Monday, January 27, 2020

Gender Inequalities in Health Sociology

Gender Inequalities in Health Sociology This essay aims to understand why there are health inequalities between both genders and the social classes. This will be achieved by analysing the findings of sociological research, whilst discussing the main problems with how health inequalities are measured. The cultural and structural explanations on why health inequalities occur will also be evaluated. In 2009, The House of Commons Health Committee published a report, which found that even though peoples health was improving in all social groups, the gap between the health of the social classes had widened. The reason stated for this, was that the health of those in higher social classes was improving far quicker than the health of those in the lower social classes. The figures within in the report showed that if you are in a higher social group you are more likely to live longer than someone in the lower social classes. The report also stated that not only do poorer people die younger; they also suffer more years of ill health. Access to health care for the lower classes is also uneven and those who are poor, elderly and disabled are less likely to receive proper treatment than those who are young and able-bodied. A report done by the Learning Disabilities Observatory alleged that this was because the elderly and disabled were unable to access health care due to reduced mobility, being unable to communicate health problems to professionals and their carers failing to identify health problems. (Eric Emerson, 2010) The Health Committee report also illustrates the interrelations of gender inequalities and socioeconomic status. On a geographical level females who were born in the more affluent areas of London, such as Kensington and Chelsea had a significantly higher life expectancy (87.8 years) than females who were born in Glasgow (77.1 years), which has the lowest life expectancy figure in the UK. Subsequently, even though the life expectancy for males and females in social class l (professional) and social class V (unskilled manual) has improved compared to previous years, the disparity between them, is still widening. (House of Commons, Health Committee, 2009) A cultural explanation was also given for why mens life expectancy is more severely affected than womens life expectancy. It was suggested by the Mens Health Forum that men are more likely to take risks with their health due to them trying to cope with stress and conforming to role models in society. Men, compared to women also make poor use of primary care services such as pharmacies and GP surgeries. This is thought to be because men find it culturally unacceptable to discuss their health problems. Men are also more likely to die of health problems relating to their weight, as they are less able than women to identify when they are overweight, as weight is seen as a womens issue. (Memorandum by the mens health forum, 2008) However, even though the data found within the Health Committees report looks convincing the majority of the data is based on morbidity rates, which are not always reliable, as not everyone who gets ill may report their illness. Even human error and illness not being recorded accurately can mean that data based evidence of health inequalities can be unreliable. A previous report done in 2004 by Hilary Graham, featured evidence that suggested that if your parents were poor or in poverty then you were already predisposed to having poor health and having a higher mortality and morbidity rate. This was due to mothers who are poor not being able to afford nutritious food and not being able to access health care. This in turn can lead to babies being born with a lower birth weight, and poor cognitive and physical development. This can influence further problems in health as an adult and therefore, further inequalities in health than someone who was born to parents with a higher income. The findings of the report done by Graham also showed that those living with illness or an impairment were less likely to avoid economic hardships due to their persisting health difficulties and the discrimination they faced, meaning they were less likely to maintain long term employment. In turn, those who did belong to a higher socioeconomic group had a far bette r chance of staying in employment even when faced with ill health. It was also suggested within the report that socioeconomic position affects an individuals health indirectly by influencing intermediary factors such as their home and environment (e.g. poor living and working conditions) and psychosocial factors such as their stress levels and relationships within their family. (Graham, 2004) On analysing Grahams report, there are certain criticisms that can be made on the reliability of her findings. For instance, all the data that featured in her report is secondary; none of it is her own. Therefore, the validity and reliability of the findings featured in her report is only as good as the people she collected it from. However, the research she did use was up -to date and from credible resources. There are cultural and structural explanations that also help us understand why there are inequalities in health between the genders and social classes. In relations to gender inequalities in health the cultural/ behavioural explanation suggests that men are far more likely to suffer ill health and die younger than women due to role models in society and the need for them to feel masculine. Because of this, young men in particular are more likely to smoke, drink alcohol and take drugs. A higher consumption of alcohol and drug taking in particular is thought to be a prime reason why young men are more likely to commit suicide. Women, on the other hand have been socialised to pay greater attention to their health and body as it is seen as a way to define their femininity. However, more women suffer from eating disorders than men do. (Waugh,C. et al 2008) Many feminists believe that women no longer have control over the health care they receive, and any health care they are given is sui ted to doctors and hospital hours. They also argue that women are left to suffer at the hands of male doctors, who are more likely to diagnose female patients symptoms as that of a mental illness. (Browne, 2008) The structural/ materialistic explanation for inequalities in health has suggested that women are more likely to get ill because of their role in society as caregivers because they are more likely to suffer from stress and mental illness. Women who do part-time work are also more likely to suffer from ill health as they are less well paid and have fewer perks than women who are able to do full time work. Men on the other hand often do jobs that are dangerous, stressful and physically demanding (e.g. warehouse work, armed forces jobs etc.) The structural explanation also suggests that those who are in the lower social classes are more likely to suffer from ill health because they are less able to engage in healthy lifestyle choices due to lack of income. They are also more likely to do manual jobs and have less money to buy good quality foods. Lack of transport may make it harder to access medical care and stress of not having enough money can lead to further health problems, which ma y eventually lead to unemployment. Marxists claim capitalist society causes people to become ill as it aims to serve only the higher classes. Being unable to work is seen as the definition of sickness, whilst Doctors are seen as agents of social control with the power to sign people off work. Yet not working can equally make people ill by increasing the risk of ill health, depression and suicide. (Kirby,M. et al 1997) Both explanations are equally valid; however, the structural explanation looks at the wider picture of why people in lower classes or certain genders are more likely to suffer from high morbidity and mortality rates, as they cannot afford healthy lifestyles like the higher classes. The cultural explanation gives insight into why one gender more than the other seeks health care and why data for morbidity if higher for women than men yet mortality levels are higher than men than in women. (Martin Holborn, 2004) In conclusion, the findings in both the reports from the Health Committee and by Hilary Graham both show that the lower your social class, the higher your risk of suffering from poor health and lower life expectancy. Furthermore, the cultural explanation gives reason to why men are less likely to visit the doctor due to wanting to conform to masculine stereotypes, whereas women are encouraged to look after their health. Alternatively, the structural explanation gives greater insight into how your social class can affect your health by limiting your access to healthcare and the means to living a healthier lifestyle.

Sunday, January 19, 2020

Athletic Training and Writing Studies

Genre Analysis This paper will take an in depth look at two articles that are representative of two different discourse communities. It will also analyze features that are different amongst the two discourse communities so that people have a better understanding of the different characteristics that discourse communities possess. It will explore the different styles that each discourse community utilizes, including but not limited to writing, citation styles and organizational styles. Keywords: Discourse Community, characteristics, organizational style, citation style writing style Many people do not understand that to be considered a discourse community, a group must have certain attributes. These attributes represent the way that the discourse community read, write, or communicate with one another. It is important that these attributes are done on a level that will be understood by those within the discourse community they are a member of. Although each genre typically has their own way of communication, whether it is via writing, email, or another form of communicating, some utilize the same ways and other genres utilize different ways. Regardless of the choice of communication, the goal is the same throughout discourse communities and that is to have effective communication. The differences and similarities are apparent when analyzing two articles from two different discourse communities, Athletic Training and Writing Studies. The first peered reviewed article accessed from the Athletic Training Education Journal titled â€Å"Redefining Professional Knowledge in Athletic Training: Whose Knowledge Is It Anyway?† examines the way that Athletic Training has defined it body of knowledge and how to secure that body of knowledge in the Athletic Training discourse community. The second peered reviewed article titled â€Å"Rhetorical Reading Strategies and the Construction of Meaning† not only discusses reading and writing at a college level, however also discusses the role of rhetorical reading while writing and reading. Identification Identifying the differences and similarities between the two peered reviewed articles, â€Å"Redefining Professional Knowledge in Athletic Training: Whose Knowledge Is It Anyway?† by Patrick O. McKeon, PhD; Jennifer M. Medina McKeon, PhD; Paul R. Geisler, EdD and â€Å"Rhetorical Reading Strategies and the Construction of Meaning† by Christina Haas and Linda Flower gave more clarity on the different and similar writing styles of the two different discourse communities. The first difference that was apparent was the formatting of the two articles. The first article by McKeon et al. appears to use an APA format for their article. APA format typically includes an abstract as well as a reference page that list the sources that were utilized throughout the paper, this paper included both. The APA citations are also different than the MLA citations. The Haas and Flower article is done in an MLA format, it does not include an abstract, title page and the source page is referenced as a â€Å"work cited† page which is typical of MLA formatting. The citations in MLA formatting are presented differently on the â€Å"works cited† page than a reference page of the APA format. What was observed in both articles that was similar, although using the different formats, was that both articles were 1-inch margins and 12-point font which is adhering to both the MLA and APA formats. To attract a reader typically organization of an article is important. These two articles differed in how they were organized, for instance the article â€Å"Redefining Professional Knowledge in Athletic Training: Whose Knowledge Is It Anyway?† is organized by headings that clearly represent the facet of the information that is to follow the heading. Haas and Flowers article â€Å"Rhetorical Reading Strategies and the Construction of Meaning† does not include headings to present information, the information is sporadically placed within the article, including data represented by the study itself. A prominent similarity between the two articles was that they were both evidence-based articles. The article â€Å"Redefining Professional Knowledge in Athletic Training: Whose Knowledge Is It Anyway?† the study shows that by clearly relating the Professional body of knowledge and the evidence that is utilized in the evidence-based practice helps to secure that there is, in fact, authority and legitimacy to the Athletic Training Profession body of Knowledge. (McKeon, el.at.) The article â€Å"Rhetorical Reading Strategies and the Construction of Meaning† was based on studies done with college students. These studies represented primarily the different ways that college students read and write. These studies were performed in hopes that undeniable proof would indeed help to strengthen the abilities of college students in the aspects of reading and writing. There were similarities to the stylistic form of writing of both the articles. The Haas and Flower article was more of an active voice rather that a passive voice. This was noted mainly because of wording and sentence structure. An active voice basically describes what the subject is doing or going to do, which in this article could be clearly defined throughout. The article by McKeon el. at. also used an active voice throughout the article. Suggesting what could be done as well as what is being done to secure their Professional Body of Knowledge in the Athletic Training field. Using an active voice in both articles helped to validate the strength of the articles which is important to the reader. Regarding the convention of the two articles they differed in how information was conveyed through visual illustration. It was clear that the authors Haas and Flower utilized multiple illustrations to identify the results and convey important information a manner that was visually understood. This allowed for information to be conveyed faster and accurately with different visuals, i.e. graphs, figures. In the article â€Å"Redefining Professional Knowledge in Athletic Training: Whose Knowledge Is It Anyway?† the authors chose to not utilize many visuals, instead they utilized the grammar convention, which made deciphering the article slightly more time consuming that when visuals are incorporated. In short, the common goal of both articles was to communicate information to help advance their specific discourse community. In the Writing Studies community the information relayed, no matter how, was to improve the reading and writing skills of college students. In the community of Athletic Trainers, it was to facilitate a better understanding of the Professional Body of Knowledge and the relation to their stature in the healthcare field. The common goal simply stated was to advance each discourse community with the studies that were performed. Analysis Reading both articles, it was clear the active voice was representative of both the Writing Studies and Athletic Training discourse communities. Using the active voice defines a characteristic of both communities and the way they communicate, making sure that information is conveyed, clearly, concisely and straight to the point. This is an important attribute to these discourse communities simply because to advance it is important to understand and communicating efficiently is important. Utilizing the active voice also relays the strength and validation to the article which is important to the reader also. These two articles are clearly written as evidence-based articles, this is another important characteristic of the discourse communities of which the authors belong. It shows that both discourse communities rely on data that has scientifically evident and data that proves the facts. This information is made available in both articles through concise experiments that resulted in a conclusion that was beneficial to both discourse communities. This is an important attribute in the discourse communities because the reputable proof that is determined through these experiments reflects that the discourse communities require information that is only factual and based by scientific evidence. Organizational manner of both articles as stated was different. The article by McKeon, el. at. chose to structure the paper with an introduction, method, result, analysis and discussion format. This type of structure can be a representative characteristic of the discourse community Athletic Training by suggesting the discourse community relies mainly on scientific evidence and factual data. Utilizing headings helps the reader follow and have a clearer understanding of the material that is being discussed. The article by Haas and Flower chose to take a more laxed approach to the structure of their article. The authors used very little headings and left the article with points that could be further discussed. Even know results were apparent this article was left more open-ended, maybe to leave the reader no choice but to ask questions? This type of structure demonstrates the discourse communities will to speak freely and offer any elaboration that is needed. The different formatting of the articles APA and MLA represent the different characteristics that both discourse communities possess. The Athletic Training discourse community utilized an APA format in this article, this is representative of the concise, reliability and validity that is expected when writing in this discourse community. The authors of the Writing Studies article utilized the MLA format for the structure of their paper which is typical of the discourse community. This type of format demonstrates the discourse community's openness to further discuss and elaborate on the subject at hand. The difference in the formatting of the citations on both the reference and works cited pages represent the discourse communities' differences of what they stress importance on when using multiple sources. MLA citations always begin with the title name and APA citations usually begin with author first. The Athletic Training discourse community, using the APA format prefers to emphasize the importance of the author (writer) contrary to the discourse community of Writing Studies who choose to emphasize the importance of the subject in their citation. The conventions that were apparent in the articles displayed the discourse communities' differences in respect to conveying information. The Haas and Flower article had multiple visual illustrations that conveyed precise information in a quick manner. This is standard of the Writing Studies discourse communities will to open minded for elaboration. Presenting a graph or figure can reflect the need for more discussion. The McKeon el. at. article used only one display of visual illustration to convey information which is contrary to the discourse community who is usually under time constraints. The authors chose to use more grammar conventions such as mechanics, usage, and sentence structure to convey their message. This is also typical of the discourse community of Athletic Training and their continued effort to communicate in a fashion that is easily understood, straight to the point, concise and efficient. The last noted similarity in both articles was the fact that the articles were written in a manner that provided information to improve their discourse communities. Knowledge is power, and this was reflective in both articles with the information that was conveyed. This makes sense as both discourse communities have common goals and that is to better the community to which they belong by further research and continued communication. Reflection This Genre Analysis has given me the opportunity to explore and examine the different writing styles of the discourse communities of Writing Studies and Athletic Training. Despite that the discourse communities are from completely different realms, I analyzed both articles which later proved to achieve one common goal and that was communication through writing. After analyzing the two articles it was clear that the discourse communities had different as well as similar writing styles that they utilized to convey their messages. I was able to gain an understanding that the overall goal of conveying information effectively and concisely. Of which, ironically, was a common goal among both discourse communities. This analysis has also given me a better understanding of how writing, or the type of writing used can identify the characteristics of a discourse community. For example, the Athletic Training discourse community writes in a fashion that is straight forward and to the point to communicate the outcome. The Writing Studies discourse community tends to leave some information open ended, up for discussion they are a little laxer in their approach. No matter the approach in writing among the discourse community the bottom line will always be the same, to write in a manner that is concise and effective. Another very important aspect that was observed was the importance of adapting to the writing styles of the discourse community you belong to. Adapting will ensure that you can communicate effectively within the discourse community and most importantly be respected by fellow members. ReferencesHaas, C., ; Flower, L. (1988). Rhetorical Reading Strategies and the Construction of Meaning. College Composition and Communication, 39(2), 167-183. doi:10.2307/358026Patrick O. McKeon, Jennifer M. Medina McKeon, and Paul R. Geisler (2017) Redefining Professional Knowledge in Athletic Training: Whose Knowledge Is It Anyway?. Athletic Training Education Journal: April-June 2017, Vol. 12, No. 2, pp. 95-105. https://doi.org/10.4085/120295

Saturday, January 11, 2020

Rice Seeds

Table 1 Shoot and root length of a dicot and a monocot seedling Shoot Length (cm)| Root length (cm)| | 1| 2| 3| 4| 5| Average| 1| 2| 3| 4| 5| Average| Day 1| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0| Day 2| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0| 1. 1| 1. 0| 1. 2| 1. 0| 0| 0. 86| Day 3| 1| 0. 5| 1| 1| 1| 0. 9| 2| 2| 2| 2| 2. 1| 2. 02| Day 4| 1. 2| 1| 1| 1. 1| 1| 1. 6| 2. 5| 2. 5| 3| 3| 2. 5| 2. 7| Day 5| 2. 1| 2| 1. 3| 2| 1. 3| 1. 74| 3| 3. 1| 3. 2| 3. 2| 3| 3. 1| Day 6| 2. 1| 2. 1| 2. 1| 2. 1| 2. 1| 2. 1| 5| 3. 5| 4| 3| 5| 4. 1| Day 7| 2. 5| 2. 5| 2. 2| 2. 5| 2. 5| 2. 44| 5. 5| 4. 5| 5| 5| 5| 5|Table 2 Breaking dormancy of Leucaena leucophala seeds Treatment| % Germination| | R E P L I C A T I O N| | 1| 2| Average| Rubbing on sandpaper| 0%| 0%| 0%| Clipping| 0%| 1%| 0. 5%| Soaking in hot water (50 degrees Celcius)| 0%| 0%| 0%| Control| 6%| 0%| 3| The experiment has shown that by clipping the seeds perhaps germination of the seed can be attain. Rubbing the seed with sandpaper can break the dormancy as well as i t can also break and kill the seed. Soaking the seeds in hot water can also break the hardness of the coat of the seed thus can also kill the developing parts of the seeds of the plant.Clipping can be considered as an effective way of breaking the dormancy of the seed thus in some unexpected ways or inaccurate work, the seeds may be damaged and may not germinate. Table 3. 1 Effect of initial moisture content on the storability of rice seeds I. Effect of initial moisture content on the storability of rice seeds Treatment| % Germination| | R E P L I C A T I O N| | 1| 2| Average| | After 3 days| After 7 days| After 3 days| After 7 days| | 11% moisture content| 12%| | 12%| | 16%| 20% moisture content| 0%| 16%| 0%| 12%| 14%|The results have shown that the rice seed treated with 11% moisture content have higher percent of germination as compared with the rice seed treated with 20% moisture content. Rice seeds are known to be an orthodox type of seeds. Orthodox type of seeds are seeds whic h are needed to be stored with low moisture content under conditions at low temperature and low humidity. This means that in order to attain and make the seeds germinate these seeds must be maintained at low moisture content. Table 3. 2 Storability of recalcitrant seeds Treatment| % Germination after one week| Freshly extracted| 80%|Stored for one week| 0%| The results have shown that the cacao seeds which are freshly extracted have higher percent of germination as compared with the cacao seeds stored for one week. Cacao seeds are known to be recalcitrant type of seeds. This means that this type of seeds should have been planted after they are extracted. These seeds should not be stored long to attain a high percent of germination. Since the seeds are stored for seven days or one week the seeds will no longer germinate because it has already dried up and this type of seed must be stored without reduction in their moisture.

Friday, January 3, 2020

The War Of The Cold War - 1497 Words

Once the Cold War was starting to unfold in the 1950’s and 1960’s, the world endured more change than in any other period of time throughout history. A global independence movement was reshaping the world into what we know it as today. Several nations from the regions of South Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and the Middle East were finally gaining the independence they have long demanded since the 1800’s. All of these nations were former areas that the western powers of Europe colonized for their own benefits. These benefits included the use of slave labor and the slave trade, use of the country’s natural resources, or just to fulfill the need to create a global empire. After hundreds of years of this unjust treatment, dating all the way†¦show more content†¦Many of the once powerful European empires emerged extremely fragile out of World War II, and many of them were forced to abandon their oversea empires. This was because of the fact that many o f them were unable to support themselves due to the amount of resources that were consumed, in order to bring down Germany’s rule in World War II. The United States even had to financially support the countries of Western Europe through the Marshall Plan, as it took majority of the Cold War for these countries to get back on their feet. Despite the damage, this was the perfect opportunity for the colonized regions of the world to fight back while they were stronger and obtain independence, which is exactly what they did. Two of the most important colonies that gained their independence at this time were the countries of Pakistan and the Philippines. One thing that the world does not always acknowledge, is that many countries have actually been demanding for independence ever since the 1800’s. The partition that created Pakistan was a long and tedious process before it got approved. Before World War II, Great Britain had full control over the country of India and its resources, even though the people were demanding for self-rule for several years. At the time, India consisted of both Muslim and Hindu cultures, and the tensions between the two