Government and Politics - We Need Election Reform in America Essay

"Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a people who mean to be their own governors, must arm themselves with the power knowledge gives. A popular government without popular information or the means of acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy or perhaps both." -- James Madison ("Focus" 1) The United States has strived to be a true democracy, a place in which the citizens are free to govern themselves, since its inception. For a democracy to work, the citizens must remain knowledgeable and elections must remain unbiased. Our current system of electing presidents fails in both of these regards: citizens are only given two choices that stand any chance of winning and their decisions between those two candidates are influenced not by knowledge, but instead by what they have seen on thirty second television commercials. In order to break up the complete political monopoly the Democrat and Republican Parties have on the United States, we as Americans need to reform our presidential elections so that third party and independent candidates have a legitimate chance of holding offices and so that citizens are able to vote on the candidates based on their political beliefs rather than on their ability to fundraise and advertise. Similar reforms should be made to the elections fo r other offices as well at the federal, state and local levels. The ideas and arguments presented in this paper can be applied to American elections in general although, because of the small scope of this paper, they only speak of the presidential elections. A candidate cannot legitimately compete in modern American elections without being able to finance a huge television advertising campaign. Commercials have become an integral part of our... ...Democrats and Republicans hold in this country would allow candidates with fresh ideas and new ways of dealing with old problems to take office. Through these new representatives, our government will become healthier and better able to adapt to today's changing political environment. Sources Cited Basham, Patrick. "The Illiberal Reality of European-Style Campaign Reform." http://www.cato.org/dailys/03-13-02.html. Donnis, Ian. "In Whose Interest?" http://www.bostonphoenix.com/boston/news_features/other_stories/multi-page/documents/02552297.htm. Targonski, Rosalie. http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/archive/elect00/primer.htm. "Focus - Freedom of Press and Information." http://usembassy.state.gov/islamabad/wwwhircalert0702.html Associated Press. http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/e1598.htm. CNN. http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2000/results/.

An Analysis of the Social Gradient of Health in Relation Essay

An Analysis of the Social Gradient of Health in Relation to the Australian Indigenous population â€Å"The demonstration of a social gradient of health predicts that reducing inequality itself has health benefits for all, not simply for the impoverished or deprived minorities within populations. † (Devitt, Hall & Tsey 2001) The above quote from Devitt, Hall and Tsey’s paper is a relatively well grounded and well researched statement which draws on contemporary theoretical sociological concepts to support the assertion that reducing inequality is the key to improving health for all. However the assertion that the demonstration of a social gradient of health predicts that a reduction in inequality will lead to health benefits for all is a rather broad statement and requires closer examination. The intention of this essay is to examine the social gradient of health, whose existence has been well established by the Whitehall Studies (Marmot 1991), and, by focusing on those groups at the lower end of the social gradient, determine whether initiatives to address inequalities between social classes will lead to health benefits for those classes at the lower end of the social scale. The effectiveness of past initiatives to address these social and health inequalities will be examined and recommendations made as to how these initiatives might be more effective. The social gradient described by Marmot and others is interrelated with a variety of environmental, sociopolitical and socioeconomic factors which have been identified as key determinants of health. These determinants interact with each other at a very complex level to impact directly and indirectly on the health status of individuals and groups at all levels of society; â€Å"Poor social and economic circumstances affect health throughout life. People further down the social ladder usually run at least twice the risk of serious illness and premature death of those near the top. Between the top and bottom health standards show a continual social gradient. † (Wilkinson & Marmot 1998) In Australian society it is readily apparent that the lower social classes are at greater disadvantage than those in the upper echelons of society; this has been discussed at length in several separate papers on the social gradient of health and its effects on disadvantaged Australian groups (Devitt, Hall & Tsey 2001, Robinson 2002, Caldwell & Caldwell 1995). Within the context of the social gradient of health it can be inferred that Indigenous groups, for example, are particularly susceptible to ill health and poor health outcomes as they suffer inordinately from the negative effects of the key determinants of health. A simple example of this is the inequality in distribution of economic resources: â€Å"Average Indigenous household income is 38% less than that of non-Indigenous households. † (AHREOC 2004). The stress and anxiety caused by insufficient economic resources leads to increased risk of depression, hypertension and heart disease (Brunner 1997 cited in Henry 2001). Higher social status and greater access to economic resources is concomitant with a reduction in stress and anxiety levels, as individuals in these groups have more control over economic pressures which create this stress. This simple comparison proves that the social gradient of health accurately reflects how socioeconomic determinants affect the health of specific social classes at the physiological level. An extension of the research into the social gradient and the determinants of health is the examination of the pathways through which specific social groups experience and respond to these determinants. These ‘psychosocial pathways’ incorporate psychological, behavioural and environmental constraints and are closely linked to the determinants of health; â€Å"Many of the socio-economic determinants of health have their effects through psychosocial pathways. † (Wilkinson 2001 cited in Robinson 2002). These pathways have been demonstrated by Henry (2001) in the conceptual model of resource influences (Appendix A), a model which illustrates the interaction between the constraints mentioned above and their impact on health outcomes. Henry states that a central differentiator between classes is the amount of control an individual feels they have over their environment. Whereas an individual from a lower class group holds a limited sense of control over their well being and consequently adopts a fatalistic approach to health, those in higher classes with a stronger sense of control over their health are more likely to take proactive steps in ensuring their future wellbeing. This means that both individuals will cope differently with the same health problem. This is partly as a result of socioeconomic or environmental determinants relative to their situation, but it is also a result of behavioural/physical constraints and, most importantly, the modes of thought employed in rationalising their situation and actions. In essence these psychosocial pathways occupy an intermediate role between the social determinants of health and class related health behaviours.

The Big Five Personality Test - 1161 Words

Personality Project I have taken the big five personality test before in my high school psychology class, so I was not surprised by any of my results. But I don’t mind taking it again because people change a lot over two years, especially adolescents. I have also taken other personality tests on my free time because I think it is fun finding out more about myself. I have taken similar tests such as the sixteen personalities test and political spectrum tests, but I believe the big five test is the most accurate way to measure personality. My highest percentile traint is for openness at 95%. I would agree with the results because the adjectives the survey uses to describe open personalities, also describe well. For example it says that†¦show more content†¦Next is my extraversion score is also 70%. I guess this one makes sense because I like to talk to and get to know my coworkers as much as I can when their is nothing else for us to do. Besides my family members, I don ’t really meet up or spend much time outside of work or school with people. I genuinely enjoy work outings and family reunions but outside of that I go home and keep to myself when I am not busy. I lean towards being extraverted because I like meeting new people and don’t mind being the center of attention. I think these habits have something to do with being an only child with divorced parents. For example a few years ago when I traveled abroad in Germany and stayed with my host family of two parents and four children, but there were minor misunderstandings. One day I came home after school, went into my room and played on my phone for a couple of hours until diner. The next day the host mother said they thought I was upset about something the day before and was intentionally isolating myself. I apologised, then explained that is what I do most days back home when I would get home from school and my mom or dad was at work. The benefit of being extraverted is I get to know and generally get along with my coworkers and don’t mind public speaking. The down side is being found annoying or too talkative. My agreeableness score is 67.5%. It is a higher score than average, but I would just attribute it to being Minnesota nice. I don’t like to be rude toShow MoreRelatedThe Big Five Personality Test Essay916 Words   |  4 PagesThe Big Five personality test was created in the 1970 s by two independent research teams. One team with Paul Costa and Robert McCrae, and the other with Warren and Lewis Goldberg. The two teams had different methods that they tested but in the end they both ended up with the same results. The results were that no matter what culture, race, or language people have their personality fits into five dimensions of personality. 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