Blog #8: Why Are Mixed-Raced Family Emojis & Emoji Families Of Color Missing From The Update?

This article is about the new iOS 8.3 update that included more diverse emojis. Emojis are various small icons that are commonly used for texting and on social media sites. Emojis originally was not very diverse in terms of the icons that represent people. They only had ones that represented white people. This is problematic because of course white people are not the only people that exist on this earth. Although the update had good upgrades in terms of the Emoji keyboard, it still had some unsolved issues. The good modifications were that it now allows you to select individual people of different skin colors to possibly represent different races and ethnicities, and it also included couples and families of the LGBT community. The downfall of both of these improvements is that overall there is still needed diversity missing. In particular the couple and family Emojis only include white people as if couples and families of other races and interracial relationships and families do not exist.

This issue is highly problematic. Emojis are very popular worldwide and are heavily used in this technology based world. People from all over the world use these to communicate especially younger populations. Since we do live in a more tech savvy world now, people are more connected than ever before and we also see a rise in types of family formations. There is far more diversity among families now in terms of race, ethnicity, and nationality. The lack of adequate representation of these families is disappointing. It is important that people feel like they are well represented even in things like Emojis and by only showing white families suggests superiority or favoritism. Not only does this leave out interracial couples of both heterosexual and LGBT couples but also the presence of families that include adopted children that may be of a different race. Another issue is that it fails to take into account single parent families and other family forms. If they are going to include one family form they might as well include them all so that no one is left out. Overall Apple is making a step in the right direction by trying to include more diversity in the Emojis but unfortunately there is still far to go. More planning and consideration needs to be put in place to make sure all factors are accounted for and all people in the best way are represented. Emojis are used by people and families worldwide and it is necessary that the people using them are able to see characters that they self-identify with.


Indya Perry
4/10/2015 @ 10:52PM

http://www.bustle.com/articles/75219-why-are-mixed-raced-family-emojis-emoji-families-of-color-missing-from-the-update

Blog #6: Researchers seek ideal parenting style for teen online safety

This article discusses associations between online teen risk behavior and parenting strategies. A study of 588 teens and their parents was conducted at Penn State to collect the following findings. The researchers found that there were two common types of parenting styles in regards to teen online safety. One method being direct parental intervention and active parental mediation. Direct parental intervention is a more restrictive or controlling strategy that includes the use of parental controls and privacy settings in order to reduce or control the likelihood of risky online behavior of teens. Active parental mediation takes an approach with more freedom for the teen. This method allows the teen be somewhat more autonomous by allowing them to make more judgements and decisions while allowing parents to still maintain control through communication with the teen, investigating posts, and responding to posts on social media. In conjunction with these methods, researchers also focused on two type so teen social media privacy behaviors, risk-taking behaviors and risk coping behaviors. In relation to the teen behaviors, these parenting strategies independently have advantages and disadvantages. Direct intervention was associated with more cautious and conservative attitudes of teens about online behaviors. However, such a restrictive strategy may prevent teens from experiencing the benefits of online engagement. Active mediation was associated with more disclosure of sensitive information because of autonomy but also more remedy/ corrective behaviors among teens. Although both of these methods have advantages individually, many of the experts on this research team agreed that maybe a combination approach may work the best. Even with the combination approach adequate balance is key.

Worldwide technological advancement is taking place. Not only is this new technology making the tasks of everyday life easier but it is also improving connections between people. We are now more connected to people than we have ever been before. The biggest growth and most popular of this day and age is the use of social media as a means to communicate with others. Social media use is particularly on the rise for teenagers. Although social media has a lot of benefits, it also has some alarming disadvantages for teens. Teens are more susceptible to having their sensitive information being taken advantage of, harassment, and cyber-bullying. This is very important for families to consider because it is the role of the parent to keep their children safe. The increase in international connection also exposes teens from all over to many different people of different ages who may have hidden agendas in contacting them. International connections make teens even more vulnerable. It is a parents responsibility to provide safety for these teens and it is important for them to be educated on these issues. Strategies such as direct intervention and active mediation should be implemented by parents worldwide to protect their children. It is important that schools and government programs begin to address these issues as well and can do their part in helping to prevent online risky behavior of teenagers.

Indya Perry
3/2715 @ 2:35PM

http://news.psu.edu/story/350154/2015/03/26/research/researchers-seek-ideal-parenting-style-teen-online-safety

Blog #5: These Indian parents climbed a school wall to help their kids cheat on an exam

Recently parents in India have gone to new heights to help their children past standardized tests. Cheating has been common in India for a while but this is an extreme case. These loved ones literally scaled a building to help the students pass their tests. Many of the cheating 10th graders and their relatives were caught and either expelled or detained. Cheating is most common in rural areas because of the lack of job opportunity and fierce college competition. There is also a high drop out rate because they have a hard time passing these standardized tests. A lot of factors that may contribute to people resorting to cheating are embedded within India's school system.

Standardized testing has been a hot topic for years, not only in the U.S. but also in other regions of the world. Here we can see how influential standardized tests can be especially for people in more impoverished areas. People are taking extreme measures to help provide better opportunities for their children. Rural areas are poverty stricken areas and usually these areas are not supplied with adequate education or educational resources. These students are already at a disadvantage and are expected to be able to pass the same test as someone with access to a way better education. An education is one of the very few chances these youth have to escape poverty but even after passing these tests it is a up-hill battle against fierce competition in higher education. This is highly problematic and unfortunately does not only just exist in India but worldwide. Governments should really do more to create better education systems and provide students with adequate resources in order to solve this issue. This is connected to families because students belong to families. If these families are already in poverty then opportunity for upward mobility is very limited. As we know, families in non-Western regions tend to be more collectivist so this means that generations of relatives are often dependent economically upon one another. Access to a college education for just one student could really have a huge impact on the status of that family. Also with so many dropouts due to these standardized tests, what type of labor are these young people susceptible to? Often times exploitative labor.


Indya Perry
3/20/2015 @ 9:17pm

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2015/03/19/these-indian-parents-climbed-a-school-wall-to-help-their-kids-cheat-on-an-exam/

Blog #4: As World Moves on, MH370 Families Find Solace in Each Other

This article is about the families of flight MH370. It talks about how even though the world is moving on from the disappearing flight issue, they are still seeking answers. About two-hundred and thirty nine families were affected by this event on March, 8th of 2014 and it is now getting close to the one year anniversary of the tragedy. Although this event is continuing to be pushed into the memory of world history, families are still devastated and facing the effects daily of not having their loved ones. The main problem that is still of concern with most families is the fact that they are still completely unaware of what happened and whether or not their family members are alive or deceased. These families found it problematic that the Malaysian government's pronouncement that the passengers surely have been lost in the ocean. With claims like these and the weariness of if the search will continue, families are finding innovative ways to cope with the event. As coping strategies families are continuing to make efforts to stay connected with other affected families, to protest, demand answers, and rely on faith and praying.

Considering that we live in an extremely technologically advanced world now, we would not expect to run into huge issues like a flight full of passengers disappearing. Unfortunately this is reality. This event has terribly devastated families and separated them from their loved ones. As time goes by, things and events that once received a lot of attention, tend to fade out of media coverage and become less and less important in the world's eyes. This is problematic because although these issues are fading out of media they are still really big current issues to those involved and affected by them. The statement made by the Malaysian government showcases how in this situation, time caused the government to come up with an explanation as a means to move on even though it is not routed in any evidence. It is very important that we as a world society find balance in shedding light upon new, recent issues and past events that are still current issues. When we make the importance of these issues just a memory we forget the implications this has on the families in the crossfire. In terms of the protesting and demanding some of the families are participating in, they are demonstrating agency and resistance to letting the world neglect an issue near and dear to their hearts. 

Indya Perry

3/6/15 @ 10:56PM

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/03/06/world/asia/ap-as-flight-370-anniversary-families-united.html?_r=0

Blog #2: Program Instills Leadership In Teenage Girls In Myanmar, Where Their Opinions Are Often Unheard

This article focuses on an organization called Girl Determined that is currently working with school aged girls in Myanmar. Girl Determined is an organization that aims to give girls a sense of autonomy and agency in areas in which these concepts seem to be less valued when in reference to females. In Myanmar, girls are not usually encouraged to complete much schooling and usually end up in very traditional gender roles from an early age. Even in school, girls are not encouraged to speak their minds and are expected to do things as said in a repetitious manor. Girl Determined is striving to get these young girls to go against the grain of their traditions and challenge the gendered nature of their society.

Gender roles have a huge impact on families and in particular family structure. Historically, gender roles have distinguished social reproductive work from social productive work in families. This distinguishing has lead to the traditional structure of men being the "breadwinners" and females doing more domestic work. One shift that is going on globally is that more and more women have access to a wider range of opportunities once only granted to men. The biggest opportunities include education and work. This has greatly impacted families because now women have more agency within families and some are now choosing to stray away from these traditional family forms.

Overall, I believe that the Girl Determined organization is trying to have a positive impact on the lives of these young girls and broaden their horizons by educating them about how they are sites of negotiation and agency. Although they have good intentions, Girl Determined is not considering the possible negative effects of this program. These young women do operate in a patriarchal society in which males are valued more than females. Considering this and the tradition of female submission these strategies for implementing agency, such as speaking out, could have harmful consequences if these girls are not protected by laws and policies but even then they are not guaranteed protection. Also I do not think that Girl Determined is considering how these ideas and attitudes will change the dynamic of the families in these areas. If the gender roles begin to shift as these young girls become more independent as women, the change could affect marriage rates, birth rates, and the structure of families just as we have seen here in the United States. This just highlights that depending on where you are globally, historically, and culturally, a good idea or program can still have negative affects on people. Personally I think it is awesome that they are encouraging these girls to challenge these gender norms but it would be even better if they provided security and also broadened the group to other populations so more young people can realize they have agency to change the way their society operates.


Indya Perry
2/13/15 @ 11:21PM

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/13/girl-determined-myanmar_n_6662124.html

Blog #1: Pope says it's OK to spank children if you don't demean them

This article is about how Pope Francis recently made statements in support of parents spanking their children. Francis agrees to spanking solely under certain conditions which he further defines. He states that the spanking or punishment should not demean the child and should be done with dignity. Since corporal punishment, the use of physical punishment, has been a sticky topic for a while, there were mixed reactions to his statement. Some people on social media sites such as Twitter voiced both opposing and supporting opinions. The article further begins to point out how globally, there are only about forty-three states that have laws that protect children from all corporal punishment. Most of these states are in Europe and some in Africa and Latin America. 

On the surface this may seem like it is not a global issue but in fact it is. Children have for years been an oppressed group around the world. Just recently over the past few decades have laws and policies been put in place for children to be acknowledged as and important group that needs to be protected with their own set of human rights. Unfortunately this is not the case for all places. Parenting plays a big role in the success of a child's development and one of those key parenting responsibilities is discipline. Discipline helps to provide both nurturance and structure for children and that is vital. Spanking and corporal punishment are both forms of discipline that are commonly used around the world. Although Pope Francis may not be wrong with having such an opinion, the way in which he presented this and to whom has certain problematic implications. He says that it has to be done with dignity, which is worthy of having honor or respect, but where is the line drawn in terms of when corporal punishment or spanking is no longer done with dignity. Spanking can easily evolve into abuse and this is one of the issues most critics have with the idea of this disciplinary practice. Another issue here is that the Pope only refers to males or husbands using spanking as a discipline strategy. This highlights the gender-roles of the gendered institution of religion. Religion definitely operates on patriarchal ideals and this is just one example on how this impacts families. Religion is an institution and the Pope is a person of recognized high prestige and power in most of the world. He has an enormous amount of influence and such statements can easily negatively affect the lives of children and families especially when his mere opinion is not backed up by clear supportive information for absolute clarity of the borders of spanking. 

Indya Perry

2/6/15 @ 10:58 PM

http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/06/europe/vatican-pope-spanking-children/

Blog 10: Mauritania Confronts Long Legacy of Slavery

Protesters gathered in front of a police station located in Boutilimit, Mauritania to demand the end of slavery. They specifically wanted the arrest of a family who was accused of holding a slave since childhood.  The girl, now 18, was forced to work menial tasks and sometimes even beaten by the family that enslaved her since the age of 4. Her mother had also worked for the same family but was replaced by her daughter. The authorities briefly detained several members of the family accused of enslaving the girl but the prosecutor released them saying there was no evidence of the crime. As the protests continued for weeks, demonstrators were arrested and beaten while the slave masters remained undistributed by authorities. According to the 2013 Global Slavery Index, Mauritania has the highest prevalence of slavery with as many as 140,000 or more of the nation’s 3.8 million enslaved.

Slavery is a sociological created problem because people are the creators of slavery, and they are the ones who can also destroy it. Because slavery is socially constructed, it also has social side effects that negatively impact the group of people who are being enslaved. For example, slavery creates a social imbalance in any society because there is always a superior group and an inferior group. In the case with Mauritania, Moors (light-skinned elites that are often a mixture of Berber and Arab) belong to the superior group and the dark skinned people living in poverty belong to the inferior group.

This also leads to injustice and continued cruelty, bigotry, racism, and denial of human rights for all. This was also the case with Mauritania who denies that there is a slavery problem and does nothing to people who enslave others because of the social standing in society. In the article it says that in 2007, a law criminalizing slavery was passed but three years later, nobody had been prosecuted under it. This is what caused uproar in demanding more attention towards ending slavery in Africa which has already existed for centuries. This is mostly affecting those families who are living in poverty because they are more likely to become enslaved than those who are living in the upper class. Slavery impacts families in various ways but by making it very difficult for families in poverty to move out of that state. It is especially difficult for females who are raped by their masters and become pregnant with his child. They are not guaranteed food or shelter if they leave and by staying they are continuing the cycle of slavery with their child.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/12/world/africa/mauritania-confronts-long-legacy-of-slavery.html? pagewanted=1

Karina Velazquez

12/15/13

1:55 pm

Blog #9: Chinese Doctors Becoming the Targets of Patients’ Anger

According to the China Hospital association, medical staffs are being attacked by patients or their relatives at a rate of once every two weeks per hospital. At least six serious incidents have occurred in the last two weeks. This includes the case of Dr. Yunje who was stabbed to death by a patient unhappy with his treatment on October 25^th. Since 2002, attacks have risen by an average of nearly 23 percent a year. In the late 1980s, the state provided about 60 percent of investment in most public hospitals. After medical reforms by 2009, they were providing 20 percent and remaining 80 percent had to be covered with revenue generated by the hospitals. The central government’s National Health and Family Planning Commission has pushed for emergency measures to be implemented which includes having hospitals assign one security guard per 20 beds, and guards should account for no less than 3 percent of the total medical staff.

The issue of high medical cost for Chinese people is a sociological created problem that has surfaced in recent years. Nearly all the major medical facilities are run by the government but underfunding has become a major problem that has caused poor healthcare quality and crowded hospitals. After learning more about China’s overpopulation problem, I can see why healthcare is not a major concern. It is also important to note that violent incidents are more severe in these smaller or local hospitals. There is a widespread lack of trust in doctors and hospital administrators, not to mention corruption in every level. This is affecting families all over China who often do not have enough time or money to pay for private care in China. Illness frequently causes bankruptcy in families who exhaust their saving on healthcare. These families’ expect positive results and when they don’t see them, they often blame the doctors which explain the rise of violence within the hospitals. This is commonly a problem with families living in poverty because they make very little money in the factories they usually work in. If someone in the family were to become ill, that would worsen their situation because it will be less income contributing to the family.

http://sinosphere.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/11/01/doctors-the-targets-of-patients-anger/?_r=0

Karina Velazquez

11/8/13

1:05 am

Blog 8: Gang Rape in India, Routine and Invisible

A twenty-two year old photojournalist was raped repeatedly on Thursday by five men. This incident occurred in Mumbai, India late Thursday evening in a Mill complex. At the time, she was walking with her male colleague when they were both confronted and beaten by the five men. This was not the first time these men had committed this horrendous crime but this was the first time it had been reported to police officials.  In total, these men had raped five people; a woman who worked as a scavenger in a garbage dump, a sex worker, a call center worker, a transvestite, and the photojournalist. The victims of the Thursday’s crime were left by the railroad tracks and were threatened by the men who said they would upload video of the attack on the internet if they reported the crime. The two immediately caught a cab to the hospital where they reported the crime.

This is a sociological created problem affecting many families in India where this kind of crime often occurs but is hardly reported. The view and definition of rape in this culture highly impacts the incident of rape in their society. In a survey of more than 10,000 men carried out in six Asian countries, India not among them, found that when the word “rape” was not used as part of a questionnaire, more than one of ten men admitted to forcing sex on a woman who was not their partner. When asked why the overwhelming majority said it was “entitlement” and their motivation was “entertainment seeking.” The culture of rape also puts blame on the victim instead of the perpetrator(s) and this was also clearly seen in the article where one of the criminals’ mother partially defended her son by saying that the girl was also to blame for wearing provocative clothes and being out late at night. Lastly, these men all came from a very low socioeconomic status where it made it easy for them to commit the crime because they said they felt like they had nothing to lose. These men were unemployed or working in harsh conditions and only getting paid as little as $4 a day. Although women are the main victims, the whole family is impacted. After being raped, these women are no longer seen as desirable which makes it hard for her to find a husband. This leaves a burden on many families who often depend on the money they will receive from their daughter's finance when they marry them off. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/27/world/asia/gang-rape-in-india-routine-and-invisible.html?pagewanted=2

Karina Velazquez

11/1/13

3:20 pm

Blog 7: Hardships Mounting for Refugees Inside Syria

There is estimated to be about five million Syrians that are now refugees in their own country. In addition, two million Syrians have left their country and more than twice that number are facing privations at home.  According to Save the Children, a fifth of Syrian families go without food one week a month. These staggering numbers are the result of long civil war in Syria that began in January of 2011. Prior to the war, this country produced most of its own food and medicine, and despite worsening economic inequality had a strong social safety net and educational system by regional standards. Aid workers analysts warn that as the war continues into its third winter, deaths from hunger, disease and cold could begin to exceed those from violence which has already killed 115,000 people.

The rising poverty and death toll rates in Syria are a socially created problem because they are a result of the civil war in their own country. Because civil wars are caused by social injustices in ones’ own country in which people usually attempt to have more freedom or independence, they are therefore a socially created problem. In Syria’s case, the civil war was caused when protesters voiced their opinions against the Assad’s regime. Families in these countries are being greatly impacted in many ways from having to leave their home country to living out on the streets with no food. Children are paying the price in terms of health, education and psychological trauma. At this point, even if the war were to end soon, Syria would need a lot of help and assistance from other countries in order to begin the process of building back their country. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/25/world/middleeast/hardships-mounting-for-refugees-inside-syria.html?pagewanted=1&ref=world

Karina Velazquez

10/25/13

4.42 pm

Blog 6: Mexico Takes Bloomberg-Like Swing at Soaring Obesity

According to the World Health Organization, a staggering 70 percent of Mexicans are now overweight and about a third are obese.  These high rates of obesity, which are almost the same as in the United States, has caused for legislative action to occur. President Enrique Peña Nieto has proposed a tax on sales of all sugary drinks which congress is schedule to vote on this week. The expected tax increase will be of 7.7 cents per liter which is half of what public health advocates will like. If the tax goes through, the tax will make Mexico a rare test case of a national soda tax directed at a severe obesity problem. The mayor of New York, Michael R. Bloomberg, has offered to give a three year $10 million grant to use towards supporting anti-obesity advertising and also for the purpose to use Mexico as a pilot project that could be adapted to other developing countries if it is successful.

In the past Mexicans often suffered from under-nutrition or malnutrition due to the high percentage of people living in poverty who were unable to afford purchasing enough food to maintain a healthy diet. Therefore, Mexico’s obesity issue is a recent problem that has arisen in recent years. The increase in obesity seen in Mexico and many other underdeveloped countries are not due to an improvement in financial stability but rather to a shift in a diet towards more consumption of processed foods. On the surface it appears that the obesity issue many countries are experiencing is due to a change in preference for processed food but once we examine the underlying causes, we are able to clearly attribute this epidemic to a problem that was created by society.

Overpopulation in our world has caused there to be a demand for inexpensive filling food. This has created a rise in production of processed foods which are convenient because they did not go bad as quickly as vegetables and other healthy foods do and are a lot cheaper and faster to produce. This has made it possible for people living in poverty to be able to afford purchasing more food than they would have been able to before. Unfortunately this is what has led to the rise in obesity seen mostly within this population because they are constantly only being able to consume these foods which are high in calories, sugar, fat, and salt Globalization also pays a role in this process because factory workers are being exploited by being forced to work in horrible conditions at low wages in order to keep food prices low. This has especially affected families in poverty because not only are they suffering from health problems related to obesity, but this is also affecting their ability to work and make the little money they would make in factories. Ultimately this is a never ending cycle for people in poverty who have no choice but to consume these processed foods because it is mainly all that they can afford.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Karina Velazquez

10/18/13

3.35 am

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/16/world/americas/mexico-takes-a-bloomberg-like-swing-at-obesity.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0

Blog 5: Bangladesh garment factory fire kills 10

A fire at a Bangladesh clothing company, with links to Western clothing brands, killed 10 people including the general manger, Rashiduzzman Mandal.  This incident happened only six months after a factory building collapsed that killed 1,100 people which has lead authorities and global clothing companies to pledge on improving safety standards. Through undercover investigation, CBS found that many factory workers are working under the legal age of employment, in poorly ventilated work areas where toxic chemicals are being used, and are often not provided with safety equipment. When the fire had started, there were currently 170 workers inside the factory and most were able to escape the flames. The cause of the fire is still unknown but is being under investigation by the government.

            Families of victims affected by the incident are being left to deal with the loss of their loved ones while also trying to figure out how to manage without the income they received through the factory. This incident and others like it are due to globalization, factory owners do not take the precautionary measures to ensure their workers are safe because they do not want to lose any money or profits. They also exploit their workers by having them work in horrible conditions at very low wages. The lack of employment opportunities leave people with no other choice but to work under these conditions in factories. Although it is unfair to the workers and their families, this is the only way for the factory to be competitive with other factories who are also exploiting their workers. We, Americans, allow for this injustice to occur because we buy a huge portion of the clothes from the factories that exploit their workers. Unless strict laws are made for to protect factory workers from other countries, this will unfortunately continue to occur.  

Karina Velazquez

10/11/13

2:35 pm

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57606628/bangladesh-garment-factory-fire-kills-10/

Migrants Die as Burning Boat Capsizes Off Italy

A boat from the coast of the Mediterranean Sea on its way to Italy caught on fire before dawn on Thursday killing many families aboard.  Those on the boat were an estimated 500 African migrants who were fleeing war and poverty in their home country. The fire started when someone on board set a match to a blanket to signal for their position, the fire from the burning blanket ignited gasoline and caught the boat on fire. At the time this occurred, they were not even a quarter-mile away from reaching their destination when they were forced to flee the boat and attempt to swim to land. At least 111 people were reported dead, with up to 250 still missing. Italy’s Coast Guard are still continuing to search for more survivors.       

Although on the surface this tragedy may seem as though it is not a sociological created problem, by examining the underlying causes to why this happened we can begin to understand how society played an important role in this incident. Globalization has had a huge impact on Africa’s economy in more negative ways than positive. Those Africans fortunate enough to find work in factories must do so under harsh conditions and at low wages. Many do not find jobs and must resort to drugs or other criminal activity to make a living which also results in an increase in violence.  Jobs in Africa are really scarce due to its struggling economy mainly because of the depletion of resources and the exploitation of its working citizens. Therefore, the lack of opportunities for Africans has led to high violence rates affects all of African citizens.  African families who have the opportunity to leave to Europe take it even if it means risking their lives like those who were on the boat that caught on fire.

Karina Velazquez

10/4/13

4:34 pm

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/04/world/europe/scores-die-in-shipwreck-off-sicily.html?_r=0

Blog 3: Shootings at Nairobi's Westgate Mall

Kenya faced a devastating terrorist attack on Saturday September 21 that lasted for five days in Nairobi’s upscale Westgate mall. The attackers were an estimated 10 to 15 Somali Islamist extremists who had meticulously planned the massacre. The attack involved them slipping in assault rifles, used by Kenyan security services, into the mall and Kenya’s borders. These attackers opened fire in the mall shortly after 12 pm killing what is now confirmed to be at least 62 children and adults. Although the motive is still unclear, it possible that the attack had something to do with the recent killing of Omar Hammami, a Shabab fighter who grew up in Alabama and was fatally shot by another wing of the Shabab less than two weeks ago. Mr. Hummmami gained unpopularity among the Somalia community after he complained that the Shaban had become too brutal with their fellow Muslims. In the Nairobi mall shootings, civilians were asked by their attackers what religion they belonged to. Those who were Muslims were released while all others were said to be killed on the spot. Dozens of families are still unsure if their loved ones are dead or alive as they wait until more bodies are being released.

            This massacre is a sociological created problem because the shootings were said to have been based off of religious differences. Religion plays an important role in how any society is structured and functions. Religion helps guide people into making decisions of whether something is right or wrong therefore, it can help determine how people of that society will behave. The shootings at Nairobi’s mall are an example of how people of extremist views on religion can act out on those beliefs to do what they believe is right. Consequently, families are paying the price for their cause by losing their loved ones. Unlike other shootings that target men, these shootings were not aimed at a specific gender or age group. Women, men, and children were all victims of this horrendous crime and their families are left to face the consequences of the shootings. Since Nairobi is the home to one of Africa’s largest stock exchange headquarters, this could possibly lure people away from coming to make business there. Consequently affecting the economy and the government policies of Nairobi which will therefore impact the lives of Kenyan families. 

Karina Velazquez

9/27/13

11:30 am

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/25/world/africa/kenya-mall-shooting.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&

Blog 2: Fear and Loathing in North India’s Sugar Cane Town

Violence in small villages in India has begun to spread due to religious tensions. On September 7^th, riots broke out between the majority Jat community and the Muslim minority in the Muzaffarnagar district located about 80 miles North of New Delhi in an agricultural district of predominately sugar cane fields. Forty-five people have already been killed and 42,000, mostly Muslims, have been evacuated to Muslims camps located in Muslim majority villages. The start of the riots, however, started out small with two Hindus man killing a Muslim man for stalking their female relative. The family of the stalker retaliated by killing these two Hindu men and progressively the violence evolved into riots. On September 8^th, local police were sent out to respond to the violence by imposing curfews and evacuating Muslims to camps. The families from the villages affected by the violence have encountered everything from shootings involving the death of many of their family members as well as the burning down of their villages.

            Families of the victims killed by the violence in their villages must come to terms with the loss of their loved ones while also adjusting to their new lives without them. This can be especially challenging for women because of the lack of financial opportunities they have in the rural areas of India. This can eventually lead to poverty within their families if they are unable to come up with enough money to support their families. . It is also important to note that Muslims are the minorities in the Jat community where the violence has occurred which can suggest that they are being treated this way since there is less of them to fend for themselves.   The violence occurring in India also more sociological implications because Hindus and Muslims are not being treated the same. According to the article, unlike the Hindus, Muslims are being evacuated to crowed camps in horrible conditions where other Muslims are going through the same situation. The Prime minister has already promised relief to the victims and persecution of those responsible for the riots but nothing has actually been done. 

Karina Velazquez

9/20/2013

12:08 am

http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/17/fear-and-loathing-in-north-indias-sugarcane-town/?src=twrhp&_r=0

Blog 1: Marikana families picket South African government

Hundreds of family members of the victims from the Marikana mine shootings marched on South African government buildings Thursday to protest the lack of state funding for survivors of shootings at the Marikana mine. On August 16, forty-four miners were killed and 270 were injured or arrested by the South African Police Service for protesting for better work conditions. This incident was the most lethal use of force by the South African security forces against civilians since the Sharpeville massacre during the apartheid times. Controversy arised after the discovery that most victims were shot in the back and many were shot far from police lines when the massacre occurred.  The issue for government officials to provide funding for family members of the victims is going to be very important for next year’s elections.

            Most of these families depended on the income that they received from their loved ones who were killed at the mines where they were protesting for being exploited.  Now that these family members are not receiving that income, they are more than ever depending on the state funding to make ends meet. If something is not done soon, these families will not have financial means to survive especially since there is already a lack of employment in their area.  This problem is also due to globalization because the workers were being paid at very low wages in order for the owners to make high profits.  Although this is unfair to those families and workers affected by the violence, there is still nothing being done for them.  

Karina Velazquez 

9/13/13

4:50

Kidnapped to Egypt

The story behind the article I will be covering today started nearly 12 years ago. That may make you wonder how this could be a current event at all but it is an issue that has been on going and is still current. 12 years ago Michael Shannon saw his two young sons, 10 months old and 4 years old, for the last time until he was shown a video of them in Egypt by CNN correspondents this year. This is a story of disputes, custody battles, deception, foreign policy and ultimately kidnapping.

Micheal Shannon was once married to Nermeen Khalifa, the mother of his two boys. They were divorced in by 2001 on terms that were not specified in the article but there was a history of domestic disputes between the two where Nermeen was accused of assault. Also she had lost custody of her children and Micheal had sole custody. The children were not allowed to leave the country let alone the state without their father's consent. Their mother and grandmother, Nermeen's mother, created a scheme to get Micheal to allow his children to spend a weekend in New York with their mother for a weekend. Once there the two women followed through with their plan and retrieved new passports for the children and took them to Egypt where the grandmother lives and the mother is originally from. In Egypt there are limited parental rights for US parents. So regardless of the laws enforced in the US to protect the boys from their mother their father has now become hopeless in getting his boys  back home.

He has been fighting for 12 years to get custody of his two boys and because of the laws in Egypt he is failing miserably. He has questioned how the US could allow this to happen to his family and 22 other families in similar cases and not do anything about it. But on top of taking no action they are also provide aid and support to this country. The question that arises from this, is it wrong for america to neglect 22 children for the sake of peace with Egypt? Can families trust their government to help them? What will it take for there to be justice? or Is the relationship with Egypt more important than these families?


http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/12/world/kidnapped-to-egypt/index.html?eref=rss_mostpopular

CNN's Dana Ford reported Wednesday April 3rd that nearly 1,200 cancer patients in 4 Canadian hospitals received weak doses of chemo therapy medication. This issue was discovered late last month when a physician tested the medicines strength to find that dosages were between 3-20 less than the expected or labeled dosage. There is no way of telling exactly how long patients have been receiving these low doses but there is an estimate that some have receiving the wrong dosage for up to a year. It is also very difficult to see what if any damage this may cause to patients health as they fight cancer. There are many questions as to how this could have happened. Apparently the hospital supplier, Marchese Hospital Solutions, mislabeled the drugs. Although the spokesperson says "Our preliminary investigation of this issue leads us to be confident that we have met the quality specifications of the contract we are honored to have been awarded." But in contrast the Ontario hospital have been mixing their own chemo medications and are no longer using Marchese Hospital Solutions as a suppliers.

I feel as though this a major social issue because innocent people who are suffering from a terminal illness are the victims of, in some ways, neglect. My question is how are you going to convince these people that there was  no harm done? How are you going to prevent a uprising of grieving families? What happens when lawsuits rise? These are factors that can lead to a social movement. Now that this has happened there will be questions in policies of the hospitals and the company. Investigations into procedures and protocol. I foresee repercussions for both the hospitals and the company. Families are going to have demands and when you drop a ball like that you are responsible for their answers.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/02/health/canada-patients-under-dosed/index.html?hpt=he_c2

US vs Russia: Adoption Pawns

Russian President signed a bill to ban U.S. families from adopting Russian children on December 28th, 2012. This political move comes  after the U.S. President Barack Obama signed Magnitsky Act into law. This act was put into place to punish the Russian officials that are allegedly responsible for the death of a lawyer by the name of Sergei Magnitsky. Mr. Magnitsky was a lawyer that was arrested for an  investigation he was doing on Russian officials. He spent a few days short of a year in a Moscow prison before he died from unknown circumstances. There are stories of him being sick and not receiving proper medical attention and also stories of torture and murder. Although these things are unclear there is a consistent story of foul play. The U.S.  in return created the Act in his honor to "blacklist" the officials that were suspected of being involved. Which in turn lead to the the Russians to ban U.S. families from adopting. Yet neither of these articles are my focus article this week. These stories lead to the article entitled "Russia concerned over adopted boy's cause of death" which I read this week.

A 3-year old Russian child was living in Texas with his adoptive parents and died on January 21st from what looks like self-inflicted trauma to the abdomen and not murder as Russia's children's rights commissioner announced via twitter last week. Which then gave the Russian government reason to be concerned and a case to back up their claims that American adopted children are mistreated. They seem to focus on the fact that 19 Russian children have died due to maltreatment by their adoptive american parents. This child's accidental death has made him the poster child for Russia's ban against american adoption. When in actuality it seems as though this adoption ban is nothing more than a pawn in a game of a political mudslinging.

This is a social issue because this preventing families from finalizing their adoptions that were well underway. Children who were preparing to move to America with a loving family are now back to searching for a family. This political agenda was taken without thoughts of the ramifications that citizens would have to suffer from.  


http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/02/us/russian-adoption-death/index.html
http://abcnews.go.com/US/adopted-russian-boys-death-ruled-accident-texas/story?id=18631668
http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-12-06/world/35649594_1_magnitsky-law-magnitsky-act-law-accountability-act

Misogyny In India

Yesterday morning CNN reporter Harmeet Shah Singh posted is article entitled “3 girls found dead in India well; Mother calls for culprits to be hanged”. This story comes a 23 year old woman was gang raped and murdered in broad daylight on a New Delhi bus in December. Therefore this story is unfolding in a volatile atmosphere. According to the article three girls, 6, 9 and 11 years old, were reported missing and two days later were found in a well. Medical reports claim that the children drowned and had been sexually assaulted. As seen in the title the mother of these young girls is very angry. She has made claims that the police did not respond quickly enough. She believes they could have found her daughter sooner if they looked in the neighboring areas. She is calling for the men held responsible to be hung in the public. Of course the police claim that they did everything they could. In contrast, the officer that was in charge of patrolling that area has since been they fired. As far as locating the guilty parties they have questioned some suspects but have made no arrests as of yet.

This single incident may not be a social issue in itself but it is the result of some major ones such as Women’s Right, Misogyny, Selective Abortions, Discrimination, Domestic Violence to name a few. India has seen a rash of incidences like the one presented in the above article. The women of India are not safe. As presented in another CNN article entitled “Challenges of being a woman in India”.  Women are dealing with discrimination from the womb to the tomb. Families are aborting their unborn daughters to avoid the responsibility of a dowry. Dowry is a Indian custom, currently illegal, that requires the family of the bride to pay her husband’s family a large sum of money and pay for an elaborate wedding ceremony. Although illegal there is no regulation. Therefore unborn daughters are killed; young girls are killed, leaving there to be an overpopulation of men who prey on these women who made it through. It is a never ending cycle of misogyny. 

http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/21/world/asia/india-girls-deaths/index.html?hpt=wo_c2

http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/12/world/asia/india-women-challenge/index.html