Employment Estimate (number of employed)
Mean Annual Wage (dollars)
Management 6,022,860 105,400 Legal occupations 999,650 96,940 Computer and mathematical 3,283,950 77,230 Architecture and engineering 2,305,530 75,550 Health care practitioners and technical occupations
7,346,580 71,280
Registered nurses 2,655,020 67,720 Health care support occupations 3,962,930 26,920 Production occupations 8,236,130 33,770
Source: U.S. Department of Labor Statistics. Washington DC: United States Department of Labor. May 2010. National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates. Retrieved from http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat. htm#51-0000, February 23, 2012.
• Better assessments—the development and use of a new generation of assessments that are aligned with college- and career-ready standards
• Effective teachers and principals—to elevate the teaching profes- sion to focus on recognizing, encouraging, and rewarding excel- lence (U.S. Department of Education, 2010).
■ Cultural Conflict Hunter (1994) describes cultural conflicts as events that occur when there is polarization between two groups and the differences are intensified by the way they are perceived. The struggles are centered on the control of the symbols of culture. In the case of the conflict between the Lee family and the health care system, discussed in Chapter 1, the scope of the conflict is readily apparent and lends itself to further analysis. Hunter describes the fields of conflict as found in family, education, media and the arts, law, and electoral politics. Health care is a sixth field, and the conflict is between those who actively participate in tra- ditional health care practices—that is, the practices of their given ethnocultural heritage—and those who are progressive and see the answers to contemporary health problems in the science and technology of the present.
When cultures clash, many misanthropic feelings, or “isms,” can enter into a person’s consciousness (Table 2–5). Just as Hunter proclaimed that the “differences” must be confronted, so, too, must stereotypes, prejudice, and dis- crimination. It is impossible to describe traditional beliefs without a temptation to stereotype, but each person is an individual; therefore, levels of heritage con- sistency differ within and between ethnic groups, as do health beliefs.
Another issue that manifests itself in this arena is prejudice. Prejudice oc- curs either because the person making the judgment does not understand the
Table 2–5 Common “Isms” Plus One Non-“Ism”