Essays for You

Child Control Essay

2010-07-23T02:18:00.000-07:00

What I know about keeping children content and under control is directly proportional to my paucity of experience with them. However, even with my limited experience, I can confidently say that the best way to learn how to get along with children is to go out and try. I would suggest that one find activities that keep order and allow fun that are comfortable for them to lead. Finding ones comfort zone requires trying out a variety of methods. I have learned the most in this way, though I have also watched the behaviors of more experienced child-care workers as a basis for my own experimentation in the area.

Some of this experimentation stemmed from an observation that seemed trivial in and of itself. An early childhood education major, Jamie, came to a once a week children’s program at our church with her three year old son, Austin. She unconsciously took control of the three and four year old group, which I had semi led before, but I didn’t mind in the least because she was incredible with the kids. The most problematic time had always been waiting in the hall; the children would get bored and rowdy. I observed Jamie during these times as she settled the kids into all inclusive games that were both fun and organized. Jamie made herself animated and fun as she led silly songs and trivial games; such as making faces and “Teddy Bear Teddy Bear.” Now that Jamie is trying to “wean” Austin of her constant presence and is no longer attending the program, I am again “in charge”, so I have imitated Jamie’s method and discovered that it is a pleasantly ideal way to handle the children.

After having done this a few times, I discovered another factor that is ideal for control. This is the inclusion factor. Along with having an organized activity, one must prevent boredom, which prevents rowdiness, in all of the children present. Having something for only a portion of the group to do simply doesn’t work; the children with nothing to do will still be rowdy and most likely cause the orderly portion to join in their chaos. Thus, the sorts of activities chosen should, ideally, keep everyone engaged as much as possible.

Observation of Jamie gave me an idea for experimentation that brought a most useful morsel of knowledge; children are best behaved under, and do not reject, pre-organized activities. On first thought, one might assume that children don’t want to be “told what to do.” This is often untrue. The few opportunities I have had to test this idea have proven satisfactory. I can even ask specifically “Is that okay with you, or would you rather do something else?” and the children in question still go along with my plan. Three occasions immediately come to mind when this method worked splendidly; once with my younger cousins, another time with mentoring, and a more recent trial with babysitting. On all three of those occasions I asked that question in some form and the response was merely a facial expression of “Why are you asking me? You’re in charge here.” So, I proceeded the question with “Well, let’s try this for a little while, and then we can do something else if you want to.”

In the three cases I mentioned, the children did the planned activity longer than I anticipated and didn’t fuss about stopping. I was the one who took the initiative to move on to another activity and all went smoothly. Other events I have witnessed seem much the same way; children typically accept organization without question.

This is not to say that one should be a stickler about time schedules or having to accomplish a specific task. Flexibility is a necessity with the young. One must always be willing to let go of their “plan” and allow kids to be kids. However, most often organization and fun can coincide without conflict.

The most important thing to remember is that children are precious to God, so they should be precious to us as well. Young hearts are disturbingly vulnerable because they trust people so blindly. It is at this early stage that we should reach out to them and let them know Gods love. We should make sure they get the right message about life and love from the start.

ERP

2010-02-05T00:32:00.000-08:00

What is an ERP?
ERP stands for Enterprise Resource Planning. ERP is a system of business management that integrates all resources of a business, including planning, manufacturing, sales, and marketing.

How do such systems differ from older, traditional business information systems?
Older, more traditional information systems assess each resource individually and on separate basis. For example, marketing would be investigated separately and not combined with any other resource such as sales. Looking at marketing and sales together would help a company to see what methods increase and decrease sales. Rather, the older systems might judge each individually and not realize that they may be related. The traditional methods would not show how one resource affects another, or how to combine resources for maximum profit. The newer ERP systems help to combine all of the company’s assets into one by seeing how they are related and can work towards one goal. The newer systems also help to come up with the best way(s) for the company to grow and make decisions.

Who are the suppliers of ERP software?
ERP software suppliers would be those companies that are in software development. They would help to create a system that would best fit the needs of the business and help to organize its operating system, as well as support its business processes.

Why are the companies investing millions of dollars implementing ERP software?
Companies are investing money in implementing ERP software to integrate their businesses. Many companies want to be nationally known, if not internationally recognized. ERP software also helps to organize the company or business so that it has necessary information on hand through networking for whoever may need it at any time with easier access. Networking helps to stay organized and up-to-date on what is happening throughout the company so that one department is aware of another departments need or progress, and vice versa. This is critical for the growing companies, or companies that intend to broaden their products and/or services.

Effects of IT on Working Conditions

2010-02-05T00:27:00.000-08:00

Today’s society deals with many times more information than at any other time In history that’s why today’s society is called the Information Age. The amount of information is growing at a rapid constant rate that’s does not seem like it is going to slow down in the future. Many people thing that information is more important than natural resources as a source of social and economical power. If people are going to survive in this society, they will need to have access to information and know how to use this intelligently. In the past few centuries, great advances have been made in our ability to process information. Some of the major developments are the printing pres, photography, telephones, computers and the Internet. People are quickly adapting to the latest developments in technology.

Effects Of It on Working Conditions
Information Technology is a very rapidly growing industry. Its development has been widely reflected in all society .In today’s world all businesses from small to large have some sort of Technology within their business. It plays a vital part in our society. In our daily lifecycle we get information from books, newspapers, people, television, radio, computers and the Internet.

Prior to the growth of information technology people used to work out of their home. They would have owned and operated their own tools, machines to produce the goods for sales and trades. They used to put in the hard work. Then in the LATE 80”s the industries started to take a dramatic change and started to bring in significant changes to the organization which started to change the philosophy of work. The revolution began when people started to control machines to do their work. When this started it had its added advantage as well. It was enabled to make human life easier to work with.

By the development of Technology it has had its good effects and bad effects on the individual persons working conditions. When this revolution began people started to talk and say that by the invention of computers it will help develop the efficiency and in a way take over certain responsibilities that people used to have to free up time. There is no doubt that it has improved some peoples’ standard of living.
Organizations have adopted the use of Technology to save time and effort. It also will increase the output and also develop new products and ultimately save money. For example the banking industry has changed with the use of plastic cards. People use to go to the banks and wait inline to get money out with their passbooks that will get stamped at the end of the transactions. In today’s society we just go to an ATM (Automatic Teller Machine) and withdraw the money out with a receipt for the balance. Banks have also started to use the Internet for information and transactions. People can pay bills and review their account details and do much more with their account with just a click of a button.

A lot of businesses have adopted the use of software programs such as word processing, spreadsheets and databases to make their business more efficient. Employees are expected to be more knowledge focused with these software tools. The printing industry has become more computerized by using more word processing and desktop publishing software, which has revolutionized the way documents are published.

The education industry has gained the use of IT in a widespread area to educate the students and also communicated with others. The teachers and students have access to a range of software’s’ to improve their learning and get current information from the internet by the use of computers.

Governments now store and analyze great amounts of information using information technology. This allows them to provide better services to the community and plan for the future.

The use of voice mail, facsimile, mobile phones, pagers, email an video-conferencing are widely used to communicate with each other, and information which will be accessed through the internet.

Designers use the program called CAD (computer aided design) to produce their drawing of products. This allows the designers to visualize the product in many different ways.

Different industries have different effects of Information Technology on working conditions as shown above.

When new technology is introduced, its impact does not always react to a positive side for every one. There will always be some advantages and some disadvantages for people. For example that the ATM system that the banks use as an example. Although it makes some peoples life easier it also makes other peoples life harder. Elderly people within the community may find it hard to use the technology. It may be for the reason that they are slower to catch on with the new technology; this might lead them to some one guiding them through the process. Some people do not enjoy the use of technology they prefer the more personal service. In other case, a benefit to the organization may lead to a disadvantage for individuals. It can be said that if new Information technology increases productivity it can lead to staff redundancies.
With the introduction of information technology people have been forced by themselves to learn new skills in running their daily lives. Individuals need access to information and for this reason they need to be more aware and smarter in using information technology. In today’s society if you do not have access to getting information or is unable to use technology, the will be heavily disadvantaged.

Sound and Fury

2009-12-24T03:28:00.000-08:00

On March the third; Is Theatre Limited presented Sound and Fury in the Newstead College Auditorium to a handful of college students. Ryk Goddard, who is also a main actor in the performance, along with talented percussionist Josh Green, directs Sound and Fury. With the excited suggestions from audience members Ryk and Josh presented an unrehearsed intriguing performance, which some students found mildly amusing. They used many techniques to engage the audience, in set, sound and lights.

The performers used many different methods in set, in an attempt to entertain and captivate audience members. The stage was set up in sections, with different instruments and props in the front and back corners of the stage. This meant the action could take place in a variety of areas, which thus allowed for the audience to be watching attentively, wanting to know to where Ryk and Josh were moving to next. Ryk and Josh were also weary not to stay in one area for too long, and not carry the story from that area to another area. An example of this is the God sequence, behind the backdrop. Ryk stayed there for a period of time to establish the character and story but then moved to somewhere else for quite a while. He then returned to behind the backdrop to finish off the story. Josh also moved around so that the same instruments weren’t being heard over and over, which would ultimately bore the audience members. He also made sure that the sequence of instruments used wasn’t repeated either.

The instruments were a very mesmerising aspect of the set. Instruments ranged from bongos to bells, tin fences to a rubbish bin and windpipes to a whistle. Because so many instruments were used the audience became very aware of all the instruments and the sounds each one made. Ryk and Josh made sure that the audience recognised the change between instruments by using them to assist in presenting the mood and depth of what message they were introducing with soft, quick, loud or slow music. An example of this was shown when Ryk was speaking slowly, and was obviously in a very subdued mood. Josh changed the music to also be very slow and deep to match and emphasise Ryk’s performance and character. However, Ryk and Josh had to always keep a close eye on each other and the issue the other was trying to present so their performance could be in sync. This was an awful system, as it meant that during the show one would be a small step behind the other or looking over their shoulder for inspiration and reinforcement from the other. Ryk and Josh disguised this very well though.

Many other sound techniques were used in an attempt to intrigue, entertain and fascinate the audience. Ryk also used a microphone to distort his voice to assist in presenting certain moods or messages. This at times was an annoying technique as it was hard for the audience to work out what Ryk was actually saying. An example of this was when Ryk was talking about Global Warming. During this section Ryk overused the microphone as well which lost the concentration of the audience members. Also because Ryk overused it the impact it should have had on the audience was lost. Some, however, still enjoyed it. When Ryk was talking without the assistance of the microphone Josh was very careful not to be too loud, so that he didn’t drain out what was being said and in the same way Ryk was being sure he was speaking louder than the instruments. Thus this meant attention was not lost through misunderstanding.

Lighting was also used in an attempt to entertain the audience throughout the performance. However this was not a very effective technique as the lights were a spontaneous effect which sometimes did not match the mood when it was first introduced. Towards the end of the mood the lighting would match and then it would change and the lighting would fall behind again. An example of this was when Ryk was being God. Oodles of white light was used, flashing up high to show the importance of him being “God”. The lighting also looked very unprofessional as even when an actor wasn’t in an area light was flashed on that part of the stage. The intention was to create a specific type of effect but it just made the lighting look dodgy. The same colours were used continuously and very repeatededly, in the same kind of sequence. Thus in conclusion the lighting was a very ineffective technique, which amused and delighted the audience minutely.

The audiences’ involvement in the performance was a major contributor that allowed the audience to be amused and delighted by Ryk and Josh. Ryk was very manipulative of the audiences’ suggestions and slyly changed ideas to what he thought would be better or easier to present. An example of this was when people where making suggestions on something that was really annoying, for the second performance and people were calling out “Ferrets!”. At the end of the suggestion time, Ryk said that the next performance would be on mobile phones, a topic none of the audience members had mentioned. However, this type of interaction and suggestion process allowed the audience to feel like Ryk was a “cool guy and friend” which made them, unconsciously, enjoy the performance a lot more as they felt that they knew him as a person.

Although some areas of Sound and Fury were not entertaining, amusing or delightful the performance, on the whole, was generally enjoyed by most students. It could be seen that both actors were very talented and presented ideas from the audience in a very unique and imaginative way that, unconsciously, made them enjoy the show.

Language and Signs

2009-12-04T03:03:00.001-08:00

Language has been, is now and will continue to be an important and essential thing in society. Language is the set of rules and norms by which we abide in order to communicate. Without it we would not be able to communicate, express ourselves, or even give or convey information. It is what sets us apart from the animals; it is the primary object of philosophy and humanities. Language consists not only of truths but lies, myths, and ideologies, which Ferdinand de Saussure and Roland Barthes both believe play important parts when it comes to explaining linguistic signs.

Saussure starts off talking about the label theory, which says that signs are just labels, attached to things. That language is just a list of words each identical to the thing that it names, just like a noun. Saussure opposes this saying that how would you explain pronouns and adjective and verbs which are also part of our language. He also says that this would mean that the ideas existed before the words did and then no one knows whether a name is expressed or psychological in nature. For example if you take the stop sign which is a red and white octagon. To people that drive in America they know this means you have to come to a complete standstill at the stop line. However if you come from a culture without roads or where they have another language this red and white octagon is going to mean nothing to you.
Saussure also believes that the structure of the linguistic sign can be split two different ways the first being into the signifier and signified. The signifier is the carrier or the manner of the concept. It is what the object actually is. The signified is the concept or a manner of understanding something. Take for instance a photograph. The signifier is the photo itself, for example a picture of your parents. The signified however is the form and content of the picture of your parents. The second form Saussure thinks the linguistic sign can be broken into is conventional and arbitrary. Conventional meaning the language is socially agreed upon by users and arbitrary meaning not necessary.

Lastly Saussure believes that the mutability or changes of language are mostly brought upon by social, historical and cultural evolution. Therefore that is one of the reasons it is so important. With all these new changes we need to language to describe it. Without this language we would not be able to keep communicating with others and advancing in life.

Instead of breaking the structure of the linguistic sign into the conventional and arbitrary, Roland Barthes breaks it into the denotation and connotation. Denotation, which is the literal meaning and connotation, which is the added meaning. An example of this is an engagement ring. An engagement ring is literally a piece of jewelry with a diamond that is worn around the finger. However the connotation of an engagement ring is love and commitment.

One main difference between the writings of Saussure and Barthes is Barthes speaks a lot of ideologies and myths. An ideology is a set of assumed beliefs or ideas that have no been contrasted to assess their truth-value. A myth is an idea presented as truthful yet does not have fact to back it up. A myth is also a type of speech. Myths and ideologies are presented in the forms of ordinary signs that might be interpreted as truthful. They are not eternal because if they were they would be true. However myths are historically and socially constructed at a certain moment with certain intentions. This is how myths and ideologies differ from the truth because the truth is ideas that have been proven and contrasted with reality.
Myths take the literal appearance of a sign and use it to further a different meaning. Barthes shows this with the example of the black soldier saluting the French flag. The signifier of this is exactly what appears on the magazine cover: a young black soldier saluting a French flag but the signified of this is to show that imperialism was good because even other races accepted and respected it. Mythical intentions easily manipulate signs, it is almost like promoting an idea through a sign.

Saussure and Barthes both have similar ideas when it comes to language. It is obvious that a word has to be agreed upon even if it is a private language. If it is not agreed upon by at least two people then it is not a language it is just noise. It is most obvious however after reading the essays by Saussure and Barthes that they feel language and signs are essential in society and almost impossible to live without.

Weight Discrimination

2009-11-17T04:12:00.000-08:00

The ideal of weight as a disability is debatable in Corporate America. The American Disability Act (ADA) defines a disability as meaning, with respect to an individual, a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of such individual, or . . . being regarded as having such an impairment."

The impairment terms are when a person is not physically able to do the job because of their weight. Recently in the news, a Russian dancer was released from a dance company because she was too heavy for the other dancers to lift her. The Russian dancer is far from being obese and no where near being overweight by physical appearance but because she was release for not being able to do her job is an issue that may/may not qualify for a suit of weight discrimination. The ADA regard to this issue is if the boss "regards" the overweight employee as being "physically impaired." I will be following this case to see the outcome.

American obesity is on the rise by 20%. American Obesity Association states on its web site that 55% of American adults are categorized as obese or overweight. Obesity is known to be unhealthy and it can substantially increase risk for many disabling conditions such as: diabetes, heart disease, stroke, gall bladder disease, and some forms of cancer. That said, Weight Discrimination in the work place has become just as popular as any other form of hidden discrimination in the work force.

This paper looks as how weight discrimination in both the civilian sector and the U.S. militaries. Far to often the civilian sector looks upon the military standards for a company’s purposed guidelines in many aspects of their business operation. However, the means to accomplish and/or maintain this standard is either not effective or is not existent. The direct opposite is present in the military, the have the means to accomplish and maintain this standard because military members are forced to maintain certain weight standards due of implication of a unit not being mission ready when called upon to carry out an orders effect our nation's interest.
The Army uses what is comically called a “fat boy” regulation, Army
Regulation (AR600-9). This regulation governs the prescribed weight standards by age and gender. When soldiers are overweight they are looked upon to be incapable of accomplishing the mission. Supervisors are harder on the soldier, they may be passed over for special assignment, promotion to the next highest pay grade. Many times, this form of discreet verbal abuse is enough to push some over the edge. This example, clearly shows overweight people within the military are subject to both subtle and blatant forms of discrimination. However, it not called discrimination, it masked as a motivator - to help motivate soldiers to get within standard and to maintain those standards.

In reviewing the civilian sector, I see some of the same similarities. The appearance in corporate America is considered to be a selling factor for most companies. If you are overweight it is almost certain you will not be standing in front of a group of people selling the company’s product or image. The standard "Professional looking image" is sleek and thin.

Most companies tend not to show a genuine concern about an employee’s health until it causes the company money, such as an increase in health insurance.
Bottom line - When corporations being to lose money, weight became a hot issue. in the past year U.S.

companies have lost $12 billion dollars due to higher use of health care to treat obesity-related diseases. Now corporations are concern, because they now have lower productivity and more absenteeism, according to the Washington Business Group on Health, an organization representing large employers. Obesity outranks both smoking and drinking in terms of increased health costs.

Even though obesity is a significant problem, discrimination occurs and
should not be tolerated because we have rights as a people.

Discrimination is defined as unequal treatment of employees based on non-job-related factors, such as race, sex, age, national origin, religion, color, and physical or mental handicap. Discrimination in any form is unacceptable and should not be tolerated.

Companies do not have the right to discriminate because of weight. Regretfully, there is no law in place to protect overweight people. In short, size does matter!
In making the military behavior more acceptable, there are programs put in place to assist the military member in meeting weight standards. Does that mean that the military has a genuine concern for each soldier’s health, more than civilian sector? No it is because, the military has to be able to performance during extreme and very trying time during various mission related to national defense.

There does not appear to be any legal recourse for weight discrimination because it is hard to prove in the legal arena.

The major civil rights statutes focus on traits that cannot be changed, such as race, gender, or age. Since a person's weight is usually not an unalterable trait, it is difficult, if not impossible to find a provision in a law that provides protection for overweight people. The one possible exception to this conclusion is the Americans with Disabilities Act. By the terms of this law, it was passed because "discrimination against individuals with disabilities persists in areas like employment. Individuals with disabilities are normally discrete and insular minorities who have been faced with a history of unequal treatment.

The ADA prohibits most employers from discriminating against qualified individuals with a disability, "because of the disability of such individual, in regard to job application procedures, the hiring, advancement, or discharge of employees, employee compensation, job training and . . . other privileges of employment.

Classes of people which suffer discrimination often have to put in twice the effort others do to succeed in the workplace. If you belong to one or more minority groups you have to try three times as hard.

You deserve to be treated fairly and judged on your qualifications, your talents, and your job performance. Weight discrimination, like any prejudice, is wrong. 2000, Council on Size & Weight Discrimination, Inc. 845-679-1209.

I have review several cases on weight discrimination in both organizations and found them both to have more or less have the same substance. “Your appearance is unbecoming,” or “You are not qualified because of your appearance.” Those words are heard all to often when you are on the receiving end of being overweight. These quotes are the same for military related soldiers. Only to add, “You are not mission ready.” All these words are hurtful and can cause a low morale in the organization or low self esteem.

A 1989 survey by the Sacramento-based National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance showed that many fat people sense discrimination but can't prove it. 62 percent of fat women and 42 percent of fat men reported not being hired for a job because of their weight.

Several cases have been filed but few have actually won.

About 54 percent of military people are overweight, and 6.2 percent are obese, according to a study done by Dr. Richard Atkinson, a professor of internal medicine at the University of Wisconsin.

In the civilian world, the majority of overweight people are women, while in the military, the reverse holds true. Atkinson said a study that shows 58.6 percent of the men and 26.1 percent of the women in the military are overweight.

When military members do not maintain weight standard, they may be face with one of the following examples:
- About 600 people are separated from the Air Force every year for weight reasons.
- In the Navy, overweight sailors are barred from advancement, and when their four-year contract expires, many are not allowed to re-enlisted, because they could not meet and/or maintain Navy standards.

Each year, between 2,000 and 4,500 people are discharged from all branches of the military for being overweight.

As of today, there are only four places in the nation that have laws that directly prohibit discrimination by weight. They are San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Washington, D.C., and Michigan. Federal law, many states and local statutes protect the disabled, which has inspired some advocates to litigate fat-discrimination disputes on the basis of disability rights laws.

The hallmark federal law is the Americans with Disabilities Act. It defines disability as a "condition that substantially limits a major life activity." It does not specifically include fat people, but it does protect people with some of the medical conditions caused by obesity.

Evolution

2009-11-16T01:06:00.000-08:00

The man who first proposed the theory of evolution was Charles Darwin. His radical theory was that every living organism had originated from a singular being or common ancestor. Charles Darwin first fell on to this observation of evolution on his journey to the Galapagos archipelago on the HMS Beagle. He left on his voyage of mapping after Christmas in 1831. When he was on the Galapagos Islands, he discovered that finches’ beaks had evolved through a drought. He found that the beaks were thicker after the drought in order to chomp on thicker nuts and such since of the lack of rain. When the finches’ beaks evolved like this, he found that more of the birds lived.

Charles Darwin was born in 1809. His father wanted Charles to study medicine so he did. However, his real interest was in natural history later to be called “Biology.”
We as a race of humans have evolved over time as much as we have from a monkey. We have evolved or adapted to our new discoveries and technology. We discovered or invented a lot of information and technology within the past 100 years. When fire was first discovered, we were all amazed and now it is a necessary thing to keep our nice homes heated. Back when we had little huts and no heat, fire would be a far fetch idea to accomplish.

Just like every other idea that scientists have, evolution is just a theory. When Charles Darwin first thought of this idea, he wrote a book but did not publish it until later. When he did publish it, he never said evolution just natural selection. If evolution is possible then there are a lot more questions than answers.

One of the many questions that some might have about evolution is what happens to the things that we do not need like all that hair? The answer to this is Vestigial Structures. Vestigial Structures are qualities and traits that a species does not need any more so it lies dormant or leaves the species. For example, snakes have bony structures on the underside of their body near their spinal column. These legs serve no purpose but they are just there for some reason. Another example would be blind salamanders. Some salamanders are blind because they have no use for their eyes since they live underground their whole life or never have to see where they go. Another example of vestigial structures is goose bumps on a human’s legs arms and other body parts. These goose bumps used to keep the humans warm until they lost almost of their hair. This goose bump reaction would result in the body being warmer because the hair rising would trap air and warm the air and keep it close to the skin so they would not freeze to death.

If one were to travel back to the time when dinosaurs were killed and could study how they were born and created and died then there would be more evidence to support the theory of evolution. When Charles Darwin first thought of this wacky idea, he did not actually think it would get him anywhere. However, when he published his book the world was never the same on the way they thought. Charles Darwin’s book changed how humans looked at their life forever. The thought that you were created from a monkey was appalling and still is. Nevertheless, over the years we have been gathering more evidence for the theory and have a great understanding about the theory of evolution.

Why Abortion?

2009-11-11T01:31:00.000-08:00

Abortion is an issue that, on all sides, evokes strong feelings and judgments. There are those who consider themselves “pro-choice” and others who consider themselves “pro-life.” Those people who call themselves “pro-choice” are in support of abortions and a women’s right to have an abortion. They say it is a woman’s natural choice to decide whether or not to perform this procedure. “Pro-life” candidates are more in favor of not allowing the abortions. They say that to kill and unborn child is the same as killing a normal human being; it’s murder. While both sides of the argument may have strong points, neither side can ever be fully correct in their views.

Abortion is defined as the ending of a pregnancy before birth. This is a point that carries many arguments. Is the child that hasn’t yet been born considered alive or not? According to the doctors who perform the abortion procedures, no, the child is not alive. It’s not alive because it has not yet left the womb. But this question can only bring further questions. What, then, constitutes and individual as being alive? Many would say that it is when a person has a heartbeat that he/she is alive. After all, don’t ambulance crews try repeatedly to get a heartbeat from any unconscious victim they administer services to? An unborn baby’s heart can begin to beat as early as the eighteenth to twenty-fifth day after conception. So does this constitute life? Many more people would say that a person has to have brain activity to be alive. If one has no brain activity, they’re pretty much a vegetable. So, what’s the point? Electrical brain waves have been recorded in unborn babies as early as forty days after conception. So this once again brings up the question, does this constitute life? Should this mean that the child is alive? Then there are those people who would say, “A baby isn’t really alive until it can survive outside the mother’s womb.” Well, technology is developing so rapidly that a baby can survive out of the womb as early as twenty weeks (five months) into the pregnancy? That is four months early. This time will only improve and get shorter as technology makes further advancements in the field. But, how, knowing all of this information, could someone still abort their child? Why not at least give him/her a chance at life?

Many people look at abortion as a means of escaping. But what can one really escape from in taking another’s life? Many would say, “Well, what about rape victims? Should they have to carry a burden for something they never wanted?” Truth is, pregnancy from rape is extremely rare. A study was performed on one thousand victims who were treated for rape and the study reported no pregnancies. However, we must approach a victim who does become pregnant with great compassion. This woman has already been subjected to an ugly trauma, and she should be loved, supported, and helped. She’s already been victimized in a violent act. Should she now be asked to take part in another violent act, abortion? Does this child deserve such treatment? He/she didn’t ask to be born out of these circumstances. Why punish the child? Doesn’t this child have the same right to live as everyone else? Shouldn’t it still get a chance? Maybe it wasn’t created out love, but why couldn’t it be let to live because of love?

Now that my argument has been introduced, I will explain a little more about abortion. Early in a pregnancy, a fertilized egg grows and develops. This is an embryo. After about three months, it becomes a fetus. An abortion would cause this embryo or fetus to die. There are several types of abortion common today: vacuum aspiration, the use of RU-486, dilation and evacuation, adding a salt solution, and prostaglandins.

During the first trimester of pregnancy the method of abortion most commonly used is the suction curettage, also known as vacuum aspiration. In this method, the fetus is removed by suction. Then the woman’s uterus is scraped with surgical instruments called curettes.

Abortion in the first trimester is also induced another way. A doctor may inject the woman with a drug called mifepristone or RU-486. This drug will go into the woman’s bloodstream and block actions of the hormone progesterone in the woman’s body. This hormone is usually used by the body to prepare the woman’s uterus to receive and nourish the embryo. Injecting the woman with this drug would prevent the body from doing so, resulting in the embryo’s death.

In the second trimester, many physicians use a method called dilation and evacuation, or simply D and E. In this method, the fetus is taken apart in the woman’s uterus and removed. The doctor takes the fetus apart limb from limb and pulls each section out.

Another method used in the second trimester involves adding a salt solution to the amniotic fluid. The amniotic fluid is the fluid that surrounds the fetus. The fetus will then die of dehydration and will pass from the woman’s body.

A second-trimester abortion may also be performed in another way. The doctor adds hormone-like drugs called prostaglandins to the amniotic fluid surrounding the fetus. These drugs cause the woman to have muscle contractions. These contractions will then cause the woman to expel the fetus.

A lot of people think that abortion is something that has only been around for the last thirty or forty years. Actually, abortion has been widely known, practiced, and debated since ancient times. Even ancient Hebrews had laws against abortion, but they permitted it in cases where the mother’s life was in danger. Early Christians opposed abortion as well. However, for hundreds of years, the church debated whether or not abortion was acceptable before animation, the point where the fetus receives a soul (between forty and eighty days after conception). Abortion was accepted before animation if the mother’s life was at risk. Abortions were allowed for other reasons, too. Abortion for any other reason than to save the mother would be wrong by their standards, but not homicide. In the United States, abortion has always been an ongoing argument. Before the mid-1800s, abortion wasn’t a crime under United States law if it took place before the baby started moving in the womb. But by 1900, every state but Kentucky considered abortion a serious crime. By the 1970s, fourteen states had laws permitting abortion only if the woman’s health was in danger or if she was a victim of incest or rape.

In 1973, the United States Supreme Court made a decision on abortion in the case of Roe-vs.-Wade. The ruling said that a woman could have an abortion in the first trimester of her pregnancy and the states could not forbid it. The court also ruled that during the second trimester, states can regulate abortion only to protect a woman’s health. Once the fetus becomes viable in the third trimester, states couldn’t regulate abortion unless the mother’s life was in danger. This court case set the pace for many more.

In 1989, the case of Webster –vs.-Reproductive Health Services required that doctors test the viability of a fetus before performing an abortion on a woman pregnant for twenty weeks or more. In 1992, the judge for the case of Planned Parenthood of Eastern Pennsylvania-vs.-Casey ruled that states may require women seeking abortions to first receive counseling by doctor about fatal development and abortion risks. The women had to wait at least twenty-four hours after the counseling to have an abortion, if they still chose to do so.

In 1994, the judges for the case of the National Organization for Women-vs.-Scheidler ruled that any protestors who block access to abortion clinics can be prosecuted. In 2003, Congress passed a law banning partial-birth abortions, which was quickly challenged in court.

No matter what argument is made against or for abortion, no one side will ever win. Every time one group or side may even come close to winning, the other side has no choice but to fight it. No matter what the outcome, the argument will always be there. Mothers who are contemplating abortion need to seriously think about the choice they are going to make. Whether they know it or not, their choice doesn’t just affect them, it affects then unborn child and every person he/she may or may not come into contact with throughout his/her entire life. That child could one day be someone as normal as a gas station attendant or even someone as influential as the President of the United States. Thing is, the mother will never know unless she gives him/her a chance. Which is better to remember? “I gave my baby life. And because I loved him/her, I let him/her live.” Think about it.

Cost of Education

2009-10-06T02:54:00.000-07:00

In the past, we as Californians, have been through many changes in which occurred during these times of reformation of California’s educational system. One change that has affected many people and families is the high cost of tuition in order to obtain a higher level of education. In James Richardson’s article, “What Price Glory?” he discusses how tuition and fees have dramatically risen over the past decades. Substantially high tuition and fees that a student must pay in order to attend a college or university will cause many problems in the future. Low income and middle income students will not have the chance to attend college at all, leaving them to just work straight out of high school and decreasing the diversity of these colleges. High fees take opportunities away from those that cannot afford them and give opportunities to only those who can.

A main concern for many people due to rising tuition and costs is that the low- income students will not have the chance to attend college right out of high school as those with higher incomes. As it is stated by Richardson, “in 2010 nearly a million California students who are qualified to go to college under the prevailing Master Plan will be shut out either because there will be no space for them or they will be unable to afford the costs” (141). It is more expensive to attend a four-year institution right out of high school so many students are forced to attend a community college first and then transfer to another college or university. If this continues than what would happen to our bright low income students that carry a high grade point average? These students that have the potential, have the grades, yet still cannot attend college just because they do not have the money. Yes, you can say that there are programs to help the low-income students such as: financial aid, grants, scholarships. These things do help, but they only help very low-income students. What about the middle-class families that make too much to receive these forms of financial aid but not enough to pay for the rising cost of tuition, fees, books, board and other expenses from their child going to college?

I have also been in a situation where high costs of college fees has affected my family and myself. I remember when my brother and sister were first entering college. I remember them saying that they would not qualify to receive any grants, because my parents’ income was too high. To us it did not seem like our parents’ income was high at all, because they were always talking about money and how there just was not enough for bills that they had to pay. My parents just could not afford the costs of our college tuition. My brother and sister were working most of the time in order to pay for the costs of attending college. I thought I would never be able to attend college. It seems like the only reason I am attending college now is because I have a child and I am able to receive financial aid. If I did not have a child I would not have been able to attend college at all. I am still wondering how much help I will get when I transfer to a four-year college. I would probably have to end up paying a great amount. It seems that all these programs are aimed towards people with very low income, but they tend to overlook certain groups. You can say financial aid helps, but the truth of the matter is, financial aid does not help everyone.

Diversity is very important in our society, especially in the state of California. Most of the people that are able to afford the high fees of college are the upper-class, white students whose family income is over one-hundred thousand dollars annually. These are the students that are able to afford to attend private institutions and universities following their graduation of high school. What will our colleges look like then? There would be no diversity. You would only see white students walking around on campus. They would dominate over the other minorities attending college. That would not be good at all with California being the most diverse state in the United States.

Many of the students that are not able to afford college at all end up working straight out of high school. Richardson says, “both of my parents went to UC Berkeley, the nation’s finest public university. They paid only books and board” (136). The costs of attending a university was so much cheaper in the 1940s when Richardson’s parents were attending college. It comes to show you how dramatically the costs has risen in the past few decades. People cannot afford the cost of tuition and other fees so they have no choice but to work after high school. They do not have the opportunity to expand their minds, neither the opportunity to strive to greater heights. They do not have the jobs that they could have had if they had attended college and received a degree. Instead, they hold jobs that require only the least qualifications and the least knowledge. A college education is very important, but the cost is always a burden on many families.

The high costs of tuition and fees in order to obtain a high level of education at a college, is overwhelming for many families. People that cannot afford college lose their opportunities to attend college and pursue their dreams. It is very important for people to have a higher level of education that they receive in college. It is not only good for the people themselves, but also to make our country a country filled with knowledge and many possibilities. That is true if we have intelligent people in this world-intelligent people whom receive a college education and a degree. People all have dreams about what they want to do in life or what careers they would like to have, and with a college education it makes it possible for their dreams to become a reality. Some people are not as fortunate as others and are not able to afford college. This is why high costs of tuition and fees are not only wrong, but also unfair to those people whose families are not able to afford the costs.

Stem Cell Research

2009-09-25T09:44:00.000-07:00

In 1998, the world was privy to a scientific discovery that could prove to change the way that medicine attacks different diseases and medical problems. That year at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Dr James A. Thomson discovered a new use for something that was commonly not thought of before. He was the first to isolate the human embryonic stem cells that are derived from the blood of a several day old fetus. "The embryonic cells are also called pluripotent because they can give rise to many different cells and not just those that have one unique purpose." This in itself was a tremendous discovery for the very fact that the so called stem cell is so versatile in its application to the human body. For example, the stem cell can be used for tissue regenerations, angiogenesis, and heart repair. Yet, the most important function of the cells are its ability for the cells to mimic or reproduce the other types of cells. The stem cells can become bone, nerve, and heart cells that could help to stop or even prevent different forms of genetic diseases. The debate over stem cells has not subsided in the last few years but instead has only intensified with the influence of the federal government. While many people within the medical society believe in the relative benefit of the use of stem cells there are many who believe that by harvesting a fetus for the cells is tantamount to murder and should be stopped immediately.
There are many different forms of stem cells that can be used in the research arena. There are the adult stem cells, which are called multipotent and yet these cells do not have the ability to generate all different types of cells. Their focus is one that is more limited in its viability. The adult stem cells have not been found all over the body but instead have been found in more centralized locations such as the brain and the blood. Although this will help the adult patients and open new and exciting methods of treating some forms of disorders it will not help with all of the diseases and disorders of the human body. There is another problem in regards to the adult stem cell research. There is very little amounts of stem cells in parts of the adult body if there is any at all. The miniscule amount could take time to have to be grown and cultured in a lab and by then it may be too late for the adult patient to utilize the extracted stem cells. The problem with the adult stem cell is that they are more specialized and specific to that person's body and are not as adaptable to the different environments. Thus the pluripotent cells of a fetus would be the most logical area of study for the stem cell research.

There are many people who believe that life begins at fertilization and with this belief it is difficult for people to believe that stem cell research should be continued. The process of obtaining stem cells is not simple, but instead both a difficult task medically but also a difficult task legally. After an egg is fertilized and goes through its initial divisions and then it eventually forms the blastocyst. This blastocyst now has specific cell differentiation, because one part of the embryo will create one area of the fetus and one type of cell will go to create the placenta and other supporting fetal tissues. The outer cells that create the supporting tissues are not the cells that will be harvested. It is the inner cell mass that has the pluripotent stem cells that have the ability to form any type of cell that is present within the human body. These cells are harvested from the embryo and thus they can now researched.

The problem that scientist now face is where do they obtain their embryonic cells. Many people who are against stem cell research feel that an embryo is a child and should not be destroyed for purely medical reasons no matter how much good will come out of it. The first few embryonic cells came from aborted fetuses and from embryos from an infertility treatment center that had excess. Both of the doctors who worked with the fetuses had the informed consent of the parents and were legally within their rights to experiment on the fetuses. Yet, it does not matter the lengths that the doctors go through to be ethical or to be legally within the law, there are still those that do not fell that there should be any form of experimentation on a fetus. The Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity feels strongly that this practice should not longer be in existence. They state that ?no benefits from ES [embryonic stem] research cant possibly outweigh the moral cost of destroying human life?. They believe that there should be no research on the fetus and that there is no actual proof that anything will come out of the research associated with embryonic stem cell research. Yet, the question remains how will the scientist know that the stem cell has not probative unless it is researched to the full extent.

The full extent of what stem cells can do will take lots of time and lots of energy in order to fully comprehend what the cells are capable of . Many scientist believe that the key to curing such diseases as Parkinson?s and heart disease lie in the ability to understand the stem cell. By using the stem cells the scientists believe that we can unlock the mystery behind genetic diseases that are started on a cellular level. One of the major developments that could take place if scientist were allowed to experiment on stem cells is that we would have a better understanding of the complex process of human development. The ability to study the few cells which will eventually form the entire multi-cellular organism that is human is a great achievement. If scientist began to understand the development of a human fetus then maybe the next step would be to understand what could go wrong and fix it. This could lead to the ability to stop babies from being born mentally retarded or just have the ability to find out the main cellular causes to illnesses that are eventually fatal. This, in itself should be enough to allow for stem cell research.

Other applications of stem cell research lies in the field of cancer. Cancer what happens to a cell when division is out of control. The stop signs that a normal cell has are completely by passed by the cancer cells and thus the growth goes unchecked. There are methods to counter act the growth of the cancer. One would be to completely remove the cancerous area or tumor. This has the possibility of stopping the cancer but only if the cancer had stayed in that general area. Another method is the use of chemicals to help kill the cells that are causing the cancer. The processes such as radiation and chemotherapy are also used to help defeat cancer. Radiation breaks up the DNA of the cancerous cells so much that the DNA no longer has the ability to divide and will eventually either stop the growth or to die altogether. Chemotherapy work a little different because they prevent the DNA of the cancerous cells from synthesis. Without the ability to synthesize the DNA and without the ability to grow the cancer cells just die off. With the use of stem cell it is possible that the cancer that attacks the body could be stopped without the use of chemicals or surgery. By studying the stem cell and how a cell works and how a cell divides it would be possible to find the exact point that a cell goes over the line and becomes cancerous. With that concept the idea of cancer could be in the past and the thousands of people who die of cancer each year will have a second chance.

There are other uses for stem cells that are yet to be fully utilized. Christopher Reeves, the actor that was involved in a near fatal horse accident, has been pushing for stem cells to be used to help those who have had spinal injuries. In Reeves case he wants the scientists to attempt to find a way to regenerate the cells that make up the damaged nerve cells of the spinal column. If it was possible to develop healthy nerve cells and tissue then it would be viable to reverse the damage. Another way that stem cells can be used is to create healthy dopamine neurones, with this introduced into the brain it would be possible to help a patient with Parkinson?s disease. This would be an advancement in the area of incurable diseases. One more step in the right direction to help to cure the human body.

There are some people out there that feel that the use of fetuses for scientific purposes only hinders our civilization. Many religious groups have lobbied against the use of stem cell research, for example the Roman Catholic Church in Australia had placed pressure on the government in order to stop the research. They felt that ?such research violates the sanctity and inherent dignity of life?. The religious groups classify the beginning of life with conception and if the scientist begin to use the fetuses they would be destroying a human life that was created by God. The problem with this argument is that many government classify the beginning of life with the ecological view. Life begins at this stage when it can exist separate from the maternal environment and this takes place typically at the twenty-fifth week of development.
With this definition the idea of stem cell experimentation does not go against the state.

On August 9, 2001 President George W. Bush made his finally announcement on federal funding of stem cell research. Prior to this the United States had vacillated between the idea of federally funding or to let just private research. As of August of 2001 the President allocated federal funds for stem cell research but the funding could only go forward with the cells lines that were already in existence. The cell line from the original 64 stem cells lines are the only stem cells that can be tested on with this new law. This could be problematic because there can be no deviation of the type of genetic material that can be tested. This puts constraints on the scientist and the scientific community.

With the proliferation of stem cell experimentation there could be many changes in how diseases affect the human body. There could be cures for diseases and damages to the body with the new stem cell. At this moment in time there are many different groups that are against the use of fetuses and stem cells, yet there are many who are for the use of the cells. There are still many uncertainties surrounding the use of stem cells but over time this will dissipate. There will be scientific discoveries that will help millions of people, all from the cells of a tiny fetus.

Global Warming

2009-09-19T08:50:00.000-07:00

Imagine being responsible for something like this. A giant asteroid hit the earth about 65 million years ago. The scientist speculated that the collision threw so much dust in to atmosphere that the world was dark for three years. As a result, sunlight was greatly reduced, plants could not grow, temperatures fell, the food chain collapsed, and many species, including the dinosaurs became extinct. We, as human beings, are causing something just as profound, but in a subtle manner, as the asteroid that felled the dinosaurs. According to the National Academy of Sciences, the Earth's temperature has risen about 1 degree Fahrenheit in the past century and global warming has accelerated dramatically during the past two decades. We have changed and continue to change the balance of gases that form the atmosphere, which leads to these climate change and global warming.

Most of the warming over the last 50 years is attributed to human activities. Human activities have altered the chemical composition of the atmosphere through the buildup of greenhouse gases (explained in the illustration 1) that primarily consists of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. Since the beginning of the industrial revolution, atmosphere concentration of carbon dioxide have increased nearly 30 percent, methane concentrations have doubled, and nitrous oxide concentrations have rose about 15 percent. The combustion of fossil fuels and other human activities are the primary reasons for increase in carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is released to the atmosphere when solid waste, fossil fuels, and wood products are burned. Methane, on the other hand, is emitted during the production of coal, natural gas, and oil. Methane emission also results from the decomposition of organic wastes and solid waste landfills, and raising livestock. Nitrous oxide is released during agricultural and industrial activities. Other greenhouse gases, such as hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), are discharged by industrial processes. Due to these human activities, the consequences of climate change could be detrimental to the mankind and earth.
As a result of these human activities, rising global temperatures are expected to raise sea levels, expand deserts, change precipitation and also alter forests, crop yields, and water supply. According to a recent study reported in Science, Alaskan glaciers currently loose about 15 to 33 cubic miles of ice per year, which contributes about 1/100 of an inch annually to global sea levels. As an effect, Alaska has warmed by about 5 degrees Fahrenheit since the 1960’s ( Arendt, 382). A research conducted in the Himalayas suggest that twenty glacial lakes in Nepal and twenty-four in Bhutan are filling up so rapidly from melting Himalayan glaciers that scientists believe they may overflow and burst their banks within the next five to ten years, putting lives and property at risk. The change in precipitation causes evaporation cycles to speed up and may leave soil drier during critical parts of the growing season. The droughts, especially in poorer countries, could reduce supplies of clean water to the point where there are major threats to the public health. A warming of more than 2.5 degrees Celsius could reduce the global food supply and crop yields. The rising global temperatures could affect human health because the ozone layer blocks almost all UV radiation, which plays a significant role in the formation of skin cancers, eye cataracts, immune system deficiencies, and other health maladies. A one percent loss of stratospheric ozone equals two percent increase in skin cancers and one percent increase in eye cataracts worldwide.

Cutting the emission of carbon dioxide not only decreases greenhouse effect, but also simultaneously reduces other harmful forms of air pollution, like those that can cause smog and worsen health problems like asthma. Therefore, developing programs and initiatives that reduces the greenhouse effect is a necessity that benefits everyone globally.

Climate change is a global issue that requires collaborative action from the entire international community. Countries from around the world are currently working together to share technologies, experiences and resources to lower greenhouse gas emissions and decrease the threat of global climate change. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is an agreement through which countries are banding together to meet this challenge. Under the convention, each country that is a party in the convention that must develop a greenhouse gas “inventory” listing of its national sources (i.e. Factories and transport) and “sinks” (forest and other natural ecosystem that absorb greenhouse gases). These inventories must be made public so they can be monitored. The unfairness to the climate change problem is that the developed countries, such as America, have created their wealth in part by releasing large amounts of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere long before the consequences were understood. In 1997, United States alone was responsible for one-fifth of the total greenhouse gas emission. Now the developing countries fear being told to cut down their industrial activities for the sake of the climate. In response, the ‘wealthy’ countries agree to support climate change activities in developing countries by providing financial support to adopt new efficient and environmental friendly technology (i.e. Solar power), instead of burning environmentally harsh fossil fuels. By utilizing climate friendly technology as well as promoting sustainable development, the UNFCCC seeks to “stabilize the greenhouse gas concentration in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent interference with the climate system” ( IEM, 135).

Climate change is a global challenge that entails international solutions and international cooperation among countries. Along with the UNFCCC, Kyoto Protocol was adopted in 1997. The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement that stands on its own, but is linked to the existing UNFCCC. It affects every major sector of the economy, and is considered to be the most far-reaching agreement on environment and sustainable development ever adopted. The Kyoto Protocol sets legally binding targets and timetables for cutting developed country emission. The Protocol commits the developed countries to reduce the collective emissions by at least five percent between the years of 2008-2012. It assigns a national target to each country through political negotiations and compromises and offers additional flexibility to the countries that are in transition to allow the developing countries to grow. The Kyoto Protocol serves to strengthen and build in the future. Thus, the Kyoto Protocol is a sign that the international community is willing to face reality and start taking concrete actions to minimize the risk of climate change.

Through research and education, various non-governmental organizations (NGO) are raising public awareness about the need to cut emissions. The World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) are pressing the policy makers to introduce effective measures and forming innovative partnerships with progressive businesses. Friends of the Earth (FoE) work collaboratively with other NGO’s to campaign against global warming. These organizations are expanding their role and influence around the world. NGO’s offer a great way for people to get involved and make a difference locally in their community or globally throughout the world. Even if one does not want to join an organization, one can still make a difference by the choices one makes in the electricity usage, the waste production, and personal transportation. Thus, the consequences of climate change are global; therefore, all must share the responsibilities in reducing it.

In conclusion, as our needs continue to grow and develop, international cooperation will become more important as the global community searches for ways to meet the climate change challenge efficiently and effectively. Thus, the key to successful cooperation is finding activities that will help all countries achieve their economic, environmental, and developmental goals in a climate-friendly manner.

Ethics and Euthanasia

2009-09-14T05:56:00.000-07:00

IMAGINE a man, 80 years old, who has just been informed by his doctor that he has contracted a deadly and incurable disease. He is told that from then on, his condition will deteriorate. The disease will cause increased pain and while drugs will blunt the agony for a while, in the final stages of the illness, he will be in great pain until he finally dies. The old man reacts by illegally signing a contract giving his doctor permission to administer a lethal injection when the pain becomes too much. This action is called EUTHANASIA or “mercy killing.” Euthanasia is defined as the deliberate act of ending a person’s suffering by killing them. Based on my moral principles, I am completely against euthanasia and I believe it would be a mistake to legalize it.

Let’s consider the above situation a little closer. The old man was informed that he has a terminal illness and absolutely no hope of recovery. Although it may be bit naive of me, I believe that you should never say die. Who’s to say what could happen in the upcoming future? In any euthanasia case, I don’t think we could ever really guarantee the premises that someone will positively die. It is a known fact that on occasion “incurably” sick persons recover for unknown reasons. Besides, we are living in a time where medical discoveries are being made everyday. With such advancements, an illness incurable today may be curable tomorrow. This is definitely a cause for hope, so why do people, due to unbearable circumstances, find no reason to live any longer? Don’t you want to be alive, surrounded by people you love for as long as you can? Life is a thing to cherish, a precious gift that shouldn’t be taken for granted. Under no circumstances do humans have the moral right to destroy ones own life, or the life of another.

Back to the situation, the old man reacted by illegally giving his doctor permission to euthanize him. Today euthanasia is legal in only one country. Why? Well, if you break it down, euthanasia or mercy killing, is basically murder. Under law, all forms of murder are treated as a criminal offense. The very act of assisting someone in dying is a form of punishable homicide, but euthanasia is more than just giving someone assistance in suicide, it’s actually carrying out the task of ending their life! Some people may say that euthanasia should be personal right, the liberty to decide ones own fate. But no where in the constitution does it give people the freedom to take another’s life. That’s why people such as Dr. Kevorkian are tried for murder when it’s proven they had a hand in euthanasia. Dr. Kevorkian, an advocate of euthanasia, has been criminally tried several times for his practice of euthanasia; he has killed many people, and been in and out of prison numerous times. If euthanasia were made legal, it would be giving people the right to kill others, which is wrong in any situation.

So once again back to the story, the man gave his physician or doctor permission to use euthanasia on him. So he was asking his doctor, a person whose job is to save lives, to kill him. It needs to be emphasized how wrong euthanasia is on the part of the physicians. Health-care provider’s professional obligation is to prevent death, not cause it. Euthanasia is inconsistent with all roles of care giving and healing. If mercy killing was allowed, I’m afraid that a doctor’s focus might change, and they wouldn’t be as committed to saving lives. There is also always the risk that this power of justified killing (euthanasia) would be abused. For example, patients might be coerced into suicide due to financial pressure or a fear of burdening their families. Usually there is always a risk of abuse due to individual freedoms, but a liberty such as euthanasia could have horrible results. Obviously the legalization of euthanasia would do more harm than good.

In today’s society, where the primary focus is to always move forward, it would be illogical to legalize something a horrible as euthanasia, which would only be a step backward. I think that instead of supporting euthanasia, an action that hastens death, wouldn’t our time be better spent trying to prolong life?

Everyday Use essay

2009-08-12T06:13:00.000-07:00

"Everyday Use", written by Alice Walker, is a short story in which the use of imagery combined with characterization allows the readers to dive deep into the story, perhaps detecting hints in to what the characters are feeling or thinking. These methods prove successful in portraying how two characters, Maggie and Mama, psychologically confined themselves, thus resulting in submissive attitudes towards their intimidating and educated sister/daughter, Dee.

The story takes place in the past, probably around the mid-late 1900's. In a old run down house live a mother, Mama, and daughter, Maggie, of African American descent. A poor family, they live a simple life and are people of faith. Mama has another daughter, Dee, who was sent away to be educated at an early age. Dee being pretty, superficial, and snobbish likes to belittle her mother and sister who are neither educated nor pleasing to the eye. Maggie is homely and badly scarred from being burned in a fire, which leaves her envious of her beautiful sister. Dee comes back one day to "visit" and asks her mother for an heirloom quilt that has already been promised to her sister. Maggie, who is used to seeing Dee get her way, is stunned when her mother denies Dee the quilt.

Through Mama, the narrator, Walker uses characterization to share Mama's observations of her daughter Maggie. From this it is easy to see what kind of person Maggie is and how she might perceive herself. Details shared throughout the story tell that Maggie's self-image is one of negativity, which explains why she is always cowering and hiding herself in shame. Mama observes her poise while in her sister's presence; "She will stand hopelessly in corners homely and ashamed of the burn scars down her arms and legs." (Walker p.362). One can only imagine the effect of having burn scars and what it can do to one's self esteem. It is also stated, "she stood there with her scarred hands hidden in the folds of her skirt." (p. 370). Maggie's posture and poise is one of doubt. "She has been like this, chin on chest, eyes on ground, feet in shuffle, ever since the fire that burned the other house to the ground." (p.364).

The imagery used by the author the create Maggie starts with her red skirt. After reading about the fire she had been involved with earlier in the story, it is obvious that the red represents the flames that brushed upon Maggie's body leaving behind a painting of scars. Then comes the pink blouse, pink may represent sweet, calm, and innocence, all of which as we get to know Maggie fit together with her personality.

As with Maggie's character, the author uses characterization to create Mama as well. What is told about Mama is only her description of herself. Her self-image, like Maggie's, is one of negativity. She describes herself as being uneducated, manly, and fat. She realizes that Dee would like her to be just the opposite of what she is but, "in real life [she is a] large, big-boned woman with rough, man-working hands" (p.364). The use of imagery comes back into play here with Mama's rough man-working hands. Although Mama states straight out that she is not educated, it is also apparent through her vocabulary and the questions she contemplates to herself. Sentences such as, "That's make them last better," and "If that's what you want us to call you, we'll call you," are indications of where she stands educationally. Through imagery and characterization it is apparent that Mama has a poor self-image.

Though both Mama and Maggie show signs of resentment toward Dee, they remain intimidated by Dee's sophisticated and educated persona. They allow Dee to manipulate and belittle them, all the while beating them with her intelligence. The main paragraph that Mama shows resentment towards Dee is seen here:
"She would read to us without pity; forcing words, lies, other folks' habits, whole lives upon us two, sitting trapped and ignorant underneath her voice. She washed us in a river of make-believe, burned us with a lot of knowledge we didn't necessarily need to know. Pressed us to her with the serious way she read, to shove us away at just the moment, like dimwits, we seemed about to understand."(p.364)

Mama's submissive attitude is shown through her actions. While Dee is seizing particular items around the house Mama just watches, "When [Dee] finished wrapping the dasher the handle stuck out. I took it for a moment in my hands You didn't even have to look close to see where hands pushing the dasher up and down to make butter had left a kind of sink in the wood." (p.368). These words reveal that Mama cares about this particular item and maybe she doesn't want to part with it, but her submissive side can't say, "no!" to her daughter Dee.

Maggie's resentment toward Dee is portrayed through Mama's observation as stated here, "[Maggie] thinks her sister has held life always in the palm of one hand, that "no" is a word the world never learned to say to her."(p.362). Or it may also be depicted by the way she looks at Dee "eyeing her sister with a mixture of envy and awe." (p.362). She is also heard making gasping sounds at the sight of Dee. Not likely gasps of happiness since the narrator describes them as the sound one might make when seeing "the wriggling end of a snake."

The way she cowers and hides in the background may represent Maggie's submissive attitude. Her presence in the room may be hardly noticed. She is described as "cowering behind," "hidden behind the door," and lurking "back in the kitchen over the dishpan." Even when she speaks in the presence of others her tone of voice is such that "you almost couldn't hear her" (p.368). Towards the end of the story when Dee asks for the quilt Maggie says, "She can have them, Mama" even though Maggie knows they are rightfully hers.

At the end of the story Mama releases herself from her psychological confinement by doing "something [she] had never done before," she was able to say, "no", and take a stand to her antagonistic daughter Dee. At this point her daughter does not intimidate her, and her intuition is screaming that the quilt belongs with Maggie. After Dee storms off it seems Mama and Maggie are left with a sort of gratification in themselves as the narrator ends the story describing what they did after Dee left, "And then the two of us sat there just enjoying, until it was time to go in the house and go to bed." (p.370).

In conclusion, Walker's brilliant use of imagery and characterization is very abundant, leaving many aspects of the story, which may be explored. The use of color and great description allows one to discover the different personalities of the characters.

The main theme of the story is that a person's heritage is to be valued and cherished, not exhibited.

Vegetarianism

2009-04-06T12:35:00.000-07:00

Some people think it is impossible to live without eating meat. They think there would be nothing they can enjoy eating, or they would be unhealthy, or perhaps they think life would just be plain and boring. I am 19 years old and I have never eaten meat. I am extremely healthy. I hardly ever get sick, and I hold records in high school cross-country running. My life has always been interesting and exciting. And most of all, I am still very aliveJ. Both my parents are vegetarians, and ever since I can remember, people have asked me, Dont you ever want to eat meat? The truth is, I have never thought of eating meat, primarily because it never existed in our house. I never ate meat at restaurants, parties, or school. Meat was never a part of my life. When I was young, I never thought about why we didnt eat meat, so when I was asked the Why dont you eat meat question, I simply answered, My Mom and Dad dont, so I dont. As I grew older, in addition to why I didnt eat meat, people started tried persuade me to eat meat. They started telling me that I should. Then, when I was 18, I started to wonder why my parents chose not to eat meat. I wanted more than just an answer to the question; I wanted to be able to push back when they told me that I should eat meat. Now, after doing a bit of research on vegetarianism, I not only understand why my parents are vegetarians, I know why I am. Today, more and more people are adopting a vegetarian life style and its definitely not just to loose weight. Vegetarianism is much deeper than that: it is kinder to our planet earth, helps reduce global hunger prevents the cruel abuse of animals, and it is also extremely healthy.

HEALTH REASONS
A common criticism of vegetarians is that they dont get enough nutrients, including protein, calcium, vitamin B12, vitamin D, and zinc, which are all easily acquired by eating meat, eggs and dairy products. Despite what is said, a large number of people adopt a vegetarian diet particularly because of its health benefits, such as lowering cholesterol and reducing the chance of heart attacks. If a vegetarian diet is lacking so many of the important nutrients needed to sustain good health, why are more and more people converting to a vegetarian diet primarily for the health benefits? According to Murphy Dee (2002) in The Great American Meat Out,[r]ecent research proves that vegetarians can meet their protein needs by eating a variety of foods each day. Unfortunately, people seem to be stuck on the old ideas. Getting enough protein, calcium, and vitamins without eating meat and/dairy products is easier than some may think. One does not necessarily need to drink special protein shakes, or eat only fruit and raw vegetables. A USA Today Magazine article, titled Vegans lack sufficient calcium, says, The amount of calcium in vegetables is very low compared to dairy products, which is why vegans who give up dairy products, she adds, would need to eat as many as 20 servings of broccoli each day to get enough of the nutrient (vegan diets lack sufficient calcium, 2001). While it is true that the amount of calcium in vegetables is substantially low comparedto dairy products, vegetables are not the only source of calcium. For example, sesame seeds, seaweed, orange juice, soymilk, are all high in calcium. The same is true for protein; vegetarians get their protein from soy products, breads, and combinations of beans and grains. As for zinc, vegetarians may find it a little challenging, because plant chemicals called phytates hinder zincs absorption (Dee, 2002). However, sprinkling a little bit of wheat germ onto salad for example, one can compensate for the zinc that is absorbed by phytates. Another challenge vegetarians may face is getting enough vitamin B12, which is only found in animal foods. Actually there are many ways to replace meat with non meat alternatives. For example, Dee points out that Non animal sources [of B12] include fortified soymilk, soy burgers, breakfast cereals, and nutritional yeast sold in natural food stores. The simple fact is vegetarians get nutrients from sources other than meat. Therefore, the statement vegetarians do not get enough protein, vitamins, etc is simply out dated. Although it may seem easier to ...

Business law

2009-04-03T12:13:00.000-07:00

The present Hong Kong legal system is based upon the English legal system, with additional sources from Chinese law. Chinese laws here mean the Basic Law (BL) and the other Chinese laws which can be applicable to Hong Kong in accordance with the Annex three of Basic Law. In addition, Article 8 of the Basic Law does preserve the sources of Hong Kong laws from common law jurisdiction.

When the Peoples Republic of China resumed the exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong on 1 July 1997. Hong Kong became a Special Administrative Region of the PRC. On the same day the Basic Law came into effect. It means that Hong Kongs previous legal system has continued in place as the foundation of the rule of law in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (the HKSAR). The present structure of our government is based upon the original structure before reunification with some amendments which are Legislative Council and Chief Executive.

The rule of law has played a vital role in Hong Kongs past success, and will continue to be essential for Hong Kongs future. It is precisely because of the full implementation of the Basic Law after the reunification that we have been able to continue to practise and develop the common law system in Hong Kong.

The concept of rule of law refers to a system in which certain principles are rooted in a legal system to ensure that individuals are not subjected to the arbitrary exercise of powers by the government. Under the concept of rule of law, all governmental powers are derived from the law. So, if the government exceeds the powers as defined by the law, the acts of the government can be considered unlawful (Chan 2000, 83). Therefore, the law is not only used to regulate individuals behaviour, but also to control the exercise of power by the government. The rule of law begins with individuals and their right to seek the protection of the courts, in which justice is administered by impartial judges. It protects the freedom of individuals to manage their affairs without fear of arbitrary interference by the Government or the improper influence of the rich and powerful. The essential feature of the legal system include the independent Judiciary, the jury system, the role of the Secretary for Justice and the Department of Justice, legal aid and the legal profession. According to Professor Wesley-Smith identified five characteristics in a legal system, which exemplifies or proclaims the Rule of Law. There are neutrality, rationality, formality, impartiality and impersonality.

Legalization of marijuana

2009-04-03T11:59:00.000-07:00

Marijuana is illegal for too many of the stupid reasons that make up society. I chose to do my project on the legalization of marijuana because it is a law with corrupt roots and it needs to be changed. A big reason why marijuana is illegal in Canada is because of the rail road industry and high politicians who were more interested in money than they were on being efficient and environmentally friendly. Marijuana should also be legal because it has great pain killing powers and its effective in treating chronic pain, nausea and aids related weight loss. The last reason why it should be legal is because a lot of people smoke it and if the government tried thinking on ways to pay their high debts they could legalize it and sell it like they sell cigarettes and make billions of dollars on taxes instead of cutting school budgets and hospital budgets.

Hemp is the male marijuana plant and the content of THC in hemp is of 0%. Before the drug was common the hemp plant was used for industrial purposes in a small scale. The production of hemp products was still a fairly new process when the plant became illegal and people didnt know all the wonderful uses hemp had. You could make just about anything you could make out of trees and that was a threat to the forest industry and it was also a threat to the railroad industry because the forest industry was the rail road industries number one customer and if hemp took over trees then the railroad industry would loose a lot of money. The railroad management lobbied politicians to make marijuana illegal, politicians were very eager to make it illegal but they couldnt with out the support of the public.

Same sex marriage

2009-04-02T22:08:00.000-07:00

Same sex marriage involves union between people of the same sex, either legal or not. The issue has taken center stage, generating controversies and outcries especially between the proponents, who regard it as a human right, and the protagonists who cite moral and religious teachings as a reason logical enough to regard the practice as not socially acceptable. According to Storzer & Picarello (2006), religious institutions like churches argue that any involvement in same sex marriage, by their believers, would be tantamount to renouncing the institutions’ core religious values. In spite of the controversies, same sex marriage has continued to flourish with some countries like the USA and Netherlands legalizing it while some religious institutions, like the Anglican Church have gone ahead to anoint same sex couples as its priests. As a result, the supporters of same sex marriage have been using several research findings that point out an increase in the practice to lobby the current authorities and policy makers to argue their case in the hope of getting more support, public and social recognition and legal approval.

However, there have been a lot of legal issues that relate to the practice of same sex marriage, amongst them the definition of marriage in legal terms. According to Smith (2004), the term “marriage” as used in the US refers to a union between one man and one woman as husband and wife, while the word “spouse” refers to a person of the opposite sex, either husband or wife. Smith (2004) gives an illustration to emphasize this controversy by citing an example of a 2001 case that involved the Gay Lesbian Advocates and Defenders and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. In the case, the court refused to acknowledge the claim that by denying people of the same sex marriage the right to exercise their rights and marry, the body violated the laws of the country, (Smith, 2004). In rejecting the application, the court cited the historical facts and purposes behind marriage and that same sex marriage is not in the legitimate interest of the state which aims to encourage procreation. In some states however, the authorities have legalized same sex marriage, a practice which is openly performed those areas without any reprimand.

Several reasons have been advanced by the opponents of same sex marriage, some which relate to social, cultural, moral and religious issues. Somerville (2003) argues that marriage is a unique institution that not only acts as the fabric of the society but also helps to uphold the moral, cultural and social values of a society. As a result, the attempts to advocate for legalization of same sex marriage are reversionary tactics meant to change the definition of marriage. According to Somerville (2003), marriage as it ought to be should be between a man and a woman mainly to ensure procreation to advance and protect existence human race, bonding, companionship and happiness.

On the other hand, the supporters of same sex marriage are of the opinion that the fundamental roles of marriage are the social and public recognition as well as the resultant intimacy that ensures social satisfaction, (Somerville, 2003). They further argue that everybody is unique and free hence campaign against the practice, is viewed as discriminatory and infringement of basic human rights, which includes the freedom of choice (Somerville, 2003). The other reason put forward by most supporters of same sex marriage is that the marriage institution has undergone a lot of multifaceted changes over many years. As a result, recognizing the practice is just another change. This argument however has been contradicted by a school of thought who has it that such change is not analogous to a collateral feature of marriage (Somerville, 2003).

In conclusion, marriage is a fundamental unit in any society from which a family springs. It should therefore help in establishing a cultural meaning, symbolism and moral values in a society just as it ought to be free from controversies, legal technicalities and negative publicity (Somerville, 2003). Thus, there is more need to objectively address the issues that emanate from same sex marriages, harmonize its related laws, avoid discrimination and biased judgments of same sex couples.

Apostle Paul

2009-04-02T14:54:00.000-07:00

Paul is one of the brightest features in the New Testament. He is also one of the best and convincing preachers. And all this is because of his sudden and unexpected for him and other people conversion.

Before becoming a Christian, Paul’s name was Saul. Saul was one of those people, who were persecuting many Christians, but Saul actually thought that it was the right thing to do, and that there was no sin in his actions. Saul was very famous for his cruelty to the people of God. One day he decided to go to the north, where was the large group of Christians. The miracle happened on the Damascus road. Suddenly the bright light shone from Heaven. He fell on the ground and heard the voice talk to him: “Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?” (Bible, Acts9:4b).

Saul asked who was talking to him. God said: “I am Jesus whom thou persecutest”. At that moment Saul put his faith in Christ and was saved. Paul become blind, so people, who were with him, took Paul to Damascus to the house of Judas. Those men saw the light, but didn’t hear the voice. God came in the vision to the disciple, called Ananias to tell the man to go to the house of Judas and make Paul see again. The man was afraid to do that, because he had heard a lot about Saul killing many Christians, but God ordered to do that for “Paul is chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel”(Bible, Acts9:15b). Ananias came to Paul, who then received his sight and was baptized.
“There was consecration. Paul was one of those rare persons who settled the matter of life service at the same time as he settled the question of the salvation of his soul. When he asked “What wilt thou have me to do?”(Bible, Acts9:6) he was offering the Lord all his life for service without reservation.”(Charles C. Ryrie, “the Acts of the Apostles”, page56) And indeed, not every person, after being saved asks God that. To my mind, one of the most valuable factors for Paul to ask that question right away is that God himself spoke to him, the One whose people Saul has been persecuting, and that was a big shock for this man. I think at that moment Paul thought about the fact that he was going to Damascus to kill people, and now, when he realized that that’s not what he wants to do from now on, and that there is basically nothing he is to do right now (for he is now not going anywhere and now he doesn’t know what to do), he asks God for orders, actions, suggestions.
Paul spends three days not seeing anything, neither eating nor drinking, he spends these days praying to God, being in the time of fellowship with Lord.

Paul also starts to preach to people immediately!!! “And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the son of God” (Bible, Acts9:20). This is amazing! The man is so exited that he can’t wait telling people about his conversion.

Paul spends all his life preaching to people about God. He was never married, didn’t start a family, he wasn’t against having a family or being married, he just considered this fact won’t let him devote all of himself to preaching. He should then very motivated1 and he really was1 I thing that there were two main factors in Paul’s motivation of such a passionate preaching’ the first, knowing how many people he has killed, Paul wanted to stop that, because he knew how many people were still persecuting Christians. The second one, Paul wanted to tell and show people his change and his conversion, he was spreading the glory oh Christ, was telling people about his savior, and the fact that Saul was at one time the enemy of all the Christians made many amazed and get saved. Paul definitely was filling bad, ashamed before God about what he’s been doing and that gave him even more strength and power to go to the crowds and persuade people in the contrary.

“ “Proving” is from the Greek “sunbibazon,” and means that Saul put things side by side, and so making a comparison and forming a conclusion that Jesus was the Christ. Saul not only grew in Christian life, but he also grew as a preacher of the gospel. He not only proved that Jesus is the Christ, but he ‘confounded the Jews” which means that they were “poured together, commingled.” (H. Leo Boles, “A Commentary on Acts of the Apostles”, page149) of course, Paul needed to spend some time putting things together, because after becoming a Christian he gained a lot of enemies, and his preaching should be very strong, without questions or doubts.

Paul wrote many letters to people, high priests in many different cities and towns, he spend all his life preaching about Christ and spreading the gospel. He is one of those people, whose life has changed so unexpectedly, but he is the person who wasn’t afraid to tell this to everybody, not being scared of being killed or anything else. He trusted in God, completely trusted Him, so he wasn’t afraid of anything. Paul is the bright example of the strong and successful preacher and devoted Christian.

Mini Business Plan

2009-04-01T12:03:00.000-07:00

The object of this mini-venture is to start up a small business with no more than $1.00 and run it for at least four hours. Since the start up costs are limited to $1.00 we favoured a service related business. We thought of the ideas other students have pursued like washing cars, cleaning offices, selling, and selling food. After examining our options we decided to wash windows. Catherine came up with a catchy name for our company, Kwick & Clean. This name tells customers what they can expect from our service. Our name also reflects the first letters of our names Keir and Catherine.

Product As a window washing company our product is quite clear and self-explanatory. We are selling a window cleaning service. Friendly, helpful, and positive attitudes are included in the service package.

Place We are going to market our product to residential neighbourhoods in the Halifax area. Clayton Park will be our first target market and Bedford is our secondary target. Our location is strategic. We plan to pin-point neighbourhoods with high incomes and large houses. These types of homes are more likely to hire a window washer.

Price This area of our business plan is vague. We tried to find out competitors prices by calling the competitors and acting like customers. They insisted that they do an on-sight estimate before they agree on any type of price. I couldnt ask how do you come up with your estimated figures? - because I could blow my cover. We decided to rely on the competitors customers to let us know. We would negotiate a price on the job site. Our only requirement was to make $10+ per hour.

Promotion Our promotion was seriously hindered by the $1.00 limitation. We decided on door to door. We would begin at a friend or relative's house and hopefully fi...

Rasputin and the Russian Revolution

2009-03-31T16:04:00.000-07:00

To What Extent Did Rasputin Cause The Russian Revolution?
In order to explore this, one must know about Rasputin his background, his values and his calling, as well as other factors contributing to the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the murders of the Romanovs. I have tried to explore this while keeping focus on each event's relation to Rasputin.

Gregory Efimovich Rasputin is one of the most debated characters of the 20th Century. Thousands have discussed whether Rasputin was a holy man who came to the aide of the royal family or more simply, a cheat who thrived in womanising and destroying all that the Romanovs had worked so hard to build. In fact, the word "Rasputin" in Russian means "the debauched one". However, the facts in this essay speak for themselves.

In the winter of 1869 Grigorii Yfimovich Rasputin was born in the Siberian village of Pokrovskoye. Little is known or accessible of his background. His father, Yfimy, was a farmer, married to Anna. They already had an older son - Dimitri. Although later enemies alleged that Rasputin's surname was an insult, meaning "debauched" in Russian, it had been the family name for years, derived from the word for a fork in the road. Pokrovskoye perched on the banks of the Tura River in Tobolsk Province. It was a typical Russian peasant village where few if any were educated and the people were heavily religious and narrow minded.

When Rasputin was eight years old, he suffered his first tragedy. He was playing with his older brother along the banks of the Tura when Dimitri fell and drowned. Shortly after this, Rasputin began to startle the villagers by making amazing predictions. In one incident, Rasputin caught a horse thief. As a teenager, Rasputin paid a visit to the local Monastery, where he encountered not only the Russian Orthodox Church he had known from his childhood but also a number of un-Orthodox sects. They held beliefs like only through sin could one truly repent and receive God's grace, and if a person studied long enough, it was possible to attain a semi-divine nature and escape earthly judgment The discovery of these sects greatly changed Rasputin. He impressed the villagers with religious comments and revelations, made interesting with half-understood pieces of religion he had picked up from the monks. Although the monks influenced him, Rasputin himself was not a monk, but actually married. He had 3 children a boy Dimitri, who was disabled and two girls - Varvara and Maria.

One day, while working in the fields, Rasputin claimed to see a vision of the Virgin Mary. According to him, she told him to become a pilgrim. He bid his family farewell and set off on a journey (on foot!) to the monastery at Mount Ethos in Greece - 2000 miles away. When he returned to the village, his religious aura seemed even more impressive. He attracted large crowds when he preached, although his version of the Gospel was particularly un-Orthodox. Rasputin also began to practice what he preached, sleeping with as many of his female disciples as he could. According to Rasputin this was simply a way to salvation which is a contradiction to his holy image. He was never able to reconcile his physical desires with his spiritual goals. Shortly after 1900, Rasputin left Pokrovskoe on another pilgrimage to St. Petersburg. Here he attracted much attention among the local Orthodox hierarchy for his seemingly genuine desire for salvation together with his undoubted gift for speaking and persuasion....

Child Abuse

2009-03-30T10:35:00.000-07:00

The term ‘child abuse’ refers to the violence, mistreatment or neglect that a child or adolescent may experience while in the care of someone he or she either trusts or depends on. This includes parents, siblings, other relatives, caregivers, or guardians. It can take place anywhere and also may occur within a child’s home or of someone’s that the child knows.
There are many forms of child abuse, and at a time, a child may be subjected to more than one form of child abuse. Physical abuse is a force used against the child in a way that the child gets injured or is at a risk of getting injured. It includes beating, hitting, shaking, pushing, choking, burning, kicking, or assaulting a child with a weapon; also, it can be holding a child under water. Sexual abuse or exploitation is when a child is used for sexual purposes. Acts of exploitation include fondling, rape, incest or involving a child in prostitution or pornography.

Neglect is also a kind of abuse, and it happens very frequently. This involves one failing to provide what a child needs for his or her physical, psychological and emotional development and for his or her welfare. Examples of that include depriving the child of the basic needs such as food and shelter, cleanliness, medical care, etc. Emotional neglect can be not providing a child with love, safety and sense of worth. Emotional abuse can be acts that affect one’s behavioural, cognitive, emotional or mental health problems. Examples of such an abuse are verbal threats, social isolation, and intimidation or even terrorizing a child.

An abuser usually uses a number of ways to gain access to the child and hurt them without knowing the situation. A child may not be able to complain because in a lot of cases, the child depends on the abuser. Abuse is a misuse of power and a great violation of trust. It is known that child abuse is very common everywhere. The big problem is that many of them are not reported and so, there is a lot of chance that the victims will be left suffering. There could be many possible reasons why abuse may remain hidden. It could be that the victim may have been bribed or threatened to not disclose the incident. A child may fear that he or she may not be believed. Victims could be convinced that the abuse is their fault, and that they would be punished upon disclosing it. Others who could be blamed for unreported incidents are the witnesses of child abuse or individuals who just suspect it.

It is very important that the cause of child abuse be found because it has become a very important issue, almost in every society. It is a complex problem that needs to be dealt with immediately. There are many factors that contribute to this problem; it could be individual, familial, or social. Experts in this subject believe that it is linked to inequalities in society and also power imbalance between adults and children. Some of the major common factors are dislocation, which means being moved away from one’s culture or community, colonization, racism, sexism, social isolation and even poverty.

Child abuse has devastating consequences for victims. It depends on the form, severity, and duration, which could affect many aspects of a child’s life. The effects might appear right away, or come up only in adolescence or adulthood. In a lot of cases, child abuse can be fatal. In Canada, there are laws being created to protect children from child abuse. Actions are being taken by part of the government such as providing family counselling, removing the child from the home, temporarily or permanently, or removing the abuser. There are many other ways our society is trying to protect these children from all kinds of abuses.

In conclusion, it can be said that child abuse is a big issue in all societies, and that everyone needs to protect its children. The first step to take is to encourage children who are being abused to come out and show up. The cases or incidents need to be revealed, and that can be done when kids are educated in a way that they are taught what child abuse is and the different forms of it. Is it possible to completely get rid of this problem?