August 14, 2007
Does Radiation From Cell Phones Pose Health Risks?
By Mary Stuart

Research for the 21st Century : Summer 2007 WAOL Course

“All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them.” Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)

Introduction

Nature of Topic

Cordless telephones, cell phones, wireless Internet access, LANs (local area networks) and WANs (wide area networks) are wireless communication technologies that rely on transmitted radio frequencies. Businesses and individuals are increasingly dependent on these forms of radio communications. Cities are creating “wide area networks” WANs for computer access without dialup. Advances in the technology are constant, making it more affordable and more widely available. Responding to increased demand, radio frequencies are broadcast over more and more regions, particularly within and near dense urban populations. It is estimated that 2 billion people worldwide use cellular phones. The miracle of radio communications has become an integral part of contemporary life world wide.

This research investigates whether increased exposure to radio frequencies poses health concerns. In order to better understand the topic, some basic understanding of what electromagnetic fields are, how exposure occurs, whether the frequency spectrum matters, and what about the technology of the devices is significant?

Topic Analysis

Academic Disciplines

The following disciplines offered the most insight and information for my particular approach to this topic.

Physics – electromagnetism; Computer Communications; Radio and Television Broadcasting, Wireless Communications Equipment; Cellular and Other Wireless Telecommunications; Medical and Physical Sciences Research

Library of Congress Subject Headings

The following subject headings were most helpful in searching for books in library catalogs:

Physics: Acoustics, Radiation Physics (General), Electricity and Magnetism, Radioactivity
Medicine: Cytology, Epidemiology, Environmental Health, Public Aspects of Medicine
Electrical Engineering: Electronics Nuclear Engineering
Telecommunication including telegraphy, telephone, radio, radar, television


Keywords

The following key terms were most helpful in identifying relevant information from online databases and reference book indexes:
Cancer
Cell phones
Cellular phones
Electromagnetic radiation
Extremely low frequency (ELF)
Health aspects
Radio frequencies
Risk
Wireless communications

Most Important Databases and Periodical Indexes include URL?
ProQuest
Academic Search Premier
GODORT
WebMD

Description of experience using subject headings and keywords.

Subject headings proved useful if I was careful in choosing which term in which database, but I found them less useful than keywords combinations due to the large number of results returned. Searches for relevant books helped revise the subject heading list.
I found that some words have overlapping meaning in physics and can be used interchangeably: radiation, frequencies, field, wavelength. But when it came to search terms, modifying the terms provided a very different tone of results. For example, a Google search using “EMF radiation” provides results that target fears. The results are more sensational than scientific. “ELF radiation” provides a similar number of results, but these results are nearly exclusively scientific.

REFERENCE SOURCES

Articles in Reference Books

Encyclopedia

Mitcham, Carl, ed. “Radio Frequencies: Radio Spectrum as a Limited Natural Resource.” Encyclopedia of Science, Technology, and Ethics. Vol. 3. New York: Thomson Gale. 2005. 1571.

This article explains data transmissions per frequency bandwidth. It discusses transmission capabilities of various regions of the radio spectrum. The article is illustrated to show spectrum frequencies, and a bibliography is included at the end of the article. While none of the subject encyclopedias on wireless communications include information on exposure limitation guidelines or potential health issues from exposure, I chose this subject encyclopedia because among the many subject encyclopedias that deal with wireless communications technologies, this is the only encyclopedia among them written for the layperson rather than the electrical engineer.


Fritzsche, Hellmut. “Electromagnetic Radiation." Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 2007. Encyclopædia Britannica. Seattle Central Community College Library. 21 July 2007.

Hellmut Fritzsche is Louis Block Professor of Physics at University of Chicago, and coauthor and editor of Advances in Disordered Semiconductors (2 vol.) The article is a thorough introduction to the entire spectra of electromagnetic radiation. As an encyclopedia entry the work targets laymen, yet does not dumb down information. An historical overview of pertinent scientific discoveries and equations is included as is relevant. Health risks are specifically mentioned in the section on radio frequencies: extremely low frequencies are associated with increased risk of certain cancers, particularly in children. This article is well organized, packed full of information, and I will certainly use this in my research.


Books

U.S. National Research Council. Committee on the Possible Effects of Electromagnetic Fields on Biologic Systems. Possible Health Effects of Exposure to Residential Electric and Magnetic Fields. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press, 1997.

The National Research Council is comprised of scientists from the National Academy of Sciences and U.S. Department of Energy. With the intention of determining whether there is scientific basis for concern of health risk, the authors reviewed research on effects from exposure to electric and magnetic fields. This is an ebook available through SCC Library. I found it searching the library catalog with the search term ”electromagnetic field health aspects.”


Carlo, George L., ed. Wireless Phones and Health II. New York: Springer, 2002.

Dr.Carlo is Chairman of the Science and Public Policy Institute, a non governmental organization that concerns itself with public health and environmental issues. They review national health policy, conduct research, and work to inform the public. The Safe Wireless Initiative was created by this group. This book was actually given to me by someone. I chose to include this book over others I found through searching library catalogs, because this is more recent than any I found in library collections. For this topic, currency is important because the technology is being made safer in response to findings of early studies and resultant public concerns.

The books I found in Week 3 focus on the technology itself. While they are excellent resources for understanding wireless communications technology, and helped me quite a bit in this regard, the books listed here address the issue of health impacts by that technology.


Periodicals

Berg, Gabriele, Joachim Schüz, Florence Samkange-Zeeb, and Maria Blettner. “Assessment of Radiofrequency Exposure From Cellular Telephone Daily Use in an Epidemiological Study: German Validation Study of the International Case-control Study of Cancers of the Brain-INTERPHONE-Study.” Journal of Exposure Analysis & Environmental Epidemiology. May 2005: 15.3. Academic Search Premier. Seattle Central Community Coll Lib. July 30, 2007. http://search.ebscohost.com/

The authors are epidemiologists at the School of Public Health, University of Bielefeld, and at Institute for Medical Biostatistics, University of Mainz. This study compares cumulative emitted power from cell phones with number of calls and call duration. The study found that cumulative power emitted could be estimated from the number of calls made per phone. This highly technical study provides useful background information for my research.


Hardell, L, K.H. Mild, M. Carlberg. “Case-Control Study on the Use of Cellular and Cordless Phones and the Risk for Malignant Brain Tumors.” International Journal of Radiation Biology. 2002, 78.10. 931-936. Academic Search Premier. Seattle Central Community Coll Lib. July 30, 2007. http://search.ebscohost.com/

Authors are oncologists at Obrero Medical Center and at Obrero University, Sweden. This is one of the definitive studies that confirmed health risks from cell phone use. Frequency spectrums are noted. “Conclusion: The ipsilateral use of an analogue cellular phone yielded a significantly increased risk for malignant brain tumours.” This highly technical article illustrates the real concerns associated with exposure to radio frequencies through cell phone and cordless phone use.

These studies by independent researchers show that indeed there are health effects from exposure to electromagnetic frequencies associated with cell phones. I chose these articles because the researchers were not associated with the cell phone industry. These articles were accessed through Academic Search Premier via Seattle Central Community Library.

Evans-Pughe, Chris. “Phones and Health –the Science.” IEE Review. May 2003. 49.5. Academic Search Premiere. Seattle Central Community Coll Lib. July 30, 2007. http://search.ebscohost.com/

The author is a science and technology journalist. The language is free of cumbersome jargon. This article points out difficulties in designing a study, and cites many studies that failed to reproduce results of earlier studies due to design flaws. This article is useful in that it helps define the fulcrum points of arguments pleading that research is inconclusive. I chose this article because it published in the professional journal of the Institution of Electrical Engineers.

Al-Khamees, Nedaa. “A Study in Kuwait of Health Risks Associated with Using Cell Phones.” College Student Journal. Mar 2007:41.1 Academic Search Premiere. Seattle Central Community Coll Lib. July 30, 2007. http://search.ebscohost.com/

The author is an instructor at the College of Education, Kuwait University. The target audience is broad, so language reflects this. This very large population study lists symptoms associated with cell phone use. Length of call time is a significant factor. In conjunction with the German Study, this study strongly reiterates health effects from cell phone use. Includes extensive bibliography and table of findings. I included this study because it links a variety of health issues with exposure to cell phone use.

Internet Sources

U.S. National Institutes of Health. National Cancer Institute. Cellular Telephone Use and Cancer: Questions and Answers. 8 May 2007. 3 Aug 2007. http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/cellphones

This website is useful because it provides clear background info on radio frequencies in language that is easy to understand. Point by point, the various areas of concern regarding possible health effects of cell phone use are addressed. I found this site through the search engine Dogpile, using the search phrase “cell phone cancer.” I chose this site for the Pathfinder because it is the National Institute of Health. The site provides selected reference articles, has links to related online publications, as well as contact information.

World Health Organization. Electromagnetic Fields. 23 May 2007. 3 Aug 2007. http://www.who.int/peh-emf/en/

Annotation:
The World Health Organization is concerned with protecting public health. Sponsored by the United Nations, “WHO provides leadership on global health matters,” sets standards, research agendas, policy, and assists countries in “monitoring and assessing health trends.” Who takes responsibility for “setting norms and standards, shaping the health research agenda, articulating evidence-based policy options, and providing technical support to countries and monitoring and assessing health trends.” This illuminating perspective is the most clear and thorough explanation I have encountered so far. It provides contrast to the bulk of information that implies risk while concurrently conceding studies provide no conclusive evidence of real hazard.


Non-print Alternative Sources

Public Exposure: DNA, Democracy and the Wireless Revolution. Kelley, Libby, CWTI, and EON International, (Co-producers). DVD. Council on Wireless Technologies. 2001.

This film was created by a citizen activist group that counts concerned scientists among its members. The film explores risks associated with radio frequencies used in wireless technologies. Using interviews, an international group of independent researchers express their opinions. One . Among those interviewed: a researcher is from the Karolinska Institute; a former Ericsson engineer who developed electrical hypersensitivity after working with electromagnetic radiation; a New Zealand researcher whose research showed that electromagnetic radiation increases cell death rates. His extensive research on this topic him to conclude that there is no safe exposure threshold. This film won the "Globalization" award at the Santa Cruz Earth Vision Film Festival in 2001. In 2003 it was shown at the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil. For the Pathfinder, film adds a dimension of visual interest. Researchers’ expressing their opinions through interviews adds a dimension of human intimacy to an otherwise abstract realm of physics.


Summary of My Research Process

The first idea was to compile a list of what electromagnetic frequencies are and how exposure occurs. I expected subject encyclopedias to explain what electromagnetic frequencies are, but the very best source I found to explain electromagnetic frequencies among many many sources was Encyclopedia Britannica Online. The article from Britannica Online provided the crucial information framework from which to understand and evaluate articles and scientific research I encountered throughout the research process. Because of this, I consider it the singularly most useful article among all I found.

Strategy for finding information was a process of guessing keywords and keyword combinations. I discovered that some databases have dedicated keywords. Opening the suggested keyword link brought another opportunity to sift through information.



In the Pathfinder, I sought to represent information, interpretations, and representations of why conclusions were drawn leading to one or another perspective.

I expected research articles and books to provide information on the health controversy. Unfortunately, books on the topic of health hazards are all ancient in contrast to the technology. Published studies were a different matter. Initially, I poo-poo’d the older articles and studies, thinking technological changes (like improving antenna design and placement) made them irrelevant. But after reading through the older studies, I see the development of the situation: that indeed there is (and has always been) concern about ionizing radiation, that the spectrum of radio frequency used by cell phones falls within the microwave spectrum, so this is an inescapable conundrum. Even cordless phones have been found to be causative factors in brain tumors. Another reason for headsets! This topic becomes deeply technical very rapidly.

My Google inspired Pavlovian reflex to expect immediate clickable search results caused me to respond with disappointment when investigating virtual libraries. Virtual libraries required so much continued mining after the initial search, I felt they provided the least usable results among all the search methods I explored. Periodicals provided a large quantity truly excellent results in the form of published studies.

As the topic is based on radiation physics, I relied on authoritative sources. I found several sources from governmental and international public health agencies. To represent these, I chose one book and two websites. For the periodical articles, I chose published research studies over articles from newspapers and magazines. Both ProQuest and Academic Search Premier have records of published scientific research.

The Internet provided multiple excellent sites. I also chose to omit several national organizations that concern themselves with public health, such as OSHA, National Cancer Institute, National Institute of Environmental Health, as well as seven international public health organizations that focus on this topic. While the information from these sites is excellent, it becomes redundant. I chose these few as representative viewpoints. For this topic, the Internet alone suffices to provide comprehensive information. All angles can be discovered through the Internet. Up to the last minute of writing this in checking and rechecking keywords I continue to find powerful material.

All the independent research I found shows or strongly suggests that the added radiation exposure from radio frequencies, whether from cell phones, cordless phones, computers, or even iPods is an additional exposure that could contribute to a variety of health complaints. More frequent exposures and longer duration of exposure increases risk.

Through GODORT, the assignment to review “what’s missing,” and further research, I found that governmental, regulatory, national and international public health agencies maintain the stance that the research is not conclusive, and that the results of health complaints, particularly cancers, fall within normal human variation.

Does Radiation From Cell Phones Pose Health Risks?

August 14, 2007
Does Radiation From Cell Phones Pose Health Risks?
By Mary Stuart

Research for the 21st Century : Summer 2007 WAOL Course

“All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them.” Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)

Introduction

Nature of Topic

Cordless telephones, cell phones, wireless Internet access, LANs (local area networks) and WANs (wide area networks) are wireless communication technologies that rely on transmitted radio frequencies. Businesses and individuals are increasingly dependent on these forms of radio communications. Cities are creating “wide area networks” WANs for computer access without dialup. Advances in the technology are constant, making it more affordable and more widely available. Responding to increased demand, radio frequencies are broadcast over more and more regions, particularly within and near dense urban populations. It is estimated that 2 billion people worldwide use cellular phones. The miracle of radio communications has become an integral part of contemporary life world wide.

This research investigates whether increased exposure to radio frequencies poses health concerns. In order to better understand the topic, some basic understanding of what electromagnetic fields are, how exposure occurs, whether the frequency spectrum matters, and what about the technology of the devices is significant?

Topic Analysis

Academic Disciplines

The following disciplines offered the most insight and information for my particular approach to this topic.

Physics – electromagnetism; Computer Communications; Radio and Television Broadcasting, Wireless Communications Equipment; Cellular and Other Wireless Telecommunications; Medical and Physical Sciences Research

Library of Congress Subject Headings

The following subject headings were most helpful in searching for books in library catalogs:

Physics: Acoustics, Radiation Physics (General), Electricity and Magnetism, Radioactivity
Medicine: Cytology, Epidemiology, Environmental Health, Public Aspects of Medicine
Electrical Engineering: Electronics Nuclear Engineering
Telecommunication including telegraphy, telephone, radio, radar, television


Keywords

The following key terms were most helpful in identifying relevant information from online databases and reference book indexes:
Cancer
Cell phones
Cellular phones
Electromagnetic radiation
Extremely low frequency (ELF)
Health aspects
Radio frequencies
Risk
Wireless communications

Most Important Databases and Periodical Indexes include URL?
ProQuest
Academic Search Premier
GODORT
WebMD

Description of experience using subject headings and keywords.

Subject headings proved useful if I was careful in choosing which term in which database, but I found them less useful than keywords combinations due to the large number of results returned. Searches for relevant books helped revise the subject heading list.
I found that some words have overlapping meaning in physics and can be used interchangeably: radiation, frequencies, field, wavelength. But when it came to search terms, modifying the terms provided a very different tone of results. For example, a Google search using “EMF radiation” provides results that target fears. The results are more sensational than scientific. “ELF radiation” provides a similar number of results, but these results are nearly exclusively scientific.

REFERENCE SOURCES

Articles in Reference Books

Encyclopedia

Mitcham, Carl, ed. “Radio Frequencies: Radio Spectrum as a Limited Natural Resource.” Encyclopedia of Science, Technology, and Ethics. Vol. 3. New York: Thomson Gale. 2005. 1571.

This article explains data transmissions per frequency bandwidth. It discusses transmission capabilities of various regions of the radio spectrum. The article is illustrated to show spectrum frequencies, and a bibliography is included at the end of the article. While none of the subject encyclopedias on wireless communications include information on exposure limitation guidelines or potential health issues from exposure, I chose this subject encyclopedia because among the many subject encyclopedias that deal with wireless communications technologies, this is the only encyclopedia among them written for the layperson rather than the electrical engineer.


Fritzsche, Hellmut. “Electromagnetic Radiation." Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 2007. Encyclopædia Britannica. Seattle Central Community College Library. 21 July 2007

Hellmut Fritzsche is Louis Block Professor of Physics at University of Chicago, and coauthor and editor of Advances in Disordered Semiconductors (2 vol.) The article is a thorough introduction to the entire spectra of electromagnetic radiation. As an encyclopedia entry the work targets laymen, yet does not dumb down information. An historical overview of pertinent scientific discoveries and equations is included as is relevant. Health risks are specifically mentioned in the section on radio frequencies: extremely low frequencies are associated with increased risk of certain cancers, particularly in children. This article is well organized, packed full of information, and I will certainly use this in my research.


Books

U.S. National Research Council. Committee on the Possible Effects of Electromagnetic Fields on Biologic Systems. Possible Health Effects of Exposure to Residential Electric and Magnetic Fields. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press, 1997.

The National Research Council is comprised of scientists from the National Academy of Sciences and U.S. Department of Energy. With the intention of determining whether there is scientific basis for concern of health risk, the authors reviewed research on effects from exposure to electric and magnetic fields. This is an ebook available through SCC Library. I found it searching the library catalog with the search term ”electromagnetic field health aspects.”


Carlo, George L., ed. Wireless Phones and Health II New York: Springer, 2002.

Dr.Carlo is Chairman of the Science and Public Policy Institute, a non governmental organization that concerns itself with public health and environmental issues. They review national health policy, conduct research, and work to inform the public. The Safe Wireless Initiative was created by this group. This book was actually given to me by someone. I chose to include this book over others I found through searching library catalogs, because this is more recent than any I found in library collections. For this topic, currency is important because the technology is being made safer in response to findings of early studies and resultant public concerns.

The books I found in Week 3 focus on the technology itself. While they are excellent resources for understanding wireless communications technology, and helped me quite a bit in this regard, the books listed here address the issue of health impacts by that technology.


Periodicals

Berg, Gabriele, Joachim Schüz, Florence Samkange-Zeeb, and Maria Blettner. “Assessment of Radiofrequency Exposure From Cellular Telephone Daily Use in an Epidemiological Study: German Validation Study of the International Case-control Study of Cancers of the Brain-INTERPHONE-Study.” Journal of Exposure Analysis & Environmental Epidemiology May 2005: 15.3. Academic Search Premier. Seattle Central Community Coll Lib. July 30, 2007 http://search.ebscohost.com

The authors are epidemiologists at the School of Public Health, University of Bielefeld, and at Institute for Medical Biostatistics, University of Mainz. This study compares cumulative emitted power from cell phones with number of calls and call duration. The study found that cumulative power emitted could be estimated from the number of calls made per phone. This highly technical study provides useful background information for my research.


Hardell, L, K.H. Mild, M. Carlberg. “Case-Control Study on the Use of Cellular and Cordless Phones and the Risk for Malignant Brain Tumors” International Journal of Radiation Biology. 2002, 78.10. 931-936. Academic Search Premier. Seattle Central Community Coll Lib. July 30, 2007 http://search.ebscohost.com

Authors are oncologists at Obrero Medical Center and at Obrero University, Sweden. This is one of the definitive studies that confirmed health risks from cell phone use. Frequency spectrums are noted. “Conclusion: The ipsilateral use of an analogue cellular phone yielded a significantly increased risk for malignant brain tumours.” This highly technical article illustrates the real concerns associated with exposure to radio frequencies through cell phone and cordless phone use.

These studies by independent researchers show that indeed there are health effects from exposure to electromagnetic frequencies associated with cell phones. I chose these articles because the researchers were not associated with the cell phone industry. These articles were accessed through Academic Search Premier via Seattle Central Community Library.

Evans-Pughe, Chris. “Phones and Health –the Science.” IEE Review. May 2003. 49.5 Academic Search Premiere. Seattle Central Community Coll Lib. July 30, 2007 http://search.ebscohost.com

The author is a science and technology journalist. The language is free of cumbersome jargon. This article points out difficulties in designing a study, and cites many studies that failed to reproduce results of earlier studies due to design flaws. This article is useful in that it helps define the fulcrum points of arguments pleading that research is inconclusive. I chose this article because it published in the professional journal of the Institution of Electrical Engineers.

Al-Khamees, Nedaa. “A Study in Kuwait of Health Risks Associated with Using Cell Phones.” College Student Journal, Mar 2007:41.1 Academic Search Premiere. Seattle Central Community Coll Lib. July 30, 2007 http://search.ebscohost.com

The author is an instructor at the College of Education, Kuwait University. The target audience is broad, so language reflects this. This very large population study lists symptoms associated with cell phone use. Length of call time is a significant factor. In conjunction with the German Study, this study strongly reiterates health effects from cell phone use. Includes extensive bibliography and table of findings. I included this study because it links a variety of health issues with exposure to cell phone use.

Internet Sources

U.S. National Institutes of Health. National Cancer Institute. Cellular Telephone Use and Cancer: Questions and Answers. 8 May 2007. 3 Aug 2007 http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/cellphones

This website is useful because it provides clear background info on radio frequencies in language that is easy to understand. Point by point, the various areas of concern regarding possible health effects of cell phone use are addressed. I found this site through the search engine Dogpile, using the search phrase “cell phone cancer.” I chose this site for the Pathfinder because it is the National Institute of Health. The site provides selected reference articles, has links to related online publications, as well as contact information.

World Health Organization Electromagnetic Fields.23 May 2007. 3 Aug 2007 http://www.who.int/peh-emf/en/

Annotation:
The World Health Organization is concerned with protecting public health. Sponsored by the United Nations, “WHO provides leadership on global health matters,” sets standards, research agendas, policy, and assists countries in “monitoring and assessing health trends.” Who takes responsibility for “setting norms and standards, shaping the health research agenda, articulating evidence-based policy options, and providing technical support to countries and monitoring and assessing health trends.” This illuminating perspective is the most clear and thorough explanation I have encountered so far. It provides contrast to the bulk of information that implies risk while concurrently conceding studies provide no conclusive evidence of real hazard.


Non-print Alternative Sources

Public Exposure: DNA, Democracy and the Wireless Revolution. Kelley, Libby, CWTI, and EON International, (Co-producers). DVD. Council on Wireless Technologies. 2001

This film was created by a citizen activist group that counts concerned scientists among its members. The film explores risks associated with radio frequencies used in wireless technologies. Using interviews, an international group of independent researchers express their opinions. One . Among those interviewed: a researcher is from the Karolinska Institute; a former Ericsson engineer who developed electrical hypersensitivity after working with electromagnetic radiation; a New Zealand researcher whose research showed that electromagnetic radiation increases cell death rates. His extensive research on this topic him to conclude that there is no safe exposure threshold. This film won the "Globalization" award at the Santa Cruz Earth Vision Film Festival in 2001. In 2003 it was shown at the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil. For the Pathfinder, film adds a dimension of visual interest. Researchers’ expressing their opinions through interviews adds a dimension of human intimacy to an otherwise abstract realm of physics.


Summary of My Research Process

The first idea was to compile a list of what electromagnetic frequencies are and how exposure occurs. I expected subject encyclopedias to explain what electromagnetic frequencies are, but the very best source I found to explain electromagnetic frequencies among many many sources was Encyclopedia Britannica Online. The article from Britannica Online provided the crucial information framework from which to understand and evaluate articles and scientific research I encountered throughout the research process. Because of this, I consider it the singularly most useful article among all I found.

Strategy for finding information was a process of guessing keywords and keyword combinations. I discovered that some databases have dedicated keywords. Opening the suggested keyword link brought another opportunity to sift through information.



In the Pathfinder, I sought to represent information, interpretations, and representations of why conclusions were drawn leading to one or another perspective.

I expected research articles and books to provide information on the health controversy. Unfortunately, books on the topic of health hazards are all ancient in contrast to the technology. Published studies were a different matter. Initially, I poo-poo’d the older articles and studies, thinking technological changes (like improving antenna design and placement) made them irrelevant. But after reading through the older studies, I see the development of the situation: that indeed there is (and has always been) concern about ionizing radiation, that the spectrum of radio frequency used by cell phones falls within the microwave spectrum, so this is an inescapable conundrum. Even cordless phones have been found to be causative factors in brain tumors. Another reason for headsets! This topic becomes deeply technical very rapidly.

My Google inspired Pavlovian reflex to expect immediate clickable search results caused me to respond with disappointment when investigating virtual libraries. Virtual libraries required so much continued mining after the initial search, I felt they provided the least usable results among all the search methods I explored. Periodicals provided a large quantity truly excellent results in the form of published studies.

As the topic is based on radiation physics, I relied on authoritative sources. I found several sources from governmental and international public health agencies. To represent these, I chose one book and two websites. For the periodical articles, I chose published research studies over articles from newspapers and magazines. Both ProQuest and Academic Search Premier have records of published scientific research.

The Internet provided multiple excellent sites. I also chose to omit several national organizations that concern themselves with public health, such as OSHA, National Cancer Institute, National Institute of Environmental Health, as well as seven international public health organizations that focus on this topic. While the information from these sites is excellent, it becomes redundant. I chose these few as representative viewpoints. For this topic, the Internet alone suffices to provide comprehensive information. All angles can be discovered through the Internet. Up to the last minute of writing this in checking and rechecking keywords I continue to find powerful material.

All the independent research I found shows or strongly suggests that the added radiation exposure from radio frequencies, whether from cell phones, cordless phones, computers, or even iPods is an additional exposure that could contribute to a variety of health complaints. More frequent exposures and longer duration of exposure increases risk.

Through GODORT, the assignment to review “what’s missing,” and further research, I found that governmental, regulatory, national and international public health agencies maintain the stance that the research is not conclusive, and that the results of health complaints, particularly cancers, fall within normal human variation.

Week 7

8-4-07
Web Searching
From the Bare Bones reading, the metasearch engine "Clusty" sounded like it should provide interesting results, but I chose the Dogpile link, and results were very satisfactory.
Of the subject specific, the WebMD Vortal looked like a good bet: I took so long fishing around I never got to Educator’s Reference Desk
Web Searching was especially irksome. Many results looked great, but having to repeat and reconfigure the search phrase was very off-putting. Search terms and virtual libraries became my enemy. Back on familiar ground with google, the million and a half results were less daunting to me than figuring out how to browse through virtual library subjects.
Evaluating sites:
Many of the sites I’m pursuing are scientific or "official" in some way. It’s amazing that there is so much discrepancy between authoritative sources. Doing this assignment I felt like "I’ve "got it", except for lingering uncertainty about MLA citations. I find I try to apply format for one medium to different types of media.
I found the Internet Archive to be a great tool; I used it over and over again for these assignments. It was fun sleuthing out author identity.
This class has been extremely demanding of my time, in part because the topic is huge, in part because the topic is interesting to me and I end up reading pdf files and web pages and articles in ProQuest, or looking into the reference information I should be simply annotating. I’ve literally spent 10x more time for nearly each assignment than the class description suggests.
Alternative Sources was a good exercise to clean up loose ends. The questions portion did help me in focusing in on relevant research, I found multiple international sources. The non-print search was more of a challenge, but I found one of the key researchers in the field is at University of Washington. I included him as a non-print source.
I was surprised to come across a researcher I had known of many years ago and forgotten about. She has worked on bioenergy research for 40 years, but her site isn’t useful for this project.

Week 6

Week 6 Blog
This assignment
Last week I discovered that electromagnetic radiation and frequencies are photons. Photons are positively charged particles. They always travel at the speed of light. The spectrum is a continuum. Frequency and wavelength define different aspects of the spectrum, and photons within discrete frequency bandwidths share characteristics. The spectrum includes microwaves, audible and inaudible sound waves (eg sonograms), visible light, and ultimately ultraviolet radiation.
In working on the search strategy I realized how vast the topic of photons is. Ugh. In order to create a keyword strategy, I reviewed subject categories from books and periodicals I had previously discovered through searches. Then I reviewed Library of Congress Subject Headings I had already found, then went back to the Library of Congress with the information I had discovered about photons to both expand and refine my keyword terms.
On Monday, I searched ProQuest and found a couple of relevant articles with full text included. I tried HighWire Press but was overwhelmed with responses, and the format does not provide for easy search refining. I phoned the SCC reference librarian for moral support….She suggested Academic Search Premier rather than HighWire Press.
Last week I found international guidelines and the IEEE Journal, (aka International Electric and Electrionic Engineer’s Journal) so I searched for these on Academic Search Premier, came up with nothing, then switched the search term to "radio frequency exposure" which returned 7 great results, all professional journal articles.
This is such a whopping topic, it’s not clear to me what terms could be truncated.
I really needed to do these exercises in reverse order. To get the information for Monday’s assignment, I needed to do Tuesday’s assignment.
ProQuest has a search tip explaining truncation and wildcards, Boolean operators, search field syntax, stop words! And gives examples of searches. ProQuest’s explanation of truncation symbols was more clear to me than the reading. -why is that? Was it not explained in the reading? Or was I too tired, too anxious to take it in?
I found out about literal search fields. The symbol for curly brackets is to right of the letter "p" key, and requires the shift key. I found that searching for "citation and abstract" retrieves the most information, meaning the most fields. Author affiliation can be done as an independent search, and should provide author’s address, institutional affiliation plus grant or contract number.
Through these exercises and the reading I’ve done on the topic, it’s clear that the equipment design is pertinent to health effects. Antenna design and placement is very important, as is preventing grounding of emissions into the person’s body. Armed with this information, I thought I’d find excellent information by searching for the word antenna. That was not the case.
For Tuesday’s assignment I learned a new acronym through Academic Search Premier. RSS stands for "Really Simple Syndication" it’s a web related term typically for blog publishing. The RSS document is called a feed or web feed. That’s why the databases make exporting documents or search results available.
And now that I’ve pored over a ton of articles and studies, I’m finding that "body of evidence" is really an interesting term. Initially, I poo-poo’d the older articles and studies, thinking technological changes (like improving antenna design and placement) made them irrelevant. But after reading through the older studies, I see the development of the situation: that indeed there is (and has always been) concern about ionizing radiation, that the spectrum of radio frequency used by cell phones falls within the microwave spectrum, so this is an inescapable conundrum. Even cordless phones have been found to be causative factors in brain tumors. Another reason for headsets!
This topic becomes deeply technical very rapidly. For in-depth research on this topic, technical libraries at UW, for example, the Electrical Engineering Department and Medical/Life Sciences Libraries makes sense.
I was finding so little using initial search terms that I thought the topic needed to be reframed completely. But after finishing the main assignments, I went back and did more searches. These returned some very useful looking articles. I’ll review them and incorporate the information I glean from them into the subject and keyword searches.


Title
Health Effects of Electromagnetic Radiation

Topic Focus
What Is Important to Know About Electromagnetic Fields and Health?

Scope
We take it for granted that radio and television frequencies are broadcast across the airways. Now these and additional frequencies are broadcast for mobile phones and Internet access. This research highlights health concerns posed by increased exposure to ambient radiation. Electromagnetic radiation interacts with the human electromagnetic field. What can be done to address this invisible threat?
I will look into what comprises electromagnetic fields, how we are exposed to electromagnetic frequencies, whether the frequency spectrum matters, the research about mobile phone towers and antennae, radio, TV, and satellite broadcasting, the work of Neil Cherry and George Carlo, who were the first independent researchers on mobile phones and health, and finally, what inventions counter this and why they work.
These are two relevant articles from Britannica Online:
"Magnetic field." Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 2007. Encyclopædia Britannica. Seattle Central Community Coll. Lib.16 July 2007 .
"Electric field." Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 2007. Encyclopædia Britannica. Seattle Central Community Coll. Lib.16 July 2007 16 July 2007 .

Outline
I. What is electromagnetic radiation
Frequency Transmissions
1. Radio and TV
2. Internet access
Cable
Broadband
Wi-Fi
B. Earth’s electromagnetic radiation
C. Human bio-magnetic field
Heartmath
Joseph Chilton Pearce
2. The Language of Frequency Broadcasting
3. How are we exposed to electromagnetic radiation
Earth’s background electromagnetic radiation
Electronic devices
Computers
Mobile phone towers and antennae
C. Satellites
4. Does Frequency Matter?
A. High frequency
B. Low frequency
1.Extremely low frequency
5. Who says it isn’t good for you, and why
A. Neil Cherry, PhD
1. Ubiquitous Universal Genotoxic Carcinogen
a. Damage to DNA and enhanced cell death rates
3. Schumann Resonance signal (Solar and Geomagnetic Activity)
a. Alters brain’s melatonin output
1) Increases cancer, cardiac, reproductive and neurological diseases
4. There is no safe threshold level
B. George Carlo, PhD.
DNA Breakage and Genetic Damage
Brain Cancer,
Acoustic Neuroma
C. Leif Salford, PhD.
Breaches the blood-brain barrier
Brain loses protection from environmental toxins
6. What protects against adverse effects?
A. The language of EMF protection
1. Lead Shields
2. Advanced Ceramic Material
3. Dielectric Resonators
4. Crystal Catalyst
5. Diffuse Energy
6. Directional Energy
7. Sympathetic resonance technology

Academic Disciplines
Physics – electromagnetism; Computer Communications; Radio and Television Broadcasting; Medical and Physical Sciences Research; Complementary Medicine.

Key Terms
Absorption of electromagnetic radiation
Advanced Ceramic Material
Amplitude modulation
Amplitude-modulation radio
Antenna (electromagnetism)
Crystal Catalyst
Dielectric Resonator
Diffraction
Diffuse Energy
Directional Energy
Electrical communications
Electromagnetic radiation
Electromagnetic wave transmission
Frequency modulation
Frequency-modulation radio
Gamma rays
Heat radiation
Impedance matching
Information theory
Infrared radiation
Interference of waves
Lead shields
Maxwell's equations
Microwave
Mobile radio
Modulation.
Non-Hertzian frequencies
Polarization of waves
Radiation
Radio
Radio-wave propagation
Reflection of electromagnetic radiation
Refraction of waves
Scattering of electromagnetic radiation
Sympathetic resonance technology
Transmission lines
Ultraviolet radiation
Wave motion
Waveguide
X-rays

Nature of Topic
Compile a list of what electromagnetic frequencies are and how exposure occurs. Subject encyclopedias will contain information on what electromagnetic frequencies are.
Research articles and books will have information on the health controversy. One research article I read refuted studies funded by the cell phone industry. The later studies, which showed no ill effects, did not use live subjects. Those results differed from earlier, independently funded studies that did use live subjects.

Library of Congress Classification (LC) Areas
Q Science
QP Physiology
QP1-345 General, including influence of the environment
QP 351-495 Neurophysiology and neuropsychology
R Medicine
RA Public Aspects of Medicine
RA565-600 Environmental Health, including sewage disposal. Air pollution, nuisances, water supply
RC Internal Medicine
RC254-569.5 Neoplasms, Tumors, Oncoloty, including cancer and carcinogens
RZ Other systems of Medicine
RZ399 Osteo-magnetics, neuropathy
RZ409.7-999 Miscellaneous systems and treatments including magnetotherapy, mesmerism, naturopathy, organomeic medicine, phrenology, radiesthesia
T Technology
TK Electrical Engineering. Electronics. Nuclear Engineering
TK 5101-6720 Telecommunication including telegraphy, telephone, radio, radar, television

Week 5

Week 5 Blog

For this assignment I read everything carefully before beginning the assignments. This is the first week that I’ve had to get assignments done early; I had obligations early in the week so I did the work as soon as possible to post early. One of my flaws is to overlook a detail, as Phil pointed out about my posting on Annotation Analysis. Classmates’ postings have been extremely helpful to me, helping me recheck my work for something I may have misunderstood or overlooked in the instructions. Reading their postings has provided a counterpoint for me to review and fine-tune errors what I’ve done.

Each lesson broadens my technology interactive skills and improves my comfort level with technology. In the Annotation Analysis assignment, I initially did not think I could do the colorful highlights with my computer, and did not attempt it. After seeing what others had done, I felt “left out” and wanted to see if indeed I could master that. So I tried, and yes, I did it!! What a sense of accomplishment.

In doing the Citing and Annotating assignment, I discovered sources that are just perfect for the Pathfinder using the keyword “electromagnetic fields.” It was very distracting to find such great stuff. I think I’m simply better at searching now that I’ve done it a few times. It’s very encouraging to be able to use the resources just as directed, and I’ve begun a list to look up in ProQuest.

In addition to the practice of annotating and citing, one of the accomplishments was using Britannica Online, which I accessed through the SCC Library website. I was unable to find it for the earlier assignment to access an online encyclopedia, but found it so easily with this assignment. Again, what a sense of accomplishment to be able do use the resources.

The encyclopedia article is so well done, the science is so clearly elucidated it gave me with gained perspective on my own perspective: how I’ve been influenced by one sided information and not known how to obtain alternatives to balance out what may otherwise be considered a bias titled “The Sky is Falling.”

There are two books that I considered for the Citing an Annotating assignment, and they appear to be very similar. I did search for them on Amazon.com as well as in the library. Amazon had interesting reviews posted of each book. There is so much overlap in both of them, but the one I chose for the assignment is more of a textbook than a “general readership” kind of book.

Anecdotally, one of the authoritative sources I discovered is a business my brother worked for in 1986. It was one of his first jobs. He was night security. He said they usually did nothing but read books. One night, at some odd hour between 1 and 4 am, he received an emergency phone call. The call was one of the first to the US about the Chernobyl disaster

Information or Spin?

In working on the Research Plan I found myself doing a lot more research and coming up with results that I found very interesting –and very distracting! I also discovered that my attention to detail really needs rechecking. The MLA guide information almost slipped into obscurity, but at the last minute I reviewed the MLA and made corrections before posting.

It was a real relief to post the Research Plan. I enjoyed reading what others put together. The topics and research plans are very impressive. My feedback has been only to suggest other research sources.

In working on this weeks’ assignment, another issue of information evaluation came to mind, that of information spin.

So often, we don’t trust information provided us by those who stand to profit from giving out that information. If the advertisers are our only source of education, where does that leave us?

This happens every day in relation to our medical care. Pharmaceutical companies are coming up with new drugs all the time. In addition to publishing (and advertising) in medical journals, pharmaceutical company representatives visit doctors to inform them of new drugs.

In reading Jen’s post on Selecting Information Sources, I became aware of the filtering of information, but from the perspective of who is funding the research.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, one of the independent researchers on EMF, Neil Cherry, rebutted research funded by the cell pone industry. Neil Cherry’s research showed conclusively that EMF indeed pose health risks. The industry sponsored research found otherwise, and concluded that EMF from cell phones is harmless. The industry researchers followed the same research –re-enacting Cherry’s same experiments. Cherry reviewed their research from beginning to end. The key difference between his research methods and theirs was this: his experiments used live subjects; theirs used post-mortem subjects. This accounted for the different findings. Anyone who did not know how to compare the research, or did not have access to the primary research could not determine this “nuance” that accounted for the different findings.

In a topic such as Jen’s GM foods, she will encounter a lot of industry sanitized findings. But how can the student or newbie to the field determine funding-inspired-spin from seemingly rabid tree-hugger perspectives?

Week 3

I used the Seattle Community College catalog and visited that library as well. In searching the library catalog for books, I used both the basic subject search and the advanced search. The basic search resulted in a list of topic categories – a menu of items that included the keyword I had used in the search. The results illustrated that what I had originally been searching for word definitions. So the topic concept became more clear. Initially I didn’t know that WiFi is a type of Broadband, and that they are both subsets of the greater category of electromagnetic fields. So the topic “Do electromagnetic fields pose a health risk?” is a better restatement of my original question.

Using the term “EMF” and “wifi” gave no results. A librarian suggested I use a hyphen in “Wi-Fi” and that proved successful. Writing out “electromagnetic fields” was also successful. Stretching my brain to think of alternative keywords was initially a challenge. I would not have considered inserting a hyphen into WiFi, because everywhere I see it in print, there is no hyphen. "Wireless" also gave the most, with 83 results. "Cable" gave 24 results, but most of them were completely irrelevant.

In reviewing the MLA Style Citation guide, I see I made an error in my posting on Library Books. The Library doesn’t capitalize the words of the book title, which surprised me. I thought the standards had changed, if even library catalogs aren't capitalizing book titles. So even though I had the MLA Guide right there, I failed to notice this detail and followed the Library’s lead.

To reiterate by confusion, just earlier in the day I was chastised for how I had addressed a letter. In the past, if the letter was to go to the attention of a worker at a company, that was the very last line. Now it is to be the very first line, with zip code on the same line as City and State.)

Searching the databases was both fun and a bit daunting. Because the subject search returned categories that include the keyword, that was helpful in gaining direction about the search, and learning about other relevant searches, or branches, to look into to potentially round out pursuit of the overall topic. Learning about Boolean search terms was great. In the past, I’ve been so put off by the word “Boolean.” Well, I still wish they'd chosen a different word.

I really like that ProQuest has full articles. In searches pre-LIB 180, over and over I've encountered results that say "to read this article, subscribe to..." Sometimes the abstract is free to read, and that provides enough information for my needs.

The libray field trip really paid off twice, because Lynn helped me with the crucial issue of topic clarification, and I got to meet with Meryl in person!

This class is enjoyable, my time management is getting better, my stress is still high, but I'm feeling better about myself, and have a better idea of how to manage around the technical difficulties I've had.

I expect to be using these search skills over and over in the future. The helpful tips on Google were great. One of my friends has written many computer "how-to" books. I brought up this class, and my topic. He suggested Wikipedia as a resource – then went on to say “ you don’t know who’s posted in Wikipedia… I’ve posted in Wikipedia – on pantyhose!” Here's the link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantyhose

Three ideas

Here are three topic ideas I'm considering:


1)Antioxidants, sugar, and the brain

The brain relies on glucose to function. What effects does refined sugar have? What effects do antioxidants have? Do antioxidants help the brain to function better?
For years I’ve been interested in issues related to brain. Many conditions attributed to brain function irregularities seem to improve with changes in diet.

2) How can people prepare for the upcoming flu pandemic? Psychological and physical preparation for the best possible outcome.
Warnings about the upcoming flu pandemic suggest stocking up on supplies for 1-3 weeks. One friend works at the EPA. EPA advised employees to stay home for 3 months when the pandemic strikes. What additional measures can individuals take?
Lifestyle choices influence immune function. What factors contribute to stronger immune function, what factors weaken immune function? I want to improve my own immune function. In March I had surgery for a broken ankle, and it took a lot out of me.

3)What are all these things? EMFs WIFi, WiMax, Broadband, Cable.
Access to technology is changing as technology itself changes, and as people come up with "a better idea". We are all affected by technology, and our ability to have access .to it
Does technology reflexively affect us?
I’m a technology ignorant, just want it to work. As I look into these three and four letter acronyms, I’m finding there’s a lot more to internet access than simply plugging in to make a connection.

Blog set up

Week 1
This class has taught me so much already. The Netiquette topic is certainly not widely practiced. Otherwise we’d all be more civil. In recent weeks I had begun thinking the overall culture had taken on a more feral demeanor.
Creating a blog wasn't a hard hoop to jump through, but gaining access to the jumping arena was VERY difficult. My first attempts on my Apple G4 caused the program to crash. I assumed it is a Mac OS interface problem. It took all morning and two bus rides as I sought out other computers, finally finding successful access at SCCC.

I plan on taking the Mac in for questioning to see if indeed I may gain future blog access from that computer.

The assignments themselves are very enjoyable and immediately applicable in life.

I’m very tired today because I worked all evening to catch up with the assignments. Someone at the college gave me incorrect information about start dates. Monday and Tuesday had already been allocated to appointments, so I entered into the class on the last day of the week! I’m disappointed and stressed about for my late entry into class. I’ve been looking forward to this class since reading the description. The format of class discussion via blog and thread entries is new to me. It’s especially interesting to meet and interact with each of you in this way.