Context Pieces Final

Telling Stories About Rosa Parks, Schudson

-"Standard Rosa Parks Story": omits the fact that Rosa Parks wasn't seated in a white's only section but was in the black section of the bus; also omits the fact that she was a civil rights activist chosen to carry out this act -Herbert Kohl: champions the "Revised Story", believes not talking about Parks' activist involvement reduces her organized struggled for freedom to a personal act of frustration -many novels overlook Parks' activist role -They thereby foster a sense that history is a matter of individual motivation, and individual fault or achievement, and not of more complicated social processes; they do not explicitly deny that Rosa Parks was a political activist but some do by reducing her to a "quiet churchgoing woman" -these types of "Standard Stories" restore the importance of community and restores social action by focusing on the individual (Rosa Parks) -this cannot be explained by the belief that American culture is highly individualistic because in many ways American culture is not individualistic -Francesca Polletta: studied the culture of social movements and showed that activists so often describe the action as spontaneous, when it was actually planned, thereby characterizing themselves swept up by forces over which they have no control; this is exactly what Rosa Parks did -It was vital for activists to appear moderate, non-threatening, and un-premeditated when their actions exposed them to terrorist rage, violence, and murder. -also did this because they wanted to make sense of the unfamiliar -participants who tell their stories are seeking not only to explain their own behavior to themselves, but they are also trying to present themselves to specific audiences in specific interactional situations -telling a story is a social interaction; the telling of a story implies personal egotism and is likely to make most speakers uncomfortable -people hide their public spirited selves because abiding by a "political etiquette" shows humility -To emphasize one's own "public spirit" implies knowing what other people should do, possessing some moral insight that others do not have. This is implicitly undemocratic, "high horse," and presumptuous -why "Standard Rosa Parks Story" became popular: effort to deflect criticism that the movement was driven by outsider agitators, and not by people resisting injustice they themselves have experienced; it was an attempt to account for behavior participants themselves did not fully understand; it conformed to the norm of political etiquette -important to use the "Revised Story" to show children that people like Rosa Parks weren't superhumans, they were ordinary people

Public Opinion and Health Care, Rebecca Utz

-after he was elected President, Obama wanted to reform the health care system; wanted more security, more cost effective health care, and wanted everyone to have health care; this was easier said than done, as the Senate and House of Representatives debated for a long time before narrowly passing a comprehensive health care bill -Cooperative Congressional Election Study (CCES): 2008, provides snapshot of public opinions related to the quality and affordability of the current health care system, the need for reform, and the support of universal health care options; provide useful alternative to volatile recent poling and are immune to the polarized tone of current debates -during the time of the election (2008) , an overwhelming majority of Americans were confident in the quality of care they were receiving but only about half were confident they could afford it; as a result an overwhelming majority believed the US health care system was in need of reform -since 2008, practical realities of health care reform have become clearer and public opposition to reform has increased -the CCES shows that 90% of democrats were in support of universal healthcare while only 22% of republicans were in support -CCES shows that democrats and republicans differed dramatically on whether the government should provide or regulate healthcare: 37% d vs. 12% r; 8% of d and 42% of r believed no change was needed -democrats are fighting to increase healthcare coverage -older individuals were more than four times likely than young adults to support no change in the healthcare system because they had received government sponsor healthcare through Medicare; they were also more optimistic that healthcare would improve in the next five years and were less likely to support universal healthcare; they were probably opposed to change because they didn't want to lose their current benefits -once AARP endorsed the healthcare reforms, which was good for insurance companies and lobbyists who wanted senior's attitudes to be more positive -individual's without healthcare were more than twice as likely to believe that the healthcare system needed to be completely rebuilt compared to those with private or public insurance; they were also more in favor of universal healthcare coverage -those that were publicly or privately insured were more confident they would receive quality healthcare if they became ill -those without health insurance were less likely to express confidence in their ability to afford healthcare -suggest that if the American health care system is indeed reformed in a way that decreases the number of uninsured, then access to the health care system may increase, and that access alone might increase public confidence and trust in the system. -these divides still remain today -The CCES data also foreshadowed the intense divides in public opinion and how they're determined by whether one already has access to health coverage.

Mounting Opposition to Vivisection, Goodman Borch and Cherry

-animal advocacy groups claim the biological, emotional, and cognitive similarities between humans and other animals make the practice of using animals in experiments unethical -opponents argue that 9 out of 10 drugs that are safe and effective in animals fail in human clinical trials, suggesting that animal outcomes do not reliably predict outcomes in humans -proponents argue that the benefits to human health justify the harm caused to animals and that existing laws and guidelines regulate the process -National Opinion Research Center: in 1948 84% of the public supported vivisection while 8% opposed it; today between 40 and 60% support it, with opposition continuing to increase -Gallup "Values and Beliefs Survey: advantageous over other surveys because it is based on a representative sample of the general public, consists mainly of questions on non-animal issues, and uses the same questions every year; according to this poll overall opposition has rose form 33% to 43%; in 2011 52% of women vs. 33% of men opposed, which may be attributed to women's greater care and concern for animals; teens had the largest increase, 25%; seniors were the only group without statistical significance; if looking at education levels, as people's level of education rose, so did their support for the practice; this may reflect the fact that those with more formal education may be prone to rationalize and support animal testing because of the information they have been exposed to; liberals have shown the greatest opposition, possibly because it is an issue framed within the powerful vs weak paradigm -increased opposition might be because of animal protection groups' effective outreach to the public through the internet -CraigConnects: found that animal protection issues are the most visible and discussed of all major nonprofit causes on Facebook and Twitter -Research from animal industry groups shows that the public now also trusts animal advocacy groups like PETA and the Humane Society of the United States more than they trust the indus- try on issues of animal welfare, and that negative media coverage of animal industries not only influences attitudes, but it affects consumer behavior. -The animal protection movement views the increasing opposition to animal testing as a clear sign of progress, while stakeholders who support animal testing see them as threats to the future of the practice. -regardless, it is clear that support for animal testing is dwindling

Park(ing) Day, Coombs

-during "Park(ing) Day", public spaces are restructured to draw attention to specific local issues and point out aspects of urban life that are often overlooked; these are easy to embrace yet still carry messages -it was launched in San Fran to draw attention to the lack of green space in the downtown area of San Fran -PD is an urban intervention that collapses the boundaries between art and life; helps raise awareness about local issues while seeking to help citizens imagine different ways of negotiating or confronting these issues through an intersection of urban design and community activism -originally was used to draw attention to the lack of green space but now facilitates public participation and provides a means for people to interact -urban interventions also create a localized spectacle and enlist an actively participating local public that "make" the event rather than serving as passive consumers of product offered by the corporate entertainment industries -when an event is sanctioned by local governing bodies, the local businesses are more likely to offer support and get involved -PD has had success in raising awareness about the use of public space, causing a shift in policy that may be related to that awareness -PD demonstrates that urban space can have a plethora of functions and is more flexible and fluid that perceived -PD has some similarities to Occupy Wall Street in that both are highly visible attempts to reclaim public space for social and political impact; the short term tactics used by both groups raise visibility and encourage difficult discussions in the hope of long term shifts in policy, accountability, and use of public space; both use public space to reflect a dissatisfaction with how governments operate

Consumers with a Conscience, Kimeldorf

-economists study "utilities" of consumers, the thing that we seek to maximize by consuming the optimum combination of high-quality, low-price goods and services -the history of consumer boycotts in America as the Boston Tea Party show how ethics influence economic choices -consumerism is a "weapon of the weak" and boycotts have turned into "buycotts", which urges consumers to increase their support for exemplary firms -the buycott strategy arose with the rise of the National Consumers League, which was dedicated to improving the conditions of women and children -the NCL urged middle-class Americans to resist the temptation of low-priced goods because they were the products of sweatshop labor -are consumers morally conscientious of what they are buying to the point that they are willing to pay extra to ensure that horrible working conditions don't happen? -survey report: majority of respondents reported they would pay more for goods not produced by sweatshop labor; this has been critiqued for its reliability because what respondents report often differs from what they actually believe or practice (social desirability bias) -used experimentation: looked at store site which caters to blue-collar folks, middle Americans who would spend cautiously. Compared number of people who bought expensive, good working condition (GWC) socks and inexpensive regular socks that were slightly different and found that number declined gradually as price increased, but at highest price the number was still 30% -need to look deeper, can't just call them conscientious customers; some may not have noticed the GWC label or may not have known what it meant; purchasing from the GWC rack would not make one a conscientious customer -to get around this, they conducted in-depth interviews; did not vary the price of the socks because wanted to see what customers felt about GWC, not about the price -criteria for conscientious consumption: consumer had notice GWC label and understood its meaning; only 31% met the criteria; of the 31%, 57% purchased the more expensive socks; - therefore, choices must have been based on price alone -Once set aside shoppers who did not meet the criteria for conscientious consumption, the remaining customers we interviewed showed a preference for sweat-free products that was much closer to the level reported in national surveys. -a lot of consumers who lack knowledge of sweatshop labor conditions are not accustomed to looking at GWC type labels when the shop so it is obvious they probably would not meet the conscientious consumer criteria; in order to change this, info on sweatshops must be made public -our results will provide the first behavioral confirmation for the national survey data that shows majorities of Americans willing to pay more for apparel made under good working conditions. Such support for sweat-free goods suggests that conscientious consumers could become a powerful force for improving pay and workers' rights in the apparel sector -in order for this to happen, information must be made public -producers who are already conscious need to convince other firms that any revenue lost due to falling demand from consumers who see price as the decisive factor can be offset by increased sales to the sizable and largely untapped market of conscientious consumers who are willing to pay more for sweat-free products

The Problem with Fair Trade Coffee, Cole and Brown

-fair trade certification is designed to provide economic premiums for social and environmental investments which are important for farmers who have historically received inadequate compensation for their crops -members of the global fair trade movement have become angry with Fair Trade USA because it now recognizes not just small businesses but large plantations as well, indicating that it has become profit driven -in-depth interviews -European and American imports of textiles and handcrafts from war-torn and poverty-stricken communities around the world provided the foundation for today's fair trade system; this changed in the 80s when coffee was included in the fair trade model -growth of fair trade coffee markets has been beneficial to many small farmers around the world -this changed in 2012 when large scale plantations were included by Fair Trade USA, claiming that including more types of farms would increase the number of people served by it; they severed ties with Fair Trade International, who felt it was a betrayal of the core values of fair trade -3 reasons for change in Fair Trade USA's policy: (1) reduces inconsistencies in the certification process (2) greatly increases consumer awareness about fair trade initiatives, further increasing the market for fair trade products (3) greater sales of fair trade products will help educate consumers about the plight of producers around the world -According to Fair Trade USA, laborers around the world would see improved wages and working conditions that currently only reach those farmers already fortunate enough to be landholders and cooperative member; so local farmers aren't actually getting any benefits -flaws in "fair trade for all": (1) supply for fair trade coffee currently outpaces demand; as a result many farmers work hard to meet fair trade certification but sell their coffee at the lower prices set on the commodities market (2) the Fair Trade for All campaign mistakenly assumes that plantations will provide the same health, safety, and economic benefits for farmers as do cooperatives, which is not the case -plantations have also been found to use intimidation tactics against worker organization and collective bargaining; by including them Fair Trade USA betrays the founding values of fair trade. -small producer organizations will be competing under unequal conditions with big plantations and exporters; Because of the resources, technologies, and the economies of scale, the big plantations have lower costs in comparison to small producers -the biggest problem with fair trade USA is that farmers feel betrayed because they were not included in the decision-making process at Fair Trade USA -When farmers have little voice within a system of trade that is supposed to provide them with social, economic, and environmental benefits, they become disillusioned. The policies meant to address their concerns and needs do not reflect their concerns and needs -critics claim that an outside organization determining what is "fair" is a brand of eco-colonialism -today the consumer cannot know for certain whether that coffee came from a small producer or from a large plantation controlled by a wealthy landowner -the problem is that meanings of labels change dramatically as the certification evolves

C-Section Epidemic, Theresa Morris

-in-depth interviews -why has the performance of c-section births increased in the US? -illustrates the context of medical routines and practices that shape the decisions of pregnant women and their physicians and lead to a high rate of C-sections -increased economic pressures on hospitals, as well as hospital administrators' and maternity clinicians' fear of lawsuits, are the main drivers of the C-section rate. -malpractice insurance cycles are characterized by hard cycles, a shortage of malpractice insurance policies and high malpractice insurance premiums -changes in Medicaid compensation spurred corporatization of hospitals which decreased physician autonomy -this structural change in addition to malpractice insurance cycles have led hospital administrators and maternity clinicians to search for an expedient mode of birth that will also protect them from lawsuits, aka C-sections -negative birth outcomes are inevitable yet many maternity clinicians are held accountable regardless of whether they caused the outcome; obstetrics is a high-risk speciality in terms of malpractice allegations; this heightens attention to liability in the obstetrics field, which was a concern that was prevalent among the maternity clinicians that were interviewed -Two types of C-sections are reflected in the epidemic rate—the increase in primary or first C-sections and the increase in repeat C-sections. -many physicians will perform a c-section because they want better identification of problems (i.e. fetal heartbeat) but there is no evidence that these two things are correlated or that these problems improve after the c-section -fetal heart beat: the monitoring of fetal heartbeats has gone up in recent years yet 99.8% of these readings are inaccurate; because irregularities misleadingly show up a majority of the time, doctors are quick to intervene and perform a c-section, even if the fetus is not actually compromised -Women's labors are monitored continuously not because fetal outcomes are improved, but because the strip of paper (or electronic record) produced from the monitor documents the fetal heart rate throughout the labor and can be used as evidence in court cases if there is a negative outcome. -inducing women rather than allowing them to go into labor naturally, contribute to more C-sections, especially among first time mothers; women who's labors are induced are twice as likely to have a c-section as women who go into labor spontaneously; physicians sometimes induce so that clinicians can avoid being sued if a bad outcome occurs in women who deliver past their due dates -physicians also induce or perform a c-section for "big" babies (over 9 lbs 15 oz) even though there is no scientific evidence of improved outcome over a vaginal delivery and professional guidelines discourage this practice. -women with twin and breach pregnancies (where babies are bottom down) are routinely scheduled for C-sections; interviewees said these are done to prevent blame for bad outcomes in vaginal deliveries even though evidence suggests that vaginal birth leads to equally good outcomes as C-sections in these situations -an increase in repeat C-sections contributes to the epidemic rates as well; women who have had a c-section are 91% likely to have another c-section even though they can still have a vaginal birth; while there is a risk of uterine rupture, it is extremely rare but physicians know that if it happens, they will be sued -organizational influence also increases the c-section epidemic; the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends that obstetricians, anesthesiology staff and operating rooms be immediately available in hospitals that offer VBAC opportunities; these requirements do not improve VBAC outcomes significantly and many hospitals face the challenge of meeting these recommendations so they opt for c-sections instead -malpractice insurers also may define VBACS as non-covered events meaning that if an obstetrician oversees a VBAC attempt, the malpractice insurance company will not cover a malpractice suit resulting from that birth -medical care is not linked to medical science but, instead, is influenced by organizational recommendations or requirements outside the control of physicians and hospital administrators. -The federal government should change the system of addressing malpractice to a no-fault system. In such a system, families of babies born with injuries would be compensated regardless of whether the injury was caused by medical negligence. -federal policy should prohibit malpractice and reinsurance companies from excluding established medical procedures, such as VBACs and vaginal twin and breech deliveries, from their range of coverage, and hospitals and obstetrical guidelines should refrain from banning these deliveries -use of continuous electronic fetal monitoring on low-risk women should be abandoned -learn more about how economic and organizational pressures and guidelines may shape labor and birth practices in ways that contribute to patterns such as epidemic C-section rates.

India's Reproductive Assembly Line, Sharmila Rudrappa

-in-depth interviews -surrogates in India can produce babies for straight and gay couples all around the world for a fraction of the cost it is in the US -Bangalore's garment production assembly line is a channel for the reproductive assembly line -Indirani and other women like her in Bangalore see surrogacy as more meaningful work than factory work because of its life-affirming character, however exploitative it is -once women have had children they are deemed unproductive workers for garment factories; the reproductive industry offers her an escape from the low wages of the garment factory and the possibility of extracting greater value from her body once she has been deemed unproductive to the garment factory work -the popular understanding is that women who are in debt opt to become surrogate mothers but the women in this study, while they were in debt, were not among the poorest in Bangalore; many were part of multiple income households and tended to be garment workers who earn more than the average working woman in the city -garment workers are often the choice for the job because of unsteady factory work and low wages caused by an unsteady economy and state government -garment workers in Bangalore are unpaid, overworked, work at an inhumanely fast pace, have no breaks, frequently suffer from stress induced maladies, and sexual abuse and harassment. -Indirani worked at the garment factory, quit because of pregnancy, and then went back to work but sometimes had to stop when she was sick or taking care of a sick family member -when Indirani was healthy, she was a valuable worker for the firm but during her pregnancies and illnesses or when she had to attend to her family she lost her value as a worker to the form -Melissa Wright: Indirani could be described as a "disposable worker"; over her working life, Indirani has shifted from valuable to undesirable -Indirani's first priority was getting out of poverty so any health effects of hyperovulation weren't prioritized by her -Indirani did not find surrogacy to be degrading because she earned more than she did as a garment worker and found the process much more enjoyable; surrogacy offered her liberation from from the "second shift" at home and the luxury of being served by others -felt closer to her surrogacy sisters than friends and family because they shared a connection; they lost a baby but gained friendship through sisterhood -the surveillance cameras of the COTW did not bother Indirani or the other women which was puzzling at first but then the researcher realized that these women had been under surveillance their entire lives; this surveillance was designed to make sure women were not having sex with their husbands who visited the facility, while surveillance in the garment factories was meant to increase efficiency by curtailing conversation or "wasting" of time. The COTW surveillance seemd benign compared to that -after the birth of the baby, Indirani made $4000 while the COTW charged the couples $7000 and all of her money went to her cousin whom she owed money; still, knowing her debts were paid off gave her peace of mind -while Indirani feels no attachment to the twins she gave up other women had a difficult time giving up their babies -almost all the women said they derived more meaning from surrogacy than they did working in the factory; in the factory they were deemed worthless and disposable while in Bangalore's reproduction industry they could be highly productive and creative workers -Indirani felt that when working in the garment factory she made something disposable but by making a baby she was making something in-disposable, a human being; and while the people who wore the garments probably never thought of her the intended parents of her twins would forever remember her -these surrogacy mothers did not think that their line of work was non-exploitative; it was just a better option than working in a garment factory and it awarded them more benefits -in the garment factory and at home, their sexual discipline was questioned but at the surrogate agency they were abstinent from sex, because babies were life-affirming in ways garments are not, which allowed these women to assert their moral growth -Indirani believed that through surrogacy she had built a nuclear family unit and awarded happiness to a woman who could not bear children of her own, while at the same time providing for her family

The Ties that Bind are Fraying, McPherson

-people have less confidants than they did in the 80s -the closer and stronger tie we have with someone, the more support they offer us. They influence us by indirectly shaping the people we become -Tocqueville: American's ties to individuals in communities enhance our democratic institutions -It is difficult to measure connections between people because you have to figure out which type of relationship to measure -GSS: asked about people with whom the individual "discusses important matters"; people tended to answer family members -"weak ties": friends on social media; we know more about them than people we talk to everyday but everyone has access to that -the GSS network question about discussing important matters leads people to tell us about a close set of confidants who make up an important interpersonal environment for the transmission of information, influence, and support -"important measures" question does not accurately measure what people talk about in their relationships because "important" varies from respondent to respondent based on age and what we talk about with different people. -in comparing GSS data from 1985 vs. 2004, there was a a large drop in size of core discussion networks (discussion partners); most respondents report they only discuss important matters with one other person or none at all, which is described as "inadequate social support" -the most common number of people an individual has to talk to is zero -Americans are discussing important matters with family rather than friends or neighbors -most striking drop was that the number of individuals who talk to at least one family member decreased, which is significant because ties outside the family are most likely to connect the respondents to people from different parts of society -changes in the diversity of networks mirror changes in demographics of the population: diversity in age and education have decreased in the general population while racial diversity has increased -highly educated people have more confidants while age isn't strongly related to the number of confidants an individual has -men and women have become more like best friends and are each other's confidants -blacks and non-whites have smaller network of confidants than whites -younger, married, highly educated people are less likely to be socially isolated while blacks are more likely than whites to be socially isolated -changes in number of confidants have occurred because families with children face time constraints and internet use -it's not a matter of increasing isolation just a shift in the form and type of connection -people who are disadvantaged in some way are less likely to smaller networks of close ties -respondents who responded that they had no close ties were generally less healthy

Trust in Decline, Paxton

-people have lost trust in individuals but not in institutions -our decision to trust people is based on how trustworthy they are and what we know about them that we could use against them if they were untrustworthy -"general trust": belief in the benevolence of human nature in general -with a lot of institutions we have no choice but to trust them -more trust is better: it reduces the cost of business by replacing costly legal negotiations. It constrains immoral behavior and promotes the feeling of goodwill between individuals -Chicago: neighborhoods where residents trust one another have less violence than those without trust -trust benefits the economy; countries whose citizens trust each other experience greater economic growth -GSS: out of 3 questions about trust, only one uses the word "trust"; a concern of these questions is whether survey respondent's trust has actually changed over time or whether its just the nature of the question and how they're interpreting it has changed; found that American's interpretation has not changed -experimentation shows that Americans are generally trusting people -excessive trust can be bad because the individual would get taken advantage of buy excessive distrust can be bad too -Bjorn Lomborg: communities benefit when a set of trusting individuals is protected by less trusting individuals. The trusters help the community succeed, while the less trusting individuals prevent tricksters from entering the community and wreaking havoc. -GSS and National Election Survey: America's trust in individuals has generally been declining -decline in trust could be due to life-cycle, generational, or historical effects -Bowling Alone, Robert Putnam: declining trust in individuals is due to generational replacement; the trusting generation of the Great Depression and WWII is dying now and being replaced by a generation that is significantly less trusting -disadvantages increase vulnerability, making it less likely an individual will trust someone (poor people and racial minorities are less trusting) -people with education express more trust -people who are trusting tend to belong to more voluntary organizations -people trust neighbors before strangers -meeting with others in a group helps create trust among the members of that group -"connected associations": those whose members belong to other groups as well: for example, a member of a women's book club may also belong to her church choir. Members of connected associations translate in group trust into abstract trust -"isolated associations": few connections outside their group ex) militias and ethnic separatists; isolated associations prevent people from learning about other different kinds of people -rise of television could also explain the decline in trust -Pearl Harbor created a general sense of solidarity and common enterprise, similar to 9/11. This may have had a huge effect on the increase of trust -America's trust in institutions declines during scandals but slowly rebounds; these are less general decline and more just negative response to scandal -trust in some institutions has benefited from historic events; ex) Gulf War and Afghanistan War produced "rally around the flag" spikes of confidence -scandals personalize institutions and make it clear they are made up of people -it would take a large event to impugn America's trust in an individual the way their trust in institutions is routinely influenced -after 9/11 America's trust in its individuals greatly increased -National Tragedy Study: national trust increased after 9/11; this trust does not appear to have sustained. Looked at charity donations and blood donations as a sign of trust -American's trust in institutions is important to reestablish trust in institutions. Institutions can be third party enforcers and encouragers of trust between people. Institutions help by providing information and guarantees to help people trust and reduce distrust -ethnic heterogenity reduces trust so by protecting minority rights, a government facilitates trust among individuals -more democratic countries produce more trusting individuals

How Social Movements Matter, Meyer

-social movements: organized challenges to authorities that use a wide range of tactics to promote social and political change -broad unions stage social movements and often the differences between the individuals in the social movements are more broad than the differences between the movement and the opposed -social movements can be described as a "politics by other means" -it is difficult to tell whether a social movement worked because government officials are often weary of saying they made a decision because of a social movement "mob" -activists protest when they think it might help them achieve their goals -movements need to be legitimized by convincing people the issue at hand is urgent, positive outcomes are possible, and that the movement could make a difference -threats often help peace movement organizers mobilize people -movements also grow when the promise of success arises; have to see that substantial change is possible -as social movements grow they incorporate more groups with broader ranges of goals and more diverse tactics; political authorities may respond with policy concessions designed to diminish the breadth of a movement; this can divide a movement or measure its success -by uniting a broad range of groups social movements can influence public policy by catching the attention of leaders who are sympathetic to their concerns; Large demonstrations show that there are passionate citizens who might also donate money, work in campaigns, and vote for candidates who will speak for them; in this way social movement activism spurs more political action -social movements by the popularity of their arguments can convince authorities to re-examine their policy preferences -social movements are specific, but they are so absolute that they are difficult to translate into policy -social movements shape events, even though they may not get exactly what they want -social movements can spur the creation of new departments and agencies in the government in response to activists' demands -government responses to movement demands ensure that diverse voices are heard in decision-making (victim statements, workshops in sexual harassment and diversity) -social movements also spawn dedicated organizations that survive long after a movement has passed -social movements change the people who participate in them by educating as well as mobilizing activists; this promotes ongoing awareness and action which transcends the boundaries of one movement or campaign -social movements build the infrastructure of a democratic society by politicizing communities, connecting people, and promoting personal loyalties; these consequences are difficult to measure -a movement's legacy extends through a range of outcomes beyond a government's decision of the moment. It includes consequences for process, institutional practices, organizations and individuals

"Inside the Extreme Sport of Competitive Eating," Ferguson

-speed eating has become a full fledged sport -for competitive eaters food is not seen as sustenance, but something that is an obstacle that must be overcome -extreme eating is not about eating at all; its about drive and dedication -it exalts abundance and consumerism, two fundamental aspects of American culture -food has always played its part in aestheticizing excess so this is nothing new -in competitive eating the focus shifts from the food to the act of eating, which is why it is different; the competitive eater becomes a "celebrity consumer" -competitive eating seems to be the perfect illustration of our gluttony, the inability to control desires and appetite -competitors are often paid for their feats and the more they see themselves as professionals, the more likely they are to train or prepare -competitive eating is fundamentally about the individual in a world where Georg Simmel believes the most pressing problem is the preservation of "the autonomy and individuality" -the organization of competitive eating mirrors the organization of control exercise in professional sports, where non-affiliated members are not allowed to compete -the difference between Guinness and competitive eating contests is that Guinness focuses on the individual exploit because it aims to better a record rather than compete -accepting competitive eating as a sport is easier now because so many of the practices and rituals that surround sports can be seen at competitive eating races -Bordieu believed competitive eating signaled lower class status while Veblen believed it was attributed to elites. Competitive eating has blurred social class distinctions -competitive eating has changed the way society looks at food; it is not something that is displayed but is now seen in various stages of decomposition -eating places the body front and center and shows humans driven by their appetites and desires -food has always been abundant in America and consumption honors this abundance (i.e Thanksgiving) -excessive consumption is patriotic duty -competitive eating is transgressive; being civilized has come to mean putting distance between the individual and food and competitive eating destroys that distance; spectators can transgress from a distance

The Work-Home Crunch, Jacobs and Gerson

-while many Americans are working more than ever, many others are working less -the average hours worked by Americans per week has changed much over time, so why do they feel so overworked presently? These averages are misleading because some Americans are working more than ever while others are finding it harder to get as much work done as they need to or would like to; in addition families have transformed from male breadwinner to dual-income or single parent; these two factors combined have divided Americans into those who feel squeezed by their work and those who have more time away from work than they need or would like -A focus on workers shows that they are increasingly divided between those who put in very long work weeks and who are concentrated in the better-paying jobs, and those who put in comparatively short work weeks, who are more likely to have fewer educational credentials and are more likely to be concentrated in the lower-paying jobs. -when looking at family members, time squeezes are linked to the total working hours of family members in households -Changes in jobs and changes in families are putting overworked Americans and underemployed Americans on distinct paths, are separating the two-earner and single-parent households from the more traditional households, and are creating different futures for parents than for workers without children at home -In 1970, almost half of all employed men and women reported working 40 hours a week. By 2000, just 2 in 5 worked these "average" hours. Instead, workers are now far more likely to put in either very long or fairly short work weeks; so you can see that it has separated to the two extremes -these trends are strongly linked to the types of jobs people hold; managers and professionals tend to put in the longest work weeks; same trend regardless of gender -And because jobs are closely linked to education, the gap in working time between the college educated and those with fewer educational credentials has also grown since 1970. Working fewer hours is linked to those with less education and less elite jobs -in a 1997 survey of workers conducted by the Families and Work Institute, 60 percent of both men and women responded that they would like to work less while 19 percent of men and women said that they would like to work more; shows that people genuinely don't want to work this much -While most analyses of working time focus on individual workers, time squeezes are typically experienced by families, not isolated individuals; a large average hour per week for a father means one thing, but when you factor in that today usually both parents are overworking it creates even a bigger difference; and that's without factoring in single parents who work this much -Even if the length of the work week had not changed at all, the rise of families that depend on either two incomes or one parent would suffice to explain why Americans feel so pressed for time -To understand how families experience time squeezes, we need to look at the combined working time of all family members; For all married couples, the work week has indeed increased from an average of about 53 hours in 1970 to 63 hours in 2000 -this seems paradoxical because the the average workweek for individuals did not change; this is because married women are now far more likely to work; two earner families are more common than male breadwinner families -data also shows that each type of family is working a little more each week; however, the vast majority of changes in working time over the past 30 yrs can be linked to changes in the kinds of families we live in rather than to changes in how much we work -Single parents, who are overwhelmingly mothers, are another group who are truly caught in a time squeeze. They need to work as much as possible to support their family, and they are less likely to be able to count on a partner's help in meeting their children's daily needs; the lack of childcare and other support services leaves them facing time squeezes at least as sharp -single dads work almost as much as single moms -Women's strengthened commitment to paid employment has provided more economic resources to families and given couples more options for sharing the tasks of breadwinning and care taking. Yet this revolution in women's work has not been complemented by an equal growth in the amount of time men spend away from the job or in the availability of organized childcare; so women are working more in and out of the house -even though parents face increased time pressure, they cope with these dilemmas by cutting back on their combined joint working time when they have children at home; working hours decline as the number of children in the home increases; however there is a catch: its mothers, not fathers who are cutting back; fathers work more hours when they have children at home and their working hours increase with the number of children -This pattern of mothers reducing their hours while fathers increase them creates a larger gender gap in work participation among couples with children compared to the gender gap for childless couples; however this difference is insignificant; while the transition to raise young children continues to have different consequences for women and men the size is diminishing -rise in working time among couples is not concentrated among those with children at home. Though Americans continue to worry about the consequences for children when both parents go to work, the move toward more work involvement does not reflect neglect on the part of either mothers or fathers -The first step toward developing effective policy responses to overworked Americans requires accepting the social transformations that sent women into the workplace and left Americans wishing for a balance between work and family that is difficult to achieve -women in the workforce: a social contradiction has arisen that needs to be changed where lower class mothers are pushed to work lower paying jobs while middle class mothers are chastised for not taking care of the home and working instead -the US has yet to develop childcare services and flexible hours that fix these contradictions -social policies that would help bring men more fully into the work of parenting get limited notice or support. New time squeezes can thus be better understood by comparing the large changes in women's lives with the relative lack of changes in the situation for men; some men face barriers to family involvement -competitive workplaces also play into the increasing workweek as some individuals feel it is necessary to devote more time to work -Finding solutions to these new time dilemmas will depend on developing large scale policies that recognize and address the new needs of 21st century workers and their families -solutions: revising regulations on hours of work and providing benefit protections to more workers, moving toward the norm of a shorter work week, creating more family supportive workplaces that offer both job flexibility and protections for employed parents, and developing a wider array of high quality, affordable child care options -extending protections would decrease the influence of the competitive aspect of the workplace -overpay would also lessen pressure to work more hours -suggests reducing the workweek to 35 hours to create new cultural standards that better reflect the needs and aspirations of most contemporary workers -organization and structure of workplace also needs to be changed; having job flexibility and autonomy help ease the perceived strains and conflicts -find that workers with access to such family-friendly options as flexible work schedules are likely to use them, while workers without such benefits would like to have them; but some individuals have expressed that they perceive a trade off between using these flexible options and endangering their future work prospects -flexible hours and changing the basic organization of work will not help by itself, we need to offer affordable childcare -