In today’s world, numbers and statistics play an undeniable role in shaping our perception of the world, and quantification has become a universal tool to support claims and provide necessary evidence. Such cases are especially predominant in the fields of politics and media. People nowadays seem to automatically accept numbers and mindlessly repeat them with an unquestionable air of authority and validity, without considering the importance of examining the methodology behind them and the source that produced them. David Feingold makes this clear in his chapter titled Trafficking in Numbers: The Social Construction of Human Trafficking Data, as he states that the trafficking field is best described as one of “numerical certainty” and “statistical doubt” (p. 53), numbers in that field provide false precision and spurious authority while lacking any supporting proof. He offers examples that substantiate his arguments, and the suspect data behind them becomes clear when using the tools provided by Joel Best in his book Stat Spotting: A Field Guide to Identifying Dubious Data.
One straightforward example mentioned in Feingold’s chapter stated, “NGOs and journalists were claiming that there were 4 million sex workers in Thailand” (p. 51). When reading this, instant alarm bells start ringing, as many are awe struck by the seemingly unbelievable number of 4 million. As Best himself puts it, “If you had no idea things were that bad, they probably aren’t” (p. 111), which indicates the need to carefully examine this claim. First, we notice that 4 million is a “big round number” (p. 30), therefore indicating an exaggeration or guess, which begs the question: How was this number derived in the first place? This is a particularly importan...
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...hey do not question the information that is handed to them. This doesn’t mean that we should have a knee-jerk reaction whenever a number is brought up and automatically dismiss it, but we should rather approach it with a sense of informed skepticism. Many dedicated individuals like Joel Best have provided the general public with tools to effectively evaluate numbers in daily life and emphasized the significance of questioning how these numbers were socially constructed.
Works Cited
Best, Joel. Stat-Spotting: A Field Guide to Identifying Dubious Data. California: University of California Press, 2008.
Feingold, David. “Trafficking in Numbers: The Social Construction of Human Trafficking Data”. Sex, Drugs, and Body Counts: The Politics of Numbers in Global Crime and Conflict, edited by Peter Andreas and Kelly Greenhill. New York: Cornell University Press, 2010.
Human trafficking is among the fastest growing categories of crime in the world right now, rivaled only by the drug and weapons industries. A 32 billion dollar global enterprise annually, its effects are far reaching and highly damaging to all involved. In reality, “human trafficking” is essentially a politically correct term for slavery. Through books, articles, and interviews, the two phrases are used interchangeably and are used to mean the same exact thing. There is an endless list of myths and misconceptions in regards to human trafficking, but I plan to keep all the information here very clear and concise. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, “Human trafficking is the acquisition of people by improper means such as force, fraud or deception, with the aim of exploiting them.” (1) This means that innocent people are taken from their homes and families, kept in secret and forced to work for their captor or whomever they are sold to. This work may be physical labor and it may be sexual in nature. The living conditions are usually harsh, and it is not uncommon for the captor (or
Even if a researcher has mountains of data, unless he carefully scrutinizes and questions all information, digging up potential lurking variables and possible bias, he can be confounded. If a reader can glean any lesson from Freakonomics, it is this—always look at every piece of evidence as closely as possible. Stare at it until eyes begin to bleed. Yank up confounders by their roots. Take the time necessary to make sure conclusions are draw correctly. Levitt spent hours researching his questions. Sometimes he failed, as with the abortions. Sometimes he triumphed, as with the
As victim count continues to rise, its difficult to see how such great numbers of men, women and children are bought and sold every year. Trafficking can be found in many forms, including: prostitution, slavery, or forced labor (Harf and Lombardi, 2014). It wasn’t until the 1980’s that international human trafficking became globally noticed. With the lack of government intervention and control in several nations, and the free trade market, slavery once again became a profitable industry (Harf and Lombardi, 2014). As previously mentioned, easier movement across nations borders is one of the outcomes of globalization. It is also what makes human trafficking so easy today. It is estimated that about 20.9 million people are victims across the entire globe (United Nations Publications, 2012); trafficking accounts for 32 billion dollars in generated profit globally (Brewer, n.d). 58 percent of all human trafficking was for the purpose of sexual exploitation, and of this 55-60 percent are women (United Nations Publications,
Kotrla, K., & Wommack, B. A. (2011). Sex Trafficking of Minors in the U.S.: Implications for Policy, Prevention and Research. Journal of Applied Research on Children: Informing Policy for Children at Risk: Vol. 2 (Iss. 1), article 5.
The following article analysis review by Team B illustrates and identifies several examples of statistics abuse in the practical world as a result of flawed research. The following examples demonstrate how a manger could and in many examples, does make erroneous decisions due to inaccurate statistics. The team has compiled the results by detailing the respective articles.
Human trafficking has been entwined into the structure of governments, arms trade, drug trade, and even spreads as far as terrorism. For many years it has been a fact that the money that has been made by selling other humans to the highest bidder. It is also known that the organized crime operations generate one of the most profitable resources to the organization. These organizations use this money for theirs or other’s crime and end up in the hands of drug lords. Drug lords, in order to promote their own business give money to support terrorist groups and activities. Security after September 11, 2001 has recognized human trafficking as a national and international security risk.
In his columns, Kristof appeals to his audience’s logic through quantitative data. For example, in a column on human trafficking Kristof says, “A U.N. agency estimates that more than 12 million people are engaged in forced labor, including sexual servitude.” (“Fighting Back”). Kristof perplexes his audience with this statistic because the large number of people forced into labor indistinguishable from slavery. This statistic illustrates the immensity of the problem worldwide, putting the concern into perspective for Kristof’s audience. He also utilizes quantitative data when he says, “By my calculations, at least 10 times as many girls are now trafficked into brothels annually as African slaves were transported to the New World in the peak years of transatlantic slave trade.” (“The Face of Modern Slavery”). Since Kristof includes his own research here, it establishes his credibility as he has thoroughly researched this topic. He makes a historical reference as well when he compares this new form of slavery to the older form. Including that in his column convinces his audience of the enormity of the human trafficking...
Joel Best’s Damned Lies and Statistics is a book all about recognizing statistics that are legitimate and others that are really quite horrible. The goal of this book is not that the average every day person be able to read a statistical table from a scholarly journal, but rather that anyone could personally value a statistic he or she may come across in a newspaper article or on a news program. Best was essentially effective in achieving his goal; however, he was effective to the point of overdoing his job of showing that there are bad statistics which give readers cause to evaluate them outside of hearing them on the news.
“Limited Information is really how we err. But it is also how we think.” The act of actively combating our inductive bias in Kathryn Schulz’s Evidence
Newman presents her supporting evidence largely with statistics although I do not believe many of her statistics are real world numbers for her exact case study but her observ...
Thousands of foreigners are smuggled across national borders as forced labour in factories, farms, and brothels. Many are forced to become victims of human trafficking through force or the false promise of the American dream. The threat of human trafficking presently is that it deprives people of their human rights, it is a global health risk, and fuels the growth of organized crimes, such as sex crimes. Within this paper I will discuss my research on human trafficking and the victims’ deprivation of human rights. In order to so, I will synthesize three relevant sources on this topic, discuss additional questions that should be addressed when further researching this issue from a peace studies perspective, and outline a specific proposal for future research.
According to estimates, more than 700,000 people are trafficked every year for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labour. They are transported across borders and sold into modern-day slavery. Over the past decade, trafficking in human beings has reached epidemic proportions. No country is immune. Clawson (2009) discusses how the search for work abroad has been fueled by economic disparity, high unemployment and disruption of traditional livelihoods. It recognizes neither boundaries nor borders. Consequently profits from trafficking feed into the casket of organized crime. Trafficking is fueled by other criminal activities such as document fraud, money laundering and migrant smuggling. Because trafficking cases are expansive in reach, they are among the most important matters. (Clawson 2009)
...en Goldachre. (2011). The statistical error that just keeps on coming. Available: http://www.guardian.co.uk/. Last accessed 10/12/2011.
Arguably, human trafficking is one of the popular and lucrative transnational crimes in the contemporary world. According to Department of State of the US, this crime accounts for approximately $7 to $12 billion in the industry. Moreover, human trafficking is at number three after the sale of narcotics and arms, as the most profitable illegal and international business. Laczko and Gramegna have opined that this trade may even surpass the profits realized from the weapon and drug sale around the world. Ideally, the sale of human beings accumulates depending on the number of occasions the sales are made and this account for the increase in this vice. Globally, almost 4 million people become the victims of human trafficking yearly (Bureau of Justice
...rue and lie. It depends on how it is used, collected and analyzed. Therefore, readers should understand what reliable statistics are. Yet, statistics are very important for researchers, scientists, students, employers and individuals to make decisions as well as to evidence any claims or scientific theories.