Today’s posts from both Grapefruit Symphony and Undefined Blog landed on a similar note, leading to the following thoughts.
Being carried away by your writing? I guess that’s the beauty of blogging. It’s a literal train of thought with a diverse cargo: a little bit of organic veggies (here and there), some free-range chicken singing into the sunset…
The “ability” of an individual depends on a number of complex factors. For example, there is a huge difference between the following scenarios:
- Middle-class parents who wish to discipline their children by placing limits on their bank accounts
- A single mother who struggles with poverty and multiple low-paying jobs to support her children
Are both groups of children equally “able”? Would they both have the “ability” to succeed?
If social determinants of health tell us anything, chances are that children from the former group will attain a higher socioeconomic status with greater income, higher levels of education, and more prestigious occupations. As a result, not only will these children have a higher quality of life, but also better health.
However, if children from the latter group prove to be resilient, chances are that they will also succeed in life. Resilience is determined by two factors: 1) lack of constitutional vulnerabilities (e.g., FAS), 2) presence of loving, supportive adult.
My thoughts have wandered a bit on this post. As you can see, our world could be changed in so many ways. Lately, I find my courses quite depressing, yet fascinating in so many directions; only by becoming aware of these pressing issues can one begin to think about tackling them. Unlike before, I feel a sense of awareness. Take some of my courses, for example:
- Sociocultural Determinants of Health of Populations: a true moment of awakening with Jim Frankish through examining social determinants of health, such as gender, culture, early childhood development, education, SES… just to name a few
- Biopsychology: the role of the nervous system on behaviour with Steven Barnes, a microscopic examination of ourselves at the biological and psychological level, with topics ranging from neuroanatomy to neuroplasticity to eating, hunger, and health
- Introductory Sociology: together with my love for Social Studies 11 in high school, Debra Pentecost’s course gets me thinking critically about society, from looking at filters of the mass media to total institutions to the social cause of natural disasters
- Health Psychology: with Anita DeLongis, the biopsychosocial approach to health — not simply the absence of disease but a complete state of physical and psychology well-being — is driven home
The following is a taste of my Health Psychology course:
Nunavut
- Nunavut contains 85.2% of Canadian population reporting Aboriginal identity, 2001
- The highest rate of smoking in the country
- 53 % of people over the age of 12 smoke daily (as compared to national average of 22%)
Nunavut’s Inuit
- 85% of Nunavut’s population
- 64 % over the age of 15 smoke daily
- Additional 8 % occasional smokers
Nunavut: Smoking during pregnancy
- 80% of pregnant women smoke
- Nunavut’s newborns and infants are the most unhealthy in the country
- Almost half of all babies born in Nunavut end up in hospital early in their lives
So this is what I mean by a sense of awareness. I feel that my learning is very applicable to the lives of people around me. At the end the of the day, though lectures on health disparities in the DTES, psychopathic models of profit-making in corporations, brain damage, and the figures discussed above may bring moments of despair, they are truly rays of sunlight — shining through the curtains for a brighter tomorrow.
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