Activity Suggestions
The following are a list of recommended activities on alcohol
and related issues that can be incorporated into any syllabus.
These are listed by the area of discipline.
ADVERTISING
AND MARKETING
Market research techniques could be used by students in conducting
a study of factors predicting college students purchasing of
various types and brands of alcohol.
Develop, conduct, and analyze a plan to market the elimination
of drug abuse on a College Campus.
Research the legal and ethical issues in the marketing of
alcohol and tobacco, especially to underage consumers and target
groups such as African Americans and women.
Have the students discuss what happens in the workplace and
the effects of doing drugs or having an alcohol problem (i.e.
sick days, tardiness, health care, work quality).
ANTHROPOLOGY
Discuss the impact of culture on trends in the use and abuse
of alcohol and other drugs; consider cross-cultural similarities
as well as differences in substance use.
BUSINESS
AND MANAGEMENT
Address as human resource management issues the relevance
of managers becoming familiar with warning signs of substance
abuse problems in employees.
Assign students the task of developing an employee assistance
program to provide assistance for employees with substance-related
problems (which could prove cost effective for the company as
well).
In the context of discussing or practicing problem-solving
and assertiveness skills (relevant to effective management),
note the application of these skills to social situations in
which pressure to drink excessively or use elicit drugs may be
present.
ECONOMICS
Calculate the cost to society of drug abuse for various substances
(alcohol, stimulants, designer drugs, hallucinogens, marijuana,
nicotine, etc.).
Estimate the economic effects of the legalization of abused
drugs.
Have the students research the costs for a family that has
a drug problem.
EDUCATION
Examine the learning and behavioral problems associated with
children born with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and the effects
of the mother's use of other drugs such as cocaine.
Compare the incidence of alcohol and other drug abuses among
students who are working their way through school and those who
do not work.
Design developmentally appropriate prevention programs for
elementary and secondary students.
ENGLISH
Survey alcoholism and other drug abuses in literature.
Examine the negative effects of alcohol or other drug abuses
on the writing careers of authors such as Dylan Thomas, Edgar
Allen Poe, Hemingway, and the Rossettis'.
GEOGRAPHY
Examine possible patterns in the use and abuse of alcohol
and other drugs as a function of geography.
HISTORY
Examine the history of the abuse of alcohol and other drugs
in specific periods of history, especially in U.S. history.
Examine the history of the abuse of alcohol in the U.S., emphasizing
the legislative and legal aspects.
To find out the history behind different types of drugs for
example: prohibition.
JOURNALISM
Report on recent local news coverage of stories in which drug
abuse was a factor.
Design a community program to combat drug abuse: include budget,
time line, strategy, news releases, media kits, and brochures.
PHILOSOPHY
Examine the rights of a society to regulate personal use of
alcohol and other drugs.
Examine the philosophical/ethical issues of people receiving
organ transplants when their organs have failed due to drug and/or
alcohol use/abuse.
POLITICAL
SCIENCE
Examine how the alcohol, tobacco, opiate, and cocaine sectors
have affected political campaigns through money and media.
Examine how the use of illicit drugs has affected candidates
for public office.
Examine the role of drug policies in U.S. relations with other
countries.
Explore the political processes involved in the formation
and enforcement of laws governing alcohol and other drug use
(see also Social Sciences).
PSYCHOLOGY
Instruct students to calculate an individual's blood alcohol
content (BAC) and understand the likely physical and behavioral
effects of increasing levels of BAC.
Discuss the personal and environmental risk factors associated
with the development of alcohol or other drug abuse.
Examine the controversial concept of the "addictive personality".
Apply social psychological concepts such as reactance and
persuasive techniques to substance abuse prevention.
Distinguish between the diagnostic signs of alcohol and other
drug abuses and those of alcohol and other drug dependence.
See DSM-IV cited under General References.
Review the complications in treating individuals with dual
diganoses.
Compare the various interventions (e.g. medical, behavioral,
cognitive, family and group therapies, and self-help groups such
as Alcoholics Anonymous) for alcohol and other drug abuse and
dependences.
SOCIAL
SCIENCES
Examine substance abuse as a criminal justice issue (i.e.
the involvement of drugs and alcohol in crimes either by the
person committing the crime or in their family).
Compare the incidence of alcohol and other drug abuse among
students who are working their way through school.
STATISTICS
Use statistical techniques such as graph, correlations, inferential
tests of significance, etc., to examine various economic, historical,
sociological, and political aspects of drug abuse.
THEATER
Discuss the role of alcohol and other drugs in the plots of
plays such as Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? And Days of Wine
and Roses (as well as more contemporary plays in which alcohol
and other drugs play a prominent part).
Write short plays incorporating alcohol and other drug-related
themes (e.g. growing up as a child of an alcoholic).
WOMEN'S
STUDIES
Discuss the history and sociology of drug abuse by women as
well as treatment methods for women who are drug abusers.
Examine the differences in the effects of substances on women
and men as well as the lower overall incidence of substance abuse
among women.
Address the role of alcohol and other drug abuses in acts
of violence against women, including rape and battering.
Permission was given by Virginia Wesleyan
College to reprint this information from their Curriculum Infusion
Guidebook.
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