Posts by Claudia Donofrio
Topic IV: Public Health Problems and Solutions
In a city with many people like New York City, public health is an important matter that widely affects both the present and future generations of citizens. Given the country’s current stance on healthcare, New York City faces many issues of public health that unfortunately cannot be solved easily with policy change or federal government intervention. One of these public health problems is the presence of food deserts, or areas in the city with little to no access to affordable, healthy produce for miles. Science direct suggests that obesity is most common in New York City’s poor, low-income neighborhoods. According to the site “21% to 30% among adults living in East and Central Harlem and North and Central Brooklyn; some of New York City’s lowest income neighborhoods” (Sci_Direct). According to this information, these specific neighborhoods with the largest percentages of obesity have the lowest access to health produce and groceries in the city, and have the most sizeable concentration of fast-food restaurants than more wealthy neighborhoods. This is a problem because the obesity that occurs from food deserts are mainly contributing to the mal-nourishment of New York’s poor population, who are the citizens with the worst healthcare options.
A solution to this problem would be to potentially encourage citizens in these communities to eat locally grown produce. This would require the help of local New York farmers to sell their foods in affordable farmer’s markets or farm shares. With many available farmers markets in low-income neighborhoods, people forced to live in food deserts will be granted access to cheap but natural fruits, vegetables and meats they normally would not be able to find in local delis or fast-food restaurants in these areas.
A similar health related issue affecting New York City’s poorer areas is childhood obesity. According to the New York Times article “Obesity & School Lunches” school lunches are a major factor in childhood obesity for New York’s inner city children. The Times states “most school lunches rely heavily on high-energy, low-nutrient-value food, because its cheaper” (NYTimes). Because of this many children who attend public schools are not provided with balanced diets and therefore are more likely to become overweight. Though the department of education and the health department attempt to impart regulations on the number of vegetables and fruits that is offered to students, many schools either do not meet the minimum or substitute other foods for proper vegetables. For example, one school makes potato-based foods fulfill all the vegetable requirements in school (NYTimes). This is unhealthy and sets a potentially dangerous example of what a proper diet is to children, who then continue to eat badly as adults.
The last problem in public health that is common in New York City is the recent increases in HIV and other STDs in certain neighborhoods. According to a CBS report, approximately “19 ZIP codes with high rates of poverty in the South Bronx, north-central Brooklyn and northern Manhattan saw top-quintile rates of HIV/AIDS, chlamydia and gonorrhea” (_CBS). The report states as well that the highest rates of STDs were found in “the Bronx, where rates of hepatitis C, chlamydia, gonorrhea and HIV/AIDS all ranked in the top 20 percent of all New York City ZIP codes” (CBS-). Therefore, here we see again that public health problems seem to be most widely seen in low-income neighborhoods. Without proper access to contraception, education in schools about STD and HIV, and with an inadequate number of health clinics in these places, citizens in these locations are prone to spread STDs and HIV in New York.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1353829210001905
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/08/health/research/08childhood.html
http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2012/12/10/study-shows-soaring-std-rates-in-many-areas-of-new-york-city/
Solutions III: Gender Inequity
While the position of women in the public sphere, workplace and the economy have proven to be unequal for the longest time, a number of solutions exist that help improve gender equality in society. While a total transformation of societal gender perception seems unlikely to occur for quite some time, these solution can begin to bridge the gap between men and women’s opportunities in a myriad of ways. These solutions include initiating educational programs that help women compete in male dominated workplaces, requiring companies to hire a mainly equal amount of workers of both genders and helping women build networks that will be useful for their professional careers.
According to the World Economic Forum, in many large Western European cities like Zurich, women make anywhere from 24-32% less a year than their male colleagues. To solve this inequality, the forum proposes that both schools and special programs should start initiatives to “make gender equality part of training and education. Young people should be supported in choosing jobs that are future-oriented and promising, regardless of their gender” (WEF.org). By thus instructing women from a young age to pursue their passions without any stereotypical gender discrimination, and providing these women with the tools to pursue any career that men would pursue, nations can empower women to eliminate gender inequity and pursue upper level jobs, progressing both the economy and society.
Another strategy for solving gender inequality would be for workplaces and/or businesses to promote equal hiring and of women at work as well as a respectful attitude to men and women equally at work. For example, the Huffington Post suggests that employers can “build an inclusive culture in your workplace, join a global platform for collaboration with women around the world, or rally your colleagues to raise money to support a female entrepreneur in a developing country” (HuffPost). In creating such an inclusive and nondiscriminatory work setting, women can thus feel safe and inspired to work and contribute to society. By ensuring that their businesses hire men and women at even proportions, business owners can benefit from more diverse perspectives, while contributing to the improvement of our society.
An additional way for women to begin to improve the gender gap is through networking. The Business Insider says that the general public is often against women who network, saying “Researchers asked students what they thought of venture capitalist and legendary networker Heidi Roizen. The researchers found that students deemed her “more selfish and less desirable” than the fictional subject Howard Roizen, who had the exact same credentials and contacts as Heidi. Basically, Heidi was given a lower likeability rating than Howard for no other reason than being a woman” (Business Insider.com). This article therefore illustrates that evolving the societal perception of women making networks is vital to female empowerment at work. This is because by teaching women that networking is a useful tool to successful professions, not something that only a men are allowed to take advantage of, women can use networking to be more equipped to prosper in male dominated work settings.
References
http://www.businessinsider.com/how-women-can-network-more-effectively-2013-11
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/katie-zeppieri/gender-equality-workplace_b_6297626.html
https://agenda.weforum.org/2014/10/six-ways-fix-gender-inequality-workplace/
Questions for Kim Wales
1). As a business professional, what is your opinion on the gender inequality in the private sector? Do you have any personal experience with it?
2). Whats the biggest challenge in trying to obtain crowd funding?
Questions for Arielle Kandel
1). Do you find that women’s issues are subjective to the different nations you visit and intervene? Or are there objective issues that you come across worldwide in your work?
2). How did your parents and grandparents’ experiences, particularly those of the women, influence you to do the type of work you do?
Gender Inequality: Problems III
Gender inequality has been a prevalent issue in our world from the very beginning of time. In the United States especially, women have been faced with such problems as unequal payment, discrimination in certain fields of work and sexual harassment, particularly in college campuses.
According to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, women earn much less than men in the workforce for the same occupation. According to their calculations “in 2013, female full-time workers made only 78 cents for every dollar earned by men, a gender wage gap of 22 percent. Women, on average, earn less than men in virtually every single occupation for which there is sufficient earnings data for both men and women to calculate an earnings ratio” (IWPR). While this is certainly unconstitutional and a violation of human rights, many workplaces, especially corporations practice this form of monetary discrimination in their own cities.
In terms of the types of jobs women usually obtain, there is a major gap in occupations that accept women in the fields of sciences and mathematics. According to the ISeek Careers website, women are faced with such problems as shortage of mentorship, lack of acceptance from coworkers in STEM jobs that keep many women from obtaining math and science related occupations. This can be seen as IStem says, “for example; just 17 percent of chemical engineers and 22 percent of environmental scientists are women. But that doesn’t mean it’s hard for women to get jobs in those fields. In fact, many companies want to hire and keep qualified women for STEM jobs” (ISTEM) This means as well, that though there are jobs, which are available for women, women are not well informed of these job openings. This shows that as well as a lack of opportunities, women do not receive enough information about opportunities available to them in these occupations.
Lastly, women face large amounts of sexual harassment. This can be seen most clearly in college campuses across the United States. According to the AAUW “sexual harassment and sexual violence disproportionately affect college women and impede their ability to participate fully in campus life. Both sexual harassment and sexual violence are forms of sex discrimination covered under Title IX. Title IX protects students from sexual harassment and violence that occur in the course of a school’s education programs and activities” (AAUW). Situations like this have occurred recently in the news in many campuses such as Wesleyan University and UCLA.
While many steps can be taken to help fix these issues, I believe that these three problems will be difficult to eliminate without a change of attitude towards gender inequality on a large scale. Because sexism is an underlying principle both on an individual and social level, and a principle that influences both women and men, it will take a radical change in culture as well as individual thought to fully reach gender equality.
Sources
http://www.iwpr.org/initiatives/pay-equity-and-discrimination
https://www.iseek.org/careers/womenstem.html
http://www.aauw.org/what-we-do/legal-resources/know-your-rights-on-campus/campus-sexual-assault/
Work Solutions II
In my Problems Facing the Future of Work Post, I identified three significant issues facing the future of work in New York City. These problems were the unsustainability of a traditional work setting, lower wages for both blue-collar and white-collar workers, and the unemployment rate in the country that particularly affects college graduates recently out of school. While these problems provide major tests for us as a nation to consider and conquer, there exist small solutions to each that can place us in the right direction.
While the traditional workplace is proving to be an unproductive environment for workers, there have been certain innovations that have transformed the way we look at work. Institutions such as the Center for Social Innovation and the Brooklyn Fashion and Design Accelerator Program are just two of many examples of how workplaces are reforming to fit the needs of the employees, group together brilliant workers from different fields of study to cooperate in one environment, and make important social innovations that benefit the whole world. A related solution I found to some traditional work problems is the creation of rentable office space with companies such as Regus that rent out office space for starting businesses to keep their expenses low and make a profit faster. Regus for example can personally claim to “help newer businesses be more flexible, more cost-effective and more agile – and better able to face the unexpected challenges of business in the 21st century” (Regus). This can help traditional workplaces become more nurturing and provide assistance for businesses that are either starting out or are too complex to have a strict structure and repetitive requirements.
In terms of lower wages, one possible solution is to regularly update the minimum wage in accordance to the cost of living in that particular location. New York City is a costly city to live in, and when grocery prices go up and the MTA unjustly raises the metro card price for the billionth time, it becomes necessary for the government to intervene and help the consumers. According to the White House website, raising the minimum wage can be good for both the people and businesses because these hikes” “increase earnings for millions of workers, and boost the bottom lines of businesses across the country” (White House). While this solution is pretty wide-scale and difficult to accomplish, there are certain things that individual workers can do to avoid being paid lower wages in their respective professions. According to Quintessential Careers, these solutions include identifying transferable skills, finding the best employers based on their needs as an employee, building networks, and going after different educational opportunities to help shape their skills. I personally think the most important of this list of solutions is network building. Because of the ridiculous amount of competition in finding and keeping great jobs, people really must learn how to network themselves and gain a large web of people who provide essential resources. Only then can a worker make sure he finds the best possible occupation that pays and treats him well for the quality of work input he produces. The easiest way for a worker to achieve this is by “expanding your network — through community organizations, classes, volunteering” (Quintessential Careers). Thus although these solutions appear to be small, they are stepping-stones for much more impactful transformations of the future of work in New York City.
Works Consulted:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/raise-the-wage
http://www.regus.com/products/index.aspx
http://www.quintcareers.com/surviving_low-wage_jobs.html
Questions for Debera Johnson Topic II
1). What problems did you see in the fashion industry that led you to create this new innovation initiative? How specifically does your launchpad initiative go about solving those issues?
2). On your website you call yourself a hub for ethical fashion and design? What exactly does ethical fashion & design mean/ entail?
Work Problems II
As a sophomore in college, I have often heard that my generation will face a growing number of problems when entering the work force in America. Faced with issues such as unsustainable work environments, low wages and unemployment, the future of work in the Unites States will be difficult unless these obstacles are addressed.
Unsustainable work environments in a traditional work setting are the first problem facing the workplace and one that will require different solutions based on the specific occupation. The traditional workplace can be seen as ineffective due to its structure and the many distractions that workers face on a day-to-day basis. Structurally, many people complain about the lack of diversity in their traditional workplaces, stating that people are often grouped together by their positions and cannot branch out and share ideas between departments. While many workplaces such as the Center for Social Innovation exist today, that attempt to eliminate the strict structural boundaries of the traditional workplace by creating a “co-working space, community and Launchpad for people who are changing the world” (CSI), these innovative work environments cannot work for certain professions.
Furthermore, according to workplace innovator Jason Fried, the biggest problem facing the traditional workplace is distraction. From meetings to emails to interruptions from managers, Fried believes that workers in a traditional work setting are constantly kept from being productive. His is solution is to make “people stay away from each other while they are working, because when people are all together all the time, they tend to constantly interrupt each other” (Fried). While this can be true I think the issue with distraction goes further than communication with coworkers and bosses. When people are dissatisfied with their occupations they tend to put in less work and are more likely to be distracted. Technological distractions such as Facebook, Twitter or Instagram are big contributors to the lack of productivity in the workplace, much more than a morning meeting can be.
The second problem facing the workplace is low wages given and an equality in who payment between genders and racial groups. According to the Economic Policy Institute, approximately one fourth of the population in America was receiving low wage income of about $11.06 an hour in 2012 for full-time jobs. From this 25%, “Female, young, and minority workers are overrepresented in the ranks of low-wage workers, when “low-wage” is defined as below the wage that a full-time, full-year worker would have to earn to live above the federally defined poverty threshold for a family of four” (EPI). Because of these unfair wage levels family incomes increased by less than half of a percent, negatively affecting the livelihood of many people across America.
The third problem facing the future of work is unemployment, particularly the unemployment levels of recent college graduates. According to Slate Magazine roughly “8.5 percent of college graduates between the ages of 21 and 24” (Weissmann) are not employed at the present time in America and about another “16.8 percent of new grads are “underemployed,” (Weissmann) which means they are either looking for a job, unemployed and not looking or working only part-time and unable to land a full time job. While this is discouraging, I am hopeful that in the upcoming years we can reach helpful resolutions for each of these issues and improve the workplace for future generations and ourselves.
Sources
http://nyc.socialinnovation.org/about
http://www.epi.org/publication/bp341-future-of-work/
http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2014/05/08/unemployment_and_the_class_of_2014_how_bad_is_the_job_market_for_new_college.html
http://bigthink.com/videos/the-biggest-problem-in-the-traditional-workplace-interruptions
CSI Questions
1). What would your centre qualify as a social mission? Would charity from a for-profit company be considered a social mission or are you looking for businesses that are specifically social innovators?
2). What do you achieve in this kind of work environment that you cannot achieve in a traditional workplace?
Policing Solutions
Policing Solution: Prison Reform
While there are many pressing issues that surround policing, particularly in New York City, perhaps the most complicated issue is that of incarceration in New York State prisons. As we have discussed often in class, inmates face many cruel and inhumane conditions in prison such as solitary confinement and abuse from prison guards and officers. Many convicts are arrested for minor crimes and are unfairly sentenced and sometimes held too long in prisons, while others serve their sentences, but have no help or rehabilitation during their time in jail and cannot manage to assimilate into normal society once released.
As Brenden Beck said in his lecture, there are many points during a prisoner’s sentence where reform and social innovation can help improve or eliminate incarceration. Through his campaign Milk Not Jails, Beck tries to solve incarceration by providing an “economic alternative to the prison industry” (Beck 1). Therefore, instead of relying on prisons as their main source of work, communities in Upstate New York can turn to dairy farming. While this idea is an excellent alternative to prison, it may take a very long time for programs like Milk Not Jails to successfully close down a number of prisons in New York State and around the country, especially with opposition from farmers and prison workers in the surrounding rural communities.
Therefore I would suggest that a faster way of creating social change in the prison system, for the time being, would be by improving the current state of prisons. The best way to do this is by creating programs that offer therapy, rehabilitation and counseling for inmates in prison. This would help prisoners cope with their sentences as well as provide them with the tools necessary to resume ordinary life after prison and successfully find work.
According to the American Psychological Association providing effective prison therapy will not only improve the lives of inmates after leaving jail, but “also helps with prison safety” (APA 1) providing services like “crises interventions” (1) for prisoners who commit or are victims of violence in prison. Many such programs have been found effective throughout the United States. In California for example, The Honor Program was created in 2000 and was founded to teach prisoners “principles of incentivizing positive behavior” allowing them to take advantage of “specific self-improvement and rehabilitative goals and projects which benefit the community” (Rushfan 1). By treating prisoners as humans who have made mistakes, rather than dangerous criminals, The Honor Program proves to be a success, in terms of safety and finance. In its first year alone the Honor Program led to an “88% decrease in incidents involving weapons” and an 85% decrease in violent incidents overall in California state prisons” (1). Furthermore the program saved the state up to $200,000 per year on costs of extra security due to violent outbreaks (2).
Thus, while the prison system ultimately is in need of alternative solutions, I believe the best way to solve the many issues it presents is by transforming it from a place of danger and punishment to a place where one can be rehabilitated and changed for the better.
Sources Cited
http://www.thirteen.org/metrofocus/2012/02/op-ed-new-york-should-make-milk-not-prisons/
http://www.apa.org/monitor/julaug03/helping.aspx
http://listverse.com/2008/08/14/top-10-modern-prison-programs/
Comments by Claudia Donofrio
"I agree with you that the health care system in New York City, and the country is inadequate. You make a great point that we focus on solving public health problems when they arise and not preventing problems. This is especially the case in health related problems that can easily be prevented like STDs and tobacco related diseases. However, I think another major issue with healthcare in the country and city, is not only what is being treated, but who. There is an inequality of care between the rich who can afford the best private healthcare and the poor who live with no access to health insurance and rely on the ER, and paying out of pocket when they need some kind of doctor care.
Additionally, I like your discussion of childhood obesity and school food in low-income schools. Schools need to apply stricter standards on what constitutes a balanced diet, especially what foods are considered vegetables. I think as well, that physical education in schools should be enforced on a wider scale. Many schools do not possess proper gymnasiums, or PE equipment to really engage inner city kids in proper fitness and exercise. With more emphasis on proper food and exercise, schools can become a place where kids learn about healthy living and shape better routines they can abide to as adults in New York."
--( posted on May 5, 2015, commenting on the post
Public Health Problems and Solution )
"You pose three very important points about the health issues in your post. I like your description of the lack of primary care physicians and its consequences. Without a right number of primary care doctors we keep New Yorkers from receiving the right care they need and we rely on specialist physicians too often on problems that can be solved by our primary care physicians. I agree when you say that many students choose not to enter primary care because of the salary that comes with being a specialist. This is upsetting because it shows that many people entering the medical field care less for the general public's health, and more for the monetary advantages that come with becoming a doctor.
The legalization of cannabis would provide the city with another source of economic prosperity. I would add that as well as being safer than alcohol or other substances, marijuana has medicinal purposes that are important as well. Because it is an appetite stimulator and an antiemetic, cannabis is helpful for cancer patients undergoing chemo and HIV patients. Legalizing weed can aid people after chemo in treating nausea and vomiting. It can stimulate the appetites of the sick and help AIDs patients in recovering from illness. Therefore, not only is marijuana generally deemed safe, but it is important for medical patients recovery as well."
--( posted on May 5, 2015, commenting on the post
Public Health Problems and Solution )
"I really like your comments about the maternity/ paternity leave. Because childbirth is deemed as only a woman's concern, women are in many ways chastised for taking maternity leave. Therefore your idea of creating a paid paternity leave policy at work is a great way of allowing both parents to be near their new baby. This would as well create a more progressive social opinion that fathers are just as responsible and involved with the birth of their children as mothers are. Therefore, hopefully with time men will see paternity leave not as you say, a disability, but an important part of bonding with the child they assumably wished to have.
In terms of your social app plan to educate young people about the wage gap, I think the plan is a great starting point in solving gender equality. But, even if we educate the new generation about equality, there will never be complete change unless this progressive economic equality is really adapted into the workplace. Therefore, more solutions involving the wage gap should include employers and CEO's actually paying women equal amounts of money as men. This would require either offering companies financial incentive for equalizing pay, or by introducing more companies who make gender equality and eliminating the wage gap a priority in their company."
--( posted on Apr 23, 2015, commenting on the post
Gender and Economic Growth Solutions )
"I like how you mention the lack of female presence in the STEM fields. I agree with you when you say that it is vital for women to enter into these professions in order to have more of society working on the fields of science and technology. However, I feel that the reason women have such a low rate of working in STEM fields has to do not only with empowerment issues but with the archaic mentality that STEM fields are for men only. Therefore, it is the job of the employers and the professional workers in these fields to recognize women's potential to work in science and technology. A solution therefore, would be to offer STEM companies or programs to equalize the hiring process for both men and women. Furthermore, while women are underrepresented in these fields, we need to remember that assigning gender to a particular employment field is in it of itself sexist and irrational. Calling liberal arts or social sciences a "women's field" is unfair, and while we are promoting women into STEM fields, we should additionally encourage men to enter into the social sciences, humanities, and the arts."
--( posted on Apr 23, 2015, commenting on the post
Gender Solutions )
"I really like your comment about gender inequality being a men's issue as well as a women's issue. Men often lack interest or initiative when considering their role in society's complete discrimination of women. They often do not realize that they are victimized just as much as women are in society, in that they are forced to behave as perpetrators of injustice. Therefore, when discussing solutions to this problem, I think the best way to create progress is through campaigns that involve men and try to evolve their understanding of gender inequality. An example of this kind of program would be the He for She movement.
In terms of your comment about women's lack of motivation in entering certain work fields, I agree that often times women attribute their success to external factors and undermine themselves. However I do believe the issue is more complex. When confronted with a conservative society that traditionally undermines women, it would make perfect sense that women undermine themselves. Therefore, the solution to this problem will not only include progress on the individual level, but a unanimous shift in consciousness for society as a whole."
--( posted on Apr 2, 2015, commenting on the post
A Gender Lens for Economic Growth )
"I agree with your comment that there are not enough women in administrative positions especially in the corporate world and in the government. While I agree that this has to be modified, I wonder how we as a society can promote women into many of these fields of work, when women are not encouraged by their families or society to enter into these positions. Part of the problem is the lack of encouragement and initiative taken by the larger world to make room for women in these fields. The problem therefore will be a difficult one to resolve, considering that it would take a shift in societal consciousness in addition to promoting women's own initiative into competing in these fields."
--( posted on Apr 2, 2015, commenting on the post
Gender and Economic Growth Problems )
"Denise, you address three really important topics dealing with the future of work, especially in New York City. I spoke about the traditional workplace setting as well, and though I agree it is majorly flawed, I cannot help feeling as though Jason Fried from TED talks blamed managers and meetings too extensively for distractions at one’s work. While a daily meeting and a manager talk or two can be time consuming, I believe the internet and the ability to easily access social media or television on one’s computer is way more of a distraction. While the average worker may have two meetings and a few discussions with his manager in one day, he is much more likely to be distracted by frequently checking Facebook or watching an episode of a show with Netflix. Therefore, I think solutions with the traditional workplace must deal with personal distractions as well as managerial ones. Moreover, while I agree that technology can certainly make work more efficient, I do not believe in employees only communicating online by the internet. The traditional workplace, while imperfect, was an important spot for social development in adult life. Eliminating that will only make workers more socially detached and unable to share their ideas with one another successfully. Workplaces such as CSI are in fact so successful because they bring together employees of different occupational backgrounds, allowing for a more significant mix of ideas and innovation. Isolating workers and making their interactions digital just diminishes the beauty of innovative companies like CSI and others in New York."
--( posted on Mar 19, 2015, commenting on the post
Future of Work Solutions )
"I really like how you made it clear in your post that changing the entire corporate structure and eliminating shareholder value is virtually impossible with our economic principles. While it would be ideal to eliminate or even check many capitalist principles like shareholder value, and keep those driving principles from destroying the environment or cheating the consumers, I believe it will be difficult to achieve. Therefore your idea about making the environment a primary concern for a company’s shareholders can offer a more logical solution.
The other topic you bring up about adjuncts in universities is another pressing issue needing solutions. I think that your bake sale in a nice way to start making more money as well as spreading word of the issue. However, I think a more lasting solution would be to create an organization to unionize adjuncts. A proper union with set hours, set wages and numerous benefits would be valuable to adjuncts. Colleges should as well perhaps only be allowed to hire a select number of professors as adjuncts, perhaps giving professors a permanent place as regular professors at their universities after a certain number of years teaching as adjunct lecturers. This maybe would be a stricter policy for universities to employ in order to not exploit their staff members."
--( posted on Mar 19, 2015, commenting on the post
Future of Work Solutions )
"I really like how you made it clear in your post that changing the entire corporate structure and eliminating shareholder value is virtually impossible with our economic principles. While it would be ideal to eliminate or even check many capitalist principles like shareholder value, and keep those driving principles from destroying the environment or cheating the consumers, I believe it will be difficult to achieve. Therefore your idea about making the environment a primary concern for a company’s shareholders can offer a more logical solution.
The other topic you bring up about adjuncts in universities is another pressing issue needing solutions. I think that your bake sale in a nice way to start making more money as well as spreading word of the issue. However, I think a more lasting solution would be to create an organization to unionize adjuncts. A proper union with set hours, set wages and numerous benefits would be valuable to adjuncts. Colleges should as well perhaps only be allowed ta certain number of professors as adjuncts, perhaps giving professors a permanent place as regular professors at their universities after a certain number of years teaching as adjunct lecturers. This maybe would be a stricter policy for universities to employ in order to not exploit their staff members."
--( posted on Mar 19, 2015, commenting on the post
Future of Work Solutions )
"Hey Aychen, I agreed with your post about the problems facing the workplace, particularly that of unpaid internships and the exploitation of those interns and young workers. Because of the growing competition in the workforce I think many companies do rely heavily on unpaid internship for cheap sources of labor. Unfortunately because the legal requirements are so vague and widely unfamiliar to many college graduates or entry level employees (I for example was unaware of these rules) exploitation is a difficult problem to resolve. I think the most basic step to reach a resolution is to educate interns on their rights as well as imply stricter policies for companies who choose unpaid internships and have those programs reviewed.
I think you highlight another important point in your second problem and would like to add that while companies do not train their workers, nor expect them to remain loyal or stay at their company for extended periods, I think another source of problems for worker’s training comes from a lack of proper training in their schooling. Lastly, in terms of your first point, while I agree with your assertions I have to wonder if a worker’s hours solely contribute to his decreased productivity, or if other distractions get in his way. In my opinion, having a phone full of games and access to the internet will do more harm to someone’s productivity than the number of hours he works or whether he is a blue or white collar worker."
--( posted on Mar 10, 2015, commenting on the post
Future of Work Problems )
"Hey Shawn, I agreed with your post about the problems facing the workplace, especially those relating to the skills college graduates received from school to be successful in their work. While undergraduate programs at colleges inform us about the theory behind different occupations I feel we are not properly trained from the undergraduate level to enter the workforce and participate in these positions. I feel that in the present day, college graduates are forced to enter into graduate programs in order to specialize their skills and attain an appropriate education for their occupations. While this may not necessarily be a bad thing, I do think that between the cost of undergraduate and graduate school, many people will be unable to afford a proper graduate degree and will be at a great disadvantage in the workforce.
With regards to your second problem, I do agree that the traditional workplace can be problematic in terms of distractions. While manager meetings play a large role in distracting workers, I have to wonder if they are the sole cause or even the largest cause of distractions. While workers spend maybe one full hour at a meeting with their manager, they spend more time on break, or on their computers or cell phones. So while the TED talk made great points about workplace issues, I think exploring the way technology can cause distraction is very useful to solving the problem."
--( posted on Mar 10, 2015, commenting on the post
Future of Work Problems )
"Hey Yeji, I really like the solutions you suggested to all these issues facing policing. I agree that many prisons are not allowing their convicts a right to a speedy trial. What I find interesting and maybe what your solution should look into is the number of convicts who were not allowed a speedy trial and their racial or economic background. I think the issue of prison conditions and trials that come up in policing vary depending on factors such as if the incarcerated person is a minority or of a lower economic background.
I also think you make a good point about the abuse of power in the policing system. A major factor of police abuse of power comes from their lack of proper training. While I believe it is necessary to train police officers thoroughly I might suggest that instead of usual training, which relies heavily on the use of weapons in a number of situations, police officers can be trained to handle non-emergency situations without the use of a gun. Programs that call for hand-to-hand combat training can be extremely beneficial to officers and with these programs we can maybe avoid many awful acts of police brutality like the act involving Eric Garner in New York City."
--( posted on Feb 26, 2015, commenting on the post
Policing Solutions )
"I really like your solution to the police training issues that were highlighted by cases such as the Eric Garner case in New York. While I do believe that lack of proper training is a primary issue in policing, I would argue as well that racial profiling is another underlying issue present when discussing police brutality. I would suggest that in addition to training police officers about alternatives to weapon use, your solution should also include psychological evaluations that examine racism and prejudice in police officers.
In terms of learning martial arts, I believe the idea is an interesting alternative though I would add that it should be handled delicately. Though martial arts offer police officers improved methods of hand-to-hand combat, there is still potential that officers can use what they have learned incorrectly. Martial arts can often be as lethal as using a weapon in the line of duty, and if police officers rely too much on certain dangerous techniques or do not learn the techniques properly, they can still inflict serious harm onto perpetrators. Therefore if proposing a solution like martial arts training, you must be sure that the police officers are truly being trained thoroughly and precisely."
--( posted on Feb 26, 2015, commenting on the post
Policing Solution – More Training, More Professionalism )
"Hey Christina, I agree with all of the points you made about reforming policing in New York City. I also spoke about the stop and frisk policy set up by Mayor Bloomberg, and the resulting tension and racial profiling caused by its execution. I looked specifically at the number of illegal weapons obtained by police officers during these searches, and found that in total only 1 in every 1000 person stopped by the police was actually carrying an illegal weapon per 10-month period. After reading your statistics, I realize the policy is even less effective than I originally believed. As for the unequal percentages of stops per neighborhood, it is just sad how many of the stops being performed were on minorities. This selective policing however is difficult to monitor since police officers are usually left to their own devices while on patrol. I wonder if any real reform can be made to this law, or if it should just be thrown out altogether.
Another one of your points that I found very important to look into was the quality of police training and how what an officer sees in his early days of training can affect his psyche while on duty. I agree with you that police training should really be reviewed and reformed, for a number of reasons and perhaps some of the most important times in an officer’s career to look into are his early days."
--( posted on Feb 18, 2015, commenting on the post
Policing Problems )
"Hey Michael, I agree with the points you made regarding objective witnesses and body cameras. Having written about that issue myself, I believe they should be implemented in police precincts across the country. While we don’t have all the evidence that the cameras will be beneficial in the long run, I believe that any improvements to a failing system should be attempted. One thing you didn’t mention in your post was the argument against the cost of the cameras. Many people believe that the price of the cameras and their upkeep will be too expensive for the amount of good that the cameras will do.
I also really found your discussion of gun control and the police force interesting. With recent incidents like that involving Trayvon Martin, I think gun control is a topic that this country should definitely address, but one that will sadly never be agreed on. Changing our nation’s policy on guns will mean facing a lot of opposition, and therefore the best way to tackle this issue is probably not by trying to end gun use by the police, but offer alternative ways for officers to protect themselves, while also not killing their perpetrators. Through programs that offer regular and detailed training sessions for police officers to learn alternative ways to combat, perhaps police officers can be trained to not rely upon their weapons as much, especially when their suspects are unarmed, and in Martin’s case, completely innocent."
--( posted on Feb 18, 2015, commenting on the post
Policing Problems 1 )
