Blog+Reflections

3. 5/15/10Social networks and the massive migration within China. This is the first economic blog that I have read that included charts. To be honest, I usually bypass them, but this topic seemed interesting. The title is pretty much self explanitory. This particaular blog spoke about how China has the largest internal migration in human history. I would imagine that the cities must be extremely crowded. All the hustle and bustle would create huge clusters. "These demographic changes could have profound impacts on agricultural productivity, child development, education, and elderly care."

4/27 2. Life expectancy, medical expenses, and old age saving. I think its good to have money when a person is older, but why do they need so much? Yes they may be ill, but maybe they can spread their wealth to other sick family members. While reading this, does it mean that the more money an elder has, the longer they will live? Hmm... If I were an older lady I'd pay for my medical bills, but I wouldn't want to keep living just to be a guinny pig for the doctors.

4/27 1. Social interactions and smoking I personally do not smoke. I have never tried it, and I believe I won't either. But a few weeks ago, I was in a situation where I was hangin out with a friend and two other guys decided to smoke. They asked my friend if she wanted to, and she declined. She knew I didn't smoke, and I believe she didn't smoke because I was there. She was very considerate, because she could have if she wanted to. She also was the one who picked me up, so she was smart in the fact that she shouldnt drive. Is smoking contagious? I think it is to those who are brittle. I am a strong person and I know the consequences. Other people may have given in to the temptation.... I did not. Smoking is also horrible for your health. As you know, I want to be a nurse, so I am aware of the risks of smoking.

NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^6 3/15 6. Do higher cigarette prices deter smoking? Evidence from developing nations. I agree with their topic, saying that the higher the prices are, the less likely it is for a child to purchase them. -But I have a tiny feeling that, even the most addicted will still buy them, whatever the cost may be. Their aim towards a certain age group is very good in the sense that they want to intervene. Adults clearly understand that smoking isn't improving their health. They ought to help stop the younger crowd from hurting themselves. In health class we learn that there are many consquences from smoking, the deadlest is death.

3/1. 5. The gender of American academic leaders matters. Male vs. Female. Which is the better gender? This is always a topic that can lead to a heavy debate. "Over the last 30 years, the percentage of women receiving PhDs from American universities has increased from around 25% to 45%" I believe everything should be 50%/50% divided male to female ratio. Everyone should have an equal oppertunity to run for a certain position. I feel like females would be more aggressive with this because in past history males have been favored.

3/1. 4. The invisible safety net: Protecting poor children and families in the US. While reading this blog I thought about the kids you see on the commericals with tiny legs and arms. I do feel bad for them, but I would like to see commercials of people from the United States. We have poor families in our own country... Then again, I dislike the families who play the system. I suppose it is hard to tell which families really need the help, but it makes me sad to think of the children. I am lucky to have parents who are quite providing. These poor children didn't do the damage. They shouldn't be held responsible for these actions. They should be allowed to get aid from the government..

2/22 3. The effect of maternal fasting during pregnancy. This article talks about pregnancies revolving around the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. Fasting during pregnancy is life changing. The child can form birth defects since nutrients are being lost; the childs' weight would be lower. All this just because of a holiday? The sex of a child seems highly important to Muslims, which I think is rediculous. If I were Muslim, I would plan my pregnancy to be before or after this holiday, because I would want a healthy child. Towards the end of this article, the speaker states that some of the ladies don't even know that they are pregnant, and then fast. -So, I suppose it's not entirely their fault? If the Muslims believe in their Allah, then these defects wouldn't matter to them.

2/22 2. AIDS prevention: Abstinence vs. risk reduction. I don't understand why these people would have sex with one another if they know that they are at high risk for AIDS. "“ABCD” – Abstain, Be faithful, use a Condom...or you Die" is a message that opens my eyes. The churchs' old fashion was of abstinence is the right way, yet teens beg to differ- condoms can only do so much. I, personally, don't see the rush of having sex because I understand the consequences that may follow. I am a seventeen year old who doesn't need to become pregnant, nor catch a disease. Lowering the cost of education for females is a good bribe that I hope will work. By persuading teen girls to go to school longer, it will hopefully "distract" their minds.

2/22 1. An economic evaluation of the war on cancer. This topic was rough to get through, because I have lost alot of friends and family due to cancer. It is a terrible condition that comes in many forms such as breast cancer, lung cancer, etc. Even though there isn't a set cure, many reasearch has gone into helping as much as possible. For example, radiation and chemo therapy have helped prolong life. The debate lies on whether or not money should still be put into the research. In this article, it is stated that with past research, life expectancy increased by 3.9 years between 1988 and 2000. Some may think 3 years isn't much of a difference, but to the family members 3 years could feel like double. I believe the money should still be supplied. Eventually, some day, the real deal cure will be formed, and we will be able to thank everyone for that money, because it finally paid off.

NNNNNNEEEEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW^^^ 1/12/2010 9. Cannabis use and mental health problems According to dictionary.com, a cannabis is "a genus of annual herbs that have leaves with three to seven elongate leaflets and pistillate flowers in spikes along the leafy erect stems and that include the hemp". So, basically, its marijuana, hashish, etc. While reading this blog, I kept thinking about the rotation I was in this week. If you couldn't tell by the topic, I am in Behavioral Health. In the section of the hospital, there were patients who are substance abusers. Mental illness is more common among current and past users of cannabis compared to those who have never used it. I believe by using cannabis, a person can advance mental health problems. People become dependent on these drugs and want more. I don't understand why they started using in the first place. We hear about how these drugs are harming your body....

1/12/2010 8. A theory of military dictatorships. I use to dislike History very strongly; mainly because I didn't like to memorize dates. I disliked 6th, 7th, and partially 8th Grade, along with World History in 9th & 10th grade. Once U.S. History came in 11th Grade, I loved it. I loved learning about my country, and everything that was involved around it. I enjoyed learning about military dictators, such as Hitler. This blog that I read describes an important recent advance in theoretical thinking on the military’s role.

1/12/2010 7.The impact of class size on the performance of university students. In grades 1-5, I was in a private school where our class size was small. There were about 15 students in total. In Saint John's school, "new kids" were rare. Everyone knew each other. I did enjoy having a small class because I felt like I could learn more compared to my middle and high school years. Once I entered Mahopac public schools, my class size nearly doubled. Learning was ok, but if I didn't understand something, I had to make sure my question was heard. By reading this economic blog, I came across and agree to the following quote: "Class size matters for student performance and particularly for the most able students."

11/07/2009 6. Competition in grocery sales. (VoxEu) This blog is like a parallel to local gas stations. They all compete to gain buyers. Each gas station wants to have the lowest price in order to make a sale. In this blog they are referring to supermarkets and conventional retailers.

11/07/2009 5. Happiness inequality in the United States. (VoxEu) This blog reminds me of the project that is due in January. It talks about the happiness of fellow people. You would think that everyone could be happy, but that is not true. It mentions that "...overall levels of happiness have remained relatively stable with a slight, but statistically significant decline.." I wonder why this is. Is it due to the gender differences? Or is it due to the racial differences? Many factors come into play when understanding the levels of happiness because it is not just black and white. It is like a ven diagram with grey in the middle.

11/06/2009 4.Can renewable energy save the world? (VoxEu) While reading this blog, many examples were shown on how to save the world. Wind, biofuels, and solar power are the engeries needed inorder to clean up Earth. During my summer vacation, we drove past many wind mills that generated electricity. It was nice to see the wings move steadily. In order for this process to increase for the better, as President Obama suggested,we must "..harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories.”

10/21/2009 3. Herbert Hoover and the start of the Great Depression. (VoxEu) Having this blog entry written on October 19, 2009 is rather good, because its a current topic. One that needs to be heard and discussed. Looking at Figure-1, which is a basic line chart, it can be seen that the lines began to decrease towards the right of the graph. The hours were lowering which means production is decreasing. Although this chart was created of the past, it still has a good idea of conveying the topic of production. Everything with the market depends on supply and demand. In order to make money, we need to spend money. Recently, people wondered if America would fall into another depression... so I am curious to see if we would. Time has passed by since I have last heard that comment, and the U.S.A. seems to be doing just fine.

10/12/2009 2. The rise of obesity in Europe: An economic perspective. (VoxEu) According to this websites' bar-graph chart, the United States is the largest nation of obese people, followed by the U.K. in 2004. What makes people overweight? Maybe all the fastfood they eat, or the lack of exercise? Whatever the case may be, their insurance is higher than that of a person who is in shape. -But, isn't America all about equality? I suppose not when reading this blog; "Under actuarial fairness, the obese would pay higher premiums, because premiums would be set to equal expected health expenditures."

10/5/2009
 * 1) Why do we really have children? (VoxEU)