-Kaylynn Webb
Monday, November 1, 2010
Peer Presentation Review:2
The second group that I reviewed was Stampede. Their discussion question was: Why is the suicide rate increasing amongst African-Americans between the ages of 15-24? A group member came up with this question after a recent incident where a Howard University student committed suicide. I think that it is important for researchers to research relevant topics like the one Stampede reviewed. I was very interested to hear their presentation because it was related to myself as an African-American and person between the ages of fifteen and twenty-four. Some of the causes of suicide in this age bracket are unemployment, alcohol abuse, relationship discord, physical abuse, stress, and death in the family. All of these reasons seem logical based upon personal knowledge of other suicide incidents. Some of the statistics Stampede provided stated that over 30,000 Americans have committed suicide in the past year. This equates to five African-Americans committing suicide a day. In America it is the eighth leading cause of death, which is over homicide/murder. Between 1980-1995 there was a record high suicide rate in the African American community. In order to help prevent the act of suicide the group presented alternative solutions and resources. Some of the resources included help hotlines, peer to peer mediating groups, and just talking with a friend. The most intriguing part of the presentation was the segment about anti-depressant pills. The information they gathered showed that many anti-depressant pills do not work and the chemical imbalance that is suggested by pharmacies is false. The only factor of the presentation that was not included was the citing sources. As a researcher it is extremely important to cite your sources so that the information will be reliable. Other than that factor the presentation was nice.
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Locke-Stars presented their presentation on the Failure of the Family. The question attempted to be answered was “how does the analysis of systems, structures, and statistics elucidate the influence of the transformation of the family structure, government interference, and the impact of the media on the traditional nuclear family?” A mouth full isn’t it! This question was so broad that it would have been more effective to narrow it down to specifics and given a detailed presentation on that. The research was broken down into 5 categories (welfare, separated family, foster care, grandparent guardianship, and media influence) that each group member discussed, showing that every member participated in the group. A pro was towards the end of the presentation. I liked how they restated their question and for each category summarized the key points as a way to try to answer the question. They also provided recommendations on how to help the family. Some advice for the group would be no not read straight from the powerpoint for a prolonged amount of time. If a slide has lots of information it is best to pick the key points and state those. And on the other hand, if a slide only contains bullets then elaborate on them. Also, keep everything unified. No “I did this” or “I did that” should be heard. A group project is a “we” collaboration, so present the presentation as such. Lastly, be considerate of the time limit. It’s ok to go over a small amount, but be cognizant to the fact that other groups have to present as well.
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