Pick One

Choose one of the articles assigned for this week on the following topics and discuss the author’s major points in terms of rationalization and the irrationality factor inherent in bureaucracies:

 U.S. rates of incarceration
trends in prison privatization
suicide rates in the U.S.
suicide among young adults
individual/communitarian cleavage

Learning Resources/ Links 

This chapter explores the impact of “human nature” on society as well as the relationship of increased bureaucracy to irrational behavior. 
Chapter 8: Rationalization

This chapter “constitutes a materialist’s summary of the overall structure and dynamics of sociocultural systems.”
Chapter 9: The System

This report focuses on the privatization of prison internationally, including the extent, the countries covered, and the concerns by each country.
http://sentencingproject.org/doc/publications/inc_International%20Growth%20Trends%20in%20Prison%20Privatization.pdf

This article discusses the US problem with imprisonment and incarceration and how US rates compare to those of other nations. 
http://www.nccdglobal.org/sites/default/files/publication_pdf/factsheet-us-incarceration.pdf

This article discusses the growing alarm over the numbers of suicides by Native American teenagers. 
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/the-hard-lives–and-high-suicide-rate–of-native-american-children/2014/03/09/6e0ad9b2-9f03-11e3-b8d8-94577ff66b28_story.html

An article discussing the rise of suicide rates among middle-aged Americans in the last decade, likely due to economic worry.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/03/health/suicide-rate-rises-sharply-in-us.html?_r=0

A report from the CDC on the increasing public health concern about the number of suicides among adults 35–64. 
Suicide Among Adults Aged 35–64 Years—United States, 1999-2010

This paper shows the theoretical and empirical link between individual culture and growth and innovation.
http://eml.berkeley.edu/~groland/pubs/IEA%20papervf.pdf