Alcohol, Sex, and Violence in Catcher in the Rye :: Catcher Rye Essays

How Holden Deals With Alcohol, Sex, and Violence in Catcher in the Rye The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D Salinger, depicts how a lonely teenager, Holden Caulfield, deals with alcohol, sex, and violence. Teenagers must also deal with these problems daily. Alcohol is very predominate throughout the novel The Catcher in the Rye. Alcoholic beverages are a readily available, and relatively inexpensive for minors to get. Over the past couple of years, teenage consumption of alcohol has risen dramatically. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism states that more than 1.3 million teenagers have a drinking problem. The National Institute also reports that the reason for underage teenage drinking is they believe in a mixture of rebellion towards their parents and a sign of maturity. Another reason for teenage drinking is it represents a daring gesture. According to Dr. Joseph Franklin, "The way drinking starts is, one kid dares another kid to take a drink of alcohol, and the kid doesn't want his friends to think he is a coward so he does. Then the rest of them follow." In the book, Between Parent and Teenager, it states the substance abuse is the number one cause of death amongst teenagers. Studies show that among high school students age 14 - 17, 60% of the students use alcohol once a week, 75% use it at least once a month, and 85% have used it once in the year. In the novel, Holden Caulfield has very easy access to alcoholic beverages. Throughout the novel, it seems that every time Holden gets depressed, he turns towards alcohol. in Chapter 12, Holden is at Ernie's night club and he got served even though he was only a minor. In Chapter 20, Holden gets drunk. The way he acted when he was drunk shows how pathetic you are when you can not function properly. The next topic, sex, is a very common word nowadays. Sex is so common it is on television screens, blown up on billboards, and used for commercial enticement. It also seems that teenage men are purchasing cars and teenage girls are receiving more freedom from their parental figures. A couple years back,

Nuclear Family

Yesterday, 22:02Â  in:Â  Essay samples The question is to outline and critically evaluate the functionalist view that the typical family unit is nuclear. The other part of the question is to critically evaluate the work of Willmott and Young that suggests that the family is becoming increasingly symmetrical. In defining the symmetrical family according to Willmott and Young, males and females are becoming equal within the family. Willmott and Young also stated that there are three stages in becoming a symmetrical family.The first stage is the pre-industrial family, which is a unit of production consisting of a husband, wife and unmarried children. The family worked for themselves on the land as a unit of production. This is still represented in a small minority of families today. The family started to decline in the nineteenth –century due to the industrial revolution which gave rise to the emergence of the factory system. (Haralambos and Holborn, 2002). The stage two famili es began with early industrialization.Factory production replaced the domestic system and such families ceased to be a unit of production and focused more on the individuals employed as wage earners. During the nineteenth century there was high unemployment and widespread poverty amongst the working class. Stage three families began in the early 1970’s. This is a new emerging family called the symmetrical family. It is egalitarian and democratic. The conjugal bond between husband and wife is strong and they share their work and time around the home. The nuclear family has become a large self-containing and self-reliant unit.Wives still have the main responsibility of raising the children with a little help from their husbands. Women started a network of support in order to help each other and their children during hard times. This extension of network was done to cope with poverty by creating an insurance policy and support. The bond between married daughter and mother became closer and the conjugal bond between husband and wife became weaker. A survey carried out by Willmott and Young in the 1950’s showed that stage two families still exists in Bethnal Green.There is still a strong bond between mothers and daughters. (Haralambos and Holborn, 2000) Historically the symmetrical family brought changes to the structure of the family. However, there are feminist theories on the family for example, radical feminists believe that that the family is a unit of oppression. Radical feminists see the home as a place where women were exploited by the capitalists and their husbands. Men were the head of the family and household. The men had political and economic powers allowing them to make decisions in the home. As a result the women would be dependent on the men.In order to understand the family, feminism has probably had more influence on the study of the family than any other approaches in society. Feminists have highlighted the dangerous effects on wome n within the family. Also the dominance of men within the family was highlighted. They also question whether the family life is becoming egalitarian. In addition, feminists view the family as an institution, which has greater benefits for men compared to those for women (Haralambos, 2000). In regards to the Marxist feminist perspective, Marxists such as Engel and Zaretsky recognised that women are treated unfairly in the home.However their focus is on the relationship between Capitalism and the family. Margaret Benston states that women are the emotional support for her husband. This support provides him with comfort, which enables him to continue to go out to perform well in his job. In terms this is good for the Capitalist employee working well in order to perform his role as a wage labourer (handout feminist perspectives on the family). According to Bryson (1997), radical feminists view the oppression of women as the most fundamental and universal from of control.In this view, th is is a patriarchal society rather than a Capitalist society in which women have different interests than men. Men are not seen as the source of male domination, although the feminists do see the family as important in keeping male power. Women are seen as exploited because of the housework and child care duties that she has to carry out unpaid. Men are seen as the ruling class and females as the subject in which patriarchal power control women’s sexual activity. Willmott (1970) argues that the way society is organised enabled men to dominate women.In the extreme from this can take the form of violence. As Dobash and Dobash (1980) indicates this violence from men is a real threat to many women and children. Liberal feminists views ague that women wanted equal rights. However they point on that changes in the political, economic and social system of western societies will be a gradual process. Liberal feminists see inequalities as affecting both males and females. They see wom en with potential in the workplace as not having the opportunity to progress. Liberal feminists are a strong advocate of equal opportunities for males and females.According to Haralambos and Holborn (2000) liberal feminists supported such measures as the Sex Discrimination Act (1975) and the Equality Act (1970) with the intention that these laws would help end discrimination. Critically evaluate the functionalist view that the nuclear family is both universal and typical. According to Murdock a functionalist who’s claimed that some kind of family existed in every society and was universal. His definition of the family states that ‘the family is a social group characterised by common residence, economic co-operation and reproduction.It includes adults of both sexes, at least two of whom maintain a socially approved sexual relationship and one or more children own or adopted of the sexually co-habiting adults’ (Haralambos, 2000) His idea of the universality of the family seems to focus on one type of family. However, the kind of family form that Murdock based his findings on when he did his research in 250 societies he found only nuclear families. This led him to the conclusion that the nuclear family was a universal social group. However, Murdock views of the family is somewhat flawed due to the different type of families that exist in today’s society.Murdock and Parsons have the view that women should be a t the home looking after and nurturing the children, while men should go out to work and are bread winners of the family. Murdock states that the nuclear family is universal and is based on three key functions for a family to survive in society. These are, it stabilizes sexual and reproductive functions. It also provides basic economic requirements such as food and shelter. Moreover it provides the function of socialization of the next generation into the norms, values and other aspects of culture in that society.Murdock argues tha t without these functions the nuclear family would not survive (Kirby, 1997) However the functionalist view that the nuclear family is both universal and typical can be contradictory. Murdock studied families in 250 societies and found that some kind of family existed in every society and was therefore universal. The types of family structure that Murdock found in all 250 families was the nuclear family which lead him to conclude that the nuclear family is a universal social grouping, (Handout the family) Parsons agrees with Murdock and goes on to say that the nuclear family is typical and normal.Parsons states that the female role is expressive. He makes distinction on the basic biology in that the female is more expressive because of giving birth to the child. Due to child birth the mother has a closer relationship with her baby. The female is a real carer and good at expressing her emotions and is natural in socialising children. The female is a role model for girls in the family . On the other hand the male role is instrumental. He is the breadwinner, provider, supporter of the family, a role model for male children in promoting achievement and giving motivation.There are biological factors that contribute to the difference between male and female in the family. However as Haralambos and Holborn suggested ‘there is no single blueprint for the family which applies to all societies’ (Haralambos and Holborn, 2000) Families vary in shapes and sizes and come in different forms such as the Nayar tribe, which is communal. There is the single parent, the same sex, contemporary and reconstituted family. Murdock and Parsons view of the nuclear family implies that women should be looking after the home and men as the provider and breadwinner.Murdock views can be contradictory because of the different types of families that led us to discuss the following families, which can be referred to as the exceptions to the rule of the universal existence. However, according to Gough the cross-cultural Nayar family perform qualities of the nuclear family in that there is a special and social recognised tie, which exists between a girl and the boy when she had her first sexual experience. The Nayar society of southern India performs as a nuclear family.Before puberty girls were ritually married to a Nayar man in the tali-rite. However after the tali-rite the female was free to take up several sexual partners as a result paternity was often uncertain. The only responsibility the women possess was to mourn at her husband’s funeral. Women would receive visiting ‘husbands’ after puberty as the men spend a lot of time away fighting. Husbands would visit other wives although the husband took preference when he was back home. The husband or wife would end the marriage any time.Other women share in the caring of the children and the fatherhood of the child was not important because of its matrilineal society. The economical contribu tion of males was minimal towards their children. Brothers and sisters of both parents side contributed to the economics and bringing up of the children (O’Donnell, 1985) the functionalist views regarding children’s need for social and stability works well in the Nayar society (O’ Donnell, 1985) Murdock’s view on the universality of the family is too narrow because it excludes many family forms.For example the single parent family is a distinct and viable family type as O’ Donnell states one in five families with dependant children in Britain in 1994 was headed by a single parent. Single parent family is the most common in western society (Bourne, 1995) states that in 1996 11 per sent of people in Britain lived in this type of family. Today it has doubled. However, there are professional women who choose to be single parents as studied by Jean Renvoizes single mother by choice (1985).She examined 30 mothers of this type who could afford to raise a child single-handed. On the other hand the Cashmore Study this showed that non-professional single parents were poorer and some of these women found being single was better than being in an oppressive relationship. Then there is the same sex family ‘as Plummer (1976) argued that homosexual are less likely to establish long-term relationships. Legally homosexuals cannot marry but there are changes in the law that may allow this group to foster or adopt children.There is not enough evidence to support the notion that same-sex relationships are more dysfunctional than heterosexual families. Kirby states (1997) lesbian mothers maybe seen as unfit to nurture children. Then there are mothers who leave heterosexual relationships and enter lesbian relationships- are these women seen as unfit mothers (Kirby, 1997) The contributing family is one in which couples live together with their children for a period of time, before getting married.As Mc Rae (1993) shows many of these couples ma y never marry. Evidence shows that this type of family is less of a problem for themselves or society as a whole, than single mothers, who have been divorced or never married and live without a partner (Kirby, 1997) The reconstituted family is when there are previously married and divorced people with children coming together and getting married who form a new family. Many children are being brought up in this type of family.Many children are being brought up in this type of family of step-parents and step siblings. The extended family is still present in the 21st century. As study conducted by Willmott and Young in the borough of Green in the East End of London such families had intertwined in their lifestyle. The children and parents live in the same area as parents for three or more generations. This family helps and maintains links with each other. Also the mother housewife role is shared by the female members f the extended family (Haralambos and Holborn, 1996) The Neo-Conventi onal family are family of past divorces coming together and re-marrying to form a new family with children from previous marriages as stated by Chester Kirby (1985) There are alternatives styles of family such as the Kibbutz in Israel. Haralambos and Holborn state there are 3 per cent of the population that live in about 270 Kibbutz. These sizes vary from 100-2000 members and it consists of an agricultural lifestyle with some light industry.Children spend most of the day and all the night away from their parents in the children houses. They are educated and socialised by trained staff. Parents do visit their children and spend time together as a family, which keep the strong bond within the family. This bonding meets the children’s emotional needs, whereas the Kibbutz provides for children’s physical needs. (Haralambos and Holborn, 2000) From the post-modern perspectives of the family this views the modern alternatives to the family.This view is saying that in contempo rary society there is a wide diversity of family forms all equally valid, which provide the function of the modern family (Kirby, 1997) In conclusion, according to Murdock and Parson this nuclear family is universal and typical. However this is contradictory because from my research there are a vast variety of family forms that are all existing and functioning, such as the single parent family, Kibbutzim, co-habiting, same sex and reconstitutional.As in the case of the lone parent family it could be argued that the family in industrial society has lost many of its functions. Many of these functions are taken over by the state in the form of specialised organisations for example the social security agency, schools and hospitals. (Haralambos and Holborn, 1983) The extended family still exist in some developing countries today and carry out the duties as the nuclear family. The post-modern view of the family fits in with modern contemporary society.The feminist view highlights the oppr ession of women within the family and changes that has come about. Even though there are differences in the family forms we have to celebrate all types of families. From the nursing profession it is important not to be judgemental towards people and to learn to accept that there are a wide range of families and groups of people in the contemporary society. This post originally appeared on http://www. customwritings. com/blog/sample-essays/essay-family. html

Analysis of Ethical Dilemma Essay

Britney, age 17, has been referred because of problems at school and a shoplifting charge. She admits to â€Å"smoking some dope† every now and then and having a drink or two with her friends. She is dressed in black with pierced ears, nose, and lip. Her appearance is disheveled and her hygiene poor. She appears to be overly thin. Britney’s parents were divorced when she was 5 years old. She has a brother who is 5 years older. They used to live with their mother in the same town as their father. Britney saw him frequently, although she says he was â€Å"always busy with work† and she could never talk to him about much of anything. Britney states that her mother was also busy but would â€Å"usually† stop and listen. She reports that her mother has a temper and is stressed all the time about money and work. She also reports that her mom and dad still fight about money and â€Å"us kids. † She feels like she is in the middle and is always being asked to choose. Britney feels caught in the middle of conflict between her parents. She interprets their being too busy for her as not being wanted by them. Britney’s rebellion serves to distract her mother and father from their fighting and to unite them as they attempt to control her behavior. It also serves to help solve the dilemma of whether she should leave home, leaving her mother alone. She distances herself by using drugs and alcohol but cannot really leave home and her mother because of her irresponsible behavior. Her brother has the role of doing well in the family, being responsible while the parents are in conflict. Through the use of their roles, the estranged family continues to function, albeit less than satisfactorily. Britney and her mother and brother recently moved to a new area, and Britney is at a new school this year. She is currently in 10th grade and has average grades. Her new friends are â€Å"different† from her old friends, but they â€Å"accept her for what she is. † Britney found acceptance in a counterculture when she felt rejection at home. With divorced parents, a distant father, overly stressed mother, and parents arguing over the kids, Britney has poor self-esteem and feels that she is the cause of some of the problems. She finds that using drugs with other kids relieves boredom, fear, and loneliness. She feels accepted and acceptable when she is using with them. The main ethical concerns presented in the dilemma with references to the ethics Britney uses cocaine when with friends. She learned that using helps her fit in—be â€Å"one of the gang. † She described a new, well-defined group of peers who â€Å"I like to hang out with and party with. † She is even supplied by a male classmate at school who impregnated her while they are high on drugs and sex. In addition, she has had some moderate school-related problems (e. g. , lateness) and a shoplifting charge. She entered a guilty plea for shoplifting. But approximately two weeks before her sentencing hearing, Britney inform the judge and her substance abuse counselor that she was pregnant and is still on drugs. Hence, the complexity of this ethical dilemma arises. This case taps into the substance abuse counselor many layers of personal and professional beliefs. However, careful reading of the case reveals a firm commitment to consider – not ignore – fetal interests within the framework of respect for the autonomy of the competent pregnant teenager. The case presented clearly relate to situations in which the pregnant teenager is deemed incompetent. Hence, the counselor needs a clear insight into the right approach to take when a medical intervention can benefit both fetus and mother, as in the case of Britney who is a teenager and is addicted to or abuses drugs. Application of human service profession theories and techniques In this analysis, I bring some issues and concepts of feminist ethics, post-modernism, and critical theory to reflect on an important child’s issue-policy approaches to pregnant teenager who is polysubstance user. Many people, including many law enforcement officials, child protection agents, and legislators, think that teenagers who use drugs during pregnancy should be punished for the harm or risks of harm they bring to their babies. I analyze this punishment approach and argue that the situation of pregnant teenager addicts does not satisfy the conditions usually articulated by philosophers to justify punishment. A punishment approach, moreover, may have sexist and racist implications and ultimately operates more to maintain a social distinction between insiders and deviants than to protect children. Most of those who criticize a punishment approach to policy for pregnant addicts call for meaningful treatment programs as an alternative. I interpret this treatment approach as a version of a feminist ethic of care. For the most part, theorizing about the ethics of care has remained at the level of ontology and epistemology, with little discussion of how the ethics of care interprets concrete moral issues differently from more traditional approaches to ethics. By conceptualizing a treatment approach to pregnant teenage addict as justified by an ethics of care, I propose to understand this ethics of care as a moral framework for social policy. Although I agree with a treatment approach to policy for pregnant teenage addicts, from a feminist point of view there are reasons to be suspicious of many aspects of typical drug treatment. Relying on Michel Foucault’s notions of disciplinary power and the operation of â€Å"confessional† discourse in therapy, I argue that treatment often operates to adjust women to dominant gender, race, and class structures and depoliticizes and individualizes their situations. Thus, I conclude by offering a distinction between two meanings of empowerment in service provision, one that remains individualizing, and one that develops social solidarity through consciousness raising and the possibility of collective action. Punishment Punitive legislation regarding pregnant addicts has been considered in more than thirty states and by the U. S. Congress. Although the testimony of legal and medical experts appears to have succeeded in preventing the passage of congressional legislation, at least eight states now include drug exposure in utero in their definition of child abuse and neglect. In several states without such laws, prosecutors have used existing drug-trafficking laws to file criminal charges against women who use cocaine or other controlled substances during pregnancy. By July 1992 at least 167 women in twenty-six states had been arrested and charged criminally because of their use of drugs during pregnancy or because of some other prenatal risk. A number of these women have been found guilty and sentenced to as many as ten years in prison. The majority of these cases have involved women of color, even though white women also use illegal drugs. The controversy that has been boiling about this punishment approach to policy for pregnant addicts appears in some of the appeals of these convictions. As of November 1992, twenty-one cases had been challenged or appealed, and all of these were dismissed or overturned (Roberts, 1991) As a result of increasing controversy over such punitive policies, some state and local governments have encouraged treatment as a complement or alternative to criminal punishment or child removal. Thus, California has enacted a law that requires drug treatment programs to give priority to pregnant women. The state of Connecticut has mandated that outreach workers seek out addicted mothers and mothers-to-be to encourage them to get treatment. In the fall of 1991, the city of New York instituted a program that allows addicted women to take their babies home after birth, provided that they enter treatment and agree to weekly visits from a social worker (Larson1991). This program and many others that emphasize treatment over punishment nevertheless retain a punitive tendency to the degree that they are coercing women to have treatment. Most prosecutors and policymakers who have pursued a punishment approach to pregnant addicts would deny that racist and sexist biases inform their practices. They claim instead that they are exercising their obligations as state agents to protect infants from harm and to hold accountable those responsible for such harms when they occur. Women who take cocaine or heroin while pregnant are wantonly and knowingly risking the lives or health of future persons and deserve to pay for such immoral harm. Punishing women who give birth to drug-affected babies serves notice to others that the state considers this a grave wrong and will thus deter such behavior. As with most punishments, the primary justifications for punitive policies toward pregnant addicts are deterrence and retribution. Neither justification, however, is well grounded. A deterrence theory of punishment relies on an assumption that people engage in some kind of cost benefit calculation before taking the actions the policies are aimed at. In some contexts this makes sense. If a city wishes to discourage illegal parking, it raises the fines and threatens to tow, and these policies usually do work to reduce infractions. The idea that a pregnant addict weighs the benefits of taking drugs against the costs of possible punishment, however, is implausible, because it assumes that it is within her power to refrain from taking drugs if she judges that the costs are too high. Many health professionals argue that punitive policies toward pregnant addicts does deter them from seeking prenatal care (Mann, 1991). Women are likely to avoid contact with healthcare providers if they believe that their drug use will be reported to state authorities who will punish them. Because drug-using pregnant women’s fetuses and babies are often at particularly high risk, they need prenatal attention even more than most. Experts claim that the harmful effects of drug use on infants can be offset, at least in part, by good prenatal care, when health professionals are aware of a woman’s drug use in a supportive nonpunitive atmosphere (Paltrow, 1990) I think that retribution is most often implicitly or explicitly the operative justification for punitive approaches to pregnant addicts. These women ought to be punished and threatened with punishment because their wrongful actions deserve sanction. Such a retributive justification for a punitive approach to pregnant addicts must assume that these women are responsible both for their drug use and for their pregnancies; if freedom is a condition for assigning responsibility, however, these are problematic assumptions. Most states where punitive policies toward pregnant addicts have been pursued do not prosecute people for drug use alone. Especially where this is so, women are essentially being punished for carrying a pregnancy to term. Such punishment must presuppose that women are responsible for being pregnant, but there are several social conditions that limit women’s choice to be or not be pregnant. Ours is still a society where women often are not really free in their sexual relations with men. Access to contraception, moreover, is not easy for many women, especially poor or young women. And, of course, even when they have it, the contraception sometimes does not work. With rapidly decreasing access to abortion for all women in the United States, but especially for young or poor women, finally, fewer and fewer women have a choice about whether to carry a pregnancy to term (Lewin, 1992). Some prosecutors and policies claim to use a punishment approach primarily as means of encouraging or forcing women into drug treatment. In line with the above arguments, one might say that a pregnant addict is morally blameworthy for harming her child only if she does not seek help in dealing with her drug use. In recent years some small steps have been taken to increase the availability of drug treatment for pregnant women, and to design programs specifically for their needs; for the most part, however, access to more than perfunctory drug treatment is limited. Most programs either do not accept pregnant women or have waiting lists that extend long beyond their due dates. Most private health insurance programs offer only partial reimbursement for treatment, and in many states Medicaid will reimburse only a portion of the cost of drug treatment. Most treatment programs are designed with men’s lives in mind, and very few have childcare options. Mandatory reporting laws or other procedures that force women into treatment, moreover, create an adversary and policing relation between healthcare providers and the women they are supposed to serve, thereby precluding the trust relationship most providers believe is necessary for effective drug therapy( Chavkin, 1991).

Globalization and Early America, 1492-1750

America’s present is significantly shaped by its past. Hence, it is vital for one to grasp the concepts that formed America to what it is now. Globalization in America is one of the key notions that play a vital role in forming today’s society. Though several scholars place the origins of globalization in modern times, others trace its history long before the European age of discovery and voyages to the New World. However, did early American history play a role in creating today’s globalization? Does globalization in the past play a positive, or negative role in this time period? While some might argue that weakening national autonomy is a negative result of globalization, others might defend that it has also sparked economic innovation. One of the major characters that changed the history of the world was Christopher Columbus. What would be the outcome today if Columbus never discovered the New World? Firstly, colonization would be nonexistent. In addition, without colonization U. S. ould have never created. The creation of the U. S. helped move much of the world towards democracy. It also led to the development of what is now the world's only superpower. A world without the United States is impossible to imagine today. Furthermore, a discovery by another major character, Ferdinand Magellan, also had a tremendous impact on the history of the world. He proved that oceans connected continents rather than dividing them. How did this important discovery influence today’s economy? By having the knowledge that oceans were great global passageways, Magellan had demonstrated that continents could be linked. Europe had the opportunity to establish a great economy and military power over Asian, Africa and the Americas that created great global trade networks. This was the beginning of the creation of globalization, which is very significant for today’s world economy. This also further demonstrates that early American history did play a role in creating today’s globalization.

Marketing Plan for Chic Nails, Inc Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Marketing Plan for Chic Nails, Inc - Essay Example This nail polish is temperature-sensitive and has chemical components that react with heat and cold, resulting in identified colors: black means tense; gray means nervous; amber means mixed emotions; green means envious; blue-green means somewhat relaxed; blue means at ease; dark blue means very happy; white means frustrated; bronze means restless; pink means uncertain; yellow means imaginative; orange means optimistic; red means angry & purple means clarity. Chic Nails, Inc. distributes its products through its main branch and through varied retail outlets within Rome and Italy. It targets to penetrate international market within two years from the date of commercial launch in Italy. Rome’s population is predominantly female, the majority of which belongs to the 40 to 64 and 25 to 39 age brackets (Population Demographics in Rome GA. 2008). These women are Chic Nail Inc.’s target population, including the younger ones belonging to the 13 to 18 age bracket. The following are the characteristics of the target market: Chic Nails, Inc. is a start-up company that manufactures and distributes nail care products. It offers the standard line of nail polish hues, offering a total of 85 different colors in the market. However, its flagship product is the Mood Swings Collection, a nail polish type that is actually clear in color, but changes alongside the owner’s moods. This is done thru the incorporation of certain chemicals into the lacquer, which makes it sensitive to the temperature of the person wearing it. There is a particular color assignment to every â€Å"mood†, which in turn, corresponds to a temperature degree, usually signifying a change in the owner’s moods. The Mood Swings collection is a relatively new product of its kind. Due to the new mix in the chemical components of the product, the production cost is also relatively much higher than the standard collection, thus making it also priced higher than the rest of the competitors in the market.

Politics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Politics - Essay Example For one, expending tax payers’ money to sponsor such ends when America is still grappling with debt and is still reeling from the ravages of global economic recession betrays only the execution of misplaced priorities. Secondly, American schools are primarily supposed to be learning centers helping to inculcate life and professional skills among students. While a comprehensive learning curriculum should factor reproductive health, it should basically teach about reproductive health and leave the issuance of such services to the family institution (Coombs, 275). Again, the idea that (NYC) students under the age of 18 years can be provided with birth control pills and condoms without parents’ engagement is as preposterous as it is obnoxious. Parents ought to be involved or at least informed about underage students making such serious decisions. Finally and above all, such a move is tantamount to subtle consent to the idea that sexual restraint is impossible and it significantly but indirectly lowers the age of (sexual) consent. The best way of facilitating this change is forming a caucus that includes likeminded students, parents, members of the civil society and members of the Senate and Congress. The members of the Senate and Congress can then sponsor a bill seeking to reverse this policy. The barrier that will most likely be met is an opposition by other caucuses which are affiliated to Liberals or Democrats. As believers of free will, these liberal caucuses are likely to argue that the choice should be left to the underage (NYC)

Compare and contrast Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Compare and contrast - Essay Example Intellectual capacity and level of known how is basically determined by a country’s level of technology and the percentage of skilled human resources present. In this piece of writing, we explore on the comparison and contrast between studying in the US and Indonesia. The US is far much developed in terms of infrastructure and economic actors compared to Indonesia. The US government has invested much on education and research. For instance, the government has established numerous research centers, libraries and bookshops across the US (Brunsma, 2004).In addition, the US government has established several institutions for higher learning across the country. In fact, every state has enough learning institutions and facilities, from primary to tertiary education. In essence, Access to learning materials and resources has been made easier. On the contrary, the Indonesian education system has been ranked among the worst in the world. The learning infrastructure and resources are limited in Indonesia. The number of public libraries and research centers are fewer compared to those in the US. The number of institutions for higher learning are much less compared those in the US. In fact, it is only a few students in Indonesia who secure places in the avai lable institutions of higher learning. Conducting research in Indonesia is harder than doing it in the US since the available research tools are limited and of low quality. In the US, the quality of teaching staff is incomparable with that of Indonesia. Most institutions for higher learning in the US hire experienced and top quality teaching staff. In fact, for one to qualify to teach in any US institution, he/she must portray an outstanding academic background and tremendous achievement in the education career. In addition, the education system in US requires tutors or lectures to be specialists in the areas that they teach. The ratio of tutor to