Why Are Middle Age White People Dying at Greater Rates Than Others

In September 2015 The National Academy of Sciences published the results of a startling study that show that middle age white Americans are dying at rates far greater than any other group in the nation. Even more shocking are the predominant causes: drug and alcohol overdose, liver disease related to alcohol consumption, and suicide. The research, conducted by Princeton professors Anne Case and Angus Deaton, is based on mortality rates recorded from 1999 to 2013. Overall in the U.S., as in most Western nations, mortality rates have been on the decline in recent decades. However when analyzed by age and race, Drs. Case and Deaton found that, unlike the rest of the population, the mortality rate for middle age white people--those 45 to 54 years old--has skyrocketed over the last 15 years, though it too had previously been on the decline. The increasing death rate among this group is so large that, as the authors point out, it is on par with deaths attributed to the AIDS epidemic. If the death rate had continued to decline as it had been through 1998, half a million lives would have been spared. Most of these deaths are attributed to sharp increases in drug and alcohol-related deaths, and suicide, with the largest increase attributed to overdoses, which climbed from almost nothing in 1999 to a rate of 30 per 100,000 in 2013. For comparison, the rate of drug and alcohol overdose per 100,000 people is just 3.7 among Blacks, and 4.3 among Hispanics. The researchers also observed that those with less education experienced higher mortality rates than those with more. Meanwhile, deaths from lung cancer declined, and those related to diabetes increased only slightly, so it is clear what is driving this troubling trend. So, why is this happening? The authors point out that this group also reported worsening physical and mental health during the timeframe studied, and reported a decreased ability to work, increasing experience of pain, and deteriorating liver function. They suggest that the growing availability of opioid pain medication, like oxycodone, during this time period could have spurred addiction among this population, which would have subsequently been satisfied with heroin after stricter controls on prescription opioids were introduced. Drs. Case and Eaton also note that the Great Recession, which saw lots of jobs and homes lost, and which significantly lowered the wealth of many Americans, could be a contributing factor to worsened physical and mental health, as illnesses could go untreated for lack of income or health insurance. But the effects of the Great Recession were experienced by all Americans, not just those who are middle-aged, and in fact, economically speaking, were experienced the worse by Blacks and Latinos. Insights from sociological research and theory suggest that there may be other social factors at play in this crisis. Loneliness is likely one of them. In a 2013 article for  The Atlantic, University of Virginia sociologist W. Bradford Wilcox pointed to the rising disconnect between middle-aged American men and social institutions like family and religion, and increasing rates of un- and under-employment as reasons for a sharp increase in suicide among this population. Wilcox emphasized that when one becomes disconnected from what typically holds people together in a society and gives them a positive sense of self and purpose, one is more likely to commit suicide. And, its men without college degrees who are most disconnected from these institutions, and who have the highest rate of suicide. The theory behind Wilcoxs argument comes from Émile Durkheim, one of the founders of sociology. In  Suicide, one of his most widely read and taught works, Durkheim observed that suicide can be linked to periods of rapid or vast change in society -- when people might feel as if their values no longer match that of society, or that their identity is no longer respected or valued. Durkheim referred to this phenomenon -- the breakdown of connections between an individual and society -- as anomie. Taking this into consideration, another possible social cause of the increase in mortality among white middle age Americans could be the changing racial makeup and politics of the U.S. Today, the U.S. is far less white, demographically speaking, than it was when middle age Americans were born. And since that time, and over the last decade especially, public and political attention to the problems of systemic racism, and to the related problems of white supremacy and white privilege, have greatly changed the racial politics of the nation. While racism remains a serious problem, its hold on the social order is increasingly challenged.  So from a sociological standpoint, its possible these changes have presented identity crises, and a related experience of anomie, to middle age white Americans who came of age during the reign of white privilege. This is just a theory, and its likely a pretty uncomfortable one to consider, but it is based in sound sociology

Do the media ‘construct’ social reality, or does it...

It is often suggested by scholars that the world and in all its content is ambiguous, there is no universal meaning, nothing can be interpreted the same way. Opinions are constantly clashing and facts somehow constructed, or tempered during the processes of news production. News becomes the fictions of reality; it becomes a way of story telling, made to the taste of the viewer, depending on the society of course. The same stories carry different values depending where when and how the stories are broadcasted, I will be talking about this in this essay. There are two approaches to report a piece of news; the realist, purely factual no interpretations given and very clear in usage of language. This method differs to that of the†¦show more content†¦Our ability to choose what news is significant, is â€Å"culturally determined† (Galtung and Ruge in Cohen and Young, 1981: p.52), this meant that we are as a society will receive reports the same events. Although the proces s of this â€Å"choosing† is questioned, as majority of the time, audience do not get to choose what they read, hear or watch about the world. This procedure is done through the structuring and the selection of news before it reached to them. Galtung and Ruge suggested a number of hypothesises that interrelate the value of news to, metaphorically speaking, that of the radio wave signals. (in Cohen and Young, 1981: p.52) the factors that measures news value are as follows; ‘frequency’ the time it will take between the happening to reporting to interpretation of a specific event. For example the death of Baby Peter on August 2007 , several months after the death of Peter, the process of ‘interpreting’ who is to blame, is still showing on television and newspaper. ‘Clarity’, the report content is clear and unambiguous, it enlightens, and not confuse audience, provides a clear sometimes biased definition and argument of the situation or event. ‘Unexpectedness’ this is why TV listing and train times are not considered news worthy, viewers prefer sensationalised reports; itShow MoreRelatedMedia s Influence On Perceptions Of Self1563 Words   |  7 Pages The media plays a sig nificant role in influencing and shaping individuals’ perceptions of self in American society. Additionally, the media plays a key role in how it portrays people of color (POC) and, therefore, in how it affects their perceptions of self and others. 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Introduction to Computing Actor Network Theory

Question: Why it is appropriate to study Actor Network Theory. Discuss? Answer: Introduction Contemporary computing occupies a large space in the todays centuries. Contemporary computing can be said as the modern development of the base computing which is done by including several new and modern technologies in the past years. The assemblage of modern technologies can be said as the combination of the modern technologies and the new mechanism of software and hardware which includes secure database, high speed CPU and networking with the improved performance to overcome the past technologies (Baker, 2014). Contemporary computing in the recent decades provides several advancements to the new generation devices and computers. It takes the place of the new technologies by replacing the old technologies with advancements. It also increases the speed and time complexity of the machines. The impacts of the modern computing in new technologies change the style of living of new generations (Barazza, 2012). The assemblage of the contemporary computing provides several advantages to th e modern computers which are also implementing in higher forces in the business organization or in several IT brands. Actor Network Theory The theory of the Actor Network Theory (ANT) is started in 1980, which is created by Michel Callon and Bruno Latour, discussed about the advancement of the social theories on the basis of science and technologies. Both the human and non-human actors are present in the network of the Actor Network Theory (ANT). Interactions of the human and non-human actors create a great importance in developing the network of modern technologies and computing. The new electronic devices such as modern computers, tablets and other machines are continuously growing stronger day-by-day with the together involvement of the humans and machines (Chen and Ann, 2014). Actor Network Theory (ANT) is used in all the stories in case of describes it from the base. The social view along with the technical view of the system is also provided in the ANT theory. The social networking sites are the biggest attraction of the new generation peoples. Both the human and the machines take parts in the social networking sy stem which can also be said as the network in the ANT theory. The ANT theory describes the ways of handling the network by the human actors. Both the terms actants and token are used in the ANT theory where actants can be said as the human and non-human actors and token can be describe as the interaction between them (Cusumano, 2013). There are several solutions provided in the theories of the Actor Network Theory (ANT) regarding to the questions arises from the modern technologies, societies and networks. Why it is appropriate to study Actor Network Theory Regarding to analyzing social technologies in the modern aspects, the best way of describing is by using the Actor Network Theory (ANT). The contemporary computing is totally depends on the Actor Network Theory (ANT). The significant terms used the ANT theory is the network which is required to understand before describing any stories. Network is mainly used in the transaction between human and human or human and non-human actors (Dalessandro et al. 2014). In the Actor Network Theory (ANT), the term network is used in case of describing the transaction between the human and non-human actors. The Actor Network Theory (ANT) is also used in case of describing the relationship between the human and the non-human actors which are also called actants. Both the positive and the negative sides of the stories can be determined by using the ANT theories. The study of the ANT theory can be done on the basis of the technical aspects and cannot be done without any networking knowledge. This is be cause the ANT theory gives the description of the study and case studies which is related to the interaction of the actants with the networks. The basic knowledge of the social networking is required in case of studying the modern computing with the help of the Actor Network Theory (ANT) (Day, 2015). Story 1: Big Data, Bigger Marketing Big data can be described as the volume, velocity and variety of the enormous collections of data. Big data in the organization of marketing can be described as the basic significance of the new marketing scenery, arise from the digital world of living (El-Mahdy, 2013). Big data is not only just collection of data; it also refers to as the ability of store and analyzes the required data that are useful for decision making with the proper time-consuming manner. In the marketing business, the data regarding to the customers past year business are such as transaction data, coupon redemption, direct mails, etc. And the data regarding to the current business are online purchase, browsing, transactions of social media, etc. which are apparently very big. Big data cannot automatically make the marketing business better; it is required to use its technology in the efficient manner (Hajibaba and Gorgin, 2014). In the strategies of the marketing management, big data can provide great advantages in the aspects of customer engagement, loyalty and retention of customers and marketing performance. The dealing of the marketing in the business using the big data is in the aspects of the customers, operational and financial. The technology of big data provides the business great advantages in the field of transactional metrics in several sources such as social media, communities, websites etc. The past data which are not collected previously in the busines s are also can be collected by using the big data technologies (Baker, 2014). Also the future estimation of the results in the marketing business can be provided by the big data technologies from the ratio of the past and the present results of the business. Big data develop the marketing strategies bigger and bigger day-by-day. In most of the big marketing business, the demands of the big data are at the top among all the new technologies. Google, Facebook etc. employ the big data technologies in their marketing strategies and are now at the top 10 position in producing several products and running the social networking sites. Actants: According to the Actor Network Theory (ANT), in the network of the big data there are also several human and non human actors. The human actants are such as operation manager and organization rules. The non-human actants are such mechanism of managing data, networking measures, channels of data transactions and the database management (Halavais, 2015). In the big marketing business big data provides a network between the human and non-human actants of the organization. The role of actants in the big data technologies is to analyze the required data regarding to the transaction and the management of the marketing business. ANT theory is used in the technologies of big data in the big marketing business provides several information and strategies to the organization to make innovative business strategies (Taylor et al. 2014). The actants of the Actor Network Theory (ANT) of these particular stories interacts with each other and also with the social technologies to implement a suitable network in the business. Story 2: Samsung lead Smartphone market over Apple In 2014, in case of Smartphone delivery Apple makes a tie with Samsung. The same amount of units was moved by both the brands. But in the first quarter of 2015, the lead is again taken by the Samsung. Samsung overtake apple in the market of global Smartphone with the help of rising market sales in this year. According to IDC, number of Smartphone sold by Samsung in first three months is about 8.24 million, for the market share of 24.5 percent (Huberman, 2012). The sales of iPhone in this year are slightly reduced in compare to the previous year. Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge create a great market in the quarter of April which led the Samsung market in this year. As commented by IDC analyst, Apple made several challenges on behalf of its products such as iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 plus in the fourth quarter but Samsung, in the first quarter, also led the market. Also the demands of the low-price Smartphone are also rises in a large volume with this leading market. Also there are several oth er Smartphone brands such as Microsoft, Nokia, Lenovo, Motorola, etc. which are also struggling for getting the top position in the Smartphone market (Junqu de Fortuny et al. 2013). Actants: The actants i.e. human and non-human actors in the Actor Network theory (ANT) are engaged in a large network in the market of the Smartphone. Here the concept of the social technologies can be determined as the human actants of the network. The market of the Samsung Smartphone is much better than the market of the past years and the market also looking for the profits that can be generated from the new launched products of Samsung (Liebeskind, 2015). Here Samsung and apple can be said as the hardware actants. Also there is a role of the software actants. The technology of the contemporary computing provides a big profit to the market of the Smartphone. The time and labor can be reduced with increasing the communication in the social networking sites (Salehi and Dehyadegari, 2014). The hardware actants and the software actants of the Actor Network theory (ANT) create a huge interaction in the modern technologies and the social sites in case of engaging a suitable network to t he study. Conclusion The new technologies of the contemporary computing improve the living nature of the people. Also it modifies the social life using several assemblages of technologies in the network. The analysis done in this essay provides the role of the human and non-human actors in case of implementing several networks. The actants of the first story is the Big Data which can be said as the digital actants. Big data provides several ways to manage the marketing business in case of collecting, analyzing and storing several data from the social sites. In the second stories, Samsung and Apple can be described as the actants of the network which can be described as the hardware actants. Here the market of the Samsung Smartphone is increasing rapidly and became in the top position in this year. Whereas, Apple also providing several challenges to occupy the top positions. All this theories can be described on the basis of the Actor Network Theory (ANT) which can provide several human and non-human acto rs in their network. In these stories, all the actants plays a significant role to keep their positions in the network. Hence, it can be said that the Actor Network Theory (ANT) is appropriate in studying the following stories provided in the essay. Reference List Baker, L. (2014). Do our big data  in genetic analysis need to get bigger?. Psychophysiol, 51(12), 1321-1322. doi:10.1111/psyp.12351 Barazza, S. (2012). Apple v Samsung: a preliminary injunction against the Galaxy Nexus smartphone. Journal Of Intellectual Property Law and Practice, 8(1), 6-8. doi:10.1093/jiplp/jps174 Chen, C., and Ann, B. (2014). Efficiencies vs. importance-performance analysis for the leading smartphone brands of Apple, Samsung and HTC. Total Quality Management and Business Excellence, 1-23. doi:10.1080/14783363.2014.976937 Cusumano, M. (2013). The Apple-Samsung lawsuits. Communications Of The ACM, 56(1), 28. doi:10.1145/2398356.2398366 Dalessandro, B., Perlich, C., and Raeder, T. (2014). Bigger is Better, but at What Cost?Estimating the Economic Value of Incremental Data Assets. Big Data, 2(2), 87-96. doi:10.1089/big.2014.0010 Day, C. (2015). Modern Computing--in 1949. Comput. Sci. Eng., 17(1), 72-72. doi:10.1109/mcse.2015.17 El-Mahdy, A. (2013). Recursive Detection of M-ary Signals over Fast Varying Mobile Communication Channel. TELKOMNIKA, 11(1). doi:10.12928/telkomnika.v11i1.672 Hajibaba, M., and Gorgin, S. (2014). A Review on Modern Distributed Computing Paradigms: Cloud Computing, Jungle Computing and Fog Computing. Journal Of Computing And Information Technology, 22(2), 69. doi:10.2498/cit.1002381 Halavais, A. (2015). Bigger sociological imaginations: framing big social data theory and methods. Information, Communication and Society, 18(5), 583-594. doi:10.1080/1369118x.2015.1008543 Huberman, B. (2012). Sociology of science: Big data deserve a bigger audience. Nature, 482(7385), 308-308. doi:10.1038/482308d Junqu de Fortuny, E., Martens, D., and Provost, F. (2013). Predictive Modeling With Big Data: Is Bigger Really Better ?. Big Data, 1(4), 215-226. doi:10.1089/big.2013.0037 Liebeskind, D. (2015). Big and bigger data in endovascular stroke therapy. Expert Review Of Neurotherapeutics, 15(4), 335-337. doi:10.1586/14737175.2015.1018893 Salehi, M., and Dehyadegari, L. (2014). Optical signal processing using photonic reservoir computing. Journal Of Modern Optics, 61(17), 1442-1451. doi:10.1080/09500340.2014.940017 Taylor, L., Schroeder, R., and Meyer, E. (2014). Emerging practices and perspectives on Big Data analysis in economics: Bigger and better or more of the same?. Big Data and Society, 1(2). doi:10.1177/2053951714536877

WHITE-COLLAR CRIME Essays - Property Crimes, Crimes, Fraud

WHITE-COLLAR CRIME White-collar crime is a term that is usually applied to crimes associated with business that do not involve violence or bodily injury to another person. Examples of so-called white-collar crime are those crimes generally associated with lending institutions that involve bank fraud, such as making false statements to obtain a loan, filing false reports or returns with government agencies, embezzlement, using the mail or wire communications to defraud, and paying or accepting bribes. The best and most successful frauds are multi-layered conspiracies where your employee is only one person in a loop and possibly does not know all of the links, interrelationships, and other people involved. Internal frauds are successful where the business area under attach has inadequate or minimal managerial control, or where the organization/business area is subject to radical organizational change. Fraud is one of the most common types of a white-collar crime. This will occur if a person's purse is stolen, and that purse contains personal information credit cards, checks, id's, etc. The person who stole it will be able to assume her identity, establish new credit, forge checks, and gain access to her bank account. The second type of white collar crime includes Price-Fixing: which is when two or more companies conspire to keep prices artificially high by agreeing to have non-competitive pricing, it is a violation of the Sherman Act. Companies' profits from such illegal actions are enormous. Another type of white collar crime is Insider Trading that is when a person has information that a merger, buy-out, or other knowledge that will affect the value of a company [or its stock] before the general public, it is considered inside information. It is illegal since it gives an unfair advantage to the insider that the public does not have. In some cases businesses tend to repeat there offenses of white collar crime which makes it easier for law enforcement officials to detect it. There have not been as many studies of recidivism (repeat offenses) of white-collar crime as there have been of common crime. The best studies show that about 33% of offenders who are convicted of a felony (for a common crime) and go to prison ever go back again. However, in Edwin Sutherland's classic work on white-collar crime, he found that 97.1% of the corporations had two or more adverse convictions or administrative decisions. The average was 14 such convictions. Consider a judge thinking about a convicted defendant before her. In order to help prevent and stop white-collar crime the Sherman Anti-Trust Act was passed. It was passed to promote free enterprise and competition. If a single company has a monopoly on a product or service, there is no competition or motive for improvement. In addition, a monopoly can stifle competition by lowering their prices to the point where they are actually losing money. The competition will go out of business, and then the monopoly can increase their prices to recoup what they lost while they were under-pricing their product or service to put the competition out of business. White-collar crimes may be prosecuted in state or federal courts, depending upon whether state or federal laws have been violated. The penalties for committing white-collar crimes vary, but in some cases, they may be as severe as those prescribed for violent crimes. White-collar crimes are the same as any other crimes. They do not constitute an especially unusual set of laws, and those who are in a given business are expected to know the laws regulating those businesses.