Abstract The paper shows that in the wake of the much-publicized debacle involving numerous male child molestation cases within the Catholic Church, the vast majority of which were allegedly "covered up" by the leaders of the Catholic Church, Massachusetts passed a new law. It explains that clergy members, as well as paid religious educators and other individuals specified under the law, must report incidents of child abuse, including child sexual abuse. This essay addresses whether the Massachusetts state government and the churches at issue will be able to feasibly manage and enforce the new law.
From the Paper "Fifth, clergy are exempted from the reporting requirements if knowledge of a child abuse incident is solely obtained during a confession or other confidential communication. This exemption for "confidential communications" will also prove problematic. The law gives little guidance as to what is considered a confidential communication. We can quite easily imagine a scenario in which almost every communication or action within a church setting is deemed by the church clergy as "confidential", and therefore, exempt from the reporting law."
Abstract The paper introduces Faye and Bud, who are retired, and their 19-year-old grandson, Mark, who is a hydrocephalic. The paper describes their diet and health problems and how they relate to one another. It explains the role of each member in the family and describes how the finances are managed. The paper discusses their religion, values and social life.
From the Paper "The family has traditional middle class American values in which family and church are the basis for family roles and behavior. They are extremely active in their religion and value and enjoy all church related activities. Mark regularly attends church with them and likes both the music and socialization. This spiritual life helps to provide an outlet for stress related to caring for Mark and dealing with aging."
Abstract This paper analyzes and examines whether a college education is a wise investment. It discusses factors that influence an individual's decision of whether to attend college, and what factors influence an individual's choice of majors if he/she decides to attend college. Society's stake in the higher education of individuals is reviewed. The paper concludes with recommendations for individuals deciding whether to attend college.
From the Paper "Few issues in life have a clear, uniform answer. College education is one such issue. Traditionally, individuals and society have viewed college education as the primary key or starting point to obtaining a successful career. However, the increase in unemployment and the ensuing severe and decline in the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq illustrate that a college education is no longer a guarantee that an individual will be successful."
From the Paper "The subject of this paper is the effects of breast-feeding on infant nutrition and development as compared to the effects of bottle feeding. The issue of breast-feeding versus bottle feeding has been greatly debated by scientists, pediatricians and parents. Determining the benefits of breast-feeding infants is critical in enabling parents to make an informative choice when deciding to breast-feed or bottle feed their infants. Some scientists have found that breast milk contains elements that provide greater immunity to infants than formula milk, thus preventing them from getting infections (Rosenblith, 1992, p. 169). Furthermore, there is a close association between maternal-infant bonding and breast-feeding (Rosenblith, 1992, p. 169). Breast-feeding requires constant intimate physical contact between the mother and infant. After birth, the mother needs the..."
From the Paper "Family systems theory conceives of the family as an emotional unit and the individual as part of that unit. The theory assumes that an order and predictability common to all human family relationships regulates the family system. This natural family system operates as a single mutually-influencing unit from which each person must differentiate herself, particularly the children as they move through the process of self-definition. A healthy family system is composed of well-differentiated parents who provide the resources their children need to differentiate themselves, thereby reducing unhealthy behaviors such as emotional reactivity and chronic anxiety."
From the Paper " The problem of family violence, particularly the abuse and neglect of children, has only recently captured public attention. Abuse in such cases includes physical beatings, emotional or psychological abuse, and sexual exploitation directed against women, children and even the elderly (Perrucci & Knudsen, 1990). Neglect involves failure to provide for the physical and social needs of a female partner, elderly dependent, or child through lack of adequate food, shelter, protection, or other care. It is impossible to identify the extent of child abuse and neglect in this country, but estimates of physical abuse of children range from 50,000 to 100,000 cases annually in the United States; one estimate suggests that at least 14 percent of all American children are physically mistreated seriously enough each year to qualify as abused (Perrucci & Knudsen, 1990). "
From the Paper "Adolescent Boys, Family Life & Gangs
Introduction
Youth gangs are usually defined as groups of young people who frequently engage in illegal activity on a group basis (Rogers, 1991, p. 20). Generally, 90 to 95 percent of gang members are males, many of them adolescent males (Curry & Decker, 1998, p. 97). Gangs are usually territorial in nature, identifying with a particular neighborhood and protecting their "turf" from encroachment by other gangs. Better organized gangs often control economically motivated crime such as burglary, extortion or drug-trafficking at the neighborhood level. They may also sell "protection" from criminal activity to legitimate merchants (Rogers, 1991, p. 20). Generally, youth gangs exploded in the 1980s in what one researcher called "an historic American urban social problem" (Rogers, 1991, p. 20). "
From the Paper "Autism: Impact on Parents and Siblings
Definition of Autism
Autism is a neuropsychiatric disorder that disrupts the typical development of social, communicative and cognitive skills. These symptoms often appear within the first three years of the child's life. In the social domain, autistic individuals are unable to form typical peer relationships and interact reciprocally with others. They often exhibit strange behavior that alienates them from others. Communicative delays are characterized by a delay or lack of language. In the case of verbal individuals, they are unable to start or maintain a conversation; their speech is characterized by echolalia (repetitive speech) and idiosyncratic language. The development of their cognitive skills is limited because of their restricted range of .."
From the Paper "I. INTRODUCTION
Openness in adoption is both a philosophical concept and a description of relationships (Silverstein & Roszia, 637). Over the last two decades, adoption agencies in the United States have moved toward offering more opportunities for open adoption (McRoy 2000). Adoption in the United States formally began with statutory requirements in the early twentieth century that adoption be confidential and that birth certificates and adoption records be sealed (Grotevant & McRoy 1998). By the early 1950s almost every state had implemented adoption statutes that imposed complete confidentiality for the birthparents. However, research in the 1970s began to raise questions about the effect of such confidentiality on the .."
From the Paper "In Brave New Families Judith Stacey describes the postmodern family not as a single model but as "diverse, fluid, and unresolved" versions of association in an era when there is no longer "a single culturally dominant family pattern to which the majority of Americans conform and most of the rest aspire" (Stacey, 1998, p. 17). Stacey carefully explains that the "modern" family--a single-earner, male-headed form of family--that was the goal of blue-collar and middle-class Americans was a brief interlude in history. It was realized in large part by middle-class families but remained more of a dream for many blue-collar workers for whom home ownership, stay-at-home mothers, and other aspects of this mode of living either signified important steps up in class or the promise of such advancement for their children. At the same time, however, there were many in the..."
Abstract This paper aims at researching boot camps in an effort to go beyond the overly simplistic media portrayal, to clarify the who, what, when, where and why of the issue. The paper illustrates all the issues involved in the designing of a successful boot camp which will allow for maximal societal adjustment of juvenile criminals and minimal recidivism. The writer outlines the effectiveness and ineffectiveness of boot camps and discusses the future of boot camps.
Table of Contents
Introduction
The History of Juvenile Boot Camps
What is a Boot Camp?
Why Do Juvenile Boot Camps Exist?
Who Occupies Juvenile Boot Camps?
Where Are Juvenile Boot Camps?
Boot Camp Design
A Made-In-Ontario Solution: Canada's First Juvenile Boot Camp
Types of Offenders
Youth Demographics
Factors Associated with Delinquency
The Effectiveness of Boot Camps
The Ineffectiveness of Boot Camps
The Negative Impact of Boot Camps
Boot Camps as a Less Costly Alternative to Incarceration
Positive Impacts on Behavior
Aftercare
Public Response and Boot Camps
The Future of Boot Camps
Conclusion
References
From the Paper "If the average North American were to rely solely on the media for accurate information about youth crime, we would have a continent of misinformed people. The media would like us to believe that there is an epidemic of youth crime despite extensive evidence to the contrary. This media attention, however inaccurate, has led the public to demand the justice system deal more harshly with young offenders. The result of this public outcry was the establishment of boot camps for juvenile offenders."
Abstract This paper states that the problem of preventing adolescent suicide is the difficulty developing a risk factor model or profile to predict which adolescents are at risk for suicide. The author feels that more research needs to be done to help create such a risk factor model. The paper recommends that the intervention of family and friends can cause a dramatic decrease in the numbers of adolescent who attempt suicide.
From the Paper "The general idea of a teenage candidate for suicide is usually the loner type who has few friends, not a great social life, listens to a certain type of music, like Marilyn Manson for example, and is a very introverted person (Sanchez 352). This is not always the case however. There are always the stories of the popular kid in class, who was the captain of the football team, on the honor roll, and got into a great college, and then one day he is in the newspaper because he hung himself off a bridge."
Discusses the ramifications of deregulation the adoption market. Some pundits are endorsing the outright sale of children or, as they euphemize, the sale of parental rights.
900 words (approx. 3.6 pages), 4 sources, 1996, $ 31.95
From the Paper "The adoption market has been examined from a number of perspectives with an eye to reform and improvement and to provide a more socially beneficial structure to the placement of children. One issue that has been much discussed is baby-selling, which might also be designated as the "sale of parental rights," as Boudreaux (1995) prefers to call it. Richard Posner is one legal and economic theorist who has called for a change in the adoption rules to liberalize the process and make the process more in keeping with the demands of the marketplace, and others have taken up the same argument and called for a major shift in thinking regarding the way the adoption market is handled.
Posner (1992) examines the legal protection of children and the proper role of the state in relation to children. He begins..."
From the Paper "LABOR PARTICIPATION AS A FUNCTION OF SELECTED VARIABLES: A MULTIPLE REGRESSION ANALYSIS
This research assesses the labor participation rate in the United States as a function of selected demographic factors. The labor participation rate is the proportion of the non institutionalized population aged 16 and over that is included in the civilian labor force, i.e., the proportion of that population segment that seeks paid employment (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1994). The demographic factors selected for the assessment of the labor participation rate were as follows:
1. The proportion of African Americans in the total population. The U.S. Department of Labor publications refer to African Americans as ?blacks.? Thus, the term "blacks" is used in the remainder of this research report."
From the Paper " SUBSTANCE ABUSE PROBLEMS OF ADOLESCENTS FROM DIVORCED FAMILIES:
RESEARCH PAPER
Review of the Literature
The purpose of this paper is to delineate, discuss and summarize the existing research on substance abuse problems of adolescents from divorced families. The presented review covers two broad categories of studies. These are: (1) studies examining whether adolescents living in divorced families are more likely to abuse substances than adolescents living in intact nuclear homes; and (2) evaluative studies of diverse kinds of treatment for adolescent substance abusers living in divorced family situations.
Influence of Parental Divorce on Adolescent Substance Abuse
Examination of the existing research tends to indicate that.."
