GERO: contemporary issues in aging

  
Historical and Contemporary Perspectives Essay (15 points) – due at the end of Week 4 
You will be required to submit a well-written 4 page essay (not including title page or references) on the topic: Does Alcohol use/abuse lead to dementia (Alcohol use/abuse and dementia). The purpose of this paper is to link historical and demographic trends to contemporary issues in gerontology. Your essay should rely on assigned class readings as well as the information you gathered as part of your bibliography assignment (a minimum of 10 resources is required). Remember, you should always use in-text citations for information that you gathered from another source and include a reference list at the end of your essay.  Use APA format for this assignment.  
Many students leave out the historical part of this assignment. Please make sure to include substantive information on the historical aspect of your topic! Failure to do so will result in a significant reduction to your grade. Many students also leave out demographic information (the impact that age, gender, race, education, culture, etc has on your topic). Again, failure to include this information will result in a significant reduction to your grade.
Your essay should address the following items: 
· Topic: (brief description) Does Alcohol use/abuse lead to dementia (Alcohol use/abuse and dementia)
· Historical background (e.g. when did this become an issue in aging? Why?)
· Influence of demography on selected issue
· Contemporary aspects of the topic (e.g. Why is this an important issue in aging now?)
Your paper should be concise and formal (no slang, no use of “I” statements, no opinions, etc) in tone. Be sure to proofread your work prior to submission. Points will be deducted for poor writing quality or failure to use APA format. 
Before submitting your work, you may wish to review the rubric provided to make sure you have addressed all of the important components of the essay.) 
Grading Rubric for Historical and Contemporary Perspectives Essay: 
  
Component

Pt values

Point value   descriptions

Total points
 
Topic

1 points

· Well-written,   concise description of the topic

 
.5 points

· Adequate   description of the topic
· May   be overly wordy or lacking detail but topic is clear
 
0 points

· Lacks   topic description
· Topic   unclear due to poor writing or omission of important detail
 
Historical Background

4 points

· Excellent   overview of historical perspective of the topic
· Includes   examples and details to support statements

 
3 points

· Good   overview of historical perspective
· May   be missing one or two minor details
 
2 points

· Fair   overview of historical perspective
· Missing   one or two major details
 
1 point

· Poor   overview of historical perspective
· Missing   several major details
· Writing   is mostly incomprehensible
 
0 points

· Missing   historical background
· Writing   is incomprehensible
 
Demography

2 points

Correctly articulates the influence of   demography on the selected topic

1 point

Identifies the influence of demography on   the selected topic, but misses one or two important details
 

0 points

· Unable   to identify the influence of demography on selected topic
· demography   not addressed
 
Contemporary Issues

4 points

· Excellent   overview of contemporary issues related to the topic
· Includes   examples and details to support statements

3 points

· Good   overview of contemporary issues
· May   be missing one or two minor details
 

2 points

· Fair   overview of contemporary issues
· Missing   one or two major details
 

1 point

· Poor   overview of contemporary issues
· Missing   several major details
· Writing   is mostly incomprehensible
 

0 points

· Missing   historical background
· Writing   is incomprehensible
 
Composition

2 points

· Writing   is concise and thorough
· Writing   is well-organized, ideas flow logically from beginning to end
· Few   or no mechanical errors (spelling, punctuation, grammar)

1 point

· Writing   is overly wordy or too terse
· May   have lapses in organization or flow
· Few   to several mechanical errors that may affect readability
 

0 points

· Writing   is disorganized or disjointed
· Many   mechanical errors that seriously impact readability
 
APA format

2 points

· Correct   use of in-text citations
· Correct   use of APA format (spacing, margins, numbering)
· Correct   use of APA format in reference list

1 point

· Minor   errors in use of in-text citations
· Minor   errors in APA format (spacing, margins, numbering)
· Minor   errors in use of APA format in reference list
 

.5 points

· Serious   errors in use of in-text citations
· Serious   errors in APA format (spacing, margins, numbering)
· Serious   errors in use of APA format in reference list
 

0 points

Failure to use in-text citations
· Failure   to include reference list
 
Total Points

15
References
TOPIC: Does Alcohol use/abuse lead to dementia (Alcohol use/abuse and dementia)
Perry, C. J. (2016). Cognitive decline and recovery in alcohol abuse. Journal of molecular neuroscience, 60(3), 383-389. Retrieved from https://doi-org.ezproxy.umuc.edu/10.1007/s12031-016-0798-4
Hagger-Johnson, G., Sabia, S., Brunner, E. J., Shipley, M., Bobak, M., Marmot, M., … Singh-Manoux, A. (2013). Combined impact of smoking and heavy alcohol use on cognitive decline in early old age: Whitehall II prospective cohort study. British Journal of Psychiatry, 203(2), 120. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.umuc.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.umuc.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edb&AN=89930134&site=eds-live&scope=site 
Topiwala, A., & Ebmeier, K. P. (2018). Effects of drinking on late-life brain and cognition. Evidence-Based Mental Health, 21(1), 12–15. https://doi-org.ezproxy.umuc.edu/10.1136/eb-2017-102820 
Panza, F., Frisardi, V., Seripa, D., Logroscino, G., Santamato, A., Imbimbo, B. P., … Solfrizzi, V. (2012). Alcohol consumption in mild cognitive impairment and dementia: harmful or neuroprotective? International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 27(12), 1218–1238. https://doi-org.ezproxy.umuc.edu/10.1002/gps.3772 
Gutwinski, S. ( 1,4 ), Schreiter, S. ( 1 ), Henssler, J. ( 1 ), Heinz, A. ( 1 ), Priller, J. 
( 2 ), & Wiers, C. E. ( 3 ). (n.d.). Drink and Think: Impact of Alcohol on Cognitive Functions and Dementia – Evidence of Dose-Related Effects. Pharmacopsychiatry, 51(4), 136–143. https://doi-org.ezproxy.umuc.edu/10.1055/s-0043-118664 
Ridley, N. J., Draper, B., & Withall, A. (2013). Alcohol-related dementia: an update of the evidence. Alzheimer’s Research & Therapy, (3). https://doi-org.ezproxy.umuc.edu/10.1186/alzrt157 Anstey, K. J., & Peters, R. (2018). Alcohol and dementia—risk or protective factor? Nature Reviews Neurology, 1. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41582-018-0073-0
Heffernan, M., Mather, K. A., Jing Xu, Assareh, A. A., Kochan, N. A., Reppermund, S., … Xu, J. (2016). Alcohol Consumption and Incident Dementia: Evidence from the Sydney Memory and Ageing Study. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, 52(2), 529–538. https://doi-org.ezproxy.umuc.edu/10.3233/JAD-150537
opiwala, A., & Ebmeier, K. P. (2018). Effects of drinking on late-life brain and cognition. Evidence-Based Mental Health, 21(1), 12–15. https://doi-org.ezproxy.umuc.edu/10.1136/eb-2017-102820 
Peters, R. (2012). Blood pressure, smoking and alcohol use, association with vascular dementia. Experimental Gerontology, 47, 865–872. https://doi-org.ezproxy.umuc.edu/10.1016/j.exger.2012.05.018
Zahr, N. M., & Pfefferbaum, A. (2017). Alcohol’s Effects on the Brain: Neuroimaging Results in Humans and Animal Models. Alcohol Research: Current Reviews, 38(2), e-1-e-24. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.umuc.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.umuc.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=123010534&site=eds-live&scope=site