Author Archives: Claudia Donofrio

Posts by Claudia Donofrio

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 )