Small talk
Posted by: Chaya on: December 3, 2009
Since my foray into adult-ish life, I’ve often been intrigued by, um, hold on, let me come up with a douchè intellectualization of it…”social conceptualizations of workplace identities.” Damn, that’s a pretty good one, right? Okay, basically, I really like hearing how people respond to different professions at dinner parties.
Let me explain. When I first began attending small-talk-type functions involving non-college-type people, this would be the conversation.
Them: So, what do you do?
Me: I go to Wash U.
Them: Ah, what do you study there?
Me: I’m an undergrad in economics.
Them: Oh, great, so you can tell me what stocks I should be investing in?
No, I can’t, actually. Ask my fiance, he’s the one with the MBA concentration in finance.
Later, when I was doing psychology research at the University of Washington, my advisor shared her own version during a lab meeting one day.
Them: So, what do you do?
Her: I’m a psychologist.
Them: Wow, must be hard dealing with crazy people all day!
Her: Oh no, I’m not that kind of psychologist. I’m a cognitive psychologist. I don’t care about people’s feelings.
Which is awesome! Although apparently she eventually stopped staying that because someone got upset about it. (What?? Oh, Seattle!)
I was reminded of this interest last night when my tobacco policy professor was talking about going to a wedding, and we got on the subject of reactions to his field. He said that normally he tries to avoid the topic, telling people first just that he teaches, only revealing his research area if they keep asking questions. Once revealed though, he said the #1 question he gets from smokers is “what brand of cigarette is the safest?”, and probably the #1 response in general is something about how cigarette companies aren’t allowed to advertise anymore. (Again, what??)
These all seem relatively benign, however, compared to the fate of the porn writer. No matter your feelings on the industry, you still have to feel a little bad for the girl. Or at least, I do.
(Postscript: Since returning to Wash U and economics at the beginning of this year, I’ve found the response has changed. Instead of asking for stock advice, people now ask, “So I guess you can explain this whole economy mess to me then?” I’ve decided my answer in the future should be, “Yes, I could, but I’m just not that kind of girl.” Party fight averted! Looking forward to hearing what small talk “public health” will bring…)
“The Poverty Trap”
Posted by: Chaya on: November 12, 2009
Greg Mankiw’s Blog: The Poverty Trap
I love Dr. Mankiw’s idea that the Congressional Budget Office should produce and distribute a graph like this. I have half a mind to get a bunch printed at Kinko’s and start flyering my neighborhood!
Divorce rate higher when wife gets sick
Posted by: Chaya on: November 12, 2009
So say the New York Times. The Awl provides one of the best research summaries ever:
The results of a study of 515 patients diagnosed with brain tumors or multiple sclerosis from 2001 through 2006 show that men are dicks.
The unfairness of “fair trade”
Posted by: Chaya on: November 10, 2009
I knew that this story about Columbia’s Stephens College seemed too good to be true. How terrific, I thought, that these students seems to be taking a free-market page from marketing and trying to create demand for a developing country’s products instead of simply creating a price floor.
Alas, it was indeed too good to be true, as the FAQ of the Guatemalan textile company they are promoting contained this snippet:
What does it mean to say that TRAMA’s products are fair trade?
This means that we sell our products at prices that cover the members’ costs and ensure that they are properly compensated for their labor. Each cooperative decides their own wage for their products, and the association pays them that price. The product is marked up by a small percentage (usually 5%-20%), all of which is reinvested into the organization to help pay the overhead of operating the association and the store. By purchasing our products you are supporting sustainable work practices while at the same time investing in Guatemala’s economic development.
I am not the parent of a college student (or anyone, for that matter), but if I were a parent I would be less than pleased with this course assignment–part, I should add, of a course required of all students for graduation. If I were a parent, presumably I would have worked hard on the open market for many years to be able to pay for my daughter to attend a private college. To learn that she was being taught that some workers should be paid a premium for their ethnicity or geography would leave me a bit nonplussed.
I would further share my thought on “fair” trade here, but many others have said it far better than I ever could. For example, try this excellent article from the Cato Journal, “Fair Trade Coffee Enthusiasts Should Confront Reality.”
The primary care shortage and drug regulation
Posted by: Chaya on: November 3, 2009
As a followup to my earlier post on pseudoephedrine regulation, I wanted to link to this editorial on the risk of ignoring primary care physicians in healthcare reform. Some interesting numbers:
These physicians, which deliver most of initial care in this country, are generally in independent practice, are underpaid compared to specialist peers, represent a threatened species, and are short by 50,000 doctors, scheduled to reach 160,000 in a decade.
I don’t think the author’s later contention that “the next big health reform crisis will be lack of access to primary care physicians” is unfounded or even exaggerated. With this in mind, why require patients to unnecessarily see their primary care providers? Instead, this is even more reason to empower patients to maintain their own health.
Crowdsourcing for good
Posted by: Chaya on: November 3, 2009
Doctors have a duty to engage in social media
A creative, independent solution–just the kind we like around here! As KevinMD.com reports, a pediatrician argues that the easiest way to combat misinformation on the web is for the informed to disseminate correct information.
There are 60,000 members of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Every pediatrician fights vaccine misinformation, especially as they relate to autism. Consider the fact that the first two pages of a Google search for vaccines and autism are polluted with anti-vaccine propaganda driven by a loud, socially-savvy minority. If every AAP member wrote a myth-dispelling post concerning immunization just once a year, Google would be ruled by reason.
As someone who is all too familiar with the misinformation patients seem to have a talent for finding all over the web and then accosting their primary care providers with, I am almost ashamed I hadn’t thought of this myself. It’s so simple, it’s genius.
Although in truth it’s not quite this simple, I do love the idea that if you don’t like the information that’s out there, put up your own. With the panoply of blogging and microblogging tools available today, there’s almost no excuse for not doing it. Yes, doctors are busy, but as the quote above points out, just one post per year by 60,000 doctors could be a tremendous gamechanger. With that small of a committment, can you afford not to do it?
Beer, soda, and capitalism, oh my!
Posted by: Chaya on: October 19, 2009
Anheuser-Busch InBev and PepsiCo ink joint purchasing agreement
As both a food/beer nerd and a business strategy geek, this is right up my alley (even if Budweiser products aren’t). This is a great example of a creative private solution to rising costs and the recession. Cooperation without collusion? Everybody wins!
Economies in transition?
Posted by: Chaya on: September 17, 2009
A snippet from an economics class this semester:
Professor: This chart groups nations into developed, developing, and economies in transition. Economies in transition refers to countries who have reoriented from a centrally-planned economy toward a market-based economy. So, at what point do you think that countries should be moved from “economy in transition” to “developed”?
Student: I think economies are really always in transition. Economies are always transitioning, all the time.
Professor: Um…okay.
About Missouri Women’s Forum
MO Political News Service
- Former Legislator Calls Out Sen. Crowell on His Stalled Nomination
- Tweet of the Day: “Nixon Fires Thousands of Low Level State Employees But Finds a Job For a Crony”
- KCMO Podcast: Monday Morning Matchup: Roe vs Levota
- Claire: Where’s The Thanks For Bankrupting the Country???
- Carnahan Allies Sink to New Low; Use USS Cole Footage to Attack Blunt
