Just over a month until I will be defending my thesis. Having just finished the last other big thing this summer (a conference presentation) , I feel like time is passing amazingly quick. On Tuesday I turned my most recent draft in to my second adviser. Now with the conference done I can finally take a weekend off. I am not sure what to do with myself at the moment. I have been working so consistently that hobbies and pleasure reading are a distant memory. Now bringing myself back to things I used to do seem strange and distant. After finishing up two posts that have been waiting a while on my other blog, I figured I should post one over here as well.
I look forward to the job search once I finish my master's. From what I have seen, there are some really amazing opportunities for public policy research and implementation for someone with an M.A. in sociology. It will be interesting to see what types of jobs Heather and I find and how we enjoy them. It is nice right now because I feel like all options are open. If we like the careers we find we can continue on in them. If we don't, there is always the opportunity to go back and get our PhDs.
It is also strange to not have a destination. By the beginning of August we will likely be leaving Vancouver and creating a new life elsewhere. The transient nature of my mid-twenties feels right. I'll be twenty-six in October and I have no idea where I will be celebrating it. I've never felt so free.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Confusing Correlation with Causation
A recent article on MSN Health does a great job showing how the medical view of individuals can miss the social determinants of both health and crime. The article cites a recent study in PLoS Medicine which found that increased levels of lead in children is linked to crime later in life. They article goes on to discuss the dangers of lead and the neurological effects that it has. Even though it notes the connection between lead exposure and poor communities, it completely misses the connection between poor communities and crime. Instead in assumes that the effects of lead on the brain are what lead to crime.
This lack of a larger perspective shows how entrenched the medicalized, atomized version of society is. Individuals who are born into socially marginalized communities often have no real opportunity for engagement and often end up being involved in delinquency. While there is still the presence of agency, it is difficult to disregard the widespread patterns of crimes in marginalized populations worldwide. Nothing links these groups (race, religion, creed, education) except for their marginal status. It is difficult to see how policy makers cannot make the connection that it is not something intrinsic to these individuals but something social that is happening. Social patterning of all aspects of our lives is something continually overlooked by the media and not well understood by those in power. We must learn to look past simple individual level explanations and ask why these patterns are so consistent across place and time. Only then will we be able to find adequate social and economic policies to mitigate the ill effects of poverty and marginalization.
This lack of a larger perspective shows how entrenched the medicalized, atomized version of society is. Individuals who are born into socially marginalized communities often have no real opportunity for engagement and often end up being involved in delinquency. While there is still the presence of agency, it is difficult to disregard the widespread patterns of crimes in marginalized populations worldwide. Nothing links these groups (race, religion, creed, education) except for their marginal status. It is difficult to see how policy makers cannot make the connection that it is not something intrinsic to these individuals but something social that is happening. Social patterning of all aspects of our lives is something continually overlooked by the media and not well understood by those in power. We must learn to look past simple individual level explanations and ask why these patterns are so consistent across place and time. Only then will we be able to find adequate social and economic policies to mitigate the ill effects of poverty and marginalization.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Social Determinants of (Google) Health
Google recently added an interesting new feature to their online empire, Google Health. It has the making of a useful and helpful tool for many people that want a place to keep track of their medical history and required prescriptions. You can enter your personal information, update your existing conditions, and even import your medical history and records from a variety of sources. It can also be used to find a doctor in your area or to seek online medical help.
One area where it is woefully insufficient is on social determinants of health. It would seem a more appropriate name for the site would be Google Medical, because that is its sole focus. The social determinants of health have been found to play a significant and varied role in individual health. Factors that are social determinants of health include things like where you live, what type of social capital the area you live in has, what is inequality like, how much income do you make, what kind of discrimination do you face, etc. However those critical factors are completely absent from Google Health. This reinforces the myopic medical view of health that divorces the health of the individual from the health of others. All health is patterned. Even things we consider random and tragic, like cancer, follow social patterns and gradients across factors like income. Ignoring these issues on a health site is at best ignorant and at worst neglectful of a whole host of factors many people may not be aware of.
One area where it is woefully insufficient is on social determinants of health. It would seem a more appropriate name for the site would be Google Medical, because that is its sole focus. The social determinants of health have been found to play a significant and varied role in individual health. Factors that are social determinants of health include things like where you live, what type of social capital the area you live in has, what is inequality like, how much income do you make, what kind of discrimination do you face, etc. However those critical factors are completely absent from Google Health. This reinforces the myopic medical view of health that divorces the health of the individual from the health of others. All health is patterned. Even things we consider random and tragic, like cancer, follow social patterns and gradients across factors like income. Ignoring these issues on a health site is at best ignorant and at worst neglectful of a whole host of factors many people may not be aware of.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
More Folly than Fact
John McCain's proposed health care policy is another example of irrational faith in a market that has already failed millions of Americans, particularly the 50 million without any health insurance. The problem is that "the market" and health have an extremely poor track record in all countries that have implemented market-oriented measures. The costs in each of the countries has increased without an increase in the actual services provided or quality of the care. This is the reason (as mentioned at length in previous posts) that Americans spend the most per capita on health but have among the poorest health outcomes for OECD countries. The U.S. government currently covers health for the two groups most prone to health problems: the poor and the elderly. By bringing all Americans into a national health system, the higher risk of these groups could be shared across a larger pool. This would bring down costs per patient overall in the U.S. and would reduce the overhead and bureaucracy needed to run the system. While both Barack and Hillary have imperfect plans for health care they are vastly superior than the "faith-based" plan from McCain. While government may not be the perfect provider of health, we have plenty of examples of more successful programs run by other countries that we could draw lessons from.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Work in Progress
My last teaching semester of my M.A. career comes to an end on Monday. It will be the last lecture and after that there is only the final exam where I am just invigilating (Canada's equally dirty sounding version of proctoring). I have really enjoyed being a teaching assistant and have lucked out with the classes that I have taught. Both the quantitative methods course and the social research methods course helped me to strengthen my abilities as a researcher. They also forced me to be able to discuss these issues with people who are seeing them for the first time. I think that experience will be invaluable once I am working as a policy analyst or researcher. Being able to explain or identify relevant methodological issues to a lay person will be important as I will be dealing with a variety of folks that don't have that type of training.
One thing that being a teaching assistant has taught me is that I am not interested in teaching, at least in the short term. I find it interesting but exhausting at the same time. Trying to get people to do what they are paying a lot of money to do is difficult. Many students know they should read and study and carry out the exercises but do not. I understand time is a factor, but many people are paying a lot of money to be here and I would imagine they would want to get the most they can out of it. Though even if I had a class of all stellar students, I don't think it would make me want to teach any more. I really like the applied aspects of the social sciences generally and sociology more specifically.
If I end up not liking policy research and analysis I can imagine going back and getting my PhD and being a professor as an option. It seems that many of my favorite professors came to that point after working for some time outside of academia. I am not sure what this says about what I will find outside the ivory tower, but I look forward to seeing it for myself. As I look at possible jobs in my field I am continually amazed at how many I would be applying for if my thesis were finished at this point.
Despite that, I am really looking forward to my final semester (for most programs in Canada an M.A. is two full years, six semesters - including summers). I am at an interesting point in the writing of my thesis and am enjoying the wide range of readings that it leads me to. At my most recent meeting with my adviser I was asked if I was sick of my topic yet. It was followed by a quick "because it's ok if you are..." I have to say I am not sick of it yet. I actually really enjoy it. I will miss working on Chile and focusing so much attention on a very narrow topic. It is hard to imagine where I will be in six months... But I sure will miss the view here:
Photos by Heather
One thing that being a teaching assistant has taught me is that I am not interested in teaching, at least in the short term. I find it interesting but exhausting at the same time. Trying to get people to do what they are paying a lot of money to do is difficult. Many students know they should read and study and carry out the exercises but do not. I understand time is a factor, but many people are paying a lot of money to be here and I would imagine they would want to get the most they can out of it. Though even if I had a class of all stellar students, I don't think it would make me want to teach any more. I really like the applied aspects of the social sciences generally and sociology more specifically.
If I end up not liking policy research and analysis I can imagine going back and getting my PhD and being a professor as an option. It seems that many of my favorite professors came to that point after working for some time outside of academia. I am not sure what this says about what I will find outside the ivory tower, but I look forward to seeing it for myself. As I look at possible jobs in my field I am continually amazed at how many I would be applying for if my thesis were finished at this point.
Despite that, I am really looking forward to my final semester (for most programs in Canada an M.A. is two full years, six semesters - including summers). I am at an interesting point in the writing of my thesis and am enjoying the wide range of readings that it leads me to. At my most recent meeting with my adviser I was asked if I was sick of my topic yet. It was followed by a quick "because it's ok if you are..." I have to say I am not sick of it yet. I actually really enjoy it. I will miss working on Chile and focusing so much attention on a very narrow topic. It is hard to imagine where I will be in six months... But I sure will miss the view here:
Photos by Heather
Monday, March 10, 2008
Peace Through Torture
It is difficult, if not impossible, to fathom at this point how the Bush administration can justify the actions they have taken. The most recent disgusting example of rampant disregard for the safety of Americans is the veto of the interrogation limits for detainees. While intelligence experts and interrogators continually identify the ineffectiveness of torture, overwhelmingly Americans fail to understand this. This disconnect is dangerous because it has been shown that torture can increase similar acts of violence from those on the other side of the conflict. The American people and those around the world must not let these actions continue. A concerted effort to hold those responsible for torture could be one positive step in creating sustained change.
Another aspect that has been identified as playing a role in the veto is executive power. Like many of the actions taken during his term, Bush has continually attempted to enhance the power of the executive generally and the presidency specifically. This is in direct contrast to the rhetoric of big government as a pariah on society. It is hard to imagine trying to secure your legacy by making the world less safe and free through torture. History will not look positively on the wasteful War On(of) Terror that has been undertaken during this administration. It is even more disgusting that McCain gives the Bush administration nearly a free ride in his discussion of their actions. I have a campaign slogan for him "Making America Less Safe for only Three Trillion a War!" I guess it may be a little too long...
Another aspect that has been identified as playing a role in the veto is executive power. Like many of the actions taken during his term, Bush has continually attempted to enhance the power of the executive generally and the presidency specifically. This is in direct contrast to the rhetoric of big government as a pariah on society. It is hard to imagine trying to secure your legacy by making the world less safe and free through torture. History will not look positively on the wasteful War On(of) Terror that has been undertaken during this administration. It is even more disgusting that McCain gives the Bush administration nearly a free ride in his discussion of their actions. I have a campaign slogan for him "Making America Less Safe for only Three Trillion a War!" I guess it may be a little too long...
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Rough Mid-Terms
Today we will be handing back students' graded mid-term exams. I am quite concerned about being killed by a mob of angry students at the end of it. Grades overall were not so great. The test didn't seem overly hard and the folks that did well, on average, did really well. As with most classes, there were those folks that clearly never read either the text books or the assigned articles, despite the fact that the expectations for the exam were laid out clearly throughout the class.
Getting back their mid-terms is going to be a rude awakening for some students. Particularly those who did well on their literature reviews, but clearly didn't put in equivalent time preparing for their exam. Overall I would have to say I was hoping they would do better. I am not sure if they got a sense of false confidence or just were too busy with other exams. When I originally saw the exam I thought it was going to be too easy if anything. All of it was covered clearly in lecture and the readings that were covered were among the more interesting. Even the essay questions closely followed the format he previewed in class.
I was also surprised by the questions most people got wrong or right. Most people were able to correctly provide the definition of induction (in social research, collecting the data and then building a theory based on it, as opposed to deduction), a term I thought was going to be more difficult. Many people got respondent validation(having your participants read through your results to see if your interpretation is accurate) wrong, surprisingly. Particularly with the amount of times this idea was referenced in class and in the readings.
Oh well, lets hope they learn the lessons and make a more concerted effort for the final.
(Update: Twelve out of the fifteen students that failed the final didn't show up to pick them up. No surprise there, but it doesn't bode well for them to keep missing lectures.)
Getting back their mid-terms is going to be a rude awakening for some students. Particularly those who did well on their literature reviews, but clearly didn't put in equivalent time preparing for their exam. Overall I would have to say I was hoping they would do better. I am not sure if they got a sense of false confidence or just were too busy with other exams. When I originally saw the exam I thought it was going to be too easy if anything. All of it was covered clearly in lecture and the readings that were covered were among the more interesting. Even the essay questions closely followed the format he previewed in class.
I was also surprised by the questions most people got wrong or right. Most people were able to correctly provide the definition of induction (in social research, collecting the data and then building a theory based on it, as opposed to deduction), a term I thought was going to be more difficult. Many people got respondent validation(having your participants read through your results to see if your interpretation is accurate) wrong, surprisingly. Particularly with the amount of times this idea was referenced in class and in the readings.
Oh well, lets hope they learn the lessons and make a more concerted effort for the final.
(Update: Twelve out of the fifteen students that failed the final didn't show up to pick them up. No surprise there, but it doesn't bode well for them to keep missing lectures.)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)