work-and-health

Upon reading the assigned readings for this week:

• Provide an overview of the three readings; how are they interrelated and which major themes do they share?
• Discuss how the conflict perspective may help explain why people are experiencing ‘burn-out’. Be sure you are defining and addressing the main tenants of the perspective, and how they relate to the readings.
  • Incorporate the following terms to help support your discussion: capitalism, stigmatization of illness, and underinsured
• Finally, suggest some recommendations from the readings for how to improve health care by comparing the U.S. models and models elsewhere.
• Examples should be used from assigned readings throughout the assignment. Use in-text citations for the examples from the textbook and supplemental reading to support your discussion.
  • You will need to format citations per ASA guidelines for full credit.
  • Assignment will need to be a minimum/maximum of 3-4 pgs
  • PDF format
  • 12 point, Times-New Roman font
    • NOTE: Less than three full pages will not be graded.

Rubric

Assignment 3 grading rubric

Griffiths, Heather, Nathan Keirns, Eric Strayer, Susan Cody-Rydzewski, Gail Scaramuzzo, Tommy Sadler, Sally Vyain, Jeff Bry, and Faye Jones. 2015. Introduction to Sociology 4th ed. Retrieved May 23, 2018 (https://openstax.org/details/books/introduction-sociology-2e).

NOTE: The textbook is FREE to download through the above link in the reference. It is also available to purchase or rent at the Ohlone Bookstore on campus.

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/05/…

Objectives

• Understand the health benefits and the problems associated with medicalization. Be able to explain what the sick role is and note its connection with the functionalist perspective.
• Explore concerns with the social determinants of health, the relationship of social inequality to health and medicine.
• Determine how social equality directly relates to economic systems, income and wealth and health.

Tasks

• Read: Ch. 18: “Work and the Economy”; Ch. 19: “Health and Medicine”
  • NPR “WHO Redefines Burnout as a ‘Syndrome’ Linked to Chronic Stress at Work” (Canvas)

• Assignment 3: Work and Health (Due 11/23)
• Quiz 4: Material covered in Week 5 (Due 11/23)

Hi Class,

The readings that you will want to investigate are Chapters 18 and 19, which are covering the topics of the work and the economy, and health and medicine. By now you have a good grasp on the main sociological perspectives of conflict, functionalism, and symbolic interaction. As you can expect, applying these will help you understand this week’s assignment.

The supplemental reading, which is a news coverage story by National Public Radio (NPR), takes a close look at how the topic of burn-out among workers is a real thing with real health consequences. The link is provided for you in the module this week, and you’ll notice once you get to the reading there is an option for listening to the broadcast, or reading it. You may also follow the transcript of the broadcast by clicking on “transcript” in the upper left-hand corner of the NPR website.

Assignment 3: Work and Health

Assignment 3 asks you to look at the convergence of health and work upon reading the material for this week. In addition to the supplemental reading, what you will want to take away from the chapter on health is how we are expected to function in society when faced with health issues. Playing the sick role, for example, is something that we all play from time to time. In short, we are able to enter into this role, just as we enter into the various roles we play every day: student, brother, sister, mother, father, employee, etc.

Unlike these other roles, the sick role requires that we “get well”. Now, that’s easier said than done when we have a chronic illness, such as cancer, diabetes, depression, and other illnesses that keep us from getting well when society demands that we successfully perform our other roles. Whereas, an acute illness, such as the common cold, which can impact our lives, too, but are more easily overcome.

It will be necessary for you to understand how issues related to poverty, race/ethnicity, gender, age, and more makes it difficult for us to return to these roles, regardless of the illness and avoid sick roles in general. What I mean by this, is that for those in poverty, for example, will not have the resources, such as health insurance, to enable them to avoid prolonged sickness; regular check-ups are not always possible due to time, money, knowledge how to care for ourselves, and more. As a result, you’ll want to note how illness differs for various groups in society.

Economy and Stratification

Assignment 3 will also ask you to discuss the interrelationships between Work and the Economy (Ch. 18), and health. It will be your task to understand different forms of existing economic conditions, such as poverty, that persist around the world today. By utilizing your sociological imagination, you will find this to be an easier task. This process of using your sociological imagination will help you make critical connections to our economy and issues of social equality, income, and health by analyzing historical factors, such as institutional practices, that made life difficult for many. As you can imagine there are issues of race, gender, and more that are determining factors in income and general wealth distribution, and therefore where and how we as individuals and our groups are socially stratified, ranked by class, race, ethnicity, gender, and more in relation to one another.

Again, to use our sociological imagination, we are urged to look into our history books, and experiences to determine the foundations of inequality, think conflict perspective in the establishment of power. Power is often wielded by those who have access to money, and the means of production, as Marx and Hegel discuss in their writings, between the bourgeoisie and proletariat classes. Similarly, you will want to know how the functionalist may explain how our social roles, e.g., jobs are divided among us, and enable one to have more or less power, prestige, and social mobility, and poor/good health in general. Remember Assignment 3 is due Saturday 11/23. Please start early in order not to miss the deadline.

Citing

Please note, when you are completing the assignment you will need to cite examples from the textbook using the ASA style guide in order to gain full points. I know this can be frustrating to put the comma in the right place, etc., but the reason I require this is because in academic work you need to demonstrate to the reader that your thoughts are supported by individuals who have researched and written about the topic at hand before. In this sense, we are confirming their research and hopefully adding to it with our own insight. Please let me know if you have any questions as you review the guidelines for the forum.

Quiz 4

You’ll also want to prepare for Quiz 4, which covers material from Week 5. Take note the quiz is also due 11/23 by midnight (11:59 PM). You are able to use your textbook and notes regarding course readings, but this is not a group quiz. Again, let me know if you have any questions.

Good luck!