The causes and impact of unemployment in the United Kingdom Coursework

The causes and impact of unemployment in the United Kingdom - Coursework Example For these reason further insights into how society deals with unemployment is necessary. Stratification is a principal aspect of the evolution of a society's social identity, when this is compounded with unemployment, alienation and dysfunction becomes a consequence. Until the late 1980s the unemployment rate in England remained low (about 5%). However, by late 1990 the unemployment rate began to increase and by the end of 1992 had climbed to 15%, reaching a peak in early 1994 of 19%. (Statistics England 1994) Unemployment also grew in other European countries, although not as rapidly as in England. In 1994, the average European Union unemployment rate was 12%. Long-term joblessness has become more common in England and redundancy now also affects the white-collar occupations. (Statistics England 1994) Research into the possible health effects of unemployment is thus more timely than ever. Previous studies of individuals have shown that mortality rates are higher in the unemployed than the employed persons. (Moser 1984; Bethune 1996) The causal effect of unemployment and selection bias have been suggested as two possible mechanisms to explain this finding. (Valkonen 1995) Becoming jobless and long-term unemployment may have adverse effect... An increase in tobacco, alcohol, and drug use may also be indicative of attempts to cope with this stress. Other outcomes of unemployment such as loss of income, material deprivation, loss of networks, and social stigma may have independent effects on health and mortality but may also increase the stress experienced by the unemployed. Selection bias is encountered when unemployed people or those who have difficulty in becoming re-employed have pre-existing ill-health. Selection bias may also be due to socio-economic factors such as social class and housing tenure; lifestyle risks like tobacco and alcohol consumption and poor diet or personal characteristics such as increased age, sex, physical weakness, and psychological dysfunction that increase the risk of premature mortality. Although the direct selection of people with pre-existing ill-health may not be of paramount importance, (Martikainen 1990; Morris 1994) lack of data about personal characteristics and lifestyle make it difficult to control for all possible selection factors. Aggregate-level studies that use regional populations or occupational groups as their units of analysis, have generally not shown a relation between changes in unemployment and mortality rates. (Valkonen 1995; Martikainen 1955) These results suggest that selection may account for a large part of the excess mortality of unemployed persons. The aim of this study was to estimate the strength of the association between unemployment, re-employment, and mortality during rapidly increasing unemployment in England. The results for the total British population of men and women are presented. As in previous individual-level studies, we sought to reduce the possible effects of selection by

Aging and Health Among the Senior Population Essay

Aging and Health Among the Senior Population - Essay Example These items were reviewed individually and then summed up as a total to establish an assessment about the driver. The covariates of the study were age, gender, race, health status, physical functioning, vision and driving exposure. Driving exposure was calculated by the DHQ assessment, among other things. Further covariates were self-filled by the drivers. The sample included participants from an ongoing Senior Driver Research Project, which was designed to examine the validity and reliability of the OFOV test. There was collaboration with State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, and licensed drivers aged 75 and above who live in Alabama were chosen. The potential participants were contacted via a letter, were given a toll-free number to return to, and those who had agreed to participate were met by trained staff at 11 designated locations. There they were tested in the UFOV and performed satisfactorily in the test and were eligible for the study. A total number of 1,543 people participated, their mean age was 79.73. 41.7% were women, 2.7% were non-Caucasian. The University of Alabama approved all the procedures, and participants signed on consent to the study (Ozioma, Okonkwo, Virginia & Karlene, 2008). The study found that drivers of over 75 avoided driving in bad weather more than they avoided any other type of situation. Other avoidance situations were driving at night, at traffic roads, in unfamiliar territories and making left-hand turns. Another important find of this study was that drivers with higher risks for motor vehicle accidents due to deficits in visual attention reported greater avoidance relative to those who had a lower risk of being involved in car crashes. This was fairly the same in all the situations (Ozioma, Okonkwo, Virginia & Karlene, 2008).. These findings were consistent with previous ones,