Module Assignment #9 - Legal Issues
“The good thing about death is it kills you once
while life kills you for a lifetime.
In fact death rescues you from life.”
― Bangambiki Habyarimana,
The Great Pearl of Wisdom
9.1 - Overview
Legal Issues Surrounding End of Life Decisions
The purpose of Homework Assignment #9 is to: (a) provide you with an appreciation of the importance of the many legal issues surrounding end of life decisions and, (b) to provide you with "hands on experience" in learning how such things as advanced directives, organ donation, death certificates, autopsies, wills and inheritance, and other probate matters influence issues of death and dying in our lives.
As this is the halfway mark for this "Online" course, I would be most appreciative, if you would fill out the following "Student Feedback" form. If you have already completed the form link that was provided in "Homework Assignment #8," then just ignore this request. Typically, many students waive homework assignment #8, so I make the request in both homework assignments #8 and #9. Thank you for your patience.
Student Feedback - Dr. Mannino - Pure Online Course
9.2 - Using The Internet To Conduct Psych Research
Researching Thanatology
Theme - In this "Internet Research Project," you are to seek out one of the following: (a) a scientific journal article, (b) a national media article or, (c) a Website that discusses, provides a fact sheet, or reports other such findings.
Task - Using one or more of the above resources, discuss some aspect of law that surrounds death. Such legal considerations might include advanced directives, physician-assisted death, organ donation, death certificates, coroner-related issues, or probate matters.
Your report is to be in the form of a "discussion paper" of at least one to three typed, double-spaced pages.
You are urged to use the Internet exclusively, though you may use Doyle Library or other such "land-based" resources.
When the poet Percy Bysshe Shelly drowned off the coast of Italy in 1822, his body was cremated on an open fire on the very beach where he drown. Wine, incense, and oil were thrown into the open flames. A close friend, Trelawney, is said to have plucked Shelly's heart from the fire, badly burning his own hand in the act. Shelly's heart was returned to England--where quite a fight over the rights ensued. How the possessions, resources, and wealth of the deceased are disposed of--a term called probate-- are as important for the survivors as disposing of the body is for the deceased.
The link that follows takes you to resources that deal with "wills and estate planning."
Will and Estate Planning Links to an external site.
Links to an external site.Doyle Library (Click on Electronic Databases)
9.3 - Psychology Based Websites
Using Internet Tools To Learn About Death and Dying
Task - For the following psychologically oriented Website, report back what you learned from exploring any one of the many sub-categories listed. A tighly written paragraph--or better yet a typed, double-spaced page--sharing what you learned and what your reactions were, would be most appreciated.
Professor's Favorite Section: "Planning Ahead." The second link that follows will take you directly to a series of discussions on "physician assisted suicide."
Death and Dying Resources Links to an external site.
Links to an external site.Physician Assisted Suicide Links to an external site.
9.4 - Reading Assignment - Chapter 4
Title - Death Systems: Mortality and Society"
Your primary textbooks include The Last Dance (10th ed.) by Lynne Ann DeSpelder and Albert Lee Strickland (New York: McGraw, 2014) and Grieving Days, Healing Days, by J. Davis Mannino (San Francisco, California: TeddyBear Publishing, 2013).
Primary Readings
As you read Chapter 4, "Death Systems: Mortality and Society," you should keep in mind the following key questions and core concepts.
Content Overview
1. The components of a death system include people, places, times, objects, and symbols.
2. Community standards of morality and justice play major roles in determining how an act of killing is assessed by a society and its judicial system. The killer's motivation and intent, along with the relationship between killer and victim, are among the factors considered in assessing whether a homicide is lawful or unlawful and, if unlawful, whether it constitutes murder.
3. Capital punishment has a twofold purpose; namely, to punish the offender and deter potential offenders. Whether the death penalty serves this purpose is a matter of debate; many people believe that it is inconsistent for a society to try to prevent murder by itself engaging in killing.
4. Because medical technology has advanced to the point that machines can now sustain bodily functions, the definition of death has become more complex and new methods of determining death have been instituted.
5. Legislation defining death has evolved with the expansion of sophisticated medical technologies.
6. Organ donation is voluntary; however, because there is a shortage of transplantable organs, most states have enacted "required request" laws that obligate hospitals to institute policies encouraging organ and tissue donations.
7. Unique approaches for procuring needed organs such as ads on billboards, websites, newspapers, and social media.
8. Organ transplantation involves issues of rationing that require medical personnel to act as gatekeepers in determining prospective recipients.
9. Death certification, along with autopsies conducted at the direction of coroners and medical examiners, involves a legal process for reporting the cause and mode of death.
10. As a network of people, places, and times, as well as objects and symbols, the death system affects our collective and personal relationships to mortality in many ways.
Objectives
1. To identify the components and impact of the death system.
2. To identify and explain the cultural standards by which homicidal acts are judged.
3. To define homicide and distinguish various categories and types.
4. To evaluate the effects of capital punishment.
5. To develop an alternative model for punishment.
6. To identify conventional signs of death and new technology.
7. To name four approaches to the definition of death and to evaluate the usefulness of each.
8. To give an example of a practical definition of death and its application to making a determination of death.
9. To describe the major points of view involved in the Uniform Determination of Death Act.
10. To describe the emotional, physical, and ethical components of organ transplantation.
11. To describe the stipulations contained in the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act and to assess its pertinence for oneself.
12. To identify the functions and purposes of death certification.
13. To describe the functions, similarities, and differences between the coroner and the medical examiner.
14. To identify the purposes of the autopsy.
15. To recognize cross-cultural issues related to medical ethics.
Key Terms & Concepts
autopsy
brain death
cadaveric spasm
capital punishment
cellular death
certification of death
clinical death
coma
coroner
dead donor rule
death certificate
death penalty
death system
definition of death
determination of death
directed donation
donor card
forensic pathology
Harvard criteria
higher-brain theory
homicide
manslaughter
medical examiner
mode of death
murder
National Organ Transplant Act
notification of death
organ transplantation
postmortem
presumed consent
rigor mortis
thanatography
Uniform Anatomical Gift Act
Uniform Determination of Death Act
United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS)
vital signs
whole-brain theory
Questions For Guided Study and Evaluation
1. Explain the functions of a death system and identify its components.
2. Describe the personal and social strategies that can reduce the impact of disasters.
3. Explain how differential punishments for homicide may be based on the relationship of the killer to the victim.
4. List the pros and cons of capital punishment as you see them and assess your ideas. Are there alternatives? What are they?
5. Contrast traditional methods of defining death with newer definitions.
6. Identify Robert Veatch’s four approaches to defining and determining death. Which do you find most helpful and least helpful? Explain your response.
7. Design your own proposal for defining and determining death, pointing out its strengths and weaknesses. Be sure to state who should be involved in making a determination of death.
8. Describe key features of the Uniform Determination of Death Act.
9. Prepare a list of reasons that people express for organ donation.
10. Identify four views about the nature of the human body and discuss their application to organ transplantation.
11. Describe the relationship between organ transplantation and the way that death is defined and determined in Japan.
12. Identify the information included on a death certificate and analyze its purpose.
13. Describe the “sequential technique” used in death notification.
14. Contrast the training and qualifications of coroners and medical examiners.
15. State at least four reasons for performing autopsies.
Task 9.4 - In the section above entitled: "Questions For Guided Study And Evaluation," briefly discuss any two questions you wish. Be sure to have enough length and quality to properly respond to each question.
Related Link -
That international champion of the blind, Helen Keller, who was blind herself, once observed, "Although the world is full of suffering ... it is also full of overcoming it."
The following link takes you to a superb discussion of "tissue and organ" transplantation--an often crucial issue in the lives of terminally ill persons.
Task - Provide a reaction response to what you discovered and learned.
Organ and Tissue Donation Links to an external site.
Practice Quiz - Chapter #4
In this section you will find a practice quiz for each assigned textbook chapter in The Last Dance. The quiz is presented in a link below.
Psych 56 - Chapter #4 Quiz - "Death Systems"
9.5 - Online Exam #2 Chapters 4, 5, & 6
"Online Exam #2," like the other exams, is a restricted "time stamp" exam. By this it is meant that each exam is unlocked at a certain time and must be completed and submitted within a certain timeframe--"time stamped." The exam is then locked again. Once you take an online exam and press the "submit" button, your exam will automatically be graded and the results sent back to you at the email address you provided after all exams have been reviewed, graded, and added to the course gradebook by your professor.
Though the five exams are open book, you will not be successful in completing these online exams successfully if you have not read and studied the assigned chapters--this is just a simple fact!
The links below takes you to both "Practice Exam #2" and "Actual Online Exam #2" --- know the difference! If on exam day you are submitting the actual exam be sure you click on the correct link --- "Actual Online Exam #2."
Psych 56 - Practice Exam #2 (Chapters 4, 5, & 6)
Psych 56 - Actual Online Exam #2 (Chapters 4, 5, & 6)
9.6 - "Grieving Days, Healing Days" - The Workbook
Learning Through "Hands-On" Doing
Overview
Grieving Days, Healing Days, is an interactive workbook written by Dr. J. Davis Mannino, 2013 (Formerly, Boston: Simon & Schuster, 1996). It is required for this course, because specific pages in the workbook are assigned as part of each homework assignment that you chose to complete.
Assignments to complete in Grieving Days, Healing Days will be listed in this section for each of the 16 homework assignments. Generally speaking, assignments are due by the assigned date. This workbook is loaded with readings, exercises, and activities that will enhance your learning of many important topics in the study of death and dying --- a field that is better known as "thanatology."
It is also important to remember that certain workbook pages will be required reading for assignments that you choose to complete. Therefore, always review and read workbook readings for each of the homework assignments you choose to complete as part of the course requirement. Choose assignments that fulfill your overall course requirement from GDHD.
Workbook Reading Assignment
1. Review Grieving Days, Healing Days, and become familiar with it.
2. At minimum, read and complete ANY THREE of the following assignments in Grieving Days, Healing Days. This only applies to those HW assignments you are completing as part of the course requirement. They may also be credited towards your overall course workbook requirement as well. Please note that all online homework assignments must, at minimum, still be read and reviewed.
Filling Out Your Own Death Certificate, p. 33
Living Trusts: A Will for Living!, p. 98
Preparing A Living Will, p. 102
Advance Health Care Directive (AHCD), p. 107
Coroner's Office Field Trip, p. 228
Coroner's Office Field Trip Questions, p. 230
Guest Speaker: Probate Attorney's Questions, p. 237
9.7 - Course Discussion Board
Module #9 - Thought Provoking Question (TPQ) or Article
Overview - The purpose of a course discussion board is to allow students and professor an opportunity to interact about topics of common interest. A discussion board is also a fine tool to share commonly asked questions, answers, and concerns.
You are urged to use the message board, when you have questions that you think others may wish to know; when you have technical questions or answers that others may wish to know, and to share other useful tidbits with each other. I want each of you to become familiar with the message board system.
Once you have composed your thoughts and written them down in a word application program [i.e., Microsoft word] --- with grammar and spell check---you follow through with posting (copy and pasting) them. Remember, to be sure you also post your comments in the appropriate place in the task boxes that links later in this assignment. You only do this if you are also submitting this ENTIRE assignment as one of your required four online assignments for this course.
Task - In each class module, there will be one thought-provoking course related question or article for which discussion is expected from students. While not always directly related to assigned readings, they have important course-wide implications. You are expected to respond to each TPQ by the end of each class module's deadline Be sure to place the question/article module number (#) in the "subject line" so your classmates will know which module topic you are addressing.
Since there is only one "thought-provoking question or article " (TPQ) due per module during the regular semester, a minimum response of 250 to 500 words is required for each message board TPQ posting. Also, students need to post a TPQ for EACH of the 15 online assignments.
This Assignment's Thought Provoking Question (TPQ) or Article
The following link is a graded assignment for the TPQ. (1) Click on the link below, (2) read the TPQ or article, and then (3) respond in the student posting area provided at the end of the article.
Thought Provoking Reading #9 - "The Caregiver's Bill of Rights ..."
9.8 - Death: A Personal Understanding
Oveview
Welcome to a new video feature for my online course.
It is a very fascinating series by the world-renowned Annenberg Media Series. This video instructional series on death and dying is intended for college classrooms and adult learners. It is a 10 part series of half-hour video programs that focus on death and its many facets.
Gain a greater understanding of death and dying through case studies and moving personal stories of people facing their own death or the death of a loved one. This series explores a wide range of North American cultural perspectives on death within the context of current issues, including AIDS, death by violence, suicide, assisted suicide, hospice care, end-of-life decision making, and how children react to death. Leading authority Robert J. Kastenbaum guides you sensitively through these topics. This series is appropriate for courses in allied health, psychology, sociology, religion, and death studies.
Directions
When you arrive at the website, click the video icon you wish to view that says "VoD" [Video on Demand] and then when the "pop-up box" opens, click on the start arrow. Keep in mind that with "streaming videos," some of the film [buffering] must load so it can take up to a minute to load and sometimes it helps if you click on the start arrow again in the "pop-up box." Once you get the hang of it, you will find they all work the same, though with some quirky moments at times. You can also click on an icon in the video box allowing you to enlarge the video as to fill your entire screen. Just click on the "esc" button on our keyboard to leave the "large view" format.
Closed Captioning Note: For my students with disability challenges, there is a "closed captioning" option with this series. As you watch this video, after start up, click in the upper right hand side of the screen and you will see a icon that shows whether the captioning is on or off. To turn it on, click on it and you will see the on off switch change. I find I like watching the videos with captioning on as I have some hearing problems and I can catch everything everyone is saying especially if they are not talking clearly.
"Death: A Personal Understanding" - The Series Link
Video #8 - Grief and Bereavement
The effect of grief can last a lifetime as we try to find a balance between overcoming our loss and keeping the memory of the loved one alive. In this program, the question "How long does grief last?" guides conversations with two middle-aged sisters whose mother recently died; with members of a family in which the youngest son was murdered; an adult orphaned as a child; and a teenager who lost her mother, and may now lose her father and brother, to AIDS.
Task
When done reviewing the assigned video, prepare a thorough reaction statement at the "Blue Book" section link described further down at the end of this assignment.
"Death: A Personal Understanding" - The Series Link Links to an external site.
9.9 - Assignment #9 "Blue Book" Responses
Composing Your Responses To Assignment #8 in Module #8
Overview - For each course module there is a major homework assignment that must be completed. Each of these module homework assignments has several tasks. Some entail reading, some include exploring and reviewing websites, reviewing videos, and still others involve written tasks --- work that must be submitted for review and/or grading.
Responses to "tasks" must be sent on time or you will either fail the assignment or be severely penalized. Late homework assignments are perceived as both a student who is "absent from class" and "late with work." Please always maintain a backup copy of all your written work. Glitches occur in online technology-based education, but ultimately it is your responsibility to maintain adequate backup of all work submitted. You are also encouraged to compose your work within a word-processing application and then "copy and paste" into "task boxes." This is so you may avail yourself of spell and grammar check options provided in most modern word processing software.
Please be aware that all submissions are automatically received by the course "gradebook," where they will be evaluated by your professor for acceptance, rejection, or acceptance with penalty. So make sure your work is received promptly. Much the same way that attendance is determined by you presence in the traditional classroom at the regularly scheduled class time, so too is attendance determined by your prompt submission of assignments while enrolled in an online course. Furthermore, arriving to class without homework or with incomplete homework is also perceived in the same manner with an online course. Accordingly, you are encouraged to submit you weekly work prior to deadlines, to avoid computer glitches, "downtime," and other "technological spills and inconveniences."
Directions - Each numbered task box listed below corresponds with tasks described in each module's homework assignment. Usually, tasks outlined on this webpage require written reactions and/or responses.
Be sure to follow directions carefully and precisely when completing each task. "A word to the wise!" Minimal work receives a minimal grade. For example, if a task asks that you provide a written paragraph or two, and you provide just that, then you have provided only minimal work. Simply said, minimal work is "C" work. Well thought out writing that exceeds both excellence and minimal length (word count) and quality requirements is, generally speaking, graded higher and indicative of a "good and solidly motivated student." However length in of itself does not assure quality either, so learn to strike a balance. Good luck!
Particulars - Remember this module is due by a certain date or will be penalized. Overly late assignments may NOT be accepted at all, and at minimum, marked down. The discretion of the professor rules in all such matters. Was your assignment "Online and Ontime?" Before beginning this first homework assignment be sure you understand the word count and quality requirements (1500 to 3000 words depending on grade desired). See Grading Policy in Course Basics at the Course Syllabus for further information regarding requirements and grading of module submissions.
Module Assignment #9 "Blue Book" [Graded Responses Go Here]
Distance Education office at Santa Rosa Junior College, Santa Rosa, CA USA