Abortion Essay Example for Free

Abortion Essay There’s a lot of speculation going on right now about whether or not abortion is ethical. Many people believe that there should be laws against it, that it should be banned entirely. Thousands spend time protesting abortion, stating that it is a sin, and that it is the same as murdering a child. However, the majority of those who claim these things don’t have their facts quite right. When an abortion is performed, the fetus is in a very early stage of development. Most brain cells are not yet developed, and this means that the fetus cannot feel pain. The â€Å"silent screams† that those who oppose abortion often mention are nonexistent. Fetuses cannot scream, move, or feel at this point in the pregnancy. Additionally, aborting a fetus is certainly not the same as murdering a fully-developed, self-sufficient child. At this stage in a fetus’ development, it is entirely unable to survive outside of the woman’s womb. It is incapable of breathing as well as conscious thought. It is not yet a child, but merely a developing organism with the capability of becoming one. Abortion should be kept legal. While I do not think it should be used as a standard form of birth control, it definitely needs to remain an option. What if you found yourself pregnant after being a victim of rape? Just imagine trying to provide a quality life for a baby while you’re so young yourself, especially seeing as you aren’t pregnant as a result of your own decision, but because of some cruel person’s actions. Why should that child have to grow up to have a life in either a struggling one-parent household or an orphanage? If we get some of the facts out there, I believe that people might begin to see that abortion is really not such a sin. Maybe when others start to realize this, some of the laws in certain countries that do not allow abortion will be lifted. After all, is it not a terrible thing to have tons of children living their entire lives in poverty? Think about this for a second: what’s better, terminating an undeveloped, non-autonomous fetus, or watching a child slowly die due its young parent’s lack of income?

Woodstock: A Peaceful Rock Revolution Essay -- Woodstock History Histo

Woodstock: A Peaceful Rock Revolution To some, the 60s were a decade of discovery as Americans first journeyed to the moon. Others remember the time as a decade of America’s moral decline with the advent of rock and roll and its representation of "sinful", inappropriate ideals. Yet for many people, the 60s symbolized a decade of love and harmony. Hippies exemplified these beliefs, and in 1969 they gathered at a music festival known as Woodstock to celebrate their music, their love, and their freedom in a concert that has remained on of the most influential events of the 60s. The youth of the 60s were known as the "Love generation". They made love promiscuously and openly, and preferred open to formal marriages. Weekend "love-ins", free form gatherings, communal living quarters, and rock festivals were held in response to the "love movement". The "love movement" was the hippie belief for peace and harmony. It reached its peak in the summer of 1967, and by then it had over 300,000 followers who referred to themselve s as the "love children" or the "gentle people". They gathered in San Francisco, the hippie center of the world, during the summers. During these "Summers of love", they lived on the streets of Haight-Ashbury, sitting in groups along the street and strumming their guitars (Frike 62). These "love children", otherwise known as the hippies were the result of the antiwar movement that was sweeping the nation during the Vietnam war. Hippies were resolutely against the war. They participated loudly, and often violently in countless anti-war protest rallies and marches. They were known to publicly burn draft cards, and some even renounced military service for prison (Hertsgard 124). Hippies were not only antiwar, they were predominantly antiestablishment. The status symbols of their elders were decisively rejected: wealth, social position, culture, physical attractiveness, and economic security. They held in disdain, cosmetics, expensive jewelry, nightclubs and restaurants and all other re finements of the affluent society. Wealth meant nothing to them. Personal freedom to express oneself was believed to be the most important thing in life. They were antiauthority, antirace discrimination, and antipollution, in short they were rebels against the society, fighting against the moral standards of America they felt were unjust (Hertsgard 153). Events such... ...peace. They knew about art and nature. They lived for a weekend in the still eye of the hurricane" (Woodstock). Works Cited "All Nature is but Art: Woodstock Music and Art Fair." Vogue. December 1969:194-201. "Big Woodstock Rock Trip." Time. August 1969:14b-22. Ewen, David. All the Years of Popular Music. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Inc.,1977. Fass, Don. "The Sixties." http://www.sixties.net (19 March 1999). Frike, David. "Minor Epiphanies and Momentary Bummers." Rolling Stone. August 1989:62-91. Grunwald, Henry. "Youth Trip." This Fabulous Century: 1960-1970. 1986 ed. Hertsgard, Mark. A Day in the Life: The Music and Artistry of the Beatles. New York: Dell Publishing Groups Inc.,1995. Huges, Rupert. Music Lover’s Encyclopedia. New York: Doubleday Inc.,1984. "Rock Audience Moves to Dusk-to-Dawn Rhythms." New York Times. 18 August 1969:25. "Tired Rock Fans Begin Exodus From Music Fair." New York Times. 20 August 1969:1-3. "What Happened in the Sixties?." http://www.bbhq.com/sixties2.htm (19 March 1999). "Woodstock: Dawn of the Bigtime." Economist. August 1989:75. "Woodstock Music and Art Fair." Newswe ek. August 1969:88. "Woodstock: Peace Mecca." Billboard. August 1969:1,10.

Gender Development

Gender shapes the lives of all people in all societies. The term ‘gender’ refers to the social construction of female and male identity. It can be defined as more than biological differences between men and women. It includes the ways which those differences, whether real or perceived, have been valued, used and relied upon to classify women and men and to assign roles and expectations to them (http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Gender_and_development). Gender influences our lives, the schooling we receive, the social roles we play, and the power and the authority we command. Population processes – where women and men live, how they bear and rear children, and how they die – are shaped by gender as well (Riley, 1997). Several theories of gender development have generated most of the research during the past ten years: social learning theory, cognitive-development theory, and gender schema theory. Proponents of social learning theory believe that parents, as distributors of reinforcement, reinforce appropriate gender role behaviors. By their choice of toys, by urging boy or girl behavior, parents encourage their children to engage in appropriate gender-related behavior. Thus children are reinforced or punished for different kinds of behavior. They also learn appropriate gender behavior from other male or female models such as those in television shows. A second explanation, quite popular today, is found in cognitive-development theory, which derives from Kohlberg’s speculations about gender development. It is known that from Piaget’s work that children engage in symbolic thinking by about 2 years of age. Using this ability, Kohlberg believes, they begin the process of acquiring gender-appropriate behavior. A newer, and different, cognitive explanation is called gender schema theory. A schema is a mental blueprint for organizing information, and children develop gender identity and formulate an appropriate gender role. Consequently, children develop an integrated schema or picture, of what gender is and should be (Elliott et al. , 1996). Gender and Power Gender refers to the different ways men and women play society, and to the relative power they wield. While gender is expressed differently in different societies, in no society do men and women perform equal roles or hold equal positions of power. Power is basic fabric of society and is possessed in varying degrees by social actors in diverse social categories. Power becomes abusive and exploitive only when independence and individuality of a person or group of people becomes so dominant that freedom for the other is compromised. Women and children have open been on the abusive sides of power. Some causes that are often referred to are: the greater the physical strength that men tend to have creates the imbalance of power between men and women resulting from social structures and historical practices in regard to finances, education, roles of authority and decision making; the abuse of power by men and the failure of cultural pressures to prevent such abuse; and distorted view the sexuality and the objectification of the female. Max Weber in his ‘Essays in Sociology’ defined power as the likelihood a person may achieve personal ends despite possible resistance from others. Since this definition views power as coercive, Weber also considered ways in which power can be achieved through justice. Authority, he contented, is power which people determine to be legitimate rather than coercive. As a group, women are at a distinct advantage when considering both power and authority. Several factors act as determinants of the amount of power a person holds or can use in his/her relations with others: status resources, experience, and self-confidence. Males and females traditionally have had differing amounts of power at their disposal. By virtue of t6he male’s greater ascribed status in society, men have more legitimate power based on rank or position than do women. The serious social issue today is the relative inequities in social power between men and women. The issue of women’s power, relative to men, is not merely academic. Gender differences in power have real consequences for women. For example, although women have made significant gains in the workplace, with more women working than in the past and women possessing approximately a third of all management positions, women continue to experience wage discrimination, be excluded from the most powerful executive positions, advance more slowly in their careers, and experience fewer benefits from obtaining education or work experience, and are included in fewer networks and exert less authority (Colwill; Lyness and Thompson, 1997) than men in similar positions. A number of researchers have linked career advancement and access to benefits and resources within organizations to an effective use of power. An understanding of women’s power, relative to men, is therefore essential to overcoming women’s disadvantage in the workplace and other domains (http://www. find articles. com/p/articles/mi m0341/ is 1 55/ai 54831711). Gender and Education The past decade has witnessed a significant increase in the importance accorded to education, with both instrumental as well as intrinsic arguments made for increasing financial investment and policy attention to education provision. Investing in education is seen as one of the fundamental ways in which nation states and their citizens can move toward long-term development goals and improve both social and economic standards of living. The education of women is seen as providing the key to securing intergenerational transfers of knowledge, and providing the substance of long-term gender equality and social change. Although significant gains have been made in women’s education as a result of global advocacy, more often than not the gains are fragile, vulnerable to changes in economic and social environments, and lagging behind in male rates of enrolment and achievement. Achievements are particularly visible in the primary education sector, whereas gaps are still large in the secondary and tertiary sectors (unrsid. org/inrisd/website/nsf). Schools also reinforce gendered social roles. Researchers have documented the differential treatment accorded males and females in the classrooms that reinforces a sense of inferiority and lack of initiative among female students (Sadker and Sadker, 1988). Boys are far more likely to be given specific information that guides improvement of their performance (Boggiano and Barrett, 1991).

Capybara Facts (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris)

The capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) is the largest rodent in the world. Its common name comes from the Tupi phrase kaapià »ara, which means grass eater. The scientific name means water hog. Capybaras are related to guinea pigs, rock cavies, coypu, and chinchillas. Fast Facts: Capybara Scientific Name: Hydrochoerus hydrochaerisCommon Names: Capybara, chigà ¼ire, chigà ¼iro, carpincho, water hogBasic Animal Group: MammalSize: 3.5-4.4 feetWeight: 77-146 poundsLifespan: 4 yearsDiet: HerbivoreHabitat: Wetlands of South AmericaPopulation: AbundantConservation Status: Least Concern Description The capybara has a barrel-shaped body and blunt muzzle, somewhat resembling a pig. The brittle fur is reddish-brownish in color and paler on the belly. The animals ears, eyes, and nose are high on its face so it can remain above water when the rodent is submerged. The capybara has a vestigial tail and partially webbed feet. On average, adult capybaras are 3.5 to 4.4 feet in length, stand about two feet tall, and weigh between 77 and 146 pounds. Females are slightly larger than males, with the largest recorded female weighing just over 200 pounds. Both males and females have anal scent glands and a special snout scent gland, called a morillo. The morillo is a distinctive feature of a capybaras face. Richard Evans / EyeEm, Getty Images Habitat and Distribution All South American countries except Chile are home to capybaras. The animals live in wetlands and near bodies of water. Escaped captive capybaras are found in Florida, but its unknown whether they have established a breeding population. Diet Capybaras are herbivores that graze upon grasses, fruit, tree bark, and aquatic plants. They eat their own feces and regurgitated food to help digest cellulose and retain gut flora. Their teeth grow continuously to compensate for the wear from grinding food. Behavior Although capybaras are excellent swimmers, they are able to run as fast as a horse on land. During the day, the rodents wallow in mud to stay cool. They graze before dawn, late in the afternoon, and into the evening. They often sleep in water with only their noses exposed to air. Capybaras use their scent glands and urine to mark territory. Females scent-mark areas more often during the mating season. Males mark females as well as objects. Reproduction and Offspring Capybaras live in herds of up to twenty individuals. Within the group, there is one dominant males, additional submissive males, females, and young. The dominant male has breeding rights to all of the females, but he cant oversee them all the time, so many of the submissive males also mate. Mating occurs once a year during the rainy season, which may be in April or May (Venezuela) or October or November (Brazil). A females scent changes when she is in estrus, plus she whistles through her nose to advertise fertility. Males pursue females and mate with them in the water. After 130 to 150 days of gestation, the female gives birth on land to a litter of one to eight young. The average litter size is four offspring. Baby capybaras are mobile, and they typically resemble their parents. The female and her young return to the water within a few hours of birth. The young may nurse from any female in the group. They start to eat grass after a week and are weaned around 16 weeks. Capybaras become sexually mature between one and two years of age. Young males often leave the herd when mature. Captive capybaras may live 8 to 10 years. Wild animals only live four years on average because they are popular prey for anacondas, jaguars, eagles, caimans, pumas, ocelots, and humans. Capybara young are miniature versions of their parents. Kevin Schafer, Getty Images Conservation Status Capybara conservation status is classified as least concern by the IUCN. The species is widely distributed and reproduces quickly. In some areas, hunting has diminished capybara numbers, but for the most part the population is stable and abundant. Capybaras and Humans Capybaras are hunted primarily for their meat and skin, although there is also a market for their fat, which is believed to have medicinal value. Ranchers sometimes kill the rodents because they compete with livestock for grazing. Capys are also farmed and kept in zoos. In some places, it is legal to keep a capybara as a pet. The animals are gentle and tolerate hand-feeding and petting. Sources Macdonald, D. W.; Krantz, K.; Aplin, R. T. Behavioral anatomical and chemical aspects of scent marking among Capybaras (Hydrochaeris hypdrochaeris) (Rodentia: Caviomorpha). Journal of Zoology. 202 (3): 341–360, 1984. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.1984.tb05087.xMurphey, R.; Mariano, J.; Mouraduarte, F. Behavioral observations in a capybara colony (Hydrochaeris hypdrochaeris). Applied Animal Behaviour Science. 14: 89, 1985. doi:10.1016/0168-1591(85)90040-1Reid, F. Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN. 2016: e.T10300A22190005. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T10300A22190005.en 502 502 502Woods, C.A. and C.W. Kilpatrick. Infraorder Hystricognathi. In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 1556, 2005. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0.