves. Life expectancy increased 6.5 years from 1950 to 1984. This is evidence of increased medical technology and a changes in Americans’ lifestyles. Before this period there was minimal progress made by individuals in the health movement. Most of these individuals were very religious and believed a healthy lifestlyle would make people more pure.

2. The biggest moral issue pertaining to this topic is likely the battle over whether or not people should be forced to change their lifestlye habits. Is it discrimination if an employer does not hire an individual simply because they are very overweight? Should there be a mandatory ban on smoking in public places? Does an employer have to a right to fire an employee if they refuse to stop smoking or drinking? Prohibition in the 1920’s was mostly a failure and laws were enforced poorly. Many people were hurt from drinking homemade alcohol. Would the same thing happen if there was a ban on smoking? It is a fact that individuals who are overweight have a far greater chance of early death than those who live a healthy lifestyle. Isn’t it fair that employers would pick a fit person over an obese one just to reduce the chances of financial loss caused by an early death or sickness?

3. The most controversial issue deals with whether or not the cost of a health program will produce the results necessary and be profitable to the organization. A limited health program generally has poor results and people often go back to their old ways. Some organizations start a health program just for their executives because they have the chance to hurt the business most financially with an early death or illness. Many people believe that it is not possible to force people into participating in a health program. They may know the benefits of proper nutrition, exercising, and not smoking, but they refuse to undertake in any of the activities. The experts on occupational health believe that it is necessary to install the belief that good health will benefit the company and not just the individual. People must believe that their participation in a health program will benefit the organization. Health incentives must be used to encourage people to participate. The use of community facilities will generally lower the cost and make the program more profitable.

4. Mike Cartman is forty-four years old. He is married and has two children. He works for Smith Brothers Incorporated. Smith Brothers makes treadmills and various exercise equipment for schools and other organizations. Mike has worked at the company for twenty years, ever since he graduated from Illinois State University. Mike has been known as a very hard worker and will likely become the president of Smith Brothers by the time he is fifty years old. Mike’s lifestyle is very stressful. He has to work forty-five hours a week and is worried about paying for his children’s college education. He usually goes to a fast food place for lunch and his wife has a large dinner ready when he comes home. He usually is so exhausted when he gets home that he just sits on the couch watching television. On the weekends he generally goes to his daughters volleyball and swim meets and the rest of time watches football or basketball on television. He is five feet, eleven inches tall, and weighs close to 235 pounds. His doctor has warned him that he should probably start some exercise program, but complains that he does not have the time. One day Mike is at work and is starting to have chest pains. He tells himself that it was just something he ate, but the pains continue to increase. In the afternoon, he suddenly can’t breathe and tells his coworkers to get help fast. An ambulance rushes to his office building. Mike is unconscious and the paramedics are not sure if he is going to make it. Mike is in critical condition at the hospital and has to undergo several operations. Luckily Mike pulls through, but he will be hospitalized for several weeks and will not be able to go back to work for some time. The doctor says he has very high blood pressure and his cholesterol level was very high. Mike is told that he is very lucky that he survived. The doctor tells him that rehabilitation will take up to a year and Mike must stop eating unhealthy and should begin a light exercise program. Mike is finally able to return to work a year later, but he is not in touch with the everyday operations of the company. His bosses tell him that he will not be able to become president because there is too great a chance of him suffering another heart attack. Mike does begin an exercise program and has practiced better nutrition. The company lost over a two hundred thousand dollars due to lost wages and since Mike’s health insurance was covered by the company they had to pay a great deal in monthly premiums.

5. I think I am making very good progress. I found a fiction book that fits my topic very well. It’s even half interesting. The nonfiction book I read this month should help me with my history paper and I have other nonfiction books that have a great deal on the history of health promotion. I think I have a very good idea about solutions to the problem. The subquestions I need to research more are: "what was the effect of more people working in offices instead of places where good health was a necessity" and "can elderly people meet the same demands as younger people." I need to starting working on my web page also.

January Journal

1. We walk into the huge office complex where hundreds of people are jammed into tight cubicles, clustering around their computers. A stench of cigarette smoke fills the air from those who have lit up soon after getting to work. The time is eight o’clock. Everyone has another ten hours of work to do. Most of the men are getting into their forties. Many of them have large beer bellies from sitting on the couch and watching football on most weekends. Obesity seems to be a major problem. A slim figure is a rare sight. The boss is very demanding of his workers. Piles of papers are stacked high on each person’s desk. Everyone is typing at a furious pace to get their work done. The death of a vice-president in his forties has made more work for everyone. A tension seems to perpetuate the atmosphere of the office. At 11:30 everyone leaves their desks and rushes out the door for their one hour lunch break. McDonald’s and Burger King seem to be the most popular choices. The employees gulp down a quarter pounder, some fries, and a shake and then head back to the grind of daily work. People begin to complain of a lack of energy around three o’clock. They simply can keep pace with the demands that the boss gives them. They know that questioning the boss will only get them fired. The workers’ backs are tight from sitting all day and fingers wish to be stretched constantly. Finally the clock strikes six o’clock and everyone heads home, only to return the next morning to begin the same ten hour cycle.

2a. It could be said that tobacco, alcohol, and fast food companies are causing harm to the American public. This would be true, but the individual knows that tobacco kills and alcohol and fast food should be taken in moderation. It is the individual that is harming his or her self and American society. Since 1964, the American public has know that tobacco is harmful to one’s health. It could be said that the tobacco companies tried to make smoking as addicting as possible with the use of nicotine, which would make it very hard for anyone to give up smoking. Society cannot control the individual, it can only offer suggestions. It is doubtful than anyone in America has not heard that smoking is bad at least once, but around twenty five percent of Americans smoke.

2b. The productivity of American society is being harmed. While it may seem that only individuals are being harmed by dying early deaths, the effects of their premature fatalities affects everyone around them. The hospital costs are enormous and the health insurance company must foot the bill. The health insurance company then has to raise their premiums in order to cover the expenditures. Medicare must pay for those who don’t have health insurance, which takes money away from the tax payers. In general money is being wasted caused by sickness, disease, and death. It takes a lot of money to train new employees in certain jobs. Employers’ invest a great deal of money in producing quality workers, and it is very unprofitable to have such an investment produce no return in the event of premature mortality.

2c. An average of 154 American workers die each day from work-related disease and injury. In 1993, the National Safety Council estimated that approxiamently $112 billion is wasted on medical costs and lost wages. A lack of fitness leads to many of these problems in the area of health and occupational health. In 1996, the Surgeon General's Report on Physical Activity indicated that more than sixty percent of adults do not achieve the recommended amount of physical activity. The Department of Labor Statistics calculated that over forty-three percent of occupational injuries or illnesses are caused by overexertion. In 1985, General Motors estimated that health care costs accounted for $400 of the price of every car that they produced. These health care costs often come from early deaths of employees which is a heavy blow to companies. Xerox in 1978 estimated the cost of losing an executive at age forty-one as $600,000 to $1,000,000.

2d. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health was created by the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 in order to reduce the number of safety and health hazards at places of employment. The Occupational Safety and Health Act was written to encourage employers to implement safety and health programs in their workplaces. The Occupational Safety and Health Act demanded full access to employers’ self audits and assessments to identify potential violations. The OSHA discourages companies from conducting health and safety evaluations because of the fear of being punished by the NIOSH. In 1995 Representative Cass Ballenger said, "I believe that the Occupational Safety and Health Act has become fundamentally misdirected, and instead of promoting and encouraging workplace safety and health, Occupational Safety and Health Act has become known for issuing silly regulations and is preoccupied with collecting fines from unsuspecting employers". Instead of helping solve the problem, the government is making the solution more difficult to find.

3a. The National Institute for Safety and Health is auditing organizations looking for possible violations of occupational health codes. The problem with this is that the businesses do this on a voluntary basis. Many companies are afraid that if they keep records, the NIOSH will demand that they seem and will levy fines or penalties. This is definitely not working and people in Congress are working on getting it changed. There needs to be incentives for organizations that keep accurate records, not things that detract from doing so. I believe it is unfair for some businesses to keep records and be penalized, even though their problem might not be as large as other places where records are not kept. Businesses must make sure that they stay profitable so why would they do things that could cost them large sums of money.

3b. The most creative solution I have found so far deals with six hour work shifts instead of eight. This change took place in Indiana and the employer found that employee morale improved greatly and there was a long list of people applying for jobs, instead of a shortage of employees. I question how the change hours of shifts could be more profitable. The article said that the employer was paying the same amount of money for a 30 hour week as a forty hour week. The employer would also have to hire more people to fill the same number of hours. If this experiment reduces stress, it would likely improve occupational health greatly. The workers will have more time to do things outside of work. This seems like a very creative solution, but I think it must be examined more before I would agree totally with it.

3c. The most realistic solution involves making sure that employees who are very valuable to the organization are in excellent health, instead of worrying about the majority of employees who can be replaced fairly easily. This would likely cost less than the undertaking of a health program for the entire company. Another idea with this is requiring valuable employees to exercise, while making it optional for everyone else. The working environment should be smoke-free and vending machines should offer healthy snacks instead of the usual chips and candy bars. A necessity in health promotion is incentives to encourage employees to stay fit. These can range from more vacation time to cash bonuses for exercising. There are many different ways to develop a health promotion program, but these ideas are needed to making such a program successful. A preventive philosophy needs to develop in health promotion instead of waiting for people to get sick and then treating them. We need to treat the causes and not just the effects.

4. In an ideal world exercise would be like taking a bath or brushing your teeth. It would be automatic and no one would even question the need for it. All the tobacco companies would find something that is not deadly to market and cigarettes would be considered a thing of the past. Cigarettes would be looked down upon like we think of using leeches as treatment for sickness in the 1700’s. Everyone would question why people would waste hundreds of dollars a year on something that would likely kill them, makes them smell bad, litters the environment, start fires, and makes people pay more for health insurance. In the workplace, people would shift tasks often so they do not get bored. People who work in an office on week, might do outside chores or travel the following week. Fast food restaurants would still be around, but they would offer more choices that did not have quite the same fat content. People who do order Big Macs and Whoopers do only a few times a month instead of five times a week. People drink moderately and never abuse alcohol. The exercise industry will get rid of all the false advertising and set more realistic goals for the public. Products such as 8-minute abs, NordicTrac, and the soft strider treadmill will be deemed as wastes of money. People will realize such devices are not necessary for good health. Running, swimming, biking, pushups, lifting weights, walking, or anything else will be just as or more effective and a lot cheaper than television products. People will realize it is okay if you don’t look like a supermodel or a professional athlete. Children will learn the values of proper health at an early age and teenage obesity will become a thing of the past. Diet commercials will also be gone since people will learn that taking a pill or drinking a shake will not allow you to keep weight off.

February Journal

1. One of my plans is to offer incentives to employees who participate in wellness programs. Benefits for employees would include lower group insurance rates, more paid vacation days, and possible bonuses for being in good health. The employer in exchange for offering incentives would be blessed with fewer absentees, greater employee morale, increased productivity, and lower medical bills for employees. The fact that both the giving and receiving end of the solution benefit makes this plan very desirable. No one is hurt through the plan and generally the money invested in wellness programs is repaid in the form of increased profits. This is a very workable plan because of the number of ways it could be implemented. Everyone wellness program should and will be different for each organization. The program should fit the need of the company and address problem areas. Another way to start a wellness program is to hire a private occupational health company to look at possible flaws in a current system and new ideas to improve the health of the organization. The solution is also very practical again because of the creativity it allows and because it solves the roots of the problems and not the effects of the problems. It is very important that the employees understand why such a program is implemented. The employees cannot be forced to exercise or eat healthy, but must recognize that they will benefit the organization and themselves if they have healthy daily habits.

2. If the harm in my problem continued, we would likely see medical costs continue to rise and organizations would likely pay these costs. If the trend of increasing obesity is not stopped in the next century, more and more Americans will likely die premature deaths. Of course the life span of Americans will also increase because of technological advances. People who live healthy will continue to live much longer on the average. Important trends to look at would be the percentage of people dying of disease such as cancer and heart disease. The statistics on stroke and heart attack deaths would also be very important. The percentage of tobacco users in the United States would also be a vital statistic to see if health promotion is having any effect on the American population. The most important information about the wellness of Americans could likely not be found in medical costs or mortality rate, but in the portion of Americans that are exercising and practicing proper nutrition. The amount of money spent on educating the public about wellness is also an important item to look at. Americans will not take up health practices if they have limited knowledge on the effects and means of such wellness programs. The measurements of health promotion in America today will likely be the same in the next hundred years unless there is some amazing medical advance that allows Americans to take a magical pill that makes them automatically healthy. Of course one can look at history and see that many have felt that they have the "magic solution," but ended up failing.

3. If the government passed new laws they would likely focus on the working environment, wellness education in school, limited advertising of tobacco products, truthful advertising by food producers, and recording of health records by all organizations. The first law concerning the working environment would ban smoking, obviously smokers would cry foul, and limit the number of hours an employee could work in the year. Hopefully these laws would create an environment that is worker friendly and more efficient. Limiting the number of hours is somewhat unpractical because it is necessary to work very hard sometimes to be very successful. The number of hours worked decreased, families would hopefully have more quality time and maybe the divorce rate would even decrease. If wellness education was implemented more heavily in school, the child obesity rate may decrease and thus produce fewer obese adults. Health is a personal responsibility and children should be taught that they need to take steps to insure their own health at an early age.

This could also cause the teenage tobacco smoking rate to decrease. Limiting tobacco advertising would ban all pictures, cartoons, or anything else besides plain black and white words. Tobacco companies would be banned from advertising in sport stadium or race cars. Of course this would create an outrage among the big tobacco companies, but hopefully they would get over it pretty quickly. Maybe they could start marketing nicotine gum or patches. Food producers would be required to tell that just because a product is fat free, it is still has a great deal of calories in some cases. The public would have to be educated for this to work. Hopefully people would watch their calorie intake more carefully and the percentage of overweight people would decrease. Recording of health records by all organizations would allow the government to keep more accurate statistics which would allow them to address certain areas more effectively. Incentives would be offered for organizations that had good health records, but fines or penalties would not be assessed to companies who had poor employee health.

4a. Name of plan- WIBEC (Wellness Inorder to Benefit the Efficiency of the Corporation) 4b. Organizer-an executive, health promotion starts at the top Private occupational health company hired by organization to provide services 4c. Method of implementation- gradual change, health promotion must be positive, boost morale of organization, widespread (all employees included), education of benefits and reasons for such a program 4d. timeline a. Before starting- find and address problems, know how much financial backing a program will receive, discuss what area to focus on, start keeping health records of the organization, know that a program cannot be limited to physical exercise, study comparable programs at different sites, find what interest the employees the most b.Beginning a program- screen employees for possible health risks, tell employers that information will be confidential, discuss prevention of risks on an individual basis, introduce facilities for participation in program c. Long term success- health records are a necessity, education of employees(newsletters, brochures), measurable gains from introduction of a wellness program must be seen-( cost of medical benefits per employee, volume of medical services used, disability income payments for employee, absences from work, productivity measures, and health risk factors) , all employees must work together, workers should not be told that their bosses will do everything for them, reinforcement of goals and accomplishments, emphasize a different area of health or wellness each year 4e. Location- working environment (smoke-free, unstressful), community (YMCA, parks), at home (exercising, eating healthy) 4f. Finances- must come from within the organization, cannot expect employees to pay for program, program will not work if money is not invested 4g. Education/awareness/publicity- seminars, newsletter, brochures, internet sites, newspaper articles

March Journal

1. I would be a chief planner of a wellness program. I would like to address the problems and map out a plan for treating and helping the employees of a certain organization. My plan would involve the whole organization, and not just focus on the head executives, but would help the general welfare of the company or business. Talking to employees would be a chief job of mine. I would need to find out what is troubling them and what they would like to see changed. It would be very important that I would have good communication with the employees. I would start a file for every employee that I am in charge of and track their health activities and record information such as their weight, eating habits, and whether or not they have had a physical recently. My boss would have to understand what I am trying to do and give adequate funding for my project. I would encourage him to ask questions when anything is bothering him. I would need to keep a good attitude when working with my plan, even when things are not going my way. I would make sure that the working environment is worker friendly and any stress created can be handled by the employees. I would plan wellness seminars and begin newsletters and brochures about health related activities. I would also talk and discuss with other organizations their own programs and learn how our programs differ and in what ways they are the same. This would help me learn new ideas and keep my methods up to date. I would need to be very imaginative in what I do, because if I am not, people are likely to get bored and would not practice anything I gave or told them.

2. If I were giving a speech about my plan, the most important idea would be that there is no right or wrong way to plan a health promotion program. The necessary thing is that it works for your organization. The same thing is true of the ways to practice wellness. Of course, there are certain activities such as smoking, drinking heavily, or eating fast food everyday that are definitely wrong for health promotion. One cannot say that bicycling is better than swimming or that six hour work shifts are better than ten hour work shifts. Some people might enjoy swimming over cycling or any other sport. Others can handle ten hour work days and are more productive, but other might not have the energy to make it through that long of a work day. Every organization is unique, has its own problems, and has good and bad things about it in relation to health. Health promotion allows for people to use creativity to make it more interesting and appealing to the public or workers. No one enjoys something that they find unexciting and never changing, wellness is not an exception. A number of guidelines do exist for wellness and health promotion programs, such as the fact that money must be invested and that treating the symptoms of disease is not nearly as beneficial as preventing the causes of sickness. Another important guideline is that health is a positive thing and cannot be looked down upon as a waste of time or worthless use of energy. The phrase, "No pain, no gain," should not be used. It is true that good health does take work, but you do not have to exhaust yourself trying to achieve it.

3. One of my projects for this inquiry is volunteering for the Indianapolis Mini-Marathon on May 1. I believe this shows my role as someone who enjoys helping and seeing others succeed. I know my role will be small, but from past participation in the race I know that the volunteers are an enormous aid to the runners. The race would not be possible without volunteers. Volunteers are behind the scenes people for the most part and I would consider that a characteristic of myself. I am not the type of person that needs attention to do things, although it is nice to be noticed and appreciated for your work. Volunteers also need to be well educated about the logistics of the race and what exactly their job is. I consider myself a planner in all parts of my life. I try to have an idea about what I need to do, when to do it, and how I am going to do it. I am not a very spontaneous person. For school work, I write down assignments in my planner and keep accurate grade records so I know how I am doing. For running, I keep a log of what I did on each day so I can see if I am improving or need to rest more. I find my running log to be a great motivational tool when I see how much I have improved compared to the season before. I also don’t spend money often. I’m a fairly thrifty person and like to save money for the future instead of spending it now.

4. My father has been a very valuable source for this inquiry. He is an executive for a health insurance company so he knows whether plans would be realistic or unpractical. For instance the price of insurance per person in Kennedy and Komen Inc. I was not totally sure about, but my father said that 5,292 dollars would be a realistic price. He also thought that cutting 1,500 dollars was an achievable goal. My dad has helped me understand better the operations of a business organizations and the practicality of solutions that I have read about in books.

The use of the internet made my inquiry project much easier. The internet helped most in the research of statistics and specific causes of poor health. I would run into times while writing my paper where I really didn’t have anything to backup a statement, but could connect to the internet and find a source in less than ten minutes. Without the internet, research would have taken ten times as longer. It was very efficient to have such a tool in my home.

A third source which was very valuable was the nonfiction book written by Michael Goldstein, The Health Movement, Promoting Fitness in America. This book helped a great deal with writing the cause paper. It was very detailed about health trends in the United States and presented everything in a chronological order. The book stayed away from being very technical, unlike other books with were somewhat difficult to understand.

A fourth source, Economic Impact of Worksite Health Promotion by Joseph Opatz, gave me needed information for my solution paper. The book offered several examples of other business health promotion programs and pointed out the weaknesses and strengths of them. The book was also beneficial because it criticized some aspects of health promotion such as the fact that it is a rather new field of study. The book also had several charts and graphs which made the information easier to comprehend.

April Journal

1. The most interesting thing I have learned while working on this inquiry is how much money is spent on people who have or are using tobacco products in medical costs. When I heard smoking costs the United States $130 billion per year in lost wages and medical costs, I realized why tobacco companies deserve to pay a huge settlement to the government and American public. I also have found out tobacco companies are paying much less than what could be accountable towards them. The sum of the settlement seems very large to the general public, but is miniscule compared to the problems smoking causes. The tobacco industry owes trillions of dollars over a long term period, but will probably get away with paying much less than that.

2. I have learned I am not a complainer when compared to others, and I have the ability to work very hard when I am focused. Although a few times I did have to stay up very late, I don’t think my work ever suffered because of lack of time. I will most likely have to do another inquiry similar to this project in college, so I will have confidence in myself about how to budget my time and resources. I know I have less free time when compared to the class average, but was still able to get every single assignment in on time.

3. If I could begin the inquiry again, I would have a better idea about exactly what I am trying to research. I found myself getting off course very easily into subjects which were related to my topic, but still not what I needed to research. Some of the books I read were also the same way. I tried to stay away from materials which only discussed lifestyle guidelines or accidents in the workplace because those subjects were not what I would benefit from.

4. The best part about the inquiry will be having it done and seeing the finished product, but other than that I would say the best part was learning new ideas will doing research from sources on the internet and books. While doing research, it was necessary to teach yourself new ideas and positions. No one was around to guide you through materials. I enjoyed sifting through the materials and picking out the important information. All the sources of information had general ideas which were similar, but each source was unique and provided a different position.

5. The hardest part about doing the inquiry was understand what was expected out of the different papers. I had difficulty knowing what information needed to be explained a what could be assumed. For instance in the solution paper, I thought it would be useful to explain all aspects of the plan in detail, but when I got it back Mrs. Fendley said it should stick to solvency. The outlines handed out several weeks beforehand were very useful, but still left some confusion. I was frustrated when we were told afterwards what we should have done, when the mistakes could have been prevented with a better grasp of the situation.

6. I think it might be worth a try to explain the inquiry project to the juniors in more detail and even sit down with each one of them and pick out a topic. It seemed like our class was a little rushed in September because everything was piled on in a very short time. If we had known formats for book reports and journals the first week of school, we might have had an easier time getting things completed in the fall. Also as mentioned in question #5, it would be nice to have a good understanding of the requirements in each paper. I would liked to have read students’ papers from the previous years to get a feeling for what is expected and necessary to write a good paper.

7. I would tell a future student not to worry about the class requirements. All the work may seem overwhelming when looking at a piece of paper, but it is quite manageable if you take each assignment one at a time. Also it is necessary to realize when you will have time and will not have time. Sometimes I didn’t touch my inquiry for two weeks because I had so many things going on. But when the time became available, I really worked hard and caught up to where I needed to be. I also think a student should chose a topic which he or she has some knowledge about beforehand. I had an accurate knowledge about what is involved with good health beforehand, so I didn’t need to spend a lot of time working and researching the basic ideas of wellness.

8. I wanted to know how many students chose a career which is somewhat related to their inquiry project. I think a career as an actuary would be somewhat related to my topic, at least the part of projecting health care costs and insurance premiums. Also during career day I went to the exercise physiologist. He worked at NIFS and even handed out a brochure for the Association for Worksite Health Promotion. He works in marketing for NIFS and explained how they work with several large businesses. His reasons for corporate wellness programs were exactly the same as what I have been writing in papers, so I know I have a very good knowledge of my topic.