Women are Underrepresented in All Aspects of the Medical Profession

Source: www.learnvest.com

Statistically, women in the medical profession have a completely different experience than men in the same profession. On the basis of gender, women are get less pay and are underrepresented in specialties which pay more. The Center For Research On Gender in the Professions in “Medical Professions: The Status of Women and Men” illustrate how women are underrepresented and face disparities in all aspects of the medical field including education, medical practice and academic medicine.

As far as education goes, the percentage of medical degrees earned by women has increased significantly. In 1952, only 5% of medical degrees were earned by women, however, in 2011 this number had risen to 48%. This rise may be due to the increase in women’s rights in the past few decades, as well as increasing or more diverse attitudes towards women. In my opinion, it seems as time goes on society becomes more liberalized, which may contribute to people’s increased attitudes towards the rights of women over time. Similarly, more and more women continue to shy away from domestic work which also contributes to why so many women are now earning medical degrees and participating in other professions as well.

While the increased amount of women participating in the medical profession is beneficial to society in a multitude of ways, how women are treated in this profession does not reflect this. Based on statistics, women are plagued by a gender pay gap and segregation of specialties. Women are less likely to have ownership or part ownership of a practice, and are also less less likely in comparison to men to be surgeons. In 2004, 59% of male physicians owned at least part of a practice compared to only 41% of women. Furthermore, women have the highest representation in the pediatrics field at 55%, however this is one of the lowest paying fields of medicine. In relation to this, in 2005 women represented only “ 6% of (…)orthopedic, thoracic, urological and neurological surgeons” (Medical Professions). While there has been a rise of women in the medical profession over the past few decades, women have not yet reached true equality and representative equity in comparison to men. It is interesting to me how women end up in lower paying specialties and I would like to further investigate why this occurs.

Lastly, women are consistently underrepresented in academic medicine. In 2007, only 14 out of 124 medical school deans were women, Similarly, as the deans are picked by department chairs, only 10 women were medical school department chairs. Furthermore, the majority of medical school professors are men. This disparity of women at the academic level may be the most threatening to women in the medical profession. If more women were represented in academic medicine, more change could be brought to the minds of medical students in regards to their attitudes towards women in the medical field. A lack of female professors means that both men and women are lacking the female perspective in their medical studies which could be detrimental to how the medical profession progresses in regards to female equality.

Future Research: Why women end up in specialties that pay less. Or do the specialties just pay less because it is women dominated? How does childbearing affect a woman's medical career?

Positive Agenda of Human Rights on the Internet Infrastructure

SOURCE: https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTHTufdXTKBNjpuNtfSsO0DtxZBdTgnezkhGA6nKB5UWSi39BST

                           The internet presents a new challenge in thinking about the protection and promotion of human rights. It is a transformative communication technology that enables peer to peer generation and exchange of content, and an enhanced degree of social organisation. It has been used to great effect by human rights activists around the world but it has also exposed many to a greater degree of surveillance and control. It is striking that until 2011, the international human rights movement was almost silent on how human rights should apply online. The absence of any serious consideration of the internet by the traditional human rights bodies such as the UN led to many speculative ideas, that the internet required creating a new set of rights and even a new human rights system. Internet activists often stood apart from the mainstream human rights movement.

•  Commercial 
• Internet infrastructure owned and controlled by multiple non-state actors and at least in part, where feasible, by citizens themselves;
• Public-private solutions to infrastructure investment for less economically viable, remote and rural areas in order to ensure access to the poor and marginalized; 
• Non-state national domain name management; 
• Multi-stakeholder IP address management;
• Appropriate liberalisation of fixed line & mobile telephony markets; 
• Appropriate liberalisation of internet provider market;
• Adherence to Network Neutrality principles. 

• Policy-related 
• Promote international human rights law as the normative framework for any internet governance discussions;
• Support multi-stakeholder governance of key internet resources; 
• Ensure full democratic oversight over any communications surveillance; 
• Provide rule of law, due process guarantees and judicial oversight for any interventions on users communication and sharing of any information gathered as a result of such interventions; 
• Promote anti-monopoly regulation preventing of technological and economic concentration in communications devices and infrastructure, to ensure an absence of single points of control; 
• Foster regulatory approaches that foster affordability and access for the poorer members of communities;
• Support internet users in properly assessing, managing, mitigating and making informed decisions on communications risks; 
• Guaranteed citizens access to communication networks with providing personally identifiable information.

Art and Emotions

I can vividly remember the first time I experienced professional art. I was six years old skipping down the streets of Michigan Avenue, helping my dad pick out an anniversary present for my mom. We had just moved to our house in Clarendon Hills and he wanted to buy her a painting, to not only adorn our new house, but to represent their love and our strong family values. We walked into the Atlas Galleries, and my young, unexposed eyes became overwhelmed with wonder. My dad and I walked around for a bit until we came across this one piece by Markus Pierson. I remember a visceral sensation in the pit of my stomach. I felt love, hope, courage, dedication, and hard-work just looking at this painting. Me and my dad shared a knowing glance and he bought it without saying another word. This picture still hangs in our hallway today and I still feel warm and fuzzy every time I look at it. 

So, what caused me, a 6 year old child with no prior education or knowledge of art, to be so evoked when looking at this painting? A discussion at the International Conference on Neuroesthetics held at the Berkely Gallery of Art answered just this. According to American Art Critic Blake Gopnik, "when people are shown images they consider to be beautiful, certain bits of their brain go wild with delight." The same can be said when the brain is shown images that are ugly. In this instance, the brain evokes a different kind of emotion. Either way, we can thank our brains for the visceral sensation we feel when looking at artwork.

Source: http://imgs.inkfrog.com/

So, how do emotions link to the success of artists and the value of their work? Consider The Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci, one of the most famous paintings of all time. Neuroesthetics attending the International Conference of Art might argue that the mysterious expression depicted on the Mona Lisa heats up our emotional center. It is a natural human response to try and interpret why the Mona Lisa is smiling the way she is. It is this mystery and this sense of wonder evoked when looking at the painting that made it so famous. In my last blog, I discussed the value of the Mona Lisa in correlation to the fame and respect of the artist. However, studies show there are more factors playing a role in arts value, like emotion.

Future research: The difference between the value of sculptures and the value of paintings.

Student Athletes Affected by Injury

http://pixshark.com/injured-college-athlete.htm

Have you ever thought about what those athletes for your team are feeling when they are being called out for not playing? According to an article on ncaa.org, “For some student-athletes, the psychological response to injury can trigger or unmask serious mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, disordered eating, and substance use or abuse. This article basically says how young athletes brains handle injury, and how they do not just affect the body part injured but how it can have an effect on your overall well-being. I agree that this can happen from being an athlete myself. There is not a worse feeling than having your teammates go out and play without you in whatever sport it is that you are playing. For NCAA student athletes, it is even worse because of what else is at stake. If an athlete gets injured it can put their scholarship at stake which can definitely cause distress.

According to the same article as mentioned above, the emotional responses include, “sadness, isolation, irritation, lack of motivation, anger, frustration, changes in appetite, sleep disturbance, and disengagement.” All of these can be signs of mental illnesses because of injuries that not just affected your performance in the sport you love, but also could have taken away your free education and a chance at the next level. The big thing with these athletes is that they think that it is the end from there and nothing can get better, which again goes back to the emotional responses above. My main thing to athletes to say is that life does go on after you are done with whatever sport you are in, and you should be prepared when it does.

Future Research: How are professional athletes affected by injury?

Rejection Slips Are Not Always Bad

 

Source: http://static4.businessinsider.com

How do you feel when you or your work is rejected? Crushed? Devastated? Even though it might seem surprising, many of the most successful leaders we see nowadays had to endure the harsh consequences of failure in order to become what they are today. 

            As the article “23 Incredibly Successful People Who Failed At First” published in Business Insider website emphasizes, “rejection can feel devastating, but you shouldn't let it crush you. Some of the world's most successful people have failed — sometimes more than once.” Business Insider is a reliable source of an American business and technology news website launched in February 2009 and based in New York City. Also, Business Insider hosts industry conferences including IGNITION, which explores the emerging business models of digital media. In this brief essay, I argue that even though the majority of the people think that the most successful leaders received every single piece of fame without “doing anything”, in fact they had to go though a lot of obstacles and work really hard to be where they are today.

• To start with, looking back at the most famous historical figures, Thomas Edison's teachers told him he was "too stupid to learn anything." However, Edison did not give up and ended up holding more than 1,000 patents and “invented some world- changing device like the phonograph, practical electrical lamp, and a movie camera.” This example shows that even though someone is being treated unfairly, it does not mean that person will necessarily have an unsuccessful life or path of success. I strongly believe that whenever an individual feels like he or she is not being understood good enough and that the “figures” that are supposed to help him or her are not able to see the real talent, that individual should never give up and continue to move forward.

• Another example is the well- known television queen Oprah Winfrey who was fired from her first television job as an anchor in Baltimore, where she said she faced sexism and harassment. Nevertheless, Winfrey “rebounded and became the undisputed queen of television talk shows before amassing a media empire.” Her “worth” today is estimated to be around $2.9 billion, according to Forbes. The example of Oprah Winfrey shows that all of the fortune she has nowadays did not come “out of nowhere”. On the other hand, she was forced to endure very tough challenges that made her more equipped for all of the obstacles that she would meet in her future life. In my opinion, it is very important that all of the people, especially girls, should know their worth and try to show others that the person’s gender does not indicate what kind of success she will have as a leader. Nowadays, thousands of young girls and women are subject to sexual harrassments in their work places and it is quite obvious that all of those assaults should be eliminated in order to produce an environment for women to grow not only as individuals, but as leaders as well.

• To add, Soichiro Honda's unique vision “got him ostracized by the Japanese business community”. Earlier in his life, Honda was a mechanical genius who “idolized Edison and rebelled against the norm.” As he had a passion for aggressive individualism that was more suitable for the United States, later on he was alienated him from Japanese businessmen, who valued teamwork above all else. Even though he was rejected, Honda did not simply give up and instead “challenged the American automotive industry in the 1970s and led a Japanese automotive revolution.” I think the example of Soichiro Honda strongly shows that even when one is rejected because of his “heretic” ideas, there always needs to be an urge to move forward as no one knows what kind of fortune and success might be waiting just around the corner. As often happens in high school life, many students can be thought of as “stupid” or “too nerdy” when they present ideas that might seem to be contrary to the recognized standards. However, those ideas might turn out to be not so “idiotic” if the owner receives a lot of success as a consequence of being “weird”.

• The last, but as interesting as the others is the story of J.K. Rowling who was a “single mom living off welfare when she began writing the first "Harry Potter" novel.” As everyone knows, living off of welfare is particularly difficult, especially if the individual is a single mom. Many young women give up at this point and don’t seek anything better. Rowling, on the other hand, managed to cope with all the difficulties and move forward. As a result, she is now “internationally renowned for her seven-book Harry Potter series and, in U.S. currency, became the first billionaire author in 2004.” In my opinion, this situation perfectly shows that the billionaires we see today did not receive all the money with “doing nothing”. In fact, as can be clearly seen now, they started from zero and challenged themselves to become more creative and, ultimately, more successful.

All in all, the real life situations of a few of the world- known leaders prove the claim that the most successful leaders are those people that had to go through a lot to be able to move forward. They also emphasize that if any progress is to be achieved in the future, the people that want to become successful should never give up and, most importantly, think creatively and uniquely.

Questions that I will be trying to answer in the future research:

1. What are the factors that could influence the person and make him a better leader?
2. What methods do leaders use in order to be more productive, reach better results and, therefore, be more successful?
3. Does the country the person lives in influence the level of success he or she can have as a leader?
4. Does the age of the person influence the amount of success he or she will have as a leader?

An Unfair Advantage

http://crimeblog.dallasnews.com/files/2015/09/steroids.jpg

Throughout the article “Anabolic Steroids and Sports:Winning at any cost” written by the Department of Health of the state of New York, they talk about how the use of steroids affect the overall well being of athletes who use steroids.  Along with all of the effects of steroids it talks about why some athletes choose to take use performance enhancing drugs.  It’s not just professionals that take steroids too, more and more younger athletes are starting to use steroids.

Along with professional athletes trying to get an advantage on the game, people as young as high schoolers are using steroids to get ahead of the game.  According to fox news over five to twelve percent of high schoolers use steroids to get bigger.  These are just the reported case.  High schools are not required to test their students so many are using and not getting caught.

On a more professional level people are using steroids all the time.  In the same fox news article it states that at some point in time over 34% of semi pro baseball players have used steroids.  I can understand why people in the minors would use, however it is stupid because you are going to get caught and it is bad for your health.

https://www.health.ny.gov/publications/1210/

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/11/19/dangerous-trend-kids-and-teens-using-steroids/

It’s More About What You Do At School Than Where You Go

http://www.actionforhappiness.org

After reading the article how-to-measure-a-colleges value by New York Times columnist Frank Bruni, I completely agree with the concept that you only get as much as you put into your college experience.  The college you go to for the most part does not matter as much as the types of experiences you have while you are there.  This is true for not only your experience while at school but also the overall satisfaction with life after graduation.   This made me think, what was it that people are looking for from a higher education other than just money?

What matters or doesn’t matter when choosing and utilizing a institution of higher education. “But what do we know, in the end, about the relationship between a student’s college experience and his or her actual satisfaction with it down the road? And what do we know about college as a springboard: fulfillment?” (Bruni).   There is a joint project called the Gallup- Purdue index that has now served up to 60,000 college graduates of all ages. The assessment did not measure success in dollars but instead on well being.  The five areas of, their relationships, their physical health, their community, their economic situation and their sense of purpose define satisfaction. While there were some differences between all graduates, whether top 50 universities or top 50 liberal arts, the most notable results were related to what people did during their college experience.

The study says that these five factors help people succeed in life after they graduate.  If graduates did any of the fallowing during college, developed a relationship with a mentor; engaged in a semester or longer project; participated in a job/ internship that related to the field they were interested in; got very involved with campus organizations, and lastly, sort of “wild card” this is regarding the benefits of being a part of a diverse community, this one seems to be more about the persons perception of the value of the education than rather than overall life satisfaction. It appears that students in any institution, who did at least one of the four things, not only had a better college experience but also were more engaged and satisfied with their jobs.

This makes sense to me because; I would have to say that some of my favorite experiences in high school have been through doing a few of those four things. Whether it is really connecting with a teacher and enjoying a class; or involving myself in a sport, these interactions with people have created the memories that in many ways, in my mind will define Hinsdale Central. This is a good reminder for myself and anyone else who is heading to college in fall.  Make the best of the time you have at the place you are at.