Good Health as a Social Construction - Assignment Example

Exam Questions What does good health look like in contemporary Canada? Show ways that this image of good health is a social construction. Health care system in present-day Canada is one of the highly ranked in the word and most Canadians generally have good health. Starting from 1960, the Canadian government embarked on a regular process of terminating most private health insurance, clinics, and hospitals by changing them to a newly created, universal, publicly-funded health care system. Currently, Canadians enjoy comprehensive health insurance through public health coverage plans run by the various provincial governments. Every Canadian is qualified automatically for this cover, and each province is responsible though with financial assistance from the national government. Consequently, Canadians don’t have to pay their medical bills for health insurance apart from monthly premiums of usually $100 or less (Chappell 22). Health is a state of absolute social, physical and mental well-being and not literally the absence of infirmity or illness. Good health in Canada is indicated majorly by various elements. To begin with, comprehensiveness and equity are some of the key indicators (Newbold, Eyles, and Birch 512). A citizen will be in good health if he/she is comprehensively covered. This means that they are fully insured in hospitals, physicians, and surgical dentists. To facilitate insurance high household income levels is important. This translates to peace of mind (mental health) worrying less since, in case of any disease infection, they will be treated. A number of factors promote good health in Canada. These include high income, high education levels, and socio-economic status. People with good health in Canada have a high socio-economic status since it affects all members of the family. A high level of education among Canadian residents has also contributed to health, as good health is supported by health education. Educated people will likely have better health because they routinely observe nutrition. Literacy levels matter but luckily in Canada, literacy levels are above 70% (OECD 26). The physical environment also contributes to the state of health. If one accesses clean, safe water, breathes uncontaminated air and works in a decent, healthy environment, the individual has a higher chance regaining good health. Canada enjoys a clean environment and the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (26) ranks Canada highly in terms of cleanliness, housing, and water. These are the determinants that have hugely contributed to good health in Canada. Social support networks have played a critical role in Canada, and the groups both governmental and non-governmental have ensured communities are supported in dealing with health issues. This is the social environment, and a good environment leads to good health. The image of good health in Canada is pivotal in contribution to social construction. Social construction occurs when the society that was not enlightened adapts a new idea that emanates from a particular societal practice. As we can see, all residents of the country want to have a good health in Canada. Canadians who are not voluntary in taking up insurance cover will do so because of the image the Canadian government has created with regards to health. It has created a norm, acceptable by all mainly due to the benefits, which have put Canada on top with a life expectancy of over 80 years (Newbold, Eyles, and Birch 512). 2. Discuss ways that university students exercise power in the classroom or on campus. What are some of the limits on student power? How is student power material and/or symbolic? University students worldwide are known to be liberal and sometimes they may go beyond limits in trying to express their ideologies. Governments and university leaderships have always been at the forefront of ensuring students and student leaders are recognized, and student views and demands are negotiated amicably between stakeholders. University student is the future, and commonly they possess the greatest power with some of them in line to succeeding current world leaders (Liberal Youth Forum 1-3). As such, their ideologies matter to the various stakeholders that they interact with. Student power has enabled students to identify problems, and solve them regardless of institutional bureaucracy they operate on. There are numerous ways in which university students exercise their power. Student power is demonstrated from the classroom. Nowadays students do much more than sitting on lectures and taking notes. Lecturers have introduced team exercises where students actively do presentations. They also engage their lecturers in offering opinions on what, how, where and when to be taught. Lecturers are sometimes forced to change class timetables to suit student demands, and sometimes even examination schedules are altered, in favor of the students, to exercise their power in the classroom by liaising with lecturers in curriculum design, which in turn benefits both parties. On campus, students have even more powers in which they exercise. First, through elected student leadership, they make strategic decisions on how the university is governed. They have the power to demand transparency and within the institution by vice-chancellors and principals. Interestingly, some lecturers have even given student representatives the opportunity to sit on every decision-making committee. This fosters mutual respect and promotes healthy student-staff relations (Altbach). Students also have the power to influence the decisions on capital spending and this ensures university staff account for every fund used to acquire any assets thereby eliminating any chances of embezzlement (Altbach). Admittedly, eyebrows have been raised in recent cases regarding university student power. Students’ demands and power demonstration may exceed the societal, moral expectation. In such case, some students with ill intentions and opportunistic may try to sneak in ill-advised decisions. An illustration may be portrayed in an instance where student freedom allows academic grades to be compromised, that is, when students and lectures collude by negotiating desired grades to appease the students, which ultimately compromises the quality of higher education quality. In other extreme scenarios, student power has been misused by politicians. Some politicians have used student mass to push for their agenda by pumping funds to unsuspecting university students (Liberal Youth Forum 1-3). Wrongly, these funds are then used for various activities such as drug abuse and alcoholism. Demonstration of power by students can also be questioned when authorities reject their demands. Students can organize strikes that lead to vandalism and insecurity causing chaos on and off-campus (Altbach). From the above arguments, it is undoubtedly true to deduct that student power is material and symbolic. In this regard, students view, opinions, suggestions and demands are very much keenly taken into consideration starting from the classroom, in campus and even in the society at large. To support this, we often realize how university student actions affect each one’s life. University students cannot be ignored either by the university management or the government. University management is mandated to give freedom to students, but limitations are necessary for them to reduce chances of student law conflict. 3. Discuss some of the ways the passage from childhood to adulthood was marked in your life. Analyze these experiences, using micro and macro approaches to examine the process of becoming an adult. Many sociologists have defined the process of becoming an adult as the early part of the life course when one leaves behind adolescence and gradually adopts a series of adult roles (Walters 219). Transitioning to adulthood, however, vary from one person to the next. Many view an adult as that person who has completed school left home and successfully obtained full-time employment, married and has finally become a parent (219). Generally, becoming an adult at present typically involves a period of living independently before marriage, although many young people are staying at home longer. My passage from childhood to adulthood has been marked by various events that many individual adults underwent through. Focusing on the micro-level approach, my relationship with my parents as child was cordial. Raised by a Christian family my greatest virtue that I have followed has been the one rule of always obeying my parents and the elderly people. After I started schooling, the very first step towards my transition to adulthood started being self-propelled. This has been marked by key events not only physical events but also psychological. Childhood behaviors have started becoming a thing of the past; hence I have started limiting myself to them. However, my attitude towards my parents has also been changing, and my character gradually eroding as I became more and more rebellious. This has been the first stages of my adolescence. This stage has been the most crucial part of my process of becoming an adult. Physically, I have grown from being a little child everyone knew and I am now more self-conscious and I have begun being choosy to most things. Education has played a vital role in my life, especially because I enrolled in one of the best schools. I started regarding myself as a social class and associated with the affluent as I kept distance from the humble. On the positive side though, I played hard that my grades in school remain good as I studied and worked hard all through. On completion of my high school, I have now joined University for Tertiary Studies. Currently, I am on with my studies I aspire to secure employment after completing my first degree. My status in the society seems to be escalating to very high levels. Self-reliance and independence are my greatest motivations and desire. I am almost now reaching the majoritys age and acquire the legal responsibility and privileges of adulthood. I plan to find a new residence; hence, physically detach myself from my parents. Exposure to the macro environment, namely the social and political dimensions probably will follow. This is likely to be characterized by the opportunity and expectations that the society and government demands and offers respectively. Soon I will be able to exercise my or express my opinion in the democratic space of our country through voting while the society expected me to give back after securing employment. In essence, I have both corporate and social responsibilities awaiting me. The government also now is obligated to provide me with essential services such as health cover. Though adulthood varies, my stages of becoming an adult have been in line with many, apart from the fact that I have delayed “I do”. 4. How might airport security screening look different through the lens of Labeling theory and critical (macro) theories? Critical theories are aimed at changing the society as a whole by analyzing the social life and revealing the assumptions that keep us from comprehensively understanding how the world works. Labeling theory states that deviance is the outcome of the application of rules and sanctions to an offender. It is founded on the concept that behaviors are deviant only when the social order labels them as deviant (Downes, and Rock 53). Security screening at the airport subdues and detects any form of threats, which include terrorism, disease infections, and criminals. The reasons for screening might be purely formalities or for limiting criminal advances from travelers in or out the country. Therefore, the application of labeling theory in this scenario reveals interesting arguments. In airports, selective screening is undertaken by people who are perceived to be more likely to be dangerous. These individuals feel stigmatized as a result of selective and intense screening (55). This form of stigmatization usually results in the real action of deviance since the selected individuals are expected, by the society, to be harming. The results demonstrate how an initial label as a deviant can develop into a self-fulfilling forecast. Airport security personnel would have lost the purpose of airport screening that initially was intended to curb insecurity. On the contrary, it would have instigated insecurity indirectly by labeling behavior deviant (53). Additionally, under the critical theories lens, airport screening also points out important points. Since critical macro theories are aimed at revolutionizing our perception, it the idea of airport screening comes from scrutiny. Security persons at the airport usually try to examine from a distance social behaviors of individual in trying to determine who to inspect more. In the United States, for instance, the Department of Homeland Security is enrolling a program that would employ sensors to look at nonverbal behaviors, and thereby spot terrorists within the confines of different airports. Nonetheless, these efforts might seem futile because there exists no scientific method of credible behavior determination by humans. Critical theories step in to instill critique to the society in the occurrence of such events by discouraging perception (53). Ultimately, it is imperative for people to recognize that human behavior cannot be monitored and assessed accurately from a distance. The person can only determine the writings on someones face. Most researchers agree that humans are apparently poor at face-to-face lie detection. A 2008 report by JASON defense group acknowledged “No scientific evidence exists to support the detection or inference of future behavior, including intent” (Handeyside). Moreover, airport screening sometimes becomes subjective rather than objectives. Criminals might hide within the wrongly suspected individuals in the airport environment. Critical theories try to discourage this notion, and contrary to traditional theories, the society will surely gain much by adapting them. Works Cited Altbach, Philip G. Student politics in America: A historical analysis. Transaction Publishers, 1997. Chappell, Neena L. Aging in contemporary Canada. Prentice Hall, 2003. Contributions to the analysis of hospital utilization within Canada." Social science & Downes, David M., and Paul Elliott Rock. Understanding deviance: a guide to the sociology of crime and rule-breaking. Oxford University Press, 2011. Environmental and social statistics. OECD, 2005. Handeyside, Hugh. Be careful with your face at airports. 2015. Web. 18 April 2015. Liberal Youth Forum. It’s Time for Student Power in Campuses! Yavnika Khanna. n.d. Web. 18 April 2015. Medicine 40.9 (1995): 1181-1192. Newbold, K. Bruce, John Eyles, and Stephen Birch. "Equity in health care: methodological Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. OECD factbook: economic, Walters, Jeffrey R. "Transition to adulthood." (1987). Read More