6. May 2010 by student.

Many  health experts in the United States and all around the world are raising concerns about smoking in the workplace. The days when smoking in the workplace was as accepted as a normal smoking break are now long gone for many states. Due to many studies and researches concerning second-hand smoke have prompted many cities in the United States to enact laws that severely restrict smoking in the workplace. Many should be aware that Smoking and tobacco can affect a person’s health, including the heart, circulation, and lungs; its effect on unborn babies; and how it affects the risk of cancer and other diseases. Millions of dollars are being spent for treating patients with related diseases due to Smoking or being a victim of second hand smoke. After knowing these facts, many people will argue that they have equal rights to do with their bodies as they want.  

Many laws have enable states to prohibit smoking in all workplaces, public and private. Other states have  laws that restrict smoking, such as limiting smoking to designated areas, prohibiting smoking in only public (not private) workplaces, or prohibiting smoking in only certain types of workplaces such as hospitals and restaurants. As part of owner’s rights any employer is free to ban smoking in its workplace, even if state law allows it: There is no law that protects your right to smoke at work. Many states, however, have laws that prohibit employers from discriminating against smokers in work-related decisions. An example of this is: making hiring or firing decisions based on whether an employee or potential employee smokes. Many employers are encouraged in making a decision to whether or not prohibit smoking in the workplace and have employers sign a contract giving them directions of smoking areas. The Department of Health recommends that employers post the100% Smoke free poster, which is available to download. The Quit at Work kit is also available for employers seeking to help link employees to free quit smoking resources.

 

Due to many people being addicted, having these laws could help us prepare for a healthier future. Instead of a smoking break, we could encourage a snack break so that social interaction among co-workers do not change. Many that are addicted will argue against these laws, but many that value their lives are standing up so that they may have a healthier future.

 

Posted in Introduction to Sociology | 4 Comments »

6. May 2010 by student.

David R. Bravo

Pedophiles is something that people hate talking about. Of course people hate talking about it, because the nature of these people. They are people who have an illness according to many psychologists. Before continuing , I would like to explain what is a pedophile. A pedophile is a person with pedophilia ( sexual attraction to pre-pubescent children) people with this are attracted to children. Why? Some suggest its just a random sexual deviant in the brain and others say its perhaps from having a bad childhood. So, to bring it to terms. A Pedophile is someone who acts on their pedophilia. Now, when researching this topic i have found that many people use this word incorrectly. They use the word to describe people who had relationships with a minor. For, example someone who is not a minor that is with a minor (ex. a 21yr with a 17) isn’t a pedophile; this type of interaction is considered a predator. Now, people with pedophilia could be completely non-disruptive. They may feed their fantasy by just being around kids. Now, knowing this people may say that people who are good with kids have this. We cant claim this. To say people with pedophilia like to be around kids so, teachers, priest, and any kind of worker that deals with children are these people isn’t the right way to look at it. Its as if stereotyping someone because they look like this so you will assume this about the person. Don’t judge a book by its cover i guess is the right way to think about it. So, know this bit of information what should we do?? These non-disruptive people are they ticking bombs?

This type of behavior is seen as a deviant behavior. The punishment for such an act is what i like to call a mark of shame or Megan’s law which is a bill passed to have all sex offenders to be registered in a data-base for the rest of their lives.

http://wings4help.tripod.com/id17.html

http://www.minddisorders.com/Ob-Ps/Pedophilia.html

http://www.cpiu.us/statistics-2/

Posted in Introduction to Sociology | 3 Comments »

6. May 2010 by student.

Drinking and Driving is a decision made by an individual that can change their life forever. It is considered drunk driving when your blood alcohol level reaches a 0.08. Every single injury and death caused by drunk driving is totally preventable. According to Mothers Against Drunk Drivers on average someone is killed by a drunk driver every 45 minutes. In 2008, an estimated 11,773 people died in drunk driving related crashes. These are scary statistics when ALL 11,773 deaths are 100% preventable.

     Drunk driving like other social problems, resists simple solutions. However, there are a number of actions, each of which can contribute toward a reduction to the problem. The  Addiction Research Foundation to a study and found out that over 1.49 million drivers were arrested in 2008 for driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics. This is an arrest rate of 1 every 139 licensed drivers in the United States.  I think the laws of drinking and driving should be harsher! I think that more classes should be required, and more fines should be given! If people can’t follow the laws, and proceed to get caught more than once drinking and driving than automatic jail time should be given to the offenders! There is NO reason why there are so many deaths related to drinking and driving! Call a cab.

Posted in Introduction to Sociology | 3 Comments »

6. May 2010 by student.

     Childhood obesity is increasing at an alarming rate.  The number of children considered to be obese has more than tripled since 1980, it is time to evaluate its effects on quality of life.  According to the 1999-2002 National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey, 16 percent of children ages 6-16 are overweight.  Also, children are heavier in recent years than previously shown in surveys.  The risks of obesity are carried throughout adulthood.  Some of these risks include, but are not limited to:  high blood pressure, respiratory problems, Type 2 diabetes, depression, and various behavioral problems.  Low socioeconomic status, heredity, poor eating habits and lack of physical activity contribute largely to the ever-increasing numbers of overweight children.

     Low socioeconomic status plays a significant role in the development of a child.  Obesity affects minority families differently than white families.  African-American and Hispanic children are more likely to become overweight than white children by nearly 10 percent.  Children of lower socioeconomic status have less access to resources that provide foods higher in nutritional value.  Larger grocery store chains are rarely found in lower income neighborhoods leaving its residents to purchase smaller amounts of groceries from corner stores or cheaper meals from fast food restaurant chains.  Sure, the fast food restaurants are not going to change their product to benefit its consumers, they’re making money.  The consumption of such high fat foods combined with a more sedentary lifestyle has proven to be disastrous for the future lives of today’s youth’s.  Children, today, spend more time watching television, playing video games, and sitting at a computer than participating in physical activities.  The increase in caloric intake at the expense of physical activity will lead to weight gain and eventually obesity.

     Prior to the school age years, children are less aware of the impact that the extra poundage makes in creating the image that is strived for by all.  Today, children struggle with the idea of the “perfect body” as presented by magazines and television.  Based on these false perceptions of beauty, a child’s sense of self worth is diminished.  Obese children are more likely to suffer from poor self-esteem, depression, and negative social interactions as a result of being overweight.  Bullying is prevalent during the school age years, which only leads to the internal turmoil of an overweight child.

     Family and other adult authority figures are the most powerful influence in affecting the preferences of a child.  It is time for that influence to start standing for health, nutrition, and activity for the well being of our children.  Families must take a stand, make a change for the better, not only to save the children of today but also the adults of tomorrow.

Posted in Introduction to Sociology | 2 Comments »

6. May 2010 by student.

A prescription drug can be defines as a licensed medicine that is regulated by legislation to require a prescription before it can be obtained. The term “prescription” is used to distinguish it from over-the-counter drugs which are obtained without a prescription written by the doctor. People using prescription drugs illegally are on the rise, and it has become a very serious problem. According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health an estimated 4.7 million Americans used prescription drugs nonmedically. An even scarier statistic is in 2006, 45 percent of those who were admitted to emergency rooms from drug overdoses- close to a half million people were there because of misusing prescription drugs.              

        Obtaining prescription drugs is on the rise because the ability to get them is getting easier and easier. When searching the web I found a website for the National Institute on Drug Abuse. According to the NIDA they have estimated 800,000 web sites which sell prescription drugs on the Internet and will ship them to households no questions asked. I believe that parents need to be more aware of what is in there medicine cabinets, and need to teach their children the facts of prescription drug addiction. The statistics on prescription drug addiction is not only disturbing, but clearly something we need to take serious and get under control!

Posted in Introduction to Sociology | 1 Comment »

6. May 2010 by student.

The sociology of education is the study of how public institutions and individual experiences affect education and its outcomes. It is most concerned with the public schooling systems of modern industrial societies, including the expansion of higher, further, adult and continuing education. Education has always been seen as a fundamentally optimistic human endevur characterised by aspirations for progress and betterment. It is understood by many to be a means of overcoming handicaps, achieving greater equality and acquiring wealth and social status. Education is perceived as a place where children can develop according to their unique needs and potential. It is also perceived as one of the best means of achieving greater social equality. Many would say that the purpose of education should be to develop every individual to their full potential and give them a chance to achieve as much in life as their natural abilities allow. Few would argue that any education system accomplishes this goal perfectly. Some take a particularly negative view, arguing that the education system is designed with the intention of causing the social reproduction of inequality.

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

6. May 2010 by student.

Criminology is the scientific study of the nature, extent, causes, and control of criminal behavior in both the individual and in society. Criminology is an interdisciplinary field in the behavioral, drawing especially upon the research of sociologist and psychologist, as well as on writings in law. Areas of research in criminology include the incidence, forms, causes and consequences of crime, as well as social and governmental regulations and reaction to crime. For studying the distribution and causes of crime, criminology mainly relies upon quantitative produts. The term criminology was coined in 1885 by Italian law professor Rafalle Ingle as criminologia. Around the same time, but later, French anthropologist Paul Topinard used the analogous French term criminology.

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

6. May 2010 by student.

The sociology of religion concerns the dialetical relationship between religion and society- the practices, historical backgrounds, developments, universal themes and roles of religion in society. There is particular emphasis on the recurring role of religion in all societies and throughout recorded history. The sociology of religion is distinguished from the philosophy of religion in that it does not set out to assess the validity of religious beliefs, though the process of comparing multiple conflicting dogmas may require what Peter Berger has described as inherent “methodological atheism”. Whereas the sociology of religion broadly differs to theology in assuming the invalidity of the supernatural, theorists tend to acknowledge socio-culturalreification of religious practise. It may be said that the modern formal discipline of sociology began with the analysis of religion in Durkheim’s 1897 study of suicise rates amongst Catholic and protestant populations. The works of Max Weber emphasised the relationship between religious belief and the economic relations of society. Contemporary debates have centred on issues such as secularization,civil religion, and the cohesiveness of religion in the context of globalization and multicultralisim.

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

6. May 2010 by student.

     As of January 2010, the United States has the highest teenage pregnancy rate among developed countries, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.  Teenagers account for over 1 million pregnancies each year, and nearly 95 percent of them are unplanned.  Of over 1 million pregnancies, one-third will result in an abortion and few will elect adoption.  Sexual education and programs that provide contraceptives to teenagers are key steps in reducing the increasing numbers of pregnancies each year.  Although many people believe that providing such products or knowledge will encourage more teens to engage in sexual activity, the evidence proves otherwise.  Without education or contraception, are we not encouraging unprotected and uneducated sex?  The average age that a child loses their virginity seems to be decreasing.  There are several teens, some girls, having babies each year because sex protection education is not provided.  Many teenagers are having sex whether or not birth control or condoms are readily available.  Having a condom in your purse or wallet does not increase the number of sexual encounters, it only decreases the probability of an unwanted pregnancy or contracting a sexually transmitted disease.  Providing free education or a condom, a simple piece of rubber, comes at a much lower cost that treating an STD, supporting a teen mother on welfare, or an abortion.  Parents and opposers need to ask themselves, if it were their child, is it more important for a child to hide their sexual activity or discuss their contraceptive options to possible benefit the future health of their teenager.  Today, there is more pressure to have pressure to have sex, and, unfortunately these kids are not prepared physically or emotionally to be having children themselves.  I have worked in pediatrics for over six years and seen several young mothers come into the office.  The opposing side need only see an year old girl in the office with her newborn to understand the urgency to take action in this matter.  If these children are having sex anyway, would it not be better to have the “sex talk” and provide them with the means necessary to protect themselves, as best they can, from whatever circumstances arise?  It is time to implement the provision of sex education and contraceptives to benefit not only the teenagers but also the future of our economy.

Posted in Introduction to Sociology | 2 Comments »

5. May 2010 by student.

The study estimates that the average price of 0.5 grams (a unit) of marijuana sold for $8.60 on the street, while its cost of production was only $1.70. In a free market, a $6.90 profit for a unit of marijuana would not last for long. Entrepreneurs noticing the great profits to be made in the marijuana market would start their own grow operations, increasing the supply of marijuana on the street, which would cause the street price of the drug to fall to a level much closer to the cost of production. Of course, this doesn’t happen because the product is illegal; the prospect of jail time deters many entrepreneurs and the occasional drug bust ensures that the supply stays relatively low. We can consider much of this $6.90 per unit of marijuana profit a risk-premium for participating in the underground economy. Unfortunately, this risk premium is making a lot of criminals, many of whom have ties to organized crime, very wealthy. Stephen T. Easton argues that if marijuana was legalized, we could transfer these excess profits caused by the risk-premium from these grow operations to the government:

If we substitute a tax on marijuana cigarettes equal to the difference between the local production cost and the street price people currently pay–that is, transfer the revenue from the current producers and marketers (many of whom work with organized crime) to the government, leaving all other marketing and transportation issues aside we would have revenue of $7 per unit. If you could collect on every cigarette and ignore the transportation, marketing, and advertising costs, this comes to over $2 billion on Canadian sales and substantially more from an export tax, and you forego the costs of enforcement and deploy your policing assets elsewhere.

Posted in Introduction to Sociology, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »