A Change in Lifestyle - Assignment Example

Task: Sociology Q1 A change in lifestyle and status has several accompanying challenges. Rising up the of life of an individual presents challenges to the individual and the family, as well. A rise in status may be evident through a change in income and education among other indicators of socio-economic status of an individual. A change in health status accompanied with a high status is a great concern for different people. There is a notable health disparity between different socio-economic statuses. This is evident in comparative studies of health discrepancy in developed and developing countries. A measure of the health status using the lifestyle index shows that dietary choices vary in the two categories of population in the different countries or regions. Consumer preferences also change with a change in lifestyles (Mathur, Moschis and Lee 234). Consequently, the changes in dietary choice that accompany a lifestyle rise lead to lifestyle disorders. Diabetes and cancer effects are a high possibility in such cases when one’s status rise. A rise in lifestyle may initiate other behaviors as drug abuse, alcoholism and smoking because the individual can afford to purchase drugs and alcohol. A change in the lifestyle may pose effects on an individual’s observation of cultural norms. Individuals tend to change their observance to cultures as those related to social life. Planned marriages, for instance, was a notable culture in various parts of the world as India. With the increase in living status of individuals, such cultures tend to receive little considerations. A significant portion of the population prefers choice marriages to planned marriages because of the increase in income and status of the population. Living status, therefore, affects the social life of a community or society. Q2 Among the challenges, facing the government of America is the living status of a portion of its population. The Census Bureau uses the income factor to determine the level of income of the population to determine the level of poverty. Should the total household income be insufficient to meet the family threshold needs of expenses, then the family is poor. Poverty in America is most evident in states as New Hampshire and New Jersey among other states. There are two notable problems among the poor in America. The first category of the poor in America has a high number of low-income jobs while the second group is that with nearly no job allocations. Both categories of the poor in America are high in number, which continues to increase at a stunning rate. In other parts of the world, the impoverishment is a key issue affecting the population. Globalization effects continue to affect the markets in other parts of the world. Effects of economic backlash are evident because of globalization. This is a leading cause of impoverishment in other parts of the world as Italy. The polarizing effects of globalization saw the dwindling off employment opportunities for a significant population of the world. This is similar to the case of the poor in America who lack jobs. The polarizing effects of the globalization have had effects of low wages among the employed that is similar to the insufficient earnings among the poor in America. The similarity between the poor in America and the impoverished in other parts of the world emanates from the insufficient wages for the employed or the total lack of jobs. Q3 The economic crisis that evaded the world in continues to be top among the global issues, today. The crisis is distinguishable through five major stages. According to Elliott, the crisis began in 2007 August 9 (1). This first phase saw the seizure in the financial institutions (banks being the most affected). This led to banks stopping business with each other. The August 15 2008 marked the second phase of the global phenomenon. The government of the United States, on this date, did allow Lehman Brothers (an investment bank) to attain bankruptcy status. The fall down of Lehman Brothers saw the fall of other banks, which could not sustain the effects of the situation. Rescue initiatives for the banks were untimely and could not sustain banks from the downfall. The 2nd April 2009 saw the agreement of the G20 to coordinate and offer grants to solve the economic situation. The leaders agreed to fund institutions as the IMF. This started on an appreciated note but faced challenges thereafter. The international cooperation stated during the argument was no longer present and countries started to solve their problems on individual scale (Elliott 1). May 9 2010 marked the fourth stage of the problem. The issue came to the attention of governments rather than being a concern for individuals. The EIU and IMF announced to provide Greece with grants. August 5 2011 is remarkably the fifth stage of the crisis. At this time, the communists’ economies tend to overtake the western capitalists’. China seemed to record a better result in its financial performance than the United States. It seemed evident that the Obama’s strategies were on the way to failure. Q4 The opinion of Putin and the price of oil and gas on the international scale are the two determinants main of the economy of Russia. With the downfall of the oil in price during the month of June, the country resorted to setting an approximate amount of 25. 6 billion Euros. This was as a measure of cushioning itself against the slowdown in price (Dryden 1). Putin’s decisions made immense contribution towards the decision to mend the country’s economy. According to allegations by Veronika (the wife to Oleg), there are few elite surrounding Putin who takes the economy of the country as under their full decisive control (Dryden 1). The two (Oleg and Veronica run computer businesses in St Petersburg. Veronika has complaints of corruption in the government including the police force. They, and other citizens of the country, consider leaving the country because of the corrupt institutions in Russia including the judicial system in the country. Their complaints point at the power of the elites in the rule of the affairs of the country that renders life unbearable for the citizens. The key decision makers in the government, also known as the siloviki or otherwise the men of power, have several contributions to the country’s wanting state. Works Cited Dryden, Alex. Putin calls in Darth Vader to tighten his grip on Russia's energy assets. The Guardian. 24 June 2012. Web. 18 July 2012. Elliott, Larry. Global financial crisis: five key stages 2007-2011. The Guardian. August 7, 2011. Web. July 18, 2012 Mathur, Anil., Moschis, George., and Lee, Euehun. A longitudinal study of the effects of life status changes on changes in consumer preferences. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 36:234–246. 2008. Print. Read More