In MYP Personal Project, I studied the link between environment and the development of several mental illnesses, therefore when I was directed from Biology to World Studies, I took the opportunity to look deeper into the link between the biological and psychological development of depression and how antidepressants treat depression, however, I struggled to direct my thinking into focusing a research question with a smaller lens to study health. I was curious why there were different antidepressants and why some don’t work for different people. My supervisor suggested isolating gender, as gender is a genetic factor that may have a permanent influence on the drugs’ effect. My initial strategy is to understand biologically and psychologically who depression occurs in and why, and what antidepressants affect. I feel this is base knowledge to understanding if and why there are gender differences that can be used to better understand and treat depression across high-risk populations
Month: March 2019
Ladakh Documentary
In Ladakh over two sessions, we spent the majority of the meetings watching a documentary that is set in Leh, Ladakh. The documentary was about how tourism is causing major changes within the economical and social aspects of living in Ladakh. The documentary was a mixture of many different interviews: some were from tourists, some were from local farmers, some were from local politicians and government workers. Despite this, the views were not as varied as one would think. Many of the interviewees believe that there have been some negative effects of globalization, especially to the native Ladakhi people.
Primarily, the growth in tourism was causing major changes with the Buddhist lifestyle of many of the locals. Much of the Ladakhi culture was being replaced or only highlighted for the purpose of drawing in tourists to Ladakh, which changed how the local people viewed their own culture. It became a tool to use in order to have financial gain. Especially because Leh is unreachable within the winter months due to dangerous weather conditions, the locals must utilize the summer months to the best of their abilities. As farming has decreased due to younger generations traveling from farms into the cities for work, there is a need for jobs within the city that can provide enough money during summer months to last workers for the rest of the year.
Here is a video of the discussion that our group had after finishing the documentary:
Ladakh: Run for Rights 2019
Run for Rights SWOT Analysis 
STRENGTHS
The strengths of our service partnership are:
- No one got lost – no one got hurt, we had the emergency team well coordinated
- Lot of the stuff was available from last year so there was enough guides for logistics
- Able to make a profit
- Offered food and water
- We planned for many different situations
- Were coordinated
- Marketed to the High School and many teachers were interestedWEAKNESSES
Identify them and add strategies to minimise them:
- Risk assessment was late as the guides of what to do weren’t organised
- There needs to be a more logical order for what to do in terms of logistics
- Less people for logistics
- Confusion between pledge cards and risk bands
- Too late for marketing
- Unsure of placement in kilometer marker
- Posters along the run weren’t visible or legible
- Not enough people encouragement for runners – didn’t create the right environment (maybe need more people)
- Wastage of food?
- Not enough people showed up
- Podcast
- Not enough people to pack up event in school
OPPORTUNITIES
Further goals for our service partnership are:
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- Printing registration form
- More communication with service office on the steps to organise events
- Expectations and order need to be communicated by service
- order
- Maybe merge pledge cards and wrist bands into one
- Clarify that pledge cards are competitive
- Make it more of a family event
- Earlier market
- More organized shifts for GC members to allow members to participate in event
- Move the date to not be close to exams etc.
- More people for packing up the event on Saturday in school
- Put snacks and water every kilometer for runners to hydrate and eat
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THREATS
Identify them and add strategies to overcome them:
- Weren’t extremely prepared for rain or lighting
- Deadlines were cut close
- Not properly marked hazards
- Markers were wrong so runners confused