Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Robotic Dogs?

I found a study done by Mariam Banks about the benefits of having a dog that I am using, then I found one that was done by her about the benefits of having a robotic dog rather then a real dog. I have not completely finished reading it but I must say that I could never get past the robotic part of the dog. A dog needs to be real. More about robotic dogs later.

Research

Okay, so I have found out that assisted living pets is my best bet for looking up study's and papers on my subject. I have found one book that may be useful but I think the best thing so far has been by a Mariam and William Banks. They conducted a study about what a pet can do for a person. I feel like that is the most helpful because I know how credible they are. Plus, they have two other pieces about this subject from different years. I found a periodical from 1997 that will help also. I am a little worried about the year but I think I can use it as a introduction to all of the studies that have been done. I actually have a study from 1982 that showed the same results. I think that the difference in year can help prove my point that this is not just a project for right now, but it has been a project for years. It will help sustain all of my points I think if I can find the same results from 1982 to now. 

Thursday, March 3, 2011

A lot has happened

Wow, what a month. I have switched agency's to a retirement home called AarenBrooke Place. I have found that the work is nothing like what I expected. They are trying to start a new service-learning project. They want research to prove that animals are beneficial in assisted living homes. This research may be able to help them get a grant that will be able to let the people have pets without worrying about the cost of having a pet living with them.
My orientation was only 30 min long. It covered what we were going to be doing and what was the next step for the group to do. There are four of us in this service project. The other three are seniors and picked this one because it looked easy on there and it fit to your schedule. It's nice to be able to do some of the work at home rather then having to be there.
The research that I have been doing has found articles and studies that actually prove how helpful it is.

More about research later.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Service-Learning

My agency is Good Samaritan Society-Boise Village. In this community I will be working with people with Alzheimer's disease. I will  be working with them with their social, physical, cognitive, sensory, spiritual, intellectual and creativity skills. I know that I have to be able to be there for at least two hours. I think that the thing that I worry about the most is how I will fit in with these people. I don't have anyone in my family that has ever had this disease but I want to know more about it. Another thing that I wonder about is how I am going to be able to help them when I am not trained on their disease. But the orientation should help with that I hope.