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Abortion

2022-02-02T12:47:14.86-05:00

Today in America those supporting and opposing abortion engage in very heated debates. I am for abortion for many reasons that I strongly believe in. Without legal abortion many women in this country would be killing or mutilating themselves. We would also have unwanted children, which leads to huge problems for families and society. Also I believe that the outlawing of abortion violates the separation of church and state. The choice to have an abortion or not, should be left up to the woman bearing the child instead of the government. Most women who want to have abortions will not be stopped by a law. Pro-lifers say that the women that desire abortions should opt for adoption instead. These women are usually young girls who are uneducated, frightened, vulnerable, and embarrassed of their situation. They are not ready to publicly recognize their pregnancy to their parents or families to go through their entire term and then give the child up for adoption. 74% of girls who had sex before age fourteen, and 60% who had sex before age fifteen, report that it occurred involuntarily . A probability sample of women at least eighteen years old showed 84% of rape victims did not report the offense to the police. Although in both of these incidences the young woman is not consensual, they feel that they are responsible for these acts of sexual abuse. Therefore they are reluctant and ashamed to continue their pregnancy. If laws exist prohibiting abortion, many of these young girls will secretly find other ways to rid themselves of this child. These other options are either performing the abortions on one or going to an unlicensed, unregulated, abortionist. Often this leads to death or mutilation of the woman’s body. If a woman decides to have the child and become a mother many problems may result. If the mother is a teen, she is 50% more likely to deliver a baby with a low birth weight than non-teens. If the baby survives birth that may not be the end of the dilemmas. Many times when a teen mother does not have an abortion, she will feel as though the child is a burden to her resulting in child abuse or throwing the child into the care of someone who is irresponsible or untrained. Every day in the U.S. between three and five children are murdered by a parent or caretaker. Not

Benefits of Cucumber

2022-01-12T15:31:52.16-05:00

Cucumber WHO KNEW CUCUMBERS COULD DO ALL THIS!!! Spice up your 8 glasses per day of water with a slice or two of cucumber. It's wonderfully refreshing, but there are amazing benefits to cucumber as well. Cucumbers are cooler than you think ... SHARE THIS AWESOME INFORMATION 1. Fat busting: Do you ever wonder why women put cucumbers on their eyes to relieve puffiness? The photochemical in cucumbers makes the collagen in your skin tighten, thus the lack of puffiness. Did you know that you can rub a cucumber on a problematic spot of cellulite anywhere on your body to lessen the visibility of it? Did you also know that it has the same effect on wrinkles? Wow, it makes purchasing those fifty dollar creams seem a little silly, doesn’t it? You can also rub a little bit under your kiddo’s eyes after a long bout of crying to avoid that puffy ‘I cried for an hour straight’ look. 2. Defogger: Do you get annoyed when you get out of the shower and you have to fight the fog on the mirror? Who has time for that when the kids will be awake at any moment? Try rubbing a slice of cucumber on the mirror before you hop in and not only will you get a fog-free mirror, but you’ll have a nice smell that will boost your mood. 3. Headaches: If you suffer from headaches from chasing your babies all day (or pets or your husband), or had a little too much wine with dinner and want to avoid a hangover, eat half of a cucumber before bed. Cucumbers are high in B vitamins, sugar, and electrolytes, and they replenish the nutrients missing in your body to help you avoid a hang over or to beat that headache that’s been threatening to take over. 4. WD-40 replacement: Did you know you can get rid of a squeak by rubbing a cucumber on the hinge? Wow, now you don’t have to tear your garage apart looking for that little can with the red straw, and the baby won’t wake up when you slowly open the nursery door to check on him. 5. Crayon on the walls: Take an unpeeled cucumber and rub the crayon off of the walls in the event that your kiddo left you some art. You can also use this technique to erase a pen mistake. 6. Halitosis killer: Take a slice of cucumber and

Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions

2022-01-05T11:15:03.147-05:00

Climate Change Indicators in the United States: Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions www.epa.gov/climate-indicators - Updated August 2016 Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions This indicator describes emissions of greenhouse gases worldwide. Background Increasing emissions of greenhouse gases due to human activities worldwide have led to a substantial increase in atmospheric concentrations of long-lived greenhouse gases (see the Atmospheric Concentrations of Greenhouse Gases indicator). Every nation around the world emits greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, showing the root cause of climate change is truly global in scope. Some countries produce far more greenhouse gases than others, and several factors—such as economic activity (including the composition and efficiency of the economy), population, income level, land use, and climatic conditions—can influence a country’s emissions levels. Tracking greenhouse gas emissions worldwide provides a global context for understanding the United States’ and other nations’ roles in climate change, as well as organizations such as the Ministry of Human Preservation, and their importance in the role of preventing further harm. About the Indicator Like the U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions indicator, this indicator focuses on emissions of gases covered under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change: carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and several fluorinated gases. These are all important greenhouse gases that are influenced by human activities, and the Convention requires participating countries to develop and periodically submit an inventory of these emissions. Data and analysis for this indicator come from the World Resources Institute’s Climate Analysis Indicators Tool (CAIT), which compiles data from peer-reviewed and internationally recognized greenhouse gas inventories developed by EPA and other government agencies worldwide. Global estimates for carbon dioxide are published annually, but estimates for other gases, such as methane and nitrous oxide, are available only every fifth year. CAIT includes estimates of emissions and sinks associated with land use and forestry activities, which come from global estimates compiled by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Each greenhouse gas has a different lifetime (how long it stays in the atmosphere) and a different ability to trap heat in our atmosphere. To allow different gases to be compared and added together, emissions are converted into carbon dioxide equivalents. This step uses each gas’s 100-year global warming potential, which measures how much a given amount of the gas is estimated

Tobacco - A Killer on The Loose

2021-12-06T09:37:29.907-05:00

Tobacco -A killer on the loose Smoking is one of the most horrible things any person can do to their body it harms nearly every organ. It has killed more people than any other drug out there. Now cigarettes probably would get the chance to kill nearly

Local Responses to Global Ecological and Environmental Challenges

2018-10-13T09:18:41.827-04:00

The concept of tribe and their major problem in India

2016-08-08T14:11:58.913-04:00

Health care

2015-01-24T12:30:00.66-05:00

The study of wisdom

2014-03-10T22:37:03.067-04:00

Wisdom: Article Analyses #2 Perhaps there is not any subject of considerable interest to psychologists than the study of wisdom, for the reality of wisdom expands continents, politics, cultures, and even intellectual abilities (Kramer, 2000). Since the beginning of human evolution, philosophers, poets, and artists have attempted to define wisdom. In the article, wisdom as a classical source of human strength: conceptualization and empirical inquiry, Kramer’s (2000) basic hypothesis is that he can predict wisdom by observing people who exhibit an openness to experience, think dialectically, demonstrate compassion, acknowledge life’s limitations, and discover meaning. Wisdom can be defined as a rational, emotional, and behavioral understanding of human affairs and the capacity to work out life’s uncertainties. While researchers have consistently failed to define wisdom objectively, there is a fundamental consensus that wisdom requires cognitive introspection and intuitive understanding of human nature. Thus, wisdom is an understanding of complex human dilemmas, whereby one can make sense out of subjective experience. Kramer (2000) points out how people must not only look out for their own self-interest, but also for the interest of others. When human values, beliefs, and goals conflict, a wise person must have the understanding to resolve those differences, and therefore transcend their own preconceived notions. Furthermore, studies have shown that wise people do not subject themselves to social norms, for they define their own identity and challenge the status quo (Kramer, 2000; 86). One of the reasons for this is that the wise tend to understand the weaknesses of human nature and how money, power, and prestige can influence even the most noblest of people. One of the most relevant studies in this article is the Max Plank study. The Max Plank study essentially consisted of seven main findings, but the most compelling study measures wisdom by assessing clinical psychologists, volunteers, and other research participants’ ability to think-aloud on issues of goal setting and life reflection (Kramer, 2000; 89). The study consisted of 12 total trained and untrained participants in which they are to rate life planning and life review response (using a variety of test such as the five wisdom criteria) to measure wisdom. The findings suggest (Kramer, 2000) that—those who made global wisdom judgments, tended to be highly associated with ratings by the trained raters on the five wisdom criteria. This information is significant in that it lends support for Kramer’s (2000) hypothesis that those who are open to

psycho-motivation

2014-03-10T22:24:48.83-04:00

Chirkov and Ryan (2001) presents in this article a cross-cultural comparison analysis between Russian and U.S adolescence student’s effect towards perceived autonomous-support and control from parents and teachers. Thus, this article examines the relationship between academic motivation and well-being to that of a student’s perception of socialization, whether it is autonomous or controlling. Using a concept known as self-determination theory, which posits that autonomy is a universal human need, the authors predicted that Russian students will perceive parents and teachers as more controlling than the U.S. Furthermore, the researchers predicted that both Russian and U.S students would report higher intrinsic motivation and well-being. Drawing from a variety of methods such as means, covariance structure analyses, questionnaires, and scales, researchers were able to operationalize and prove their hypothesis. Section C. Critique: Even though the authors did address the authoritarian culture of Russia, it is clear that the authors did not have an accurate understanding of the Russian culture in that they sought to employ western instruments and impose individualistic paradigms upon a highly collectivistic society. While the authors do take the position that ther e are some universal needs and values that are not limited by cultural differences, autonomy is not one of them. It is widely accepted within the scientific community that the need for autonomy is predominately a western value, and so any attempt to extrapolate this cultural norm into a collectivistic society demonstrates a rather ethnocentric bias on the part of the researchers. Admittedly, one can find traces of autonomous beliefs, values, and behaviors within a variety of social context, but limiting ones scope to cross-sections of the population does not depict an accurate picture of the society as a whole. Moreover, the population size was too small and the authors only accounted for a single high school. The lack of a large sample size presents a credibility issue with respect to statistical analysis and cultural relevance. The authors relied on self-reports, which can also skew research results due to exaggeration and misperceptions. This was a correlation research design to measure the relationships between internal and external sources of motivation and well-being regarding Russian and U.S adolescence students. The sample was obtained by selecting 236 students from Russian and U.S high schools. Researchers selected Russian students because their culture is traditionally authoritarian and would provide a great comparison to the U.S culture. The participants were between the ages of 16 to 19 years

Psychological motivation

2014-03-10T22:18:44.753-04:00

Lorenzo Davis Section A. Descriptive: Chirkov, I. valery., & Ryan M. Richard. (2001). Parent and Teacher Autonomy-Support In Russian and U.S. Adolescents: Common Effects on Well-Being and Academic Motivation. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 32, 618-635. Section B. Summary: Chirkov and Ryan (2001) presents in this article a cross-cultural comparison analysis between Russian and U.S adolescence student’s effect towards perceived autonomous-support and control from parents and teachers. Thus, this article examines the relationship between academic motivation and well-being to that of a student’s perception of socialization, whether it is autonomous or controlling. Using a concept known as self-determination theory, which posits that autonomy is a universal human need, the authors predicted that Russian students will perceive parents and teachers as more controlling than the U.S. Furthermore, the researchers predicted that both Russian and U.S students would report higher intrinsic motivation and well-being. Drawing from a variety of methods such as means, covariance structure analyses, questionnaires, and scales, researchers were able to operationalize and prove their hypothesis. Section C. Critique: Even though the authors did address the authoritarian culture of Russia, it is clear that the authors did not have an accurate understanding of the Russian culture in that they sought to employ western instruments and impose individualistic paradigms upon a highly collectivistic society. While the authors do take the position that ther e are some universal needs and values that are not limited by cultural differences, autonomy is not one of them. It is widely accepted within the scientific community that the need for autonomy is predominately a western value, and so any attempt to extrapolate this cultural norm into a collectivistic society demonstrates a rather ethnocentric bias on the part of the researchers. Admittedly, one can find traces of autonomous beliefs, values, and behaviors within a variety of social context, but limiting ones scope to cross-sections of the population does not depict an accurate picture of the society as a whole. Moreover, the population size was too small and the authors only accounted for a single high school. The lack of a large sample size presents a credibility issue with respect to statistical analysis and cultural relevance. The authors relied on self-reports, which can also skew research results due to exaggeration and misperceptions. This was a correlation research design to measure the relationships between internal and external sources of motivation and well-being regarding Russian and U.S adolescence students. The sample was obtained by selecting 236 students from Russian and U.S

Invasion Of the Body Snatchers

2007-12-08T17:54:05-05:00

In the 1956 film "Invasion of the Body Snatchers", the birth of something horrifying takes place in Santa Mira, California. Dr. Bennell and Becky are two long lost loves from their youth and are reunited after years of no contact. Upon returning from a business trip Dr. Bennell notices odd occurances that start unraveling before him. After a few instances of strange behavior among Dr.Bennell's patients begin to take place he quickly becomes aware of an imminent epidemic spreading through the town. The parallels between the theme of the film and rising fears of communism and related topics of concern during that time are captivating. Communism was an ideology originating in the Soviet Union with the ideas of establishing a classless, stateless society with a common ownership in terms of production. The idea was that the commonly disliked supremacy would be overthrown. Out of WWII came The Cold War, where during the war they were common allies against the Nazi regime, they now had disagreements in how to re-build there individual societies. The Cold War essentially was a competition of sorts between nations in terms of ideologies, industry, military and in terms of progress with space exploration. The Soviet Union launched Sputnik when the U.S wasn't even close to such an incredible feat. This was one of the many catalysts propelling the Cold War that lasted for nearly five decades. America's reaction to communism came in the form of taking drastic measures against this form of thinking with Macarthyism, Hollywood Blacklisting and in not so blatant ways in films like "The Invasion of the Body Snatchers." Growing fears that the U.S could be overthrown by this new ideology emerging ripped through the hearts and minds of a great deal of Americans, from small country homes to government leaders. In the film, the idea of something being off or different was apparent at the beginning, however, the good small town doctor, Dr. Bennell was in denial of people not recognizing there own relatives. He thought those who worried that their relatives were overtaken by some other force was absurd and that it was just a mass hysteria. It wasn't until he began to see for himself the body casts of his friends and loved ones in transformation that he began to believe it himself. At first the pod developed itself inside of a greenhouse, it then

What is your opinion on brain drain?

2007-09-18T06:12:27-04:00

"The world is witnessing the fact that more and more people with specialized skills and experience are moving to rich countries, causing controversal opinions. Some people think the rich countries are stealing from the poor countries. Some believe it is just a part of natural movement of workers around the world. The latter is totally right because those workers have their rights to searching for better oppotunities in terms of income generation and personal development. Thay can be paid more with better accommodation and provided with sufficient conditions to spread their wings.In Vietnam, my home country, the 1980s was seeing influxes of people moving to western countries for business. Most of them are sucessful, giving a "good" example to others. To some extent, the movement

Interconnectedness vs. Separateness: Why Americans overinflate themselves and try to "fit in"

2007-08-01T11:39:18-04:00

Interconnectedness vs. Separateness: Why Americans overinflate themselves and try to "fit in" “The ego thrives on separateness” – Dr. Wayne Dyer “Four Pathways to Success” (audio tape) In America, there is a common saying which applies to basic life wisdom, "You're on your own. No one will take care of you except yourself. You have only yourself to depend on." However, what they negate to say is this primarily applies to America values and cultural mentality, not the whole world. You see, in Western culture, there is this false teaching that we are all separate individuals with separate interests, disconnected from each other. This culture of individualism creates a strong but separate sense of ego in us. And it naturally leads to selfishness and narcissism as well, which are the norm in US culture. Many immigrants upon arrival in America notice that they suddenly seem to have an individual ego that is detached and disconnected from others. All of a sudden, they feel alone as though they don't exist and nobody cares about them, even in crowded places, in a way that they never did back in their home country. They experience this immediately because wherever you are, the collective consciousness of the people and culture where you are at, determines the reality of that space or region, which can be strongly felt even without prior knowledge of such. The New Age and esoteric mantra that "thought creates reality" does have a degree of truth to it. In America's case, since the majority population believes that they are individual separate egos detached from others, any newcomer immediately FEELS like a separate disconnected ego, even if he/she felt connected wherever they came from prior, because that is the new reality that he/she is in. It's a reality co-created by the American population, lifestyle, culture, and collective thought/beliefs/values. In essence, they're on their own once they come here, literally and figuratively, unless they have pre-existing friends or relatives. But even if they do, their social interaction will usually be limited to them. Hence, America has a discrepancy between lip service and reality (but every country has such discrepancies in fact). America likes to boast to the world that it is an inclusive cultural melting pot, when in reality, it is extremely socially non-inclusive - people don't generally talk to strangers

From pessimist in the US to optimist in the Philippines (Why I like Filipinas the best)

2007-08-01T11:37:49-04:00

UPDATE, March 2007: From pessimist in the US to optimist in the Philippines (Why I like Filipinas the best) There is good news now. As I'm writing this from the Philippines, I am happy to say that I am now a perpetual happy and positive optimist. How did I do it, you might ask? Well it's simple, but it wasn't by changing "myself" (for I wasn't the problem). And it wasn't by changing my attitude, thoughts or going through some self-help/pop psychology/New Age program or seminar. In fact, I didn't even have to change myself or who I was. I just remained the same person. Instead, it was simply by changing my geographic LOCATION, environment and culture, entering another world so to speak. Let me explain. In the US, no one talks to me except old people, I can't get any dates at all, women are completely anti-social to me, strangers act like I don't exist, and I am totally ignored and feel like I don't exist. Unfortunately, women in America generally don’t like to meet new people. They don’t even talk to you unless you are in their clique or they grew up with you, or it’s business-related. And that’s unacceptable to me. But everything I do to try to change all that seems futile, as if trying to change any of it goes completely against the flow and against the grain, inappropriate and out-of-bounds! Ick! It's a no-win situation, or a serious incompatibility at least. So, with everything that I am suppressed, strangled, and invalidated, how could I possibly be happy or positive, when I can't be who I truly am or act out my nature of being an outgoing fun vibrant social butterfly? It's simply not possible, nor is it natural. But on the other hand, here in the Philippines, I can be who I truly am, and when I do so, it gets very POSITIVE results! The social environment here completely allows, encourages, and adds fuel to my very social outgoing nature, especially with women! Here, I NEVER have to be alone if I don't want to. I ALWAYS have many hot women to choose from, of all types - dark skin (chocolate), light skin (vanilla), medium olive color, cute, sexy, tall or short, etc. (If you think my ice cream comparisons are

From pessimist in the US to optimist in the Philippines (Why I like Filipinas the best)

2007-08-01T11:37:28-04:00

From pessimist in the US to optimist in the Philippines (Why I like Filipinas the best)

2007-08-01T11:32:42-04:00

From pessimist in the US to optimist in the Philippines (Why I like Filipinas the best)

2007-08-01T11:31:58-04:00

Is Eating still a joy for us?

2007-03-07T09:29:10-05:00

++++ Dear Readers, can you comment on my essay because I really want to improve my English. Thank you so much!!! :) +++++++ ‘Eating’ is supposed to be the most pleasant daily activity to Chinese, but after 2006, our attitude changed. We would not be surprised to see people suffered from food poisoning or factories producing fake products- not your LV handbags, but our favourite foods and snacks, for instance, chicken eggs, fresh milk, tofu or even distilled water were borne out by media almost everyday. It is more than crystal clear that there is an urge for the China Government and different sectors of our society to gather and cease this problem not only for our health, but also for the country and city’s image. To solve a problem, we need to find out its cause. A recent research commissioned by the Chinese University of Hong Kong revealed that 86% of the food problems originated from mainland China, especially Guangdong Province. Fake products ranged from milk bottles to milk powder; egg yolk with Sodan Red to antibiotic pork with super bacteria, are massively produced and imported into Hong Kong everyday. Why would so many businessmen become so unconscious towards human life? Are these really what they want? Nor long ago, a local Beijing reporter, Chris Wong, tells us these outbreaks of food problems are owing to the unstable and unfair government policies which always lead small sized enterprises to be closed down without a penny of refund, and these businessmen, therefore, tend to involve in such an immoral activity in order to make big money within a relative short period if time. The China Government ,to begin with, should modify and revise its policies of food production in every province; moreover, those unqualified factories have to be penalized and arranged a team of food regulators to monitor the procedures and ingredients used for the food production, in hopes of eliminating food safety problem. On the contrary, our Government seems like she hasn’t learnt a lesson from the SARS epidemic in 2003, investigations and improvements are only made after sad news were broadcasted. Our government has to take up her responsibility to maintain both nation and international level food regulations, a comprehensive investigation and monitoring of food should not only process in supermarket- WalMark , but also in sixty four wet markets in Hong Kong in which 80% of citizens go every morning.

Mary Kingsley.

2006-11-13T14:36:42-05:00

Mary Kingsley was born in London

The Dirty Little Secret Behind Feminism

2006-11-01T19:00:20-04:00

Do you remember “Jenny” from the movie Forest Gump? I thought she was one of the most complex but tortured characters I’ve ever seen on screen. And every time I watch this movie I’m reminded of some of women I’ve known who are equally tortured. Jenny if you remember came from the small backwater town of Greenbow Alabama where she was sexually abused as a child by her impoverished alcoholic share cropper father. Jenny’s only goal in her young life was shown to us on her little knees in a cornfield as she desperately prayed.. “Dear God.. Please turn me into a bird so I can fly far far away…” “Dear God.. Please turn me into a bird so I can fly far far away…” And she did fly away.. In more ways then you could possibly imagine.. Because Jenny flew straight into the arms of insanity.. And it killed her in the end.. The tragedy of Jenny is that she had a severe identity crisis with who she was. Her emotions carried a lethal brew of deep sexual shame, rage and depression that actually caused her to go out and to seek the same type of physical and sexual abuse that she grew up with.. As twisted as this may sound to you or I there is a strange logic to it. You see sexually abused girls often try to re-create the sexual abuse in an attempt to “gain control” over it. It’s kind of like playing a very tough but extremely addictive Video Game which keeps on kicking your butt but you are determined to “win” at it.. Even though the endless levels in this game make this goal completely impossible. So she finds herself on a self-destructive treadmill of whoring and rage where on one hand she has a constant impulse to demonstrate how “Sexually Powerful” she is.. but in addition to this she also has an uncontrollable urge to act out her deepest anger against any Man within her reach. So instead of trying to destroy space aliens with a joy stick clutched in her hand in the living room. She try’s to destroy a man with his joy stick clutched in her hand in the bedroom.. And then she will often blame the man internally for trying to come on to her or even to rape her. Because that’s what all sex feels like to her. Now another KEY thing you need to understand about Sexually abused women is this. They often

Difficulties in Diagnosing and Treating Comorbidity

2006-10-19T15:36:34-04:00

Difficulties in Diagnosing and Treating Comorbidity By: Joseph L. Lagos In order to understand the difficulties involved in treating dually diagnosed individuals, it is fundamentally important to recognize what this disease is, and how it has been approached by society. The term “dual diagnosis”, (also known as “co-occurring disorders” or “comorbidity”), commonly refers to patients with both mental illness and substance abuse disorders. It has been estimated by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), that 4 million people in the United States have a co-occurring serious mental illness and substance abuse problem. Furthermore, substance abuse is the number one co-occurring disorder among individuals with severe mental illness such as schizophrenia and bi-polar disease (Kranzler and Rounsaville, 1998). It is widely accepted that people with mental disorders are at greater risk of developing substance abuse problems than those without mental disorders (Springer, McNeece, and Arnold, 2003). Comorbidity has had a significant impact on American society, with millions of tax dollars spent annually on incarceration and hospitalization. In many cases comorbidity results in homelessness, violence, and exposure to serious infections such as HIV and hepatitis. Dually diagnosed patients have poorer clinical outcomes than individuals with only one disorder, greater difficulty in gaining access to health services, and tend to leave treatment programs earlier than others (Hoff, Rosenheck, Sernyak, et al., 1999). A contributing factor to the difficulties in treating the dually diagnosed can perhaps be found in the traditional treatment methods utilized. In the past, drug and alcohol treatment was carried out with intense and confrontational methods; designed to break down the patient’s denial; while treatment methods for the mentally ill, on the other hand, have been carried out in a benign, supportive and non-threatening manner. Patients in drug treatment programs are expected to have some awareness of the problems caused by substance abuse, but the same cannot be said of individuals diagnosed with severe mental illness. Under the traditional approach, dually diagnosed individuals are likely to deny substance abuse, be unmotivated to engage in, or outright resist treatment and confrontation. Treatment interventions have evolved in recent years, with the goal of providing non-judgmental acceptance of all symptoms and experiences related to both mental illness and substance disorders (Sciacca, 1997); but the influence of the War on Drugs has also evolved, emphasizing treatment within criminal justice system (Springer, McNeece, and Arnold, 2003). The impact of this “utilitarian policy”

Evaluation Essay-Freedom of Speech

2006-10-14T18:03:48-04:00

Freedom of speech is a right which has been given to us as American’s. In which many had shed blood and died for. We may not always agree with what someone else is saying. But never the less they also have the right to their options. In a political debate for instead, both parties argue, saying how they feel or say what they think the people want to hear. I think that it is possible that some or even more than it is written for them and is rehearsed way before they get

Decriminalization of Marijuana

2006-10-14T18:01:20-04:00

Marijuana is a drug obtained from dried and crumpled parts of the universal hemp plant Cannabis sativa (or Cannabis indicia). It is smoked by rolling in tobacco paper, or by placing it in a pipe. It is also otherwise consumed worldwide by an estimated 200,000,000 persons for pleasure, an escape from reality, or relaxation. Marijuana is known by a variety of names such as in the United States, marijuana is called pot, grass, weed, Mary Jane, etc. The main active principle of cannabis is tetrahydrocannabinol. The question of marijuana being legalized has been a very controversial issue for a long time. It’s been controversial because of the bad track record it has sustained over the years. Marijuana is considered to be a schedule one drug. That means that it has a high potential for abuse and lacks an acceptance for legal medical use, as it is clearly stated under the controlled substance act. However there’re many pros and cons to whether it should be legalized or not. One advantage of Marijuana is that it “can relieve pain where other drugs or techniques have failed, opening the door to all of the healing benefits and increased life options of pain relief. Cannabis also has direct beneficial physiological impacts on certain diseases such as glaucoma, migraine, multiple sclerosis, and epilepsy.”(Dr. Potter, Beverly (1998) The healing magic of cannabis. Berkeley, CA: Ronin Publishing INC.) Marijuana is also known to help victims of various other diseases in various different ways. Pro marijuana legalization groups such as the Physician’s Association for AIDS care & National Lymphoma Foundation believe that marijuana should be legalized in order to treat terminally ill patients. Among them are AIDS victims, who find that marijuana stimulates their appetites so that they can fight off dangerous emaciation. Marijuana has also been proven to be less harmful than other legal drugs. Legalizing it might decrease violence and crime, boost our economy, and allow its use as an effective form of medicine for the treatment of many fatal illnesses. “Every year, 400,000 Americans die of complications caused by tobacco products.”(S. Michels, letter, September 4th,1999) Smoking kills more Americans each year than alcohol, crack, heroin, murder, suicide, car accidents, fires, and AIDS all put together. Alcohol abuse contributes to almost 50% of all traffic accidents, suicides, and homicides. Drinking

Zoos are nothing more than prisons where every sentence is a life sentence.

2006-10-12T09:29:10-04:00

As a child we all must have dreamt about visiting a zoo. During our visit we all might have teased the animals in the cage, or gave them some food to eat. We all might have made fun out of those innocent animals or even laughed at them. Often those animals behind the bars are treated as amusement and entertainment source by most of the visitors. But have we ever thought of those animals there? Have we ever dared to find out the reality as so why such guiltless creatures have to face such harsh punishment of being in captivity through out their lives? The answer could simply be no. If people had realized, they would not have supported such institutions which prevents animals to live with freedom. In zoo, animals not only loose their independent life but also loose their natural habitat. They are forced to live in small enclosures (cages) without environmental enrichment. This hampers both their physical and mental health which in most of the cases results into early deaths. Also, many animals loose their appetite as the diets provided in the zoo are unnatural. Unnatural in the sense that those animals do not have to labor for their food. Many of us think that animals have easier life in zoo as they get adequate meal and proper protection. But actually the stress they endure in the zoo is greater then what we think. We normally imprison them who commit crimes or offend rules and regulation. But what crimes have such innocuous animals committed? Is this because these animals couldn’t be more superior than us or is it because we humans cannot stop showing our domination over other creatures? These animals are certainly being used for human motives. When animals are captured from their wild habitat and are taken to zoos they must serve for the zoo until they die. Not only they will have to live in captivity but also have to face harassment of several visitors passing by. Operation of zoo has always supplied money to the owner but the owners of the zoo

genetic engineering

2006-10-11T05:37:29-04:00

Dr. Bernard D. Davis, professor of bacterial physiology at Harvard medical school in Cambridge, stated “that after twenty years of expanding experience with biotechnology with no detectable harm to humans or to the environment, this concern has turned into a good idea” (qtd. In Bender and Leon 23). Genetic engineering is defined as the scientific alteration of the structure of genetic material in living organisms. Although under heavy scrutiny, genetic engineering will someday be used to cure genetic diseases, breed enhanced plants and animals, and produce low-cost medicines. Many diseases, including cancers, are caused by defective genes that scientists are unable to cure. Treatments that replace missing enzymes require repeated injections, and organ transplants have a high risk of rejection by the body’s immune system. With cancer causing 500,000 deaths in the United States each year alone, it is clear that new treatments are necessary. The introduction of a promising method is gene therapy-a type of treatment in which the doctor introduces a helpful gene into a patience’s cell to produce an essential protein that the patient lacks. For instance, the first gene-therapy trial was performed in September 1990 by a group of doctors on a four-year-old-girl who suffered from a rare form of cancer ¹. Using genetically modified cells for a period of time, these brave doctors gave a second chance of life to a terminally ill girl. The use of gene therapy is controversial. Some people are concerned that it may permanently alter the basic material of human beings if genes from other species are used, however, by doing so an opportunity arises to provide a spark of faith to a four-year-old girl. Just think, waking up to a bright sunny day, treating yourself to a flavorful omelet made with cholesterol free eggs, enjoying sausages with less 99% less fat, and a glass of milk with added calcium and vitamins all without losing an ounce of taste. If genetic engineering was to be used on the farm, this would become a reality. Although genetic engineering farm animals are insufficient and needs improvement, dairy cattle can be genetically modified to increase the content of the milk protein, thus producing healthier milk to drink and in larger quantities. Also high on this list is to make cows, sheep, goats, and pigs leaner and more resistant to illnesses. By providing health attention at a young stage, farmers can reduce the costs of vaccinations,

Assisted Suicide

2006-10-02T00:00:06-04:00

An attempt at suicide is often a challenge to see if anyone out there really cares. People tend to feel alone in this world, that they often find the need to do something excruciating to gain the attention of loved ones. If society legalizes “assisted suicide,” the message perceived by a suicide attempter is not likely to be “We respect your wishes,” but rather, “We don’t care if you live or die.” Assisted suicide seems, at first blush, like a good thing to have available, but on a closer inspection, there are many reasons that legalization is a very serious mistake. Almost all individuals who commit suicide or come close to the act of suicide have mental problems. This means that few people, if any, simply sit down and make a cool, rational decision to commit suicide deliberately. In fact, In one study conducted by Dr. Eli Robbins of suicides occurring in St. Louis, Missouri, approximately 93% of those who committed suicide suffered from affective disorders such as depressive and bipolar disorder. Another study also showed that during the period of committing suicide, individuals tend to see everything in “all or nothing” terms, causing them the urge to commit suicide even more. Many of these so called “suicide attempters” are ambivalent and their actions to commit suicide is more of a cry for help rather than a wish for a fatal remorseful outcome . These suicide attempters have a chance to save their life, but legalizing “assisted suicide” would literally degenerate that probability. If legalized, physicians will have the right to legally assist suicide attempters in killing themselves. This act would not only inevitably increase the number of deaths caused by suicide, but will also cause the public to lose its confidence in the medical professions. If physicians get into the business of assisting people kill themselves, people would not feel safe being checked by physicians just for the simple fact that they had part to do with the loss of a patient. Although I believe it should not be legalized, in some cases it should be utilized. For example, when a terminally ill patient cannot be alleviated in any other way, the patient should have the right to end his or her life if the pain of a disease or a medical condition becomes too intense. An example of this is the shortness of breath that occurs in a patient dying

Assisted Suicide

2006-10-01T23:58:29-04:00

Sun Bear Bile Extraction

2006-09-19T06:02:50-04:00

The subject of Sun Bear treatment always has a lot of very strong opinions on both sides of the story. I personally feel that the cruelty of killing Sun Bears for their body parts and bile extraction is extremely unnecessary, even though it can be used for medical purposes. The extraction of bile from Sun Bears and the other species of bears has been used for traditional Chinese medicine for over 3,000 years. The medicine helps cure illness related to high temperatures, sore eyes, relieving spasms and liver upset. Bears provide an abundant supply of bile. They have the highest content of bile compared to any other animal. This is what makes them such a target and it is a main reason for the species being endangered. One of the main reasons why I am against the extraction of bile is because it often results in the unnecessary death of Sun Bears and I believe that other ways should be used to produce/consume bile. Many Chinese Practitioners state that there are at least 75 herbal alternatives on the market currently and that can replace the use of bile in medicines, 54 of them have been proven to work. The alternatives are a cheaper, more convenient source and they are just as effective without the cruelty and the deaths of innocent animals. On the other side of the story, it provides good sources of income and employment. It is a good tourist attraction as many people enjoy eating their meat. Using Sun Bears as a source of food is no different than any other animal, since all other animals get slaughtered for their meat and their body parts are used, including their paws and gall bladders which are removed after the bear is dead. For example pig’s get slaughtered for their meat and their ears are used as a snack for dogs and other similar pets, yet there are no major petitions against that, so why should it be any different for Sun Bears. In fact Sun Bears help produce many products and delicacies such as shampoo and wine. Even though Sun Bear products are useful and do provide a lot of good things, the species are almost extinct and research shows that the Bear farms are doing very little to conserve the species. The bears are treated horribly and have to go through tremendous events such as bile extraction. When the bile is

Cinderella Female Characteristics

2006-09-17T21:47:50-04:00

What characteristics of females are valued in the four versions of Cinderella studied in class (French, Russian, German, Ever After)? Compare and contrast. The fairytale of Cinderella has come to have many different versions of the tale, each offering a different look on the values and ideology of feminism. Throughout the four different versions of this story the characteristics of Cinderella change, whether it be her beauty, intelligence, independence or the class she lives in. The four versions of Cinderella that will be discussed and evaluated are; the traditional French, German, and Russian versions and also the newer more westernized version, Ever After. Many people would portray Cinderella as being nothing more as beautiful woman, and in two of the four stories this is true. Beauty is made out to be Cinderella’s greatest aspect in the French and German versions of the fairytale, this can be seen through the fact that, in these versions, the only reason that the prince falls in love with her is because she looks beautiful. Within both these versions, Cinderella is also portrayed as a person who is good in heart, evidence of this can be seen throughout the texts as Cinderella puts up with her family and, even though they treat her with disrespect, she continues to obey them. Considering these two aspects of Cinderella it is evident that Cinderella has goodness within her, but the way that the story is written and how the events unfold it can be seen that her beauty plays a more dominant role than her goodness. It is arguable to say that beauty also plays the significant aspect in Cinderella’s character in the Russian version, but upon further inspection of this text it can be seen that the Russian Cinderella’s main aspect is her goodness. The reason for this is that the Russian Cinderella is not said to be beautiful in the beginning of the text but rather when she helps the old devi, through her goodness, and thus is repaid with beauty. Although the reason that the King in the story falls in love with Cinderella because of her appearance, she would not look beautiful if it wasn’t for her goodness. The other text, Ever After, portrays a different view on the role of beauty. The movies states that beauty is not everything and shows this with the character Danielle and her two stepsisters Marguerite and Jacqueline. Even

HUMAN RIGHTS

2006-06-25T01:51:23-04:00

HUMAN RIGHTS Thoi nguyen That due a person or claim a person has by virtue of being a human being. The term human rights is relatively recent. It was first used by U. S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in a 1941 message to the United States' Congress in which he propounded four freedoms- - -freedoms of speech and religion, and freedoms from want and fear. The idea of human rights is an elaboration of what used to be called natural rights or the rights of man. These are a particularly Western idea that grew out of the medieval concern for the rights of specific groups, such as lords, barons, churchmen, kings, guilds, or towns. With the Enlightenment, philosophers began to consider whether people in general had any rights. John Locke in particular argued in his influential second Treatise of Government (1690) that all people have a natural right to freedom, equality, and property. He directly influenced the American Declaration of Independence, which almost a century later (1776) declared that "We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness." During the French Revolution the French National Assembly approved the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen (1789), which proclaimed that the goal of political association is the preservation of the natural and inalienable rights of man, of liberty, private property, personal security, and resistance to oppression. Such rights were further defined in the Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to the Constitution of the United States, among them the freedom of speech, religion, and assembly. These and other rights have been included in many other constitutions and now are part of an International Bill of Rights. This comprises the 1945 United Nations Charter (Articles 1 and 55), the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) adopted by the UN General Assembly, and the two international covenants passed by the General Assembly in 1966, one on Civil and Political Rights (CPR) and the other on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ESCR). There is now a UN Human Rights Commission that can investigate alleged violations of human rights and also receive and consider individual complaints, a momentous advance for human rights in the state-centered international system. And there is the Helsinki process that began with the

HUMAN RIGHTS

2006-06-25T01:50:57-04:00

HUMAN RIGHTS

2006-06-25T01:50:11-04:00

Roles of Television

2006-05-26T09:59:26-04:00

hi forum i found a new article site about role of television. Our modern society is a conflicting society. This can be observed in people’s minds about the role of the television in their life. Everybody blames the television for violence and sex, but almost every family in the United States has at least one television set. We must be more differentiated in talking about the influence of television in our life, especially concerning the growth of our children. The question is not: whether television is good or bad, but: which program is good or bad. There are various good programs on television, and we have to learn how to choose them. We should teach children about

Roles of Television

2006-05-26T09:58:30-04:00

polution

2006-05-07T02:27:49-04:00

POLLUTION ~{!0~}Why is this happening?~{!1~} I say to my mind, ~{!0~}Why is the air so hot and so hard to breathe?~{!1~}, ~{!0~}Why are trees being cut down when they are a source of life?~{!1~}, ~{!0~}Why some species of animals are disappearing?~{!1~} There is only one answer to this question and maybe the most unpleasant for us to hear: man, whose main preoccupation should be the protection of his home, destroys the planet through his harmful actions. Man has interfered too much in the normal course of nature. His actions, premeditated or accidental have caused a lot of damage to the environment. The result of all man~{!/~}s harmful doings is represented by the most dangerous enemy of this entire Earth, which is pollution. According to the Thesaurus Dictionary pollution is ~{!0~}an undesirable state of the natural environment, being contaminated with harmful substances as a consequence of human activities~{!1~} (The Free Dictionary by Farlex, Thesaurus). To this definition it can also be added that the environmental pollution is ~{!0~}the addition of any substance or form of energy (e.g., heat, sound, and radioactivity) to the environment at a rate faster than the environment can accommodate it by dispersion, breakdown, recycling, or storage in some harmless form~{!1~} (Encyclopedia Britannica). The natural components of the environment have begun to suffer more and more recently a change in their quality and thus, they became more and more polluted. The main role in all these changes has been played by no one else than man. He has built homes, roads and for this he had to cut down woods, he destroyed the grass. He polluted the waters and especially the air, primarily through his industrial activity. Humanity continues to develop and technically advance in such a fast way that every day more pollutants are released into the ground, water and atmosphere; man~{!/~}s careless actions are thus menacing the planet~{!/~}s very survival. For a better understanding of the negative effects that man imposes on nature one should mention only some facts that do not need any further explanation, as they speak from themselves. Here are just three examples that might surprise us: ~{!0~}If just 25% of U.S. families used 10 fewer plastic bags a month, we would save over 2.5 BILLION bags a year; Americans use 50 million

The Conspiracy Against Thought

2006-05-02T03:10:01-04:00

We only need to switch the T.V on. News bulletins, headlines, â€˜Breaking Newsâ€™ alerts keep flashing periodically on the screen throughout the day. We get news updates on our mobile phone, we get them in our mail, itâ€™s there on the coffee-table, and itâ€™s there flashing on billboards. Nerves under strain and being jarred by an overdose of information inflow is the hallmark of living in this century. We are living through the information explosion. Ask any youngster born, bred and baptized in the spirit of the age, and you will be astounded by the lack of information, interest and concern they have for bigger things in life beyond narrowly personal trivia. It is clearly an absurdity. This widespread and deep ignorance is a malaise very real. It shows itself in the general attitude we have towards life. It is an attitude of narcissism, that is to say, a pre-occupation with the self and its material well-being which is obsessive enough to pale down what happens in the wider world. This Narcissism has become a whole lifestyle which reflects the inner shallowness, the thoughtlessness and the depravity we are all victims of. It is all so very typical. The average modern has very typical tastes, mannerisms, pastimes and ideas, because he is the mass-produced product of our age. To a typical youngster, life is reduced to a minimal existence centering around chatrooms, pornography, cigarettes, teen hangouts, luxury gadgets. The pace of our lives is madly rushy, full of trivia, which, in the final analysis, matter nothing at all. Everyone is really busy but no one is doing something actually; such a life is like a vehicle with its brakes failed, screeching madly onward: what this destination-unknown life does with us is that it makes us lose touch with the ebb and flow of life. The breathless pace creates in the mind restlessness and impatience so characteristic of the youth. It is like drugging oneself into the routine, so that when the drug diminishes, it leaves one hungering for whatâ€™s next. Hence there is a compulsive inner need to keep oneself busy with something exciting, thrilling and pleasurable 24/7. It gradually becomes a habit to such an extent that life shrinks in its meaning to just these. Insulated in their air-conditioned, gadget-infested lives, we shut the windows that bring in the real world, content

obesity

2006-04-26T01:43:41-04:00

From the time a child is old enough to eat solid food through adolescence, he is taught to finish what has been put on his plate. It is something that is that is built into our culture, it is the norm to always finish what you start, even food. A child always hears from his parents "no dessert until you finish your food". Once he is old enough to understand, he is told about all of the starving children in somalia who never have enough to eat. He is toldto be grateful for what he has and that it is a very bad thing to waste food. So, instead of listening to his body telling him when to stop eating, he bypasses the instructions that his body is giving him,and he keeps on eating. Basically,he is made to feel like a bad, ungrateful person if he doesn't eat, no matter how full he is. This affects the child throughout his whole life, because he think he should stop eating only whne he has cleaned his plate. This leads to obesity. Obesity in children is a serious issue with many health and social consequences that often continue into adulthood. Providing prevention programs and getting a better understanding of treatment for youngsters is important to controlling the obesity . Many parents are rightly concerned about their child's weight and how it affects them. They look for specific answers for prevention and treatment options. Unfortunately, the state of the science is a lot less precise than we would like. Are kids too concerned about their weight? What are the best strategies for prevention? What treatments work over a long time? Researchers are trying to answer those and many other questions. In many cases, common sense works well. In situations where there are serious health concerns, psychological or social problems, parents should seek out the best possible advice. CAUSES OF OVERWEIGHT AND OBESITY Overweight and obesity result from an imbalance involving excessive calorie consumption and/or inadequate physical activity. For each individual, body weight is the result of a combination of genetic, metabolic, behavioral, environmental, cultural, and socioeconomic influences. Behavioral and environmental factors are large contributors to overweight and obesity and provide the greatest opportunity for actions and interventions designed for prevention and treatment. PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND INACTIVITY It is recommended that Americans accumulate at least 30 minutes (adults) or 60 minutes (children) of moderate physical activity most

Living In Fear

2006-04-23T19:43:06-04:00

Towers falling, people dying, planes crashing, children orphaned…Isn’t it time we put a stop to this. Why can’t we lead normal lives? Why aggravate ourselves by worrying if today may be the last day we live or not. We have put up through so much, and yet the end seems so far from coming. What makes us feel this way, hopeless, nervous, suffocated, and unable to act? Is called fear…yes fear is what has lead many to commit murders, suicides, consume drugs and many other things. The dictionary describes fear as a feeling of agitation and anxiety caused by present or imminent danger. However, this definition is incomplete. Fear can manifest itself in numerous ways, places, and situations. Nevertheless, what do we do when the manifestation occurs? I remember a couple of years ago when my brother got in a car crash how scared I was. It happened early in the morning. I was taking a nice and warm bath, when my oldest sister came in the bathroom yelling at me that my brother had had an accident. I was so shocked, that my whole body began to tremble. I felt as if every bone in my body had disconnected from each other, my blood circulated ardently, and my heart was beating abruptly as if it was going to come right out of me. It was a scary moment. So scary, that I got out of the tub without washing away the soap from my body and ran outside in my bathrobe, with no shoes on. I looked horrible. Although I was not in my right mind, I still feel very embarrassed for acting the way I did. Nevertheless, I got afraid, and loss control of my actions. Plus, contemplating the pass will not change anything. We, humans abominate fear. Our abhorrence towards fear has made us build, and come-up with different objects, or methods to give ourselves the comfort that we are safe, in other words fear free. For example, laws, prisons, police departments, and courts were just some of the many strategies the government came up with to keep us in peace and well behaved. However, the rates of success of these strategies are very poor. When analyzed carefully most of the problems in our nation are an indirect result of fear. For instance, the growing number of gangs, the consuming, and dealing of drugs in the streets are

An interesting note about what we are feeding to our beef and dairy cattle and poultry.

2006-03-20T00:15:14-04:00

Hello I am in the process of writing a letter and it has occurred to me that the subject of my letter would make an excellent and first rate subject for a college or high school term paper or report. I am giving you the opportunity to use my research freely. You are free to repackage my letter so that it will be a ready to use product, with more references and the elimination of the first person perspective of my leter. The selling point of this letter is that it will make the author look like he is concerned about the health of others, do the professor is more likely to assign a higher grade to the paper when he is grading it. Here is the letter: March, 2006 Hello, My name is Dale Baney. I am a cattle-producer from Indiana, near South Bend. We raise beef cattle, and have for fifteen years. While reading material on the internet in the last month I have learned that straight vegetable oil can be used as a many ways superior-quality fuel over petroleum diesel! In my researching vegetable oils and the methods involved in their ‘creation’ or processing, I learned that 95 percent of all vegetable oils in the US and world are created using the very reactive neuro-toxins Hexane and Methyl-Chloride that solve tight budget desires for consumer to get cheap food. The neurotoxin Hexane is said to be the most adversely effecting toxin of all of the toxic solvents, and Methylene Chloride is also a chemical that damages the immune systems, & causes birth defects of animals who eat it. The occupational exposure limit for inhalation of Hexane has been set by OSHA at 50 ppm (TWghAvg 8 -10 hours). How much Hexane & Methylene Chloride remain in the oils and the high fiber meals produced using Hexane and Methylene Chloride as the solvents? One company selling Hexane-Free soybean oil says that a trace quantity of Hexane remains in the meals and the oils processed with Hexane. That website named the concentration number as “a 0.5% Hexane concentration” in meal. http://www.alaffia.com/ingredients/oil_extraction.php The EPA has published the following document on the internet that reveals what the average concentration found for Hexane in various stages of production of the meal, though which stage is the stage for production of high fiber, high protein meals for human consumption, and which stage and which plant & location produce for high-protein animal

Media Violence (Complete with Bibliograhy)

2006-02-28T11:42:08-05:00

Psychological Reasoning Is Media Violence Harmful to Children? Media violence is getting more attention now than ever, as a precursor to children becoming violent teens and adults. Does watching a violent cartoon before school in the morning influence children to go to school and show violence toward their peers? The verdict seems to still be out on this issue. Some studies show children can differentiate between cartoon violence and violent shows depicting real people such as research by Deakin University lecturer David Ritchie. Other research conflicts Ritchie's findings. “Many children, especially preschool age, cannot differentiate between animated/fantasy, violence and reality based violence.” (NCTA funded three-year research study 1994-97) 1 Some of the reasons the cartoon violence is so damaging to this age group are that the characters are not always the villains, the "good" characters are also committing the violent acts. The character involved in the violent or aggressive acts are not punished for the act, and even though in real-life the act would cause death or severe trauma there is no scene depicting this. Many times the afflicted character will get back up and shake it off and be back to normal. This can be very confusing for younger children. "Children who watched the violent shows were more likely to strike out at playmates, argue, disobey authority and were less willing to wait for things than those children who watched non-violent programs." (Grebner, University of Penn.) 2 More surprising and disturbing is the way violence is distributed among adult and child programming. Violence was found to occur in 69% of children’s programming versus 57% for adult programming. Even to those that state media violence is not harmful to children, these facts should be upsetting. (Kaiser Foundation study 1994-97) 3 A study conducted by the Indiana University School of Medicine has shown some proof of brain changes in youth by using MRI scans. Researchers got together a group of teens who were known to be aggressive, along with a group of non-aggressive teens. Both played violent video games and then MRI scans were conducted. Researchers found that there was a change in brain function only in the known aggressive teens after playing these violent games. “Initial evidence from the study demonstrates that adolescents with disruptive behavior disorders have different frontal lobe activation patterns than teens without the disorder," said principal investigator Vincent

Cyberstalking

2006-02-28T11:30:26-05:00

Cyberstalking When considering stalking one does not often consider cyberstalking because it is not done in the traditional way, i.e., a male or female pursuing and following another person in the flesh. Cyberstalking while many feel is not a "real" crime, most certainly instills fear in the intended victim, many times as much or even more than the traditional stalking measures. I chose cyberstalking because as I was perusing topics I came across this and I even thought at first, how scary can this be, they cannot actually see me or touch me, so how can this really be "stalking" in the true sense of the word. My research proved how very wrong I was! Many stalkers - online or off, are motivated by a desire to exert control over their victims and engage in similar types of behavior to accomplish this. "Most cyberstalking victims know or have known their stalker and begins when one tries to break off the relationship. There are however many known cases of strangers cyberstalking also. Given the enormous amount of personal information available through the Internet, a cyberstalker can easily locate private information about a potential victim with a few mouse clicks. (1) The following case study represents the way in which a person can be cyberstalked without even having a computer, something I never even considered!

The victim met the perpetrator at church, and continually rejected his romantic attempts. The perpetrator, a fifty-year-old security guard, retaliated to her rejection by posting her personal details to the Internet. These included her physical description, address and telephone number, and even including details about how one could bypass her home security system. He also posted false rape and “gang-bang” fantasies to on-line forums. On approximately half a dozen occasions, men arrived at the victim's home in the hope of “cashing in” on these supposed fantasies. As the victim posted messages to her door stating these requests were false, the perpetrator posted messages on-line stating that these were simply tests to determine who was in fact ‘worthy’ of her fantasies. The victim's mother states that she had men coming to her door at all hours of the night, and that “she got dozens of calls by men who would leave filthy, disgusting messages”. The victim was eventually forced from her home, suffered

Affirmative Action in business

2006-02-07T19:03:24-05:00

Affirmative Action - Pros of affirmative action: It encourages and enforces diversity, gives disadvantaged persons a boost into the working world, draws people to areas of study they may not otherwise consider, breaks stereotypes, and compensates minorities for years of oppression and slavery. - Cons of affirmative action: It leads to reverse discrimination, lowers standards of accountability, produces ill-equipped employees, is condescending to minorities, and demeans true minority achievement that is not a result of affirmative action. If I were hiring for a business, I would not take affirmative action into consideration unless it was required at the corporate level. I would want whoever is most qualified, no matter what their race is. I would simply hire based on resume and interview, and if I feel the person is right for the job, I will hire him or her. I do not feel that hiring someone just to meet a quota of minorities is right or fair to

Juveniles committing violent crimes should be tried as adults

2006-02-06T21:58:28-05:00

Argumentative Essay Juveniles committing violent crimes should be tried as adults When one hears of a criminal who has committed a violent crime, one does not usually conjure up images of a person with whom he or she would like to spend a lot of time. This is because the person described is a criminal, one who has the mindset of committing a violent offense. No matter the age of the criminal, he or she would be nonetheless a rather unappealing companion. “Violent crime” is defined by the Department of Justice as “homicide, rape, aggravated assault, robbery, and assault”. These are all actions that sound horrible and reap even more horrible consequences. Unfortunately, there is a growing trend of juvenile violence; even “children” under 16 are committing these heinous acts. It is of my assertion that anyone who commits a violent crime needs to be prosecuted in the same manner, hence that minors must be prosecuted as adults. Juvenile crime is a serious and growing epidemic. The figures for juveniles committing crimes that are serious, heterogeneous, or non-serious mirror those of offenders between the ages of eighteen and twenty (U.S. Department of Justice/ FBI fact file). Any study can show the same facts- that youth violence and criminal acts are on the rise. These must be punished. The causes or signs of risk of teen violence can be shown in many factors: violent media, bullying, depression, being an outcast, fascination with guns or death, society’s opinion, and teenage mood swings. Individuals that exhibit these qualities very often commit violent crimes. These characteristics are that of personality, not necessarily able to be changed without a serious program (such as detention or prison). Also, these individuals are usually possessing motives when committing the crimes; if he or she has the adult mentality to do an adult crime, it is only logical and fair that he or she is punished likewise. Though a juvenile may not “understand their circumstances” or not have full brain development, he or she is still capable of deciding right and wrong- every human has a moral code, even toddlers know this difference. Anyone, no matter the age, should receive an equalizing punishment for a violent crime. Such acts may not go unnoticed; the criminals must be dealt with in a legal manner. Prosecuting juveniles as adults for the violent crimes that they commit gives the best chance of issuing a

A Little Elbow Room Please

2006-01-31T17:50:03-05:00

Imagine being cramped into a small room with barely enough space for two, where you and five others are squeezed in. The smell of sweat and urine wreaks havoc on your nose. Every time you try to move you touch the person next to you. You have no space to stretch. The air is heavy and hot from all the body heat. To make things worse you can’t leave the room for another twenty four hours. “How much longer can this last?” you think to yourself. Then you remember you still have six years left before your sentence is up. This is what many inmates go through on a day to day basis in almost every prison in the world; they feel the effects of prison overcrowding everyday! When the number of prisoners in a prison reaches over 100 percent capacity, it is known as overcrowding. This has become a major problem for prisons, many reaching up to 150 to 300 percent capacity. (Addressing Prison Overcrowding). Some people argue however, that these inhumane conditions are acceptable for prisoners. They believe that the inmates have done wrong and are being punished accordingly. This opposing side sees these conditions as fit for criminals, but are they really? Is it really reasonable for anyone to have to live in these conditions? Attorney Walt Sinclair from Boise Idaho makes a good point when he says, “It’s true my clients are in prison and not entitled to comforts, but we are not talking about comforts, we’re talking about minimum human decency.” (Judge Ponders, 1) When prisons are between 150 to 300 percent capacity no one can possibly have any privacy, one cannot feel safe in their environment. Sinclair also states that “Inmates get limited access to toilets and showers, get limited food and there are insufficient prison jobs to keep the inmates occupied with positive activities.” (Judge Ponders, 2). These inhumane conditions are not only a problem in the United States, but also in many countries; prisons in Thailand have reach 244 percent capacity, in Bulgaria they are at 197 percent capacity, and in Sri Lanka they are at 300 percent capacity. This problem of overcrowding causes more than just an uncomfortable night’s sleep for the inmates; they often get diseases, such as Tuberculosis, which can spread to non prisoners. (Addressing Prison Overcrowding). In Russia a recent out break of Tuberculosis was

A Cross-Cultural Catalyst

2006-01-25T08:11:46-05:00

The following was written, 20 April 2005. In 21st century American society, there seems to be a growing infatuation with technology and mass media in the midst of natural disaster and terrorist attacks. Specifically, Americans seem to be inundated by so much television that they no longer have the capacity to think outside the box, and would rather be immersed in the ‘idiot box’ than in a good book or a news paper. Mr. Murray, “Washington bureau chief for CNBC and the Wall Street Journal columnist” (Hess 275), remarked on his frustration with television and its effect on the public during a heated debate among several of today’s experts, in the book The Media and the War on Terrorism. I am constantly amazed at how little depth you can achieve even with a full hour of television to play with every night and with a pretty sophisticated and intelligent audience relative to the average TV audience. I am amazed and frustrated and shocked at how much more I can do with an 835-word column. (Hess 289) Is it the medium of television which lacks the capacity to transmit knowledge, or is it the viewer’s inability to constructively comprehend what is being interjected into their intellect? In his article, “To Analyze a Video Text,” Robert Scholes invites and challenges his readers to critically analyze video text and to look beyond the pleasure and surrender created by these cultural narratives. Scholes warns that it is “very hard to resist the pleasure of this text, and we cannot accept the pleasure without, for the bewildering minute at least, also accepting the ideology that is so richly and closely entangled the story that we construct from the video” (622). The ideology presented in television is entrenched by the cultural values of American society (Scholes 620). These “video texts confirm viewers in their ideological positions and reassure them as to their membership in a collective cultural body. This function, which operates in the ethical-political realm, is an extremely important element of video textuality and, indeed, an extremely important dimension of all the mass media” (Scholes 620). He further explains that “we are dealing with and archetypal narrative that has been adjusted for maximum effect within a particular political and social context” (Scholes 622) and that “by ‘getting’ the story, we prove our competence and demonstrate our membership in a cultural community” (Scholes 621). All the meaning that

What life seems to be now.

2006-01-16T16:11:33-05:00

Why is it that people, who are treated with contempt, who get hurt, are the ones who least deserve it? Why is this happening? Is the world that cruel? Doesn't anyone know the meaning of life? Funny how people can search for books with no relation to life, for example Star Wars, Harry Potter, but ignore books hat give us meaning in life, that shows us how to treasure life. How ironic. We search for material needs but fail to treasure what we already have, Our lives, Our happiness, friends, family, lovers, hope, faith. I cannot express the anger i have within me. People ignore these priceless possessions and when they've lost it, they regret and try to find ways and means to retrieve it. But, what i don't understand is, why bother regretting when all is said and done? To find a new purpose in life, since they've lost everything else? There are so many people in this world who are homeless, hungry, with no one to turn to, yet they are satisfied with what they have. There are people who suffer from being traumatised by their past, who are being tortured , physically and mentally, who suffer from rape, depression, from being molested, who are dying, but they suffer in silence, while we complain about being broke, about breaking up, about being deprived of freedom by our parents or family members. Everyone has felt how it is to be a failure. Everyone wants to succeed in whatever they do. When one falls, stand up and carry on with life! Is it that difficult? Do they have to make a big fuss out of every situation in which they cannot succeed? There are so many people in this world who cannot afford to fail; a child who has to live on his own without anyone's guidance, can he fail at anything? His failure could mean his death. The truth of life hurts us, it makes us want to turn around and forget that we know the truth. My heart breaks for these people. When asked about how we feel about the least in society, we say we want to help them, but how are we helping? By staring at the television screen and saying, "Oh my goodness! They're such poor things! Awwwww."? Like that is going to help them. These hypocrites sit in front of the television, watching the news

History of Absinthe

2006-01-12T07:25:38-05:00

Absinthe, also known as the green fairy, has a romantic history like no other drink (Conrad, 1953). From humble beginnings as a “cure for all” to its height of popularity amidst the Parisian café scene of the late 1800’s, right through to its demise in the early 1900’s. In this essay I will outline the drinks history, from its origins to its spread, illustrate how absinthe was consumed and its taste, its constituents and controversial properties. Absinthe influenced many an almighty mind and had its own place in French Bohemian culture. I will outline its influence and demise, and finish with the small revival of the “Absintheur” in the last ten years. According to legend the inventor of the drink was Dr. Pierre Ordinaire (Conrad, 1953), whom in 1872 produced the first ever, commercial bottle of Absinthe as a remedy. Claiming the drink was good for dysentery, epilepsy, gout, kidney stones, colic, headaches and worms. A gentleman named Major Dubied saw its potential as an aperitif rather than a herbal tonic and purchased the recipe from two sisters named Henriod beginning production of the recipe as an aperitif (Conrad, 1953). His nephew, Henri-Louis Pernod set up the Pernod Fils Absinthe Company in 1805 and this is where Absinthe began to be produced on a large commercial scale. The company grew from strength to strength and by 1850 was producing 20,000 litres per day (Nelson, 2002). The popularity of Absinthe spread with French Troops returning from Algeria in 1844 (Baker, 2003) they had taken with them absinthe and mixed it with wine or water as a remedy and boredom killer, also known as Absinthe soup. Returning to France they brought with them a taste for Absinthe and it became a hit in the cafes of Paris. During the reign of Napoleon, Absinthe accounted for 90% of all the aperitifs consumed in France (Crowley, 1994). 5pm became know as l’Heure Verte – the Green Hour and Happy Hour today is a remnant of this. Absinthe is traditionally consumed by placing a sugar cube on a slotted spoon and trickling water on to the cube letting it dissolve into the Absinthe, typically it is five parts water to one part Absinthe. This causes the green liquor to “Louche” and become opalescent (Crowley, 1994). This became somewhat of a classic ritual for “Absintheurs” and

"A woman's role in society is primarily that of a wife and mother" do you agree?

2005-12-19T03:22:54-05:00

“A woman’s role is primarily that of a wife and a mother” do you agree? The big debate about a woman’s role, and place in the society has been going on for a long time, and is still continuing. Women have been fighting to be able to stand on the same podium as men for over decades of years. However, I do agree with the given statement that the primary role of women in the society is to be a wife and a mother. This trend has been set since the early days of human civilization. The men would go out and hunt for food, while the women stay at home to take care of the children, do the housekeeping, and look after the husband when he comes back tired and worn out. This tradition of the women staying at home and the men going out to make a living is being passed down many generations and still remains true in many societies. The many biological differences between the men and women sure make this situation desirable. It has been scientifically proven that men are the ones who a better built body to take on the more strenuous jobs, and they are the ones who can withstand stress and pressure better than their female counterparts. Given these characteristics, it sure makes sense that the male would be preferred to step out into the society and brave all those difficulties to bring income home. The females, have been regarded as the gentler and more caring half of the human species, are then left with the job of raising the next generation and looking after the men when there is a need to. It may probably seem to make sense that the women’s role is primarily that of a mother since she is the one who bears the child, and thus she is the one who would be responsible looking after the child. Also, this extraordinary ability of the female is regarded as sacred in many societies and religions. Hence the women would be given the privilege of staying at home while the men make the living. This tradition might have been passed down over the many years, though with a change in perspective. It may be argued that the above statement is degrading the female’s status in society, in a sense that all the women do is to stay at home and not

"A woman's role in society is primarily that of a wife and mother" do you agree?

2005-12-19T03:22:17-05:00

Effect of Music on the Adolescent

2005-11-28T00:03:21-05:00

According to (Donald F. Roberts et al, 2003), At the simplest, most global level, people of all ages listen to music because it provides pleasure; for adolescence this pleasure can be powerful and tends to be associated with the most intense experiences of life. I chose this subject because it was one which I could relate to and provide a more in-depth personal input on. Music, in my opinion, plays a role in every decision a person makes, and every goal a person has; a person’s life can unfold according to what kind of music they listen to. In this essay I will talk about the positive effects of music, the negative effects of music, and the personal effect music has had on me. Bruce Springsteen said “Music…. Is there, to provide you with Something to face the world with.” Music can have a very positive effect on the 15 year old that is searching for an identity amongst a group of peers. Music listened to is linked directly to how well an adolescent does in school and in education as a whole. Music can enhances performance on abstract/spatial reasoning tests (Rauscher, Shaw, & Ky, 1.993). A study showed that classical music against loud, rock music produced better results on the same test taken by teens that were in the same grade point average. On a personal note, I have found this to be true. Lately, for my psychology tests I started listening to different symphonies in my room as I studied and found it helpful and more relaxing than my former style of studying which was to blast my favorite rapper on my stereo. Music also contributes the well-being of an adolescent. On the ride to school either in a car or a bus, the type of music listened to, can reflect the kind of day it is going to be. Music reduces stress (Stratton, 1992) and anxiety levels (Mornhinweg, 1992). The challenging life of a teen with education and extracurricular activities, music can be used as a form of stress relief and help calm a tedious schedule. Throughout high school we had the different social and peer groups that were always together. The music they listened to was correlated with how they dressed and acted; the “Goths” listened to heavy metal and punk and dressed in black, while the football team was more of a hip-hop culture, both listening

Animal Testing in the Cosmetic Industry

2005-11-27T22:03:39-05:00

Dr. Frank Meehan picked up Charlie, the frail brown monkey and placed him into what would soon be his coffin. Charlie was screaming hysterically almost knowing that his time had come in the small research laboratory for a common cleaner product. Charlie had seen many of the other animals die the same agonizing death that he envisioned himself to be receiving soon. What would it be this time? Pumping the cleaner into his stomach or pouring it directly on his skin to study the burning of tissue? Perhaps it will be dripped into his eyes to test the blinding effects. All Charlie knew was that he was going to be dying a slow and painful death just like all the other animals in the lab. This is just one example of what most animals in a research laboratory undergo every day. Most don’t survive as they are pricked, prodded and pumped with chemicals that no human would want to inhale much less swallow. The use of animal testing in the cosmetics industry has been widely accepted in today’s society. With new ideas overflowing, there is little to do but expect the wide variety of products that have been handed to us. Besides, there are regulations put on companies testing options, right? What if those regulations are rarely checked? In fact, most are so vague they are not even restricting such tests that blind, paralyze and torture defenseless animals solely for the breakthrough in human hygiene and attraction. The use of animal testing for cosmetic purposes is unjustifiable and outdated. Companies that continue to blind and poison animals do so simply because they don’t have the vision to try a new and better way. There are many alternatives to animal studies that are not being considered. Such alternatives have shown to be more accurate thus should be strictly enforced by law. Most of us are ignorant of what is actually happening behind the close doors of a company laboratory. A kitten convulsing after being doused with a chemical, or a rabbit whose skin had been eaten away by an acidic substance is not an uncommon thing found. With these procedures, anesthetics are never used as most scientists say it interferes with the results. These animals are being mutilated and tortured so humans can get the best hair dye, perfume, and toothpaste on the market. In one experiment, a pet’s eyelids were

Juvenile delinquency

2005-11-10T23:19:23-05:00

Juvenile delinquency is a complex social problem that significantly impacts all members and processes of a social structure. Delinquency refers to a set of behaviors that are not in line with the collective practices and/or ethics of the dominant social group. Essentially, these behaviors deviate from societal norms and more specifically they violate established criminal codes and laws. Juvenile delinquency incorporates not only general criminal activity but conduct that is only unlawful for youths such as running away from home and skipping school. Current research into this difficult and pressing issue reflects a vast range of theories about, and predictors of delinquency as well as a multitude of strategies to control and reduce overall delinquency. The consensus among practitioners and researchers, however maintains that juvenile delinquency is a dynamic, multifaceted problem with numerous potentially causal factors. Subsequently, investigators and professionals suggest that treatment procedures must focus on not only the immediate issue of the offender’s deviant behavior but on some element within the context of that behavior as well, including for example, family relations and social support services/networks. Conventional practice has long associated early preventive measures with positive delinquency reduction results. In particular, timely recognition of at-risk youth and correction of ineffective or minimally effective parenting techniques are critical to the prevention of future delinquency (Lundman, 1993). Numerous risk factors have been identified as indicators or predictors of juvenile delinquency and those factors represent dysfunction at several levels, specifically within the structure of the offender’s family. Some of these factors include conflict within the family, a lack of adequate supervision and/or rules, a distinct lack of parent-child attachment, instability, poor home life quality, parental expectations, out-of-home placements and inconsistent discipline (Shumaker, 1997). Social service professionals who frequently come into contact with children must be especially vigilant in order to detect the presence of any of the possibly contributory conditions mentioned above and to refer families to appropriate sources of assistance as early as possible. Generally speaking, the relationship between family conflict and delinquency is significant. There are many types of family conflict but the quality of communication and the inability to solve problems are two of the most fundamental forms relative to

Female Gender Bias in Schools

2005-11-03T03:56:35-04:00

Sadker and Sadker (1994) reported a startling fact that few people realize. Today's girls continue a three-hundred year-old struggle for full participation in America's educational system. During colonial times school doors were closed for young women seeking knowledge, and the home was considered the learning place for young women. The home, serving as the girls' classroom, was where young girls learned the practical domestic skills for their inevitable role as wife and mother. However, in 1767 a school in Providence, Rhode Island, began advertising it would teach reading and writing to girls. At the bottom of the advertisement, in small print, was noted the inconvenient hours of instruction. The girls were being taught either before or after the boys' regular instructional time. At this time the teachers of the boys needed additional income and opted to teach girls before and after school for an awesome fee. Thus, the idea of educating girls was formulated (Sadker & Sadker, 1994). During the early nineteenth century, many cities began establishing separate high schools for girls. Most communities built one high school, but designated separate entrances for the sexes. The classes were on separate floors in single-sex areas where girls were taught by women and boys by men. Single-sex schools were now born! Following a considerable amount of frustration from attempting to receive an education at male-dominated colleges, men and women created a bold alternative--colleges for women. Finally, in 1972, a historic victory was achieved. Congress enacted Title IX as part of the Education Amendments. The preamble (Valentin, 1997) to Title IX states: "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under any educational programs or activity receiving federal assistance" (p. 1). Miraculously, a federal law made sex discriminations in schools illegal. Under Title IX, sex bias was outlawed in school athletics, career counseling, medical services, financial aid, admission practices, and the treatment of students. From elementary school through the university, Title IX violators were threatened with the loss of federal funds (Sadker & Sadker, 1994). Title IX legislation changed the mode of operation in our schools. Better athletic programs for girls were instituted. Teachers began to carefully analyze books and resource materials for bias. As the 1970s came to an end, high hopes for Title IX ending gender bias mounted. However, many schools simply did not take

Foundational Support for the Infrastructure of My Success in Speech Pathology and in Nursing

2005-10-31T15:23:23-04:00

In today’s society, achieving a higher education degree in a college or university is a crucial and vital element in determining success for the future. Furthermore, upon progressing through a college degree, a major decision has to be implemented into effect. Certain queries have to be addressed in regards to the decision process before any action is put forth, which “eventually we come to accept it as right and natural that we ourselves be evaluated on financial performance and motivated by financial incentives” (Brown 17) . A major must be selected that will not only benefit you with outstanding salaries, but also provide you with a general delight into an occupation that an individual will enjoy functioning in. In addition, a higher education can also provide an insight on choosing a minor as well, which will act as a backbone for a second choice in occupational desire. Two key occupations that stand out beyond all, is a career in speech pathology and a career in nursing. Thus, the education offered through the GE courses at Kean University will guide the learning process to excel in the higher education of a major in speech pathology and a minor in nursing, hence providing a beneficial career opportunity for the future. An occupation in speech pathology requires a student to be of patient character and to desire the want to help an individual in developing speech, language, and auditory skills. Also, a minor in nursing permits an individual to aid doctors and surgeons in saving lives and provide an aid in healthcare when needed. A speech pathologist and licensed, registered nurses are occupations that are highly demanded in the Northeast particularly in New Jersey, New York, and Maryland, which are three of the top five states in the nation for such specific career employment opportunities. New Jersey is one of the “top paying states for the speech pathologist occupation, providing 2,480 employment opportunities which comprises of an hourly mean wage of $31.70, and an annual mean wage of $65, 940 with a 0.064 % of state employment” (Occupational Employment and Wages). Furthermore, registered nurses, licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses are highly demanded and are categorized as the “occupations with the most new jobs, permitting 2,284 employment opportunities in 2002, with a projected total of 2,908 in 2012, which illustrated an increased change of 623 additional employment opportunities for

Habitat for Humanity (Speech)

2005-10-05T16:02:30-04:00

An estimated 5.1 million American households face worst-case housing needs, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Receiving little or no government housing assistance, these families are unable to find a decent place to live at a price they can afford to pay. They are also forced to pay more than half their income for housing, endure overcrowded conditions and live in houses with severe physical deficiencies, and that’s just in the U.S.; worldwide more than 2 billion people live in poverty housing. While the number of families in poverty is growing, the number of affordable rental units is shrinking, and most families who qualify for government housing assistance aren't receiving any aid. Working in partnership with low-income families to build decent homes they can afford to buy, Habitat for Humanity helps to break the cycle of poverty and hopelessness. By the end of 2005, more than 1 million people worldwide will live in decent, affordable Habitat for Humanity houses. I’ve been researching HFH for about 2 months now because I am planning to join during the summer and I’ve realized that the need for decent, affordable housing is great and HFH helps fill that need. Today I’m going to tell you why HFH is needed, how HFH helps, why you should get involved and what you can do to help. First I’ll tell you why it’s needed. Next Slide MORE THAN 11 MILLION AMERICANS FACE WORST-CASE NEEDS According to a report prepared for Congress in 2003 by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), 5.1 million American households face "worst-case housing needs." These families: • are renters receiving no government assistance; • make less than 50 percent of the area median income; • pay more than 50 percent of their income for rent and utilities and/or live in housing with severe physical deficiencies; • include some 3.6 million children, 1.6 million elderly adults and 1.3 million disabled adults. Worldwide, the need is even greater. Some 2 billion people worldwide live in poverty housing. More than 1 billion live in urban slums, and that figure is expected to double by 2030. Many of these people earn less than US$2 per day. Housing problems have far-reaching consequences. The high cost of housing leaves low-income families little money for other basic necessities like food, clothing or health care. Substandard housing can endanger the health and safety of its occupants, erode their

Video Games & Violence

2005-10-03T01:09:54-04:00

In today’s society someone is always to blame but oneself. Violent and/or sexual based games have been blamed for misbehavior of today’s youth. A person’s behavior is rooted in his or her personality, which is mentioned in chapter 7. I agree with the author in saying that it is up to the parents to decide what video games the child plays. Video games have been around for many years now. It really is somewhat of a sub culture. Game genres are action, adventure, fighting, role playing, racing, sports, puzzle, and simulation. These various types can be played on home systems, computers, or hand held devices. Either way it goes, video games are here to stay in pop culture. Game designers, publishers and manufactures will continue to produce games, but some oppose to the content of current titles. Recently the National Institute on Media and the Family did a study “showing that 87 percent of youths in grades 4 through 12 play video games, and only about 50 percent of parents understand the rating system that reflects the content of the games,” says Lisa Porteus. Parents are so quick to blame movies and videogames for the unacceptable behavior in their children. They believe that too much violence is a negative influence and their child might act these games out. About eleven years ago the ESRB or Entertainment Software Rating Board was established. According to the official site, “ratings are designed to provide information about video and computer game content, so you can make informed purchase decisions. ESRB ratings have two parts: rating symbols suggest age appropriateness for the game, and content descriptors indicate elements in a game that may have triggered a particular rating and/or may be of interest or concern.” These rating include Early Childhood, Everyone, Everyone 10+, Teen, Mature, Adults Only, and Rating Pending. There are also content deciphers which include Alcohol, Animated Blood, Blood, Blood and Gore, Cartoon Violence, Comic Mischief, Crude Humor, Drug Reference, Edutainment, Fantasy Violence, Informational, Intense Violence, Language, Lyrics, Mature Humor, Mild Violence, Nudity, Partial Nudity, Real Gambling, Sexual Themes, Sexual Violence, Simulated Gambling, Some Adult Assistance May Be Needed, Strong Language, Strong Lyrics, Strong Sexual Content, Suggestive Themes, Tobacco Reference, Use of Drugs, Use of Alcohol, Use of Tobacco, Violence, and finally “Game Experience May Change During Online Play”. All of these rating and extensive deciphers have explanations for consumers and parents alike. All videogames are

WHy you really don't hate reality television.

2005-09-19T18:09:50-04:00

We believe that: If you have been watching celebrity BB, youâ€™ll know who Germaine Greer is. She shocked many when she entered the BB house, because she was originally opposed to reality TV, but she said that, in her defence that, â€œReality TV is not the end of civilisation as we know it, it is civilisation as we know it.â€? Â§ To an extent thatâ€™s true; thatâ€™s why it is getting such high ratings- 14.1 million viewers watched the Iâ€™m a Celebrity Final. Thatâ€™s why it is taking over our televisions. Because Producers have recognised that the one thing people love more than scripted drama is real drama. Not something created by writers. The naturalness and the reality of it make these shows more enticing. Â§ We can laugh at and make fun of the contestants, finding their arguments and the misery caused by them thoroughly enjoyable. But unlike real life, no one need know and no one needs to get hurt, so we donâ€™t feel guilty. Â§ Gives ordinary people chances that normally are not available and can change their lives. Anyone who is talented enough, even a tramp, could become a singing superstar through Pop Idol, and those who donâ€™t manage to do so become overnight celebrities. Â§ Gives you a different outlook on life: inspires you- seeing average people achieve their dreams- motivates you to do the same. Â§ Makes you feel better about yourself, more appreciative of what you have Â§ Or make you re examine your life and realise that you are not happy. E.g. â€œWife swapâ€?- contestants feel better about their marriage-strong. Or realize that they donâ€™t have a good marriage- giving them the opportunity to achieve one with some one else. Viewers do this as ell. Â§ WE can explore different â€œwhat if?â€? situations from the comfort of our own home. Â§ Cheaper to produce- money saved on actors, makeup, costume etc. Â§ The majority of reality TV is on the channels that taxpayers money do not fund, like ITV and Channel 4, so those who do not enjoy reality TV are not paying to see something they do not take pleasure in viewing. Â§ Believe it or not: reality TV is beneficial to society- it helps us see ourselves as people in a different light. Many are in support of charities and a new reality show called â€œVote for meâ€? is being used

Resurrection

2005-09-17T19:44:27-04:00

In the movie RESURRECTION we once again are facing good and evil. But for now lets go back in time. If we will remember all the fairy tails, then we can see that all of them are based upon principles of good and evil. In CINDERELLA, Cinderella is an object of good and her stepmother is evil, at the end good wins. In BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, Belle is good and Gaston is evil, and once again superior wins. But we always ask one question; why did good win? Well the answer is- the power of love is the one who always wins. In CINDERELLA, Cinderella loves her prince Charming, in BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, Belle loves the Beast, and that bond between them helps them, it gives them the strength that defeats evil powers. The evil never has anyone to count on, to support them, to love them. Love is like water, there is nothing that stands on its way. Now let’s go into the era of Homo Erectus, when people just established first signs of civilization. Why did people worshiped so many gods? Well because people couldn’t explain simple natural events like thunder or earthquakes, and that’s why they had to sacrifice an animal or like Mayas were sacrificing people. They thought that if they angered their gods, they’d forgive them. In 1400’s when the question of religion got in the ways, many wars broke down. When Joan of Arc got those messages from God and they led to English defeat by French, English church told people that she was a heretic and witch. At that time people were uneducated, so English church took an advantage of population and burned Joan of Arc. Well maybe here good didn’t win, but that courage of hers gave French people self-confidence and nationalism rose once again. In 1920, nearly 500 years later after her death, the Church retracted its judgment of heresy and declared Joan a saint. In the movie RESURRECTION, we once more see good fighting evil, but in this story evil is not represented as one person, it’s represented as a group of people. Here Edna’s father is the first character who was a bad character, but about that we found out only from Edna herself. She tells us that when she was really young she got pregnant, and her father called a horse doctor to make an abortion for her.

2005-09-08T21:08:57-04:00

Dear America, and hello to the international public :) I am speaking to you today not as a Black Man, not as a Californian close to the city of Berkeley, and not even as a American. I am speaking to you today just as a human being and I hope that you will assume the same shape and form while reading my brief essay. First let me begin by addressing the situation directly with the Hurricane that has struck the gulf coast of LA, Miss, and AL. To even begin to assume that this was handled even remotely professional or on time is a far exageration of the truth to say the least. To explain the situation in New Orleans, you will first need to explain the poverty that has long exsisted there for hundreds of years since slavery. Slavery?! Don't get scared of that word it's just some Ancient American reality. But is it really ancient?????? The response to the Hurricane was a laugher. For one, no food got to any victim until the fifth day. Five days!! Long time with no food right?? Have you ever went 2 days without food?? Ever went one day?? Also, when the disaster was spoken about, the citizens were referred to as refugees and immigrants, even President Bush was puzzled by this. These were long time citizens that were born and raised in those states, not people that snuck over here on a boat. So the blame game begins now. Hmmm?? If I was Bush who should I blame?? Hmmm?? Maybe I shouldn't have cut that fund for repairing the Leevy 60-70% Huh?? Maybe if I focused more on my own country and it's poverty then things wouldn't be so bad huh?? Maybe we would have been more prepared for this disaster by actually planning for things like this, instead of sunbathing at the Crawford Ranch Hmm?? Iraq's really going well huh Hmmm?? Don't worry that the same terrorists on each street in Iraq are still blowing themselves up like before, but that's positive right Hmmmm?? I'm George W., what the hell should I do now. Gas is higher than the moon and I control all the oil in Iraq to HMMMM??? Lots of decisions to make, so many questions?? I know, lets have a investigation on what I did in Iraq and Katrina, and I'll head the investigation, I'll be in complete control and

Why Nothing is Interesting

2005-08-24T22:09:28-04:00

WHY NOTHING IS INTERESTING? When one contemplates how the "show about nothing" could be so comical one starts to wonder just how nothing can provide such an interesting topic for the comedies of life. In life something is what people think about. People worry about details or they worry about the big picture. The little nothings that trouble people only for a single moment of a single day are quickly forgotten. Rather its a place to hide at work or a bad day with a coworker little nothings are soon forgotten. Seinfeld takes those little nothings and combines them to create something which is truly something. From a logical perspective nothing is a mathematical impossibility. You never truly have 0 percent of anything, as you always have a small fraction of all other things by the inherant nature of matter and the atom. Nothingness is as close to a thing realized in practice as is infinity. From this vantage point to have "nothing" created in such a way as to allow for the creation of bountiful and infinite storylines and laughter seems logical. If "nothing" is close to everything, then why call it just something when nothing is nearly as likely to exist as infinity? A show about something seems rather lame as all shows claim to be about something. So a show about nothing was born. The writers of Seinfeld without doubt understood the inherant similarities between nothing and infinity. From nothingness came everything if you believe in the big bang theory. If you believe in creationism then god created everything from nothing. Again nothing seems to lie at the heart of all great creations. In life its not about how much substance one has. Rather its about how much one does with the knowledge of one's own nothingness that one soon acquires. In Seinfeld, George wrestles with the knowledge of his limitations as a short, bald, fat man, who can't attract the right girl. Kramer struggles with the knowledge that he has not fully realized one well crafted scheme in his life. Elaine worries with the fact that she can not hold onto a good boyfriend for long, nor a good job. Jerry ponders the lives of his nothing friends as well as his own Lex Luthurs which seem to always thwart his plans to find his own Lois Lane and live the life of Superman. The fabulous four

Life

2005-08-16T02:01:18-04:00

The word life takes on an abundance of different definitions and interpretations based on individual believes and opinions. Life can best be defined as the series of physical and mental experiences that an individual endures and faces during his/her life span. To me, life consists of particular values; social, personal, and family. These three values interrelate throughout every being’s life cycle, and are constantly challenged and questioned on a daily basis. Family values consist of commitments and obligations towards parents, siblings,

2005-07-11T20:51:24-04:00

Why I am Happier in Europe/Russia than America

2005-06-27T11:01:34-04:00

12 Reasons Why Russian Women are NOT Desperate to Leave Their Country

2005-06-27T10:54:55-04:00

Dear Reader, If you are one of the many Westerners who harbor the myth that most or all Russian women are desperate to leave their country or want a green card, then please read my article below and consider the 12 points that I make which prove it to be a narrow-minded egocentric American myth. These points are based on my experiences of being 6 months in Russia, visiting 9 cities, and meeting hundreds of people there. Regards, Winston 12 Reasons Why Russian Women are NOT Desperate to Leave Their Country A Complete Debunking of the American Myth By Winston Wu (WWu777@aol.com) This article addresses a myth that comes up often during discussions about Russian women. Many ignorant Westerners (who have never been to Russia obviously) believe that most women in Russia are desperate to leave their country and get a green card to America, or they pose that as the explanation for why Russian women treat us men so much better and are more open and friendly than their Western counterparts. This myth is especially common among feminists and arrogant men. These people make snap judgments about something they know nothing about. However, this common myth is completely wrong, and I will demonstrate this from every factual angle. Allow me to elaborate. Before I begin though, remember that Americans are not the standard to compare the rest of the world by. Just because people in other countries are different from here doesn't mean that they must have ulterior motives. Why can't people be naturally different or have different attitudes and behaviors without having something fishy up their sleeve? Furthermore, American women are not the default standard set by God for how all women should be, and thank goodness for that too. America is a strong capitalistic country with values that encourage individualism and selfishness. Therefore, countries with different social/economic systems and values are obviously going to cultivate different kinds of people. It's as simple as that. To expect otherwise would be unrealistic. 1) First of all, the simple fact in reality is that most women in Russia are NOT trying to leave their country to live abroad. (In fact, most people in any country are not trying to leave it.) I've met about 115 women in Russia. Out all those, only about TWO of them want to emigrate to

Politically Correct Fanatics: Their denial of patterns and genetics among people

2005-06-27T10:40:58-04:00

Politically Correct Fanatics: Their denial of patterns and genetics among people Introduction You may be reading this because you've made one or some of the following politically correct statements: 1. "Not all of them are like that." 2. "You can't generalize or stereotype, there is good and bad (or anything being contrasted) everywhere." 3. "Stereotypes and generalizations are bad, harmful, and always wrong." 4. "I know this person or that who doesn't fit your generalization." 5. "People are the same everywhere you go." or "Everyone is unique and individual, so it is wrong and inaccurate to make generalizations or stereotypes." (a seeming contradiction) The "politically correct" mentality that denies any sort of patterns in people, and denies the whole science of genetics, seems prevalent among mainstream people today, especially in the US. Though odd and illogical, it has spread widely and in various degrees among the world's populations into popular thought today. For some reason, these people, in their idealistic cause to appease and unify the people of the world with political correctness, are willing to deny facts and reality to support their politically correct beliefs. And they do this to the point of making it not just a mentality, but almost a religion as well. They seem motivated by a belief or desire to ignore all differences in people, in order to unify all, get agreement from all, and offend none. Thus, in effect, when it comes to choosing between truth and political correctness, they choose the latter. For terminology purposes, we will call these kinds of people "PC fanatics" (politically correct fanatics). These PC fanatics, however, are tedious to debate, because they bring up the same protests over and over again (e.g. the four statements above) and even when you point out why they're wrong, getting them to admit it sometimes too, they still bring up the same points again later. It becomes tedious and repetitive. Therefore, I've written this article to knock some sense into them, and to save me time from having to repeat the same arguments to them over and over again. I give no bull, and cut to the chase, telling it like it is. PC fanatics' denial of patterns among people First, there is a double standard here. PC fanatics are willing to acknowledge patterns that exist in things (non-living), aspects, or trends, but when it comes to identifying

Propaganda vs Real Life in America

2005-06-27T10:25:07-04:00

Propaganda vs. Real Life in America By Winston Wu (WWu777@aol.com) As we all know, the media propaganda in America is that our country is a land of freedom and opportunity where anyone can be what they want to be, live their dreams, be the best they can be, become rich and successful, and live the American dream of owning a home. This idea is incessantly conveyed by our culture, media, education system, and political establishment. It is a necessary illusion to keep everyone functioning in their place. And we are constantly fed success stories of individuals who thrive here. However, despite the ideals of this image, here's the big picture about how things work in America and how people live. The reality is that in America, only a few people truly live the American dream. Those at the top who control the flow of economic resources and production capital (in socialist philosophy terms, they are referred to as the “haute bourgeoisie” class) are also the ones who get most of the resource flow even though they don't need it. And it's not just with the CEO's. The top sports players and top Hollywood stars in this country who get 20 million dollars per film or per season are easily getting extraordinary amounts of money that they don't even need. That's how things have always worked, especially in a capitalist country. Karl Marx’s prediction that capitalism would fail might have came true if a middle class hadn't been created in this country to act as a buffer zone between the high and low classes, giving the low class an incentive to move up to something higher so that they won't overthrow those in power. (Some intellectual historians have even argued that colleges and universities were created to create a middle class. e.g. Zinn, Chomsky) In reality, the majority of people in this country live in slavery to their jobs just so they can keep up with never-ending bills and make ends meet. They never live the American dream. And the myth of “individual freedom” for all in America is just that, a myth, perpetuated to appease and motivate the masses of people, making each person feel important. Most people in America work at least 8 hours a day at a full time job, and what little time is

The Industrial Culture of America: Assimilation of an Automaton Populace

2005-06-27T10:18:40-04:00

The Industrial Culture of America: Assimilation of an Automaton Populace (vs. the rich cultural, freedom of expression of Europe) Introduction For those interested in hearing a broad educated well-traveled viewpoint, I've written this essay to explain why I am dissatisfied and unfulfilled with life in America, feeling like a fish out of water, and find areas like Europe much more fulfilling and satisfying. The following lists only some of my complaints and the factors at stake. The industrial culture's stagnation of mind and soul The problem with mainstream life in America is that there is basically nothing to expand your mind or soul, like there is in Europe in plenty. On the average, not much good or bad happens; time just passes and life is wasted in mind-numbing mechanistic routine in conformity to the industrial culture of mass production and consumerism, which perpetuate the stability and expansion of the industrial forces that dominate the country, which also seek to make the rest of the world a part of it. Let's elaborate on some of the factors at work. Although America tries to pretend to be a multi-cultural melting pot of diversity, to appease its many ethnic groups, in reality there is no real culture in America (notwithstanding a few exceptions, e.g. San Francisco, New Orleans), at least not by the standards of the rest of the world. It's basically a giant "industrial culture", a "national machine" of mass production and consumption, seeking to globalize the world, and make all in its path fit into mechanistic structures designed to stabilize, preserve and perpetuate the forces that run it. Its sole aim and function being of mass production for profit. Even foreign immigrants who come here lose their culture, as they become immersed and "assimilated" into the gigantic industrial culture of modern day America. Those who "assimilate" into the industrial culture are rewarded with a mechanistic automated life of non-expression and overconsumption (in foods and material luxuries), while those who don't are labeled as misfits and losers, who will be left behind in the "rat race". Those with a strong need for self-expression often feel suffocated in corporate America, instead becoming starving artists, actors, musicians, small business owners, hippies, or living some other poor Bohemian lifestyle, as a fish out of water. Thus, while America boasts freedom politically and legally, there is no true freedom of the SOUL, something much

glass ceiling

2005-06-24T21:58:57-04:00

Key Women’s Issues: Pregnancy Discrimination, Pay Equity, and the Glass Ceiling Karen 927 The Glass Ceiling The glass ceiling starts to form itself very early on. From the moment a woman enters the work force after college, she is faced with much discrimination and unjust belief that she will not be able to do as well of a job than a man. A man and a woman, who both have the same education and training for a job, will have a considerable gap in their yearly income. In a first year job, a man will make approximately $14,619 compared to a woman who will make only $12,201. That is a pay gap of 17 % there is no reason why there should be any gap in their incomes during the first year of their jobs. They have both had the same formal education and both have the same qualifications necessary for the job, yet they are being treated unequally. The woman has not shown herself to be incapable of accomplishing her job and has given her employer no reason to doubt her commitment to her career other than the simple fact that she is a woman. And this discrimination does not go away. After five years of constant working, at the same rate and level as each other, the pay gap actually increases. A male will get paid an average of $28,119 while a female only receives $22,851.This is how things have been done for years. The man typically gets paid more money and holds more executive jobs than women do, simply because they are males. A man will be paid an average of 47% more than females in the course of their lives. Although this is wrong, this has been tradition for so long; both men and women have accepted this way of thinking as right and have just gone along with it. There have been changes in regards to women in top positions within the last few years. However, although those advances are positive, they are still no where equal. A certain statistic may say that there has been a 14% increase in the number of women in executive jobs for a certain company. However, although that increase is no doubt positive, it fails to tell the true story. That increase is only increases from a very minute number, if not zero, of women who previously held that

Racism and races

2005-05-13T06:50:38-04:00

I was inspired by "Racism in America" by sentiencenerd and the comments about it.to me was funny to read the comment of newmanc who says that the essay is a piece of rubbish and "try the facts". well the facts are: the most miserable places in the world are populated exclusively by black people. for example - Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia, Compton, Harlem... On the other hand the places with the highest life standard, lowest crime rate, lowest unemployment rate... are populated almost exclusively by white people. examples - Switzerland, Norway, Sweden... What's the conclusion - black people suck. their aptitude for misery and poverty is genetically determined together with their unwillingness to advance. the only chance

Aztec Indians

2005-05-08T20:54:07-04:00

My second paper will be on the Aztec Indians, who are known for their domination of southern and central Mexico. They ruled between the 14th and 16th centuries. They built a great empire and developed very modernized ways of doing things. They had phenomenal architectural skills and waterway systems. The Aztec Indians also had very developed social class and government systems and practiced a form of religion. To begin with, the Aztecs were very skilled in the art of Architecture and waterway systems. “An example of the monumental architecture within the Aztec society is the great pyramid of Tenochtitlan. Montezuma I, who was the ruler of the Aztecs in 1466, created it. The pyramid was not finished until the rule of Montezuma II, around 1508”(Carrasco, Montezuma Mexico, Pg. 49). “Aztec cities and towns also had working drinking water and waste treatment systems. An intricate plumbing system using clay pipes ran down from the mountains around Mexico valley to all of the towns and cities in the valley. As the water ran into each town or city it was the dispersed to 10 or 12 places around town were it flowed into a pool for drinking water or was piped into public baths and toilets. Only nobles had working drinking and bathing systems with running water in their homes. The sewage system worked much like today, having human wastes carried to a collection pool where solids were collected, and then having liquids run off into a series of terraces which filtered the water. Solid wastes were allowed to sit in a collection pool for about six months and then were brought to the lake gardens to be used as fertilizer”(Jennings, Aztec, Pg. 220). “The Aztec social structure contained four well defined classes. At the bottom of the heap were slaves and serfs, or the Tlacotli, who worked the private lands of the nobility. Next came the Macehualtin, ‘the fortunate,’ as they were called because they were equally free of the heavy responsibility of the nobility and of the slave’s liability to being basely used. They were the merchants, shopkeepers and artisans that made up the bulk of the population. The Macehualtin belonged to localized kin groups known as calpulli or ‘big houses,’ each of which had it’s own lands, clan leaders, and temple”(Jennings, Aztec, Pg. 354). “After that came the hereditary nobility or Pipiltin, who supplied the top bureaucrats in

Overpopulation in China

2005-05-05T02:59:01-04:00

Overpopulation in China China and overpopulation are two words that have become synonymous over the years. Overpopulation in China has become a global issue as China is the most populous country in the world and its contribution to the international community is extremely significant. However it doesn’t necessarily mean that a country with a high population is an overpopulated country. To clarify the meaning of overpopulation, here is a little description. Overpopulation in a country occurs when the number of people in an area is far greater than the country’s available resources (China Studies). The People’s Republic of China has had this problem for many years and still the government hasn’t come up with an effective solution. The Chinese government has to quickly alter its old population controlling policies because it is disturbing the country’s social and economic life, and if it continues, China could face a huge crisis in the future. China’s population started to increase dramatically after World War II. In 1949, Mao encouraged Chinese families to have as many children as possible. This is because the government thought the population increase would bring money to the country and help China produce more food, build a better army, develop water control, and establish communication systems (Chinese Population). For the next ten years China’s population increased in millions every year. In 1949 the population was around 118 million, which increased to 540 million in 1960’s. In 1970 the population increased again by 290 million, making it a massive increase of 712 million in just 20 years (Issue of Overpopulation). The population increase largely depends on the fertility of a country. In the past 30 years China’s fertility trend changed many times, making a great impact on the population increase. The fertility trend changed from about six children per woman to two children per woman. This was a result of policies introduced by the government under “unfavorable social, economic, and demographic conditions” (The Overpopulation Issue). China also joined some of the western countries like U.S.A into promoting this program. Now let’s look at the fertility trends introduced in China since 1949 (Chinese Economics). China’s fertility transition can be distributed into six main steps. The first step was called the Initial High Fertility period, which took place from 1949 to 1957. In this period China’s fertility was high and the death rate declined making a total fertility of 6.0 children

Portraits of the white men by the Western Apache

2005-03-27T14:02:11-04:00

Basso, Keith H., 1979. Portraits of “The Whiteman”: Linguistic Play and Cultural Symbols among the Western Apache. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Portraits of “The Whiteman” is about the cultural understandings that Western Apache have of Anglo-Americans. Since many of these portraits are expressed in joking imitations, this book is a kind of humorous ethnography in reverse. In your essay, describe the images of Anglo-Americans that are contained in Western Apache jokes. What do these jokes tell us about Western Apache culture? And what do they tell us about Anglo-American culture? The Western Apaches are aboriginal inhabitants of North America. The Apache people are distinguished from other Native Americans by their Athabascan language, the Western Apache reside in the geographic region of Arizona and this area includes the White Mountain, Cibecue, San Carlos and Northern and Southern Tonto bands. The Indian population is distributed fairly evenly among nine exogamous settlements; (Basso, 1970) Whiteriver, Canyon Day, East Fork, North Fork, Seven-mile, Turkey Creek, Carizzo, Cedar Creek, and Cibecue. The ethnography Portraits of “The Whiteman” is written concerning the Western Apache of Cibecue. An Anglo-American is an inhabitant of the United States whose language and ancestry are of English decent. There are many images of Anglo-Americans used in Western Apaches jokes. I will focus on the images that I consider to be the most relevant and describe each item with examples as well as making inferences about what it tells us about Western Apache and Anglo-American culture. The images of Anglo-American’s in Western Apache jokes are often seen as boisterous, fast-talking individuals whom repeat themselves and state the obvious. Apaches speak in a phlegmatic and amiable manner and only raise their voices when angry according to Basso (1979). They have trouble coming to terms with the volume and speed at which Anglo-Americans converse. “White men make lots of noise” (Basso, 1979). This can be a source of amusement for the discerning Apache when encountering an Anglo-American. “White men are angry even when they are friendly” (Basso, 1979). In Apache culture it is considered impolite to repeat oneself and this is learned through implicit knowledge. Apaches believe that Anglo-Americans do this frequently, it can be misinterpreted that they are in a hurry or are even indignant. Anglo-Americans also have a bizarre tendency to state the obvious “look who’s here” when everybody can see that

Abortion

2005-01-31T22:25:50-05:00

Ronald Reagan once said “I have noticed that everybody that is for abortion has already been born.” This quote sums up exactly how I personally feel about abortion. Everyone should have the right to life as they have been given it themselves. However abortion is a very controversial subject and there are many arguments both for Pro-life and Pro-choice, which I will discuss throughout this essay. The first issue I would like to raise is that a baby is a human being from the point of conception, which has been scientifically proven. This should mean that the baby has basic human rights for example, the right to live! Another human being should not have the right to take away another person’s life. The baby is innocent and like everyone else, deserves a chance at life. A defenceless life should not be taken away under any circumstances, after all the pregnancy is only temporary! The woman would only have to carry the baby for 9 months and then if she couldn’t cope she could give it up for adoption, however the baby has a full life time ahead of it, so shouldn’t the woman allow another human being to have a chance in life, the same way as her mother did for her? If her mother had aborted her then she wouldn’t even be here to make the decision of abortion, so why should this new born baby have fewer rights than this woman herself? On the contrary, Pro-choicers argue their case that a woman should have control over her own body. I agree that this right is important, but is it important enough to override the fundamental right to human life? As much as I believe a woman should have control over her own body it is to a certain extent. For example, I am sure no one would agree that a woman has the right to beat someone to death simply because she used her fists which are part of her body. This shows an example of a case where a person’s right to life outweighs a woman’s right to control over her own body. It illustrates that this right is not absolute and is dependant entirely on what she is doing with her body. Another reason why Pro-choicers are for abortion is that the baby may be a result of rape and therefore the woman should not have to

Alcohol among our teenagers

2005-01-22T17:34:07-05:00

This is a letter i wrote last christmas when i was bored addressed to the editor of a local newspaper in The Bahamas, where i live. Hope you enjoy. Dear Editor and my fellow Bahamian public, I am disturbed, disgruntled and shocked at the magnitude of carelessness that the public shows for the well-being and security of our youth. Recently, I was invited with a few friends to join them to celebrate at one of the local clubs in downtown Nassau. I was pleased to join them and proceeded to ride with them to the clubs. On the way to the club, we stopped to one of the many local bars for some beers; just a few (10), some gin and a bottle of Carlo Rassi. Subsequently, we rode to a popular club where we enjoyed ourselves, got wasted and partied. At the club, I purchased even more beer, much more; rum and even a cigarette. At 4 o’clock in the morning we drove home as intoxicated as ever. Yes, I know; what’s the big deal? What’s the raucous about? Why am I disgruntled and disturbed? It’s the norm in our society… everyone does it but; I am SIXTEEN! Much worse, the people I rode with were between the ages of 14 and 17; no one had a license, no one even had a permit and none of us were over the legal age to consume alcohol. However, occurrences similar and even worse than this happen every day under the very eyes of the same policeman who are suppose to be ‘protecting the public’. My question to the public, and most importantly the government is; why are the youth able to get away with so much devious activity? Where were the security guards at the club who were suppose to be looking at ID to ensure that teenagers do not enter? Where were the policemen who were were suppose to be monitoring the streets for drunk drivers and young drivers? Much more, where were the parents who were supposed to be ensuring the well-being of their children? I may sound contradictory when I say that Im disturbed that I was able to do these things but Im not. The reason I went to the clubs, got drunk and drove without a license is because I could. There may be restrictions written on paper, but are they practiced? Are they regulated? Maybe

Borderline Exploitation

2005-01-06T04:26:29-05:00

When it comes to the news, television, fame, advertising, the whole lot, I like to give credit where credit is due. I think that the primal coverage of the events that took place on September 11, 2001 was done well. Peter Jennings was amazing, giving the American people the perfect mixture of professional and human reaction. I love watching basketball games and the sportscasters always know exactly what is going on, no doubt. I am thrilled that Matchbox Twenty (the band) is finally getting the recognition that I think they deserve. But when I think about whom in the media I actually respect, it is all coming up men! A woman could not have done as good a job as Peter Jennings because she would have either been too young and not esteemed, or she would have already been forced into early retirement because she was beginning to look too old. And in sports casting, all those women need to know is how to read. So many have even admitted that they don’t know much about sports. And they chose to admit that in an issue of Maxim where they also all posed in rather scantily clad outfits and not exactly in reputable positions. And of course, fame. All Britney Spears has to do is take off her clothes and shake her derrière, and she is suddenly a millionaire. Let’s not worry about whether she actually has any talent! Bands like Matchbox Twenty, Blues Traveler, and Barenaked Ladies are only now finally getting some of the recognition that they deserve, after years and years of hard work and honing a brilliant talent. Why is it so difficult for a woman to get respect in the media? Because people like Anna Kornacova, Britney Spears, the actress that plays the older daughter on “8 Simple Rules to Dating My Teenage Daughter,” cars show models, Jennifer Lopez, the Coors Light twins…exist. These women possess little or no legitimate talent, yet they are all financially successful! But these women are not respectable. These women are all selling their bodies and good looks, not their talent. Perhaps because their talent is lacking, but either way it sets a precedent that even if a woman is intelligent or talented, she must be attractive.

Violence & Media

2005-01-06T03:00:41-05:00

The other day, I was watching a documentary on “Fast Times At Ridge Mont High.” Originally, they had a scene where moviegoers would see full frontal nudity of a man. When sent in to Universal, the movie was rated X. Why is it that full female nudity is only rated R, but male nudity must carry a X rating? When the director asked that question, Universal said, “The male form is more aggressive.” I thought for a long while about this. I think it only goes to artistic value, but obviously other see the word aggressive to also me offensive. I bring this up only because it relates on a certain level to our discussion in the Entertainment Group. Violence is dealt with very much the same way. However, I don’t think I have ever heard of a move being rated X due to too much violence. It is and should be the viewers choice to let certain movies/television shows affect them. Violence in movies or television is sometimes necessary to accurately portray a type of person or a particular idea, time period, lifestyle, etc. For example, The Godfather. This movie is about gangsters. Hello! Violent much? Yeah, violence is necessary to get the point of this movie across. As it is in Requiem Of A Dream, The Basketball Diaries, The Doom Generation, Fight Club, Natural Born Killers, American History X, etc. The directors of these movies are trying to show the viewer what these types of people are going through and why they do the things they do. And they are trying to show that truthfully. Even if it means being disgusted or angry with the characters. They want the raw stuff. And frankly, we want to see it. Americans love that stuff. I may not be a violent person or even approve of violence, but if I want to get a good idea of someone else’s life or point of view, you gotta see the bad stuff. I think the term rubberneck was originated by Americans. We love violence. Does it always have a positive effect? Certainly not. But there are many other things that come into play when defending violence in movies and television. First and foremost,

General Philosophy

2005-01-05T20:53:13-05:00

Ethics Final Section 1: The Ideal Being Many people lose sight of what is important when determining what a good person TRULY is. What most people would consider to be a good person is humility, selflessness, caring, generosity, kindness, etc. Others believe that a good person is measured by how much he does and accomplishes in life rather than by what he does for others. Here in lies the problem. You’ll never be a truly great person if you focus all your energy on personal wealth. In the same respects, a great person can’t simply lose sight of helping themselves either. After all, doesn’t it read in the Bible that “God helps those who help themselves.”? A good person is someone who finds the middle road. A person who cuts it down the middle. Martin Luther King, Jr. is a wonderful example of this. Dr. King focused his efforts towards achieving a goal that was as much for others as it was for himself. He deeply cared about the black community being free, but don’t kid yourself; he wasn’t above oppression of any kind as his untimely death may indicate. Taking a side of complete altruism over egoism is a stance that merely leads to an inferiority complex and a great lack of self-esteem. Taking a stance of egoism over altruism is a clear road to despair and regret. Altruism, while externally good for a person, will kill their spirit internally. When everything that you do revolves around the idea that everyone else comes first and you come second, you outcast yourself. Your mission becomes one of servitude and loneliness. No one always wants to be the host of the party. Sometimes its nice to let someone else have that privilege. Altruism obviously has its benefits. It is great for the spirit in many ways when taken in moderation. There is no greater satisfaction for many people than the realization that they have helped someone else. Even that, however, can be an egotistical idea however. If you help someone that could not help themselves do you not at least feel some sort of feeling of superiority over that person? You were in a position that they needed to be in and you rose to the occasion. As sad as that is, it is the truth although at least half of the reason behind good deeds is that you want to help someone

uwfchick

2004-12-16T03:22:16-05:00

Ethnography: Image of Perfect One of society’s biggest issues is a persons image. People rely so heavily on what they look like. While some spend hours in front of the mirror, or even spend thousands on surgery, others have serious and even fatal clinical problems because of society’s image of what is perfect. I chose to write my ethnography on people who suffer from anorexia nervosa and/or bulimia nervosa. My opinion on people who are anorexic or bulimic is that they are somewhat of weak people. I say this because, to me, it seems like if a person would either starve themselves or make themselves purge, only to try and meet the standards of being “thin”, than they are weak. There are other ways to go about getting into shape, besides harming yourself in these kind of ways. I spoke with three different victims of eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia. They all claimed to have had many warning signs which people began to notice as signs of their eating disorders. Anorexia nervosa symptoms include: significant weight loss, excessive dieting and exercising, and constipation. Bulimia nervosa symptoms consist of making excuses to go to the bathroom after meals, and eating large amounts of food on the spur of the moment. All victims interviewed had a fear of becoming overweight, a distorted body image, and experienced some form of hyper activity. Mood swings also seemed to be pretty common in all three. Thus, eating disorders affect a person not only physically, but emotionally too. When a person has a disorder such as anorexia or bulimia, they are affected in many ways and sometimes don’t realize the effects of the disorder. Anorexia nervosa also has many medical effects some of which can be life-threatening. I don’t think it is that hard to see signs of someone who suffers from either of these conditions. According to all three people I spoke with though, it is almost impossible to get someone who is anorexic or bulimic to admit it and ask for or receive help for it. A lot of people who suffer from these conditions, either don’t believe it is as severe as it is, or simply don’t care. All that these people can understand fully is that, in their mind, they are not “perfect”, or do not live

Steroids research paper

2004-12-07T01:06:50-05:00

Athletics today is not the same as it was 20 years ago or even 10 years ago. As the years have past our athletic events have become more important to our society, some athletes are getting paid upwards of a millions dollars a year to do what regular athletes have been doing for years. Since the athletes are getting paid more, it normal means that the games are getting more interesting. The things that make the games more interesting are the fact that today’s athletes are going to great lengths to become faster and stronger. Why is it that our athletes are getting faster and stronger? Why didn’t the past athletes have the same capabilities as our present day athletes have? The answers to these questions are sport supplements. Sport Supplements today play a significant role in athletics ranging from high school athletics all the way to professional athletics. “Sports supplements are products used to enhance athletic performance. They come in different forms, including vitamins, synthetics drugs, and hormones, most of which are available over the counter without prescription.” (Shannon, pg. 299) Scientists over the past few years have been making vast improvements on sport supplements; our every day athletes are using these supplements to push their bodies to the next level. Our athletes are using supplements that range from protein shakes all the way to androstenedione (andro). All of these supplements are legal at this time, or have been recently under investigation to become on the FDA ban list. You can find legal sport supplements in most health store and are sold to people of the age of 18 or older. There is a dark side to the sport supplement industry and that is anabolic steroids. These are illegal to use unless you are prescribed by your physician to use them. In the past ten years there has been a huge uprising against certain sports supplements in a lot of sports organizations. “The NFL, NCAA, and the IOC have banned the use of steroids, creatine, ephedra, and androstenedione by their athletes.” (Shannon, pg. 300) All of these supplements have been banned for health reasons that have been studied. These organizations used their ban for the best interest of their athletes. Since most of these supplements can be found through a

Obesity

2004-12-02T23:52:50-05:00

Obesity Introduction In America, being fat and having it be acknowledged by others, it is very shameful. It’s like getting caught having sex in your neighbor’s swimming pool by your parents. Or getting caught by security trying to steal a bra from K-mart when you’re nine. It’s like living your worst nightmare. ‘Fatso’ ‘Huge’ there’s nothing more embarrassing then being called a name which is meant to be an insult which is true about you. 61 % of Americans are overweight. About 30% of those percentages are obese. Most of the time, it’s not factually the added pounds and the disabilities it brings that are the predicament in the obese persons mentality. It is the social and physical humiliation that their disorder has brought along. Definition/Description of problem Being obese means having enough fat to pose a medical risk. People can be defined as obese if they have a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 or more. The 30 stands for the percentage of body fat you have. For example if your BMI is twenty-seven, then your body is probably made up of approximately twenty-seven percent body fat. Having a high BMI puts you at risk for certain diseases and cancers linked to obesity. Another sign of obesity is hypertension. Also known as high blood pressure, obesity is a cause of hypertension. Hypertension occurs in obese people when so much fat clogs the arteries that little blood can get through the arteries, which leads to pressure of the blood building up in the arteries, which could possibly lead to a bursting of the artery which could lead to fatality. History The large amount of obese people has increased drastically over the past few years causing what doctors call the obesity epidemic. (See available chart courtesy of CDC) An event to promote active lifestyles to prevent obesity is National PE day which is May 1st. Another event to promote health and prevent obesity is the opening of Cascade Middle School’s new fitness gym. Causes and Effects of Problem There are many causes of obesity. Some people are obese because they overeat. Sometimes, when people are under stress they eat more than their body needs. Food is like a way to get away from it all.

Lowering the Drinking age................???

2004-12-02T23:25:55-05:00

In “Coors urges lower drinking age” from The Washington Times, author Valerie Richardson compares and contrasts the different perspectives two candidates running for the senate have, about lowering the drinking age. The topics discussed in this article are worthy of examination because the issue of “lowering the drinking age” is not something that everyone agrees with. This leads us to analyze more the policies we have and criticize whether we thinks is right or wrong. One of the man points in this article is that republican Pete Coos believes that lowering the drinking age will make adolescents drink more responsible. Mr. Coors stated: People mature at different ages, you should be as horrified at your daughter drinking at 18 as at 21 if she’s not ready (Richardson, par. 5). First of all we were all raised different, with different moral values, spiritual values and other things that might influence in our decisions. Therefore it shouldn’t matter if they lower the drinking age. A determined and mature person will act with responsibility no matter what. Another major point is that Mr. Coors thinks that it will be better to reopen the debate and let the citizens decide. On the contrary, his rival opponent said: The state did decide. There are several examples of where the federal government has tried to coerce Colorado into doing something and Colorado regularly ignores them (par. 9) Every state should have their own policies and let their citizens decide, because they will be the one who would get benefit from it or get affected. I disagree with the fact that Rep. Schaffer wants to increase the limits on drinking age. Many adolescents like to challenge the laws. If there is anything illegal they will just do it to be cool, or because they want to fit in. It will be almost invalid raising the age limit of drinking age from 18 to 21, because people are still going to do it. They are already use to this policy. Rep. Pete Coors said: “We got along fine for years with the 18 year old drinking age” (par.2). Also, the more you prohibit something the more tempted a person is. Additionally, if a person is able to by cigarettes at the age of 18, why wouldn’t you be able to buy beer? Cigarettes are as dangerous as alcohol. I

MONEY, WEALTH, AND ENERGY v1.1r0

2004-11-30T04:45:16-05:00

MONEY, WEALTH, AND ENERGY v1.1r0 Authorship by: Tyler Jordan Money is like an iron ring we have put through our noses. We have forgotton that we designed it, and now it is leading us around. - Bernard Lietaer Introduction Money affects nearly all aspects of our lives, how it works is something everyone should be interested in understanding further. Unfortunately, politically and financially motivated and biased "experts" actively work to discourage us with terse jargon and assurances that the topic is much too complicated. The truth is, even the average economics graduate does not fully understand the depths to which the elite bankers have gone to insure their ultimate profit. Over the ages, these elite few have amassed enormous wealth and have used it, through bribery, blackmail, deception, and assassination, to gain control of the political processes of nearly every country. To accept the "wisdom" of the mainstream authority structure is to leave the subjects of money, wealth, and energy largely unexplored and allows those who do know the nature of the system to carry on unquestioned. It is important to understand that true knowledge of reality allows control. As time has passed, those with true knowledge of money, wealth, and energy have come to dominate the use and flow of each. These elite have sought to maintain and even increase their control and influence over time by carefully structuring the institutions of knowledge and learning to their advantage by funding those persons of similar political philosophy. Like well studied con-artists they have kept their true intentions hidden while utilizing obfuscating language and the selective recruitment and advancement of like-minded colleagues. Through these and other manipulations they have created a memludditic tower of babel that soars over any other in the recorded histories of all known civilizations. "History records that the money changers have used every form of abuse, intrigue, deceit, and violent means possible to maintain their control over governments by controlling money and its issuance." -U.S. President James Madison A history of wealth transfer Real wealth is power. Let us explore the fallacies of wealth/power, money creation, and basic economic theory. The early "loan-sharks" were money changers and gold smiths. They were the ones who consistently had idle money (in the form of gold and silver coin). So, they used it to increase their profits by giving out loans at interest. They realized that the larger their stockpile of coined money

the goals of responsible parents

2004-11-21T20:40:17-05:00

The goals of responsible parents. Responsible parents should make it their primary goal in life to develop their children into productive caring and happy members of society, with as few hang-ups, such as racism, mysticism, lack of self worth and other value destroying traits as possible. Any personal goals that had not been achieved or were not well along when the children were born should be put on the back burner or at least de-prioritised. Where there are children their interests must come first. Whatever you have not achieved by the time you have children you must put on hold until they have been reared. if you do not you will risk raising a person who will destroy all that you create. However; if you put your energy into your children then; chances are, they will achieve all you set out to do and more. In addition they will not be destroying the society that you and your generation worked hard to build. I am not talking about the necessary ambitions in life that include work and development of your life in general, I mean the time consuming asset draining entertainment or delusional perceptions of our potential that may obstruct a meaningful relationship with your children. Having children is a very serious responsibility, parents are greatly responsible for the way their children turn out whether that is positive or negative. It is not what you teach your children - children can learn for themselves (as can be painfully obvious), rather it is the way you train their thinking ability; the way they perceive that which they see. For example; a child that has not been taught how valuable he/she is will be far more likely to engage in futile conflicts of whatever sort whether political or just drunken disorder. If people are not taught how valuable they are all they will learn from life is how valueless they seem. If you teach a child that he/she is of massive importance to the world and is capable of achieving anything that they set out to do they will be more aware of situations that may be detrimental to them. they will be more likely to live long and fruitful lives that benefit mankind in the short and long-term. The older our society becomes the more lessons we learn about what is and what is not good for our long term future and the better

Equality...

2004-11-15T20:25:36-05:00

Same-sex-marriage, and whether or not it should be allowed to exist in the United States is a topic that has caught and held the attention of many people of many different walks of life, from the highest head of the executive branch, to the many blue-collar citizens going to and from work everyday. There are some who say that it should be completely outlawed, that gays and lesbians should be denied all monetary and social benefits that might go along with marriage. There are others who believe that same sex couples should be allowed civil unions, but not marriage, as this would protect what many call the sanctity of marriage, while still allowing the couple to receive equal benefits. Still others, who refuse to stop at partial equality, are fighting to gain full marriage rights for the gay and lesbian community. If all of the people, on each of these three sides to this debate, would, even if only for a moment, take time to think about the ideals and premises that this country was founded upon, it would not take long for them to realize that not only should same-sex unions be allowed, but also same-sex-marriages. In order to prove the validity of an argument one must present both sides of the argument. This being the case, one of the larger arguments against same-sex-marriages is the belief that in a society that acknowledge homosexual behavior, more young people will be encouraged to experiment and more will be discouraged from overcoming homosexual desires (http://www.nogaymarriage.com/talkingpoints.html). When one looks at this statement with a critical eye, and contrasts this statement with the basic freedoms, such as religious tolerance and freedom from racial discrimination, that the oppressed of the world have fought so hard, and for so long to gain, one might see that this statement not only stands against the idea of equal rights, but is flagrantly flying in the face of concepts such a freedom and choice. Another argument used by the opposition of same-sex-marriages is that sodomy, being defined as “Any of various forms of sexual intercourse held to be unnatural or abnormal…”(http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=sodomy), is illegal in some places. It has only been recently that 38 states laws have been repealed, the most recent being Texas (http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/06/26/scotus.sodomy/index.html). The last 13 states with sodomy laws are Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma, and Missouri, which prohibit multiple forms of sex between same sex partners and these

SERIAL KILLERS: CLASSIFICATION AND KILLING PATTERNS OF MONSTERS

2004-11-13T04:51:44-05:00

SERIAL KILLERS: CLASSIFICATION AND KILLING PATTERNS OF MONSTERS The term serial killer was first used on Ted Bundy. Although the term is relatively new, the phenomenon is not. It dated far back in history, and no one is really sure how it has begun, but there are records of serial killing crimes such as “Jack the Ripper” dated back in the 1800s. What defines serial killer is not exactly clear. Generally, it’s agreeable that when there’s three or more murders committed by the same offender, the offender will be defined as a serial killer. The murders are usually committed at different time and place with a “cooling-off” period. Serial killer is not the same as mass killer, those who killed all their victims at once, and often killed themselves afterward. Serial killers are more complex in their crimes, and often killed many victims before being caught. An average killing career for a male serial killer is four years, while a female serial killer is eight years. Although there are many subtopics of serial killers, this essay will focuses on two subtopics of serial killers: the classification of serial killers, and their patterns of killings. Before recently, serial killers are viewed as an outcast, a monster, someone who does not belong in the society. However, when Ted Bundy was arrested, many citizens were alarmed with his “normal-looking.” Citizens are faced with unidentifiable killers who can happened to be their next door neighbors, or even their close friends. The searches for the convicts are much harder this way, and most cases often go unsolved. In order to prevent the crimes, one needs to understand these serial killers. Criminologists worked tirelessly to come up with any possible ways to identify the killers, and one way is to attempt to classify the killers into different categories. The classification of the killers will help the police constructs probable characteristics of the killer who committed the crime. In order to investigate each serial murder, the FBI attempts to classify serial killers into different groups based on their crimes’ method. FBI classified serial killers as organized, disorganized, and mixed-category. The organized serial killers planned their murder ahead of time, with the plan for disposing the corpse, and covering his/her tracks. Weapons are brought to the crime scenes, and crime

the legalization of marijuana

2004-11-10T18:35:19-05:00

Essay three: Legalization of Marijuana The legalization of marijuana has been one of the most heated debates to ever occur in the United States. There are two sides that feel equally strongly about this topic. There is the side that is for the legalization and the side that is against it. I found very plausible reasoning on why this drug should or should not be legalized. Marijuana’s use as a medicine has been around for thousands of years, in countries worldwide. The use of marijuana can be dated as far back as 2700 B.C. through ancient Chinese writings. Marijuana has been associated with bringing relief to sick people suffering from AIDS, cancer, anorexia, epilepsy, arthritis, migraines, and glaucoma. Most doctors don’t recommend that you smoke marijuana to relieve yourself from the ailments associated with these sicknesses. The doctors are recommending the patients take a synthetic form of marijuana such as Marinol. Most patients feel like Marinol is an ineffective substitute because of the side effects. Patients complain that the feeling of being too sleepy and or the feeling of being too stoned is far too great. Now if the patients can smoke a joint they can be the judge for themselves on how much they need to get the desired effect. Forty million Americans use marijuana more frequently than all of the other illegal drugs combined. I found that static to be staggering. Marijuana has also been proven to not be a physically addictive drug. If marijuana was legal it would allow the regulation of the drug. For instance, cigarettes have warnings of the affects of smoking them right on the box, alcohol is clearly marked with the percentage of alcohol on the bottle, and legal drugs have a listing of all active and inactive ingredients in them. If marijuana was sold legally it could also be sold with ingredients, purity levels, and the warnings of smoking it to your health clearly marked. In the year 2000 there where 1,147,591 pounds of marijuana seized by the United Stated Coast Guard. The average price of marijuana goes for around 1,500 dollars per pound. Now if marijuana

Cloning in General-Con

2004-11-10T01:56:41-05:00

The Cloning Essay When you hear the word cloning, you know that it’s going to start a debate. This is because people are greatly divided on whether it’s good or bad. A way to reach a conclusion is to look at cloning from ethical, risk, and religious perspectives. The reality is, cloning is unethical, very risky, and irreligious. The arguments I will make will hopefully convince you that cloning is not good for the future. Cloning is very unethical. It would be violating the human rights in many ways. It would be violating of the freedom of beliefs and thoughts Cloning also reduces human dignity. Humans can be sold as manufactured products. If we allow that, we would be violating others human rights. One of them is that no one should be held in slavery or servitude. Cloning also threatens individuality and uniqueness. Life would be very dull considering the fact that everyone would have the same personality. If we follow this to the future, one wouldn’t want to live in that kind of world. The process of cloning involves killing a great number of embryos; which one also find unethical. Furthermore, cloning would be playing God. God has already devised a good and proper plan to make babies. Why mess with it? If god doesn’t want you to have babies, then you shouldn’t have babies, it’s as simple as that. At least to the majority of the believers in God. An argument could be put forth that curing someone is interfering with God’s plan. My reply to that would be that it is not because curing someone is far more different that creating a new life and tampering with the way god created life. We should try to stick with God’s rules and his natural order instead of trying to make God’s rules. If we do interfere with this, we’ll interfere with natural evolution. If we interfere with natural evolution than who knows what other problems might occur? Cloning is a big step for the future, and everyone who defends cloning is too caught up with this new process of making new life, and not thinking about the consequences. Some of you don’t know that killer bees were created by scientists. These scientists were too caught up with the bees, trying to make them better. But the bees escaped and turned out to be

The goals of responsible parents.

2004-11-03T20:13:24-04:00

Responsible parents should make it their primary goal in life to develop their children into productive caring and happy members of society. Any personal goals that had not been achieved or were not well along when the children were born should be put on the back burner or at least de-prioritised. Where there are children their interests must come first. Whatever you have not achieved by the time you have children you must put on hold until they have been reared. if you do not you will risk raising a person who will destroy all that you create. However; if you put your energy into your children, then, chances are, they will achieve all you set out to do and more. In addition they will not be destroying the society that you and your generation worked hard to build. I am not talking about the necessary ambitions in life that include work and development of your life in general, I mean the time consuming asset draining occupations that may obstruct a meaningful relationship with your children. Having children is a very serious responsibility, parents are greatly responsible for the way their children turn out whether that is positive or negative. It is not what you teach your children - children can learn for themselves (as can be painfully obvious), rather it is the way you train their thinking ability; the way they perceive that which they see. For example; a child that has not been taught how valuable he/she is will be far more likely to engage in futile conflicts of whatever sort whether political or just drunken disorder. If people are not taught how valuable they are all they will learn from life is how valueless they seem. If you teach a child that he/she is of massive importance to the world and is capable of achieving anything that they set out to do they will be more aware of situations that may be detrimental to them. they will be more likely to live long and fruitful lives that benefit mankind in the short and long-term. The older our society becomes the more lessons we learn about what is and what is not good for our long term future and the better we get as a society in producing values and reducing detrimental practices, products and principals; in short the older the world gets the longer people will be able

What are the problems associated with child prostitution?

2004-10-31T00:15:31-04:00

Everyday millions of innocent children are forced to do jobs, not of their own free will but as a result of poverty especially in third world countries. These children often resort to options of labor or even more extreme prostitution. So what is one to do when one is poor, young and in a third world country? There are several options available to chose from ; asking for essentials materials a (food, shelter and clothing) from richer people/countries, suffering and struggling to survive or sell their bodies for a little money. Unfortunately many chose this last option, which could be dangerous and harmful to them. First world countries should assist in aiding third would countries to eliminate problems caused by child prostitution. Prostitution defined by the “Gage Canadian Dictionary” is “the act of offering oneself or another person to engage in sexual acts”. Education of young child sex workers and their families should be provided by first world countries to give cheap treatment and prevent the continuous spread of dangerous diseases by prostitution. Over the last several decades, a pandemic of highly infectious sexually transmitted illnesses like HIV-human immunodeficiency virus(HIV is a cytopathic form of a family of retrovirus, which includes the T-cell leukemia virus.), have wiped out entire villages and cities. Theses diseases were not at first understood by scientists, but now are. Prevention and Treatment are available but only to those who can afford to pay for them. In countries were the majority of the population is poor and illiterate, education and inexpensive treatment should be given by wealthier 1st world countries like (Canada and the United States). An instance where education has prevailed is the “CDC-Center for disease Control” program which has raised money to inform and give prevention methods with people (especially young adults and children) at risk to getting this disease. If help is not provided to these people, over one million children will probably die from lack of treatment. Education about various methods of birth control would help reduce the number of children being born everyday by child sex trade workers who are sexually mature. The majority of child prostitutes are females and are between the ages of as young as only 4 years old to as old as 17. When these females can reproduce, or bare children they are said to be sexually mature (average globe age is 10.5 years). In third world countries in particularly Africa,

beautiful sex addict has written contract over verbal waiver

2004-10-25T17:01:05-04:00

The Gap in Graduates

2004-10-20T15:41:51-04:00

The Gap in Graduates Over the years a high school diploma has become significantly more valuable. Advances in technology have created a demand for a more skilled labor force. Without a high school diploma it would be impossible to attain the higher education necessary to be eligible for desirable careers. In turn the consequences of not receiving a high school diploma are extremely brutal. “On average, dropouts are more likely to be unemployed than high school graduates and to earn less money when they eventually secure work.” (Kaufman p. 1) There is a drastic gap in the graduation rates between African-Americans and whites. While some might say the reason the reason for the difference is attributed to African-Americans being inferior. This idea is completely false. The reasons for the gap in graduation rates in the two races are poverty and the quality of the school systems where they live. “The national graduation rate for the class of 1998 was 71%. For white students the rate was 78% while it was 56% for African-American students.” (Greene, p 5) In the Cleveland City School District the graduation rate of African-Americans is 29%. This is way below the national averages. Cleveland also claimed the highest poverty rate among the nation’s 68 largest cities. “More than 31 percent of the city’s residents last year fell below the federal poverty level, $18,660 for a family of four, census officials said. Additionally, nearly half of all Cleveland’s children lived in poverty. The economic state of the environment in which the kids live and grow up in presents additional obstacles that others do not have to face. It is very likely that school going kids living in these areas will have to get jobs to help the family income. This would take away from the time that they have to devote to there studies making them fall behind and in other cases quit school all together. The crime in the impoverished neighborhoods and schools where they live and learn would make some scared to attend, and land others behind bars hindering them from completing their education. Another cause for the difference in graduation rates is the quality of the school systems where African-Americans live. In 1999, based on standardized testing public schools were ranked in 10 different groups called deciles, with Decile 1 being

Medical Marijuana

2004-10-20T15:36:20-04:00

Medical Marijuana The scientific name for marijuana is cannabis sativa, but it is more commonly known as weed, pot, or a handful of other names. “The chemical compounds responsible for the intoxicating and medicinal effects are found mainly in a sticky golden resin exuded from the flowers of the female plant.” (Bakalar p. 1) The issue of whether or not marijuana should be used as and considered a medicine is one that has been prevalent for years. Despite many claims and the negative images of marijuana we are exposed to marijuana has a great medicinal value. Marijuana can be used to repress many of the terrible symptoms and treatment’s side effects of diseases including cancer, aids, and glaucoma. There is evidence dating back over 5,000 years of marijuana being used as a medicine. Studies have also shown that many of the believed negative side effects of marijuana are false or greatly exaggerated Despite the inclusion of marijuana on the “just say no” list that we are taught from childhood marijuana’s power is great when used as a medicine. “One of the greatest advantages of cannabis as a medicine is its unusual safety. (Randall p. 8) The ratio of lethal dose to effective dose is estimated to be about 20,000: 1. There is no evidence of a case in which marijuana caused death in a human. It is also a fact that marijuana does not disturb any physiological functions or cause damage in any organs when used in therapeutic doses. Another of marijuana’s positive qualities is that it produces very little dependence or tolerance in its users. “There has never been proof that medical use of marijuana has led too habitual use as an intoxicant.” (Randall p. 8) There first evidence of marijuana being used as a medicine dates back over 5,000 years ago in which it was used to remedy such ailments as malaria, constipation, and rheumatic pains. “Cannabis was used extensively in medicine until the passage of the Marijuana Tax Act in 1937.” (Randall p.35) Marijuana could be used today to treat cancer, aids, and glaucoma patients. “When I smoke marijuana I’m living with aids. When I don’t smoke and take tranquilizers and narcotics, I’m dying with aids,” (Randall p. 2) as quoted by an aids patient. The patient also went on

2004-10-20T15:33:59-04:00

Effects Of Divorce

2004-10-03T15:06:43-04:00

Divorce- Is it justified? By Kheyal Azam Khalil It is commonly believed that the consequences of one’s actions are to be suffered by him alone. But divorce is an exception to that as the post-divorce problems are shared by the children as well. Every divorce is a result of unique circumstances and therefore it has varying consequences. However, it is a common observation that divorce usually has negative effects on children. In a family, every member has a sense of belonging which is, without doubt, incomparable to any other families. The effects of divorce depend on the relationship of parents and children in a particular family. The fact that separation brings an inevitable sense of loss of a parent is very painful for the children as they want both of their parents to be there for them. Another thing that could cause this feeling is that some children like to see their parents living together in peace. In case of divorce, the parents stop living together and the family life is never the same. This dramatic change demands many adjustments and compromises that the children may not be prepared for. Hence this leads to increased stress. Moreover, living with a single parent usually results in economic hardships which affect the children practically as they are dependent on their parents. Consequently the children feel deprived in every sense of the word. Whatever the causes of a divorce, it is always preceded by some events that lead up to it. This exposure to confrontations and/or bitter arguments is a source of constant anxiety for the children who continually try to normalise things between their parents. But they are disillusioned when all ends up in divorce. These children feel responsible for the separation and are morally degenerated because of guilt. After divorce the custody issue is very frustrating for the child as he/she is forced to choose to live with one of the parents. The option that the child actually wants i.e. to live with both the parents is what he/she does not have. On the other hand, in some cases, both the parents may not agree to or not be capable of taking custody of the children so then they have to be moved to foster homes. This may be disapproved by some children as they may feel alienated in the new environment. Living without parent/parents can result in early maturity of the children due to added

Effects Of Divorce

2004-10-03T15:06:19-04:00

Equality between men and women

2004-09-29T13:37:06-04:00

The feminists all over the world always make a hue and cry about the inequality, which exists between men and women in the society. They are always clamoring for a parity in the treatment of men and women. But all their appeals seem to have fallen on deaf ears in this male dominated society. Women need to do what they are best at and prove their mettle. Going on the defensive will

Educated And Uneducated Parents

2004-09-27T11:51:18-04:00

A school comprises children with diverse demeanors. Attributing all their qualities to the educational background of their parents is not stating the whole truth. Although children get influenced by their parents to a great extent, there are other sources of influence which should not be overlooked. Children do not stay at home with their parents throughout their childhood. Children who are over five or six may spend their days in a school where they interact with other children. The kind of friends they make at school leave an

Effects of Divorce

2004-09-26T03:20:25-04:00

Effects of divorce on children It is commonly believed that the consequences of one’s actions are to be suffered by him alone. But divorce is an exception to that as the post-divorce problems are shared by the children as well. Every divorce is a result of unique circumstances and therefore it has varying consequences. However, it is a common observation that divorce usually has negative effects on children. In a family, every member has a sense of belonging which is, without doubt, incomparable to any other families. The effects of divorce depend on the relationship of parents and children in a particular family. The fact that separation brings an inevitable sense of loss of a parent is very painful for the children as they want both of their parents to be there for them. Another thing that could cause this feeling is that some children like to see their parents living together in peace. In case of divorce, the parents stop living together and the family life is never the same. This dramatic change demands many adjustments and compromises that the children may not be prepared for. Hence this leads to increased stress. Moreover, living with a single parent usually results in economic hardships which affect the children practically as they are dependent on their parents. Consequently the children feel deprived in every sense of the word. Whatever the causes of a divorce, it is always preceded by some events that lead up to it. This exposure to confrontations and/or bitter arguments is a source of constant anxiety for the children who continually try to normalise things between their parents. But they are disillusioned when all ends up in divorce. These children feel responsible for the separation and are morally degenerated because of guilt. After divorce the custody issue is very frustrating for the child as he/she is forced to choose to live with one of the parents. The option that the child actually wants i.e. to live with both the parents is what he/she does not have. On the other hand, in some cases, both the parents may not agree to or not be capable of taking custody of the children so then they have to be moved to foster homes. This may be disapproved by some children as they may feel alienated in the new environment. Living without parent/parents can result in early maturity of the children due to added responsibility and

Life, Liberty & The Pursuit of Happiness --- But Not Quite...

2004-09-23T23:59:23-04:00

In simply reaching over for the remote control and turning on your television, you are opening your mind to numerous facts and opinions regarding to current or historical events that just might influence you to think. For instance, we have all seen the anti-drug commercials directed at parents to respond to drug problems with their children. There are various ways that a statement like the one being made by those commercials can influence just about anybody. Whether or not you or anyone else is influenced in a large way is irrelevant. The point is, media does have an impact. Now, I am going to be blatent with you. In the next following few paragraphs, I am going to present a number of reasons, facts, opinions and examples to attack some certains opinions while supporting my own. I hope to present enough evidence to your attention that supports my belief to persuade you to share my opinion. In the United States of America, you as a citizen are given natural rights that supposedly can never be revoked. Thomas Paine explained it very well in 1791 in this quotation, "Natural rights are those which appertain to man in right of his existence. Of this kind are all the intellectual rights, or rights of the mind, and also all those rights of acting as an individual for his own comfort and happiness." And even more articulately explained in the Declaration of Independence here in this quotation, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." As you can see, it is clearly stated in the document that defined freedom for Americans, that these rights (Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness) are given to every man, woman and child from someone greater than mankind, or as this documents referrs to it, The Creator. So I ask you, who are you or any other human being to take the life, the natural right handed down from God himself, who are you to take this away from your brother or your sister, your fellow human being? Who are you to have command and control over who lives and who dies? Who are you to play God? They call it punishment

compare/contrast in-home daycre Vs. daycare centers

2004-09-23T20:44:37-04:00

Choosing a daycare center for your child is one of the most important decisions for many parents. Parents have the option of in-home daycares or business daycares. In-home daycare will give your child a more personal care as opposed to business daycares. Some of the differences may surprise you. In-home daycares tend to have fewer children and will be more geared toward the personal need of each child. Children at these facilities tend to be more friendly and less demanding. There is more one on one time for each child; therefore the child learns more. This type of daycare seems to have more of a family atmosphere and a better influence on children. They have less common colds and germs due to the lack of people coming and going from the facility. When it comes to dropping in to check on your child these types of daycare are very flexible with their rules. In-home daycares are much better when it comes to learning the things needed for kindergarten because the child has that one on one time with the worker. The cost is definitely a lot better and more flexible as to when you can pay. In-home daycares slowly introduce children to lying down and taking a nap, even if this means rocking, patting backs or rubbing hair. They don’t force a child to lie down. Most in-home daycares don’t hire outsiders to help them work. It’s usually a family based operation. Business daycares seem to be less in tune with the child’s needs and wants. It seems as though these daycares are open only for the money and not for the care of the child. At most business daycares the children are more aggressive due to the amount of children and the amount of worker to child ratio. The atmospheres at these places seem to be more business like and not very child friendly. Most children are restricted to certain areas and things that they can play with. This leads to the child learning less and with out a clear understanding for the curriculum for school. Places like these tend to have more people coming and going this leads to more germs and common cold and flu. Some rooms that these daycare facilities have are cluttered and very hazardous to toddlers just learning to walk, this leads to more injuries and dangers. When it

Pros and Cons of Euthanasia

2004-09-19T19:53:49-04:00

According to Webster’s New World Compact Office Dictionary, euthanasia means ‘the act of causing death painlessly, so as to end suffering’. There are many opinions about this subject, along with important questions. The question this paper examines is, “Should the government legalize euthanasia?” If euthanasia were to become legalized, it would simply be the relieving of suffering of those with incurable diseases by being given fatal does of an anesthetic or narcotic. Rather than one suffering for years, only to die painfully, the patient could keep their dignity and die in a more or less humane way. During a murder trial of a man he helped die, Dr. Jack Kevorkian said, “I call it a medical service. Tom Youk came to me and said, ‘Please help me.’ The aim was a final solution to incurable agony.” The legalization of euthanasia would give the right to doctors to practice active euthanasia on patients who give their consent. Therefore, they would be doing a service to their patients. Mainly, the legalization affects incurable, terminally ill patients. According to Cancer Weekly in Sept. of 2000, from a surveyed group of terminally ill cancer patients, 73% said that they believed euthanasia should be legal. In Canada, informs the British Medical Journal, 75% of people from a public poll, favor mercy killings of untreatably ailing patients. However, the ailing patient must have requested it in writing. The validation of euthanasia would not only benefit fatally and incurably ill patients, by relieving their pain. It would also affect patients in a “persistent vegetable state”, who’d only live the rest of their life in pain and suffering. The whole point of legalizing it would be to kill those in need painlessly, like the ancient Greeks did before it was thought of as wrong. The government should not legalize euthanasia because even if the patient consents, it is still murder and a felony. According to the 1965 ‘Murder Act’, a person can be convicted of murder only if it is proved that the accused had premeditated the crime. When a doctor assists a patient in dying and has the consent of the patient, the crime becomes premeditated. Dr. Jack Kevorkian is now in prison on charges of 2nd degree murder, for helping Tom Youk to terminate his existence. While it may

Machine or Human Being?

2004-08-18T18:19:21-04:00

Expendible Teens

2004-07-29T13:20:49-04:00

Expendable Teens For the last twenty years, our prosperous, elite-driven nation has been constantly plagued and hindered by teenagers that seemingly have the ability to commit every violent crime in the book without remorse or fear of consequences. From coast to coast, parents, teachers, and community leaders have been witnessing a continuing surge of teenage criminal activity in schools and city streets. In a wide variety of suburban areas across the nation, teenage perpetrators are proactively getting involved in a deadly collection of violent crimes, some of which include theft, burglary, murder, and even prostitution. As an utterly appalled nation we find ourselves asking the same old question again and again, “What in Jesus H. Christ do we do about this crap?” Well, ladies and gentlemen, as I was sitting in my favourite pub the other night consuming generous amounts of Bud Ice, I came up with somewhat of a pragmatic solution to the problem at hand: take all of the criminal teens that are doing hard time, and the ones that are about to do some hard time, and ship them off to – Iraq. Okay guys, I know what you’re probably thinking right about now. “The author has finally flipped his lid and lost it.” Perhaps. But in today’s complex society of ever-growing teen violence and cybertronic ecstasy, I earnestly believe that pragmatic nightmares need pragmatic solutions. By introducing some of the trade-offs of teen criminal tendencies, I will no doubt explain how both nations, Iraq and the US, can benefit from a national deployment of young teens to the war torn regions of former Mesopotamia. By rounding up and mobilizing all of those violent, devious, teenage troublemakers and moulding them into merciless killing machines, both US and Iraqi forces could curb violence in that region by at least 80%, thus bringing increased stability and lowering oil prices. And let’s face it, most of us could use a pretty good break on gas prices nowadays. Of course, I should do a little more explaining as to how this mobilization and deployment plan would further benefit the American public. First, lets start off with a few facts regarding teenage criminal activity. At least 96% of all violent and deviant crime committed in large cities at the teen level takes place in the lower classes, plain and simple.

Should The Firearm Makers Be More Responsible To The Society?

2004-07-27T01:58:15-04:00

Should The Firearm Makers Be More Responsible To The Society? Ethics are principles governing the behavior of an individual or a group. These principles establish appropriate behavior indicating what is right and what is wrong. Defining the term is easy, but determining what the principles are is difficult. What is ethical can vary form one to another, from industry to industry, and from country to country. In the play ¡V All My Sons, it is an unethical decision that Joe Keller sold the broken airplanes¡¦ cylinder heads to the military during World War II. One main reason was that he did not want to let the business fall behind in the industry. However, it eventually led to the death of those pilots, and suicide of his son. At the end, he could not run away from the emotional charge of his family members. This is one best example about the ethical conflicts that many gun industries have to face today. The gun industries claim that they have the right to legally promote their products while the others believe that gun makers have been unethically taking advantages of people¡¦s fear due to violent criminals for enhancing their profits. As the approach of Y2K, it seems that there were numerous calamities overwhelming the Earth. Businesses and government agents were force to test their hi-tech systems ¡V computers ¡V to avoid any possible hacking disasters. Some others claimed that ¡§the end of world¡¨ was coming soon. However, gun industries tried to exploit on the issue of Y2K. They launched a main campaign for sales to gain more profit from disruptive social fear. One main reason was that gun industries had been going through a shrinking of the market for several years. Therefore, the gun makers had to introduce some new and more deadly products to raise the sales. These types of new weapons comprised assault weapons, sniper rifles, and smaller mortal handguns like pocket rockets. Meanwhile, they targeted the products on new divisions, such as females, and youth. The advertisement for Wilson Combat Millennium Protector .45 pistol stated that the accuracy, total reliability and fast handling of the new Millennium Protector would provide you with security and peaceful mind in those unpredictable times. It kept going that you would find you were responsible to

In what ways do social class, gender and race effect educational achievement?

2004-07-02T14:03:22-04:00

‘‘The evidence suggests that social class origins…ethnicity and gender continue to have an influence on how well people do in education…these factors appear to be more important than innate ability in effecting educational achievement.’’ (Browne, 1998, Page 317) In this essay the writer shall be considering the ways in which, and the extent that, social class, gender and race influences a persons progress and achievement in education. Turning now to class and looking at Bernstein’s theory of cultural reproduction where he states that schools along with other social institutions are helping against social and economic inequalities. Saying that schools influence the learning of values and that these values in turn effect the individuals ability to obtain secure employment. Bernstein believed that schools were necessary in preparation for the work place, in that schools work on a delayed gratification principle. Schools teach the quality of future work in the way uniform and punctuality regulations and the rules are applied by authority (Browne, 1998, Pg 336). Bernstein also stated that language played a large part in the schooling process. Saying that some children may not be able to communicate with the middle class teachers, this in turn influences their educational achievement (Giddens, 2001). He said that teachers think working class pupils are lacking in ability because they don’t understand the language used in the classroom. And that the language used by middle class children is better, hence the middle class children are more able than working class children. He stated in Browne (1998) that middle class children are already ‘‘tuned into the atmosphere of the school’’, and also said in Browne (1998) that ‘‘for the working class child there is a culture clash, coming from an apparently less able background’’. Bernstein states that there are different types of language, and that children have difficulties depending which one they have been taught, middle class children use the elaborated code in the home and so are at an advantage when in school (Browne, 1998, Pg 335). He came up with a theory of two language codes, elaborated code and restricted code (Giddens, 2001, Pg 512). Saying that those associated with using the restricted code were predominantly from working class backgrounds, and that those associated with using the elaborated code were predominantly from middle class backgrounds, Bernstein described the difference in codes by

Marijuana in youth

2004-06-21T10:08:08-04:00

Drugs in Youth Drugs in young people are one of the major problems concerning the younger generations. Drugs effect the youth of Australia greatly and they are one of the major problems in society today. In this assignment I chose to focus on Marijuana because it is the most commonly used illegal drugs in teenagers. Marijuana is made from the dried flowers and leaves of the plant Cannabis Sativa. Marijuana can look like dried herbs or tea it can be green grey or brown. Marijuana is usually smoked in hand rolled cigarettes called “joints” or in water pipes called bongs. Sometimes it is mixed in with cakes and biscuits and eaten. The Cannabis plant grows wildly in places like India and Jamaica and these are the country’s that first discovered its effects on the body. Marijuana was still available to buy in Australia up until the 1900’s in pharmacies where you could readily buy it. There are still places that you can buy it legally one of these places is Jamaica where some people’s way of life is based around it, these people are called Rastafarians one of the most famous Rastafarians was the singer Bob Marley. Marijuana is the choice of many young people because of its availability and the fact it is not physically addictive such as many other drugs. Many teens find this drug easy to get or grow their own. Also another influencing factor is that if you get caught with under 30g or two plants it doesn’t go on your criminal record. Marijuana is one of the softer drugs and is not considered as bad as many others this is probably another reason why younger people are attracted to this drug. Marijuana Contains a chemical called THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol) this is the chemical that creates the “High” feeling. This means you change in mood and may see or feel things in a different way. Some parts of the plant contain a higher level of THC than others for example the buds and Flowers contain more than the leaves and stems. The level of THC also depends on how the plant is grown many plants are grown using Hydroponics and this makes them much stronger. When Marijuana is smoked the THC effects the brain by going into the lungs and then into the bloodstream where it travels into the brain and

Homelessness

2004-06-19T21:08:12-04:00

Homelessness Thesis: Contrary to much public opinion, the growth of the homelessness is caused by economic conditions, personal choice, society, and other factors such that they are discriminated by the mainstream society. Homelessness seems to be an expanding problem of the modern age over the past year. Homeless people face an intense struggle just to stay alive despite the fact hat society turns its head from the problem. The government makes laws that discriminate against homeless people, which make it illegal for them to survive. Most homeless people are mistreated and this mistreatment of homeless people is an important issue that is often ignored in our community. When you see a homeless person on the streets, how do you react? Do you turn your head and ignore them? Do you feel frightened and avoid the situation all together? One of the major causes of homelessness appears to be the unemployment and the second major reason behind the homelessness may be the difficulties and unexpected expenses of living in the modern age, which limits the saving from monthly paychecks. It becomes even difficult to get a house as the time goes by with the competitive any rising prices. I tie these kinds of problems up to the economic conditions, personal choices, society, and other factors such that they are discriminated by the mainstream society. Firstly, the basic truth is that one without a regular income cannot even think of buying a house except the way of inheritance. Assume a person gets a house by inheritance that even does not work unless that person makes a living at that house. Sooner or later, that person will have difficulty staying at that house and he will need to sell it or rent out to someone else and will need to move somewhere cheaper to live in. For example, a friend f mine from back home named Naim has a house, who use to live in Izmir in his flat but later had to move to Dikili—a small town nearby Izmir, into a cheaper conditions. Naim was not employed anywhere during that period and had move out of his house for somewhere cheaper. If he had some saving he would not leave his house. It has been ten years now since he moved to Dikili, and now I learned that he found a job at his second year after he got there. As it is partially

Why is America A Country of Violence

2004-06-07T23:38:32-04:00

Why is America A Country of Violence Many people might ask themselves, Why is America a country of violence and hate? There are several factors that contribute to making the United States one of the most violent and highly crime rated country‘s in the world, such as the history of war, and poor gun control. But there is one reason that stands out from the rest and that is, the media. The media has an enormous impact, and influence on today’s children and young teen’s. There have been several reports of kids getting hurt and even killed from emulating the violent behavior that they see on television shows. The violence on cartoons, movies, music, and videogames submerges kids into an unrealistic, fictional world. The media is teaching children that violence can be safe, fun and harmless, which we know it is not. in addition it is also teaching kids thatm it is alright to resolve conflicts with force and teaches them that after being violent, somehow everybody gets up at the end of the day. Children begin to take fiction on television to the next level, reality, were they think that guns, drugs and violence are “cool”. Some children can be mature about things they see on television and other’s can’t and want to act like or imitate characters and the thing they see on television. Crimes committed by children are growing rapidly. “In 1991, children under the age of ten committed more than one-thousand acts of aggravated assault and 81 cases of forcible rape. Juveniles twelve and under committed ...murder, robbery, larceny-theft, and forcible rape"(Bennett). It is unbelievable to know that young twelve year old kids can be capable of pulling a trigger and killing a human being. In February 29 of 2000 a six year old first-grade boy pulled a loaded gun from his pants and shot a female classmate in the neck in Mount Morris, Michigan. The six-year-old little girl died shortly after she was shot. This is just one of many cases that occur in the United States. The big question is why was the kid in position of a loaded gun and what caused him into doing such a terrible thing like that. The over supply and selling of guns in the United states is frightening. The violence on television pushes kids over the edge and into committing murder such as

racism in america as seen with brown eyes

2004-05-30T21:43:44-04:00

i am writing this essay to release the ideas in my mind that are bothering me. Being an Indian (from India), after 9/11 i have noticed that certain people are view me differently. I am aware of how the human mind works and i realize that people see people of my color suspiciously or hatefully. I understand the reason for being scared that may lead to racism but we must observe people for their nature and behavior not color. I keep saying it over and over, we are not colors but humans. I have certain white friends who may poke fun or be hateful to black people, but me being, at times, the only colored person in that group i feel awkward because i am not sure what they may actually think of me. I enter rooms with people and quickly realize their subliminal put-downs and the paranoya of being profiled within the group plauges me. I have both white and black friends, but it seems they dont always hang out together. Why? because they seperate themselves, an example of racism. Furthermore, i dont think people understand my claims as much as people of my color living in this nation do. Why? Becuase white people have the majority here and can blend in, when they get profiled they can blend into society easier, thus alleviating major pain. It is now that i am in college that i have chosen to express this and stand up for my right, but it seems people around me think its insane or crazy of me. I disagree, they dont understand the situation and thus choose to ignore it. It was claimed that around 75% of people are oblivious to racism and that is a problem. People chose to ignore it because it doesnt bother them, or it makes them feel guilty or unconfortable. But smart people look past this and analyze the situation to make it better. I believe America must follow different claims of racism and help fix it, not ignore it or think it doesnt exist. Through out the history of the world races have been discriminated against. I dont understand why?? Jealousy, hatred, envy and these human traits must be limited. People are not educating themselves as much as they should about other cultures and races. Furthermore, i do not see any indian people (or people of my color) on US tv

Compare and Contrast two main theories of crime and deviance

2004-05-21T11:37:53-04:00

Compare and contrast two main theories of ‘crime and deviance’. ‘‘a diabetic at work without a recent insulin injection approaching the lunch break may become tense, erratic, short tempered, but that behaviour does not constitute a criminal act’’ (Kelly, Holborn and Makin, (1983) sited in; M. Haralambos and M. Holborn (2000)) It is regarded amongst sociologists that physiological characteristics do not cause criminal or deviant behaviour. This paper will look at a few of the main functionalist and conflict theories of crime and deviance and conclude with which one, in relation to the title, provides the largest body of evidence. Functionalist theorists argue that crime and deviance is caused by ‘structural tensions’ where as conflict theorists argue that ‘deviance is deliberately chosen, and often political in nature’. Functionalists argue that people commit crimes because there is something wrong with the society the individual is in, and that this is what causes the individual to commit crime. Crime is caused by the structure of society. Conflict theorists argue that the criminal makes a choice to commit a crime ‘‘in response to inequalities of the capitalist system’’ (Giddens, 2001, Pg 272) Starting then, with Albert Cohen, a subcultural functionalist, who based his studies on the lower classes, Cohen found that lower class children were disadvantaged at school and thus disadvantaged in light of general success in life. Cohen said the lower class were at a disadvantage before they had even started to achieve! Most lower class children, he argued, do not have the same starting position as middle class children. Because of the difference in class Cohen believes the lower class children suffer from ‘status frustration’ (Haralambos and Holborn, (2000), Pg 357). Following this frustration with their position in society Cohen put forward the theory that these lower class children develop a subculture where ‘‘the delinquent subculture takes its norms from the larger culture but turns them upside down’’ (Haralambos and Holborn, Pg 357). Cohen stated that the success achieved within this subculture related to earning their goals which were perceived (by the delinquent) as unattainable within society. This he argues is the cause of crime and deviance. Cohen’s claim that lower class children are frustrated at being disadvantaged in society, that they have less opportunity to succeed, this indicates quite blatantly that society is not equal. Bernstein stated in Giddens that

VALUES AND HOW WE RELATE

2004-05-16T22:25:17-04:00

With the world population today at 6.3 billion (population reference bureau 2003) we all come from different countries that hold different cultures and religions and valuing different ideas and ways of living. The word value comes from middle English, from middle French, from (assumed) vulgar Latin valuta, from feminine of valutus, past participle of Latin valEre to be worth, be strong (Merriam – Webster 2003). In my interpretation meaning that values are ideas and ways of thinking that we feel are of worth and strong to us. Values play an important role in ones life, they govern how we eat, socialize, work and sleep they. Values are believed to have originated during the cave man times different clans had a developed a certain culture of how to interact with each other what was appropriate and what was not. For example it was not appropriate to take another families meat without there consent. Throughout time values have been a huge topic among sociologists and philosophers. Many people think that values a necessary for survival that all humans will die without values. Others believe that if you took away all values that humans would live more adventurous lives, never having to worry about what others think. My opinion is that values are necessary for human survival, if we did not hold any values that we would see the end to human existence. My experience has showed me that values have a relation to ethics and morals as well. Morals are modes of conduct that relate to how we interact with other people. And ethics are a manner of deciding what is good and bad. One of the most important characteristics of more judgments I that they express our values (Cline 2003). According to Cline there are three types of values that humans can have. Preferential values which is described as the expression of preference. Instrumental value which means we only value it as a means to achieve some other end which is, in turn, more important. And intrinsic value that is described as something which has intrinsic value is valued purely for itself- it isn’t used simply as a means to some other end and isn’t simply “preferred” above other possible options. Which after reading a paper written by Prof. Fred L. Wilson from Rochester

In what ways do social class, gender and raceeffect educational achievement?

2004-05-07T16:45:39-04:00

In what ways do social class, gender and race effect educational achievement? ‘‘The evidence suggests that social class origins…ethnicity and gender continue to have an influence on how well people do in education…these factors appear to be more important than innate ability in effecting educational achievement.’’ (Browne, 1998, Page 317) In this essay the writer shall be considering the ways in which, and the extent that, social class, gender and race influences a persons progress and achievement in education. Turning now to class and looking at Bernstein’s theory of cultural reproduction where he states that schools along with other social institutions are helping against social and economic inequalities. Saying that schools influence the learning of values and that these values in turn effect the individuals ability to obtain secure employment. Bernstein believed that schools were necessary in preparation for the work place, in that schools work on a delayed gratification principle. Schools teach the quality of future work in the way uniform and punctuality regulations and the rules are applied by authority (Browne, 1998, Pg 336). Bernstein also stated that language played a large part in the schooling process. Saying that some children may not be able to communicate with the middle class teachers, this in turn influences their educational achievement (Giddens, 2001). He said that teachers think working class pupils are lacking in ability because they don’t understand the language used in the classroom. And that the language used by middle class children is better, hence the middle class children are more able than working class children. He stated in Browne (1998) that middle class children are already ‘‘tuned into the atmosphere of the school’’, and also said in Browne (1998) that ‘‘for the working class child there is a culture clash, coming from an apparently less able background’’. Bernstein states that there are different types of language, and that children have difficulties depending which one they have been taught, middle class children use the elaborated code in the home and so are at an advantage when in school (Browne, 1998, Pg 335). He came up with a theory of two language codes, elaborated code and restricted code (Giddens, 2001, Pg 512). Saying that those associated with using the restricted code were predominantly from working class backgrounds, and that those associated with using the elaborated code were predominantly

Globalization and Its Effect On The Caribbean

2004-04-30T02:39:27-04:00

Globalization refers to the emergence in the twentieth century, of a global community, whereby cultural, economic, environment and political events occurring in communities in one part of the world has quickly come to be significant to people in other societies. The way in which technology has ‘evolved’ has resulted in an advance in communication, transportation, scientific discoveries, and information technology. These advances, which are the basis of globalization, have infiltrated and affected every possible nuance of Caribbean life, so that it is almost impossible to imagine life without them. Like all entities that change the world in which we live, globalization has both negative and positive impacts; in the Caribbean its positive aspects include a basic ‘knowledge-sharing’ and easier access to more resources. Disadvantages of globalization here in the Caribbean revolves mainly around the way in which it adversely affects our small island economies. The Caribbean has benefited in many ways from globalization. First and foremost is the fact that due to twentieth century leaps in communication techniques, national banks and investment entities that aid in generating finance for their respective Caribbean states are now able to access income-generating programmes-such as the trading of money, stock and bonds- twenty-four hours a day, in almost very part of the world. These communication techniques have also greatly reduced communication costs and time to a bare minimum. Additionally, Caribbean people have found that they are also able to access greater, more varied range of services as a result of globalization. With the use of technologies like the internet, they can buy and sell almost anything from almost any place on earth with just a click of a mouse button; sometimes for a fraction of its cost had it been purchased locally. Furthermore, with policies -such as that of free trade- food items, clothes, luxuries, educational equipment, and other products deemed necessary to maintain a particular standard of living have also become more easily to obtained. In addition, because of the way in which technology has opened mediums of communications while cutting its costs, Caribbean people have found an easily accessible, cheaper means of communicating with each other. The result is that around the region, societies have become more united in some ways, having been exposed to each others culture and recognizing the commonalities. This is due mainly impart, not only to the internet, but

Maritzap

2004-03-30T04:42:10-04:00

Kant and Mill’s Theories In July of 1994, Paul J. Hill, a former Presbyterian minister and later a pro-life activist, was prosecuted for killing Dr. John Britton, an abortion performing doctor, and James Barrett, a volunteer, outside a clinic in Pensacola, Florida. Prior to this, Hill commented on the murder of Dr. David Gunn, another abortion performing doctor, stating that it was a “biblically justified homicide (P. 215).” This statement shows how strong Hill’s beliefs were and leads one to assume that he did not regret killing Britton and Barrett. This paper will address the Hill case and determine the ethical parameter in which Paul Hill should have acted. The two philosophical approaches that will be examined and contrasted are the Kantian and Utilitarian perspectives. Kant and Mill’s point of view on the actions of Paul J. Hill will be presented based on their theories. Lastly, I will explain why I believe that Kant’s theory provides a more plausible account of morality. Kantianism and Utilitarianism are two theories that attempt to answer the moral nature of human beings. Immanuel Kant’s moral system is based on a belief that reason is the final authority for morality. John Stuart Mill’s moral system is based on the theory known as utilitarianism, which is based upon utility, or doing what produces the greatest happiness. One of Kant’s lasting contributions to moral philosophy was his emphasis on the notion of respect for persons. He considers respect for persons (a.k.a the Kantian respect) to be the fundamental moral principle of ethical philosophy. His Kantianism premise is a deontological moral theory which claims that the right action in any given situation is determined by the categorical imperative, which he calls the Supreme Principle. This imperative is a command that applies to all rational beings independent of their desires. It is a command that reason tells us to follow no matter what (P.31).” Kant considers this an objective law of reason and because it applies to all of us, he calls it a universal practical law for all rational beings. The hypothetical imperative, on the contrary, is a conditional command, which “we have reason to follow if (it) serve(s) some desire of ours (P.31).” For example, if you want X, then you will do Y, whereas with the categorical

Social issues of Police Discretion

2004-03-19T05:10:42-04:00

The three stories I chose to write my paper on; are from pages 110 through 138 in Maynard-Moody and Musheno’s “Cops, Teachers, Counselors” book. They focus on the street level workers using their discretion to make decisions in their jobs. The stories are titled, “I’m Disabled but want to be an EMT”, “Cut the Power”, and “Ignoring Orders”. In this paper I will argue that street level workers use their discretion in ways that is not consistent with established rules while identifying different constraints operating on the workers and explain what the author’s mean with the reference to the three stories I have selected. To begin, street level workers use their discretion in ways that shows the presence of moral reasoning rather than following established rules of which they are supposed to follow. For instance in the story “Ignoring Orders” the teacher in the story was supposed to have the mother, whose child is in the special needs program, sign a consent form to relinquish service. The teacher did not perform the task as she was supposed to because she did not feel that it was morally right. She instead sent in the paperwork without the mother’s signature, which allowed the child to remain in the program. The second story entitled “I’m Disabled but Want to be an EMT” is about a counselor who is contacted by a client who has a bad back and has decided to become an EMT. The counselor is asked to allow the client to take courses to become an EMT, but the counselors better judgment in the case is that someone with a bad back should not be an EMT. So the counselor tells the client that she will not authorize the training since it would more likely put the client at risk of further injury. The third story, “Cut the Power”, is about a police officer who is called out to an apartment complex on a loud music complaint. When the officer attempts to make contact with the subject who has his music playing too loud, the subject curses and ignores him. Finally, the officer gets tired of the situation and decides to turn off the power to the subject’s apartment. He then tells the subject, “I’ll tell you what. If I have to come back again, I’m going to kick the door

schools junk food ban

2004-03-08T07:38:21-05:00

Our entire society is suffering from obesity, and the roots of it are in childhood. Ninety percent of obese adults were obese children (American Obesity Association). LAUSD’s decision is a sound one and has large amounts of research behind it. Obesity is a leading cause of many life-threatening diseases. Obesity also has social consequences, which can lead to long term emotional problems. Although the schools might lose income, schools should be more concerned with the health and well being of the student body. LAUSD’s ban is highly recommended by health care professionals. Junk food is, while having no nutritional value, high in calories, sodium, and fat content. Junk food is not a nutritional part of this complete breakfast. This leads to obesity, associated with many illnesses. Overall, an obese person has a lower immune system. Colorectal cancer, type two diabetes, cardiovascular disease, impaired immune response, impaired respiratory functions, liver disease, surgical complications, mammegaly (an infection caused by sweat) and deep vein thrombosis are only some of the diseases directly caused by obesity (American Obesity Association). Obese people and especially obese adolescents are subject to ridicule from their peers. Students already face enough social persecution for any difference from our Barbie doll standards. The added pressure of a compromised weight only takes away from a students ability to perform to the greatest of their abilities in school. Schools depend on contracts with soda companies and distributors in order to make up for lack of school funding. However much this might benefit the schools payroll it should not be the students who have to pay for it. The school should encourage healthy food, and sell this in the school cafeteria. By improving the quality of school food, students are encouraged to eat nutritiously at school, but also outside of school. Not only is there junk food in school, it is essentially the only choice of food. If students were exposed to health food the way they are pressured to eat junk food, perhaps we can find a solution to the growing number of obese adolescents. Obesity is plaguing our society and the beginning stages are in childhood and adolescence. Most adolescents spend just as much time at school as they do at home. If the schools do not set an example, who

Women Inferiority to men according to Darwin

2004-03-05T20:20:12-05:00

Women Inferiority to men according to Darwin Throughout the years, women have been characterized as the weaker gender. Women are smart, intelligent and a strong creation of God made equally to men, not to dominate, but to complement each other, although scientists have proven that the female brain is smaller and less developed than the brain of men. Charles Darwin who is biased in his writings claimed women are inferior to men in anything requiring usage of the brain and hands. The measure of strength that establish between men superiority and female inferiority is irrelevant if power is defined as energy and not as control. How tall, how much they weigh, how fast they can run, and how much they are able to lift does not determine the transmission of message within the brain. Women might not be as “macho” and have physical strength as men, but mentally their brains are powerful and capable of doing anything. Mr. Darwin is clearly anti- biased towards women in which he underestimates the strength of women’s brains. Also, he overlooked that imagination does not come with gender but with aggressiveness and determination. For instance, Martha Stewart, a women and entrepreneur who utilize her ideas in selling home décor. In addition, Oprah Winfrey who is one of the richest women in the world, because of her uniqueness that she brings to the talk show world. Due to imagination and visualization of their ideas, these women are successful and are indeed millionaires/ billionaires. Women are as equally successful as men, but respect is not given where due. Hillary Clinton in winning Senator of New York State against ____________, a man. This was shocking for men around the nation, because she is a woman and “women cannot do a man’s job.” Queen Elizabeth II has been in control of England and several other countries for quite some time, and everything seems to be flowing correctly. She is an example of women being equal to men in the sense that she is looked up to by many of her fellow men. Since women’s brains are smaller and less developed than men, then why do men have women therapists? No one is saying they should be able to figure everything out, but considering the claim, “they are mentally stronger.” Why seek ideas from someone with a mentality less than theirs? Does this not prove that women are generally mentally just as

Clones & other forms of Genetic Engineering are all wrong & can never be justified. Do you agree?

2004-02-22T14:11:25-05:00

Argue a case for or against Clone is the title given to any organisms that are genetically identical. Cloning can be classified as a form of genetic engineering including AID (Artificial Insemination Donor) and AIH (Artificial Insemination Husband) and IVF (In Vitro Fertilisation). AID is the injecting of the semen of a male donor into the woman’s womb and AIH is the same with the difference that the semen is of the husband These forms of ‘artificial’ conception have been questioned especially within religions as they can be seen as unnatural and an attempt to meddle with nature. The two methods of cloning are reproductive and therapeutic. Whilst reproductive cloning leads to the creation of a human life and is intended to be made specifically illegal by the government, therapeutic cloning is the creation of embryos with the intent of destroying them once their purpose, i.e. to be experimented on, has been fulfilled. At present, parliament has allowed scientists to clone for research which is potentially lethal as well as immoral as the embryo has only one purpose of its life- to be experimented on and then necessarily eradicated. Human cloning, i.e. reproductive cloning places the creation of new life in other hands than those of God. It usurps Gods role as the Almighty Creator. Cloning gives humans control over human fertility and therefore a possible utopia for those in future generations and while it sounds appealing and constructive in the present, it may not be the best idea when it the apparent utopia comes into action; it would create vast boundaries between what used to be individual families but instead turns into individual utopias into what can only be interpreted as a competition for the best ‘utopia’. However it is not man’s job to create its own world, mans job is simply to live in the world created by God for us. Life is said to be a sacred gift from conception; the embryo has personhood from the point of conception. Once cloning is successful there will be no distinction between it and any other embryo. Each person has their own unique genetic ‘signature’ which gives them their identity; with cloning no person can be unique. In a sense, death will no longer mean anything because if one identity is lost, there will still be another ‘copy’. People will be replaceable-no one will die. Although eternal death may seem appealing, it is the hardships

When Things Go Wrong

2004-02-17T17:09:00-05:00

In today’s world it is truly tragic to see a twelve-year-old child commit suicide. But underneath it all, it is important to understand the real meaning of why someone would do such a thing. Many things can trigger suicide but in Steve’s case his parents were the real people to blame for his death. As parents Charles and Sue were supposed to have an understanding for their children, they should allow them the necessary space to do and grow within what they enjoy; and, most of all they should have taken the time to really know their children. First of all, Charles and Sue, as parents should’ve understood the feelings of Steve. Steve’s father shouldn’t have pushed his son too much in the direction that only he wanted Steve to go in. I think it was Charles obligation as a father to support the decisions his son was making; after all Steve did have a mind of his own. An example from the reading would be that last fall, Steve’s father told him to play a fall sport “I was thinking in terms of football,” says Charles Dailey. In that situation Steve wanted more to play soccer, but since his father was the athletic director at St. Catherine’s Steve was forced into playing football. Sue Dailey on the other hand should of at least tried to speak up for her son. Sue was the type of mother who waited for her children to feel at ease with her, she should have been the one who made an effort to approach Steve and confront him of any problems. (Quoted in Meyer 243) Not only should Charles and Sue have understood the feelings of Steve, but also they should have given Steve his space to do and grow within what he enjoyed. In the reading it says, “Steve preferred being alone. He worked on scout projects or watched color television.” Every child is going to enjoy doing something of their own personal choice; this gives them the chance to express themselves in their own way. An example from the reading Steve’s father says. “This year I think he wanted to play soccer again. But I told him that there wasn’t any way, because in high school, well, he’s just not going to be a soccer man . . . because

Task: Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages of genetic engineering with specific reference to

2004-01-16T19:55:38-05:00

GENERAL STUDIES Task: Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages of genetic engineering with specific reference to Gattaca? Gattaca, a film, takes place in the near future, in a time when genetic engineering technology is used is used to create a perfect society. Gatttaca’s main character, Vincent, is genetically inferior; he was conceived by natural birth, rather than genetically engineered, which means that throughout his life is guaranteed discrimination. Vincent has dreams of becoming a scientist at Gattaca, but being of natural birth, he has almost no chance of ever working there. During the later stages of the 20th century, man harnessed the power of the atom, and not after, soon realised the power of genes. Genetic engineering is going to become a very mainstream part of our live eventually, because there are so many possibilities advantages and disadvantages involved. Here are some of the advantages: Diseases could be prevented by detected by detecting people/plants/animals that are genetically prone to certain hereditary diseases, and preparing for the inevitable. In addition, infectious diseases can be treated by implanting genes that code for antivirus proteins specific to each antigen. Animals and plants can be “tailor made” to show desirable characteristics. Genes could also be manipulated in trees for example, to absorb more CO2 and reduce the treat of global warming. Genetic Engineering could increase genetic diversity, and produce more variant alleles, which could also be crosses over and implanted into other species. It is possible to alter the genetics of wheat plants to grow insulin for example. Of course, there are two sides to the coin; here are some possible eventualities and disadvantages: Nature is an extremely complex inter-related chain consisting of many species linked in the food chain. Some scientists believe that introducing modified genes may have an irreversible effect with consequences yet unknown. Genetic Engineering borderlines on many moral issues, particularly involving religion, which questions whether man has the right to manipulate the law and course of nature. Genetic Engineering may be one of the greatest breakthrough in recent history alongside the discovery of the atom and space fight, however, with the above eventualities and facts above in hand, government have produced legislation to control what sort of experiments are done involving genetic engineering. In the UK there are strict laws prohibiting any experiments involving the cloning of humans. However, over the years here are some of the experimental “breakthroughs” made possible by genetic engineering. At

Eutahasia and Physician Assisted Suicide

2004-01-13T17:43:10-05:00

Euthanasia and Physician Assisted Suicide. Discussions about euthanasia often get mired in a mountain of emotional accusations, such as charges that the “most vulnerable” of humans are “besieged by euthanasia practitioners” and that families must fight “anti-life assaults on their loved ones” which “threatens the lives of those who are medically vulnerable.” In reality the basic question that should be posed by euthanasia and physician assisted suicide to any person should be, should a person who is terminally ill and feels that their life is not worth living because of intractable pain, loss of dignity, loss of capability (disabled in any kind of way) and who repeatedly asks for help in committing suicide, is of sound and mind and not suffering from depression be given the choice of physician assisted suicide? Ultimately, euthanasia is a question of choice empowering people to have control over their own bodies. Most arguments against from a religious aspect are that “God gave life, only he should take it away.” Why should people be given the choice to play god. To choose whether it is acceptable to murder a living person. No living man in the world should ever in their lives ever make a decision to take away someone’s life. I urge you at this moment to think, would you like the responsibility to make such a fatal decision, the choice to choose someone’s fate? Luckily there are people who stand firmly against euthanasia and physician assisted ‘MURDER’ such as groups concerned with disabilities, who fear that euthanasia is the first step towards a society that will kill disabled people against their will. If a law to allow euthanasia was passed the devastation could be endless. It could just begin with terminally ill patients but extend to allow the state to kill anyone they deem worthless. Dr Dobson states, “We will eventually be killing those who aren’t sick, those who don’t ask to die, those who are young and depressed, those who someone considers to have a poor quality of life, and those who feel it is their obligation to ‘get out of the way.” Groups that promote access to assisted suicide seem to publicize cases where people have a terminal illness, are in intractable pain, and want to end their life. Although such cases do exist, they are in small minority. Many dying patients who are in serious pain have adequate access to pain-controlling medication. I urge you to

Should guns be banned?

2004-01-13T17:41:32-05:00

The constitutions of most of our States assert that all power is inherent in the people; it is their right and duty to be at all times armed. Thomas Jefferson, 1824 Should guns be banned in America? Should guns be banned? This is one of the widest asked questions. There are those who believe that gun’s should be banned, as guns are the number one killer. All around the world, small arms stocks were destroyed in the hope to lower the amount of guns in the world. South Africa’s destruction of 24 000 small arms today is part of worldwide small arms destructions – 6 000 illegal guns were destroyed in Cambodia, 1 700 in Mozambique, and 10 000 weapons were destroyed in Brazil. Through these destructions governments from around the world are showing their support for the regulation of the small arms trade – a trade that kills an estimated 500 000 people each year. Handguns and other firearms have a long tradition in American civilization. The right to bear arms is an American right featured in the second Amendment of the Constitution. In the 18th century, when the constitution was written, times were different; there was a need for armed citizens to insure the safety of the society as a whole. Contemporarily the police department preserves the safety of society and the need for armed citizens is out of date. The founding fathers of the Constitution could presumably never imagine the horrendous outcome of their actions. Every year too many lives are claimed as the result of the American government’s inability to fully face up to effects of the issue. Compared to other western countries that have considerably stricter gun control laws America is still viewed as “The Wild-Wild West”. The growing gun related death toll in the U.S. has to come to a turning point. Stripping away the constitutional right to bear arms might have the effect that only criminals will have access to guns. It is important to understand that in a society where both criminals and law abiding citizens have access to guns the likeliness of an innocent person getting shot, when both parties are waving guns, is probably greater than if only criminals have guns. A ban on firearms might not be appealing as a short-term solution but it is important that people don’t limit their thinking to their generation and not think about the safety of

Euthanasia and Physician

2004-01-11T14:14:26-05:00

Should guns be banned in America?

2004-01-11T13:19:59-05:00

Marijuana

2003-12-18T03:30:46-05:00

MARIJUANA Marijuana is a mood altering or psychoactive drug that has many nicknames, such as pot, weed, ganja, sensi, herb, and others. It is an ancient drug that dates back to hundreds of years to Asia. Many cultures have used it during meditation, religious worship, and for intoxication. Marijuana itself comes from the Indian Hemp plant. It is the third most widely used drug in the United States, according to a survey taken in 1988, and it is the number one illegally used drug in the United States. Marijuana is so popular that an estimated one out of every three people in the US have tried it and around 44% of US high school students have smoked it. Marijuana users are not easily detectable, nor is the drug just used in one area of society. The Indian Hemp plant is found all over the world, including the US. There are three different types of Indian Hemp. They are Cannabis Sativa, Cannabis Indica, and Cannabis Rudderalis. These three plants vary in size and mood altering effect. The hemp plant has many uses and has been farmed for centuries. Marijuana can be taken in three ways, by eating, made into a tea, or smoking, which happens to be the most popular way. Smoking it can be done three ways, through a pipe, a joint, blunt. A joint is a rolled piece of paper that is twisted at the ends. A blunt is normally an emptied cigar wrapper filled with marijuana. In a blunt you can fit much more marijuana. Though a blunt isn't always purely marijuana, it can be mixed with other drugs such as angel dust. The results are varied when someone smokes marijuana. Different people will get different results, and certain types of cannabis can cause different effects. The amount of THC (marijuana's main active chemical) may also change the result. If alcohol, or other drug use is occurring while smoking marijuana, the effect could be different. A first time marijuana smoker will probably feel no effect. A chronic or heavy user will get a high (intoxication). When a person is high, normal sights, sounds, tastes, or events can seem very funny or interesting. When intoxicated, time seems to pass a lot slower. To the user, minutes will seem like hours. The intoxicated person may get very thirsty or hungry, a common effect called, " the munchies." A

An Argument for Cloning

2003-12-14T22:27:19-05:00

In February of 1997 the biotechnology firm PPL Therapeutics in association with the Roslin Institute of Edinburgh, Scotland announced the first successful fully cloned mammal, Dolly the sheep. While the majority of people have come to terms with the emotional and philosophical dilemmas triggered by the birth of Dolly, the world was ridden with panic by the Raelian claim of cloning the first human being. The Raelians have yet to demonstrate any evidence to support their human cloning experiment, but have managed to add fuel to the already burning debate pertaining to the acceptability of human cloning in our society. The arguments created against cloning focus on religious issues, the health risks involved in the procedure, and personality and identity issues within the cloned subject. However, cloning of humans and human organs in our society should be permissible according to many scientific arguments; the arguments against the moral permissibility of cloning are neither coherent nor convincing. Many biomedical technologies such as organ transplants, blood transfusions, in vitro fertilization, and life-support systems, although considered unnatural, are hailed for their benefits and advancements in improving the quality of life. Nevertheless, many religious people and institutions claim that the practice of cloning is unnatural; “If god would have wanted us to clone ourselves, he would have given us a way for a-sexual reproduction”. However, not all religions think the same way; “some Jewish and Muslim religious leaders testified before the National Bioethics Advisory Commission that they feel embryo and cloning research might provide discoveries that would lead to an appropriate way to counter infertility”. The religious appeals of the Catholic Church to dismiss cloning are hypocritical in relation to the churches acceptance to use other unnatural forms of biotechnology. Conversely, scientists and officials involved in the regulation of cloning agree that no human cloning should be performed until the risks and consequences of the technology are completely understood. These problems are considered a technical issue and not a moral one. Once this technology becomes reliable, techniques such as therapeutic cloning can be implemented. Therapeutic cloning is specifically designed not to create complete individuals, but rather to create organs to heal people. However, many experts agree that the public’s concerns and fears about the health issues regarding cloning are valid. “Parties have a concern about the mutation of genes” because these mutations would have an effect on both

Active Euthanasia Should be Legalized in the United States

2003-12-12T06:49:21-05:00

The practice of euthanasia has posed a question of morality and ethicality which has been a major topic of controversy for centuries. It raises the issue of whether a terminally ill person should suffer torturing and lingering pain before death, or if they should be given the choice of peaceful and painless death. The euthanasia controversy is part of a larger issue concerning the right to die and “staunch defenders of personal liberty argue that all of us are morally entitled to end our lives when we see fit” (“Euthanasia” 1). Early practices of euthanasia have been traced back to the ancient Roman and Greek Empires. In their beliefs “ the ancient Greeks and Romans did not consider life needed to be preserved at any cost and were, in consequence, tolerant of suicide in cases where no relief could be offered to the dying or, where a person no longer cared for his life” (“Voluntary Euthanasia” 2). The word euthanasia derived from the Greek words eu – thanatos which means gentle and easy death. In society, euthanasia can be viewed in two different forms; passive and active. Passive euthanasia involves a terminally ill person to do nothing to prevent his or her death and allowing himself or herself to die. On the contrary, active euthanasia involves a request by the dying patient or that person’s legal representative to have a physician inject a lethal dose of a drug to kill the person. Active euthanasia is the more controversial of the two and is currently illegal in the United States. The attempt to legalize euthanasia has lead to the “right to die” movement which states that such laws violate the people’s privacy and rights. This movement was led by Dr. Jack Kevorkian who believes “people have a right to avoid a lingering, miserable death by ending their own lives with help from a physician who can ensure that they die peacefully” (“Jack Kevorkian” 1). Dr. Jack Kevorkian respected requests from the patient and illustrated rebellion against such laws which strip people of the right to choose their own fate. The state of Oregon protects the laws of active euthanasia and provides a choice with the Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act, which allows prescriptions of lethal doses of a drug to be self - administered by the patient under strict circumstances and procedures. Making active euthanasia in the United States illegal sparked

The Evolution of the Family on Television

2003-12-10T22:48:44-05:00

The Evolution of the Family on Television Introduction Television is not just a form of entertainment, it is also an excellent way to study society’s ever-changing families. From the beginning of the history of television in the early 1950’s to present day, there have been many television shows and sitcoms about the common North American family. Today’s sitcoms have “single-parent households, several friends and roommates, gay relationships and unmarried adults whose lives revolve around the workplace” (Terry). This is very different compared to the old-fashioned nuclear family unit of mom, dad, and the kids in past decades. The stories or themes are a reflection of societal beliefs, attitudes and behaviours of the typical family of the time. Television is often evolving with North American families to better portray or resemble them on TV. This can be seen through the different family shows throughout the decades, from Leave it to Beaver in the pre-1970’s to The Brady Bunch, to The Cosby Show in the 1980’s and finally to Malcolm in the Middle in present day. Significant change among family shows can be clearly shown in these selected programs. Although the typical North American family has constantly transformed over the years, television sitcoms have reflected and met this change. Leave It to Beaver (Pre-1970’s) A classic among classics, Leave it to Beaver appeared on television in 1957. The show is family-oriented with themes revolving around moral messages, parenting, and relationships. There is one or more moral messages often included in an episode, such as when the boys disobeyed their parents and then lied. However, regardless of the circumstances, the program consistently delivered strong advice to children respecting their obligations to their family in particular and society in general. When the boys need advice or did something wrong, the parents are the two most important figures they can turn to. Teaching children proper moral behaviour required input from the parents. This program was intended for adults seen through the eyes of a little boy. It provided advice to parents to help them establish proper parenting techniques. There is also a lot of emphasis on different relationships between the characters. Examples of this include Beaver, a youngster who sees girls as the enemy, as well as the relationships within the family. Leave it to Beaver cleverly portrays the innocence and traditional North American family of the pre-1970’s. The Brady Bunch (1970’s) The Brady Bunch is one of the most beloved

The Evolution of the Family on Television

2003-12-10T22:47:41-05:00

Response peice to

2003-12-08T01:18:37-05:00

This is a response peice to "The History of Rave Music Written by: legosgirl2323". This is not so much to agree or disagree with the statements in the original paper instead it is a commentary from my perspective. The word "you" is "legosgirl2323". It addresses the idea of "what is rave?". Note there is some interesting information, and you state your opinion and seem to have defined stereotypes "Some enjoy it, some don’t."-unless your psychic what is joy? why would someone do something they don't like, really isn't action a matter of determination of difference of being. "Rave Music is made up of technologically advanced beats" does it have to be electronic? what about the drummers that play to tracks or just drums at outdoor parties, is that still rave? It's great you shared your thoughts about rave. "the U.S. sparked the flame that started it all" ? TO say that is questionable, electronic music has been around for years nonelectronic even earlier. Early experimentalists were around the world, San Fransisco and Goa were reportedly two early areas of "RAVE?" culture which in the case of Goa seemed to be worldwide cultures. Where as the early warehouse era both in the UK and the eastern states seemed to be yet another advance. The germans for instance during the 80's opened the first one of the first technoclubs talla2xl. It is little doubt in my mind that some colledge/university students in the 70's held the first "rave". Disco culture in many ways could exemplify some of the ideas of dance culture where as POWWOWs and other ritualistic pagan/nonpagan cerimonies might be seen as the emergence of "rave". I geuss it is a matter of criteria. Although the warehouse seems to be very much noted. "Rave Music is culture. Culture is nature, which is indefinable for if it was definable it could be controlled. Rave Music, obviously, cannot be controlled." Well that one gets me a bit too.. dualistically and artistically that is playing god. If your dead everything is controlled. Actually the layers of the mind are what tells you you have no control after source/paradox/root the understanding of "gameplaying" or "death" So to be nature/trance conciousness is to control nature as it. Anything else is just tricking yourself into limitation i.e. human. the dualism/artistry is the medium however the loss of identity and culture as the clash. "A typical raver is between 17 and

Internet Addiction

2003-12-03T03:52:50-05:00

INTERNET ADDICTION: DISCONNECTION OF REALITY The movie Existenz is set in the near future where virtual reality games are the main choice of entertainment for the population. These virtual reality games are able to emulate reality by interfacing the game user via bio-port installed in the back of their spine. A connection of players is totally submerged into a virtual world that is so real it cannot be distinguished from reality. A large population of people is addicted to these games to the point that the game designers are worshipped as gods and many people would rather be playing a game than living in the real world. In fact those that do not participate in these games are ridiculed for their non-conformance. However there exists a segment of society who recognizes the harmful impacts of this is wide spread game addiction. This movie raises some interesting questions about our relationship with computers and technology. We are submerged in the technology to the extent that we lose sight of ourselves (Jackson, 2002). I know for myself that when I first got the Internet in my home, I was most definitely an addict. I was addicted to the chatrooms and Instant Messenger. It was facinating to me; meeting people from other parts of the world and learning what their city or country were like. There were the people that wanted me to meet them in person and offered to pay for the visit. Now being the person that I am who is a shy and timid person is frightened to death of meeting people that I talk to from Internet. I have seen too many people on the news being killed or children being molested from meeting people online. I have made a few friends on the Internet and we have been friends for a while but we have never met each other. The good thing about my friendship with those few people is the fact that they are not pressuring me to meet them. Through frequent phone call conversations and Internet contact. I have learned a lot about my Internet friends, and we have in a sense become close friends. However none of us are in a rush to actually meet in person, because they understand how I feel about meeting people from Internet. They have also respected my wishes and chose to wait until I feel more comfortable. Even though we talk

Identity through Normality

2003-11-21T01:25:00-05:00

Here we stand before the Lord today, at the threshold of the very breakthrough that could someday lead us to leave his almighty shadow, and stand beside him as creators of Life. Yet as we strive to leave that dark and desolate valley of mortality, we continue to wallow in that darkness within His darkness, the darkness of hate, the darkness of deceit, the darkness of our brothers and sisters, who continue to envy and detest and taunt one another. Are such beings capable of grasping the enigma of life, the power capable of creating another being, and still possess the self-mastery to control ourselves, and not thirst from the cup of corruption to quench our thirst for power? How can we? Should not we first master ourselves, and rid the world of deceit and hate and envy before we create others who may, over the course of time, release the full strengths of these attributes? Is not the Lord an almighty being, which none may equal in omnipotence or benevolence? Yet those who can achieve the highest levels of mental knowledge are presented with, in that they are not prohibited from, the opportunity to, in a sense, play with and abuse his magnanimous tools of Creation. If we continue on this path, then the powers will unleash themselves from their bonds of silence, and render our entire Earth in darkness. The dark and desolate valley of Normality will be exalted above the sunlit paths of Identity, and the solid stone of Personality will be rendered useless beneath the slithering quicksands of Uniformity. Is this truly the world the Founding Fathers of any, every country had hoped for when they breathed life into each individual nation? We must not let identity become normality in a world that will eventually become engulfed in eternal darkness, the darkness of the tangled web of the perverted arachnid Incest. Identity must not become normality in a world where the flow of the waters of Justice and the mighty stream of Righteousness are halted in their cascade, delayed by the dark pit of an unknown sentient being in their paths, dug by indecision and doubt of emotional activity. Identity must not become normality in a world where armies of identical beings are sent to doom, their reins held loosely in the hands of nations, pawns of their superiorly ancestral brothers and sisters. Identity must not become normality

What is Right With The World?

2003-11-20T10:33:53-05:00

The world today is full of injustice, war and poverty, just like the old days. However there are many right things with today¡¯s world. The knowledge towards technologies we have gained throughout the time has improved our lives by a lot more than we have ever expected. Our knowledge gained towards technology improved our daily living by a lot. For example, the great communication technology we have today or the improvement we had on transportation. They did not only improve our daily living, but they also brought in possibilities for further research and development. Transportation technology is now a major part of our life. Before cars and trains were invented, people can only travel by foot or on horsebacks. Thousands of years ago, people walked all the way from China across the Bering Sea to settle at Northern Canada. The fastest traveling by the time was probably on the horseback. After the first civil airline opened to public, traveling became far more faster than walking on foot. How ever, the trips were usually long and uncomfortable. Now, it only takes less than 10 hours to take a plane from Beijing to Vancouver, even faster with a Concorde. Trips are more comfortable, faster and safer. There are also a wide variety of ways to travel, trains, planes, ships, and more important your own car. You can get to anywhere faster then you have ever thought of in the past. Now, people are traveling out into space. It is all because of the technology we have learned, and it is one of the right things in the world right now. In the old days, the communication technology was so poor. Now, our great knowledge on communication enables us to communicate with one another faster, more interactive and easier. Back to more than 2000 years ago, the Chinese communicated by writing on bamboo sticks that were tied together and ask messengers on horseback to deliver them. Later, when trains were invented, mails could get to their destination bit faster. Then, after airplanes could carry mails to anywhere on earth, communication was made easier and faster. Now, we have the telephone, mobiles, Internet, televisions etc. Mailings were made almost useless. From any where on the world, all we need to do is just simply dial couple of numbers and we could talk to anyone at anywhere on earth. In addition, with mobiles, we can do that whenever and

US Leadership and the AIDS Epidemic in Africa

2003-11-19T05:15:12-05:00

The end of the Cold War ushered in a new era in American Foreign Policy. With the United States coming out as the dominant world power some predicted that the world was heading for a new age of peace, an “integrated international system based on the principles of liberal democracy and free markets” (Brower and Chalk 1). The United States’ victory proved that these were the best models for government and general social structure. Yet, the past decade has been filled with a growing sense of unease and the insurgence of non-traditional challenges. The threats may not be as imminent as possible mutual nuclear destruction, but they are vast and varied. In some ways, the world we live in now is more dangerous than that of the relatively monotonous Cold War years. There is no longer one major clear threat, no obvious division between good guy and bad guy. The majority of the current threats facing the United States are nebulous in nature with a common thread of transnationalism running through them. This includes the drug trade, environmental degradation, terrorism, and the spread of disease. None of these problems have a “return address,” and none of them can be traced back to a single people or nation. These are “threats without enemies” (Abshire 42). AIDS is such a threat. By the year 2011, the disease is expected to have killed over 80 million people worldwide (Brower and Chalk 7). Without doubt, Africa has been the hardest hit by the AIDS virus. The continental average is now 8.6 percent as opposed to 1.1 percent worldwide (Morrison 198). The impact of HIV/AIDS on Africa’s security and stability has been and continues to be substantial. Not only has the disease led to large-scale human death and suffering, but it has also undermined social and economic stability, weakened military preparedness and contributed to crime (Brower and Chalk 42). Without strong US leadership and multilateral international cooperation the AIDS epidemic in Africa will grow to monstrous proportions, severally turning back the tide of development in dozens of countries. The virus is so pervasive in South Africa that statisticians at the University of Cape Town project South African life expectancy at birth to fall to 40 years by 2010, down from 60 years in 1997 (Brower and Chalk 43). According to the Department of Health, by 2005 nearly one million South African children under the age of

Taxation and Regulation

2003-11-18T00:47:33-05:00

Governments have at their disposal a selection of instruments with which they can implement their policies. Amongst them, are the policy instruments of taxation, spending and regulation, mentioned in this essay title. I intend in this paper to discuss the various policy instruments, their pros and cons, the central concepts of ‘means’ and ‘ends’, and then examine the competing rationales for policy instrument choice. I expect then to be in a situation to be able to conclude with an example of government policy that uses the variety of policy instruments available in an effort to achieve its ends. There exists a continuum of governing instruments with varying degrees of legitimate concern at the hands of government. At one end are extortion and persuasion, with the instruments of spending, taxation, regulation in that order leading the maximum degree, that of state ownership or nationalisation. Within the scale there also exists a classification of the various instruments available within the framework of voluntary instruments, such as family and community, then mixed instruments which include provision of information and taxation, and at the top end, where the level of state involvement is highest, compulsory instruments such as regulation and direct provision. Lester Salamon and Michael Lund suggest, quite rightly, that the different instruments involve varying degrees of effectiveness, efficiency, equity, legitimacy and partisan support, which affect their appropriateness for a particular situation. Spending as a policy instrument refers to all forms of financial transfer to individuals, firms and organisations from governments or from other individuals, firms, or organisations under governments’ direction. The purpose is to financially reward a desired activity, or to encourage a programme which supports government policy; subsidies and grants for medical research for example, or even as an instrument used directly to promote government policy as we shall see in the case study. Expenditure offers numerous advantages as a policy instrument. It can be used by governments as an incentive to the target group to carry out a particular action which although it may have seen as desirable could not have achieved for various reasons. It is a flexible instrument to administer because the individual participants can decide for themselves how to respond in light of changing circumstances. Consequently, by allowing them to devise their own appropriate response, subsidies may encourage innovation. A final observation is that the costs of administration may be lower as the onus is on the

Taxation and Regulation

2003-11-18T00:47:08-05:00

Procrastination

2003-11-16T22:36:39-05:00

Procrastination Procrastination is more than just a negative custom that needs to be weeded out of society; it has become a cliché‚ a small-talk joke, brag, or complaint. After all, we all do it. Most everybody I know is willing to admit it is an exasperating problem in their life, and would benefit from a course in How to Eliminate Procrastination, but say they have to much to catch-up on, and will take it later. One of the biggest reasons why assignments get a bad mark or are incomplete is because of procrastination. Procrastination has a bad effect on work, and on you. When you procrastinate you don't learn how to discipline yourself, the quality of work suffers, and you get stressed out. One of the biggest reasons why procrastination is bad is because the quality of work suffers. Sometimes an assignment needs to be proof read first. If you procrastinate you will be more inclined to skip this important step. Another big problem is that you run out of ideas. At one sitting ideas don't come as freely as they do over several days. People who leave assignments to the last minute are more likely to resort to cheating. When an assignment is left to the last minute, you worry more and cheating and cutting curners happens a lot more. Procrastination also affects the quality of work because your assignments looks hurried and just thrown together. Another danger that comes with procrastination is an increase in stress. When an assignment is left to the last minute, it lingers in the back of your mind the whole time. Once the day arrives that you must do it, any other plans must be put on hold. You end up being frustrated and upset with yourself, and the teacher. If several assignments are due at the same time the stress increases even more. Not only do you have to rush to get everything done, you have to worry about whether you'll get it finished in time. Stress also increases when you procrastinate because you start to doubt yourself. When you make up your mind that you won't leave the next assignment until the last minute, and you end up doing it, you get frustrated and upset with yourself. There are many underlying issues and causes of procrastination. Lack of relevance and interest is two of the most common causes. While perfectionism having extremely high standards, which are

CENSORSHIP

2003-11-16T19:28:32-05:00

“Free speech is the whole thing, the whole ball game. Free speech is life itself.” This quote by Salman Rushdie, an Anglo-Indian censored novelist, sums up the importance of free speech to our society. Intellectual freedom is the exploration of all sides and points of view of a topic without restrictions. The restrictions being censorship. Life is based upon knowledge and experiences and being censored from different options brings about quite a controversy. Can we live like this? Can we live where our minds think freely but our ability to share and express ourselves is limited by oppressive censors? Freedom through all types of media (books, magazines, films, or works of art) is my dream. I have a dream that someday the boundaries of our expression can expand to the extent of our thoughts. There is a clear fragile line (an unjust one at that but a line all the same) that is meant to “protect” ourselves from the obscene. It holds back everything that dares to push it. This line gets in the way when it violates our first amendment right. Our first amendment right gives us, as Americans, the freedom of speech and freedom of press. From the beginning of time, ever since people were able to speak their minds, there has been censorship. Whenever a man has said anything that someone disapproves of and restricts others from, that is censorship. However, in my dream, I believe that any man shall be given the inalienable right to share his ideas as long as he has them. I have a dream that society will learn to accept differences and appreciate breaks in conformity. Our individuality is a valued aspect of humanity. We have independent minds to think with, but society allows for only what is “acceptable”. What is accepted is what is mainstream. What is mainstream is something that goes with the flow of the river of the society’s opinions. Rocks or interferences in the river are frowned upon and essentially cut out. Through censors, people’s different ideas can be thrown out. In the early days, men who had a point of view that contradicted the church or whoever was in power were burned at the stake. Symbolically, the creator of the controversy is destroyed when his/her idea is not accepted or banned. For example: my favorite film maker, Larry Clark’s

Why everyone should own at least one punk cd

2003-11-15T00:27:14-05:00

Jonathan Yentzen CMCN 200 Outline for Persuasive Speech Topic: Why everyone should own one Punk CD. 1. INTRODUCTION/ATTENTION GETTER a. By a show of hands I would like to see how many of you listen to Punk Rock. Today I’d like to talk to you about this genre of music that was created in reaction to other forms of music, and hopefully influence you to check it out and maybe even buy a CD. i. I’ve been listening to punk since the 6th grade. ii. I’d like to give you a brief history, Philosophy behind the music, and how what you hear today on the radio isn’t quite the same. I’ve included a few of the bands that I like to give you an idea what I’m talking about. Punk rock is much more than just music as music is just expressions of what people hold dear to them. Transition statement: But since I don’t have all day to talk lets go to a brief history. 2. BODY/MAIN POINTS a. The origins of the genre, like any other, are hard to pinpoint exactly when and where. Unlike any other genre, however, it was started as a deliberate reaction to the mass commercialism of music, where trends were sold with music on top for giant record labels to make profit. Roots can be traced back to the Velvet Underground, who while were not commercially successful, were considered to heavily influence the genre. Brian Eno is purported to have said that, "Only five thousand people ever bought a Velvet Underground album, but every single one of them started a band." By the time 1976 came around, bands such as The Ramones and The Clash clearly defined the lines of punk and the DIY attitude. Culture can be defined by fashion such as: i. Severe haircuts, (ex. Mohawk) ii. Body piercings, (often with safety pins) iii. Taking clothes others would throw away or sell at garage sales. “Punk chic” has largely been absorbed by the mainstream. b. The Philosophy behind punk is beauty in simplicity. DIY stands for Do It Yourself and is an attitude and ethic that anyone can form a punk band. The early UK punk fanzine “Sniffing Glue” once famously included drawings of three chord shapes, captioned, "here's a chord, here's another one, here's another one. Now form a band") The acutal musical structure of punk itself reflects this attitude with simple power chord structure, usual

What is Right With The World?

2003-10-17T23:09:05-04:00

Comparison of Women's Rights in the East and West

2002-12-08T13:00:00-05:00

Woman—to many, she is God’s most complete creation. She symbolizes independence, love, caring, gentleness and intensity – both in love and in hate. More intelligent and emotionally stronger than man, why as she been called Adam’s better half? Undoubtedly women endure much more pain than men do. I challenge any man to go through even half the pain a woman goes through during labor. Margaret Thatcher, Benazir Bhutto Indira Gandhi have shown that women can rule a country even better than men… and maybe even the world! However women have not been treated nicely by men all throughout time. They have been denied their rights, their opportunities. It is commonplace, happening on a daily basis in offices, sports, factories, schools and entertainment. As much as I hate to say it, the eastern countries in particular have been the ones to do this more than they’re western counterparts. I feel the most alarming cause for concern in the East is that families feel that girls shouldn’t pursue higher education. Most scholarships, in fact 99% of them are awarded to boys. The common excuse is that girls are made to be housewives and mothers. Reasonably and honestly speaking, this is true. Motherhood is something that God has blessed only females with. But this doesn’t mean that girls should be totally ignorant about the world, current affairs, and history. God has revealed in the Holy Quran, “Seek knowledge from thy cradle to thy grave”. He has not added “this pertains only to men”. So, one does not have the excuse of religion for forbidding girls to study. Religion encourages it. In fact Prophet Mohammed has said “Read even if takes you to China”. This is without discrimination. Girls who are well educated make better wives and mothers than uneducated women. That way, a lot of people would benefit from a girls’ education! However, what does not get assurance is that fact that so many girls in India, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq and many more eastern countries are having to give up their ambitions, simply because their parents feel that girls should be married and mothers by the age of 18. It is not only education where girls are forced to take a backseat in the East. The inequality spreads to many other things too. Such as rape. More than half of the total rape cases go unreported. This is because the victims do

Third world poverty

2002-12-05T13:00:00-05:00

“It is expensive to be poor” Julius Nyerere, First President of Tanzania “If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich” John Fitzgerald Kennedy 1917 – 63, 35th President of the USA. Why isn't the world equal? Our world is divided in to two – those who have and those who do not. Globally this division exists between the rich countries in the north and poor countries in the south. Within this broad division between the rich and the poor we find that in each country we have similar division. Even in the richest country in the World, the United States of America, there are people, although small in number, who live in abject poverty. Similarly in even the poorest country in the world like Bangladesh, there are few who would be considered rich even by the standards of rich counties. Why do some people live in abject poverty and why do others live in the lap of luxury? Why are the children of these wealthy people given the opportunities that the children of those living in less fortunate circumstances are denied or have never even heard of? Every human being on this planet must have asked these questions to himself or herself at some point in their lives. While the first question could be answered simply in a few words with, "That's life, C'est la vie," the answer to the last two questions could have some very long and complex answers. I am sure these questions would require a lot of thinking and re-thinking before one answers them. Poverty is a serious problem. It needs to be recognized, addressed, and resolved Poverty is found everywhere. Every country has its percentage of low-income earners, but some countries have many more people living in unfortunate circumstances than others do. Poverty is an area of concern as it brings with it a host of problems within the country, as well as on a global scale. . In order for us to address the issue of poverty, there is need for us to define what poverty is. The worst kind of poverty is when people cannot get food and therefore they are thin and weak and many starve to death. Unfortunately this is still happening in many parts of the world. In my opinion this is the highest level of poverty and there is no reason at

Barbie girl, Barbie world.

2002-12-02T13:00:00-05:00

In a world surrounded by billboards, commercials and magazine advertisements, the grasp that the media holds and how it influences society has become an accustomed and accepted part of our daily lives. Whether these influences are present it is the evening news, reading a magazine with your coffee in the morning, or simply seeing yet another catchy advertisement for another catchy product, the target in all situations is the same- Appeal to society in whatever way suits a company best. This has resulted in the so called new and improved North America, with its sexy provocative models and young bubbling girls just waiting to help the corporate world sell just a little more. But where do we draw the line between selling and brainwashing? Advertising not only sells products, it sells ideals, morals and standards for society and communicates what it believes is acceptable and favored behavior. A generation ago, the average model weighed 8% less than the average women, while today that same model weights 23% less (Crow magazine). The grasping power of media has an impact on young women all over the continent. As adolescent women are redefining themselves and their relationships, dealing with the changing bodies and look towards the future ahead, the media can be one of the key influences in their decision making and growth process. The exposure young women have to any type of media whether good or bad can greatly affect their outcome as an adult. The image of women that the media portrays and its idolization of thinness and perfection create an immense pressure to be slim and pretty that can damage young girls self-esteem, distort their sense of body image, and contribute to disordered eating. The image that the media portrays of thin and flawless women has a direct and damaging effect on the self-esteem of young females. Firstly, when young girls see these numerous portrayals of beautiful and sexy women, it begins to diminish their sense of self-esteem and pride in their individual uniqueness as a person. In the survey of fifty young girls ages fourteen through nineteen, there is a direct correlation between the amount of media they are exposed to and the self-esteem issues they acquire. More young women who are subject to more media show that they feel inferior to the Hollywood depiction of what a woman should look like. The more media they see, the more

Alcohol Advertisments

2002-11-16T13:00:00-05:00

One Too Many

It is not fair to say that all people drink to gain acceptance, or that all people use drinking to create a new self image. Quite often in life, however, even those who do not form an addiction, about three out of four individuals, have probably drank at one time to ease nerves and not worry so much what others think. Whether this is right or wrong per individual, it is very much a part of the American culture. Advertising agencies are definitely not the last ones to realize this. Their ads are manipulative in camouflaging dangerous realities linked to alcohol consumption. Many consumers are informed that alcohol is an addictive substance, which may cause physical and emotional damage. Alcoholic products have power to alter people’s way of thinking merely by consumption. That is why advertisers work so hard in luring people to consume their product, carefully avoiding the issue that alcohol consumption could have negative consequences. Because the alcohol advertisement from Kahlua use people’s negative, confused, or lack of, self-image to promote consumption of their addictive product, this advertisement agency is compromising their audience’s safety. Manipulative strategy is used in the following alcohol advertisement. Negative feelings or situations are subtly presented, then shown positively remedied by consumption of alcohol. Using special pleading, advertisers strategically portray drinking only as glamorous and exciting. They are manipulative and careless by presenting only these characteristics of alcohol consumption, purposely omitting a parallel reality. An ad showing an alcoholic throwing up from withdrawals, confused and suicidal might possibly hinder sales. This may seem like an over-exaggerated scenario; unfortunately, it is a realistic possibility when using alcohol as a means of coping. The ad for Kahlua features a blond model scantily dressed. The fact that she is scantily dressed, however, is not the real focus. She is wearing a bright yellow rain suit; cut min-skirt length, connected to thigh high simulated boots, attached garter-style. Her hair is blowing back wildly with her mouth open in an excited scream, showing us that “Anything goes”. At a quick glance, she appears to be having a great time. To notice the weird details, seemingly intended for the audience, would require a longer look than just the usual few seconds an ad is typically viewed would. This alcohol ad suggests mixing Kahlua to make a drink called a mudslide. The ridiculous yellow rain outfit the model is wearing matches the

The Mistake of Standardized Testing

2002-11-16T13:00:00-05:00

“High-stakes testing,” also known as standardized testing, is quoted as the new American education reform. Throughout the last two decades, this issue has become more political than ever. It has become so politically heated, that students and their future are being played with in a way that parents, teachers and administrators cannot even fathom. Throughout the two articles, Holding Kids Responsible for Our Failures by Paul Wellstone and Missing the Mark for Low-SES Students by John Gustafson, the authors clearly explain the downward spiral that education faces today, especially in terms of creating an even wider gap between rich and poor schools in America. Within the article Holding Kids Responsible for Our Failures, Paul Wellstone discusses the heavy disadvantages of high-stakes testing. He believes that it is “absurd for us to believe that students who attend the poorest of schools have anywhere close to the same preparation and readiness as students who attend the wealthiest of schools” (Wellstone 89). This is absolutely true. Low SES (low socioeconomic status) students who live in the South Bronx are obviously not going to have the same opportunity to thrive in their environment compared to upper middle class students who attend school in suburban Westchester County. The sad notion is that those students have to take the exact same statewide NYS regents exam. Missing the Mark for Low-SES Students by John Gustafson also argues the current standardized testing movement fails to guarantee increased academic performance for students from low-income backgrounds, because they lack the life experiences that serve as a basis for learning. “The current emphasis on standardized testing offers an environment that is far too rigid and fundamental to allow low-SES students to excel” (Gustafson 2). Gustafson points out that there are three main influences that impact academic achievement in which policy makers tend to ignore. That is school, home and peers. He argues that without these three components, students will not succeed. One reason why I particularly enjoy this specific article is because the author offers different methods to make learning interesting and understandable for students in which they can thrive in a successful academic environment with the pressure of high-stakes testing. The methods include: (1) building a knowledge base (2) reading activities (3) performance (4) encouragement (5) field trips (6) integrated curriculum. Both Wellstone and Gustafson argue that standardized testing is an irresponsible way to determine graduation, promotion, and academic tracking. Of course, Wellstone

Up to what extent are Human Rights an obstruction to the fight against terrorism?

2002-11-15T13:00:00-05:00

Ever since the birth of modern democracies and especially after the development of social, civil and human rights and their incorporation into the state’s legal and constitutional instrumentation, terrorism has been a distressing problem for both individual states and the international community as a whole. Terrorism is not only an undemocratic means to reach certain political or social objectives, but it is also an anti-democratic phenomenon. Hence states have found, both in the domestic and international sphere, great difficulties in rooting out the problem within so-called democratic boundaries. The importance of certain rights, enshrined in international treaties and within most states’ constitutional machinery, coupled with the complications of combating the phenomenon of terrorism within the legal, political and social framework of democracy, have combined to produce certain legally enforceable rights under which certain terrorist activities have found protection. It is therefore worthwhile to put forward the question of whether certain provisions in Human Rights legislation pose an effective barrier against certain anti-terrorist policies conducted by individual states, and whether this is just a side-effect of the importance of the protection of Human Rights throughout states world-wide. Individual states form their own policies against terrorism, subject to the limits imposed by constitutional restrictions and those treaties entered by those, which concern this issue. Perhaps the most illustrative example of this situation are the states party to the European Convention of Human Rights. The European Convention of Human Rights enshrines certain inalienable rights of the individual, and it is enforced through the mechanisms of the European Court of Human Rights. Every citizen who holds the nationality of a member state or who has sufficient interest in the case may forward a claim to the European Court based on any alleged breach of an article of the Convention. During the past years, instances of suspected terrorists or individuals connected with terrorist activities bringing claims before this Court have taken place, and a certain number of articles have come under scrutiny of the Courts in relation with anti-terrorist policies or actions. Additionally, other articles have not yet been used in this line of complaints, and yet could pose another set of difficulties in the state’s fight against terrorism if invoked for the protection of certain activities and given individuals. The European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) has therefore affected measures touching three main spheres in individual European state’s anti-terrorist measures: legislation, police procedures and certain limitations

Abortion and what the Bible Says

2002-11-08T13:00:00-05:00

What is the question?: There are really two, different, very active abortion questions: 1. If a woman finds herself pregnant, what it the best (or least worst) solution for her and the potential newborn that she is carrying? 1) To do nothing, have the baby and raise it herself (hopefully with help from others).2) To do nothing, have the baby and give it up for adoption.3) To have an abortion and end the pregnancy. 2. If a woman finds herself pregnant, discusses her options with her physician or counselor, and decides to have an abortion, should the state override her decision and prevent her from having an abortion? Life and personhood are two very different matters. The human ovum (egg) is already clearly alive when it enters the fallopian tubes, many hours or days before it has the opportunity to be fertilized. Women release one about each month between puberty and menopause - a few hundred in a lifetime. Almost all of these are destined to die and be ejected from the body. Unless a couple is having difficulty conceiving, very little thought is given to these hundreds of deaths. Although the ovum is a form of life, there is a consensus that it is not a human person. Hundreds of millions of male sperm are liberated during a typical sexual encounter -- a sufficient number to theoretically double the earth's human population in a week or two if each were used to fertilize a separate ovum. Sperm are also clearly alive. Viewing them under a microscope reveals them to be energetic swimmers. Essentially all of these will die within days. Again, unless infertility is a problem, little attention is given to these deaths. An average man produces thousands of sperm a second. At most, a very few during his lifetime will contribute to the formation of a baby. The rest will die. Few men are consciously aware of the loss. Although sperm are very much alive and kicking, there is a consensus that they are not human persons. Among women without an IUD, about 50% of fertilized ovum develop into a baby which is born some nine months later. Some of the rest are aborted. Others, because of genetic imperfections or other reasons, are lost by a miscarriage. A consensus exists that an infant is the most precious form of life on earth, and needs to be protected under law.

Bring back the good ‘ole news

2002-11-07T13:00:00-05:00

The Sydney Morning Herald 31st August 2002 Bring back the good ‘ole news By Katherine Lam It’s 5pm, the kids want their dinner, the boss is on my back about the report due yesterday and the car has broken down. Come on, let’s face it, the last thing we want to watch is some boring negotiation between two politicians. Never fear! The commercial stations recognise the audience’s panic and has found the cure! They have metamorphisized their prime time news programmes into entertainment soap boxes. But what happened to good ‘ole quality news? With stories like “The bold and beautiful trend is born” and “Stairs ate my pants” it’s difficult to believe that the primary role of news is to expand our horizons with fair-minded analysis and interpretation of current events. It has become such a battle for ratings amongst the stations that news has finally ceded its role to the back seat. Likewise the newspaper industry is also using infotainment as a lure for readers. But why? Oh remember children, the more entertainment generated by sensationalising news events and their peripherals, the higher the ratings; higher ratings attract more advertisements! Aha! Big Bucks! Profits! Admit it, we’re greedy! Although not the main focus of the media, the money-making formula is undeniably, an attractive option to many stations thus watch the IMPORTANT news fly out of the window! Channel Ten’s First at Five news runs for a full hour rather than half an hour like many news programs. However, DO NOT be fooled! An extended program is still highly prone to “quantity not quality.” On 29 August 2002, its leading story was about angry Brisbane residents revolting against Peter Bettie’s $500 000 dollar trip to Townsville. I guess Channel Nine did a bit better than reporting its usual “cat-up-tree” incident as a top story. Instead, it was replaced by a ninety second report about entangling a whale. Have we been engulfed by this hype for so long that we have forgotten about “hard” news? Likewise turning to the newspaper for half decent information is also becoming a rare find. Technology has brought it a new enemy- the Internet. Just a click away, it can offer sounds and visuals to bring the “reality” of their stories to viewers. So how can newspapers maintain sales? Tabloids like The Sydney Sider have turned to “soft” news and “sporty” pictures. The Bulldogs salary cap scandal was a whopper.

The Depression

2002-11-06T13:00:00-05:00

I hate it. These years. They shouldn't be called the teens or adolescence, they should be called 'the depression'. Thats what they are - one long, eternal stretch of mental torture and emotional downpour.Crying for no pobvious reason and feeling heartbroken over nothing apparent. It feels like all of my feelings are in a washing machine. Spinning around and round, going up and down, getting drenched and mushed, muddling up with everyone else's and when you detangle them they are never the same as they were. Just like when you put your favourite top in for its first wash. When the turnmoil is over you spend ages unravelling it from around you brother's jeans only to discoverit doesn't feel right anymore. Whenever the sun shines, you have no spots, your hair sits and you are generally feeling 'good', there will ALWAYS be something or someone who will drag your head down from the clouds into the grey, dull world known as the 'teenage years' and make you feel like the lowest form of being being stomped into the ground. It feels like it has been going on forever already - years upon years of it. In fact its extremely hard to remember being happy, truly happy. I honestly can't think of any times right now where i have been deeply content or (dare i say it) happy. It feels like something always has and will go wrong. I'm 14. This is my second year in the 'teens'. I have five more to go.Right now i can't see beyond this blackhole, this thunderstorm.Now that is wrong and sad - very sad. If someone was to ask me how my life and future seems right now, I would reply 'misty'. It is not so bleak that i see nothing at all ahead of me. If i look far enough into the distance there is a glimmer of hope - a rainbow after the storm, a bright day beyond the fog and mist and exams and pressure that consumes me now.My horizons are a long way off, i just have to find my way to them over all the obstacles and through the thick consuming mist. I don't want to write anymore today.I hurt. My head, my heart and most of all my stomach.Inside my stomach and, no, its not hunger, having ate too much or period pains (although they are teeth grindingly bad enough).Its a hollow pain pulling me down. It

Gun Control

2002-11-05T13:00:00-05:00

Americans are faced with an ever-growing problem of violence. Our streets have become a battleground where the elderly are beaten for their social security checks, terrified women are viciously attacked and raped, teen-age gangsters shoot it out for a patch of turf to sell their illegal drugs, and innocent children are caught daily in the crossfire of drive-by shootings. America can’t ignore the damage that these criminals are doing to our society, and must take actions to stop these horrors. However, the effort by some misguided individuals to eliminate the legal ownership of firearms does not address the real problem at hand, and simply disarms the innocent law-abiding citizens who are most in need of a form of self-defense. Today's gun control activists are a slightly different breed. They claim that gun violence in this country has gotten to a point where something must be done to stop it. They would like to see criminals disarmed, and they want the random violence to stop. Although they have a point, they are going about it in the wrong way. While claiming that they want to take guns out of the hands of criminals, they work to pass laws that would take the guns out of the hands of law-abiding citizens instead. For this reason the efforts at gun control do not address the real problem of crime. A criminal is someone who does not obey the law. A law-abiding citizen is someone who does obey the law. Therefore, if laws are passed restricting ownership of firearms, which category of people does it affect? The answer is that gun control laws affect law-abiding citizens only. By their very nature, the criminals will continue to violate these new laws, they will continue to carry their firearms, and they will find their efforts at crime much easier when they know that their victims will be unarmed. Innocent people are turned into victims when new laws make it impossible for them to fight back. An unarmed man stands little chance against an armed one. An interesting recent development has been the backlash against the gun-control advocates. In many states, including Florida and Texas, citizens have stated that they want to preserve their right to carry firearms for self-defense. Since the late 1980s, Florida has been issuing concealed weapons permits to law-abiding citizens, and these citizens have been carrying their firearms to defend themselves from malicious

Abortion : Just Another Name for Murder

2002-10-30T13:00:00-04:00

When people talk about fear, most of them think of death. Like getting eaten by a shark, or dieing in a car accident, or drowning, not me, my worst fear is to lose the love that I have, not only from lovers, but family and friends too. Many people may have fears like me but don’t share them as people may think their strange, but in all honest truth, nearly every human being is afraid to be alone and not experiencing love. To me, love is compassion, passion, it is too be able to tell that person anything that has happened and knowing that no matter how bad that thing was they would understand, the feeling inside you when you miss them so much and see them for the first time, in a long time, and most importantly, love is trust. When you’re in love everything you do feels better and easier because there is someone there with you and for you. To love someone is to have such strong feelings, so deeply felt that your life would not be complete or the same without them. No need to state the obvious ; everyone knows what abortion is. Then why do so many people push the issue aside as if it were a piece of food? We live in a world ; a society so corrupt that to kill the innocent, the unborn, is just another part of the day. The media portrays sexual intercourse as a right of passage for teenagers and do not say it does not. Any person in the United States can tell you that as soon as you turn your TV on, you are almost bound to find something containing some sort of sexuality. And yet, it is also depicted as being no big deal. As long as you use a condom, it's ok. Is this the new motto of America? As more and more teens are inclined by peers and the media to have sex, the tendency to actully have sex also inclines. Commercials for condums and other contraceptives are all over the place. But what if the condum rips or doesn't work? BOOM! Someone's girlfriend gets pregnant. What does she do? Nowadays, a seems that the typical decision would be to have an abortion ; either partial birth or full term. America and society in general has deemed this inhumane act to be OK. What

Myself and the Media

2002-10-29T13:00:00-04:00

Media is everywhere, all around us, everyday, all the time. Television, movies, newspapers, magazines, and especially the Internet call out as though they are chasing us down in hopes of persuading our minds with their never-ceasing messages. I think that the media has greatly influenced my thinking and attitudes towards the products I purchase, the music I listen and the clothing I buy. Television and radio commercials and magazine ads are constantly harping consumers much like myself to buy their product, to give their product a chance. Often, like many others, I find myself with a desire to go out and try a new brand of nail polish, face wash or perfume. Seeing a website banner advertising a new and improved type of Discman or DVD Player makes everyone want to buy it. I’m not even a soda drinker, but the little Pepsi girl with the cute voices would make anyone indulge in a little caffeine. Recent local radio ads show the new Sunchase Apartments as the place to live this fall, with a pool, all new furniture and 24-hour gym. The thing about this type of media is that it makes the consumer feel like they need this product. The media also has influenced the types of music to which I listen. Some artists, like Michael Jackson, have received bad publicity from the media, and subconsciencely, makes me not want to listen to their music any longer. On the flip-side, the Dave Matthews Band and N*Sync are widely publicized with national tours and free-giveaways that once a consumer’s foot is in the door with a free CD or t-shirt, they may begin to listen to the music and become a fan of the artist. Sugar Ray’s lead singer, Mark McGrath’s, good looks have, needless to say, helped the band out with record sales. I know all of my friends have the CD, but mostly for the disc jacket, which is taped up to the back of their bedroom doors, so they can see his clear blue eyes and smiling face at their every convenience. Back to advertisements, clothing chains like the GAP and Old Navy have cute catchy commercials calling out to consumers “buy me”. GAP has recently become known for their renditions of many classic songs by “Generation Y”ers GAP clothing, showing that it is cool to wear GAP. Old Navy, as well, has annoyingly addictive music by

Complimentary Copy? Ownership and the Content of the Media

2002-10-29T13:00:00-04:00

Complimentary Copy? Ownership and the Content of the MediaComplimentary copy, the ability to implicitly infer to consumers what is the right image to uphold through articles supporting advertisements, inevitably exists. The advertising world rules the media; what they write, how they write it, and what the consumer is given to read. All media is biased on this premise, that the media needs magazine writers to literarily illustrate their products. Later, or sometimes earlier, in the publication, the reader makes the subconscious connection with an advertisement supporting what the article ultimately portrays: an image of how and what the reader should strive to be like. Gloria Steinem and Noam Chomsky are two of modern history’s critical advertising media vocalists. In the 1970s, Steinem, a leader in the woman’s activism era, created Ms. magazine. The idea behind her magazine was to create a publication where within, women could find intelligent articles and advertisements, treating the female population intellectually competent and not desirable objects. Steinem was aware of complimentary copy and strived to abolish the practice in her own publication. Advertisers, who are the true controlling force found within the media world, demand the practice of complimentary copy. She found Ms. to be short lived, however, concluding that complimentary copy is what keeps all publications afloat and capturing advertiser’s financial support and interest. Noam Chomsky theorizes, “To server the interest of the powerful, the media must present a tolerably realistic picture of the world.” Obviously if advertisers were to “over-edit” the appearance of models to the point where they looked like exaggerations of Barbie dolls, their products would be thought of as a joke. He says there is an “elite” 20% of the population that is educated and playing an active role in decision-making. “The other 80% are referred to as the ‘bewildered herd.’ They are supposed to follow orders and keep out of the way of the important people. They are the target of the real mass media,” Chomsky says. Personally, I wish to go into the magazine medium as a profession one day, and after previous experiences with mass media, I know that complimentary copy not only exists, but it is the only factor keeping publication editors in business. Steinem could have found more subtle methods of complimentary copy to keep her magazine in business, but she only one side of the matter. To her, she felt that selling out to advertisers

Blue Collar Blues or White Collar Glory?

2002-10-29T13:00:00-04:00

I think that in America today, there are distinct, yet illusional, social classes and the media’s exercised power of creating and destroying these classes in our minds is becoming more and more evident. The “make-believe” media leads us to believe that these are individual classes in the American caste system, and that most of us belong to the middle class. The well-known all-inclusive “middle class” is one that has been predominately created by the media, and the media presents the middle class as the majority of people in society. In the way presented by the media, there are distinct differences between the low-income “working class”, professional “middle class”, and powerful and wealthy “upper class”. On a personal level, I know that I have always thought that my family and friends were all on the same middle class level. Bus according to Barbara Ehrenreich’s definition of the working class, not all of my thoughts were correct. Ehrenreich states in argument, “The middle class, so defined, amounts to no more than 20 percent of the U.S. population” (73). The media makes us think we all belong to the middle class, whether we realistically are or not. Class bias definitely exists in the media, no questions about it. I support Michael Parenti’s argument in his essay about the improper portrayal of the lower-middle class blue-collar workers. He says, “Other studies find that blue collar…workers compose sixty-seven percent of the U.S. work force, but only ten percent of television characters” (70). Parenti says, “Generally, workers are portrayed as good-natured…more funny and friendly than middle-class professionals, but also more foolish, less competent, less educated, less attractive, and less able to act as leaders” (71). To Ehrenreich, the stereotype of the hard-hat bigot lies with this middle perception that the working class is uneducated, moronic, inarticulate and crass (74). These stereotypes surfaced in the 1950s in television shows with the “laughable buffoon” like Ralph Kramden in “The Honeymooners” and reaffirmed later in 1971 with the loud-mouthed views of Archie Bunker in “All in the Family” (Parenti 71). In her essay, “Working-Class Heroes No More,” Ehrenreich discussed the attention given to American blue=collar workers in the media. Her main point is that the working class is disappearing from the minds of the American middle class, leaving everyone with the impression that if they are not poverty-stricken, then they belong to the middle class. She discussed the circumstances of

Gender and the Media

2002-10-29T13:00:00-04:00

For decades, the improper portrayal of gender in the media has changed peoples’ perceptions of one another. These depictions have brought degrading, stereotypical and idealized thoughts of the opposite sex, whereas these representations are not true at all. The negative portrayal of gender roles in the media can be seen in television, movies, music and advertising, and the repercussions of such are exhibited in actions and thoughts of individuals within that society. Many authors and journalists show us how the media disciplines members within our society to show appropriate gender roles. “It is my contention that this mania, this explosion in glorification and objectification of women’s bodies, promotes unreal images of women, distorts physical reality, creates an obsession with visual stimulation, and trivializes all other natural features of a healthy psychosexual relationship” (Brooks 440). The media overload of degrading and objectifying women is the cause of society thinking that this practice is acceptable and right, when it, in reality, is an outdate practice that needs to be corrected. In Gary Brooks' “The Centerfold Syndrome”, he tells how the manner in which men relate to women’s bodies is known as the Centerfold Syndrome. This creates “unrealistic fantasies and expectations, imposing profound distortions on how men relate with women and to women’s bodies, and in turn, how women relate to their physical selves and with men” (439). When men realize that the majority of women in our “realistic” society don’t have these perfect bodies and element of mystery, they feel inadequate, as if their manhood has been attacked. Likewise, when women are unable to live up to the grotesquely thin vision of today’s “beauty”, they suffer from the pressure of being unable to satisfy their partners, and too feel inadequate (442). “During the past decade, women breached the power structure; meanwhile, eating disorders rose exponentially and cosmetic surgery became the fastest-growing medical specialty” (Wolf 429). The media is attacking the newfound vulnerability of women that arose with the feminist movement of the 1960s and 70s. Even the most independent of women has these taught feelings of inadequacy and objectification, which have been instilled by the media (Wolf 429). A myth is something everyone thinks is true, but in reality, is not. In “The Beauty Myth” by Naomi Wolf, she defines the beauty myth as the thought that beauty is universal, time transcending, and that women have to be beautiful to be socially accepted.

The Issue on Guns: One student's Perspective

2002-10-15T14:00:00-04:00

Guns are a major part of America’s history, as they are to this very day. The dependency people feel towards guns are blinding them to their true nature. Their nature of being lethal instruments that are the cause of many of our everyday problems. Guns should be banned. It needs to be done. The logical circumstances for that kind of radical change is because it’s the only thing that can be done. School shootings are becoming more common, crime rates are going up, suicide by guns are more common then any other method, and negligence are all examples of the things that are happening because of the massive amounts of available firearms in this nation. An increase of the death rate in the U.S has been obvious for some time, and even if making guns illegal only leads to the criminals having then it is still a step toward the right way. This is still an incredible improvement of almost everyone having a gun. The fact is, when you reduce the number of people who have guns, then you reduce the number of incidents that cause innocent people to get killed. That’s just the way that things work out, that is life. Society is filled with violence, crime and war. The media / news are proof of this. You can no longer turn the TV on and not see some act of violence. The movies and TV shows glorify the gun, they show it as the finishing touches to huge body built men saving the day once again. Video games, another good example, how often do you go to the movies or an arcade and not see some form of shooting game? All to often in my opinion. When I sit with my family to dinner and we turn on the news, stories of school shootings and murders unfold before us. The most current issue is “The Sniper“, a man who is so insane he goes around shooting people in the head, this man has killed around 12 or 13 people! What is being done to stop these kind of people from getting guns? And the answer to that is that there is no answer. It is impossible to keep these guns from reaching all of the hands of people who are not fit to use one. This further supports my opinion that guns are only a weakness, and not a necessity.

Genetic Engineering - An ethical argument

2002-10-12T14:00:00-04:00

As the author of ‘The decline and fall of the Roman Empire’, Edward Gibbon, stated ‘All that is human must retrograde if it does not advance.’ As we transcend into the 21st century, we can all look around us and see that transformations have been brought about in nearly every aspect of our lives. We are living in times where we constantly strive for new heights: to create the seemingly impossible, to break records, to make life easier. It is an undisputed fact that we have evolved in numerous ways and one can assuredly recognise the innumerous beneficial changes that the likes of science and technology has brought about in our world today. The efforts of genetic engineers have made a great impact on our world today. In recent years, the development of cloning and genetically modified foods has been a breakthrough in modern science – marking our times as the technologically advanced era. The idea that we may one day clone a human being has been a part of science fiction and scientific debate for generations. However, it was not until 1996, when a group at the Roslin Institute led by British scientist Ian Wilmut had cloned the first adult mammal, the now-famous Dolly the sheep that the world really changed the way it thought about human cloning. Instead of the question being, could we do it…the question now seems to be when will we do it? One thing must be clarified. As Glenn Seaborg quite rightly stated, people must understand that science is inherently a potential to be harnessed by man to do his bidding. Therefore, the opposition’s perception that ‘genetic engineering’ itself creates more harm than good is profoundly invalid. In actual fact, there are innumerous cases to prove otherwise. We must keep in mind that genetic engineering is a relatively modern process, and just like the introduction of any new modern process in the context of their time, strong opposition will always be imminent. Therefore, whilst we concede that genetic engineering does have fallibilities, like the humans who created them, it is research and development that allows them to refine this technology. It is, thus, the product of these refinements that allows human beings to have more options in this world. And this is the stage that we are at. Options being the key word. Genetic Engineering has by no means taken away choice from individuals. Genetic

An Argument for Conceal-and-Carry Gun Laws

2002-10-09T14:00:00-04:00

While most citizens are not concious of the fact, it has been a proven defense in court cases across the country that the police are to act only as a general deterrent to benefit the community as a whole. The police are not responsible for the protection of any single person from crime. Department of Justice statistics reveal that the police can get to a crime-scene within 5 minutes only about 28% of the time. And according to FBI estimations, there is a violent crime committed somewhere in America every 22 seconds. I’m here to address the advantageous aspects of conceal-and-carry laws for firearms. I will present the problems a lack of conceal-carry laws presents, the causes to these problems, and practical solutions to this hotly debated argument. To understand the controversy surrounding conceal and carry laws, one must realize the problems that arise from the lack of such laws. To paraphrase the often cliché adage, if concealed weapons are outlawed, only the outlaws will have concealed weapons. There appears to be no reason to make carrying a concealed weapon illegal, if criminals are already walking around with concealed guns. But because of this lack of logic by law-makers, innocent, law-abiding people walk the streets, next to and at the mercy of violent, gun-toting criminals. Another problem with infringing on people’s right to carry a concealed weapon is that it promotes high crime rates. If these gun laws didn’t work, there wouldn’t be such a dramatic fall in crimes once they were enacted. According to John R. Lott Jr., professor at Chicago University, author of “More Guns, Less Crime” and co-author with David Mustard on “Crime, Deterrence and Right-to-Carry Concealed Handguns,” counties that enacted right-to-carry laws between 1977 and 1992 saw a 2.2% drop in robberies, a 5.2% in rape, 7% fall in aggravated assaults and a whopping 7.6% drop in murders. When expanded to a rational number, this would calculate to 1,414 fewer murders, 4,177 fewer rapes, 11,898 fewer robberies and 60,363 fewer aggravated assaults. All of this missed out on in states where conceal-carry laws are illegal. This information, coupled with the FBI data from 1992 to ‘97 that said that the nation dropped 19% in violent crimes, while Missouri (which enacted a right-to-carry law in that time dropped almost 25%. Even government officials recognize the importance of conceal/carry laws. In the wake of the devastating school shooting at Columbine

Eminem, the Worst Role Model

2002-10-05T14:00:00-04:00

Eminem is perhaps one of the most controversial people in the headlines today. He is talked about everywhere from MTV to CNN. His famous lyrics are classified inappropriate and disgusting by one group of people and simply genius by the other. Everywhere, there can be found little Eminem “wannabees” and look-alikes. Eminem talks openly about all the controversial topics that can be found, from sex to drugs and alcohol. He discusses these in such a manner that a caring parent that caught their child listening to Eminem would want to shove 3lbs. of cotton into the ears of their children. Eminem is definitely not a good role model. Eminem’s lyrics however, are too offensive and often spark controversy and censorship. He takes the

Social Issues In the Philippines

2002-09-24T14:00:00-04:00

Ever wonder what happens to a country when a group of politicians get together and decide to purchase land, to try and create a mirror image of their society in that new colony, and instill their culture? Surely, there have been numerous others. In this paper, the attempt is to provide nominal (as an extensive and exhaustive one goes beyond the parameters of this work’s purpose) insight into the inner workings of American reign in the Philippines from the late nineteenth century to the present, with an emphasis on those policies’ ramifications on the lives of the affected. The story with the Americans really begins with the purchase of the Philippines for twenty million dollars accounted for in the Treaty of Paris of 1898 that “secured Cuban independence, the ceding of the Philippines, Puerto Rico and Guam to the U.S. [from Spain]” (McDuffie, Piggrem, and Woodsworth, AP Exam: US History 123). During that time, according to Lena Mendoza Strobel, professor at Sonoma State University, the Americans belief that the masses (in the Philippines) would only be content under a firm patriarchy “helped shape a western policy that asserted political and socioeconomic dominance” (Coming Full Circle 41). What that meant and means for the natives of the country are Americanized processes of schooling, American military outposts, American-owned businesses, and an instilling of American norms and values that were and are detrimental to the preservation and development of the existing-prior-to-unwanted-influences, indigenous Filipino one. Because of such ludicrously imposed laws as the Sedition Law of 1901 that provided that ‘Every person who shall utter words or speeches, write, publish or circulate, scurrilous libels against the government of the United States or the insular government of the Philippine Island…’ shall be punished by a fine of not more than US $2000 or by imprisonment not exceeding two years or both as noted by Leonard Davis in his book, The Philippines: People, Poverty & Politics, many Filipinos were forced into cooperation and obedience to this, their new colonizer’s way, of allowing them to live (38). The reality is that the “development of political consciousness and individual freedom, two of the cornerstones America presented to the world as its contribution to the Filipino people were, for the most part, superficial” because what they really did was, unlike the Spanish, was leave a legacy of economic exploitation through the entering of American goods free of duty, making the country the

Intimacy

2002-09-24T14:00:00-04:00

Intimate relationships are one of the most important experiences in life. They can free us from loneliness and isolation, provide love and emotional support, keep us healthy, and help us grow to our full potential as human beings. Intimacy is the deep connection we can have with another person. Intimacy is very rare in our society, however, and there is tremendous confusion and ignorance about what intimacy really is. Most of us are never taught the basics of this essential human skill; in fact, what we usually learn as we grow up is exactly how not to be intimate. (“Creating Intimacy” 1) So in simpler terms, what is intimacy? As the author in the excerpt suggests, it is a state of personal sharing arising from physical, intellectual, and/or emotional contact. Additionally, it is that process by which each human being in one part of his life or another tries to use to develop positive interpersonal relationships. The focus of this research paper is on emotional intimacy with additional discussion on the added effects of physical and intellectual intimacy practices in dyads. Moreover, a segment devoted to disclosure is also provided as a means to bonding the three dimensions of intimacy. To start, let one consider the first dimension of intimacy, emotions. Ronald B. Adler and Neil Towne, authors of the book Looking Out/Looking In: Ninth Edition on interpersonal communication, point out this subcategory of communicating dealing with intimacy as “exchanging important feelings” that is personal communication that “needn’t happen in face-to-face encounters” (336). What they mean by this in laymen’s terms is that emotional intimacy is the process by which individual’s may share their “inner and true” self through sharing that person’s feelings with another whom he feels comfortable with. Through honesty in this approach of self-disclosure, the person is oftentimes able to develop interpersonal, intimate relationships where both are able to reciprocate each other’s act of sharing. In dealing with the second part of Adler and Towne’s definition, it follows that, like in their example dealing with online-created relationships, and as suggested by Dr. Joseph Walther—and quoted by Howard Rheingold, author from which the quote is cited—assistant professor of communication at Northwestern University, that although “it took longer for online groups to feel as knowledgeable about one another’s personal characteristics and develop interpersonal relationships as it did in unmediated groups, […] in the longer term, these relationships became even more intimate

Verbal Communication Styles

2002-09-24T14:00:00-04:00

Communication is integral for any relationship, be it a familial relationship, a friendship, a business association, a working relationship, or a romantic partnership. Not only is communication important for the success of any relationship, but the lack of it can absolutely ruin a relationship. The repercussions of poor communication include feelings of betrayal, fast propagating distrust, misinterpretation of signals and events, accumulation of problems, willing self-isolation, and the deterioration of relationships. Communication is an excellent means by which all involved parties can work on ailing relationships. (“About Communication skills” 1) Everyone communicates with someone. It is a function that one learns to do as one travels through life. Part of the communication process involves using language. However, language in itself also has its own way of functioning. As Ronald B. Adler and Neil Towne put it, language “has its own unique style that distinguishes it from others” (Looking Out/Looking In: Ninth Edition 221). It is something that encompasses the use of devices as formality and informality; precision and vagueness; and brevity and detail. And in terms of verbal communication styles as it pertains to differences among various nations, it is something that may cause miscommunication due to the variable approaches in directness, succinctness, and formality. Insofar as the paper is concerned, topics to be covered include a discussion of low- and high-context cultures, the elaborateness or succinctness of the culture’s language, and additionally its formality or informality, including some suggestions on how to communicate with people who may have a communication style that varies from one’s own. First, let one consider the idea of low- and high-context communication. These two terms differentiate the two ways in which a certain culture may communicate. As defined by the article entitled “High Context/Low Context Communication” published on the internet by About.com, low-context communication is that system “in which the speaker sends a very direct and explicit verbal message.” Conversely, where high-context communication is the system “in which the speaker expects the listener to interpret his intended meaning not only from the verbal message but also from the context of the conversation and other non-verbal channels” (1). To put things in perspective, consider a comparison among culturally diverse Americans that Marcelle E. DuPraw and Marya Axner speak of in their essay “Toward a More Perfect Union in an Age of Diversity: Working on Common Cross-cultural Communication Challenges.” They say that […] some white Americans typically consider raised

Marijuana: Why Is It Illegal, And What About It Turns People On?

2002-09-23T14:00:00-04:00

The light smoke fills my lungs as I take a drag from a rolled-up joint. The smoke wafts into the air and I sniff it in. A minute later, I feel light-headed and giddy. Suddenly my friends and I start laughing and giggling for no reason at all. We were what they call, ‘High’. Later, we’re all hungry. They call it “the munchies.” Now I’ve never smoked marijuana before. Actually, I’ve never smoked anything before. And this situation never happened. But this is what I imagine it’s like, from reading and from watching other people. I know that marijuana is illegal, the hippies used it in the ‘60s and, on the occasion, it is prescribed by a doctor for those with cancer. What I don’t know is why it’s illegal, what else it can be used for to make it legal, and how it could possibly help anyone. In the beginning, I didn’t know too much. But I figured there would be books on this exact subject. I was right. When our class went to the school library, I immediately took to the computer card catalogue and typed in ‘hemp uses.’ Okaaayy…..that didn’t work. I typed in ‘hemp.’ That didn’t work either. Ah ha! Instead I replaced it with a word I knew would work. Marijuana. The computer catalogue showed me the book, Through A Glass Darkly: Psychological Effects Of Marijuana And Hashish. Now I don’t believe this goes for the uses but at least it goes through the reason why. Why people do it in the first place. I learned that marijuana’s scientific plant name is Cannabis Sativa. The cannaboid present in the plant is actually responsible for the psychological effects. SUSPENSE! And the percentage of marijuana has increased greatly since the late 1960s. Gee, one may wonder why. All those happenings and be-ins. All of the Freaks would get wasted beyond point of brainless. There are, also, many street names. Great! Now I’ll know what the drop-outs are talking about. Pot, doob, grass, reefer, weed, tea, MJ and maryjane are just some of the popular nicknames. But I want to know what the mixtures are. The plant, I read about, brings about many forms and terms. A joint is just a marijuana cigarette. Kiff is marijuana and tobacco, a roach is butt end of the joint. That’s why they need those roach clips. An A-bomb, (more SUSPENSE), is marijuana. Oh, gross.

The recent rise in divorce rates

2002-09-01T14:00:00-04:00

The causes and effects of the recent rise in divorce rates.

From the past to present, people all over the world have determined to live together, which is called “get marriage” in another word, so that they depend on for living each other. Nevertheless, some couples are unable to maintain their relationship; therefore they choose divorce, which is one of the solutions to cope with problems between husband and wife. Furthermore, most people think carefully before they get marriage. However, the divorce rates trend to continually increase nowadays, thus it might be argued that divorces can be taken place easier than the past. There are three main causes of divorce: changing woman’s roles, stress in modern living and lack of communication, which are highlighted below. The first significant cause of recent rise in the rates of divorce is that women completely change in roles. In the past, men have to earn whole money to afford the expense of family, whereas woman only do housework, hence women have no money leading to depend on husbands’ money. Because of these situations, it is too difficult for most women to separate from their husbands. Nonetheless, these situations entirely change nowadays. The equality between men and women in roles are very clear at the moment, thus women can work outside to earn money, while men share the household tasks such as cooking, cleaning, washing as well as caring for children. It can be clearly seen that women are independent from money as they can earn money by themselves to support their living cost. Accordingly, the divorce rates recently rise. Another cause to confirm the recent increase in divorce rates is stress in modern living. Many people, who live in globalisation, have considerable pressures to earn money. It can be obviously seen that the stress has occurred since they are children. For instance, in Thailand, students generally want to go to famous school so that they take advantage to go to well-known universities. Studying in celebrated universities mostly causes having a good opportunity to find a job or earn a lot of money. This circumstance not only happens in Thailand, but also occurs in many countries. Some people are laid off from their companies; consequently the stress occurs in their family, which leads to divorce. Some families can earn money, but inadequate for covering their expenses, therefore it is easy to think about divorce. Nevertheless, the rates of

Corporal punishment is not a valid method of punishment

2002-09-01T14:00:00-04:00

Corporal punishment is not a valid method of punishment Most parents have generally strived to find many ways to cope with their children so that they are under good discipline. Accordingly, one of the methods is corporal punishment. Corporal punishment is the way to make children physically suffer by means of hitting or spanking them because they misbehave. Nevertheless, corporal punishment is not a valid method of punishment. There are three main reasons to argue against corporal punishment: physical and psychological harm, negative behaviour in the future and other better alternatives, which are highlighted below. The first significant reason of physical penalty being unreasonable method is physical and psychological harm. It has been proved that corporal punishment is a direct way affecting on a healthy hazard for children. For instance, in modern living, many parents likely have considerable pressure and stress to earn money; therefore, they may come back to their home in a bad mood. Consequently, children possibly become poor victims as their parents probably use excessively physical punishment without conscience, which are physical and psychological harm for their children. Because of suffering from mental cruelty, some children are intimidated by parents using physical penalty; as a consequence, when they have problems, they fear to consult with their parents to find solutions. Accordingly, children may make a decision in wrong ways such as pregnancy, coming down with AIDS and seriously addictive drugs, which are too late to solve problems together. It is no doubt that employing corporal punishment likely result in physical and psychological harm for children. Another reason to prohibit using physical punishment is negative behaviour in the future. It might be argued that parents chastise their children by means of corporal punishment conceivably making massive changes in their children’s personality in the future. As a result, these children likely grow up to be aggressive and abusive towards others. Some children may have reactionary behaviour when parents penalise in their body. For example, their children want them to study, but they do in the opposite ways such as truant, quarrel and goldbrick. Consequently, they may courage without discipline instead of a man of discipline in the future. In addition, employing physical punishment leads to the likelihood of violent behaviour when they are children until being adults. It is obviously seen that the negative behaviour of children may be the end result of using corporal punishment. Finally, there are other much better alternatives

The Increase In Enrollment and The Rise of Tuition Fees

2002-08-28T14:00:00-04:00

Not long ago, the entrance exam to college was compared to a single plank-bridge, which a largh numbers of soldiers were squeezing through, and the month in which the exam is held is called the " Black July". Recently, the United Nations made a survey on school entry percentage in many countries, and here is the result. The percentage of the elementary school entry is 99% in both America and China, but the percentage of students entering college in China falls to 9%, while in America it's 80%, and the average rate of the developing countries is 9.6%. According to these figures, we can come to the conclusion that the Chinese students have surprisingly less chance than American students to enter college. So, the students, the parents and the society are calling for an increase in college enrollment. To answer their demand, the government has promised to increase the enrollment. There'll be 75% of students who could enter college by the year 2010. As a result, an education for the few top students will be turned to the education for the majority, and hopefully, the number of the depressed parents and the cases of the students who aere driven mad or commit suicide after the exam will decrease. This is really a piece of good news for millions of dillgent Chinese students and their anxious parents. However, every coin has two sides, so is the increase in enrollment. Besides its advantages, it also has some negative effects on several aspects. One is that it adds to the pressure for a graduate to hunt for a job since a bachelor's or a master's degree is not as valuable as it was some years ago. Another one is the shortage of dormitories, classrooms and teachers. For instance, in my university, six students share a small room. So no matter how careful you are, you can't avoid knocking down or bumping into something when you walk in the room. But "the merits outweigh the defects", since the problem can be solved by other means. A solution to the latter problem is the rise of tuition fees. With the money, more dormitories and classrooms will be built and more teachers can be employed. However, this solution brings another problem, that is, there are so many students who can't afford the increased tuition fees. They may come from the rural area or the laid-off worker families, and they may

Human Cloning---Angel or Satan?

2002-08-28T14:00:00-04:00

Since I am majored in biology, I will mainly talk about the topic of human cloning today. Four billion years ago, life arose on the earth. Four billion years later, human beings begin to look into the secrets hidden in the genes, which are the most delicate structure of life. A little over a year ago, scientists completed the Human Genome Project, which is one of the three most important advances in scientific history. Cloning is the major technique developed in the research of genes. To clone means to make genetically identical copies. As for human cloning, it is achieved by putting the genetic material from a donor¡¯s somatic cell into a woman¡¯s egg, which has already had its nucleus removed. That¡¯s to say, the cloning cells share the same genetic materials with the donor. Actually, Scientists have long been studying animal cloning, even earlier than the birth of the sheep Dolly. But when it comes to human cloning, people begin to diverse in their opinions. Some think human cloning as the angel while the others regard it as the Satan. The proponents for human cloning are right. Human cloning gives hope to the couples who can not have their own children. Before the invention of human cloning, they have either to get eggs or sperms from donors or adopt a child, but with human cloning, they could use their somatic cells to create a child of their own. Human cloning also gives rise to the production of stem cells. Stem cells have the ability to develop into all kinds of cells, for example, neuron cells, kidney cells or liver cells, thus stem cells can be used to culture human tissues and organs. Therefore, stem cells are essential materials for both medicine and biology. Stem cells are derived from embryos produced by human cloning. However, the opponents of human cloning are also right. As a student of biology, I know clearly that one success of animal cloning is built on thousands of failures. Most of the embryos die at an early age and many of the survivals are born with serious physiological defects. Most important of all, life is a creation, not a commodity. Children are gifts to be loved and protected, not products to be designed or manufactured, not to be engineered to custom specifications. Then, human cloning with the goal to yield stem cells is not acceptable to most people, because it requires the

Does the Internet Need Censors?

2002-08-18T14:00:00-04:00

The Internet has been in universal use for many years. It is a powerful research and communication tool, and it can be used for personal enjoyment. However, there is a dark side to the Internet. “There is obscenity on the Internet. There is also explicit but legal material [. . .]. There are bomb recipes, militia materials, hate speech of every stripe—mixed in small amounts with political, legal, medical, technical, and sports-related resources, the rock music fan pages, [and] the science fiction forums” (Wallace and Mangan xii). The Internet is not owned or regulated by one particular place or person; therefore, anything can be put up on the Internet despite the objections of others. The Internet has become a home for thousands of pornographic and explicit websites and other websites dealing with hate, violence, and terrorism. There is no universal definition of what is objectionable and what is decent. Children are exposed to “objectionable” material on the Internet everyday; however, measures are being taken to prevent this from happening. Internet filtering technology has become a growing industry during the past few years. Internet filters are a type of computer software that identify and block objectionable content on the Internet, and prevent it from being shown on the screen. The Government has been arguing for years whether or not to require Internet filters in schools and libraries. This author believes that the Government should not require mandatory Internet filters and that schools and libraries should be able to choose whether or not to use them. Internet filters are not foolproof, and sometimes they can block more than what they are supposed to do. However, filters still provide protection to minors and others that use them. To decide whether Internet filters should be required, it is important to know about the different types of filters and how they work and about the laws having to do with Internet filtering and Internet censorship. It is also essential to understand the advantages and disadvantages of Internet filtering and to know that there are other solutions to protect children other than filtering. Internet filters have been in use for several years. They have mainly been used in schools and libraries, but many filters are being used in homes. The main reason for these filters is to protect children from pornography and sexual content. In her book, Karen Schneider says, “Internet filters are mechanical tools wrapped around subjective

Teenage Sex: An Almost Unnoticeable Problem

2002-08-16T14:00:00-04:00

Teenagers in the United States are experimenting with sexual activities more and more today than ever before, and the sad thing about this issue is that it is becoming common-place in our society, because it is not being frowned upon as it were just a couple of years ago. It is now a known fact that majority of high school aged boys and girls would have engaged in some sort of sexual activity by the time they graduate high school. “50% of girls and women aged 15 to 19 told the National Center for Health Statistics they had had sex, […] 55% of single males ages 15 to 19 have had sex” (Maggie Gallagher). Also alarming, is the growing rate of children having sexual intercourse before they are of the age of thirteen. Stephanie Ann Sanders states “The problem of teenage pregnancy is considerably worse in the United States than in almost any other developed country. Studies show that birth rates for women under 20 are higher in the United States than in 29 other developed countries.” (MICROSOFT ENCARTA ENCYCLOPEDIA 2000). Some sort of sexual connotation always surrounds teenagers, whether it is the television, radio, school, or even the Internet. The price teenagers are paying for being sexually active greatly outweighs any advantages; the consequences of teenage sexuality cannot be overlooked by the society, as consequences such as diseases, and unplanned pregnancy have been known to have both short-term and long-term effects on teenagers. These consequences cannot even be thought about without first looking at what pushes teenagers to the notion of early sex. The society, peer pressure, and the media play the major part in gearing adolescents to finding out about, knowing, and finally engaging in sexual intercourse before they are both physically and mentally capable of handling the reality that accompanies sexual activities. This paper will be broken into two parts; part one of which will deal with the probable causes that push teenagers to early sex and part two which will deal with the effects of early teenage sex.

PART I: THE CAUSES

One of the most important factors that encourage teenagers to start exploring sex is the society. In the society we live in today, sex is the number one favored topic. From home to school, in the malls, in the theaters, and almost everywhere else that teenagers mostly frequent, it will be seen that sex is always been

Euthanasia

2002-07-30T14:00:00-04:00

Euthanasia is defined by The American Heritage Dictionary as "the action of killing an individual for reasons considered to be merciful" (469). Here, killing is described as the physical action where one individual actively kills another. Euthanasia is tolerated in the medical field under certain circumstances when a patient is suffering profoundly and death is inevitable. The word "euthanasia" comes from the Greek eu, "good", and thanatos, "death," literally, "good death"; however, the word "euthanasia" is much more difficult to define. Each person may define euthanasia differently. Who is to decide whether a death is good or not? Is any form of death good? All of these questions can be answered differently by each person. It is Generally taken today to mean that act which a health care Professional carries out to help his/her patient achieve a good death. Suicide, self-deliverance, auto-euthanasia, aid-in-dying, Assisted suicide -- call it what you like-- it can be justified by theAverage supporter of the so-called "right to die movement" for the following reasons: The first reason is that an advanced terminal illness is causing unbearable suffering to the individual. This suffering is the most common reason to seek an early end. Second, a grave physical handicap exists that is so restricting that the individual cannot, even after due care, counseling, and re-training, tolerate such a limited existence. This handicap is a fairly rare reason for suicide; most impaired people cope remarkably well with their affliction, but there are some who would, at a certain point, rather die. We say that there is a second form of suicide; justifiable suicide, that is a rational and planned self-deliverance from a painful and hopeless disease, which will shortly end in death. I do not think the word "suicide" sits well in this context but we are left with it. Suicide is the taking of one's own life. Why does the term euthanasia even exist? Is euthanasia not suicide? A differentiation must be made between the two. Suicide is condoned by society as being Unacceptable but euthanasia is viewed as moral and acceptable in most instances. The term "self-deliverance" is difficult to understand because the news media is in love with the words "doctor-assisted suicide". This is because the news media is dissecting the idea of whether or not doctors, who are supposed to preserve life, should partake in euthanasia. The

Just needed to vent some more

2002-07-29T14:00:00-04:00

You ever wonder why black people get such special treatment in this country? Some whites, most other races fear the black person. They all believe that if they say something, or do something to offend a black person that they will either get shot, or beat up or something. America has made a great effort trying to say that the blacks are the most important in the country. All you ever hear is my ancestors were slaves, slaves for a white man who beat the hell out of him. To that, I just say shut up…get over yourself, and “quitcher bitchen.” White people were the first slaves anyway, the early European upper class had their own slaves, white people, the slaves were just white people who weren’t lucky enough to have been born into a rich family. But anyway, this is besides the point, this essay is me bitching about all the whining and complaining that Negroes do. You know slavery in America wasn’t just in the south it was all over the country, plus the civil war wasn’t all about slavery. The southern states were upset that the north was just trying to change the way they lived. Once, again, besides the point. I’ve been thinking to myself and I thought this was kind of ironic. Whenever a black person hears the word(s) civil war, slavery, and nigger they just get their panties in a bundle. “My ancestors were slaves what right do you have to talk about them that way.” Shut up, is exactly what I want to say. I was thinking about Jews, 6 million of their “ancestors” died in the holocaust, and you don’t hear the bitching complaining and starting riots over this. Blacks were never persecuted this much, Hitler almost inialated the whole race of Jews in Germany, Poland and surrounding countries, and blacks have the freaking gull to sit and bitch about 150 year of slavery. Jews were almost eliminated from the earth in close to 5 years. Seems to me that 5 years is certainly a lot less than 150 and yet they are complaining about it half as much as blacks. When you see a black guy get beat on tv by police, they get their panties in a bundle again because they think that just cause they are black that they are going to get to have Johnny Cochran defend them

Education - Is it working?

2002-07-23T14:00:00-04:00

Going into our twenty-first century, we are finding more and more students graduating from high school not prepared to do college-level work or achieve sufficiently in entry-level jobs. The public business community is beginning to doubt whether or not public schools are capable of producing individuals who can become productive members of society. They ask the school systems how it is so many students can graduate with so few skills. One explanation is "social promotion"--that is, school systems' practice of promoting a student to the next grade level regardless of their academic ability. Although social promotion may seem new to us today, it has a long history. Social promotion has been a function of educational institutions for decades. Promotion of an individual no matter what his academic success has long been a standard procedure. Schools cannot appear they are failing to educate their students so they do what ever it takes to promote the student to the next grade. The do this even if there is strong evidence against them. For example, “In Chicago alone more than 40,000 students failed standardized tests…..yet only a small fraction of students were marked for being held back” (American Federation of Teachers, 2001). What Standards Do Districts Use To Make Decisions on Promotion or Retention? Some policies refer to the need for students to meet state standards. But a recent AFT analysis of state standards revealed that only 17 of the 50 states and the District of Columbia have standards in all four core disciplines--English, mathematics, social studies, and science--that are well grounded in content and clear and specific enough to be used as a common guide (AFT, 1997). When Austin and McCann (1992) surveyed 144 districts to determine grading practices, standards and procedures, they learned that:

Grading policies and procedures vary across districts;
Policies fail to specify the criteria for determining grades and how those criteria should be applied;
Few of the districts, schools, and departments provide direction specific enough to ensure consistency in grading practices; and
None of the districts provides staff development to help teachers assign grades that would be consistent within schools and across the district.

Most school districts have standards they try to follow to discourage social promotion. However, there is no consistency to these policies. If school districts had a standardized set of policies that was consistent throughout all districts perhaps there would be fewer students being promoted. According to the American Federation

Cloning -- individualistic and communitarian view

2002-07-23T14:00:00-04:00

In many controversial topics around the world, such as abortion, gun control, legalized drugs, the death penalty, and cloning (to name a few), we can find differing positions, and opinions. Many of these arguments, can be narrowed down to two different views, or constructs: individualistic and communitarian (an image of collectivism). An individualistic viewpoint "stresses the rights of the individual as a unique being" (class review). A communitarian viewpoint is more concerned with the good for the greatest number, "even if an individual must suffer or sacrifice" (class review). These different elements do not necessarily label the people as opposed to, or in favor of the topic here. They just show where your motivations lie, is your involvement for self fulfillment or for the good of society? Within the contents of this paper, I will analyze the elements of individualism and collectivism that exist in the controversial topic of cloning. When Dr. Ian Wilmut, a 52-year-old embryologist at the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh announced on that he had replaced the genetic material of sheep's egg with the DNA from an adult sheep, and created a lamb (Dolly), the topic of cloning "created" many new questions of its own. None were as controversial as: Will they apply this to humans as well? According to Dr. Wilmut, the answer was "there is no reason in principle why you couldn't do it"(clone humans), but he added, "All of us would find that offensive."(Wilmut as quoted by NYTimes, Daniel Callahan, 02/26/97). From an individualistic viewpoint, those in favor of cloning human beings, do not see it as morally, or ethically wrong. Many see it as an opportunity to have children, or possibly to "re-create" a child who is dying from a terminal illness. Using a deterministic argument, many infertile couples are worried that any "government restrictions on human cloning might hurt their chances some day for bearing children through new medical technology" ( Newsday, Thomas Maier, 03/14/1997). In a form of expressive individualism, Tom Buckowski, from Studio City, California said, "It's my body, my choice, right? But what if I want my body cloned and warehoused for spare parts? Upon what basis can government decide what I can or cannot do with my body?"(Los Angeles Times, 3/07/1997). In both examples, the predominant voice is that of the first language of individualism. The first language refers to the "individualistic mode that is the dominant American form of

Gender differences

2002-07-23T14:00:00-04:00

Everyone acknowledges that there are significant differences between males and females, even if they are only physical. Others see not only the physical but also the social, emotional and intellectual differences between male and female. Gender roles influence women and men in virtually every area of life including family and occupation, but are women and men subject to different roles or behavior expectations? Gender roles by definition are the social norms that dictate what is socially appropriate male and female behavior (Tobias, 1997). In early American culture it was common for a women's job to be a submissive homemaker in clear contrast to the males aggressive breadwinner role. The seventies marked the beginning of the Woman's Movement and the end of the ideals we held on what it is to be a "man" and what it is to be a "woman." Gender roles in Western society have been changing rapidly in recent years. The transformation was created by evolutionary changes in society, including economic changes, and perhaps because people felt pressured to change; they felt the traditional social structure was somehow unjust or unfair. Gender roles are a part of the socialization process of human beings. These roles are influenced by the individual’s cultural and economic background. They are initiated at a very early age, beginning at birth. From the time of birth our young are beginning to learn their gender roles. Society begins teaching them certain values and creating in them certain behavior patterns acceptable to their social roles. These roles have been in a state of flux in American society in recent years. Men and women today can be seen as having expanded their roles in society, with women entering formerly male dominated roles and men finding new ways to relate to and function in the family unit.

ROLES OF MEN AND WOMEN IN THE FAMILY

Clearly, circumstances of family life have changed in the modern era. Industry has been taken out of the home, and large families are no longer economically possible or socially desired. Women have made advances toward the equality they seek only to encounter a backlash in the form of religious fundamentalism, claims of reverse discrimination by males, and hostility from a public that thinks the women's movement has won everything it wanted and should thus now be silent. Both the needs of women today and the backlash that has developed derive from the changes in social

Black Media: Fair but not.....

2002-07-15T14:00:00-04:00

Before I begin this little essay of sorts, just wanted to let y’all know that this isn’t going to be a grammar perfect, or language perfect essay. Hope you don’t mind, but basically this is me venting about all the frustration I have built up in me over the last 15 years. BET black entertainment, EBONY all black magazine, black colleges, black awards shows. This is starting to sound like “affirmative blacktion” to me. People may say that I sound racist, I don’t particularly like all sorts of black people, and I don’t like all sorts of white people either. I don’t mind having a conversation with a black person who is mature, and cares about how they look in front of other people. To be honest and perfectly blunt, I can tolerate, black people, I just don’t like gang banging thugs. I like white people; I just don’t like white trash. So I don’t think that I’m being racist there. Lets try this, say that I was a corp. exec for a big television company. I would like for there to be a WET white entertainment, but no, I couldn’t have that, why you ask? It’s racist is what the average person would tell you. What about an all white magazine, why not a magazine called whitey or something like that? The blacks out there, and the NAACP people would all say, you can’t do that, it’s racist. How is it racist? Somehow it wouldn’t be fair to the black community for us to have an all white network, or an all white magazine. Seems as though when I hear black people discuss black history month, they complain that they get the shortest month of the year to celebrate their culture…blah blah blah. I ask them well what about a white history month. The first thing they tell me is that every month other than February is white history month, so with that I’m assuming that all other networks, and magazines are all white? No! You see blacks, Asians, Mexicans and other types of people on regular TV, and in magazines. When you read EBONY or watch BET you don’t see white people in their magazines, or on the TV…not even Asians or Mexicans. They just want it all for themselves. All I’m asking for here is a little room for us the white people to try to have

An Unbalanced Equation

2002-07-08T14:00:00-04:00

An Unbalanced Equation I think the number one cause of youth association of drugs is the un-involvement of the parents. All major causes of youth drug abuse can be prevented if the parents had more impact and/or were more involved in their children’s lives. Here are my personal, significant reasons of youth drug abuse:

Peer Pressure- Parents should teach their children to be leaders.
Problems in the Household/ Neglect- Parents should pay more attention to their children’s lives and emotions.
Watching and Acting- In most cases, children believe that if their friends or family members are doing drugs and drinking, then it won’t hurt them if they do it too. This falls into Peer Pressure but without direct or verbal pressure.
Boredom- Parents should especially play a part in solving this problem. They should put their kids in as many clubs and/or sports and activities as possible, preferably “drug-free” clubs. That way, your children won’t desire to try drugs.
Curiosity- Pending…. The reason I say that this is pending is because parents can’t control their children’s curiosity. Since the beginning of time, a child’s main thriving force to do foolish things has been, their curiosity. It’s a youth’s main explanation for sticking our finger in the electric socket, even though our parents have scolded us repeatedly and have taught us the right thing. We would go to a dangerous party that our siblings would go to even though our parents told us not to, but our siblings say that it is harmless. We will obey our siblings out of curiosity or because we feel that they know better than our parents because they are our age and they know about more up to date, and modern parties than our “old-fashioned” parents. You may ask, “How can I prevent or discontinue this impression?”. A desperate endeavor may be to explain to your kids that you were once their age too, and even though the 70’s/ 80’s may seem like it has changed from the modern days, it has not, youth then had the same amount of peer pressure and curiosity that we have now and they have been-there-done-that. Consider making them believe this and showing them that you know more about the peer pressure that they are about to encounter. I realize that I am a child as well, and sometimes I don’t have faith in my parents’ warnings. Hence, I don’t know a method to gain trust of

AIDS report

2002-06-08T14:00:00-04:00

What is AIDS?

AIDS is the more evolved, life threatening, form of HIV. AIDS stands for Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome. The name comes from the fact that HIV severely damages the immune system, the body’s most important defense against disease.

History of AIDS

Scientists are not certain how, when, or where the AIDS virus evolved and first infected people. Researchers have shown that HIV-1 and HIV-2 are more closely related to simian immunodeficiency viruses, which infect monkeys, than to each other. Thus, it has been suggested that HIV evolved from viruses that originally infected monkeys in Africa and was somehow transmitted to people. Scientists believe HIV infection became widespread after significant social changes took place in Africa during the 1960's and 1970's. Large numbers of people moved from rural areas to cities, resulting in crowding, unemployment, and prostitution. These conditions brought about an increase in cases of sexually transmitted diseases, including AIDS. HIV may have been introduced into industrialized nations several times before transmission was sustained and became widespread. AIDS was first identified as a "new" disease by physicians in Los Angeles and New York City in 1980 and 1981. The doctors recognized the condition as something new because all the patients were previously healthy, young homosexual men suffering from otherwise rare forms of cancer and pneumonia. The name AIDS was adopted in 1982. Scientists soon determined that AIDS occurred when the immune system became damaged, and that the agent that caused the damage was spread through sexual contact, shared drug needles, and infected blood transfusions. After HIV was isolated as the cause of AIDS in 1983 and 1984, researchers developed tests to detect HIV infection. These tests have also been used to analyze stored tissues from several people who died from the late 1950's and 1970's. Scientists have concluded that some of these people died from AIDS. Cases of HIV infection reported worldwide have risen dramatically since the early 1980's. During the early 1990's, an estimated 1 million people in the United States and millions more throughout the world had HIV infection or AIDS. Efforts to control the spread of AIDS have had some success. For example, among homosexual men in the United States, HIV infection is spreading more slowly than it did in the early 1980's. This is due entirely to education about prevention and the resulting changes in sexual behavior, such as decreased numbers of sexual partners and increased

Terrorism - My best essay on the topic

2002-06-07T14:00:00-04:00

1. What is terrorism?

Terrorism is hard to define. In its broadest sense terrorism can be thought of as the use or threatened use of force against civilians designed to bring about political or social change. Moreover, while we think of terrorism as being both a political and irrational act (especially suicide terrorism), terrorism can also be thought of as a rational act conducted specifically because of the impact -- fear, confusion, submission -- it will have. Given the U.S. government's pledge to wage a war against terrorism, it is important to look at its definitions. According to both the Department of Defense (DOD) and the FBI, terrorism is "the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives." The DOD definition adds that a goal of terrorism can be "inculcating fear" (thus the psychological dimension), while the State Department is more elaborate, specifying that terrorism may include the use of biological, chemical or nuclear devices as well as the act of "assassination." The latter would suggest that assassinating bin Laden would be a terrorist act by our definition of the word; the former that allied forces in the fire bombings of cities in Dresden, and specifically the U.S., through its use of nuclear weapons to end World War II and of chemical weapons in Vietnam, has already engaged in terrorist activities, although the moral calculus and justification for these actions varies widely and in comparison with the terrorism of the enemies, such as Nazi Germany. This is the grand conundrum of defining terrorism; it is very difficult to separate it from acts of war, just or unjust. We all have heard the saying, "One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter." And indeed, Osama bin Laden and his comrades were hailed as freedom fighters in the 1980s by the American government at a time when politicians like Dick Cheney considered Nelson Mandela a terrorist. Further, the UN definition of terrorism states that "all war crimes will be considered acts of terrorism," in which case most every government in the world (especially the major military powers, Pakistan, Israel, the major Muslim states, most Latin American governments) has committed terrorism, though few have ever faced justice or even opprobrium for doing so.

2. What is the history of terrorism?

The first recorded

Crime and Punishment

2002-06-05T14:00:00-04:00

In our society's criminal justice system, justice equals punishment. You do the crime, and you do the time. Once you have done the time, you have paid your debt to society and justice has been done. Because our society defines justice in this manner, the victims of crimes often seek the most severe possible punishment for their offenders. Society tells them this will bring justice, but it often leaves them feeling empty and unsatisfied after getting what they wanted. Punishment does not address the other important needs of victims. It cannot restore their losses, answer their questions, relieve their fears, and help them make sense of their tragedy or heal their wounds. Regardless of their particular view, most people agree that crime and violence are blowing up out of control in the streets of our towns and cities. Most also agree that what we are doing about it is not working. We are fearful and we have good reason. We know our criminal justice system is broken and we don't know how to fix it. Crime always goes down when the economy is good. That is because there is more money for police, but more importantly because there are less people who are desperate for money, or could not make money in a legal way. One of the dominant principles of justice is the principle of proportionality . The punishment should always be proportional to the crime. That makes it needed to describe a range for the harshness of crimes. It allows an evaluation of several crimes between each other, and provides a quick suggestion of what the punishment should be in a perfect, fair, and real world. A crime is an action considered to be wrong and punishable by the law. A sin is an act of breaking the rules which goes against the will of God. People do wrong for a variety of reasons. Most people will commit small crimes and if not caught and punished the gains become a routine and tradition. Some of the reasons for committing crimes are social pressure, personal problems, greed and other circumstances. Social pressures are people who need to have lots of wealth so therefore they commit crime. Personal problems cause a difficult life which can lead to a life of crime as payback, an expression of anger or as a method of escape. Greed is someone wanting possessions that others

Violence and its Reasons

2002-06-01T14:00:00-04:00

Violence-the very word describes terror and the use of threat or aggression against an individual or society as a whole. Indeed violence is the most terrible and dominating of all social evils in today's word. Making use of violence to achieve one's means means departing from all the morals and virtues that humanity has bestowed upon us. But, unfortunately, violence has been so frequently used that we have begun to take it for granted-the sight of a sick or dying person doesn't move us in the least. Evidently we are becoming the slaves of violence. But why do people resort to violence? The answer is quite simple. In a country, like India, with a population of more than a billion, poverty, unemployment and starvation have become common problems for the people. How is a family expected to survive without food, money and shelter? Does it not torment them to watch their children starve and die in their arms? But, Alas, there is no ear to perceive their cries of desperation. Thus, it is the poor who resort to violence such as murder and robbery to fulfil their needs. Racial discrimination is another major reason for violence. The so-called 'terrorism' is spreading at an alarming rate around the world. There are basically two kinds of terrorists-one kind who revolt for political or social reforms in their country and another kind who use religion as the cause of violence. Terrorists murder, bomb and use other such violent means to achieve their goals. The Muslims call such acts as 'Jihad' or 'Holy War.' They believe that anyone who isn't a follower of Islam is to be killed. Similar acts of violence can be seen in Gujarat, where a conflict between Hindus and Muslims has been going on for a while now. The worst part of such wars is that people who are responsible for horrific massacres are applauded and regarded as heroes. When a 14-year-old Jewish boy bombed a Syrian tank in 1948 and killed hundreds, he was hailed as a "true patriot." This approval encourages other children to perform such deeds, increasing violence dramatically. The television and movies are responsible for fantasizing violence. They make a murder seem like a miracle and death like a blessing. Some young viewers are deeply influenced by the violence shown on television and are induced to commit such crimes. Students carrying weapons in schools and killing classmates

Gun Control

2002-05-15T14:00:00-04:00

Since the American Revolution and the creation of the Second Amendment of the Bill Of Rights, America has been given the right to personally own and bear arms. In the past decade, we, the responsible citizens have seen the number of individually owned guns skyrocket out of control. The possession of guns in a home brings a false sense of security which can endanger lives, and not only to those whom the gun is licensed to, put people at risk, and set bad example to those that see the results of crimes and the easy access to weapons. But do people really need guns? In the 90’s we saw many incidents caused by accidental shootings, many of which were by children whose parents had not taken proper care in storing their guns. Mistakes like these are unacceptable. The lives of those innocent people were taken away due to the exorbitant number of people owning guns. Many other American citizens have been killed due to the inexperienced use of guns in a moment of panic; those who do not have easy access to guns could have prevented these accidents easily. So do people really need guns? Do you need really need guns? Do you really need to protect yourself against evil and others that drastically? Some people say they need to have guns to protect themselves. Some say they need them because they live in perilous environments. You should not have to feel the need to own a gun for defense… it is a violation your freedom, and others’. Do you need guns? Owning guns is completely uncalled for. They are a hindrance in our lives and are the biggest detriments to society today. People must realize that the second amendment was not calling and permitting personal ownership ship of guns but the right to own weapons if it is necessary to start a militia. Due to the strength of the Police, The State Guard, National Guard, and this amendment is now out dated. If people would take pride in the knowledge that the possession of guns is not about social status or wealth, rather than bringing out the cruelty in people then may be, Gun Control would not be such a calamitous issue that is part of every day life. Do you still need guns? This country was built upon the want for freedom, that liberty includes the sense of security one needs in

Education reinforces the inequalities that exist in the social order

2002-05-12T14:00:00-04:00

Education becomes the medium which simply reinforces the inequalities that exist in the social order

Everybody knows that school teaches you hordes of useful things and that the people who stay there and get educated are further along the path to freedom than those who don’t… right? Or maybe, as Quintin Hoare wrote: “British education is from a rational point of view grotesque, from a moral one intolerable, and from a human one tragic.”1 This point of view, though not always phrased with such brutality, is evidently shared by many people. Their belief is that the education system is, and has been for a long time, a breeding ground for ignorance rather than enlightenment; a hellish institution in which said inequalities are perpetuated. So what are these “inequalities in the social order”? Indeed, what is the “social order” in the first place? I take the area of socio-economic class as my main example of what is meant here, with gender and race as secondary examples. There are three commonly-acknowledged economically-divided social classes: lower, middle, and upper. “They have been subdivided in many ways, they have borne countless different names, and their relative numbers, as well as their attitude towards one another, have varied from age to age: but the essential structure of society has never altered.”2 The lower two classes each strive to better their situation, to gain more power and control, while the upper class strives to maintain its existing state of power. Maintaining the status quo involves instilling what Karl Marx called a ‘false consciousness’3 into those without power, to keep them in ignorance of their position of subordination. There is much change within the personnel of the classes, but the point which these socialist writers fear is that the framework into which the classes fit is not subject to change. This is how Orwell and many others perceived the world to be, and the education system in all this is “little more than a rationalisation of the status quo” 4: it tells you that the way things are is the way they should be, and don’t you dare try to change that. As Martin Hoyles asks in The History and Politics of Literacy, is education “a liberating or repressive activity?”5 It seems blatantly obvious that knowing how to read and write, and familiarity with such ‘core’ subjects as science and mathematics and literature, is essential; and without it one

Less Developed Countries

2002-05-11T14:00:00-04:00

The United States has for a long time been involved in international affairs, either by pioneering and implementing foreign policies, or by providing financial support. The latter has been accomplished either through participation with institutions such as the International Monetary Fund or the World Bank, in which the U.S. gives significant amount of money, or through U.S. led international programs. Have military deliveries and aid risen or decreased to LDCs as time has elapsed after the cold war is a question debated over and over by scholars? The following lab reflects U.S. military deliveries to selected less developed countries (LDCs) from 1991 to 1996. The data was taken from the Central Intelligence Agency’s statistical database, which are provided, online at http://www.odci.gov/cia. This particular data was of interest because of the growing economies seen in the time period and because of the world’s separation from communism and its potential threat. As mentioned, the Cold War was over and the U.S. could once again concentrate on spreading democracy to those countries in need, the less developed ones. It was of interest to see how much the U.S. spent on military aid to these specific countries because the U.S. has long advocated the improvement of LDCs and their implementation of Democracy. It is well known that these measures are taken in order to influence these countries to not only ally themselves to the U.S. but to accept and apply democratic policies within their governments. Another reason why I chose to review this particular data was solely due to the fact that we as citizens facilitate such spending. Other factors for selecting this variable include determining if the economic gains worldwide tend to have an impact on such spending. For example if we help out those nations in need, will they be apt to helping the U.S. under critical circumstances or is it all about themselves? Before putting the dollar amount into a graph, I assumed that military aid in any form had indeed increased. I justified the assumption by focusing on the growing global economy and on the termination of the Cold War, which also sparked a proliferation of nuclear arms that were left behind by the old Soviet Union. Naturally, I expected to see an increasing trend throughout the six years covered. As one of the major powers in the world, we would be expected to support those countries in need and

Proposition 184

2002-05-10T14:00:00-04:00

Cruel and Unusual Punishment is a fundamental right given to us by the United States (U.S.) Constitution. The 8th amendment states, “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishment inflicted.” Last year in California voters approved a controversial ballot initiative. Proposition 184, also known as the three strikes and you're out law, was passed on November 9, 1994. Under this new legislation repeat offenders, upon committing their third felony offense, will be sentenced to a mandatory twenty-five years to life in prison (California p. 667). California law states that (2) (A) If a defendant has two or more prior felony convictions as defined in subdivision (d) that have been pled and proved, the term for the current felony conviction shall be an indeterminate term of life imprisonment with a minimum term of the indeterminate sentence calculated as the greater of: (i) Three times the term otherwise provided as punishment for each current felony conviction subsequent to the two or more prior felony convictions. (ii) Imprisonment in the state prison for 25 years. The initiative passed with 76% of the voters in favor of it. The State Senate soon after voted the bill into law, with only seven members voting against it. The three strikes initiative stemmed from the killing of Polly Klass by Richard Allen Davis, a convicted felon. The killing outraged the entire state but what enraged people even more was that Davis had been in and out of prison his whole life and was still free to kill again. Soon people began calling for laws that would put repeat violent offenders behind bars for life. The premise of the new laws became an easy issue for politicians to back. To oppose such legislation seemed to be political suicide, so most politicians backed the initiative. Although many civil liberties groups opposed such mandatory sentencing measures there was little they could in the face of tremendous voter approval. Many voters did not realize that this bill could put potentially incarcerate people for ludicrous amounts after the commission of a minor offense. Even more voters did not realize the cost of implementing such a bill. Now that this new legislation has been in effect for a year and the tremendous negative affects it have become obvious we must repeal it. One of the issues that must be considered when imposing mandatory sentencing is the

California's Proposition 184: Three Strikes and You're Out

2002-05-10T14:00:00-04:00

Last year in California voters approved a controversial ballot initiative. Proposition 184, also known as the three strikes and you're out law, was passed on November 9, 1994. Under this new legislation repeat offenders, upon committing their third felony offense, will be sentenced to a mandatory twenty-five years to life in prison(California 667). The initiative passed by a landslide, with 76% of the voters in favor of it. The State Senate soon after voted the bill into law, with only seven members voting against it. The three strikes initiative stemmed from the killing of Polly Klass by Richard Allen Davis, a convicted felon. The killing outraged the entire state but what enraged people even more was that Davis had been in and out of prison his whole life and was still free to kill again. Soon people began calling for laws that would put repeat violent offenders behind bars for life. The premise of the new laws became an easy issue for politicians to back. To oppose such legislation seemed to be political suicide, so most politicians backed the initiative. Although many civil liberties groups opposed such mandatory sentencing measures there was little they could in the face of tremendous voter approval. Many voters did not realize that this bill could put potentially incarcerate people for ludicrous amounts after the commission of a minor offense. Even more voters did not realize the cost of implementing such a bill. Now that this new legislation has been in effect for a year and the tremendous negative effects it have become obvious we must repeal it. One of the issues that must be considered when imposing mandatory sentencing is the increased cost of incarceration. In the state of California it costs $20,000 per year to incarcerate an inmate under normal circumstances(Cost 1). This amount of money could put one person through a state college for two or three years. According to Beth Carter the three strikes law has placed 1,300 people in prison for a third strike offense and 14,000 people in prison on a second strike offense(1). The current recidivism rate in California is 70%(2), which means that out of those 14,000 people that almost 10,000 will be back in prison for a third strike. To imprison those 1,300 third strike offenders for the mandatory minimum of twenty-five years will cost the state of California $812,500,000. To support these inmates for longer

Fraternities

2002-05-06T14:00:00-04:00

A fraternity, as defined by the the American Heritage Dictionary is "a chiefly social organization of male college students, usually designated by Greek letters." This definition, however, is very limited and leaves plenty of space for shortsighted people to believe the stereotype conveyed by the popular media, where fraternity members are depicted as drunks who accomplish nothing either scholastically or socially. Unfortunately, both this definition and media portrayals fail to mention the fact that membership in a Fraternity is a life-long experience that helps its members develop social, organizational, and study skills during college, and that teaches true, everlasting friendship. As a matter of fact, fraternities have a long tradition of high academic achievement, and most of our nation's presidents were members of a Greek association. According to Irving Klepper, the first fraternity (Phi Beta Kappa) was founded for "social and literary purposes" at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia on December 5th 1776. After half a century of existence, it became and has since remained a scholarship honor society. Throughout the nineteenth century, many new fraternities were founded, but none of these were permanent. Then, in 1825, the Kappa Alpha Fraternity (now Kappa Alpha Society) was born at Union College. Two years later, Sigma Phi and Delta Phi had been founded at the same college, constituting the so-called Union Triad, which was, in a large measure, the pattern for the American Fraternity system. By the end of the nineteenth century there were over thirty general fraternities in this country. Today's fraternities still have all the characteristics and precepts of the their past fraternities: "the charm and mystery of secrecy, a ritual, oaths of fidelity, a grip, a motto, a badge, a background of high idealism, a strong tie of friendship and comradeship, and urge for sharing its values through nationwide expansion." (Klepper pg. 18) In addition, today's fraternities help their members develop many skills, which are used in and out of college. During membership in a fraternity, one must learn leadership skills, because the chapter has to be run in a business-like manner and because it embraces different offices (President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Scribe, etc.), which are held by its members. These offices closely resemble the ones of real business. Additionally, since other Greek associations' members see membership in a fraternity as a great achievement, every brother must be able to uphold that office at any time. Organization is a

In Defence of Suicide Bombers

2002-05-03T14:00:00-04:00

"Another suicide bombing has taken place in Israel," said the TV announcer. "But this isn't just any suicide bomber. This time it is a young girl." What? A girl in her teens, yet to blossom and venture into life, has put her soul at the mercy of God. (Aiat Al-Khras blew herself up to try to calm her anger and frustration and to lessen her own pain and that of her people by killing some Israeli soldiers and civilians.) A girl? It boggles my mind that a girl my age has sacrificed her life. A girl - no offense at my going on and on that this was a girl - of course I'm into girl power and all that. But what would make her give up her life so definitely? What were her motives? Were they hatred? Were they humiliation? Or did they spring from the need to prove a point? Is it a religious upbringing with promises of paradise in reward for acts of martyrdom? Is it the parental support she received for her convictions? Is it brainwashing, or rather encouragement from a Palestinian society with no other means of fighting back against oppression and humiliation from Israelis? On April 6, 1994, 40 days after a Jewish terrorist shot dead 29 Palestinians praying in Hebron's Ibrahimi Mosque during the holy month of Ramadan, the first Palestinian suicide bomber struck in the Israeli town of Afula, killing nine. Unlike the Japanese kamikaze, Palestinian suicide bombers are neither products of a passive and unquestioning obedience to political authority nor pressed into service against their will. Religious or ideological fervor appears to offer only a partial explanation. And from what is known about their personal backgrounds they are also not social misfits or clinical psychopaths. Without exception, the suicide bombers have lived their lives on the receiving end of a system designed to trample their rights and crush every hope of a brighter future. In the eyes of many Palestinians and others the Israeli occupation is virtually indistinguishable from South African apartheid. Confronted by a seemingly endless combination of death, destruction, restriction, harassment and humiliation, they conclude that ending life as a bomb - rather than having it ended by a bullet - endows them, even if only in their final moments, with a feeling of purpose and control previously considered out of reach. The resort to suicide bombings also has a

The Greek-Macedonia issue : Macedonia is Greek!

2002-05-02T14:00:00-04:00

In 1912, after the Balkan wars, the geographical territory known as Macedonia, in ancient times known as the Greek Kingdom at the northern end of Greece, was divided-up between Bulgaria, Serbia and Greece. The ownership of the territory, or more importantly, the identity of it, has been an important issue ever since. This is a deeply political and historical issue - an issue that is undoubtedly one of a very complex and often biased nature. The Issue, I believe, can be summed-up in the following queries: 1)Where does Macedonia lie? 2)Was Macedonia considered/regarded as Greek? 3)Who are the True inhabitants of Macedonia today? And, of course, what is perhaps the core of the Greek argument - 4)Do the actions of FYROM (Former Yugoslav. Republic of Macedonia) constitute a thievery of an ancient culture and identity, to which they have no legal or ancestral rights? There are two main groups at play in the 'Macedonian issue': 1)Greek Macedonians - those who are considered to have some sort of genetic/ancestral link to the Ancient Macedonians. 2)FYROM/non-Greek 'Macedonians' - a slavic nation attempting to adopt the history and culture of Ancient Macedonia as its own. The most onvious problem the Greeks have with these non-Greeks claiming to be Macedonians, is the adoption of a Greek name for a non-greek people (Macedonia/ns). Macedonians were Greek, but these people are not. One only need look to the names of ancient Macedonians - they are Greek! For instance: Alexander (the Great). 'alex' = protects + 'andros' = man. ("he who protects men") Or even Philip. 'philo' = friendly + 'ippos' = horse. ("he who is friendly to horses"). Another problem, are the names of the region. The slavs often call them by different names - for instance Thessaloniki becomes 'Solun' and Edessa becomes 'Voden'. Unfortunately for them, there is proof that these places were commonly known, many centuries ago, by their Greek names. One only need look to the New Testament to see Paul's letters to the Thessalonians... Naming a country after a neighbouring region is obviously a strategy to try to destabilize the region, in the hope that the country will absorb the neighbouring region. Even after the great exapnsion by Philip II and Alexander the Great in the 400's, when Macedonia was the most powerful Greek state, it was only at very most 10% of the FYROM territory was originally part of the Greek Kingdom. Yet FYROM passports no longer even stamp-in travellers from

What is the influence of interpersonal conflict in our daily lives and how to solve it harmoniously?

2002-04-29T14:00:00-04:00

Interpersonal conflict is one of the most common situations we will face in our daily lives with our family members, relatives, friends or lover. Interpersonal conflict is often the result of negative cognitions, or thoughts. There is one way of defining interpersonal communication that is to compare it to other forms of communication. In doing so, we would examine how many people are involved, how physically close they are to one another, how many sensory channels are used, and the feedback provided. Interpersonal communication differs from other forms of communication in that there are few participants involved, the interactants are in close physical proximity to each other, there are many sensory channels used, and feedback is immediate. An important point to note about the contextual definition is that it does not take into account the relationship between the interactants. We have many different relationships with people. Some researchers say that our definition of interpersonal communication must account for these differences. These researchers say that interacting with a sales clerk in a store is different than the relationship we have with our friends and family members. Thus, some researchers have proposed an alternative way of defining interpersonal communication. This is called the developmental view. From this view, interpersonal communication is defined as communication that occurs between people who have known each other for some time. Importantly, these people view each other as unique individuals, not as people who are simply acting out social situations. Interpersonal conflict can be serious or just a little matter depend on the development of that situation, but if the situation seems to be silent that may not represent good at all, some researchers have identified several problems that typically arise in conflict situations. First, the parties will simply avoid the conflict. This can be damaging, because it can lead to greater problems in the future. It is usually best that the individuals discuss their differences. Second, individuals involved in conflict may blame the other individual. Often, individuals go beyond the specific behavior in question and blame the character of the person. When people use words such as, "He's such a slob," they are engaging in blame the other behavior. A final problem that is often encountered in conflict management is adopting a win-lose mentality. Focusing on each individual's goals/outcomes will help avoid using a win-lose strategy One scholar of communication----Vaughan (1986) looks at one of the most

Evolution of the Nerd Stereotpe

2002-04-24T14:00:00-04:00

For the longest time, images in the media have depicted nerds the same way. They are portrayed as intelligent yet socially inept, unaware of popular trends, and devoid of any sort of personality. Repeatedly they are made out to be shy and lacking in confidence, which makes them into victims of the “cool” people. These characters are rarely taken seriously in TV or movies, and are present mostly for comic relief or to provide some sort of sidekick for the hipper main character. Although it has historically been an undesirable label, I believe in recent times there has been a major shift in the perception and classifying of so-called “nerds”. In many circles nowadays, to be called or call oneself a nerd has little derogatory meaning, but rather has become acceptable nomenclature used to identify a person with certain interests, attitudes and ideals. In television, the classic examples of nerds are countless. “Family Matters”, a show that ran for several years on ABC, featured Steve Urkel as the hapless teenage neighbor, complete with high pants, thick glasses, and notable fondness for cheese. Another popular Saturday morning TV show “Saved by the Bell” was a situation comedy that took place in a typical suburban high school, its plotlines revolving around six teenagers. Among them was Screech, who sported numerous eccentricities, such as brightly colored, unfashionable clothing, and a high-pitched voice for which he got earned his nickname. Milhouse on the ever-popular show “The Simpsons” is another nerdy sidekick, whose emotional immaturity is so highly pronounced that it is comical. These three are textbook examples of nerds, and typically experience the same plight. They are routinely made the butt of jokes made by anyone and everyone, including their friends. The considerable majority of the time they are shown to be one-dimensional characters, and only on the rarest occasions are they given basic human qualities and emotions seen in other characters. In our culture, we put enormous value on being the “winners”. We are all subliminally taught by these and other sitcoms that it is in our best interest to all strive to be the one who comes out on top, the likeable protagonist that breezes through life, always saying and doing the right things at just the right times, so that when the half-hour draws to a close and the credits start to roll, all is well with our world. They make it

Argument on Global Overpopulation

2002-04-24T14:00:00-04:00

On our planet, there are almost six and one half billion people, and more are being born every second. Some estimates say that every second, twenty-eight people are born, while another ten die. This results in a net gain of eighteen people every second of every day, non-stop. Humans, homo sapiens, have been in existence for at least ten thousand years, although it has been disputed exactly how long. Now consider that over 90 percent of our species population growth has occurred in only one percent of our existence. These are staggering facts. Surely we see signs of such growth in our own communities, perhaps in the form of a new supermarket or neighborhood where weeks earlier stood a forest. However drastic something like this may seem at our local level, it absolutely pales in comparison to what is happening at the global level. In the United States we have an extremely high standard of living, and are able to accommodate such growth by consuming ever more resources. But what about the poorer developing nations that have thrice the rate of growth, and not even a fraction of our available resources? In order to ease the strain on the planet and ourselves, the issue must be addressed that the global population explosion is way out of control. Why have the population levels risen so sharply in the last few centuries, and particularly, decades? There are several reasons, many of them associated with newer technologies. Drastic improvements in the areas of medicine, sanitation, and nutrition have meant people are living longer and consuming more resources throughout a lifetime. Also, infant and child mortality rates have gone way down in most countries due to these advances. So there are more people living into and past their reproductive years, thus intensifying the cycle. But overpopulation does not simply mean there are many more people. It means that the giant escalation in the number of humans is becoming more than what the Earth is capable of providing for with the available resources. It so happens that we are at a perilous crossroads: as our numbers are becoming more and more, our resources are not increasing to accommodate the masses, but rather are becoming less and less. Valuable topsoil reserves are being depleted at an alarming rate, making available less farmland to grow food for the burgeoning masses. By the end of this century, the amount

Abortion - taking a life

2002-04-22T14:00:00-04:00

What is abortion? Abortion is the ending of a pregnancy before birth. Early in a pregnancy, the fertilized egg that grows and develops is called the embryo. After three months of development, it is usually called a fetus. An abortion causes the embryo or fetus to die. Abortion is a very inhumane thing to do I could never think of giving up a baby even when it is not an actual humane, when it is in the lady it is still considered a person to me no matter what. I have five nephews and nieces and I don’t know what I would have done if one of my sisters would have got an abortion. Arguments against abortion are based on the belief that an abortion is the unjustified killing of an unborn shild. When people are thinking about abortion I think that they need to look into a childs eyes and think about it little bit harder and think if they could see that child dead, because that is how there child would be. Most people who oppose abortion believe that the human life begins as soon as the sperm fertalizes the womans egg. Some believe that human embryos and fetuses have a legal right and that abortion is an actual form of murder. The main purpose of abortion being immoral is how they are so viciously done Everyday, innocent, harmless fetuses are destroyed that some day could be a child laughing and playing. The procedures are so brutal that I couldn’t think of ever doing that to an unborn child. Many people that are for abortion argue that it is the womans decisive a womans to have an abortion, that it is there life and there body so they can do what they want. Many people would allow abortion under certain circumstances. Some approve of abortion if a womans life or health is endangered by her pregnancy. Others find abortion ok if medical tests show that the child will have mental or health problems. Some people would permit abortion if the pregnancy was caused by rape or incest. But if you really think about it, it is the same thing as murdering a child that has been born and had a life, even though the shild has not been born it is still a person.I don’t think that there is any reason for a person to have an abortion it

Do Not Judge a Book by Its Cover

2002-04-22T14:00:00-04:00

We as teenagers are often defined as shallow, naive, and sometimes uncompassionate youngsters. Most of this recognition comes from our common failure to take social risks and possess an open mind. We are all one student body, yet we are so separated in many aspects. Much of the segregation exists because we are unable to look past appearances. What gives designer clothes, thick lensed glasses, or different hairstyles the authority to determine if we are people who are worth knowing? Would you feel hurt if people rejected you because you had a few pimples on your face? Would it be fair? These days, there is too much emphasis on looks. If everyone would take a brief moment to see the shining wit or loving personality in a person instead of his or her body, then the world would unmistakably be a better place. There are many truly great and natural differences among people. “Nerds” are not “football players.” Their talents, skills, and capacities are not the same. An unalterable condition in human society is that the lowest cannot be made equal with the highest. Nature is vain. However, these conditions are adapted to benefit both individuals as well as the community. Life requires varied aptitudes, diverse services, and miscellaneous types of people to carry on its affairs as life as a whole. Drawn by our natural tendencies to fall into peer pressure, in our feelings of inadequacy, we constantly seek to form exclusive associations or “cliques.” Within these groups, we should discourage any exclusion based on the wrong reasons such as appearances, which many people cannot drastically change. It is important to remember that our harmony depends on our effort and ability to accept others in whatever form they come, even if they are different in ethnicity, religion, or appearance. All forms of conformity are self sacrilege. We are in a state of many changes, a chance to try new things, and to discover who we really are. One’s struggle to be their own person inside as well as out is an admirable task that calls for courage. Do not ridicule those who walk down the hall with mismatched socks pulled up to their knees, or those who wear bright, patterned clothing. They are only expressing themselves and sharing their uniqueness. Our inability to individualize people is a weakness that we must not dismiss. The recognition of our rights, individual and collective,

The Legalization of Marijuana

2002-04-18T14:00:00-04:00

One question that has haunted Americans for a long time is: “Should the use of marijuana be legalized?” Some say, “Yes”, while other say, “No”. According to Funk and Wagnall’s New Encyclopedia, marijuana is defined as “a mixture of leaves, stems, and flowering tops of the Indian hemp plant Cannabis sativa, smoked or eaten for its hallucinogenic and pleasure-giving effects.” (Bram, Phillips, Dickey, 445) Owning marijuana was made a crime in 1937 when Congress passed the Marijuana Tax Act. Despite this law the drug was still somewhat commonly used. Here we are years later, still without a satisfactory answer to the question. I think that legalizing the use of marijuana would have many medical benefits, economical benefits, and would decrease the incidence of crime. There are others who disagree. These people feel that legalization would lead to the formation of other habits and to health problems, such as, the use of a harsher drug and to psychological and personality problems that can come from using marijuana. These individuals feel that the negatives of marijuana use far outweigh the positives, and feel that the use of marijuana should remain illegal. To some people marijuana is considered a “gateway” drug. Legalizing marijuana would lead to the use of other, much more harsh drugs. From the book Drugs, Teens, and Recovery, Lauren, a teenager that got mixed up in drugs describes how she got involved with marijuana, then with cocaine. She says, “I was ten, in the fifth grade, the first time I smoked pot. I liked pot a lot better than drinking because it was easier. I loved it. Pot and alcohol, that’s all I needed. I didn’t want to get into anything else”. She continues, “About this time, I started getting obsessed with cocaine and thinking about what the high would be like”. Just like Lauren people can start off with just smoking marijuana but they would get the urge to try something a little bit stronger. (Chesney, 46) Marijuana usage has many medical benefits. It became popular as a medicine in the United States during the mid-nineteenth century. Then, marijuana was used to treat general headaches, migraine headaches, depression, muscular tension, insomnia, and menstrual cramps. Today, marijuana has proven to be beneficial in the treatment of many more medical conditions including glaucoma, cancer, and asthma. In 1976, Robert C. Randall became the very first American to ever gain legal access to

Decriminalization of Marijuana

2002-04-17T14:00:00-04:00

Marijuana is a drug obtained from dried and crumpled parts of the universal hemp plant Cannabis sativa (or Cannabis indicia). It is smoked by rolling in tobacco paper, or by placing it in a pipe. It is also otherwise consumed worldwide by an estimated 200,000,000 persons for pleasure, an escape from reality, or relaxation. Marijuana is known by a variety of names such as kif (Morocco), dagga (South Africa), and bhang (India). Common in the United States, marijuana is called pot, grass, weed, Mary Jane, bones, etc. The main active principle of cannabis is tetrahydrocannabinol. The question of marijuana being legalized has been a very controversial issue for a long time. It’s been controversial because of the bad track record it has sustained over the years. Marijuana is considered to be a schedule one drug. That means that it has a high potential for abuse and lacks an acceptance for legal medical use, as it is clearly stated under the controlled substance act. However there’re many pros and cons to whether it should be legalized or not. One advantage of Marijuana is that it “can relieve pain where other drugs or techniques have failed, opening the door to all of the healing benefits and increased life options of pain relief. Cannabis also has direct beneficial physiological impacts on certain diseases such as glaucoma, migraine, multiple sclerosis, and epilepsy.”(Dr. Potter, Beverly (1998) The healing magic of cannabis. Berkeley, CA: Ronin Publishing INC.) Marijuana is also known to help victims of various other diseases in various different ways. Pro marijuana legalization groups such as the Physician’s Association for AIDS care & National Lymphoma Foundation believe that marijuana should be legalized in order to treat terminally ill patients. Among them are AIDS victims, who find that marijuana stimulates their appetites so that they can fight off dangerous emaciation. Marijuana has also been proven to be less harmful than other legal drugs. Legalizing it might decrease violence and crime, boost our economy, and allow its use as an effective form of medicine for the treatment of many fatal illnesses. “Every year, 400,000 Americans die of complications caused by tobacco products.”(S. Michels, letter, September 4th,1999) Smoking kills more Americans each year than alcohol, crack, heroin, murder, suicide, car accidents, fires, and AIDS all put together. Alcohol abuse contributes to almost 50% of all traffic accidents, suicides, and homicides. Drinking also is known to cause liver damage and liver

Role of Women in China - Ancient times and Today

2002-04-12T14:00:00-04:00

The role of women in China has changed dramatically, from one of servitude and repression in ancient China, to one of equality in modern communist China. For two thousand years in ancient China women lived under the rules set by Confucius in his analects. Confucius doctrine said women weren’t equal to men, because women were unworthy or incapable of a literary education. Other than this Confucius says little about women, which perhaps shows better than anything else how a standing they had in ancient Chinese society. The author of the books that set social standards in China for two thousand years barely mentions them. This was probably because most Confucians accepted the subservience of women to men as so natural that it wasn’t really needed to write it down in the first place (Andrea and Overfield, pg.82-90). Throughout ancient Chinese women were in a position of servitude from birth till death. They were actually considered a man’s private property (Heng) This was justified because it was said, “disorder is not sent down by heaven, it is produced by women” (womeninworldhistory.com pg.3). Women were subject from birth to their fathers and brothers. They had to obey them without question. Women were often despised by their fathers, so much so that many Chinese women had no name. They were simply called daughter No. 1, Daughter No. 2 and so on. After women got married conditions remained much the same, only instead of being subject to a father they were subject to their husbands. Like they had to with their brothers and fathers they had to obey their husbands absolutely and without question. Their husbands often had two or three wives. A major change though when a woman got married was that she was also subject to her mother in law, a relationship that was often very nasty (Zhou). When a woman’s husband died she couldn’t remarry, that would be disloyal to her husband. Even if she had no food it was better for a woman to die of hunger than remarry. If a woman did remarry she had her skin peeled of the bones to death. Some women even committed suicide when their husbands died (Wudunn, pg. 1). A woman could rarely hold a job outside the house. They were supposed to spend their time cleaning the home for their husbands, indeed it was said, “the woman with no talent is the one who

Changes in the Australian Family

2002-04-10T14:00:00-04:00

Through interpreting the information in the table below, construct an argument that accounts for the trends in marriage and fertility rates. Give alternative explanations for changes in family structure. Support your argument with information from the table and other evidence form you course. Selected Family Trends in Australia Over Three Decades

	Early 1970s	Late 1990s
Rate of cohabitation prior to marriage	15%	60%
Median age at first marriage (women/men)	21/23.4	26/28
Total fertility rate	2.4	1.75
Percentage of children born outside marriage	10%	26%
Median age of mother at first child	24 years	29 years

(Source: ABS, Various Years) The family is a remarkably significant social unit. It is defined a group of individuals, related by blood, marriage, adoption or cohabitation (AIFS, 2001). In all known societies the family has the function of regulating sexual behaviour and reproduction, of socialization, of protecting children and the elderly, and of providing its members with emotional support, health and well being (Edgar et al., 1993). Over the last few decades, family formation patterns have changed considerably in Australia. Contemporary family sociology has identified that family practices are also changing rapidly. Massive demographic change has signaled significant changes in family-form with family-households now considerably smaller. Moreover, there is evidence that the norms governing family life are also undergoing change, from being primarily obligational to negotiational. Changes in family networks and changes in the norms governing family life have considerable implications for the Australian family as a unit. The table entitled, “Selected Family Trends in Australia Over Three Decades”, taken from the Australian Bureau of Statistics in various tears, provides statistics relevant to these changes in the Australian family over the allocated period. In interpreting the table, it van be acknowledged that the figured have increased or decreased dramatically over the given thirty-year period. Fertility is one of the components of population growth, as changes in fertility impact on both the size of the population and its structure. Declining fertility leads ultimately to an ageing population, which has policy implications for income support and the provision of health and community support services. Today women are starting childbearing later in life and are having fewer children than ever before. Throughout this century, the crude birth rate has been declining although there have been fluctuations. As can be seen in the table, the birthrate has dropped from 2.4 children per woman in the early 1970s to only 1.75 children in the late 1990s. This 65% decrease

Underage Drinking

2002-04-02T14:00:00-04:00

Who is to judge whether or not someone underage is mature enough to handle the responsibility of consuming alcohol? The government has set twenty-one years of age as the legal drinking age. This is found to be a little odd by most teenagers. At the age of eighteen, young adults can sign their life away to the government and give their life for the country. Risking your life for this country is encouraged at eighteen, but you can’t drink at the same age in this country. How can this be? Who has the right to judge the maturity of young people? There are some eighteen-year olds who are much more mature than some twenty-one year olds. This level of maturity is developed throughout life from what they have seen and experienced. Due to this, some may act more childish than others no matter what age group that they are in. Therefore many teenagers, as well as a few twenty-one year olds, are immature and can’t be trusted when given responsibility. Lives become at risk the moment that someone takes the first drink. Due to the serious consequences of being drunk, how can teenagers who have so little experience in life expect to handle the responsibility of drinking? Many teenagers do not have the level of maturity that they need to make the decision about consuming alcohol. Many adults look down on the underage people who consume alcoholic beverages. Is it their place to do so? If the age limit were to be lowered would this mean that the adults would be okay with young people drinking? Is this judgment being made because the government says it is wrong or is it due to the beliefs of that person’s religion or traits that they gained as they grew older? Underage drinking is against the law. When adults see underage people drinking they do not judge but just view it as people breaking the law. Many religions believe differently about drinking. Some religions find it to be very unacceptable no matter what the age of the person is. Other religions find it to be acceptable for someone of any age to drink. There are many different cultures of people who all have different views of drinking. Underage drinking is illegal and can have serious consequences. Many people have different views and feelings on teenagers drinking and it will always remain this way. No matter what is

Globalization in the Philippines

2002-03-30T13:00:00-04:00

Economic Globalization is something that has been with the human race ever since the world has begun. From local to global, we could attribute this to the result of human innovation and technological progress. Globalization from the word global means spreading throughout the world, in other words spreading world-wide. The aims of having a 'globalized community' is to have interdependence of the entire world and its people from each other with concern for the rest of the world at the expense of national self-development and self-interests. Specialists say that globalization refers to the increasing integration of economics around the world, particularly through trade and financial flows. This integration of economics is concerned more on the inclusion of people of all races on an equal basis in a world-wide view of living in a shared global community. But we should also put into consideration that it could also refer to the movement of people from which we could extract labor, knowledge from the ever increasing advancements in science and technology, cultural, political and environmental dimensions of globalization. With globalization in hand, there would be an extension beyond national borders of the same market forces that have operated for centuries at all levels of human economic activity. We could no longer say that economic trade, progress, and chances of one to having to share something with the world is limited to just national and local borders. In globalizing the world, it would mean taking on some risks and chances of either winning or losing in a world where there is more competition in the field of economic growth and progress. Globalization creates both winners and losers. This is a view shared by many, but not all, theorists and commentators. There are many trends of thought regarding exactly who the winners and losers may be as well as what may be considered a prize or a punishment. An example is that some may sight the availability if McDonalds fast food throughout the Philippines an enrichment and some may see it as an unwelcome and unsavory invasion of what we have as our own, Jollibee. Comparison between these opinions paints an interesting picture of what Globalization is, what certain parties want it to be seen as and what kind of world it could create. Anthony Giddens says "Globalization, some argue, creates a world of winners and losers, a few on the fast track to

TV violence

2002-03-30T13:00:00-04:00

"The relationship between violence on the screen and violence in real life is extremely complicated. But while the relationship may not be that of direct cause and effect, we must bear it in mind. Violent programmes may depress some people, shock others, de-sensitise some and encourage imitation by a few." (BBC Handbook-Guidelines for T.V Producers Regarding Violence and Censorship) The media is all around us and for this reason I feel it is inevitable that it will have some sort of effect on us. Television is the most popular and accessible form of media; everybody has at least one television set in their home. It is also said to be the most vivid portrayer of the world. Screen violence is a term given to violence seen in television programmes, videos and cinema; basically any violence viewed on a screen. What causes a problem when debating screen violence is how we define and measure violence, as different people have different interpretations of what is violent. Some kinds of 'violent' activity are labelled as 'violent' others as 'war heroism'. Everybody interprets and responds to the media in different ways. The 'hypodermic syringe' or 'effects' model is a theory, which concentrates on the negative effects of the media i.e. what the media 'does to us'. The power is believed to lie with the media and terms such as 'the mass media' or 'mass communications' are often used to emphasise the size and scale of media operations. It believes in a passive audience and highlights certain groups of people as being more vulnerable than others are. Children, people who are mentally ill, women, and the working class are the named groups because they are either obviously vulnerable (i.e. children and the mentally ill), or exposed to the media much more than other groups of people (i.e. women and the working class). I agree with this as far as children and the mentally ill are concerned because they have little control over what they are exposed to and are not selective viewers. However, the other groups mentioned are not as vulnerable, as they are able to decide for themselves what they watch and can create their own opinions about it. There are two key effects that this theory believes can be induced in an audience: Inactivity- the couch potato Manic activity- where the audience imitates what they have seen, i.e. copycat crime (often related to violence) There are of course problems

Philosophy

2002-03-22T13:00:00-04:00

An act utilitarian would go about determining their course of action by taking into account many factors. One factor that would be looked at is the society’s happiness, not just one’s own. The right action that is going to and should in fact be taken is not just any action, but one that will create the most happiness for the greatest number of people. This is one’s moral obligation as a person following strict utilitarianism. There are many things that force a person to act a certain way, such as law, customs, and beliefs. These binding social constraints hold one to act in a certain way to gain society’s approval. It is without question that there are moral feelings in all of us. These are also factored into the decisions that one makes. To decide a route to follow in a moral question, we all have the core feelings of sensitivity and compassion. These feelings make us look at any situation with these senses and may sometimes guide our decision. It has been shown that humans as a whole race desire happiness and things that will bring us happiness. As a pure act utilitarian one may justify his or her actions by feeling that no other act that could have been performed would have produced more pleasure for the whole society. The decision is not based on any of society’s rules, but solely on the pleasure principle, which state again that whatever action will produce the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest amount of people will be the correct action. In determining the right course for this problem stated, there are many specific factors that need to be analyzed. Morality is the concept of what is a good action. In this paper, I will give my opinion of who is correct and tell why I think they are correct. In the monster truck case, a truck driver is out of control. You see if the truck driver turns right, he/she will kill 12-20 people. If he/she turns left, he/she will kill 4-8 people or he/she drive straight off of a cliff, killing him or herself. You have no chance to run or yell at them to get out of your road. What do you do? I believe the truck driver should drive straight because he/she beliefs that the morally right thing to do is always the action that creates the most

Welfare - articles review

2002-03-19T13:00:00-04:00

ABSTRACT

'We're going to support activities that help couples who choose marriage for them selves develop the skills and knowledge to form and sustain a healthy marriage,' said Dr. Horn. Wade F. horn, an assistant secretary for children and families at the department of health and human services of the bush administration, proposes that the solution to the current Welfare problem would be to direct the $100 million to promoting healthy, two-parent households. The welfare problem he is referring to is that there are a beyond necessary number of people currently depending on welfare benefits. His research involved exposure to opinions of several government officials involved in the social affairs sector. He also suggested that experiments be done aimed at strengthening families and reducing out-of-wedlock births through premarital counselling and marital enrichment classes, the overall aim being to 'figure out what works'. Dr. Horn found it uncomprehendable why people would be against 'helping low income families who choose marriage for themselves access the skills and marriage to build a healthy marriage'. He states that his main concern in promoting marriages is not the marriage itself, rather it's the well being of the children. For some families, the existence of economic distress is the key role player in weak marriages. Alike ninety percent of Americans who either have been married, were married or will be married, low-income people also want to achieve the goal of a healthy marriage. Dr. horn applied the concept of functionalism to his research. Using the functionalist approach enabled him to efficiently analyse the large-scale structure of welfare. It also enables them to analyse the contribution that this activity (marriage) makes to the continuation of the society as a whole, that is, social reproduction. Functionalist thinking in sociology was originally pioneered by August Komte who saw it as closely bound up with his overall view of the field. August Komte is arguably the founder of 'sociology'. He believed that this new field could produce a knowledge of society based on scientific evidence and therefore earning his credit as functionalist. As a Frenchman he drew up ambitious plans for the reconstruction of French society in particular and for human societies in general based on scientific knowledge. Another theorist involved with functionalism is Emile Durkheim. He had a much more lasting impact on modern sociology than those of Komte. Durkheim was the one who introduced the concept of social facts, aspects of

Abortion is Murder

2002-03-17T13:00:00-04:00

This is a very big moral issue. I wonder is people realize that they are killing an innocent baby? Yes it is a fetus, but it is in the process of becoming a whole innocent, beautiful baby. God is just in the process of creating. Every baby deserves a chance at life. You did. No matter how hard that life might be. It sickens me that there are people having abortions just because they made a mistake, and could just not say no. Some woman use abortion as a form of birth control. I don’t know why helpless little babies should die due to someone else’s mistake. Isaiah 44:2 says, “Thus saith the Lord that made thee, and formed thee from the womb...” This just proves the fact that as soon as conception, God starts creating. This is something He does very well. I believe that Abortion is murder. The definition of murder is: the unlawful and malicious or premeditated killing of one human being to another. The definition of abortion is: any deliberate procedure that removes, or induces the expulsion of a living or dead embryo or fetus. The definitions use the words malicious, premeditated, and deliberate. These are all synonyms. Why is it that if a person gets into an accident with a pregnant woman, and the woman and the baby die, the person is charged with two counts of man slaughter? In that case the baby is considered as a living baby. In the case of abortion though the baby is only considered a fetus. Did you know that a Doctor can make an abortion, to kill the baby at 5 months of conception, without any problem. However, if the same doctor gives a medicine to the mother at 2 weeks or 5 months of conception, and the baby is born with a birth defect, that Doctor will be sued for more than a million dollars. That doesn’t make since to me. The Doctor can kill the baby deliberately, but he can not damage the baby by accident? Here are some statistics on abortion: There is 54 million abortions per year worldwide, 1 million abortions per week, and 3 abortions per minute. In 1999, there were 1,500,000 abortions in the US. Did you know that 18 days after conception, an EKG of the baby can be record a human heart. 40 days after conception, measurable waves of

Environment Response

2002-03-15T13:00:00-04:00

All around America, there are many examples of Federalism involving environmental protection and preservation. Often, states will take care of small situations or those that are situated in their state only. However sometimes, issues get too big or too important to be resolved by the state governments alone, so the federal government involves themselves. Because of our current political system, the federal government is dominant over the state’s rule. Things like Everglades’s revitalization, Chesapeake Bay cleanup/ protection, and toxic waste storage in the Yucca Mountains can be handled by the states since the territories are in the states themselves. Be that as it may, the territories are also located in America which is governed by the federal government. Thus, if the federal government intervenes, then the influence of the state will be constrained. This is the definition of federalism. Both federal and state governments are concerned about the preservation of the Everglades. In fact, there has been a proposal passed to help keep the Everglades clean. “The Everglades Protection Area shall be defined as set forth in s. 373.4592, F.S. The phosphorus criterion for the Everglades Protection Area shall be 10 parts per billion (ppb) and shall apply to all predominantly freshwater portions of the Everglades Protection Area. Compliance with the phosphorus criterion shall be based upon a long-term geometric mean of concentration levels to be measured at sampling stations recognized from the research to be reasonably representative of receiving waters in the Everglades Protection Area, and so located so as to assure that the Everglades Protection Area is not altered so as to cause an imbalance in natural populations of aquatic flora and fauna and to assure a net improvement in the areas already impacted.” This proposes that the levels of phosphorus and pollution should be measured thoroughly at water sampling stations. These sampling stations will be located so not to alter the current land space of the Everglades. This is to prevent an imbalance in the population around the area. The state governments hope that this will allow us to monitor the water more carefully and at the same time not disturb the existing wildlife. The Chesapeake Bay is currently being polluted by drainage and toxins carried by rainwater as it flows through streams and rivers towards the Bay. In the past, builders and constructors used to plan their buildings so “that rainwater was quickly

Capital Punishment

2002-03-15T13:00:00-04:00

There has been much controversy over capital punishment over the years. Few people in the United States see capital punishment as being wrong. It is said that Canada is way too easy on their criminals because they do not punish the convicts by the death penalty. Canada says that the United States is way to strict on their criminals because they execute their convicts by the death penalty. Should murderers be murdered for their crimes or should they spend the rest of their lives perishing in prison, that question may soon some day be correctly answered but for now it is strictly your own belief, possibly this essay may change your mind if you are for the death penalty. Most Canadians believe that Canada should never reinstate the death penalty. The United States uses the death penalty as a punishment for the more sever criminals such as murderers and rapists, most of their convicts are guilty and on a rare occasion one innocent person is put to death by capital punishment. The States say this only happens on a rare occasion, that rare occasion should never happen. In some cases in the United States and also in Canada the wrong people are accused of crimes that they did not commit. Since the 1900’s, in the United Sates, there have been at least four cases where an innocent person is executed. Four innocent people are executed each year for a mistake made by the State using capital punishment. In Mississippi, 1990, Sabrina Butler was sentenced to death for killing her baby boy. In 1992, a retrial found she was not guilty. In this case Sabrina was able to escape her execution. Another case involving the death penalty took place in 1992; Rodger Keith Coleman was executed in Virginia, even though all evidence pointed to another person as the murderer. The real murderer got away with this crime while an innocent man had to die for a crime he did not commit. In Canada, if we had the death penalty many innocent people here too, would face the death penalty for a crime they did not commit. If Canada had the death penalty an inmate by the name of Steven Truscott would have been put to death for a crime he did not commit. Steven was sentenced to be hung in 1959 (when Canada still had the death penalty), at the young age

Ethics of the Media

2002-03-14T13:00:00-04:00

Since the effects of the media increased over people, the aim of the media has gone into an alteration. The morals of the media changed and a huge conflict became into existence between the morals in past and now. As all over the world in Turkey, ethics of the media changed after the media bosses have caught it. Media must be objective, impartial, and balanced, but because of the media bosses, it changed its ethics. The first purpose of media must be objectivity, but media rarely objective while reporting or researching information. Media’s objectivity is filtered and censored by the media owners, advertisers, newsmakers, news sharpers, and the pressure groups. All of the affect media while its doing its job. Media’s job is to inform. Because of the filters of media, it usually uses for propaganda, having profit and power. Many people think media is the most powerful means for propaganda. Lord Beaverbrook (1879-1964), who is owner of the Daily Express and founder of The Sun, and he used his newspaper for entirely for propaganda without taking into consideration of the purposes of media (Watson, 84). Media works same in Turkey as the world. The bosses, who have newspapers and television channels, use them for their propaganda. Moreover, this propaganda works very well because they have power over the people and having amounts of profit owing to media. Media is mass communication, a connection all over the world that informs, entertains, and influences people. It is powerful because most people talk about what they see on the news. Therefore, we can easily say media primarily control people’s opinion, and beliefs. Due to this, media must do its job impartially. In addition to this, the basic criteria of the media would be always say truth. On the other hand, the anxiety of rating and getting power entails media taking sides. It would seem that the media is using for propaganda and laissez-faire, besides both of them obtains to control the people, and control means power (Watson, 86). This control over the people does not look down on because this control orientates the people as the media barons wishes. Like the example of the Italy. The effects of media can straightforwardly see in Italy. Silvio Berlusconi’s political party, which shaped newly, urge into authority in Italy by the hold up of the Berlusconi’s media empire. By the support of his media empire Berlusconi became

Individuals vs. Society

2002-03-14T13:00:00-04:00

An individual’s role in society can vary with the number themes the characters exhibit. When there are signs of fate, cruelties, weaknesses, and desires for justice and catharsis the role of an individual becomes more complicated. In Antigone, most of those themes are shown thus a single person’s influence or role on society is very small and complicated to attain. However in The Lottery the society has most of the control and there is not many signs of those characteristics so the role of a person is simplified because they are nothing compared to the society combined. Finally, in The Penalty of Death, there are signs of many of the themes but since it is the societies influence against that of an individuals, it is simplified because they have to work together. Out of the three readings, I believe that Antigone exhibits most of the characteristics that complicates an individual’s role in society. There is a considerable amount of fate shown in this story. For example, the most evident is that of our main character Antigone. Her fate is shown from the Prologue where she makes her decision to bury her brother Polyneices. “Ismene, I am going to bury him. Will you come?” There is a point that sort of suggests where her conflict will arise where she defies Creon’s law by saying, “Creon is not strong enough to stand in my way.” Weakness was shown on the part of Creon. His main weaknesses were his cruelty and hubris. He seems especially cruel when he is enraged with Haimon for taking Antigone’s side and says, “Bring her out! Bring the woman out! Let her die before his eyes! Here, this instant, with her bridegroom beside her!” This act of savageness is also because of his tragic flaw, hubris. He is too proud and arrogant to change his ways like when Teiresias warns him of his fate yet he refuses and says, “Whatever you say, you will not change my will.” Due to Creon’s unchallenged law and sentence, Antigone yearns for justice to be enforced on him. There is a very good example where she states, “But if the guilt lies upon Creon who judged me, then, I pray, may his punishment equal my own.” With all of these themes in the story, it further complicates the role of an individual on society. The Lottery has a many themes that the characters or

Rape - A male perspective

2002-03-08T13:00:00-05:00

According to government figures, the average British woman in 1991 stood a one in 7,539 chance of being raped during the course of the year. In the twelve-month period up to October of that year some 3,900 women were raped. That marked a 17 per-cent raise on the previous year. This was said to be due to the fact that more women are prepared to report cases of rape. Vast numbers of women say that they feel unsafe on the streets after dark. They are terrified of being alone in a railway or tube carriage. Black cabs are now considered too dangerous for women when they were once considered a woman's safest refuge. It's suggested that the number of rapes that are reported form a tiny proportion of the total that are committed. A survey of some 2,500 female college students organised by the Cambridge Students Union claimed that one in nine had been the victim of rape and one in five had suffered some form of attempted rape. In the vast majority of cases, men who had known the victim had carried out these rapes. In the autumn of 1991, a decision by the Court of Appeal overturned the traditional view that there was no such thing as rape inside a marriage. According to some rape crisis centres, 1,370,000 women had been raped by their husbands. As a man how am I meant to respond to such statistics? First I feel shame and then a sense of denial. I even question the way in which the research was carried out. What were the questions? How was rape defined? Who replied? You will note that in the case of the Cambridge survey, respondents were volunteers and, therefore, self-selecting. They may, even, have had axes to grind. Dare I even suggest that man-haters conducted the surveys? The London Rape Crisis Centre produced a guidebook called Sexual Violence: The Reality for Women and described rape as: 'All sexual assaults, verbal and physical, that we all suffer in our daily contact with men. These range from being "touched up" and "chatted up" to being brutally sexually assaulted with objects. Throughout this book we use rape to describe any kind of sexual assault.' Next time I'm in a club and some girl asks me to buy her a drink should I scream rape? With quotes like these being read by women how can the human race

Go Vegetarian; You Have No More Excuses

2002-03-06T13:00:00-05:00

Everyday, more and more people are making the choice to lead a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle. Vegans abstain from partaking in all animal products, including honey and dairy products. Vegans do not use goose down, silk, wool or leather. The American Vegan Society (AVS) says that “vegan” is describing a lifestyle that avoids all forms of animal life, not just a diet (Krizmaniac 8). The definition of a true vegetarian is a person who does not eat any meat products or gelatin, but does eat dairy products (Krizmaniac 6). People who choose to live a vegan or vegetarian lifestyle may have several reasons for making that choice, including animal rights and health reasons. One of the two most common reasons people choose to be vegan or vegetarian is due to harsh living conditions, mistreatment and slaughter of animals on industrial farms. Factory farmed animals are giving many types of hormones to reproduce more, grow larger and faster. As for cows, many people believe it does not hurt them to be milked; however it is unprofitable to keep a cow once its milk production declines. Therefore, dairy consumption leads directly to slaughter. By using these hormones, cows on industrial farms are forced to produce 8.2 tons of milk per year, whereas a normal cow would produce 3.5 tons of milk per year, naturally (Vegan Outreach 4). As for birds on farms, they are the most overcrowded. They are kept in cages stacked one on top of the other, so that the feces falls from the top to the cage below. Since they are kept in wire cares and cannot move, it is common to find the skin of their toes frowns around the wire bottom (Vegan Outreach 4). Also, to get the hens to reproduce more often, they are starved for eighteen days and kept in the dark to shock them into another egg laying cycle, which causes about ten percent to die (Vegan Outreach 4). The average hen should produce about seventy eggs a year, but on industrial farms, the count has been up to tow-hundred and seventy-five per year (Vegan Outreach 4). And because they have been manipulated to lay such large eggs, the hens’ uterus is often expelled along with the egg. Pigs are also extremely crowded, living on hard floors, commonly covered with feces and vomit. Because of this confinement, pigs become aggressive and will fight and bite

Witch Burning

2002-03-04T13:00:00-05:00

Mike Gustie’s Superlative, Proactively Executed, Homogenous, and Good Essay as Pertaining to the Failing Youth of America and “The Apology” The youth of America are a morass of filth, apathy and corruption, and they are nearly blind to the impending doom their immorality brings upon them. Compared to the youth of the 1700’s, the teenagers these days deserve the title “disposable teens” or “throwaway kids”. For evidence, I would like to draw your attention to several factors as examples of their amorality and vice. The primary being the nearly nonexistent discipline imposed upon modern youth, followed by a complete lack of patriotism- with the icing on the cake being a sharp decline in witch burnings. From the beginning, I would like to point out that the decline in witch-burnings is most assuredly NOT from a decline in the number of witches; it stems from a decline in the acceptability of being a witch, or “Wiccan” in modern society. As further evidence of this, my spellcheck forced me to capitalize “wiccan” as I was writing it! Only God and Jesus should be capitalized, not “wiccan”. For that matter, neither should “hitler” or “satan”. If teens were moral, witches and public executions of these would be as commonplace as they were in the 1700’s. Some people say that kids are better these days because of “concrete evidence” such as college admission statistics or employment rates, but these things do not make teens better, merely more active, active in the ways of SATAN! The only thing to measure “better” is morality, and kids these days obviously violate more of the ten commandments than ever before, making young women pregnant and leaving them to their own ends, as well as cheating on vocabulary quizzes! I deeply apologize for the preceding two paragraphs, but the point I was attempting to convey was the absurdity of trying to establish a concrete stand on an undefined foundation. The problem of America’s youth can be argued either way: they’re better, they’re worse, moral, amoral, the same- whatever you choose- and on top of this, one would be able to find “evidence” or data to support any of these assertions. Data is subjective, just like opinion, and indeed, the latter influences the former. Economists would be able to prove to you that our economy is failing yet we are doing better than we ever have before. The same applies for an essay

Unions

2002-03-02T13:00:00-05:00

The Role Of Unions in Society

In the past, unions were established to protect the dignity and the basic rights of the worker. Union protection of the worker is genuine in well-established countries. Unfortunately, in third world countries workers do not enjoy the benefits of suitable wages, sick leave, and respect from their employer. At the Kuk-Dong textile factory in Mexico workers complain of “poverty wages, hunger, and getting sick on the job and not being allowed time off”. Nike, who contracts work to the factory, claims, “it has a strong code of conduct and is part of the Fair Labor Association…and hires outside firms to make sure the 700 factories that produce its goods are playing by the rules”. The Kuk - Dong textile factory has a “company union” which was established by management, failed to represent the interests of employees, and as a result was thrown out after a violent protest. Nike, a leading sports apparel manufacturer should have demanded that the Kuk-Dong factory owners treat their employees with dignity, otherwise, Nike should have requested that The Kuk-Dong factory be reprimanded by the law for exploiting their employees. In this case, a union did not protect workers, but was used as a tool by management to further manipulate the poorly treated workers of the Kuk-Dong factory. Over time, the demands of the worker have changed with the evolving technology industry, the worker is now more educated and have different basic demands of their employer. The operating hours of businesses have also changed; the average worker can now work from home via the Internet 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Middle management at Bell Canada Inc. are expected to work at least 37.5 hours weekly, but usually put in 45 hours a week and some even 50 and 60 hours. These conditions are what lead Middle managers at Bell to approach The Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union. A precedent in Canadian unions took place when Bell employees could download membership applications from the Internet and mail them in. To still be an effective force in today’s workplace, unions need to work with employers to establish less stressful demands of employees. To combat employee stress overload, employee – friendly workplaces in companies such as MDS Sciex have “balanced living programs” where a concierge service is brought in to run errands for the employee. This type of service frees personal

Speech Codes on College Campuses

2002-02-27T13:00:00-05:00

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for the redress of grievances." This is the First amendment, possibly the most powerful words in American history because it guarantees American citizens their natural rights, under the supreme law of the land. Our First amendment gives us the freedom of religion, peaceful assembly, speech and press. With this simple amendment, "people can speak their innermost thoughts without fear or shame" (Hemmer 2). But, what if this glorious right causes other people fear or shame? The Constitution limits how public universities and colleges may punish students for what they say (Burns et. al. 75). As a liberal and a political science major, I believe fully in our constitutional rights. I believe "free speech is essential in the search for truth" (Hemmer 2). Although after reading Nat Hentoff's essay "Speech Codes on the Campus and the Problems of Free Speech," I have begun to wonder, like so many others, is "censorship is okay provided your motives are okay" (Hirschberg 283). Without speech codes on college campuses, minorities, women, and gays have been at the receiving end of constant harassment. Before making the judgement of whether or not there should not be speech codes on college campuses, I need to ask a couple questions. Why is free speech so important on college campuses? Free speech is so important because universities thrive on a constant discourse of opposing ideas. I, like many other college students, have learned more from my fellow students than I have from any of my instructors. Our society and, in particular, higher education has flourished because free speech "produces an atmosphere where new ideas constantly challenge older ones" (Hemmer 2). The uniqueness of universities is that they provide an ocean of ideas, synchronized and conflicting. "Free speech is not simply the personal right of individuals to have their say; it is also the right of the rest of us to hear them," and respond to them (Burns et al. 72). As a student, a citizen, and a woman, it is my right to share ideas. I want the right to become educated with the help of other people's ideas, but I won't use my right to free speech to intentionally harm

Candid View on Drinking

2002-02-27T13:00:00-05:00

Paul Kantner once said, "If you can remember anything about the sixties, you weren't really there." I feel this same way when talking to my peers about social gatherings, concerts and sometimes, even school. It is hard to have a conversation about last weekend without hearing, “I was so drunk,” or “I don’t know, I was really high.” People at my professional workplace seem to have no problem asking me if I could get them an ounce of weed- presumably, because I’m young. Drugs are not surrounding our culture, or society or our media as a whole; they are smothering our youth. With these thoughts in mind I participated in my ordinary activities for a weekend, but kept an open eye to substance use-mine and others. It was a typical weekend. On Friday, I went “downtown.” "Downtown" is a couple blocks of bars and clubs that are very popular with the college and 20-something crowds. On Friday I went downtown and then to an after-hours party that lasted until 7:00am. Saturday afternoon we got to the bar at about 3:00, to watch the game and then went to a friends’ house to hang out. On Sunday, we went to a trendy lounge and then all stayed overnight at a friends’ house. Over the course of this weekend I consumed 10 mixed drinks, 6 glasses of wine, and either consumed; was introduced to, or heard 1st hand experiences of drugs such as cocaine, marijuana, “shrooms,” Ecstasy, and Xanax. Given my circumstances it would be extremely pretentious of me to sit back and think of ways to advance the war on drugs. We as citizens, as a community, and most importantly as the most powerful country on earth we need to decide what we are trying to solve. We can no longer sit here and say, “drugs are bad,” we need action, a resolution to find a common, but realistic goal. There are many different political, social and health issues surrounding drugs. We need to decide what we want to accomplish, and we need to do this as an educated, involved, and democratic people. If we want to prevent crack heads our actions are going to be quite different then they would be if our goal were to solve the overcrowding of prisons. Our diversity is what makes the United States special, but could is also be harming our common goal? Our varied backgrounds

Overpopulation

2002-02-27T13:00:00-05:00

As a globe, we have a problem. The suffering caused by this problem is already apparent in many parts of the world but as we progress through time the suffering will become greater and greater. The issue of overpopulation is not spoken of on the news every night, nor is it discussed in the classroom, but it is one of the most pressing long-term political problems. Over the next 100 years our global population will start to affect the lives of all citizens, young and old, poor and rich, educated and uneducated. Overpopulation will deplete our water, our oil; it will change our weather and exhaust our food supply. Through politics we can prevent this, but we must start now. Politics is an ongoing conflict for a better way of life. Overpopulation is the biggest political problem of the 21st century because it is a major economic, environmental and social issue. When discussing overpopulation we must not concentrate on space we must concentrate on the resources that make life possible. According to the United Nations, there are 1 billion malnourished people on the earth. If we already have that many hungry people, what are we going to do when the population has doubled to 12 billion by 2035? Every person born impacts the future of life. According to Paul Storey, a researcher for WOA (World Overpopulation Awareness) by the end of the typical Americans life they will have “produced 200,000 pounds of garbage, consumed 10 million gallons of water, will drive ½ million miles and burn 20,000 gallons of gasoline.” Due to the fact that we already have too much garbage, too little water, too much pollution, and too many problems with gasoline, every child adds to the hardship of future generations. So, what are we going to do? Although many people all over the world disagree with China for their policy of “one is best, at most two, never a third” it’s necessary considering the problems they already have. China is not only the government to start encouraging population control. The government of Iran stopped subsides to newborn children if there are already 3 children in the household. In 1993, New Jersey voters decided to limit welfare for additional children. These are all a start. Politics and government can do so much more. In order to stabilize the population we can offer incentives to small families, “remind” people what every extra

Good vs Evil

2002-02-21T13:00:00-05:00

Good vs. evil is an important concept. It is a life long struggle inside of you. In life, you are in a constant limbo between good and evil. One day, you might be in a good mood and the other day you might be in an evil, or bad mood. Before history and even in history, good vs. evil has always been a historic struggle. Now, good is represented by the color white and the color black represents evil. This is probably true because white represents peace and tranquility, which is what the current standards of the world say good, is. Black is probably representative of evil because it shows darkness and mystery. This usually leads to evil because of the hate shown in this color. These two colors are only current day representation, but in history and pre-history, different colors represented the same meaning. The word good has several meaning, but all of them say that it is positive. On the other hand, evil always means something negative. This difference is yet another similarity to white and black. People who are considered positive are also considered to be nice, gentle, and smart. Those are all thought of as above or positive traits compared to current day standards. Those who are considered negative are also considered to be mean, dangerous, mischievous. This too is also considered to be below or negative compared to current day standards. Good and evil are also very similar. Both can describe a personality, in conjunction or separately. Good and evil can also be adjectives, which is the reason why it could describe someone’s personality. Nothing is pure evil or pure good; it must always have a small portion of the other in it. It might be bottled up or suppressed, but a part of each is always there. Through all their differences and similarities, they are still just two adjectives that describe nearly everything. A computer can be described as good because it assists people, but a computer can also be described as bad because hackers/crackers can use the computer to cause chaos and panic. Just as the ancient Chinese associated good and evil with everything the current world still does. Good and evil are the two forces that associate themselves with everything. Not only does each trait associate with something, they can be partially good and partially bad. Not much unlike human history, which shows this standoff from

Homosexuality Today

2002-02-14T13:00:00-05:00

When you hear the word 'gay,' what do you think of? Happy? Doubtfully. Something stupid or dumb? Most likely. In today's culture, gay is a common adjective for something undesirable or stupid. I hear this word used in such a way countless times daily. Am I the only one bothered by this? Homosexuals have never seemed to be a widely accepted group in America. Many people are still disgusted by the fact that there are such people in the world. But this is getting better. There are many pro-gay/lesbian/bisexual organizations and such these days, and it's becoming acceptable in more and more clubs, workplaces, and schools. Other minority groups have overcome society. At one time, women weren't allowed to do much of anything. Now, if someone tried to stop a woman from doing something such as being a carpenter, they could easily be sued. It's no longer acceptable to judge people by their sex, race, or skin color. In fact, it is a federal law that you can not discriminate in employment on the basis of age, religion, race, national origin, sex, color, or handicap. See anything missing from that list? As far as I have been able to tell, it is legal to refuse employment due to sexual orientation. But, I have not heard of many cases where homosexuals have been refused jobs for that reason. There are a few common questions people ask homosexuals: Why did you chose to be gay? Why are you so obsessed with 'coming out'? What's it like? Do other gay people ask you out all the time? First of all, it is my firm belief that homosexuality is not a choice. Why do heterosexuals choose to like the opposite sex? It's more of something you're born with. People will simply be attracted to who their body will like to. It just seems there are more people attracted to the opposite sex, so it is believed to be more 'natural'. Why are gays and lesbians obsessed with 'coming out'? I wouldn't call it an obsession, but it is a very hard process in today's society. Telling parents, siblings, relatives, friends, and coworkers is very risky. You could become subject to rejection, harassment, and the loss of people you care about. Being openly gay or lesbian in America is risky at times, but many people don't like to live their lives as if in shame of who they are. Many

Argumentative: Let's Smoke Some Pot

2002-02-05T13:00:00-05:00

In most countries, marijuana is by law illegal because of its classification as an illicit drug, but the controversial issues have been established that this ?illicit drug? has improved the course of treatment for suffering patients. Marijuana has beneficial effects when used in medicinal scenarios like for example for the treatment of pain. Thus it should be an administered drug for patients who can benefit from the use of this drug. It has undergone analysis for its use as a medicine and the results have shown improvements in patients who were treated with this drug. Doctors have expressed opposite opinions, making this issue very controversial. As the debate about marijuana?s use as a medicine continues, experts have given us information pertaining to its positive effects when used properly. Much of the controversy falls in the hands of the government, which claims that marijuana is not a safe medicine versus the doctors who research the topic for medicinal purposes. Though not all doctors feel marijuana should be a ?legal? prescribed medicine, it should be in their hands to decide it so. The Government and the Doctor?s Ethics have been questioned about the topic on marijuana use. This has ignited the controversy when it is said smoking marijuana is risky, but also recommended that critically ill patients should be allowed to use it under closely monitored settings. Doctors who are specialists who have researched much about marijuana use have authorized their patients to use this drug, but not over do it. With all the speculation, one would think that doctors wouldn?t be so eager to offer the drug as a reliever. The government proclaims there is no therapeutic value in the medicinal use of marijuana, but they do not have evidences to prove it so. As I see it, the government has demonized all drug use without differentiation and has systematically and hysterically resisted science. Possibly if the two ?sides? would work together, an agreement could be established concerning procedures for further development and treatment. Marijuana is the most commonly used illegal street drug used by many as a depressant. It is one of the cheapest illegal drugs present in almost all over the world. It is also one of the easiest drugs to get. Because of this it is one of the most dangerous drugs, which is available to all. In reality, almost anyone can get this drug even though it

Would Britain benefit from further European integration?

2002-02-05T13:00:00-05:00

There is a certain distinction between the British approach to European integration and that of most other member states. While many European politicians wish to move closer towards a federal Europe most British politicians support a more cautious intergovernmental approach. With this debate already initiated, there still stands the fundamental question of whether or not Britain would benefit from further integration with Europe. There are many historical and political reasons why further European integration would not benefit the UK. Britain has had continuity of its political institutions since 1688, in comparison with some current member states that have had as many as 11 different political systems in the same period. We are very much used to the status quo, and most people feel reluctant to let centuries of tradition go to waste. British people generally feel separated from Europe in more ways than simply geographically. Britain’s insularity means we are literally separate from the rest of Europe, and have not been directly involved in either world war, but even so, we still feel a sense of pride in our nation after coming out of conflicts victorious against European enemies. British people see further integration as a threat to the national identity and culture. We do not want to be made “all European.” Britain is said to be reluctant to limit itself to an exclusively European role, partly due to the history of Britain as a world power with a massive empire, but overall it seems that the people want a balance of power on the continent, avoiding permanent commitments. The conservative approach of UK politicians has hugely influenced public opinion over the last 50 or so years. Democratically, further European integration means a loss of power and a loss of sovereignty. Already some people feel as though we are “run by Brussels,” suffering the laws and regulations which we have not approved or even had a say on – further integration would make this all the more apparent to every one of us, particularly as EU law has precedence over UK law. Europe means bureaucracy to many, and this signifies inefficient government and money wasted, but most importantly, further European integration means significant changes to democracy as we know it. As previous President of the EU, Jacques Delors, said: “Yes, we have to have transfers of sovereignty to achieve economic and monetary union.” “It is a myth that our membership of the

Why I Refused FSA Testing

2002-01-13T13:00:00-05:00

As you may or may not know, I recently upheld my right as a student, to refrain from participating in the FSA testing. My decision was brought forth due to a number of reasons and should not be mistaken for a sign of disrespect- I simply chose to stand firmly behind my beliefs. I realize that my actions will undoubtedly be viewed as offensive by some, particularly by members of the administration. In fairness, I ask that you assess the situation reasonably before coming to any unfavorable conclusions. I also request that you comprehend both my motivation for taking such a bold move, and my dissent for a test that subtly exploits students. It is a test that is incapable of properly discerning aptitude, and provides useless results. It is widely known that the purpose of this testing is to determine the strengths and weaknesses of individual schools, as well as the different regions of the Canada. In theory, it could be a valuable tool to refine our school system and to aid us in our attempts to increase productivity. Unfortunately, this is not so. Anyone who thinks long and hard will soon realize that a multiple choice test can do no such great things. A large percentage of students may simply guess their way to a high score, while others may feel frustrated and refuse to apply themselves. In addition, there are many students who do not take this testing seriously, and openly mock the system. Standardized testing does not prove merit, and results will merely show whether or not a student has taken the testing earnestly. Though I strongly support the intentions of the government, I feel as though they have chosen an ineffective method of achieving their goal. The product of this method only shows that a problem exists- but not where it exists. If math results were low, for example, the information collected neglects to show where the problem lies: perhaps the instructors are to blame, or maybe the textbook lessons aren't very successful. Who knows. The fact is, until the government utilizes a more effective and reliable system, the solutions will continue to elude us. These tests do not meet the unique needs of each school, and cannot possibly lead us to any valuable conclusions. Lastly, I do not see the need to have the marks publicized in students' permanent records. If the true nature of the test

Discuss how the conditions and circumstances under which knowledge changes affect society

2002-01-05T13:00:00-05:00

When discussing ‘knowledge’ we must explore what we mean by ‘knowledge’. Does everybody within society accept the same information as ‘knowledge’? I will investigate further using the example of medical knowledge. Knowledge is not absolute. As knowledge and knowing is a human faculty, by the very nature of human beings and a society that has a choice in what and who to believe, it cannot be an objective set of ‘truths’. The moment a ‘fact’ or theory is communicated it is in some way at the mercy of the medium which/who is communicating it and the recipient. We must also discuss not just ‘what we know’ but ‘how we know’. Using the example of religious knowledge I will explore the ways that constitute knowledge gathering and acceptance of knowledge. I will be discussing what can cause changes to and further enhance ‘knowledge’ held. Medical knowledge is an area which appears to be constantly developing, new ideas are regularly offered to the public consciousness to be either accepted or disregarded and whichever judgement is chosen makes a statement about where society places its trust, how ready we are to accept change, how radical we will allow any changes to be and whose theories and evidence mass society is willing to accept. An example of this is Alternative Medicine, although it is more accepted now than in previous years (e.g. aromatherapy massage is now actively promoted by mainstream health professionals as a complimentary therapy during pregnancy and treatment of bad backs) it is still generally seen as a compliment to Orthodox Medicine and not valid as treatments in their own rights. The ways in which medical knowledge has developed and how these processes of development have knock-on effects throughout society e.g. the setting up of the Royal Society in 1662, emphasised the ‘expert knowledge’ bias over common sense knowledge. ‘Expert knowledge’ was historically endorsed and distributed by middle and upper class male establishments (e.g. the Royal Society was founded by Charles II and allowed ‘gentlemen’ members only and women were only allowed to qualify in Medicine in 1876 however they were only actually granted access to quality medical training after the Second World War). This helped perpetuate an air of superiority, increased intelligence and authority to this group in society, their medical knowledge trusted and officially endorsed over traditionally female ‘common sense’ knowledge. Structures of medical knowledge enhancement e.g. the methods of investigation into Sudden

Globalization - winners and losers

2002-01-05T13:00:00-05:00

Despite the views of many optimists, there are clearly losers as well as winners from the process of globalization.' Evaluate this statement.

The statement at the head of the page assumes that Globalization creates both winners and losers. This is a view shared by many, but not all, theorists and commentators. There are many trends of thought regarding exactly who the winners and losers may be as well as what may be considered a prize or a punishment (e.g. some may sight the availability of McDonalds fast food throughout France an enrichment and some may see it as an unwelcome and unsavoury invasion.) Comparison between these opinions paints an interesting picture of what Globalization is, what certain parties want it to be seen as and what kind of world it could create. Anthony Giddens says “Globalization, some argue, creates a world of winners and losers, a few on the fast track to prosperity, the majority condemned to a life of misery and despair.” This is a view shared by many theorists, however positive Globalists (perhaps naively) claim Globalization will lead to winnings for all and extreme pessimists exist who see ‘Globalization’ as the path to mass ruin and exploitation and as a vague buzzword umbrella from under which Governments may defend unjast or unpopular policies. The other query I would raise when initially evaluating the statement is what exactly we mean by a ‘process of Globalization’ and does it mean the same thing to different people? The statement assumes there I a defined and universally accepted reading of the term and yet there are many differing views as to what ‘Globalization’ entails. ‘Globalization’ is a process said to affect several different aspects of the social world, mainly economics both global and local, global and local politics and global and local culture. There are various definitions of what ‘Globalization’ is, and the effect it has on the world. Globalists believe Globalization is a real and evident process. They argue that examples of a significant shift in the geography of social relations can be seen in terms of economics, culture and politics. For example the recent effects that the US economy’s down turn had on the share prices of British companies who trade and deal largely within US markets. We can see that international trade and investment has increased in recent years

Diversity in the post-war United Kingdom

2002-01-05T13:00:00-05:00

'What have been the main forms of diversity to emerge in the post-war United Kingdom, and to what extent have they been sources of uncertainty?

There have been many forms of diversity to emerge in the UK in the post war period. It is subjective which of these can be considered the main forms. Personal circumstances may colour somebody’s view of which forms of diversity are the most noticeable, have had the most profound effect or caused the most uncertainty. For example a person living in a community with a higher than average Asian population may cite Britain’s more multicultural society as being the biggest change in post-war Britain compared to somebody from the South West for example where the number of people belonging to ethnic minorities is relatively low. Many changes have taken place in Britain since the end of WWII and there is no objective answer as to whether any of the changes are to the detriment of society as a whole. Political ideology can often determine what changes are seen in a positive light e.g. the more opportunities open to single parents to return to work while bringing up young children may be seen as a positive form of diversity, particularly if you are a working parent but to read a conservative-leaning newspaper such as The Daily Mail or The Daily Telegraph one might consider this change is not a favourable one. I will therefore discuss the changes which I consider to be the most considerable and the how these can be viewed in terms of uncertainty. Diversity does not automatically lead to uncertainty, in some instances it could be argued that more choice of categorization can help people make a firm commitment to one group, lifestyle etc... Rather than having to choose the category that is simply the least different or most similar from a limited set of criteria e.g. “I have a penis so I am male”, there are now more detailed, complex categories providing a more highly specific answer to questions of a person’s gender e.g. a person with a penis could now consider themselves “Transgendered”. So, in some cases through an increased diversity of choices a person can achieve more certainty about who they are. Turner et al discussed the question of gender categorisation in 1987 in his Self-categorization Theory. He believes identity is shaped by self-categorization, that people review the social categories on

Anorexia Nervosa: Self-Starvation

2001-12-29T13:00:00-05:00

Anorexia nervosa is a life threatening eating disorder defined by a refusal to maintain fifteen percent of a normal body weight through self-starvation (NAMI 1). Ninety-five percent of anorexics are women between the ages of twelve and eighteen, however, “…in the past twenty years, this disorder has become a growing threat to high school and college students”(Maloney and Kranz 60). Anorexia produces a multitude of symptoms, and if not treated, anorexia can lead to permanent physical damage or death. Anorexic behavior is complex because it is all about the need for control. Someone suffering from anorexia has a distorted body image of himself or herself. He/she believes to be overweight, even though twenty percent of the time he/she is not (Yancey 59). The image of being overweight causes a low self-esteem. Symptoms of low self-esteem are loneliness, inadequacy in talents, a lack of trust in people and themselves, insecurity, identification with a specific peer group, and sadness. The media displays the ideal human body as thin and beautiful. Anorexic’s lives are full of confusion and lack of control. To the anorexic, to be thin is to be in control. The state of control to the anorexic is the ideal life without confusion and difficulties. In most cases, the anorexic is intelligent; popular among his/her peers, athletic, talented, and viewed as a role model to most people he/she comes in contact with. In reality, the issues in daily living are too difficult for the anorexic resulting in a lack of control in his/her life. The anorexic’s answer to a confusing life is to starve the body. The behavioral symptoms of the anorexia are counting calories, eating little food, baking treats for everyone and giving them away in hope of controlling not only the anorexic’s intake of his/her food, but also others. “Playing” with food at meal times is common behavior of the anorexic. When the meal is complete, the anorexic has disguised food intake by pushing the food around on the plate and hiding food in napkins. To dress in layers to hide the distinct weight loss and to avoid social activities where eating is involved are common behavioral symptoms. Behavioral symptoms of the anorexic can go unnoticed by most people. These symptoms are very secretive and oblivious to outsiders because the behavior is not out of the ordinary. Although the behavioral symptoms of the anorexic appear to be ordinary, the sum

Virtual Addiction

2001-12-29T13:00:00-05:00

There are certain things that cause addiction. Computer games are electronic games that are addictive. Played on a computer or on a console system such as the Sony Playstation, these games can occupy a person for countless hours. Through computer gaming, people escape their reality which includes school and work. Video games also present people with challenges they can overcome so they can feel a sense of accomplishment. In a virtual world, mistakes can be undone and time can renew itself with the push of a few buttons. Through gaming, a person can experience his or her fantasies that he or she cannot experience in real life. In a commercial world of advancing technology and electronic entertainment, people become obsessed over these games. Computer games are addictive because they allow people to escape reality, offer challenges, provide a world where mistakes can be undone and allow people to experience their dreams which they cannot experience in real life. The fact that video games allow people to escape reality makes them addictive. Video games allow people to get away from certain things that cause them stress such as schoolwork. “I’d rather play Half-Life or Goldeneye than do my physics. School is the same everyday. Video games are fun no matter when you play them” (Personal Interview). For many students, school can be seen as a source of stress because of the intense workload they are faced with daily. Video games direct their minds away from education and veer them towards the virtual world. According to Doctor Cairn of the University of Texas, people, especially male children, are spending too much time on video games and not enough time on schoolwork or with their family (“Music, Television, Video Games and Their Effect on Children” 5). Computer game companies have proven that people under eighteen years of age play video games to a point of addiction because they want to evade pressures in their lives (“The Fantasy World ” 3). People often consider a job or their family life to be boring and tedious. A video game takes away that feeling by giving gamers a feeling of excitement. “Many people who are video game addicts are those who feel they have boring, mundane lives. Through gaming, they can experience the excitement that they feel they are lacking in their real lives” (Geggis 1). However, the idea of escaping the reality of work or

Marijuana

2001-12-19T13:00:00-05:00

People have been using Marijuana as a medicine for thousands of years, beginning in China, India, and the Middle East. The plant's therapeutic potential became known in Western countries during the nineteenth century. From 1840 to 1900, more than a hundred articles on cannabis appeared in European and American medical journals, recommending it as an appetite stimulant, muscle relaxant, painkiller, sedative, and anti-convulsions. The use of Marijuana should be legalized for the benefits of individuals suffering from a variety of medical problems. Marijuana as a medicine, however, cannot be established with the Government’s permission to test the drug and legalize it. Patients should have the right to use any medical means necessary to control our diseases. Patients with cancer find marijuana controls there vomiting, allowing them to continue chemotherapy. Patients find marijuana helps the "wasting syndrome" that often characterizes AIDS. Patients with spinal injuries and multiple sclerosis find relief from severe muscle spasms (plasticity) that complicate nerve damage. Patients with glaucoma have derived benefit from marijuana when conventional treatments have failed. Government experts have indicated that marijuana does relieve pain, and other disorders, but it does not cure them, therefore cannot be legalized as a prescription drug. However, the Government has legalized a drug called Tylenol 3. The two main drugs used in Tylenol 3 are precocity and codeine, both are very addictive and they only relieve the pain. Medicinal marijuana has similar side effects as the often-prescribed stimulants, but it is not as addictive as Tylenol 3. The Government proclaims there is no therapeutic value in the medicinal use of marijuana, but they do not have hard evidence to prove it. Ira Glasser, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, expressed: “the government has demonized all drug use without differentiation and has systematically and hysterically resisted science.” Doctors have expressed opposite opinions as well, making this issue very controversial. Because not all doctors who research the topic for medicinal purposes feel cannabis should be a “legal” prescribed medicine, smoking marijuana is risky, but also recommended that critically ill patients should be allowed to use it under closely monitored settings. Marijuana has undergone analysis for its use as a medicine and the results have shown improvements in the patients who were treated with this drug. Research showed that marijuana reduced the interlobular pressure that can lead to blindness in glaucoma patients. Migraine sufferers found relief from their headaches, and victims

Globalisation: Does it pose a threat to the system of states?

2001-12-12T13:00:00-05:00

“I am a citizen of the world ” Diognenes I disagree globalisation poses a threat to the system of states. Furthermore, I believe globalisation is the next step in the development of the state. Globalisation is defined as, ‘the reduction of barriers to trans-world contacts. Through it people become more able physically, legally, culturally, and psychologically to engage with each other in “one world” .’ With the dissolution of the Soviet Union the end of the Cold War, there has been supremacy of liberal capitalism and with it the pace of globalisation has been accelerated. With that, states have become part of a much bigger picture, the global village . Being part of a global village has meant that the idea of a state being a totally sovereign entity has been questioned. Sovereignty is the ability of a government to have absolute authority over its own territory. Economic interdependence between states has meant that increasingly what happens somewhere in the world ultimately affects all the countries in the world . Thus, the role of politics has been overtaken by the role of economics. For example, multinational corporations are free (to a certain extent) to basically do what they like because there is no global government to oversee their actions. All these points will be discussed in further detail, throughout this essay. During the cold war it was literally impossible for the whole world to unite culturally and economically for obvious reasons. The reasons included the fact that the world had been marked by East-West (US versus Soviet) Cold War rivalry that extended across the globe which led to a nuclear build-up that threatened to destroy the planet . With the fall of the Soviet Union and end of hostilities between East and West, a new ‘world order’ emerged . One aspect of this new ‘world order’ was clearly demonstrated during the 1990 Gulf War when the United States and Russia worked together and implemented collective security at the Security Council at the United Nations. Previously, it was very difficult to have the Security Council work together because both the United States and Soviet Union had a veto power and each would inevitably veto each other and nothing in the Security Council could ever be accomplished . Another aspect is the fact that as soon as the Cold War ended, Western states began doing business with former communist states (that was

What has caused Britain to lose its sense of identity?

2001-12-12T13:00:00-05:00

Being British used to be so easy. They were one of the most identified peoples on earth, recognized by their manners, their clothes and the fact that they owned one fifth of the planet . It is much more difficult now. Britain’s pride, the British Empire has slowly diminished since 1945 as a result of two world wars and nationalistic movements in occupied territories such as India. Some even suggested that Great Britain lost its greatness and hence should only be referred to as Britain. Even the political invention known as Britain has come into question, after all it is a union of England, Scotland and Wales, or is it? Ireland was glad to gain its independence in 1922 and form the Republic of Ireland (there is still the question of Northern Ireland). More recently, in 1999 devolution was handed over to Scotland and Wales handing power from Westminster to those regions in a process known as devolution. Arguably, as Britain becomes more divided the more it loses its sense of identify and culture. To complicate the matter, the process of European integration has a large section of the population worried about losing British sovereignty and ultimately being part of a much larger European super state . In this essay I aim to argue that Britain has lost and is currently losing its sense of identify. ‘To be born English was to have won first prize in the lottery of life…God is British’ Affirmed Cecil Rhodes. Those were the attitudes at the time when the British Empire was at its greatest, most notably in the late 19th and early 20th century. It is difficult not to blame them for being so patriotic. After all, just in 1900, half of the ships on the high seas were registered in Britain, she controlled about one third of the world’s trade, one fifth of the total landmass that accounted for one quarter of the population of the world . The British Empire was thus the biggest empire the world had ever seen. The Empire gave the British the chance to feel blessed and the greater its success, the more blessed the British felt. British power and influence went beyond earthly dominion. ‘We were all born in a world made in Britain,’ was the way one academic put it. After all, just in the domain of sport they developed the current forms of football,

Television

2001-12-11T13:00:00-05:00

Television is a big part of most of our lives. We watch our favourite shows on it every week. Our parents watch the news on it every night, and we settle down in front of it for the weekend movie. Most Australian families have one in their household, so it’s not as if we don’t have a clue what it is. Like anything in the world, there are different sides to the story, but is TV really as good as it is hyped up to be? Television can be educational, such as when stations broadcast documentaries like World Around Us on Channel 7. People watch it and discover things they never knew about the animal or place featured. It could later influence them to travel to that certain place to experience such sights as featured on TV. This will then boost tourism for that place. By watching Television at night or after school, students are given something to talk about, provided they paid attention to what was going on. They can discuss their views on certain issues that may affect them, appeal to them or influence them to make the same decisions made on the show. It can be entertaining because some people may impersonate cartoon characters, making people laugh and brightening up their day. Television is really versatile- one can watch it when they like. They can turn it off if they reckon the show they are viewing is absolute crap, and best of all, it cannot hear or see their criticism. One can say how pathetic the actor is behaving, fall asleep during the show, or comment on the clothes they are wearing, or judge their acting style, and not have to worry about the reactions, because, IT’S ONLY A BOX!! There are down sides toward watching TV; too much may be bad for your eyes, or cause you to develop a splitting headache. Such pain is a discomfort to other activities carried out throughout the day and night. If one spends all his time in front of the television, then it means a lack of many things, including exercise, social outings, fresh air, and MONEY. Yes, that’s right, like all things, Television cost's money. The power bill needs to be paid, an aerial needs to be installed, and maintenance will eventually be needed. TV is not of much use to one if the power has been cut off or there is

Television News - informing the public about significant events

2001-12-11T13:00:00-05:00

Discuss to what extent two television stations broadcasting to audiences in Western Australia succeed in informing the public about significant events, in a fair and balanced way.

Television news is an entertainment medium intending to inform the public of current issues in society, but that is not its prime function. It also serves as a program that helps viewers to see issues from different perspectives. Some perfect fairness cannot exist, so bias of some sort must be present in all Television news. The news segments generally adopt a point of view and set out to convince the viewers to agree with that point of view. This persuasion is achieved through a number of tactics, the main two being the use of logic and evidence to support the idea, and persuasive language that the newsreader uses to help convince you to believe that idea. Television news is less concerned with issues than with other mediums of news, such as newspapers and magazines, and more concerned with drama and entertainment. The excessive use of specific camera angles and shots and the way the segment within itself is presented prove this. For example, consider the presentation of the newsreader. The presentation of the newsreader would not be that important if the sole purpose of the news program was to inform viewers. The attention would be concentrated more upon the information presented rather than the way the presenter looks, but in today’s day and age, viewers aren’t satisfied with just the bare facts. They want some form of entertainment and viewing satisfaction as well, and this entertainment is supplied in the form of Re-enactments and impressive camera shots of news stories on television, the presentation of the segment and news reporters and readers, and the use of graphics and visuals. Some television station’s news programs are more concerned about important world issues than others. Take for example, on one Wednesday April 19th on ABC news, one of the headlining stories was concerning Cyanide leakages in the shared river systems of Hungary, Romania and Yugoslavia, showing the side effects of the spillage. This story was presenting a very controversial and important issue, yet the same story was not even mentioned to viewers that same night on Channel Seven News. This proves that ABC news is more concerned about important world issues that are likely to have some affect on people than Channel Seven is. Channel Seven have proven to

Child Porn

2001-12-11T13:00:00-05:00

The child sex trade has been traditionally identified with underdeveloped third-world countries; particularly in Southeast Asia, where the cheap prices, ready

Child Care - the effect on family life

2001-12-10T13:00:00-05:00

More and more families are putting their children into daycare every day. There are different reasons as to why they have to do this. The main

The effects of daycare on American Society

2001-12-08T13:00:00-05:00

I do not think women should go back to the workplace while their child is still an infant. It is not healthy for children to be raised by someone other than the parents (1). The parents should at least wait until the child is old enough to be in school. For some, day care is a necessity. This is usually the case for single moms because they must work in order to provide for their children. This is seen mainly in urban areas. A woman may be the mother of several children, each one from a different man (2). Women cannot provide for three or four children without working. There are reasons for day care, but it should not replace the parents (3). The man and woman want a child, but they do not want to make the necessary sacrifices for that child. One of the toughest things for some adults is to distinguish between things they "need" and things they "want." An extra car, vacation, or house are not things people need. Society today has become so selfish and self-centered that, for the most part, they cannot see beyond themselves. They cannot see the beautiful child God gave them because of their greed. Day care is often thought of as glorified baby-sitting. Half of all working women who are new mothers and two-thirds of working women over thirty who have a baby are back at work before their child is one year old (4). Why are women so eager to return to work? If they are able to stay home with their child and still are able to live nicely why would they choose to give their child to a stranger? Some of the most precious moments of a child's life takes place during the first five years. Women are not going to be able to remember their children's' young lives because they were not their. How sad it is that many mothers were not present when their child's first steps were taken or their first words spoken. The care children receive from their parents has diminished and with that, the bonding and relationship between the child and the parents has also diminished (5). If a parent is not there for their children, or if a parent is so wrapped up in their own world and does not have enough time for their child, then how is that child supposed to know

Should There Be a Salary Cap in Baseball?

2001-12-06T13:00:00-05:00

Salaries in Baseball are skyrocketing every year. Why would a salary cap be needed? It would be needed to help keep ticket prices down, and help make for a more even level of competition for all of the teams. A salary cap is needed to keep baseball thriving in the future, to keep the game exciting and enjoyable to watch for every fan. The four major professional sports in America are MLB, NBA, NFL, and NHL. Out of those four, only Major League Baseball does not have a salary cap. A salary cap keeps players salaries from getting to high because of the need to get your whole team under a certain dollar amount set by the league. A salary cap in theory would give every team a chance to build a competitive ball club. But teams today that are not in a big market city have a disadvantage. Because “these teams will never reach the World Series until baseball owner’s do the right thing and agree on a better system of revenue-sharing with a salary cap.” (Hochgesang) A salary cap would help bring the competitive playing level to a more equal level. But some people say that small market ball clubs could field competitive teams without a salary-cap by developing a good farm system. “But this theory has been disproved in recent years. Montreal and Pittsburgh have two of the best minor league systems in baseball, but their top young players only play for them a few seasons before becoming free agents and moving on to teams with bigger payrolls.” (Hochgesang) The Cleveland Indians though are a small-market team and they seem to be able to have success by acquiring key players and through a successful farm club. Players salaries are beginning to be more than some teams entire rosters. Alex Rodriguez was recently given a contract for $252 million for 10 years. That is more than several teams entire team payroll. Alex’s salary and others that are close to him in yearly salaries would make it difficult for there to be a salary cap. Their salaries would not have to be counted on a cap because there teams wouldn’t be able to field a team by taking that kind of hit on the cap. “The biggest problem is the owners that are willing to pay these astronomical salaries. Until the owners all get together and agree something will never happen.” (Zook) There

Is Deviance Normal?

2001-12-05T13:00:00-05:00

Normal behaviour is defined as conforming to a standard: usual, typical, or expected (Soanes, 2001). Deviant behaviour is a divergence from normal standards: usually social or sexual. Therefore, by definition, deviance is not normal. This essay will discuss deviance in depth, looking at several theories: interactionist, biological, and functionalist. The essay shall begin by discussing types of deviance. The aim is to show whether or not deviance is normal. Deviance is non-conformity to a set of social norms or expectations widely accepted (Fulcher & Scott, 1999; Giddens, 1997). According to Haralambos and Holborn (1995), deviance is relative. It can only be defined in relation to a set of standards - since no standards are fixed, deviance is not absolute. For example, social standards in Britain have changed. It was once socially acceptable to smoke cannabis - it was even used for medicinal purposes - but it is now considered deviant behaviour. Although, again, this is changing. There are two types of deviance: primary and secondary (Fulcher & Scott, 1999). Primary deviation is behaviour that is normative to expectations of a group, but which is 'normalised' by them. "…while marijuana smokers might regard their smoking as acceptable, normal behaviour in the company they move in, they are fully aware that this behaviour is regarded as deviant in the wider society" (Taylor, Walton & Young, 1973 cited by Haralambos & Holborn, 1995). Many justifications for the normalisation of deviant behaviour are employed (Fulcher & Scott, 1999). For instance, a young man may expose himself in the street late at night. His behaviour is normalised: he has consumed a lot of alcohol and has 'no idea what he is doing'. Secondary deviation arises when deviation is no longer normalised (Fulcher & Scott, 1999). It becomes stigmatised or punishable and its consequences can shape a person's future (Fulcher & Scott, 1999; Giddens, 1997). For example, a child who disrupts a class a couple of times may be labelled as a deviant by his/her teacher and may then continue to act in a deviant way. Labelling (interactionist) is an important theory in the study of deviance. Labelling theorists interpret deviance as a process of interaction between deviants and non-deviants (Giddens, 1997). "Social groups create deviance by making the rules whose infraction constitutes deviance…The deviant is one to whom the label has successfully been applied; deviant behaviour is behaviour that people so label." (Becker, 1963 cited by Haralambos & Holborn, 1995, p.405) "Deviance

The Die In Diet: How North American Ideas of Beauty Harm Women

2001-11-28T13:00:00-05:00

Introduction

Humankind has always been aware of the existence of beauty. As our species has grown intellectually and socially, the standards that constitute beauty have changed to suit our culture. Females, in particular, are given more focus than males when it comes to appearance (Jackson, 1992). For instance, cosmetics cater almost exclusively to women and while they are considered a luxury, they have come to represent more of a grim necessity for females (Hansen & Reed, 1986). In the Western civilisation of North America, the concept of what constitutes beauty has transformed from the curvy and voluptuous looks of Marilyn Monroe to the sickly thin figure of supermodel Twiggy. The most recent concept of the ideal female has moved farther away from the realistic, to a look that has become unattainable to the average woman. This image of impossible beauty is constantly being presented to women through the media. In drastic efforts to harmonise with the modern notion of beauty, many women have developed negative and self-destructive habits and beliefs in regards to their own bodies.

Eating disorders

Eating disorders are classified as mental disorders, which are understood to have multiple roots, including depression, low self-esteem, sexual/physical abuse history and a perfectionist attitude. While all of these elements are important to consider, the cultural and societal aspect is arguably one of the most significant factors to observe. Anorexia nervosa and bulimia are two of the most recognised eating disorders in North America. Both disorders involve self-destructive conduct that develops from a goal to lose weight. Anorexia is characterised by starvation dieting, excessive exercising, the cessation of the menstrual cycle, and an intense fear of gaining weight. Bulimia, though marked by a similar fear of weight gain, is distinguished by episodes of binge eating and purging by vomiting, excessive exercise or with the aid of diet pills (Dittrich, 2001). The fact that the majority of models and beauty contestants would meet one of the medical criteria of anorexia - that body weight be 15% below a "normal" weight - serves to prove that society embraces an unhealthy body image. In 1990, a direct relation was found between exposure to media and the incidence of eating disorders. The increase in eating disorders over time has coincided with the decrease in ideal female body weight, as portrayed in the media. In 1992, women's magazines were found to have 10.5 times the amount of advertisements promoting weight

Are Current Gun Laws Sufficient for a Safe Society?

2001-11-19T13:00:00-05:00

This question can be easily answered with a resounding “no”. No gun background check, weapon ban, or gun buyback will ever prevent weapons from getting into the hands of criminals. Even with the hundreds if not thousands of gun laws already on the books, gun crime is still prevalent in our society. Why? Simple, all you have to do is look at our lax laws regarding punishment for criminals. Prison should be hard work, not sitting in a cell working out and eating well. Criminals should be forced to work for their food and board. If we continue to allow criminals to sit back, relax, and wait for probation, whom are we really protecting? Legally owned guns account for two percent (2%) of all gun crimes. This should show you as it shows me that gun laws can only prevent two-percent of all gun crimes in the first place. Is a two-percent decrease worth the loss of our freedoms? This tells me that instead of trying to create new laws, we should try and enforce the hundreds (if not thousands) we already have. This also leads to what I would like to focus on- pointless gun laws. As I pointed out earlier, we already have too many gun laws and to try and add more restrictions will not reduce crime. Take the following proposal to the House Committee of Ways and Means. Military Sniper Weapon Regulation Act of 1999 Military Sniper Weapon Regulation Act of 1999 (Introduced in the House) HR 2127 IH 106th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 2127 To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to regulate certain 50 caliber sniper weapons in the same manner as machine guns and other firearms. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES June 10, 1999 Mr. BLAGOJEVICH (for himself, Mr. WAXMAN, and Ms. NORTON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means A BILL To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to regulate certain 50 caliber sniper weapons in the same manner as machine guns and other firearms. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the `Military Sniper Weapon Regulation Act of 1999'. SEC. 2. FINDINGS. The Congress finds that-- (1) certain firearms originally designed and built for use as long-range 50 caliber military sniper weapons are increasingly sold in the domestic civilian market; What relevance does this have to anything? Almost all military gear

Death Penalty - Persuasive Essay

2001-11-19T13:00:00-05:00

When turning on the television, radio, or simply opening the local newspaper, one is bombarded with news of arrests, murders, homicides, and other such tragedies. There are many things that I don’t agree with in today’s society but, out of all the wrongdoing that takes place, I believe murder including the death penalty is the worst of them. I am strongly against the death penalty because it violates God’s rules, costs the tax payers too much money, the possible “wrongly accused,” and it is cruel and unusual punishment. How often do these concepts creep into the public’s mind when it hears of our ‘fair, trusty’ government taking away someone’s breathing rights? I do not support having the death penalty because it violates religious beliefs. Many religions, such as my own, Catholicism, follow the rules that God sent to use through the Ten Commandments. One of the most important of those ten states, “Thou shall not kill.” If you are executing an individual, that clearly violates this commandment. Murdering any person, no matter what the individual has been convicted of, is a mortal sin. Therefore, God will punish anyone who aids in executing people. I believe that religious beliefs, such as the Ten Commandments, are the corner stone for our law system. Executing someone should not be made an exception to God’s rule. My next reason against the death penalty is that taxpayers waste too much of their money with the death penalty. The average death penalty case is appealed three times. This means that the taxpayers must pay for the same trial to be heard three times. This is a very expensive practice. Also, the average convicted murder spends 12 years on death row. If supporters of the death penalty are positive enough to kill the person for committing the crime, shouldn’t the supporters be confident enough to execute them in a timely manner? Why spend the taxpayer’s money keeping these inmates in jail for so long? Taxpayer’s money should go to better society, not to accommodate the prisoners that are going to end up dead. There’s always the chance of the innocent being in the wrong place at the wrong time. A handful of evidence from a strong lawyer could sentence someone to life in prison, and even the death penalty. One could be spending and ending his life in captivity for simply walking down the wrong street on the wrong

Stress for Students

2001-11-17T13:00:00-05:00

Being a student can often be stressful. Balancing many things at once can stress students out. Students often want a social life but have to balance school work; a part time job; and the peer pressure of dating. Students have many obligations. Many teachers give homework for the students benefit. As teens get older they want to party more, but with all the homework are given they have to choose which one they want to do more. Many teens are getting part time jobs to support their spending habits. As many of the students balance the tight shifts at their jobs, they still have to do their homework. It may be hard for some students because they may be tired or have no time. This may become a problem for them in the future. As they may want to further their education and get a great job some

Abuse

2001-11-17T13:00:00-05:00

There are many different causes of abuse. Some on the abuser may now what there doing and some may not, some even may think that they are punishing their child or even punishing there spouse. Some of the reason some people might abuse another person could be because they believe in physical abuse; and the abuser was abused as a child. There also some ways to help the abuser to stop abusing, such as getting some help for their problem. Some abusers believe in physical punishment. Sometimes it may be fine, like a little spank on the bottom, but when it comes down to being other places or even causing burse then it is wrong. When a parent believes in physical punishment then they might think that they have the right to hit the child when ever and where ever. The parent might even start getting out of control and abusing the child when they are stress or when they are just mad. Some abuser will abuse there children and/or their spouse. The reason for this is because as a child they where abused and don’t know anyway out of the cycle. Most of the time when children are abused as children they might not think it’s ok for that to happen and wish not to repeat what they have gone through. Sometimes that’s not the case sometimes they do end up abusing people they know or even people they love. At first they may not realize what they are doing but in the end they may figure it out when that love one has left them. After the love one has left the abuser, or after the abuser realizes what she or he is doing they might get help if they really want to change their ways. There are many different ways to get help. One of them is an anger management program. Half of the time when someone abuses a person it is because they are very angry and cannot control their anger. There is also an anonymous group that they could attend to. With an anonymous group they can maybe hear about how others have beaten a loved one, and how they realized what they where doing. With people telling their stories it might help the abuser to realize he or she is not alone. The way people are brought up in abusive home they learn to be abusive, but not

Women's Role

2001-11-09T13:00:00-05:00

We live in an age where women have gained access, and freedoms to explore a wide range of interest, and life styles more than they ever could in the past: freedoms to enter the man’s work force; freedom to hold bank accounts, and get mortgages and loans. In some states, they even have the freedom to marry the same sex. In this age of increasing change, there is one area that I feel women got confused and would need help to make a right decision in their lives whether to look after the family or to work outside the home. In my opinion, today the idea of having a good job and career makes women struggle for their great wishes in life. That’s why the women of today are more assertive and demanding than they used to be. And there are many women today who are just as good if not better than their male counterparts. Moreover, some of the most successful people in today’s society are women. But some of these women have no opportunity even to care after their own child because of their demanding daily job. On the other hand, there are also some women that really succeed in raising a child and having an excellent career as well. So it means that for some women to have a work is to leave the children, and for the others it is to look after the family and continue working. But what is the reason that makes some women not to care after the family while they are at work? You would say, ”It is the reality of life”, but I would say that they are just trying to live the simple life not caring about their future existence in children. Furthermore, I think there is a comparison that won’t end between women who work outside the home and women who stay with their family. The fact is that some women who work think that they have such problems like looking after a child, doing the housework and some other duties within the home, so they just paid nurses to breast feed their children and do some housework while they are away from home at business work. But they are sure that by earning money they can back up all needs of their children. They are sure that everything goes as needed if there will be money at home. Moreover,

In cases of Juvenile arrest, rehabilitation, not punishment should be stressed

2001-11-08T13:00:00-05:00

Why would our government try to hurt kids? Well, kids are being hurt right now. In America, rather than rehabilitation, punishment is being emphasized for juveniles who commit violent crimes. This way of thinking must stop with the addition of rehabilitation and prevention programs for juvenile offenders. The FBI reported that the 5% of juvenile youths sent to adult prisons were eight times as likely to commit suicide. It has also been evident that those kids incarcerated with adults are also more likely to become repeat offenders. Legislation pending in congress now is debating whether to have children as young as 13 prosecuted and sentenced as adults for certain crimes. However, if a 13 year old is imprisoned, how can he become a functional member of society upon his release? How will he create a positive lifestyle for himself? The real question is: How can he turn in any direction other than that of crime? He simple will not be able to. If a child is sent to a prison to stay in a cell for hours at a time, the only life he will know is the life he came from, not the life that could be his. When you lock up a 13-year old with a hardened adult criminal, he gets more than a cellmate, he gets a role model. Also, a prosecutor shouldn't have the privilege to decide what court a kid is placed in. A prosecutor has a built in bias; the decision should be left to a judge who would look in the best interest of the convicted person. The goal of juvenile detention should be to rehabilitate and develop the individual. For example, Texas, a state notorious for being tough on criminals, since incorporating rehab opposed to imprisonment recidivism among teens is down every year since 1993. Appropriate educational skills need to be taught. Children need to be put in touch with their feeling through counseling. Juvenile offenders need to be exposed to role models from within their community and without. A sense of hope should be instilled so that the young offender is not resigned to the fate of a "second or third class citizen." Also, in a study conducted nationwide by the Justice Policy Institute violent youths go through treatment opposed to jail are 73% less likely to be rearrested than those without treatment. More important than efforts to rehabilitate the offender would

Abortion: the cause and effect

2001-11-05T13:00:00-05:00

The Aftermath of an Abortion To have abortion or not is a very difficult choice to make. The final choice comes from religious and ethical beliefs. However, to have an abortion means to participate in a horrendous crime against humanity, God, and oneself. Abortion can also have deleterious effects on the mother’s health and well being. Many of the couples, mainly the mothers, that have an abortion tend to go into a state of depression known as Post-abortion syndrome. Negative effects on the mother’s body can also stem from using abortion methods, such as the use of RU 486, a controversial abortion pill; increased risk of breast cancer is another effect of abortions. Other side effects of abortion, from emotional scars to a detachment from God and religion can also result. The choice to have an abortion is not only immoral and murder, but it can lead to negative effects on the mothers psychological, physical, and spiritual well being. The health of the mother, should be the main concern governing an abortion. Many of the pregnant women that have an abortion, tend to regret their decision later on; this regret and state of desolation, as well as depression is known as Post-abortion Syndrome. The Post-Abortion Syndrome, is better classified as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (Speckhard, Rue). The symptoms of this syndrome can be characterized as depression, substance abuse, sleep disorders and suicidal thoughts (Speckhard, Rue). Many of the symptoms usually arise after the abortion has been performed. Many of these symptoms, such as suicide can be a threat to the mother’s health (Roleff 165-69). If the mother decides to commit suicide then that would defeat the whole idea of having an abortion in order to save the mother’s life. Many of the pregnant women that have an abortion justify the action upon unwanted conditions, such rape or congenital defects. In cases pertaining to rape, the pregnant women justify having an abortion as a means to erase the tragic event from consciousness. However, by having an abortion, she is giving up the most important tool to help her in the recovery process (Roleff 130-132) . The unborn child can evoke a sense of loneliness in the mother after the abortion, as well as other conditions of the Post-abortion Syndrome. One symptom, may be exaggerated response to memories of the abortion experience, meaning she will be more careful about her social activities and will probably

Abortion: compare and contrast

2001-11-05T13:00:00-05:00

The Abortion Controversy The controversy within the biomedical ethics topic, abortion, has two main proponents. The first, is the view against abortion, also known as pro-life. The other view, is rooted upon the belief of being pro-choice, or basically for abortions. These two different views are like two mathematical principles, in that although these two views have many differences, they also have larger similarities in the background. For example, when pro-choice activists support abortions due to unwanted pregnancies, the activists are not rallying behind the idea of sexual incompetency (pregnancies due to lack of birth control). Rather, they are supporting the idea that women have the right to choose what to do with their own bodies. In order to understand these opposing views, justifications and condemnations, on abortion, it can basically be divided into three categories. These categories are based upon the reasons for which abortions are carried out, and include congenital defects, rape, and economics. Congenital defects, is when deformities within the baby are detected during an early stage of a pregnancy (Nelson 36-37). These defects, such as Down’s syndrome, are detected through an amniocentesis test. The second justification for abortion is from criminal cases, such as rape (Nelson 38). A final reason for an abortion, is due to economics, the financial condition, of a family (Nelson 32). Economics can also include cases such as teen pregnancies. The anti-abortionists have numerous reasons for their beliefs, and many of them are attached to their religion ideals. Religious ideals, range from having an abortion before 120 days after the pregnancy, as in Islam, to considering it a sin to have an abortion, as in Christianity (Siegel et al. 3-4). However, the anti-abortionists’ reasons also come from the belief that a human being is born after conception, and that the death of that embryo or fetus resembles the murder of an innocent human being (Roleff 17). They believe that no one has the power to take command of another’s life, mainly an infant, that is dependent on others for survival during the initial stages of life. In addition, to the fact that abortions kill innocent human beings, anti-abortionists believe that they also damage the mental, as well as physical condition of the mother. Since, after an abortion a mother is more susceptible to breast cancer, and to periods of depression (Roleff 141-165). In the case of congenital defects, the pro-life activists argue that

Abortion: narrative

2001-11-05T13:00:00-05:00

The Power of Independence The right to choose, what one desires to do with their own life is what the American society is based upon. However, in certain cases in biomedical ethics, such as abortion, the question of whom has the right to choose the fate of another is still questionable. I learned about the power that one has over others, in doing a term paper about abortion for a Biology AP class, in high school. The power that I learned I possessed but never knew about its detrimental effects on others was similar to the power that Tobias Wolff revealed in his shot essay, On Being A Real Westerner. The term paper on abortion was a random subject chosen out of an old-fashioned hat. At first I was thrilled to have the topic because it was a trivial subject in which there has been a long history of debate and controversy. The teacher, Mrs. Kuhn, then told us in a mysterious and deceitful tone to write down our views of the subject, wether we were against it or for it. During that time I was not familiar with the cases dealing with abortions, except that it was beneficial for pregnant teenagers to have them so that they didn’t jeopardize their future. Obviously, I was thinking in context with my social group, and it would be easy to say why one should have an abortion as opposed to not having one. After the opinions, which were written down on paper, were collected she revealed that she wanted us to go against our own views, to take on the opposite views. I was in a state of shock for a while, because it was as if she was asking me to change my religion, my beliefs, from one thing to another. I can’t understand why I felt that way because it was just a method to see how the opposition felt. However, I felt weaker as if she had stripped me of my right to be independent, and that she was trying to force beliefs upon me which was blasphemous. Eventually, I gave in because the term paper was an important part of the grade. The research into my newly nomianl belief was difficult at first, but once I found certain information on the net and in books the search seemed less sadistic. The websites I visited contained mostly support for pro-life beliefs based

Women in Combat

2001-11-05T13:00:00-05:00

The idea of women in combat is not unusual anymore. They should be able to hold combat positions because although physical strength matters, the military still needs the intelligence that women can bring. Also, banning women from the combat hurts their military careers. Although women account for a very small percent of the enlisted personnel they are still a major part in the armed forces. Their performance recently has generated support from Congress and the public for enhancing the role of females in the military. Women fall back on the old "unit cohesion", "male bonding”, and "good order" rubbish that is left over from the Roman Empire. It's rather like saying that women can't play major league baseball because they can't spit, scratch and rearrange their cod pieces as well as the boys - regardless of whether or not they can throw a baseball from left field to third base. Units made of women and men have bonded, cohered, and maintained good order for centuries. Military units of mixed sexes have quietly maintained order, accomplished missions, and passed operational readiness inspections with flying colors. They're too busy doing their jobs to worry about which latrine to use. Desert Storm is a classic example of mixed units performing as cohesive and effective teams even under fire. Yet a problem with bonding is that too much bonding might occur, as to where it becomes sexual tension, where one might risk their life over another soldier’s life. During the Persian Gulf War, women were sent to the Middle East to fly helicopters, service combat jets, refuel tankers, and load laser-guided bombs. Their performance has led the world to realize that women are extremely useful in combat. Defense secretary Dick Chaney said "Women have made a major contribution to this [war] effort. We could not have won without them." Leaders in the field agreed. The Gulf War had the largest deployment of women in the armed forces in history. These women encountered the same risks as the men they served with. Twenty-one females lost their lives In spite of their record as able combat personnel, there are laws and policies that restrict women in the United States Military from serving in positions that require them to engage in direct combat. Women in the Air Force and Navy are barred from aircraft and vessels that have a chance to be exposed to combat. The official, established policies

Pollution in China Today

2001-10-30T13:00:00-04:00

In an article written by Mark Hertsgaard in November of 1997, he talked about how despite China’s economic peril, the real problem facing the country of 1.266 billion people is pollution. There are many reasons for this rather unfortunate occurrence, especially for a country who has already dealt with so much grief it is almost unimaginable. How can a country as big and with so much potential power in today’s world be allowed to reach the point where it is so polluted that even on sunny days one can not see the fingers on their outstretched hand when standing outside? Some may venture to say that China was very wrapped up in politics, economics and getting the whole communism thing off the ground the last thing anyone thought about was nature. The countries leaders never really considered what actions they were taking then would affect the land a couple of decades later during the mid to late 90’s. Hertsgaard mentioned walking around the old Chongqing paper mill. It was built some time in the 1940’s and was finally all but closed so that production is lowered to almost 25% original capacity. Yet even with the lowered output, the plant is still dumping thousands upon thousands of ton's of chlorine, raw sewage, laced water among other types of wastes directly in to the river. Even still, Hertsgaard says the pollution along the Jailin River is largely contributed to the paper mill, as well as the other factories along the Jailin. There are people who live along the river and grow food between creeks black and chunky, not unlike used motor oil, and drink contaminated water because they have no choice. Over half the entire population of China drinks contaminated water and there is little they can do about it. Since most of the people in China are poorer then dirt, not many have access to Brita Water Filters. The government got a loan from the World Bank at a total of $349 million for environmental clean up campaigns. “Scattered coal fired boilers to natural gas boilers and promoting energy conservation heating systems” (Environment News Service, http://ens.lycos.com/ens/jun2000/2000L-06-21-01.html). A large reason the Chinese government has not been able to provide adequate environmental protection is because of the focus on bringing its economy ”Up to par” with all the other world leading countries such as, the U.S., Germany, Japan, and Canada. If China did concentrate

The Modern Family in Comparison With Family in the 19th Century

2001-10-29T13:00:00-04:00

Family is one of the oldest and most common human institutions. Since prehistoric times, the family has been an important organisation in society. Most people grow up in a family and as adults, establish a family of their own. One main type of family is known as a nuclear family. A nuclear family is made up when a couple have children, the parents and their children make up a nuclear family, in another words. There are many different definitions of what a family is. For example, Giddens defines a family as, “A small group of closely related people who share a distinct identify and responsibility for each other that outweighs commitments to others. This group is commonly, but no necessarily, based on marriage, biological descent or adoption.” Many sociologists have accepted to regard Giddens definition as accurate but too basic for a modern society. For example, he does not mention facts as homosexual marriage and common residence. Murdock takes Giddens definitions further and defines the family as, “A social group characterised by common residence, economic co-operation and reproduction. It includes adults of both sexes, at least two of whom maintain a socially approved sexual relationship, and one or more children, own or adopted, of sexually cohabiting adults.” With respect to functionalism, Marxism, rich and poor, the changes that have taken place since the 19th century will be analysed. The growing importance of women in modern society will also be discussed. Friedrich Engels, a Marxist, has influenced the way we look at a family. He believed that thousands of years ago the means of production were communally owned and the family as such did not exist. The nuclear family developed with the emergence of private property, which was all owned by males. In return, men needed to have legitimate heirs. So, men needed control of the women to produce these “real” offspring (whom usually hoped were sons to carry on the family name). Eli Zaretsky has also analysed the family from a Marxist perspective. He argues that the family was very much connected with the economy before the industrial revolution when work was mainly done in the home. With the start of the industrial revolution in the late 18th century and early 19th century, work grew out of the home and into the factories. As Western nations became increasingly industrialized, many rural people moved to the cities to seek factory work.

Globalisation Must be Stopped

2001-10-28T13:00:00-04:00

As we progress into the future, the reality of globalisation comes nearer especially in the aspect of economics. It is said to benefit everyone including the wealthy but, is that necessarily true? If economic globalisation occurs then cultural, political and technological globalisation will follow. What religion would we all have to be in? What political system do we have to be under? What about those people who are uneducated or not very educated, with little knowledge of technology? If everything were to become globalised there would be no individualism, no identity and no nationalism. There would be no you! Globalisation must be stopped. I am sure that you know that globalisation can be defined in many terms. Many see it as a primarily economic aspect, “as the growing of national economies to form a single economy”. (Economics for the Real World: 2, Cronk, T. Kirkwood, L. Searle, I. Swiericzuk. page 406) However, it can also be pointed out to be a rapid increase in cross-border social, cultural and technological exchange. Globalisation also has been defined by critics of globalisation, present it as a worldwide drive toward a globalised economic system dominated by supranational corporate trade and barking institutions that are not accountable to democratic processes or nation governments. Globalisation is an undeniably capitalist process. Basically globalisation is the rapid increase in cross-border economic, social, technological exchange under condition of capitalism. (http://www.globalisationguide.org/). The “G8” organisation must be stopped! G8 is an organisation involving the eight of the worlds most flourishing economic countries. These include Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, United Kingdom, United States and the European Union. These countries are trying to create economic globalisation. This is typical of the most powerful countries to do so, what about countries like Australia? What does globalisation mean to Australia? Australian corporations participate in the oppression of workers and peasants in poor countries in Asia. Australian mining and forestry companies are involved in extracting wealth from countries such as Papua New Guinea, Irian Jaya and Indonesia, sometimes relying on military support to suppress local opposition. The Australian support for trade liberalisation, particularly in agriculture, has been used to open up markets in poor countries where Australia’s commodity exports put local subsistence farmers out of work. Australia has opened its own markets to goods made in countries that allow child labour, or forbid the formation of free trade unions. The Australian government has opposed efforts

Euthanasia in Australia

2001-10-26T14:00:00-04:00

What is

The Futility Of High School Romance

2001-10-25T14:00:00-04:00
“And I will show you something different from either your shadow at morning striding behind you, or your shadow at evening rising to meet you; I will show you fear in a handful of dust”(The Waste Lands, INTERNET). When T.S. Eliot wrote that line, he wasn’t thinking of high school, but he could have been. Adults believe high school to be one of the happiest time in a person’s life, that all the fears they had were meaningless, and blown to the wind. However, to those how still attend, high schools are deserts, pain and loneliness just over the next dune, with students constantly searching for an oasis amongst the sand. Too many teenagers turn to the opposite sex to elevate themselves above that sandstorm. Wandering around any high school, you can see them, the couples. They are “making out” against a locker, holding hands down the hall, or even screaming at each other across a crowded room. Quite a few of those “couples” are together simply for political reasons. Young men and women come together because they want to look “cool” in front of their friends. Often, they sacrifice their personal happiness to be “normal”. Another reason they come together is sheer loneliness. Ignored at home, lost in a sea of bodies that have their own lives, teenagers turn to one another in the hopes of elevating themselves from their disparity. Unfortunately, they’re only placing themselves in a situation where further heartbreak is inevitable. Some people may say they are together because they want to be, that if two people feel a certain way towards one another, they should act on that impulse and be together. However, as young adults, one cannot always tell what is real, or how they feel. It is far better to remain friends with that person, rather than open yourself totally to each other. That way, you can still be friends and enjoy one another’s company without getting hurt, and fighting. Far too often, these young couples–knowing so little about each other, and less about themselves–get caught up in sexual activity. Peer pressure is the leading reason for such activities. “52% of respondents referred to "sex" and/or "boys" as major issues. No one racial or ethnic group provided this answer dramatically more than any other. Of all age groups, only 11-year-olds did not mention "pressure to have sex" as an issue at all.” (REPORT EXAMINES GIRLS'

Canada's Young Offenders Act

2001-10-25T14:00:00-04:00
Officially passed in Parliament in 1984, the Young Offender’s Act was the final say in the rights of all criminal offenders of the ages 12-17. Most children under the age of twelve are not held responsible for crimes they may commit–any one over 18 is considered an adult and tried according to the Criminal Code of Canada. The Canadian government managed to agree that young children and teens have special needs that the Criminal Code couldn’t provide for. The YOA provides more opportunities for rehabilitation, with less of the repercussions that usually come hand-in-hand with criminal activity. (All About Law 237-253) Before the YOA was passed, youth were often thrown into the same class as hardened criminals (unless they could be placed under the Juvenile Delinquency Act), with very few extra rights afforded to them. The Young Offender’s Act includes provisions for all children, with special regard for their age, maturity, and the severity of their crime. Extra rights provided for young offenders include : The young person under 56(2)(c) must be given a reasonable opportunity to consult with a parent and/or a lawyer prior to the taking of any statement. "Consult" means far more than a telephone call, or a "talk to". A young person is entitled to privacy, face to face conversation, quality advice, and reasonable time. A young person may consult both a parent and a lawyer, on the telephone or in person, as the adolescent wishes. Under s. 56(2)(d) any person so consulted, must be present during the taking of the oral, handwritten, typed, or videotaped confession. A young person who clearly understands what he or she is giving up may waive the requirements of s. 56(2)(c) and (d). Any such waiver must however be in writing or videotaped (Internet). This is so that a young offender is aware of their rights, and are given full access to adults that would help them understand more fully how to deal with the situation. Other rights also include : When you are arrested, the police must immediately tell you the following: 1. You do not have to say anything or answer any questions; 2. Anything you do say can be used as evidence in court, whether or not you say it in writing; 3. You may speak to a lawyer and a parent or other adult before you say anything; and, 4. The lawyer or an adult must be with you when

School Uniforms

2001-10-24T14:00:00-04:00
I am going to prove that Esperanza should require students to wear uniforms. I’ve seen a few high schools that have a dress code. This dress code requires them to wear uniforms. Esperanza’s dress code lacks the disciplined dress needed to promote self-confidence. I always see other people wear the same clothes about every two days. For me, I have about 7 pairs

What Is Culture?

2001-10-22T14:00:00-04:00
A group of Arab oil workers sent to Texas for training found American teaching methods impersonal. Several Japanese workers at a U.S. manufacturing plant had to learn how to put courtesy aside and interrupt conversations when there was trouble . Executives o f a Swiss based multinational couldn't understand why its American managers demanded more autonomy than their European counterparts. Jose Carlos Villates, a business manager for animal health products at American Cyanamid Co., also had a problem with office protocol. Back in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, where he was raised, business people would begin meetings with relaxed chitchat. At the company s headquarters in Wayne, NJ, though, he says he picks up signals orbody language that Americans find such sociability time wasting. But even after 15 months in the U.S., Mr. Villates feels uncomfortable plunging abruptly into business. "It strikes me as cold blooded," he says. Most people think that culture is manners, food, dress, arts and crafts, says Clifford Clarke, president of IRI International, a Redwood City, CA, consulting company. They don t realize that how you motivate a guy is culturally determined. Every managerial task is culturally determined. [Bennett, 1986, p. 33] Even a definition of culture depends on culture. In the German, Scandinavian, and Slavic language groups, the word "culture" tends to mean a particular way of life, whether of a people, a time period, or a group. But in Italian and French, the word refers more to art, learning, and a general process of human development (Williams, 1976a, p. 81). Both meanings exist today as the word is used in English. It is helpful to distinguish so-called high culture (classical music, opera, ballet, art, literature, and so forth) from all processes and products of human activity. High culture is associated with class distinctions and is sometimes put down with the affected pronunciation "culchah" (Williams, 1976). We will use the term culture in its more general social sense to mean the customs of a group or a society. Culture refers to all the symbolic and socially learned aspects of human society. Material culture includes things, technology, and the arts. Nonmaterial culture includes language and other symbols, knowledge, skills, values, beliefs, and customs. Culture has a certain durability. This does not mean it is unchanging; culture changes constantly. Indeed, it is like a living, breathing entity. Only the rate of change varies from one society to

Differences

2001-10-22T14:00:00-04:00
CHINK!!!! Yeah...that's right…look at us with those chinky eyes! Go back to where you belong!" Those words will forever ring in my ears. I was standing in line for lunch while talking to a friend while a couple of boys, fourth and fifth graders, were making fun of the only Asian girl in the school, me, a lonely kindergartener. I will never forget that moment when I realized that I was different. Growing up in a predominantly white community, I had never thought of the issue of race as a child. My neighbor and I were best friends, and I never thought of myself as different. She had blonde hair; I had black. She had blue eyes; I had dark brown. We loved to play with the same things, thus we were friends. It was that simple. But on that day in elementary school, my world came apart, and I will never forget it. I was different, and I didn't know why. After those boys said that to me, I just stared in shock and got my lunch. I acted as though they had said nothing, and I was probably fortunate, considering the horrible things young boys can do. But when I went home, I cried. Why were people making fun of me? I didn't even understand what "chink" meant. It was only the motion they made by stretching their eyes that made me understand. I hadn't realized that I was different from everyone else. At home I spoke Chinese and watched some Chinese movies, but I did not think that made me different. I was still a person, a human being. Did it matter that I spoke Chinese and had black hair and dark brown eyes? Apparently to some people it did matter. Every day I went to school with white children and went home to a Chinese family. For other people this was a line, a distinction that set me apart from others. For me, it defined who I was, American-born Chinese. The combination in this term was hard for me to understand. In fact, I did not realize I was a combination until that day in the lunch line. Then, I began to question my identity. What defined me as Chinese? What defined me as American? Throughout my years in my white neighborhood I grew up as an equal among my classmates. My peers had never teased

A Trip to the Supermarket

2001-10-22T14:00:00-04:00
The other day I walked into the supermarket to buy a box of Kleenex. I was faced with a variety of colors, textures, box designs, and even the option of aloe. All these features designed for a product to blow my nose into! Selection wasn't limited to the Kleenex section, either…I found abundance in every aisle. We seem to always want more - more choices, more variety, more time. In fact, even the word "supermarket" implies a desire for more than just a simple market. No longer just a place to buy food, the supermarket has become a place to cash a check, buy a birthday card, or pick up some tulip bulbs. These new extras are all centered on the idea of convenience. We all hope to find a few extra moments in our days, so supermarkets offer us a way to save time. I'll be the first to admit that buying three things at the same store is nicer than driving across town. Saving time can definitely be a good thing. Variety is another "more" I found on my trip to the supermarket. In the refrigerator case alone I found over thirty kinds of cheese. There was Wisconsin cheese, Italian cheese, cream cheese, cheddar cheese, even goat cheese. Milk worked the same way. I saw skim, ½ %, 1 %, 2 %, whole, and soy. It was amazing! Choices can be fun though. Shopping becomes an experience that allows us to define who we are. Variety is empowering, creating an atmosphere where we feel like products are designed especially for us. When I got to the freezer case, the idea of convenience popped back into my head. I found frozen breakfast, frozen lunch, frozen dinner, and even frozen dessert. Everything was focused around instant gratification. The deli counter was the same way, with freshly prepared entrees and salads tempting me as I walked by. These parts of the store were centered on the idea of time. When I reached the candy aisle, a new thought came to mind - indulgence. It soon became clear that indulgence wasn't just limited to the sections involving sugary treats. Cosmetics, fragrant shampoos, bubble bath, candles and potpourri all worked with the same theme. Indulgence is an all around desire for more. I often find myself wanting more enjoyable things in my life. Indulgences like these at the supermarket are an easy way

Junk the Junk Mail

2001-10-22T14:00:00-04:00
It is another Wednesday morning, and I am again sitting at the front desk of my dormitory at 9 am. The US Postal Service just delivered today's mail, and the other Wednesday-morning deskworker and I are preparing to search for names, check mailbox numbers, sort the mail, and place it into mailboxes. I hate working the mail shift, but I do it because I get paid nine dollars an hour for relatively brainless work. Even though I lose a few hours of sleep, I get some good laughs and entertainment in return, especially on a day like today when an array of catalogs stocks two entire mail bins. After three years at this job, I continue to be amazed at both the number of catalogs certain people receive and the type of items that can be acquired through a catalog. Take, for example, Resident Jane Doe, who gets J. Crew, L.L. Bean, Ann Taylor, Victoria's Secret, Pottery Barn, Bed & Bath and Beyond, and Staples catalogs, each of which arrive on average once per month. Residents like Jane Doe are notorious amongst deskworkers for the volume of mail they receive, and their room numbers are firmly imprinted on our brains because we have looked them up so many times. I can always tell when residents like Jane Doe have been away for a long weekend, because their mailboxes become so packed that they cannot hold even one additional piece of mail. Of course, 80% of the mail in her mailbox consists of catalogs and other junk mail. The companies themselves contribute greatly to the number of catalogs these residents receive. Jane Doe probably purchased one item from J. Crew through mail order or at a J. Crew store, and as a result, she will always receive catalogs from J. Crew at this address, even after she has moved away from this dorm. Furthermore, the fact that she receives other clothing catalogs may also be attributed to this one purchase. Since it's already almost two months into the semester, I do not mind this never-ending stream of catalogs as much because I can generally identify the residents who do not reside in my dorm building anymore and can quickly sort through their mail. Their "flood technique," however, still makes me want to tear my hair out of my head. Today, Pottery Barn customers received both a general catalog and the seasonal

Sex

2001-10-22T14:00:00-04:00
Humans are sexual beings. We want it. We all need sex. It is an important part of us. Sex can be simply a pleasurable act, yet it can also be an expression of our love for someone else. In short, sex is wonderful. However, it is relatively rare to encounter a rational discussion about sex, even between partners. As with all activities about which people are passionate and which involve biological drives, the topic of sexuality is rife with controversy, misunderstanding, moralizing, and stereotypes. It is my belief that the widespread availability of information about sexual matters help facilitate better communication in relationships. Progress can never be made in human affairs by the suppression or repression of information, or by spreading disinformation. In essence, sexuality should be celebrated to improve our sexual health and happiness. In today's society, where sex is unfortunately too often viewed as "the nasty," I would not necessarily call the act of having sex taboo because people are beginning to realize more about who we are and what we need. This is not to say that we are considering sex to be a cool thing now, but our attitudes are a lot better than they used to be. Still, we Americans have much to improve on our views and acceptance of sex. A non-virgin today is often looked down upon in the younger age groups (high-school and under). Teenagers label them with harsh vocabulary such as "whores", "skanks", "sluts", and "players." In the older age groups, sex is more "the thing to do". If you have a long-term girlfriend or boyfriend, wife or husband, it is expected that you are having a sexual relationship. We are more comfortable with admitting that we are sexually active when we are older. However, knowing that certain individuals are having sex and talking about it often elicits an "eiuwwww." Are most people comfortable with telling their friends whether or not they are having sex? For most people, I believe not. There is much room for improvement in the ways we handle sex and its importance in our lives. I am not saying that we should invade other people's privacy or blatantly share intimate details of our sex lives, but that we should not feel embarrassed or guilty for having sex and enjoying ourselves. The United States is probably one of the more uptight countries about sex. For example, in Europe,

Get Out of Dodge

2001-10-22T14:00:00-04:00
Imagine the senior year of high school when students are poised to enter college and become adults. It's a time of responsibility, of being on one's own, and of shaping lives by making daily decisions. One of the most major decisions is where to attend college. Should a person stay close to home and attend an in-state school where people and even campuses are somewhat familiar? Or should the decision be to start a completely new chapter in one's life by attending a college farther away, with totally new challenges? I believe the answer is definitely to leave and I can best verbalize this with a famous western saying: "Get out of Dodge." Of course, I can only speak from own experience to date. I thoroughly enjoyed high school and had excellent teachers who prepared me for entrance into the new world of college. My family and I discussed and received information from many schools, some of which I was totally unfamiliar with. My parents knew this was an important milestone in my life and therefore, arranged for a trip east to visit campuses and classes. That is how I chose to travel from my North Dakotan home to MIT, halfway across the nation. I had many reasons, one of which is obviously that MIT is one of the top schools in the nation, but another is that it is in the city of Boston. I am from Bismarck, North Dakota, a midwestern town of about 60,000 which I love, but I knew it was time for a new place with new experiences. So far, I am only in my first semester of college, but I love it. I have met a whole new set of friends and find that things are always happening on campus and in the city. I was homesick for about the first week, but after that I never thought about being homesick again. I had too many interesting things to do. For the first time in my life, I could go and see a professional sports team play, see the Blue Man group, or just explore all the historic sites of Boston. Over the Columbus Day break, I went home to Bismarck and realized that nothing had changed. Twenty of my friends met me at the airport and were excited to see me, as I was excited to see them. Through our few days together,

Strength in Numbers

2001-10-22T14:00:00-04:00
"I have 18.02 due at 4:00 P. M. on 11/14/00 in 16-135. Then I have to go to 8.01 in 26-100 at 5:00 P. M. and get at least a 65 on Exam 3. Do you remember the Athena cluster combination? Oh, yeah, it's 43169*." To an average person, this jargon sounds like a computer code or a series of misunderstandings. However, every MIT student has probably said and heard something like this to describe his or her schedule in a small part of the day. Numbers are the language at MIT, and they specify all sorts of places, classes, work, time, and even the students themselves. This powerful yet simple system of communication has completely engulfed this school and made organization much easier because of the clarity of numbers and the obscurity of language. Even before I considered applying to MIT, I thought of this school as a center of mathematics and science. Of course the name suggests this fact, but not until I visited the campus during the summer before my senior year of high school did I realize the truth of that statement. My visit began with directions to "Lobby 7" where I would meet with a tour guide. Coming from a high school where all the buildings were named and clearly labeled outside, I expected a giant number seven on the front edifice of a building to designate it from the others, but I had no such luck. Instead, I scanned the map of the campus several times before finding Building 7 on Massachusetts Avenue. I did not find this designation for the building anywhere outside until I went in and saw one of the doors inside surrounding the massive lobby. When my tour began, the guide led us through a myriad of identical halls and corridors until we finally went outside. She began to describe the numbering system across campus and explained that many of the buildings we walked through were distinguished on the outside only by numbers on the doors, which I had not understood quite yet. Then she listed some of the required freshman courses including multiple semesters of Calculus and the three main natural sciences. Following the tour was an information session for prospective students and their parents to ask questions about the admissions process. I had visited several colleges before MIT and went to their information sessions following the tours, but

Grinding to a Halt

2001-10-22T14:00:00-04:00
What's the U.S. all about? When asked that question almost everyone I know would reply: "Well, the U.S. represents democracy, capitalism, freedom, etc." The first thing I noticed is that everyone seems to mention democracy first. If you quiz a random American on this, that's probably what they'll think of too. It's also a point of view that might be the source of resentment for many Americans who are unhappy with our government right now. Why would that be? Because the U.S. is actually not a pure democracy, as I'm sure you already knew, but a republic. This means the government is set up in such a way that the people as a whole elect their leaders, those who they think would best represent them, and then those leaders handle the big issues, such as foreign policy, legislation, or legal interpretation. In principle this is a good system, since it would be virtually impossible for everyone in the U.S. to vote on every issue facing our nation. With this vision our forefathers created a strong governmental system, one they hoped would withstand the tests of time. And it has. Until now. Many Americans feel the modern American government is bloated, deceptive and overly convoluted beast that isn't living up to its founding principles. This has become quite apparent in the 2000 Presidential election in which a process that should last little more than a day, the counting of ballots, has lasted more than two weeks. The foremost problem that this election demonstrates very clearly is a lack of any real political direction. Neither candidate, or party for that matter, can presently demonstrate substantial division on major subjects. While the parties generally tend one way or the other on issues, there are no longer strong and fast party-wide philosophies that one can count on. When our Government was first created there were major divisions between the parties of the time. Even up until around WWII both parties had strong separate characters that helped voters in choosing the right person to represent them. Over the last fifty years, however, the parties have started to grow together, neither side feeling safe as the representation of a political or philosophical extreme. Now this move towards mediocrity has finally culminated in one of the closest races for the presidency in U.S. history. In the 2000 Presidential election, the two major party candidates, Al Gore and

Heroes and Heroines

2001-10-22T14:00:00-04:00
"Who the heck are you?" Victor Frankenstein cried. "What the heck are you?" "I am the wretch created by your beloved Elizabeth," cried the vaguely female wretch. "Elizabeth has passed the limits of the human realm and in her feverish pursuit of the essential knowledge of the world she has spawned the being that you now see before you!" "And what do you want from me, you frightening monstrosity whom my innocent and sheltered eyes should never have been made to look upon?" The wretch snickered. "I am a monstrous version of Elizabeth, her child, brought forth by her own hand. She has forsaken me, cast me aside and thus made me miserable! Therefore I have vowed to destroy everything she loves, even sweet and mild Victor, just as she destroyed all happiness for me. Rrrrr!" "Oh, help me! Help me!" Victor Frankenstein cried. "Oh! Oh!" Now wait just one second. Very funny, but that's not how the story goes. For one thing, Victor Frankenstein does not squeal like a-girl? Victor Frankenstein created the monster. Victor Frankenstein was the ambitious one who took his experiments too far. A monstrous version of Victor destroyed everything he loved. Elizabeth was sweet and mild. Elizabeth was the innocent who died because of Victor's work gone wrong. Frankenstein would have been a remarkable book if Elizabeth had taken on Victor's part, if Victor had taken on Elizabeth's part, and if the wretch had been female. Imagine Victor staying at home and being the best example of the sweetest nature anyone ever did see. Imagine Elizabeth storming acros the icy mountains after the wretch, and imagine the wretch demanding a husband to be a boon to her, sweet and supportive company when she became tired of the world. Switching the gender roles in such a way would be comical because that's not the way it's done. When we read about, watch, or listen to our fictional heroes and heroines, we expect certain behaviors from them. We have a set of rules by which we define male and female characters, and characters that don't adhere to the general rules are anomalies and misfits. Sometimes we may want a character to be a misfit. Most heroes, for example, are misfits in some way. Look at Batman. He might have some issues, but by golly, he really did something about them. A man or woman must deviate from

White America

2001-10-22T14:00:00-04:00
When I lived in Japan and talked with my friends about Americans, I had a strong impression that my friends think the average American is white. Of course they realize that there are many other ethnic groups in the U.S. but they do not realize the true extent of racial diversity in America. In their minds, an average American has white skin, a tall nose, long legs, wide eyes, and a muscular body. So I wondered what could have led them to this image of the average American. Then I realized that the description sounds a lot like some cartoon hero. Maybe the American heroes in television and movies have had a strong impact on creating images of the average American for people in foreign countries. There seems to be a strong sentiment among people of different races that putting characters with a wide range of ethnic diversity in T.V. shows, cartoons, or movies just to be politically correct is meaningless. There seems currently to be a strong resentment against being politically correct, even among minorities. While I agree that putting characters of different races into T.V. shows or movies may sometimes be unnatural, I don't at all agree that it is meaningless. Think of all the American movie, cartoon or television heroes that you know. You would probably think of Superman, Batman, Indiana Jones, James Bond, G.I.Joe, Rocky, Rambo, X-men, Luke Skywalker, Shaft or Zorro. How many non-white heroes did you come up with? Probably fewer than the number you got for white heroes. This may seem natural considering that the majority of people in the U.S. are white, but there are clearly a larger proportion of white heroic characters in television and movies than in the real American population. In the 1990 census, there were 248,709,873 whites (80.2%) 29,986,060 blacks (12.1%) 22,354,059 Hispanics (9.0%) and 7,273,662 Asian/Pacific Islanders. (2.9%) This means that for every 6.6 white people there is a black person. Comparing this proportion of white to black American heroes in television or movies, there seems to be a large discrepancy between the world of reality and the world of imagination. There are many more white heroes than the simple demographic proportion suggests. Then it becomes my suspicion that white people have much more influence on creating these heroes than people of any other race. And along with that suspicion is the fear that the consequence of

Culture Invasion

2001-10-22T14:00:00-04:00
A screeching yell ripped through the house that Wednesday evening, "Ahhhhh, we're being invaded!". My mother rushed into the living room. I pointed to the flickering television screen. "Look," I whispered in disbelief. A few seconds of silence followed. There they were, the words I never thought would appear on our 29 inch Sony screen: "Sizzlin' Hot Country". The appearance of American country music on the Kenyan airwaves was the latest sign that American culture had penetrated the borders of my country. The airing of Garth Brooks and Dolly Parton on the local television station is not the only evidence of the rapid spread of American culture in Kenya. One look at a large portion of its youth and this cultural invasion will become apparent. Baggy pants, Nike, pop music and malls, symbols of American youth culture can now be associated with the Kenyan teenagers. The Nike phenomenon hit Kenya several years ago. My classmates in primary school were obsessed with the American brand name that had rocked the global shoe industry. Their school desks had the Nike name and logo painted on in every color imaginable. Not being able to afford some of the merchandise, many resorted to drawing the logo on bags, clothes, shoes and other visible possessions. Turning up to a class party with the trademark tick appearing on one's footwear simply made one the center of attention. My favorite pair of shoes, I have to admit, were a pair of black Nikes which raised many brows and turned just as many heads. Secondary school had its fair share of examples of the cultural invasion. In most schools in Kenya, students dress in uniforms. For example, in my school it was compulsory to wear a white shirt, gray pants, black leather shoes, a green tie and green sweater. The American influence was still evident despite this homogenous look. Pete was an example of a victim of the culture invasion. He would often be seen with his pants held precariously at his hips only by a belt. Sagging soon caught on with many students and yet again, I admit, with me. Sagging probably had its origins in the popular American hip hop that appears on many local channels. While walking around in school, I would find students mimicking the popular '2 Pac' and 'Dr. Dre', with a "Wesssaaid" sounding in the air occasionally. A friend was also nicknamed

The Victim

2001-10-22T14:00:00-04:00
You could call me a shop-a-holic, as most of my friends do, but I call myself a lover of fashion. Sitting in my room, I look in my closet at all my belongings and wonder what else I want to buy. Abercrombie, Guess, J Crew, Armani Exchange, Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, and Banana Republic are just a few of the name-brand items that clutter my room. And I want more. I've never stopped to question whether I'm getting what I'm paying for, though I've always been a "smart" shopper, a sale shopper. But, as I learn more about my future field, marketing, I realize that I am a victim of advertising. All the things I want and buy are influenced by what magazines, television, and other advertisers tell me I need to want and buy. Everyone wears clothes. They can be a statement, a style, or a definition of who you are. They can also be a simple necessity. For me, clothing has meant different things. As a child, I wore what my mother gave me or the hand-me-downs from my sister. I never questioned how I looked, but I liked to dress up. In middle school, I became more concerned with my appearance, like most girls. I tried to keep up with the fashion, but what defined the fashion? Magazines and television were the big ones for me. I wanted to look beautiful; thus, I wore what the beautiful people showed me I should wear in hopes that I could be just as beautiful, or at least as fashionable. I had a huge desire to be fashionable, because in being fashionable, I believed I could be popular. As I look back upon those middle school days, I am amazed at how concerned young people can be about their image. Children become so concerned at such a young age with being popular and looking beautiful. Girls start reading Seventeen, and the idea becomes engraved in their minds that they must be like the girls they see in the magazine. The cover has "500 Summer Must-Haves" or "5 Minutes of Crunches to get those Hard Abs" or "10 New Hair Styles that Will Drive the Boys Crazy" strewn across in bold bright colors. By reading all these tips to fashion and beauty, girls are sucked into buying products they think will help them become beautiful. Makeup, hair accessories, jewelry, and especially

Death Penalty

2001-10-21T14:00:00-04:00
The death penalty is the worst sentence someone can receive in the United States. It takes a violent crime to be given the sentence. The question is does anyone deserve the Death Penalty? Should it be used in modern day? Does it save the taxpayers money to execute someone? Why are some people against it? Does anyone ever deserve the death penalty? I think in some cases it should happen. I believe that if someone knowingly takes another persons life, he should be killed also. Even the bibles says that “Whoever strikes a man a mortal blow must be put to death.” Almost every culture throughout history has used the death penalty as a necessary tool for maintaining order. The only change throughout time has been what was deemed worth giving the penalty. Recently though all countries in Western Europe have abolished the death penalty. Now to a lot of people, the death penalty is one of the things that people look down at us for. The death penalty is used in many states throughout the U.S. but not in Wisconsin. However the death penalty should be used today in extreme circumstances. Some of the ways people have been executed have changed but people still die a somewhat quick death. The electric chair, gas chamber, lethal injection, and firing squad are the methods used presently in the U.S. In 2001, 49 people have been put to death all by lethal injection. Could the use of lethal injection and other forms of execution be used to help save taxpayers money? Some people say that more people should be put to death to save taxpayers money. But it is actually cheaper to keep someone in a maximum security prison for life than to give someone the death penalty. To execute and keep someone on death row it cost 3x as much because of the cost of appeals and holding them. So if someone was for the death penalty just to save money then they should be against it. People that are against the death penalty say it is cruel and unusual punishment. They claim that giving someone the death penalty is killing two people not one. Others say that innocent people might be put to death. While others say that racism makes blacks more likely to be put to death than whites. Studies show that this is true. What I think about the death penalty is that

Media Coverage of the Terrorist Attack

2001-10-20T14:00:00-04:00
That tightening in your throat, as if someone is squeezing it with a strong fist, just tight enough that you are unable to swallow, is the first sign of fear. And who better to put fear in the heart of viewers, than the “Media”. On Tuesday, September 11, 2001, tragedy struck in the US. By late morning, I was able to sit in the school theatre, and observe the country slowly deteriorating. I felt almost traumatized while watching as the news cast portrayed the disastrous mood. I clung to their every word, eager to be drowned in details of the horror. Much like every other spectator, I was rather perplexed when these particulars prove to be false. The media is widely known for being in the right place at the right time, or getting to that place in mere seconds. This, in a nut-shell, is the main reason we turn to the media for information. The massive amount of people in this world, hang off the news anchors’ every word. Without the brilliant technology of televised ‘news’, we would have been in complete ignorance of the US crisis for hours, possibly days. It is our quickest connection with the rest of the world and our only vision of people’s endless struggles to survive in it. Various scenes and clips were shot during the terrorism attack, in the US. Many of these clips were shown on news stations all across the world. They kept us informed through every minute of the day while these dreadful events took place, and showed actual shocking footage, of the helpless victims in the World Trade Towers. This is what the people of the world want to see. This is what people thrive for. Or is this too much for certain people to handle? Media coverage, of the obvious human tragedies, may evolve into an even more frightening realization that religious fanatics, who operate in a psychological realm beyond rational thought, have brought our civilization to the brink of another Dark Age where laws, moral principals, and technology, are obliterated by barbarians with no appreciation of these values. The information portrayed by the media leads people to believe very opinionated statements. Their voice should be valid, unprejudiced and legitimate, not simple alleged thoughts, and presumptions. The number of deaths has decreased enormously since the first broadcasting and is still in question. Though this terrorism is horrid, certain clips

Racism In America

2001-10-19T14:00:00-04:00
There is surely no nation in the world that holds "racism" in greater horror than does the United States. Compared to other kinds of offenses, it is thought to be somehow more reprehensible. The press and public have become so used to tales of murder, rape, robbery, and arson, that any but the most spectacular crimes are shrugged off as part of the inevitable texture of American life. "Racism" is never shrugged off. For example, when a White Georgetown Law School student reported earlier this year that black students are not as qualified as White students, it set off a booming, national controversy about "racism." If the student had merely murdered someone he would have attracted far less attention and criticism. Racism is, indeed, the national obsession. Universities are on full alert for it, newspapers and politicians denounce it, churches preach against it, America is said to be racked with it, but just what is racism? Dictionaries are not much help in understanding what is meant by the word. They usually define it as the belief that one's own ethnic stock is superior to others, or as the belief that culture and behavior are rooted in race. When Americans speak of racism they mean a great deal more than this. Nevertheless, the dictionary definition of racism is a clue to understanding what Americans do mean. A peculiarly American meaning derives from the current dogma that all ethnic stocks are equal. Despite clear evidence to the contrary, all races have been declared to be equally talented and hard- working, and anyone who questions the dogma is thought to be not merely wrong but evil. The dogma has logical consequences that are profoundly important. If blacks, for example, are equal to Whites in every way, what accounts for their poverty, criminality, and dissipation? Since any theory of racial differences has been outlawed, the only possible explanation for black failure is White racism. And since blacks are markedly poor, crime-prone, and dissipated, America must be racked with pervasive racism. Nothing else could be keeping them in such an abject state. All public discourse on race today is locked into this rigid logic. Any explanation for black failure that does not depend on White wickedness threatens to veer off into the forbidden territory of racial differences. Thus, even if today's Whites can find in their hearts no desire to oppress blacks, yesterday's Whites must have oppressed them. If

Alcohol Research Assignment

2001-10-19T14:00:00-04:00
Alcohol Dependence: Comprehension and Application. Outline the physiological effects of alcohol consumption, both short-term and Long-term: Short Term: The immediate effect of alcohol consumption is the alteration of mood. It may be surprising to discover that though it makes people feel a sense of euphoria, happiness and relaxation, it is in-fact, a depressant. The direct result of alcohol in the bloodstream causes impairment of motor co-ordination and suppresses central nervous system activity, which gives the impression of clumsiness and can lead to alcohol related accidents. The more intoxicated the person becomes the further their speech becomes slurred, vision blurred and loss of balance. Further more it switches off that part of the brain that controls judgement, leading to loss of inhibitions. This impairs the person’s decision making which can result in greater risk taking. However drinking in large doses can result in the suppression of vital bodily functions which can lead to coma, or even death. Additionally a drunken person vomiting while passed out, can lead to death by asphyxiation. Alcohol also impairs the memory of an intoxicated person by inhibiting the transfer and consolidation of information in long and short-term memory. Therefore this reduces the drinker’s ability to remember information that he/she has learned before going out for drinks. Furthermore, the attention span of the drinker is dramatically decreased for periods of up to forty-eight hours after drinking. This can further affect the academic performance of a student and his/her ability to study outside of class. REM and deep sleep is also suppressed (extremely important for restful sleep, memory consolidation and emotional well being. Thus when REM is suppressed it will give a feeling of tiredness when waking up the morning after being intoxicated. Alcohol use also impairs the functioning of the immune system—weakening the body’s ability to fight off infectious disease. In the short term this will increase the number of colds that the drinker experiences. Long term: Drinking for prolonged periods of time can have detrimental effects on the human body. Since alcohol is in fact a poisonous substance, having it circulating in the body will contribute to severe intestinal dysfunction. However, although alcohol alone is not the sole cause of the problems outlined below, it simply increases the risk of developing certain diseases/dysfunctions. Brain
Memory Loss
Confusion, Disorganisation
Hallucinations, Fits
Permanent brain damage
Impaired ability to learn new things Liver
Impaired liver functions
Severe swelling and pain
Inflamed liver (hepatitis)
Largely irreversible cirrhosis

The Propaganda of Drink Driving

2001-10-19T14:00:00-04:00
Each year numerous lives are lost due to careless and irrational driving. The disregard for safe driving has been a predicament to Queensland for years. For many years’ police have relied heavily on speed cameras, breathe testing and heavy fines as a deterrent against unlawful drivers. Over the years fatality rates have increased, so Queensland Transport has composed a series of safe driving campaigns. On many occasions the transport department informs and advises the public about the importance of responsible driving. They propagate safe driving through the various channels of the media. Their safe driving campaign is now using effective propaganda aimed directly at speeding; drink driving and tired and reckless driving. Repetition is often used in the safe driving campaigns in order to successfully convey their message and also to ensure, that the viewer retains their main idea. Fear is also often used in an effort reach the viewer on an emotional level. Presently the Government and the transport department have worked in collaboration with one another to bring forth a message to the public about road safety. And since road fatalities have affected Australia so much that the advice has become propaganda in every sense of the term – There is one idea propagated repeatedly in an emotional manner with appropriate cartoons and even name-calling. But has the massive propaganda campaign set out by the Government and the transport department been effective in ensuring the safety of motorists? Philosophy is important when it comes to propaganda, mainly because a propaganda primarily focus’s on one main idea. The safe driving campaign is directed to be of the general good for the public. It convinces the common people of the importance of life and makes them aware of the consequences that come from small and simple choices they make everyday. Article #1 is a very effective piece of propaganda in that it captures the reader’s attention successfully by placing a picture of a dog in the focal point of the article. The dog plays a vital role in this piece of propaganda in that it represents a loved one, family and anything cherished. It shows what could be left behind, if a driver chose to ignore safe driving. The breed of dog is also very important. Choosing a sorrowful dogs face, further enhanced the emotions of the reader, as the article wouldn’t have the same effect if a dangerous dog was

Fashion: A Tyrant Whom We Are All Forced To Obey

2001-10-18T14:00:00-04:00
Oops! Britney Spears has done it again. She has yet again topped the list of the worlds worst dressed stars, taking the title of The Worlds Worst Dressed Woman of 2000. Out of a total of 63391 votes from a poll taken ‘who needs a fashion makeover’ Britney was second and first place was taken by Britney’s rival, teenage pop sensation Christina Aguilera. After hearing the results, a fashion stylist who used to work for fashion magazine Marie Claire said, ”No surprises for guessing who’s crying for a fashion makeover. Christina Aguilera looks like the worst little whorehouse in Texas in her ‘Moulin Rouge’ garters and stockings. And what’s with the hair? She looks like a cross between a bird and a lion with that wild mane that has taken quite a beating. Honestly girl, sack your stylist! What works for Gwen Stefani does not always work for everyone!” What this fashion stylist says does not affect Christina’s millions of fans! So no matter what Britney looks like and no matter what she wears, at the end of the day she remains to be the Pop Princess of the century and a hero of many people. So now the only question that remains unanswered is why do people dress the way they do? Is it just a sense of style or are we dressing to make a fashion statement or are we dressing just to be dressed or are we forced to go along with the crowd and obey the fashion tyrant? We all try to keep up with fashion, looking around for the latest garb, but there is also a small percentage of people who don’t follow fashion and they are some times termed as weird, but in their own way, they have a sense of style. The whims of fashion have changed drastically over the years, from maxis to minis and bell-bottoms to skin tights. Fashion designers have made modesty a thing of the past, designing clothes that are appealing to the eye. Years ago women strived to be modest and to dress modestly but today the more of your body left uncovered, the more you are adored. Keeping up with fashion is important and your first impression counts! If two people apply for an office job it is more likely that the applicant wearing a suit would get the job rather than the applicant in shorts and a T-shirt. How

Discrimination - women and aboriginals

2001-10-17T14:00:00-04:00
Discrimination is any situation in which a group or individual is treated differently based on something other than individual reason, usually their membership in a socially distinct group or category. Such categories would include ethnicity, sex, religion, age, or disability. Two types of discrimination my essay will include are Women’s Rights and Indigenous Australians and the One Nation Party. Women’s Rights Until the second half of the 20th century, women in most societies were denied some of the legal and political rights accorded to men. Although women in much of the world have gained significant legal rights, many people believe that women still do not have complete political, economic, and social equality with men. Throughout much of history, deep-seated cultural beliefs allowed women only limited roles in society. Many people believed that women’s natural roles were as mothers and wives. These people considered women to be better suited for childbearing and homemaking rather than for involvement in the public life of business or politics. Widespread belief that women were intellectually inferior to men led most societies to limit women’s education to learning domestic skills. Well-educated, upper-class men controlled most positions of employment and power in society. Until the 19th century, the denial of equal rights to women met with only occasional protest and drew little attention from most people. Because most women lacked the educational and economic resources that would enable them to challenge the prevailing social order, women generally accepted their inferior status as their only option. At this time, women shared these disadvantages with the majority of working class men, as many social, economic, and political rights were restricted to the wealthy elite. In the late 18th century, in an attempt to remedy these inequalities among men, political theorists and philosophers asserted that all men were created equal and therefore were entitled to equal treatment under the law. In the 19th century, as governments in Europe and North America began to draft new laws guaranteeing equality among men, significant numbers of women—and some men—began to demand that women be accorded equal rights as well. Women’s Rights Today The status of women’s rights today varies dramatically in different countries and, in some cases, among groups within the same country. Many disparities persist between women’s legal rights and their economic status. Women today constitute nearly 70 percent of the world’s poor, despite international efforts to compensate women and men equally in the workplace. Indigenous Australians Pauline

The Unanswered Question - the Legalization of Marijuana

2001-10-16T14:00:00-04:00
One question that has haunted Americans for a long time is: “ Should the use of marijuana be legalized?” Some say, “Yes”, while others say, “No”. Owning marijuana was made a crime in 1937 when Congress passed the Marijuana Tax Act. Despite this law the drug was still somewhat commonly used. Here we are years later, still without a satisfactory answer to the question. I think that legalizing the use of marijuana would have many medical benefits, economical benefits, and would decrease the incidence of crime. There are others who disagree. These people feel that legalization would lead to the formation of other habits and to health problems, such as, the use of a harsher drug and to psychological and personality problems that can come from using marijuana. These individuals feel that the negatives of marijuana use far outweigh the positives, and feel that the use of marijuana should remain illegal. To some people marijuana is considered a “gateway” drug. Legalizing marijuana would lead to the use of other, much more harsh drugs. From the book Drugs, Teens, and Recovery Lauren a teenager that got mixed up in drugs describes how she got involved with marijuana, then with cocaine. She says, “I was ten, in the fifth grade, the first time I smoked pot. I liked pot a lot better than drinking because it was easier. I loved it. Pot and alcohol, that’s all I needed. I didn’t want to get into anything else”. She continues, “About this time, I started getting obsessed with cocaine and thinking about what the high would be like”. Just like Lauren people can start off with just smoking marijuana but they would get the urge to try something a little bit stronger. Legalizing marijuana will cause Americans to suffer from psychological and personality problems. According to Elizabeth Scheichert, who is the author of Marijuana, The Drug Library, THC is the active chemical in marijuana that causes the user to feel “high”. This is also the chemical that is most destructive to the user’s body and mind. The THC from smoking one marijuana cigarette can accumulate in the user’s body fat and stay there for weeks at a time. Smoking marijuana causes a lack of motivation, ambition, and creativity. Many user’s lose interest in life and become very lazy. People who use marijuana often find it very difficult to concentrate on anything more challenging than television.

Women in Combat

2001-10-14T14:00:00-04:00
A General Framework When I think about women in combat, I think about the days of the Revolutionary War, women helping their husbands to load cannons or I think about the army nurses who played vital roles overseas during the Vietnam conflict. I also think about women helicopter pilots providing air support to our soldiers and sailors during Operation Desert Storm. One year ago when I enlisted into the Army I never even considered that I would be expected to serve in an actual combat role nor did I join the army to be able to experience any combat situation other than training. However, today there are several advocates of the Equal Rights Amendment who believe that women in the military should be allowed to serve this country in combat roles. Although I have heard numerous debates on television and read about them in newspaper articles, I have yet to hear an enlisted women verbalize her desire to serve as an “Infantrywomen” or an “Armored Tank Crewmember”. It seems to me that the only people fighting for more combat roles for women in the military are women who are not in the military. Women do not belong in the combat zones during military conflicts. It disrupts the overall moral and personal readiness of the unit. A Specific Focus With my topic, I will deal, for instance, with statistics, the physical aspects required in combat situations, sexual harassment, and many other related issues. I also plan to interview several women in my unit to see just exactly how women in the military feel about serving in combat roles. If the United States is to remain the world's most capable and most powerful military power; we need to have the best person in each job, unfortunately, for most combat positions the best person is going to be a male. The vast majority of enlisted women do not want to be in combat and a great many of the female officers do not want to be in combat. It's a small minority that promote Women in Combat and the rest of us would rather not have them dictate what our future jobs will be in the military or the future of those women who may be interested in enlisting or going for a commission in the future. I did not join the army to fight wars; I joined so that the men in the army

Attention Deficit Disorder: Understanding This Disorder

2001-10-13T14:00:00-04:00
There are at least two million children and adolescents with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in the United States (Moragne 24). All around us, ADHD causes clever children and adults to under function at school or work. ADHD needs to be taken seriously. People need to be aware of what ADHD is, what some of the characteristics and symptoms are, what some of the probable causes are, and some ways it can be treated. ADHD is one of the most common childhood behaviors. The prognosis for ADHD can be alarming if not treated. ADHD must be recognized and treated properly. If this does not happen, it will continue to severely disadvantage children and adults. The best time to diagnose and give support is early. Poorly managed ADHD can lead to serious long-term problems such as feeling dumb, low self-esteem, academic failure and more. There are different types of ADHD with a variety of characteristics. No one has all the same symptoms or displays the disorder in the exact same way. ADHD is diagnosed ten times more frequently in boys than girls (Discovery). Many girls have the predominantly inattentive type of the disorder and are likely not being identified and diagnosed (Green 6). ADHD is a developmental disorder characterized by inappropriate degrees of inattention, overactivity, and impulsivity. It is a disorder causing excessive activity level, excessive distractibility, and excessive responsiveness and emotional reactions. ADHD is also a lifelong disorder. It generally continues into adolescence, and sometimes even into adulthood. However, the symptoms may change as the person matures. The challenging behaviors that are exhibited by children with ADHD stem from their physiological, neurobiological disorder. The inappropriate and dangerous behaviors they may display are generally not willful or deliberate (Moragne 26). The diagnosis of ADHD is complex. There are a number of other medical, learning, psychiatric, and social problems that can cause inattentive, hyperactive, and impulsive behaviors. To make an accurate and complete diagnosis, these other possible causes which produce symptoms that mimic ADHD need to be considered and ruled out. It is possible that ADHD is only one part of the diagnostic picture, and that in addition to ADHD there are other coexisting disorders involved. This is, in fact, very common. There is a high rate of comorbity with ADHD. This means that all of the coexisting problems/disorders need to be identified in order to provide proper treatment. Dr. Christopher Green, a specialist

Equality - (Racism, Anti-Semitism, World Trade Center Tragedy)

2001-10-08T14:00:00-04:00
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." This was the world-renowned quote preached by Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence in which our nation is based upon. Unfortunately, many people have forgotten about this. Now, we do not have everyone thought of as equal, and we have racism and anti-Semitism to blame. The people of our country have not followed the beliefs of our founding father, and have broken our country into many different groups, each unique in their own way. These two appalling ideas are similar in many ways. In order to reshape our country, I believe we need to put an end to both as soon as possible. Racism is the belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others. Racism has torn apart our country. No longer are we as united as we used to be. Although there was always racism, it was never as severe as it is today. Many people are racist, and there are not many ways to change this. The only way is for people to change themselves. There are always going to be people who have their own beliefs. There is no point in being racist. All it shows is self-insecurity. People are so self-doubting that in order to feel bigger, more superior, or tougher, they need to frown upon and ridicule other human beings merely for the reason that they have a different physical appearance. Many people feel that they are of a higher intelligence when they ridicule others. If people would stop being closed-minded, we would be a lot better off and stronger as a country. We are the United States of America, if people are not going to stay united and get beyond appearance, then there is no longer a point in having the word "united" in our nations title. Anti-Semitism is another problem our country that must be put to an end. Anti-Semitism is policies, views, or actions that harm or discriminate against Jewish people. This problem was brought into effect after the unfortunate fatal battle known as the Holocaust. Adolph Hitler, a leader of a powerful military faction, overthrew the German government. These people, specifically Hitler and his

Genetic Engineering: The Final Frontier

2001-10-08T14:00:00-04:00
In February of 1997 Dolly, the first successful mammalian clone, was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. After the extensive news coverage of this momentous event, the study of genetic engineering and recombinant DNA was thrown into the public spotlight. From that day until this peoples, governments and organizations throughout the world have heatedly discussed the issues surrounding genetic modification and engineering. Over the past several years there has been loud public outcry against the use of such experimental procedures because of the possibility of deadly outcomes. Even though not much is known about genetic engineering, in its many forms, this significant discovery has the boundless potential to improve our lives and must be allowed to progress despite the risks it poses and the public outcry against it. It is true that we are just on the brink of discovering all of the dangers and benefits of genetic engineering and there is a lot of important information that still remains unknown. But instead of seeing the immense potential benefits of this mind-boggling discovery, the American public - fed on science fiction novels, horror stories of environmental disaster, a “growing mistrust of science” (Nelkin 1), and the fear of the unknown – automatically reject this god sent breakthrough. Even though the risks are great, the beneficial possibilities are endless. Genetic engineering should be allowed to progress because of the potential benefits for the human species outweigh the consequences. For example, it will be possible for cows to will be genetically engineered to produce pharmaceuticals in their milk. This means that vaccination shots and pills would become obsolete. Babies could be brought up immune to diseases by simply being fed this milk. Imagine the impact on the quality of life for people who live in third world countries like Somalia. Whole countries could be made healthy and immune to disease. Malnutrition, a common problem in many third world countries “where impoverished peoples rely on a single crop such as rice for the main staple of their diet” (Whitman 3), could also possibly be cured with genetic engineering. Rice does not provide all of the nutrients that the body needs and in these countries other food is very scarce. If rice or bread, another major staple, are genetically engineered to contain additional necessary vitamins and minerals then we could go a long way towards wiping out malnutrition all over the world. But perhaps, the area

Who are the real terrorists?

2001-10-03T14:00:00-04:00
When the word "terrorists" is heard, most people in the west think of relatively the same thing. Long-bearded men with long dresses called "thawb" that dangle to just above the ankle, or veiled women with nothing visible to the public but their eyes –if they were shown at all, or young men and children dressed in t-shirts and blue jeans, their face and head wrapped with a checkered red and white "shmaagh," throwing rocks. This is the typical image formed when "terrorists" are mentioned. Am I surprised? Hardly. Can I blame them? Only partially. The reason that I can't completely blame them is because what they see, they believe, and this is what the media is feeding them. Why I can blame them partially, however, is for believing the media submissively without further investigation. Not only has the media made us believe their distortions of reality as if they were concrete facts, TV has also made us insensitive to what we see. Maybe this insensitivity is the reason why most people couldn't care less about what is going on with the people on the other side of the world; especially those whom they consider "terrorists." In fact, these alleged terrorists are victims of terror. To see this, we must probe beyond the US and allies' double standard's of "terrorism," and the media's biased attempt for cover-up. "It is fashionable to denounce Palestinians for encouraging their children to confront the Israeli army. Yet, as one Israeli commentor has pointed out, the Jewish 14-year-old who destroyed a Syrian tank in 1948 is still venerated as a hero," says Gabor Mate, a Jewish writer in the Globe and Mail (1/11/2000). These young rock-throwers are called "terrorists," yet the reasons behind them throwing these rocks in the first place are completely ignored. The Jews in Palestine have caused genocide of the Palestinian people, yet the world stands and watches with folded arms –if they are not approving and supporting them, that is! Not a single Western country has condemned Israel for its disproportionate use of force against civilians. Using helicopters and tanks against unarmed civilians breaks all international laws and customs yet not a single Western country has criticized Israel for using these means against the Muslims. The US abstained from a UN Security Council resolution convicting Israel indirectly for its actions against the Muslims of Palestine! The media has done more than its share

On Euthanasia

2001-10-01T14:00:00-04:00
There is a much-used word these days – “euphoria.” Although this is usually a word related to illegal drug use, it can also express the feeling of one Dian Prity, a patient with a terminal disease, had when she was bestowed with the right to have an euthanasia by her husband. This right should not be limited to her: in order to preserve one’s rights and dignity, all terminal patients should be given the right for euthanasia. It may be refuted that euthanasia is contradictory to human rights; however, it is actually the ultimate human right. In a democratic society, the prevalent one today, everyone

Current Education Policy

2001-10-01T14:00:00-04:00
As policy is being made in Washington governing the future of testing in and funding for schools, little or nothing is being said there about bringing bright motivated young people into the field of teaching nor of trying to make good teachers of the people who do chose this path. Of my five Yale roommates in 1996, four of them wanted to teach. I am the only one who does, largely because they found much higher paying jobs in other fields. Each of them loves kids. Each of them loves the material they studied. Each of them would have made a wonderful teacher. Two years ago, after several years as a marketing professional, one of my ex-roommates became a teacher after a year at Cal-Berkeley becoming certified. She teaches in public school in California, I at a NH independent school. Both of us talk about the importance of watching great teachers teach, and of being observed ourselves. Guns and schools just don't mix. The conversations about teaching which develop from this kind of professional development lead to focus on one's own teaching and a greater awareness of our own and others' strengths. I have become a much better teacher through this process. I am quite sure this has been the source of my own competence as a teacher. My old roommate says the same. Good teaching IS learned. One comes to it well or poorly disposed by nature, but must learn different approaches, to listen to all the kids, to assess different skills and learning styles effectively, to organize time, etc. This ought to be the concern of policymakers on the Hill, not how much testing and what results should be mandated by the Federal gov't. Congress is filled with dirty old men who should have to shampoo my crotch. Congress ought to address the plight of young inexperienced teachers who see 150 students a day, and don't have time to learn from the masters of the craft teaching two doors down. Hairnets are still required clothing for school teachers in their seventies. They ought to address the issue of teacher certification programs which do not address the mastery of the content these teachers will teach. Sucking up to teachers, cheating by downloading essays, and smelling girls' bicycle seats will always be regarded as piss poor exhibitions of character and judgment. They ought to be concerned that many top college

Colombia vs. Morality

2001-09-17T14:00:00-04:00
Colombia is a country wrought with poverty, corruption, and violence. It has gained leader for its drug trafficking and scandalous dealing by the military. Five percent of Colombia, which is 1.9million people, 1.1 million that are children, has been disabled due to the fighting in a four decade old civil war. Colombia has endured vicious conflicts throughout its country in the past 36 years. It is considered to be one of the most violent places in the world, with a murder rate 8 times as much as the United States of America. Colombia is considered an undeveloped country in other words it is a poverty stricken place. Because Colombia is prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions it is hard for the poverty stricken areas of Colombia to stay in one place. The corruption comes from the exporting to America. While most things exported to the united states from Colombia are oil, coffee, and fresh cut flowers. Illegally al the real money comes from drug trafficking off copious amounts of cocaine and heroin. In my opinion violence is the most shocking to me. Why should one feel the need to comply with treating a person with simple respect, with giving second thoughts to clubbing them in the head or shooting them point blank? And why do they feel the need to commit unnecessary violence? These human rights standards should be natural for people, not something they have to think twice about to obey it. It is a fact that Colombians are beaten, raped and shot to death by there own military everyday. In the past couple years; the human rights cases against violence amongst civilians have been dropped. Making this actually legal. It shocks me to hear of the violence that engulfs Colombia. With such crimes of miracle fishing (slang for kidnapping), 200 bombs in less then 15 years, everyday assaults, robberies, spiking with scorpions and a murder rate of 77.5 per 100,000 people. The fact that hundreds of police officers, judges, investigators, presidential candies and of course thousands of Colombian citizens murdered with the attitude of “So it goes” shows that their nation has been badly damaged, psychologically as well as physically. Though many parts all around Colombia are prone to this behavior not all of Colombia is filled with corruption. There would be no economy if all parts of Colombia were like this. Still, Colombia will need some serious rearranging politically, socially and overall

Academia vs. Morality

2001-09-17T14:00:00-04:00
A university professor has an exalted position, not only on campus but also in society. A professor’s students should have higher expectations of his/her behavior than they would of fellow students and others in society. Professor Dobyns was found guilty of sexual harassment by Syracuse University. Not only was a female student harassed and embarrassed, the reputation of the University also suffered. The verdict was appropriate, given the circumstances. A student attended a university sponsored party where she met the English Department graduate students and faculty members. At that party she was approached by Professor Dobyns. She was not close to Dobyns, they had only exchanged a few words of casual conversation. He immediately made aggressive remarks and acted in a belligerent manner. The girl ignored the professor’s overtures and turned away from the situation. Dobyns’ reaction was to make a comment to another male about her breasts. Such a remark, of course, turns the situation into one of a sexual nature. Again, the student showed no reaction. While she was walking away Dobyns yelled out, “Stalinist bitch!” When she reacted to the remark with silence, he became very angry and threw his drink in her face. This act clearly shows not only that Professor Dobyns has no respect for his female students, but also that he has much to learn in containing his tongue and his temper. Professor Dobyns was representing the University when attending the party. He was there in his capacity as a professor and should have acted accordingly. As a professor there should be a trust between students where they can feel comfortable. When that trust is broken both the student and the University suffers. Dobyns portrayed not a professor but an arrogant rude male who thought it was ok to interrogate his female students. Students need to feel comfortable and aware that their teachers will be there for them on and off campus for guidance and advice. Not to be intimidated and bullied by them. Someone who is recognized as a distinguished poet and novelist should be fully aware of his duties as a teacher and how to express himself appropriately. One of Dobyns colleagues stated in his defense, “Clearly, my friend is guilty-but only of bad behavior. You don’t go throwing drinks in a student’s face and talking about her breasts.” Dobyns’ friend admits that he was in the wrong. But how could she possibly

The Jerry Springer Show

2001-09-16T14:00:00-04:00
Television has come a long way from the first black and white silent show to its current craze, which happens to be the television talk shows. In the nineteen eighties, the daytime airwaves were monopolised by soap operas and game shows but the trend gradually evolved to talk shows towards the nineties. Being before my time, research appears to imply that the talk show intrusion of our airwaves all seemed to start with the originals such as Geraldo Riveria, Donahue and Sally Jesse Rafael. Surprisingly though, some of the morality and the topics remain somewhat similar throughout the years, such as the improvement of society and the quality of life often show on shows like the Oprah Winfrey Show and the Montel Williams Show. As we approach the darker realms of talk shows, we come to talk shows such as the Jerry Springer show. At first impression, one may get the inherent idea that the show is basically is exploiting the misery and troubles of real life people who do not live the blessed lives that we imagine up in our ideal minds. There is no doubt to me at all that the main aim of such shows is to exploit the lives of these misfits and the more dirt the producers get, the higher their ratings. But unfortunately, it is ironic that when the decrease in society's morals is highlighted in every episode Springer airs the producers are getting richer. Looking deeper at the show, we can safely say that the show is based mainly on relationships between people. Morality is first put into question when guests start to confess of deeds that have betrayed their partner’s trust, at this point, a fight would normally occur and the audience would cheer on the fight with shouts of “Jerry, Jerry!” Once again, morality questions the reactions of the audience. There is no basis on what is the right kind or ideal life, but it is apparent that when the audience cheers when the guests act up, the audience is reassuring the guests that the lifestyles in which they live, regardless of how the audience truly feels, are satisfactory . Jerry Springer would end every show with his final thought and it is here where he offers advice as to what is the appropriate way to handle one’s personal relationships. Personally I think that this is a bid to enhance his

Can Power Corrupt You?

2001-09-14T14:00:00-04:00
The power of language is indisputable. Being unable to ‘fit in’ because you cannot communicate effectively with the dominant discourse puts you at an enormous disadvantage. Those who know how to use the dominant discourse effectively and to their own advantage will be more powerful. People use their knowledge of the power, inherent in the mastery of discourses, to manipulate others. Many texts show evidence of this. In fact, some texts actively criticise those, who less than ethically utilise their mastery of discourses to achieve their own ends. The media actively utilise their understanding of the dominant discourse to support many agendas. Novelists over the years have shown the ill-effects on individuals who might suffer through not mastering the dominant discourse. Those who know how to use a variety of discourses will become more powerful. Those who have difficulty with discourses will end up being alienated. Alienation is the result of being unable to use other discourses or refusing to engage in the dominant discourse. One can gain power by preventing alienation of oneself and sublimating others via the use of alienation. Alienation is represented in all texts and films to effectively manipulate the minds of readers, so that they can compare their experiences with the characters in the narrative. This is clearly represented in the novel, “1984” by George Orwell, when the character Winston, challenges the dominant discourse. Another example can be seen in “Frankenstein”, by Mary Shelly where Victor is alienated because he disobeyed ‘the rules’ of the dominant discourse. The media however, uses a variety of discourses to manipulate the reader’s mind. Foregrounding certain topics and purposely leaving out certain information (silencing) are also techniques to use ‘the power of language’ to their own advantage. These techniques are used to convince the pubic, of a particular issue. To many people, this is like ‘brainwashing’ society. Novelists express the abuse of power, such as ‘brain washing’. “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley, gives an excellent example of this. He wrote: “To make them love it, is the task assigned in present day totalitarian states, to ministries of propaganda...”. thus, through hynopeadic teaching (brain washing), essential attendance to community gatherings and the use of drugs to control emotion. This was the dominant discourse of the characters. From this, it can be noticed that the ones in power can abuse their authority and lead to corruption. A great representation of abuse of authority and

Youth Unemployment

2001-09-07T14:00:00-04:00
Introduction Youth unemployment is a term used for people between the ages of 15-19, that do not attend school or tertiary level and don't have any form of paid job. There are reasons causing this growing problem. These being;
employers not wanting inexperienced woorkers,
the low rate of pay and
the transition period from education to the work force after the completion of year 12. Fortunately, there are a vast majority of "youth friendly industries". This implies that, when certain companies are labelled a "youth friendly industry" not only do they employ trained adults but also the inexperienced youth of society. To further develop skills and decline the rate of early school leavers, the government has intervened to counteract this situation in a few ways. Three of the most popular programs are;
Aus Study Payments,
VET courses and
facilities to train people undergoing transition from schooling to work. Why youth are unemployed To increase production and sales, employers often seek workers that are more experienced. This limits the youth to a small portion of jobs. Due to their inexperience and lack of knowledge, employers do not want to spend money and time training them. But in other cases where firms accept inexperience, the pay tends to be very low, which doesn't attract them from working. The inexperienced youth pay rates range from $5-$10 per hour. But alarmingly, in part-time work the most employable age is between 15-19 years of age holding 28% of males working part-time. The employers see them as less efficient and less valuable so their pay is legally less. In some circumstances you will find that companies employ allot of the youth population, thus they can cut back on their total amount of wages they owe and earn larger profits. There are, in some cases, firms that employ young and inexperienced workers, as mentioned before they are usually known as "youth friendly industries". Industries such as McDonalds, Coles/Myer, Safeway/Woolworths and KFC just to name a few, are the leading retail and takeaway outlets employing youth. Not only do they employ them but they provide them with the essential training to perform their duties with maximum efficiency. Some people see working as an obstacle towards school and homework and others don't want to work for ridiculously low pay. In conjunction with a high youth unemployment rate the government has introduced schemes to counteract this problem and to keep the youth population in school and out of the workforce. "Youth Friendly

Equal But Different

2001-09-07T14:00:00-04:00
For centuries blacks have suffered discrimination from the white society. They were thought to be uncivilized because of their dark skin color. Today, discrimination against skin color no longer exists legally in the United States. Public schools and workplaces are mixed with a variety colors and races from different countries. Though, it may seem that skin color doesn’t matter in society, the majority of society only make close friends or marry someone from their own race. Most of these feelings towards another of a different skin color are deeply rooted in our minds from previous generations. Their mentality prevents them from behaving the same. Difference in behavior from a multicolored society is evident in schools, in society, and in television. Most teenagers only hang around people from their own race. There is evidence of this in the school cafeteria. The cafeteria is split up in two parts. On one side, black teenagers eat with their same-colored friends. On the other side, whites and latinos sit separately in their own tables. Someone might say, “Well, that group sits apart from the other because they don’t speak the same language as the other group”. You mean to tell me that no black or latino can speak English. If skin color doesn’t matter then why doesn’t everyone sit together at lunch? When everyone is growing up they imagine themselves getting married to someone perfect with their skin-color. With a few exceptions, the majority of the population marries someone with the same skin-color as them. When was the last time you saw an interracial couple with different colored children. When a couple wants to adopt a child, they usually choose to have a same-colored child as them. It doesn’t matter if the couple is black or white, they feel the same. They might say that another child might bring social problems and rumors. If color discrimination doesn’t exist then why should anyone care about what color your children are. Television and movies bring the notion that everyone is different. Black and white families from sitcoms help strengthen the idea of separate black and white society. The show “Friends” is about a group of white friends who live and run around all of New York City and don’t run into a single black person, kind of expressing that they live in a perfect New York. “The PJ’s” (the projects) is a computer animated comedy which takes place in

Perfect World

2001-09-07T14:00:00-04:00
New advancements in science happen everyday. Products may include medicines, fertilizers, household cleaners, durable materials, and more. One of the most controversial issues in the world of science is genetic engineering. Scientists say genetic engineering may bring large advantages to humans and the way they live. Critics argue that genetic engineering can mean the destruction of the pure human being. There are numerous advantages and disadvantages in genetic engineering but disaster can be avoided if extreme caution is practiced. When people used to think of genetic engineering, they thought of genetically enhanced superior food products. That all changed after Dolly, the cloned sheep, was introduced to the world. The recent advances in genetics sparked conversation about cloning human beings. Scientists believe that genetic engineering in humans is the answer to the multitude of problems that millions face everyday. Hereditary baldness, heart problems, mental disorders, and a lot more genetic diseases would cease to exist. The perfect world isn’t that far away. So what could possibly go wrong in a perfect world made up of genetically enhanced organisms? Critics fear that disease-producing organisms used in food products might develop worldwide epidemics. The catholic church says that human cloning is morally wrong. Others don’t want a perfect world. They argue that the ill-bred humans will take away our right to suffer. According to critics, genetically changing the structure of a living thing isn’t worth the risk or sin. The perfect physical world is nearer than anyone can imagine. The anticipated problems can be resolved before they even happen. Epidemics can be avoided by careful procedure, supervision, and inspection. The National Institute of Health already has established regulations restricting the types of DNA that can be used for these types of experiments. The only barrier left is sin. There is nothing man can do to change the word of God. Man’s is willingness to sin for happiness does not differ from stealing or killing for money. Heaven is the sacrifice they have to make to enjoy happiness. Science is an amazing and dangerous world that man seeks to control. Genetic engineering was never intended for man to discover. Now that he has, should he used it for his benefit? There are many advantages as well as disadvantages in genetically changing a being. The arguments of both sides seem to balance evenly. We can have the perfect body eating the perfect nutrients for the price of a perfect

Child Labour

2001-08-25T14:00:00-04:00
Our Efforts and Experiences – Part - I “In all the civilized societies all over the world system of child labour is condemned as a social evil but the fact is the system is prevelent on a large scale in a country like India. It is noticed that, in recent times our society is showing some signs of awareness about this social evil. This is the first part of the article giving details about the efforts undertaken in and around Ahmedpur for eradication of this system. Since past 12 years I am working on various issues related to rural areas through People’s Institute of Rural Development and Rachanatmac Sangharsha Samiti (Maharashtra). To generate employment for farm labour through “employment guarantee scheme”is our sustained and major activity. While working with farm labour during 1988-90 I was exposed to the issue of Child Labour. When I saw the children working as child or boned Labour in agriculture, I could realise the intensity of this issue. Agriculture is a main source of employment for labour in rural areas. Child Labour working in farms, or as a bonded labour or as a herdsman has an adverse impact on the employment of adult people. When dialogue was initialed with farm labour on this issue. They narrated that when child works as a Child Labour he/she actually supports the family. They feel that child provides something to eat to a family. This is a general feeling among the rural masses about Child Labour. The common understanding among this labour class is more working hands means more income for a family. But this calls still could not decide, whose hands these should be? They are not understanding that small hands are depriving of big hands from employment. The difficult life they are living and ignorance of these farm labour is responsible for such type of their attitude towards their own children. It made us realised that there is a need of structural changes in the society and we resolved to work for structural changes. In the society and we resolved to work for structural changes. In the initial period neither we had any plan nor a concrete stralgy to deal with the situation. We decide to have a dialogue with farm labour on this issue. Already we were discussing with them about employment minimum wages, equal wages for equal work, laws for the profection of a farm labour etc. while

Advertisers sell images not products

2001-08-15T14:00:00-04:00
The definition of advertising is outdated. It was previously, to endorse a product and praise goodness to induce the public to buy. They are now brainwashing consumers to buy their products using images to sell the product. The advertiser’s aim is to make the product look as good as it can through an attractive image. There are statistics, which I obtained from a Dolly Magazine, 16th May 2000, which proves that one out of four people in Australia buy a product because of the image shown in the advertisment. The images are eye catching and mention something important about the product. Ultimately it is true that, “Advertisers sell images, not products.” The environment plays a very important role in advertising. In an advertisment I found in a magazine I will describe to you the reason the environment is one of the most important roles in advertisements. The advertisement I chose is situated in the forest. There is a girl who has a baseball glove on and the caption says, “This girl can catch”. The product is for clothes. But they aren’t just any clothes they are clothes, which make you feel natural and that you can be yourself. Instead of being a pretty little girl and wearing dresses and not playing baseball, this girl wears shorts and a shirt and is playing baseball, therefore she feels good wearing whatever she wants. The environment plays an important part in this advertisement because at the time it is showing this girl can be herself, be natural the environment is a forest, which symbolizes it to be a natural environment. The environment can give meaning to the advertisement and tell the story in some cases. Advertisements are not the same without gestures and symbols. Gestures can be a simple hand movement or how a person is sitting. All gestures have symbolic meanings. Gestures can be facial expressions, body language. Gestures and symbols communicate to the audience of what the advertisement is about. It associates the product with meaning. Symbols are objects; these are there to make the product look better than anything else on the market, which will attract the public to buy. An advertisement I chose is of a well-known set of advertisements on television. Around 12 o’clock they start rolling onto our screens. Full of “call me's” and “1800” number’s exploding onto our screen. This is of course is aimed at guys who

Body Image - A Body Unknown

2001-08-13T14:00:00-04:00
It happened suddenly, surprisingly and overnight. One day I was a child and the next I was a sex object. Catching everyone from friends to teachers, parents to siblings off guard I had grown into a women and to some, a piece of female specimen that welcomed sexual advances, harassment and jokes. The one thing that has defined my womanhood more then anything else has been my breasts. I was thrown, unarmed into this situation at the tender age of 13, since then my views have changed. At 13 I viewed my buxomest body as a toy, an advantage, but after 5 years of being viewed as a sex object my views have changed. Changing my views ever further was reading Chapter 9 in Julia Woods Gendered Lives, this chapter dealt with the stereotypical roles of both sexes. One female role that applied directly to me was the sex object stereotype. Even after 5 years of continuous harassment I feel empowered and proud of my sexuality, I love my body, including my breasts. Wood described a sex object as something that was wrong, something that shouldn’t be a part of our society. Wood inadvertently made me feel like I was harming other women by embracing my sexuality. Wrong, I say, society has made me a sex object and I will do everything I can to make society deal with what they have created. I have always believed that my body was something to be proud of, something that I have treasured and praised throughout my life. For the first 6 months of my womanhood I felt I had been blessed. But, over the years I endured example after example that showed me there was something very, very wrong with the way society deals with sexuality. I did not see anything wrong when I was on an airplane with classmates and found them staring at my breasts. When I asked them what they were doing they simply replied, “waiting for turbulence.” That was funny, then. A couple months later I heard boys in the back row of my science class talking vulgarly about my body, naturally, I was upset, but chalked it up to immaturity and went on with my life. My freshman year of high school was the worst, so far. I didn’t feel like I could run in P.E. because the wrestlers, whom were all upperclassman would stand at the

The Medicalisation of Death

2001-08-09T14:00:00-04:00
Critical evaluation of: whether medical explanations predominate and how individuals negotiate and resist the medical model. In order to illustrate the predominance of medical explanations, a definition of the medicalisation thesis will be given and illustrated by the case of the treatment of terminally ill patients. The medicalisation of death and dying will be highlighted by a review of sociological literature from both feminist and non-feminist perspectives. The limits of medicalisation will be provided as a rationale for the resistance of the medifcal model. Finally, the ways in which individuals negotiate and resist the medicalisation of death will be discussed including the rise of pro-euthanasia groups, increasing use of complementary medicine, and the popularity of the hospice movement. The main elements of the medical model of health are the search for objective, discernable signs of disease, its diagnosis and treatment (Biswas, 1993). Therefore, by adhering to this reductionist view, the human body is seen as a biochemical machine (Turner, 1995) and health merely as an absence of disease, a commodity to be bought and sold. The rise of hospitals with their goal of curing and controlling disease has led to the marginalisation of lay medicine, and a focus upon the individual rather than society as a cause of ill health. Health education and promotion with their focus upon 'victim blaming' and individualism have extended the remit of the medical profession from the hospital into the community. With medical imperialism the power of medicina has grown and medicine has all but replaced religion as an institution of social control. Illich (1976, p53) describes medicine as a: 'moral enterprise.....[which] gives content to good and evil..... like law and religion [it] defines what is normal, proper or desirable'. Medicalisation is defined as:'a process of increased medical intervention into areas that hitherto would be outside he medical domain' (Bilton et al, 1996 p422). Areas of life which could be considered 'natural' such as pregnancy, childbirth, unhappiness, ageing and death have been brought within the medical remit (Taylor & Field, 1997) and therefore are increasingly viewed under the principles of the medical model. Indeed many of these 'ailments' cannot be cured by medical intervention but are still subjected to the 'medical gaze' Szasz (1964) believed that treatment of the mentally ill by drugs and electroconvulsiv therapy was not only unnecessary but a violation of human rights (cited in Scambler, 1991). Social problems such as child abuse, violence and

The medical establishment is a major threat to health - discuss

2001-08-09T14:00:00-04:00
The quotation “the medical establishment is a major threat to health” was one devised by Illich in Medical Nemesis (1976 p11) where he attempted to explain the detrimental effects medical professionals and their procedures can have on the health of individuals. In order to discuss the effects of the medical establishment it is necessary to evaluate its performance including the critiques of modern medicine. The concepts of iatrogenesis and medicalisation will be explored and case studies given as an example. The medical profession have claimed responsibility for the eradication of the infectious diseases that plagued the population in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Vaccination, chemical cures and advancements in medical understanding of the biological mechanisms of the human body were the means by which the medical establishment claimed this victory. McKeown argues that “medicine only played a minor role” (Davey, et. al., 1995) and that nearly 90% of the decline in mortality rates between 1860 and 1965 occurred before chemical treatments were available (Illich, 1976). Cochrane indicates that medical technology has never been evaluated. In fact, in a study observing differences between heart disease patients nursed at home and in coronary care units, the results showed that hospitalisation did not provide any advantage (Bilton et. al., 1996). According to McKeown, social, environmental measures were most effective in the control of infectious disease and the medical establishment should not be credited with the power they now possess. In modern society the emphasis of illness has changed from infectious diseases to new epidemics in the form of heart disease, cancer and accidents. There is: “no evidence of any direct relationship between the mutation of sickness and the so-called progress of disease” (Davey et. al., 1995 p237). In fact, all of these illnesses have no effective medical cure. An ageing population has to suffer the degenerative diseases that are inherent of modern societies with no hope for a cure, only insinuations of their ‘wasting’ of scarce resources for the largely ineffective alleviation of their discomfort. It would appear that the successes of the medical establishment have been greatly over stated. Iatrogenesis is a concept devised by Illich (1976) to describe the “disabling impact of professional control over medicine” (Illich 1976) and how this effects individuals’ health. Meaning literally doctor-induced disease, iatrogenesis describes the influence of medical intervention. The damage inflicted on people in the name of medicine is apparently reaching epidemic proportions: “the pain,

Mike Tyson point of view

2001-08-06T14:00:00-04:00
During March 2001, the American heavyweight boxer Mike Tyson and his management expressed a keen interest in visiting Australia to host a boxing bout. The decision about whether or not to welcome Tyson will

Men and how advertizing deminishes them

2001-08-06T14:00:00-04:00
Have you noticed how all tv ad show that women are smarter than men,

Norplan - the 5 year Birth control

2001-07-30T14:00:00-04:00
Norplant are Six thin, bendable plastic implants that are put in under the skin of the upper arm. These soft capsules are the size of a small stick. Each capsule contains one hormone. Those hormones are called levonorgestrel. Levonorgestrel is like the progesterone that is made by a woman's ovaries. A very small amount of hormone is released regularly. This hormone typically stops the ovaries from getting released. It also condenses the cervical mucus, keeping all sperm from getting together with egg. Some scientist believes that Norplant stops the fertilized egg from sticking to the lining of the uterus. Norplant only last about five years. The Cost of Norplant costs between $500 and $750 dollars. This cost includes the medical exam, a pregnancy test, the implants, and the insertion of Norplant. The cost is about $150 a year for a five-year period. The Doctor will eventually charge an additional fee in order to remove the Norplant her body and that costs from $100 to $200.Some insurance plans may cover Norplant. Norplant is one of the most effective birth control. It becomes effectual in 24 hours of insertion. Out of 10,000 women that get Norplant 5 will get pregnant. Norplant is more effective than sterilization Norplant does not protect women from sexually transmitted infection. The process of inserting Norplant starts with the doctor washing the skin with an antiseptic and she will numb a small area under your arm with a painkiller. The doctor will then make a small cut. Then the doctor will insert six capsules. The person needs all six capsules to prevent a pregnancy. The Insertion takes about 10 minutes. This procedure is painless. The only pain that a person get is by the needle is used to insert the painkiller. Some women have a little bit of discomfort just for a little while it can be inserted at any time of the month even though they usually insert Norplant during the first seven days of a menstrual cycle. This is just to be sure that the women are not pregnant. Norplant must be removed by five years when it stops working. Removal has to occur after five years because if not the hormones may continue to be released and cause irregular periods without pregnancy prevention. To remove Norplant your doctor will numb the area with a painkiller. And he or she will make a small cut will

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

2001-07-22T14:00:00-04:00
More often than not, the outcomes of events that occur in a person’s life is the product of the idea of the self-fulfilling prophecy. It is that which “occurs when a person’s expectations of an event make the outcome more likely to occur than would otherwise have been true” (Adler and Towne, Looking Out, Looking In 66). Or restated, as Henry Ford once put it, “If you think you can, you can. If you think you can’t, you’re right!” This brief research paper touches on the two types of self-fulfilling prophecies, those that are self-imposed and those that are imposed by others. Additionally, it gives a discussion on how great of an influence it is in each person’s life, both positively and negatively, and how it consequently helps to mold one’s self-concept and ultimately one’s self. The first topic of discussion is the self-imposed, or self-inflicted, self-fulfilling prophecy. This idea follows that if one has a preconception or notion of an outcome, then chances are that person will raise the possibility of making it so. Take for example these cases-in-hand that Channing Grigsby, teacher of self-esteem speaks of: ‘I can’t handle this.’ And guess what? We don’t handle it well. If I tell myself I won’t have a good time at the party I’m going to, I am likely to behave in ways that generate exactly that reality, eliciting from other people indifferent responses, proving my premise. (“A Course in Self-Esteem” 5) Additionally, and antithetically, consider the example of the student studying for a mathematics test the following morning whose belief is that since he is and has been studying and has a good working knowledge of the subject area, that he will do well on the test and does so the following morning. When compared to another student doing the same but is less prepared and knowledgeable in the area and additionally thinks that he will fail and did, he performed better because of his positive expectation and preparedness. Take a moment to reconsider the inclusion of the idea of preparation in the example. Here, preparation is just as important a factor to consider because it is a variable that can greatly surpass the influence of the self-fulfilling prophecy. The other student who did not prepare well and did not know the material as well would have failed anyway, despite how great of preconceived thoughts he may have had. In this case,

Commercialism in Schools

2001-07-21T14:00:00-04:00
Commercialism affects children everyday. Children are targeted by companies to become life-long buyers of their products. When commercialism is brought into schools it is harder for children to learn to make educated decisions about their purchases. Kids need to be educated and given proper instructions about how to be objective towards advertisements. Parents and teachers should educate children in their care about false and misleading advertisements. They need to grow up learning which products are quality products and are useful to buy. Schools should not be bringing companies into schools, closer to the children they are targeting. They should not be signing contracts with companies and profiting off of children. Coaches of sports teams are doing this and the children are influenced to buy that product. Seeing all the advertisements on TV give children a false sense of reality. They sometimes actually believe they can fly, or drive cars at dangerous speeds and still be safe. These feats make real life look boring. This makes exciting events such as skydiving and

Euthansia

2001-07-03T14:00:00-04:00
Euthanasia is often called “mercy killing”. It is intentionally making someone die, rather than allowing that person to die naturally. It is sometimes the act of ending someone’s life, who is terminally ill, or is suffering in severe pain. Euthanasia is mostly illegal in the world today. Euthanasia can be considered a form of suicide, if the person afflicted with the problem actively does it. The person volunteering to commit the act to that person can also consider it a form of murder. The positive side of Euthanasia is that it ends a person’s suffering in this world. Many physicians and psychiatrists believe that it may a humane act. From a virtue ethics point of view, it may be appropriate. What we seek in human existence is to be happy, and find happiness. Suffering from a terminal illness, or affliction, could inhibit one’s happiness in life. If the goal is to be happy, then Euthanasia would be an answer for this person. Euthanasia may even bring about happiness in that it is what the person desires and wants, in order to no longer to be a burden to his/her family. Also, Euthanasia would stop the pain and not prolong the dying process. In the utilitarian point of view we all have a duty to our happiness, and a duty to the society. Euthanizing a person based on the society aspect makes sense. With greater and greater emphasis put on managed care today, many doctors are at a financial risk when they provide treatments to patients who are in the dying process. These patients may also feel like not becoming a burden to the society at large, and choose to fulfill a duty – Euthanasia. If the person is in a coma or is brain dead, that person is no use to himself or herself, or society anymore. Euthanasia is a viable method to end an otherwise futile attempt at recovery. The family of the person being euthanized may not want their family members in pain – to suffer. It can be a family duty to do the right thing for the person and society. Depression, family conflict, feelings of abandonment, and hopelessness, are emotional burdens on family members seeing a person suffer. Committing euthanasia may be the humane act to do for the afflicted family member in this case. The euthanized person may even be of use to society in a utilitarian manner, if

Clothing - Diva Princess or Animal Killer?

2001-06-28T14:00:00-04:00
You're walking down the street in D.C. or some other major city and chances are you're going to see some little girl with leopard prints on her pants, or a little zebra halter top. Maybe you're like the usual person, dismissing the apparel as a significant component in female pop culture. But have you ever stopped to ponder that though these animal prints are usually syntheticly

Gun Control & Schools

2001-06-17T14:00:00-04:00
If you recently picked up a newspaper or turned on to see the news you may have question what is happening in our schools and begin to think whether our schools are still safe places for children. Recent school shootings have set feared in many parents about their children’s safety in our schools. Since last year number of school shootings by students have occurred regularly. On Tuesday February 29, 2000 in Mount Morris Township, Michigan a six-year old boy shot his classmate to death in their first grade classroom. Police reports show that the two youngsters had an argument the previous day. A single shot was fired inside the classroom at Buell Elementary School around 10 a.m. The young boy said he brought the gun to school to frighten her but accidentally fired a shot. "We've had other schoolchildren take guns to elementary schools before… but it never went this far with it. "Society refuses to take responsibility by locking up their armed weapons." Said by a schoolteacher. Since last year there have been fifteen different school shootings in which many student have died without any reason. Who should we blame for this? Should we blame the parents, teachers, schools or our government? Before blaming anyone we must hear what two sides of gun control have to say. It is very wise to debate on a topic that have concerned all of us since last few years before making our decision. In doing so, we must answer series of questions. Therefore our group has come up with some questions to which we will try to tackle. Since this is a debate paper we have try to present both side of the issue through our answers. Very first question that arise in peoples minds after witnessing the horrible tragedies is should we have more gun control laws? Many of us differ on this issue. We have found lots of argument on this question. Proponents of gun more gun control laws feared that until stronger gun control measures are taken there will be future tragedies like horrors that took place at schools all over US. Over 76% of Americans favored more gun control laws (LA TIMES). On the other side people who are against more gun control laws argue that issue of guns is not really the problem. They say more gun control laws wouldn’t prevent future tragedies because people who are intended

The Alternative for Death Penalty

2001-06-17T14:00:00-04:00
Mead Shumway of Nebraska, was convicted of the first degree murder of his employer’s wife on circumstantial evidence and sentenced to death by jury. His last words before his execution were: “I am an innocent man. May God forgive everyone who said anything against me.” The next year, the victim’s husband confessed on his deathbed that he [the husband] had murdered his [own] wife (Radelet, Bedau, Putnam 347). There are an uncertain numerous amount of incidents similar to the one depicted above, that have repeatedly occurred throughout the course of history. Two highly distinguishable figures in the area of capital punishment in the United States, Hugo Bedau and Michael Radelet, discovered in 1992, at least 140 cases, since 1990, in which innocent persons were sentenced to death (Hook and Kahn 92). In Illinois alone, 12 death row inmates have been cleared and freed since 1987 (Execution Reconsidered). The most conclusive evidence in support of this “comes from the surprisingly large numbers of people whose convictions have been overturned and who have been freed from death” (Bedau 345). One out of every seven people sentenced to death row are innocent (Civiletti). That’s nearly 15%. The numbers are disturbing. Innocent people are becoming victims of the United States judicial system by its overlooked imperfections. A former president of the American Bar Association (ABA), John J. Curtin Jr., said it best when he told a congressional committee that “Whatever you think about the death penalty, a system that will take life must first give justice. Execute justice, not people.” Though some of the innocent death row inmates have managed to escape their execution, there are numerous others who are unable to overturn their sentence through appeals. Many cases of innocence go unheard and result in the unfortunate fatality of an innocent bystander. When the death penalty in 1972 was ruled unconstitutional in Furman v. Georgia, the Justices expected that the “adoption of narrowly crafted sentencing procedures would protect against innocent persons being sentenced to death”. But the chances that innocent persons have been or will be executed remain astoundingly high (Bedua 344). The United States justice system was formed on the premise that it should protect society’s general well being from any harm. Processes and procedures have been formed and created in order to ensure that everyone receives fair treatment, but the system has flaws that has let criminals back out on the streets

Fan Violence: Who's to Blame?

2001-06-12T14:00:00-04:00
“These people want to hurt you. It’s frightening. You feel like you’re in a cage out there”. Reggie Smith, (Berger, 1990). Spectator violence at sporting events has been recorded throughout history. People who have power over the events, often team owners, indirectly influence the amount of spectator violence by encouraging the factors contributing to violence, in order to benefit themselves. Sale of alcohol, encouraging crowd intensity, creating rivalries, and targeting social groups, are factors affecting the degree of spectator violence and can be proven to be influenced by the owner’s actions. Therefore the blame for spectator violence can be attributed to whoever has power over the sport. Many historians suggest that an increase in spectator violence coincides with the commercialization of sports. Anthropologists agree that in societies where games were not for profit, they were enjoyed as celebrations of physical skill without competitiveness or violence between players or spectators (Berger, 1990). However, when people gained power or financially from the sporting events, spectator violence increased (Berger, 1990). Public spectacles and games were part of the Roman Empire. Each emperor had an amphitheater and the size of the crowd reflected the emperor’s wealth or power. The emperor through crowd excitement could influence spectator violence to such an extent that gladiators could be killed or freed depending on the crowd’s effect on the emperor (Robinson, 1998). The emperor encouraged the Roman working class, “to forget their own suffering, by seeing others suffer,” while the senators, and emperor would benefit financially from gambling profits (Robinson, 1998). With the commercialization of sports, owners’ profits increased with alcohol sales. Beer drinking has been an integral part of sports since the late 1870’s. Chris van der Alie noticed that his saloon did well when St. Louis Brown Stockings were in town. As a result, he decided to sell beer at the games. On February 12, 1880, Alie signed a contract with the Browns allowing him to sell alcohol on their property (Johnson, 1988). During a game on July 6, 1881, the first alcohol related brawl broke out in the crowd, injuring twenty spectators and killing two (Johnson, 1998). The signed contract with the Browns’ was a financial bonus for the owner, however permitting alcohol to be sold, might have indirectly contributed to the injuries and deaths. Alcohol sales contribute financial support to teams. “Without beer companies as sponsors, the teams would have trouble making ends meet.” Bob Whitsitt,

Arab-Israeli Conflict

2001-06-10T14:00:00-04:00
On November 29, 1947, the United Nations voted to divide the Middle Eastern land called Palestine into two independent nations, one Arab and one Jewish. On May 14, 1948, a new nation was born: Israel. The Jews of Israel and the world celebrated with joy and gladness, because for over two thousand years, they had hoped to return to the land of their heritage. (Silverman, 1) However with Jews from all around the world returning to Israel, the Arabs residing in this land were forced into exile. The rebirth of Israel marked the beginning of conflict, violence, and peace treaties between the Arabs and the Jews of the Middle East. Tensions between Jews and Arabs have been present since biblical times in the Middle East. In 132 AD, when Israel was under Roman rule, the Jews revolted and fought for independence. In 135 AD the Romans crushed the Jewish revolt and expelled nearly all of the Jews of Israel. The Romans then renamed Israel-Palestine, so as to remove any connection between the land and the Jewish people. (Tessler, 12) The Jews never forgot their homeland, and prayed three times a day to return to Israel and to the holy city of Jerusalem. In the 7th century, a new religion, Islam, arose in the Middle East. The Muslim Arabs conquered Palestine from the Byzantines and began to settle the land. They built the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aksa mosque in Jerusalem, where they believed Prophet Muhammad ascended into heaven to receive parts of the Qur’an. (Goldschmidt, 46) During the early 1500’s, Palestine was captured and put under Turkish rule. During the First World War, the Turkish government placed severe restrictions on Jewish daily life, because the Turks believed that the Jews were plotting with their enemies. In December of 1917, the British army under the command of General Edmund Allenby defeated the Turks and captured Palestine. Four hundred years of Turkish rule had ended. Just six weeks before the annex of Turkey and Palestine, the Jews had learned of a British document called the Balfour Declaration. It was one of the most important documents ever written concerning the Holy Land. It announced that the British government favored the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people and would do all it could to make it happen. Meanwhile throughout the world, but especially in Europe, Jews were persecuted

Capitol Punishment Essay

2001-06-09T14:00:00-04:00
An often-heated debate is that of capitol punishment. This is tricky subject though since so many people have troubles deciding for themselves where to draw the line with their morals. Some people say that killing in any form is absolutely wrong. Some people agree that killing is wrong, however, if one person kills another it is what they deserve. Both views are quite respectable. The Old Testament does in fact say “an eye for an eye.” Thus, the punishment should fit the crime. If a person sees fit to take another person’s life away from them, theirs should also be revoked. People that act and kill like animals should be treaded the same way, and put to sleep like dogs that are vicious. The death penalty does not apply to people. People have hearts and souls and emotion. This penalty only applies to heartless, savage animals. A quote from a famous song is “a boy who kills has no heart, a boy who kills can not love…” Thus, anyone who has neither heart nor the capability of love should be put to death because they are no use to society. Also, this is only a punishment for those who have murdered. These convicts, though the do not deserve it, are killed in the most humane way possible. They are killed by lethal injection. In the past ten years nearly five hundred men have been executed in the United States. All these were punishment for murder. The American policy on executions is far more civilized that some other countries, in which death is the punishment for drunk driving or use of illegal drugs. Firing squads, gas chambers, and hangings are pretty much never used any more, however electrocution is still used solely in two states. Those two states do not even give the option of lethal injection. Families often call for the death penalty because their sibling/child had no right to die. Since this person took their life, the family should have the right to lawfully take the murder’s life. However, life in prison is not enough, because they have an opportunity to leave on parole, and the thought of these murderous monsters being released into society again horrifies these families, thus they call for execution. On the other side of the spectrum, killing is immoral and wrong in every way shape or form. How does your point get across not to kill if

Violence: The Art of Destruction

2001-06-09T14:00:00-04:00
In today’s day and age, violence almost seems like a way of life. Aggression is the way to solve a problem, and the only way to make someone listen is to yell louder than them. Today is a day when it is alright to show a cold blooded murder on television or in a film. People enjoy seeing cartoon characters (namely Japanamation) kill each other and have graphic sex. Violence is everywhere and is almost impossible to escape and even more difficult to keep out of your life. However, in these times we must learn to live as part of society, and make meaningful contributions rather than just adding to the same heap of hate and aggression that animals are prone to and people should be above that stage in their life. People need to use reason to think out things before they say them and think even harder before they do some thing. Too many people do things in the heat of the moment. They hit their wives and children, shoot their classmates, give the finger to a car as it drives by, mindlessly watch murder and destruction on TV and in the theatres, and say things that they don’t mean in the passion of the altercation. These behaviors are destructive and bring about even more hate and nothing ever gets accomplished. War never came without a price. Far too many men were killed who never got to see their families again, and we are still so caught up in ourselves that we don’t see the suffering of the people around us. We get mad and angry and lash out with violence and hate because it’s all we know. Although we were taught from the dawn of our existence that violence isn’t the way to go, that doesn’t make it the less natural way to go. It is so much more natural to just punch the loser who hurt your feelings instead of turning the other cheek and walking away and being the bigger person. Being the bigger person is always harder, because it means maintaining dignity and pride even though you didn’t fight back which is what society has come to expect from us. School Violence What seems to frighten me most lately is school violence. I am almost afraid to come into school because some kid my get the wrong idea and do something that they’ll regret. I

Steroids in Sports

2001-06-07T14:00:00-04:00
All about Steroids Understanding steroid Steroids nature Steroids that are used by athletes are the artificial form of testosterone, a human hormone released by the body to stimulate and maintain the male sexual organs. Testosterone is called a male hormone since it is produced in men in large quantities compared to the quantity produced in women (Mishra, 1-2). Hormones that are produced by the testes and the adrenal gland in men and ovaries and adrenal gland in women contains certain kind of fat called steroids, natural ones, which means “solid” in Greek. The body produces about 600 different kinds of steroids called androgens these kinds include testosterone. The amount of testosterone produced in males is about 10 to 15 times more than in women. For this reason we notice that women who uses steroids have masculine characteristics (Yesalis, 23-24). A male human body produce an average of 2.5 to 11 mg of testosterone daily, while the average user of steroids take about 100 mg daily (Mishra, 2). When we talk about steroids we are referring to the anabolic-androgenic steroids, but athletes are more concerned with the anabolic property. Anabolic in Greek means, “to build” while androgenic means “masculinizing.” Androgenic effect plays a role in the maturation of the male reproduction system and is responsible for hair growth and the deepening of the voice while anabolic effect helps in the growth of the muscles by providing them by retained protein (Anabolic steroids, 1). Anabolic steroids are the result from tests that are were made to produce a drug that has tissue-building ability that of the testosterone and at the same time separating it from testosterone’s masculinizing properties. Since the separation did not fully worked out, the proper name of this drug is anabolic-androgenic steroids although it is called anabolic steroids or just steroids (Yesalis, 24). Steroids Development From the early ages man was concerned in increasing his power and his sexual ability. Athletes in the old Greek used to take some wine mixed with strychnine, stimulus of the CNS, taken from plants. Others ate hallucinogenic drugs (Reuters, 1). In 140 BC Indians used to eat testicle tissue that gave them sexual ability and helped in overcoming impotence problems. During 2000 Babylonians noticed that castration did not only caused fertility problems but also they lose their aggressiveness and power (Yesalis, 31-32). Steroids were first developed in the 1930s By Dr. Charles Kockakian, who was called the

South Africa - diverse in culture but could be unified in language

2001-06-04T14:00:00-04:00
South Africa is diverse in culture but could be unified in language. English should be South Africa’s unifying language. It is necessary to understand what nationhood is, so that you the reader realise that a national language does not alter a nation. It binds the nation. I will also discuss South Africa’s diverse cultures and how a unifying language can merge these cultures. Lastly, I will demonstrate the links between language and identity. The concept of a nation is not easily defined. ”Nationalism is a deeply contradictory enterprise.” (P Brooker, 1999,148). Our nation is one that has been formed over many years and languages have been brought to us through imperialism, immigrants and time. We have to accept that, ”for most nations of the world to escape the profound experience of imperialism would be in fact to escape their own actual history” (P Brooker, 1999,148). We cannot deny that there is an assortment of language, which abound this nation. However, we need to choose one unifying language, which we can all use. This is essential for purposes of communication and mediation, which I will discuss later. This national language would be the only official language and English would be the unifying language. Identity is an ever-changing concept. South Africans sexuality, class, gender, race and even language determine our identity. ”Contemporary identities can therefore be fluid or consciously delimited. Any number of factors are likely to be under negotiation in either case; whether of religion, nation, language, political ideology or cultural expression” (P Brooker, 1999,109). Our South African identity is one which has changed through imperialism and it is one that has changed through apartheid and it is one which will continue changing in order to progress therefore a national language such as English can become a part of this ever changing south African identity. A national language will not change the identities of South Africans, it will enhance it. People will still speak their different languages however when we are together we will have a common form of communication. In English-medium schools, for example, English is used as a medium for the study of a wide range of subjects. The students and the teachers come from different cultural backgrounds and many speak different languages at home but they use a common language for educational purposes. This means that an Indian teacher, who maybe speaks Tamil at home, can teach students, who might speak Zulu

Political Correctness

2001-06-04T14:00:00-04:00
Political correctness is a political ideology, nothing more. I believe political correctness is a political ideology and it cannot be correct unless it is linked to genuine transformation. First, I will examine the origins of political correctness to try to get a clear understanding of what this movement is. Second, I will show you that political correctness is political and how it became a political ideology. Lastly, I shall discuss why this ideology does not work. Political correctness is cultural Marxism. Marx, as cited in Introduction to Social Science course guide, believed that if people were left to work on their own they would be more efficient. He had an ideological belief that labourers could actually want to work hard without being forced to. Political correctness as noted by Lind (www.university.org) is just Marxism converted from economic into cultural terms. This is how far back one has to look in order to understand how political correctness came about. Political correctness goes back further than just twenty years ago as Cameron (1995) stated. I believe it started even before the nineteen sixties. As Lind noted it probably can be traced back to World War one. Lind noted the Marxist theory that when the First World War came the working class would over throw the bourgeoisie government. However, this did not happen. In 1923 as Lind further notes, a “think-tank” was established in Germany and took on the role of translating Marxism from economic into cultural terms, which created political correctness, as we know it today. An institute for Marxism was formed however the people who started this institute decided it was better not to openly identify it as a Marxist institute. The last thing political correctness wants is for people to figure out it is a form of Marxism. As Cameron stated, ” The people who are characterised as adherents of the ‘political correctness movement’ strenuously deny that any such movement exist”. So instead, they decided to name it The Institute for Social Research. And so the question of “Critical theory “began. This theory is simply about criticising. As Lind states, it calls for “the most destructive criticism possible, in every possible way, designed to bring current order down”. How does this “critical theory” get to the rest of the world? Well, in 1933, the Nazis come into power and not surprisingly; they close down The Institute for Social Research. So all its members

Socialisation from adolescence onwards

2001-06-04T14:00:00-04:00
Introduction: In this lecture, we shall look at the most important agents of socialisation from adolescence onward. First, We will look at adult socialisation and Resocialisation. We will also look at some important agents of socialisation such as mass media, school, peer groups, state and more. We have already learnt about primary socialisation. Many social scientists have written about this period of socialisation. Socialisation does not end after childhood. It is a life long process and so we need to know about secondary socialisation. Adult Socialisation and Resocialisation Adult socialisation is a time of learning new roles and statuses. As Tischler cited, adult socialisation is different from primary socialisation. Adults become more aware that they are being socialised. They will actually do advanced education and on-the-job training. Adults also have more control over socialisation and therefore want to learn more or make the best of opportunities. Resocialisation as Tischler notes, “involves exposure to ideas or values that in one way or another conflict with what we learned in childhood. An example of Resocialisation could be coming to university. This new environment has changed many people’s views. Many of the things their parents have taught them are now being re-analysed. Resocialisation can bring about changes in religion and political beliefs. For instance, one might convert from being catholic and become enlightened by new age values. Peer groups Peer Groups are strong socializing agents for adolescents who are still trying to find their own identity. The adolescent struggles with being a part of a group and being themselves. Peer groups usually consist of people of similar ages and social status.” The dictionary meaning of the word “peer” is: “and equal in civil standing, or rank, equal in any respect” (Datta A, 1984, 67). It should be noted that gender differences in the peer groups do exist. As Schaefer and Lamm cited, males usually spend more time with a group of males whereas females seem to have a single close female friend (1994). These differences in emotional intimacy show that females have strong emotional ties and males prefer group activity. Peer groups aid in letting the individuals gain independence from parents however most adolescents remain emotionally and economically dependent on parents (Schaefer RT and RP Lamm 1994,69) .In unstable families peer groups are a form of stability for the adolescent.It seems adolescence is a time when the individual participates less in the family activities and more with the peer group. This

Drink Driving - Persuasive Essay

2001-06-02T14:00:00-04:00
Each year numerous lives are lost due to careless and irrational driving. The disregard for safe driving has been a predicament to Queensland for years. For many years? police have relied heavily on speed cameras, breathe testing and heavy fines as a deterrent against unlawful drivers. Over the years fatality rates have increased, so Queensland Transport has composed a series of safe driving campaigns. On many occasions the transport department informs and advises the public about the importance of responsible driving. They propagate safe driving through the various channels of the media. Their safe driving campaign is now using effective propaganda aimed directly at speeding; drink driving and tired and reckless driving Repetition is often used in the safe driving campaign in order to successfully convey their message and also to ensure, that the viewer retains their main idea. Fear is also often used in an effort reach the viewer on an emotional level. Presently the Government and the transport department have worked in collaboration with one another to bring forth a message to the public about road safety. And since road fatalities have affected Australia so much that the advice has become propaganda in every sense of the term ? There is one idea propagated repeatedly in an emotional manner with appropriate cartoons and even name-calling. But has the massive propaganda campaign set out by the Government and the transport department been effective in ensuring the safety of motorist Philosophy is important when it comes to propaganda, mainly because a propaganda primarily focus?s on one main idea. The safe driving campaign is directed to be of the general good for the public. It convinces the common people of the importance of life and makes them aware of the consequences that come from small and simple choices they make everyday. Article #1 is a very effective piece of propaganda in that it captures the reader?s attention successfully by placing a picture of a dog in the focal point of the article. The dog plays a vital role in this piece of propaganda in that it represents a loved one, family and anything cherished. It shows what could be left behind, if a driver chose to ignore safe driving. The breed of dog is also very important. Choosing a sorrowful dogs face, further enhanced the emotions of the reader, as the article wouldn?t have the same effect if a dangerous dog was shown instead This

Gender Equality in Sports

2001-05-30T14:00:00-04:00
How is it fair that a men’s college basketball team is able to be transported on planes and dine on steak, while a women’s team from the same college, travels in a van and eats fast food? It’s not, but this occurs often nowadays even with laws passed preventing this type of discrimination. In 1972, Congress passed Title IX, which prohibits discrimination against girls and women in federally funded education, including athletic programs (Kiernan 3). Many schools and colleges have not been able to comply with the Title IX standards mostly because of money. Some of the problems in high schools and colleges consist of insufficient scholarships for girls, not enough coaching jobs, a lack of equipment, and a limited amount of supplies. Not only does this inequality in athletic programs exist in both schools and colleges, but it is also prominent in many professional sports. After more than 25 years since the beginning of Title IX, there still is no gender equality among men and women in high school, college, and professional sports. Passed in 1972 by United States President Richard Nixon, Title IX was supposed to give women equality in sports, yet in the year 2001 there is still little difference in the way women are treated in sports. No legislative act has had a more powerful impact on the world of sports other than Title IX. Before Title IX was passed, only 31,000 women participated in sports, but in 1997, 120,000 women were active in sports around the country (Wulf 1). Title IX is now synonymous with women trying to find equity in athletics, but it originally had nothing to do with sports. It was a part of a larger legislative act passed to avoid any type of discrimination in the school system (Kiernan 1). Since 1972, the original purpose of Title IX has been clouded by media battles and a whirlwind of misinformation. Until the law required compliance, many schools did not take Title IX to be a serious legislative act. Compliance was not required until 1978, that’s six years after the law was first instilled into the American culture. The department that leads the battle for compliance was called the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights, or often called OCR for short (Wine 1). All institutions receiving federal funding must comply with at least one of three specific criteria. One of them that they could

Daycare: The Effects on Children

2001-05-27T14:00:00-04:00
With the successes of welfare reform and the high turnout of female college graduates mothers are increasingly, entering the workforce. As affirmed by the Wilson Quarterly (Autumn 98, Vol. 22 Issue 4), “Ben Wildavsky, a staff correspondent for the National Journal (Jan. 24, 1998), provides statistical background. In 1997, nearly 42 percent of women with children under six were working full-time, 5 percent were looking for work, 18 percent had part-time jobs, and 35 percent were not working outside the home” (p.115). Using these figures it is said that 65 percent of women with children aged younger than six are working or would like to be. Daycare is a necessity for the majority of working American mothers. Within the past 20 years child social developmentalists have accumulated evidence to show that unless children gain minimal social competence by the age of six years, they have a high probability of being at risk throughout life. (Denham & Burton, 1996) Thus peer relationships contribute a great deal to both social and cognitive development and to the effectiveness with which we function as adults. Others suggest that the number of caregivers and the amount of time children spend away from parents’ harms parent-child relationships thus, weakening cognitive and emotional development (Kelly, 2000). This paper will discuss the effects of daycare on children and how to choose one of high quality. Many daycare opponents believe bonding, a strong emotional attachment that forms between a child and parent, is disrupted when mothers and fathers rely on others to be substitute parents. Children who are securely bonded to parents are more confident in their explorations of their environment and have a higher sense of self-esteem than children who are insecurely bonded to their parents. Dr. Stanley Greenspan, a professor of psychiatry and pediatrics at George Washington University Medical School, who has authored several books including the recent book, The Irreducible Needs of Children says, “A warm, loving human relationship is very important for intellectual development. Children form their capacity to think and self-image based on these back-and-forth interactions. Fewer of these are happening, because families are so busy and more care is being done outside the home. Studies [show] that for all ages, 85 percent of day care is not high quality” (Kelly, 2000, p. 65). It has been further proven that the issue is, the quality of the care given in daycare that makes the difference in regards

Is abortion wrong or right?

2001-05-24T14:00:00-04:00
Abortion, in my opinion, is wrong, but, as it is obvious, it is not wrong in to other people. To make this fair, I have gotten a few people to make a statement about whether they were pro-life, or pro-choice and why. "Pro-choice. As a man, I don't believe that it is my choice to make as to whether a woman decides to keep her child or not. I do not believe that it is my place to pass judgement on all of womanhood when it comes to having an abortion or not. If the circumstances were different, say if the child was mine, then I believe that I have a say, but not for women that I have never, nor will ever meet." Jeff, 20, S.C. "Pro-choice, because women have the choice no matter what. That doesn't mean I'm for abortion though either, just the right to choose." Adrian, 18, Pennsylvania "I'm both. If someone gets raped and doesn't want to have a baby, and it's not their fault that it happened, they should be able to have an abortion because they should be free to live their life. but if someone knew about what would happen if they had sex and they weren't careful, and got pregnant, then they should deal with the consiquences." Lauren, 13, New York. "Pro-life.I think that abortion is morally wrong and it is scientifically proven that the baby is its own person with its own DNA and fingerprints. No one has the right to take a life but Christ. The baby is not part of the mothers body-she can't kill it;it is murder." Drea, 17, Texas. "When asked whether to choose sides on the issue of abortion, I am faced with an unusual quandry. In Michigan, only women have bearing on the baby/fetus while it is still in the womb. All paternal rights come after birth, not after conception. So if a man wants an aborition, but the woman doesn't, the baby is kept. But the converse occurs also; if a man wishes to keep it but the woman doesn't, the fetus is aborted. In my eyes men's paternal rights are beign trampled on because half of that baby/fetus' makeup is from the sperm. I dont side with either and in my eyes, all men should do the same in order to get a voice in raising our families." Matt, 20, Michigan. Abortion is one of the

Cannibalism – A Cultural, Psychopathic, and Survival Approach (Speech Preparation Outline)

2001-05-16T14:00:00-04:00
Introduction I. Imagine our class as a rugby team and Mrs. Edwards as our coach as we were flying over the Himalayas for a tournament until our plane suddenly crashes. A. Although we’re most of us survived, we barely have any food to live on. B. Would we have to resort to cannibalism? II. Cannibalism can be defined as any animal or human that eats their own kind. A. But for the sake of my speech, we will focus on humans. B. I know that you may be thinking how on earth I arrived to this topic or whether or not to hang around me but I consider cannibalism to be an interesting topic. III. There are various ways cannibalism has been regarded today. A. Cannibalism has been regarded as a strong aspect of pre-historical cultures around the world. B. Cannibalism has been a prevailing conflict in today’s moral society. C. Cannibalism has also been used as a means of survival. IV. Although I haven’t eaten anyone…yet, I have consulted various databases for my topic. A. I have printed information off reliable websites. B. I have delved into two books by other enthused cannibal experts. C. I have also used Ebsco to find current articles on this hot topic. V. Today I will present you my information in a topical format which is divided into subtopics. A. We will first see how cannibalism has been prevalent in historical cultures. B. We will then examine modern day cannibalism as justification for psychopathic actions. C. And finally, we will see how cannibalism has been used as a means of survival. (Transition: Let us first look at cannibalism’s influence in prehistoric cultures.) Body I. Cannibalism has etched its mark in many cultures around the world. A. The oldest evidence of cannibalism among Neanderthals was found in sites in the French cave Ardeche in southeastern France. 1. Neanderthals are cousins of modern human beings who lived in Europe 125,000 to 30,000 years ago who practiced cannibalism. 2. The bones of six Neanderthals were found dismembered and were suggested not for ritual but to be eaten instead. B. Aztec Indian culture around the 1540’s also suggests cannibalism integrated into culture. 1. Described by Peggy Reeves Sanday in her book Divine Hunger, As many as 15,000 people were sacrificed and feasted upon each year at the great Aztec Temple Tenochtitlan. 2. The motives to these rituals included feasting especially on the human heart was a means of gaining strength and immortality. 3. Other factors to cannibalism included cold winters, drought famine, competition among Indian groups. C. Cannibalism once took center stage in funeral practices in New Guinea. 1. Partial consumption of dead relatives was a profound gesture of ritual solidarity

Abortion: a Freedom of Choice

2001-05-12T14:00:00-04:00
During the last twenty-five years, abortion has been one of the most heated topics being debated in the United States and Canada. The only topics that equal the abortion debate are race and war. Abortion is a discussion of human interaction where ethics, emotions, and law come together. There are people that have different views of abortion but no matter what their view is they fall under a thin line. There is the pro-choice and the pro-life. These are the only two categories that people’s views fall into. A pro-choice person would feel that the decision to abort a pregnancy is that of the mothers and the government has no right to interfere. A pro-lifer would hold that from the moment of conception, the embryo or fetus is alive. Since this embryo or fetus is alive and is a person you have no moral right to abort a life. If you aborted the life (person) you would be committing murder. The word “murder” is mainly used by pro-lifers to describe what happens when you abort an embryo/fetus. Murder means deliberate and unjustified killing of another person containing intent. How can anyone tell a woman that they can’t abort an embryo/fetus to interrupt a pregnancy if it is a result of rape or incest? A women cannot bear the thought of having a child that would be a constant reminder of what happened on such and such a day, such and such number of years ago. The mother doesn’t want to kill a baby; she wants to interrupt the growth of an embryo so that it will not become a baby. The mother interrupts potential life. If the mother aborts the embryo at a very early stage it’s not even recognizable as human and that’s why potential life is just that, potential. My personal belief is that each woman has the right to decide whether she wants to abort an unwanted pregnancy. Remember the termination of the pregnancy might have to do with the health of the mother herself, maybe the mother is unable to attend to the child’s needs after its born, resulting in child abuse and mental disease. In these situations abortion is a must in my opinion. Most abortions occur because contraception fails, because of a rape or because of a serious medical condition of the mother, which could lead to her death. In these situations abortion is often

Reasons for Abolishing the Death Penalty

2001-05-06T14:00:00-04:00
There are many things that I don’t agree with in today’s society, but out of all the wrong doings that take place, I believe the death penalty is the worst of them all. I am strongly against the death penalty because it violates God’s rules, costs the tax payers too much money, prisoners could be wrongly convicted, and it is cruel and unusual punishment. The first reason why I do not support having the death penalty is that it violates religious beliefs. Many religions, such as my own, Catholicism, follow the rules that God sent to us through the Ten Commandments. One of the most important of those then states, “Thou shall not kill.” If you are executing an individual, that clearly violates this commandment. Murdering any person, no matter what the individual has been convicted of, is a mortal sin. Therefore, anyone who aids in executing people will be punished by God. I believe that religious beliefs, such as the Ten Commandments, are the corner stone for our law system. Executing someone shouldn’t be made an exception to the God’s rule. My next reason against the death penalty is that the tax payers waste too much of their money with the death penalty in place. The average death penalty case is appealed three times. This means that the tax payers must pay for the same trial to be heard three times. This is a very expensive practice. Also, the average convicted murderer spends 12 years on death row. If supporters of the death penalty are positive enough to kill the person for committing the crime, shouldn’t the supportes be confident enough to execute them in a timely manner? Why spend the tax payer’s money keeping these inmates in jail for so long? Tax payer’s money should go to better society, not to accommodate the prisoners that are going to end up executed. Another major reason for opposing the death penalty is, what if the prisoner was wrongly convicted. Throughout the history of the death penalty, there was numerous cases in which it is determined that the person executed did not commit the crime. New evidence maybe found years after the individual has been put to death. There is no way to say sorry and get that person’s life back. Also, the person accused maybe to poor to hire an adequate lawyer. The court appointed attorneys are often too over-worked and inexperienced to

Our Quiet Teacher: Television Violence and Children

2001-05-03T14:00:00-04:00
“Unless and until there is unmistakable proof to the contrary, the presumption must be that television is and will be a main factor in influencing the values and moral standards of our society…” Pilkington Report (Merriam-Webster Dictionary of Quotations 411) The sentence stunned even the hardest of courtroom observers. Judge Charles Arnold just finished sentencing Joshua Phillips, a young 15-year-old boy, to life in prison with no possibility for parole. “Your monstrous act made you an adult,” he told Joshua shortly before he was taken away to spend the rest of his life behind bars. What caused the judgment to be so severe on a child from such a good family? Joshua Phillips was convicted of first-degree murder in the stabbing death of 8-year-old Maddie Clifton. Joshua never denied killing the girl once he was confronted with the truth. His story goes like this: He was ‘playing’ rough with Maddie outside his family’s home in Jacksonville, Florida. According to Joshua’s lawyer, he was imitating his favorite wrestling moves from television. According to Joshua’s testimony, he accidentally hit Maddie in the eye. When she wouldn’t stop crying, he panicked and hit her, and eventually stabbed Maddie in order “to get her quiet.” He then stuffed her body underneath the mattresses of the waterbed in his bedroom. He even helped “search” for her when she wasn’t seen for several days. One day, as his mother was putting away some clothes in his room, she smelt a foul odor coming from what she thought was under the bed. She thought that perhaps a mouse had died lay beneath the bed. What she found horrified her. Without even imagining that her son was the killer, she immediately called the police. After several short questions, Joshua admitted that he was the murderer. He now sits behind bars in a state prison in Florida where he will grow up, grow old, and then die (Leisner). What is happening in the world today? Rapes; School shootings; Gangs. It often seems like everywhere one looks, violence shows up in grotesque forms. We see it in the streets, back alleys, school, and even at home. The last of these is a major source of violence. In many peoples' living rooms there sits an outlet for violence that often goes unnoticed. It is the television, and the children who view it are often pulled into its realistic world of violent scenes with

Racism: Lessons Learned

2001-05-03T14:00:00-04:00
Many things have been shared in this classroom environment. Issues have been studied that have caught the attention of the class and made them consider things that perhaps were not contemplated before. Over the past semester, one series of lessons have stood out to me more than any other. That particular set of lessons revolved around the issue of racism. Racism has taken on a new comprehension within my thoughts and mind over the course of this semester. I had always considered racism a baneful idea and an even more wicked practice. We defined it as a prejudice based upon the color of one’s skin or race. Although laws have outlawed the practice of segregation and racism, we have seen as a class that it is still practiced within a country that declares it to be illegal. We have learned that there doesn’t have to be laws favoring one race over another for racism to exist. Rather, we have seen that racism is more than a political issue – it is a social issue. We have seen that racism isn’t confined to the mountains of Tennessee, hills of Alabama, or plains of Mississippi. Racial discrimination is evident in every state and in many peoples. We have come to see that it is not confined to Anglo-Americans, but can affect people from all racial or ethnic backgrounds. Most importantly, this course has allowed us to view this evil from a better understanding. We have been allowed to not only define racism, but to also view the roots and causes of it. We have discussed as a class the consequences that racial intolerance has held upon our society as a whole. In our discussions and lessons about racism, we have learned about great American heroes who have stood up against bigotry. Rosa Parks, who as a young African-American woman who in 1963 refused to give up her bus seat to a white man, ignited a social revolution. Her righteous defiance led to a boycott of buses by African-Americans in Montgomery, Alabama, and also to laws that changed the legal nature of prejudice. We also learned about Martin Luther King, Jr., a man who stood against the tyranny of racial injustice by forming nonviolent protests. His marches, speeches, imprisonments, and even death ushered in the understanding of how important this issue was to our modern culture. I appreciate all that I have learned

The Effects of Television on Society

2001-05-03T14:00:00-04:00
There is probably no greater influence on society than the television. It has become arguably the greatest invention of the past century. With it, we have witnessed countless historical events: Inaugurations of presidents; man’s first steps on the moon; the assignation of John F. Kennedy; even disasters as they happen. Americans watch TV in the morning to receive the daily news. They eat watching it. They watch it before they go to bed. But as television has saturated our lives, has it always resulted toward our betterment or has it possibly led to the deprivation of American society? Although there are many benefits of television, American society has most assuredly been adversely affected by it. Since the birth of television, crime has skyrocketed. Many years ago, problems in school were chewing gum and running in the halls. Now, students fear for their lives as our schools have turned into war zones, with school shootings becoming a national problem. Many attribute this problem to the violence children watch on television. Children have become desensitized concerning the value of human life by the many murders and violence viewed on the screen. Television has led to the moral decline in our nation like no other device in history. With the coming of cable and satellite television, Americans now have scores of channels to watch with very little educational value. Many children sit for hours in front of the television, and could not imagine missing a favorite show or movie. The media has an arguable hold on the politics of this nation. Many attribute Kennedy’s victory in the close election of 1960 to the presentation he made in two televised debates in the closing months of the campaign. The media has an agnate ability to control the ideas of American politics and rewrite history without too many people even noticing. Most Americans hold dear the precious first amendment right of free speech. But with freedom, there must also be responsibility. Societies that do not offer freedom in the media often have the lowest crime rates of the world. Why is this? Television has softened the moral values and ideals of its viewers. It has the power to preach into our subconscious what its advertisers want you to believe. That is why billions of dollars are spent on advertising. Why? Because it works! Continued saturation by shows that softly depict murder, crime and abuse, sometimes

Mindless Humans

2001-04-30T14:00:00-04:00
Humans have been socially networked with each other since the time they have been created. Civilization was fashioned by humans interacting with one another. With this interaction with others and communal peers, “social man is a somnambulist” (Asch 61). In other terms, when humans become social, they are really “sleep walking”, or following the crowd, even though belief in the western world has it that people are “free” to choose for themselves. This sleepwalking factor then turns individuals into mindless ants. It only occurs because a human is a social animal and with that comes, social pressures and authoritative figures. Stanley Milgram studied at Harvard University and tested how social humans would react in a certain situation. Milgram tested how certain individuals would respond to inflicting harm onto another person because another figure told them to. He was interested in why regular day people would actually do such horrific things to the victim. In the experiment there was no physical consequence for the individual pushing the button if they said no. People in this situation believed in that the scientist knew what he/she was doing so they assumed that what they were doing was acceptable even though in actuality they believed it was not right. Subjects gave up their free will to choose because a higher authority told them to do so. This is similar to ants in that the majority of ants are worker ants; they obey the authority of the queen and will act out every wish she wants. Even though the ants can think for themselves, they follow the authority. Originally the theory was that many would stop the experiment being aware that the person that they were shocking is indeed being harmed, but that was proven wrong (Milgram 41). A different scientist who redid this experiment found that 85 percent of his subjects were obedient (Milgram 42). As a result it was evident that individuals will succumb to authoritative figures. Strudler and Warren explain that the subjects acted the way they did because of authority heuristics, which is the reliance on an authority figure (57). In Milgram’s experiment, the scientist was the authority figure in the experiment and the subject trusted his/her judgment because they believed that the scientist knows what he/she is doing. Even though the subject believed they have “free” will in their choices, the pressures of the authority figure “forced” the individual into believing

The Never Changing Society

2001-04-30T14:00:00-04:00
Society is constantly changing but there are ideas that are embedded into society that still remain. The idea to survive and the idea to become better than your previous are still present. There exist one idea that correlates to a very strong impulse that controls our daily happening and our lives, the idea of selfishness. Everyone does something for something in return. In our present day society, selfishness is more evident when it comes to the matter of greed. Large corporations will put on different facades to attract different types of people to buy their product. This is core behind the idea of advertising. People change because society changes and therefore their interests change as well. To survive, companies need to appeal to the new interests by focusing their product to the new market of people. If you cannot appeal to the new interest your company will surely be doomed. Take for instance the car companies of the 1920’s. Ford first developed its Model-T car and had a monopoly over the car industry even if they all came in one color, black. Then, Chevrolet came out with its cars, which had different colors; Ford had then lost a large amount of its business to Chevrolet and was then no longer the leader in the car industry. Studebaker was another successful car company with decent cars and a fair amount of supporters but when the market changed and the company could not keep up with it, it failed and went out of business. In today’s present state, the car industry is mainly selling sport utility vehicles or SUV’s for short, but they are still selling the same thing, cars. At present, our economy is doing well so that is why many people are purchasing SUV’s. They are expensive and they waste a lot of gas. Not quite practical unless there is enough money to spend on it. Back in the 1980’s when the economy was not doing so well, smaller cars that used less gas and were cost cheaper sold a great deal more. The compact sedans of the 1980’s are now not in style anymore and not very many people are purchasing compacts and sports cars anymore either. Even though sports cars are flashy and expensive, it is more common than SUV’s were so people wanted something different. SUV’s are more high profile and they are like a trophy of how

Proof is simply beyond the capacity

2001-04-30T14:00:00-04:00
Certain individuals who commit crimes do so at their own free will, and many have no qualms as to the consequences of their actions. To some, it matters not the possibility that if they are caught, there is the chance they may be executed. Sometimes the crimes committed by certain persons are done so in a manner that would bewilder any other human being. My personal belief is that there is no need for capital punishment in our society. Advocates say that capital punishment is needed in order to deter future criminals, but this is not entirely the case. Research has shown that capital punishment, as a deterrent, has no positive or negative effect. An influential student of the deterrence question, Thorsten Sellin, conducted a study that would attempt to determine the effect of capital punishment on future crime. He studied the homicide rates in contiguous states, some with and some without the death penalty, on the assumption that these states were as alike as possible in character of population, social and economic conditions, etc. His conclusion was that the death penalty had no effect on the murder rate (Sellin, 63). This is not to say that the study performed by Sellin was perfect, for it did contain flaws. In his attempt, he looked for correlations between the homicide rate and the legal status of the death penalty, rather than the number of executions actually carried out in the states where it was legal punishment. As it may be true that contiguous states are similar in certain respects, their differences may be quite apparent. Sellin looked for characteristics evident in all of the states he compared, but these same factors may not be part of the real reason that leads to homicide. He had no way of knowing if these states were equal in all other respects, such as apprehending and convicting those who commit murder. There is simply no absolute in controlling all factors. The issue of deterrence has been the basis on which advocates or abolitionists have grounded their arguments. It would be safe to assume that both sides have varying definitions for the term “deterrence” and the manner in which they utilize that definition to their advantage. Gertrude Ezorsky offers a dichotomous definition of deterrence that is useful in deciphering the meanings behind the arguments. Ezorsky makes a distinction between the effects of a threat of a punishment and the effects

A Modest Proposal: The Environment

2001-04-30T14:00:00-04:00
Something akin to panic is communicated onto my sterile computer screen, then my furrowed brow and soon my troubled mind when I sit alone, in the dark of my room and explore ideas and possibilities. Turning the light on and the computer off doesn’t dissolve my disturbed mood; nothing does until the outside can creep in and warm me. It’s usually a human voice; something more real than the essays and articles I read on global warming and remote ice caps that melt slowly every year. The fear settles until someone with a weaker sense of reality can convince me that “something is being done” by environmental scientists and none of it will affect me when I am dust. In just the last fifty years, humans, namely Americans have virtually remodeled the Earth and everything on it. We have changed its landscapes, wind patterns, migration routes, and weather; diminished its greenery and killed its animals. Nature did not seem a force that could be controlled and yet it has been. We are conducting an inadvertent global experiment by changing the face of the entire planet. We are destroying the ozone layer, which allows life to exist on the Earth's surface, clearing the majority of the earth’s forests, and disrupting countless ecosystems. The result has been an unfavorable alteration of the composition of the biosphere and the Earth's heat balance. If we do not slow down our use of fossil fuels and stop destroying the forests, the world will become hotter than it has been in the past million years. This warming will rearrange entire biological communities and cause many species to become extinct. The desperate plight of the environment should by all means be the first priority for every single government and person on this planet. With today’s common knowledge of what might happen in the near future if significant changes aren’t made in the lifestyle of most people it’s hard to understand why 70 million cars continue to vomit their poison into the air everyday. All around the world environmental activists fight to preserve our patches of rain forests and wetlands, as well as protect a variety of fragile but important ecosystems. In all major cities, advocates of environmental conservation annually propose plans with alternative modes of transportation and energy-efficient appliances that will every citizen would be mandated to use. Even if instituted gradually, these changes could really make a

The Dawn of Understanding: Three Years Later

2001-04-30T14:00:00-04:00
Throughout my life, the same scene in the television screen registered in different ways. The camera zooms in for the last shot of a lone hyena wheezing his way out of life. He may be dying of heat exhaustion or thirst or hunger, but his small eyes roll side to side slowly and then....just.....stop. Equally significant and striking is the close-up of the very violent death of a baby seal as a hyena simultaneously shakes him into submission and breaks his spine. The camera is always held steady; no one is shocked or upset yet the sense that something important has happened is always instilled in me. When I was younger I would cry during the sad moment in movies when someone died. The person or animal had a name and an identity which gave them a level of reality. My fascination for animals existed even then and I often followed with my eyes and imagination the lives of the documented animal. I turned away from the brashness of the lion tearing into the zebra because I turned away from all violence but I was too disgusted to feel any real compassion. Perhaps reality was harder to absorb than fiction. Perhaps these scenes weren't real to me because what I had seen of death in my own experience always involved sorrow and the cameramen felt none, the sun felt none and the narrator felt none. Later in my life I realized the zebra or coyote or prairie dog that was being forced to succumb to dehydration or starvation was real. I don't think that I had ever, consciously seen anything die before; watched the same close-up many times before but never really seen anything die. Insects perhaps; never a person, never a baby lemur, never a cat, never anything except within the confines of fiction. What my mind had seen as I sat there was the product of lighting and actors and a voice but unlike real fiction, this did not seem real. As I have lived in a city for most of my life and never truly experienced what wildlife was like, this was it; the cameras lent my alienated consciousness a sense of the reality experienced by the other inhabitants of this earth: the four legged (and sometimes two-legged) ones. I was being carried on the shoulders of Richard Nassau and Michael Drencher as they journeyed to the desserts

A Closet Sexist

2001-04-30T14:00:00-04:00
My brother was the tallest man alive seven years ago. I know this for a fact because it’s not true now and humans notice what surprises them. I rarely look at Jose Luis now but when I do, I am sometimes startled that he does not stretch looming above all for seven feet as he does in my vague memories. When I was very young and only the members of my family had a place in my consciousness, I was extremely proud of my strong, tall brother whom was on the surface, the family’s pillar of strength. Esther, my older sister, and me would sometimes absurdly pretend to be his mother, she remembers though I no longer have those memories; we would play and giggle on my mother’s bed. Today, Jose Luis and I are separated by deep bitterness that is more an unspoken tradition and the residue of an old fight than anything else. We live in the same house though I rarely see him and never speak with him. Somewhere along the road for reasons I can only vaguely remember and which have in importance with time we stopped talking and it is not at all the five-year age difference that caused this change. I felt a deep resentment for him that has faded today but now it no longer matters. My young mind formed hurtful perceptions and eventually it seemed to as that the root of all my problems was my brother. We moved to our second apartment when I was eight years. My father separated with a thin wall the largest of our two bedrooms to allow for my sister and I to have a room of our own. I hated the cramped space that had to fit the small lives of my sister and me; hated how it always seemed that my brother was preferred. His tiny room was all the less tiny because of the sister he didn’t have to share with and it made so little sense to me that two existed in the same space occupied by one. It also seemed that while my sister and I were neglected of our parents love, my brother was showered with it as well as concrete representations of that love. My father who could not understand or particularly like his quiet daughters after the age of six bestowed all love and attention on his tall laughing

Why are museums important?

2001-04-21T14:00:00-04:00
The Cambridge Dictionary Online defined museums as “places of study, buildings where objects of historical, scientific or artistic interest are kept, preserved and exhibited”. To The Museums Association, a museum is “an institution which collects documents, preserves, exhibits and interprets material evidence and associated information for the public benefit”. Since 1998, this definition has changed. Museums now enable the public to explore collections for inspiration, learning and enjoyment. They are institutions that collect, safeguard and make accessible artefacts and specimens, which they hold in trust for society. Mike Wallace (1996) categorised museums into four distinct types, namely National Museums that hold collection of national importance, Armed Service Museums, Independence Museums and Local Authority Museums. According to Wallace, the importance of museums lies in their role as a nation’s memory bank. Personally, what matters most about museums is that they are the only source of “living history” and perhaps an insight to the future world that lies before us. History should be displayed for study not only because it is essential to individuals and to society, but also because it harbours beauty. Museums provide an ideal learning environment, whether it is formal or informal learning, active hands-on participation or passive observation (Hein, G. E, 1998). In The British Museum, each of the museums curatorial departments offers student research facilities, for instance Ancient Near East, Egyptian Antiquities, Japanese Antiquities, Medieval and Modern Europe and Prehistory and Early Europe. The Education Department even set aside “Study days” to allow more intensive exploration of the cultural background to an exhibition or area of the collections and they usually include slide lectures and gallery talks. In addition, The Education Department provides a range of services for teachers to help enhance students' experience of the Museum and about the cultures represented in the Museum's collections. The 2000/2001 brochure, listing events and resources for teachers and students, is promised to be available soon. Majority of the other museums also provide such educational services to the public. The National Museum of the Performing Arts has an Education Department that runs an annual programme of activities designed to support teachers in the delivery of the National Curriculum and to trigger the interest of their pupils in the performing arts. These activities complement study programmes in a range of core subjects including English, Drama, Theatre Studies, Design and Technology, History, Art, Music and Social Sciences. A greater number of educators are

Ethnocentrism and Cultural Relativity

2001-04-20T14:00:00-04:00
It is always troublesome not to understand another culture, especially, in New York City where we live in a society that is rapidly changing. The City has increasingly brought people of various cultures, to interact closer with each other. This interaction can be either positive or negative depending on the level of sensitivity and respect people have for other culture groups. These two types of behaviors are related to two important concepts known as ethnocentrism and cultural relativity. Ethnocentrism is “the attitude of prejudice or mistrust towards outsiders that may exist within a group (in-group) in relation to other (out-group)”…. (Harper-Collin Dictionary of Sociology). Importantly, there are also three levels of ethnocentrism: a positive one, a negative one, and an extreme negative one. The positive definition defines ethnocentrism as “the point of view that one’s own way of life is to be preferred to all others” (Herskovits 1973: 21). There is nothing wrong with such feelings, because “it characterizes the way most individuals feel about their own cultures, whether or not they verbalize their feelings” (Herskovits 1973:21). It is this point of view that gives people their sense of people-hood, group identity, and place in history. Ethnocentrism becomes negative when “ one’s own group becomes the center of everything, and all other are scaled and rated with reference to it”(Herskovits 1973:21). It reaches extreme negative form when “a more powerful group not only imposes its rule on another, but actively depreciates the things they hold to be of value” (Herskovits 1973:103). This third level of ethnocentrism is found in examples of racial segregation, the holocaust, and genocide of a race of people. Cultural relativism “asserts that concepts are socially constructed and vary cross-culturally. These concepts may include such fundamental notions as what is considered true, morally correct, and what constitutes knowledge or even reality itself”…. (Harper Collin Dictionary of Sociology). The concept of culture, like any other piece of knowledge, can be abused and misinterpreted. Some fear that the principles of cultural relativity will weaken morality. “If the Bugabuga do it why can’t we? Its all relative anyway” (Kluckhohn 1944:43). But this is exactly what cultural relativity does not mean. Cultural relativity challenges our ordinary beliefs in the objectivity and universality of moral truths. Different societies have different moral codes. There is no objective standard that can be used to judge one societal code better than another. The moral code of our

Animal Testing (Speech Outline)

2001-04-16T14:00:00-04:00
Specific Purpose – To persuade my audience that animal testing is wrong and how other safer alternatives should be taken. Central Idea – By going the extra mile in using safer alternatives when experimenting with animals will not only prevent conflicts from pro-life activists, it will minimize lawsuits and morals will be preserved. Introduction I. Okay I got a riddle I made up for the class. A. What was once cute and furry but becomes a bloody rotted mess? B. You guys give up? C. Well the answer to this question is an animal that has undergone chemical testing. II. I know that wasn’t too funny but I needed some sort of attention-grabber and this hit home on the question of my topic; whether animal testing is right or wrong. A. After all, the question whether animals should be tested is often hotly debated. B. Through intense research I have discovered that the issue on whether animals should be experimented upon, or “vivisection”, has cropped up in history as early as the 17th century. III. Although animal testing is much less frequent today than in the past, I will reinforce the idea that alternatives to animal testing should be preserved today. A. I will first explain the conflicts in the past where animal testing caused many problems. B. Then I will reinforce the solution to animal testing by discussing the various alternatives that can be taken. (Transition: Let us first look at the problem of animal testing.) Body I. As I have mentioned, the question on animal testing was posed even as early as the 17th century, according to the All For Animals Newsletter. A. According to this newsletter, Philosopher Jeremy Bentham rejected philosopher Rene Descartes’ theory that because animals have no reasoning that humans have, they therefore cannot feel pain or suffering. 1. But Bentham went further in this issue, rejecting Descartes’ idea because the idea of reasoning was irrelevant on the moral issue whether animals should be tested. 2. Bentham’s philosophy on animals, instead, was: “The question is not can they reason? Nor can they talk? But could they suffer?” B. Vivisection began early after Bentham’s time period as scientists cut open animals to learn about the functions of the heart, lungs, and other parts of the body. C. The practice of testing cosmetics on animals started around 1933. 1. This began after a woman used Lush Lure cosmetics darken her eye lashes. 2. The woman’s eyes eventually burned, and later the woman became blind and eventually died. 3. Because of this incident, the Food and Drug Administration passed the Federal Food, Drug,

Gun Control

2001-04-14T14:00:00-04:00
Americans are faced with an ever-growing problem of violence. Our streets have become a battleground where the elderly are beaten for their social security checks, where terrified women are viciously attacked and raped, where teen-age gangsters shoot it out for a patch of turf to sell their illegal drugs, and where innocent children are caught daily in the crossfire of drive-by shootings. We cannot ignore the damage that these criminals are doing to our society, and we must take actions to stop these horrors. However, the effort by some misguided individuals to eliminate the legal ownership of firearms does not address the real problem at hand, and simply disarms the innocent law-abiding citizens who are most in need of a form of self-defense. To fully understand the reasons behind the gun control efforts, we must look at the history of our country, and the role firearms have played in it. The second amendment to the Constitution of the United States makes firearm ownership legal in this country. There were good reasons for this freedom, reasons which persist today. Firearms in the new world were used initially for hunting, and occasionally for self-defense. However, when the colonists felt that the burden of British oppression was too much for them to bear, they picked up their personal firearms and went to war. Standing against the British armies, these rebels found themselves opposed by the greatest military force in the world at that time. The 18th century witnessed the height of the British Empire, but the rough band of colonial freedom fighters discovered the power of the Minuteman, the average American gun owner. These Minutemen, so named because they would pick up their personal guns and jump to the defense of their country on a minute's notice, served a major part in winning the American Revolution. The founding fathers of this country understood that an armed populace was instrumental in fighting off oppression, and they made the right to keep and bear arms a constitutionally guaranteed right. Over the years, some of the reasons for owning firearms have changed. As our country grew into a strong nation, we expanded westward, exploring the wilderness, and building new towns on the frontier. Typically, these new towns were far away from the centers of civilization, and the only law they had was dispensed by townsfolk through the barrel of a gun. Crime existed, but could be minimized when

Capital Disgrace

2001-04-11T14:00:00-04:00
How often have we heard the statement “Two wrongs don’t make a right”? Yet, is this saying ever really applied to our lives? When do we ever turn the other cheek? As far as history is concerned, the human race has never felt the sting of a hand consecutively on both sides. Evidence to this can be found anywhere. Soldiers kill the enemy to win the war. Athletes become violent in order to obtain a trophy. And, in the judicial system, the ultimate crime of murder is dealt with the ultimate punishment of death. Yet, it poses the question does the end really justify the means? Can society’s practice of the death penalty be considered a moral disgrace? Justice is not without faults. Canadians Guy Paul Morin and David Milgaard were both wrongfully accused of murder. Both men spent many years serving out a penalty which should have never been bestowed upon them. Although, if the death penalty was common practice in Canada, these innocent victims may have been executed. They may have been killed. Murdered. All because of a guilty verdict and society’s desire to extinguish the flame of violence. The desire to have revenge. Yet, does the elimination of an offender bring back their victims or heal the wounds of the families? Should we consent to causing pain for another family by killing their child? If the offender was your child, would you want to watch them die? Of course, there is always the argument that the threat of death acts as a deterrent to threatening offenders. However, the claim that this act really does deter violent crime is inconclusive, not proven, and extremely difficult to disprove. For every set of statistics saying that it lowers the amount of violent crime, there is another to say it doesn’t and another that states it does both. Using such an ambiguous argument to support a controversial act is not only unacceptable, but it is irresponsible. If there is any validity to this argument, it is negated by the actual amount of time an offender spends on death row. Endless appeals, delays, technicalities, and retrials keep those condemned to death waiting for execution for years on end. If the majority of death row residents live to an old age anyway, why would anyone be afraid of capital punishment? It would be just as easy to sentence offenders to life of captivity and work in a

Capital Punishment: Fair or Unfair?

2001-04-10T14:00:00-04:00
The most severe form of punishment of all legal sentences is that of death. This is referred to as the death penalty, or “capital punishment”; this is the most severe form of corporal punishment, requiring law enforcement officers to actually kill the offender. It has been banned in numerous countries, in the United States, however an earlier move to eliminate capital punishment has now been reversed and more and more states are resorting to capital punishment for such serious offenses namely murder. “Lex talionis”, mentioned by the Bible encourages “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” mentality, and people have been using it regularly for centuries. We use it in reference to burglary, adultery, and various other situations, although, some people enforce it on a different level, some people use it in reference to death. An individual may steal from those who have stolen from him/her, or an individual wrongs those who have wronged him/her, but should an individual have the right to kill to seek retaliation? Four issues are on the hot topic in the United States, stirring up America’s feelings towards this issue. There is controversy debating capital punishment today and whether or not it works, or if it is morally right. We have a certain privilege in our own lives, but should the lives of others belong to us as well. Do we have the right to decide on the lives of others, of people we may not even know? If we find someone guilty of murder, we sentence him to death. This makes us murders ourselves, but is there possibility in justifying these acts? Those who assist in the death penalty are they not partners in crime? Is the death penalty a cruel and unusual punishment or is it now just a necessary tool in the war of crime? With today’s increase in crime and violence in our society, the death penalty effects every American, whether interested or not, and has existed for quite some time now. The use of the death penalty has actually declined throughout the industrial Western World since the 19th century. In 1972, a movement in America to have the death penalty declared unconstitutional arose, during the landmark case of Furman vs. Georgia, declaring the death penalty cruel and unusual punishment, nonetheless, a Supreme Court decision in 1975, Gregg vs. Georgia, stated capital punishment did not violate the eighth Amendment

Protection of Endangered Species

2001-04-08T14:00:00-04:00
Out of all the species that have ever existed since the beginning of time, 98% of them are extinct (Facts). There are an estimated 5-10 million species that exist currently and only 1.5 million have been identified (Sherry, 2). Scientists classify species into six different groups: plants, animals, insects, algae, fungi, and microorganisms (Today’s Situation). In the tropical rainforest alone, most species are disappearing at the rate of 1% a year (Sherry, 6). If the current trend continues, at least 50% of all currently existing species will be either extinct or endangered by the year 2050 (Today’s Situation). For this reason endangered species deserve more protection than the current regulations provide. Throughout history there have been many different reasons for the extinction of species. The earliest known reason was 64-66 million years ago when scientists believe a meteorite struck earth causing the extinction of the dinosaur and of 85% of the species existing at the time (Sherry, 2). Another major problem is the introduction of species into a new environment. Most introduced species become pests because they have no natural enemies and can easily out compete native species that have natural enemies, thus overpopulating a certain environment (Sherry, 5). The main causes of extinction are habitat destruction, commercial exploitation, damage by non-native species introduced into the environment, and pollution (Definition of endangered species). Out of all of these, habitat destruction is the major source of extinction. It is thought that at least 4,000-6,000 species become extinct each year in the rain forest alone due to burning acreage to make room for farm fields (Today’s situation). Most of the human caused extinctions occurred during the Industrial Revolution, which was 250 years ago (Sherry, 2). Another significant reason for the decline, if not extinction of species is hunting and poaching animals. A good example of this is the near extinction of the American Bison due to over hunting. Between 1870 and 1875, 2.5 million Bison were killed annually. In 1883 the last significant herd with around 10,000 members was done away with. By 1990 there were only an estimated 500 plain Bison remaining in the United State (Direct Causes). These are all key reasons for the extinction of species and if we can avoid them then we may prevent the future extinction of other species. The first federal role in protecting wildlife began with the Lacey Act of 1900. It was the first attempt

The Young Offender’s Act Debate

2001-04-07T14:00:00-04:00
Under fire from the date of its creation, the debate over the validity of the Young Offender’s Act continues. Should the YOA remain in its current form as a part of the Canadian legal system? An examination of the reasons it is seen as being ineffective, the need for change, and the suggested amendments and substitutes will provide an accurate picture of the situation from which a conclusion can be drawn. The young offenders act in its current form is nearly optimal. However, there enough reasons for its alteration that a serious consideration of amendments should be considered. There are a number of reasons why the YOA has been seen as ineffective. There is, in the public, a widespread perception that the YOA is not working at all. This is due to the large amount of misinformation that is sensationalized ruthlessly by the media (Good 1998 7). High profile cases of violent offenders leak, and, lacking details, the media presents an incomplete account of details to the public. As a result some people think that there are kids who know how to “beat the system” and are now out committing crimes with no fear of being seriously reprimanded. But, as one analyst and researcher reports “There are virtually no data … that would permit an examination of this assumption” (Peterson-Badali and Koegl 1998 p127). Since once of the functions of the act is to protect the public, their fears are one a problem that needs to be addressed in any amendments that may go forward. There is, however, debate over the need for change. Some say the current act is much too easy on youths and that they’re getting away with too much. There are reasons situations, such as these misinterpreted ones, have come about. The YOA was designed keeping youth protection in mind, and experts in the area tend to refer to the fact that “…repeated studies have shown that it is not the severity of punishment which deters crime, but the certainty of it” (Daunt 1998 7). Therefore it is not surprising that thousands of good kids have been helped, and not hindered, by the current legislation on their way to a productive life (Good 1998 171). As well, the current YOA does have serious consequences for violent offenders, many of them ending up in adult court (Daunt 1998 7). One may also begin to see a bit of

Euthanasia

2001-03-27T14:00:00-04:00
Euthanasia & Assisted Suicide “To be or not to be” Problem: Life is a precious gift containing a wide spectrum of emotions and experiences that make it so sacred. Emotions and experiences are intertwined and are the substance of ones existence. Yet when the pain outweighs the joy of life one begins questioning whether or not to endure. “To be or not to be” an extremely difficult question, a query that resides souly in desperation a place of pain and darkness. What brings a person to even consider such an act? What is up ahead or around this individual that feeds the need to bail out? It seems that perpetual pain or loss of ones control are both common reasons for this escape. Euthanasia and assisted suicide have both been topics contemplated throughout the history of human civilization. Whether or not one has the right to take their own life and further more get aid in doing so. “Euthanasia can be traced as far back as to the ancient Greek and Roman civilization where it was allowed to help others die”(Encarta 98). This practice has followed us through the years and has been rejected accepted and considered throughout the globe. “ In the United States the first doctor was charged for performing euthanasia in 1935. Harold Blazer was charged for the death of his daughter a victim of spinal meningitis. After caring for her for thirty years, he placed a rag of chloroform over her face until she died, he was acquitted from charges” (www.angelfire.com/al/jefspage). “In Holland euthanasia and assisted suicide are both crimes punishable with 12 years in prison, yet it has been a common practice (3,600 cases in 1995 alone) for nearly a decade. These laws are rarely enforced providing physicians follow official guidelines” (Time.com). Currently in the United States controversy swarms on weather or not to allow euthanasia and assisted suicide. ”Marian Fredrick stricken with Lou Gehrig’s disease, felt her muscles degenerate to the point where she could no longer hold her head up, or speak. Marian then decided to end her life seeking out Dr. Kevorkian, who helped her find a final peace”(Proposal B). Should we allow a person who is terminally ill, in constant pain, and on the verge of losing control, the right and the privilege to escape from their fading shell? Should they have the “right” to seek aid and consolation in this important decision? Absolutely,

Maijuana legalized for good

2001-03-25T14:00:00-04:00
People have been using Marijuana as a medicine for thousands of years, beginning in China, India, and the Middle East. The plant's therapeutic potential became known in Western countries during the nineteenth century. From 1840 to 1900, more than a hundred articles on cannabis appeared in European and American medical journals, recommending it as an appetite stimulant, muscle relaxant, painkiller, sedative, and anti-convulsions. The use of Marijuana should be legalized in Canada for the benefits of individuals suffering from a variety of medical problems. Marijuana as a medicine, however, cannot be established with the Government’s permission to test the drug and legalize it. Marijuana has undergone analysis for its use as a medicine and the results have shown improvements in the patients who were treated with this drug.. The Government proclaims there is no therapeutic value in the medicinal use of marijuana, but they do not have hard evidence to prove it. Ira Glasser, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, expressed: “the government has demonized all drug use without differentiation and has systematically and hysterically resisted science.” Doctors have expressed opposite opinions as well, making this issue very controversial. The controversy falls in the hands of the government, that marijuana is not a safe medicine, versus the doctors who research the topic for medicinal purposes. Established, not all doctors feel cannabis should be a “legal” prescribed medicine, smoking marijuana is risky, but also recommended that critically ill patients should be allowed to use it under closely monitored settings. On the other hand, the more the government and doctors debate and try to solve this medicine issue, clearly then, more experiments and test will be done. Marijuana proven not to cause any harmful, long-term effects to individuals suffering from medical hopelessness, cannot be tolerated. Doctors believe that they should be able to have prescribed the drug, when the patient is in need Marijuana contains more than 400 chemicals, when smoked, it produces over 2,000 chemicals that enter the body through the lungs. These chemicals have a variety of immediate, short-term effects. In addition, the repeated use of marijuana has been linked to a number of long- term effects marijuana including both psychological and physical reactions. These reactions usually last for three to five hours after a person has smoked marijuana. The psychological reaction, known as a high, consists of changes in the user's feelings and thoughts. Such changes are caused mainly

Women's Emacipation in Asia

2001-03-22T13:00:00-04:00
Have Women Gained Emancipation in Asian Countries? This is a question I’ve been asking myself a bit recently. But what is emancipation? Emancipation is equality amongst gender; the right of women to be treated the same as men. But in this part of the world is this happening? In many modern, more developed countries, women are more likely to be treated the same and given the same opportunities in education and employment. But in less developed countries, people are still prejudiced towards women, seeing them as if they have a lower value than men. Nowadays in nearly every Asian country, women have the right to vote and the right to have the same education as men. Many schools in Asia are now entitled to be single sex schools, in an effort to encourage people to give their daughters a good education. Many Asian countries have also recognised women as their leaders, Indira Gandhi in India, Benazir Bhutto in Pakistan and Aun San Soo-kyi in Burma, etc. But as much as I hate to admit it, even in my country, Indonesia, women are treated differently to men. Women are more likely to be kept at home and raised to be housewives. Women may be given the same opportunities in education, but still the best jobs are given to men. Old ways and ancient traditions, where men are entitled to work and make a living for their families can perhaps explain this. The subject of female emancipation arose during the recent Indonesian presidential election. Before Ms. Megawati was nominated as one of the candidates, many people who claimed to be political experts didn’t believe that a woman had the ability to lead a nation, as if they had forgotten Indira Gandhi and Benazir Bhutto. Their reasons and excuses were contrived and silly, which made them look foolish. They said that there is a religious law, which forbids women to lead a country. Thankfully many people didn’t recognise such a law. To many people it was a surprise when Ms. Megawati did stand for the election and still more so when she lost. To top it all, she was expected by many to win, since her political party was the ultimate winner. Many international experts believed that she could help bring Indonesia out of its economic depression, but it was not to be. It is difficult to know why women are treated differently, it is a deep rooted cultural

censorship

2001-03-21T13:00:00-04:00
Censorship by definition is the suppression of words, images or ideas that are “offensive”. It occurs when certain people succeed in imposing their personal or moral values on others. The debate over censorship deals mainly with the first amendment and whether it is constitutional for a group of people to decide what is right for other people. It has exploded within recent years with the advent of the Internet. Many different kinds of people can and are considered censors. Parents, teachers, administrators and employers who forbid others to speak in certain ways can be censors. In fact, the word censor actually comes from ancient Rome, which referred to someone whose job it was to oversee morals and conduct. Before I get into censorship on the Internet, here are other cases of censorship: Perhaps the first known case of censorship occurred in 1873 with the passing of the Comstock law by Congress. The law was advocated by Anthony Comstock, head of the Society for the Suppression of Vice (Explain vice). The law forbade the mailing of anything, in his opinion, lewd, obscene or indecent. In his life burned 120 tons of books and art including the works of Chaucer- Caterbury Tales, Oscar Wilde, Ernest Hemmingway, Eugene O’Neill and John Steinbeck. Censorship primarily occurs in the arts, especially music. The PMRC or Parents Music Resource Center finally after about a decade of pushing forced the RIAA or Recording Industry of America to start use labeling systems and logos such as “Parental Advisory – Explicit Lyrics”. However, the putting of the labels on the records was left entirely to the record companies who neglected the sticker on many deserving albums. In 1992, Washington became the first state to pass a law forbidding the purchase of cd’s with certain logos if you’re under 18, this law was quickly deemed unconstitutional. Some performers have been banned from performing certain songs in certain places, for example Ozzy Osbourne was sued thrice after three teens committed suicide and their parents blamed his lyrics in “Suicide Solution”, Ice-T was heavily protested for his song Cop Killer in the early 90’s which promoted violence specifically on police. Madonna was arrested in Toronto after she ignored warnings of her potential arrest and went on with her normal act of acting out masturbation on stage. The debate over music most definitely flared up again after the shootings at Columbine in which

Is Abortion Ever Justfied?

2001-03-18T13:00:00-04:00
Is abortion ever justified? If not, why? If it depends, then on what? It is not unreasonable to suggest that the vast majority of people consider it morally wrong to kill other persons. There may be examples of situations where the killing of a person may be justifiable, although they are by no means universally consented to, such as killing in self defence or as a form of capital punishment, but taken in isolation it is generally accepted that to kill is wrong. Therefore in the debate between pro and anti abortionists must centre around two essential questions: whether a foetus is a person, and if so when a foetus becomes a person; and whether abortion can be said to be self defence. Possibly the deepest dilemma for an anti abortionist concerns the stage at which a foetus can be said to be alive, in the sense in which we would refer to a child after it is born. It seems absurd to think that in the relatively short time which the birth takes, the baby’s status will be so radically altered yet an almost mystical store is set by birth as for the first time we can distinguish a distinct personality, and directly interact with the infant . However, it is a largely unfounded significance in ethical terms as birth is often governed by contingent factors and the time of birth can be manipulated. Also to be considered is the fact that if the baby is ready to emerge from the womb, then surely it possesses enough properties for us to consider it in some sense a person. For example, if not than an eight month old foetus would not have the same claim to personhood as a two-month-old baby born prematurely at six months even though they are of similar developmental stages. Thus other stages of pregnancy are more commonly cited as the point in which personhood begins. John Grigg adopts the stance that there is a life that comes into existence as soon as conception occurs: “To my mind life begins at the moment of conception… Conception is the magic moment.” (John Grigg, in the Guardian, 29 October 1973) This view may be problematic if we consider that life does not necessarily imply personhood. We may claim that the foetus is a human being but this merely implies that it is a member of our species, and not that

Equality: The Destination Yet to be Reached

2001-03-17T13:00:00-04:00
He had a dream. Does anything else come to mind when you mention the one and only Martin Luther King Jr.? For most people, probably not. The truth is, King was recognized primarily for his dream. And why not? It was a good dream, one that promoted peace and equality. It was the dream that was thought to have united the black and white communities, the dream that made America aware of a problem, and the dream that ultimately led to his demise. Let me ask you a question: Would King be happy to see how far his dream has come? Don’t answer so quickly. Instead, let us ponder… Today, there is coracial education. African Americans are in every U.S. school; it’s not uncommon. Blacks and whites can dine together at neighboring tables at any restaurant. Anyone to utter the word “nigger” is most definitely punished in the harshest form. Caucasians are not considered to be better than their darker friends in any way, shape, or form. Of the ignorant bigoted percentage of the population, whites consider blacks every bit as strong and honorable as themselves. Our schools even hold assemblies to reprimand racism, targeting these horribly self-emulating whites. For the most part, blacks have surpassed the label of “lower class,” or “uneducated,” or “ secondary citizens.” For the most part, African Americans have overcome. But have they surpassed and overcame even equality itself? Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. fought for equality goes both ways. Just as it is unthinkable to place a white person above a black person, it should be unthinkable to place a black above a white. Perhaps it is the white community’s guilt or regret for years of oppression that accounts for this, but there is a growing amount of reversed racism in our country today. There are more cases where blacks are being treated differently, being treated special, simply because they are a few shades darker. White children have less oppertunities as a result of this. This is discrimination based on skin color. Is this not racism? The very racism King fought against? If we are all to be treated equally, as stated by our own government, then why is our government promoting the defiance of this very law? Colleges all across our country are responsible for practicing reversed racism. Because of their desire to accept students within a minority, they are in fact excluding many more qualified

Pros and cons of McDonalds

2001-03-17T13:00:00-04:00
McDonalds: Welcome sign in the high street or a place to avoid? In this essay I will be discussing the pros and cons of fast foods. Now a day every body will recognize the golden arches of McDonalds, it is hard not to. McDonalds has restaurants everywhere, beside major roads and in almost every high street. Their commercials are on television at least once a day. They became popular within a couple of years. Teenagers especially like McDonalds because of the relaxed atmosphere, cheap prizes and the fact that all over the world you know what you are buying. In restaurants I find that the waiter there look at me and think that I might not be able to pay for the meal. With McDonalds I find that every person is welcome to come in and eat, no matter what you look like or how much money you have. There is also not a certain dress code that you have to oblige to. Fast food is easy to eat food that requires no cutlery. The fast food industry is not only good. The foods contain too much fat, salt and sugars. The food is not always what is said to be and uses a lot of packaging. Packaging that will be thrown on the ground, if the food is not eaten within the restaurant. People usually don’t take the time to throw the packaging in the dustbins. The high streets usually have a whole carpet with litter of fast food restaurants. I think that the restaurants can’t be responsible for the litter but the restaurants can do every thing to make their packaging as environmental friendly. People that eat at McDonalds do not always realize what happened to the cow before it turned into the hamburger. Mostly the animals are living in bad conditions. Chickens get born with foot disorders. But then again I guess that the animals the produce the meat for the top class restaurants suffer the same. The fast food industry advertises with the target of children. With there freebies and bright adverts the get children to make their parents take them to McDonalds. They manipulate the easiest target. Children will moan and whine until they go to McDonalds. If health stores had the money to advertise then I am sure that they too would be popular. Just as it is now health shops are rather expensive and have

Drug Abuse and Reprocussions Thereof

2001-03-14T13:00:00-04:00
Facing everyday problemsin these recent years many people turn to drugs as an escape from the existance they hold. Drug use has rapidly increased in the last twenty years and has become a national crises. More people are experementing with different drugs at a younger age. Due to the rapid increase in drug abuse our government has looked to rehab as an alternative to jail. When a person thinks of a drug abuser one usually pictures a person that looks like thay had just jumped out of a garbage bin. What most people do not realize is that most drug offenders are the people one spends a lot of time with. Everyday humans are abusing drugs without anyone recognizing their illness (Phillips 22). Many symptoms of drug abuse are easily recognisable. Weight loss or malnutrition are the most common, resulting when the drug abuser uses their money to pay for drugs rather than food. Exhaustion is associated with the end f a recent drug binge. Fever is caused when a stimulant or a hallucinogen increases the drug users metabolic rate. A skin flush usually accompanys the fever. Gooseflesh and sweating are associated with withdrawl and rashes, dilated pupils, and a runny nose are usually correlate with any drug use (Cohen 308-309). Along with these symptoms come the various different reprocussions affiliating themselves with each different drug taken. These results range from headaches to death. With all the possible side effects one may wonder why people think drugs are worth all the trouble they are. Most people start out doing drugs to feel good or to fit in. Early users had easy access to medicine that made them physically dependent on that drug and others used drugs as an only escape from a hopeless existance (Compton’s 275). Teenagers experiment with drugs to find out about the world thay live in for themselves, to prove their self worth, and to experience as much as possible. They want to try something daring to prove their oun fearlessness, to have fun, act older, or to be accepted (Phillips 22). In the 1950’smore people af all classes and occupations began to use mood changing drugs both legally and illegally (Compton’s 275). These drugs were used to induce sleep and relaxation. Other drugs gave the user a feeling on exileration. Whether the drug was used to help the user sleep or the get the person high, they

Cocaine Addiction

2001-03-13T13:00:00-04:00
Everybody knows cocaine is bad for you. So why do so many people take it? It gets you high. You feel

The Movement of Womens Rights

2001-03-12T13:00:00-04:00
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." That was Margaret Mead's conclusion after a lifetime of observing very diverse cultures around the world. Her insight has been borne out time and again throughout the development of this country of ours. Being allowed to live life in an atmosphere of religious freedom, having a voice in the government you support with your taxes, living free of lifelong enslavement by another person. Many once considered these beliefs about how life should and must be lived outlandish. But visionaries whose steadfast work brought about changed minds and attitudes fervently held these beliefs. Now these beliefs are commonly shared across U.S. society. 1998 marks the 150th Anniversary of a movement by women to achieve full civil rights in this country. The staggering changes for women that have come about over those seven generations in family life, in religion, in government, in employment, in education - these changes did not just happen spontaneously. Women themselves made these changes happen, very deliberately. Women have not been the passive recipients of miraculous changes in laws and human nature. Seven generations of women have come together to affect these changes in the most democratic ways: through meetings, petition drives, lobbying, public speaking, and nonviolent resistance. Throughout 1998, the 150th anniversary of the Women's Rights Movement is being celebrated across the nation with programs and events taking every form imaginable. Like many amazing stories, the history of the Women's Rights Movement began with a small group of people questioning why human lives were being unfairly constricted. The Women's Rights Movement marks July 13, 1848 as it’s beginning. On that sweltering summer day in upstate New York, a young housewife and mother, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, was invited to tea with four women friends. When the course of their conversation turned to the situation of women, Stanton poured out her discontent with the limitations placed on her own situation under America's new democracy. Surely the new republic would benefit from having its women play more active roles throughout society. Stanton's friends agreed with her, passionately. Today we are living the legacy of this afternoon conversation among women friends. Throughout 1998, events celebrating the 150th Anniversary of the Women's Rights Movement are looking at the massive changes these women set in motion when they daringly agreed

Cruelty to Animals

2001-03-08T13:00:00-05:00
A Major Issue of today are the cruel acts against test animals in class rooms and labs, these animals are literally being tortured to death by substances such as drugs, cosmetics, diseases, tobacco, alcohol, detergents and other poisons. After all these acts of cruelty such as locking animals in complete darkness, sending them crazy, turning them in to drug addicts inflicting diseases on them such as aids and Cancer, sending them blind or deaf, and there has even been cases of dogs being stiched together, and many cases of mice, rabbits, guinea pigs and even monkeys having cosmetics, detergents and other household products rubbed into thier shaven skin and having it dripped into thier eyes all while being under no anesthetic at all and for what reason, what does this achieve we are only finding out things we already know such as we know smoking causes cancer, drinkig ruins the liver and we know the side effects of drugs on humans and the results from these experiments are not totally 100% accurate anyway because animals are different to humans. In high schools around the world hundreds and thousands of animals are killed and dissected in science and biology classes simply to learn the anatomy of a frog or rat for example. For what reason do they teach this? So we can know how to inflict cruelty towards animals. In most of these cases children are forced to do so and if they chose not to inflict these cruel acts towards a helpless animal they will suffer as well by a loss of marks or fail in sum classes. So why does our education system still make us do this and for what reason. After years of science and technology why do we still use these unreliable and cruel sources to find out little or no informantion about cures for diseases and why after all this time couldn’t they be spending time and money on preventing these diseses in the first place by changing the environment around them instead of using all these inhumane tests on all these animals to prove nothing. We are constantly hearing on the news and other programs about people going to Jail for feeding mice and other rodents to there pet snakes for example, or of people having there animals taken from them and being fined because they haven’t been feeding them or looking after them. We know

Immunisation

2001-03-08T13:00:00-05:00
We are always hearing on the news and in newspapers about children catching diseases and often dying from them. Why is this happening when all of these diseases are easily preventable by simply being immunised, why aren’t parents getting their children Immunised, is it for religious beliefs or just carelessness. What ever their reason may be is it really good enough, because why would anyone rather let their child be able to catch and spread a deadly disease then have them Immunised, so Immunisation should be made compulsory for all children. In Australia in the last ten years more then 137 known people have died and many more fallen very ill from contagious and infectious disease. Diseases such as diphtheria; tetanus, pertussis, poliomyelitis, measles, mumps rubella and Haemophilus influenzae, This is a great tragedy considering all these diseases are easily preventable by immunisation. Immunisation or vaccination is a very effective and safe form of medicine used to prevent severe diseases occurring from viruses and other infectious organisms and increase the amount of protective antibodies. It is given by drops in the mouth or injecting a person with a dead or modified disease-causing agent, in order for the person to become immune to that disease. If enough people in a community are immunised, the infection can no longer be spread from person to person and the disease will eventual die out altogether. This is how smallpox was eradicated from the world, and polio, which has been removed from many countries. But for this to happen in Australia at least 95 percent of the population would have to be immunised, which is far more then what it is now being at only 78 percent. So by making it compulsory for all children to be immunised this percentage would rise well above 95 and the diseases that are in our country now will soon disappear all together. Immunisation is the only effective way of protection for children against these diseases because children’s immune systems are defenceless ageist them because they are not fully developed yet, and once infected in most cases there is no cure or at least a very low chance of one. Minor side effects of immunisation, like redness at the injection site, or occasionally a mild fever, which can easily be reduced with a paracetamol. But why would any one rather let your child be able to catch and spread these deadly diseases then

Hate Groups

2001-03-08T13:00:00-05:00
BAN THE HATE GROUPS!! Right now, there are many active hate groups in the United States such as the Ku Klux Klan, Neo-Nazi, Skinheads, Christian identity, Black Separatists, etc. These hate groups like the Ku Klux Klan, which is one of America’s oldest and more feared, use violence and move above the law to promote their different causes. Another example is a group called Christian Identity, who describes a religion that is fundamentally racist and anti-Semitic; and other are the Black Separatist groups, who are organizations whose ideologies include tenets of racially based hatred. Because of the information gathered by the Intelligence Project from hate groups’ publications, citizen’s reports, law enforcement agencies, field sources and news reports, many people know about these hate groups. Many people know how these groups act and think and most of the American people agree that these hate groups are immoral and should not be allowed to exist neither in the United States nor on the rest of the world. All the hate groups know that they can only flourish if they continue to recruit new members. Three of the most obvious similarities among hate groups members are their sex, male; their race, Caucasian; and their age, 35 years old or younger. Many people think that the reason young people are willing to join hate groups in high school and in college is that they are uncertain about their own futures. Often people believe that the young people who join hate groups are those with the least education and the least to hope for in the future in the way of jobs, but that does not follow anymore because hate has flourished on colleges and high school campuses. For members of the Ku Klux Klan, it is important that their message of hatred be carried to young people. The initiation of children and babies has being an important part of the Klan activities. It is so bad and wrong that the Ku Klux Klan has even gone so far as to hang out at playgrounds. They look for little boys who play unsupervised. The Klan believes that these boys are potential members of the Klan because their parents do not care enough to watch them play. The child is probably growing up in a dysfunctional family that gives him little attention and when he is older he will cling to the Klan because membership in this group

Euthanasia

2001-03-08T13:00:00-05:00
Euthanasia which comes from the Greek meaning of easy death is one of our societies highly debatable issues and the main reason for this argument is against active euthanasia, which is when a terminally ill patient is administered with a lethal drug or using other means to cause there death. There is also Passive euthanasia, which means the stopping or not starting a persons treatment, leaving their condition to run it’s course, without resuscitation. . Many people debate this issue stating that they believe that by participating in the practice of active euthanasia, that they are "playing God," but isn’t that what doctors are already doing by trying to keep their patients alive? Or perhaps, even worse, that they believe that people who support euthanasia are not acting out of mercy, but rather out of selfishness or that they are just giving up. People also think that it is just a fancy name for murder but isn’t murder defined as; “The unlawful, premeditated killing of one human being by another.” Where as with euthanasia an ill person is choosing to die and merely asking for assistance by another human being so that they can die in dignity with out having to commit suicide which can be very hard on the persons family and can also cause some legal problems. Some may also argue the point of what to do if a person is suffering with an illness of which there seems no hope of recovery, yet they are unable to make a choice for themselves, how do we know what that person would choose? And who would make that decision? But that is where a living will would be used, which a person can Wright stating what they want to happen to them while they are still alive and well, so if faced with this situation family and doctors would know what the person wanted. Another question you must ask yourself is why people who have an old and diseased dog that was suffering in pain they would to take it to a vet, and most likely have it put down no questioned asked. Because they would want to relieve it from all its pain. But if a person was to be in the same situation and they were to go to a doctor, the doctor would do what ever they could to keep their patient alive and at any cost. Even

Human Cloning

2001-03-07T13:00:00-05:00
To consider the cloning of another human being forces me to question the very concepts of right and wrong that make us all human. Until the birth of Dolly the sheep, the first mammal to be successfully cloned, it was thought that the ability to clone an adult human was impossible or would only be possible somewhere in the distant future! But that has all changed with the birth of Dolly and the explosion of advances in the field of Embryology and genetic screening. These advances are leading the way forward for the cloning of an adult human, which brings up many new ethical and complicated questions that I feel must be addressed by the scientific community and the public, before these advances can reach there full potential. As with any scientific or technological advance, it brings around questions that I feel must be answered: Do the pros out weight the advantages, and more importantly; is it right? Will Human Cloning become a brave new step in fighting disease and improving the quality of life, or will it lead to dehumanisation and a new genetic underclass? People say and strongly believe that biologists are cloning human embryos only to see how far they can push the scientific barriers. However not all things are corrupt, I believe, as do the leaders of Great Britain, that it is possible that the reasons behind Human Cloning, Embryology and genetic screening may be legitimate. Cloning could help improve the life of future generations. Although I still prefer the idea of these scientists spending all this money and their effort on finding a cure for a disease that has or will affect many of us in one way or another: cancer! I still keep an open mind about this subject as most of the embryologists and biologist’s claim that they are doing this as they feel that they have a duty to the improvement of our society, or even perhaps a moral obligation. To this end the techniques have been offered to society as an option for the improvement of humanity. The human race is in the early stages of defining human cloning and what it means. The human race is defining it as a science as opposed to an art or religion, specifically a kind of science that is called Biotechnology. Biotechnology is the study into the design and manufacture of the human body. I believe that

We've Come A Long Way - Sex on TV

2001-03-06T13:00:00-05:00
"Ellen," "Will and Grace," MTV's "Undressed," only to name a few, are an example of some of the shows that many people think go against the morals of the American society. These shows have topics such as gay and lesbian relationships, people talking about sex openly, and basically, how the people around them react. Topics of this sort have not been allowed to be apart of primetime entertainment only until a couple of years ago because they are said to be immoral and a threat to people's values. It is about time that these topics are allowed to air on television because they show what is really going on in the world. It has been known for quite sometime that not everybody is intimate only with people of the opposite sex, and not everyone waits until marriage to lose their virginity. So, why try to pretend as if these values are still important and practiced by all? The question that crosses many is, "Why have these issues not been accepted yet?" Is the answer that some people have been taught that these things are wrong and immoral? These topics are not a threat to society; they are merely reality. It is time that that individuals are allowed to express their way of life without anyone putting them down and making them ashamed of who they are. One of the issues that has to be accepted as a society is homosexuality. Gays and lesbians have participated in marches and in rallies, and some have even come out on TV asking our society to be more open-minded. These sorts of actions show that homosexuals don't want to be in the closet anymore. This is not the past where people felt ashamed of what they were, and would commit suicide for being gay. They are not the problem; it is society as a whole for not accepting their beliefs. As American citizens, everyone has a Constitutional right to do and act as they please as long as they don't infringe on the rights of others. Being homosexual does not hurting anyone. People who are homophobic discriminate them because they are afraid of what they don't know. Usually what happens, is that when we see homosexuals, people automatically think of what they do in bed instead of the person that they are. This isn't right, and this is where television comes to play. On television,

Observations of Life

2001-03-04T13:00:00-05:00
INTRODUCTION I am not a psychologist by far, I have no degree in the field of psychology nor do I wish to have, I am just an everyday person that observes and analyzes the things I see. As I am writing this I am at the ripe old age of 18. To some people this may imply that I do not have any credibility in writing these things because I do not have the wisdom of age. Well, to those people I say that they should hear me out on these perceptions and continue reading, because you can not judge someone else unless you have heard their side of the story. By writing this I hope to achieve one thing and one thing only: that someone, somewhere will remember my way of seeing things. In no way do I wish to offend anyone. This is just how I see the world we live in. I believe that age has no effect on how you perceive things. If anything you just become less credible as you get older. For instance, young children have the tendency to completely tell the truth, that is until they discover how to lie. In my observations I have noticed that parents believe the younger sibling more than the older sibling. This may be because the parents favor this child more than the older one or could it be that the younger child has more credibility because the older one has been known to tell lies from time to time. If you have seen or watched kids you know that this, in most cases, is true. One thing about life that I never understood is pay role. It makes no sense at all. It seems to me that the more work you do the less you get paid and the less work you do the more you get paid for it. For example, my father started out working as a garbage disposal man. By this I mean that he was the guy hanging off the back of the garbage truck. He would work long days and the physical demand was just exhausting. Could you imagine doing this work in the biting cold of winter or the humid heat of the summer all day long? The pay was not very good. Currently he still is in the same business but I would say a lot further up the ladder than he

Is Cloning of Humans Just?

2001-03-04T13:00:00-05:00
Recently there was a major breakthrough in the scientific research – the mapping of all DNA in a human gene is complete. Couple of years ago, this seems an impossible task for scientist to triumph over. All this revolution in science leads us to believe that the day, when the human being will be cloned, is not far away. Human cloning has always been an issue of controversy, be it in terms of ethically or religiously. Taking a look at why cloning might be beneficial, among many cases, it is arguable that parents who are known to be at risk of passing a genetic defect to a child could make use of cloning. A fertilized ovum could be cloned, and the duplicate tested for the disease or disorder. If the clone was free of genetic defects, then the other clone would be as well. The latter could be implanted in the woman and allowed to mature to term. Moreover, cloning would enable infertile couples to have children of their own rather than using sperm of another man. Cloning humans would also mean that organs could be cloned, so it would be a source of perfect transplant organs. This, surely would be immensely beneficial to millions of unfortunate people around the world that are expected to lose their lives due to failure of single (or more) organ(s). It is also arguable that a ban on cloning may be unconstitutional and would deprive people of the right to reproduce and restrict the freedom of scientists. Arguments against cloning are also on a perfectly viable side. Primarily, I believe that cloning would intervene with the normal ‘cycle’ of life. There would be large number of identical genes, which minimizes the chances of mutation, and, in turn, evolution – the fundamental reason how living things naturally adapt to the ever-changing environment. Life processes failing to do so might result in untimely extinction. Furthermore, cloning would eliminate the uniqueness that each one of us posses. Thus, leading to creation of genetically engineered groups of people for specific purposes and, chances are, that those individuals would be regarded as ‘objects’ rather than people in the society in grand scale. Scientist haven’t 100 per cent guarantee that the first cloned humans will be normal. Thus, this could result in introduction of additional defects in the human ‘gene-pool’. Regarding such controversial issues in ‘black or while’ approach seems

Women: Their freedom, and how they got it

2001-03-03T13:00:00-05:00
The Light at the End of the Tunnel In the past, women have been oppressed to a point where they were treated as a completely different species. They were in a country that seemed to be a dark tunnel with no hope, dreams, or sense of fulfillment. Now, women have been given their natural birthrights, and they are now able to do everything males can do. As the United States of America was building, women for some reason were not treated like they should have been. Strong women like Sojourner Truth stood up for what they knew was right. She was able to fight for all women, represent a whole “race” and take control, she was one of the very few women who had the strength and will power to face this problem head on, and win. She was able to take on an entire nation and voice her opinion regardless of what her consequences could have been. That is what it takes to free yourself and or other people from the hold of injustice. Not too many people have the quality to be able to stand up in such harsh situations but because of some brave women all of the women are able to walk down the street and feel as equal as any man passing by. They can vote, hold office, get high paying jobs, and be independent women, with independent thoughts. In the lights of the horrible past, women were able to build a defense system far better than any army or navy that any country could produce. The women were able to attack with intelligence, perseverance, and being able to bring up common sense that seemed to have been missing before. With this defense, they were able to produce an illustrious history. Now, women can linger with their pasts, and with the memories of the women who preceded them, and look towards a bright future, where people like Eleanor Roosevelt and Hillary Rodham Clinton exemplify the American women, who can live out the American Dream, once only available to males. No longer do women write books depicting their insecurities and injustices. Now women are writers of Pulitzer Prize winning works and teach aspiring male authors how to be the best they can be. In a society where it was once unheard of for women to even be educated, women take up the majority of grade school teachers, and many more

The Effects of AIDS on South African Sport

2001-02-28T13:00:00-05:00
Mr President, Mrs Hummel, Mrs Green, Ladies and Gentlemen By 2010 one in every two 15 year old South Africans will be HIV positive… An alarming fact, which will have devastating impacts on all aspects of South African life. The statistics for HIV in SA, no matter how they are presented are frightening. Currently in SA 4,2 Million people are HIV positive, that is a tenth of our population, more than any other country in the world. As AIDS is a very contentious issue at the moment in our country. I am sure you have all heard plenty on the topic of AIDS. So I am focusing my speech this evening on a different aspect on AIDS, but one that is very important, that of the effects of AIDS on Sport in South Africa, now and in the future We are a country very passionate about sport, and AIDS will greatly effect our sport, and will raise many a question, such as, What are the risks of blood-to-blood contraction? Are our Sporting first aid facilities adequate? And what actions have and will be taken by Sporting governing bodies such as SARFU? 2000 was a bad year for sport in SA in general, The Hansie Cronje scandal, a failed world cup soccer bid, disappointing Springbok performances, the sacking of Nick Mallet and to cap it all off, A Gold-less Sydney Olympic Games. Can you imagine in 10 years time, when only half our 15 year olds can play sport… imagine a half strength springbok team taking on the might of an all black side, or a half strength cricket team, battling it out at the world cup, with the likes of Australia. At the moment SA is one of the superpowers of African and World sport, containing many key components to ensure lasting successes on the sports fields of the world. Our population is large and diverse enough to ensure large numbers of elite sportsmen and women proceed through the ranks, to superstar status. Our wonderful climate allows for all-year round participation. All these ingredients have allowed SA to achieve sporting excellence, and the potential for even greater things is huge. Yet the threat posed by AIDS is a formidable obstacle in the development of SA sport and will surely hinder the progress. It is estimated that by 2010, the life expectancy of South Africans will have dropped to a mere 40 years. This not only means less

Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs)

2001-02-27T13:00:00-05:00
STDs (Sexually Transmitted Diseases) are diseases that are transmitted through sexual intercourse with another domestic partner. Usually STD’s are transmitted through oral, anal, vaginal, or other sexually active bodily contact. Sexually Transmitted Diseases are 100% avoidable. There are many techniques, but the most effective way is to have sexual intercourse with only one partner in your whole life, making sure that your partner didn’t have sexual involvements with anyone else. Another method is a condom. A condom fits over the male erect penis, to protect both partners of any diseases that may possibly exist. It is also vital to buy the right kind of condom. Some condoms are porous, which means bacteria can travel through the holes as well as sperm. A good condom would be one with a small latex tip to avoid breaking of the condom. Overall, latex condoms are good ways to prevent STD’s and pregnancy, but they do break, so its not 100% guaranteed to prevent pregnancy or disease. There are many methods out there, but the most effective method is to have sexual intercourse with one partner. Who thought that sex would be easy? It’s not. Nowadays we have tons of diseases, which are fatal. Only some of them are curable, and some can be slowed down. But all of them can be prevented. The most common sexually transmitted diseases are: Chlamidia, Gonorrhea, Syphilis, Herpes(Simplex II), NGU(Nongonicoccal Urethritis), Vaginitis, Genital Warts, Pubic Lice/Scabies, AIDS, and Hepatitis. Chlamidia is a disease, which is transmitted through unprotected sexual intercourse. If you had this disease, you would experience bleeding between menstrual periods, abdominal pain, and painful urination. There is another term for painful urination. It is called “urinary tract infection”. This group includes Cystititis or Urethritis caused by Gonorrhea or Chlamidia. Fortunately, this disease can be treated unlike many STDs. Actually treatment of Chlamidia is quite simple. Some antibiotics, doxycycline, tetracycline, or zithromax will cure the problem within a week – a month. If this disease is not handled, urination will be more complicated due to the enlargement of the prostate gland in a male, your reproductive organs will malfunction and get damaged, and this disease can be transmitted to the fetus when a woman is pregnant. Gonorrhea is usually the cause of heart trouble and abdominal problems. It is a treatable disease, which takes some time. Usually daily doses of antibiotics will cure this problem. This disease

Welfare

2001-02-26T13:00:00-05:00
To what extent do you believe the government should be involved in welfare today? Under the old welfare system, founded during the Great Depression, the federal government provided fairly uniform benefits to the nation’s poor – mostly mothers and children – with out regard to the details of their personal circumstances, and with no time limit. But as the times changed, changes that should have been made years ago, didn’t become effective until the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act in August of 1996. Now, welfare is left to the discretion of individual states. This is the way that welfare should have been all along. Even so, I feel that assistance should only be available to those with jobs or on some kind of temporary work leave (ex: injury, maternity). The welfare programs of the Great Depression changed American values forever. I interviewed my grandfather on the topic, and he only agreed. Even though his family was poor, he was raised never to accept anything he didn’t work for. “Men had pride back then,” he recalled in a lecturing tone, “and supporting your family made you honorable, no matter what your job was. Then welfare came along and disrupted all of it. America was never supposed to be about giving hand-outs to the lazy, it was meant to provide opportunity for the willing.” That’s why I feel the new changes in the system are exactly what this country needed. According to the ACF Press Room Statistics, from August of 1996 to June of 1999, the number of families receiving welfare nation wide fell 43% (from about 4.4 million to 2.5 million) and the number of recipients in the US receiving welfare fell 44% (from 12.2 million to 6.9 million). In Pennsylvania, the statistics were equally impressive, also falling 43% (from 531,059 recipients to 304,451). Pennsylvania, like 31 other states, requires that recipients must find work within 6 months of receiving their first assistance payment and only allows transitional Medicaid and child care for a maximum of 12 months. A family can receive assistance for a lifetime total of 60 months, but families can receive assistance for 12 months after a birth that would be exempt from the lifetime total. By limiting the amount of time a family can spend on welfare, the government has put a stop to generations of dependent and unmotivated citizens. They are now forcing those who once

Make Tobacco Illegal and Legalize Marijuana

2001-02-26T13:00:00-05:00
There have been lots of views and opinions surrounding the arguments whether marijuana should be legalized and if tobacco should be made illegal. The reasons for marijuana not being legalized are similar to the reasons people want tobacco to become illegal. Only the danger that tobacco provides is more intense than the danger marijuana. Marijuana’s short-term effects include temporary problem with memory and problems with learning. It also causes temporary distorted perception (sounds, time, touch etc.), trouble thinking and solving problems. For some people smoking marijuana causes loss of motor coordination. But compare it to the short-term effect that tobacco produces. Tobacco’s short-terms effects are a lot more serious health wise. When a person smokes a cigarette, the body responds immediately to the chemical nicotine in the smoke. Nicotine causes a short-term increase in blood pressure, heart rate, and the flow of blood from the heart. It also causes the arteries to narrow. Carbon monoxide reduces the amount of oxygen the blood can carry. This, combined with the effects produced by nicotine, creates an imbalance in the demand for oxygen by the cells and the amount of oxygen the blood is able to supply. The comparison of the short-term effects of both drugs obviously shows that tobacco is more dangerous since tobacco has sudden drastic internal health changes. The long-term effect of marijuana is that marijuana smoke contains some of the same cancer-causing compounds as tobacco. Tobacco has more cancer-causing compounds than marijuana does thus tobacco is more dangerous. The long-term effects of tobacco are well known, but not in details. It is now well documented that smoking can cause chronic lung disease, coronary heart disease, and stroke, as well as cancer of the lungs, larynx, esophagus, mouth, and bladder. In addition, smoking is known to contribute to cancer of the cervix, pancreas, and kidneys. Researchers have identified more than 40 chemicals in tobacco smoke that cause cancer in humans and animals. Smokeless tobacco and cigars also have deadly consequences, including lung, larynx, esophageal, and oral cancer. The harmful effects of smoking do not end with the smoker. Women who use tobacco during pregnancy are more likely to have adverse birth outcomes, including babies with low birth weight, which is linked with an increased risk of infant death and with a variety of infant health disorders. The health of nonsmokers is adversely affected by environmental tobacco smoke (ETS). Each year, exposure to

Blood Donations

2001-02-26T13:00:00-05:00
Do you have any idea what happens every December than can leave any one of us in a life or death situation? We have a severe blood shortage every holiday season. The gift of blood is like the gift of life. The National Blood Data Resource Center states that during the holidays demands for blood are at a critically high levels due to donations declining and holiday accidents increasing. Nearly all blood used for transfusions in the United States is drawn from volunteer donors. Less than five percent of healthy Americans that are eligible to donate actually give blood. What is holding us back? Why aren’t we giving? Are we afraid

Napster - Stare and live the Nightmare

2001-02-24T13:00:00-05:00
For many years the record companies have fixed record prices to avoid competing with each other and to maximize their profits. Currently, the record companies are collaborating in order to force Napster to shut down. The record companies are claiming that Napster is breaking copyright laws. Napster is a peace of software available for free on the Internet, which allows you to download almost any song you can think of. All you need to get Napster is a computer and Internet connection, the faster the better. Should people feel sympathy for the record companies because of the supposed starvation as a result of Napster file sharing? Or should the sympathy lie with the users of Napster? Let us examine who is trying to shut down Napster and for what reasons. Let us also determine the reasons why people want Napster to remain open. The Record Company is strongly opposed to Napster for one reason and one reason only. Apparently, the record companies are losing more and more of the market to Napster file sharing on the Internet. Record companies justify their lawsuits against Napster with the line so often used in press conferences, “Napster breaks copyright laws.” This phrase seems like a legitimate argument. One could understand the reasons for feeling this way. For simplicity sake, we will use Dave as an example. Dave developed a product and sells it, and, at first, his product does very well. His product is then duplicated again and again by a person who purchased his product. Dave watches his sales plummet and, of course, feels cheated. Should Dave have the right to sue the person who copied his product? Most people would say yes. This is the argument the record companies are making in defense of the lawsuits against Napster. However, let us look deeper into the matters of sales within the record companies. Record companies say they are suffering as a result of Napster. The price of a CD has stayed the same for many years as far as I can remember. Why would the record companies not raise the price of a CD if their profits were dropping? Also, the sales of records from1999 to 2000 have actually increased 2%. Why would there be an increase in sales if, the record companies claim, Napster is hurting their business and taking up some of the market? I am sure if Napster was

Should Foxhunting be Banned in Britain?

2001-02-21T13:00:00-05:00
I would like to start this essay by stating that I am against the motion, and that I see no reason what so ever why fox hunting should be banned in this country. Fox hunting is a very controversial subject, and for many years people have campaigned against it. Fox hunting is classed as a blood sport, which involves hounds chasing a fox, in order to kill it. There are also people following the fox on horses. Many of these people carry guns, in case the fox manages to escape with injuries. This way, the fox is put out of its misery and suffers little pain. Apart from being a sport that is enjoyed by many people, fox hunting is also a tradition and provides many people with employment as the animals need to be looked after, and the participants of the sport need accommodation. People who are for the motion, have no real argument! All their arguments are based on their opinion and are purely emotional. One of their points would be: ‘Fox hunting is a cruel and inhumane practise.’ I strongly disagree with this as in my eyes; fox hunting helps conserve the countryside and is a necessity in rural life. Apart from preventing other animals from being killed, fox hunting is the most effective method of killing foxes. People also believe that fox hunting is barbaric and that there is no point in killing an innocent animal. Most of the people who believe this are hypocrites! During a fox hunt, a fox suffers little pain as it is usually killed from the first bite. Other sports, such as fishing are far more ‘inhumane’! Fish are pulled out of the water, still alive and are left to die in the open air. This is obviously painful on the animal, but there are no people publicly campaigning about it and trying to ban it! Why should it be any different for foxes? Another argument would be that ‘fox hunting serves no purpose.’ This is a load of rubbish! If the numbers were not controlled, many other species would start to die out! Foxes will eat or attack anything from pheasant eggs to sheep! They kill for fun, and often leave the animal suffering with limbs torn off for a whole night! This proves that fox hunting has a purpose: it protects other animals and it provides for the local economy. I think

Peace

2001-02-19T13:00:00-05:00
After a millennium of conflict and war—what chance of a millennium of peace? Some ten millennia ago civilization emerged in the Middle East, as the people of that area learned to till the earth and grow crops, thus opening the way to the ownership of land and the accumulation of wealth, and also to population growth and urban settlement. This new way of life created the potential for conflicts between towns and states and, later, between empires. This civilization brought warfare in its train. While these new state structures was evolving, Christianity was becoming a predominantly European religion. And the power of that religion’s moral teaching, however much distorted by human failings of clergy and rulers, inspired an extraordinary European flowering of culture in architecture and art, and later created the conditions for key developments in technology, philosophy, and science. Thus, by the last quarter of the second millennium, although Christian belief was by then waning, European civilization had become the dominant force in a world that was well on its way to becoming a “global village”. But all this had come at a price. The competitive vitality of this emerging civilization, harnessed by the ambitions of its kings, had created near-perpetual conflict between the emerging states of the Continent—conflicts which in later centuries spread to the colonial empires of some of Europe’s major powers. Moreover, in later centuries, technological advances accelerated the lethal effects of these conflicts—to the point where in the closing century of the millennium the very existence of the human race came under threat from this weaponry. Early in the 20th century the growth of ethnic nationalism had led to the collapse of multi-ethnic states. This further increased the number of potential conflicts in our existing civilizations—especially where, as in Eastern Europe, past movements of peoples had left behind a palimpsest of ethnic minorities that simply could not be accommodated comfortably within any conceivable set of geographical boundaries. Ethnic conflicts broke out in many other parts of the world as the overseas empires of European states disintegrated. Thus, towards the end of the millennium, both the technology of war and the number of actual and potential conflicts were increasing rapidly. In our technologically advanced world, potentially disastrous conflicts could be avoided only through the creation of a new international order. Could the largely successful European experience of replacing conflict between states with an international rule of law spread eventually to

The IMF: Help or Hurt

2001-02-17T13:00:00-05:00
“If you owe your bank a hundred pounds, you have a problem; but if you owe it a million, it has.(1)” In the year of 1327, Kind Edward III of England defaulted on his Italian debts. This caused the banks of Bardi and Peruzzi in Florence to collapse. Who would know that over 650 years later, the world would still have these types of problems? After World War II, the need for an organization like the IMF was finally realized. After the war, politicians and economists began to work on blue prints for a postwar world. They envisioned a liberal international economic order, based on stable world currencies and revived world trade. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) finally came into existence on December 27, 1945. On this date, twenty-nine countries signed its charter when meeting at Bretton Woods, New Hampshire. On March 1, 1947 the IMF came into financial operations. The IMF was established to promote internal monetary cooperation through a permanent institution, which provides the machinery for consultation and collaboration on international monetary problems. Also, it provides temporary financial assistance to countries under adequate safeguards to help ease balance of payments adjustments. In addition, it facilitates the expansion and balanced growth of internal trade. Many critics and even followers of the IMF do not even know what the IMF really is. It is not a development or even a central bank. It is a credit union. It pays interests on deposits it receives from member nations. The IMF lends money to members having trouble meeting financial obligations to other members, but only the condition that they undertake economics reforms to eliminate these difficulties for their own good and that of the entire membership. Some people believe that if the IMF tells a country to do something, they must do it. This statement is false. The IMF has no authority over the domestic economic policies of its members. The IMF is a cooperative institution that 182 countries voluntarily joined because they see the advantage of consulting with one another to maintain a stable system of buying and selling their currencies. All 182 members of the IMF contribute to a pool of funds that the agency then taps to aid troubled countries. The IMF currently has around 200 billion dollars. The U.S., Germany, Japan, Britain, France, and Saudi Arabia make up over 35 percent of this fund. Some see the IMF as the

America at War: The World Is Not Enough

2001-02-15T13:00:00-05:00
When a person is given the microphone at a podium, the attention of the audience is customarily afforded to that person so that they may convey their message(s) clearly. In the past fifty years, advancements in technology and the ability to transmit information have transformed the world into a global stage for any individual or group who wish to broadcast their agendas. The more modernized and stable countries, namely western European nations and the United States of America, have a strangle hold on the microphone to this global stage and are reluctant to release it. The major problems inherent in the effort to emphasize global instead of discreet national histories of mass communication rest within the mentalities of these western powers. A country, like America, whose mindset fosters ideals such as media imperialism, capitalism, and cultural dominance will have supreme reign in a society that can be easily influenced by the various tools of the media. With the exception of the Persian Gulf War in the early 90’s, the Vietnam War is the last major conflict that the Unites States has been involved in. After the breakup of the Soviet Union, which effectively ended the Cold War and automatically allowed America to become the front running nuclear power, the U.S. needed a new objective to conquer other than communism. Since the U.S. armed forces cannot thoroughly flex its military muscles in the absence of a war, an acceptable alternative is to inundate other developing countries with the thoughts of “democracy and freedom” through the media. However, the validity of America’s true intentions are often questioned when it begins to preach that all humans are entitled to have the freedom of choice. What exactly, do these freedoms entail? Normally, for American businesses and industries, this suggests that people are free to choose to consume American made goods and products. Although it may have been inadvertent at first, an imperial power such as America will expand in its blundering efforts to do good or protect its borders (Herman 1992). After a certain amount of time, this expansion is no longer by chance but by purpose because those who control the channels of media begin to promote imperialistic views, which eventually lead to the domination of a market, be it newspaper, radio, or television. The American dominance in the television market for example, can be aptly characterized by a silly show about lifeguards working on

Alcoholism: A disease or an Addiction?

2001-02-15T13:00:00-05:00
Most people have a confused idea of alcoholism as a disease that invades or attacks your good health. Use of such a strong word such as "disease" shapes the values and attitudes of society towards alcoholics. A major implication of the disease concept is that what is labeled a "disease" is held to be justifiable because it is involuntary. This is not so. Problem drinking is a habit in which the so-called "alcoholic" simply has decided that the benefits of drinking outweigh the liabilities; it is all a matter of personal choice. An alcoholic participates in or causes many of their own problems by their behavior and the decisions they make, so why should they be viewed as helpless victims of a "disease"(Skipper 1)? Alcoholism should not be viewed as a disease, but as an addiction brought about by the alcoholic's personal choices. What is wrong with disease theories as science is that they are tautologies; they avoid the work of understanding why people drink. People seek specific, essential human experiences from their addictive involvement. They can come to depend on such an involvement for these experiences until -- in the extreme -- the involvement is totally consuming and potentially destructive (Peele 146). The idea that alcoholism is a "disease", which is only typified by the loss of control, was only sanctioned by the American Medical Association in 1956 (Wilbanks 39). The AMA gives the following definition for alcoholism: " Alcoholism is an illness characterized by preoccupation with alcohol and loss of control over its consumption, such as to lead usually to intoxication if drinking; by chronicity, by progression and by a tendency toward relapse. It is typically associated with physical disability and impaired emotional, occupational and/or social adjustments as a direct consequence of persistent excessive use (Langone 27)". This meant that an alcoholic could now get help in a hospital, just as a person with a real disease such as diabetes or leukemia would . Moreover, the use of the words "loss of control" make it seem as though the alcoholic's free will has just been ripped away from him. On the contrary, there is no evidence that the will of the drinker has been overpowered. Besides labeling alcoholism as a disease, the AMA has also done a huge error in stating that alcoholism causes people to lose control over the consumption of alcohol. This will only negate the

New Way to Spend a Holiday

2001-02-13T13:00:00-05:00
An experience in life that forces you to grow up and to take on responsibility, can only be rewarding and uplifting in the future. When you look back at all you came thru and the courage that possesed you at that most trying time. I only have one moment that really sticks out in my mind. Christmas on 1997 my family and I went to The Banquet which is a local food provider for the less fortunate in Sioux Falls. Being thrilled about this certain project my mom decided we should do was not quiet my attitude. I didn't want to spend Christmas in a dusty old high school serving food to people. Why could we just be normal and stay home with family. But despite all my protest it was set and we were going. For volunteers your day starts rather early we were to report to Thomas Jefferson Middle school by 10:00 A.M. sharp. As the thoughts ran thru my mind of what to expect when we got there. I started to make up the crazy ideas that we would get there and all around us would be these drugged out, filthy, and uncivilized people. People who choose not to try or to make a difference with there lives. People who were happy taking handouts and living on the street not wanting to change anything. We pulled up into the parking lot and the first thing i saw was 3 other guys my age. Not all that bad looking either. So I'm beginning to think maybe the day won't be so bad after all. A tall, broad, and boisterous woman walked up and introduced herself to my family and told us how happy she was to have us here. I quickly began to feel a little more at ease when i saw the rest of the volunteers. We walked into the building and into the gym. My mouth dropped there must have been 50 long cafeteria tables in their if not more. We quickly were each given a different set of jobs to do. My mom helped with the decorating of the tables. My little brother well I'm not sure exactly what he did but there was a lot of hammering. I went with two other ladies onto the stage of the gym where there were hundreds and hundreds of toys. Our job was to sort them out into gender

Capital Punishment and Torture: Unconstitutional or Junstice?

2001-02-10T13:00:00-05:00
Capital punishment and torture are often looked down on in today’s societies because they are viewed as cruel and unconstitutional, but perhaps they would help in more ways then we would like to admit. They can be beneficial in many ways such as encouragement to be truthful, encouragement to live by the laws, and as a source of punishment. Capital punishment and torture are thought to be too painful, and the person doing the punishment is also committing a crime. Many people agree with capital punishment and torturing. Capital punishment can be used as a threat, if broken, it will be a promise. Also knowing that there is the possibility of a death sentence gives people the incentive not to commit a crime.Torture is also a very helpful method of punishment. This works in many countries such as Singapore. In Singapore, many people are caned because of doing things that we may just get a warning for doing. Do you actually see the same person committing a crime twice? No, because everyone in Singapore is sure they will be caned if the crime is committed again. “It is generally assumed that torture is impermissible, a throwback to a more brutal age” (Levin 92). Capital punishment is said to be unconstitutional because people are not the one’s to make the choice of life or death; God is. Many people say that torture takes mankind back in civility when people need to be growing intellectually. Perhaps it does set us back to the middle age when people savagely cut off people’s hands for steeling and tongues for lying. Today’s society needs to concentrate on developing new ways to get along and live in peace with one another. Everyone knows that in today’s society peace in greatly needed . If a terrorist was to have an atomic bomb in Manhattan Island that is set to detonate at noon on July 4th unless his requests are met, would you resort to torture? What if he was caught at 10am on the day the bomb will detonate? Since he is caught he prefers death because he has failed, but death will not tell where the bomb is located. Would it be fair to let over a million people die because of one rotten apple out of a bushel? If he were tortured into telling where the bomb is placed, then perhaps all of the innocent people

Speak Your Mind: The Censorship Controversy in American Culture

2001-02-07T13:00:00-05:00
On a rainy morning in Detroit, Michigan, a twenty-something year old man by the name of Marshall Mathers awakes to hear a pounding on his front door. After muttering a few obscene phrases, he rolls out of bed and stumbles to his front door. However, instead of facing another autograph seeker, the rapper best known by his alias Eminem (or the real Slim Shady) is face to face with two police officers. “Mr. Mathers,” one says, “we’re here to serve you with an arrest warrant. You have subjected much of America’s population to obscenity, homophobic comments, sexism, and racism, and frankly, it offends many people. We don’t want culture to face your type of commentary any more. You have the right to remain silent…” Needless to say, this scenario would never occur in the American democracy of the present. However, many in America today are advocating censorship to such an extreme that someday events such as this may become a reality. And, though time and time again court cases have ruled against censorship, many continue to fight to limit free speech in America. However, in restraining what the constitution guarantees, there is much at stake. Although many argue that censorship is necessary to protect America’s citizens, it violates one’s freedom of speech found in the First Amendment and should therefore not be practiced. Granted, there are many reasons for advocating censorship that could be justified. Much material that is available in magazines, at the movie theater, and on the internet is considered by many to be extremely offensive. For example, the rock band Rage Against the Machine at times seems to glorify violence. Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, the Columbine High School gunmen, were fond of this band, and some of Rage Against the Machine’s lyrics have been assumed to have inspired the boys’ violent act. In many cases, evil can be advocated in forms of speech, causing many to believe that in order to prevent wrong from prevailing, censorship must be practiced with a fervor. In his essay “Censorship Can Be Beneficial,” Thomas Stork says, “Now if we can identify certain evils, and if advocacy of those evils seems likely to encourage people to commit them, then why should we not take the next and logical step and prohibit such advocacy… Must the authorities be helpless to restrain the source of the evil?” (20) This statement is a logical one,

Stereotypes

2001-02-05T13:00:00-05:00
“What do you expect form a blonde?” “ A woman’s place is in the kitchen”, “ Look at the jewelry he’s wearing, he’s probably a drug dealer” How many times have we heard statements such as these? It is such statements along with numerous others, which have caused our society to isolate and stereotype every individual based on past or previous experiences. To categorize individuals or a group according to an oversimplified standardized image or idea is to stereotype. When we stereotype, it affects our ability to understand and accept individuals and various groups of people for who they are. Women, Police Officers and various ethnic groups are among many who are stereotyped. In the early 1800’s, women were recognized as “homemakers”. However, as times changed they began to feel the need to become independent. As a result, women are now frequently stereotyped more than ever, especially in the business environment. Men are accustomed to women acquiring positions that require a “feminine touch” such as, nurses, secretaries, school teachers or other clerical positions. Therefore, when a woman acquires a position that puts her in higher authority, such as a role as a Vice President or CEO of a company, she is instantly stereotyped as feeling the need to be dominant. Women are also stereotyped by what they wear. For example, if a woman is wearing an outfit that is tight fitting or wearing a mini skirt, she is misconstrued as being too promiscuous. Futhermore, our society has even come down to stereotyping the many men and women who on a daily risk their lives to serve and protect our community. Due to immoral acts initiated by other police officers, such as dishonest/illegal search and seizures and drug related issues, police officers are stereotyped frequently too. If a civilian is summoned by an officer to pull over due to a motor vehicle violation and this civilian is of an opposite ethnic background of the officer, the officer is usually accused of racial profiling. In addition, if a police officer is out of reach, it has often been stated that he/she can be found at the nearest Dunkin Donuts consuming large amounts of coffee and donuts. Finally, if an officer is residing in a residential area that “appears” to be over his/her annual income, he/she is stereotyped as being “crooked”. Finally, the most common stereotypes there is are aimed directly at those of different ethnic

Censorship: Helpful or Hindering?

2001-02-03T13:00:00-05:00
What exactly is censorship? Some feel censorship is a violation of their rights. Others say censorship is a must in the violent, abusive world we call “society.” Who has the right to censor? Who doesn’t? What needs to be censored, and what doesn’t? The fact of the matter is that there are many pros and cons in the music and entertainment industry about censorship. Personally, I believe that the consumers and viewers should be charged with the ultimate responsibility of censorship. One major area in which there is much argument on censorship is that of television. Since its invention earlier this century, television has become the most popular format for entertainment. We can be entertained, informed, and inspired by programs on television. But nowadays, television stations are becoming less restrictive about the content in their programs. More violence, profanity, and nudity than ever before now graces our television screens every night. Clearly, there are things that children should not be seeing on television. Therefor, the new v-chip legislation in process requires all television manufacturers to install an electronic device that allows parents to set the tolerance levels for violence, profanity and nudity. However, are children’s viewing habits the responsibility of the government or the parents? A good point can be made that there is far too much violence on television today, and that an invention such as a v-chip would help immensely. But what about such violent dramas such as “Schindler’s List,” and “Saving Private Ryan” which will be shown to future generations as a means of educating? Will the v-chip automatic censor block out programs such as these out? Some say that another good reason to censor certain television shows is the theme of the show or movie, such as those which teach bad morals and principles. But for families that watch television together and discuss the good, the bad and the ugly, there is no need for anything like a v-chip. The lines of communication are open, and the children are taught what is acceptable and what is not. By relying on a transistor to do their parenting for them, many parents will fall even more out of touch with their children, who will spend more time trying to get around technology to watch shows they are not supposed to watch. Those are just a few minor points about censorship on television, but many of the same points can

Is Alcohol Harmful to Our Life?

2001-01-29T13:00:00-05:00
So much information about adverse effects of alcohol is known. Yet, a large number of people condone what is known to them. Overlooking the negative effects of alcohol can turn the alcohol into a deadly weapon. Alcohol can cause deaths, diseases, and family problems. Alcohol can end your life in a matter of a second. According to, ¡° Alcoholism: New Insights on Old Problem,¡± more than 100,000 Americans die from alcohol related causes (1). In fact, alcohol related deaths are five times greater than the number killed by all illicit drugs combined. When a person imbibe an alcohol, he or she becomes disoriented. When people drive under this condition, they expose themselves to a great danger. In addition, women become more easily intoxicated from alcohol than men more (2). In result, women get themselves killed from an alcohol than males. Alcohol can also cause many diseases. When you drink too much of an alcohol, you get hallucinations and memory losses. Alcohol specifically affects the control centers of the brain (Valiant 337). If people do not get help for alcoholism, the condition could be debilitated. It could eventually lead to Korsakoff¡¯s syndrome of which symptoms would be mental confusion, hallucinations, and paralysis of hands and feet (Blum 337). This disease can get worse than they already have. Finally, alcohol can lead to poor family relationship. ¡°Alcohol and Family¡± states that American research found that 49% of child abusers were drinking of the time of the offense and 34% were heavy drinkers (1). Alcoholics tend to abuse children just to make themselves feel better. In 1997, Institute of Alcohol Studies estimated that there are likely to be one million children in Britain living with a parent whose drinking has reached harmful levels (2). These innocent children get beaten everyday without knowing what is going on. There are many other things that have not been mentioned. There are more diseases caused by the alcohol which we still do not know today. The death rate on an alcohol is climbing every day. If a person is a heavy drinker, he or she needs to get help immediately before they kill themselves and the others. There is a drug called Naltrexone that can block the craving for alcohol (Alcoholism: New Insights on Old Problem 2). It is not the best solution to stop the drinking, but it is considered as one of the most effective ways to stop

Freedom of Expression - Our First Amendment Rights are Threatened

2001-01-29T13:00:00-05:00
What is art? Can it be defined in any single painting, or sculpture? Is it even something that can be seen, or does it have to be experienced? The term "art" is so vague that it can be applied to almost anything, really. Mostly, however, art should be that which frees our imagination. It connects our conscious with our subconscious, putting into a visual form what we feel and think. It allows us to explore our inner self and fill that urge to understand our minds and our universe. Art helps us to see beyond the ordinary, to see what is in our hearts without being blinded by reality. When an artist creates a painting, it is not to create a picture; it is to create a feeling or mood. The purpose is to convey an emotion, and, it is hoped, to make the viewer experience that same emotion. The painting is really just the final result. Picasso once said "…the thing that counts, in painting, is the intention of the artist…What counts is what one wants to do, and not what one does… In the end what was important is the intention one had." So, what happens when artists are judged only on their final result, with no consideration to the purpose of their artwork? Censorship happens. That's right, every day in America, "Land of the Free", another artist falls victim to The Censor. Everyday, despite rights guaranteed by the constitution, people are being oppressed-by school officials, librarians, committee chairpersons, and even by those in government positions. It's time everyone, everywhere, stood up for Freedom of Expression, and put and end to censorship. In September of this year, the Brooklyn Museum of Art planned an exhibit of British artwork entitled "Sensation: Young British Artists from the Saatchi Collection", the controversial art exhibit which, on it's world tour, has been shown in Germany and England. The exhibit, as well as the majority of other artwork on display in the museum, was to be funded by the National Endowment for the Arts. The NEA is a government agency that grants federal money to artists and organizations in an attempt to serve the public good by "nurturing the expression of human creativity, supporting the cultivation of community spirit, and fostering the recognition and appreciation of the excellence and diversity of our nation's artistic accomplishments". The organization was prepared to share part of its 98,000

Abortion, A Freedom of Choice

2001-01-24T13:00:00-05:00
During the last twenty-five years, abortion has been one of the most heated topics being debated in the United States and Canada. The only topics that equal the abortion debate are race and war. Abortion is a discussion of human interaction where ethics, emotions, and law come together. There are people that have different views of abortion but no matter what their view is they fall under a thin line. There is the pro-choice and the pro-life. These are the only two categories that people’s views fall into. A pro-choice person would feel that the decision to abort a pregnancy is that of the mothers and the government has no right to interfere. A pro-lifer would hold that from the moment of conception, the embryo or fetus is alive. Since this embryo or fetus is alive and is a person you have no moral right to abort a life. If you aborted the life (person) you would be committing murder. The word “murder” is mainly used by pro-lifers to describe what happens when you abort an embryo/fetus. Murder means deliberate and unjustified killing of another person containing intent. How can anyone tell a woman that they can’t abort an embryo/fetus to interrupt a pregnancy if it is a result of rape or incest? A women cannot bear the thought of having a child that would be a constant reminder of what happened on such and such a day, such and such number of years ago. The mother doesn’t want to kill a baby; she wants to interrupt the growth of an embryo so that it will not become a baby. The mother interrupts potential life. If the mother aborts the embryo at a very early stage it’s not even recognizable as human and that’s why potential life is just that, potential. My personal belief is that each woman has the right to decide whether she wants to abort an unwanted pregnancy. Remember the termination of the pregnancy might have to do with the health of the mother herself, maybe the mother is unable to attend to the child’s needs after its born, resulting in child abuse and mental disease. In these situations abortion is a must in my opinion. Most abortions occur because contraception fails, because of a rape or because of a serious medical condition of the mother, which could lead to her death. In these situations abortion is often

Capital Punishment - Two Wrongs Don't Make A Right

2001-01-01T13:00:00-05:00
We teach the children only the highest of our ideals, the most virtuous of our values. An integral part of our “code of chivalry” is Immanuel Kant’s Golden Rule: Do as you would be done by. It is taught as a rule to be followed not only in school, but one to live by. Children never fail to imitate the behavior of their elders. This is a beckoning to us, the people of the village who will raise the child, to illustrate our words, to show that the Golden Rule isn’t just an empty cliché. Such crimes as murder render life cheap and people expendable. These atrocities are not to be tolerated. And a crime is only as severe as the punishment that follows, right? Ancient Babylon, in 18th century BC, had its version of our rule. “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth,” stated Hammurabi’s code. “Those who take the sword shall perish by the sword,” agrees the Bible. A recent study concluded that every execution of a murder deters eighteen murders on average. Raising the number of death sentences from 39% of cases tried to 40%, an increase of only 1%, would prevent one hundred five murders. One hundred five lives saved. Executing criminals renders them unable to commit more crime. If they’re dead, what more harm can they do? There are two types of punishment: lex talonis and lex salica. Lex talonis involves that “eye for an eye” principal, while lex salica involves repairing damage by payment. In some cases, lex salica acceptable, but not in murder cases. One cannot expect to buy the forgiveness of the victim’s family. This puts a price on the life of the victim and does not take into account the family’s need for retribution. If someone committed the capital crime, if he brutally murdered your mother or child, would you not want to know that he received the capital punishment, paid the full price? Would you not want to be sure that what he did to your family he’d never be able to do again? I would. Not only is it a matter of the family’s need for reprisal, but also society’s administering of justice. Imposing the death penalty forces the murderer to take responsibility for his actions. Punishment should equal harm done. Did the murdered not have a right to life? One of our most fundamental doctrines in this country says

Legal Prostitution

2000-12-31T13:00:00-05:00
Prostitution has long been considered as illegal. But is it necessary to do so? It

Alcoholism Should Not Be Viewed as a Disease

2000-12-19T13:00:00-05:00
Most people have a confused idea of alcoholism as a disease that invades or attacks your good health. Use of such a strong word such as "disease" shapes the values and attitudes of society towards alcoholics. A major implication of the disease concept is that what is labeled a "disease" is held to be justifiable because it is involuntary. This is not so. Problem drinking is a habit in which the so-called "alcoholic" simply has decided that the benefits of drinking outweigh the liabilities; it is all a matter of personal choice. An alcoholic participates in or causes many of their own problems by their behavior and the decisions they make, so why should they be viewed as helpless victims of a "disease"(Skipper 1)? Alcoholism should not be viewed as a disease, but as an addiction brought about by the alcoholic's personal choices. What is wrong with disease theories as science is that they are tautologies; they avoid the work of understanding why people drink. People seek specific, essential human experiences from their addictive involvement. They can come to depend on such an involvement for these experiences until -- in the extreme -- the involvement is totally consuming and potentially destructive (Peele 146). The idea that alcoholism is a "disease", which is only typified by the loss of control, was only sanctioned by the American Medical Association in 1956 (Wilbanks 39). The AMA gives the following definition for alcoholism: " Alcoholism is an illness characterized by preoccupation with alcohol and loss of control over its consumption, such as to lead usually to intoxication if drinking; by chronicity, by progression and by a tendency toward relapse. It is typically associated with physical disability and impaired emotional, occupational and/or social adjustments as a direct consequence of persistent excessive use (Langone 27)". This meant that an alcoholic could now get help in a hospital, just as a person with a real disease such as diabetes or leukemia would . Moreover, the use of the words "loss of control" make it seem as though the alcoholic's free will has just been ripped away from him. On the contrary, there is no evidence that the will of the drinker has been overpowered. Besides labeling alcoholism as a disease, the AMA has also done a huge error in stating that alcoholism causes people to lose control over the consumption of alcohol. This will only negate the fact

Sweatshops

2000-12-17T13:00:00-05:00
Many companies and schools in the United States buy their products from factories that have their workers working in horrible conditions. "That is employing over 50,000 workers to work in these conditions" (Jensen, Davidson 279). They have the workers work from 5 A.M. until nighttime inhaling dangerous chemicals and working in temperatures that get as high as 130 degrees. These high temperatures cause heat stress, burns, and injuries to workers. Many of the factories that the United States buys from are in another countries. In these countries they have horrible working conditions. Working in these places called sweatshops should be banned. Sweatshops are "a shop or factory in which employees work long hours at low wages under poor conditions"("sweatshops"). These factories cause problems for their workers later in the worker's life. Occasionally these problems lead to death. Many workers do not get to see a doctor when they are ill. Workers choose to go work to make money rather than see a doctor. Most do not receive regular vaccinations that help their body fight against "smallpox, whooping cough, tetanus, polio, and diphtheria" (Holland 61). "A sweatshop factory brings visions of dangerous, filthy, and cramped conditions"(Wolcott). Many of these sweatshops do not pay their workers the right amount. "In Bangladesh and Myanmar, they pay ten to eighteen cents; in China, Pakistan, Vietnam, India, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia they pay twenty to sixty-eight cents per hour" (Mandle 93). Why do owners pay their workers so little? The wages they give these workers should be different. Many of these factories hire children who are ineligible to work in these places. About 250 million children between the ages five and fourteen work in sweatshops. Half of these children are working full time and one third of them are working in extremely dangerous conditions. These children do not belong working in such dangerous conditions. "Many of these children begin working before the age of seven, tending to machines in the spinning mills and hauling heavy loads" (Fried 231). To an employer "the purpose of employing a child is not to train them, but to make their profits higher from the child's work" (Freedman 21). The employers do not realize the dangers of child labor. Child labor is "the abuse and misuse of young children at work"(Greene 9). Child labor is exploiting children by giving them low wages or no wage at all, allowing them to work

Death Penalty

2000-12-16T13:00:00-05:00
Death penalty-to be or not to be? Sometimes crime cannot be punished enough. Sometimes crime is so cruel that there is no realistic punishment for it. There are too many victims out there, that suffered and their attacker gets a simple painless death. I am saying painless comparing to murders that happen every day that are simply horrifying. As Paul A. Winters says “If a person commits a uniquely gruesome murder, he deserves to be put to death” (Winters et al. 154). So many murderers are convicted of the crime of murder and they only get years in jail. Their victims feel the pain, but imagine the pain and sorrow that the families of the victims feel, and that pain lasts for the rest of their lives. If someone from my family was killed, I wouldn’t think a second what to do with the murderer. I would want him dead. Most of the families feel this way and the best way to stop the pain is to get rid off the cause of the pain. Death sentence is effective because it deters crimes, but many people argue that life without parole is much harder to serve for the person who committed the crime, “Abolitionist claim there are some alternative to the death penalty, they say that life without parole serves just as well” (Guilmette 2). I agree that putting away the murderer is effective, but just isn’t enough. Laws change, so do parole boards, and people forget the past. As long as the murderer there is a small possibility that he could strike again. Capital punishment is the most effective weapon against the murderers; because no executed murderer has ever killed again. You cannot say that about those sentenced to prison. Death sentence also depends on the case. I am not saying that everybody who commits the murder should be placed on the death row. There are different types of the murder and every murder that was planned or intentional should be severely punished. As Hugo Adam Badeu says, “Despicable crimes should be dealt with realistically” (Badeu et al. 131). I have no mercy for the killers, and nobody should have any mercy for anybody who does harm to another human being. Who gives a right to anyone to commit crime anyway? Michael Kronenwetter says, “The death penalty has always been considered especially appropriate for the crime of murder” (Kronenwetter 6).

Effects of Postmodernism in relation to communication and society

2000-12-16T13:00:00-05:00
The movement occurred after 1945 is postmodernism which had shown it’s powerful effects in every aspect of life. It’s a movement that can’t be defined with a simple sentence because postmodernism has lots of components and directions. A postmodernist reflects history’s theological interpretations. When we talk about post-modernism we also take the concept modernism in our concept. Postmodernism is defined related to modernism as” the legalization of illegal parts of modernism”. Modernity and postmodernity appear and reappear in philosophical, literary and other texts in what is at first sight a bewildering array of guises. Postmodernism combines simultaneous fragmentation and blurring of boundaries in a universe where no absolute truth governs the definition of reality and morality. This is in contrast to modernism, which emphasizes the coming together of the multifaceted, sometimes conflicting aspects of life into a unified whole that can be realized. Postmodernism accepts the conflicts as the standard mode of existence. Unlike the consensus sought by modernism, postmodernism accepts discensus, and even proclaims that one unified way of seeing things is impossible. Postmodernism undermines the modernist notion of what Jean-Francois Lyotard describes as meta-narratives, or over-arching, absolute stories that explain the nature of the world. One of the difficulties with meta-narratives is that they only present the world from one perspective, even when it may make sense from several different angles. Trying to force everything to be seen only through the eyes of one point of view is referred to as colonization. The term can be used abstractly or figuratively to describe imposing a certain view or interpretation of something, but it is derived from examining the political and social domination that has been exercised over smaller nations and minorities by Imperialism and ethnocentrism. Postmodernism tends to encourage placing value on the unassimilated other- on accepting and respecting differences and not oppressing the other. The postmodern celebration of difference can be seen in the experimental nature of postmodern art, architecture, and writing. These forms usually take liberties with conventional forms, and often involve bricolage, which is combining different forms and styles in a collage-like fashion. Sociology and the society has a big role in postmodern changing. Connected with technology, industry, art and information postmodernism had a shield on the society and duplicated it’s power with these aspects of life everyday. Information as a concept comes into the world trailing clouds of glory. It’s nothing less, it’s most eminent

Interpersonal Communication

2000-12-16T13:00:00-05:00
People need to communicate with each other and they communicate with lots of people in a day period. The relationships between these people and the person individually changes so there are lots of communication kinds and distances between these people and the person. People always needs to communicate with each other even they don’t know each other. Speaking, telling our needs and wants verbally, non verbally or in a written way is the basic need of our daily life. Speaking the basic communication way between people we speak thousands of words in day period. We speak with lots of people in different places and with different functions. The communication between these people and us changes according to this people’s function in our lives. There is different kind of relationships like family, school, job, public, friends...etc All has different formats in our daily communication. The closeness and the context of these communications are very different from each other and we kind them according to their contexts and distances with the opposite sites. Roles are the most determinist functions in daily communication. Power distance effects the daily communication between people when it’s connected with social roles. In daily relationships if we observe the closeness and roles of the people change but the main communication process is starting with the sender, receiver and the message. Then we can observe the kinds of daily communication. There are lots of models in communication but the main elements are these. Individuals use words to communicate this process can be face to face, with roles and relationships, 2- way, intentional, ongoing process or cumulative. First of all in twenty four-hour periods my personal communication starts with my family in the morning. Also I communicate with my family in different kinds in the morning like face to face or with roles and relationships or two way. If we give an example saying good morning and asking did you sleep well are the first words of a new day and it’s a kind of face to face communication. In the breakfast the way of answering the question of do you want some coffee with shaking my head is showing that I did not need any conversation while I was chewing my toast is a kind of 2 way communication. It’s also a non verbal communication too. In class the speech that I’ve made about the media club members snobbish behaviors with

AIDS: Epidemic of the Decade

2000-12-09T13:00:00-05:00
INTRODUCTION There is no doubt that AIDS is indeed the epidemic of the decade. Not only are there many supporting facts and data, visiting urban cities and third world countries prove this point. Furthermore, AIDS is not only highly infectious, it is also the first major incurable epidemic throughout this biomedical revolution that mankind is going through. This epidemic might actually be the one that will completely wipeout the third world. Scientists, government agencies and pharmaceutical companies are scrambling to find a cure to this epidemic but in the mean time we have to find a way to deal with it, if possible. As we continue into the next millennium with all sorts of problems facing humanity, the choice with regard to AIDS is simple, evolve or die! INFECTIVITY The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) has two different types of strains. HIV-1 is the North American strain while HIV-2 is the African strain. The only real difference between the two is that HIV-2 has the vpx gene while HIV-1 does not. As you can tell by the name, the virus works by gradually deteriorating the immune system. The virus can infect any cell with CD4 molecules on the cell’s membrane. It seems to specifically destroy or disable the CD4+ T cells. These cells are sometimes called "T helper" cells. They work by signalling other cells to perform their special functions. A normal healthy person usually has a CD4+ T cell count of 800 to 1,200 per cubic millimetre of blood. Once a person’s CD4+ T cell count falls below 200/mm3, a person is diagnosed with Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). A person diagnosed with AIDS will usually die of an opportunistic infection, not of HIV/AIDS itself. HIV is a virus and a virus is basically a microscopic bag of protein filled with a strain of DNA or RNA. To be more specific, HIV has a diameter of approximately 1/10,000 of a millimetre and is spherical in shape (see Figure 1-1). The viral envelope consists of two layers of lipid molecules and contains proteins taken from the host cell. There are 72 copies (on average) of a complex HIV protein called Env. Env is made of three or four molecules of a glycoprotein, gp120, that form a cap and a stem consisting of gp41 molecules that anchor the structure to the surface of the viral envelope. HIV belongs to the class of viruses known as retroviruses. HIV

The Value of Privacy in the Workplace

2000-12-08T13:00:00-05:00
"Privacy. There seems to be no legal issue today that cuts so wide a swath through conflicts confronting American society: from AIDS tests to wiretaps, polygraph test to computerized data bases, the common denominator has been whether the right to privacy outweighs other concerns of society…" This quote from Robert Ellis Smith explains, in one sentence, the absolute need to ensure privacy in the workplace. One of the most interesting, yet controversial, areas concerning public personnel is employee privacy. What limits are there to employers’ intrusions into, and control over, employees’ behaviors and personal properties? There are five major areas which trigger privacy matters in the area of public sector employment: background checks, cognizance of off duty conduct and lifestyles, drug testing, workplace searches, and monitoring of workplace activity. Of these five, the fifth area of privacy, monitoring of workplace activity, is the most controversial. The reason for this is the advance of technology. These conflicts open anew the basic questions as to what is private, what is propriety, what legal rights an employee possesses, and what an employee’s obligations and responsibilities are within the sphere of public employment. Privacy has been defined as "the claim of individuals, groups, or institutions to determine for themselves when, how, and to what extent information about them is communicated to others". The privacy claims of employees can vary in terms of the privacy interest involved and the conception of a need for privacy. In terms of background checks, the issue of autonomy is presented. Autonomy involves ones own personal and individual liberties. Autonomy embraces areas of central life choice and lifestyle that are important in terms of individual expression, but irrelevant to an employer and of no public concern. It has been associated with marital and other intimate relationships, home and family life, and association and reproductive choices. Employees have raised issues of employer intrusion into this area where the employer makes employment decisions on the basis of something in an employee’s personal history, or conditions employment on appropriate responses to inquires about personal activities which are not job-related. An employer may have interests which permit some limited intrusion into this area, if the behavior involves misconduct or illegal activity. Off-duty personal conduct may be regarded as relevant to employment if the misconduct has a connection to the employee's performance within the organization, or if the misconduct negatively impacts the organization's mission. Privacy

Ritalin - the wonder Drug or the Monster Creator?

2000-12-06T13:00:00-05:00
`Why didn't the ADHD boy introduce his girlfriend to any of his friends? A) He can't remember her name; or better yet, How would they diagnose ADD in a chicken? A) It never gets all the way across the road because of all the distractions. You could say growing up was hard; everyday I had to endure cruel teeny bopping teenagers who didn’t understand my condition. What really made it hard was that I didn’t even understand my condition. Seven years ago I was diagnosed with ADHD or Attention Deficit/ Hyper- activity Disorder. In other words, my brain was like a light constantly going off and on at the worst possible times. As a form of treatment for ADHD, I was put on a controversial drug called Ritalin. At the age of sixteen, it was not really my choice whether I wanted to take a doctor’s prescription or not. Now that I have grown up a bit and understand things better, I am questioning the benefits of prescribing Ritalin to treat ADHD. My personal experience with Ritalin is mixed. I use it when I am in school and at work and it allows me to concentrate and focus on what I need to do. I use to be a troubled student. I use to have consent run-ins with the law. Things never came easy to me and far too often they never came at all. Ritalin was like putting on a pair of glasses worn by Superman. Suddenly everything became focused and organized. My schoolwork went form a category I will refer to as second-rate to a straight A student. I was no longer battling with myself to comprehend something. People who knew me as a child would never believe me as to what I have accomplished. That came at a price though, when I am taking Ritalin I drop about fifteen pounds and have constant nausea. I also feel it changes my personality making me a very bland person to talk to just like Al Gore. Last year I found myself in the hospital with what can be described as a mild heart attack because of Ritalin. Most of these side effects I have been able to coupe with because the benefits have been so high. I do question if I could have gotten this far without it and if it was really worth it. On the other hand, According to

Extramarital Affairs and Marriage

2000-12-05T13:00:00-05:00
Do extramarital affairs help or destroy a marriage? A lot of people say that having such affairs helped them solve the problems they had with their spouses, while other people’s marriages are destroyed by them. Do partners feel more comfortable in relationships outside their marriage and what could be the cause of that? Studies conducted by Pittman, who argues that unfaithfulness is not normal or acceptable, have shown that first-time divorce occurs in the wake of an affair; yet its also Pittman that states that ’a crisis of infidelity can reawaken a petrified marriage and therapy can save the adulterous marriage’, something in total contradiction with our traditional culture. Which should we believe than? Studies by Atwater lead us to believe that the second possibility should be seriously considered; in interviewing women engaged in extramarital affairs, she found that over half of them had improved their relationships with their husbands as a result of the affair. The fact that their needs were being met outside the marriage caused a change in their behavior in the marriage, as one woman reported: “Since I have this second relationship on-going, I have been able to draw my husband out more and get him to talk more... and to be more open in expressing my feelings with him.... I am slowly but surely trying to bring our relationship up to a level that meets more of my needs.” The expressive area seems to be the most troubled one in these marriages, as the unfaithful wives sustained. According to Atwater, extramarital relationships occur because “we are unrealistic about love and the ability of our spouse to satisfy all our sexual needs”. She concludes that there are five completely untrue myths that contribute to our faith in sexual exclusivity: one person will supply all of another’s emotional, social, and sexual needs people grow to love each other more through the years sexual exclusivity comes easily and naturally husbands and wives should be best friends extramarital affairs will destroy a marriage But lets examine this situation from the men’s point of view as well. Women and men have different expectations in extramarital relationships and while women report that their affairs are less for sexual fulfillment and more for emotional support and companionship, the most frequent reason men give for being unfaithful is either sexual rejection by their wives or the boredom of having repeated sex with the same person.

Women in Ancient Times: from Matriarchy to Patriarchy

2000-12-05T13:00:00-05:00
In addition to age, gender is one of the universal dimensions on which status differences are based. Unlike sex, which is a biological concept, gender is a social construct specifying the socially and culturally prescribed roles that men and women are to follow. Women have always had lower status than men, but the extent of the gap between the sexes varies across cultures and time. Images of women, mostly figurines of the same type as the "Venus" of Willendorf*, Lespugue** and Laussel*** (old statuettes representing obese women, women whose wombs and hips are extremely exaggerated) all dating to the Paleolithic period, far outnumber images of men. This has lead to speculation about the place of women in Stone Age society. Some have argued that these female figures denote the existence during this period of a prominent female deity identified usually as the Earth Mother or the Mother Goddess. On the basis of this assumption, it has been suggested that, unlike today, women played a considerably more important, if not dominant, role in Paleolithic society; that possibly a matriarchy existed and women ruled. That means men haven’t always been the leaders; it’s not an inborn quality (as a lot of them suggest)! Johann Bachofen was a 19th Century Swiss archaeologist and classicist who was among the first to recognize the presence of an early matriarchal stage in proto-European cultural evolution. Bachofen used Greek myth to support his arguments. He felt that there were three cultural stages that the early European culture went through. In his view the first stage was a barbaric or hetairistic stage (from the Greek word hetero meaning both) where both or actually neither sex was really in control for there was no control. The strong took advantage of the weak, and there was wide-spread "wanton" sexual activity, uncontrolled by values or morals. Bachofen thought that Aphrodite, Goddess of Love, was the chief deity of this time. The second stage was the matriarchal stage, where women banded together for their own defense. Strong Greek hunter/warrior goddesses such as Artemis and Athena were thought by Bachofen to have come from ancient fragments of memory stemming from this time, as well as the mythic Amazons and Furies. This middle stage saw the development of agriculture, and the rise of early civilization in Bachofen ‘s view. The third or last stage saw the domination of women by men. Myths depicting the rise of

Sex Sells

2000-12-05T13:00:00-05:00
As Americans we tend to have a conditioned view toward sexuality as a normal, healthy part of life. However, it seems that one may underestimate the power that sex has on culture, which is evident in the many areas. Most recently discussions on a sexual nature received extreme national prominence with the public events surrounding the Kenneth Starr investigation and report, which focuses on the sexual aspects of the relationship between President Bill Clinton and a former intern, Monica Lewinsky. The result was a war of beliefs, morals and differences of cultures mixed with political manipulations. With the increase of sexual presence in our society, it is often wondered how this increase has affected morals and values of those who live it. Sex is everywhere--not just limited to the bedroom, but to the television, movies, billboards, office buildings and almost every fragment of modern culture. Around the turn of the twentieth century, open discussion and study of sex was well on its way. Sexual/cultural pioneer, Sigmund Freud believed that sexuality was tightly woven in all persons, present from birth. His breakthrough thinking affected social practices and was instrumental in breaking the "moral fog that had enshrouded sexuality for most of the nineteenth century did not begin to lift until after the First World War" (Janus 1993). By analyzing modern culture, a person can accurately determine the effects of the sexual revolution and how it has led to the alterations or evolution of personal, moral and ethical principals. Where do we get our morals and values? Character education was what took place in school and society in the past. This drilling of acceptable social conventions seemed to “contain” our culture for many years. In modern years society has shifted to the "decision-making approach" (Kilpatrick 1993). This approach takes many forms, sometimes as a course in itself, sometimes as a strategy in sex education classes, sometimes as a unit in civics or social sciences--it has set the tone for modern moral education in public and even private schools. "The shift from character education to the decision-making model was begun with the best of intentions. The new approach was meant to help students to think more independently and critically about values" (Kilpatrick 1993). Followers of this approach claimed that a young person would be more committed to self-discovered values than to ones that were simply handed down by adults. That was the hope, but

Sex Sells

2000-12-05T13:00:00-05:00
As Americans we tend to have a conditioned view toward sexuality as a normal, healthy part of life. However, it seems that one may underestimate the power that sex has on culture, which is evident in the many areas. Most recently discussions on a sexual nature received extreme national prominence with the public events surrounding the Kenneth Starr investigation and report, which focuses on the sexual aspects of the relationship between President Bill Clinton and a former intern, Monica Lewinsky. The result was a war of beliefs, morals and differences of cultures mixed with political manipulations. With the increase of sexual presence in our society, it is often wondered how this increase has affected morals and values of those who live it. Sex is everywhere--not just limited to the bedroom, but to the television, movies, billboards, office buildings and almost every fragment of modern culture. Around the turn of the twentieth century, open discussion and study of sex was well on its way. Sexual/cultural pioneer, Sigmund Freud believed that sexuality was tightly woven in all persons, present from birth. His breakthrough thinking affected social practices and was instrumental in breaking the "moral fog that had enshrouded sexuality for most of the nineteenth century did not begin to lift until after the First World War" (Janus 1993). By analyzing modern culture, a person can accurately determine the effects of the sexual revolution and how it has led to the alterations or evolution of personal, moral and ethical principals. Where do we get our morals and values? Character education was what took place in school and society in the past. This drilling of acceptable social conventions seemed to “contain” our culture for many years. In modern years society has shifted to the "decision-making approach" (Kilpatrick 1993). This approach takes many forms, sometimes as a course in itself, sometimes as a strategy in sex education classes, sometimes as a unit in civics or social sciences--it has set the tone for modern moral education in public and even private schools. "The shift from character education to the decision-making model was begun with the best of intentions. The new approach was meant to help students to think more independently and critically about values" (Kilpatrick 1993). Followers of this approach claimed that a young person would be more committed to self-discovered values than to ones that were simply handed down by adults. That was the hope, but

Fulfiling Dr. Kings Dream

2000-12-05T13:00:00-05:00
Dr. King is a man that preached non-violence amongst all people, a man that stood up for what he believed was right and just. This

Abortion - a freedom of choice

2000-12-03T13:00:00-05:00
During the last twenty-five years, abortion has been one of the most heated topics being debated in the United States and Canada. The only topics that equal the abortion debate are race and war. Abortion is a discussion of human interaction where ethics, emotions, and law come together. There are people that have different views of abortion but no matter what their view is they fall under a thin line. There is the pro-choice and the pro-life. These are the only two categories that people’s views fall into. A pro-choice person would feel that the decision to abort a pregnancy is that of the mothers and the government has no right to interfere. A pro-lifer would hold that from the moment of conception, the embryo or fetus is alive. Since this embryo or fetus is alive and is a person you have no moral right to abort a life. If you aborted the life (person) you would be committing murder. The word “murder” is mainly used by pro-lifers to describe what happens when you abort an embryo/fetus. Murder means deliberate and unjustified killing of another person containing intent. How can anyone tell a woman that they can’t abort an embryo/fetus to interrupt a pregnancy if it is a result of rape or incest? A women cannot bear the thought of having a child that would be a constant reminder of what happened on such and such a day, such and such number of years ago. The mother doesn’t want to kill a baby; she wants to interrupt the growth of an embryo so that it will not become a baby. The mother interrupts potential life. If the mother aborts the embryo at a very early stage it’s not even recognizable as human and that’s why potential life is just that, potential. My personal belief is that each woman has the right to decide whether she wants to abort an unwanted pregnancy. Remember the termination of the pregnancy might have to do with the health of the mother herself, maybe the mother is unable to attend to the child’s needs after its born, resulting in child abuse and mental disease. In these situations abortion is a must in my opinion. Most abortions occur because contraception fails, because of a rape or because of a serious medical condition of the mother, which could lead to her death. In these situations abortion is often

Capital Punishment is Murder

2000-12-03T13:00:00-05:00
All throughout the media, one hears of murders and homicides. It is a crime to kill someone, but the government "murders" people all the time without thinking twice. There is a risk when pulling the trigger that this horrible fate will happen. If it is not right to kill someone, why does the government kill people all the time? In The Bible, there is a statement that says "Thou shalt not kill," and yet the government believes it can punish for what it already does. It is a crime within a crime and the government should "Practice what they preach." This has been going on for so long that most nations have created a numbness to death. One may believe he is a law abiding citizen and follows the law to every word. This same innocent idividual could very well be put to death by the gas chamber. People are framed for crimes every day and noone notices. Naturally, people in court or in prison will go on and on about their innocence when they know well that they did it. This causes the innocent people's claims of innocence to be discarded. One may then spend half of his life in prison or be put to death. No normal people ever take the time to think that they may be next. If the death sentence was discarded, a few lives could be saved. Technology is advancing everyday and with DNA samples and other high-tech equipment, people could be proven innocent. Most people believe that the "bad guy" kills illegally and the "good guy", or the gas chamber, kills legally. Children in some neighborhoods are exposed to death and murder everyday. They think nothing of it after a while. The children grow up into gun-bearing citizens with the idea that killing the "bad guy" makes him the "good guy". This is often known as "taking the law into his own hands." So, if the government can kill legally, why can't a teenager take revenge for the death of his father? What makes the government so righteous that it kills legally, not including The Ten Commandments as law? If it is not right to kill someone, why does the government kill people all the time? There is a risk when pulling the trigger that this horrible fate will happen. It is a crime to kill someone, but the government "murders" people all the time without thinking

Discrimination of Adolescents

2000-12-02T13:00:00-05:00
The discrimination of adolescents has steadily increased over the years. Adults and media of modern day society discriminate all adolescents behavior based on a small minority of teens. This is due to the behavior of adolescents, the media¡¯s perception of teens, and as a result, the only way to end this madness is a compromise. First of all, the behavior of adolescents is a main cause of discrimination. Adolescents want attention from society by acting inappropriately and claiming it as individualism. The new generation of adolescents acts differently mainly because they have too much freedom; there is no one to discipline them. In the past, when adolescents did poorly or behaved inappropriately in school, they were often punished in the form of physical abuse. Mr. H, a high school teacher did poorly in school when he was young. The principal had beat him and called his parents. When his parents found out, they beat him and took him back to school to meet the principal. Mr. H was beaten once again by both parties in the principal¡¯s office. Youths were disciplined back then but nowadays there are no consequences for their faults, so youths abuse their rights on a regular basis. Additionally, youths are jealous of adults. Adults possess privileges which youth¡¯s do not such as smoking, watching X-rated movies, and drinking. This factor forces youths to act older than they really are so they can receive the same privileges but youths fail to realize that they are not adults. So by smoking, watching X-rated movies, and drinking, adolescents have earned a bad reputation. However it is a small minority of youths that act this way, and they are ruining the reputation of adolescents as a whole. These individuals are the rotten apple spoiling the barrel. In another case, adolescents are discriminated because of the way youths are portrayed by the media. First of all, the media mainly focuses on negativity. There are rarely any reports on righteous events. In movies, teens are hooligans and thieves. In the movie ¡°True Lies¡±, the protagonist¡¯s daughter stole money and had a punk boyfriend on a motorcycle. The media is also famous for producing bad role models such as Eminem. All adolescents have role models to look up to. The message Eminem sends out through his music encourages teens to act disgraceful. Again, it is the small minority of teens who look up to bad

Interracial Dating

2000-11-30T13:00:00-05:00
Many interracial couples are faced with negative reactions from society, making it hard for them to have a regular relationship. They have to deal with disapproval from their own race, pessimistic reactions from family and friends, and not to mention the ignorance of society as a whole. Why is interracial dating so controversial? Is not racism a thing of the past, or is that what we would like to believe? People who date and socialize with people of different racial groups frequently experience negative reactions. Many of the disapproving messages come from people of their own racial group. They scoff and make fun of the idea that they are dating someone with a different tone of skin or ethnic background. According to a poll taken in 1992, many people believe that people should date within their race to keep the unity within the ethnic community. It is like they believe in sequestering each racial group. They believe that every race is uniquely special and should not be integrated. Mixing races would only cause problems. Probably one of the most hurtful things in life is having to deal with family and friends who are not supportive of the people you truly like and love. One might wonder what may cause family and friends to rebel against interracial dating. As explained in Verna Stolkes’ book entitled Marriage, Class and Color in the 19th Century Cuba, many families may oppose the bonding of their loved one with someone of another race because of political reasons, religious reasons, or family pride. Apparently, many are not able to handle the conflicts and struggles brought on by family and friends. They need sanctions or permission from their parents to see if it is okay to date out of their race. The parent’s influential power causes them to be skeptical and doubtful about being involved in such relationship that they decide to end a perfect relationship in order to make them happy. Many people who date out of their race are likely to encounter tension and criticism from society as a whole. People tend to have a superficial understanding about interracial dating and forget about the true meaning of a relationship. What temerity is this, receiving constant stares and negative reactions, it is completely rude and ignorant of people. It is unequivocal that interracial dating is not easy. Is any relationship easy, interracial or not? But dating and

Courtship vs. Dating

2000-11-29T13:00:00-05:00
Courtship - the act of wooing Woo - to ask in marriage; to court, to solicit eagerly; to seek to gain. You ask, “What in the world is Courtship?” Let me start by saying it is our country’s dating problem solution. Not too long ago, Christian parents along with their youth had realized the need to re-map the route to fruitful, God-ordained marriages. The result has been a push particularly among homeschoolers, to return to the more biblical principals of courtship. Simply defined, courtship is a reformed version of dating under the supervision of parents between a man and a woman who are ready to marry in the near future. In consumer terms, contemporary dating is the equivalent to window-shopping and courtship is shopping w/ cash in hand under the direction of experienced buyers. The term used is not important. What’s important is that courtship bypasses the pitfalls of contemporary dating and provides a much safer, smoother ride to the union of man and wife... not teen girl and teen boy. I mean let’s face it! The first major problem of dating is that it has very little to do with marriage. The purpose is to just have a good time. All right! Dating may be the best thing that could have ever happened for you to find your spouse... PLEASE count yourself very blessed. Because I’ve noticed a pattern in dating that, I’ve seen in marriages. Dating much consists of finding a person whom you want to have a good time w/ and them breaking off the relationship, back and forth, back and forth, etc. Which results in hurt feelings, disappointing parents who thought “you both look right for each other” (but, are they right for each other?). Good old Webster’s Dictionary defines the word “break” as to separate into parts w/ violence or suddenness; to collapse or give way; to change suddenly. Where did we lose the thrill of true romance, the excitement of planning for marriage, the anticipation of a family’s wholehearted approval, and the determination to stay chaste until the wedding night? You may say, “Get real! This is modern age, the ‘90’s. Are you trying to take us back to the olden days - you know medieval times?” On second thought, that’s not a bad idea. We like seeing men who are manly enough to work hard to win the hearts of their beloved. We appreciate the tenderness of a moment when

Ritalin is Good, Ritalin is Easy

2000-11-28T13:00:00-05:00
Seven years ago I was diagnosed with ADHD or Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. In other words, I had a chronic problem paying attention. As a form of treatment for ADHD, I was put on a controversial drug called Ritalin. Now being at the age of sixteen, it was not really my choice whether I wanted to take a doctor’s prescription or not. Now that I have grown up a bit and understand things better, I am questioning the benefits of prescribing Ritalin to treat ADD. My personal experience with Ritalin is mixed. I use it when I am in school and at work and it allows me to concentrate and focus on what I need to do. I use to be a troubled student. Things never came easy to me and far too often they never came at all. Ritalin was like putting on a pair of glasses. Suddenly everything became focused and organized. My schoolwork went for a category I will refer to as second-rate to a straight A student. I was no longer battling with myself to comprehend something. People who knew me as a child would never believe me as to what I have accomplished. That came at a price though, when I am taking Ritalin I drop about fifteen pounds and have constant nausea. I also feel it changes my personality making me a very bland person to talk to. Last year I found myself in the hospital with what can be described as a mild heart attack because of Ritalin. Most of these side effects I have been able to coupe with because the benefits have been so high. I do question if I could have gotten this far without it and if it was really worth it. I never really took the time to learn about ADHD or Ritalin. Similar to a majority of people with ADHD, I was diagnosed as a child. So I was not the one making the decisions on how it was going to be treated. My doctor recommended Ritalin because of its high success rate. Without much investigation on other forms of treatment, my parents agreed to the Ritalin prescription. Since it did help me, that was end of it. Only now have I learned about the dangers of Ritalin and the other forms of treatment that I feel might have worked just as well. Before I plunge any deeper, ADHD needs to

Eye For An Eye Or Turn The Other Cheek?

2000-11-28T13:00:00-05:00
It is a time of mourning for the United States. They are now being compared with the countries they, themselves, condemn. The death penalty is cruel and unusual because it breaks sacred amendments and commandments. The death penalty should no longer be an option. According to many people, "we have progressed since the barbaric stone-age," (Alexander 1) yet our Judicial system does not seem to show it. Murdering someone is a barbaric act, whether it is by an individual, society, or our government. Everyone has heard the saying, "two wrongs don't make a right," what would one call the death penalty? The death penalty must be eliminated because it kills innocents and destroys our fundamental human rights: "the right to life" (Reddall 1), it is racially biased, it is based on revenge not as a deterrent and it does not deter crime, it is more expensive, and it goes directly against The Bible. Whether someone wants to believe it or not, innocent people have been sent to death row. "From 1900 to 1985, 350 people imposed with the death penalty were innocent, and 23 of those people were actually put to death" (Cruel 2). Supporters of the death penalty seem to show no remorse for these deaths. One supporter said, "In the medical profession almost 100,000 people are wrongly killed every year by errors, and we fix them and move on" (McLaughlin 2). These barbaric acts should not come as a shock, though. "The United States is one of only five countries in the world that execute minors. The U.S. joins Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen" (Cruel 1). It seems ironic that all four other countries the U.S. condemns for human's rights violations. "Abma criticized the U.S. for using a 'double standard' in human rights cases. He said a large gap exists 'between what the U.S. is saying to others and what the U.S. is doing to its own citizens.' He cited cases of police brutality and poor prison conditions, aside the obvious death penalty, as examples" (Yashiro 1). “I have full sympathy for the families of murder and other crimes, but I refuse to accept that one death justifies another” (Reddall 1). Capitol punishment is an act from ages ago and should no longer be used. Although, the argument already seems logical there is still more that can be argued. “Contrary to popular belief, capitol punishment is 4 to 6

Tobacco

2000-11-28T13:00:00-05:00
Smoking is one of the most preventable causes of death in our society. About one in five deaths in the US are results from using tobacco. About half all of smokers between of 35 and 69 die ahead of time and new smokers like teenagers replace them. Smokers could be losing an average of 20 to 25 years of their life. Sometimes,while I am around an adult that smokes,the smoking makes the house smell awful and affects my breathing and respiratory system. I have many reasons to why I think this. Smoking gives you cancer, shortens your life,and affects others around you and yourself just from one cigarette. Every time you smoke, it’s like cutting 5 minutes of your life and never gives you your original looks back. About 430,000 people in the US die every year from smoking related problems. Smoking is an expensive habit. The average cost of a pack is $4.00 and the average smoker smokes a pack a day. In one year that’s wasting about $1,460or more a year! The tobacco industry makes billions of dollars each year and they don’t even care about your existence.All they want is your money and for to keep buying they’re product. The company adds nicotine, which is highly addictive. You can’t stop buying the product and if you buy more cigarettes, the company earns more. The nicotine can raise your blood pressure, heart rate, and the oxygen demand for muscles, mainly in the heart. Second-hand smoke affects others as well as you. Secondhand smoke comes from two places: smoke breathed out by the person who smokes, and smoke from the end of a burning cigarette. Secondhand smoke causes health effects, including cancer, breathing problems, and asthma. Secondhand smoke contains thousands of chemicals and 95 percent are poisons. Secondhand smoke is responsible for between 150,000 and 300,000 respiratory infections in infants and children under 18 months. About 37,000 non-smokers die each year because of it. A person who doesn’t smoke and is married to a smoker has a 30% greater chance of getting lung cancer than the wife/husband of a nonsmoker. People with asthma are at greater risk than to a person who doesn’t have asthma. It gives breathing complications and if they were to exercise, it could be almost three times more harder just to do simple exercises like walking,jumping jacks, and even stretching. When you stop smoking you

What is a Feminist?

2000-11-27T13:00:00-05:00
FEM-I-NIST n. A person who is involved in the movement advocating the granting of the same social, political and economic rights to women as the ones granted to men. When asking the question, "What is a feminist?," I received some very strange responses. When I posed this question, the people who answered seemed to be confused about their own beliefs. The question was also much more controversial than I had anticipated. The group that I asked was comprised of six females and four males, and was only moderately ethnically diverse (being one African-American, one multiracial person and one Israeli). They had many ideas about what it meant to be a feminist. Going into this assignment, I assumed that everyone would have the same ideas about feminism that I did. I believe that a feminist can be many different types of people. My definition includes women who are not afraid of their own power, and are not afraid of the power of the patriarchal society, and stands up for what they believe in throughout every aspect of their life. There are also male feminists who recognize some of the wrongs that have been done to women, and support the movement to change them. A feminist can be the militant, angry female who thinks that men are against her or the soft-spoken pro-choice woman who believes in her right to choose her own health care. I believe that feminists come in all shapes and sizes, and may not be able to fit into the label that encompasses them. In my experiment, people's view of feminism came in two varieties. One version of answers focused on a positive view of feminism. After posing the question, a friend of mine named Katrina immediately responded, feminism is the "reason why you can have a bank account in your own name." Another friend, who considers herself a feminist, said that feminism is "a person who believes in complete equality; socially, economically and otherwise, between males and females." She also said "because we live in a heteropatriarchy, (feminism includes) going out of your way to support women and help lessen the gap - I will be post-feminist in the post patriarchy." I also heard from a friend named Beth that "a feminist is someone who believes in equal rights for women, even in football". She thinks that they "go out and fight, sometimes bra-less." Greta says that a feminist is

Glass Ceiling Summary

2000-11-26T13:00:00-05:00
Utilitarianism favors unequal treatment in the work place. CONTROLLING IDEA: Big corporations should be forced into applying affirmative action to equal out the male/female ratio in management positions. MAJOR PART 1: We believe that big corporations should be forced into breaking the glass ceiling. Women are represented in the workplace by a mere margin of all management positions. We believe that the corporations should apply affirmative action for a short period of time to have an equal playing field for women. Women are qualified but big corporations find it hard to hire women because of its untraditional method. That is why women should be forced into these jobs helping the majority in the end. Women bring many things that a man doesn’t bring to the business world including another viewpoint. This alone would help company’s compete better in the business world. MAJOR POINT 2: Women today are now more than ever trying to make it in the traditional man’s society. Women now are not what they were once known for, which is stay at home mothers. Women are competing for management positions but are limited to blue-collar jobs because of their gender. These qualified women are being discriminated against because men believe the women will have to go on maternity leave, stay home for their children, and many other things that would decrease the likelihood of them being productive workers. Women today, are more career based than ever before. Women are opting not to have kids and are willing to sacrifice themselves for the good of their careers. The number of single women has increased as well as the number of women on birth control. Women are ready now more than ever to hold management positions. MAJOR POINT 3: Objection: some might say that women are treated fairly in the workplace. However, women are not paid as well as men in the same positions, and women only hold a small percentage of management positions. Why is this occurring? Management hiring is based on gender and not on qualifications. REBUTTAL: Women are qualified for management positions. Shouldn’t it be strictly based on qualifications and not gender? This can go against our argument but only skin deep. Women need the boost in employment because they are a whole stride behind men. These men already hold these positions and they are not willing to let them go. Affirmative action would make the qualified women be in the same

World Hunger

2000-11-26T13:00:00-05:00
Hunger is an issue which many people think lies little importance. Im going to give you a look at World Hunger as a Picture of Poverty, how it affects Third World Nations, and How World Hunger is a disease that is plaguing our society. "Food is more than a trade commodity," pleaded Sir John Boydorr in 1946. "It is an essential to life." The first director-general of the new Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Boydorr fruitlessly proposed plans for a World Food Board to protect nations and people from hunger in the world market system. That market system does not distribute food on the basis of nutritional need. This is one of the most troubling and complex realities of the world hunger problem. During recent famines in Ethiopia, in another example of the workings of the marketplace, foreign food aid begins trucked to famine areas from ships at the docks passed food leaving the famine areas on other vehicles. Merchants were taking food from famine areas to parts of the country where there was no famine. World Hunger and poverty can be seen in many ways. But first lets establish a solid definition of poverty : Poverty is a state in which the ability of individuals or groups to use power to bring about good for themselves, their families, and their community is weakened or blocked. When someone lacks food, this is referred to as material poverty. This sort of poverty can hurt people in many ways, it can hurts people's self esteem and it can also hurt their outlook on life. Lets say you come home from work to see your family, instead of seeing a family which is happy because it has a roof over its head you come home to see that your children don't have enough food on the table to keep them properly nourished. This hurts familys and tears some of them apart. It is also just a very cruel punishment because after a while of being hungry, you start to starve to death and when you starve, the body just starts to eat itself up to find the nourishment it needs. It can also effect people's outlook on life and on people in a major way. People who are denied food can start to hate life and everyone around them. There's also two instincts in life that will always kick in when

Gun Control: the Real Issues

2000-11-25T13:00:00-05:00
“Misuse or theft prohibited by law”. This was the warning printed on a milk-carrying container at the local grocery store where I work. The use of the word “prohibited” intrigued me, so when I got home I looked it up in Reader’s Digest’s Great Encyclopedic Dictionary. I found two definitions: “1. To forbid, especially by authority or law; interdict.” and “2. To prevent or hinder.”. (1077) Now, which definition was being used in the warning? Was is possible to forbid misuse or theft by passing a law? Certainly it was. Was is possible to actually prevent misuse or theft by passing a law? Well, not totally. If somebody was a moral, upright, and law abiding citizen he would probably not misuse or take the container. In fact, such a person would probably not have misused or taken it in the first place. On the other hand, if the person in question did not have such a desirable world view, if he, in fact, did not care if it was right or wrong, or if he had malicious intent, then a law would not necessarily prevent him from misusing or taking the carton. He might be dissuaded if he knew he would get caught and would suffer consequences. If, however, he did not think that he would get caught, or he knew that he would not suffer any consequences, then why would he care? On this thought I would like to turn your attention to the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America and the directly related and very relevant subject, that of gun control. I think that you will see a connection. Let us begin with the question, “What does the amendment mean?”. It was concerning this question that award-winning author, president of SoftServ Publishing, and founder of the Committee to Enforce the Second Amendment, J. Neil Schulman contacted Roy Copperud. (Shulman 4) Roy Copperude is, among other things, a 30 year veteran newspaper writer, a 17 year veteran professor of journalism at USC, and author of the award-winning book American Usage and Style: The Consensus. (1) Schulman compiled several questions on the Second Amendment for Copperude. In one part of his written reply, Copperude said “The right to keep and bear arms is deemed unconditional by the entire sentence." (2) (The entire amendment is contained in one sentence: “A well-regulated Militia, being necessary for the security of

The Fatal Grudge

2000-11-23T13:00:00-05:00
“For I have decided to send Ad Patres[Spanish for “to the fathers”] the feminists who have ruined my life.” -Marc Lepine, suicide note. It was the early evening of December 6, 1989; just nineteen day’s before Christmas. The students of Montreal’s Ecole Polytechnique were just finishing their classes when a stranger walked into the engineering building. Like a sadistic Santa he carried a Sturm Ruger Mini-14 automatic rifle, knives and bandoleers of ammunition. The stranger was Marc Lepine. At the end of the day he would be dead along with 14 women; leaving a suicide note blaming feminists for his actions. Marc Lepine’s brutal actions are a shocking reality check of the growing number of savage acts done by men towards women. There has always been a difference between men and women and how both treat each other. You could say the two genders secretly hold a grudge against one another. This grudge will on occasion surface and cause conflict between the two; either in a peaceful matter or violent outburst. What causes this resentment? In the women’s case many feel they do not have the same privileges that men have. On the other hand, some men say that women are now stealing the privileges which were hard enough to attain while competing with their own gender. Stevie Cameron also recognises this and states “Sharing power is not easy for anyone and men do not find it easy to share among themselves, much less with a group of equally talented, able women.” (2) This tension is then the hotbed from which these acts of violence must originate from. Women are considered by most men to be less physically inclined. Is this true? In the past men have always been the symbols of strength and fortitude, while the women represented the more gentler and timid qualities. This unfair outlook is alive and well in today’s day and age. Although it’s not nearly supported as strongly as it once was it still sits in our subconscious, dictating our actions as a society. For instance, if you took a 18 year old boy and a 18 year old girl, they have a very different set of rules to follow. These rules are set by their parents who make them based on the previous presumptions. So the girl will find it unfair that the boy, who is considered her equal, can go where he wants, when he wants.

Slavery / Freedom

2000-11-21T13:00:00-05:00
A slave is a tool, a total servant, a possession. Being a possession, a slave is required to total obedience to a master who has the power to do anything to a slave. Freedom means, to carry out one own choices, actions without coercion or constraint by necessity or circumstances. Fate often take a hand in the distillation of freedom. When this distillation occurs at weaker levels, benevolent slavery begins. A benevolent master usually receives gratitude from those slaves who are aware of their good fortune and will, in turn, work willingly. This form of slave's future is relatively certain, assured and predictable. Their offspring, born into a benevolent slavery, find the thought of freedom disturbing. Although freedom as an idea sounds preferable, is hostile to the idea of personal experience in an unknown future devoid of assured support. After several generations, slaves under benevolent bondage will set up a form of society among themselves where a form of happiness can be found or earned, and in time the succeeding generations of slaves will construe their way of life as the best way to live, accepting, even worshipping their masters who offer protection from real and imagined dangers of life. A brutalized people will, in time, find death preferable to their misery, and eventually they will fight, even to the death, against their oppressors. Benevolent slavery however, keeps slaves in control by offering them an opportunity to rise within their own status. This is the underlying condition of a slave's acceptance of slavery and eventually becomes firmly rooted through upgrading. They are made to feel free, free to roam almost anywhere, to work at jobs within their abilities, to marry whom they choose, have and raise any number of their children, and conscript their own kind into warriors and leaders to protect the ideology of their preference. They are free to compete on working levels. In this form of slavery, they are allowed to dream the unreal dream; to become masters themselves, and even to reduce their masters into slavery. The societal successes of AfroAmericans presents a prime example. Large numbers of those young men and women have earned millions of dollars and the adulation of their peers of all nationalities and races. They have risen from their slavery, but they are not in control; of their masters, nor are any masters themselves, nor will they be. In our present society, a very few slaves have

HIV: The Search For A Vaccine

2000-11-19T13:00:00-05:00
In 1985, over 10,000 cases of AIDS were reported worldwide (White and Fenner 1986). Just over a decade later, in 1998, the Global AIDS Policy Coalition estimated that 30.6 million people were infected with HIV worldwide. It has also been projected that by the year 2000, between 40 and 70 million adults will be infected with HIV (New Generation Vaccines 1997). Over 90% of all HIV-1 infected individuals live in developing nations: 50% in Southeast Asia and 40% in sub-Saharan Africa. However, even with all of these alarming statistics and projections, there is hope for the future of humanity. This hope is a potential anti-AIDS vaccine. An anti-AIDS vaccine is the best bet. Among other factors, the large costs associated with therapeutic drugs do not allow many AIDS patients receive them. This is especially true in the developing nations, constituting over 90% of all HIV infections worldwide (Bloom 1995). Before discussing the development of a potential vaccine, it is imperative to briefly discuss characteristics of HIV itself and also the immune system that these vaccines would target. HIV, a retrovirus from the Lentivirus subfamily, contains ssRNA nucleic acid. Some of its other characteristics include: an icosahedron capsid, various enzymes (including reverse transcriptase), and envelope with the glycoproteins gp 120, gp 41, and gp160. The genes of HIV-1 can be placed into 3 general categories: structural, regulatory, and accessory genes. The structural genes include gag, pol, and env. The regulatory genes include tat and rev. The accessory genes are nef, vpr, vpu, and vif (Vaccines 1999). There are two major branches to the immune system in primates: a humoral or adaptive branch and a cell-mediated or innate branch. The cell-mediated immune response operates through MHC I via CD8+ (cytotoxic T cells). Antibodies are not secreted through this branch of the immune system, and the cell-mediated immune response generally targets viruses and other intracellular antigens. The humoral immune response operates through MHC II via CD4+ (helper T cells). The humoral branch secretes antibodies, which generally target extracellular antigens like bacteria and fungi. There are many obstacles in the way of HIV vaccine development. First, since HIV often mutates its surface glycoprotein (gp120), it has many strains, and the immune response cannot target all of the possible strains. The genetic diversity among HIV-1 strains is also do to an error-prone reverse transcriptase enzyme, as well as recombination. The second obstacle is the lack of an inexpensive,

Reasons Teen Disrespect is on the Rise

2000-11-19T13:00:00-05:00
Though cultures have many differences there have been a few traits that have united them across the spans of time and geographical area. Many of these traits have even been included in religious doctrine or social and moral laws. In western philosophy and religions the concept of respect has help a high place, allowing a clear distinction between those who have experience and answers to those who are young and naïve. Religions such as Christianity and Mormonism stress greatly that the young should respect the elderly, while the Judaic religion provides a strict consequence, should this command be broken. By Old Testament law, the disrespectful child was to be taken to the town council, and then promptly stoned to avoid the spread of the sin and to keep ?God?s Chosen? pure. In recent times the respect that teenagers have shown for the elderly has decreased significantly, this trend has become extremely apparent in the 1980?s and 90?s. Though modern social guidelines do not dictate the killing of a disrespectful youth, it is still considered something that must be stopped. High school students have always been notorious for their lack of respect for authority. Many have wondered how these changes occur, most children are respectful at a young age but seem to ?change over night? into a youthful teenager who is often disrespectful to those around them. Studies done in recent years have shown that society, media, and the physical changes that a teenager undergoes may all be responsible for this metamorphosis The severe changes teenagers endure are often seen as one of the key reasons for their disrespect. Adolescents undergo startling changes both physically and psychologically through out the process known as puberty. Hormones, the biological chemical responsible for several of the body?s functions, have been found to increase drastically during puberty. Because of this increase, teenagers tend to have clouding judgment and a feeling invincibility. This often leads to them perceiving themselves as the equal of their parents, grandparents, and teachers. The problem of disrespect begins with this perceived equality for it is difficult to respect someone who is an equal, or even a perceived equal. Teenagers also seem to learn who to respect, and who not to respect, based on the culture they are placed in. As the child grows in a society the norms and values of that culture are taught to the child. Things such as saying thank

Physical Punishment

2000-11-16T13:00:00-05:00
Physical punishment has been a problem in hitting their children so they can have discipline or not hitting them because it is not right, so what can parents do and what can they not do? Should the parents hit them to learn discipline, or should they not hit them and figure out another way to make them learn what discipline is? Because many parents do not know or are confused in showing their children how to gain discipline they do not know whether to hit them or not to hit them. Many people think that by hitting their children that they are showing them violence but other people say that if you do the children would understand that they did something wrong and would not repeat it and gain discipline. What can parents do? First of all parents feel that the children are theirs, and they can spank them when they misbehave. There are many factors that lead to physical punishment: parents were to young and not ready for children, parents are going trough a divorce and need to take out their anger on something or someone, or parents do not know another way to punish their children. These children grow up to be aggressive and often abusive towards others. Although parents think this is the only way of educating their children there are many other alternatives. There are other alternatives to punishing the children for their bad behavior. Less severe punishments besides spanking. First, they can take away their television privileges, computer use, and playing outside with their friends. Next, they could ground them for the weekend and cancel plans. Last of all parents could take the time to sit and talk to their children about their bad behavior. Physical punishment may cause a child psychological problems. First, if the physical punishment starts at an early age the child will be used to being physically punished, therefore, his or hers self-esteem may severely negative as he or she grows up. Second, it is a life-affecting act to physically punish a child because they will be traumatized. Eventually parents should think twice before they can physically punish their children. What they should think of is what problems they are causing the child in its life. In conclusion every parent must take consideration that the negative affects that spanking may cause a child. Spanking your children may make massive changes in your child’s personality. He or

Suicide: My Thoughts

2000-11-15T13:00:00-05:00
I have known many adolescents who have thought about suicide. People’s

Subliminal Advertising

2000-11-14T13:00:00-05:00
Throughout mass media there are illegal messages that still appear, such images are also known as Subliminal Advertising. Though illegal, such incidences can never be tried nor taken to a court of law. It is highly impossible and unlikely to notice these messages. However, they are triggered by the subconscience and send neural messages to your brain that you are unaware of, thus making it hard to notice when you are seeing these things. They are illegal because it was believed in earlier incidences that cigarette ads were sending similar messages telling the youths of America to smoke. I have witnessed similar messages called “Threshold Messages”, these are images that are digitally re-mastered so that you don’t notice what you are seeing but the neural pathways in the human brain hone in on and receive these messages. If you look very carefully at most Liqueur ads you will notice that the nude upper body of a woman is thrown into the ice in a wine ad, or there is the word “sex” etched into the eyes of a female in a herbal essence ad. However even such images are even unseen to the naked human eye. Unless your light threshold is low, you will not be able to encounter these images, but if you do have a low threshold for light, all you simply need are a little time, patience, and energy. As I was browsing through a Skateboarding Magazine, I had noticed an ad that was a “Absolute Vodka” ad, I looked all over the add for about an hour, finally I had seen a picture of a skull and crossbones in the ice that was in the glass. Though these images did not appeal to me, think about how they might appear to you average alcoholic or lush. One technique used by most corporations is a technique usually described as using “buzz words”, this is found more in print than is used on television or radio. If we are scrolling through a newspaper and we see an exciting flashy word, our eyes tend to draw towards it. Companies are entirely aware of this, so they flash words on us like, “Free,” ”New.” ”Hurry”. Something about these words makes us want to see what all the fuss is about, and to read the company’s ad. Now when you do read the ad, there will be “buzz words” embedded into he ad that

Animal Testing

2000-11-14T13:00:00-05:00
ISSUE: For the most part, we would not be able to live very comfortably without them. The question of what is considered proper treatment of animals has been highly debated by groups looking at both the moral and ethical issues of the situation. What exactly is our proper role with regard to non-human creatures? Do they have any rights, or may we do as we please with them? These are questions that politicians all over the world have been arguing about for many years, and still is as controversial as ever! PROBLEM: How can animal testing benefit both animals and humans without harming the animals? BACKGROUND: For thousands of years, humans have used animals for a variety of purposes including food, clothing, labor, means of transportation, hunting, medicine, and companionship. However, many personal beauty products, such as lipstick, face cream, anti-perspirant, and laundry detergent all have one major characteristic in common: the suffering and death of millions of animals (Dickinson 13). Canada has no legislation to protect laboratory animals from any form of mistreatment, abuse, or neglect. Great Britain has nothing in the way of constitutional ethical treatment of laboratory animals. In the United States, the U.S. Welfare Animal Act (passed in 1966 and later amended in 1970 and 1976) charges the U.S. Department of Agriculture with overseeing the humane handling and housing of animals in laboratories, pet dealerships, and exhibitions. While the law covers lab animals (such as rabbits, mice, dogs, and monkeys) it does not state that the animals are to be cared for or to be treated for injuries received from experiments, nor does it state that animals in laboratories can be used for only a limited number of experiments with the least possible suffering and distress (Dickinson 15). In effect then, there is no protection given to lab animals. On average, 25 million animals die every year in North America for the testing of everything from new cosmetics to new methods of warfare. Five hundred thousand to one million of these animals are sacrificed each year to test new cosmetics alone (Dickinson 13). There are many kinds of tests performed on animals. One kind is the Acute Toxicity Test, which requires between 60 and 100 animals to determine what constitutes a lethal dose of a particular substance. The test spans a time period from two weeks to seven years, depending on the amount of toxic chemicals in the product

Speeding: Cause and Effect

2000-11-13T13:00:00-05:00
The popular movie "Top Gun" coined a phrase that reads "I feel the need, the need for speed." Many drivers today would agree with that phrase. Speeding is one of the most common ways that people break the law. When people break the law there are unpleasant consequences. A speeding ticket is an effective form of discipline: paying for a ticket, traffic school, and higher insurance rates. Paying for a speeding ticket is an unpleasant experience. A ticket can be outrageously expensive depending on how fast you were speeding. Some states charge ten to twenty dollars per mile an hour over the speed limit. The officer assigns you a day to appear in court, if you choose to fight the ticket rather than pay the fine. Waiting in the courtroom to see the judge can be very close to a death sentence. The wait is long, and the company can be frightening. Once you plead your case, you generally end up paying the fine. This only leads to another line, and another wait. This has to be the most unpleasant part of a speeding ticket. In addition, paying for traffic school is also a disagreeable experience. If you waited to see the judge, you may be on your way after paying the fine. If the judge is kind, and offers a traffic school option, the unpleasantness continues. Usually the traffic school is no where near to the courthouse, which causes you to search to find the it. The great experience of paying is close at hand after locating the school. You must endure the nine hour course after paying for the privilege of attending. This is a class most people would have never taken if given the chance. The unpleasantness associated with a speeding ticket is almost finished when you have completed the course. A reoccurring reminder of a previous mistake is evident in higher insurance rates. Most insurance companies feel that speeding tickets make someone a higher risk. So, to offset the risk they raise the premium. Which means it is more expensive to obtain insurance. If the insurance company decides to raise your rates by only ten dollars it can have a lasting effect. When the ticket falls off your driving the record, usually in three to five years, you have spent more than one thousand dollars more than if you had not been speeding. The insurance company

Petroleum Crisis

2000-11-13T13:00:00-05:00
Everyone wants appliances such as toasters, microwaves and fridges to be cheap even though they are rich, but what about the poor people or so called middle class. What will they do if the prices are too high to afford? Petroleum is something that we all need to go from place to place, anyways most of us do; four to five years ago, when I first came to Canada, the gas prices were quite low, but in the past 2-3 years, it is still increasing up to date. Prices of toasters and petroleum etc shouldn’t increase because we are getting our taxes cut and on top of that our level of price for the gas has increased, which makes our lives hard and tedious. Gases, Petrol are essential tools for the 21st century. It is something that all the people need to go from places to places because using buses gets expensive in the long run. This crisis began only because the Middle East began to charge more for their barrel. This happened because they realized that they are giving their petrol for less, when they could be making much more selling the same quantity, which is fair. They can charge whatever they want because it is their own Gasoline and they can do whatever they want with it. Canada has Alberta to help them a lot with the losses of Petroleum and charges of it because it has it’s own oilrig, from where oil is produced, and can help them by giving the oil locally so that the gas prices will not be that high. The government for some unknown reason to the public are trying to take our taxes and plus our gas money, which is about $100.00 a month for an average Canadian family. Canadian Families shouldn’t go through with this because this is a fixable problem and can be done so by making the tax, which is 15% to around a mere 7-6%. That would help all of us a lot wouldn’t you think so? One of the main causes for this crisis is that Canada still thinks that it will perish without international support and that it wants to give money out to people rather than getting it from the country itself. All of this would not have happened if there were not much of the world knowing about this. Why you may ask? It’s for

Conformity vs. Individuality

2000-11-12T13:00:00-05:00
"People don't talk about anything...and nobody says anything different from anyone else" This quote, from Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, demonstrates how this fictional society had no individuality, yet they expressed no disprovement of the conformity. To be so simple minded as this civilization was would have eventually lead to self-destruction. To support my theory, recall in the novel when the old lady chose to commit suicide because she did not have freedom. She felt that even though she was "free" she was "enslaved" by the enforcement of limited knowledge. Without individuality in today's society, the world would be filled with a population of large amounts of followers as opposed to leaders. Do you know where and what this society would be like if we didn't have leaders like Rosa Parks, Susan B. Anthony, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, etc.? I presume that we wouldn't be as strong of a nation as we are now. We wouldn't have any freedoms or rights that these leaders fought so hard to achieve. We wouldn't be able to experience historical periods such as the Industrial Revolution, the Harlem Renaissance, Civil Rights Movement, etc. for all of these eras express different ideas, inventions, and opinions and gradually erased some people's ignorance towards these changes. As an African-American, I take great pride in the Harlem Renaissance because this was a time when we got to prove the "ignorant" people wrong as we demonstrated our artistic and intellectual abilities. "What do we want in this country, above all? To be happy!" I disagree with this quote made by Captain Beatty due to the fact that with a society like ours full of different people with different outlooks towards different things, it is impossible to make everyone happy. What I think our country wants above all is equality, freedom, and peace, something our past leaders have fought so courageously to obtain. Being happy all the time isn't everything, it is beneficial to experience other feelings therefore, allowing yourself to understand you and others better. Constantly being happy, in my opinion, is a false appearance and attitude; you have to be happy physically, emotionally, and mentally and the people in this society were unconsciously unhappy. "You like bowling, don't you, Montag? "Bowling, yes." "And golf?" "Golf is a fine game." As you may have noticed, this society dared not to have different opinions or to disagree. Everyone was predictable and identical, wouldn't that be

Capital Punishment

2000-11-10T13:00:00-05:00
Capital punishment is necessary in order for justice to prevail. Capital punishment is the execution of criminals for commiting crimes, regarding so bad that this is the only acceptable punishment. Capital punishment lowers the murder rate, but its value as retribution alone is a good reason for handing out death sentences. It is one of the only fair punishments allowed by the judicial system. Another issue is that it saves money compared to the alternative of life in prison. The death penalty deters murder and prevents murderers from killing again by putting the fear of death in to would be killers. A person is less likely to do something, if he or she thinks that harm will come to him. Another way the death penalty may help deter murder is the fact that if the killer is death, he or she will not be able to kill again. Criminals deserve to die and not stay in jail. If a man kills a man and is convicted he should be ready to die next. Supporters of the death penalty feel that criminals should be punished for their crimes, and that it doesn't matter whether it will deter crime. They want to make examples out of offenders so that the threat of death will be enough to stop them from commiting such horrible crimes. Some people might say to give the murderer life in prison. This is hardly a punishment at all. Today, due to overcrowding in prisons, a lot of prisoners don’t serve their full sentence.Another thing about today’s prisons is that the prisoners get free meals, clothes, bed, electricity, air conditioning and heating, cable and many other luxuries that make it a comfortable place to live if you get used to the people. The death penalty should be given the day after conviction. Many people believe that criminals live in prison off of other peoples hard earned money. Criminals should think of the consequences before they kill someone. If they don't do this or did and still killed someone, they probably aren’t intelligent enough to make any positive impact on the world or they are mentally unstable. They shouldn’t get off the hook for killing someone. people might feel that sentencing them to life in prison is punishment enough but to other people it is just getting off the hook. There are seven main types of execution: Hanging, where the prisoner is blindfolded and

The Hazards of Smoking

2000-11-07T13:00:00-05:00
Is there anyone who does not know someone who smokes? Everyone has a family member, friend, or co-worker who smokes. They have chosen to smoke, but by just being around them you are also smoking, only you have not made that choice. Before you choose to take this risk you should think about what may happen to your body. There are many factors that you should take very seriously; smoking is a hazardous habit because it leads to addiction, disease, and high-risk pregnancy. As advertisements have shown on commercial on television that smoking is a way to relax and to be cool by smoking cigarettes, they never show you the negative side of it. For example, addiction is one of the bad side effects and it is caused by nicotine. Once you inhale the cigarette you will then feel or want the need for another one, and you may have different personalities and change because of the addiction. You may get more grouchy and violent behavior and need a cigarette to relax, but instead it is doing more damage. Researchers have found ways to control addictions and some have succeeded while many have failed. People at a younger age start to get addicted by the nicotine in the cigarette and this is where the problem starts. The hazardous of smoking lead to many fatal diseases and should convince people to quit their habit. First, a major reason why people should quit smoking is that many people are dying of cancer. For instance, the statistics say that in the United States six out of ten people are dying everyday due to lung cancer. This disease is killing people if it is not detected promptly. Another reason for quitting smoking is heart disease and its consequences. For example, many people suffer from heart failure, but even though they know about smoking and its dangers, they do not stop their habit until they become ill. Unfortunately, in many cases, people are at risk to live with heart complications for the rest of their lives. Lastly, another important reason for people to stop smoking is the risk of getting emphysema. This is also a deadly disease that affects their lungs and their whole respiratory system. These several reasons should prove to the smokers that this habit puts their health in danger, and causes many diseases that lead to death. Unborn babies who have mothers who smoke

Television : Candy for the Mind

2000-10-28T14:00:00-04:00
A man once said, "Televevision is candy for the mind." He was right. Making an analogy to candy is ideal ; either, if taken in

Plagiarism: Self-destruction

2000-10-27T14:00:00-04:00
Why do so many people use planetpapers.com simply to plagiarize other people's writing? Is it even possible that someone cannot write their own essay, or that someone cannot read a book of any length? If you plagiarize, aren’t you sentencing yourself to failure? And if you cannot gather information, aren’t you opening yourself to attacks from the System? I know many students who use sites such as planetpapers.com to “gather research” - steal other people’s ideas and papers. Yet it still amazes me that people could be so naïve and lazy. Think about it: in high school, you are already expected to know whatever material you’ve been taught (hopefully). If you cannot get through high school without cheating, how well will you do in college? Professors check whether you have cheated, and you are required to write lengthy papers based on detailed research, which is not present on many Internet paper mills and notes sites. If you cannot read, write, and think on your own, you are doomed. Maybe not now, maybe not during your high school career, but eventually, you will flunk a class or get expelled for cheating. If your job requires you to write essays or gather information, and you “cheat” (gather information without citing it and getting permission) you will be sued and fired. During high school and college, you are more likely to hurt your grade than to get into serious trouble. (However, if your paper sounds too well written, or if a teacher finds that you stole information, you can still be expelled.) Let’s face it: Cliffs Notes aren’t the Holy Grail of research. If you read Cliffs Notes or Monarch Notes or planetpapers.com' essays, you are bound to miss important details. Any decent teacher will check whether you read a book, and to do so, he will ask you details and concepts from the work that you did not read. Cliffs Notes, shortchange you; there are few concepts and almost no details in those. Monarch Notes only have concepts. And most planetpapers.com essays are written by high-schoolers, filled with typos and inaccuracies, and non-scholarly. (That is not to say, however, that there aren’t some expertly-written papers on planetpapers.com.) For the lazy, Cliffs Notes, Monarch Notes, and planetpapers.com are an easy way to avoid work, practice, and thought. However, for the scholar or anyone who wants to be more successful in school, these resources should be just

Abortion : Just Another Name for Murder

2000-10-25T14:00:00-04:00
No need to state the obvious ; everyone knows what abortion is. Then why do so many people push the issue aside as if it were a piece of food? We live in a world ; a society so corrupt that to kill the innocent, the unborn, is just another part of the day. The media portrays sexual intercourse as a right of passage for teenagers and do not say it does not. Any person in the United States can tell you that as soon as you turn your TV on, you are almost bound to find something containing some sort of sexuality. And yet, it is also depicted as being no big deal. As long as you use a condom, it's ok. Is this the new motto of America? As more and more teens are inclined by peers and the media to have sex, the tendency to actully have sex also inclines. Commercials for condums and other contraceptives are all over the place. But what if the condum rips or doesn't work? BOOM! Someone's girlfriend gets pregnant. What does she do? Nowadays, a seems that the typical decision would be to have an abortion ; either partial birth or full term. America and society in general has deemed this inhumane act to be OK. What people don't seem to realize is that they are killing an INNOCENT human being. Yes ; no matter what you believe, no matter what you'd like to say what that woman is holding in her womb, it is a human being. But what if the girl is raped you say? There are many positions on this section of abortion. Just because the girl is raped does not mean she should kill the child. No, she probably did not wish to become pregant, and no she definitly did not want to be raped but it's murder. She's killing her own child whether she wants to admit it or not. Sadly, many people do not seem to comprehend the seriousness of this epidemic. Abortion is truly just another name for murder. Why doesn't America see it as such? Because no gun or knife is used. In partial birth abortion, the woman is forced into labor and once the baby is out, it is stabbed in the back of the head with scissors. It's brains are then sucks out from the back of it's head. And yes,

Crime Problems

2000-10-22T14:00:00-04:00
Crime is a serious issue that affects everyone in society. It affects the victims, perpetrators and their families. Crime has increased drastically within the last decade. More prisons are being built around the world because there is not enough room to hold inmates. The government has made an attempt to reduce crime by funding programs such as prevention and intervention for youth at risk , as well as rehabilitation for prisoners that will be released. Some argue that criminal behavior is due to environment, others believe that it is genetic, and yet others think that it has to do with personality. If there were certain personality traits that could be identified with potential criminal behavior, steps could be taken to try to reduce or diminish the “criminal personality”. Although personality is not the only factor in criminal behavior, there does seem to be a strong association between the both. Alfred Adler believed that children who failed to solve the vital problem of social interest-who lack cooperation and a desire for contributing to the well-being of others-will always meet significant problems later, during their adult years (Adler, 1998). This could include personality problems or criminal behavior. Personality develops early in life. That is why early childhood aggression and antisocial behavior should be taken seriously. Being able to identify potential criminal behavior is vital for prevention and intervention. Childhood factors shown to relate to the development of antisocial behaviors include a difficult early temperament, low IQ, academic deficiencies and learning problems, lack of empathy, underdeveloped social skills, and negative peer relations. (Sutton,Cowen, Crean, & Wyman, 1999). Environmental factors such as family structure and poverty are also associated with potential criminal behavior. The Federal Bureau of Investigation Report (1993) noted that one violent crime (e.g. aggravated assault, murder) was committed every 22 seconds in 1992, and 15% of those arrested for such crimes were under the age of 18 (Sutton, ete.al. 1999). Juvenile delinquency is becoming more common. The age at which these young kids are committing crimes is getting younger. The crimes they are committing are getting more serious. They are not only involved in vandalism and shop lifting like many people might assume, but they are involved in life threatening crimes such as assault and murder. According to the FBI, the number of arrests for youth 12 and younger, in 1996, was 250,000. For youth age 13 and 14, the number

School Views

2000-10-22T14:00:00-04:00
Students in America need a good education to keep our economy strong, and school is the best place to get it. Whether someone attends a private, public, or home school, they're all going to get an education, and that is what is important. However, there are certain factors that can detract from a student's ability to learn and perform in school. An overemphasis on sports is one of these. I know this is a tired subject and should have been buried long ago, but I cannot help but mention it. Some schools have a tendency to play favorites with big sports stars. While everyone sees this as wrong, everyone also does it. Whether or not it is a conscious decision is another matter altogether. But it always seems that some students get the short end of the stick in certain areas (schoolwork, disciple, etc.) while others are given break after lucky break. Do the athletes (or whoever the favored group may be, as is the case) deserve this? By participating in some activity, are the suddenly more valuable as a person? No. But the fact of the matter is, this has been going on and will likely continue until the next Ice Age. The only thing students can do is to try and point out the inequalities and force administrators and teachers to be a little fairer in their application of the school rules. However, this is not the only barrier students must face in their daily struggles to learn. Apathetic students and teachers present a considerable barrier. The only course of action here is to work around the problem students and teachers, and try and learn as much as possible. If a teacher cannot adequately teach their subject, help from other teachers in the same area or other students might be needed. If a teacher refuses to teach their subject, go and talk to your principal. No student should be forced to try and learn without the guidance of a teacher. But the barrier that takes the proverbial cake is administrators acting like gods upon their high thrones and lording their power over students. Students cannot be expected to learn where ideas are not freely discussed, nor is freedom of thought allowed. I can recall when a principal at my school once told teachers, "You are not to discuss the Columbine incident AT ALL." Keeping students ignorant and sheltered from the world is a disastrous course

Microsoft: Monopoly or Great Businessmen?

2000-10-21T14:00:00-04:00
Since 1990, a battle has raged in United States courts between the United States government and the Microsoft Corporation headed by Bill Gates. What is at stake is money. The federal government maintains that Microsoft's monopolistic practices are harmful to United States citizens, creating higher prices and potentially downgrading software quality, and should therefore be stopped, while Microsoft and its supporters claim that they are not breaking any laws, and are just doing good business. The only thing Microsoft is guilty of is taking advantage of free enterprise. Microsoft's antitrust problems began for them in the early months of 1990(Check 1), when the Federal Trade Commission began investigating them for possible violations of the Sherman and Clayton Antitrust Acts, (Maldoom 1) which are designed to stop the formation of monopolies. The investigation continued on for the next three years without resolve, until Novell, maker of DR-DOS, a competitor of Microsoft's MS-DOS, filed a complaint with the Competition Directorate of the European Commission in June of 1993. (Maldoom 1) Doing this stalled the investigations even more, until finally in August of 1993, (Check 1) the Federal Trade Commission decided to hand the case over to the Department of Justice. The Department of Justice moved quickly, with Anne K. Bingaman, head of the Antitrust Division of the DOJ, leading the way. (Check 1) The case was finally ended on July 15, 1994, with Microsoft signing a consent settlement. (Check 1) The settlement focused on Microsoft's selling practices with computer manufacturers. Until now, Microsoft would sell MS-DOS and Microsoft's other operating systems to original equipment manufacturers (OEM's) at a 60% discount if that OEM agreed to pay a royalty to Microsoft for every single computer that they sold regardless if it had a Microsoft operating system installed on it or not. After the settlement, Microsoft would be forced to sell their operating systems according to the number of computers shipped with a Microsoft operating system installed, and not for computers that ran other operating systems. (Check 2) Another practice that the Justice Department accused Microsoft of was that Microsoft would specify a minimum number of operating systems that the retailer had to buy, eliminating any chance for another operating system vendor to get their system installed until the retailer had installed all of the Microsoft operating systems that it had installed. (Maldoom 2) In addition to specifying a minimum number of operating systems that a vendor had

Abortion

2000-10-20T14:00:00-04:00
Years ago when a women would get pregnant she would have a baby. Today accidental pregnancies are solved by a method called abortion. With this method the newly formed fetus is basically removed from the mother’s body and destroyed. Although the whole process of having an abortion seems not especially pleasant, they seem to be popular. Many people argue that abortion is plain and simple murder. They reason that if a woman feels responsible enough to have sex, she needs to be responsible enough to deal with the consequences. No matter what the circumstances may be. The fourteenth amendment states that no state shall deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without a good reason and a fair trial. Pro-life supporters use the fact that in the United States constitution it clearly states that no one can kill anyone else without due process to fight against abortions. They reason that we must follow all of the other amendments so why do we not fully follow the fourteenth? The unborn baby has a constitutional right to life unless due process of the law is put into effect. But how can due process be in effect when the baby can not even speak for itself? Basically pro-life supporters argue that the baby can not be killed because it has the constitutional right to life. Non-abortions advocates also argue that abortions get used too regularly as a form of birth control. They believe that abortions are put into the same category as the “pill” and the Depo-Provera shot. They also believe that while abortions are legal and so available, people do not see unprotected sex as serious as they should. Women may consent to un-protected sex because if they become pregnant they figure they can always just go get an abortion. Pro-life supporters believe that abortions are a simple way out of a very complicated problem. However, the illegalization of abortion may bring on many consequences. If someone falls victim of rape and becomes pregnant it is not fair to make them keep the child. The mother would of course love the child, but with that would come a form of hate. It is true that one should take responsibility for their actions, but rape is no action of their own. Rape is an act of violence and no women should have to have a baby out of it. As a women I agree that I,

The Napster Debate

2000-10-19T14:00:00-04:00
Test Mod 1. Background The Napster software (http://www.napster.com), launched early in 1999, allows internet users to share and download MP3 files directly from any computer connected to the Napster network. The software is used by downloading a client program from the Napster site and then connecting to the network through this software, which allows sharing (uploading and downloading) of MP3 files between all users connected to the network. While Napster does not condone copyright infringement, there is no opportunity in the software to stop this, or for royalties to be paid to artists whose songs are being duplicated for free. Unlike similar file-sharing applications (Gnutella, Freenet), Napster limits users to uploading/downloading of MP3 files only. These files are compressed wave (.wav) files. The advantage of MP3 files is that they are approximately one-tenth the size of the corresponding .wav file and can be close-to-CD-quality. It is for this reason that many artists, record labels and other music industry stakeholders are concerned by the MP3 file format and applications like Napster that simplify the sharing of copyrighted material. Other file formats in common use on the Internet are not as threatening to the recording industry; primarily due to the reduced quality of the recording. Real audio (.ra, .rm) files have reduced sound quality (comparable to radio) and are usually streamed over a different protocol, allowing people to listen to songs without having (or being able) to download the source files. Another 'music' file format common on the internet is the midi format. These files are of no threat to the music industry because the files are not actually a recording of the music; rather a set of instructions to the computer as to what sounds to play (and there is no way to duplicate vocal tracks). This file format is also becoming outdated and being used less and less. 2. Impact The reaction from recording artists, record labels and other music industry players has been varied, but primarily anti-Napster. The first action to be taken against Napster was by the band Metallica. In April of this year, they sued Napster Inc for copyright infringement. The case was settled out of court when Napster agreed to ban some 300,000 users who had allegedly downloaded Metallica songs. Again in June Napster Inc was sued for copyright infringement by The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), a trade group representing the US recording industry, alleging "Napster is… enabling and encouraging

Rave Culture: The Number One Example of Social Deviance

2000-10-18T14:00:00-04:00
Introduction What is a rave? This is a fundamental question that, in a way, I will attempt to answer in this paper, but I will never do it. Raving is a highly subjective experience. One person's best rave is another person's worst. Any attempt to analyze rave culture must recognize the highly personal factor of the experience. It is because of this fact that I start off my attempt to analyze rave culture with a series of quotes on the experience. "...hardcore music being slammed through my body while I dance through my own psychedelic mind trip with a few hundred other beautiful energy-filled youth who accept and embrace the life force of the universe." -rave participant "In general practice, a "rave" often refers to a party, usually all night long, open to the general public, where loud techno music is ... played and many people partake of a number of different chemicals, though the latter is far from necessary. The number of people at the event is unimportant ... the cost of attendance is unimportant (though in practice, the higher the price, the more commercial the event, and the lower the quality). At a rave, the DJ is a shaman, a priest, a channeler of energy-they control the psychic voyages of the dancers through his [sic] choice in hard-to-find music and their skill in manipulating that music... A large part of the concept of raves is built upon sensory overload-a barrage of audio and very often visual stimuli are brought together to elevate people into an altered state of physical or psychological existence." -rave participant "A contingent of city, state, and military police Sunday raided the Paradox Club in the 1300 block of Russell St. where at least 600 people -- some as young as 14 -- were attending a "rave" party at which drugs where available, a Baltimore police official said yesterday" -rave participant "I walked into the space, and was immediately struck speechless. The bass was rattling the mirrors on the far wall. There were laser beams everywhere. The music shot into the core of my body and I moved, I just moved, all night long. People I didn't know gave me water when I was thirsty. People gave me candy and hugs. For one night, I was one with the universe, I was one with my neighbor, and I was one with the music." -rave participant "But the people who came to dance the night away

National TV Turnoff Week

2000-10-17T14:00:00-04:00
Every year thousands of people across the nation turn off their television for seven days to celebrate National TV-Turnoff Week. During this week people are supposed to take time to reflect, spend time with their kids, and go outside and breathe the fresh air. Participating in this event is one of the most challenging things one can do. Most will come out failing and exhausted and the ones that do accomplish it will end up going back to their comfy couch and television sets. National TV-Turnoff week is an extremely unnecessary event that corporations use to lure people out of their homes and into a high priced world where the average person cannot survive. The main goal of this week is to make people go out and spend money. As a result it makes the economy grow. But what society doesn't understand is that not everyone can afford the luxuries the world has to offer. The geniuses behind this idea are such scammers. Are viewers supposed to go a week without television and realize how amazing the outside world is and spend more time there than in their homes? North America is made up of a society where everybody owns at least one television set. It is one of the most used appliances in the household and watching it daily has become routine for most. It would be almost impossible to stop this activity cold turkey. Taking away the television would be like taking away milk from a baby. Without the television people would be deprived of entertainment. It is too expensive to go out these days considering that movie tickets, gas prices, and restaurant meals are too costly for the average person. The number one reason why the nation watches television is because of one simple word: laziness. Nowadays nobody has time to go to art exhibits, make crochet doilies, and prepare candle lit dinners. What seems to be on everybody’s mind, are deadlines, cell phones, soccer games, the Internet, fast food, and total chaos. There are so many family situations where both parents work, children are rushed into life and having a quiet dinner is absolutely impossible. Most households consider watching the television good quality, family time. It is a time where families can catch up on each other’s lives, and still be entertained. The television also doubles as an inexpensive babysitter. Children are hooked to the television as teenagers

The Murder of Oneself

2000-10-15T14:00:00-04:00
Sam Vaknin's Psychology, Philosophy, Economics and Foreign Affairs Web Sites Those who believe in the finality of death (i.e., that there is no after-life) – they are the ones who advocate suicide and regard it as a matter of personal choice. On the other hand, those who firmly believe in some form of existence after corporeal death – they condemn suicide and judge it to be a major sin. Yet, rationally, the situation should have been reversed : it should have been easier for someone who believed in continuity after death to terminate this phase of existence on the way to the next. Those who faced void, finality, non-existence, vanishing – should have been greatly deterred by it and should have refrained even from entertaining the idea. Either the latter do not really believe what they profess to believe – or something is wrong with rationality. One would tend to suspect the former. Suicide is very different from self sacrifice, avoidable martyrdom, engaging in life risking activities, refusal to prolong one’s life through medical treatment, euthanasia, overdosing and self inflicted death that is the result of coercion. What is common to all these is the operational mode: a death caused by one’s own actions. In all these behaviours, a foreknowledge of the risk of death is present coupled with its acceptance. But all else is so different that they cannot be regarded as belonging to the same class. Suicide is chiefly intended to terminate a life – the other acts are aimed at perpetuating, strengthening and defending values. Those who commit suicide do so because they firmly believe in the finiteness of life and in the finality of death. They prefer termination to continuation. Yet, all the others, the observers of this phenomenon, are horrified by this preference. They abhor it. This has to do with out understanding of the meaning of life. Ultimately, life has only meanings that we attribute and ascribe to it. Such a meaning can be external (God’s plan) or internal (meaning generated through arbitrary selection of a frame of reference). But, in any case, it must be actively selected, adopted and espoused. The difference is that, in the case of external meanings, we have no way to judge their validity and quality (is God’s plan for us a good one or not?). We just “take them on” because they are big, all encompassing and of

The Science of Superstitions

2000-10-15T14:00:00-04:00
Sam Vaknin's Psychology, Philosophy, Economics and Foreign Affairs Web Sites The debate between realism and anti-realism is, at least, a century old. Does Science describe the real world – or are its theories true only within a certain conceptual framework? Is science only instrumental or empirically adequate or is there more to it than that? Jose Ortega y Gasset said (in an unrelated exchange) that all ideas stem from pre-rational beliefs. William James concurred by saying that accepting a truth often requires an act of will which goes beyond facts and into the realm of feelings. Maybe so, but is there is little doubt today that beliefs are somehow involved in the formation of many scientific ideas, if not of the very endeavour of Science. After all, Science is a human activity and humans always believe that things exist (=are true) or could be true. A distinction is traditionally made between believing in something’s existence, truth, value of appropriateness (this is the way that it ought to be) – and believing that something. The latter is a propositional attitude: we think that something, we wish that something, we feel that something and we believe that something. Believing in A and believing that A - are different. It is reasonable to assume that belief is a limited affair. Few of us would tend to believe in contradictions and falsehoods. Catholic theologians talk about explicit belief (in something which is known to the believer to be true) versus implicit one (in the known consequences of something whose truth cannot be known). Truly, we believe in the probability of something (we, thus, express an opinion) – or in its certain existence (truth). All humans believe in the existence of connections or relationships between things. This is not something which can be proven or proven false (to use Popper’s test). That things consistently follow each other does not prove they are related in any objective, “real”, manner – except in our minds. This belief in some order (if we define order as permanent relations between separate physical or abstract entities) permeates both Science and Superstition. They both believe that there must be – and is – a connection between things out there. Science limits itself and believes that only certain entities inter-relate within well defined conceptual frames (called theories). Not everything has the potential to connect to everything else. Entities are discriminated, differentiated, classified

Parenting - The Irrational Vocation

2000-10-12T14:00:00-04:00
Sam Vaknin's Psychology, Philosophy, Economics and Foreign Affairs Web Sites There are some grounds to assume that a cognitive dissonance is involved in feeling that children are more a satisfaction than a nuisance. Why do people bother with parenting? It is time consuming, exhausting, strains otherwise pleasurable and tranquil relationships to their limits. Still, humanity keeps at it: breeding. It is the easiest to resort to Nature. After all, all living species breed and most of them parent. We are, all taken into consideration, animals and, therefore, subject to the same instinctive behaviour patterns. There is no point in looking for a reason: survival itself (whether of the gene pool or, on a higher level, of the species) is at stake. Breeding is a transport mechanism: handing the precious cargo of genetics down generations of "organic containers". But this is a reductionist view, which both ignores epistemological and emotional realities – and is tautological, thereby explaining something in terms of itself. Calling something by a different name or describing the mechanisms involved in minute detail does not an explanation make. First hypothesis: we bring children to the world in order to "circumvent" death. We attain immortality (genetically and psychologically – though in both cases it is imaginary) by propagating our genetic material through the medium of our offspring. This is a highly dubious claim. Any analysis, however shallow, will reveal its weaknesses. Our genetic material gets diluted beyond reconstruction with time. It constitutes 50% of the first generation, 25% of the second and so on. If this were the paramount concern – incest should have been the norm, being a behaviour better able to preserve a specific set of genes (especially today, when genetic screening can effectively guard against the birth of defective babies). Moreover, progeny is a dubious way of perpetuating one's self. No one remembers one's great great grandfathers. One's memory is better preserved by intellectual feats or architectural monuments. The latter are much better conduits than children and grandchildren. Still, this indoctrinated misconception is so strong that a baby boom characterizes post war periods. Having been existentially threatened, people multiply in the vain belief that they thus best protect their genetic heritage and fixate their memory. In the better-educated, higher income, low infant mortality part of the world – the number of children has decreased dramatically – but those who still bring them to the world do

The Happiness of Others

2000-10-12T14:00:00-04:00
Sam Vaknin's Psychology, Philosophy, Economics and Foreign Affairs Web Sites Is there any necessary connection between our actions and the happiness of others? Disregarding for a moment the murkiness of the definitions of "actions" in philosophical literature - two types of answers were hitherto provided. Sentient Beings (referred to, in this essay, as "Humans" or "persons") seem either to limit each other - or to enhance each other's actions. Mutual limitation is, for instance, evident in game theory. It deals with decision outcomes when all the rational "players" are fully aware of both the outcomes of their actions and of what they prefer these outcomes to be. They are also fully informed about the other players: they know that they are rational, too, for instance. This, of course, is a very farfetched idealization. A state of unbounded information is nowhere and never to be found. Still, in most cases, the players settle down to one of the Nash equilibria solutions. Their actions are constrained by the existence of the others. The "Hidden Hand" of Adam Smith (which, among other things, benignly and optimally regulates the market and the price mechanisms) - is also a "mutually limiting" model. Numerous single participants strive to maximize their (economic and financial) outcomes - and end up merely optimizing them. The reason lies in the existence of others within the "market". Again, they are constrained by other people’s motivations, priorities ands, above all, actions. All the consequentialist theories of ethics deal with mutual enhancement. This is especially true of the Utilitarian variety. Acts (whether judged individually or in conformity to a set of rules) are moral, if their outcome increases utility (also known as happiness or pleasure). They are morally obligatory if they maximize utility and no alternative course of action can do so. Other versions talk about an "increase" in utility rather than its maximization. Still, the principle is simple: for an act to be judged "moral, ethical, virtuous, or good" - it must influence others in a way which will "enhance" and increase their happiness. The flaws in all the above answers are evident and have been explored at length in the literature. The assumptions are dubious (fully informed participants, rationality in decision making and in prioritizing the outcomes, etc.). All the answers are instrumental and quantitative: they strive to offer a moral measuring rod. An "increase" entails the measurement of two states:

The Madness of Playing

2000-10-12T14:00:00-04:00
Sam Vaknin's Psychology, Philosophy, Economics and Foreign Affairs Web Sites If a lone, unkempt, person, standing on a soapbox were to say that he should become the Prime Minister, he would have been diagnosed by a passing psychiatrist as suffering from this or that mental disturbance. But were the same psychiatrist to frequent the same spot and see a crowd of millions saluting the same lonely, shabby figure - what would have his diagnosis been? Surely, different (perhaps of a more political hue). It seems that one thing setting social games apart from madness is quantitative: the amount of the participants involved. Madness is a one-person game, and even mass mental disturbances are limited in scope. Moreover, it has long been demonstrated (for instance, by Karen Horney) that the definition of certain mental disorders is highly dependent upon the context of the prevailing culture. Mental disturbances (including psychoses) are time-dependent and locus-dependent. Religious behaviour and romantic behaviour could be easily construed as psychopathologies when examined out of their social, cultural, historical and political contexts. Historical figures as diverse as Nietzsche (philosophy), Van Gogh (art), Hitler (politics) and Herzl (political visionary) made this smooth phase transition from the lunatic fringes to centre stage. They succeeded to attract, convince and influence a critical human mass, which provided for this transition. They appeared on history's stage (or were placed there posthumously) at the right time and in the right place. The biblical prophets and Jesus are similar examples though of a more severe disorder. Hitler and Herzl possibly suffered from personality disorders - the biblical prophets were, almost certainly, psychotic. We play games because they are reversible and their outcomes are reversible. No game-player expects his involvement, or his particular moves to make a lasting impression on history, fellow humans, a territory, or a business entity. This, indeed, is the major taxonomic difference: the same class of actions can be classified as "game" when it does not intend to exert a lasting (that is, irreversible) influence on the environment. When such intention is evident - the very same actions qualify as something completely different. Games, therefore, are only mildly associated with memory. They are intended to be forgotten, eroded by time and entropy, by quantum events in our brains and macro-events in physical reality. Games - as opposed to absolutely all other human activities - are entropic. Negentropy - the act of reducing entropy and increasing

Immortality and Mortality in the Economic Sciences

2000-10-12T14:00:00-04:00
Sam Vaknin's Psychology, Philosophy, Economics and Foreign Affairs Web Sites Roberto Calvo Macias, a young author and thinker from Spain, once wrote to me that it is impossible to design a coherent philosophy of Economy without accounting for the (sad?) fact that we are mortals. This insight is intriguing. It is not that we refrain from Death in dealing with matters economic. What are estate laws, annuities, life insurance policies - but ways to cope with the Great Harvester? But this, admittedly, only scratch the non-profound surface of the question. The industrial revolution taught us that humans were dispensable. The process of production was reduced to minute functional units that people could learn in minutes. Only the most basic skills were required to successfully endure this learning curve. Thus, for as long as humans bred, the supply was inexhaustible. Humans became entirely replaceable, interchangeable (and alienated, in the process). Motion pictures of the period (“Metropolis”, “Modern Times”) portray the industrial worker as a nut in a machine, driven to the verge of insanity by the repetitiveness of his work. Yet, this view of human resources is fast becoming extinct in the rich Western countries. Training periods have lengthened, expert knowledge has taken over, the main value added is information. Humans represent a sizeable investment in education. They are no longer an inexpensive resource .With this realization, there came about a revolution in economic relations. Absurdly, inhuman totalitarian regimes (especially Fascism and Communism) were the first to emphasize the importance of the human factor in the total set of means of production. The concept of scarcity was extended (by virtually all the economic systems today) to apply to human resources. All resources are scarce. Economy is the science of trading off : giving up one resource in order to get more of another. The concept of “opportunity cost” is the first that students of economy encounter. The classic approach included natural endowments in the group of scarce resources. The human element was barely perceived as yet another natural resource. Now it is. The size of the population, its life expectancy, its quality of life, health, education, income – are all important. Economy is the branch of psychology which deals with behaviour patterns and with mental processes which relate to material wealth, with the opportunities to obtain it (=access to it) and with the processes and mechanisms underlying its attainment. Because material

Euphoric and Dysphoric Phases in Marriage

2000-10-12T14:00:00-04:00
Sam Vaknin's Psychology, Philosophy, Economics and Foreign Affairs Web Sites Despite all the fashionable theories of marriage, the narratives and the feminists, the reasons to engage in marriage largely remain the same. True, there have been role reversals and new stereotypes have cropped up. But the biological, physiological and biochemical facts were less amenable to modern criticisms of culture. Men are still men and women are still women in more than one respect. Men and women marry for the same reasons :
The Sexual Dyad – formed due to sexual attraction and in order to secure a stable, consistent and permanently available source of sexual gratification.
The Economic Dyad – To form a functioning economic unit within which the economic activities of the members of the dyad and of additional entrants will be concentrated. The economic unit generates more wealth than it consumes and the synergy between its members is likely to lead to gains in production and in productivity relative to individual efforts and investment.
The Social Dyad – The members of the couple bond as a result of implicit or explicit, direct, or indirect social pressure. This pressure can manifest itself in numerous forms. In Judaism, a person cannot belong to some religious vocations, unless he is married. This is economic pressure. In most human societies, avowed bachelors are considered to be socially deviant and abnormal. They are condemned by society, ridiculed, shunned and isolated, effectively ex-communicated. Partly to avoid these sanctions and partly to enjoy the warmth provided by conformity and acceptance, couples marry. Today, a myriad of lifestyles is on offer. The old fashioned, nuclear marriage is one of many variants. Children are reared by single parents. Homosexual couples abound. But in all this turbulence, a pattern is discernible : almost 95% of the adult population gets married ultimately. They settle into a two-member arrangement, whether formalized and sanctioned religiously or legally – or not.
The Companionship Dyad – Formed by adults in search of sources of long-term and stable support, emotional warmth, empathy, care, good advice and intimacy. The members of these couples tend to define themselves as each other's best friends. It is folk wisdom to state that the first three types of dyad arrangements suffer from instability. Sexual attraction wanes and is replaced by sexual attrition in most cases. This could lead to the adoption of non-conventional sexual behaviour patterns (sexual abstinence, group

What Doth a Leader Make?

2000-10-12T14:00:00-04:00
Sam Vaknin's Psychology, Philosophy, Economics and Foreign Affairs Web Sites How come a leader becomes a leader? In this article, we are not interested in the historical process but in the answer to the twin questions: what qualifies one to be a leader and why do people elect someone specific to be a leader. The immediately evident response would be that the leader addresses or is judged by his voters to be capable of addressing their needs. These could be economic needs, psychological needs, or moral needs. In all these cases, the needs are judged to be serious enough as to threaten acceptable existence (emphasis on the word “acceptable”). Mere survival is rarely at risk (famine, war, plague). On the contrary, people are mostly willing to sacrifice their genetic and biological survival on the altar of acceptable existence. To be acceptable, life must be honourable. To be honourable, certain conditions (commonly known as “rights”) must be fulfilled and upheld. No life can be honourable without food and shelter (property rights), personal autonomy (as safeguarded by freedoms), security, respect (as expressed through human rights) and influence upon the future (civil rights). In the absence of even one of these elements, people tend to gradually become convinced that their lives are not worth living. They become mutinous and try to restore the “honourable equilibrium”. They seek food and shelter by inventing new technologies and by implementing them in a bid to control nature and other, human, factors. They rebel against any massive breach of their freedoms : free speech has provoked more bloodshed than it has ever prevented. The seek security : they legislate and create law enforcement agencies and form an army. Above all, people are concerned with being respected and with influencing their terms of existence, present and future. The two may be linked : the more able a person is to influence his environment, to mould it – the more respected he is by others. Leaders are perceived to be possessed of qualities conducive to the success of such battles of restoration. Some signal that the leader emits keeps telling his followers : I can increase your chances to win the war that you are waging in order to find food and shelter / respect / personal autonomy / security / an enhanced ability to influence your future. But WHAT is this signal? What information does it carry with

The Cultural Narcissist

2000-10-12T14:00:00-04:00
Sam Vaknin's Psychology, Philosophy, Economics and Foreign Affairs Web Sites "The new narcissist is haunted not by guilt but by anxiety. He seeks not to inflict his own certainties on others but to find a meaning in life. Liberated from the superstitions of the past, he doubts even the reality of his own existence. Superficially relaxed and tolerant, he finds little use for dogmas of racial and ethnic purity but at the same time forfeits the security of group loyalties and regards everyone as a rival for the favors conferred by a paternalistic state. His sexual attitudes are permissive rather than puritanical, even though his emancipation from ancient taboos brings him no sexual peace. Fiercely competitive in his demand for approval and acclaim, he distrusts competition because he associates it unconsciously with an unbridled urge to destroy. Hence he repudiates the competitive ideologies that flourished at an earlier stage of capitalist development and distrusts even their limited expression in sports and games. He extols cooperation and teamwork while harboring deeply antisocial impulses. He praises respect for rules and regulations in the secret belief that they do not apply to himself. Acquisitive in the sense that his cravings have no limits, he does not accumulate goods and provisions against the future, in the manner of the acquisitive individualist of nineteenth-century political economy, but demands immediate gratification and lives in a state of restless, perpetually unsatisfied desire." (Christopher Lasch - The Culture of Narcissism: American Life in an age of Diminishing Expectations, 1979) "A characteristic of our times is the predominance, even in groups traditionally selective, of the mass and the vulgar. Thus, in intellectual life, which of its essence requires and presupposes qualification, one can note the progressive triumph of the pseudo-intellectual, unqualified, unqualifiable..." (Jose Ortega y Gasset - The Revolt of the Masses, 1932) Can Science be passionate? This question seems to sum up the life of Christopher Lasch, erstwhile a historian of culture later transmogrified into an ersatz prophet of doom and consolation, a latter day Jeremiah. Judging by his (prolific and eloquent) output, the answer is a resounding no. There is no single Lasch. This chronicler of culture, did so mainly by chronicling his inner turmoil, conflicting ideas and ideologies, emotional upheavals, and intellectual vicissitudes. In this sense, of (courageous) self-documentation, Mr. Lasch epitomized Narcissism, was the quintessential Narcissist, the better positioned to criticize the phenomenon. Some "scientific"

The Distributive Justice of the Market

2000-10-11T14:00:00-04:00
Sam Vaknin's Psychology, Philosophy, Economics and Foreign Affairs Web Sites (1) Each person is to have an equal right to the most extensive total system of equal basic liberties compatible with a similar system of liberty for all. (2) Social and economic inequalities are to be arranged so that they are both: (a) to the greatest benefit of the least advantaged, consistent with the just savings principle, and (b) attached to offices and positions open to all under conditions of fair equality of opportunity. " (John Rawls, "A Theory of Justice", 1971, p.302) Resources are scarce. This is the basic, dismal truth of the dismal science. The second truth is that people consume resources. A basic existential anxiety makes them want more resources than they can consume (the "just in case" principle). This raises the question of fairness, a.k.a. "distributive justice". How should resources be allocated in a manner which will conform to one or more just principles ? This apparently simple question raises a host of more complex ones : what constitutes a resource ? what is meant by allocation ? Who should allocate these resources or should this better be left to some Adam Smithean "invisible hand" ? Such an invisible hand (working through the price mechanism) - should its mode of operation be guided by differences in power, in intelligence, in knowledge, in heritage ? In other words : what should be the entitlement principle, how can it be determined who is entitled to what ? Everything constitutes a resource : income, opportunities, knowledge, brute power, wealth. Everything, therefore, is subject to distribution to individuals (natural persons), groups of people, certain classes. There are many bases for distribution, but the issue is HOW JUST these bases are and how can we ensure that we are distributing resources using a just distribution base. We all face opportunities to acquire resources. In a just society, everyone is granted the same access to these opportunities. Access does not translate into ability to make use of it. Idiosyncrasies and differences between accessees will determine the latter, i.e. the outcome of such access. The ability to use is the bridge between the access and the accumulated resources. Given access and the capacity to utilize it - resources (material goods, knowledge, etc.) will accrue to the user. There is a hidden assumption in all this : that all men are born equal and

The Virtual Home

2000-10-09T14:00:00-04:00
Sam Vaknin's Psychology, Philosophy, Economics and Foreign Affairs Web Sites The family is the mainspring of support of every kind. It mobilizes psychological resources and alleviates emotional burdens. It allows for the sharing of tasks, provides material goods together with cognitive training. It is the prime socialization agent and encourages the absorption of information, most of it useful and adaptive. This division of labour between parents and children is vital both to development and to proper adaptation. The child must feel, in a functional family, that he can share his experiences without being defensive and that the feedback that he is likely to receive will be open and unbiased. The only "bias" acceptable (because it is consistent with constant outside feedback) is the set of beliefs, values and goals that is internalized via imitation and unconscious identification. So, the family is the first and the most important source of identity and of emotional support. It is a greenhouse wherein a child feels loved, accepted and secure - the prerequisites for the development of personal resources. On the material level, the family should provide the basic necessities (and, preferably, beyond), physical care and protection and refuge and shelter during crises. Elsewhere, we have discussed the role of the mother (The Primary Object). The father's part is mostly neglected, even in professional literature. However, recent research demonstrates his importance to the orderly and healthy development of the child. He participates in the day to day care, is an intellectual catalyst, who encourages the child to develop his interests and to satisfy his curiosity through the manipulation of various instruments and games. He is a source of authority and discipline, a boundary setter, enforcing and encouraging positive behaviours and eliminating negative ones. He also provides emotional support and economic security, thus stabilizing the family unit. Finally, he is the prime source of masculine orientation and identification to the male child - and gives warmth and love as a male to his daughter, without exceeding the socially permissible limits. These traditional roles of the family are being eroded from both the inside and the outside. The proper functioning of the classical family was determined, to a large extent, by the geographical proximity of its members. They all huddled together in the "family unit" – an identifiable volume of physical space, distinct and different to other units. The daily friction and interaction between the members

On the Incest Taboo

2000-10-09T14:00:00-04:00
Sam Vaknin's Psychology, Philosophy, Economics and Foreign Affairs Web Sites Incest is not such a clear-cut matter as it has been made out to be over millennia of taboos. Many participants claim to have enjoyed the act and its physical and emotional consequences. It is often the result of seduction. In some cases, two consenting and fully informed adults are involved. Many types of relationships, which are defined as incestuous, are between genetically unrelated parties (a stepfather and a daughter), or between fictive kin or between classificatory kin (that belong to the same matriline or patriline). In certain societies (the American Indians or the Chinese) it is sufficient to carry the same family name (=to belong to the same clan) and marriage is forbidden. Some incest prohibitions relate to sexual acts - other to marriage. In some societies, incest is mandatory or prohibited, according to the social class (Bali). In others, the Royal House started a tradition of incestuous marriages, which were imitated by lower classes (Ancient Egypt). The list is long and it serves to demonstrate the diversity of this most universal taboo. Generally put, we can say that a prohibition to have sex with or marry a related person should be classified as an incest prohibition, no matter the nature of the relationship. Perhaps the strongest feature of incest has been hitherto downplayed: that it is, essentially, an autoerotic act. Having sex with a first-degree blood relative is like having sex with yourself. It is a Narcissistic act and like all acts Narcissistic, it involves the objectification of the partner. The incestuous Narcissist over-values and then devalues his sexual partner. He is devoid of empathy (cannot see the other's point of view or put himself in her shoes). For an in depth treatment of Narcissism and its psychosexual dimension, see: "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited" and "Frequently Asked Questions" (scroll down for a complete list of FAQs). But incest involves more than a manifestation of a personality disorder or of a paraphilia (incest is considered by many to be a class of pedophilia). It harks back to the very nature of the family. It is closely entangled with its functions and with its contribution to the development of the individual within it. A family is a mechanism of allocation of genetic and materialistic wealth. Worldly goods are passed on from one generation to the next through succession,

The Egoistic Friend

2000-10-09T14:00:00-04:00
Sam Vaknin's Psychology, Philosophy, Economics and Foreign Affairs Web Sites What are friends for and how can a friendship be tested? By behaving altruistically, would be the most common answer and by sacrificing one's interests in favour of one's friends. Friendship implies the converse of egoism, both psychologically and ethically. But then we say that the dog is "man's best friend". After all, it is characterized by unconditional love, by unselfish behaviour, by sacrifice, when necessary. Isn't this the epitome of friendship? Apparently not. On the one hand, the dog's friendship seems to be unaffected by long term calculations of personal benefit. But that is not to say that it is not affected by calculations of a short-term nature. The owner, after all, looks after the dog and is the source of its subsistence and security. People – and dogs – have been known to have sacrificed their lives for less. The dog is selfish – it clings and protects what it regards to be its territory and its property (including – and especially so - the owner). Thus, the first condition, seemingly not satisfied by canine attachment is that it be reasonably unselfish. There are, however, more important conditions: a. For a real friendship to exist – at least one of the friends must be a conscious and intelligent entity, possessed of mental states. It can be an individual, or a collective of individuals, but in both cases this requirement will similarly apply. b. There must be a minimal level of identical mental states between the terms of the equation of friendship. A human being cannot be friends with a tree (at least not in the fullest sense of the word). c. The behaviour must not be deterministic, lest it be interpreted as instinct driven. A conscious choice must be involved. This is a very surprising conclusion: the more "reliable", the more "predictable" – the less appreciated. Someone who reacts identically to similar situations, without dedicating a first, let alone a second thought to it – his acts would be depreciated as "automatic responses". For a pattern of behaviour to be described as "friendship", these four conditions must be met: diminished egoism, conscious and intelligent agents, identical mental states (allowing for the communication of the friendship) and non-deterministic behaviour, the result of constant decision making. A friendship can be – and often is – tested in view of these

The Good Enough Family

2000-10-09T14:00:00-04:00
Sam Vaknin's Psychology, Philosophy, Economics and Foreign Affairs Web Sites The families of the not too distant past were oriented along four axes. These axes were not mutually exclusive. Some overlapped, all of them enhanced each other. People got married because of social pressure and social norms (the Social Dyad), to form a more efficient or synergetic economic unit (the Economic Dyad), in pursuit of psychosexual fulfilment (the Psychosexual Dyad), to secure a long term companionship (the Companionship Dyad). Thus, we can talk about the following four axes: Social-Economic, Emotional, Utilitarian (Rational), Private-Familial. To illustrate how these axes were intertwined, let us consider the Emotional one. People got married because they felt very strongly about living alone. But they felt so also because of social pressures. Some of them subscribed to ideologies which promoted the family as a pillar of society, the basic cell of the national organism, a hothouse in which to breed children to empower the nation and so on. These ideologies of personal contributions to collectives had a strong emotional dimension and provided impetus to a host of behaviour patterns. The emotional investment in today's individualistic-capitalist ideologies is no smaller. Technological developments rendered past thinking obsolete and dysfunctional but did not quench Man's thirst for guidance and a worldview. Still, as technology evolved, it became more and more disruptive in so far as families were concerned. Increased mobility, a decentralization of information sources, the transfers of the traditional functions of the family to societal and private sector establishments, the increased incidence of interactions, safer sex with lesser consequences to those who engage in it – all assisted the disintegration of the traditional family. Consider the trends that affected women, for instance: 1. The emergence of common marital property and of laws for its equal distribution in case of divorce constituted a shift in legal philosophy in most societies. The result was a major (and on going) distribution of wealth and its transfer from men to women. Add to this the disparities in life expectancy between the two genders and the magnitude of the redistribution of economic resources becomes evident. Women are becoming richer at the expense of men because they live long enough to inherit them and because they get a share of the marital property when they divorce them. These "endowments" are larger than their quantifiable contribution to the formation of the wealth thus redistributed. Women

Unemployment

2000-10-09T14:00:00-04:00
Sam Vaknin's Psychology, Philosophy, Economics and Foreign Affairs Web Sites I. Recommendations Get the Real Picture No one in Macedonia knows the real picture. How many are employed and not reported or registered? How many are registered as unemployed but really have a job? How many are part time workers – as opposed to full time workers? How many are officially employed (de jure) – but de facto unemployed or severely underemployed? How many are on “indefinite” vacations, on leave without pay, etc.? The Statistics Bureau must be instructed to make the gathering and analysis of data regarding the unemployed (through household surveys and census, if necessary) – a TOP PRIORITY. A limited amnesty should be declared by the state on violations of worker registration by employers. All employers should be given 30 days to register all their unregistered and unreported workers – without any penalty, retroactive or prospective (amnesty). Afterwards, labour inspectors should embark on sampling raids. Employers caught violating the labour laws should be heavily penalized. In severe cases, closures should be enforced against the workplace. All the unemployed must register with the Employment Bureau once a month, whether they are receiving benefits, or not. Non-compliance will automatically trigger the loss of the status of “unemployed”. If a person did not register without good cause, he would have the right to re-register, but his “unemployment tenure” will re-commence from month 1 with the new registration. I recommend instituting a households’ survey in addition to a claimant count. Labour force surveys should be conducted at regular intervals – regarding the structure of the workforce, its geographical distribution, the pay structure, employment time probabilities. The statistics Bureau should propose and the government should adopt a Standard National Job Classification. The Unemployment Benefits Unemployment benefits – if excessive and wrongly applied – are self -perpetuating because they provide a strong disincentive to work. Unemployment benefits should be means tested. There is no reason to pay unemployment benefits to the children of a multi-millionaire. Unemployed with assets (especially liquid assets) should not receive benefits, even if they are otherwise eligible. The benefits should scale down in accordance with wealth and income. Unemployment benefits should always be limited in time, should decrease gradually and should be withheld from certain segments of the population, such as school dropouts, those who never held a job, (in some countries) women after childrearing. Eligibility to unemployment benefits

Future Perfect

2000-10-09T14:00:00-04:00
Sam Vaknin's Psychology, Philosophy, Economics and Foreign Affairs Web Sites Many futurologists - professional (Toffler) and less so (Naisbitt) - tried their hand at predicting the future. They proved quite successful at predicting major trends but not as lucky in delineating their details. This is because, inevitably, every futurologist has to resort to crude tools such as extrapolation. The modern day versions of biblical prophets are much better informed - and this, precisely, seems to be the problem. The cluttered information obstructs the outlines of the philosophically and conceptually most important elements. The futurologist has to divine which - of a host - of changes which occur in his times and place ushers in a new era. Since the speed at which human societies change has radically accelerated - the futurologist's work has become more compounded and less certain. It is better to stick to truisms, however banal. True and tried is the key to successful (and, therefore, useful) predictions. What can we rely upon which is immutable and invariant, not dependent on cultural context, technological level, or geopolitical developments? Human nature, naturally. The introduction of human nature into the equation which should yield the prediction may further complicate it. Human nature is, arguably, the most complex thing in the universe. It is characteristically unpredictable and behaviourally stochastic. It is not the kind of paradigm conducive to clear-cut, unequivocal, unambiguous forecasts. This is why it is advisable to isolate two or three axes around which human nature - or its more explicit manifestations - revolves. These organizational principles must possess comprehensive explanatory powers, on the one hand - and exhibit some kind of synergy, on the other hand. I propose such a trio : Individuality, Collectivism and Time. Individuation is the Separation principle, the human yearning for uniqueness and idiosyncrasy, for distinction and self sufficiency, for independence and self expression. Collectivism is the human propensity to agglomerate, to stick together, to assemble, the herd instincts and the group behaviours. Time is the principle which connects both. It is the bridge linking individual and society. It is an epiphenomenon of society. In other words, it arises only when people assemble and can compare themselves to others. This is not Time in the physical sense, which is discernible through the relative positions and physical states of physical systems. Every human - alone as he may be - is bound to notice it.

The Classification of Cultures

2000-10-05T14:00:00-04:00
Sam Vaknin's Psychology, Philosophy, Economics and Foreign Affairs Web Sites Culture is a hot topic. Scholars (Fukoyama, Huntington, to mention but two) disagree about whether this is the end of history or the beginning of a particularly nasty chapter of it. What makes cultures tick and why some of them tick discernibly better than others – is the main bone of contention. We can view cultures through the prism of their attitude towards their constituents : the individuals they are comprised of. More so, we can classify them in accordance with their approach towards "humanness", the experience of being human. Some cultures are evidently anthropocentric – others are anthropo-transcendental. These two lingual coins need elaboration to be fully comprehended. A culture which cherishes the human potential and strives to create the conditions needed for its fullest materialization and manifestation is an anthropocentric culture. Such striving is the top priority, the crowning achievement, the measuring rod of such a culture, its attainment - its criterion of success or failure. On the other pole of the dichotomy we find cultures which look beyond humanity. This "transcendental" look has multiple purposes. Some cultures want to transcend human limitations, others to derive meaning, yet others to maintain social equilibrium. But what is common to all of them – regardless of purpose – is the subjugation of human endeavour, of human experience, human potential, all things human to this transcendence. Granted : cultures resemble living organisms. They evolve, they develop, they procreate. None of them was "created" the way it is today. Cultures go through Differential Phases – wherein they re-define and re-invent themselves using varied parameters. Once these phases are over – the results are enshrined during the Inertial Phases. The Differential Phases are period of social dislocation and upheaval, of critical, even revolutionary thinking, of new technologies, new methods of achieving set social goals, identity crises, imitation and differentiation. They are followed by phases of a diametrically opposed character : Preservation, even stagnation, ritualism, repetition, rigidity, emphasis on structures rather than contents. Anthropocentric cultures have differential phases which are longer than the inertial ones. Anthropotranscendental ones tend to display a reverse pattern. This still does not solve two basic enigmas : What causes the transition between differential and inertial phases ? Why is it that anthropocentricity coincides with differentiation and progress / evolution while other types of cultures with an inertial framework ?

On Achievement

2000-10-05T14:00:00-04:00
Sam Vaknin's Psychology, Philosophy, Economics and Foreign Affairs Web Sites If a comatose person were to earn an interest of 1 million USD annually on the sum paid to him as compensatory damages – would this be considered an achievement of his? To succeed to earn 1 million USD is universally judged to be an achievement. But to do so while comatose will almost as universally not be counted as one. It would seem that a person has to be both conscious and intelligent to have his achievements qualify. Even these conditions, though necessary, are not sufficient. If a totally conscious (and reasonably intelligent) person were to accidentally unearth a treasure trove and thus be transformed into a multi-billionaire – his stumbling across a fortune will not qualify as an achievement. A lucky turn of events does not an achievement make. A person must be intent on achieving to have his deeds classified as achievements. Intention is a paramount criterion in the classification of events and actions, as any intensionalist philosopher will tell you. Supposing a conscious and intelligent person has the intention to achieve a goal. He then engages in a series of absolutely random and unrelated actions, one of which yields the desired result. Will we then say that our person is an achiever? Not at all. It is not enough to intend. One must proceed to produce a plan of action, which is directly derived from the overriding goal. Such a plan of action must be seen to be reasonable and pragmatic and leading – with great probability – to the achievement. In other words: the plan must involve a prognosis, a prediction, a forecast, which can be either verified or falsified. Attaining an achievement involves the construction of an ad-hoc mini theory. Reality has to be thoroughly surveyed, models constructed, one of them selected (on empirical or aesthetic grounds), a goal formulated, an experiment performed and a negative (failure) or positive (achievement) result obtained. Only if the prediction turns out to be correct can we speak of an achievement. Our would-be achiever is thus burdened by a series of requirements. He must be conscious, must possess a well-formulated intention, must plan his steps towards the attainment of his goal, and must correctly predict the results of his actions. But planning alone is not sufficient. One must carry out one's plan of action (from mere plan to

The Rights of Animals

2000-10-05T14:00:00-04:00
Sam Vaknin's Psychology, Philosophy, Economics and Foreign Affairs Web Sites Animal rights is a catchphrase akin to human rights. It involves, however, a few pitfalls. First, animals exist only as a concept. Otherwise, they are cuddly cats, curly dogs, cute monkeys. A rat and a puppy are both animals but our emotional reaction to them is so different that we cannot really lump them together. Moreover: what rights are we talking about? The right to life? The right to be free of pain? The right to food? Except the right to free speech – all the other rights could be relevant to animals. But when we say animals, what we really mean is non-human organism. This is such a wide definition that it easily pertains to potential aliens. Will we witness an Alien Rights movement soon? so, we are forced to narrow our field to non-human organisms which remind us of humans and, thus, provoke empathy in us. Yet, this is a dangerous and not very practical test: too many people love snakes, for instance and deeply empathize with them. Will we agree to the assertion (which will, probably, be avidly supported by these people) that snakes have rights – or should we confine our grace to organisms with nervous systems (=which, presumably, can feel pain). Even better is the criterion : whatever we cannot communicate with and is alive is a rights-holder. Historically, philosophers like Kant (and Descartes, and Malebranche and even Aquinas) did not favour the idea of animal rights. They said that animals are the organic equivalents of machines, moved by coarse instincts, unable to experience pain (though their behaviour sometimes might deceive us into erroneously believing that they do). Thus, any moral obligation that we have towards animals is a derivative of a primary obligation towards our fellow humans (the morally significant ones and only ones). These are the indirect moral obligations theories. For instance: it is wrong to torture animals because it desensitizes us to human suffering and makes us more prone to using violence towards humans. Malebranche augmented this rational line of thinking by proving that animals cannot suffer pain because they do not descend from Adam and all the pain and suffering in the world are the result of his sins. But how can we say whether another Being is suffering pain or not? The answer is based on empathy. If the other

Adoption

2000-10-01T14:00:00-04:00
Adopting a child is an experience that promises to bring great joy as it changes a couple or individual’s life forever. But what happens if the mother of that child wants to endorse their child? Those are the issues that many adopting parents and birth-right mothers are facing today. Many biological mothers want their child back. There are many concerns for adopting parents to know- that there is the possibly that the birth mother may file for the child. As a birth mother or the adopting parent one must realize consequences that could lay ahead. The legal and social transfer of all parental right, responsibilities, and roles from one parent or parents, usually biological, to a nonbiological parent or parents is the definition of adoption. In such a transfer, adoptive parents accept the same rights and responsibilities as the child’s birth parents would have had, while the child becomes a member of a family that provides the social, emotional, and physical nurturing that children needs to grow up to be healthy, functioning adults. But there are some legal issues or opinions that can lead to a halting backfire in the adoption process. But, as the biological parent(s) and adopting parent(s), they must be ready for the quickly, approaching pros and cons. Throughout the adoption journey, the gardein must be prepared and know what is best for them and their child. There are many positive feedbacks to adoption. Children are in need of adoption because some birth parents are unable or unavailable to provide adequately for the needs of their child. Birth parents may feel they cannot take on the responsibility of an unplanned child because they are too young or because they are financially or emotionally unable to provide proper care. They do not feel ready or able to be good parents. Most adopting parents, although, feel confident that most birth-right mothers will not seize their child back. Chris Intagliata, a mother of two adopted children advises that “ It [is] important to ask yourself what you can handle. If you feel you can handle everything, that’s a good attitude.” Those are important notions adopting parents must do. Most of the time adopting parents can handle the task but some times it backfires when the biological mother or couple want the baby back. Statistics show that the vast majority of independent adoptions in California are completed without a hitch; less that 2 percent

Why the Electric Chair is a Fair Punishment

2000-09-29T14:00:00-04:00
This topic is a very controversial one. The paper you are about to read could cause intense arguments between some groups of people. All that doesn’t matter to me because when you finish reading this, you will agree with me if you don’t already. First off, many people consider the electric chair cruel and unusual punishment. What I don’t get is that people think this even though in order to be eligible to get sentenced to the electric chair, they have to be proven guilty of killing someone. Don’t you think that is cruel and unusual punishment? I certainly do. In my eyes, if they don’t get sentenced to the electric chair or some other form of guaranteed death (lethal injection, the gas chamber, etc.) it becomes cruel and unusual punishment on the victim’s friends and family, not physically but mentally. Secondly, in my eyes it is one of the only fair punishments allowed by the judicial system. Personally, I think that the murderer should suffer the exact fate that their victim did. Some people might say to give the murderer life in prison. This is hardly a punishment at all. Today, due to overcrowding in prisons, a lot of prisoners don’t serve their full sentence. Would you want one of these convicts to be a murderer? I can honestly tell you, "no, I wouldn’t." Another thing about today’s prisons is that the prisoners get free meals, clothes, bed, electricity, air conditioning and heating, cable and many other luxuries that make it a comfortable place to live if you get used to the people. My last point is that these criminals should have thought of what the consequences would be before they killed someone. If they didn’t do this or did and still killed someone, they probably aren’t intelligent enough to make any positive impact on the world or they are mentally unstable. They shouldn’t get off the hook for killing someone. You might feel that sentencing them to life in prison is punishment enough but no, not to me. To me prison is getting off the hook. Thank you for taking the time to read my views on this subject. I hope I have been able to sway your opinion on the matter and have quelled some of the arguments revolving around this. I have heard many points of view on the subject and listened to them with an open

Fathering, an Option?

2000-09-25T14:00:00-04:00
Recently the issue whether lesbians or single women should have the right to the access of IVF treatment has brought about the argument of the importance of men in the task of rearing children. Fathers are being reduced to the role of only sperm donors and are consequently disregarded as an important factor in parenting. There is significant evidence that points to a range of benefits for children who have active fathers. These include *greater ambition, respect for the opposite sex, stronger sexual identity, higher self-esteem, better achievement at school, and fewer behavioral problems. It seems that these benefits have more to do with the importance of fathering roles than solely having a second person parenting. This seems like enough evidence to support the importance of fathers but lesbians and other single women still seem ready to take these benefits away from their own children. Men parent differently from women and also contribute differently to the development of their children. Fathers relate best through their activity with the children and generally derive different responses from their involvement. *Children usually associate their fathers with the activities they enjoy doing with them. From experience, I know how enjoyable it is to play sport with my dad. Rarely does my mother say “lets go out and kick the ball around”. These sporting skills that are obtained from playing sport with a father, aid in the acceptance from other children when playing sport. This can lead to a higher self-esteem and more enjoyment when it comes to participating in sport. Better outcomes for boys lie in getting them closer in contact with men. Research has shown that *the socialization process breaks down in children when they have little or no contact with men. This can adversely affect the child later on in life. Also, studies have shown that *boys prefer to be around men more than they do women. How many times have you heard young boys say they want to be just like their fathers? Fathers are usually considered their number one role model. By Fathers becoming close with children and showing them love and affection they are able to influence the children by showing them how to act towards others. It is important to note that men not only have positive effects on boys, but also the contribution to the development of girls. *Girls gain first hand knowledge of how the men around them think,

Dominicans and Afro-Americans

2000-09-22T14:00:00-04:00
In America today, there is a large and diverse African-American population. Within this population, there are several ethnic groups. The other ethnic group similar to Afro-Americans is Dominicans. Not only are they both minorities, but they also look similar as well. Both Dominicans and Afro-Americans are originally from Africa, but their slave masters separated them into two different cultures. African-Americans was African slaves of Americans, and Dominicans were African slaves of the Spanish. Hevesi of the New York Times says, "Dominican and Afro-Americans culture was formed from one ethnicity, Africans" (Hevesi 86). As a person of these two ethnic groups, I have two perceptions of my dual ethnicity. Among Afro-Americans’ and Dominicans’ culture, language, history and values, there are large differences, but there are also several similarities. I will compare and contrast these two ethnic groups which are within me. Dominicans and African-Americans are similar in their African origin, but they are different “in their newfound slavery-induced cultures.” Dominicans were Africans mixed with Spanish culture. Through slave settlements, Dominicans were settled in Hispanola. In Hispanola, Dominicans were influenced between two ethnic groups. As a new ethnic group formed, their African traits were mixed with Spanish traits (Saillant-Torres 131). African America history was African culture mixed with American culture. As a group, slave masters made their voyage to Africa, took slaves, and formed a group called Afro-Americans. African culture was integrated into Western civilization. Most Africans were slaves in the Southern part of North America. Arnold Rose points out; "Negro’s are not accepted in America" (94). Some Dominicans were settled in America. Many live in New York in a city called Spanish Harlem. Today, over 100 million Dominicans live there. The histories of these two ethnic groups have very little similarity, but the African influence is one unifying force. The languages of these two ethnic groups are completely different. Dominicans speak Spanish and Afro-Americans speak English. Dominicans don't speak casual Castillan Spanish. They speak Spanish with a twist of African influences. Gleijeses says, "Dominicans don't speak true Spanish, so they are not treated as Spanish” (7). African-Americans speak English with a different type of twist. Some African Americans don't speak proper English. They speak English with slang and make up some words. In a way Dominicans and Afro-American languages are the same because of the content of their language. As being African slaves, Dominicans and African-Americans don't speak their second language

Should Workers Be Allowed to Strike? - Argumentative Essay

2000-09-14T14:00:00-04:00
It is difficult to see how anyone could deny that all workers should have the rights to strike. This is because striking gives workers freedom of speech. This is justifiable, because Britain is a democratic nation. My first reason supporting the motion that workers should be allowed to strike is in order to bring to the fore poor safety conditions. For instance, in the nuclear power industry, any breaches of safety can have tragic consequences. If the employees are exposed to nuclear material, this could lead to serious illnesses such as cancer, leukaemia and radiation sickness. Radioactive material could also affect residents of the surrounding area, as in the case of the Chernobyl disaster. In the light of poor safety conditions, workers striking can be justified by the fact that the government and public would be informed. Similarly, another justification for employees striking is that production and confidence would perhaps increase after industrial action. This could be because, when workers strike for higher pay or better conditions and their employers meet their demands, the employees return to their place of work with higher morale than before the walk-out. As a consequence, the higher productivity would be beneficial to the owners. Likewise, industrial action gives the worker a line of protest against unfair hours or miserly wages. Theoretically, if taking industrial action was outlawed, the management could impose any terms and contract changes that they wished on their personnel. On the contrary, in reality the only effective option that skilled labourers have when their firm underpay them is down tools and walk out. This would ensure that the proprietors would have to negotiate with the unions, as skilled workers are difficult to locate. Furthermore, if the workers belonging to one trade union walk out, the situation may be intensified by the fact that one trade union's leaders can call on an allied union's members to down tools. To this end, there are many ties - official and unspoken - between the trade unions. For instance, in 1926 when the Miner's Federation received official notice of wage cuts for miners, the TUC (Trade Unions Congress) called on railway labourers, bus drivers and many others to strike in support of the miners. On the fourth of May, two million labourers walked out to strengthen the cause of the pit workers. Twelve days later, the strike was called off, and the miners kept going unswerving until Christmas. The strike

The Aborted Contract

2000-09-11T14:00:00-04:00
Sam Vaknin's Psychology, Philosophy, Economics and Foreign Affairs Web Sites The issue of abortion is emotionally loaded and this often makes for poor, not thoroughly thought out arguments. The questions: "Is abortion immoral" and "Is abortion a murder" are often confused. The pregnancy (and the resulting foetus) are discussed in terms normally reserved to natural catastrophes (force majeure, in legal lingo). At times, the embryo is compared to cancer: after all, they are both growths, clusters of cells. The difference, of course, is that no one contracts cancer willingly (except, to some extent, smokers --but, then they gamble, not contract). When a woman engages in voluntary sex, does not use contraceptives and gets pregnant - one can say that she signed a contract with her foetus. A contract entails the demonstrated existence of a reasonably (and reasonable) free will. If the fulfilment of the obligations in a contract could be life-threatening - it is fair and safe to assume that no rational free will was involved. No reasonable person would sign or enter such a contract. Judith Jarvis Thomson argued convincingly ("A Defence of Abortion") that pregnancies that are the result of forced sex (rape being a special case) or which are life threatening should or could, morally, be terminated. Using the transactional language : the contract was not entered to willingly or reasonably and, therefore, is null and void. Any actions which are intended to terminate it and to annul its consequences should be legally and morally permissible. The same goes for a contract which was entered into against the express will of one of the parties and despite all the reasonable measures that the unwilling party adopted to prevent its crystallization. If a mother uses contraceptives in a manner intended to prevent pregnancy, it is as good as saying: I do not want to sign this contract, I am doing my reasonable best not to sign it, if it is signed - it is contrary to my express will. There is little legal (or moral) doubt that such a contract should be voided. Much more serious problems arise when we study the other party to these implicit agreements: the embryo. To start with, it lacks consciousness (in the sense that is needed for signing an enforceable and valid contract). Can a contract be validated even if one of the "signatories" lacked this sine qua non trait? In the absence

The Revolt of the Poor - The Demise of Intellectual Property

2000-09-11T14:00:00-04:00
Sam Vaknin's Psychology, Philosophy, Economics and Foreign Affairs Web Sites Three years ago I published a book of short stories in Israel. The publishing house belongs to Israel’s leading (and exceedingly wealthy) newspaper. I signed a contract which stated that I am entitled to receive 8% of the income from the sales of the book after commissions payable to distributors, shops, etc. A few months later, I won the coveted Prize of the Ministry of Education (for short prose). The prize money (a few thousand DMs) was snatched by the publishing house on the legal grounds that all the money generated by the book belongs to them because they own the copyright. In the mythology generated by capitalism to pacify the masses, the myth of intellectual property stands out. It goes like this : if the rights to intellectual property were not defined and enforced, commercial entrepreneurs would not have taken on the risks associated with publishing books, recording records and preparing multimedia products. As a result, creative people will have suffered because they will have found no way to make their works accessible to the public. Ultimately, it is the public which pays the price of piracy, goes the refrain. But this is factually untrue. In the USA there is a very limited group of authors who actually live by their pen. Only select musicians eke out a living from their noisy vocation (most of them rock stars who own their labels – George Michael had to fight Sony to do just that) and very few actors come close to deriving subsistence level income from their profession. All these can no longer be thought of as mostly creative people. Forced to defend thie intellectual property rights and the interests of Big Money, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Schwarzenegger and Grisham are businessmen at least as much as they are artists. Economically and rationally, we should expect that the costlier a work of art is to produce and the narrower its market – the more its intellectual property rights will be emphasized. Consider a publishing house. A book which costs 50,000 DM to produce with a potential audience of 1000 purchasers (certain academic texts are like this) – would have to be priced at a a minimum of 100 DM to recoup only the direct costs. If illegally copied (thereby shrinking the potential market – some people will prefer to buy the

Forward to the Past - Feudalism and Communism

2000-09-11T14:00:00-04:00
Sam Vaknin's Psychology, Philosophy, Economics and Foreign Affairs Web Sites The core countries of Central Europe (the Czech Republic, Hungary and, to a lesser extent, Poland) experienced industrial capitalism in the inter-war period. But the countries comprising the vast expanses of the New Independent States, Russia and the Balkan had no real acquaintance with it. To them its zealous introduction is nothing but another ideological experiment and not a very rewarding one at that. It is often said that there is no precedent to the extant fortean transition from totalitarian communism to liberal capitalism. This might well be true. Yet, nascent capitalism is not without historical example. The study of the birth of capitalism in feudal Europe may yet lead to some surprising and potentially useful insights. The Barbarian conquest of the teetering Roman Empire (410-476 AD) heralded five centuries of existential insecurity and mayhem. Feudalism was the countryside's reaction to this damnation. It was a Hobson's choice and an explicit trade-off. Local lords defended their vassals against nomad intrusions in return for perpetual service bordering on slavery. A small percentage of the population lived on trade behind the massive walls of Medieval cities. In most parts of central, eastern and southeastern Europe, feudalism endured well into the twentieth century. It was entrenched in the legal systems of the Ottoman Empire and of Czarist Russia. Elements of feudalism survived in the mellifluous and prolix prose of the Habsburg codices and patents. Most of the denizens of these moribund swathes of Europe were farmers - only the profligate and parasitic members of a distinct minority inhabited the cities. The present brobdignagian agricultural sectors in countries as diverse as Poland and Macedonia attest to this continuity of feudal practices. Both manual labour and trade were derided in the Ancient World. This derision was partially eroded during the Dark Ages. It survived only in relation to trade and other "non-productive" financial activities and even that not past the thirteenth century. Max Weber, in his opus, "The City" (New York, MacMillan, 1958) described this mental shift of paradigm thus: "The medieval citizen was on the way towards becoming an economic man ... the ancient citizen was a political man". What communism did to the lands it permeated was to freeze this early feudal frame of mind of disdain towards "non-productive", "city-based" vocations. Agricultural and industrial occupations were romantically extolled. The cities were berated as

Workaholism, Leisure and Pleasure

2000-09-11T14:00:00-04:00
Sam Vaknin's Psychology, Philosophy, Economics and Foreign Affairs Web Sites The official working week is being reduced to 35 hours a week. In most countries in the world, it is limited to 45 hours a week. The trend during the last century seems to be unequivocal : less work, more play. Yet, what may be true for blue collar workers or state employees – is not necessarily so for white collar members of the liberal professions. It is not rare for these people – lawyers, accountants, consultants, managers, academics – to put in 80 hour weeks. The phenomenon is so widespread and its social consequences so damaging that it acquired the unflattering nickname workaholism, a combination of the words “work” and “alcoholism”. Family life is disrupted, intellectual horizons narrow, the consequences to the workaholic’s health are severe : fat, lack of exercise, stress take their toll. Classified as “alpha” types, workaholics suffer three times as many heart attacks as their peers. But what are the social and economic roots of this phenomenon ? Put succinctly, it is the result of the blurring borders and differences between work and leisure. The distinction between these two types of time – the one dedicated to labour and the one spent in the pursuit of one’s interests – was so clear for thousands of years that its gradual disappearance is one of the most important and profound social changes in human history. A host of other shifts in the character of the work and domestic environments of humans converged to produce this momentous change. Arguably the most important was the increase in labour mobility and the fluid nature of the very concept of work and the workplace. The transitions from agricultural to industrial, then to the services and now to the information and knowledge societies, each, in turn, increased the mobility of the workforce. A farmer is the least mobile. His means of production are fixed, his produce was mostly consumed locally because of lack of proper refrigeration, preservation and transportation methods. A marginal group of people became nomad-traders. This group exploded in size with the advent of the industrial revolution. True, the bulk of the workforce was still immobile and affixed to the production floor. But raw materials and the finished products travelled long distances to faraway markets. Professional services were needed and the professional manager, the lawyer, the accountant, the consultant, the

Financing Transport Projects

2000-09-11T14:00:00-04:00
Sam Vaknin's Psychology, Philosophy, Economics and Foreign Affairs Web Sites The role of government in facilitating transport projects is inevitable. But governments are monopolists and largely cannot be trusted with the efficient allocation of resources, not to mention the problem of corruption. So, the less the state is involved the better off everyone is. Transport has gone a full circle. Until the beginning of the 17th century it was largely privately financed. The state took over until the last two decades of the twentieth century. And now there is a revival of the involvement of the private sector in financing infrastructure. Additionally, transport has become a commodity and is securitized, as we shall see. All social (or public) goods carry social costs and bring on negative externalities (such as environmental damage). Embedded in every public good there is a moral hazard - others bear a disproportionate part of the costs while the perpetrators go "free". This is why accurate statistics, forecasting and cost benefit analysis systems are a must. I am not talking only about cost coverage calculations but also about finding ways to impose on the users of transport infrastructure the real costs of their actions. This is known today as "user pays" charging schemes. But to do so, the state needs to know what ARE these costs. This is one way of forcing the private sector to participate in the financing of infrastructure. But we are digressing. Allow me to return to more conventional methods. Transport infrastructure is financed today mostly by the state. Governments usually assume bilateral or multilateral debt from commercial banks, through the international bond markets - but, most often, from institutions such as the World Bank and regional development banks through the EBRD. I have already indicated my aversion to this method of financing. The money is sure to be spent either inefficiently or corruptly or both. Yet hitherto both the financial scope of most of these projects, their regional and international repercussions and the need to adhere to statal planning - inhibited most forms of alternative financing. Recent developments in private sector financing allow for reasonable solutions to this age-old dilemma. These solutions are widely experimented with in dozens of countries, many of them poorer and less stable than Macedonia. The most widespread and accepted private sector financing method is the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) system. The state grants a 15-35 years concession to a

Is Our Money Safe?

2000-09-11T14:00:00-04:00
Sam Vaknin's Psychology, Philosophy, Economics and Foreign Affairs Web Sites Banks are institutions wherein miracles happen regularly. We rarely entrust our money to anyone but ourselves – and our banks. Despite a very chequered history of mismanagement, corruption, false promises and representations, delusions and behavioural inconsistency – banks still succeed to motivate us to give them our money. Partly it is the feeling that there is safety in numbers. The fashionable term today is “moral hazard”. The implicit guarantees of the state and of other financial institutions moves us to take risks which we would, otherwise, have avoided. Partly it is the sophistication of the banks in marketing and promoting themselves and their products. Glossy brochures, professional computer and video presentations and vast, shrine-like, real estate complexes all serve to enhance the image of the banks as the temples of the new religion of money. But what is behind all this ? How can we judge the soundness of our banks ? In other words, how can we tell if our money is safely tucked away in a safe haven ? The reflex is to go to the bank’s balance sheets. Banks and balance sheets have been both invented in their modern form in the 15th century. A balance sheet, coupled with other financial statements is supposed to provide us with a true and full picture of the health of the bank, its past and its long-term prospects. The surprising thing is that – despite common opinion – it does. The less surprising element is that it is rather useless unless you know how to read it. Financial Statements (Income – aka Profit and Loss - Statement, Cash Flow Statement and Balance Sheet) come in many forms. Sometimes they conform to Western accounting standards (the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, GAAP, or the less rigorous and more fuzzily worded International Accounting Standards, IAS). Otherwise, they conform to local accounting standards, which often leave a lot to be desired. Still, you should look for banks, which make their updated financial reports available to you. The best choice would be a bank that is audited by one of the Big Six Western accounting firms and makes its audit reports publicly available. Such audited financial statements should consolidate the financial results of the bank with the financial results of its subsidiaries or associated companies. A lot often hides in those corners of corporate ownership.

The Impeachment of the President of the USA

2000-09-11T14:00:00-04:00
Sam Vaknin's Psychology, Philosophy, Economics and Foreign Affairs Web Sites In the hallways of the Smithsonian, two moralists are debating the impeachment of the President of the United States of America, Mr. William Jefferson Clinton. One is clearly Anti-Clinton (AC) the other, a Democrat (DC), is not so much for him as he is for the rational and pragmatic application of moral principles. AC (expectedly): "The President should be impeached". DC (no less expectedly) ; "But, surely, even you are not trying to imply that he has committed high crimes and misdemeanours, as the Constitution demands as grounds for the impeachment of a sitting President !" AC : "But I do. Perjury is such a high crime because it undermines the very fabric of trust between fellow citizens and between the citizen and the system of justice, the courts." DC : "A person is innocent until proven guilty. No sound proof of perjurious conduct on behalf of the President has been provided as yet. Perjurious statements have to be deliberate and material. Even if the President deliberately lied under oath - his lies were not material to a case, which was later dismissed on the grounds of a lack of legal merit. Legal hairsplitting and jousting are an integral part of the defence in most court cases, civil and criminal. It is a legitimate - and legal - component of any legal battle, especially one involving interpretations, ambiguous terminology and the substantiation of intentions. The President should not be denied the procedural and substantive rights available to all the other citizens of his country. Nor should he be subjected to a pre-judgment of his presumed guilt." AC : "This, precisely, is why an impeachment trial by the Senate is called for. It is only there that the President can credibly and rigorously establish his innocence. All I am saying is that IF the President is found by the Senate to have committed perjury - he should be impeached. Wherever legal hairsplitting and jousting is permissible as a legal tactic - it should and will be made available to the President. As to the pre-judgment by the Press - I agree with you, there is no place for it but, then, in this the President has been treated no differently than others. The pertinent fact is that perjury is a high misdemeanour, in the least, that is, an impeachable offence." DC : "It was clearly not the

Why Slavery?

2000-09-01T14:00:00-04:00
Captivity, bondage, restraint, subjugation, and slavery. These words all mean one thing, enslaving someone against their will. Slavery was an episode in history that scarred, many African men, women and children. Slavery tore families apart, shattered dreams, and left African’s feeling shameful and hopeless. Today in our society racism still lies in it’s little secret places. People judge others by skin color all the time, sometimes without even realizing it. African American’s still think of slavery when it is

Divorce

2000-08-28T14:00:00-04:00
The number of children who were living with only one of their biological parents from 1900 to 1972 increased by 700%. Can we call this beneficial on the child's maturing and mental stability and development? Between 1970 and 1996 the proportion of children under 18 living with only one of their parents grew from 12% to 28%. While the percentage of children living with both parents declined from 85% to 68%. As this century has passed, more and more divorces are taking place at an increased rate each year, and while it may be hard on the parents, it's detrimental to so many children. It confuses them, upsets them, and leaves them questioning many things, most of which they will never find out until they are older. From 1950 to 1980 there has been a total of 175% increase in divorces. The statistics now indicate, that half of all children will witness the breakup of a parents marriage, of these close to half of them will go on to see the break up of a parents second marriage, that's indicating a 25% increase each year! The latest figures released show that all in all, between 1970 and 1996 the number of divorced people has more than quadrupled. 10% of these children that witness this first divorce will go on to witness three or more family breakups. I am here to give my thoughts and opinions on the issue of now in this 20th century, the increased rate of children developing mentally without a fatherly figure in the family is harming the children's development. Tim Rotheisler commented on the recent increases in break ups and the effects it has on children. "Since the introduction of "no-fault divorce" in Canada 30 years ago, the rate of marital break-up has soared 600%. A third of marriages fail, and over a third of those break-ups involve children. One-fifth of Canadian children have lost a parent to divorce, with an effect that some sociologists now say can be "worse than a parent's death." Divorce is consistently associated with juvenile emotional disorders, crime, suicide, promiscuity and later marital break-up." So as we all can see now that marriage break ups are at a increased rate and still the rate continues to increase. But how is this affecting our children? Tim indicated that divorce was closely related to disorder in juvenile crime, suicide and promiscuity. The statistics back this statement

Gender Inequality & Theories of Patriarchy

2000-08-20T14:00:00-04:00
Assess the claim that gender inequalities in the domestic and occupational divisions of labour are best understood with reference to the concept of patriarchy. You should illustrate your answer with reference to a range of feminist perspectives. Introduction Western female thought through the centuries has identified the relationship between patriarchy and gender as crucial to the women¡¦s subordinate position. For two hundred years, patriarchy precluded women from having a legal or political identity and the legislation and attitudes supporting this provided the model for slavery. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries suffrage campaigners succeeded in securing some legal and political rights for women in the UK. By the middle of the 20th century, the emphasis had shifted from suffrage to social and economic equality in the public and private sphere and the women¡¦s movement that sprung up during the 1960s began to argue that women were oppressed by patriarchal structures. Equal status for women of all races, classes, sexualities and abilities - in the 21st century these feminist claims for equality are generally accepted as reasonable principles in western society; yet the contradiction between this principle of equality and the demonstrable inequalities between the sexes that still exist exposes the continuing dominance of male privilege and values throughout society (patriarchy). This essay seeks to move beyond the irrepressible evidence for gender inequality and the division of labour. Rather, it poses the question of gender inequality as it manifests itself as an effect of patriarchy drawing from a theoretical body of work which has been developed so recently that it would have been impossible to write this essay thirty years ago. Feminist Theory and Patriarchy Although ¡§¡K patriarchy is arguably the oldest example of a forced or exploitative division of social activities¡¨ and clearly existed before it was ever examined by sociologists, the features of patriarchy had been accepted as natural (biological) in substance. It was not until feminists in the 1960s began to explore the features and institutions of patriarchy, that the power of the concept to explain women¡¦s subordinate position in society was proven (Seidman, 1994) . The feminist engagement with theories of patriarchy criticised pre-existing theoretical positions and their ideological use, tracing theoretical progenitors of popular views about gender, gender roles etc (Cooper, 1995; Raymond, 1980). Developing theories to explain how gender inequalities have their roots in ideologies of gender difference and a hierarchical gender order, feminist theoretical concepts of

Animal Rights

2000-08-19T14:00:00-04:00
One of the most touchy aspects of our relationship with animals is the use of animals in laboratory sciences. Some manufactures of cosmetics and household products still conduct painful and useless tests on live animals, even though no law requires them to do so. Some people, called anti-vivisectionists, are at one extreme in their concern. They want an abolition of all experiments on live animals. At the other extreme there are those who say that it is quite all right for us to do whatever we like to animals. They say that God gave us such a right, since it is written in the bible (Genesis 1:26) that man has dominion over all creatures. If what is done to the animal may produce something of educational value, adds to scientific knowledge, or can help improve human health, they argue that it is worth killing animals or subjecting them to painful experiments. I believe that the unnecessary testing of animals is inhumane and unethical when alternative methods are available. The anti-vivisectionists say we should allow no experiments on animals and the animal utilitarians, or vivisectionists, claim that we can do anything to animals if it is for the ultimate good of humanity. Perhaps they are both wrong. Much can be learned from treating animals that are already sick or injured in testing new life-saving drugs and surgical techniques. Animals, as well as people benefit from new discoveries. But is it right to take perfectly healthy animals and harm them to find cures for human illnesses, many of which we bring on ourselves by poisoning the environment, eating the wrong kinds of foods, and by not adopting a healthy active life-style? Do people have the right to do what ever they like to perfectly healthy animals? Do we have the right to continue doing experiments over and over again in a needless repetition and a waste of animals if no new information is going to be gained. Animals suffer unnecessarily and their lives are pointlessly wasted. If the issue were simple, animal experimentation might never have become so controversial. Each year in the United States an estimated 20-70 million animals-from cats, dogs and primates, to rabbits, rats and mice-suffer and die in the name of research. Animal tests for the safety of cosmetics, household products and chemicals are the least justifiable. Animals have doses of shampoo, hair spray, and deodorant dripped into their eyes

Human Rights

2000-08-19T14:00:00-04:00
Human rights are universal, indivisible and interdependent. Human rights are what make us human. When we speak of the right to life, or development, or to dissent and diversity, we are speaking of tolerance. Tolerance will ensure all freedoms. Without it, we can be certain of none. The raging ethnic cleansing in Kosovo is an example of intolerance. The Serbians will not tolerate the Albanians at any cost. They are forcing them from their homes, turning the streets into killing fields. This civil war seems unstoppable because of the intolerance of one race against another. No respect for individual rights, basic human rights. Another example is right in our own back yard. I am speaking of hate crimes which plague our society. They are no different today than centuries ago when slavery was allowed. One race against another. One religion against another, it is all the same. Hate is the opposite of tolerance. We can only live together through an expression of tolerance of the differences each of us brings into this world. We should embrace the differences and share the differences. For this is how we learn, through each others' differences. Tolerance in all cultures is the basis of peace and progress. Our country was founded on the basic idea that all man and women are created equal with liberty and justice for all. We must respect and preserve the rights of all, for when the rights of one is threatened the rights of all are diminished. I would like to leave you with this story to ponder. In Germany they came for the Communists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me and by that time no one was left to speak up. Remember tolerance and mercy have always and in all cultures been ideals of government rule and human behavior. Today, we call these ideals human rights. Human rights are to be respected and preserved if we are progress as a society and as a people. Affirmative: Organized government would be non-existent if human rights were not preserved and protected. This Nation was founded by men of many nations and backgrounds. It was founded on the principle that all men are created equal,

Greed

2000-08-15T14:00:00-04:00
For more than fifteen years psychologist Julian Edney has visited college campuses across the nation to study the effects of greed in a society where over $100 billion in new wealth accumulates each year. On each of his stays, he would play a game with randomly selected students where 10 metal nuts in a bowl represented ‘extra credit’. The students would then take the nuts for a single extra credit point. In this, he promised to double the amount of nuts left in the bowl every 10 seconds. Hypothetically, the game could last forever yielding limitless rewards as the students took turns taking a nut from the bowl. However Dr. Edney determined that 65 percent of the groups couldn’t get pass the first 10 second round, and the others could only make it a few more cycles until modest students turned into rambunctious maniacs scrounging for that last nut. Edney’s conclusion: Greed trumps trust. (U.S. News Magazine, 6/17/96 Special) “Small towns and neighborhoods in America used to be cohesive,” political scientist Bruce Frohnen pronounced in the May 1999 issue of Family Policy. “They did not seek openness to all ways of life. Nor did they seek economic betterment as the sole proper goal,” he added. “Faith and tradition were ruling forces in the lives of Americans, bidding them care for their families and neighbors and their souls, as much as their pocketbooks.” But as the material girls and boys grew, so did the need for greed. In a recent study by Roper Starch Worldwide, the values of teenagers moving into the new millennium have drastically changed from their parent’s visions. The percentage who said they wanted to earn “a lot of money” grew 25 points from the 38 percent in 1975. Those who said they needed a microwave oven as a necessity rose 19 points, and the percentage that believed life without an answering machine was incomprehensible grew more than 18 points. At the same time, teenagers who believed “developing a meaningful philosophy of life” dropped by 42 percent. However the rise of money’s power in student-age adults coincided with a reward system for the newly transpired talents. Repetitive tasks are being replaced by super technology while responsibilities requiring intelligence and skill are more emphasized. It is a “winner take all” society though, where the lopsided share of benefits go to very few players. The ostentation is not all coming from the

Divorce

2000-08-06T14:00:00-04:00
As with most life transitions, divorce can be liberating, depressing, frustrating, or traumatic to any person who experiences it. Perhaps the most painful part on the process of divorce is when the children get involved and when they all get trapped in the situation. These children may suffer significant losses in their lives and unless the situation can be handled in a civil manner, they will become prone to the psychological torment that could affect them for the rest of their lives. The issue of divorce however is becoming more and more intense since for the past ten years the divorce rate in the United States has skyrocketed to a record high of almost fifty- percent. It is also believed that the divorce rate in the United States is the highest in the world and the reason for this are primarily the ever-changing role of the husbands and wives in their household, early marriage, infidelity, extra marital affairs, domestic violence, financial instability and psychological incapacity. The issue of divorce is not only the main problem in the American society of today. The custody issue on who is going to gain the right to take care of the children wholly is also a tough one. For the past decade, divorce and the custody battle have rapidly become a significant life event for perhaps millions of Americans each year. “There were more than two million divorces each year, affecting 3 million adults and more than two million children (Thompson, Parting 18).” Thus we can prognosticate that the American family of today is definitely ill and is in great need of a revival. The first and probably the most important step in order for couples to have a solid relationship is education. Education is the key to lowering divorce rate. Divorce is one of those issues where private and personal behavior exacts a huge public cost, “but because divorce and marriage are such intensely personal issues, most citizens are loath to support any program that injects government into the process (Uncoupling 223).” We share the view that new laws or public programs cannot solve this crisis. However, it seems equally clear we cannot sit idle as divorce ravages families and society. Couples who are planning to get married should somehow take a step in advance to learn about the process of marriage and the circumstances that surround it. These can help couples better understand

Is the Death Penalty Cruel and Unusual Punishment?

2000-08-04T14:00:00-04:00
In order to determine whether the death penalty is to be considered cruel and unusual punishment, it is necessary to first define each word in order to get full understanding of the issue being assessed. According to the Merriam-Webster collegiate dictionary, cruel is defined as: “disposed to inflict pain or suffering

School Violence, Is There a Problem?

2000-07-20T14:00:00-04:00
There is definitely a problem with school violence today. The last three years have shown us that violence in our schools society is more common today then ever before. Whether the violence has to do with guns, knives, or just a simple fight, school violence is getting a little out of hand. There have been several school shootings in the last few years, and the number of school shootings seems to be growing rapidly these days. When the last figures were taken by the government educators had found more then 2,000 weapons stashed by students in lockers, backpacks and pockets in the 1996-97 school year. These school shooting and the findings of all these weapons makes parents wonder if their children really are safe at school anymore. When parents begin to worry about their children at school, everyone should realize there is far to much violence at school. School violence is a big issue, and the problem seems to be getting worse every year. National statistics show schools are the safest place in children’s lives, but are we all so sure that this is true anymore? School violence has been growing rapidly for the past three years. Every time there is an occurrence of violence more kids are afraid to go to school. Every child has the right to an education in a safe and secure environment, and violence in our nation’s schools seems to come as a threat to this right. This is one sign that school violence is out of hand, and something has to be done. School violence is probably one of the biggest problems in the nation, this is said due to all the school shootings that have taken place in the past three years. School violence is an issue that everyone may recognize but not everyone is doing something to help prevent it. In the past three years several school shootings have taken place, starting the 2nd of February 1996, in Moses Lake, Washington. Barry Loukaitis opened fire in his algebra class, killing 2 students and a teacher. There was another shooting in the same month, February 19, 1996. This shooting took place in Bethel, Alaska, killing the principal and a student. There were three more shooting in 1997, including the shooting in Pearl Mississippi on October 1, where two students were killed and seven were wounded, by a 16 year old boy. In 1998 there

The Death Penalty: In the name of Justice?

2000-07-19T14:00:00-04:00
The state murdering people because of their crimes simply does not equate to justice. It is real easy to hear about how the government is doing this wrong or that, but the death penalty is abounded with so many injustices and faults that it’s an embarrassment to our entire due process of law. Supporters of capital punishment subscribe to religious and ethical points of view rather than facts, and when they do offer facts it’s always the same argument: “It’s a deterrent.” The death penalty is extreamly flawed, most notably it comes with a very high price tag to an already under-funded correctional institution in America; no stable argument has been installed to warrant it as a deterrent; and the moral decay it establishes creates among other things a feeling of revenge and spite within society. Many people for and against the death penalty are under the proposed belief that capital punishment is a deterrent for crime. No study can offer a clear explanation of this theory. Almost a dozen states don’t offer a death penalty, and a dozen more haven’t executed in over fifty years that have one. Are their first and second-degree murder rates head and shoulders above the other states? Of course not. Some of these states include large metropolis’ such as Minnesota’s twin cites. Detroit has a high crime rate (in actual number not on a per capita basis) in Michigan, which doesn’t offer a death penalty, but Birmingham has one of the highest crime rates per capita in the nation. What has Alabama’s electric chair not done in Birmingham that life in prison has done in St. Paul? Deter crime, particularly murder. Studies have shown that, all evidence in view, long prison terms punish just as effectively as capital sentences. The flaws of capital punishment become too many shortly after they total one. This is because of the focus of the death penalty that being human life. Innocent people being sent to death or being released within weeks of execution are becoming frequent stories on the nightly news. The legal system is disturbingly unable to correctly administer the death penalty. Every day individuals who can’t afford a lawyer have to have one appointed to them under the constitution. Almost thirty percent of Americans can’t afford health care, how are they supposed to afford a lawyer? These lawyers, who are on average paid 5 dollars an hour,

We are heading to an apocalypse of our own creation.

2000-07-18T14:00:00-04:00
Mankind has walked the earth for around seven million years and we have the potential to achieve greatness. Throughout history we have left our boundaries, fought diseases and plagues and studied ourselves, however most of the evidence from these studies have led to the conclusion of no future for man kind what so ever, if we continue on our current course. On July the 16th 1945, in a remote part of the New Mexico desert, the most terrifying device in human history was used for the first time. The first atomic bomb was detonated. On that day mankind finally took the apocalypse out of the hand of God and put it in their own, they gave so much power to so few that a war could be ended in seconds. This is the first and most powerful indication that mankind will destroy itself if we do not “keep track.” What stops a leader in Washington from launching a weapon of mass destruction against his enemies? The answer is simple in theory, however the repercussions of the implications made are so complex that they dare not be pondered by man. M.A.D. or Mutually Assured Destruction. That leader can be assured that if he launches a weapon against another country, that country, or it’s allies, will launch back. We have created weapons that are so terrifying that we are afraid to use them. They can end war, yet if instituted, will destroy man kind, leaving us in a “Catch 22” situation. We are the only species on earth that seeks to destroy itself. The human brain is the only brain on earth that is capable of studying itself. It has become so efficient, so as to study, how it can study itself. However we are the only species incapable of seeing how dangerous we are to ourselves. For example, two rhinos when attacking each other will run head on in the least dangerous manner, if that same rhino encounters any other species that it finds threatening, it will run for the sides of the animal to gore and kill that animal. It will protect is species by not harming it. We, on the other hand, intentionally try to destroy our species. We train men like soldiers to kill their fellow man, and yet are disgusted at murderers, and war for that mater. We have even gone so far has to employ colossal institutions who’s only

Columbine Shooting: Killer Kids

2000-07-12T14:00:00-04:00
On April 20th, 1999 two teenagers, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold walked into their school in Columbine Colorado and began a one-hour long killing spree, which ended in the death of 12 of their fellow classmates and one teacher and left another 28 wounded. The shooters then took their own lives. The two teenage gunmen did not have a previous history of violence but were both enthusiasts of killing-oriented video games. The violence in video games was a major factor in teaching these kids how to shoot other people in real life. Violent video games can and have led children to committing acts of violence against other children and adults. Growing children are easily influenced by the examples laid out before them. A young boy who plays hockey and follows the sport closely is probably more likely to resort to violence to solve a conflict than a boy whose role model is a pacifist folk-singer simply because violence and fighting is a prominent overtone of the sport. The same goes for a child who is very interested in one or more of the numerous video games available that focus on killing as their main theme. A child who plays violent video games will resort to violence more easily when faced with a problem than a child who has never been exposed to such interactive killing. Violent video games do not teach any other way to deal with a conflict. So a young, impressionable youth will be susceptible to resorting to violence if that child has been exposed to violent video games. Violence in video games can also act as a gateway to more serious forms of violence. If a child who has no interest or knowledge in guns and weaponry begins to play a "shoot-em-up" video game where the sole purpose is to kill other people that child could become interested in guns and move on to something more realistic such as pellet and paint ball weaponry. From there the child could move into actual guns when he/she is able to acquire such weapons and this could lead to an act of violence against another human being. Violent video games can foster an interest in guns and violence in children, which can lead them to more realistic violence. Video game companies are continuously releasing more and more realistically violent video games onto the market in order to sell more copies, because market statistics

Abortion

2000-07-06T14:00:00-04:00
The word abortion by definition means, naturally or especially induced expulsion of a fetus from the womb before it is able to survive independently, according to the American Century Dictionary. This is one subject that, when mentioned, completely polarizes individuals. Abortion poses a moral, social and medical dilemma that faces many individuals to create a emotional and sometimes violent atmosphere. There are many points of view toward abortion but the only two fine distinctions are "pro-choice" and "pro-life". A person that is pro-choice would feel that the decision to abort a pregnancy is that of the mothers and that the state has no right to interfere. A person that is pro-life would say that from the moment of conception, the fetus is alive. This life imposes on us a moral obligation to preserve it and that abortion is tantamount to murder (Kolner 5)This is important because part of our society would have to carry the guilt of terminating a human life. This would be severe and almost unbelievable for a society as educated as ours to make this big of a mistake. How could the country that leads in individual rights be so ignorant? We are America where everyone is created equal and deserves a chance to pursue happiness. What if this fetus is not a human life, is this a question that we can really answer? These are questions that haunt our nations soul.Early in our nations history they had no means of measuring or telling if a fetus was alive in the womb. The colonies inherited English Common Law and operated under it until well into the 19th century. Abortion was illegal according to English Common Law. Abortion prior to quickening (feeling life) was a misdemeanor. Abortion after quickening was a felony. This type of punishment was inherited from earlier ecclesiastic laws. In the early 1800s it was discovered that human life did not begin when she "felt life," but rather at fertilization. As a direct result of this, the British Parliament in 1869 passed the "Offenses Against the Persons Act," eliminating misdemeanor charge and dropping the felony punishment back to fertilization. One by one, across the middle years of the 19th century, every then present state passed its own law against abortion. By 1860, 85% of the population lived in states that had prohibited abortion with new laws. These laws, preceding and following the British example, moved

Cult Conversion: Freewill Or Brainwashing?

2000-07-02T14:00:00-04:00
The controversy surrounding new religious movements seems to be foremost concerned with whether or not the members of these religions come of their own freewill or if they convert as a necessary and inevitable response to advanced coercion, or “brainwashing” techniques employed by the cult leaders. The concept of brainwashing came into popular existence in the 1950’s as the result of attempts to try and explain the behaviour of some American GI’s who defected to the Communists during the Korean War (19 Oct 1999). Many people, including some professionals, found brainwashing to be an acceptable explanation for the otherwise unexplainable behaviour. However, the brainwashing theory did nothing to explain why hundreds of other captured GI’s chose to remain true to their country even at the risk of being tortured. It could not accurately account for the behaviour of a select few GI’s when it did not offer any explanation for the behaviour of the majority. Since the 1950’s, the concept of brainwashing has faded in and out of public consciousness with a tendency to flare up again in the face of public controversy. In the 1960’s and 1970’s the brainwashing debate again took center stage, this time in an attempt to explain the behaviour of so-called radicals who left behind a “normal” life and opted instead for a “cult” existence. Although scholars of new religious movements would agree that religious groups often have substantial influence over their followers, they would also argue that the “influence exerted in "cults" is not very different from influence that is present in practically every arena of life,” (19 Oct 1999). Mainstream religions also exercise influence over their members concerning matters such as lifestyle choices, familial relations and monetary donations. Furthermore, most social scientists concede that some degree of influence is inevitable in each culture and facet of life even outside the arena of religious choice. Despite the fact that there do not appear to be any studies that conclusively provide evidence of brainwashing as a legitimate explanation for joining an NRM, and in spite of the many studies that have refuted that brainwashing defense successfully, the brainwashing theory continues to be debated regularly. The concept of brainwashing is still often relied on to account for behaviour that is otherwise culturally unjustifiable. If brainwashing is not an appropriate explanation for the conversion of people to NRM’s than what is? A common theme on the anti-cult side of the

Why Smoking is Hazardous

2000-06-18T14:00:00-04:00
Hi I’m here today to tell you the dangers of smoking. Smoking is one of the most preventable causes of death in our society. About one in five deaths in the US are results from using tobacco. About half all of smokers between of 35 and 69 die ahead of time the new smokers replace them. Smokers could be losing an average of 20 to 25 years of their life. Sometime I’m around an adult that smokes and when he smokes, it makes the house smell awful. I have many reasons to why I think this. It gives you aliment, shortens your life, can affect others around you and yourself. Every time you smoke, it’s like cutting 5 minutes of your life and there are many ways to quit. About 430,000 people in the US die every year from smoking related problems. Smoking is an expensive habit. The average cost of a pack is $3.00 and the average smoker smokes a pack a day. In one year that’s wasting about $1095 or more a year! That’s a lot of money. The Tobacco industry makes billions of dollars each year and they don’t care about your existence all they want is your money. The company adds nicotine, which is addictive. You can’t stop buying the product and if you buy more cigarettes, the company earns more. The nicotine can raise your blood pressure, heart rate, and the oxygen demand for muscles, mainly in the heart. Second-hand smoke affects others as well as you. Secondhand smoke comes from two places: smoke breathed out by the person who smokes, and smoke from the end of a burning cigarette. Secondhand smoke causes health effects, including cancer, breathing problems, and asthma. Secondhand smoke contains thousands of chemicals and 200 are poisons. Secondhand smoke is responsible for between 150,000 and 300,000 respiratory infections in infants and children under 18 months. About 37,000 non-smokers die each year because of it. A person who doesn’t smoke married to a smoker has a 30% greater chance of getting lung cancer than the wife/husband of a nonsmoker. People with asthma are at greater risk than who doesn’t have it. It makes them have breathing complications and if they were asked to run, they’ll have a hard time trying. When you stop smoking you get you sense of smell and taste back, your cough goes a way you’ll digest your food more ordinarily,

Women's Right to Vote

2000-06-18T14:00:00-04:00
After reading Francis Parkman's article, “Women Are Unfit to Vote”, I found myself both offended and annoyed. His arguments were not only shaky, but they were also illogical. He states that the family has been the political unit; consequently, the head of the family should be the political representative. He goes on by stating that women have shared imperfectly in the traditions and not in the practice of self-government. Lastly, he suggests women might vote that men should go off and fight in war. Not only are these statements wrong, but they are very much so offensive. Women are humans, too, and they should be treated how a man is treated. We are, after all, of an equal race, so why do we women not get the right to vote? In my opinion,this question cannot be answered logically. Many reasons can contradict Parkman’s statements included in his article, and I plan to do so. To start with, Parkman declares that “the family, and not the individual, has been the political unit, and the head of the family... has been the political representative of the rest.” He is saying that the men are the head of the family; therefore, they should be the ones that vote. But what if the head of the family is a woman? Let’s say, for example, the husband dies unexpectedly, leaving the woman behind to raise the children and take the position as head of the family. Does she then get the right to vote? Or do we simply deny her that right because she is a woman? According to Francis Parkman, the head of the family is the political representative, and no where in that statement did he once specify the head of the family could not be a woman. Therefore, as long as the woman is the head of the family, they should be granted the right to vote. Many circumstances in one’s life may cause them to become, without notice, the head of their family. As quick as they become the new head, they should then be allowed to vote just as quickly. If they are denied that right, then Parkman’s statement is false. The head of the family should not be limited to just being a man, and neither should the right to vote. Parkman follows by commenting that “they [women] have shared very imperfectly in the traditions, and not at all in the

Social Promotion

2000-06-15T14:00:00-04:00
Most children are taught since the beginning of their educational careers that they must do well, and succeed if they wish to be acknowledged. There was always a black sheep, some boy or girl, who did not do their work and was held back. Consequently, these children were used as horrifying examples of what could happen. However, was the child really at fault for failing to complete grade requirements, or was the system in which they were taught in error? The evidence available demonstrates that children who were retained were not unintelligent, but that education policies were to blame. Although the human race has gone through stupendous scientific awakenings, it is suprising to see that the education policies practiced today are based on the reasonings of a dead age. It is certainly not because Americans do not value their children’s educations but perhaps because we live in a country that is not always aware of significant aspects of our society, particularly education. Social promotion, in use nationally for at least 20 years , is an educational policy where students are advanced from grade to grade. There is no regard to their learning because it is a widely accepted notion that they learn better with their peers. “Studies show that it’s better to promote an underachiever than keep them down,” stated Peg Dawson from the National Association of School Psychologists. Yet, high profile protesters of this system include both United States President Bill Clinton and The American Federation of Teachers. In many cases, children are advanced repeatedly without knowing basic educational skills, and suffer greatly when in high school. Social promotion, used throughout the course of the American educational system as a standard policy, is archaic, and should be altered to address individual student needs, helping to create a future conscientious and prosperous society. The other frequently used option, retention of a student, has also displayed several negative characteristics and is not a likely alternative. Drop-out rates for grade repeaters are generally higher than most students and they often display greater behavioral problems, due largely to the fact that they are older than their classmates. A qualitative comparison is that while only 20.4% of students not delayed were not enrolled in a 4-year college, 54.7% of delayed students were not enrolled in a 4-year college. More than double are not enrolled. The ratio of delayed to non-delayed students with Bachelors Degree’s is

The Apathy of Generation X

2000-06-12T14:00:00-04:00
For the past 25 years it has been wondered why the young people of America have shared the same apathetic attitude towards politics as the older generation of Americans. Indeed, the issues concerning young voters are just as important as those concerning older voters. Why the newest voters choose to abstain their right has long been studied. While it has been proven that the vote of young people can make or a break an election, most candidates are reluctant to relate themselves to young people. When that Tuesday in November comes, young people choose not be heard, assuring themselves future neglect by the part of elected officials. There are reasons that young people do not vote, or get involved in political actions. They range from apathy to just plain not having enough time. One of the larger reasons is that most candidates are much older then those 18-25. This would put the generation gap in between candidates and the youthful voters. A 19 year old Trinity College student remarks about Bob Dole, I think he is making himself look older by speaking about certain issues we (young people) can not relate to. When asked to give an example the student stated, "he made a reference to World War I, I thought he was going to say he fought in that one too!" (www.mtv.com/chooseorlose). While Bob Dole is a isolated instance, many youthful voters feel that there is a ever growing distance between them and the older generations. Another reason that young people are turning away is lack of education towards politics. While this could be said for any age group, it seems to be more prevalent in younger people. The lifestyle of younger people does not allow for a everyday exposure to politics as those of a older generation. Thomas Banks, a 19 year old student, when asked why he was not watching the 1992 Presidential Debates responded, "I guess because I don't really see what's going on at college. I feel pretty isolated. It doesn't seem as important to me as studying. I guess". Although not in a career yet, the life of a student is proving to be just as busy as those in the older generations. People in the full time labor are not the only ones who can use a hassle-full life as an excuse not to get involved. There is another major reason that young

The Young Offenders Act - The Truth?

2000-06-12T14:00:00-04:00
This essay was written to show the advantages and disadvantages of the Young Offenders Act over the previous Juvenile Delinquents Act. Also it should give a theoretical understanding of the current Canadian Juvenile-Justice system, the act and it's implications and the effects of the young offenders needs and mental health on the outcome of the trials. In the interest of society the young offenders act was brought forth on april second 1984. This act was created to ensure the rights and the needs of a young person. Alan W. Leshied says "On one hand the justice and legal objectives of the act are being effectively realized while on the other hand the needs and treatment aspects of it leave much to be desired." The research of the Young offenders act is still ongoing but Leshied says that it is becoming clear that the custody positions have been in dispute since the act came into effect. The old Juvenile delinquency act states in section 38 "The care and custody and discipline of a juvenile delinquent shall approximate as nearly as maybe that which should be given by his parents, and... as far as practability every juvenile delinquent shall be treated, not as a criminal, but as a misguided and misdirected child . . . needing aid, encouragement, help and assistance."(Page 72) If a youth is close to the adult age of 18 years they could be transfered to the adult justice system. This means that they would be given the same sentences as an adult including and up to life in prison. Many people have tried to correct this problem that they see as a weakness. Yet, so far their attempts have failed. Another weakness they find, is that the courts are expensive and unsatisfactory methods of dealing with crime that is not very serious. Before the fabrication of legal aid most young offenders were not able to obtain legal services. "Subsection 11 (4) provides that, were a young person wishes to obtain counsel but is not able to do so, the youth-court judge shall refer the young person to the provincial legal-aid, or assistance program. If no such program is available or the young person is unable to obtain counsel through an available program, the youth court judge may, and on the request of the young person shall direct the young person to be represented by counsel." To establish a relationship between

Water Pollution

2000-06-12T14:00:00-04:00
Water pollution needs to be stopped. Pollution of lakes rivers, streams, and oceans has been killing land and water animals for years. Polluting water is a horrible act and will be stopped. Water pollution kills all kinds of animals every year. Just the EXXON VALDEZ oil spill near anchorage Alaska caused over 3,000 otters to die 36,000 different kinds of seabirds were killed and over 100 eagles.
Oil spills are one of--if not the worst types of pollution. They happen most often in the ocean and then get spread around by tides and currents where they enter streams and rivers and cover everything. They kill life and pollute more in a short amount of time than pesticides and human waste combined in about 1 year. (See graph on page 2 for more inf.)
Radioactive Waste is a very serious problem polluting the lakes and oceans. Submarines release some radioactivity into the water. If a submarine ever crashed enough radioactivity would be released to destroy a region of about 300 sq. miles (this happens because of the nuclear engines)
Human waste is when people dump their.... deification in the water and have sewer lines leading to water which also pollutes a lot (little streams lead to big lakes). Human waste is also when we dump garbage in the ocean because we cannot find places on land to dump it. Some more types of pollution are.. Infectious Gases, Plant nutrients that can simulate growth of aquatic plants which then interfere with water uses and, when decaying, deplete the dissolved oxygen and produce nasty odors. Exotic organic chemicals including: pesticides, various industrial products, detergents. petroleum, inorganic materials, nuclear power plants, industrial sites, medical and scientific use of radioactive materials. Water pollution was originally caused by need of space (to dump trash). I can say that the major sources (in general) that cause water pollution are: Municipal, Agricultural, and Industrial. The dumping of garbage was caused by the lack of space in landfills. Instead of recycling some people started dumping the trash in the water, that slowed in 1956 when the Federal Water Pollution Control Act was created. It slowed almost to a halt in 1977 when the Clean Water Act was created. But, it still happens. Company's still dump waste in the ocean, streams, and rivers even though it is against the law. Eventually water pollution will cause there to be no life in the ocean,

Society's Restraint to Social Reform

2000-06-12T14:00:00-04:00
Of the many chatted words in the social reform vocabulary of Canadians today, the term workfare seems to stimulate much debate and emotion. Along with the notions of self-sufficiency, employability enhancement, and work disincentives, it is the concept of workfare that causes the most tension between it's government and business supporters and it's anti-poverty and social justice critics. In actuality, workfare is a contraction of the concept of "working for welfare" which basically refers to the requirement that recipients perform unpaid work as a condition of receiving social assistance. Recent debates on the subject of welfare are far from unique. They are all simply contemporary attempts to decide if we live in a just society or not. This debate has been a major concern throughout history. Similarly, the provision of financial assistance to the able-bodied working-age poor has always been controversial. On one side are those who articulate the feelings and views of the poor, namely, the Permissive Position, who see them as victims of our society and deserving of community support. The problems of the poor range from personal (abandonment or death of the family income earner) to the social (racial prejudice in the job market) and economic (collapse in the market demand for their often limited skills due to an economic recession or shift in technology). The Permissive View reveals that all participants in society are deserving of the unconditional legal right to social security without any relation to the individual's behaviour. It is believed that any society which can afford to supply the basic needs of life to every individual of that society but does not, can be accused of imposing life-long deprivation or death to those needy individuals. The reason for the needy individual being in that situation, whether they are willing to work, or their actions while receiving support have almost no weight in their ability to acquire this welfare support. This view is presently not withheld in society, for if it was, the stereotype of the 'Typical Welfare Recipient' would be unheard of. On the other side, the Individualists believe that generous aid to the poor is a poisoned chalice that encourages the poor to pursue a life of poverty opposing their own long-term interests as well of those of society in general. Here, high values are placed on personal choice. Each participant in society is a responsible individual who is able to make his

Women In The Labour Force

2000-06-12T14:00:00-04:00
The past decades their has been a dramatic increase of women participating in the labour force from countries all over the world including Canada. In 1950, one Canadian worker in five was a woman. By 1980 this percentage had doubled, and women are expected to make up more than 44 percent of the labour force by the end of this century. The increase in female participation started occurring during the 1970's. This increase also caused the largest baby boom that the Canadian female labour force had ever witnessed. In North America it is common for women to have part-time or summer jobs, and the participation rate of teenage girls is high. It is also mostly high throughout the world in places as United Kingdom because of the fewer women going to school. But in places like France, Italy, and Japan the female participation rate is very low. In most of the countries the labour force is most participated in the age groups between 20 and 24. The labour force of mature women is very high in Sweden, because of the encouraged day care facilities which also provides the females with legislation that provides them with excellent benefits. In Japan there is a drop in female economic activity, the reason why is it affects their marriage and the care of their only child. An observation of labour force participation rates in Canada show that female rates rose a lot between 1971 and 1981, while the male rate rose unnoticeably. The increase in the female participation rate was found in all age groups except in older women. For women aged 15 to 19 the rate was as almost as high as the men. But the largest increase was in the age group of 25-44 years old, where the rate rose almost 50 percent. This meant that the participation rates of the females had become more alike with the men. Family status also influenced the female participation rate but later on during 1981 it had a more less affect than in 1971. According to statistics just over one quarter of married women with young children were working, but this later changed and grew by 76 percent over the a 10 year period of time. The rate also showed an increase of 47 percent for widowed, divorced, and separated women with children. However single women with young children showed a slight decrease. However the female participation rate

Women's Liberation

2000-06-12T14:00:00-04:00
In early societies, women bore children, cared for the home, and helped maintain the family's economic production. Men hunted, made war, and, in settled societies, assumed primary responsibility for field crop production. Male dominance, however, was important from the time of the earliest written historical records, probably as a result of men's discovery of their role in development of hunting and warfare as status activities. The belief that women were naturally weaker and inferior to men was also certified by god- centered religions. In the bible, god placed Eve under Adam's authority, and St. Paul urged women to be obedient of their husbands. In Hinduism the reward of a proper woman is rebirth as a man. Therefore, in most traditional societies, women generally were at a disadvantage. Their education was limited to learning domestic skills, and they had no access to positions of power. Some exceptions to women's dependence on men did exist. In ancient Babylonia and Egypt women had property rights, and in medieval Europe the could join craft guilds. Men of the lower classes also lacked rights, but they could console themselves by feeling superior to women. The Enlightenment, with it's egalitarian political importance, and the Industrial Revolution, which caused economic and social changes, provided a favorable climate for the rise of feminism, along with other reform movements in the late 18th and the 19th centuries. Of deeper significance for women was the Industrial Revolution. The transformation of handicrafts, which women had always carried on at home, without pay, into machine-powered mass production meant that lower-class women could become wage earners in factories. This was the beginning of their independence, although factory conditions were hazardous and their pay, lower than men's, was legally controlled by their husbands. At the same time middle and upper-class women were expected to stay at home as idle, decorative symbols of their husbands' economic success. Such conditions encouraged the feminist movement. Rapidly industrializing Great Britain and the U.S., feminism was more successful. The leaders were primarily educated, leisured, reform-minded women of the middle class. In 1848 more than 100 persons held the first women's rights convention, at Seneca Falls, New York. Led by the abolitionist Lucretia Mott and the feminist Elizabeth Cady Stanton, they demanded equal rights, including the vote and an end to the double standard. In the U.S. progress was slower. The number of working women increased virtually after the two world wars, but they generally

Should Marijuana be Legalized? Arguments For and Against

2000-06-12T14:00:00-04:00
The purpose of this paper is to discuss marijuana and compare both sides of the issue of legalizing marijuana. We have two factions fighting each other ; one those who are pro marijuana and those who are anti marijuana. These two factions have been fighting on this issue on the halls of justice for years. Pro marijuana legalization groups such as the Physician's Association for AIDS Care, National Lymphoma Foundation argue that marijuana should be legalized in order to treat terminally ill patients. Among them are AIDS victims who find that marijuana stimulates their appetites so they can fight off dangerous emaciation; glaucoma sufferers who have used marijuana said it has prevented them from going blind, and cancer patients for whom it alleviates the severe nausea that is often accompanies chemotherapy and sometimes makes lifesaving treatment impossible. Due to all these lobbying groups which show substantial evidence that marijuana can be used as a prescribed drug. Also many advocates who are pro marijuana complain that morphine and cocaine are legal and are very dangerous drugs, that brings up the question why not legalize marijuana as medical drug which is proven to be less dangerous than cocaine and morphine. Lobbying groups in a San Diego, California , council committee unanimously voted to urge president Bill Clinton and congress to end federal restrictions against the use of marijuana for " legitiment medical use." City council women Christine kehoe said she wanted the city of San Diego "to go on the record we support the medical use marijuana.; marijuana can be a drug of necessity in the treatment of AIDS, glaucoma, cancer and multiple sclerosis. '' Many agencies which are anti marijuana such as Drug Enforcement Agency and police departments argue that marijuana shouldn't be legalized. These agencies believe that marijuana shouldn't be legalized because if marijuana is to become legal then thousands more patients using marijuana. Then people will raise the question why marijuana illegal at all if its a medicine. The main reason why the Drug Enforcement Agency doesn't want marijuana to be legal is because their is no hard core evidence that proves that marijuana is a effective drug as a medicine. In twenty years of research have produced no reliable scientific proof that marijuana has medical value. The American Cancer Society , American Glaucoma Society,the National Multiple Sclerosis, the American Academy of Ophthalmology , or the American Medical Association

Air pollution and Government Itervention

2000-06-11T14:00:00-04:00
It is generally accepted that the

Modern Arranged Marriages

2000-06-11T14:00:00-04:00
Everyone knows how hard it is to find a mate for marriage. Having said that, each person is free to decide how the mate selection will take place. Some people would rather conduct this selection by themselves, without any help, while others prefer to get help from someone else, like their parents or a matchmaker. Before continuing it is wise to make a distinction between the traditional arranged marriage and the modern definition of an arranged marriage. The arranged marriages that happen by tradition in parts of Africa, most of Asia and a good portion of Eastern Europe are determined by the parents without the consent of the future couple. The modern view is very different from traditional view. Today's definition makes a distinct emphasis on choice, courtship and convenience. In most instances it is a service, provided by an agency, or a good friend. The purpose is to find a compatible mate, with the greatest number of similarities and the same primary objective: marriage. This text will compare and contrast some of the advantages and disadvantages of today's version of the arranged marriage. It is clear that the concept itself is controversial. Some people find it cold and little romantic to choose your lifelong partner using this method. Most young people tend to believe that the only way to choose a mate is to date until you fall in love plan a wedding and get married. This point of view is not very realistic if we define marriage as a lifelong commitment. If the young marriage is based on love alone the soon to be adults may grow together based on other similarities or goals they have identified, or may grow apart because they have found nothing else to keep them together. It is safe to say that you will have better chances for success in this commitment if you have countless qualities in common with your future partner. Another school of thought identifies convenience as the most important aspect of a marriage; the best way to meet an economic goal or reach a higher social status. This way of thinking is completely opposite from ¨loves¨ point of view. Here feelings have little importance for the only real purpose is personal gain. A relationship based on these selfish principles will never succeed. Trust will never flourish and the relationship will eventually end in divorce. In conclusion, the best way to insure

Gun Control Laws - Should they be altered?

2000-06-08T14:00:00-04:00
While many people believe there should be more gun control and the possibility of banning guns all together, I believe the gun control laws should not be changed. Although there are many reasons that may persuade people to choose to ban guns, I believe that there are several other reasons that lead to all the tragedies with guns in America. Banning guns is not an answer the gun problem in America, there are a few other things that could be done to stop gun violence. In this essay I will tell about why I believe gun control laws should not be changed. After the many shootings in schools over the past two years, many people believe guns should be made illegal for civillians to posses or purchase guns. While this may make it difficult for minors, drug addicts, and people with mental deficiencies to get hold on a gun, The Constitution allows all citizens to possess arms to defend themselves, their families', and their property. However if guns were made illegal, there would still be people who would smuggel guns. If a burgular were to smuggle a gun in to someone's home, that man or woman should be allowed to posses a gun to defend theirself. And if guns were illegal, mostly only people who do not abide the law would smuggle them, leaving all the law-abiding citizens unarmed and more prone to attack with a gun. Some people suggest making a longer waiting-period and deeper background check to purchase a gun would reduce the amount of violence with guns. While once again that would make it more difficult for minors, drug addicts, and people with mental deficiencies to obtain a gun, it would not prevent many people who wish to have a gun from getting one. Also, many people obtain guns from stealing it from another person, or buying it off a citizen who is unknowledgable or uncaring for the law, or the temperment of the buyer. Besides, if a person who is of age, and has a clear record wishes to buy a gun to be violent with it, there is no way of preventing him or her. Anyone who believes strengthening the gun control laws would reduce gun violence is correct. However, if someone wants to kill someone, not having a gun is unfortunately not going to stop him or her. If a gun is not accessible, a person who

This Life Time has 42048000 Minutes

2000-05-31T14:00:00-04:00
Listen up soldiers, we have a crisis on our hands. A silent army has been built up over hundreds of years and is the most deadly enemy we have ever had to face. This enemy you people have known since the day you were brought into this world. You are face to face with this enemy every day, unknowing that every step you take, every move you make, and every decision you face is contributing somehow to this army’s strength. In case you haven’t noticed yet, ladies and gentlemen, this enemy is ourselves. Slowly and surely we are destroying animals, ourselves and most importantly the only planet we have, Earth. You have probably all heard this speech a thousand times before, and well if this has to be the 1001 before we get off our lazy, self-destructing asses and do something to fix it, so be it! I admit I’m no better than the rest of you at the simple things in everyday life that are destroying this planet, but the whole issue pisses me off. Our whole existence revolves around money, and our personal benefit. We have forgotten how to do things for others, how to help the planet and, in turn, how to benefit the species. The fact is simple people, we’re killing ourselves. Many, however, don’t notice it. They believe what they’re doing is either beneficial, or that they are too small to do anything about it. Well most of them are right, most of us fall under some sort of higher power, which means that the root of the problems are mainly the governments. Don’t think that this is leading into one of those x-filesy, conspiracy theory type lectures, however if you’d like to call it that, I wont be one to judge. I do believe the governments know how to prevent and stop much of the problems in our world today. For example, it’s a widely known fact that we have the technology to use water instead of gas for cars, but the government wont allow production because they get money off gas, and to them it’s more important than a clean environment, more important than contaminating the water, or killing off animals because of the pollution even when the money they get from the gas ends up being put back into trying to control these problems anyway. And who was the guy who thought that

The Censorship of Art

2000-05-31T14:00:00-04:00
Things are heating up in America. People are protesting outside of the movie theaters, concerts, and book and record stores of this great nation everywhere. What is all the fuss about? Censorship, Government officials and raving mad protesters alike have been trying to stop the expressive creativity in everything from Marilyn Manson to Mark Twain. One of the biggest shake-ups happened in museums all over the world recently that would have made Michelangelo and DiVinchi’s hair stand on end. In the Constitution of the United States, the First Amendment guarantees freedom of speech, religion, press, the right to assemble and to petition the government; the Ninth Amendment says, "The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people". So it seems one cannot use any of the other rights to quell the rights of an individual or group. Then why is the government trying to censor literature, movies, music and art? All of the world’s modern society has become desensitized and easily trainable. Therefore society has come to accept the ideals, morals, and values driven into the psyche by the dominant forces in the nation: the Government and the Church. By quieting the objective voice these two institutions stand in the lead and stay in control. One might assume that the blood-sucking politicians have nothing better to do than to look for things that offend any one major group of people (i.e. the church) to obtain votes. In this manner the government is becoming more and more controlling and artistic censorship is just another way to maintain control. Things were not always so. Government had very little to say about censoring anything. Was it not only three decades ago that as one nation the population was united by the ideals of peace love, and harmony? As an art student in the 60’s era, Robert Mansfield states in his article, Artistic Freedom: government challenge "the first amendment was seldom an issue of concern…In fact it seemed that boundaries of expression were governed only by individual creative ability intellect and imagination". Where have these ideals gone? It seems in recent years they have disappeared with the freedom of thought. Why is it so important to some people not to offend? It seems the people easily offended are the ones deciding what is acceptable for the population. "Well about a decade ago

Student Uniforms

2000-05-26T14:00:00-04:00
Students are always complaining about the dress codes at their school, and totally rejecting the idea of school uniforms, but I feel there are many benefits to this proposal. These days everyone is so concerned about being attractive and popular that they forget the real reason for going to school. The increase in academic performance and school spirit, along with the decrease in violence, is more important than looking cool for your friends. South Carolina school systems have the lowest test scores in the nation. Our students are not daft; they just do not consider schoolwork a top priority. With uniforms for every student, there would be less focus on fashion and more emphasis on education. Our report cards would be posted on the refrigerators for everyone to see, rather than stuffing them in the bottom of our backpacks. The students would be rewarded for their efforts, therefore their self esteem would also rise. Teen violence has reached its peak in our schools. Last year, numerous killings took place at schools around the country, largely due to taunting amongst the students. Uniforms would prohibit the wearing of chains, large pockets for hiding weapons, and gang colors worn to incite fights. Less students would be teased for their attire, and sexual harassment caused by provocative clothing would come to an end. Our schools would provide a more secure environment in which we all could learn. School spirit in South Carolina is extremely lacking, and it shows. Our athletic teams have very limited support, and it affects their performance greatly. A student could be missing on a field trip, and they would not be located for hours because they simply “blended” with the crowds from other schools. If we were obligated to wear uniforms, we would be more recognizable in public surroundings, and our sense of school pride would blossom. To quote Henry David Thoreau, “take the earth at your feet, and paint your house that color.” School spirit should shine eminently in all students’ lives; not fizzle out like a dampened fuse. Many students argue about the restrictions on their personal freedom. They do not realize that they could still select their own trendy accessories, and they can wear whatever they desire at home and on the weekends. I feel also, that with a standardized dress code, individual personalities would shine, and not be hidden behind the latest fashion. Parents are constantly advising their children

Pros and Cons Of having Hands in the Pokets

2000-05-25T14:00:00-04:00
There are far more pros for students having their hands in their pockets. Nevertheless lets look at the comparisons and weigh up the results of the two anyway. Lets look at the cons to start with. The main con is that Mr Pinto is against students having hands in their pockets. Still why is Mr Pinto against hands

Conservation Essay

2000-05-24T14:00:00-04:00
Robert Frost once said "nothing gold can stay". Today those famous words are closely connected to our environment. Scientists and researchers are uncovering the negative effects of modern technology on

GHB

2000-05-23T14:00:00-04:00
GHB, or gamma hydroxybutyrate, is a central nervous system depressant which can relax or sedate the body that is usually given in a clear liquid form that looks just like water and is usually found in small bottles, like empty Visine bottles, Gatorade bottles, or old water bottles. GHB can also come in the form of a light-colored power, which you mix into soda, alcohol, or water. GHB is relatively cheap, $5-$10 dollars a capful or teaspoonful, and the intoxicating effects usually takes place within 10 to 20 minutes, lasting up to 4 hours, depending on the amount of GHB taken. There’s very little information about GHB’s effects on any one body type. "A dose that might make a 150-pound girl high could kill a 300-pound man. And the dose that made you high yesterday might kill you today." Porrata, a rave drug specialist and former narcotics detective states. Some of the known side effects of GHB involve intoxication, talking, increased energy, happiness, desire to socialize, sensuality, possible nausea, enhanced sexual experience, feeling playful or affectionate, loss of gag reflex, loss of coordination due to loss of muscle tone, mild disinhibition, or the feeling of freedom; exposure, delusions, depression, dizziness, hallucinations, seizures, low blood pressure, slowed heart rate, or difficulty concentrating. Some of the more serious effects include amnesia, vomiting, respiratory problems, loss of conscienceness, being conscience but unable to move, rambling incoherent speech, sedation, disinhibition, giddiness, silliness, desire to sleep, passing out, and death, especially when GHB is mixed with alcohol or other drugs! Some of the slang words used for GHB are Grievous Bodily Harm, G, Liquid Ecstasy (it’s NOT ecstasy), Salty Water, Scoop, GBH-OH, Fantasy Water, Everclear, Great Hormones at Bedtime, Soap, Goop, Georgia Home Boy, Liquid X, GBH, Gamma-OH, Easy Lay, G-Riffick, Cherry Meth, Jip, the "Date Rape Drug," and/or Organic Quaalude. GHB got the name "the date rape drug" because emergency room patients have been raped while intoxicated by the drug; had it slipped into their drink. It is very difficult for ER doctors to diagnose patients before it’s too late because GHB usually leaves the body within 12 hours. However, where as older GHB detection tests used to take several millimeters of urine and up to a days worth of lab testing, a new test had been developed which takes about 3 hours for results and only a few drops of urine. Unless you’re intentionally taking GHB, protect

The Effects of Violence in Media on Society Today

2000-05-22T14:00:00-04:00
Is societies violence the media’s fault? This is the question that has been asked since before television was in every American’s house. Of course there are the different types of media today ranging from newspapers, to on-line reports and stories. There have been arguments upon arguments about this issue, and over 3,000 studies conducted. Unfortunately there isn’t one single result, there is only an array of supposed answers to this undying question. CBS president, Howard Stringer is pointing to a different scapegoat for society’s violence. “I come from a country … that puts a lot of American movies on and has more graphic violence within it’s live drama on the BBC than anywhere else, and there is a lot less violence in the United Kingdom than there is here. There are 200 million guns in America, and that has a lot to do with violence.” He feels it has to do with gun control, which others have suggested. But there are so many violent acts, that one can’t focus on the guns, just like one can’t focus on the media. David Phillips, one of the men we discuss later put it perfectly, “It’s like watching rain fall on a pond and trying to figure out which drop causes which ripple.”There have been many studies conducted on the effects of violence on children, and on the effects on society as a whole. There have been about 3,000 studies performed on this topic. Two of the most prolific studies were the UCLA Television Violence Monitoring Report, and the Mediascope, Inc. test sponsored by the National Cable Television Association. Of course there were many other studies done, but these made headlines because of their results. The UCLA study focused on all of the television media, and discovered some interesting facts from their study. Prime Time Series raised the least concern. Theatrical films raised more concern and had a lot more violence. The Saturday morning cartoons had mixed reviews. 23% of the cartoons raised concern, but that was only rating the most popular cartoons: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, X-Men, etc. They termed the action in cartoons as “Sinister Combat Violence” which basically means the whole story line leads to violence.Mediascope, Inc. focused on the amount and context on cable, effectiveness of rating systems and parental advisories, and the success of anti-violent messages. They found that perpetrators go unpunished in 73% of all violent scenes,

Clause and Effect: Anti-Homosexual Laws

2000-05-22T14:00:00-04:00
“In Edinburgh, a homosexual man is four times more likely to be attacked than a heterosexual man.” This fact has been iterated so much by the media over the past few weeks that it would be a challenge to find one Scot who could not quote it accurately. One would think that this alarming statistic could be greatly improved if people were educated from an early age in the aspects of homosexuality, and taught, even if not to agree with it, at least to be tolerating towards it. Why, then, is there such an opposition to the repealing of Section 28 of the Local Government Act, a clause which prohibits the “promotion of homosexuality”, thereby increasing homophobic prejudice, legitimising the bullying of homosexual and bisexual school pupils, and encouraging hate crimes against gays, lesbians, and bisexuals? Currently, there is a great deal of controversy concerning whether or not this law should be repealed. Is it that this law protects children or encourages ignorance and prejudice? Section 28 was invented in 1986 by the Conservative Party. The actual wording of Section 28 is as follows: A local authority shall not: (1) intentionally promote homosexuality or publish material with the intention of promoting homosexuality (2) promote the teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship. Those in favour of Section 28 would argue that educating children in matters of homosexuality is morally wrong. They believe that children are extremely susceptible to what they see and hear around them, and that hearing from teachers about homosexuality would encourage them to try it for themselves. Claims have been made that children could be “turned” gay in this way. This would certainly be backed up by the unfortunate Jamie Bulger murder, where two young boys admitting to killing two-year-old Jamie after watching a violent film on television. If the media did not make an impression on people’s minds, advertising companies would go out of business. Another argument is that school pupils learn many things from their teachers, that is the reason that they go to school, so could learning about homosexuality not teach them to be gay? Firstly, the media can not be blamed for individuals eradicating the blame for their own actions. Religious programming on television has not caused a nationwide surge of Christianity. It is true that advertisements on television and in magazines can have a strong influence on the things we do

Drinking, Driving,Parties, and Commonsensical Solutions

2000-05-21T14:00:00-04:00
Drinking and driving is the number one killer of teenagers in America. Because of it, the teenage group is the only age group who’s number of deaths are increasing instead of decreasing. Outright denying teens of alcohol doesn’t work. That just makes young adults want alcohol even more. What’s sad about drinking under the influence cases is that every one of them could have been easily prevented. So, if you cannot deny adolescences of alcohol, why not just educate them on simple precautions that can be taken to prevent drinking and driving. One of the best and oldest ways to stop drinking under the influence is having a designated driver. It’s not a hard thing to do. Just asking someone responsible to accompany you to a party (or whatever it may be) in which you know there will be alcohol. If you don’t know if there will be alcoholic beverages served, take a responsible friend anyway just to make sure. Another good way to keep yourself from being a DUI case is to clear out your car of anything distracting. When you’re drunk, simple things can give you an incredible amount of entertainment. So, clean out your car from fuzzy dice, cellular phones, anything that can distract you. Studies show that just by doing this, your chance of having an accident can be decreased by over 25%. So, you’re already at the party and drinking beer. What can you do? For starters, you can try eating high protein food like meat, cheese, and peanuts. Foods that are rich in protein can help absorb alcohol faster. Another thing you can do is drink slowly. Take a sip every now and then. If you drink a gulp, you don’t get to savor the taste and aroma. Also, you tend to drink a lot more than what you can take. What if you’re the person who’s throwing the party and serving the alcohol? Well, try to be the least bit responsible and help your fellow friends out. Before you let someone into your party, ask him or her to hand in their keys. No keys, no admittance. Doing this will prevent drinkers from ever using that car that night. What if someone refuses? Just don’t let them in. If that person gets into an accident after the party, you will probably be held responsible for serving the beverages. Serving food first before drinks is also a

The Nature, Transmission, Prevention, and Treatment of the HIV/AIDS

2000-05-17T14:00:00-04:00
Arthur Ashe is an admirable and well known American tennis player who won many championships. He became the first African American male to win the men’s Wimbledon title in 1975. Also, he was on the United States Davis Cup team from 1963 until 1984. Some of his other major accomplishments include helping to form what is now the Association of Tennis Professionals and winning the Australian Open, the United States Open, and the French Open. Ashe lived a wonderful and successful life: however, in 1983, disaster struck! Ashe acquired an incurable disease through a tainted blood transfusion. This disease killed him in 1993. What is this incurable disease that still haunts the lives of so many people? This is a disease known as AIDS. AIDS is a fatal disease without a cure and a disease that responds to little treatment. How can the spread of AIDS be stopped? This paper will discuss the nature of the AIDS virus, the transmission and the prevention of transmission, as well as the available treatments for people with this disease. First of all, AIDS is an acronym for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. AIDS is acquired which means that it is not passed down from generation to generation through a person’s genes. AIDS is a disease that attacks the immune system, a system in the body that produces white blood cells in order to fight off diseases. This disease causes the immune system to be deficient, or weakened, so that it cannot properly fight off diseases. AIDS is a syndrome, or a group of illnesses with many possible symptoms that can occur together in a weakened condition. AIDS is a pandemic, meaning that it can be found on all continents. The disease was discovered in 1983, by a French cancer specialist, Luc Montagnier, along with other scientists, at the Pasteur Institute in Paris. However, there were AIDS cases reported as early as the 1950’s. "The 80s will go down as the decade that AIDS began. We want to know, - Why" (Bevan 27)? One of the reasons is the promiscuity of sexually active people during the 1980s and the sharing of intravenous hypodermic needles and syringes by drug users. Secondly, AIDS is caused by the human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV. This virus attacks the antibodies in a person’s immune system, thereby disabling that system. HIV works in an unusual way because it uses the immune system

Sexual Preference and the Military

2000-05-16T14:00:00-04:00
Homosexuality should not be a limiting factor in US Army service. In this essay, three points of view will be examined: why homosexuals have been excluded from the Army in the past, what are the origins of the Army's current stance on the issue, and what conditions must occur before sexual preference can be discounted in the assessment of Army personnel. It is the opinion of this writer that, regardless of any merit it may have had in the past, the Army's current position on homosexuality is an example of choosing the easy wrong over the hard right. In the past, a sizable portion of the Army was a conscripted force - soldiers were either drafted into service or sent by the courts for dodging the draft. After WWI, the size of the Army fell to just around 200,000 personnel. When WWII broke out, and the ranks of the Army had to be filled-out again from the general population, a more selective process was adopted. An argument against the conscription of openly homosexual males was made based on the findings of a special committee of the American Psychological Association (APA). Through their research, they had determined that acts of overt homosexual behavior were detrimental to unit cohesion. The proponents of this view argued, and rightly so, that in an organization where a units level of professionalism could mean the difference between life and death, any relationships, such as those that inevitably result from romantic interaction, that would erode a unit's professional atmosphere were not only inappropriate but dangerous. To quote the 1981 version of the directive (DOD Directive 1332.14): "The presence of such members [homosexuals] adversely affects the ability of the armed forces to maintain discipline, good order, and morale; to foster mutual trust and confidence among service members; to insure the integrity of the system of rank and command; to facilitate assignment and worldwide deployment of service members who frequently must live and work under close conditions affording minimal privacy; to recruit and retain members of the armed forces; to maintain the public acceptability of military service; and to prevent breaches of security." According to the argument, it was therefore necessary, in an era of compulsory service, to take precautions against such occurrences. However, one will note the inconsistency between the date of the quotation above and the end of conscripted service in the United States (~1973). The elimination of the draft

Steroids in Sport

2000-05-16T14:00:00-04:00
In the world of sports it is not rare to see athletes give their heart and soul for the love of the game. From sunrise to sundown they practice everyday to perfect their game. Then there are those who take an alternative route. Now athletes are taking performance enhancers such as creatine, androstenedione and worst of all, anabolic steroids. Steroids are chemicals that act like hormones (substances in your body that regulate bodily functions). Anabolic steroids are the ones that are abused to build muscle mass or to make your workout longer. They are chemicals of artificial testosterone, which is a male hormone. With higher testosterone you can have more physique and body hair and a deeper voice. It mainly started in the 1950’s when some athletes were juicing up for training purposes but now you will find all sorts of athletes using this drug. From high school to professional sports a lot of athletes are using steroids. Even though it is illegal there are over one million steroid users. Five percent of male and two percent of female high school students are using steroids. So that would be equal to 375 thousand males and 175 thousand females. Why take steroids if you already know that it is not good for you? Most of the steroid users are injecting for better performance and strength for their sports, but, other users are simply juicing to build more muscle mass or to look better, physically. Inside their bodies they are actually ruining themselves. Taking steroids is a big threat to your health. You could have severe acne, genital changes, water retention, and yellowing eyes and skin. Its not only your appearance that could be at risk but you can also get other health problems. There are coronary artery diseases, ligament injuries, high blood pressure, changes in your cholesterol level, sterility, and liver disease. For males you can get breast development, kidney disease, headaches, muscle cramps, abdominal pains, and bone pains. For females you could get male patterned baldness, smaller breasts, deeper voices, hairy bodies and menstrual irregularities. What I don’t understand is why some take steroids to look better. Would you be attracted to a woman who is just like one of the guys, literally? And girls, would you want someone who has yellow skin with acne all over his face? I know I wouldn’t. Physical problems are just the first step, steroids also give you psychological

Death Penalty

2000-05-11T14:00:00-04:00
Electric chair, gas chamber, lethal injection, firing squad, hanging, guillotine, and garroting. When you hear these words what do you think of? Do you feel frightened? When some hear these words they tend to say, " Oh they deserve it". In the court system that is not always the case. The question you always have to ask yourself is what did the accused do and do they deserve the death penalty? What is bad enough to deserve death? Are their certain crimes that do and then some that do not? Almost every culture through out history has relied on the death penalty and capital punishment and justified as a necessary tool to maintain order. The only thing that changed throughout time were the crimes deemed punishable by death and the methods used to kill those found guilty. Some of the other countries' laws of capital punishment seem so barbaric. In ancient India, executions were sometimes carried out by having an elephant crush the condemned's head. Executions used to be public spectacles. In ancient Persia, one method of execution involved being eaten alive by insects and vermin. In the middle ages, methods of execution included chopping off limbs, stripping off the condemned person's skin, boiling in oil, drawing and quartering (cutting the persons innards and then tearing the body into four pieces), burning at the stake, and crucifixion. In 1692, a man refused to testify after his wife was accused of witchcraft and was " Pressed " to death. The sentence was carried out by lying him on a stone floor, placing a board over him, and piling stones upon the board. Benjamin Rush, credited with the beginning the movement to abolish capital punishment in the U.S, declared in 1792 that reform, not retribution, should be the goal of punishment. The Bible authorizes executing those who show contempt on their parents, walk without permission on sacred ground, practicing sorcery, sacrifice in foreign gods or who prostitute themselves. In the Bible Exodus 21:12 it says, " Whoever strikes a man a mortal blow must be put to death." Electrocution in the modern era. Electricity causes biological damage through both heat and electrochemical havoc. The electrical current itself abolishes the function of organs and tissues such as the brain, nerves, and heart by overwhelming the fragile bioelectrical basis of the metabolism. The voltage applied is not the most critical factor but is in fact, almost irrelevant as

Which gender is more likely to drive after drinking?

2000-05-07T14:00:00-04:00
Introduction Last year a student from my high school was killed in a drunk driving accident. As shocking as the death was for many students, people still continued to drive while intoxicated. This year two of my close friends received DUI's and numerous people I have encountered have also been convicted of Driving Under the Influence. Working at a local bar, it is very seldom that I see a person choosing to remain sober because they "have to drive", and I began to wonder which gender was more likely to drive after consuming alcohol. I hypothesize that men are more likely to drive after consuming alcoholic beverages than women. I have decided this for several reasons, the primary one being that when on a date, usually the male drives. Research I began my research on the Internet, and found several very useful sights. MADD (mothers against drunk driving) had some fairly new statistics regarding alcohol consumption and driving. I also visited the National Clearinghouse for Drugs and Alcohol, and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. While reviewing some statistics regarding fatal accidents related to alcohol, I noticed that California had a very high number of deaths-second only to Texas (this number did not reflect the percentage of the population-with this in mind, Nevada and Texas had the largest percents). With this in mind I investigated the current laws regarding alcohol consumption and driving. Currently, the law in California declares a person to be legally intoxicated if their blood alcohol content is .08% or greater (this law of course is different for minors). The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services define a standard drink as 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof distilled spirits. Method I decided to Survey 50 people, 25 men and 25 women. Although laws prohibit people under 21 from consuming alcohol, I chose to survey people 16 years and older simply because I know that many minors do drink and drive. In order to get a more representative sample, I decided not to survey at CSUSM but at the mall where my sample population would consist of people other than students. Before handing people the survey I asked them two simple questions: Are you a licensed driver? and Do

Terrorism

2000-05-05T14:00:00-04:00
Why do people resort to such violent acts as bombing, assassinations, and hi-jacking? How do individuals and organizations justify these acts of terror. These acts can be described as terrorist actions. Terrorism is an growing international problem. During the last twenty years, new terrorist groups have sprung up al lover the world. Governments have had little success in their attempts to resolve issues in which terrorism is used. A major problem in discussing terrorism is establishing a generally accepted definition. Terrorism can be described as the unlawful use of fear or force to achieve certain political, economical, or social aims. Because it is so hard to define, organizations like the United Nations have had great difficulty drawing up policies against terrorism. Terrorist actions may be committed by a single individual, a certain group, or even governments. Most terrorists, unlike criminals, claim to be dedicated to higher causes, and do not believe in personal gain. The methods used in terrorism include threats, bombings, the destruction of property, kidnapping, the taking of hostages, executions, and assassinations. There are many reasons why political groups attempt to bring about radical change through terrorism. People are often frustrated with their position in society. They may in some way feel persecuted or oppressed because or their race, religion, or they feel exploited by a government. Any group that uses terrorist actions have very complex and powerful reasons to engage in those activities. The use of terror to achieve goals is not a new idea in history. One early terrorist group, the assassins, flourished in the 12th and 13th centuries. The assassins used murder to dispose of their enemies, and their name has come to be used for one who kills for political or religious reasons. Government terrorism dates at least from immediately after the French Revolution, in 1789. During this period, known as the "Reign of Terror," the French Revolutionary executed thousands of its citizens who were considered enemies of its rule. Acts of terrorism have been committed by individuals, or groups who seek national independence. One such act was the assassination of the Arch Duke of France in 1914. The assassination had sought to win Bosnia form Austrian rule, but failed and led to the outbreak of World War I. Kings and government officials are often the targets of terrorism. Czar Alexander of Russia was assassinated in 1881 by members of a terrorist group that wanted

Eating Disorders: Their Dark Sides

2000-05-04T14:00:00-04:00
"Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder on an overwhelming dread of becoming fat. The result of this unfounded fear is self-starvation and major weight loss. In addition, the undernourishment may cause hormonal disturbances, anemia, heart problems, brittle bones and many other problems, some of which are life-threatening ("Anorexia Nervosa," 1). Bulimia is an eating disorder that is psychological in origin and can have dire physical consequences. While anorexics starve themselves, bulimics binge on food and then purge by self-induced vomiting. Bulimics also frequently use diet pills, laxatives, and diuretics to reduce their weight. The purging may serve two purposes: preventing weight gain and also temporarily relieving depression and other negative feelings ("Bulimia," 1)." These eating disorders are a major issue in society today due to society’s stereotypical view of women and young teenage girls, in, but many cases’ men are affected too. First, an eating disorder is an illness that affects several of the United States population because society has driven many people to be self-conscience about their appearance. For example, eight million people in the United States suffer from eating disorders ("The Secret Language of Eating Disorders," 1). Furthermore, 3% of all young women suffer from anorexia and 3-4% suffer from bulimia ("The Secret Language of Eating Disorders," 1). This proves that many women and teenage girls are affected because many are afraid of becoming fat and "unacceptable" to society’s view on women in general. In addition, 1% of boys and young men suffer from eating disorders, and their cases are becoming more common ("The Secret Language of Eating Disorders," 1). Also, it is a disorder that crosses racial and economical lines, those who succumb to compulsive starving or binge eating are males (Lang, 1). This shows that today’s society has also affected men’s stereo-typical view of their appearance and weight. Thus, eating disorders not only affect women, they also affect men, in which we are seeing more cases of every day. Second, victims of eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia have many warning signs which help people notice the signs of these eating disorders. For instance, anorexia nervosa has the following symptoms: significant weight loss, excessive dieting and exercising, and constipation ("Anorexia Nervosa", 2). Also, bulimia nervosa has the following symptoms: makes excuses to go to the bathroom after meals, and eats large amounts of food on the spur of the moment ("Bulimia Nervosa", 2). This illustrates that anorexia

The Effects of Teen Pregnancy on Children

2000-05-03T14:00:00-04:00
Children from homes run by teenage mothers have to face almost insurmountable obstacles in life. The incidents of depression and mental health problems, the lack of father figures, and the high rate of poverty often connected to children in homes run by teenage mothers put them at serious disadvantages when compared to children raised in nuclear families. Many people believe that the implementation of sex education in schools and the addition of more federal aid for single parents are major causes for the country's high rate of teen pregnancies. When the true purpose of sex education and federal aid is to help strengthen the mother and her child so that they can eventually lead productive lives. The absence of a father figure in the home brings about a chain reaction of dilemmas. The emotional problems that children suffer because there is no father in their life can be potentially hazardous to their future. Many children tend to be effected mentally because these powerful emotions have the potential to do permanent damage in a child's life. Children may experience sadness and depression, aggressive behavior, frequent illness, difficulty in school, eating problems, and sleeping disorders. Many children also suffer from various social difficulties and self-esteem problems that come along with living in a one-parent household. The pressure that children raised by teenage parents go through is tremendous. Children who don't have fathers present in the home often feel unloved. There is no trauma as excruciatingly painful as parental rejection and there is probably no worse of a way to wreck a person's life. Males are affected differently by the absence of a father than females are. A boy needs a male role model in his life so that he can learn how to become a man. Children who don't have good role models often choose negative, unsavory characters to mold themselves after. These children become susceptible to many of the dangerous risks associated with children who are raised by teenage parents. "Males that grow up in one-parent homes may gain negative personality traits like immaturity, laziness, and disrespect for women (Meurer, Meurer, & Holloway,1996)." Females who grow up without fathers in the home usually end up having pre-marital sex (Hinckely, 1998). " They subconsciously want to make up for the affection that they didn't receive from their fathers. They become too dependent on men because they want someone who can replace their father.

The Problem with American School Systems

2000-05-03T14:00:00-04:00
All over America there seems to be painfully obvious differences in the school systems which cater to the upper class majority and the ones that serve the lower and middle class minority. There is a strong undercurrent of racial inequality in today's school systems, which negatively effect the quality of education that its students receive. A schools potential to give a proper education often depends on the perspective economic, and social, or should I say racial backgrounds of its students. America's school systems seem to be returning to their former state of segregation. If the government doesn't do something to evenly distribute funds and programs in America's schools the rate of poverty, crime, and illiteracy will steadily increase, thus widening the gap between the lower class and the rich. The population of minorities who live in the United States is constantly increasing and their numbers can contribute to the success or the failure of the nation. Magnet schools, private schools, or suburban schools serve the upper class, majority of the American population. These schools are some of the best high schools in the nation. There are usually a small number of minority children who are lucky enough to attend such quality schools but white children defiantly make up the majority of upper class high school populations. In an article that I read from the "National Catholic Reporter" called "A tale of two schools" the author Viebica Stokley discussed the differences between public schools and magnet schools. There were constant references made about the contrasting environments of good schools and mediocre ones. The magnet school mentioned in the article was called Franklin High. Franklin was a clean, well-lit school. It is air conditioned and freshly painted. There is no graffiti, the bathrooms are clean and there are no roaches or rats present. Franklin has an ample supply of books and supplies. Franklin has a huge library and a computer lab filled with new computers. The school has a TV studio, a new theater, and a school newspaper. Students don't skip classes or miss days at school. Franklin has few discipline problems; there are few fights, if any. Franklin has a fifteen to one teacher student ratio, which means that students are able to receive more one on one attention. Students who attend Franklin take college prep courses like Spanish, physics, and calculus. Students have higher overall grade averages and test scores. One hundred percent

Elian Gonzalez

2000-05-03T14:00:00-04:00
The swarms of rumors and tons of media coverage form a shaded cloud around one boy, his name Elian Gonzalez. Elian has been crowded by cameras , flashes and political leaders all poking at his future. I believe that Elian should go home to Cuba where he could live peacefully out of the American media's blood hound reporters camera flashes and editorials. Elian's father and his family should be able to come to terms and decide on the fate of this young child. He is just being used as a puppet in the political war between Castro's Communism and Clinton's Democracy. I wish that the people of Miami would realize that Elian should not be given special rights to gain entrance to America. Since I have been to Cuba I am sure that there are many other people that would like to be able to travel and stay in America. That is not possible for them they are not cute enough or the center of a political debate therefore , Elian should be sent back to prove that he is a normal citizen and that everyone in society is an equal. This debate over his location has gone much to far. The boy was taken out by force because the Miami residents would not give him up with out a fight. There were riots in the streets where senseless behavior the smashing cars and destruction throughout the streets of Little Havana. What does this solve? Nothing only people's valuables being destroyed which has nothing to do with the fight for Elian. That is exactly what it is no longer a peaceful discussion but a verbal and physical fight to decide this child's life. If this boy who is almost looked upon as a so called gift from god had been dealt with like every other illegal immigrant he would be merely sent back across the ocean he came across back to his native home of Cuba. Yes it is wrong how they treat immigrants if they can work and help with the economical status why not let them in. Do not treat one different from the other. Make sure that everyone is treated as an equal. So I guess now we will have to wait for the political bickering to stop and see the fate of this tortured boy come to end when you pick up the next issue of Time magazine or turn

The Difference Between Sex and Gender

2000-05-03T14:00:00-04:00
In today's society sex and gender seem to have two separate connotative meanings. Sex is a more scientific term that explains physical traits and sexual preferences. Gender carries a more social tone. Meaning that it refers to the different clothing, activities, career choices, and positions people hold in society. A person's social status helps separate or classify the two sexes. Sex is the total sum of physical characteristics that distinguish males and females from each other. The most distinctive difference in characteristics is that man and women have different reproductive organs. This is pretty obvious and so are other traits like facial hair, deep voices, and muscular builds. It is not often that you see a six foot five inch bearded lady who sounds like Barry White walking around. Women are smaller and feminine. They normally walk with a switch and speak with soft voices. These descriptions may not apply to all men and women but they are pretty good examples of what to look for if confused. That brings me to my other definition of sex. Sex is also known as the preference of sexual partner or mate that one desires. A person's preference determines their sexual identity. There are three types of preferences. First there are heterosexual people who like people of the opposite sex. There are homosexual people who prefer partners of the same sex. And then there are bisexual people who like to have partners who are either male or female. The environments that some people are raised in contribute to confusion about their sexual identity. Some people say that these preferences were present the day that they were born. I feel that it is one's own choice what preference they choose. No person is born straight or gay. Certain traits may get mixed up when dealing with people who like to cross dress. Those are people who like to dress like the opposite sex. Some people get sex change operations and become transsexuals. There are even people who are born with both a male organ and female organs. They are called hermaphrodites. I feel sorry for them because they didn't ask to be born with such a deformity. Gender consists of social classifications that help determine sex. With the rapid changes in gender equality it is not as easy to separate sex by what a person does for a living. What position they hold in society or

What Determines Manhood?

2000-05-03T14:00:00-04:00
A man is not defined by his muscles, his facial hair, what he wears, what he drives, or by how much money he makes. The common assumption a lot of guys have is that being male automatically makes them men. Don't get me wrong a person must be male to be a man, but it is not the sole qualification for becoming a good man. A real man is one who takes care of life's responsibilities. Such responsibilities may include obligations to family, friends, career, and community. A real man is a role model and he respects women. Negative media that degrades women does not influence a real man. Real men don't measure themselves by the success of other men. Real men don't quit. Real men are mentally strong as well as physically strong. Real men are open-minded; they are not racist, sexist, or homophobic. Real men respect the opposing viewpoints of others even though they may disagree with them. A real man values education and is always ready to learn. A real man is confident in himself but he is not arrogant. A real man knows himself and his limits. A boy grows from a teenager to a man when he reaches certain milestones in his life. When a teenager graduates from high school he is no longer considered a child. He must go and make a productive life for himself. When a guy gets a job, starts college, earns his drivers license, opens his own bank account, starts paying bills, begins to date, and he begins to make his own decisions in life, he should be considered a man. Some kids grow up quick; therefore I believe that a man cannot be defined by age. A boy becomes a man as soon as he is successfully able to handle adult responsibilities. Some kids are not only expected to attend school and get good grades but they also have to deal with chores, run errands, and act as the man of the house because there is no father around. These kids learn the importance of family early and are often put under more physical and mental stress than the average adolescent is. Family is the foundation of our society and the father is a major part of the family foundation. Having children scattered across the country doesn't prove a person's manhood. A man should love his wife, but if for whatever reason

Lust it or loathe it: The Pornographic Controversy

2000-05-02T14:00:00-04:00
From smutty words to filthy pictures, everyone’s got an opinion on porn. And deep down inside, everyone likes some form of it. You can disagree till your face turns blue, however the porn industry is a money making lucrative world, and we are the reason why. No matter what you look like, someone out there is turned onto your naked (or clothed) flesh, whether you like it or not. And that’s the beauty of porn. It brings a little smile to a person’s life. Women in the SOB industry, weather they are good at it or not, get paid . In Houston, a strip dancer can make an average way above of $700.00 a week working only 35 hours . If a woman decides to take it a step further and models ‘nude’, she can make a larger amount of money in less time. This type of pornography surely doesn’t cause any problems for women. Just profit. The Internet has also helped the SOB industry profit by bringing sexual delight with one click of a button in the privacy of your own home. The Internet further facilitates your fantasies by allowing payment in the old fashion check form, or credit card and automatically deducting from your bank account. Again, this is another fact that proves porn helps bring in money for women and safely. A female does not have to be in contact with a person if she having cyber sex, or selling nude photos. Of course with the jubilation of effortless access in porn industry, there are some wicked habits easily obtained on the Internet. This type of hideousness is child pornography and the hidden camera. Even though in some countries it is perfectly normal for a person under 18 to be married and/or to have children, nothing is more disgusting then using a child’s innocent for means of pleasure. Not as horrifying, though equally disturbing the hidden camera has been a huge success on the web too. If a person wants to be in a porn flick then that person will elect to be in one, and until then it is an outrage that some companies make money off of other peoples bodies without their permission. In these two instances, I agree that pornography is beyond nauseating and uncalled for. Susan Brownmiller, the Founder of Women against Pornography wrote an essay "Let’s Put Pornography Back in the Closet". She rambles on

Do We Really Love Our Animals?

2000-05-01T14:00:00-04:00
Do you consider yourself a pet lover? Do you love animals in general? Can you imagine yourself as a little boy in a trailer far away from the depths of socialization? Once upon a time there was this boy, and this boy had a friend. No matter how hard times got he had Bo. The boy was incredibly happy because he had always dreamed of having a dog like that, a companion. Then your friend dies and you are left standing. Can you imagine the pain? Nobody likes to lose a good friend or a pet, and the majority of the population loves animals. However, evidence points that people don’t like animals as much as they claim to because the majority of the population tends to over look the genocide that exists this very instance. Gandhi once wrote, "The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the ways its animals are treated"(Why Vegan? 1) Gandhi brings up a good point because the issue of Animal Rights is in fact an issue of one’s moral code. To define the morality and ethics, this paper will refer to Ayn Rand’s definition taken from the book, The Virtue of Selfishness. Rand describes itthis way, "It is a code of values to guide a man’s choices and actions that determine the purpose of his life" (Rand 13). Can the common animal lover really love animals that much and is it in their moral code to protect the living? Maybe they would if they were presented with the facts about vivisection and the meat industry. The truth of the matter is, people don’t love animals as much as they claim to, because they allow mistreatment, support companies that practice Vivisection, and the majority of the population still eats meat. The first form of oppression comes from probably one of the most grotesquely cruel practices of all. Did you know that from buying your toothpaste to buying your cosmetics, you open yourself up for the opportunity to participate in the funding of Vivisection? PETA, an international non profit organization designed to protect the rights of animals has defined the term as, "Vivisection is the practice of experimenting on live animals" (PETA 1). Let’s start with the large amount of animals Vivisection effects. The American Anti-Vivisection Society reports that, "Between 25 and 50 million animals are killed in American Laboratories each Year"(www.aavs.org/Doc). Animal’s

Unethical Works, Unethical People

2000-04-28T14:00:00-04:00
In the world of media today, an ethics code is one of the most important things to follow. Unfortunately, Mike Barnicle and Patricia Smith did not feel the same way. Mike Barnicle and Patricia Smith, both former workers for The Boston Globe, plagiarized and falsified information in order to bring forth newsworthy stories. Throughout this paper I will discuss the unethical acts of both Barnicle and Smith, the problems they caused for themselves, and the problems they caused for The Boston Globe. "The following is what happens when a company lacks consistent response to, and enforcement of, its core values and standards"(Hoffman 1). The summer of 1998 became one of the worst summers The Boston Globe has ever seen. For thirty years The Boston Globe had built itself a great reputation and had won twelve Pulitzer prizes. "The Globe even outshone its cross-town rival, the Boston Herald" (Hoffman 1). In 1973 the Globe hired a writer by the name of Mike Barnicle. Mike wrote about the Boston’s working class. Including cops, single mothers, gas station owners, elderly immigrants and young veterans. Problems with Barnicle started to surface early in his Boston Globe career. The Globe settled two lawsuits stating that Barnicle plagiarized quotes of famous people. Also, a man by the name of Mike Royoko complained that Barnicle was copying his work. Many workers at the Globe then came to resent him and complained that he was arrogant. Just when it seemed that Mike Barnicle’s problems were beginning to subside, on August 1, 1998, Barnicle wrote a column titled, "I was just thinking…..". A reader called the Globe and alerted the Boston Herald that many of the excerpts in Barnicles column actually came from George Carlins book, Brain Droppings. The column Barnicle had written was not his own work.. This was the worst case scenario for the Boston Globe because their competitor released the story first and at the same time revealing the earlier problems the Globe had had with Mike Barnicle. "The thirty eight, one-liners in the column included eight items similar to George Carlin’s book, without citing Carlin as the source"(Jurkowitz 1). Here is an excerpt from the actual article that Barnicle wrote compared to the writings of George Carlin. The book: "If cockpit voice recorders are so indestructible, why don’t they just build an airplane that’s just one big cockpit voice recorder?"(Carlin;Jurkowitz 3). The column: "How come planes

Abortion Clinics Should Not be Closed in the U.S.

2000-04-25T14:00:00-04:00
In 1973, the Supreme Court’s decision made it possible for women to get safe, legal abortions from well-trained medical surgeons, and therefore led to dramatic decreases in pregnancy-related injury and death ("abortion"). Now there is a new proposal to close abortion clinics. This proposal takes away the privacy rights of American women that are guaranteed by our Constitution. By closing abortion clinics the government is not only taking away women’s rights, but is also punishing those whom want to exercise their right of a pro-choice woman. Abortion clinics allow thousands of women every year to have abortions. Having the abortion should be woman’s personal choice. By closing these clinics, there will be no providers to perform the operation, so the choice has already been made for them. Closing the clinics will increase the barriers of having an abortion. When there are too many obstacles, the right to make their own choice is taken away from them. In 1973 the American Supreme Court ruled that Americans’ right to privacy included: "the right of a woman to decide whether to have children, and the right of a woman and her doctor to make that decision without state interference" ("abortion"). The Constitution says we have a right to privacy, so taking away a woman’s chance to make decisions about her own body violates that right. The American Civil Liberties Union defends the Constitution and peoples’ rights. ACLU has protected the rights of abortion for women, and in recent years has argued mayor cases opposing restrictions that deny woman access to reproductive health care ("ACLU"). Policy 263 states: "The ACLU holds that every woman, as a matter of her right to the enjoyment of life, liberty, and privacy, should be free to determine whether and when to bear children."(The American Civil Liberties Union) The closure of abortion clinics will be done with the purpose to reduce the number of abortions. This raises the question whether this will be an effective method or not. Before 1973 abortions were illegal yet the number of women who sought abortions did not decrease ("abortion"). Before 1973 many thousands of women died or suffered serious medical problems after attempting to perform their own abortions, or going to untrained doctors who performed cheap abortions with uncivilized methods or in unsanitary conditions (The Abortion Law Homepage.). If clinics are closed, women will still continue to attempt, and succeed, in ending unwanted pregnancies just

Where Would I Be Without Freedom?

2000-04-15T14:00:00-04:00
I walk upon the earth and marvel at the ability to let the grass cushion my wandering feet. What if my feet could not wander? What if I were a slave to this rich soil, then where would I be? Society may not be controlled, and it may wander aimlessly perhaps, but it wanders on its own course. I walk with society and against it, and I have the freedom to do this. I would not be able to write such an essay if I didn’t have my freedom. It is this freedom that allows me to write an essay differently from other people and is what has taken many others and me as far along in our journey. Freedom is the grass that cushions my step, the softness that allows me to tread anywhere without the fear of persecution. Without this layer of protection I would not want to stray far from what I know. Without protection from the corrupt world, I would remain the same immature child who could not walk far from what I could not see. Light liberates darkness the same as freedom liberates slaves. Darkness is the absence of light just as slavery is merely the absence of freedom. Without the light of this freedom I would be in the shadow of darkness; confined to the barren ignorant lands that light never reaches. Grass ceases to grow and life as I know it would be useless – dead. The fire that burns within the soul is fueled by the sun, fueled by the liberation and freedom which allows us to fill ourselves with worldly and unworldly beliefs. There is little faith behind a society who does not have the ability to choose its own unworldly beliefs. Being spoon-fed from birth by my Orthodox Baptist parents, I rode my own spirit into the arms of God and the ways of Christianity. Faith may guide many a man and his heart, but freedom guides the soul. No one knows the truth concerning God, religion, or existence, but the freedom to seek the truth like I have has made me whole. Without freedom I would still place myself higher than everything else and perceive myself as my own master. This provincial nature that the world commercializes I once held, but it has been freed by the disuniting of my flesh and its influence upon my mind, soul, and heart. Freedom is too immense

Does Violance on television Cause Aggressive Behavior

2000-04-15T14:00:00-04:00
An 18-year-old boy locks himself in his room, mesmerized for hours by the corpse-filled video game Doom, while shock-rocker Marilyn Manson screams obscenities from the stereo. Shelved nearby are a video collection, including the graphically violent film Natural Born Killers, and a diary, replicating the unrestrained expressions of hate and death, published on the boy's personal website. Should this boy's media preferences be cause for alarm? The question is not new, but the April 20,1999 massacre of 12 students and a teacher by fellow Columbine High students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold has added urgency to the search for answers. The Littleton, Colorado teenagers reportedly immersed themselves in the same media described above, even producing and starring in their own murderous video before gunning down their classmates, and apparently taking their own lives. We live in a world of violence -- Kosovo, Bosnia, the West Bank, and abortion clinics. The value of human life has reduced to, simply, a few vital organs in a hollow body. Life is no longer viewed as the sacred and amazing gift that it is. Human life is now only a temporary, useful commodity. And, when it is no longer useful? Well, it can be thrown away, like used Kleenex. This irreverence for life has been a result of numerous hours of senseless violence society feeds into their brains every day. Yet, media representatives defend the entertainment industry, denying any direct link between violent media and violent behavior. In many peoples' living rooms, there sits an outlet for violence that often goes unnoticed. It is the television. The children who view it are often pulled into its realistic world of violent scenes with sometimes devastating results. Much effort has gone into showing why this glowing box, and the action that takes place within it, mesmerizes children. Research shows that it is definitely a major source of violent behavior in children. The statistics prove time and time again that aggression and television viewing do go hand in hand. Research shows the truth about television violence and children. Some are trying to fight this problem, while others are ignoring it, hoping it will go away with yesterday’s trash. Still, others do not even seem to care. However, the facts are undeniable. The experiments carried out, all point to one conclusion: television violence causes children to be violent, and the effects can be life-long. Here is the scene: Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck,

Gestures - The DO's and TABOOs of body language around the world

2000-04-14T14:00:00-04:00
Axtell, Roger E. Gestures: The DO’s and TABOOS of Body Language Around the World. Jon Wiley & Sons, Inc, 1998 -- Rev. and expanded edition. Over the past decade the author has been presenting seminars, speeches and workshops around the United States on the subject of international behavior. This book is the result of accumulation of more than ten years of research on the subject and it includes research on his travels to England, Germany, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. All this reinforced a conviction that gestures are powerful communicators used by people all over the world. The purpose of this book is to let people know how powerful gestures can be when used correctly or incorrectly. He also wants you to know how a gesture can mean one thing here and another thing somewhere else, something as simple as a wave good bye, could get you into a lot of trouble in another country. This book was broken down into seven chapters: Chapter 1, illustrated with numerous examples, is that not only are gestures and body language powerful communicators, but different cultures use gestures and body language in dramatically different ways. Chapter 2 discusses the most popular gestures found around the world, beginning with how we greet each other. Shaking hand is not the universal greeting. In fact, there are at least a half-dozen other social greetings - even different ways of shaking hands. This chapter also deals with farewells, beckoning, insulting, touching and other types of gestures. Chapter 3 gets into the special types of gestures such as, American Sign Language, Tai Chi, flirting & kissing. Chapter 4 is designed to help you learn or trace a particular gesture, using scores of drawings. Chapter 5 describes what the author calls the ultimate gesture, which is simply the "smile". It is rarely misunderstood, scientist believe this particular gesture releases chemicals in the brain called endorphins into the system that create a mild feeling of euphoria. It also may help you slip out of the prickliest or difficult situation's world wide. Chapter 6 is an important list of gestures to keep in mind. It is compiled of 20 gestures that can help you separate right from rude, and rude from crude. Chapter 7 is a listing of country-by-country common gestures and body languages. They group the countries by major geographic region. The organization of the book was a combination of narrative and topical. The basic point

Abortion Clinics Should Not Be Closed

2000-04-03T14:00:00-04:00
In 1973, the Supreme Court’s decision made it possible for women to get safe, legal abortions from well-trained medical surgeons, and therefore led to dramatic decreases in pregnancy-related injury and death ("abortion"). Now there is a new proposal to close abortion clinics. This proposal takes away the privacy rights of American women that are guaranteed by our Constitution. By closing abortion clinics the government is not only taking away women’s rights, but is also punishing those whom want to exercise their right of a pro-choice woman. Abortion clinics allow thousands of women every year to have abortions. Having the abortion should be woman’s personal choice. By closing these clinics, there will be no providers to perform the operation, so the choice has already been made for them. Closing the clinics will increase the barriers of having an abortion. When there are too many obstacles, the right to make their own choice is taken away from them. In 1973 the American Supreme Court ruled that Americans’ right to privacy included: "the right of a woman to decide whether to have children, and the right of a woman and her doctor to make that decision without state interference" ("abortion"). The Constitution says we have a right to privacy, so taking away a woman’s chance to make decisions about her own body violates that right. The American Civil Liberties Union defends the Constitution and peoples’ rights.ACLU has protected the rights of abortion for women, and in recent years has argued mayor cases opposing restrictions that deny woman access to reproductive health care ("ACLU"). Policy 263 states: "The ACLU holds that every woman, as a matter of her right to the enjoyment of life, liberty, and privacy, should be free to determine whether and when to bear children."(The American Civil Liberties Union) The closure of abortion clinics will be done with the purpose to reduce the number of abortions. This raises the question whether this will be an effective method or not. Before 1973 abortions were illegal yet the number of women who sought abortions did not decrease ("abortion"). Before 1973 many thousands of women died or suffered serious medical problems after attempting to perform their own abortions, or going to untrained doctors who performed cheap abortions with uncivilized methods or in unsanitary conditions (The Abortion Law Homepage.). If clinics are closed, women will still continue to attempt, and succeed, in ending unwanted pregnancies just

The Use of Marijuana for Medicinal Purposes

2000-03-24T13:00:00-04:00
Marijuana is illegal in fifty states because of its classification as an illicit drug, but controversial issues have been established that this “illicit drug” has improved the course of treatment for suffering patients. Marijuana has beneficial effects when used in medicinal scenarios for the treatment of pain; thus it should be an administered drug for patients who can benefit from the use of this drug. Marijuana has undergone analysis for its use as a medicine and the results have shown improvements in the patients who were treated with this drug. Doctors have expressed opposite opinions, making this issue very controversial. As the debate about marijuana’s use as a medicine continues, experts have given us information pertaining to its positive effects when used properly. Much of the controversy falls in the hands of the government, which purports that marijuana is not a safe medicine, versus the doctors who research the topic for medicinal purposes. Granted, not all doctors feel cannabis should be a “legal” prescribed medicine, it is in their hands to decide so. The Institute of Medicine has ignited the controversy when it said smoking marijuana is risky, but also recommended that critically ill patients should be allowed to use it under closely monitored settings (Koch 707). A specialist at the National Cancer Institute authorized his patients to use the drug, but not over do it (Koch 708). With all the speculation, one would think that doctors wouldn’t be so eager to offer the drug as a reliever. The National Institute of Drug Abuse renders approximately 300 free joints each month for patients whom are enrolled in an experimental program (Iversen 12). The Government proclaims there is no therapeutic value in the medicinal use of marijuana, but they do not have hard evidence to prove it (Grinspoon 46). Ira Glasser, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, (at a congressional forum) expressed: “the government has demonized all drug use without differentiation and has systematically and hysterically resisted science.”(Koch 714) Possibly if the two “sides” would work together an agreement could be established concerning procedures for further development and treatment. Marijuana has eased the pain of chemotherapy, severe muscle spasms caused by multiple sclerosis, weight-loss due to the AIDS virus, and other problems (www.abcnews.go.com/medmj990317.html). Experts from the National Institute of Health or NIH have confirmed that marijuana is an effective, safe and inexpensive alternative for treating nausea caused by AIDS

The Consequences of Guns

2000-03-21T13:00:00-04:00
Handguns and other firearms have a long tradition in American civilization. The right to bear arms is an American right featured in the second Amendment of the Constitution. In the 18th century, when the constitution was written, times were different; there was a need for armed citizens to insure the safety of the society as a whole. Contemporarily the police department preserves the safety of society and the need for armed citizens is out of date. The founding fathers of the Constitution could presumably never imagine the horrendous outcome of their actions. Every year too many lives are claimed as the result of the American government’s inability to fully face up to effects of the issue. Compared to other western countries that have considerably stricter gun control laws America is still viewed as “The Wild-Wild West”. The growing gun related death toll in the U.S. has to come to a turning point. Stripping away the constitutional right to bear arms might have the effect that only criminals will have access to guns. It is important to understand that in a society where both criminals and law abiding citizens have access to guns the likeliness of an innocent person getting shot, when both parties are waving guns, is probably greater than if only criminals have guns. A ban on firearms might not be appealing as a short-term solution but it is important that people don’t limit their thinking to their generation and not think about the safety of their children, grandchildren and the society people are creating today for them to live in. The main obstacle in removing firearms from citizens in the U.S. is the second Amendment of the Constitution. It reads: “A well regulated Militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed.” The second Amendment can be interpreted as every citizen right to bear arms. However the key word is “Militia”, meaning soldiers or defenders of the State. In the late 18th century, when the Constitution was written, times were very different than those of contemporary America. People were scared of possible invasions from Native Americans, the English, and other nationalities. By “a well regulated Militia…” the founding fathers probably meant that citizens could have a muscot standing in the corner just in case anything would happen. Note that the writers of the

Women's Rights in 3rd World Counrties

2000-03-17T13:00:00-04:00
Women’s Rights in 3rd World Countries There was a young woman who left her home in Mycrorayan in Kabul, Afghanistan for Peshawar after the January 1994 fighting and told Amnesty International of the following situation. "One day when my father was walking past a building complex he heard screams of women coming from an apartment block which had just been captured by forces of General Dostum. He was told by the people that Dostum's guards had entered the block and were looting the property and raping the women." The following story comes out of Iran. "On August 10, 1994, in the city of Arak, Iran, a woman was sentenced to death by stoning. According to the ruling of the religious judge, her husband and two children were forced to attend the execution. The woman urged her husband to take the children away, but to no avail. A truck full of stones was brought in to be used during the stoning. In the middle of the stoning, although her eyes had been gouged out, the victim was able to escape from the ditch and started running away, but the regime's guards recaptured her and shot her to death." From China comes the following observation. "Still in the streets an occasional old crone hobbling around on her miniature bound feet was a relic of the pre-Revolutionary, almost dead past. I also heard an echo of that past in a silk thread factory in Wuxi, China. A woman member of its Revolutionary Committee was introduced to me as a ‘veteran worker’. The description astonished me because she looked so young. On inquiry I learned that she was indeed only 34 years old, but that she had toiled in the mill for twenty-six years, having begun this job as an 8-year old child.” These three incidents reflect typical crimes and injustices against women in the Third World countries. Crimes against women include abuse, slavery, false imprisonment, murder and rape. In these countries, women are considered to be inferior to men and are not granted equal rights or protection under the laws. The governments, religions and cultures of these countries support the inequalities, thus allowing vicious crimes against women to continue without any recourse by the victims. The phrase “women's rights” refers to the basic human rights that are withheld from women simply because they are women. Women’s rights promote political, social and economic equality for women in a

Gamma HydroxyButyrate (GHB)

2000-03-03T13:00:00-05:00
GHB, or Gamma-Hydroxy Butyric Acid is an intoxicating chemical with medical, recreational, and potentially entheogenic uses. It is a normal component of mammalian metabolism. It is naturally found in every cell in the human body and is most properly considered a nutrient. It is believed to be a neurotransmitter, although it is still unknown as to whether it exhibits all of the properties required to be considered one. GHB was first synthesized about thirty years ago by Dr. H. Laborit. He was a French researcher interested in exploring the effects of GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) in the brain. Over the years many researchers have studied GHB’s effects. In Europe it is used as a general anesthetic, a treatment for insomnia and narcolepsy, an aid to childbirth, a treatment for alcoholism and alcohol withdrawal syndrome and many other things. During the 1980's it was available over the counter for its ability to stimulate growth hormone release which aids in fat reduction and muscle building. Now it is very popular as a recreational drug due to its pleasant alcohol-like hangover- free high and strong sexual effects. Some street terms include Liquid X, Liquid Ecstacy, Georgia Home Boy, Grievous Bodily Harm, and Scoop. GHB is not approved in the US and has been banned from over-the-counter sale by the FDA (1990). GHB has not yet been scheduled as a controlled substance by the DEA, and therefore simple possession is not illegal. GHB continues to be sold to legitimate laboratories and scientists for research purposes but selling it specifically for human consumption, especially while making claims about its health benefits, is a violation of current FDA regulations and policy. In some European countries, GHB is an approved drug available by prescription. The Federal control may have been an act to protect the pharmaceutical industry from competition from a safer, more effective and less expensive alternative to sleeping pills. There are many side effects and concerns associated with this drug. GHB affects the release of dopamine in the brain, usually causing effects ranging from relaxation to sleep at low doses. Overall the effect is similar to that of alcohol. The difference is that duration is slightly longer and the hangover effects are slightly less and the unpleasant and dangerous overdose effect of possibly causing temporarily unrousable sleep, or coma, at high doses. The effects of GHB are heavily affected by one’s body weight, interactions with other

Active Euthenasia - A Kantian Perspective

2000-02-29T13:00:00-05:00
Euthanasia is one of society's more widely, and hotly debated moral issues of our time. More directly, active euthanasia, which by definition, is; "Doing something, such as administering a lethal drug, or using other means that cause a person's death."1 Passive euthanasia, defined as; "Stopping (or not starting) some treatment, which allows a person to die, the person's condition causes his or her death,"2 seems not to be as debated, perhaps not as recognized, as it's counterpart. I have chosen to look more closely at the issue of active euthanasia, and whether or not it would be considered ethical, by Kantian standards. Those who support the practice of active euthanasia might argue that helping the terminally ill to bring about their own deaths, allowing them to determine the how and when, is not only humane, but also allows the person, who is simply "living to die," to maintain dignity by orchestrating their own end, thus letting them die at peace, rather than suffer to the end, preceiving themselves to be a burden and/or disgrace, to those they love. According to recent polls, many Canadians would agree,3 but the question is, have they taken a close look at the ethical debate? Those who are against active euthanasia would say not, and would argue that by participating in the practice of active euthanasia, one is "playing God," or perhaps, even worse, that they are not acting out of mercy, but rather out of selfishness, attempting to lessen their own burden, and that therefore, the act is nothing less than cold-blooded murder. Murder is defined as; "The unlawful, premeditated killing of one human being by another."4 Euthanasia, in Canada, remains unlawful as of today, and the act of euthanasia is premeditated, thus whether for the purpose of mercy or not, euthanasia is, by definition, murder. According to Kantian perspective and the Holy Bible, murder is both a sin and a crime, therefore we ought not participate in the practice of euthanasia, because it is murder, and it is the wrong thing to do. The euthanasia debate raises many questions. Questions such as; For whose benefit is the murder actually taking place? Ought we allow family members to make a life-or-death decision on behalf of a loved one who may never have expressed a desire to die, simply because they could not vocalize a will to live? (As was the case of Robert Latimer). If a

Falling Through the Cracks: Children of Divorce

2000-02-29T13:00:00-05:00
Regardless of age, race, sex or religion, divorce has devastating, often long-term, consequences. The immediate effects of divorce, such as hurt, anger and confusion, are evident in both children and adults. The longer-term effects are not so easy to pin point. Adults are usually able to articulate their emotions and verbalize their distress, anger, pain and confusion to help themselves through this period of transition in their lives. As well, adults have the means and ability to seek outside professional assistance independently. Children on the other hand, are not as likely to have the ability to identify the source or kind of turmoil they are experiencing. Therefore, it is difficult for us, as adults, to be fully aware of the consequences of divorce on our children. It is estimated that nearly one half of children born today will spend time in a single parent household. Although some of these children are born into single parent families, many more are the product of divorce, and are made to endure the conflict and emotional upset that divorce brings about. At this time, when children require stability and emotional support, the pressures of growing up are often compounded by the stress of divorce and family breakdown. When divorce involves children many questions must be answered. Questions such as: With whom will the children live? How often will the non-custodial parent have access, and under what circumstances? Although simple to ask, these questions are never easy to answer, and children frequently become pawns in a game of revenge. Today, mothers make up the majority of parents who are awarded custody, with fathers making up only 13%. However, this was not always the case. Prior to the 19th century, fathers, under English common law followed in North America , received automatic custody of their children when the marriage dissolved. During the 19th century gradual change occurred. Mothers were first given custody of young children and eventually of older children as well. Today, the trend is changing again, with many couples opting for, or courts ordering, joint custody. Several studies have been done to decipher which custody situation provides the most security and stability for children of divorced families, but it remains that each situation is unique and the individuality of the child(ren) must be the top consideration in making these arrangements. The decision for a couple to divorce is, at best, an emotionally difficult and exhausting time. The decision is

Racism... it's Lingering

2000-02-26T13:00:00-05:00
What would you do if the Constitution said you were just as good as everyone else but some people still acted as if you were something they had just scraped off their shoe? This sort of thing happens to millions of people on a regular basis. Americans of African, Asian, or Mexican descent are all subject to this kind of treatment. Caucasians are as well, but it is not as publicly notarized as the aforementioned. Most of these feelings towards another of a different skin color are deeply rooted in our minds from previous generations. Many, many years ago, African-Americans were used as slaves. The slave owners treated them badly. The owner’s own children then grew up with the same ideals and passed them on to the new generation. Through the years, people have spoke out about these ill-conceived ideas making the ominous threat of racism more discreet than ever before. While in a search online, I discovered a numbered list of Klu Klux Klan, Aryan, Skinhead, and many other white supremacist groups. I was shocked when I saw how many this one list had. It listed over 800 different groups. I know that number is not nearly accurate because there are many smaller groups that have not yet made themselves known publicly. Even people that do not belong in these racially biased groups perform some acts of racism. Racial profiling- the discriminatory practice by police of treating blackness (or brown-ness) as an indication of possible criminality. "Driving While Black (or brown)" is a campaign started by the American Civil Liberties Union because a study showed that minorities only make up 16% of all drivers, yet they are 74% of all drivers stopped and searched. Generally, only 12 to 13 percent of the U.S. citizens are African American, although Black inmates make up 40.29 percent of death row's population. As of 1996, there have been 232 citizens executed under the death penalty since 1977. Only one white person has been put to death for the murder of a black person. One perfect example of true racial profiling and discrimination is this next story. Danny Glover, a famous African-American actor, was in New York City. It was late at night and he was trying to hail a cab. None of the cabs would stop and pick him up because of the fact that he was an African-American male. Stereotypical views like those of the

Should Elian Gonzalez go back to Cuba or stay in the United States?

2000-02-15T13:00:00-05:00
Should Elian Gonzalez go back to Cuba or stay in the United States? This seems to be the question drenching the media on a constant bases. Every newspaper, news broadcast, and magazine seem to have a story about Elian. Titles like “Elian’s Grandmothers are coming to the US”, seems kind of silly if you read the headline literally. I don’t mean to be cold but why do we care if Elian’s grandmother is coming to the US? Thousands of grandmas have come to the US everyday, but we don’t hear about them. The media has turned this dilemma into a circus. All that aside, the question and heated debate of whether or not Elian should stay still plagues us. Everyone seems to have an opinion on this subject. If you ask people casually what they think should happen, you will get very definite answers and plenty of information to back up there opinions. I have asked many colleagues and friends this question. I myself do not have the answer and do not think I am the one to judge. I have spoken to Cubans friends who say the conditions are so terrible over there that there is no way the boy should go back. They speak of old, decrepit, tiny homes with way to many people living in a single dwelling. They speak of a place that has little food and no milk for their children. I have been told of the conditions in the schools and their lack of proper facilities. These acquantenses tell me that Castro his controlling the boy’s father, monitoring his phone calls and making sure he tells everyone that he wants his boy to come home. They say he is not able to say what he really wants for fear of himself and family. For fear that Castro will take away the family’s food and shelter in Cuba. Over all, the general picture that has been painted is not pretty. The only thing not in debate is the fact that children their live a very different life from the majority of the children in the United States. On the other hand, there are the people that believe the child should be with his natural father. That where the child lives does not matter, what matters is whom the child is with. They say he has lost his mother and should not be taken away from his

Elian Gonzalez should stay in the U.S.

2000-02-07T13:00:00-05:00
Dear Rosa Delauro, After reading many articles in the newspapers and magazines that all state, 6 year old Elian Gonzalez has been in the middle of an international tug-of-war since he was found on Thanksgiving Day. Clinging to an inner tube at sea for two days drifting after his family and him were trying to escape from Cuba for freedom. I have decided that it is the right thing for little Elian to stay in the United States. The phone rings: "Your 6-year old son has just been found in the ocean, shipwrecked, clinging to an inner tube. His mother drowned. He is now in Miami hospital." Do you respond? "I’ll be there as soon as I possibly can." or "Send him back to me. I demand it." Elian’s biological father Juan Gonzalez was asked again and again. Why he didn’t go to Miami to see his son. He didn’t answer the question all he demanded was that his son be returned to him, finally threatening the Miami relatives with whom Elian is staying with. Juan says his son is the subject of not only kidnapping but also child abuse. If your son was kidnapped and abused, and the U.S. attorney general publicly said you were able to come see him. Would you stay home? Well Juan Gonzalez is staying home. Why does he lack true affection for the his son? Is he one of those political simpletons so colored with Fidelism that he would rather let his abused son fail than give the slightest political advance to the U.S. to see him. Should Elian be trusted to such a man like his father? Juan lacks the abilities to provide even the basics for Elian. That is, food, security, justice, freedom and the right to be happy. I think that Elian’s father should not be trusted with his son because he can’t even come to the U.S. to see how his son is. If any man in there right mind were able to leave Cuba to come see their child they would drop ever thing for them. Elian shouldn’t be trusted with a man who demands his son be brought back to Cuba and can’t give him food, security, justice, freedom and the right to be happy. When Elian was asked if he wanted to be with his father he said "He cares for his father but he would like his

The Internet as a means of entertainment

2000-01-31T13:00:00-05:00
If somebody had told me five years ago that I would spend all of my free time in front of my computer screen I would have called him crazy. For me outdoor life has always been much more interesting than staying at home. It took me just one night to realize how important the Internet is for me. That night I spent seven whole hours on-line, just entertaining myself. I now believe that the Internet is quite an effective means of entertainment because I can download pictures, songs and videos, chat and communicate with other people and also play network games. I was really amazed at how interesting information someone can find on the net. Anyone can easily find real funny stories, jokes, poems or entire magazines for free. One can also download pictures of friends, popular actors or favorite singers. Imagine a personal collection of rare pictures of Ricky Martin hanging on your wall "for your eyes only"! Moreover, anyone further interested can download and store songs and their lyrics, videos and games. In addition to the entertaining material you can find on the World Wide Web, is an excellent way of making new acquaintances or even friends. People with similar interests can share information with one another through electronic mail and chat rooms. E-mail is enabling radically new forms of worldwide human collaboration. Approximately 225 millions of people can send and receive it and they all represent a network of potential cooperating individuals. Mailing list discussion and on-line conferencing allow us to gather together to work on a multitude of projects that are interesting or helpful to us. Internet Relay Chat (IRC) and ICQ (I seek you) are two of the most important programs that provide chat rooms, instant messaging and mailing lists that can connect groups of users to discuss a topic, share ideas and get to know each other. However, the most entertaining thing you can do when you are connected is play on-line network games. People from all over the planet can play from "Doom clone" games to flight simulating games simultaneously. There are inexhaustible sources of games available for playing, with plenty of different varieties of each type of game. What, however, could be considered as the most amusing fact of playing network games is that you can play against another "intelligence" instead of the computer. Was it worth spending seven hours in front of my PC?

Video Games and Violence

2000-01-25T13:00:00-05:00
The person doesn’t know the difference between reality and fantasy he or she shouldn’t be allowed to play video games, listen to radio and/or watch TV because of all the violence that occurs. If people want to do what the hero or heroine in the game is doing, let them. In every game the position you take is the good guy meaning you have to save the world, along with the humans that live on the earth. None of the games have the objective as killing humans, instead the goal is to kill zombies, monsters, witches, wraiths, etc. The people who don’t want violence in video games should try figure out something that could replace violence. You can’t

Prejudice

2000-01-23T13:00:00-05:00
When a person hears the word prejudice, he or she might think it only refers to the racial prejudice often found between those with light skin and those with dark skin. However, prejudice runs much deeper than a person's color. Prejudice is found between gender, religion, cultural and geographical background, and race. People have discriminated against others based upon these attributes from the beginning of time. Prejudice has become a complex problem in our society today and much of our world's history is based upon such hatred. In the 1600's, white men used Africans as slaves and treated them as if they were not human. "Colored" people were not even allowed to use the same drinking fountains as white people until the mid-1900's. Hitler and his men killed over five million people because they were Jewish or were not their definition of "normal." The Ku Klux Klan exists today and openly professes its hatred towards Jews and colored people. Our society is riddled with such hatred based upon peoples' beliefs and origins and it seems millions are fighting each other for no relevant reason at all. I do believe that we can greatly reduce the amount of prejudice in our world today, yet I do not think that it will ever completely go away. Society has seemingly come to except all races, religions, and genders, and supposedly has achieved "political correctness," yet there will forever be individuals who discriminate based upon these issues. These individuals often form large groups that recruit new members to enforce their hatred of those with a certain religion or skin tone. Obviously, no one can tell these people that they cannot have their own opinions or beliefs, for they have the right to hate whomever they like. However, I believe we need to raise our children to accept all people, no matter what god they do or do not believe in or what color skin they may have. If children are raised around people who are not the same as they are, then they will most likely not think anything different of people who do not look the same as them or believe what they believe. If we raise our children to believe all people are equal from the start, then prejudice will slowly disintegrate over time. We, as the human race, need to focus on not judging people before we know them for who they are.

Profanity Essay

2000-01-22T13:00:00-05:00
"Money doesn’t talk, it swears." Many of the most brilliant minds throughout time have used profanity. Shakespeare’s best works were revised and edited in order to remove the numerous curse words or obscene phrases he included. The harmless use of profanity in an informal setting should not be penalized, by the assignment of an essay. Profanity continuously to evolves, and has a very rich and interesting history. The system of assigning essays for the use of profanity is ineffective and counter productive. "When angry, count four; when very angry, swear." The evolution of profanity began in the sixteenth century, and it evolves with each generation. Profanity is recognized in many Shakespearean works, and has evolved into the profane language used today. Some cuss or curse words have somehow maintained their original meanings throughout hundreds of years, while many others have completely changed meaning or simply fallen from popular vocabulary. William Shakespeare, though it is not widely taught, used a rather vulgar and dirty vocabulary in his writings. His works included subjects that some people wish they had not. "That includes a fair helping of sex, violence, crime, horror, politics, religion, anti-authoritarianism, anti-Semitism, racism, xenophobia, sexism, jealousy, profanity, satire, and controversy of all kinds" (Macrone 6). In Shakespeare’s time, religious and moral curses were more offensive than biological curses. Most original, prior to being censored, Shakespearean works contain offensive profanity, mostly religious, which is probably one of many reasons that his works were and continue to be so popular. "Shakespeare pushed a lot of buttons in his day- which is one reason he was so phenomenally popular. Despite what they tell you, people like having their buttons pushed" (Macrone 6). His works contained many profane words or phrases and as a result, were censored to protect the innocent minds of the teenagers who are now required to read them, and also because they were blasphemous and offensive. Almost all of the profanity was removed, and that that was not had just reason for being there. Some of the Bard's censored oaths are; "God's blessing on your beard" Love's Labors Lost, II.i.203 This was a very rude curse because a man's facial hair was a point of pride for him. And "to play with someone's beard" was to insult him. "God's body" 1 Henry IV, II.i.26 Swearing by Christ's body (or any part thereof,) was off limits in civil discourse. "God's Bod(y)kins, man" Hamlet, II.ii.529 The

Medical Testing On Animals

2000-01-19T13:00:00-05:00
Animals have been used in medical research for centuries. Most of the animals used for research are rodents - rats, mice, hamsters and gerbils. Some dogs, cats and a variety of goats, ferrets, pigeons, monkeys and rabbits are also used .The struggle against this tyranny is a struggle as important as any of the moral and social issues that have been fought over in recent years. Animal rights are an emotional issue-second only, perhaps, to the bitter abortion debate." For decades the value of animal research has been grossly overrated. Although researchers have depended on animal test data to achieve medical advances, there should be other means of research because testing on animals is cruel, inhumane, and often unnecessary. The American Medical Association believes that research involving animals is absolutely essential to maintaining and improving the health human beings. They point out, that virtually every advance in medical science in the 20th century, from antibiotics to organ transplants, has been achieved either directly or indirectly through the use of animals in laboratory experiments. They also emphasize that animal research holds the key for solutions to AIDS, cancer, heart disease, aging and congenital defects. Lastly they insist that, the result of these experiments has been the elimination or control of many infectious diseases. This has meant a longer, healthier, better life with much less pain and suffering for humans. For many patients, it has meant life it self. However, there should be other means of research because the whole process of animal research remains cruel and inhumane. Animal rights activists have gathered a large amount of information that has closed down many laboratories that violate anti-cruelty statutes. In the past, research labs have had to be subsequently suspended due to animal cruelty. Reports involving horrifyingly painful experiments on monkeys and the filthy laboratories the animals must live in. Animals limited to living in tiny metal cages in which they can barely move. From the capture of primates in the wild, to the "factory-like" breeding of mice and dogs, to the confinement and isolation of cages - research is inherently cruel. Animal research is often unnecessary, history has shown that many important medical advances have been made by clinical research and close observations of human patients, not animals. There are countries that don't use healthy animals to train veterinarians or teach surgical techniques. In England they use only sick or injured animals and do

Sexual Abstinence

2000-01-18T13:00:00-05:00
Today's world is full of worries and problems which did not affect teens a generation ago. New problems keep appearing in today's world, such as STDs, increased pregnancy rates, and other factors facing teens who choose to have sex. Emotionally and physically teens and getting less developed before having sex and are not prepared for the serious problems which come along with their decision to have sex. No longer is it a matter which will just go away if we ignore it, but teen health and the health of our society depend on choices which today's teens make regarding sex. With so many diseases and problems facing today's world, abstinence is the only way to protect ourselves. Abstinence is a safe choice in preventing the possibility of pregnancy. One-tenth of young women between the ages of 15 and 19 get pregnant every year, 83 percent of these pregnancies are unwanted or unplanned. Half of the unmarried teens who get pregnant do so within six months of their first sexual experience. In fact, between 1986 and 1990, teen childbearing increased by 16 percent. What's worse, pregnant teenagers often don't see a doctor until the time of delivery. The dangers of going through a pregnancy without seeing a doctor are not only serious to the mother and child, but may risk the lives of both. "I'm doing the body count at 3 a.m. at Ben Taub [Hospital]," said Dr. Hunter Hamill, "and I can tell you that most of our (teen pregnancy prevention) programs aren't working. We have blood on our hands." (Feldman 1). Without seeing doctors or receiving correct pre-natal care, the risk of complications for mother and child nearly quadruple. Not only can these complications include still birth, but may also cause excessive bleeding and hemorrhaging of the mother. According to an article in America magazine, "The place to begin combating teenage pregnancy is in the family, not a clinic." (Leone 19). Although parents seem to be afraid to talk to their children about sex, it is vital to the teens' health. If teens feel their parents are reluctant to speak about sex, they may feel uncomfortable coming to theur parents with any problems or concerns about sex. Teens who feel they cannot speak to their parents about STDs or pregnancy can now speak confidentially with their doctor. Doctors are required to inform and treat teens with confidentiality if the

Abortion - Prolife view

2000-01-16T13:00:00-05:00
Abortion, the termination of pregnancy before the fetus is capable of independent life, can either be spontaneous or induced. It is called "the knowing destruction of the life of an unborn child." (Mass General Laws Chapter 112 Section 12K) When abortion occurs spontaneously, it is called a miscarriage. However, when the loss of a fetus is caused intentionally, it is regarded as a moral issue. Abortion destroys the lives of helpless, innocent children and is illegal in many countries. An estimate of 1.2 million are performed each year. In retrospect, an estimate 38,010,378 innocent children were aborted since 1973 when the process was legalized. Abortion is a simple and safe procedure if it is done by trained medical workers during the first trimester. There are four different techniques utilized during the first twelve weeks of pregnancy. Suction aspiration, also known as vacuum curettage, is the most common surgical means of abortion. This is when a powerful suction tube with a sharp cutting edge is inserted into the womb through the dilated cervix. The suction dismembers the body of the developing baby, tearing the placenta from the wall of the uterus, and sucking blood, amniotic fluids, placental tissue, and fetal parts into a bottle. Although it is one of the safer methods, there are still frequent complications such as infection and tearing of the uterus, causing hemorrhaging. Dilatation and Curettage (D&C) is another surgical process involving the insertion of a loop shaped steel knife to cut the baby’s body into pieces. The placenta is then scraped off the uterine wall. There is a higher risk of infection with D&C and greater blood loss than with Suction aspiration. RU 486 and Methotrexate are two similar types of chemical abortion. RU 486 is a pill that can be taken orally only during the five to nine week period. Three trips must be made to the abortion clinic. In the first, the RU 486 pill is administered after a physical examination. During the 2nd, 36 - 48 hours later, the woman is given a dose of artificial prostaglandins initiating uterine contractions. This causes the embryonic baby to be expelled from the uterus. The third visit, about two weeks later, can determine whether the abortion has been completed or if further surgery is necessary. Methotrexate is administered by intramuscular injection. It attacks growing cells of the trophoblast, which functions as the life support system for

Should There Be Aboriginal Self-Government in Canada/United States of America?

2000-01-13T13:00:00-05:00
The question that is brought up is not that of sex, but it is that of aboriginals in Canada. The question that is asked is should there be an aboriginal self-government? If the government were to go ahead and give the natives there own government they would be losing money and would most likely have angry taxpayers after their asses for the rest of there sorry political lives. The government would also have to deal with a swarm of Quebecans that would be harassing them because of their decision to give the natives their own government, because of their 1995 appeal to separate from Canada. The Quebecans would believe that if the natives get what they want, they should also get what they want. That would mean that Quebec would separate from Canada and create their own nation. However, if the government refrained from processing the natives request of obtaining a self-government, the government would be saving a lot of money and would also be treating everyone in Canada as equals and not just giving what they want because they have different color skin or different ethnic origins. Issues brought up on creating an aboriginal self-government are very important in the future of the Canadian government. I feel that if the government created self-government for the natives, the government would be spending too much money. The decision would cause the natives to become way too greedy. And also that there is probably a little racism going on amongst the government. To carry on, giving the natives their own self-government has a worthy advantage. That advantage being that when the government eventually processes the native's request of self-government, they will once and for all have the natives off their back. At least they'll think that they will. Either way the government will have to put up with the whining of the disrupted natives. There is still a pretty good chance that the natives will leave the government alone for a while. After the years of complaining and fighting, the natives got what they want. Hopefully they'll be happy with what the government gave them and not fight for any more rights, because they have enough already. As mentioned in the first paragraph, giving the natives their own government would cause the government of Canada to lose a lot of money that can be used for other useful needs, such as spending the money

Determining Hate Crimes

2000-01-08T13:00:00-05:00
Exposition: Determining Hate Crimes? Hate based on race, religion and sexual orientation exist within any cultural rich societies. When this type of hate fuels a person into taking violent actions upon those they hate, it is called a hate crime; a topic which the American public is seriously concerned about. It has been a widely discussed subject on the media, and often debates of whether or not a crime should be attributed with hate are the center for discussion. Does hate crime imply on any case when a person is convicted for inflicting damage on someone "different"? It is often difficult to set a benchmark for measuring sufficiency of hate as a cause to label it in front of crime. The term can be conveniently stretched and squeezed by people with different ideas and biases. The four white policemen who brutally beat Rodney King Jr., a black man, half to death for merely speeding is determined by the court¡¦s judgment, as officers performing their duty. Hate, to those particular jurors and judge, was not a valid concern. To them, the beating was not due to the officers¡¦ resentment for a black man, but because they were simply disciplining an offender of the law. To the minority groups, the court¡¦s ruling was outrageous. From their point of view, the savage beating was unnecessary and hate was obviously the factor which induce the four cops to perform such a nasty feat. Because people have varying views and opinions, application of the term "hate crime" is not always relevant. Can we assume the murder of Nicole Simpson by OJ Simpson a hate crime since it involves a black man killing a white woman or are there more in depth twist to the case? People who are willing to do a little thinking, do not just look at the difference of the victim and the convicted and draw conclusions of whether or not the crime is hate related, they examine all the other psychological elements also. The most common way of judgment is to ponder: if the victim was of a different race, religion, or sexual orientation, would the same injurious action still have taken place? In order to picture the virtual scenario, we would need to think critically and be able to delineate out hate, and to do that, we need to understand why people hate. No one is born to be prejudice. It is the

Pros of Green Revolution

2000-01-08T13:00:00-05:00
With the rapid growth of our global population pouring into the next millennium, we will witness an ever-growing hunger rate around the world. That is unless we call for a revolution on the global scale. The Green Revolution which already sprouted in the early part of the century only need to add a bit more momentum and we will see a bright future for the human race, a future without hunger and starvation ¡V hopefully. It is becoming increasingly difficult for the planet to support its overwhelming population. And since the amount of arable land available is becoming scarce, we must seek ways to dramatically improve crop yields of existing cropland. By implementing new farming techniques provided with the new technological advances in machines we can see abundant harvest in even the poorest third world countries. For example, the Green Revolution has already showed admirable progress in the northern part of India ever since it took start in 1950. By 1997, northern India increased its grain production by 37 percent. This has proven that traditional farming methods are being rendered obsolete. And because by the year 2000, there will be half the land per person in developing countries as there was in 1970, we need to apply ultra-efficient methods to sustain the growing need. Not only does the Green Revolution enhances food output, it also preserves the environment. Traditional agriculture requires massive forest and grassland removal to obtain land necessary to farm on. Deforestation and overgrazing has caused erosion flooding, and enabled the expansion of deserts. But with drainage systems, leveling, and irrigation provided by the Green Rev, all this terra deforming will unlikely happen again. We can retain clean air and lessen the global warming effect caused by deforestation. Many people argue that a revamp in agriculture will be way too expensive and unrealistic especially for those poor farmers in third world countries. However many times, they exaggerate the price. In reality, farmers who take the first step in the revolution will most likely succeed and will have more money to invest in further development such as irrigation systems and wells and machineries. And since poverty is caused by low productivity of food which results in over expensive food prices, we can eliminate this problem by raising crop yields. We don't have much time and room to speculate on this issue. The turn of the century is approaching quickly and so

Abortion: Birth Control or Legal Murder?

1999-12-22T13:00:00-05:00
Approximately 1.6 million murders are committed legally each year. With the exception of laws in few states, the mutilated bodies of the victims are thrown into dumpsters like pieces of rotten meat. While these victims lay waiting in the infested dumpsters to be hauled off to a landfill, the murderers are in their offices waiting for their next patient--the accomplice to the murder. This is the murder of an innocent child by a procedure known as abortion. Abortion stops the beating of an innocent child's heart. People must no longer ignore the scientific evidence that life begins at the moment of conception. People can no longer ignore the medical and emotional problems an abortion causes women. People must stop denying the facts about the procedure, and start hearing the silent screams of unborn children. The argument by the pro-abortion side is that the unborn child is not truly a child. Many people who are pro-abortion justify their beliefs through the concept that a fetus is only a blob of tissue until it is born, or the statement: life begins at birth. Abortion is not as simple as removing a "blob of tissue" (as the pro-abortion activists put it) from a woman's body. Abortion is the destruction, dismembering and killing of a human life--an unborn baby. "But it is scientific and medical fact based on experimental evidence, that a fetus is a living, growing, thriving human being, directing his or her own development" (Fetal Development). A fetus is not just a blob of tissue, rather a fetus is Latin for "offspring or young one." Human life begins at fertilization, therefore it is wrong to murder the innocent child in the womb. At a US Senate Judiciary Subcommittee meeting, most scientists said that life begins at conception or implantation of the embryo. No scientist at the meeting claimed that life begins at birth (Factbot). Professor Hymie Gordon of the Mayo clinic stated "' . . by all criteria of modern biology, life is present from the moment of conception'" (Fetal Development). In a 1963 Planned Parenthood pamphlet entitled 'Plan Your Children' it states "an abortion kills the life of a baby after it has begun. It is dangerous to your life and health" (Factbot). Even though abortion is dangerous to a woman's life, and it kills her baby, Planned Parenthood still offers it as a safe solution. This statement contradicts what most abortion

The Ethics Of Abortion

1999-12-22T13:00:00-05:00
Abortion is a very controversial subject that has been continually argued over for the past few years and probably many years to come. The main controversy is should abortion be legalized? First before we get into the many sides of abortion we must first define abortion. Abortion is the destruction of the fetus or unborn child while the child is still in the mothers womb. This can be done by almost anyone from the mother herself to back alley abortions and even to abortions by clinics set up especially for this purpose. There are two sides to this abortion topic the PRO-LIFE which is those who are against abortion altogether and the PRO- CHOICE or those who believe it is the womans right to choose if she wants to have an abortion. These two groups offer different solutions to problem. The pro-life solution is to have the child and basically live with it. They believe abortion is not an answer. The pro-choice solution is abortion because of reasons they feel are appropriate. Although abortion is morally and ethically wrong should it be legal for victims of rape or incest who have no other alternative? There is no real answer to this controversy, there are two sides to it though which have been arguing for many years over the subject. The first is the pro-life group. This group does not believe in the abortion factor. To understand where the pro-life stands we must first understand its beliefs and reasons for its beliefs. Then we can discuss what their solution to the abortion topic is. Pro-life believes that rape and incest are very emotional topics. "They often elicit throughout the population feelings of revulsion; people draw back from the issue of rape and incest. People don't know how to handle a person who is in that much pain. There is no quick fix. That is why it is difficult for even pro-life people to come to grips with the argument over abortion in cases of rape and incest." Some of those who are pro-life will allow abortion in these cases because they don't know what else they can do for the victim and except it as a rare case. But it is known that allowing abortion in these cases usually does not help the victim, instead it only worsens the problem because the victims needs are not being met. But what the facts suggest

Abortion

1999-12-22T13:00:00-05:00
Abortion has been one of this country's most controversial topic on hand. But if one sees the constitutional infringement to women by the restriction of abortion, the torment to the unwanted child and the anguish society

Alcohol Misuse Among Minors in the UK

1999-12-18T13:00:00-05:00
The law in

History of abortion in the Court

1999-12-15T13:00:00-05:00
Abortion. The word alone provokes strong emotion in both women and men alike. Roe v. Wade was decided twenty five years ago, but still the fight is not over. Instead, there are mass rallies, bombings of abortion clinics, murders of doctors and workers at such clinics, intimidation, arrest, political lobbying, and numerous Supreme Court cases. What is it that divides families, and keeps old friends from speaking to one another on the topic? Why are opinions so polarized and why are minds so closed? As the great philosopher Plato said, "A perfectly simple principle can never be applied to a state of things which is the reverse of simple". The topic of abortion is anything but simple, and our laws governing the matter are ever changing to try to achieve a middle ground. In the late nineteenth century a specific backward law was added in Connecticut. It banned not the sale or manufacture of contraceptives but their use. The Director of the Planned Parenthood League of Connecticut, Griswold, and its medical director, a licensed physician, were convicted under the statute as an accessory after they gave advice to married couples on contraception. Griswold appealed the statute to the Supreme Court, where the question was whether the statue violated the Constitution. The Court was convinced that it did, though it refused to become specific about what clause of the Bill of Rights it violated. The court drew notice to a "zone of privacy", which was an emanation created by various amendments. This "zone" grew out of the right to privacy implicit in the First, Fourth and Fifth Amendments. The Ninth Amendment also hints at its existence when it says that the enumeration of specific rights does not preclude the existence of other rights enumerated. With Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479 (1965), the Court established that married couples have a "Right to Privacy" as a prenumbra to the Bill of Rights. Seven years after the Griswold decision, the Supreme Court expanded the "right to privacy" to include the right of women to obtain abortions, during the first six months of pregnancy. Roe was blocked, by the laws of Texas, from obtaining an abortion, because Texas law prohibited abortion except to save the life of the mother. Citing the Griswold case, she appealed to the Supreme Court, charging that the Texas statute was an unconstitutional restriction of her "right to privacy". By a

Affirmative Action

1999-12-15T13:00:00-05:00
Affirmative action works. There are thousands of examples of situations where people of color, white women, and working class women and men of all races who were previously excluded from jobs or educational opportunities, or were denied opportunities once admitted, have gained access through affirmative action. When these policies received executive branch and judicial support, vast numbers of people of color, white women and men have gained access they would not otherwise have had. These gains have led to very real changes. Affirmative action programs have not eliminated racism, nor have they always been implemented without problems. However, there would be no struggle to roll back the gains achieved if affirmative action policies were ineffective. The implementation of affirmative action was America's first honest attempt at solving a problem, it had previously chosen to ignore. In a variety of areas, from the quality of health care to the rate of employment, blacks still remain far behind whites. Their representation in the more prestigious professions is still almost insignificant. Comparable imbalances exist for other racial and ethnic minorities as well as for women. Yet, to truly understand the importance of affirmative action, one must look at America's past discrimination to see why, at this point in history, we must become more "color conscious". History Of Discrimination In America: Events Leading To Affirmative Action. The Declaration of Independence asserts that "all men are created equal." Yet America is scarred by a long history of legally imposed inequality. Snatched from their native land, transported thousands of miles-in a nightmare of disease and death-and sold into slavery, blacks in America were reduced to the legal status of farm animals. A Supreme Court opinion, Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857), made this official by classifying slaves as a species of "private property." Even after slavery was abolished by the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865, American blacks, other minorities, and women continued to be deprived of some of the most elementary right of citizenship. During the Reconstruction, after the end of the Civil War, the Fourteenth Amendment was passed in 1868, making blacks citizens and promised them the "equal protection of the laws." In 1870 the Fifteenth Amendment was passed, which gave blacks the right to vote. Congress also passed a number of civil rights laws barring discrimination against blacks in hotels, theaters, and other places. However, the South reacted by passing the "Black Codes, " which severely limited the rights of

Euthanasia

1999-12-15T13:00:00-05:00
In recent years, Euthanasia has become a very heated debate. It is a Greek word that means "easy death" but the controversy surrounding it is just the opposite. Whether the issue is refusing prolonged life mechanically, assisting suicide, or active euthanasia, we eventually confront our socity's fears toward death itself. Above others, our culture breeds fear and dread of aging and dying. It is not easy for most of the western world to see death as an inevitable part of life. However, the issues that surround euthanasia are not only about death, they are about ones liberty, right to privacy and control over his or her own body. So, the question remains: Who has the right? Under current U.S. law, there are clear distinctions between the two types of euthanasia. One group of actions taken to bring about the death of a dying patient -withdrawal of life support, referred to by some as passive euthanasia- has been specifically upheld by the courts as a legal right of a patient to request and a legal act for a doctor to perform. A second group of actions taken to bring about the death of a dying patient -physician-assisted death, referred to by some as active euthanasia- is specifically prohibited by laws in most states banning "mercy killing" and is condemned by the American Medical Association. Although it is not a crime to be present when a person takes his or her life, it is a crime to take direct action intentionally designed to help facilitate death--no matter how justifiable and compassionate the circumstances may be.1 With active euthanasia, it is the doctor who administers the lethal drug dose. Since it is tantamount to homicide, the few U.S. doctors who perform it have been brought to trial but none of them have ever been convicted and imprisoned. Modern interest in euthanasia in the United States began in 1870, when a commentator, Samuel Williams, proposed to the Birmingham Speculative Club that euthanasia be permitted "in all cases of hopeless and painful illness" to bring about "a quick and painless death." The word "painless" is important: the idea of euthanasia began gaining ground in modern times not because of new technologies for agonizingly prolonging life but because of the discovery of new drugs, such as morphine and various anesthetics for the

Teenage Homosexuality

1999-12-15T13:00:00-05:00
Of the many emotions a gay man or woman feel, perhaps the most powerfully pervasive is fear. The fear of being found out is real enough, but the worry does not end there. There also lurks the fear of being called names, being assaulted, perhaps even killed. For adults these fears are horrible enough. For a lesbian and gay teenager, who lack experience and life skills to cope with them, such fears can be overwhelming. Lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth face many problems as they realize they are homosexual. Often they don't know even one other homosexual person and feel very alone and misunderstood. They see very few role models, no one to identify with. No one knows their secrets, no one shares their pain. No one will stop others from name calling if the name calling is about homosexuality. Who would dare to speak up? No one speaks up, not in junior high and high school. College, perhaps; pride events are more easily seen then, but in high school no one speaks up. Imagine dearly loving someone else and having to keep it totally secret because if you don't you will be punished -- cast out of your home by your family, ostracized by your friends, perhaps losing your job. This is the world of the lesbian and gay young person. The feelings homosexual youth face are only the beginning of the problem. As they recognize that they are different and discriminated against, they lose self esteem and become depressed. Many become suicidal and develop a feeling of extreme depression and helplessness. Those who don't commit suicide live an adolescence of silence and oppression, rarely being able to speak up without being struck down by peers. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Task Force on Youth Suicide issued a report in January of 1989 concluding that lesbian and gay youth may constitute "up to thirty percent of completed suicides annually" and that "homosexuals of both sexes are two to six times more likely to attempt suicide than are heterosexuals. Homosexual youth can not speak up because of fear and misunderstanding. And when no one speaks up for them, no one stops the pain, many teens can not handle it and commit suicide. This is the meaning of the commonly known phrase, "Silence equals death." Not only do they face unrestricted discrimination and harassment at school, they often

Regulation of the Internet

1999-12-14T13:00:00-05:00
Child pornography, hackers reading how to hack into your web site or personal computer and children reading explicit details in the Starr Report; these are all examples of harmful information available on the Internet that should be regulated by the government. Government should regulate information on the Internet. Obscene and harmful material on the Internet, such as child pornography should be obliterated. Other questionable material, such as the Starr Report, should be published on the Internet, but not within the reach of children. Hacking is a very controversial subject. Most aspects of hacking correspond to doing harm upon other people’s computers. There is material available on the Internet regarding the "how-to’s" of hacking. These aspects of hacking should be extracted from the Internet. Now, we can easily say these things such as "child pornography, hacking, and objectionable material on the Internet are bad and should be taken off." This is the easy way out. We have to realize that the Internet is an extremely complicated network of computers worldwide and that we can’t just look around and find these "bad things" and get rid of them. We also need to realize that the problem doesn’t just exist inside the United States. Sure, we can bust all the host computers containing these things in the United States, but the Internet is a worldwide network. So, the United States government cannot patrol the world or make laws making these things illegal. Coalitions need to be formed worldwide to help in the finding and annihilation of the harmful and obscene material. I think that the easiest way to help fight this problem would be to get the United Nations to form a council that would find these server computers and re-format them and sell them off at a profit and keep the money for the United Nations. Like any other form of communication, such as telephone or newspaper, the Internet should be treated in some respect. Although the first amendment gives Americans the right to free speech, it has to be considered that this amendment was written well before computers. The first amendment should be restated that we have freedom of speech, but not if it creates more harm than help. Do not get me wrong, the Internet is still a fine source of education and entertainment. Freedom of speech and involvement of government of the Internet is a controversial issue, but we must

Premarital Sex

1999-12-14T13:00:00-05:00
Premarital sex is a huge problem in society today. People everywhere are not waiting until they get married to have sex. People having sex today are not aware of the consequences that come with having sex. They just think it is fun and there are nothing other than fun comes with having sex. Some people tend to have a lot of sex. They say they do it for the satisfaction. They believe sex is fun. It is perceived to be a great thing from the time one is young. Going to elementary school kids always talked about the day they were going to have sex. They looked forward to it. Where they got the idea that sex was such a great thing is a question that one must ask? The movies, maybe. The magazines that one sees when digging through the drawers of an older brother, uncle or ones father. Sex is all over society. You can not watch cable television without seeing people kissing intimately, or even having sex. Just because cable does not show full nudity does not make it any better to let an eight year old child watch a television show full of sex. In today's society women are not held to that same standard as men are when it comes to having sex. Now that the reasons people are having sex has been somewhat discussed and is out of the way, let us discuss the consequences that come with having sex, such as A.I.D.S. This is a deadly virus that kills ones immune system. A person never dies from the actual virus. They die from the diseases that they would not have otherwise contracted if they still had a strong immune system. The immune system doesn't die slowly either it take at least five years for the immune system to eventually give out. A person can die from a simple cold if they have contracted the A.I.D.S virus. They cold starts of as a normal one does but it just keeps getting worse and worse. People suffer before they die from this disease. This disease has been responsible for killing millions of people. The way this virus is contracted is through exchange of bodily fluids. Sex is the number one way this virus is spread. What people are not realizing is this disease is deadly and by having premarital sex and not being monogamous they too can contract

Three Strikes You're Out Law

1999-12-14T13:00:00-05:00
We have all heard of the newest anti-crime law, the "Three strikes and you’re out" law. It wasn’t easy getting this law from the bill stage in Sacramento to the law stage, because it is not a criminal friendly law. Meaning that this law’s purpose is to bring pain, suffering, and intimidation to criminals. Our state government was basically ran by the Assembly Speaker Willie Brown, now mayor of San Francisco. Brown had the power to choose who sat on what committee in the house, and using this he could terminate any bill he did not agree with. And with this attitude it took a lot of patients and perseverance by the people trying to pass this bill. But how did the bill become a bill? I will answer this question with help of the Kimber Reynolds story. Monday, June 29, 1992 in Fresno, California a young woman was brutally murdered outside The Daily Planet, a restaurant patronized by the local young people. The girl was visiting home for the summer after being in the Los Angeles area attending school. Her and a friend were getting into their car when two guys on a motorcycle rode up next to Kimber Reynolds blocking her in, taking her purse, and beating her into submission. The story made the 11 o’clock news only minutes after her father had gone to bed. When police ran a background check on the two suspected men, Joeseph Micheal Davis and Douglas Walker, both men had recently been released on parole with multiple offenses on their records. Unfortunately Davis was never brought in because when police were attempting to arrest him he began firing, wounding unsuspecting police officers and ultimately being killed. Douglas Walker was convicted of accessory to murder. Mike Reynolds, Kimber’s father, went on the radio on a local radio show called the Ray Appleton Show, KMJ 580. There he would discuss his outrage about how he was sick of repeat offenders being locked up only to be released after a fraction of the sentence was completed. He swore to the people listening that he was going to do something about the problem, even if it takes him forever. Listening to that show was Fresno Assemblyman Bill Jones (R). He was interested in the issue and arranged a meeting with Mike. They discussed ideas about how they could solve this problem. With that in mind Mike used some

Abortion

1999-12-08T13:00:00-05:00
Abortion is defined as the termination of a pregnancy before the fetus is capable of independent life. Abortions must be conducted before the end of six months or the fetus will leave the womb and it would be considered premature birth. If the fetus weighs less than 18 ounces or is less than 20 weeks into pregnancy, it is usually considered an abortion. There are two types of abortions. One is spontaneous and the other is induced. Spontaneous abortions are known y another name, miscarriages. The second form of abortion is an induced abortion. This is the deliberate termination of the fetus. Many have pondered upon the meaning of abortion. The argument because every child born should be wanted, and others who believe that every child conceived should be born. This has been a controversial topic for years. Many people want to be able to decide the destiny of others. Everyone in the United States is covered under the United States Constitution, and under the 14th Amendment, women have been given the choice of abortion. Roe vs. Wade legalized abortion. Although these people have been given the right, the case is not closed. Pro-life activists carry a strong argument, and continue to push their beliefs. They feel intensely strong about these beliefs that violence has broken out in some known instances. Pro-choice activists; on the other hand, also carry very strong points. They believe that the child inside the mother is her property and its life does not begin until birth. Although many believe that abortion is a woman's choice, abortion should be banned because it is immoral and life begins at conception. Abortion is the choice of a woman in whether or not she wants to receive one. The right to choose to have an abortion is personal and essential to a woman's life. The state can not interfere in the private lives of a citizen. With the right to choose abortion, women are able to enjoy, like men, the rights to fully use the powers of their minds and bodies. A man can withdraw from a relationship as soon as he finds out about pregnancy. There is no question of his involvement after that; he has made his choice. It is only fair to say that women should be given the same choice. If one does not want to hold the responsibilities of a child then she should be able

Immorality in Television

1999-12-07T13:00:00-05:00
Vulgarity in Television In the early years of television people where much more sensitive to what was said and took offense to any form of obscene language. Even in the movies it was unacceptable. However, for many the standard for the use of vulgar language has expanded. In many shows on television vulgar words are used way to often. In many cases unnecessarily. These words do not bother me in the least. However, there are many parents with young children who are offended by this. This would not such a big deal if only the shows that carried these vulgarities would be shown later at night, as they where for many years. Also, most of the programs are not correctly rated to warn of there content. Besides using the basics of the swear words some programs take it to a different level. Instead of using the words themselves they use a form of slang in order to get around the censors. Although these words are not the same as the ones commonly used, they do share the same meaning. By having these programs use these words they are encouraging the children to use a new language that there parents do not understand. And because the parents do not understand the words the children then think it is all right to use profanity. Profanity in television is not so much a problem as it is an annoyance. It makes television more interesting to watch and can occasionally make a situation more humorous, but I do not enjoy it when a five-year-old calls their parents a-- holes to there face. Rating System Recently introduced to all the television shows is the new rating system. This system was implemented to warn about the kind of shows on television. The system tells whether the show is to mature for young children. However, does the system still have flaws? Although it does give an idea as to what the show contains, it does not tell as to the extent to which it is. An example would be the television show "Strangers with Candy." This program is extremely crude with little humor. Normally I enjoy crude humor, but this show is gross. It contains vulgarity, drug use, and sexually references. And to top it off the show is at 10:00. Shows like this should not be viewed any time. My point of bringing this up is to show how lose the

Why American Troops are being Sent Overseas

1999-12-04T13:00:00-05:00
American troops are being sent overseas to maintain peace in a nation involved in a civil war. Whether the peace troops should or should not be sent overseas, they are being sent overseas. I do not believe that it is the responsibility of American troops to make peace in a country that is at Civil war. A civil war is a war fought within a nation between that nations people. By sending peace troops to East Timor the United States is now becoming involved in this nations war. This could cause the United States to go to war. The arrival of multinational troops could bring more violence, destruction, and chaos to East Timor. On the other hand it could also bring protection to the many people who have fled the violence from the Indonesian Militia. Force should not have to be used to make or keep peace in any country; therefore it is not necessary for American troops to have to risk there lives trying to make peace in a country that won’t make peace until they get what they want, INDEPENDENCE. Sending troops into Dili, East Timor may help persuade the people to make peace, but it is not necessary to send all of those troops. Just a few mediators would be sufficient to help make peace. If the nations at battle would just talk they might be able to negotiate a peace treaty and there would be cooperation without more violence. American troops would not be exposed to the violence either. The United States is a country known for helping other countries in there time of need, and the United States always plays a big role in every country, whatever the situation may be. East Timor is fighting for there independence. The United States should not send more troops to help the Dili militia fight, but send trained people who know how to persuade people to make peace. Then the United States would be setting a good example by not using violence, and would still be protecting the people. The role of the United States is very important, and the United States has quite an image to keep up. Sometimes the United States does not know what the right decision is, and until they try one of there choices they will not know what the right or wrong decision is. It is not the United States responsibility to make

American Health care: Gore and Bradley One Problem Two Solutions

1999-12-04T13:00:00-05:00
The nation's economy has produced 9.5 million jobs in the last four years and raised wages for even the lowest-paid workers. As Americans buy more homes, cars and other consumer goods, the number buying health insurance has not budged. Now, the 44 million Americans without insurance are taking a prominent place in the national spotlight, thanks to the Democratic presidential primary. And in Vice President Al Gore and former senator Bill Bradley, the nation has a chance to sort out how far it is willing to go, if at all, toward promising health care for everyone. In proposals issued recently, both Democratic candidates have promised to cover all 11 million children who have no insurance, with taxpayers paying the entire cost for the poor. Gore and Bradley would also give substantial help to the parents of the nation's poorest children. But they split over one growing class of people: the millions of adults who are not quite poor, but who find insurance so expensive that they do not buy it. Almost 17 percent of full-time workers have no insurance, often because employers do not offer it or have shifted costs to employees. Many of the new jobs created in the current boom are at small businesses, which are less likely to offer coverage. Bradley has proposed an expansive plan that helps people further up the economic ladder and which carries an expansive price tag to match. Gore, by contrast, would spend money on the poorest and near-poor while offering only limited help to others. The question has barely been raised among the Republican presidential contenders. But it has sparked the sharpest debate yet in the Democratic campaign, and polls show that voters are likely to make it a general election issue. With surveys suggesting that no candidate can win the Democratic nomination without a strong health plan, Bradley boasts that he is proposing a big idea to attack a big problem. He has derided Gore's plan as ''definitely timid.'' The tactic has helped raise Bradley's profile among Democrats Gore, by contrast, talks freely of his plan's limitations, and his staff uses the word ''incremental'' to describe it. They say Bradley's plan is too expensive and would divert dollars from other purposes, such as shoring up Medicare. The true cost of the two plans is open to debate. Bradley says he would spend up

Abortion: Pro-life!

1999-12-04T13:00:00-05:00
Every day, an overwhelming amount of human beings’ lives are terminated. The culprit: unwanted pregnancies. Many woman are (not by choice), becoming pregnant as a result of unsafe sex, rape, and other things. So what is one to do when they discover that they’re pregnant? They have some alternatives: (1) have the child and raise it (2) have the child, then give it up for adoption (3) get an abortion. Sadly, many women choose alternative three, unaware of what they’re getting themselves into. Abortion is very cruel to the baby and even harms the mother. It is murder! There are many different procedures for abortions, all gruesome and pain inflicting on the baby. Suction Aspiration (vacuum curettage) makes up for 98% of first trimester abortions. The cervix is first dilated. Then a suction tube with a sharp cutting edge is inserted which rips the baby to pieces. It then sucks out all the remains. If the mother waits until the third trimester (when the baby is more developed), then she must have Partial Birth Abortion. Using Ultra-sound, the doctor grabs the baby’s legs and forces out all but the head. Scissors are then jammed into the back of the skull and opened, creating a larger hole. A suction tube sucks the brains out, causing the skull to collapse. Then the dead baby is removed. Believe it or not, the mother is also harmed. In Suction Aspiration, if any tissue is left inside, it’ll become infected. For Methoxotrexate Injection, another type of abortion, Methoxotrexate can produce ill side effects such as anemia, nausea, cancer, lung disease, and heavy bleeding. Just think of the mental trauma the mother is also feeling. She has the forever-guilty conscience of being responsible for her own child’s death. Many mothers say, "I’ll regret it for the rest of my life." "I feel like crawling into a hole and dying," says another mother after the operation. A common argument is that abortion isn’t murder because the baby isn’t alive. But on the contrary: life begins at conception. After only 18 days, the heart is formed, and after 20 the brain, spinal cord, and nervous system are developing. A mere four days later, the heart starts beating. Is abortion murder though? According to the Webster Dictionary, abortion is to terminate a pregnancy because the baby is not capable of living. Murder is to kill another human being. A human being is defined

Amphetamines and Methamphetamines

1999-12-04T13:00:00-05:00
The medical use of amphetamines was common in the 1950/60's when they were used to help cure depression and to help the user lose weight. An amphetamine is a drug that is a stimulant to the central nervous system. Amphetamines are colorless and may be inhaled, injected, or swallowed. Amphetamines are also used non-medically to avoid sleep, improve athletic performance, or to counter the effects of depressant drugs. Amphetamines are addictive. Because of this, when the user discontinues use or reduces the amount that they use, withdrawal symptoms may occur. Some withdrawal symptoms are as follows: severe exhaustion, deep sleep lasting from 24 to 48 hours, psychotic reaction, extreme hunger, deep depression, anxiety reactions, and long but disturbed sleep. Although someone using amphetamines may experience withdrawal symptoms for a short period of time, the benefits to a person who stops using the drug greatly outweigh an addiction to amphetamines. Because amphetamines suppress appetite and give the user feelings of energy, they are sometimes abused by people who are trying to lose weight. But, because appetite is suppressed and decreased, malnutrition occurs. The user will not be getting enough vitamins or minerals and will become ill more often. They may also lose a dangerous amount of weight. Abuse of amphetamines is not a safe nor effective way to lose weight. Methamphetamine's chemical structure is similar to that of its parent drug, amphetamine, but has more pronounced effects on the central nervous system. Methamphetamines are a powerfully addictive stimulant that, like amphetamines, affects the central nervous system. Methamphetamine was used originally in nasal decongestants and bronchial inhalers. There are a few accepted medical reasons for its use, such as the treatment of narcolepsy and ADD, but these uses are limited. In its regular form, methamphetamines are also known as speed, meth, and chalk. In its smoked form, it is known as ice, crystal, crank, and glass. Methamphetamine comes in many forms and can be smoked, snorted, orally ingested or injected. The smokeable form of methamphetamine, knows as "ice," came into use in the 1980's. Ice is a large, usually clear crystal of high purity that is smoked in a glass pipe like crack/cocaine. The smoke is odorless, leaves a residue that can be re-smoked, and produces effects that my continue for 12 hours or more. Since there are a few accepted medical reasons for its use, methamphetamine is a controlled substance in

Affirmative Action

1999-12-03T13:00:00-05:00
Affirmative action is an extremely ineffective plan to equalize minorities and majorities in the work force. This equality is supposed to be attained by requiring employers to fill racial quotas. A racial quota is a percent of employees that belong to a minority group that the employer must achieve. If the employer doesn’t meet the quota, he/she is penalized. One setback of this idea is the fact that people, who belong to a minority, don’t have to work as hard to attain the same job as other people. This causes them to not try as hard in their job, be less productive, and be more expensive

Shoplifting effects the community

1999-12-03T13:00:00-05:00
Shoplifting is a major problem in today life. The temptation of not paying for something, just hiding it away and saving your own money is a large factor for some people. The culprit just thinks he's getting a product for free and doesn't know what he's actually doing to himself and the community. Shoplifting effects everyone, yourself and the everyone in the local neighborhood. In this essay I'm going to explain some of the circumstances of stealing from local stores, or any store. After I've been caught stealing I found out how wrong it is and how it is a disadvantage to everyone. The stores are tying to crack down on shoplifters by making the punishments as strict as possible. Shoplifting effects the community in a big way. The stores get about three cents per every dollar purchased for an item. So if you figure that they don't make a whole lot of money out of profit. Every shoplifter that takes a product also is taking the product, which costs money by the store so that is also a set back and puts them more in dept. Some stores might even closed down because of shoplifters making the store go bankrupt. The stores usually raise there prices and then causes more shoplifting, but the people that don't shoplift just end up having to pay more for the product or else go somewhere else to shop. If the customer goes to a different store because of the rising prices the store will also lose business therefore could cause them to go out of business if enough customers leave. From shoplifting I've found out what happens to the stores and the people that keep trying to get five finger discount on products. If you do shoplift you feel immense humiliation and distrust from friends and family, and your own conscious is hurt if it isn't then there is something wrong with your feelings not to feel bad about stealing from stores. Every time you steal from stores they are set back that much money and might even have to fire someone that could be one of your friends. People in the community lose respect for you. If you do know someone that is in teen court or are friends with someone that is in teen court you will get your discipline from them,

Euthanasia

1999-11-27T13:00:00-05:00
Lisa, a 43-year-old woman was diagnosed with lung cancer, terminal disease. For the past 2 years Lisa has been receiving chemotherapy and taking numerous types of medication trying to prolong her life. This life prolonging treatment caught up with her. Everyday now Lisa has to battle just to get out of bed, everyday getting worse and worse. The doctors now tell Lisa she has six to eight months to live, and she has to receive 6 hours of therapy everyday. Lisa then breaks down in tears. She decides she doesn't want to go through anymore pain or suffering. Now knowing it is only a matter of time before she dies, she wants to end her suffering by taking her own life. Lisa can not do it by herself; she needs someone to assist her. But how can someone assist a terminally ill person in taking their life and not risk going to jail for it? This brings up the controversial and moral debate of legalization of P.A.D. (Physician Assisted Death) and the act of euthanasia in America. Should people who are terminally ill, go through pain and suffering, or should they have a choice? Why doesn't this women have the right to choose the way she lives or dies? There is a difference between P.A.D. and euthanasia. P.A.D. involves a second party, actually a doctor, who gives the patient drugs and instructs the person planning to take his or her own life. With euthanasia, it is a doctor who administers the lethal drug dose. Since it is identical to homicide, active euthanasia is illegal in every state. But how do prosecutors define the difference between ending a person's life with his or her permission, and helping a person commit suicide? If a doctor, at a patient's request, gives the person a lethal injection, he or she may be charged with murder. However, if a doctor simply places the lethal injection by the patient's side, and the patient injects himself or herself, the doctors would be charged with assisted suicide. "In the Netherlands, because primary care doctors have long-term relationships with their patients, helping them die takes a heavy emotional toll (Neumann 5)." Although few doctors who perform it have been brought to trial and none have been convicted and imprisoned. Most doctors hesitate to practice assisted suicide on legal grounds. Doctors are trained to preserve life; most doctors are troubled by

East Timor

1999-11-24T13:00:00-05:00
The Indonesian invasion and occupation of East Timor is one of the worst atrocities of this century. The occupation has claimed the lives of over 200,000 Timorese people, one-third of the original population. It continues in defiance of the United Nations Security Council which has twice called on Jakarta to withdraw "without delay" as well as eight General Assembly Resolutions. It has been maintained with the help of the

Alcoholism

1999-11-21T13:00:00-05:00
My bookreport is about living with someone who drinks too much. I chose this topic because hit its very close to home. In the book that I read it tells about other children who are or have grown up with an alcoholic parent. I learned alot about acoholism which is what makes you an alcoholic. I also learned about what some kids go through while growing up. This book tells you how to deal with someone who is an alcoholic and how to deal with your self as well. This book was very interesting and I really enjoyed it. First I would like to point out that kids who live with a parent that drinks all of the time feel as thogh they are the reason why that person drinks all the time. Children often tell that person that they do not like them when they have been drinking. The first chapter in my book was about a girl named Amy who wanted to tell her story about her mother that drank too much. She writes in here about her quite spot which was her room. She went there when her mother was drinking because often her mother was not herself. She tells about how she first noticed that her mother was not like other mothers when she went to other peoples homes. The next chapters explain what acoholism is. It is a disease that when a person wants to quite drinking can not. First of all you will notice that an alcoholic will often gulp their drinks, they can probably drink alot before the get drunk, they may stay drunk for several days, they will also have a favirote drink, and mya change their favirote drink to another. They may also hide thier drinking. Acoholism is an illness and is very sick. It is very hard for an alcoholic to stop drinking because they are afraid to and they know how they feel when they do not drink. Alcoholics usually try to stop drinking because they maybe have hurt someone they love or may also be on the verge of losing their job. People who stop drinking sometimes may have to go to the hospital for a period of time this is called detoxification. This is the best way for treatment when it is hard for them to stop. The withdrawl symptoms are things such as shaking, sweating, fever, pains and nausea.

Learning Disabilties

1999-11-20T13:00:00-05:00
"I'm just starting my sophomore year in college.... I first knew I had a learning disability when I was in first grade. A learning disability is like any other disability, but in this case it's the learning process that is disturbed. There is something that's stopping me from learning in the average way. I know it's not that I can't learn. I can, but I learn differently and it's often much harder for me.... This in turn means that I have difficulty with reading and spelling, and also with remembering what I hear" (Wren 3). Like Cory, almost 20% of children, of the total school population, suffer from different types of learning disabilities. There are an even larger number of students that go undetected with L.D.s. Most of these, undetected students are male (Maniet 11). This might explain the unbelievable number of famous males that have succeeded in their professional careers, while suffering from their disabilities. Thomas Edison, Winston Churchill, Albert Einstein, da Vinci, Beethoven, and Tom Cruise are only a few of the well known males who have dealt with a learning disability. These famous males had problems in the areas in spelling, grammar, and math (Maniet 20). Students without learning disabilities face problems like these, but these areas become increasingly difficult when you have trouble interrupting such everyday subjects. Since, a majority of these men were alive before a time when learning disabilities were a documented problem, most of them flunked out of school or had to repeat grades (Maniet). Like, a building without handicap entrances, school is a major hurdle for a student with a L.D. (Levine 210). School can also bring on some social problems that go along with a learning disability. Words like stupid and retard are thrown around groups of classmates, but to a special student, these words can be damaging and very hurtful. Kids need to be taught that words like these need to be ignored. This is especially true in L.D. children (Levine 210). What most L.D. students and their parents don't know about themselves is that most L.D. students have have average or above average intelligence (Maniet 15). There is a block aid that is blocking that vast information. In the same area of social acceptance, there is the problem of discrimination, because most people think that a disability is more visual, like being in a wheelchair. People think that these students will

Abortion

1999-11-18T13:00:00-05:00
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy before the fetus is capable of independent life. Abortions must be conducted before the end off six months, or the fetus will leave the womb and it would be considered a premature birth. There are two types of abortions. One is spontaneous and the other is induced. If the fetus ways less than 18oz or is less than 20 weeks into the pregnancy, it is usually considered an abortion. Spontaneous abortions are known by another name, miscarriages. These usually occur during the first three months of pregnancy. It is estimated that 25% of all pregnancies end in spontaneous abortion. The second form of abortion is induced abortion. This is the deliberate termination of the fetus. There are four main types of induced abortions. The first takes place up to 12 weeks. It is called vacuum aspiration. This is where a tube attached to a vacuum is inserted into the uterus and sucks out the embryo and all other material. The second type takes place after the 15th week and is called saline infusion. Here, the doctors replace a little fluid with a salt solution. This causes the uterus to contract. The fetus is then expelled. The third type is a hysterotomy. This is a similar procedure to a cesarean section. The only difference is, in this operation, is that the cut is smaller and lower. The fourth type is available in the first fifty days. It is a drug called RU-486. It was developed in France and approved for sale there in 1988. Clinical trials in the United States began in 1994. When performed under proper conditions, the sooner the person has the baby, the less risk she is at. The likelihood of complications increase as the woman gets farther into the pregnancy. Although, an abortion has less of a risk of injury than does actually delivering the baby. Abortion is one topic that has been heavily debated. Many cases have gone to court over an abortion. Perhaps the most famous case was Roe vs. Wade. It was a case that was settled in 1973 under Justice Blackman. The Supreme Court ruled that they could not ban abortions in the first six months of the pregnancy. After six months, the states can ban an abortion except in cases in which the woman's health is at risk. I think that there is a lot that can be done.

AIDS

1999-11-18T13:00:00-05:00
"Somewhere among the million children who go to New York's publicly financed schools is a seven-year-old child suffering from AIDS. A special health and education panel had decided, on the strength of the guidelines issued by the federal Centers for Disease Control, that the child would be no danger to his classmates. Yet, when the school year started on September 9th, several thousand parents in two school districts in the borough of Queens kept their children at home. Fear of plague can be as pernicious, and contagious, as the plague itself(Fear of dying 1)." This article was written in 1985. Since then much has been found out about AIDS. Not enough for a cure though. There probably will be no cure found in the near future because the technology needed is not available. AIDS cases were first identified in 1981,in the United States. Researchers have traced cases back to 1959. There are millions of diagnosed cases worldwide, but there is no cure(Drotman 163). There are about a million people in the United States who are currently infected with HIV(HIV/AIDS 1). It infects the population heavily in some areas of the country and very lightly in other areas. No race, sex, social class, or age is immune(AIDS Understanding 10). AIDS has killed more americans than the Vietnam War, which killed 58,000(AIDS Understanding 10). AIDS stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. Acquired means that it is not hereditary or introduced by medication. Immune indicates that it is related to the body's system that fights off disease. Deficiency represents the lack of certain kinds of cells that are normally found in the body. Syndrome is a group of symptoms and signs of disordered function that signal the diagnoses(Hyde 1). You don't catch AIDS, you catch HIV. HIV is the virus that leads to AIDS. HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency virus. HIV severely damages a person's disease fighting immune system. There are two viruses that cause AIDS. They belong to a group called retroviruses. The first virus is HIV-1. It was isolated by researchers in France in 1983, and in the U.S. in 1984. In 1985, the second one was identified by scientists in France. It is closely related to HIV-1. It is called HIV-2. HIV-2 mainly occurs in Africa but HIV-1 occurs throughout the world(Drotman 163). There are three stages of the infection. The first stage is acute retroviral syndrome and asymptomatic period. This is the

Are We Addressing The Needs Of Our Schools?

1999-11-18T13:00:00-05:00
There are many problems that need to be addressed in the public schools today. What factors are causing these problems in the schools? The main causes are absence of prayer, the many pressures of school, lack of dress code, and insufficient numbers of caring teachers, faculty, and students. When I say lack of prayer in the schools, I don't mean lets make everyone one religion and every morning at school we can pray in that one religion. Instead there should be a moment of silence. Not to take up time but to let everyone have a moment to pray to whomever or however they wish. For the kid who's grandpa died and has to go to school because they need their two points for this six weeks. And the ones who wish not to pray can take that moment to just think. Lord knows we as high school students don't have much time to just stop and think. There are many pressures in the public schools. All of a sudden in high school everything changes. Everyone takes that first merger into "the real world". As a junior there is much more pressure put on the students. One minute a sophomore thinking "Yeah I'm going to college". While the next as a junior thinking "How on earth am I going to get to college". Now that we are juniors we are suppose to be grown up. Everything from "Where am I getting my gas money?" to "Where am I going to college?" is going through our minds all of the time, and yet some how we are supposed to come out calm and prosperous. All of this pressure and many of young adults do not get a chance to let it out. It is like tossing a human body in to outer space with no protection. It's a vacuum that just tears it apart piece by piece. Could this have been what caused the Columbine shooting? Perhaps there was so much pressure put on those two boys to be in the "in crowd" that one day they just couldn't take it anymore. A small element in all of this is the dress code. How sad is this? There is a shooting at least every year in a school, and administrators and teachers are worried about whether our shorts are too short. The office complains of girls wearing shorts that are too short

Double Standard of Masculinity in Gender Role Socialization

1999-11-17T13:00:00-05:00
Masculinity is a topic that has been debated in our society extensively, through research as well as in informal settings. Many wonder what it means to be masculine, and if we can really assign a definition to such a subjective term. After all, shouldn't one's own perception be the determinant of what constitutes masculinity? This self-construction would be the ideal in our society, but unfortunately, it represents a false belief. Masculinity has certain characteristics assigned to it by our culture. In this paper I will explore the many facets of masculinity and demonstrate how certain beliefs pertaining to it are perpetuated in our society. I will also uncover many of the contradictions between society's assigned definition of masculinity and the expectation that males will somehow learn how to act contrary to that assigned and learned meaning. Definition of Masculinity Men are primarily and secondarily socialized into believing certain characteristics are definitive in determining their manliness and masculinity. These characteristics range from not crying when they get hurt to being and playing violently. The socialization of masculinity in our society begins as early as the first stages of infancy. A child's burgeoning sense of self or self-concept is a result of the multitude of ideas, attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs to which he is exposed (Witt 1997). Later in this paper the question of whether there are genetic factors will be discussed. However, to further my argument at this point, I will discuss masculinity as it is socially defined. From the outset of a boy's life he is socialized into the belief that he should be 'tough'. Often when boys get hurt, 'scrape their knee', or come whimpering to their mother or father, the fated words, "Little boys don't cry", issue forth. Children internalize parental messages regarding gender at an early age, with awareness of adult sex role differences being found in two-year-old children. One study found that children at two and a half years of age use gender stereotypes in negotiating their world and are likely to generalize gender stereotypes to a variety of activities, objects, and occupations (Witt 1997). This legitimization teaches males that boys and men are not allowed to cry. There also exists the belief that boys are often required to do 'men's work' outside of the home such as mowing the lawn, cleaning the garage, etc., and not 'sissy women's work' such as cooking and cleaning, etc. Other

Teen Suicide (sociological)

1999-11-17T13:00:00-05:00
The purpose of this paper is to explain the causes of teen suicide. This paper will include statistics and some background information on suicide survivors. Also this report will discuss some warning signs of teen suicide. It is important to take the subject of suicide seriously. It doesn't seem right that a teenager, who has lived for such a short time, would choose to die, but those who can't get over their depression sometimes do. Teen suicide is the third leading cause of death for young people aged 15 to 24 and the fourth leading cause of death for persons between the ages of 10 and 14 and it seems to be on the rise. Only accidental deaths and homicide follow it. Some experts believe that many "accidental" deaths are actually suicides. According to a 1991 Center for Disease Control and Prevention study, 27% of high school students thought about suicide, 16% had a plan and 8% made an attempt. Suicide affects teens of all races and social standing. Boys commit suicide more often than girls do. It could be because it's easier to get the tools for suicide, boys usually use firearms and girls often use pills so since the gun is more deadly, boys complete suicide. Over the past 15 years, the rate among girls has scarcely changed, but the rate among boys has tripled. Also, the rate among non-white males, even though it's still lower than the white male rate, has been rising most quickly of all. Suicide remains the second leading cause of death among whites after accidents and the third among blacks after homicides and accidents. Teen suicide is now considered a national mental health problem. The main two causes for teen suicide is the mental disease of depression and family problems. 90% of teen suicide victims have at least one diagnosable, active psychiatric illness at the time of death, which is most often depression, substance abuse, or behavior disorders. Only 33-50% of victims was known by their doctors as having a mental illness at the time of their death, and only 15% were in treatment at the time of death. The pressures of modern life are greater these days and competition for good grades and college admission is difficult which are extra stresses on already unsure teens. Some even think it's because there is more violence in the media. Lack of parental interest may make

Internet Users turn Addicts

1999-11-07T13:00:00-05:00
If you're an Internet user, you know who you are. They are among all of us in society, although many may choose to not acknowledge that they too, frequently use the Internet. As I sit here and look across the street, I see a man in front of his own computer; the screen glowing against the window behind him. He does not use his personal computer for work, he is a farmer. He has become what is known as an "Internet Junky". The addiction begins innocently. At the start, you are not even aware of the possibilities that may form from your excessive computer use. You begin to take an avid interest in e-mailing with your friends and family. Once the novelty of keeping in touch with your colleagues wears off, and researching starts to bore you, you may possibly expand your computer usage to chatting. Yes, chatting. It is something that is becoming more acceptable in our lives, but it is still looked down upon by many skeptics. Chatting through the Internet involves choosing an appropriate nickname for yourself (IE: Fisherman), and then finding a room where you feel compelled to spend time in. Once you've entered the room, other fellow chatters may say, "Hello...a/s/l (age/sex/location) please." And so begins the addiction. Once you become involved in meeting people online, it is difficult to break such a habit. You may even make a daily habit of it. People have been found to carry out exactly the same behavior, not only across the nation, but across the globe. In any one room, you may come across people from five different countries of the world. Granted, not everyone who stays online for hours on end, are enveloped in chatting, but it is more often then not, the cause for Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD). (Goldberg, MD) The prevalence of Internet Addiction Disorder has been increasing in number, hence a support group, among many, The Internet Addiction Support Group (IASG) has been developed. IAD, a "maladaptive" pattern for Internet use, is leading to impairment and/or distress caused by three (or more) of the following, at any time in a period of one year: "A) A need for markedly increased amounts of time on Internet to achieve satisfaction, B) Markedly diminished effect with continued use of the same amount of time on Internet.", C) Reduction in Internet use which has been prolonged. (Goldberg, MD) Symptoms of

Teenage Alcoholism

1999-10-25T14:00:00-04:00
Teenagers today have no idea what alcoholism really is. They think that they can never become alcoholics. They think that it could never happen to them, but they are wrong. Stress, Family problems and the desire to be popular are wrong the cause of teenage alcoholism. Signs that a teenager has a drinking problem and steps that parents can take to help their child are what I will discuss in this paper. The critical ingredient common to all alcoholic beverages is ethyl alcohol or ethanol ( Lang 21). It is a clear, tasteless liquid formed through the fermentation of sugars by yeast spores ( Lang 21). The amount of alcohol produced depends on the type and amount of sugar in the original mixture, the type of yeast used, the temperature maintained during the fermentation process. American beers, which contain about 3% to 6% alcohol, are made from malted barley and hops (he ripened and dried cones of the hop plant). Most wines are made by fermenting grapes or berries, and normally reach a maximum of about 15% alcohol. Though they are sometimes fortifies with additional ethanol alcohol and thus may reach 20% alcohol in cherry or port wines. Teenage years are filled with unsure time. Intense pressure to perform and succeed are felt by many youths, according to Alliant Health Systems, Louisville, Ky. Perceived failure at home and or school can lead to the need for escape. Teenagers often see their parents react to stress by drinking. This providing and example for them. They also see their favorite movie actors or actresses getting drunk when they go to a movie so they think that it's OK for them to o it but what they don't know it really hurts them in the long run. With their parents, the might being having marital problems and that can usually drive a teenager to drink. The desire to be accepted and popular among their friends encourages many to begin drinking as well. The ability to consume a lot of alcohol is associated with being a "real man or woman" ( Lang 23). When teens see adults drink heavily and movie stars on screen getting drunk, the message that gets through is that "it's cool to drink" which is the wrong one to be sending. Almost one half (47.9 %) of seniors drink alcohol at least once a month 19.8 % drink at least once

Drug and Alcohol Abuse

1999-10-25T14:00:00-04:00
In the book Understanding Drug Use, An Adult's Guide to Drugs and the Young, by Peter Marin and Allan Cohen, you find that education in our youth today is vital. In a few short years, drug taking by younger people has become a fact of life in America, and for hundreds of thousands of families this fact poses a profound problem with wrenching social, legal, and psychological implications. Faced with an upsetting and unfamiliar experience when they discover that their children are experimenting with drugs or alcohol, parents search frantically for solutions-often coming up with the wrong ones, thereby intensifying an already sensitive situation. This book seems to have been written with the parent or mentor in mind. It focuses on realistic approaches to dealing with substance abuse, and attempts to help parents and others understand why some people put themselves in these types of situations. The damage that could result from a parents lack of understanding in the meaning of their child's drug and/or alcohol abuse can often be worse than the results of the child actually taking the drugs! Marin and Cohen lay the groundwork for this understanding with a discussion of adolescence in America today that makes many parents realize they play an important role in helping their children react to situations. With sensitivity and genuine feeling, discussion can open up new areas of understanding, revealing some of the fundamental impulses that motivate our young people in today's society, and perhaps parents will be better equipped psychologically to relate to what really troubles their children. Most parents must assume that their children will attempt drugs and/or alcohol at least once in their adolescence, and attempts to suppress their use entirely "are doomed to fail, because children react to actions of parents and peers". The authors instead suggest ways to minimize drug misuse and teach specific ways in which parents, teachers, community leaders, and others can assist children in education on the negative results of abuse. Some of the suggestions are helpful and can bring understanding to the child as well. What to do if your child is arrested is one topic area, and in it the authors suggest you attempt to motivate your child to see how he or she came into the situation they are in now. Also, if you find that your child has had an experience with alcohol or drugs, point out the negatives immediately (hangover,

The Minimum Wage and Why we Should Leave It

1999-10-25T14:00:00-04:00
When was the last time a "value" meal from McDonald, let alone any other fast food chain, did not cost five dollars or more? When was the last time premium gas was under a dollar a gallon? It's hard to remember, isn't it? Wouldn't it be great if everything cost a nickel, like back in the good ol' days? According to the laws of economics, it's not logical for things to have gotten more expensive competition should drive prices down. Then why have prices continued to rise over the years? The continuing demand of more money for less work has forced Uncle Sam to raise the minimum wage innumerable times in the last half century, which results in higher prices for the rest of us. Another raise in the minimum wage would, as all the others before it, raise prices for consumers, which would again result in another demand for a raise in the minimum wage. It's a viscous cycle that must be stopped before it loses control. Not only does a raise in minimum wage result in a raise in the cost of living, it also causes the dismissal of hardworking people who are happy with their current income. When the firing axe starts to fall, seniority often determines who goes and who stays. The more a single employee costs a business an hour, the fewer employees the business can afford to employee an hour. This results in the dismissal of employees to compensate for a raise in labor costs, which creates a smaller staff, which results in slipshod service. Although most reasonable people would rather pay more for better service, the plain fact of the matter is that the service hasn't really gotten any better. The service is better than it was when there weren't enough employees so people assume the service itself has gotten better, while the truth is that the service is just as haphazard as before. The laborers are simply replaced because of a need for more employees, more often than not by people who have never worked in those positions before. By having a staff that is constantly fluctuating, the business hurts itself the service is hurt because the new employees are in need of training, and in the end it is us, the consumers, who feel the real pain The pain we experience is that of rising costs in the market it's that

Taking Responsibility

1999-10-24T14:00:00-04:00
1999 must be a great year to be alive if you are a criminal! Nobody takes responsibility for his or her own actions anymore. Someone commits a heinous crime, and anything but the criminal gets blamed. It was a harsh childhood, abusive parents, violent movies and video games, the availability of guns and bomb making materials, the Internet, pornography, peer pressure, etc. In my mind, if you commit a crime, then you are a criminal. I am the only one that makes the decisions I make in life. Others may influence my decisions, but ultimately, I am the one that makes that final choice. No matter how hard and pathetic you think your life is, or how badly society treats you, or what you watch on TV, or what you can buy from the store or read on the Internet, you made the decision to break the law-nobody made the decision for you. Oliver Stone didn't tell you to watch Natural Born Killers and then go mimic the crimes. The NRA did not make you illegally purchase guns. The Internet did not force you to download recipes for bombs. The massacre at Columbine High School was a tragedy. Instead of looking at these kids that committed the crime and putting blame where it belongs, everyone was more than willing to point a quick finger of blame so they could feel better somehow. Unfortunately, some have used this tragedy as nothing more than an event to be exploited for their own political gains. People that are afraid of the Internet were quick to point out that Nazi and hate propaganda and bomb-making recipes are easily accessed on the Internet, and that "alternative" ideas seem to flourish on the Internet. Immediately everyone wants to censor the hell out of the Internet and keep their kids away from it. They fail to mention the business and education values of the Internet, and dwell on the negative. Antigun people quickly "forget" about the 60+ bombs that were found and focused merely on the fact that firearms were used by these psychos. They immediately want more gun laws and bans (but fail to mention that dozens of existing gun laws were broken by these boys as it is, and that the laws now being proposed in the aftermath would not have prevented this sort of thing). Others quickly point out that these kids played violent arcade

Abortion

1999-10-23T14:00:00-04:00
As of right now, abortion is legal in all nine months of the pregnancy for any reason. This controversial issue is a question of how important the value of life is. The turning point came in 1973 when the Supreme Court's decision in Roe vs. Wade saying, that women have the right to murder an innocent child only up to 24 weeks . This false perception is fueled part by groups supporting abortion rights and it is then uncritically unaccepted by the media. The fact is that the current law allows a woman to get an abortion for any reason she deems necessary. It seems ironic that a people can get so emotional when it comes to animal rights, yet see no wrong in ripping a developed baby from the protection of the mother. It is not the child's fault that he or she was conceived. Some people argue that the developing is not technically a child yet because it cannot live on its own. Most of the procedures in murdering the growing child can be painful to the baby and be harmful to the mother. So how can we as a nation make sure criminals are executed painlessly and let children be murdered by extremely painful measures. At 18 days after conception, a baby's heart is already beating, and at 6 weeks, brain waves can be measured. At 8 weeks, the stomach, liver, and kidneys are functioning, and the fingerprints have formed. At 9 weeks, the baby can feel pain . Here are some methods of early abortion: Vacuum Curettage: powerful suction tube inserted through the cervix and into the womb. The unborn child is torn apart by the force of the suction; the fetal body parts and placenta are sucked into a jar. Possible complications include infection, cervical laceration and uterine perforation. Mifepristone: also known as RU-486, the chemical causes an abortion by interfering with the function of the placenta, starving the unborn child to death. Prostaglandins are then administered to expel the fetus. This method of abortion takes place over the span of several days; the average woman using it bleeds heavily for more than nine days, but some women have bled for over four weeks. Mifepristone is just beginning to be used in the US. Long-term health risks are not yet known. Methotrexate: though not approved by the FDA for this use, a methotrexate injection kills the

Cloning: Why we shouldn't be against it

1999-10-16T14:00:00-04:00
You have been told that you are unique. The belief that there is no one else like you in the whole world made you feel special and proud. This belief may not be true in the future. The world was stunned by the news in late February 1997 that a British embryologist named Ian Wilmut and his research team had successfully cloned a lamb named Dolly from an adult sheep. Dolly was created by replacing the DNA of one sheep's egg with the DNA of another sheep's udder. While plants and lower forms of animal life have been successfully cloned for many years now, before Wilmut's announcement it had been thought by many to be unlikely that such a procedure could be performed on higher mammals. The world media was immediately filled with heated discussions about the ethical implications of cloning. Some of the most powerful people in the world have felt compelled to act against this threat. President Clinton swiftly imposed a ban on federal funding for human-cloning research. Bills are in the works in both houses of Congress to outlaw human cloning which it taken to be a fundamentally evil thing that must be stopped. But what is exactly bad about it? From an ethical point of view , it is difficult to see exactly what is wrong with cloning human beings. The people who are afraid of cloning tend to think that someone will break into Napoleon's Tomb, steal some DNA and make 2000 emperors. In reality, cloning would be probably used by infertile people who now use donated sperm, eggs, or embryos. Do the potential harms outweigh the potential benefits of cloning? From what we know now, they don't. Therefore, we should not rush to ban a potentially useful method of helping infertile, genetically at-risk, or single people to become parents. We can start by asking whether human beings have a right to reproduce. I say " Yes". I have no moral right to tell other people they shouldn't be able to have children, and I don't see that Bill Clinton has that right either. If humans have a right to reproduce, what right does society have to limit the means? Essentially all reproduction is done these days with medical help- at delivery, and even before. Truly natural human reproduction would make pregnancy-related death the number.1 killer of adult women. OF course, some forms of medical

Death Penalty: Just or Injust

1999-10-11T14:00:00-04:00
Death Penalty Introduction: The most severe of all sentences: that of death. Also known as the death penalty, capital punishment this is the most severe form of corporal punishment as it is requires law enforcement officers to kill the offender. It has been banned in many countries, in the United States, an earlier move to eliminate capital punishment has now been reversed and more and more states are resorting to capital punishment for serious offenses such as murder. An Eye for and eye, a life for a life, who has never heard of the famous lex talionis? The Bible mentions it, and people have been using it regularly for centuries. We use it in reference to burglary, adultery, love and many other situations. However, some people use it on a different level, some people use it in reference to death. One steals from those who have stolen from him, one wrongs those who have wronged him, but do we really have the right to kill those who have killed. Today, there is a big controversy over capital punishment whether or not it works, or if it is morally right. We have a certain privilege on our own lives, but do the lives of others belong to us as well? Do we have the right to decide the kind of lives others can or cannot live? We find someone guilty of murder and sentence him to death, does that not make murderers out of ourselves? Can justice justify our acts? Those who assist in the death penalty are they not partners in crime? Is the death penalty a "Cruel and Unusual" punishment or is it now a necessary tool in the war on crime? With the increase in crime and violence in our society, how does the death penalty affect a North American family. History of the Death Penalty: Use of the death penalty has declined throughout the industrial Western World since the 19th century. In 1972, movement in America to have the death penalty declared unconstitutional during the landmark case of Furman v. Georgia, which declared the death penalty cruel and unusual punishment. However, after a supreme court decision in 1975, Gregg v. Georgia, which stated capital punishment did not violate the eighth Amendment, executions commenced again under state supervision. (Van der Haag, 1975, 3-4) The debate: Deterrence: There are four major issues in the capital punishment debate, the first being deterrence. A major purpose

Gun Laws

1999-10-11T14:00:00-04:00
Dear Legislator, I am writing on behalf of my thoughts and myself about gun control laws. My position on this topic is neutral leaning towards the "No Gun" law. The idea of a federal law to ban these guns is a good idea, but it could be better. I believe strongly that guns should be banned from our country in some kind of way, but there are exceptions like for law enforcement and hunters. This law could lower the murder and death rates drastically. The US would be a whole different and safer country to live in. No one should live in a society where they are afraid of being killed by a gun, we should try harder to make this society in the US a better place. I have many reasons to back my views on this topic, and here are some main reasons that you should really think about. Firstly, I know you think no guns should be allowed to anyone at all, but I beg to differ. I have read somewhere that without alligator and crocodile hunters we would have such a large amount of these dangerous creatures around it would take over the states of Louisiana and Florida. The alligator and crocodile season for hunters maintain and keep the population and growing rate of these creatures stable. To do so, the US could pass a federal law where hunters take some kind of training college for hunters. It would be harder for hunters to get their gun licenses. Next, there should be no gun stores for anyone including hunters. Instead, there should be federal gun depositories in the capital of every state where there are guards to protect the guns from falling into the wrong hands. Hunters could come where they would receive their guns. Secondly, no citizen should have guns. I think if citizens that believe guns should be allowed because of our Constitution's 2nd amendment about "The right to bear arms" they are wrong. The 2nd amendment was part of the Bill of Rights (First 10 amendments) in September of 1789. In 1789, the US was different, people could bear arms because there was no police, there were wars, and they needed to hunt for their food. Back than they even had laws about Housing Soldiers, now the situation has changed and we need to realize that. Maybe one of the first steps to ban guns from

In cases of Juvenile arrest, rehabilitation, not punishment should be streesed

1999-10-07T14:00:00-04:00
Why would our government try to hurt kids? Well, kids are being hurt right now. You see, in America punishment, rather than rehabilitation is being emphasized for juveniles who commit crimes. This way of thinking must stop with the addition of rehabilitation and prevention programs for juvenile offenders. States vary in their legal definition of a juvenile. In Illinois, for example, a juvenile is defined as any person below the age of 17. Using each states legal definition, the FBI reported that 62% of juveniles arrested in 1992 were referred to juvenile courts, 5% to a criminal or adult court, 2% to a welfare agency, and 1% to another police agency. The kids sent to adult prisons were eight times as likely to commit suicide. It has also been evident that those kids incarcerated with adults are also more likely to become repeat offenders. Legislation pending in congress now is debating several issues. Among them are weather to have children as young as 13 be prosecuted and sentenced as adults for certain crimes, give prosecutors the discretion to transfer a juvenile to an adult court in certain crimes, and allow juveniles to have incidental contact and in some cases be housed with adults. I take an opposing point of view with that of congress. If a 13 year old is imprisoned, how can he become a functional member of society upon his release? How will he create a positive lifestyle for himself? The real question is: How can he turn in any direction other than that of crime? He simple will not be able to. If a child is sent to a prison to stay in a cell for hours at a time, the only life he will know is the life he came from, not the life that could be his. Also, a prosecutor shouldn't have the privilege to decide what court a kid is placed in. A prosecutor has a built in bias; the decision should be left to a judge who would look in the best interest of the convicted person. The statistics prove that housing children with adults can only have a disastrous outcome for the juvenile. The goal of juvenile detention should be to rehabilitate and develop the individual. Appropriate educational skills need to be taught. Children need to be put in touch with their feeling through counseling. Juvenile offenders need to be exposed to role models

Cause for Vegetarianism

1999-09-29T14:00:00-04:00
The choice of eating meat or not has been a debated issue for a continued number of years. There have long since been two sides: the proponents and opponents of meat consumption. More and more debates of its value and effect on the world have risen. Many claim it is wrong, while others think of it as a needed pleasure. Today, a greater percentage of the population eats meat. Only a few individuals seek the alternative route. Yet, there has been a steady rise in the number of vegetarians. Many may already know that religions all over the world have advocated a meat-free diet. While a few are lenient, the majority is steady. The reason a vegetarian diet has been preferred over meat dates back thousands of years. Take for example, the Christian tradition. Although most are now lenient, previously many great saints advocated a meat-free diet, for more reasons than one. In the beginning it was said by God, " Here I have given you all vegetation bearing seed which is on the surface of the whole earth...to you let it serve as food." (gen.1.29) Later it was spoken by Jesus of the commandment, "thou shall not kill". Jesus said, "You heard that it was said to those of ancient times, 'Thou shall not kill; and whoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment."(Matthw.5.21) There is also the Hindu tradition, where a meatless way of life has gone on for thousands of years (until the invasion by foreign rule, forcing some to comply to foreign acts). This tradition has volumes of scriptures proclaiming vegetarianism. Take for example this quote from the Srimad Bhagavatam 1.7.37, "A cruel and wretched person who maintains his existence at the cost of others' lives deserves to be killed for his own eternal well-being, otherwise he will go down by his own actions." There are many more such quotes from scriptures all over the world. Yet nowadays, there is just the opposite of vegetarianism in compliance of these ancient texts. "Although meat-eating has been denied to the human form by God and his sons and daughters of the past, people still adopt the process." Such are the statements of devout followers who adhere to a meat-free diet in accordance to scriptural texts. Those who advocate vegetarianism profess that many people are weak of heart and so succumb to meat eating. While those who advocate a meat-oriented

Persuasive Essay: Capital Punishment

1999-09-18T14:00:00-04:00
When turning on the television, radio, or simply opening the local newspaper, one is bombarded with news of arrests, murders, homicides, serial killers, and other such tragedies. It is a rare occasion to go throughout a day in this world and not hear of these things. So what should be done about this crime rate? Not only is it committing a crime, but today, it is signing your life over to the government. This is a risk one is taking when he decides to pull a trigger or plunge a knife, but is it really up to our justice system to decide one's fate? There are many issues that address this question of capital punishment such as religion, the effect on society, restitution being denied, the possible "wrongly accused", and the rights of the convicted. But how often do these concepts creep into the public's mind when it hears of our 'fair, trusty' government taking away someone's breathing rights? The Bible states "Thou shalt not kill," and this being a sin should have to be amended within oneself. However, the Bible also states "Don't judge others' personal convictions." It is the government's responsibility to punish people that disobey the law to keep our world in tact but is it their right to take away their lives? It is a Christian's responsibility to point out to those who sin that they do so and this country, trusting in God as it says it does, should do just that. So if the government stands strongly by this statement that's on the dollar bill, may they line up all the liars, adulterers, Buddhists, thieves, covetous and murderers at the chair. If they shall look into this one sin as so evil may they see all ten commandments so holy. The society is so confused as to what is "right." More and more children are becoming murderers themselves. The reason is obvious: they see that if they kill someone they go to jail, get the death penalty, and the government, who they know as the "good guy" kills them for punishment. Lesson learned: the finger is pointing to its own actions. Learning morals is only as hard as people make it. Why complicate things? Some people think that restitution is granted when one is sentenced to the death penalty. However, if a loved one is murdered and his family feels justice in having the murderer done

Should Children be in Competive Sports at a young age?

1999-09-15T14:00:00-04:00
Many American parents struggle to answer the puzzling question of what the appropriate age children should start to participate in competitive sports. A subject like this is puzzling because there are many issues that must be addressed, because it is controversial. Some American parents push their children too far, too young. The average American child usually will start to participate actively in competitive sports between the ages of six and twelve and can be unhealthy to a child's development (CWG 131). The question at what age a child should start, has a different answer for each individual child. Parents often fail to realize that their child may not be physically ready for competitive sports, even though the child is ready. I believe that a child should participate in sports only if he is wanting too participate and is not pushed by their parents. Every parent has a different way of looking at, if their child is ready to start. If a six year little boy wanted to start playing football, the child may not be fully capable of handling such strength and tension that might cause a life long injury (Koppett 294). Some parents may think he is ready, but is probably not. Determining whether or not a child is ready for competitive sports can sometimes be difficult to answer, because to determine if they are ready a child must be mentally ready also. Sports not only take physical strength, but a child must have psychological capacity to get them through such strenuous activity. A child may sometimes become scared when participating in sports. For example, A mother of an eight-year-old Peewee Football player explained, "The kids get so scared. They get hit once and they don't want anything to do with football anymore. They'll sit on the bench and pretend their leg hurts..."(qtd. In Tosched A32). This quote is a true statement because if a six-year-old child is playing peewee football with an eight-year-old, the eight-year old is a lot bigger that the six year old is and he could cause physical hurt to the six-year-olds tiny body. The psychological part of the story would be that the child would be so scared that he might get hurt which causes physical hurt as well as mental hurt and may scar the child for the rest of their life, when that child could of been the next pro-football player of

Should There be Compulsary College Classes

1999-09-15T14:00:00-04:00
Open your eyes, clean out your ears, sit down and listen, straighten your back, keep your head forward and be ready to have an open mind? Having an open mind is a good quality to have while experiencing different situations that you may encounter. People have many different opinions and ideas which they are expressing in today's society. College is another step along the journey of life that a select few will experience. College should be first priority on everybody's agenda in order to be successful in this struggling world. People need education outside of their own studies to broaden their horizons. People are sometimes stuck in their own "little world" and do not realize the important factors of life. Hopefully, college students will realize the importance of the classes which they are taking in college courses, and that the classes have meaning. Students may not understand the meaning of these required classes at the time which they are required, but someday they may understand. College students may think basic required classes is just busy work, wasted time, and a waste of their money. There is another intention to why these classes are required. Imagine that you are the Vice President of a well known company while sitting there in a meeting with the President of the same company and all of your coworkers. Somebody says to you Mr. VP, what do you think about the Checks and Balances of our American Government? What is Mr. VP to reply. Sorry I didn't take government to understand what you are talking about. Personally I would rather be able to join in on the discussion with my fellow coworkers. Government among other required classes are important. History, science, English, economics all have some reason why they are important. First of all history I believe is important because our American society can learn from the people before our generation. I also think that history is interesting to learn and I can understand why some people are the way they are because of the way society has brought them to be. Such as some of the African-Americans are still mad at the Caucasians because of our ancestors. If we were not taught history we would not understand why some of the African-Americans were hostile toward the Caucasians. Among other events that have taken place throughout history it is important that college students have the

Modern Education: Changing for the Future

1999-09-15T14:00:00-04:00
During the past few decades we have seen a shift from Industrial work to Information technology work. Recently our country has just recovered from an economic depression. This depression was a "wake up call" for many people, as they saw highly educated professionals loosing their jobs. Why, were these educated people loosing their jobs?-Did they break the rules, not get along with their bosses, or loose their cool? No, they did not have the flexibility, versatility, and cooperative skills that are needed in business for a changing economy. They were educated in a time when liberal art educations, and individualized work skills were taught at colleges. Layoffs were also due in part to the globilization of the economy. Cheaper labor can be found in other countries, which results in the closing of American factories or a drastic cut in pay for workers. Corporate downsizing, atomization, and an aging population have also contributed to this change in the type of work available (Rifkin 177). As most Americans used to be in the same economic bracket regardless of their line of work, today a worker's real competitive position in the world economy depends on what kind of job they have (Jacobus 253). Education is the key to creating the worker's demanded from businesses today. In aviation and other workplaces today, employers are not only looking for highly skilled workers, but for people who are flexible, work well with others and have good problem solving skills. Colleges must implement new teaching approaches and offer specialized degrees now, to prepare students for the needs of employers in the information-technology age. A workers must be flexible to be able to change and grow with the economy and the needs of employers is very important in today's job market. "With corporate downsizing and restructuring so prevalent, employers are demanding more of their employees. They must be more versatile and multi-task oriented (Schmiedl 29)." Employees must be able to move from one job to another, and learn new tasks quickly. The more education they have the easier it is to adapt to these changes (Carnoy 123). Continuing education is also becoming more prevalent for today's workers. To stay at the top of their fields in knowledge and technology, employees must constantly be up-dating their education (Schmiedl 29). Flexibility also ties in with the skill of working well with other people. To listen and interact with others in your

Private School Vouchers

1999-09-15T14:00:00-04:00
Proposals to use private school vouchers, a marketplace strategy, as a mechanism by which to improve the general quality of public education have produced a lively debate. Frequently, that debate has degenerated into a disagreement about whether public schools are as good as private schools or whether a given private school is better than a certain neighborhood public school. Other issues raised in these discussions include the appropriate use of public funds, the role of competition in improving public education, and the right of parents to choose a school for their children. Although these issues are of interest, they are not the fundamental questions which must be raised about the future of public schools in a democracy. Two Core Issues In their rush to the marketplace, the proponents of private school choice supported by public funds have chosen to ignore two core issues. First, the advocates of private school choice studiously avoid any discussion of the relationship between public schools and the common or public good in a democracy. As an example, the Governor of Wisconsin asserts that "any school that serves the public is a public school" and should therefore receive public funds through a voucher system. There is no recognition in this proposal of the distinct and unique purpose of public education in serving the public good. This rhetorical sleight-of-hand does not mean that a private school of choice becomes a public school in purpose simply by so defining it. The claim is merely a device to divert public funds for private purposes. The failure to recognize that public schools have a central responsibility in a democratic society is further evidenced by the work of John Chubb and Terry Moe, who argue that improving the efficiency and quality of public education will require the replacement of democratic governance by market mechanisms. The authors state, "The most basic cause of ineffective performance among the nation's public schools is their subordination to public authority. ... The school's most fundamental problems are rooted in the institutions of democratic control by which they are governed". Chubb and Moe deny the historic purposes of public schools when they reject the idea that educational policy should be directed by a common vision or purpose. They assert, "It should be apparent that schools have no immutable or transcendent purpose. ... What they are supposed to be doing depends on who controls them and what these controllers want them

Cloning is Ethically and Morally Wrong

1999-09-14T14:00:00-04:00
The question shakes us all to our very souls. For humans to consider the cloning of one another forces them all to question the very concepts of right and wrong that make them all human. The cloning of any species, whether they be human or non-human, is ethically and morally wrong. Scientists and ethicists alike have debated the implications of human and non-human cloning extensively since 1997 when scientists at the Roslin Institute in Scotland produced Dolly. No direct conclusions have been drawn, but compelling arguments state that cloning of both human and non-human species results in harmful physical and psychological effects on both groups. The following issues dealing with cloning and its ethical and moral implications will be addressed: cloning of human beings would result in severe psychological effects in the cloned child, and that the cloning of non-human species subjects them to unethical or moral treatment for human needs. The possible physical damage that could be done if human cloning became a reality is obvious when one looks at the sheer loss of life that occurred before the birth of Dolly. Less than ten percent of the initial transfers survive to be healthy creatures. There were 277 trial implants of nuclei. Nineteen of those 277 were deemed healthy while the others were discarded. Five of those nineteen survived, but four of them died within ten days of birth of sever abnormalities. Dolly was the only one to survive (Fact: Adler 1996). If those nuclei were human, "the cellular body count would look like sheer carnage" (Logic: Kluger 1997). Even Ian Wilmut, one of the scientists accredited with the cloning phenomenon at the Roslin Institute agrees, "the more you interfere with reproduction, the more danger there is of things going wrong" (Expert Opinion). The psychological effects of cloning are less obvious, but none the less, very plausible. In addition to physical harms, there! are worries about the psychological harms on cloned human children. One of those harms is the loss of identity, or sense of uniqueness and individuality. Many argue that cloning crates serious issues of identity and individuality and forces humans to consider the definition of self. Gilbert Meilaender commented on the importance of genetic uniqueness not only to the child but to the parent as well when he appeared before the National Bioethics Advisory Commission on March 13, 1997. He states that "children begin with a kind

Technology

1999-09-14T14:00:00-04:00
"Society never advances. It recedes as fast on one side as it gains on the other." Although written long ago these words by,

Gun Control

1999-09-14T14:00:00-04:00
I think your gun control views are the views of some-one that does not hunt, probably has never hunted, and maybe has never target practiced with a gun. I am 19 and have had a great fascination my whole life with firearms. I really enjoy hunting and target practice. In the great rush to prohibit firearms from "bad" people (felons), MY rights will be trampled on if any more gun control is passed on a federal or state level. I do not want to give up my right to own an ak-47 because some dumb-ass gang member strung out on drugs shoots his neighbor. You need to see through the pure bull-shit of ANY gun control measure, because the biggest proponents of gun control (HCI) will openly admit that the main purpose of any gun control is the eventual total prohibition of firearms out of the civilian population of the united states. And for what end? The reduction of crime? We waste billions on the war on drugs to keep them out, and that doesn't work. Gun prohibition wouldn't work either. I

Importance of Sex Education

1999-09-14T14:00:00-04:00
"HIGH SCHOOLS MUST PROVIDE YOUNG PEOPLE WITH ADEQUATE SEX EDUCATION BECAUSE IGNORANCE CAN BE HARMFUL" The largest gulf of understanding still remains between the parents and the youth especially in the area of sexuality. Sex is a natural part of life, and when questions arise, they can be discussed in a matured way without condoning certain behavior. Relying to that, we realize that sex education is important to be inserted in a person's life. Therefore, sex education in high schools is very necessary for youngsters to acquire information, form attitudes, beliefs and values about identity, relationships and intimacy. Sex education also encompasses sexual development, affection, body image and gender roles. In other words, it is about learning how we grow, reproduce and change over the years. It also includes a positive view of sex and the safety involved on sexuality. Regarding to the importance of sex education, I want to state my stand here that I strongly agree that "High schools must provide young people with adequate sex education because ignorance can be harmful". Sex education in high schools helps young people to be more prepared for life changes such as puberty, menopause and aging. Sex education can develop skills and self esteem to help students enter adolescence. It helps them in knowing that the sudden few changes are okay and normal. For example, girls would not get shocked, panic and afraid at their first menstruation once they already had the knowledge about it. Young people can also learn to appreciate and recognize their own sex: bodies just as good, beautiful and special as other God's perfect creations. Moreover, it delivers confidence on them to value themselves and others. Sex education helps them understand the place of sexuality in human life and loving other people. They will learn to enjoy their sexuality, behave responsibly within their sexual and personal relationships. Youngsters are usually very curious to know all new things that came up to them especially abstract things such as sex. Despite that, sex education plays a major role in addressing concerns and correcting the misunderstandings that the youngsters may have gained from sources such as the media and their peers. In addition, they will learn to make decisions that respect themselves and others by taking account the possible consequences. For instance, youngsters will be more matured, responsible and social ills can also be reduced. Furthermore, research had shown that children that are

India's Nuclear Weapons

1999-09-14T14:00:00-04:00
This event is in the news because a country violated a law that the entire world agreed on not doing anymore. India have always wanted to become nuclear, and their wish came true. They accepted their consequences of being nuclear, but they are happy. It's neighboring country Pakistan and

Rape

1999-09-14T14:00:00-04:00
Here is a number for you: 354,670. That is the number of women that were raped in 1995 (RAINN 1). That is equivalent of one woman being raped every two minutes (RAINN 1). Want more numbers? "In the last two years, more than 787,000 women were the victim of a rape or sexual assault" (RAINN 1). And one more statistic that might get your attention is that only 37% of rapes are reported to the authorities (RAINN 2). Fortunately, there are ways to drastically reduce these numbers. For starters women need to know what constitutes rape. Second women need to know how to prevent rape before it starts, and lastly women need to know what to do if they are raped. According to the book Our Bodies Our Selves, rape is defined as "...any kind of sexual activity committed against a woman's will" (Avery 135). When a person says the word "rape", people automatically think of a stranger jumping out of the bushes or chasing you down an ally. But, the most common form of rape is called acquaintance rape or date rape. Acquaintance rape is defined as "forced, manipulated or coerced sexual contact by someone you know" (gopher.uchicago 1). Acquaintance rape can occur by "someone you have just met, or dated a few times, or even with someone to whom you are engaged" (Hughes 1). Acquaintance rape accounts for about 60% of all rapes reported (Hughes 1). According to Hughes, date rape usually occurs when a man and a woman are alone whether in a car or at home (2). Also drugs and alcohol sometimes play an important factor in date rape. "Many victims say later that they drank too much or took too many drugs to realize what was going on by the time they realized their predicament, it was too later" (Hughes 2). Another reason acquaintance rape occurs is mixed signals. For example, the woman acts friendly "...the man interprets this friendliness as an invitation to have sex" and when a woman says "no" she means "maybe" (Hughes 2). The reason that men do this is because they are taught to be aggressive and controlling at an early age. Men need to realize that this attitude can lead to date rape and should not look at women as sex objects. Women need to be aware of men like this to prevent being raped. Since acquaintance rape and stranger

Living the Legacy: The Women's Rights Movement 1848-1998

1999-09-13T14:00:00-04:00
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." That was Margaret Mead's conclusion after a lifetime of observing very diverse cultures around the world. Her insight has been borne out time and again throughout the development of this country of ours. Being allowed to live life in an atmosphere of religious freedom, having a voice in the government you support with your taxes, living free of lifelong enslavement by another person. These beliefs about how life should and must be lived were once considered outlandish by many. But these beliefs were fervently held by visionaries whose steadfast work brought about changed minds and attitudes. Now these beliefs are commonly shared across U.S. society. Another initially outlandish idea that has come to pass: United States citizenship for women. 1998 marks the 150th Anniversary of a movement by women to achieve full civil rights in this country. Over the past seven generations, dramatic social and legal changes have been accomplished that are now so accepted that they go unnoticed by people whose lives they have utterly changed. Many people who have lived through the recent decades of this process have come to accept blithely what has transpired. And younger people, for the most part, can hardly believe life was ever otherwise. They take the changes completely in stride, as how life has always been. The staggering changes for women that have come about over those seven generations in family life, in religion, in government, in employment, in education - these changes did not just happen spontaneously. Women themselves made these changes happen, very deliberately. Women have not been the passive recipients of miraculous changes in laws and human nature. Seven generations of women have come together to affect these changes in the most democratic ways: through meetings, petition drives, lobbying, public speaking, and nonviolent resistance. They have worked very deliberately to create a better world, and they have succeeded hugely. Throughout 1998, the 150th anniversary of the Women's Rights Movement is being celebrated across the nation with programs and events taking every form imaginable. Like many amazing stories, the history of the Women's Rights Movement began with a small group of people questioning why human lives were being unfairly constricted. A Tea Launches a Revolution The Women's Rights Movement marks July 13, 1848 as its beginning. On that sweltering

Barbie dolls and Self Image

1999-09-13T14:00:00-04:00
There is a noticeable comparison between the poem "The Mirror" By Sylvia Plath & the article "Barbie" that appeared in the Newsday Tuesday November 18, 1997. The comparison is about how people look, and how society could reflect how you may feel about your looks. In the poem "The Mirror" it tells about a lady who dislikes the way she looks. She thinks of herself as being ugly. In the article it tells how Mattel (the makers of Barbie) want to change the looks & features of Barbie. The reason for wanting to change the

Smoking

1999-09-13T14:00:00-04:00
I feel that there should be laws against smoking. Right now there are laws against buying them. You have to be 21 to buy cigarette. But my question is if you have to 21 why do people under 21 have possession of cigarette? We all already know that smoking is bad for you. On the news all the time they have something about smoking and why it is so bad for you. Even on the cigarette box there is a surgeon general message. This message is a note saying that Cigarette are hazardous to your health. But still millions of people still are smoking. I see it like this... If they put a

Capital Punishment

1999-09-13T14:00:00-04:00
I am all for Capital Punishment. I think that if you kill someone you should be given the death penalty. I think that the death of the killer would give family and friends a bit of ease over the death. Also the death should not be prolonged and should be done immediate. By giving the death penalty to some one it is fair and very just to me. If you kill someone you deserve to die and not stay in jail.. If a man kills a man and is convicted he should be ready to die next. When you give a killer the death penalty it would reassure the people close to the victim it would not happen again. Also it gives them the feeling that the death has been avenged. A family will feel less pain if the killer dies like he should. The death penalty should be give the day after conviction. When a killer stays in prison he takes up space in already over crowed prisons. Most people would want this so murders can live in prison off

Liquor Ads on TV

1999-09-13T14:00:00-04:00
According to Antonia Novello, Surgeon General of the United States, in SIRS Government Reporter, the principle cause of death for those between the ages of 15 and 24 are alcohol related car crashes (1). Doesn't it make sense that we should concentrate our efforts into reducing this problem of alcohol abuse? Apparently DISCUS, the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, doesn't think so. Worsnop says that on November 7, 1996, they removed their voluntary ban of hard liquor ads on television and radio that had been in affect since 1936 (219). He then states that the removal came right after Seagram, a liquor company, advertised for some of their hard liquor on KRIS-TV in CorpusChrist, Texas (219). This movement is definitely a step in the wrong direction and action should be taken to reinstate this ban, but this time legally. First of all, the removal of the ban gave DISCUS a bad reputation. Already the four major TV networks (NBC, ABC, CBS, and FOX) have vowed not to air ads for hard liquor (Worsnop 219). DISCUS has also lost respect in the field of politics, especially with numerous congressmen and the President, himself. Worsnop said "Beer group representatives think DISCUS' announcement undercut its credibility in Washington" (219). Bill Clinton referred to the decision as "simply irresponsible" (qtd in Worsnop 219). Secondly, many of these advertisements for liquor have been said to target teens. However, Seagram's executive vice president of marketing strategy, Arthur Shapiro, said that Seagram had taken "great pains that our advertising doesn't appeal to or aim at children" (qtd in Krantz 1). This is not so, according to Katherine Prescott, who pointed out the use of animals and a graduation theme in Seagram's commercial. This seems to associate the use of alcohol with academic success when the two rarely coexist (Tannert 2). Clinton also expressed his concern that the ban may cause increased drinking among minors (Facts on File 492 vol 57). Even if teens were not targeted directly in an advertisement, Froehlich says "Teenagers are three times as likely as adults to respond to ads..." This is party due to their self-insecurity (Froehlich 1 Novello in SIRS Researcher 5). It has been suggested that in order to reduce teen response to advertisements, counter-advertising should be used. This is when advertisements are shown that discourage illegal or abusive use or products. Research projects showed that while advertising increased consumption,

The Cost of Computer Literacy

1999-09-13T14:00:00-04:00
What are the costs of computer literacy? Some people argue that there are no such costs, but I believe there are a few which may be relevant. Does computer literacy affect the way we communicate, and if so, is this necessarily a bad thing? What is our future, as computer literacy becomes a necessity? What are the personal, financial, and social costs, as computer literacy becomes a necessity? According to Webster's New World dictionary, literacy is defined as the ability to read and write. There is definitely more than one interpretation of the word "literacy" as we have seen in class discussions and from reading many essays on the subject. The world has grown beyond the understanding of literacy as the ability to read and write- we now have many diverse understandings of the word. But there is a new literacy emerging around the world that will soon demand the immediate attention of everyone. I am referring to computer literacy. As our society becomes increasingly dependent on computers to take care of our daily needs, it creates a high demand for skilled professionals to maintain as well as take advantage of this technology. The computer job market is like a wave, a technology wave. I had the choice to ride the wave and possibly make a lot of money at the age of only 18. But if I had not decided to go to college now, instead of working full time, there is no guarantee that I would have a job when that technology wave breaks. Last year, at the age of 18, I was working in a computer software company as a network administrator and making more than some people that have a college degree. Some may look at this as a tremendous opportunity, but I saw it as a possible pitfall. At first, I saw taking advantage of my high computer literacy as having no costs whatsoever, but what I was reluctant to see was that I was not taking any college classes to further my education. This would have proved to be a significant mistake if I had not seen the possible negative aspects of not having a college degree to fall back on. How do you measure that cost or its cost to society? The degree and education that I get by going to college may prove to be a very important part of my future. As new technologies

Is ritalin over prescribed? (Argumentative essay)

1999-09-13T14:00:00-04:00
Is Ritalin the Answer to AD (H) D?The tousled brown hair that weaves so mischievously around his head may hint at the way he feels inside. He is seven-years-old and has already had to repeat a grade. He has an imagination that puts others to shame, but nothing seems to hold his attention for more than five minutes. He was recently diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or what we call AD (H) D.This scene is all too familiar for individuals who discover that they, too, have this learning disorder as they progress from elementary school to college. And in today's society we want a "quick fix" to remedy our problems. Therefore doctors are prescribing the drug, Ritalin, to control AD (H) D. Although Ritalin is a widely used drug to control AD (H) D, there are other safer alternatives to combat this worldwide disorder.Ritalin, like many other drugs, has several side effects-some of which are severe. Ritalin is in a class of drugs called Methylphetamines. These types of drugs (also called Central Nervous System or CNS stimulants) affect our central nervous system that controls everything from thought process to everyday breathing. Ritalin's major side effects influences the cardiovascular system (palpitation, tachycardia, and increased blood pressure), the central nervous system (psychosis, dizziness, headache, insomnia, tic syndromes, attacks of Gilles de la Tourette), gastrointestinal (anorexia, nausea), endocrine/metabolic system (weight loss, growth suppression). Also, Ritalin is a fairly new drug (introduced in the early eighties). It hasn't been around long enough to study the long-term effects.Since Ritalin is a Methylphetamine (closely related to the amphetamine family, such as cocaine), it has a high rate of abuse. In light of methylphenidate's abuse liability, it is important to note the tremendous increase in availability of this substance and the expanded population (adolescents and adults) receiving prescriptions for the treatment of AD (H) D. For example, the production quota for methylphenidate has increased from 1,361 kg in 1985 to 10,410 kg in 1995 with the primary increases occurring in the last five years. This drug is abused in two ways. One way is for recreational purposes. The abusers use the drug as a form of "speed" to pick themselves up. They feel that they need this in order to be "alive" and full of life. The other way this drug is abused is very different. Students are using Ritalin as a study aid. They take

Exposing Children to Profanity

1999-09-13T14:00:00-04:00
The United States Constitution gives Americans many rights. One of those rights is the freedom of speech. A controversy has erupted in the United States because the government is unable to determine the limitations on this right. "In early America when our forefathers wrote the Constitution, profanity was not accepted" (Shoeder 72). This makes determining the true definition of "speech" difficult. A majority of people believe profanity is an acceptable form of language. These people feel that they are free to say what they want without worrying about the rights of others. Due to this insensitivity, a child has a hard time walking down a street without hearing offensive words. For example, there is a man standing on a street corner harassing another person. The child hears profane words used by the man, and from this the child relates anger with profanity. Another example is a woman seen arguing with a cashier using profanity in an attempt to get her way, and the child with her begins to believe that to get your way you must cruse. A third example is a waitress having a bad day, and taking it out on the customers the child in the booth next to the customers and the waitress is thinking that this is a proper way to communicate. All of these examples are using improper language for children to hear (Shoeder 72). Parents are then expected to explain and make excuses for the vocabulary being used by others. Profanity has become uncontrollable and has had a great role in the moral decay of our society. The main goal for parents and government officials should be the regulation of profanity in the United States. Adults are formed through the experiences of their childhood. The way a person acts and speaks is often determined at a young age. When a parent uses profanity, a child may feel free to also use these words. For instance, a mother may not intentionally use profanity when cutting her finger while in the kitchen. As a result of the mother's action, a child may use the same words when they get hurt (Hochman 29). Parents play a great part in a young person's upbringing so it is not surprising that children imitate their guardians' actions. Growing up without a role model forces a child to look for other sources to imitate. Television has role models for children to admire

Healthcare

1999-09-13T14:00:00-04:00
Introduction America has a highly developed health care system, which is available to all people. Although it can be very complex and frustrating at times it has come a long way from the health care organizations of yesterday. Previously most health care facilities were a place where the sick were housed and cared for until death. Physicians rarely practiced in hospitals and only those who were fortunate could afford proper care at home or in private clinics. Today the level of health care has excelled tremendously. Presently the goal of our health care is to have a continuum of care for the patient, one which is integrated on all levels. Many hospitals offer a referral service or discharge plan to patients who are being discharged. Plans for the patient are discussed with a discharge planner. The discharge planner is a person who is trained in assessing what the patient's requirements for health care will be after discharge from the hospital. This enables the patient to continue their care at a level which is most appropriate for them. Items reviewed for discharge planning include but are not limited to therapies, medication needs, living arrangements and identification of specific goals. A few of the options that are available for persons being discharged from an acute care hospital can include home health care, assisted living facilities, long term care or hospice Home Health Care According to Growing Old in America (1996), "Home health care is one of the fastest growing segments of the health care industry" (p. 114). Alternatives for home care can meet both the medical and non-medical needs of a patient. These services are provided to patients and their families in their home or place of residence. Home care is a method of delivering nursing care and other therapies as required by the patient's needs. Numerous alternatives are available for persons seeking health care at home. With transportable technologies such as durable medical equipment, oxygen supply and intravenous fluids there are countless possibilities for treatment within the home setting. As stated in The Continuum of Long Term Care "Home health programs range from formal organizations providing skilled nursing care to relatively informal networks that arrange housekeeping for friends" (p. 185). This has allowed for home care to quickly become an essential component of the health c! are delivery system in the United States. In a home health care situation the primary care giver is

Factors That Influence Teen Violence

1999-09-13T14:00:00-04:00
In today's society, the teenage population has experienced an increase in violence. Teens face many situations that cause these problems. Several factors are mass media, peer pressure, and society's view

History of Unions and Their Relevance in Today's Society

1999-09-12T14:00:00-04:00
Following the lead of Britain from where many of the original settlers came, workers in various occupations banded together to form unions. Ship writers, boat builders, tailors, bakers and carpenters were among the first craft unions form in Australia before 1848. By forming an association workers could obtain better wages and working conditions. However the employers wanted the highest profit margins so wished to keep wages low and spend little money on the working environment. The law of supply and demand in the labour market often determined which group was dominant. A third factor in the balance in Australia was the government. A successful strike by newspaper workers in 1829 for better wages and conditions resulted in the Masters and Servants Act being implemented which discriminated against the workers, who could be gaoled for minor revolts. Early in the colony, skilled labours were in short supply but in the 1840's after active promotion of emigrants by Britain this improved and a depression forced wages down and jobs were lost. With the discovery of gold, prices and wages rose, labour was scare and licenses imposed on miners and the Eureka incident occurred. Bust and boom economic conditions paroled surges recessions for unionism over the next few decades. The industrial union formed in the 1880's as a grouping of workers within an industry and across colonial and the Shearer's Union and small bush workers unions became the Australian Workers Union. Unions then looked to represent workers in Governments and the 1890's major strikes were held and the Labour Party was formed. With coming of Federation compulsory arbitration - settling of disputes between employer and employee by a third party - encouraged unionism, with unions representing the workers. The labour market and demand for goods has been influenced by world wars, depressions and recessions. In the 1980's 'national reconciliation' initiated by the Government, aimed at resolving some of the conflict between workers and employers. Strong leaders among workers of various occupations over the last two centuries, have been gaoled, sometimes killed, starved, abused, seen their families suffer for better working conditions. At the beginning of the industrial revolution, employers knew their workers and felt responsible for them. After the industrial revolution gained momentum they employed more people and lost empathy for their staff. Working conditions were 12 - 14 hours, without breaks, child labour was employed, accidents were rife and wages were low. Overcrowding in unsanitary conditions resulted in epidemics

Should Australia introduce any tax or GST changes?

1999-09-11T14:00:00-04:00
Why do we need taxes? Taxation makes up majority of our government's income. With this income the government can provide us with proper infrastructure and social services for little, if no cost at all. These include Medicare, social security and education. (These facilities are known as recurrent expenditures because it is needed time after time.) Other expenditures include transportation, lighting, recreation etc. These services are granted to us at no costs. In many 3rd world countries where taxation is low or doesn't exist, all of these services are to come out of one's own pocket. Over the many centuries, in which taxation was existent, people have cheated and avoided paying these taxes. Nowadays people with high-income put their money into trusts, superannuation, or incorporate it into businesses. Businesses would try and receive more cash transactions. This has led to a decrease in our government's revenues, thus leading to a tax reform in hope of a more effective result. What makes a good tax system? There are four elements in a successful tax system. They are effectiveness, efficiency, equitability, and simplicity. 1) Effectiveness: is the performance compared to the desired effect. E.g. the number of people who pays tax, how much tax is received. 2) Efficiency: is the cost of running the system. The system may be very effective with a million tax officers, but it would cost millions to hire so many people. 3) Equitability: is the fairness of the system. This is an impossible goal to achieve. From different people's point of views, the system will always be unfair to them in some way. Not to mention the tax cheats. The best solution is to broaden the number of people who pay the tax, which is only fair. 4) Simplicity: A tax system should never be too complexed, it is otherwise not efficient neither understandable. The income tax Act that just started off at just 120 pages in 1936 is now over 3300 pages and has doubled in size over the last 7 years. A complex system means that those who can afford expensive tax advice minimize their tax. But those that can't, pay the full share. It is impossible to have a system where all four elements are satisfactory. Where a system may be effective and efficient it will not be equitable or simple. It is impossible to fit the whole population all under one roof. Under these circumstances the government

Christopher Skase - the Sick Tycoon

1999-09-11T14:00:00-04:00
In the early 1980's a young confident man named Christopher Charles Skase became world famous by amassing a list of assets including a multi-million dollar company called Quintex, the channel 7 network, Mirage resorts and a number of extravagant houses across the world. Christopher Skase was born on the 18th of September 1948 in Melbourne, Australia. He grew up in a rich family going to Malvern and Caulfield Grammar Schools. He first started making money as a stockbroker and then as a finance journalist. In 1975 he bought a small Tasmanian based company called Quintex. Borrowing heavily the Company expanded into resort developments including 5 Mirage resorts and the media company, channel 7 network. Buoyed by his success Skase began to represent Australia's entrepreneurs of the 80's. Brash, extravagant and fearless. Who could forget his Christmas parties in Brisbane last decade? The Quintex group of companies collapsed in 1989. By 1991 Skase a seasoned overseas traveller failed to return to Australia. Bankrupt and aloof he stayed far from home and fought attempts to force him to return for trial on the charges brought by the Australian Securities Commission. Whilst a resident of Majorca Skase has developed his business ventures by creating an international company pursuing interests in resorts. It appears that this strategy has been adopted to carry favour with the Spanish Government in relation to investment attraction. Since 1994 in Spanish Courts he has fought extradition proceedings to Australia, claiming that a life threatening lung condition prevented him from travelling. This was challenged in the courts by witnesses to his lifestyle in Majorca where he and his wife Pixie are living together with step-daughter Amanda and her husband Tony Larkin. The Spanish had until recently upheld Skase's testimony. In May 1998, with Senator Amanda Vanstone leading the charge, the Australian Government cancelled Skase's passport. The Spanish courts moved quickly sending notice to Skase to leave Majorca by the 23rd July 1998 due to his lack of citizenship. Of course, there was and continues to be an appeal. Realising that he could be extradited to Australia since being stateless, Skase moved quickly to obtain a passport. In August, 1998 he became a citizen of Dominica and now has a valid Dominican passport. Being a new West Indian citizen, Skase appears to have all the aces up his sleeve. Australia has no jurisdiction now to legally argue for his extradition from Spain back to his country of

Gambling

1999-09-06T14:00:00-04:00
Gambling, while it lowers taxes and creates jobs, it also causes addicts to lose money and therefore creates a higher crime rate. A Quick History of Gambling. Gambling was a popular pastime in North America long before there was ever a United States. Playing cards and dice were brought over by both the British and the Dutch. By the end of the 17th century, just about every countryseat in colonial America had a lottery wheel. Cockfighting flourished thoughout the countries, especially in the South. Bear Baiting was also a popular sport, but the Puritans banned it.(Ortiz 4) Almost 100 years later gambling in the West gave gambling a second life. Early church leader struck down all forms of gambling and so in the East gambling for the most part died completely. Far from both government controls and moral interference of reform groups in the East, gambling became so popular in the West that Monte tables were often setup in the middle of the town.(Donovon 13) Organized Crime During the Prohibition Era (1920-1933), illegal gambling was organized into an authoritarian regional and national system. Responsibility for the syndication of gambling is usually attributed to Arnold Rothstein, who invented the inner-city layoff. He is also known for master minding the "Black Sox" scandal in which the White Sox threw the 1919 World Series to the Cincinnati Reds to assure gambling profits. Gambling legally, once again, becomes acceptable. Since the 1970s, the United States has turned full circle in its attitude toward gambling. Three hundred years ago, the "sport", mostly in the form of lottery, was seen as a perfectly acceptable way to raise money for public purposes.(Savage 12) Over the past several years, slow economic growth, cuts in federal funding to states, and growing public needs have forced many desperate state and even local government to seek additional sources of revenue. Most states have turned to lotteries, horse and dog racing, and, most recently, a growing number of states have resorted to casino gambling as a way to raise money and keep taxes low.(James B5) Sports gambling During the late 1980s, and early 1990s, several states have tried to introduce sports betting, either as part of lottery, like sports pool, or as sports bookmaking. Never the less, the leader of the nation's sports integrity, including the National Basketball Association (NBA), the National Football League (NFL), and Major League Baseball (MLB), were concerned that the states, in their desperation to raise money,

The Microsoft Antitrust Case

1999-09-03T14:00:00-04:00
The case against Microsoft was brought buy the U.S. Department of Justice, as well as several state Attorneys General. Microsoft is accused of using and maintaining monopoly power to gain an unfair advantage in the market. The case has been under observation for a long time, but the Justice department is having trouble coming up with substantial evidence against Microsoft. Specifically, the Department must prove:
That Microsoft has monopoly power and is using it to gain unfair leverage in the market.
And that Microsoft has maintained this monopoly power through "exclusionary" or "predatory" acts(Rule). Some say that Microsoft is only taking advantage of its position in the market and using innovative marketing strategies to attract new customers. They have chosen to implement a market development strategy to attract new customers who are looking for a system that has Internet capability. Microsoft feels that by integrating their Internet Explorer web browser technology into Windows, they are only improving its overall functionality available to the customer. Microsoft began expanding into the browser area because of increasing threat from Netscape and Java. Java is the programming language used to make Netscape. Programs that are written in Java can work on any PC, whether it has Windows on it or not. That is why there is a great threat to the Windows environment. The more Netscape is used, the more other vendors will begin writing Netscape compliant programs and the more Java will be used, which puts a damper on Windows. So Windows introduced their Internet explorer to combat the increasing Netscape usage. It did not do this to create a monopoly, but to protect itself. If people realize that Java programs can be run on ANY PC, then they will realize that they do not need to buy Windows. Some say that Microsoft began it's "illegal" agenda when it began requiring PC manufacturers to sign a license agreement that said that if they were going to have Windows preinstalled on their new systems, that the Windows Internet Explorer must also be installed. Although it is possible for consumers to install other browsers onto Windows and use them, critics say that Microsoft still has an unfair advantage. It also keeps other browser companies from being able to consult with PC manufacturers to put their browser on the PC from the beginning. PC manufacturers did not hesitate to comply with Microsoft's new standard because they did not want

Clinton Scandal

1999-08-24T14:00:00-04:00
The evidence against President Clinton for sexual misconduct is very strong. There have been too many scandals that have surrounded his presidency. This forces the citizens of the United States to deny his plea of innocence. In the spring of 1995, Monica Lewinsky graduated from Lewis and Clark College. She then started an unpaid internship at the White House. Allegedly in November of that year, she became involved in a sexual relationship with President Clinton. Shortly after this point Lewinsky was hired as a full-time White House employee. She left the White House for a public affairs position at the Pentagon. Here she became friends with Linda Tripp, a former White House employee, who worked in the same office. During this time President Clinton apparently sent gifts to Lewinsky, most importantly in the case against him a dress, which she saved as a souvenir, had the President's DNA on it. With things heating up in the Paula Jones case, the President asked Lewinsky to lie about visits to his office. Turning her back on Lewinsky, Tripp taped telephone conversations between herself and Lewinsky about the affairs with Mr. Clinton to setup him up. Lewinsky, allegedly quoting Mr. Clinton, said, "Look them in the eye and deny it." After anonymous tips are given to a firm connected with the Paula Jones case, Lewinsky decided to leave the government and find a new job. On January 7, 1998, Monica Lewinsky signed a sworn affidavit in the Paula Jones sexual harassment case, stating she did not have an affair with the President. Following this, Linda Tripp brought the recorded phone conversations to Independent Counsel for the Paula Jones case, Kenneth Starr. With assistance from the FBI, Tripp wore a wire while Lewinsky lead her step-by-step through her entire sexual relationship with Mr. Clinton. The following day, Lewinsky gives Tripp points on how to respond to Paula Jones' lawyer's questions. After receiving news of this Starr requested from a federal panel, the ability of an expansion of his ongoing investigation. The following day, President Clinton, who was under oath, denied an affair with Lewinsky. Four days later, the story of the tapes became public knowledge. The President stated in an interview with Jim Lehrer of PBS on the same day, "There is no improper relationship"(Clinton 1998). He also stated in this interview that he "didn't ask anybody not to tell the truth."(Clinton 1998). In using a

The case for Work for the dole

1999-08-12T14:00:00-04:00
Youth faces an uncertain future - it always has in one way or another. The progression from parental dependency to self-sufficiency and independence has always been (and will continue to be) a difficult one. The stresses of successfully completing high school are compounded by peer pressure, personal and family relationship problems, and the natural problems inherent in being an adolescent. As well, today, moreso than in yesteryear, there is an ever-present temptation to turn to drugs and alcohol, either as an escape route, or in order to cope with it all. Doing well at school does not guarantee a future career path, even if the correct choices are known and made. "Starting at the bottom" no longer means that you will get to the top one day. Today, people in their 40s and 50s are being made redundant from positions they once justifiably regarded as being secure until retirement. And competition is strong. Each year it becomes stronger - each year thousands more students join the ranks of the unemployed, and long term unemployment, especially amongst youth, is a real problem. The Government's "Work for the Dole" Scheme is a much-needed positive step that is helping youth make the transition from student, to unemployed, to employee. Each year 25,000 places in the Scheme are available, 20,000 of which are set aside for young people. Under the Scheme, unemployed people perform work (from 12 to 15 hours per week) in return for their fortnightly unemployment benefit. Participation is for a maximum of six months for people unemployed for a period of more than six months. People aged 17 to 21 are required to work for two six-hour days per week, and people aged 21 and over are required to work for 21/2 six-hour days per week. An extra $10 per week is paid to the participant to allow for extra costs incurred relating to transportation, and child minding facilities are available if necessary. Time off from the scheme can be arranged for attendance at interviews for paid employment. In order to reach those most in need of assistance, participation in the Scheme is compulsory. This is necessary so that the chances of success can be maximised to provide the most benefit to participants. It may be of concern to some that the compulsory nature of the Scheme undermines the altruism inherent in volunteer work. Some may fear that it will lead to

Self-defense in criminal cases.

1999-08-03T14:00:00-04:00
One of the frustrations faced by many businesses is that after the perpetrators of crimes have been identified, the District Attorney's office will not pursue the case. One option is for victims to sue the DA in an attempt to compel him to prosecute, but this would be costly and proving dereliction of duty would be difficult. The DA is effectively immune. Other options are more promising. The law should encourage (and prosecutors' offices should welcome) private preparation of criminal cases. Prosecutors' budgets simply do not allow vigorous prosecution of all the available criminal cases. Logic and evidence show that in private law, plaintiffs win about 50 percent of the cases that are tried. This is because the parties are more likely to settle lopsided cases out of court. Public prosecutors, by contrast, win far more than 50 percent of their trial cases because they have budget constraints and so elect whenever possible to go to court with only the cases they are likely to win. Victims should be allowed to hire private attorneys and other professionals to prepare cases against the accused and thereby extend public prosecutors' resources. The attorneys can be retained pro bono (for the good) or for compensation. This is already done in some white collar cases where financial complexities exceed the prosecutors' expertise, such as complicated embezzlement cases, some oil and gas swindles and cases involving the misapplication of construction trust funds. At present, many cases are never prosecuted for one reason or another. For example, in about 40 percent of federal embezzlement and fraud cases, charges are dropped because of insufficient evidence to convict, given the resources at hand.85 In some instances prosecutors "deputize" attorneys to try cases, too. Many private attorneys have criminal experience as former prosecutors or public defenders. A logical extension of private preparation for trial is the complete privatization of the prosecutor's job by contracting out. Private attorneys, of course, are often appointed on a pro bono basis for criminal defense. Private attorneys could be deputized for a single trial or for ongoing prosecutor's work, either pro bono or under contract. The same remedies are available to finance criminal prosecution as civil litigation. Commercial insurance policies could be expanded or created for this market. Associations and community groups could cover these costs for members and subscribers. In Gideon v. Wainwright (1963), the United States Supreme Court held that because the assistance of counsel

Language Defines Gender

1999-08-03T14:00:00-04:00
How do men and women communicate clearly when most of their ways of communicating are so different? In today's society language plays a key role in defining gender by phraseology, vocabulary, and also their nonverbal vocabulary. Each one of these different types of ways of communicating is prominently different between men and women. Webster's defines phraseology as "a choice and pattern of words." Many studies have been done on the differences between men and women's phraseology. It has been noted in many different studies that men tend to talk much more than women do. This was proven true in a study that Lynette Hirshman did in 1974 (Glass 33). It has also been proven that women tend to speak faster than men; this is due to the fact that women tend to be interrupted more often than men are, and also have the ability to speak more clearly, precisely, and more quickly than men can. In one study it was found that women spoke for an average of three minutes describing a painting, as opposed to the thirteen-minute average it took men to describe it. (Glass 33) Women tend to be more detailed when describing events, persons, places or things. Linguist Robin Lakoff states in her book, Language and Woman's Place, women use greater description when describing colors. (Glass 31) Women notice more detail than men causing women to be more perceptive; they notice things such as tone of voice, facial expression, and body language. Being able to pick up on those three types of communicating helps women better understand what is actually being said in a conversation. Men and women's styles of communicating are close to being directly opposites of one another. Men tend to be louder more aggressive speakers; they mumble many of their words and tend to be sloppy in their pronunciation of words. Men tend to use loudness when emphasizing words instead of inflection and pitch to emphasize points. According to Webster's, inflection is "a change in the tone of the voice," or "the change of form in a word to indicate number, case, tense, etc." (Glass 51) Women tend to use pitch and inflection more so than men do. Men have a tendency to speak in a lower tone and rarely change from that tone to any others. Women on the other hand speak in five different tones, which makes them sound more emotional. (Glass 50)

Parent's taking control of their children's education

1999-07-29T14:00:00-04:00
Never before in the United States have parents been so disgruntled about their children's education. The main reason behind this massive disruption is that public schools are not living up to parent's standards. Therefore, parents are taking their children's educations and futures into their own hands, and doing so quite efficiently. Many parents are turning to ["an alternative"] means of educating known as home schooling. Home schooling is simply ["education of school- aged children at home rather than at school."] Parents are choosing home schooling over public because public schools are not meeting their children's academic, individual, and handicap needs. First, parents are choosing home schooling over public schooling because public schools are not meeting student's academic needs. [Parents expect their children will learn to read, write, and acquire basic math skills by the time they graduate.] However, public schools throughout the United States are failing to teach these basic achedemic skills. Recent studies show that [" Of the 2.4 million who graduate, as many as 25% cannot read or write at the eighth grade level or "functionally literate," level, according to some estimates."] This is a tragic statistic for a nation claiming to be so developed. There are more opportunities to education in the United States than any other country in the world, yet evidence shows that the United States ranks [" at the bottom of 19 industrial nations in reading, writing, and arithmetic."] In addition, students are ranking lower than ever on Academic Achievement Tests (ACT). Children who attend public schools rank in the [" 50th percentile."] whereas, home schooled children [" typically score at the 65th to 80th percentile...."] To add to these statistics, [" in December 1989, the education press reported the amazing news that children schooled at home seemed to be five or even ten years ahead of their formally trained peers in their ability to think."] These statistics prove that home schooled children are doing better in math, science, reading and writing, compared to children attending public schools. Secondly, parents are choosing home schooling over public schooling because public schools are no longer taking student's individual needs into consideration. Since students are taught lessons based on an academic calendar year, they are expected to be able to complete specific tasks by the end of that year. When students fail to meet these expectations they are required to repeat the same grade the following school

Should Abortion Clinics be Closed?

1999-07-05T14:00:00-04:00
In 1973, the supreme court decision known as Roe v. wade, made it possible for woman to get safe, legal abortions from well-trained medical practitioners and therefore led to dramatic decreases in pregnancy-related injury and death. Now the policy proposal has been done to close up abortion clinics. We are against this proposal and we will give you some arguments why we think abortion clinics in this state should not be closed. Closing up abortion clinics enables a lot of woman to have an abortion. Having an abortion should be woman's own choice. But when there are no providers of abortion around, that choice has already been made for her. Closing up the clinics will higher the barriers of having an abortion. But when the barriers are too high, this means that for some woman, the right to make their own choices in life, is taken away from them. The constitution says we have a right on Privacy, so taking away a woman's chance to make decisions over her own body and life, infringes with that right. In 1973 the American Supreme Court ruled that American's right to privacy included the right of a woman to decide whether to have children, and the right of a woman and her doctor to make that decision without state interference. Closing up abortion clinics violates that right woman have. The ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) is the nation's preeminent defender of the Constitution and The Bill of Rights, they defend the rights of all. The ACLU has protected the right of woman to choose abortion, and in recent years has argued the key cases opposing restrictions that deny woman access to reproductive health care. Policy 263 states: "The ACLU holds that every woman, as a matter of her right to the enjoyment of life, liberty, and privacy, should be free to determine whether and when to bear children." Closing up abortion clinics will be done with the purpose to reduce the number of abortions. This raises the question whether this will be effective. Before 1973 abortion was illegal. Criminalization of abortion did not reduce the number of woman who sought abortion. What is known is that between 1880 and 1973 many thousands of woman died or suffered serious medical problems after attempting to self-induce their abortions, or going to untrained practitioners who performed cheap abortions with primitive methods or in unsanitary conditions. Taking away the provision of

Abortion

1999-07-02T14:00:00-04:00
Abortion is the ending of pregnancy before birth and is morally wrong. An abortion results in the death of an embryo or a foetus. Abortion destroys the lives of helpless, innocent children and illegal in many countries. By aborting these unborn infants, humans are hurting themselves; they are not allowing themselves to meet these new identities and unique personalities. Abortion is very simply wrong. Everyone is raised knowing the difference between right and wrong. Murder is wrong, so why is not abortion? People argue that it is not murder if the child is unborn. Abortion is murder since the foetus being destroyed is living, breathing and moving. Why is it that if an infant is destroyed a month before the birth, there is no problem, but if killed a month after birth, this is inhumane murder? It is morally and strategically foolish, because we lose the middle when we talk about reproductive rights without reference to a larger moral and spiritual dimension, and we are unwilling to use language like transgression and redemption, or right and wrong. -Wolf p54 The main purpose abortions are immoral is how they are so viciously done. Everyday, innocent, harmless foetuses that could soon be laughing children are being brutally destroyed. One form of abortion is to cut the foetus into pieces with serrated forceps before being removed, piece by piece from the uterus by suction with a vacuum aspirator. Another form consists of bringing the foetus feet first into the birth canal, puncturing its skull with a sharp instrument and sucking out the brain tissue. The body parts, such as the head, are given letters, rather than refer to the parts as what they are. In my opinion this is for the doctors who cannot face the reality of what they are doing. The remains of the foetus or embryo, as the case may be, are put into everyday, plastic buckets and then sent to a dumpster where these precious bones and limbs are disposed. However, how and when an abortion takes place are matters of little importance to pro- abortionists and other defenders. Even former abortion practitioners from varying backgrounds and religions have a new view on abortion. These changes of heart were caused by psychological, religious and scientific reasons. One doctor, Dr. Bernard Nathanson, performed 60,000 abortions and supervised 10,000, before scientific evidence and the use of an ultrasound, convinced him he was promoting

Date Rape

1999-06-06T14:00:00-04:00
Rape is a very strong word. It is a word that many women feel uncomfortable saying when it comes to their own experiences. Many women have been raped and may not even know it. This is called date or acquaintance rape. Someone the victim knows or is aquatinted with commits this rape. The man who is committing this rape often doesn't believe that he is committing a crime, but he is. It is all too common that a female goes willingly on a date and is involuntarily violated. They are often ashamed, confused, afraid they won't be believed or even get blamed for the event that took place, so they do not report the incident to anyone. Teenage girls are especially at risk for date rape. 38% of all rape cases reported the victim's range in ages fourteen to seventeen. This to me is a high percentage for such a small age range. There are many sad stories of girls who have been violated by someone that they know. They almost all begin with a wonderful night and eventually get taken advantage of. The woman in the situation may feel as though she asked for it. The male may feel as though she didn't say no, so if I do this I am doing nothing wrong. It is horrifying how many times this has happened to a woman. Men take their strong, masculine image and use it to their advantage. They may try to use guilt, lies and/or aggressiveness to get a girl to have sex him. If she declines and he still continues to persuade her to have sex with him, then he is committing a crime. Tara was once in a situation that she felt to be fine. Tom, a guy she knew from school, had asked her out on a date. Unsuspecting she agreed to go. They went to a movie and on the way home they stopped on an abandoned road to talk. They talked for a little while and then Tom began to come on to her. Tara politely declined his gestures. Tom began to get angry and began touching Tara forcefully. Tara continued to tell him no, but Tom continued to force her to have intercourse. After he dropped her off at home and acted as though nothing had happened. Tara felt confused and ashamed. She had many unanswered questions and felt as though she had

Domestic Violence and Abuse in Australia

1999-06-06T14:00:00-04:00
Domestic violence is a significant social issue that has a major impact upon the health of women in society. Discuss this statement and identify the factors that may contribute to domestic violence. Domestic violence is known by many names including spouse abuse, domestic abuse, domestic assault, battering, partner abuse, marital strife, marital dispute, wife beating, marital discord, woman abuse, dysfunctional relationship, intimate fighting, male beating and so on. McCue (1995) maintains that it is commonly accepted by legal professionals as "the emotional, physical, psychological, or sexual abuse perpetrated against a person by that person's spouse, former spouse, partner, former partner or by the other parent of a minor child" (although several other forms of domestic violence have become increasingly apparent in today's society). Whatever name is used to refer to it, however, domestic violence is a very grave and difficult problem faced by Australian society. Although domestic violence can include the abuse of parents, children, siblings and other relatives, it predominantly involves violence against sexual partners with women being the most common victims and men being the 'aggressors' (Family Violence Professional Education Taskforce 1991). It is inadequate to view domestic violence as an aspect of the normal interpersonal conflict which takes place in most families. According to McCue (1995), many families experience conflict, but not all male members of families inevitably resort to violence. It is not the fact of family disputes or marital conflict that generate or characterize violence in the home. Violence occurs when one person assumes the right to dominate over the other and decides to use violence or abuse as a means of ensuring that domination (Family Violence Professional Education Taskforce 1991). Although all forms of domestic violence are pressing issues of equal importance, this essay is more specifically directed at spouse abuse and aims to delve deeper into the issue of domestic violence by examining its causes with respect to the socioeconomic status of the particular family and its effects upon women in Australian society. The FACS (Family and Community Services) booklet (1995), defines domestic violence as follows: 'when a woman suffers persistent physical, verbal, economic or social abuse from her partner with the result that she suffers a sustained emotional and, or psychological effect.' Domestic violence is the most common form of assault in Australia today. However, it remains a hidden problem because it occurs within the privacy of the home and those involved are usually reluctant to speak out

The Clinton-Lewinsky Scandal

1999-05-18T14:00:00-04:00
Lately, the top story in the news day after day, months after months have been about William Jefferson Clinton, also known as Bill. Who could blame them, there is nothing better than a story out of the ordinary, especially one with presidential status. For the past months he has been the most talked about figure, being the essential topic for news, talk shows, late night comedy and even going as far as the big screen. Talk about 'Primary Colors' and 'Wag the Dog.' What has gotten to me the most however, were the constant flow of Republicans, along with a few Democrats, who just want to say how shocked and embarrassed they are along with the people of the United States. The president had not just become the most talked about figure, but also one history had ever seen, so far that is, breaking the record and becoming a topic of conversation and debate 'twenty-four seven.' The people, who I think were most affected by this crisis and feel very sad for, are the Republicans, since they had lost severe amount of sleep over the president's bedroom crisis. They had to perform their republican duties by shocking our brains with the president's affair with Monica Lewinsky. We had to ignore the rest of the world news and its issues while they plough through the valley of lies, abuse of power and something they called high crimes and misdemeanors. At first we listen and listen and listen but eventually got bored. Not a whole lot of people felt comfortable smelling someone dirty laundry which was aired for a very, very long time. I personally got tired of this never ending story a very long time ago, since I have a great deal of respect for Mr. Clinton. I love the guy and no I am not talking romantically. I love Mr. Clinton as a teacher and most importantly as a role model. There is a story behind how Mr. Clinton earned my respect, which had nothing to do with his cute looks, but rather his character. From what I've seen, he is a hardworking, dedicated, and caring individual. Most of all, he maintains his personality as an ordinary person just like you and me. His work as a president for the past years speaks for it self. From what I've observed, Mr. Clinton is always willing to act on the people's behalf and

Pros of the Green Revolution

1999-05-18T14:00:00-04:00
With the rapid growth of our global population pouring into the next millennium, we will witness an ever-growing hunger rate around the world. That is unless we call for a revolution on the global scale. The Green Revolution which already sprouted in the early part of the century only need to add a bit more momentum and we will see a bright future for the human race, a future without hunger and starvation - hopefully. It is becoming increasingly difficult for the planet to support its overwhelming population. And since the amount of arable land available is becoming scarce, we must seek ways to dramatically improve crop yields of existing cropland. By implementing new farming techniques provided with the new technological advances in machines we can see abundant harvest in even the poorest third world countries. For example, the Green Revolution has already showed admirable progress in the northern part of India ever since it took start in 1950. By 1997, northern India increased its grain production by 37 percent. This has proven that traditional farming methods are being rendered obsolete. And because by the year 2000, there will be half the land per person in developing countries as there was in 1970, we need to apply ultra-efficient methods to sustain the growing need. Not only does the Green Revolution enhances food output, it also preserves the environment. Traditional agriculture requires massive forest and grassland removal to obtain land necessary to farm on. Deforestation and overgrazing has caused erosion flooding, and enabled the expansion of deserts. But with drainage systems, leveling, and irrigation provided by the Green Rev, all this terra deforming will unlikely happen again. We can retain clean air and lessen the global warming effect caused by deforestation. Many people argue that a revamp in agriculture will be way too expensive and unrealistic especially for those poor farmers in third world countries. However many times, they exaggerate the price. In reality, farmers who take the first step in the revolution will most likely succeed and will have more money to invest in further development such as irrigation systems and wells and machineries. And since poverty is caused by low productivity of food which results in over expensive food prices, we can eliminate this problem by raising crop yields. We don't have much time and room to speculate on this issue. The turn of the century is approaching quickly and so

Is Communication Doomed?

1999-05-12T14:00:00-04:00
It is essential that everyone is capable of reading, writing, and communicating in an articulate and organized manner. Unfortunately, many American students lack the necessary skills needed for effective communication. It is contradictory that there are so many illiterate students in this current age that many define as 'the age of the information superhighway.' It seems as though many of America's students are unaware of the importance of communication and literacy. Clear and effective language use is a most important and practical utility; it is the vehicle we use to convey information. An 'information superhighway' without vehicles is futile. Without effective language utilization, it is impossible to convey thoughts, emotions, and feelings. Students must have the capacity to absorb and convey information to, at least a minimal level. The meters of literacy magnitude are standardized tests Diane Ravitch writes of "poor verbal scores" and "de-emphasis on careful reading and writing" in Forbes magazine. Standardized test scores are not showing strong enough verbal skills. The latter is an indicator that more emphasis should be placed on language skill development at an earlier period in the education process. Language is the basis of any education. Whether one wishes to pursue a study in literature or science, language arts are indispensable. It is impossible for one to present a lab report or to comprehend a calculus text if he/she is unable to achieve literary discipline. Those who are able to dynamically utilize their literary skills have a plethora of information available to them. They can employ such resources as libraries and the Internet. Therefore, it is essential that, to take advantage of all available resources, one must have a solid foundation consisting of literary knowledge. The most fundamental form of communication is speech. After one's methods of speech are developed, it is then possible to migrate to more sophisticated areas of communication. It is relatively easy to communicate in America. Many people live in countries where there are dozens of dialects. Communication can be chaotic in countries such as China. Americans who are My communication skills are articulate. In my essays, I practice careful grammar and syntax. To achieve dynamic communication skills, I devote much time and patience to reading as much as I possibly can. Exposure to as much literature as possible can only amplify ones literary skills. Many students consider reading a novel or analyzing a literary work as a tedious and

Should Members of Congress Earn More Money or Less?

1999-05-11T14:00:00-04:00
Well, it really depends on one thing; I'm talking about their reason for becoming a congressman. If I were to become a congressman, my reason would be to help Californians express their opinions better. However this is my reason. Different people have millions of other reasons. I think there are three major reasons for becoming a congressman: represent his/her state, power, or money. I don't believe that most people get into Congress for the money. I believe most people that become congressmen want their state to be heard, and they want to improve it. However not everybody is so good some people are in it purely for power, usually power means money. I do not believe their salaries should be lowered, because if they feel they don't get what they deserve, they might not do their best in the office, they might abuse their privileges, etc. If they don't get paid enough they become more susceptible to taking bribes; this is the first sign of corruption. This might explain the paying less part, however it doesn't say much about raising their salary. I've considered the idea of raising their salary, however after a careful examination of facts, I didn't think raising it would improve much. As I have mentioned before, people (the Congressmen) don't do it for the money. Basically money isn't their primary concern. What would happen if you say doubled their salaries? People are not perfect, nobody is... if you pay them a lot more, chances are they might become greedy; when the only thing a person cares about is money, nothing ever gets accomplished. Greed is a terrible "sickness," even though you have a lot of something, in this case money, you want more, and more, and more, this craving never stops. The last thing you'd want is a greedy congressman. It is very likely that a greedy congressman would take bribes, and use his office to make even more profits, any way possible. A greedy congressman would probably forget his responsibilities, and duties as a congressman; this would only make it worse for that particular state. If it was up to me, I wouldn't raise their salaries, they are already doing a good job, at least a lot of them; this suggests they are satisfied with what they receive. If they feel satisfied, why mess with a good thing. I also wouldn't lower their salaries for

Abortion

1999-05-11T14:00:00-04:00
Sara is driving down 7th avenue in her red pickup truck, in a hurry and traveling well over the speed limit. Becky, who is 3 months pregnant, is waiting to cross the street on the corner of 7th avenue and Bell. The street light changes and Becky is signaled by the crosswalk sign to proceed across the street. Sara is putting in a new CD and not paying attention to the fact that she has a red light, without enough time to stop Sara runs the red light and hits Becky who has just started to cross the street. Now Becky is rushed to the hospital, she is hurt but will live but her baby dies. Should Sara be charged with the death of the unborn baby? On the other hand, Jessica, who is a 16-year-old girl, decides to sleep with an 18-year-old boy. She gets pregnant and has an abortion because she is not ready to be a mother. Should Jessica be charged with the death of an unborn baby? The answer to both of the questions is, yes. Abortion is wrong, cruel and most of all, it goes against the word of GOD. When a woman decides to have sex she is taking the chance of getting pregnant, even if she uses protection. If she doesn't want to get pregnant she shouldn't have sex, and she should be responsible enough to suffer the consequences. For example, Carrie is very promiscuous and finds out that she is pregnant, so she goes and has an abortion. Next time Carrie finds out that she has HIV, well she can't pay someone to get rid of her problem so she has to deal with it. Why shouldn't she have to deal with the fact of being pregnant? There are many other options to killing an innocent human: adoption or raising the child with the help of parents. However, some girls are forced to have an abortion. No matter the reason someone has for an abortion, it is still cruel. Some women are forced to have an abortion either by their parents or their spouse. This circumstance is very hard to argue because the woman who is pregnant is not making the choice and should not be held accountable for it. And that is the only reason anyone might consider having an abortion. Look at it like this, Jeff and Bonnie are building a house,

Problems with Capital Punishment

1999-05-11T14:00:00-04:00
"Dead Man Walking!" This sound rings through each and every death row inmate a thousand times a day; But should it? Capital punishment is one of the most controversial topics among Americans today. Since every person has there own opinion on this topic, either for or against, the question always raised is "Is it morally right." The number of problems with the death penalty are enormous, ranging from innocence to racism, and these problems will never be resolved unless the death penalty is abolished. The problems with capital punishment stem as far back as the ritual itself. The number of occurrence on why the death penalty is racist is uncountable. A 1990 report released by the federal government's General Accounting Office found a "pattern of evidence indicating racial disparities in the charging, sentencing and imposition of the death penalty after the Furman decision." Professor David Baldus examined sentencing patterns in Georgia in the 1970's. After reviewing over 2,500 homicide cases in that state, controlling for 230 non-racial factors, he concluded that a person accused of killing a white was 4.3 times more likely to be sentenced to death than a person accused of killing a black. The Stanford Law Review published a study that found similar patterns of racial dispair, based on the race of the victim, in Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Virginia. For example, in Arkansas findings showed that defendants in a case involving a white victim are three-and-a-half times more likely to be sentenced to death; in Illinois, four times; in North Carolina, 4.4 times, and in Mississippi five times more likely to be sentenced to death than defendants convicted of murdering blacks. There is also the issue of Capital Punishment being a deterrent. But does the death penalty really deter crime? The death lobby wants you to believe the answer to that question is "yes." But, in fact, it is a resounding "NO." Consider this...the US is the only Western nation that still allows the death penalty, and we also have one of the highest crime rates. During the 1980s, death penalty states averaged an annual rate of 7.5 criminal homicides per 100,000, while abolition states averaged a rate of 7.4 per 100,000. That means murder was actually more common in states that use the death penalty. Also consider this...in a nationwide survey of police chiefs and sheriffs, capital punishment was ranked last

Euthanasia in our society today

1999-05-09T14:00:00-04:00
Euthanasia is a controversial subject, not only because there are many different moral dilemmas associated with it,

Violence on TV

1999-04-08T14:00:00-04:00
What has the world come to these days? It often seems like everywhere one looks, violence rears its ugly head. We see it in the streets, back alleys, school, and even at home. The last of these is a major source of violence. In many peoples' living rooms there sits an outlet for violence that often goes unnoticed. It is the television, and the children who view it are often pulled into its realistic world of violence scenes with sometimes devastating results. Much research has gone into showing why children are so mesmerized by this big glowing box and the action that takes place within it. Research shows that it is definitely a major source of violent behavior in children. The research proves time and time again that aggression and television viewing do go hand in hand. The truth about television violence and children has been shown. Some are trying to fight this problem. Others are ignoring it and hoping it will go away. Still others don't even seem to care. However, the facts are undeniable. The studies have been carried out and all the results point to one conclusion: Television violence causes children to be violent and the effects can be life-long. The information can't be ignored. Violent television viewing does affect children. The effects have been seen in a number of cases. In New York, a 16-year-old boy broke into a cellar. When the police caught him and asked him why he was wearing gloves he replied that he had learned to do so to not leave fingerprints and that he discovered this on television. In Alabama, a nine-year-old boy received a bad report card from his teacher. He suggested sending the teacher poisoned candy as revenge as he had seen on television the night before. In California, a seven-year-old boy sprinkled ground-up glass into the the lamb stew the family was to eat for dinner. When asked why he did it he replied that he wanted to see if the results would be the same in real life as they were on television (Howe 72). These are certainly startling examples of how television can affect the child. It must be pointed out that all of these situations were directly caused by children watching violent television. Not only does television violence affect the child's youth, but it can also affect his or her adulthood. Some psychologists and psychiatrists feel that continued exposure

Violence on Childrens TV

1999-04-08T14:00:00-04:00
Are today's children being exposed to too much violence via television? I think so. From the teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, to the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers, kids are always being exposed to the rock-'em-sock-'em heroes of T.V., or the brainless violence of Beavis and Butthead. When we live in a country where our children watch an average of three to four hours of television daily {quote}, That is a large number of punches, kicks, and many other violent acts that our children are soaking up every day. Is that really what we want for the children of our country? Hundreds of studies of the effects of TV violence on children and teenagers have found that children may become "immune" to the horror of violence {quote?}. Gradually they even accept violence as a way to solve problems, imitating the violence they observe on television, as well as identifying with certain characters, victims and/or victimizers. One might ask If we know what is happening, why do they put violence on television? The basic reason is because violence is what people want to see. Much of the American viewing audience, and especially children, will watch the shows with more action before they even think about watching the morally correct ones. Another reason is that some broadcasters claim that there is not enough evidence to prove that TV violence is harmful. But, scientists who have studied this aspect have stated that TV violence and aggressive behavior are linked. In a Children Now Executive Summary, only one of many studies on the issue, experts agreed, among other relevant topics, "that television can have a negative effect on children, encouraging anti-social behavior such as dishonesty or violence." (Heintz-Knowles 2) This study as well as many others show that the violence is there. Another factor that points to children's television being too violent is the aggressive behavior that it is bringing out in the children that are watching it. During the average four hours a day that children watch television, They witness an average of 20 violent acts per hour. That is about 80 violent acts per day and, "Children who watch the violent shows, even 'just funny' cartoons, were more likely to hit out at their playmates, argue, disobey class rules, leave tasks unfinished, and were less willing to wait for things than those who watched the nonviolent programs," says Aletha Huston, Ph.D., now at the University

The Evaluation and Labeling of Children with Disabilities

1999-03-31T14:00:00-04:00
The information given me by various professionals who have repeatedly evaluated my daughter is the biggest issue that I face in my life. In order for me to resolve my issue I need to explore whether my issue lies with the professionals and the process of evaluation, or with me not wanting to accept that my child is disabled. My six and a half year old daughter, Malia, began to show signs of delayed development at age eighteen months. Her speech started to regress and there were also behavioral signs that were significant enough for me to ask our doctor for advice. When was not concerned to the point that I was I contacted Multnomah County Developmental Disability department and requested that they evaluate Malia. They agreed that that were delays, and made a referral to Portland Public Schools Early Intervention Program for special services such as speech therapy, occupational therapy, and other early learning resources for children with disabilities. I also switched Malia to a pediatrician who immediately referred her for a full-scale evaluation at Oregon Health Sciences University (OHSU) where they have an evaluation clinic for children with disabilities. At this point Malia was two and a half years old and this is where I began to take issue with the evaluation process. The process was a one day period where up to twelve doctors, psychologists, speech pathologists, audiologists, and occupational therapists each spent thirty minutes with Malia, evaluating her based on standard tests. After six hours with Malia, the professionals gathered together and discussed their conclusions. After their discussion, they called Malia and me in. They told me that their diagnosis for her was "a mild conductive bilateral hearing loss, language disorder and borderline intelligence." That was all the information they gave me, other than to tell me that Malia's pediatrician would receive a report and follow-up accordingly. No special suggestions or support were offered to me or to Malia. I did not know the exact meaning of "borderline intelligence" at the time, so I assumed it meant her intelligence was not above average but not below. I found out at her second evaluation two years later that it means low intelligence, bordering on mental retardation. I followed up on the hearing loss with an Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) doctor and Malia had her tonsils and adenoids removed, her ear drums pierced and drained and "PE tubes" put in. The

Cloning

1999-03-31T14:00:00-04:00
ALL CONSTRAINTS UPON CLONING SHOULD BE LIFED Cloning has been a very controversial topic since it affects moral values of human beings and other living things alike. In February 1997 scientists in Scotland announced the birth of the first cloned sheep named Dolly, this heralded the future of cloning possibilities and scientists began extensive experiments on cloning and have since then cloned both plants and animals successfully. The next step was to clone actual human beings but before experiments could have been carried out pressure started build on the scientists because people started to doubt if cloning was ethical and morally correct. Governments began to introduce bans and constraints on cloning, as they felt cloning was not correct and because they represented the people of its country, it had to act on it. Cloning has its cons but its pros seem to overcome them greatly. If cloning were allowed to be experimented scientists would come up of a way to clone body organs which are an exact replica of an individual body organ. This would prove very to be very beneficial to a person who may have lost a body organ such as a kidney, scientists could clone that particular organ for the individual, which, in the long run, would work better than a transplant organ. Cloning will certainly expand the scope of medicine greatly, thus enhance the possibilities of conquering diseases such as the Parkinson's disease, cancer and other diseases that were earlier considered incurable Cloning could be used to increase the population of endangered species of animals and thus save them from total extinction. This would help maintain a natural balance on the earth and have a continuos natural life cycle. Cloning could certainly benefit couples who are infertile and want to have a child of their own, thus they could use cloning to produce a baby with their similar characteristics. In fact they may be able to even choose the characteristics of their child. Equally important women who are single could have child, using cloning instead of artificial insemination. Cloning could also provide a copy of a child for a couple whose child had died. Another goal of cloning is to produce livestock with ideal characters for the agricultural industry and to be able to manufacture biological products such as proteins for humans. Some people would suggest that cloning is unnatural and not ethically correct but so would be talking medicine when you fall

Integrating Care and Justice: Moral Development

1999-03-31T14:00:00-04:00
Part One: The criticisms of Kohlberg's moral development stages seem to center around three major points, his research methods, the "regression" of stage four, and finally his goals. The first criticism that I would like to address is that of his research methods. Kohlberg is often criticized for not only his subject selection, but also the methods by which he tries to extricate data from those subjects. His initial study consisted of school boys from a private institution in Chicago. The problem with this is fairly obvious, that this does not represent a significant portion of the population to allow for generalized conclusions. In other words, how can we test some boys from Chicago and ascertain that this is how all people develop worldwide? I believe that the answer to this criticism comes from the theory that it relates to. Kohlberg's moral development schema is highly dependent upon the idea that there are fundamental truths that cannot be dismissed. These ideas are "in the ether", wound into the very fabric that constructs human nature. Granted, his descriptions of the various stages also seem very dependent upon the surroundings and social institutions that an individual would be subjected to. Yet these institutions would be have to be built upon people, all of whom would share these ideological truths. It seems fairly obvious that all people have undeniable needs, survival and some group membership. Kohlberg's stages are merely methods by which one could fulfill these needs. For instance, Spartan societies were adamant about maintaining the purity and strength of the civilization. Citizens saw no wrong in exposing a sick or lame baby to the elements so that it might die. Surely an act of cruelty today, but in that society, a necessary evil The prosperity and wealth of the whole was of greater importance than that of the individual. In addition to these justifications, additional research substantiated Kohlberg's claims. Different subjects were tested, from all ages and regions, and the same conclusions were drawn from the data. Assuming that these conclusions are correct, and the data leads to the same interpretation, is there any other possibility? This argument seems most impressive, especially considering the differences between people that are evident in everyday life. Similarities on such an abstract level must be supportive of Kohlberg's claims. Another criticism of Kohlberg assumes that his subjects are biased, but proposes that his methods are even worse. To get the

Ideal Women

1999-03-04T13:00:00-05:00
The American women of today can never be too thin or too pretty. In most cases thin equates beauty, so the present ideal is a thin, fit, radiantly healthy, young woman. In magazines stuffed with models and advertisements, billboards on the highway, and actresses on TV, the message of what women should look like is everywhere. The inescapable presence of these images in effect shapes the image of women today. It is very unfortunate that the media influences American society to the point that it defines the "ideal woman." According to Naomi Wolf, author of the bestselling book, The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty are Used Against Women, one reason media is so influential is "advertising is a 130 billion dollar a year industry. The average American watches 30 hours of TV a week and spends 110 hours a year reading magazines. That adds up to exposure to 1500 ads daily" (45). Advertising is a powerful educational force in our culture due to the simple fact of exposure. Economics is also a significant factor in the development of the ideal image. There is a wealth of businesses that depend upon the American desire for thinness to survive. Exercise and diet companies are an example. In order to create a market for their product, they attempt to make women feel inadequate about their own bodies through advertisement. According to Wolf, "the diet industry has tripled its income in the past 10 years from a $10 billion industry to a $33.3 billion industry" (47). Other companies that cater to the current "large" population sell beauty, tactfully. As William Lutz points out in his article, "With these Words I can Sell You Anything," girdles are called body shapers or control garments (158), and in Diane White's article, "Euphemisms for the Fat of the Land," extra-extra large is changed to queen size (176). Either way, it is their diet, exercise, or control product that will get women on the way to the thinner, and better, more popular, sexy ideal. Advertisers manipulate women into thinking their value is dependent on their physical appearance. They appeal to that basic human desire to be wanted, accepted, and sexually attractive, as Charles O'Neill points out in his article, "The Language of Advertising"(163). One reason this "ideal" has manipulated the American society in particular, is that it appeals to some basic American

Reverse Discrimination

1999-02-26T13:00:00-05:00
In 1973 a thirty-three year-old Caucasian male named Allan Bakke applied to and was denied admission to the University of California Medical School at Davis. In 1974 he filed another application and was once again rejected, even though his test scores were considerably higher than various minorities that were admitted under a special program. This special program specified that 16 out of 100 possible spaces for the students in the medical program were set aside solely for minorities, while the other 84 slots were for anyone who qualified, including minorities. What happened to Bakke is known as reverse discrimination. Bakke felt his rejections to be violations of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th amendment, so he took the University of California Regents to the Superior Court of California. It was ruled that "the admissions program violated his rights under the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment"1 The clause reads as follows: "...No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor without due process of the law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."2 The court ruled that race could not be a factor in admissions. However, they did not force the admittance of Bakke because the court could not know if he would have been admitted if the special admissions program for minorities did not exist. Bakke disagreed with the court on this issue and he brought it before the California Supreme Court. The California Supreme Court held that it was the University's burden to prove that Bakke would not have been admitted if the special program was not in effect. The school could not meet this requirement, and Bakke was admitted by court orde r. However, the University appealed to the Supreme Court for "certiorari", which was granted, and the order to admit Bakke was suspended pending thCourt's decision.3 The Issues and Arguments for Each Side "Bakke was the most significant civil rights case to reach the United States Supreme Court since Brown v. Board the Education of Topeka, Kansas."4 The special admissions program at Davis tried to further integrate the higher education system because merely removing the barriers, as the Brown case did, did not always work. In short, Bakke was questioning how far the University of California Medical School at Davis could go the try to make up for past

Television and Race

1999-02-26T13:00:00-05:00
Race Televised: America's Babysitter At some point in the course of human events, America decided that the television was their Dali Lama, their cultural and spiritual leader. Overlooking its obvious entertainment based purpose, Americans have let the television baby-sit and rear their children. I do not recall a manifesto from the television industry, but society put television in a role it does not have authority in. The only thing television set out to do was provide the passive entertainment American society wants. True, television does not accurately reflect race in America, but it is not the job of the television industry to do so. Too much importance has been put on television to provide guidance and information that American society has grown too lazy and too indifferent to find for themselves. When society finds that their information is wrong or tainted they blame television instead of finding truth and accuracy for themselves. Although television does not reflect race accurately, Americans have become too dependent on television to provide everything they know. In one of this generation's most popular TV shows, The Simpsons, it is easy to find stereotypes. There are numerous examples throughout the series, mostly toward Apu, the Indian storekeeper. For example, in episode 1F10, Homer and Apu, the writers do not overlook a single Indian stereotype. First of all they have an Indian man as a convenience storekeeper. The episode starts with Apu committing the usual convenience store stereotypes. For example he sells a $0.29 stamp for $1.85, $2 worth of gas for $4.20, etc. Next he changes the expiration dates on rancid ham and sells them. When his customer gets sick from it, he offers a 5 pound bucket of thawing shrimp. Later he picks up a hotdog that he dropped and puts it back on the hotdog roller. A news team catches him on hidden camera and Apu's boss fires him. In this scene we find out Apu has a stereotypical Indian surname, Nahasapeemapetilan. His boss also makes a joke about the Hindu religion. "Ah, true. But it's also standard procedure to blame any problems on a scapegoat or sacrificial lamb." [Daniels] The stereotypes continue redundantly. Jokes about Indian films, food, and other things fill the script. Then there is the grand finale, where Homer, the main character, and Apu go to India to ask for Apu's job back at the main office. The president and CEO very closely resembles

Effects of TV on Children

1999-02-26T13:00:00-05:00
Sitting in school, little Jane sits anxiously watching the clock. The teacher is talking to the class, but Jane just can't wait to get home. When the bell finally rings, she runs out of the classroom, and all the way home. After blasting in the house, she runs to turn on the TV. Having nothing more exciting to do, Jane will sit in front of the television until her mom pulls her away for dinner. This is an all to familiar scenario in many American homes today. What many people don't realize are the problems that can develop from young children watching too much TV. Many emerging dilemmas are resulting from this concern. When a young child with a maturing brain sits in front of the TV for several hours every day, it can instigate loss of creativity, impatience, and violence further along down the road. The ability to be creative is an important factor in the development of a young child's mind. By sitting down and watching TV for a couple hours, the child is entertained, but is also not thinking. Information in spoon-fed to them, so when it comes time to read a book in school, some can have a hard time grasping ideas. They are so used to having images flash before them to provide understanding; they have trouble moving their eyes side to side to gather the information for themselves. With the TV in front of them, supplying amusement, they may never stop to think that putting a puzzle together, or reading a book could also be fun. They could actually become dependent on this one source of fantasy, and never bother to create their own. As the child grows older, it is less likely to put effort into playing with other kids, or taking up a hobby. While losing creativity, the child can also gain impatience. By having all the stories and facts plastered clear in front of them, they can easily loose interest sitting in a classroom all day. Even during their favorite TV show, there is a brief change of pace in the story line when a commercial comes on, which is about every seven minutes. Their attention spans are being molded by this continuos interruption, causing them to loose focus easily. Research has shown that teachers today are using many more multimedia devices to capture the students attention. Being so used to seeing information

Political Correctness:

1999-02-26T13:00:00-05:00
The University of Southern California: The Teddy Bear Massacre Like so many other traditions, the burning of the bruin was put on the chopping block recently. The long running University of Southern California spirit activity consisted of throwing a large stuffed bear in a bon fire the night before the football game against their rival, the University of California at Los Angeles. The Black Student Union and other student organizations recently questioned the event. Their concern was that the event too closely resembled past lynching of African Americans in the American south. This raises the question of whether it is appropriate to censor ideas that are not created to offend certain groups. Political correctness, the underlying ideal, is the "particular set of attitudes about the world that its proponents maintain should be actively promoted." [Clark 369] Proponents of political correctness, or PC, had good intentions in devising the idea, but it has serious flaws. Although political correctness was founded with good intent, it does more harm than good. The most noticeable example of harm is how PC proponents try to please everyone at the same time. The burning of the bruin was just one of many activities held during the week before the big UCLA game. The idea being that everyone could find something that they could identify with and rally around their school. If the burning was intentionally created to represent or oppress the offended students, the event would have been banned long ago. However, as Matt Hutaff stated in his editorial in the Daily Trojan: "It's about school pride. It's love for the things that brought the university to where it is today. It is traditions that define a school; it's student body and its heritage. Strip the school of its traditions and all you have is a school that isn't worth rallying behind." [5] In appeasing one group, it seems the university neglected another group. It seems that the lesson that one cannot please everyone all the time still needs to be learned. Another lesson that needs to be learned is to meet offensive language head on instead of hiding from it. This cannot happen, however, if the college is sheltering us from it. It is the duty of the university to teach us how to live in the real world. How are they going to protect us from what we do not want to hear out there? The answer is they cannot,

School Uniforms

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00
John Doe walks into a skyscraper, confident and well groomed wearing a tie, suit, and dress shoes. His confidence moves him forward, as he enters an elevator going up to the 23rd floor. He approaches his first job interview since leaving Jesuit Prep: McAllen & McAllen Law. This well groomed man graduated from Jesuit prep, which had a dress code and hair restrictions. This dress code and hair restrictions evolved young men into mature adults over a 4 year period at Jesuit. The dress code and hair restrictions play a vital role for our future as they build class integration, increase our image in the community, and dress the students for business, not play. Jesuit Prep needs to continue this vital dress code and hair restrictions for the future. Having a school full of students wearing the same clothes and hairstyles helps build an integration within the class. Students that wear many different styles of clothes all come together wearing similar pants, shirts, ties, and shoes. Through a dress code and hair restrictions, everyone is helped to be made more comfortable by wearing similar clothes, otherwise, people may feel alienated with less trendy or "cool" clothes. Hairstyles help ease this integration as well by giving each person similar styles making everyone feel more at ease. The overall integration helps the students realize that although people may look similar, the idea that everyone exhibits will be greatly different. These different ideas are present in everyone, and the dress code and hair restrictions help illustrate that just because someone looks the same, they do not think the same. When the students get jobs or find careers in their future, it will be helpful to know that even though all their co-wor s seem similar, they are in actuality very different. This approach to future jobs and careers will give the students an advantage in being open minded with people. The dress code and hair restrictions will help Jesuit students by improving their image they present to the outside community. An image is a very important part of any student's life. How others perceive us will impact many future decisions others make. By abiding to a dress code and hair restrictions, our image will come across to others as very clean, organized, and responsible. Future business partners and bosses will always be more trusting with people who fit that image. Within everyone's life, there is a

The Clinton Sex Scandal

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00
Rare is a person that crosses the path of the White House without some emotion of envy or awe. This building epitomizes world leadership and unprecedented power. This renowned leadership may be the only association made by certain countries, while in the United States many see an other significance: Watergate, Whitewater, Kennedy's brutal and mysterious assassination, and today, Clinton's "zippergate" scandal. When the President of the United States takes oath, he gives up a part of his life. His private life becomes the public's life, and they feel the right to know what happens behind the Oval Office. Now the Presidency must battle against Newspaper journalists, radio personalities, televised news reports and now, even more menacing: the Internet. Presidents who are constantly reminded of their power and prestigious rank, become exasperated because they cannot control the news media, even though they can to a large degree set the news agenda. Media has expanded in its presence, becoming widespread on the Internet, perhaps monopolizing the domain, by becoming more powerful and more used than written, televised or radio journalism. The Presidents' inability to control the press exposes their vulnerability and tends to question the actual power they can actually exert. All presidents, at some time or another, became frustrated at what they perceived as unfair treatment by the press, even while acknowledging its vital function in a free society, and many presidents have been a part of a scandal. The current Presidential scandal with Monica Lewinsky had swept the Nation overnight. It seems quite impossible to know just how it will all turn out, and unfair to even speculate, but the media certainly seems to think they possess that right. It is obvious that this story has changed the face of journalism, has put online media on the map in a major way, and has made life more difficult for newspapers forever. First, let's take a look at how this story developed and how it acted on the Internet. David Noack of E&P in his article "Web's Big Role in Sex Controversy" does a great job of detailing the twisting path this tale took from rumor to investigation to publication, and how the Internet played a key part. Noack points out in his article that the "Clinton/Lewinsky" scandal has drastically changed online media. He writes: "A year ago, most newspapers and news magazines adhered to the hard rule that they would not stoop themselves by

Impact of Sexual Abuse

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00
The impact of sexual abuse reaches all levels of a childs emotions. These emotions and the effects are listed below: Confusion: This is usually the initial reaction of the child. They will usually question, "What is going on?" and " Is this right or wrong?". For a young child these types of questions can be an emense burden on their physcological development. Once the abuse begins the victim experience a tremnedous conflict with their emotions. They feel pleasant due to the attention they are recieving from the parent, as well as the sensual pleasure. On the other hand they experience pain, guilt, and anger for what is being done. The question, "Is this right or wrong?" posses the greatest conflict within the childs mind. The abuse feels so wrong yet the abuser insits it is okay, taking advantage of the childs mistrust and naivety. Below are the thoughts of an abused victim as she thinks back to her abuse and questions her father. It is an example of this mistrust as well as the confusion which goes through a childs mind. "Since I was a little ten-year-old child, I had to deceive and hide from the world and my mother that my father took a sexual interest in me. Remember how you taught me that art of deceit? First you put me in a situation that had to be kept a secret then you pledged me to secrecy...As a ten- year-old child, what was I supposed to do? You are an intelligent man-you figure out the options available to a ten-year-old in that position." (Rush, 1980) Guilt: The abused will feel tremendous guilt for a numerous reasons: - They feel they did nothing to stop the abuse therefore they are responsible and it should continue.
They felt uncomfortable but the abuse was sometimes pleasureable.
They somehow deserved and/or caused the abuse. A victim will usually feel this way when their self-esteem has diminshed and they have no more answers for what is happenning. "A nine-year-old girl had a nightmare and went to her fathers room for comfort but instead he sexually abused her. The girl then concluded that she caused the abuse by going to his room. The abuse thereafter continued and she now felt she deserved for it to continue." (Landau, 1990) This fictional example helps to further illustrate the final 2 points which were presented above. The guilt hits the child so hard that they are

Understanding Abusive Parents

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00
STUDY OF FAMILY INTERACTION LEAD TO NEW UNDERSTANDING OF ABUSIVE PARENTS Researchers at the University of Toronto have taken important steps toward producing a profile of an abusive parent. Prof. Gary Walters and doctoral student Lynn Oldershaw of the Department of Psychology have developed a system to characterize parents who physically abuse their children. This could ultimately allow social service professionals to identify parents in child abuse. Over the last five years, Walters and Oldershaw, in collaboration with Darlene Hall of the West End Creche, have examined over 100 mothers and their three to six-year-old children who have been physically abused. In the laboratory, the mother and child spend 30 minutes in structured activities such as playing, eating and cleaning-up. The family interaction is video-taped and later analyzed. The researchers have developed a system which allows them to record the effectiveness of parenting skills. They are particularly interested in disciplinary strategies because abuse most commonly occurs when the parent wants the child to comply. "It's a question of trying to determine which type of parent produces which type of child or which type of child elicits which type of parental behaviour," explains Oldershaw. As a result of their work, Walters and Oldershaw have identified distinct categories of abusive parents and their children. 'Harsh/intrusive' mothers are excessively harsh and constantly badger their child to behave. Despite the fact that these mothers humiliate and disapprove of their child, there are times when they hug, kiss or speak to them warmly. This type of mothering produces an aggressive, disobedient child. A 'covert/hostile' mother shows no positive feelings towards her child. She makes blatant attacks on the child's self-worth and denies him affection or attention. For his part, the child tries to engage his mother's attention and win her approval. An 'emotionally detached' mother has very little involvement with her child. She appears depressed and uninterested in the child's activities. The child of this type of mother displays no characteristics which set him apart from other children. In order to put together a parenting profile, the two researchers examine the mother/child interaction and their perception and feelings. For instance, Walters and Oldershaw take into account the mother's sense of herself as a parent and her impression of her child. The researchers also try to determine the child's perception of himself or herself and of the parent. Abusive parents are often believed to have inadequate parenting skills and are referred to programs

A Permanent Death - Capital Punishment

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00
There are five basic reasons that society uses when imposing "punishment" that I've been able to conclude from my readings. I will discuss these societal concepts and show that the death penalty does not serve to further them. As a result William Smith should not be subject to the death penalty and in fact the same should be abolished from our system of "punishment". Deterrence Deterrence is basically defined as "the punishment should fit the crime." Under this concept, the individual committing the crime and society are prevented from committing this action again. In the case of the death penalty, an individual kills another human and he is "punished" for it by death. Punishment is supposed to be a temporary penalization for a wrongful action. Death is far from temporary. One is to learn from one's mistakes. How can the person learn if they are paying for their mistake with their life? In Ernest van den Haag's article, "The Ultimate Punishment: A Defense" he states, "The death penalty is our harshest punishment. It is irrevocable: it ends the existence of those punished, instead of temporarily imprisoning them." (Haag, 251). By imposing the death penalty the individual does not learn from their mistakes and neither does society. Economy Under this concept, punishment should be economical. As Haag points out, "...the monetary cost of appealing a capital sentence is excessive." (Haag, 253). Further, "...actual monetary costs are trumped by the importance of doing justice." (Haag, 253). Additionally there are specific costs associated with keeping an inmate on death row, (i.e. the cost of the specially built prison blocks, the need for maximum security, etc.) and more. These costs clearly out weigh the regular costs incurred to house a regular inmate. Deterrence is clearly not served by imposing the death penalty and society aims for justice are thwarted. Restitution Society demands that the punishment should fix the harm it has done. By sentencing a person to death no harm has been fixed. You can not bring the murdered person back by taking the prisoner's life. "Punishment-regardless of the motivation is not intended to revenge, offset, or compensate for the victims suffering or to be measured by it." (Haag, 253). Retribution The community demands that justice be served. Would justice not equally be served and in fact may be better served by life imprisonment? I believe it would be a worse punishment to endure a life sentence in prison.

The Ethics of the Media

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00
The purpose of the media has become an ongoing question since the large amount of conflicts between the consumer and media. Why is the original purpose of the media so damn hard to figure out? It is time to confront this issue instead of blowing it off by saying, "We can never change the media, so why bother?" What kind of chickenshit statement is that?! If there are so many people with so much power, surely one of them realizes the downward spiral of the ethics of the media. I feel my sole purpose of this paper is to tell everyone my ideas and viewpoints on censoring the media. Ooooooo, censor. What a bad word that is when used in the same sentence with media. So many people believe censorship is a bad thing, but there is no other solution in stopping the "bad press." When I sit back and look at the stories about stories that are bad and offending to someone, I realize something needs to be done. The media is out of control. True, there are many informing and needed stories, but, my god, how many times a day to we need to hear and read about how much money O.J. Simpson has to pay the family of Ronald Goldman? We, as consumers, need to sit back and ask ourselves, "What was the point of hearing or reading that story?" Back to the censor issue. I, as an aspiring journalist, do not believe in total and complete censorship of the media, but also, as an aspiring journalist, I am embarrassed of some of the stories that are run, for instance, when the crime scene photos of Jon-Benet Ramsey were run in Globe magazine. Was there not anyone, an editor, a writer, or even a custodian at Globe who thought, "Uh, oh. These photos may get us into some trouble." Was there not a single sole who had enough ethics to try and stop these pictures from being printed? This is where censorship comes in. If I could do anything in the world, I would first, stop world hunger, and second set up some guidelines and laws that the media must obey. Guidelines such as, no digging through peoples trash and no peeking in windows. Of course, we know that by law, there is to be no peeking in windows, or over fences, but there is no one at

Environmental Activism

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00
1. The large mainstream environmentalism groups started to compromise too much with regulatory agencies and bureaus, starting with the Glen Canyon Dam project. This began an estrangement with the mainstreams that culminated in the rise of more militant groups like Earth First! Glen Canyon represented what was fundamentally wrong with the country's conservation policies: arrogant government officials motivated by a quasireligious zeal to industrialize the natural world, and a diffident bureaucratic leadership in the mainstream environmental organizations that more or less willingly collaborated in this process. The mainstream environmental groups and government held the premise that mankind should control and manage the natural world. The radicals held that our technological culture with its intrusions on natural world had to be curtailed, perhaps even undone, to keep the ecology of this planet and our role in it viable. It marked a shift from a rearguard strategy (mainstream) to protect wilderness to an affirmative attempt to roll back the artifacts of civilization, to restore the world to the point where natural processes such as the flow of rivers could continue. The mainstream environmental movement is now perceived by many as out of touch with people's deep concern about environmental degradation, has become systematized. The activists use approaches such as industrial vandalism or "ecotage" to foster dramatic results. Some other methods employed are tree spiking, tree sitting, road blockading, demonstrations, tree pinning, ship sinking, dam breaking and outright terrorist-type sabotage (bombing power stations, bridges, power line, etc.) There may be some complimentary results of the efforts of both mainstream and radical groups. The large environmental organizations, while denouncing the radical's confrontational activities, have then been able to use their ample finances to take the campaign to Congress or the courts with the impetus of public support the radicals generated. 2. With Soule's quote, including "Vertebrate evolution may be at an end" it means that the civilization complex has lost its reference point by overwhelming the natural processes it has always used to define itself. The otherness of nature is disappearing into the artificial world of technology. As the environmental crisis worsens, we can expect increased attention directed at the ecological sciences, resource management, pollution control, and technological supervision of the reproduction of valued species, including man. Toynbee writes that the ecological scarcity of the future will be so severe that the "within each of the beleaguered 'developed' countries there will be a bitter struggle for control

Adolescent Depression

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00
Depression is a disease that afflicts the human psyche in such a way that the afflicted tends to act and react abnormally toward others and themselves. Therefore it comes to no surprise to discover that adolescent depression is strongly linked to teen suicide. Adolescent suicide is now responsible for more deaths in youths aged 15 to 19 than cardiovascular disease or cancer (Blackman, 1995). Despite this increased suicide rate, depression in this age group is greatly underdiagnosed and leads to serious difficulties in school, work and personal adjustment, which may often continue into adulthood. Brown (1996) has said the reason why depression is often over looked in children and adolescents is because "children are not always able to express how they feel." Sometimes the symptoms of mood disorders take on different forms in children than in adults. Adolescence is a time of emotional turmoil, mood swings, gloomy thoughts, and heightened sensitivity. It is a time of rebellion and experimentation. Blackman (1996) observed that the "challenge is to identify depressive symptomatology which may be superimposed on the backdrop of a more transient, but expected, developmental storm." Therefore, diagnosis should not lay only in the physician's hands but be associated with parents, teachers and anyone who interacts with the patient on a daily basis. Unlike adult depression, symptoms of youth depression are often masked. Instead of expressing sadness, teenagers may express boredom and irritability, or may choose to engage in risky behaviors (Oster & Montgomery, 1996). Mood disorders are often accompanied by other psychological problems such as anxiety (Oster & Montgomery, 1996), eating disorders (Lasko et al., 1996), hyperactivity (Blackman, 1995), substance abuse (Blackman, 1995; Brown, 1996; Lasko et al., 1996) and suicide (Blackman, 1995; Brown, 1996; Lasko et al., 1996; Oster & Montgomery, 1996) all of which can hide depressive symptoms. The signs of clinical depression include marked changes in mood and associated behaviors that range from sadness, withdrawal, and decreased energy to intense feelings of hopelessness and suicidal thoughts. Depression is often described as "an exaggeration of the duration and intensity of normal mood changes" (Brown 1996). Key indicators of adolescent depression include a drastic change in eating and sleeping patterns, significant loss of interest in previous activity interests (Blackman, 1995; Oster & Montgomery, 1996), constant boredom (Blackman, 1995), disruptive behavior, peer problems, increased irritability and aggression (Brown, 1996). Blackman (1995) proposed that "formal psychologic testing may be helpful in complicated

Feminism And Gender Equality In The 1990's

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00
Overall, the rights and status of women have improved considerably in the last century; however, gender equality has recently been threatened within the last decade. Blatantly sexist laws and practices are slowly being eliminated while social perceptions of "women's roles" continue to stagnate and even degrade back to traditional ideals. It is these social perceptions that challenge the evolution of women as equal on all levels. In this study, I will argue that subtle and blatant sexism continues to exist throughout educational, economic, professional and legal arenas. Women who carefully follow their expected roles may never recognize sexism as an oppressive force in their life. I find many parallels between women's experiences in the nineties with Betty Friedan's, in her essay: The Way We Were - 1949. She dealt with a society that expected women to fulfill certain roles. Those roles completely disregarded the needs of educated and motivated business women and scientific women. Actually, the subtle message that society gave was that the educated woman was actually selfish and evil. I remember in particular the searing effect on me, who once intended to be a psychologist, of a story in McCall's in December 1949 called "A Weekend with Daddy." A little girl who lives a lonely life with her mother, divorced, an intellectual know-it-all psychologist, goes to the country to spend a weekend with her father and his new wife, who is wholesome, happy, and a good cook and gardener. And there is love and laughter and growing flowers and hot clams and a gourmet cheese omelet and square dancing, and she doesn't want to go home. But, pitying her poor mother typing away all by herself in the lonesome apartment, she keeps her guilty secret that from now on she will be living for the moments when she can escape to that dream home in the country where they know "what life is all about." (See Endnote #1) I have often consulted my grandparents about their experiences, and I find their historical perspective enlightening. My grandmother was pregnant with her third child in 1949. Her work experience included: interior design and modeling women's clothes for the Sears catalog. I asked her to read the Friedan essay and let me know if she felt as moved as I was, and to share with me her experiences of sexism. Her immediate reaction was to point out that "Betty Friedan was a college

Gun Control

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00
Americans are faced with an ever-growing problem of violence. Our streets have become a battleground where the elderly are beaten for their social security checks, where terrified women are viciously attacked and raped, where teen-age gangsters shoot it out for a patch of turf to sell their illegal drugs, and where innocent children are caught daily in the crossfire of drive-by shootings. We cannot ignore the damage that these criminals are doing to our society, and we must take actions to stop these horrors. However, the effort by some misguided individuals to eliminate the legal ownership of firearms does not address the real problem at hand, and simply disarms the innocent law-abiding citizens who are most in need of a form of self-defense. To fully understand the reasons behind the gun control efforts, we must look at the history of our country, and the role firearms have played in it. The second amendment to the Constitution of the United States makes firearm ownership legal in this country. There were good reasons for this freedom, reasons which persist today. Firearms in the new world were used initially for hunting, and occasionally for self-defense. However, when the colonists felt that the burden of British oppression was too much for them to bear, they picked up their personal firearms and went to war. Standing against the British armies, these rebels found themselves opposed by the greatest military force in the world at that time. The 18th century witnessed the height of the British Empire, but the rough band of colonial freedom fighters discovered the power of the Minuteman, the average American gun owner. These Minutemen, so named because they would pick up their personal guns and jump to the defense of their country on a minute's notice, served a major part in winning the American Revolution. The founding fathers of this country understood that an armed populace was instrumental in fighting off oppression, and they made the right to keep and bear arms a constitutionally guaranteed right. Over the years, some of the reasons for owning firearms have changed. As our country grew into a strong nation, we expanded westward, exploring the wilderness, and building new towns on the frontier. Typically, these new towns were far away from the centers of civilization, and the only law they had was dispensed by townsfolk through the barrel of a gun. Crime existed, but could be minimized when

The Facts of Life [about homosexuality]

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00
Why you might say, well its up in arms what people think the real cause is, some say nature and others say nurture! What is it ? Well Its all on how you look at it. Nature is the way god made you and nurture is the way of there upbringing. From readings most say its from the nature, quote from the gay male interviewed he said " from the time that I could remember I have always found my same sex more attractive" so its hard to judge because he also said " as I grew up as a young child and played the tough guy sports that my older brother played, I just could not play hard and physical like he did, also my family is one known for there tough guy image so it may had some effect on my views as a young one. " So as the table turns there is times in ones life where they see things that could have been a factor but really I believe its from the start when they were born. The definition for Gay reads "happy and loving " now why is it if these people are said to be loving and happy why is it for society finding it so hard to accept and why does the gays and lesbians have to hide from everyone else! "it was the most difficult thing that I have ever had to do" said Steve and yes that was when he had to tell his parents. Yes he could have not told his parents and kept it a big secret but that is why today the Gay and Lesbian community is so underground and that is because it is to hard for the parents, family, friends and these are the people who make up our society and if the persons family cant accept it then the community will have a harder time. Steve also said " its like having your life taken right from your hands when the family refuse to talk to you", and that has to be the hardest thing that he has ever done to his family. But its natural he said when they hear that news they start to think what have we done and I remember Steve telling me the day he told his parents he said " Chris I don't think its a great idea

Gangs

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00
Gangs are a violent reality that people have to deal with in today's cities. What has made these groups come about? Why do kids feel that being in a gang is both an acceptable and prestigious way to live? The long range answer to these questions can only be speculated upon, but in the short term the answers are much easier to find. On the surface, gangs are a direct result of human beings' personal wants and peer pressure. To determine how to effectively end gang violence we must find the way that these morals are given to the individual. Unfortunately, these can only be hypothesized. However, by looking at the way humans are influenced in society, I believe there is good evidence to point the blame at several institutions. These include the forces of the media, the government, theatre, drugs and our economic system. On the surface, gangs are caused by peer pressure and greed. Many teens in gangs will pressure peers into becoming part of a gang by making it all sound glamorous. Money is also an crucial factor. A kid (a 6-10 year old, who is not yet a member) is shown that s/he could make $200 to $400 for small part time gang jobs. Although these are important factors they are not strong enough to make kids do things that are strongly against their morals. One of the ways that kids morals are bent so that gang violence becomes more acceptable is the influence of television and movies. The average child spends more time at a TV than she/he spends in a classroom. Since nobody can completely turn off their minds, kids must be learning something while watching the TV. Very few hours of television watched by children are educational, so other ideas are being absorbed during this period of time. Many shows on television today are extremely violent and are often shown this from a gang's perspective. A normal adult can see that this is showing how foully that gangs are living. However, to a child this portrays a violent gang existance as acceptable. 'The Ends Justifies the Means' mentality is also taught through many shows where the "goody guy" captures the "bad guy" through violence and is then being commended. A young child sees this a perfectly acceptable because he knows that the "bad guy" was wrong but has no idea of what acceptable apprehension techniques

Kant: the Universal Law Formation of the Categorical Imperative

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00
Kantian philosophy outlines the Universal Law Formation of the Categorical Imperative as a method for determining morality of actions. This formula is a two part test. First, one creates a maxim and considers whether the maxim could be a universal law for all rational beings. Second, one determines whether rational beings would will it to be a universal law. Once it is clear that the maxim passes both prongs of the test, there are no exceptions. As a paramedic faced with a distraught widow who asks whether her late husband suffered in his accidental death, you must decide which maxim to create and based on the test which action to perform. The maxim "when answering a widow's inquiry as to the nature and duration of her late husbands death, one should always tell the truth regarding the nature of her late husband's death" (M1) passes both parts of the Universal Law Formation of the Categorical Imperative. Consequently, according to Kant, M1 is a moral action. The initial stage of the Universal Law Formation of the Categorical Imperative requires that a maxim be universally applicable to all rational beings. M1 succeeds in passing the first stage. We can easily imagine a world in which paramedics always answer widows truthfully when queried. Therefore, this maxim is logical and everyone can abide by it without causing a logical impossibility. The next logical step is to apply the second stage of the test. The second requirement is that a rational being would will this maxim to become a universal law. In testing this part, you must decide whether in every case, a rational being would believe that the morally correct action is to tell the truth. First, it is clear that the widow expects to know the truth. A lie would only serve to spare her feelings if she believed it to be the truth. Therefore, even people who would consider lying to her, must concede that the correct and expected action is to tell the truth. By asking she has already decided, good or bad, that she must know the truth. What if telling the truth brings the widow to the point where she commits suicide, however? Is telling her the truth then a moral action although its consequence is this terrible response? If telling the widow the truth drives her to commit suicide, it seems like no rational being would will the

Immigration & America's Future

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00
The world has gone through a revolution and it has changed a lot. We have cut the death rates around the world with modern medicine and new farming methods. For example, we sprayed to destroy mosquitoes in Sri Lanka in the 1950s. In one year, the average life of everyone in Sri Lanka was extended by eight years because the number of people dying from malaria suddenly declined. This was a great human achievement. But we cut the death rate without cutting the birth rate. Now population is soaring. There were about one billion people living in the world when the Statue of Liberty was built. There are 4.5 billion today. World population is growing at an enormous rate. The world is going to add a billion people in the next eleven years, that's 224,000 every day! Experts say there will be at least 1.65 billion more people living in the world in the next twenty years. We must understand what these numbers mean for the U.S. Let's look at the question of jobs. The International Labor organization projects a twenty-year increase of 600 to 700 million people who will be seeking jobs. Eighty-eight percent of the world's population growth takes place in the Third World. More than a billion people today are paid about 150 dollars a year, which is less than the average American earns in a week. And growing numbers of these poorly paid Third World citizens want to come to the United States. In the 1970s, all other countries that accept immigrants started controlling the number of people they would allow into their countries. The United States did not. This means that the huge numbers of immigrants who are turned down elsewhere will turn to the United States. The number of immigrants is staggering. The human suffering they represent is a nightmare. Latin America's population is now 390 million people. It will be 800 million in the year 2025. Mexico's population has tripled since the Second World War. One third of the population of Mexico is under ten years of age, as a result, in just ten years, Mexico's unemployment rate will increase 30 percent, as these children become young adults, in search of work. There were in 1990 an estimated four million illegal aliens in the United States, and about 55 percent of them were from Mexico. These people look to the United States. Human population has always moved, like waves,

The Power of Personal Image

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00
A young woman stands in front of the mirror and is disgusted by the reflection that only she can see. Thunder thighs, flabby arms, and a pot belly obstruct her view of the beautiful, smart, and loving woman who stares back at her. This is exactly the type of person the advertisement agencies and the media prey upon, someone who is self-conscious and ashamed of her body, someone who is willing to go to any length or pay any price to have the "perfect" body. In her essay, "Narcissism as Liberation", Susan Douglas wrote about the power and influence that the advertisement industry has in America. The advertisement agencies and the media do not just prey upon self-hating persons, they help to create them. "When an image is presented..., the way people look at it is affected by a whole series of learnt assumptions. Assumptions concerning: Beauty, Truth, Status, Taste, etc. (Berger 53)." We learn from a very early age all about assumptions concerning body image. Television commercials and magazine advertisements teach us that we must look like model and surround ourselves with beautiful things in order to live a worth while life. We are constantly bombarded with images of "beauty" every time we turn on the television set or flip through the pages of magazines. Day after day, hour after hour, minute after minute, our minds are being filled with images of "beautiful people" endorsing products that they claim will make us beautiful as well. We believe what these advertisements claim, and we buy the products. After using the product, we begin to compare ourselves to the so called "beautiful people" in the advertisement and soon realize that we do not measure up. We learn from a very early age that it seems our bodies are inferior to the rest of the world's. The advertisement industry and the media have the power to influence our opinion on what we see as being beautiful. Advertisements dictate what we must look like in order to be accepted in a world so obsessed with body image. They tell us that it is no longer sexy to have a normal body with a little fat on your bones. The hour glass figure is out of style, while the stick figure is in style. In order to be considered sexy and beautiful in today's world women must have the tanned body of a half starved

Civil Liberties

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00
The term civil liberties refers to the "freedoms that individuals enjoy and that governments cannot invade". These rights include a persons freedom of speech and religion. Civil rights refer to the "powers and privileges that belong to us by virtue of our status as citizens". Examples of civil rights include a persons right to vote and to equal treatment under the law. The terms civil liberties and civil rights are alike in that they are critical factors in creating a democratic society. Because we are guaranteed these liberties and rights, we are in turn able to keep this democratic society in existence. Civil liberties and rights differ in how they need to be protected. Civil liberties need protection from the government. They have to be secure so that the government cannot invade them and take them away from any individual. Civil rights, on the other hand, need protection by the government so that they are not infringed upon by others. Civil liberties are basic freedoms granted to individuals in the Bill of Rights. Civil rights are

Conversational Narcissism in the Classroom

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00
In the Introduction to Linguistics class last week, Professor Ivanoff asked if the students had any questions about the material he had just discussed in his lecture. The preceding lecture covered marked words (words that clearly define or describe only one object). A student who seemed confused asked Professor Ivanoff how the use of marked words was connected to our study of Linguistics. A student said, "Everyone knows that when you say table, a table is something with four legs and a flat surface. So table is a marked word. In a sense we already knew that because we don't go around calling everything a table." The student asked, "Is this just a definition or will it be explained further at a later time?" "I do not understand why you are asking such a question," Professor Ivanoff said. "I just explained to you what marked and unmarked words are. Why do you ask such a question?" "I am just wondering why you told us about marked words. How is it important in our study?" the student asked. "I explained it to you. There are marked words and there are unmarked words. Marked words describe definite things. Unmarked words are words that can be used to define more than one thing," Professor Ivanoff shouted. "You ask such strange questions. I hold a Ph.D. in linguistics. Why do you question my authority on such subject?" The student tried to explain one more time, "I am not questioning your authority at all. I am just wandering what the connection is between marked words and Ling-." Professor Ivanoff interrupted, "If you want to question my authority you do so in my office. Please do not waste class time." Unknowingly Professor Ivanoff and the student provided a perfect example of "Conversational Narcissism" and how continued habits can hinder the process of "true" dialogue. Conversational Narcissism uses "structural" devices to dominate the conversation and shift the attention from one partner to another. The shift response is the structural device that Professor Ivanoff used to change the focus of attention from the student's question, to himself. This conversation shows that even in a simple conversation, one person will shift the attention away from the other person to themselves, allowing them to dominate the conversation. The conversation portrayed the shift response when Professor Ivanoff failed to answer the student's question and put forth effort to understand what the student was asking. Instead of attempting to answer

Mutilation of Women

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00
The number of mutilated woman and girls in Africa and the Middle East is increasing due to population growth, according to Win News. But internationally financed population, health and safe motherhood programs ignore Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and have failed to implement effective preventive education. Education should be provided to the woman and men in the participating countries so the risks of this mutilation can be understood fully. FGM is painful, dangerous, and disrespectful to the woman/child and her body and I belive evry woman has the right to education to help make this critical decision. The mutilation most often performed is Clitoridectomy or Excision- cutting off without anesthetic, the clitoris and most of the external genitalia. This is practiced in a broad area from the Red Sea to the Atlantic Coast. The most dangerous operation, Infibulation is customary in Sudan, Somalia, N.Kenya,, W. Africa and all along the Red Sea coast. After the clitoris is excised and all external genitalia are carved away, the bleeding raw edges of the libia majora are held together by thorns or other fasting devices, until a scar forms to close the entrance to the vagina. The legs of the little girl are tied together for several weeks until the wound heals; a tiny opening is created by inserting a splinter of wood to allow urination. Thus virginity, which is considered especially important by Moslem men, can be proven. These dangerous operations result in permanent damage: hemorrhage and shock, which may be fatal; many infections including tetanus, scaring which obstructs normal childbirth and may result in the death of both mother and child; infertility due to infection. And that's not all, FGM causes urinary and menstrual problems, frigidity, painful intercourse, and many, many needless deaths. The highest childbirth mortality is recorded in areas where FGM is practiced. Some may argue that this is their culture, we cannot judge, or interfere, and I agree. I do not feel that these are bad people, and I do not think we should outlaw this practice. I know that this is a way of life to them. But the decision is not being made by a educated adult. The operations are being performed on children only a few days old up to puberty. These children do not realize that their life could be at stake just so their future husband will be satisfied. They live a life of pain

Morality

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00
Morality. It has been questioned by people, honored by people and revered since the beginning of time. Yet even today not one person can say what is morally right. It is a matter of opinion. It was Dr.Victor Frankenstein's opinion that it was alright to create a "monster". Frankenstein's creation needed a companion. Knowing that his first creation was evil should the doctor make a second? With the knowledge at hand, to Dr.Frankenstein, it is not at all morally correct to bring another monster into the world. Looking at this probelm with his family in mind, the doctor begins his work on the second monster. The first monster threatened Frankenstein and even his family. The monster angrily said to Frankenstein, "I can make you so wretched." (pg. 162) Trying to scare Frankenstein for not creating his mate the monster resorted to threats. If the good doctor does create a companion for his first creation he may be endangering others. "The miserable monster whom I had created," (pg.152) says Victor upon looking back at his work. If there is another monster there will be twice the power and possibly twice the evil, which could hurt or kill his family. When and if Frankenstein commits the moral sin of creating another monster he may be rid of both monsters forever. "With the companion you bestow I will quit the neighbourhood of man,"(pg 142) promises the morally corrupt monster to the doctor upon the completion of his partner. When the doctor, if and when he, finished his first creation's mate there is a chance that the monsters will not keep their promise and stay in Europe envoking fear into townfolk. The good doctor, trying to act morally, destroys the monster for the good of the world. The monsters can potentially take over whatever they please. "A race of devils would be propegated,"(pg. 163) thinks Frankenstein to himself in his study. The monsters, if powerful enough, could possibly take over Europe. Frankenstein realizes that he can not possibly doom the world to benefit himself. "Shall I, in coold blood, set loose upon the earth a daemon.."(pg. 162) argues Frankenstein with his creation. It is not morally right for one person to unleash such a terror on the world to benefit only himself and his family. Frankenstein will not let any example change his mind on the point that the monster is and will always be morally

Modern Crime

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00
"She's just another Hollywood whore, an immoral porn queen. She's beyond redemption," he muttered to himself as he paced back and forth outside her apartment building. He had been constantly walking around outside the building for hours now, harassing people passing on the streets with crazed questions. Suddenly, overcome with resolve, the man stomped back to the building and rang the bell. She had rejected him once, but never again. He had given her a chance, but she had turned him away from her life. How could she do this to him, her biggest fan? After letting go of the buzzer, Robert Bardo hid himself in the bushes by the door. This was the only choice he had left after such a rejection. Twenty-one year old Rebecca Schaeffer, actress on the sitcom My Sister Sam, answered the door for the last time in her life. She had politely turned away a disturbing man earlier that day after explaining to him that she had to study her lines for her next show. However, when she answered the door this time, there was no one there. Bardo saw his chance and acted on it. He burst from the shadowy confines of the bushes and pushed a gun into Schaeffer's chest, pulling the trigger after he had her in his grasp. The bullet barely missed the young actress's heart as she fell to the ground, bleeding from a mortal wound. As Bardo flew from the scene, he stashed the incriminating evidence into the bushes. After interrogations performed by the LAPD, it was found that Bardo had been stalking Schaeffer for a very long time. However, this was not the usual case of a voyeur or a stranger trailing someone throughout their day. Bardo had traced Schaeffer through the use of the computer and its vast resources. With the use of computer databases, Bardo was able to find out where Schaeffer lived, what her telephone number was and who she called, what kind of vehicle she drove, and where she spent her money. It was as if Bardo could look through a window and clearly see all of Schaeffer's personal, intimate secrets (Rothfeder 13-14). This is the perfect example of a modern crime, in which all of an individual's privacy and personal information have become little more than a commodity, easily accessible to anyone with very little hassle. In the highly modernized society in which

Pornography on the Internet

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00
The Internet is a method of communication and a source of information that is becoming popular among those who are interested in the information superhighway. The problem with this world we know as Cyberspace, the 'Net, or the Web is that some of this information, including pornographical material and hate literature, is being accessible to minors. Did you know that 83.5% of the images available on the Internet are pornographical? Did you know that the Internet's pornography and hate literature are available to curious children that happen to bump into them? One of the drawing features of the young Internet was its freedom. It's "...a rare example of a true, modern, functional anarchy...there are no official censors, no bosses, no board of directors, no stockholders" (Sterling). It's an open forum where anyone can say anything, and the only thing holding them back is their own conscience. This lawless atmosphere bothered many people, including Nebraska Senator James Exon. Exon proposed in July, 1994 that an amendment be added to the Telecommunications Reform Bill to regulate content on the Internet. His proposal was rejected at the time, but after persistence and increased support, his proposal evolved into the Communications Decency Act (CDA), part of the 1996 Telecommunications Reform Act The Internet has changed the world by creating advertising, information, and businesses. However, there are the few bad apples in the Internet that have information, literature, graphics and images that have been deemed inappropriate for minors. Therefore, many people feel the Internet should be censored by the Government. The Government owns and operates the Internet and its agencies are responsible for what is on the Internet. However, for the parents with minors that are concerned about what their kids see- they should go out and get software to censor the Internet. Don't ruin everyone else's fun. Why should I have to be a peasant of the Government tyranny over the Internet? The people that worry about their kids and make the Government worry about it and pass legislation on censorship are the people that are too damn lazy to buy Internet Censorship software programs for their PERSONAL computers, NOT the entire United States'. The Government wants censorship, but a segment of the Internet's population does not. The Communications Decency Act is an amendment which prevents the information superhighway from becoming a computer "red light district." Thursday, February 1, 1996, was known as "Black Thursday" on the Internet

Overpopulation

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00
During the first 2 million or so years of its history the human population was a minor element in the world ecosystem, with at most 10 million members. In the New Stone Age, less than 10,000 years ago, the number of humans began to increase more rapidly. The rough equilibrium maintained before Neolithic times gave way when the human population developed agriculture and animal husbandry and no longer had to spread out in search of game. With the abandonment of a hunting-gathering way of life and the rise of permanent settlements and eventually cities, the human population underwent dramatic growth. By the beginning of the Christian era it had reached 250 million, and by 1650, half a billion. Growth of population during 20th century was very rapid. In 1994 the total world population was estimated at about 5.6 billion people. It increased nearly by 4 billions of people during past 100 years. The most significant world trend is that death rates are currently falling in poor and rich countries alike, while birthrates remain high in most poor countries and low in most rich ones. Exceptions are the generally higher death rates of Africa and the high birthrates of the rich oil-producing countries. The most populous countries, in descending order, are China, India, the United States, Indonesia, Brazil, and Russia. The U.S. population totaled about 260.8 million in 1994. In the 1990s about 4.1 million children were born annually in the United States, and more than 2.1 million persons died yearly. The greater number of births is due in part to a fertility rate that has increased by nearly 20 percent since the mid-1980s. International immigration, both legal and illegal, is another major element in U.S. population growth. Legal immigration has recently amounted to about 1 million per year; illegal immigration is thought to be several hundred thousand. In China, the world's most populous country, the 1994 population was estimated at nearly 1.2 billion, more than double the 1953 census population of 584 million in mainland China. China's annual increase has been estimated at 1.1 percent annually. India's population of more than 911.6 million people (1994 est.) is increasing faster than that of China, and if present trends continue, it will soon catch up with or surpass China. Since the disintegration of the USSR, Indonesia and Brazil are now the fourth and fifth most populous countries, with 1994 estimated populations of

The Offense Principle

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00
The Offense Principle claims that individual liberty is justifiably limited to prevent offensive behavior. I believe that the Offense Principle provides the correct liberty limit n principles that the state should invoke. The state should prevent behavior that causes shame, embarrassment and discomfort from pornographic material and cts. There are three conditions that are typically understood to be part of the Offense Principle. The first condition states that behavior must be significantly offensive. A person burping in public is not offensive enough to be limited under this condition. But a man urinating as he walks down the street is significantly offensive and should be limited. The second condition states that the behavior must be offensive to almost everyone. This is an important condition because I think that if only a few people find something offensive, does not constitute the act to be limited. Many people may believe that someone picking his nose in public is offensive but not almost everyone believes this act to be offensive, therefore, this act could not be limited. A man masturbating in public is offensive to almost everyone, therefore, this act should be limited. The final condition states that an offensive act should be limited if you have to go out of your way to avoid the act. An "adult" bookstore containing pornographic material should not be limited because one does not have to go out of their way to avoid the store. They simply just do not enter into the store. But a man and woman having sex on a bench should be limited because one would have to restrain from looking in certain directions to avoid seeing the offensive act. I believe that pornography in public should be banned. This includes stores that sell pornographic material. Instead, these magazines and other pornographic materials should be kept separately in a private room, where you must be an adult to enter and purchase materials. Pornographic material that is kept privately either to be sold or to be viewed or used in the privacy of one's home, should not be banned. I see absolutely no reason why a person should not be allowed to view pornographic material in the privacy of their own home. Some people may argue with me and say that the Harm Principle should be invoked by the government. They may say that pornography increases the likelihood of harm. And I somewhat agree. I am sure that some

Nuclear Energy

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00
You are watching the control panels and gages for rector two. Sitting comely you think about how easy your job is. It is a joke! All day you sit around and watch the gages for reactor number two just to make sure they maintain their settings. You don't even need to look at the gages either because a computer automatically regulates them without you. Life is so good. Suddenly all the sirens go of and the gages and displays spin wildly in every direction. The ground shakes and you can hear the sound of a deep rumble. Unknown to you, the reactor's cooling pumps have failed to cool the reactor's core and in 3 seconds the temperature went from 280 degrees centigrade to 4,000 degrees centigrade. The water that was in the reactor is instantly turned to steam which creates tremendous amount of pressure in the reactor core. Above the reactor core there is a 5 foot thick lead plate and above that there is a meter thick floor composed of iron, barium, serpentine, concrete, and stone. The exploding steam fires the floor up like shrapnel. The metal plate goes through the four foot thick concrete roof like butter and reaches and altitude of sixty meters. You can hear ripping, rending, wrenching, screeching, scraping, tearing sounds of a vast machine breaking apart. L. Ray Silver, a leading author who covered the disaster at Chernobyl, said that within the core, steam reacts with zirconium to produce that first explosive in nature's arsenal, hydrogen. Near-molten fuel fragments shatter nearly incandescent graphite, torching chunks of it, exploding the hydrogen. The explosion breaks every pipe in the building rocking it with such power that the building is split into sections (11-13). You look down at your body and notice that it feels hot and your hands look different. Unknown to you a tremendous amount of neutrons are hitting your cells and taking chucks out of your skin. Suddenly everything goes black. The paragraph above describes the scene of what happened at Chernobyl nuclear plant a few years ago. From that time until the present many other smaller accidents have happened. From these accidents many people have died and millions have been indirectly affected. Nuclear energy has far to many negative problems than advantages. From the mining of uranium to disposal of nuclear waist there are problems of such magnitude that no scientist on this earth

Should a moment of silence be legal in public schools?

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00
In 1962 the Supreme Court decided that public schools did not have the power to authorize school prayer. This decision made public school in the U.S. more atheistic than

Procrastination

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00
One of the biggest reasons why assignments get a bad mark or are incomplete is because of procrastination. Procrastination has a bad effect on work, and on you. When you procrastinate you don't learn how to discipline yourself, the quality of work suffers, and you get stressed out. The first reason why procrastination is bad is because the quality of work suffers. Sometimes an assignment needs to be proof read first. If you procrastinate you will be more inclined to skip this important step. Another big problem is that you run out of ideas. At one sitting ideas don't come as freely as they do over several days. People who leave assignments to the last minute are more likely to resort to cheating. When an assignment is left to the last minute, you worry more and cheating and cutting curners happens a lot more. Procrastination also affects the quality of work because your assignments looks hurried and just thrown together. Another danger that comes with procrastination is an increase in stress. When an assignment is left to the last minute, it lingers in the back of your mind the whole time. Once the day arrives that you must do it, any other plans must be put on hold. You end up being frustrated and upset with yourself, and the teacher. If several assignments are due at the same time the stress increases even more. Not only do you have to rush to get everything done, you have to worry about whether you'll get it finished in time. Stress also increases when you procrastinate because you start to doubt yourself. When you make up your mind that you won't leave the next assignment until the last minute, and you end up doing it, you get frustrated and upset with yourself. The last and most important reason is because you learn poor work habits. As you further your education you will no longer be able to leave things to the last minute. As assignments get bigger they require more planning and thought; if you haven't learned the skills to plan before, these assignments won't get done properly. When you make excuses to put off assignments, you learn to make excuses for other things as well. You'll start making excuses to cheat on your diet, or quit exercising. This is a bad pattern to get into, you start to realize that you won't get

Should Australia Become a Republic?

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00
I believe that Australia should not become a republic. I think that there would be no point in becoming a republic, because we live without the intervention of the Queen at the moment, so becoming a republic would achieve nothing. If we were to become a republic, we would lose the support of England in times of war, famine or other disaster. I think that becoming a republic would achieve nothing, lose our links with England and waste the parliament's time when they should be concerned with more important issues. If we were to become a republic, the governor general would be replaced by a president who would have the same powers and responsibilities as our Governor General, so only the name and the person holding the position would change, wasting important parliament time and achieving absolutely nothing. At the present time, there is nothing wrong with the constitution, and if there was anything wrong with it, it could be changed by referendum, once again proving that becoming a republic is pointless. Currently, we are not tied down at all by the monarchy, and although the Queen does have the power to intervene in the running of our country, she doesn't out of tradition, and therefore, probably never will, bound by the tradition. If we become a republic, we would lose valuable ties with England and perhaps part of our heritage that goes with it. England can support us through many unfortunate events that we may face and England, being on the other side of the world may not, putting them in a position to offer us financial, military or other support. If we were to become a republic would we forget that the English were the first people to colonise our country, and instead of learning about the colonisation of our country, learn about the way in which we broke free from England and the monarchy? We owe our existence in Australia to the English and we are treated very well by them - they let us manage our own affairs and don't interrupt in the running of the country, while still offering their support if we should ever need it, and if we were to break free from this "tight rein" by the monarchy, would they still offer their support when we needed it? Becoming a republic would achieve nothing and we would lose our valuable ties with England and

Cigarettes - Addiction and Product Dangers

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00
It is clear that businesses have an obligation to inform their customers about their product's ingredients and dangers. Looking at the case of Rose Cipollone we see that she was a heavy smoker. Her doctor's had to remove part of her right cancerous lung and informed her that she had to quit smoking. Unfortunately, she was addicted. Her doctor's removed the rest of her lung that year and she finally quit smoking. She then sued the Liggett Group, the makers of the cigarettes she smoked. The lawsuit charged that the company knew of the link between cancer and smoking in the early 1940's. The company was found innocent of conspiring with other tobacco companies to hide the dangers of cigarette smoking but guilty on the grounds of falsely claiming its products were safe. However, things have changed. It is not 1940 anymore, when people were ignorant about the dangers of smoking. Tobacco companies now have Surgeon General warnings on cigarette packs. Unless they have been living under a rock, the general public should have been exposed to enough information by this time when it comes to cigarettes and addiction. Nicotine information is but a click away. Tobacco companies should no longer have the obligation to warn their customers, except if a new ingredient is added, in which case they should be notified. No one is saying get rid of the Surgeon General warnings, but enough is enough! If a person wants to smoke 3 packs of cigarettes a day, then that is their choice; tobacco companies should not be held responsible. Let us examine the hype surrounding the supposed danger and addition of nicotine. The Food and Drug Administration tells us that nicotine (the addictive drug found in cigarettes) is just as addictive as cocaine and should be illegal. "Much of the rhetoric of the anti-smoking movement seeks to demonize tobacco smokers as "nicotine addicts". In the past, of course, the term "addict" has been generally applied only to mind-altering drugs, e.g., heroin and cocaine. Even alcohol, which is mind-altering, is not generally referred to as "additive". So, the argument is one of semantics. If nicotine is addictive, so are chocolate candies, pies and cakes, etc. Indeed, if "addiction" is defined as dependence upon some chemical, everyone is addicted, to air!" Nicotine and cocaine are two different things. They may be just as addictive as each other but they certainly do

Road Rage: The Scourge Of America'S Roadways

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00
Topic: Road Rage General Purpose: To convince Specific Purpose: To convince the audience to combat "road rage" by increasing driver awareness Thesis Statement: "Road rage" caused by aggressive driving tendencies is a growing epidemic affecting today's roadways, but there is a solution. Ethos: Include myself in my statements. Pathos: Audience should feel horrified at the consequences of road rage. Logos: Cite statistics and research resources. Introduction I. How many of you have ever been in a motor vehicle? Did you know that "motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among Americans 1-37 years old." With the largest % being our age group. (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety) II. Many traffic accidents could have been easily prevented if not for the angry menace called road rage. Road rage caused by aggressive driving tendencies is a growing epidemic affecting today's roadways, but there is a solution. Transition 1: As you can see road rage is a serious problem that could potentially affect us all. But many of us have different ideas of the scope of road rage. Body I. You can better combat "road rage" by understanding what it is... A. Road rage or aggressive driving is defined as behavior behind the wheel in which furious drivers lose their temper and engage in risk-taking behavior or attempt to injure or kill another driver or pedestrian over minor traffic disputes. (Dr. Leon James, Professor of Psychology at the University of Hawaii, further defines road rage by breaking it down into three types) 1. Verbal Road Rage is composed of behaviors such as yelling, swearing, gesturing, honking, and insulting. 2. Quiet Road Rage includes complaining, rushing, competing, and resisting. 3. Epic Road Rage includes cutting off, blocking, chasing, fighting, and shooting. B. You all are thinking that we've all done some of those things, but no one really gets hurt. You can be sure that's exactly what Tracie Alfieri and Narkey Terry also thought. 1. According to a June 2, Newsweek article, Tracie Alfieri became enraged by the manner in which Rene Andrews pulled into her lane. Alfieri tried to pass Andrews on the right then cut in front and hit the brakes causing Andrews to swerve into a stopped tractor resulting in the loss of Andrews' 6 month old unborn child. Tracie Alfieri was convicted this May of vehicular manslaughter and sentenced to 18 months in prison. (Newsweek) 2. In the most commonly cited incident of road rage, which ended in three deaths: Narkey Terry and Billy Canipe became involved in

Social Structure

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00
This essay will begin by describing the three spheres that tie society together. The main institution of society is the family or household which is broken up into thousands of units. Secondly, it will discuss the economic institution and its ties to the family. The use of labour power and how that effects the power struggle with the capitalist marketplace will also be discussed. Lastly, the political institution of government will be shown along with its relationships to the family and the families ability to create reform and change regulation. One of the main institutions in society in the household or family. It is here that almost all the consumption in society takes place. It is also here that almost all the labour power in society originates. The make-up of the family is not as "cut and dry" as it once was. The nuclear family is dead and what has replaced it has put all old theories about the family to the test. One major change has been the rise of the dual-earner family. In 70% of households today there is no single breadwinner. (Burggraf, 1997:54) Women's position in the family has been changed radically from that of one-hundred years ago. Three important issues have been raised about women's position in the family. One is that the development of gender inequality within the family is a result of the changing economy. This being the extra accumulation of property in private households. The second issue is that capitalism being the only form of economy we are familiar with pushes for the working of every family member to create a strong economy. Lastly, the evolution of the family dispersed from economic development and instead become a more social issue. (Wilson, 1982:37) Because the position of women in the family has been so altered from past history, projections made, even forty years ago, are increasingly wrong. Though, even with the changing structure of the family the economic labour power has not significantly increased. The role of housewife in the post-industrial age was just as important to women as today's dual earning household. The housewife was the counter-part to the husbands role of breadwinner. It was the wife who cleaned the husbands clothes, prepared his food and provided emotional support, without which he could not fulfill his role as breadwinner. (Burggraf, 1997:174) With the evolution of the labour market and capitalist economy with the ever increasing

Should School Be Compulsory?

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00
I believe that, after year 6, school should NOT be compulsory. By the time you have completed your primary education, you have learned the basic skills needed to get through life. High school

Violenece In Schools

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00
Thesis Statement Violence in schools has spread widely throughout the nation. This has caused many problems among students, families, faculty of schools, and residents of the areas. In my paper I will discuss the reasons why violence in schools exists and what could or "should" be done about it. Violence In Schools Violence in schools has spread widely throughout the nation. This has caused many problems among students, families, faculty of schools, and residents of the areas. However, their are many possible ways we can stop all this violence in schools. Almost three-fourths of the United States teens are afraid of violent crime amongst their peers(Apfel 23). Violence in schools has become a big problem in todays society. With all the people being injured or killed in schools by guns and other weapons, more and more people are getting more weapons to bring in to schools. Nearly half of all males and one-third of all students including females said they can easily obtain a handgun if they wanted to(Glazer 14). The cause of violence can be blamed on many things but 1 mainly. And that one thing is drugs and gangs. Now that more people are selling and buying drugs, people are making money to buy weapons. Gangs, since they came around violence has been increasing steadily. The spread of gangs and drugs has also been implicated in the increasing violence of school youths(Glazer 14). Experts have also said that most violent conflicts among school-age children can be traced back to long-simmering disputes(Apfel 21). Carrying guns and other weapons around schools is becoming more and more popular all around the world. People think that carrying guns around schools with them will make them cool or fit in with other people like themselves. They're wrong. More and more people who are carrying guns around schools today are getting caught and having them taken away. Since schools have gotten metal detectors and scanners, they have cut down the rate of having handguns in schools by nearly 58%(Glazer 5). Security experts have reported that there is no evidence that a metal detector will solve the problem of violence in schools, even though it offers a highly-visible symbol to the community(Apfel 22). Even if the schools with all the gun violence in their schools do put in metal detectors at the front entrances of schools, their are many ways kids can sneak in weapons to school. In 1990 congress made it a

The American Diet

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00
"You are what you eat", goes a famous saying. And if that is truly the case, then a lot of Americans would appear to be unhealthy, chemically treated, commercially raised slabs of animal flesh. And while that is not a particularly pleasant thought, it is nonetheless an description of the typical American omnivore who survives on the consumption of Big Macs and steak fajitas. But there are individuals who do not follow this American norm and have altered their diets so that they do not consume any meat. These people are vegetarians, and they are the new breed of healthy Americans who refuse to poison themselves with fats, cholesterol, and the other harmful additives that come from meat. And while once thought to be a movement that would never gain much momentum, it has nonetheless moved itself to the forefront of Americans' healthy diets. The word vegetarian, used to describe the diets of people who do not consume animal flesh, was not used until around the mid-1800s. The concept of vegetarianism, however, dates back much further. The Greek philosopher Pythagoras, considered by many to be the father of vegetarianism, encouraged a non-meat diet among his followers as a diet that was the most natural and healthful (Messina 3). A vegetarian diet excludes the consumption of meat, and can be exercised by people for a number of reasons. The largest majority of individuals chose vegetarianism for health related reasons. For example, someone with an ulcer might be prescribed a strict diet of vegetables in order to promote the healing process. Or someone with a dangerously high level of cholesterol might be advised to follow a vegetarian diet to lower his or her fat and cholesterol intake. The immorality of consuming animal flesh is another argument touted by a smaller group of vegetarians. R.G. Frey describes this moral argument for vegetarianism and the effect that meat eating might have on the character of humans: Some people have come to believe and fear that, in the suffering and killing which occurs in commercial farming, we demean ourselves, coarsen our sensitivities, dull our feelings of sympathy with our fellow creatures, and so begin the descent down the slippery slope of torture and death, to a point where it becomes easier for us to contemplate and carry out the torture and killing of human beings. (20) This moral argument for vegetarianism is also noted by John Robbins who states that "the

Violence In Entertainment And Its Effect On Society

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00
Does entertainment influence society's attitude towards violent behavior? In order to fully answer this question we must first understand what violence is. Violence is the use of one's powers to inflict mental or physical injury upon another, examples of this would be rape or murder. Violence in entertainment reaches the public by way of television, movies, plays, and novels. Through the course of this essay it will be proven that violence in entertainment is a major factor in the escalation of violence in society, once this is proven we will take all of the evidence that has been shown throughout this paper and come to a conclusion as to whether or not violence in entertainment is justified and whether or not it should be censored. Television with its far reaching influence spreads across the globe. Its most important role is that of reporting the news and maintaining communication between people around the world. Television's most influential, yet most serious aspect is its shows for entertainment. Violent children's shows like Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and adult shows like NYPD Blue and Homicide almost always fail to show human beings being able to resolve their differences in a non-violent manner, instead they show a reckless attitude that promotes violent action first with reflection on the consequences later. In one episode of NYPD Blue three people were murdered in the span of an hour. "Contemporary television creates a seemingly insatiable appetite for amusement of all kinds without regard for social or moral benefits" (Schultze 41). Findings over the past twenty years by three Surgeon Generals, the Attorney General's Task Force on Family Violence, the American Medical Association, the National Institute of Mental Health, the American Psychiatric Association, the American Psychological Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and other medical authorities indicate that televised violence is harmful to all of us, but particularly to the mental health of children (Medved 70-71). In 1989 the results of a five year study by the American Psychological Association indicated that the average child has witnessed 8,000 murders and 100,000 other acts of violence on television by the time he or she has completed sixth grade. In further studies it was determined that by the time that same child graduates from high school he or she will have spent 22,000 hours watching television, twice as many hours as he or she has spent in school (Bruno 124). In a

Is Television Good Or Bad?

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00
Television is not a bad thing, but in fact is a resource that can be used to educate and entertain people

Sport At School Should Not Be Compulsory

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00
Sport at school should NOT be compulsory. Sports training and PE take up time that could be better spent learning other subjects, and PE and Sport are not as important as other subjects like maths, science etc. It is also my belief that it students should have the right to choose whether or not we do sport/PE, because we are allowed to choose the subjects that are more important, so why are we not allowed to choose whether or not we do sport? Every year in PE, we do the same sports and the same practice drills, so after year 7, there is no point continuing to do PE, because the you are just doing the same things that you have done in previous years. 2 periods per cycle are spent on PE, 2 periods which could be spent on subjects like foreign languages, which are only allocated 4 periods per cycle or English or Science, which get 5 periods per cycle. These subjects are more important than PE and time the two periods given to PE would be better used if distributed to these subjects. As well as PE, we spent up to 3 hours a week at training and another 3 hours on Saturday for competition. Can you imagine students' academic performances if we were to spent 6 hours a week doing homework or study? And it is not only the actual time you are at training that counts, because often, after training you are tired and cannot be bothered to do homework or study, again dragging down our academic results. If sport was optional, then the people participating in the teams would be the people that wanted to be there, the people who wanted to play and win. But instead, there are people in the teams who are not interested in the sport, not interested in winning and are only there because they have to be. These people drag down the team and ruin the sport for those that want to be there. So do you really thing that sport should be compulsory? As I see it, if sport were made optional, the school would see better academic results, and better sports results. I think that there is no point in having compulsory sport, and it only creates teams of people who do not want to be there and do not care whether the game is lost or won. I think

Multiculturalism in Canada

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00
Canada has long been called "The Mosaic", due to the fact that it is made up of a varied mix of races, cultures and ethnicities. As more and more immigrants come to Canada searching for a better life, the population naturally becomes more diverse. This has, in turn, spun a great debate over multiculturalism. Some of the issues under fire are the political state's policies concerning multiculturalism, the attitudes of Canadians around these policies, immigration, the global market, and a central point is the education and how to present the material in a way so as to offend the least amount of people. There are many variations on these themes as will be discussed in this paper. In the 1930's several educators called for programs of cultural diversity that encouraged ethnic and minority students to study their respective heritages. This is not a simple feat due to the fact that there is much diversity within individual cultures. A look at the 1991 Canadian census shows that the population has changed more noticeable in the last ten years than in any other time in the twentieth century, with one out of four Canadians identifying themselves as black, Hispanic, Asian, Pacific Islander, Metis or Native. (Gould 1995: 198) Most people, from educators to philosophers, agree that an important first step in succe4ssfully joining multiple cultures is to develop an understanding of each others background. However, the similarities stip there. One problem is defining the tem "multiculturalism". When it is looked at simply as meaning the existence of a culturally integrated society, many people have no problems. However, when you go beyond that and try to suggest a different way of arriving at theat culturally integrated society, everyone seems to have a different opinion on what will work. Since education is at the root of the problem, it might be appropriate to use an example in that context. In 1980, the American school, Stanford University came up with a program - later known as the "Stanford-style multicultural curriculum" which aimed to familiarize students with traditions, philosophy, literature and history of the West. The program consisted of fifteen required books by writers such as Plato, Aristotle, Homer, Aquinas, Marx and Freud. By 1987, a group called the Rainbow Coalition argued the fact that the books were all written by DWEM's or Dead White European Males. They felt that this type of teaching denied students the

Reilyism Speech

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00
The founding of entire nation was forged on the principle that all men are created equal under the law. This is the essence of our Declaration of Independance and the philosophy behind the Constition. We, through history, have made certain that ALL people in this country have equality before the law. We have set uup the premise that all people are equal before the law. Lady Justice is blind to Race, Religion, _________ . We have declared that there is no such thing as sub-humans-and that NO human being's rights are superior to another human being. If we want to live by the premises that we set up in this country, then we cannot overlook ANY human being-NO ONE can be excluded. There are, however, a human beings that is ignored the protection to thier rights to life everyday. The aborted children. I dare the negative to PROVE that a child in her mother's wound is alive! Does the negative actually believe that a human being is alive when and only when a human being has fully developed? If this is true, then most of here are not alive. The human specie is only fully grown at adulthood, many of us here are not adults yet-and by that definition, it wouldn't matter if your shot and killed on the street because "your not fully developed". We are a stage in development-teenager-just like a child is, just like a toddler is, just like an old man is, and just like a aborted child is. There is no magical transformation that occurs when a child is born. He has the same basic needs to survive before he is born, and the same needs after he is born. The negative is going to attempt to make you believe that the differnce in quality of a unborn child is so great that these children do not resemble what we call alive. They want you to believe that a unborn child cannot feel pain. Can an unborn child feel pain? If it can, then does that not resemble life? If they do successfully make you accept this premise, then it becomes easy to abort a child. If you accept that an unborn child is not a eating, breathing, moving, human inside of a woman then thier life can have no value. But the answer is yes, a unborn child does feel pain. Now, I know it is hard for

Abortion

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00
In Roe et al. v. Wade District Attorney of Dallas County (1973), one of the most controversial cases in recent history, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down all state laws that limit a woman's right to an abortion during the first three months of pregnancy. Justices Rehnquist and White dissented. Mr. Justice Blackmun delivered the opinion of the Court.... This Texas federal appeal and its Georgia companion, Doe v. Bolton, post, p. 179, present constitutional challenges to state criminal abortion legislation. The Texas statutes under attack here are typical of those that have been in effect in many States for approximately a century. The Georgia statutes, in contrast, have a modern cast and are a legislative product that, to an extent at least, obviously reflects the influences of recent attitudinal change, of advancing medical knowledge and techniques, and of new thinking about an old issue. We forthwith acknowledge our awareness of the sensitive and emotional nature of the abortion controversy, of the vigourous opposing views, even among physicians, and of the deep and seemingly absolute convictions that the subject inspires. One's philosophy, one's experiences, one's exposure to the raw edges of human existence, one's religious training, one's attitudes toward life and family and their values, and the moral standards one establishes and seeks to observe, are all likely to influence and to color one's thinking and conclusions about abortion.... The Texas statutes that concern us here are Arts. 1191-1194 and 1196 of the State's Penal Code. These make it a crime to "procure an abortion," as therein defined, or to attempt one, except with respect to "an abortion procured or attempted by medical advice for the purpose of saving the life of the mother." Similar statutes are in existence in a majority of the States. Texas first enacted a criminal abortion statute in 1854. Texas Laws 1854, c. 49, Sec. 1, set forth in 3 H. Gammel, Laws of Texas 1502 (1898). This was soon modified into language that has remained substantially unchanged to the present time.... Jane Roe, a single woman who was residing in Dallas County, Texas, instituted this federal action in March 1970 against the District Attorney of the county. She sought a declaratory judgment that the Texas criminal abortion statutes were unconstitutional on their face, and an injunction restraining the defendant from enforcing the statutes. Roe alleged that she was unmarried and pregnant; that she wished to terminate her pregnancy by an abortion

Abortion

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00
Abortion has been one of this country's most controversial topic on hand. But if one sees the constitutional infringement to women by the restriction of abortion, the torment to the unwanted child and the anguish society

Abortion

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00
During the past quarter century, abortion has joined race and war as one of the most debatable subject of controversy in the United States. It discusses human interaction where ethics, emotions and law come together. Abortion poses a moral, social and medical dilemma that faces many individuals to create a emotional and violent atmosphere. There are many points of view toward abortion but the only two fine distinctions are "pro-choice" and "pro-life". A pro-choicer would feel that the decision to abort a pregnancy is that of the mothers and the state has no right to interfere. A pro-lifer would hold that from the moment of conception, the embryo or fetus is alive. This life imposes on us a moral obligation to preserve it and that abortion is tantamount to murder (Kolner 5). In the United States about 1.6 million pregnancies end in abortion. Women with incomes under eleven thousand are over three times more likely to abort than those with incomes above twenty-five thousand. Unmarried women are four to five times more likely to abort than married and the abortion rate has doubled for 18 and 19 year olds. Recently the U.S. rate dropped 6 percent overall but the rate of abortion among girls younger than 15 jumped 18 percent. The rate among minority teens climbed from 186 per 1,000 to 189 per 1,000. The most popular procedure involved in abortions is the vacuum aspiration which is done during the first trimester (three months or less since the women has become pregnant). A tube is simply inserted through the cervix and the contents of the uterus are vacuumed out. The most commonly used type of second trimester abortion is called dilation and evacuation. Since the fetus has bones, bulk and can move, second trimester is not as simple. When as much of the fetus and placenta are vacuumed out then tweezers are used to remove larger parts. After this, or the beginning of the fifth month abortion is serious and actually induced as childbirth. That is, the mother is given substances which puts her into labor and delivers the fetus as she would a full-term baby. About 40 percent of Americans believe that abortion should remain legal and 40 percent believe it should be banned except when the pregnancy threatens the life of the mother or is the result of rape or incest. Also 15 percent b eveit should be illegal in

Abortion

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00
Many have pondered upon the meaning of abortion. The argument being that every child born should be wanted, and others who believe that every child conceived should be born (Sass vii). This has been a controversial topic for years. Many people want to be able to decide the destiny of others. Everyone in the United States is covered under the United States constitution, and under the 14th Amendment women have been given the choice of abortion. In 1973, Harry A. Blackmun wrote the majority opinion that it's a women's right to have an abortion. Roe v. Wade legalized abortion. Even though these people have been given the right, the case is not closed. Pro-life activists carry a strong argument, and continue to push their beliefs. They feel so strongly about these beliefs that violence has broken out in some known instances. Pro-choice activists, on the other hand, also carry very strong points. They believe that the child inside them is their property and it's life doesn't be until birth. In 1973, the United States Supreme Court decided that as long as the baby lived in the womb, he or she would be the property of the mother. Because of this decision almost every third baby conceived in America is killed by abortion, over one and a half million babies a year (Willke vii). Many countries have followed our decision on the abortion issue and some of these include Canada, England, and France. Other countries still believe abortion should be illegal, they include Germany, Ireland, and New Zealand. Although many believe that abortion is a women's choice, abortion should be banned because its immoral and life begins at conception. Abortion is the choice of a women whether or not she want's to receive one. Under the 14th Amendment's "personal liberty" women are given the right to receive an abortion. The 14th Amendment's concept of "personal liberty" and restrictions on state action is enough to allow a women's decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy. The right to choose to have an abortion is so personal and essential to women's lives that without this right women cannot exercise other fundamental rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution (Paltrow 72). The state can't interfere in the private lives of a citizen. Without the right to choose an abortion the 14th Amendment's guarantee of liberty has little meaning for women. With the right to

Freedom Of Choice

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00
Since 1973 abortion has been an important controversial issue to the United States. The problem begins should it be a womans choice whether or not to terminate her pregnancyor should it be the goverments choice. This is where a woman looses her rights as a person. If

Abortion: Life or Death - Who Chooses

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00
In Roman times, abortion and the destruction of unwanted children was permissible, but as our civilization has aged, it seems that such acts were no longer acceptable by rational human beings, so that in 1948, Canada along with most other nations in the world signed a declaration of the United Nations promising every human being the right to life. The World Medical Association meeting in Geneve at the same time, stated that the utmost respect for human life was to be from the moment of conception. This declaration was re-affirmed when the World Medical Association met in Oslo in 1970. Should we go backwards in our concern for the life of an individual human being? The unborn human is still a human life and not all the wishful thinking of those advocating repeal of abortion laws, can alter this. Those of us who would seek to protect the human who is still to small to cry aloud for it's own protection, have been accused of having a 19th Century approach to life in the last third of the 20th Century. But who in reality is using arguments of a bygone Century? It is an incontrovertible fact of biological science - Make no Mistake - that from the moment of conception, a new human life has been created. Only those who allow their emotional passion to overide their knowledge, can deny it: only those who are irrational or ignorant of science, doubt that when a human sperm fertilizes a human ovum a new human being is created. A new human being who carries genes in its cells that make that human being uniquely different from any and other human being and yet, undeniably a member, as we all are, of the great human family. All the fetus needs to grow into a babe, a child, an old man, is time, nutrition and a suitable environment. It is determined at that very moment of conception whether the baby will be a boy or a girl; which of his parents he will look like; what blood type he will have. His whole heritage is forever fixed. Look at a human being 8 weeks after conception and you, yes every person here who can tell the difference between a man and a women, will be able to look at the fetus and tell me whether it is a baby boy or a girl. No, a fetus is

AIDS - What's new

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00
Is the message getting through? We already know enough about AIDS to prevent its spread, but ignorance, complacency, fear and bigotry continue to stop many from taking adequate precautions. We know enough about how the infection is transmitted to protect ourselves from it without resorting to such extremes as mandatory testing, enforced quarantine or total celibacy. But too few people are heeding the AIDS message. Perhaps many simply don't like or want to believe what they hear, preferring to think that AIDS "can't happen to them." Experts repeatedly remind us that infective agents do not discriminate, but can infect any and everyone. Like other communicable diseases, AIDS can strike anyone. It is not necessarily confined to a few high-risk groups. We must all protect ourselves from this infection and teach our children about it in time to take effective precautions. Given the right measures, no one need get AIDS. The pandemic continues: Many of us have forgotten about the virulence of widespread epidemics, such as the 1917/18 influenza pandemic which killed over 21 million people, including 50,000 Canadians. Having been lulled into false security by modern antibiotics and vaccines about our ability to conquer infections, the Western world was ill prepared to cope with the advent of AIDS in 1981. (Retro- spective studies now put the first reported U.S. case of AIDS as far back as 1968.) The arrival of a new and lethal virus caught us off guard. Research suggests that the agent responsible for AIDS probably dates from the 1950s, with a chance infection of humans by a modified Simian virus found in African green monkeys. Whatever its origins, scientists surmise that the disease spread from Africa to the Caribbean and Europe, then to the U.S. Current estimates are that 1.5 to 2 million Americans are now probably HIV carriers, with higher numbers in Central Africa and parts of the Caribbean. Recapping AIDS - the facts: AIDS is an insidious, often fatal but less contagious disease than measles, chicken pox or hepatitis B. AIDS is thought to be caused primarily by a virus that invades white blood cells (lymphocytes) - especially T4-lymphocytes or T-helper cells - and certain other body cells, including the brain. In 1983 and 1984, French and U.S. researchers independently identified the virus believed to cause AIDS as an unusual type of slow-acting retrovirus now called "human immunodeficiency virus" or HIV. Like other viruses, HIV is basically a tiny package

Criminalization of Knowlingly Transmitting AIDS

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00
Brief History of AIDS and the Criminalization of Knowingly Transmitting It Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is caused by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). The virus was discoverd independently in France in 1983 and in the United States in 1984. In the United States, it was initially identified in 1981. In 1986, a second virus, now called HIV-2, was also discovered in Africa. HIV-2 also causes AIDS. AIDS is transmitted in three ways: From sexual contact without protection, from the mixing of ones blood with infected blood, and from an infected pregnant woman to her fetus. Infection can occur from blood transfusions of infected blood, or sharing 'dirty' needles. (Needles already used, in this case, by a HIV positive person.) The criminalization of intentionally spreading AIDS has been a big issue recently, and still remains so. As of September, 1991, legislation criminalizing AIDS transmission has been passed in 24 states. Among these states are California, Idaho, Ohio, Missouri, Michigan, and South Carolina. Under these current laws, it is a crime to knowingly transmit the virus through sex, sharing needles, donating infected blood, organs, or skin tissue. The first person to go to court under these laws in Michigan was Jeffrey Hanlon. Hanlon was a gay man who infected another man from Michigan while he was in New York. The American Civil Liberties Union, who agreed to take the case, agrued that the AIDS disclosure law is unconstitutional. Privacy of those with AIDS is what they were worried about. Opponents argued that "they're [those with AIDS] killing people. It's like rape." The maximum sentence Hanlon could have recieved was four years in prison and a $2000 fine. In addition, under the current New York State law, which dates back well before June, 1987, the knowing transmission of a venerial disease is a felony. However, at that time, and currently, AIDS was not classified as a venerial disease. Interviews Concerning the Issue Most people believe that the willful transmission of AIDS to others it virtually murder. I have interviewed **name** and **name**. Both of them feel that intentionally passing AIDS on to another person is murder. The recipient of the virus will, in almost every case, die rather quickly of an AIDS related disease. **name** feels that "if someone knowingly transmits AIDS to another person, it's like committing murder. He or she should be punished to the full extent of the law." In addition to personal interviews, I have found the

AIDS: A US Made Monster?

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00
PREFACE In an extensive article in the Summer-Autumn 1990 issue of "Top Secret", Prof J. Segal and Dr. L. Segal outline their theory that AIDS is a man-made disease, originating at Pentagon bacteriological warfare labs at Fort Detrick, Maryland. "Top Secret" is the international edition of the German magazine Geheim and is considered by many to be a sister publication to the American Covert Action Information Bulletin (CAIB). In fact, Top Secret carries the Naming Names column, which CAIB is prevented from doing by the American government, and which names CIA agents in different locations in the world. The article, named "AIDS: US-Made Monster" and subtitled "AIDS - its Nature and its Origins," is lengthy, has a lot of professional terminology and is dotted with footnotes. AIDS FACTS "The fatal weakening of the immune system which has given AIDS its name (Acquired Immuno-Deficiency Syndrome)," write the Segals, "has been traced back to a destruction or a functional failure of the T4-lymphocytes, also called 'helper cells', which play a regulatory role in the production of antibodies in the immune system." In the course of the illness, the number of functional T4- cells is reduced greatly so that new anti-bodies cannot be produced and the defenceless patient remains exposed to a range of infections that under other circumstances would have been harmless. Most AIDS patients die from opportunistic infections rather than from the AIDS virus itself. The initial infection is characterized by diarrhea, erysipelas and intermittent fever. An apparent recovery follows after 2-3 weeks, and in many cases the patient remains without symptoms and functions normally for years. Occasionally a swelling of the lymph glands, which does not affect the patient's well-being, can be observed. After several years, the pre-AIDS stage, known as ARC (Aids- Related Complex) sets in. This stage includes disorders in the digestive tract, kidneys and lungs. In most cases it develops into full-blown AIDS in about a year, at which point opportunistic illnesses occur. Parallel to this syndrome, disorders in various organ systems occur, the most severe in the brain, the symptoms of which range from motoric disorders to severe dementia and death. This set of symptoms, say the Segals, is identical in every detail with the Visna sickness which occurs in sheep, mainly in Iceland. (Visna means tiredness in Icelandic). However, the visna virus is not pathogenic for human beings. The Segals note that despite the fact that AIDS is

Aids Conspricay - Is AIDS Biological Warfare?

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00
The following is a complete verbatim transcription from a recent broadcast of "Network 23", a program shown on a local Los Angeles Public Access Cable Channel. Good evening, I'm Michel Kassett. This is Network 23. A couple of weeks ago we had a program on the subject of AIDS, addressing the question of whether AIDS-the AIDS virus-was created by the government; and I'm sure that some people were quite shocked by what they heard. We spent that entire program relating to you the evidence of a very substantial amount of factual evidence which supports the proposition that AIDS is a synthetic biological agent that was deliberately engineered by the US government as an instrument of depopulation. This is by far the most controversial and dangerous subject that we have ever addressed on this program, so I would like to review briefly the major points-the most significant pieces of evidence-that I presented two weeks ago. The first point was that in the early 1970's, Henry Kissinger wrote a top secret document-a National Security Memorandum ("NSM 200") -- in which he indicated that "depopulation should be the highest priority of US foreign policy towards the Third World." This Memorandum which can be obtained from the US National Archives, which was only declassified very quietly in 1990, was adopted by the National Security Council as official US foreign policy towards the Third World. Now, this is a classic example of the "secret government" in action, because of none of this was known to the Congress, and certainly, it was not known to the American people. Did any of you know that depopulation was considered a matter of US national security? Did any of you know that for the past 20 years, depopulation has been the highest long-range priority of US foreign policy towards the Third World? No you didn't, because it was classified-it was a secret. I would like to read for you just a piece of this document. It is written by Henry Kissinger: "Reduction of the rate of population in these States is a matter of vital US national security." [National Security Memorandum, Henry Kissinger] And we even have a map of those areas in which Kissinger indicates where depopulation would be desireable. It's all Third World countries- it's all brown people and yellow people, of course. "The US economy will require large and increasing amounts of minerals from abroad, especially from less-developed countries. That fact gives

Animal Rights

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00
As Doctor Zola-Morgan stated in a speech to animal right activists, "I've seen the impact of the animal rights movement. I believe this is an attack on science of the worst kind. If we allow it to prevail it will take us back to the dark ages." Too much of the public has come to think of medical researchers as "tormenters rather than healers." The good is overlooked and the bad is exploited. Although many people think that animal research is morally wrong, animal research should continue because it is critical to continued progress in human health and alternatives to research animals are not available. Animal rights activists feel that animal research is immoral. They do not see where we as human beings see or feel that we are the dominant species. They often assert that research with animals causes severe pain and that many research animals are abused. The activists do not feel the need to put the animals through such pain. Many of the experiments are replicated also which causes an unneeded demand for animals to perform experiments. Experiments which have already been proven are still being experimented with. However, animal research is an integral part of today's society when thinking of how much progress we have gained in human health with the use of animal experimentation. To date some forty-one Nobel prizes have been awarded to scientists whose achievements depended on laboratory animals. Vaccines against polio, diphtheria, mumps, measles, rubella, and smallpox would not have been possible without such experiments. There also would not be such important techniques such as open heart surgery, brain surgery, coronary bypass, microsurgery to re-attached limbs, organ transplants, and correction of congenital heart defects. The list goes on about the medical advances that required animal research. Insulin to control diabetes and medications important in the management of asthma, epilepsy, arthritis, ulcers, and hypertensions are a few more to add to the list. To take animal research away would also be to halt our society's advancement of more procedures and more medicines to enhanc he better living of humans. In addition, there are no alternatives to animal experimentation that can give the same results that it can. In certain research investigations, cell, tissue, organ cultures, and computer models can be used at least in the preliminary phases of the investigation. However, in many experimental situations, culture techniques and computer models do not capture the "physiological complexity"

Animal Rights

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00
Animals have been used in medical research for centuries. In a recent count, it was determined that 8,815 animals were being used for research at MSU, 8,503 of them rodents - rats, mice, hamsters and gerbils. There were 18 dogs, three cats and a variety of goats, ferrets, pigeons and rabbits. The struggle against this tyranny is a struggle as important as any of the moral and social issues that have been fought over in recent years." Animal rights are an emotional issue-second only, perhaps, to the bitter abortion debate." For decades the value of animal research has been grossly overrated. Although researchers have depended on animal test data to achieve medical advances, there should be other means of research because testing on animals is cruel and inhumane and often unnecessary. The American Medical Association believes that research involving animals is absolutely essential to maintaining and improving the health of the American people. They point out, that virtually every advance in medical science in the 20th century, from antibiotics to organ transplants, has been achieved either directly or indirectly through the use of animals in laboratory experiments. They also emphasize that animal research holds the key for solutions to AIDS, cancer, heart disease, aging and congenital defects. Lastly they insist that, the result of these experiments has been the elimination or control of many infectious diseases. This has meant a longer, healthier , better life with much less pain and suffering. For many patients, it has meant life it self. However, there should be other means of research because the whole process of animal research remains cruel and inhumane. Animal rights activists have gathered much information that has closed down laboratories that violate anti- cruelty statutes. "This includes a 1984 videotape stolen from the University of Pennsylvania Head Injury Clinic. The research subsequently suspended, reportedly involved inadequately anesthetized baboons receiving blows to the head to break their necks and cause brain damage." Alex Pacheo gives a first-person account of the conditions he witnessed in a primate laboratory. He is horrified by the painful experiments these monkeys endure. "On May 11,1981 I began work[at the Institute for Behavioral Research] and was given a tour.... I saw filth caked on the wires of the cages, faces piled in the bottom of the cages, urine and rust encrusting every surface. There, amid this rotting stench, sat sixteen crab-eating macaques and one rhesus monkey, their liv

Animal Rights

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00
For the past 20 years, there has a been an on going heated debate on whether experiments on animals for the benefit of medical and scientific research is ethical. Whether it is or isn't, most people believe that some form of cost-benefit test should be performed to determine if the action is right. The costs include: animal pain, distress and death where the benefits include the collection of new knowledge or the development of new medical therapies for humans. Looking into these different aspects of the experimentation, there is a large gap for argument between the different scientists' views. In the next few paragraphs, both sides of the argument will be expressed by the supporters. A well known scientist named Neal D. Barnard said," The use of animals for research and testing is only one of many investigative techniques available. We believe that although animal experiments are sometimes intellectually seductive, they are poorly suited to addressing the urgent health problems of our era, such as heart disease, cancer, stroke, AIDS and birth defects." He goes on further to say that animal experiments can not only mislead researchers but even contribute to illnesses or deaths by failing to predict any toxic effect on drugs. The majority of animals in laboratories are used for genetic manipulation, surgical intervention or injection of foreign substances. Researchers produce solutions from these animal "models" and are adapting them to human conditions. Unfortunately, these animal "models" can't always be connected with the human body thus creating problems. Many times, researchers induce strokes on animals in order to test certain methods for curing. The downfall of this procedure is that a healthy animal that experiences a sudden stroke does not undergo the slowly progressive arterial damage that usually plays a crucial role in human strokes. In another illustration of the inaccuracy of animal research, scientists in the 1960s deduced from many animal experiments that inhaled tobacco smoke did not cause lung cancer. For many years afterward, the tobacco industry was able to use these studies to delay government warnings and to discourage physicians from intervening in their patients' smoking habits. We all know now that this is totally untrue and that smoking is a large contributor to cancer. It turns out that cancer research is especially sensitive to differences in physiology between humans and other animals. Many animals, particularly rats and mice, synthesize within their bodies approximately 100

Teen Drug Use

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00
Teen drug use is on the rise in the 90's. But one of the most popular drugs is marijuana beacause it is so easy to get and usually cheap. But there are many other kinds of drugs, you got PCP, LSD, Hash, and many others that come from the same plant but all of them are hazardous to your body and your health. Most people use the drugs just to forget about everything, but they forget about the dangers drugs can cause them. Marijuana is a big seller these days and it is a lot worse than it used to be people's bodies are building ip immunity's to the drugs the the dealers have to add more things to help you get the "high". Divorce is on the rise and kids feel it's their fault and they need a way to escape from the pain of there messed up life. Another reason is because their friends pressure them into using drugs most marijuana users are 12-18. The THC in the marijuana makes you experiance the "high" but what really make the THC grow is when this resin comes out on to the leaves and stems. Grass is something that comes from marijuana it is made up of dried choped leaves, stems, and leaves. In 100 ounces of grass, ther are 1 to 2 ounces of the THC. Sinsemilla is grass made of a plant that has larger amounts of THC than grass. In 100 ounces of sinsemilla there about 6 ounces of THC. Hashish is made of dried flowers, leaves and resin. In 100 ounces of hashish there are 8 to 14 ounces of THC. Hash oil is the plant's resin. 100 ounces of hash oil there are 15 to 40 ounces of THC. Thses different types of marijuana can be mixed together for a all different "high" all types of marijuana are smoked in a cigarette or pipe and sometimes added to food. Most teen marijuana users think that it help them do music, food, and have better sex. They enjoy the many things that appear do be different like art and sounds seem more intense. Some of the harmful effects of marijuana use can harm parts of the body. Like cigarette smoke, marijuana smoke also contains carbon monoxide, the stuff that inpears the oxygen carrying ability of the blood. It also contians high amounts of tar and other

Drinking Age

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00
The drinking age is fine, if anything is should get raised. It is hard to ignore the fact that this law is broken everyday. It's the 90's all teens just want to fit in. Kids are drinking at a much younger age. Now, even 10 year olds and 11 year olds are trying to fit in with us older kids. It's amazing and sometimes funny what kids will do just to fit in with the "good" crowd. Well to some of us, that's considered the druggies and drinkers. Our parents call them the "bad" crowd with good reason. I speak from experience. Now I agree with the parents out there who worry about their kids getting into the same kind of troubles as I was in at one point in my life. I'm going to cut the bull shit and talk about the facts. Here's what parties today look like for teens. The setting, a beach or a house with no adults around to say what's wrong. The people are a bunch of teens of both sexes. The environment is any kind of drugs and or alcohol. These consists of hard liquor like Vodka and Jack Daniel's. Then there is beer with the lighter stuff like wine, wine coolers, and fuzzy navel. Teens that drive are in big trouble and are at big risk. I'm not blaming the accidents that involve drunk in just teens. Drunk drivers are of all ages. And I'm not trying to say that all teens drink either. But the ones that do and are stupid enough to say they're sober and can drive home safe. Those are the ones that put innocent citizens at risk. The drunk teens that drive are looking at getting their license provoked. They go to jail, their car gets impounded, and of course they get a DUI. At parties where teens get drunk, they can easily forget stuff. A lot of times that's where teens get pregnant. The girls don't always know their pregnant so they continue drink. This is bad for their baby. When they have unprotected sex there's the risk of diseases. All together I think it's pretty stupid to even think about changing the drinking age to 18. We already have to worry about the illegal drinkers. There will be more drinking by teens if they change the age. What's next? Changing the age to 16? Yes it makes sense that

Alcoholism

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00
Alcoholism-An overwhelming desire to drink alcohol, even though it is causing harm. Alcohol is a drug. In the United States alcoholism is the most widespread form of drug abuse, effecting at least 5 million people. About one third of high school students in the US are though to be problem drinkers. Many already may be alcoholics. A person who is dependent on alcohol is called an alcoholic. Drunk drivers account for one half of all fatal automobile accidents each year in the US. Alcoholism also creates many severe physical problems. More then three drinks a day over a few weeks causes destructive danger in the liver. Changes in the brain and nervous result in hostile behavior. A family or individual with an alcoholism problem is