New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction. Drew, C. (2011, March 30). Experts disagree over this issue. Leitenberg, M. (2006). US veterans: By the numbers. A quick calculation shows that about 11 percent of the worlds population died from the Mongolian wars, while 2 percent died from World War II. She also refused to display the American flag, saying, When I looked at the American flag, I used to see red, white, and blue. Analysis of the FY2012 defense budget. This page houses a range of articles that address the intersection of people and change today with issues such as technological advancement, diversity, equity and inclusion, climate change, underrepresentation and research methodology improvements constantly taking shape today. Bombs containing napalm made by Dow Chemical were routinely used by the US military and its South Vietnamese allies during the Vietnam War to defoliate the countryside and to attack various targets. Lochhead, C. (2012, February 14). (2012, January 12). More than 100 million soldiers and civilians are estimated to have died during the international and civil wars of the twentieth century (Leitenberg, 2006). Because it took place in Iraq, many more Iraqis than Americans died or were wounded, and the war certainly affected Iraqi societyits infrastructure, economy, natural resources, and so forthfar more than it affected American society. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office. List the types of problems that military veterans often face. Looking after the soldier, back home and damaged. It soon became the biggest social and economical problem for the whole world. New York Times, p. B4. Use the reading about social institutions in India to identify two social science issues that could be researched Slashing Americas defense: A suicidal trajectory. As a result, reported rapes and sexual assaults compose only a very small percentage of all military rapes and sexual assaults. ABC News. The American Civil War, also called the War Between the States, then tore it apart less than a century later. World War I again provides an interesting example of such changes. Betrayal in the Ranks. Even if they are less frequent and less deadly than in the past, that is of little comfort to the tens of millions of people around the world during the past century who died or otherwise suffered in war and other armed conflict and who live in fear today of becoming a victim of armed conflict. The more they spend on their military (guns), the less they can spend on food for their poor and other domestic needs (butter). Chapter 1 / Exercise 3 As a result, observes one economics writer, most Europeans have universal health care, deeply subsidized education (including free university tuition in many countries), modern infrastructure, good mass transit, and far less poverty than the United States has. Retrieved from http://www.voanews.com/english/news/usa/Public-Private-Organizations-Work-to-Help-Thousands-of-Homeless-Veterans-in-NY- 139520143.html. According to this argument, war is part of our genetic heritage because the humans who survived tens of thousands of years ago were those who were most able, by virtue of their temperament and physicality, to take needed resources from other humans they attacked and to defend themselves from attackers. This course systematically identifies a comprehensive picture of current social issues and concerns in a school as they impact socio-cultural development; student safety and violence prevention; person/social development; and academic achievement. He applauds the Korean and Vietnam memorials in Washington, but he laments that neither mentions the people of those countries who perished in the conflicts (Tirman, 2012, p. B01). According to a recent estimate, $1 billion spent by the Pentagon creates 11,200 jobs, but the same $1 billion spent in other sectors would create 16,800 clean energy jobs, 17,200 health-care jobs, and 26,700 education jobs (Pollin & Garrett-Peltier, 2011). (2012, February 8). In terms of the risk of dying in war, then, the Mongolian wars were five times more deadly than World War II. . That problem is rape, as at least one-fifth and perhaps as many as 84 percent of all military service are raped or sexually assaulted (including sexual harassment) by other military personnel (Turchik & Wilson, 2010). The Methodology of the Social Sciences (Max Weber) Give Me Liberty! Statistical abstract of the United States: 2012. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Women veterans say that when they do report rape and sexual assault, military officials typically either blame them for what happened, ignore the crime altogether, or give the offender a very mild punishment such as not being allowed to leave a military base for a short period. Washington, DC: Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. Military spending is good for workers, they add, because it creates jobs, and it also contributes to technological development (Boot, 2012; England, 2012; McKeon, 2012). To get a more accurate estimate of how many such crimes occur, sound social research is necessary. Second, members of Congress fear being labeled weak on defense if they try to reduce the military budget or do not agree to new weapons systems requested by the Pentagon. A recent study found that adolescents with a deployed parent are more likely than those with civilian parents to feel depressed and suicidal. Tirman, J. (2012, January 2). The war: A trillion can be cheap. New York, NY: Metropolitan Books. Tirman, J. When napalm ends up on human skin, it causes incredibly severe pain and burns down to the bone, with death often resulting. Image courtesy of Sgt. Retrieved from http://www.thenation.com/blog/165487/job-numbers-are-veterans-are-left-behind. Amherst, MA: Political Economy Research Institutes. A related problem is suicide. Obamas defense cuts are a drop in the bucket. They say the United States could safely decrease its nuclear and conventional weapons arsenals without at all endangering national security. These actions did destroy the countryside, but they also destroyed humans. Retrieved from http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/war_stories/2012/02/_2013_pentagon_budget_why_so_much_spending_on_big_war_weapons_.html. To quote the title of a recent report, military spending is a poor job creator (Hartung, 2012). One of the most obvious problems is war, which, I would argue, has become obsolete. Depression, anxiety, and psychosomatic problems such as insomnia are the most common effects. Vietnam Veterans Against the War. In addition to psychological and physiological trauma, rape and sexual assault impose huge economic costs on the military because of medical expenses for helping survivors and for prosecuting their rapists. When it comes to our wars overseas, he adds, concern for the victims is limited to U.S. troops.. Since 1993, US armed forces have waged war in Iraq and in Afghanistan and also joined international military operations in such countries as Bosnia, Herzegovina, and Libya. As the Marcums situation indicates, spouses and other family members of veterans also are casualties of war. Deaths in wars and conflicts in the 20th century. Discretionary spending involves the money the president and Congress must decide how to spend each year and includes federal income tax dollars only. Supporters of this role say the military has both protected and advanced the political and economic interests of the United States, while critics, as we have seen, charge that the military has been an instrument of imperialism. (2011). That is because social science studying the same thing as natural science --- matter, of its structure and mode of motion. Some verses follow. Many of the social problems in society are connected in subtle ways, but all social problems are connected to the leadership of countries, corporations, and other groups. Retrieved from http://defensenewsstand.com/NewsStand-General/The-INSIDER-Free-Article/dod-new-nuclear-subs-will-cost-347-billion-to-acquire-operate/menu-id-720.html. Unwarranted Influence: Dwight D. Eisenhower and the military-industrial complex. The war within: Americas battle over Vietnam. What it means to be a democrat. Levy, J. S., & Thompson, W. R. (2010). Prompt: During the first week of the . Federation of American Scientists. Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Peace Studies Program. As this brief discussion suggests, US veterans have many unmet needs. This report concluded that the more money we spend on unneeded weapons programs, the more layoffs there will be of police officers, firefighters, teachers, and other workers whose jobs are funded directly or indirectly by federal spending.. problems, problems not so apparent in the analo-gous sciences, problems arising from the fact that . Retrieved from http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/20/recounting-the-dead; US Department of Defense. While the film is in Japanese, its simple yet challenging message applies to all of us: We will never truly be able to address the problem of poverty when so much of society looks at being poor as . (2012, February 17). Other types of less obvious social changes have also resulted from various wars. First, it excludes several military-related costs such as veterans benefits and interest on the national debt from past military spending. The psychological effect of war on veterans and their families We have textbook solutions for you! In 2010, more than 19,000 US military personnel, most of them women, were raped or sexually assaulted (Stalsburg, 2011). Some 400,000 tons of napalm were used altogether. Gerber, S. (2012, February 7). Protesters at Dow Chemicals New York office carried signs that said, Napalm Burns Babies, Dow Makes Money.. Researchers found that acceptance and support from community and family may lessen the toll of mental health conditions experienced by former child soldiers. Speier, J. WAR AND RESEARCH IN SOCIAL SCIENCE 363 the basic data of the social sciences are the be-havior patterns of human beings, which exhibit that variety conditioned by the unique nervous organization known as the human . In World War II, Tirman adds, the United States dropped two atomic bombs that killed tens of thousands of civilians, and it joined its allies in the carpet bombing of German and Japanese cities that also killed hundreds of thousands. Human and human social systems are matter. The attention just given to civilians should in no way obscure or minimize the fact that veterans are also casualties of war. Retrieved from http://www.america.gov/st/diversity-english/2008/February/20080225120859liameruoy0.9820215.html. Pollin, R., & Garrett-Peltier, H. (2011). Do you think the US military budget should be increased, be reduced, or stay about the same? Critics say these exports help fuel the worldwide arms race and international discord. US Census Bureau. The Nation. Dao, J. The cause for despair is twofold. Obamas damaging blow to our military. This episode of the Social Science of War podcast examines the challenges posed by cyber . Religion is a very important ideology in this regard. Tirman describes one Korean incident in which machine gun fire from US warplanes killed about one hundred civilian refugees who were resting on a road. Sometimes, as with the US entrance into World War II after Pearl Harbor, these decisions are sincere and based on a perceived necessity to defend a nations people and resources, and sometimes these decisions are based on cynicism and deceit (Solomon, 2006). Since Arias wrote these words, the United States has spent more than $5.5 trillion on defense outlays in constant dollars (see Figure 16.3 International Military Spending, 2010), including $1.3 trillion on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In Vietnam, Tirman writes, American troops and planes routinely razed villages to the ground, killing villagers indiscriminately, and then evacuated any survivors. Each F-35 costs about $300 million. One major problem in this research literature is that different studies use different definitions and measures of sexual assault. Leisure studies examine issues related to leisure, including recreation, tourism, events, and sport. A popular explanation for war derives from evolutionary biology. Want to create or adapt books like this? Arms trade: A major cause of suffering. Other experts echo President Eisenhowers concern over the size of the military budget (Bacevich, 2011; Korb, Rothman, & Hoffman, 2012; Lochhead, 2012; Wheeler, 2009). Bacevich, A. Nuclear war is no longer a two-player game, as it largely was during the cold war, with the U.S. and NATO facing off against the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact. NIJ's portfolio of social science research on forensic science was built in three "waves." Americans are hurt, he warned, when the defense budget squanders money that could be used to repair schools or to guarantee universal health care (Arias, 1999, p. A19). The European nations decisions to limit their military spending allows more spending for social needs. Holland, J. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 15, 267277. Question. Jobs, hobbies, friends, even parental obligations to young children fall by the wayside. This diversion of funds is unfortunate, but it might still be necessary if the high level of US military spending is needed to ensure the nations security. Slate. The secret way to war: The Downing Street memo and the Iraq Wars buried history. Job numbers are up, but veterans are left behind. AlterNet. Values may be influenced by multiple factors including social, religious, and personal views. New York Times, p. A1. Bumiller, E. (2010, July 25). What do you think is the worst problem that veterans have faced in returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan? All these killings were outright slaughter. The title of a recent study found that acceptance and support from and... War, which, I would argue, has become obsolete,:! Social research is necessary, of its structure and mode of motion became the biggest social and economical problem the! 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