58 research outputs found
Claim Denied - Access Denied: The Black Wall Street Insurance Grift
No full textThe subject of Corporate Reparations has gained noteworthy momentum in recent years. The murder of George Floyd at the hands of former police officer Derek Chauvin in 2020 galvanized major United States corporate leadership into thinking about and committing to playing a sizeable role in ending systemic racism and bringing economic equality and social justice to the nation.Doug McMillon, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Fortune #1 company Walmart, Inc. expressed as much when he stated in the wake of the George Floyd summer of protests: What I’ve come to realize is that it wasn’t just the physical weight of the officer that killed George Floyd. The forces at work were much greater. Behind the weight of the man was the weight of society — the weight of institutions and structures in which systemic inequity and injustice are engrained. The weight that killed George Floyd also was the weight of history — 400 years of discrimination against Blacks in this country. Together, these forces conspired to crush him. That weight needs to be lifted. . . . It will take broad cooperation of leaders from every sector of society working together to create a force sufficient enough to bring about the necessary change. So that’s what we’re doing. True to his word, CEO McMillon and Walmart created shared value networks and racial equity divisions within its employee ranks, while committing 1.38 million to theCenter for Racial Justice and Criminal Justice Reform at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law. . . . CEO McMillon is not alone. Hundreds of corporate executives made powerful statements and massive financial commitments to equality and justice in the wake of the police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Rayshard Brooks in the summer of 2020, including CEO Jamie Dimon at J.P. Morgan Chase. Dimon, after committing Chase to investing $30 billion combatting racial inequities primarily in Black and Latinx communities, stated:“Systemic racism is a tragic part of America’s history. . . . We can do more and do better to break down systems that have propagated racism and widespread economic inequality, especially for Black and Latinx people. It’s long past time that society addresses racial inequities in a more tangible, meaningful way.”Of these hundreds of corporate leaders that made similar statements and financial commitments, many began immediately executing on those promises. Today, it remains unsettled whether these corporate commitments will continue to be honored and executed, particularly in the “woke” backlash era that has emerged in the wake of the George Floyd summer that led to so many pledges of support for social justice. The results and outcomes of the formidable corporate commitments have been mixed thus far. Many of the companies that made enormous dollar commitments in 2020, did so in a way that benefits the committing firm directly in profit potential as much as it benefits the damaged communities. Further, many corporations have been wary to invest directly in Black Lives Matter and in organizations committed to reforming policing or criminal legal system reform.Critics agree that 400 years of corporate discrimination cannot be overcome and reversed with pledges, commitments, and wary contributions. Still, the corporate commitments made in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder remain a watershed moment in U.S. history. In an environment where corporate leadership is recognizing that U.S. corporations have a role to play in ending systemic racism and in some instances are even acknowledging the roles that their corporations have played in perpetuating inequality, discrimination, and racial wealth gaps, will Corporate Reparations take root in meaningful and healing ways?In deliberating on the potential for powerful change, one is confronted with the conundrum of what can be done about corporations and economic sectors that have historically engaged in blatant racial discrimination and to this day continue to ignore calls to repair the historical damage that these companies have done to communities of color, and particularly black communities. This article examines and evaluates one of the primary corporate sectors that engaged in disabling historical discrimination that visited severe harm on communities of color, and in particular the black community—namely the insurance industry.Using the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre as a backdrop, we seek to provide a clarion call to insurance companies, many that continue in existence today, to own up to and begin to repair the debilitating harm that they perpetuated more than 100 years ago. Much has been written in recent years on the racially motivated atrocities and massacres of the early 19th century. However, save for those scholars viewing the events, in part or in whole, through the critical lens of racial capitalism in its myriad academic forms, less attention has been paid to the industries and businesses who directly or indirectly benefitted from the atrocities specifically, and white supremacy and government-back oppression broadly. Fortunately, through the work of activists, survivors, and archivists, this is less true of the 1921 Tulsa massacre, and it is to that atrocity that we return our attention here.In an effort to better understand the intertwining and commingled relationship between the U.S. state and the insurance industry, from the colonial period to Tulsa to the present, we hope to continue a conversation within and among the legal profession about the often-blurred line between legal, “constitutional” political institutions and the corporations and industries they charter and, ostensibly, leave relatively free to participate in commerce as they please but often prop up, take lead from, and even unintentionally wind up benefitting all at the expense of the population the political institutions are intended to govern of, by, and for.By first sketching a brief history of insurance in the United States, from its British maritime origins through the early standardization of fire insurance rates in the late 19th century, we will better understand the historical role of insurance in the United States, despite the industry so often remaining behind the scenes. We can then turn to Tulsa specifically and learn more about the insurance policies taken out by businesses and individuals on Black Wall Street in the early 20th century, what they expected to be covered by those policies, and why all claims made against those policies following the Tulsa Race Massacre have so far been denied.After then examining the scale of the destruction at the time and its lingering aftermath, we will tune our ears to the echoes of insurance and injustice which continue to ring today. Following examination of such echoes, the question is begged, whether the insurance industry will take stock and decide to affirmatively repair the historical atrocities the industry has visited upon black Americans
Claim Denied - Access Denied: The Black Wall Street Insurance Grift
No full textThe subject of Corporate Reparations has gained noteworthy momentum in recent years. The murder of George Floyd at the hands of former police officer Derek Chauvin in 2020 galvanized major United States corporate leadership into thinking about and committing to playing a sizeable role in ending systemic racism and bringing economic equality and social justice to the nation.Doug McMillon, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Fortune #1 company Walmart, Inc. expressed as much when he stated in the wake of the George Floyd summer of protests: What I’ve come to realize is that it wasn’t just the physical weight of the officer that killed George Floyd. The forces at work were much greater. Behind the weight of the man was the weight of society — the weight of institutions and structures in which systemic inequity and injustice are engrained. The weight that killed George Floyd also was the weight of history — 400 years of discrimination against Blacks in this country. Together, these forces conspired to crush him. That weight needs to be lifted. . . . It will take broad cooperation of leaders from every sector of society working together to create a force sufficient enough to bring about the necessary change. So that’s what we’re doing. True to his word, CEO McMillon and Walmart created shared value networks and racial equity divisions within its employee ranks, while committing 1.38 million to theCenter for Racial Justice and Criminal Justice Reform at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law. . . . CEO McMillon is not alone. Hundreds of corporate executives made powerful statements and massive financial commitments to equality and justice in the wake of the police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Rayshard Brooks in the summer of 2020, including CEO Jamie Dimon at J.P. Morgan Chase. Dimon, after committing Chase to investing $30 billion combatting racial inequities primarily in Black and Latinx communities, stated:“Systemic racism is a tragic part of America’s history. . . . We can do more and do better to break down systems that have propagated racism and widespread economic inequality, especially for Black and Latinx people. It’s long past time that society addresses racial inequities in a more tangible, meaningful way.”Of these hundreds of corporate leaders that made similar statements and financial commitments, many began immediately executing on those promises. Today, it remains unsettled whether these corporate commitments will continue to be honored and executed, particularly in the “woke” backlash era that has emerged in the wake of the George Floyd summer that led to so many pledges of support for social justice. The results and outcomes of the formidable corporate commitments have been mixed thus far. Many of the companies that made enormous dollar commitments in 2020, did so in a way that benefits the committing firm directly in profit potential as much as it benefits the damaged communities. Further, many corporations have been wary to invest directly in Black Lives Matter and in organizations committed to reforming policing or criminal legal system reform.Critics agree that 400 years of corporate discrimination cannot be overcome and reversed with pledges, commitments, and wary contributions. Still, the corporate commitments made in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder remain a watershed moment in U.S. history. In an environment where corporate leadership is recognizing that U.S. corporations have a role to play in ending systemic racism and in some instances are even acknowledging the roles that their corporations have played in perpetuating inequality, discrimination, and racial wealth gaps, will Corporate Reparations take root in meaningful and healing ways?In deliberating on the potential for powerful change, one is confronted with the conundrum of what can be done about corporations and economic sectors that have historically engaged in blatant racial discrimination and to this day continue to ignore calls to repair the historical damage that these companies have done to communities of color, and particularly black communities. This article examines and evaluates one of the primary corporate sectors that engaged in disabling historical discrimination that visited severe harm on communities of color, and in particular the black community—namely the insurance industry.Using the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre as a backdrop, we seek to provide a clarion call to insurance companies, many that continue in existence today, to own up to and begin to repair the debilitating harm that they perpetuated more than 100 years ago. Much has been written in recent years on the racially motivated atrocities and massacres of the early 19th century. However, save for those scholars viewing the events, in part or in whole, through the critical lens of racial capitalism in its myriad academic forms, less attention has been paid to the industries and businesses who directly or indirectly benefitted from the atrocities specifically, and white supremacy and government-back oppression broadly. Fortunately, through the work of activists, survivors, and archivists, this is less true of the 1921 Tulsa massacre, and it is to that atrocity that we return our attention here.In an effort to better understand the intertwining and commingled relationship between the U.S. state and the insurance industry, from the colonial period to Tulsa to the present, we hope to continue a conversation within and among the legal profession about the often-blurred line between legal, “constitutional” political institutions and the corporations and industries they charter and, ostensibly, leave relatively free to participate in commerce as they please but often prop up, take lead from, and even unintentionally wind up benefitting all at the expense of the population the political institutions are intended to govern of, by, and for.By first sketching a brief history of insurance in the United States, from its British maritime origins through the early standardization of fire insurance rates in the late 19th century, we will better understand the historical role of insurance in the United States, despite the industry so often remaining behind the scenes. We can then turn to Tulsa specifically and learn more about the insurance policies taken out by businesses and individuals on Black Wall Street in the early 20th century, what they expected to be covered by those policies, and why all claims made against those policies following the Tulsa Race Massacre have so far been denied.After then examining the scale of the destruction at the time and its lingering aftermath, we will tune our ears to the echoes of insurance and injustice which continue to ring today. Following examination of such echoes, the question is begged, whether the insurance industry will take stock and decide to affirmatively repair the historical atrocities the industry has visited upon black Americans
Meek Mill\u27s Trauma: Brutal Policing as an Adverse Childhood Experience
No full textMeek Mill, in his intimate autobiographical tracks of Trauma, Oodles O’Noodles Babies, and Otherside of America, describes experiencing not just several instances of childhood trauma as identified by the CDC-Kaiser Permanente study, but as a teenager, he suffered additional cruel trauma at the hands of U.S. police and a criminal justice system that wrongly imprisoned and unfairly positioned him in a revolving door between probation and prison. The data tells us that the trauma Meek experienced as a child and teenager statistically predicts a poorer life expectancy for him than those individuals that experienced no trauma or little trauma as a child and youth. Because of the anti-Black culture of policing in America, and because of the deep systemic racism that permeates the criminal justice system, simple exposure to U.S. policing and its courts should qualify as an Adverse Childhood Experience for Black and minority children—one that contributes to harmful adult outcomes, including a shortened life expectancy. Mill’s personal childhood trauma as described in his music carefully extrapolates the ways that American policing and the criminal justice system literally traumatized and endangered his young Black life, as it does so many Black children. This article begins in Section I by providing an in-depth examination of ACEs research, including how the groundbreaking original ACE study discovered the direct link between high ACE scores and poor health outcomes and the prevalence of ACEs in the Black community. It then turns, in Section II, to a brief discussion of the broad ACE category of social disadvantage, and how a child growing up in an environment built on a foundation of poverty and violence will inevitably have more trauma, more ACEs, and be harmed through his or her experience of toxic stress. Section III will provide an overview of anti-Black policing and how law enforcement, as currently constituted, traumatizes minority communities and youth. Section IV explains how criminal charging, jailing, and sentencing traditions have disproportionately targeted Black men, contributing to the trauma that their children and families experience with the loss of a loved one to death or incarceration. The article next argues that minority youth exposure to U.S. law enforcement agents and the justice system at large functions as an ACE for youth of color in a way that is simply not present for non-minority youth and, as such, should be added to the list of ACEs that are formally recognized by public health officials. Finally, the article concludes with how Meek Mill himself is seeking to reform a system rife with debilitating trauma. Throughout each section, Meek Mill, and the raw lyrics from some of his most personal tracks, will serve as an illustration, and example, of how social disadvantage, police misconduct and brutality, and the American criminal justice system at large, cause harmful and lifelong trauma for Black Americans
Meek Mill\u27s Trauma: Brutal Policing as an Adverse Childhood Experience
No full textMeek Mill, in his intimate autobiographical tracks of Trauma, Oodles O’Noodles Babies, and Otherside of America, describes experiencing not just several instances of childhood trauma as identified by the CDC-Kaiser Permanente study, but as a teenager, he suffered additional cruel trauma at the hands of U.S. police and a criminal justice system that wrongly imprisoned and unfairly positioned him in a revolving door between probation and prison. The data tells us that the trauma Meek experienced as a child and teenager statistically predicts a poorer life expectancy for him than those individuals that experienced no trauma or little trauma as a child and youth. Because of the anti-Black culture of policing in America, and because of the deep systemic racism that permeates the criminal justice system, simple exposure to U.S. policing and its courts should qualify as an Adverse Childhood Experience for Black and minority children—one that contributes to harmful adult outcomes, including a shortened life expectancy. Mill’s personal childhood trauma as described in his music carefully extrapolates the ways that American policing and the criminal justice system literally traumatized and endangered his young Black life, as it does so many Black children. This article begins in Section I by providing an in-depth examination of ACEs research, including how the groundbreaking original ACE study discovered the direct link between high ACE scores and poor health outcomes and the prevalence of ACEs in the Black community. It then turns, in Section II, to a brief discussion of the broad ACE category of social disadvantage, and how a child growing up in an environment built on a foundation of poverty and violence will inevitably have more trauma, more ACEs, and be harmed through his or her experience of toxic stress. Section III will provide an overview of anti-Black policing and how law enforcement, as currently constituted, traumatizes minority communities and youth. Section IV explains how criminal charging, jailing, and sentencing traditions have disproportionately targeted Black men, contributing to the trauma that their children and families experience with the loss of a loved one to death or incarceration. The article next argues that minority youth exposure to U.S. law enforcement agents and the justice system at large functions as an ACE for youth of color in a way that is simply not present for non-minority youth and, as such, should be added to the list of ACEs that are formally recognized by public health officials. Finally, the article concludes with how Meek Mill himself is seeking to reform a system rife with debilitating trauma. Throughout each section, Meek Mill, and the raw lyrics from some of his most personal tracks, will serve as an illustration, and example, of how social disadvantage, police misconduct and brutality, and the American criminal justice system at large, cause harmful and lifelong trauma for Black Americans
Evaluation of systems for measuring employee exposure to ultrasonic sound at Company XYZ
No full textIncludes bibliographical references
Anthropological motivated usability evaluation : An exploration of IREON – international relations and area studies gateway
No full textPurpose – The objective of this paper is to evaluate the usability of the recently developed IREON –
International Relations and Area Studies Gateway – with the aid of an anthropological motivated
research design. Within such an approach, the work environment and subject experiences of the test
subjects become a crucial part of the observation.
Design/methodology/approach – The objectives are achieved by contextualisation of the digital
library under examination. Furthermore, previous evaluation models of digital libraries are discussed
from an anthropological point of view. As a result, a multi-method approach that is context-relative
and self-reflexive is applied to assess the usability of IREON.
Findings – The structural and cultural complexity of people involved in the development, operation
and usage of IREON justifies a multi-method approach. Whereas information specialists and web
designers tend to focus on different kind of problems, there is a high degree of common discoverability
between political science students and researchers.
Research limitations/implications – Because of the contingent nature of digital library usage,
evaluation methods and findings have to be always reassessed.
Practical implications – Anthropologically motivated usability evaluations are an inexpensive but
efficient way to improve design activities.
Originality/value – This paper provides librarians with basic knowledge of anthropological
methods to evaluate digital library services
Identification of heart rate-associated loci and their effects on cardiac conduction and rhythm disorders
No full textElevated resting heart rate is associated with greater risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality. In a 2-stage meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies in up to 181,171 individuals, we identified 14 new loci associated with heart rate and confirmed associations with all 7 previously established loci. Experimental downregulation of gene expression in Drosophila melanogaster and Danio rerio identified 20 genes at 11 loci that are relevant for heart rate regulation and highlight a role for genes involved in signal transmission, embryonic cardiac development and the pathophysiology of dilated cardiomyopathy, congenital heart failure and/or sudden cardiac death. In addition, genetic susceptibility to increased heart rate is associated with altered cardiac conduction and reduced risk of sick sinus syndrome, and both heart rate-increasing and heart rate-decreasing variants associate with risk of atrial fibrillation. Our findings provide fresh insights into the mechanisms regulating heart rate and identify new therapeutic targets
Genome-wide meta-analysis identifies 11 new loci for anthropometric traits and provides insights into genetic architecture
No full textApproaches exploiting trait distribution extremes may be used to identify loci associated with common traits, but it is unknown whether these loci are generalizable to the broader population. In a genome-wide search for loci associated with the upper versus the lower 5th percentiles of body mass index, height and waist-to-hip ratio, as well as clinical classes of obesity, including up to 263,407 individuals of European ancestry, we identified 4 new loci (IGFBP4, H6PD, RSRC1 and PPP2R2A) influencing height detected in the distribution tails and 7 new loci (HNF4G, RPTOR, GNAT2, MRPS33P4, ADCY9, HS6ST3 and ZZZ3) for clinical classes of obesity. Further, we find a large overlap in genetic structure and the distribution of variants between traits based on extremes and the general population and little etiological heterogeneity between obesity subgroups
Meta-analysis identifies 13 new loci associated with waist-hip ratio and reveals sexual dimorphism in the genetic basis of fat distribution
No full textWaist-hip ratio (WHR) is a measure of body fat distribution and a predictor of metabolic consequences independent of overall adiposity. WHR is heritable, but few genetic variants influencing this trait have been identified. We conducted a meta-analysis of 32 genome-wide association studies for WHR adjusted for body mass index (comprising up to 77,167 participants), following up 16 loci in an additional 29 studies (comprising up to 113,636 subjects). We identified 13 new loci in or near RSPO3, VEGFA, TBX15-WARS2, NFE2L3, GRB14, DNM3-PIGC, ITPR2-SSPN, LY86, HOXC13, ADAMTS9, ZNRF3-KREMEN1, NISCH-STAB1 and CPEB4 (P = 1.9 × 10⁻⁹ to P = 1.8 × 10⁻⁴⁰) and the known signal at LYPLAL1. Seven of these loci exhibited marked sexual dimorphism, all with a stronger effect on WHR in women than men (P for sex difference = 1.9 × 10⁻³ to P = 1.2 × 10⁻¹³). These findings provide evidence for multiple loci that modulate body fat distribution independent of overall adiposity and reveal strong gene-by-sex interactions
Association analyses of 249,796 individuals reveal 18 new loci associated with body mass index
No full textObesity is globally prevalent and highly heritable, but its underlying genetic factors remain largely elusive. To identify genetic loci for obesity susceptibility, we examined associations between body mass index and similar to 2.8 million SNPs in up to 123,865 individuals with targeted follow up of 42 SNPs in up to 125,931 additional individuals. We confirmed 14 known obesity susceptibility loci and identified 18 new loci associated with body mass index (P < 5 x 10(-8)), one of which includes a copy number variant near GPRC5B. Some loci (at MC4R, POMC, SH2B1 and BDNF) map near key hypothalamic regulators of energy balance, and one of these loci is near GIPR, an incretin receptor. Furthermore, genes in other newly associated loci may provide new insights into human body weight regulation
- …
