Feds Shell Out $438K To Study Whether Drunken Hookups Increase Chance of HIV

And on this episode of government is us, and they are doing things right.. Lets blow half a million dollars so students, can get drunk, and sleep around to find out if that increases the chance if HIV.

No really people. This is what your money is being spent on. I know it makes me feel all warm, and fuzzy in side know our monies are being spent on the right things.

Of course it doesn't take half a million dollars to know what epic idiocracy this is.

The federal government is spending $437,739 in taxpayer dollars for psychology students at Kalamazoo College to study whether getting drunk and sleeping around will increase a person’s chances of getting HIV. No, really.

Idiocracy



This ranks up there with $2.6 Million Spent To Train Chinese Prostitutes To Drink Responsibly

Government waste,fraud, and abuse ad infinitum. Hell they don't care it's not their money.

I report You decide.

a reply to: neo96

This is a joke right?

What a waste of money.

Don't forget kids, You think walking under a ladder is bad luck? Try breaking a condom.

Another HUGE government failure.

I wonder who got paid the big money with this one?

a reply to: neo96

great use of money.

they could dedicate 2 government employees (salaries ranging between 35K and 65K, totaling to around 100K) to spend a full year finding a better way to spend $438k and save millions in the future. Oh wait, this is the government. It's not their money, they don't givea#

I see this as the governments way and the FDA particularly, looking for a loophole to start regulating how much alcohol we can buy and consume NOT DRIVE but on our own in the privacy of our home and at our leisure.....You watch! out of this will come prescription for alcohol NEEDED in order to purchase! They are going to make this a cause and effect issue! I bet you this is the agenda!

Ta Da!! Consuming Alcohol CAUSES HIV!! Therefore all alcohol is going to be demonized......while they put together a bogus study! And spend the money to take us further down the road to hell!!

Just my opinion though!

S&F Neo!

Pax

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say, yeah, it probably does.

a reply to: neo96

This requires a study??? Common sense would indicate that sleeping around (intoxicated or otherwise) would increase risk of any STD let alone HIV/AIDS... SMH...

A while back I had a roommate with a degree in Sociology. He got laid off from his job. With the spare time he had he jokingly wrote a research proposal to study the mating habits of the "South Florida Beach Bunny". He submitted the proposal and about a month later he gets a letter telling him that he has been awarded a $750,000 grant for his proposal. He withdrew the proposal because he was afraid that he would get into trouble for fraud. I tried to talk him into keeping the money and doing the study, but, he wouldn't do it.

originally posted by: JIMC5499
A while back I had a roommate with a degree in Sociology. He got laid off from his job. With the spare time he had he jokingly wrote a research proposal to study the mating habits of the "South Florida Beach Bunny". He submitted the proposal and about a month later he gets a letter telling him that he has been awarded a $750,000 grant for his proposal. He withdrew the proposal because he was afraid that he would get into trouble for fraud. I tried to talk him into keeping the money and doing the study, but, he wouldn't do it.

WOW I just laughed so hard the guys in my office are looking at me like I am crazy, gona have to show em the OP now.

originally posted by: neo96
Lets blow half a million dollars so students, can get drunk, and sleep around to find out if that increases the chance if HIV.

Beyond pathetic.
And...if they actually contract HIV during the study?

I suppose they sign a waiver.
This seems predatory in nature....

a reply to: neo96

Is that how much they spent on that party?

Zowie! and what a doozie it was!

Mickey Gilley said it best, "Don't the Girls All Get Prettier at Closing Time".

What did they do, buy Bill Clinton's secret memoires?

Ranks up there with the millions of dollars, and five years spent by the Bush administration looking for voter fraud.
About 31 cases over 10 years, and billions of votes, apparently.
Shame that this "issue" keeps coming up during the election cycles, though.

Yes, social studies can drain resources. This does seem to be an odd one.
Mind you, that kind of money would keep a B2 Spirit bomber in the sky for about three hours...

All about perspective.

originally posted by: neo96
And on this episode of government is us, and they are doing things right.. Lets blow half a million dollars so students, can get drunk, and sleep around to find out if that increases the chance if HIV.

No really people. This is what your money is being spent on.

no, it isn't.

Jeez Neo - can't you even get such basic facts right??

I know all you fanboys are F&S'ing you, but if you have to start with a lie then I don't see how you can be proud of that!!

The study ACTUALLY titled:

SUBSTANCE USE AND PARTNER CHARACTERISTICS IN DAILY HIV RISK IN AFRICAN AMERICANS

African American adults are disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS. Although much is known about HIV/AIDS, there is still a lack of comprehensive knowledge about the influence of sexual partners and substance use in the spread of HIV among heterosexual African American men and women. Certain aspects of the sexual partnership may impact consumption of substances, which in turn may reduce protective sexual behavior. The majority of research on HIV risk in African Americans has been based on samples of injection drug users and men who have sex with men. While useful, this limited scope may obscure the nature and degree of risk in other groups, such as those in partnerships involving alcohol and recreational drug use as well as partnerships in which condoms may be seldom used. It is important to track these interactions and behaviors daily, therefore the study will employ innovative experience sampling methodology (ESM). Using a community-based, non-clinical sample of 200 self-identified heterosexual African American men and women, the goal of the proposed project is to increase the scientific understanding of the episodic dimensions of sexual partners and substance use as they increase the risk of HIV transmission among African Americans.

and

It is expected that substance use (e.g., type and amount, partner consumption) on the day of the sexual activity will increase the likelihood that intimate partner variables will predict increased episodic HIV risk. Aim 3: Explicate the constructed meaning and relevance of partner-level constructs to sexual risk-taking. It is expected that responses to a semi-structured interview will allow for elaboration and probing of responses provided during the experience sampling methodology (ESM) reporting. The specific aims described in this AREA proposal have been designed to include undergraduate students on the research team. Students working on the project will assist in collecting data from participants using mixed methods, analyzing data, and writing of manuscripts detailing findings from this study. The results will inform the development of more competent and effective targeted HIV-prevention interventions, including enhancing our understanding of the barriers to condom use and HIV testing in this group of African Americans.

gosh - a study to find out how and why people behave like they do under some circumstances??

Yeah I can see why the anti-science movement thinks that's a bad thing - next someone might try to figure out what makes anti-science tick..and I'm pretty sure that would be embarrassing to y'all! :p

a reply to: Aloysius the Gaul

Well we sure do know who all the anti common sense folk are not don't we.

Again.

Who the hell needs a half a million dollar study for that ?

Never mind DONT ANSWER.

a reply to: paxnatus

Are you drunk right now? You don't think that if they were going to use anything to bring about prohibition again it would be the obscene number of vehicular homicides and other crimes committed under the influence of alcohol, but transmission of HIV?

a reply to: Aloysius the Gaul

OK, so the headline left out that they were studying how alcohol consumption will help explain the predicted episodic HIV risk in African-Americans ...

Someone call BLM. I smell a Tuskegee incident.

a reply to: Aloysius the Gaul

Wish I could flag you. Sadly, it's not your thread. I starred.

I think this is a good thing. For one, it isn't that much money in the grand scheme of things. For another, without a study, there is no way of knowing factually what the answer to the question is. Hate all you want, scientific studies provide a better foundation for politics than belief and guesswork.