30. September 2009 by student.

I have just read an article about how French women stay thin without going to the gym and I must say, it was quite interesting. The article was by a bestselling international author named Mireille Guiliano. Her article describes how French women stay thin. Guiliano has learned that Americans are not always eager to go to the gym and usually women only go to the gym as punishment for indulging in a desert they had the night before. Yet, when most Americans think of the French, they think of great, French cuisine. So how do the French women do it? How do they avoid the gym? Guiliano mentioned that many of the high-rise building in France do not have elevators and one must endure flights of stairs to reach their apartment, but us Americans cannot ban all the elevators. It was mentioned in the article that French women eat small portions and frequently throughout the day.  I know for a fact that the French never “super-size” their meals. I went to a French restaurant and I had a seven-course meal, but eat portion was about the size of a human hand. In the end, my appetite was fully satisfied. Americans always see the weight loss programs on television that promote eating smaller portions and I am a firm believer that they work. If you think about it, eating large portions and trying to burn it all off by doing an insane workout at the gym will only give you fluctuating weight or the “yo-yo” effect. And that just seems aggravating. Another thing mentioned in the article, was that French women get an ample amount of sleep. Many women in the US stay up eating dinner late or getting up for a “midnight snack.”  I believe that eating an early dinner and going to bed will help a woman lose weight because she does not have that food sitting in her stomach, wasting it’s energy by sleeping, and in turn, the food becomes extra weight. This article took on a touchy subject for most women. Although we know that obesity is a rising problem in the US, we should know that gyms do not need to be used for punishment to your body and they sometimes do even need to be used at all.  Americans should know that all your fat cannot be burned by just running on a treadmill for thirty-minutes. Having smaller portions more often during the day instead of “super-sized” portions can help your diet, greatly. So whether you’re French or American you can avoid the gym by simply having regulation in what you eat. Hopefully this word will spread and we can tell our kids the importance of regulating their diet to perhaps prevent childhood obesity? But I think that’s for another blog. 

Posted in Social Problems | 1 Comment »

29. September 2009 by student.

Gender inequality is a prominent issue in our modern world.  American and other societies are inherently sexist, and this unequal distribution of power permeates economic, political, social, and other spheres of life.  Gender itself is socially constructed; we, as a society, decide what appearances, behaviors and qualities are considered masculine or feminine.  We expect those of the female sex to act according to how we define femininity as well as those of the male sex to act according to how we define masculinity.  If a person behaves outside of his or her gender role, society punishes him or her for failing to conform to our dichotomous system of gender identity.  This either/or mentality is harmful to our society as a whole because it alienates people whose gender lies somewhere else on the gender spectrum besides the poles of masculine and feminine.

In addition, society identifies certain traits or qualities as being either masculine or feminine.  For example, aggressive, unemotional, powerful, strong, dominant, and fearless are all qualities that are stereotypically associated with masculinity while emotional, nurturing, weak, submissive, and superficial are qualities stereotypically associated with femininity.  When we think of a successful person, we might think more of the qualities associated with men than those associated with women.  This is why a woman in a position of power is sometimes seen as manly, bitchy, aggressive, etc, but in a negative way.  The aggressiveness and other stereotypically masculine qualities she expresses are not praised as they would be if she were male; instead, they are seen as taking away from her femininity.  She is still less than a man, but she is also not feminine because she fails to fit the typical gender role assigned to women.  She is not a stay-at-home mom or a woman working in a female gender identified job such as teacher, nurse, or secretary.  Just look at the reactions of people to the reports about Hillary Clinton during her run for the Democratic nomination in the 2008 Presidential Election, Clinton was portrayed as a cutthroat bitch when she acted in a “masculine” way and mocked when she acted “feminine” by crying in public.  Obama and McCain were not vilified when they made similar statements and exhibited the same “positive” (when performed by men) behaviors as Clinton.

Gender inequality is apparent in the workplace.  Women still make less money than men in the same position, 71% of men’s earnings in 1999.  Women also hold less executive positions within businesses, and the glass ceiling is still very present.  When being considered for a high-level position, a female applicant, in addition to being judged based on her educational and work background, will most likely also be judged on how well she would perform the job compared with a man.  A male applicant is less likely to have his possible performance compared to that of a woman to determine whether he is competent enough to hold the position.

Also, while the distinct gender roles in the home and family which existed a few decades ago are becoming less rigid, they still exist.  Women are still the primary caregivers for children, and are usually responsible for the majority of cooking, cleaning, and other household duties regardless of whether or not they hold a full-time job.  Because society tells us that women are more “nurturing”, “emotional”, and “passive” than men, they are pushed into less valued roles of wife, mother, and homemaker.  When a woman acts feminine, she is following what society tells her to do, but she still is not valued by society.  When a man acts masculine, he is following what society tells him to do, but he is valued by society.  His “masculine” contributions are praised while her “feminine” contributions are ignored.

The presence of gender inequality is harmful to our society.  Half of the population is oppressed by sexism.  People are forced to identify as male/masculine or female/feminine if they want to fit into society.  Gays, lesbians, transsexuals, and intersex individuals are not accepted by society as a whole because they do not fit society’s gender norms.  Women are not valued as highly as men because femininity is associated with less positive qualities than masculinity.  Gender inequality permeates our social structures of work places, families, schools, etc.  Until changes are made to how society views gender and sex, a large amount of our society will continue to be oppressed and discriminated against.

Posted in Social Problems | 4 Comments »

28. September 2009 by student.

Pollution is another major social problem occurring all over the world. There are several different types of pollution which include air, water, land and noise pollution. Let’s start off with water pollution; petroleum pollution is one of the biggest when we talk water pollution. For example oil spills that occur all the time are in the category of petroleum pollution. There is an estimate that for every million tons of oil transported a ton of oil is spilled says David Kratz from an article on water pollution. This spilling is detrimental to our shore lines and to the ecosystems around. Our culture today tends to not care about the effects in the long run from throwing garbage in the water along with sewage disposal. There is an estimated 5 million deaths a year due to waterborne diseases. If everyone would just take the time to throw garbage away and companies/factories would not put there toxic wastes in the water then we could save many lives.

Air pollution has many long term and short term affects on humans. Our country has tried to reduce the amount of air pollution, when it introduced the Clean Air Acts. Carbon monoxide emissions fell from 197 million tons in 1970 to 89 million tons in 2006. Even though these numbers seem great, we still need to do better. One of the biggest problems with air pollution is the fact that an estimated 335,000 people every year die from lung cancer, which is a direct result of air pollution.

One of the most disturbing facts about land pollution is that according to Green Student U Americans throw 1 million bushels of litter out there car windows every day. This is something that could be stopped. This is something that our society has just brought into everyday life. This is a major social problem especially up in the northern states. Coming from New York everywhere you look there is garbage on the side of the roads. To me Florida seems like there is never any garbage on the side of the roads and for one reason why I think that is because kids are taught that is school. Kids that I have talked to in Florida say in school they emphasize wildlife and pollution.

In our society today, everyone realizes that pollution is extremely bad but no one really cares enough to stop it. There are good things out there right now like solar energy panels to power an entire house and things similar to that, but are too expensive and are a longer term investment. But there are simpler things we can do that don’t cost money like not littering and destroying the planet. This is a major social problem because we are just hurting ourselves.

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

27. September 2009 by student.

Stem cells are an amazing thing.  We need more government support and money to study and develop cures for what are right now terminal diseases and cancers.

                Stem cells are cells in the body that are able to be manipulated into virtually any other type of cell in the body.  They can assist the body in curing some diseases (spinal cord injuries, birth defects) as well as slowing or reversing the effects of other diseases (some types of cancer, Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s).  Stem cells can be taken from adult cells, umbilical cord cells, and embryonic cells.

                There are an incredible amount of positive reasons to keep researching stem cells and developing new ways to medically treat people.  First, it is proven that stem cells have aided in treating or curing certain diseases.  Second, there is much research on adult stem cells.  These results are very optimistic.  A person can use his or her own cells to help treat spinal cord injuries or other diseases.  Because one is able to use cells from their own body, there is virtually no rejection rate.   A disadvantage of adult stem cells is that it can be difficult to get enough out of a patient (usually taken from bone marrow).  But with research and funding we can find a way.  Umbilical cord cells are the “best bet” stem cells.  These cells can help both infant and mother in the case of a medical emergency during labor.  A mother can even “harvest” her baby’s cord in case it is needed for future treatment.   Even the father or sibling can benefit from these cells.  Embryonic cells are by far the most controversial.  This is because these cells are found in the embryonic stage “blastocyst.”  The cells are taken from the embryo 4-5 days after conception for “harvesting.”   These cells can be “kept alive” forever and grow and cultures.  They seem to be very promising however much is unknown due to the controversy behind where these cells come from.

The con of embryonic stem cells is basically based on one’s opinion on when human life begins.  People opposed to embryos being used for stem cells believe that human life begins at conception and although you may not be able to see any human features in these embryos, it is still killing life.  Most of the people are obviously pro life on the abortion issue.

My solution to this, the only con of continuing stem cell research, is to use already discarded fetuses.  This may sound brash, however abortion is legal at this time.  We are wasting great potential by just disposing of these valuable cells.  We don’t need to create embryos in a lab just to “kill” them in five days.  There were 1.2 million abortions in 2005, plenty to give scientists to work with.  Of course, the mother would have to agree to donate the fetus to science.  This can also be done with miscarried fetuses, much like donating organs of a deceased loved one.

When taken from adult bone marrow or the cord, no harm is done to the persons involved.  Only when it comes to embryonic cells is where some people argue against the studies. With the research and development of stem cells, there is much to be learned and miracles to be had with the promising results of stem cells and their ability to transform as well as function many parts of the body.

Funding for this research has recently been put back into effect by President Obama after President Bush put restrictions on it during his term beginning in 1991.  This is a promising step toward a great future in the use of stem cells.

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

23. September 2009 by student.

Some believe that food advertising on the television is causing childhood obesity to grow. Although television is not the only cause of childhood obesity, it contributes to the increase of the obesity rate. Children watch three to four hours a TV on a average day. The rate of childhood obesity is increasing worldwide. A person is at a much greater risk to have diabetes if he was overweight as a child, for it is extremely hard to get rid of the extra weight as an adult once a child has diabetes. The increasing rate of childhood obesity is very alarming because it is also associated with cardiovascular disease and cancer.

Most food advertising is on television; moreover, children ages 2-11 view 11.5 minutes of food advertisement a day. The article in European Journal of Public Health sought to find out how much of the childhood obesity is caused by television advertisement. In addition, it seeks to potentially ban TV food adverting to children ages 6-12 in the U.S. consumption by 4.5%”(European Journal of Public Health)

 As many as one in seven children would not be obese if food advertisement was band. This study is important in human development because it is an important factor when considering a child’s growth and development. Childhood obesity can cause serious emotional problems as well as physical problems as an adult. In addition, it is linked to many serious diseases (European Journal of Public Health).

Personally, I know that if I see a advertisement for and ice cream sunday or olive garden’s bread sticks, I am 100 percent more likely to eat junk food.  Therefore, I completely agree with this article.

reference:

http://ze7cm3rw7t.search.serialssolutions.com.ezproxy.fgcu.edu/directLink?&atitle=By%20how%20much%20would%20limiting%20TV%20food%20advertising%20reduce%20childhood%20obesity%3F&author=J.%20Lennert%20Veerman%3B%20Eduard%20F.%20Van%20Beeck%3B%20Jan%20J.%20Barendregt%3B%20Johan%20P.%20Mackenbach&issn=11011262&title=European%20Journal%20of%20Public%20Health&volume=19&issue=4&date=20090801&spage=365&id=doi:10.1093%2Feurpub%2Fckp039&sid=ProQ_ss&genre=article&lang=en

Posted in Introduction to Sociology | 1 Comment »

23. September 2009 by student.

Have you really thought about air pollution and what it does to our world at which we live in. Air pollution is not only outside of our homes. Air pollution can exist within our houses and other buildings. Statistics show that that many people everyday are affected by chemicals the linger in the air. People spend about about 80-90 percent of there lives indoors. Some examples of some indoor air pollutants are vapors from building materials, cigarette smoke, heating appliances, and  paints.  Indoor air pollution puts your health at risk by causing lung diseases such as asthma and lung cancer. Lung cancer takes the lives of  335,000 people in America a year making this a big problem in the United States. Preventing the growth of mold can have a dramatic effect on you air quality indoors. In conclusion after reading this passage I hope you will consider these simple steps to keep your air clean. Keep good air circulation when humidity is high, keep a dehumidifier and keep it clean and empty often so that mildew does not build up. Just always remember that sometimes the things  that we cant see can be the most harmful.

Posted in Social Problems | 1 Comment »

22. September 2009 by student.

         Global warming is known as the increase in average tempature of the earths near surface and oceans .On Feb. 2, 2007, the United Nations scientific panel studying climate change declared that the evidence of a warming trend is obviouse and that human activity has very likely been the main factor in that change over the last 50 years. according to http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/science/topics/globalwarming/index.html#The last report by the group, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, in 2001, had found that humans had likely played a role in global warming.  Our harmful human activities include smokestacks, deforestation, using cars, and burning of other fossil fuels has contributed to global warming. This increase in green house gasses caused by humans has contributed greatly to the threat of global warming. This is in my opinion the biggest social issue in society right now even though it is not going to effect our generation. What is the point of trying  to better society when earth could easily be destroyed by global warming? This is why I think this is our biggest issue.  I think when Al Gore’s documentary The Inconvienent truth came out this should of made society change but as you can see this is not happening!

        According to http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/03/science/earth/03climate.html?_r=1  The U.S holds 5% of the worlds population but contributes about a quarter of green house gasses to the atmosphere, more than any other country. The problem starts in America. The tempature is predicted to increase any where from 3.5 to 8 degrees Fahrenheit if we don’t reduce the worlds green house gasses . If tempatures raise as predicted the earth will not be able to sustain life.  Sea levels will be raised about 7-23 inches by year 2100. This will really stress our ecosystem out. The rise in sea levels will cause changes in the amount and pattern of precipitiation, probably including expansion of subtropical deserts.  The seas have already rose 6-9 inches since the 20th century .

       Overall The U.S may be the leading polluter but this is a global problem in need of everyones help.  If we want to stop global warming the world must go towards globalization.

Posted in Social Problems | 2 Comments »

21. September 2009 by student.

Have you ever thought about the word obesity? Well by definition obesity is when someone is very fat or over weight. According to the ASD and CDC in 1962 only 13% of Americans were considered obese. By 1980 it rose to 18%, 1994 23% and in 2000 31%. Wow! To put this in a bigger perspective 1 in every 3 Americans are overweight right now. Some other amazing and shocking statistics are that there are 3.8 million people in the United States that weigh over 300 pounds. 400,000 Americans in the United States, (mostly men) are considered in the super massive, which means 400 pounds or more. These stats are from the ASD obesity and weight control report.                

                In today’s society there is a fast food restaurant on every corner. As everyone knows fast food is extremely unhealthy. To go along with the fast food, many Americans are pressed with time in their day and need to just pick up food as quick as possible. A social problem that is occurring is that there are not enough healthy fast food places around. Another reason why our society is gaining weight is that many jobs today are done by sitting at a desk with a computer for ten hours a day. When you’re sitting down at a desk for ten hours your burning nearly no calories, many of the more active jobs years ago are done by machines now a days. In 1996 the Surgeon General reported that we are burning nearly 800 calories less than our parents did on a daily basis. This is because more people years ago would walk or bike ride to stores and work. Take for example here at Florida Gulf Coast University, are the shuttles really needed? The longest walk you could have on campus is only a mile and a half. If you walk to class everyday you are burning a lot of calories. Why not take that extra 10 minutes and just walk to class instead of sitting on the shuttle bus. Fewer than 25% of Americans exercise 3 times a week or more. It is very hard for our society to change because many of the kids today are growing up just playing video games all day and getting obese from the lack of physical activity.

Posted in Social Problems | 5 Comments »

17. September 2009 by student.

Ok, so we have seen some posts about drunk driving, which we all know is stupid, dumb, can kill you, can kill others and will break your mothers heart.  We see comercials on it every day, on TV, the news all over the place.  They are cracking down!  ok, that is great, get those bastards.  But, We live in a college town.  There will be drinking and if you deny that  your are nuts.  So, WHY DOES A TAXI COST YOU $50.00 ROUND TRIP!  This is insane. 

You want to go out and have fun with your friends.  It Friday, you go the the local bar, you have some drinks.  That costs you 20 bucks or so.  Then you want to get home and another $40.00.  So lets see, I have no money left so its either walk six miles (due to everything in Estero and Fort Myers is miles apart) or you get behind the wheel becuase “I am not thank drunk.”  So, with all this drunk driving stuff happening why are they not taking some of this  ANTI DUI adverstisement money and sending around freaking taxi cabs.  I would rather see a taxi service advertising its cheap rates for college kids than a ”don’t drive drunk” commercial with a guys motorcycle helmet filled with beer. Or at least lowering the damn taxi rates.  Even if you want to do the responsiable thing its costs an arm and a leg!  It drives me crazy when the solution to stopping this probelm is simply money, not decision making, not morals or ethics opr anything it is simply that if a taxi coast 5 bucks to get home drunk driving would be cut by 75 percent.  There is no doubt this would help.  

So the other side of the argument.  Well by doing this we are encouraging teen drinking.  Dumb.  Think about it.  WE ARE COLLEGE KIDS! If you did not drink in college you spent most of your days locked in your closet dorm room.  Also, the average college students age at FGCU is 23!  Ummmm, last time I checked you are allowed to drink at age 23.  Why not help the problem.  What is the most valuable thing in the world.  Your life right?  The lives of your loved ones?  Then why makes taxi fairs cost more than going out at night. 

 Just to prove this, a Taxi to club Ultra in Naples round trip to Estero.  70 bucks.  What ramen noodle eating college student can afford that?  It’s just so easy yet goes unoticed.  The city is more worried about busting everyone then helping them.  How about the next DUI driving incident that happens, all the money it cost for them to go to court, AA classes and community service, use it to help!  Make there community service driving a free taxi!  How much does is cost to run a DUI checkpoint.  I am sure thousands of dollars.  Donate that to a taxi service and make fair cheaper!   

I just ask that something is done because it is such a serious issue and no one seems make a logical way to solve other than “Well, dont go out and drink then drive.”  Thats easier said than done which has been proven by many who will have that on their record for the rest of thier lives.     

Posted in Social Problems | 5 Comments »

17. September 2009 by student.

So, we are in college.  We being the students of the university.  We are the top now, but some who did not go to college are frowd upon by society.  Why?  Due to the fact they are under achievers right?  Wrong.  What is college?  How many of us will remeber what we learned in even our latest year of school.  I do belive in education to the fullest, but in some classes I focus more on how to beat the system than trying to learn the subject.  I do belive school has made me a better person in the longrun.  Not because I learned more from taking statistics, or spa management, but for the fact it made me learn how to become a worker.  It has allowed me to learn to manage my time and learn how to work.  For this I will be forever greatful, BUT, don’t you feel if we learned how to do this while learning about our careers or the real world help? 

For example, how about a class on how to learn baout using credit cards?  How many college student are in debt due to the simple thing of swiping plastic?  Don’t get me wrong, acounting is one thing, but do you think if you took an accounting class you could step in and keep the books for a million dollar company?  Hell no.  You would have to spend years to learn their system in and out.  Just because you know that assets equal liabalities blah blah blah you would be up creek with no paddle if you had no to train you.  So why not start the training now?  How about itstead of me learning that alligators are fiesty due to their enlarged medulaoblagata that I learn how to operate a 12 month budget? 

The oposing argument is that we are learning to learn in school.  To comprehend the world.  This is true but I am 22 now, and I still am learning somethings I know I will forget after I am tested on them.  The things I won’t forget are the things that allow me to put food on the table, drive a car, and make a living.  Why do you think students drop out?  They are lazy?  They are stupid?  No!  They just do not want to do four years of work that has nothing to do with thier real lives. Every person has to survive in the world and college and school become a NO choice option. 

I feel that people of the world are so use to this that it will never change.  I cansay some of college is designed to help you in the real world because this is true.  But if I could graduate with those credits are still get a degree I would only need 60 credit hours not 120. 

In the end, yes I feel college is needed, but, it should not be a do or die to be succesful.  It is to expensive and a 4 year process where 50 percent is fluff.  Bring on the things that allow me to grow and become better at what I want to do. 

Posted in Social Problems | 2 Comments »