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EiJ Concept: Median Income

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This essay explains the concept of "median income" and provides resources for teaching it in various contexts.

Joshua Moses

Joshua

I teach anthropology and environmental studies at Haveford College, just outside of Philly. Currently, I'm holed up in a cabin in the Adirondacks in upstate New York with several family members, including my spouse and 4 year old daughter and 3 dogs. I started working on disasters by accident, when one day in 2001 I was walking to class at NYU and saw the World Trade Center buildings on flames. I have known Kim for a few year and I contacted her to connect with folks around Covid-19 and its imacts.

I'm particularly intersted in issues of communal grief, mourning, and bereavement. Also, I'm interested in the religious response to Covid-19.

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maryclare.crochiere

The main point is the lack of justice for Haiti in this rebuild process. They got huge amounts of dontions from all over the world in hopes of rebuilding the country to be better than it was. Insead, the vast majority of the money is not being spent in the right ways, and much of the spending is not being done in the most economical ways. The ways that the companies are going about rebuilding is much more wasteful than it has to be, thus using more of the money and preventing it from going as far as it could.  Additionally, the UN has created a cholera epidemic in Haiti and is not being held accountable for cleaning it up.

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maryclare.crochiere

" For decades, those who study the determinants of disease have known that social or structural forces account for most epidemic disease. But truisms such as “poverty is the root cause of tuberculosis” have not led us very far. While we do not yet have a curative prescription for poverty, we do know how to cure TB."

"The debate about whether to focus on proximal versus distal interventions, or similar debates about how best to use scarce resources, is as old as medicine itself. But there is little compelling evidence that we must make such either/or choices: distal and proximal interventions are complementary, not competing"

" By insisting that our services be delivered equitably, even physicians who work on the distal interventions characteristic of clinical medicine have much to contribute to reducing the toll of structural violence"

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maryclare.crochiere

Most of the claims are based on past examples in history of response to disease outbreaks and the development of new diseases. They looked at how regualtions were developed after each one, what research showed in each case, and how people reacted to the risk or security associated with each.

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maryclare.crochiere

Vincanne Adams is a professor at UCSF School of Medicine. She has her PhD and experience in anthropology. Taslim Van Hattum is the maternal and child health portfolio director at The Louisiana Public Health Institute. Diana English is a Clinical Assistant Professor and specializes in OB/GYN and gynecologic oncology.

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maryclare.crochiere

They have been criticized for slow response to the Fukushima disaster, and by having an official stance as "pro-nuclear energy/usage" they are prone to protests by groups that oppose those views. Some criticism also comes from the fact that member states are not required to follow all nuclear safety guidelines.