Abstract A six part paper on the issue of child abuse. The paper defines and offers a history of child abuse. It then evaluates why child abuse exists according to control theory and anomy theory and how socialization agents such as educational/school systems, family, mass media, and peer groups may intervene to eliminate or reduce the occurrence of child abuse is outlined. Finally it reviews the consequences for society/social institutions and future generations if child abuse is not eliminated or reduced.
From the Paper "Utilizing the principles of anomie theory in relation to child abuse, it could be argued that individuals who have become alienated, apathetic, and personal distress as a result of experiencing an emotional and/or financial loss due to the loss of a family member, job, or lover may be more likely to abuse their child. For example, an individual may be laid off from his or her job, become depressed and/or extremely alienated or apathetic, and then turn to alcohol and/or drugs for comfort. Given the alcohol and/or drugs tend to be a depressant, an individual may become overly sensitive and unable to control his or her emotions, which may lead that individual to abuse his or her child as a result of losing his or her perceived function, goals, position, purpose, or status in life."
This paper attempts to answer the question of whether or not male teachers positively affect male students being raised by single mothers and vice versa.
Abstract Via a literature review, personal interviews and extensive data analysis, this paper examines what effects the increase in female-headed households has on male elementary school teachers, particularly those in the primary grades. The paper additionally examines how male teachers construct their own masculinities on a daily basis, how they perceive their dramatic under-representation in the occupation and what meanings this arrangement has for them. Finally, it describes their feelings and ideas about the issue of increasing the number of males in elementary teaching, and whether or not they feel it is unfair for single mothers to place too much "role model" responsibility on their shoulders.
From the Paper \"Some students go through their first six years of school without ever encountering a male teacher (Cohen, 1990). Because of the small number of male teachers, it is thought that schools do not offer boys enough models of male behavior. Today many boys, especially the sons of single mothers, lack such models in their lives, which has caused many single mothers raising boys to purposefully seek out elementary schools where their children can find male teachers, so that they will have at least one male role model in their lives. However the question remains as to whether or not male teachers are critical to a fatherless child's emotional and academic development.\"
Tags: education, experiment, gender, masculine, model, psychology, research, role, students
Abstract This paper assesses the increased rights of youth (such as lowered voting age) and queries whether this should be extended to sexual freedom and women given the legal right to make this decision from a younger age, including concepts such as parental involvement, abortion, and specific attitudes of abortion with regards to rape and incest. Looks at the pros and cons of both sides. Ultimately concludes a female teen has to accept responsibility for her sexual actions, since it is she who takes ownership of her body.
From the Paper "Teenagers make their own private decisions about engaging in sex and should be given the right to be the sole decider of their own reproductive fate. A teenage female who is sexually active is in essence taking responsibility for the consequences. If she opts for birth control, that is her decision. If she becomes pregnant, parental consent should not be a factor in deciding whether a teenager can obtain an abortion. In accepting her own physical maturity, a teenage female also accepts adult responsibility. As a teenage legal right, a female teen takes ownership of her adult body and owns her own behavior by making her own decision to abort or deliver a child."
Abstract This paper defines this conditions and examines what causes Munchausen. It tries to analyze why parents poison their own children from a psychiatric and social point of view. It also looks at treatment available for the disease. Many theories and case studies are provided.
From the Paper "As a parent, you are expected to love and protect your child at any cost. Stories are heard about mothers who chose to give birth instead of taking chemotherapy drugs or fathers who jump in front of cars to save their child. Yet what happens when a parent is so mentally affected that they chose another route, a parent who, instead of protecting their child, chooses instead to hurt them. This is the case with the disease Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy or MSBP. Identified almost exclusively in mothers, MSBP has been one of the most misunderstood mental diseases in recent history. Mothers who have Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy should be treated by a healthcare professional, not by the criminal justice system, yet still these mentally disturbed women are being prosecuted regularly for child abuse."
Abstract A paper which discusses the evils of the Internet and its impact on minors. The Internet is fast becoming a very powerful medium, which is being used for a wide variety of purposes, but there are some serious issues related to nternet access, such as pornography and child predators. This paper addresses these issues and others.
From the Paper "Apart from pornographic material being available to minors, there are some other harmful activities, which can become famous among young children due to Internet. For example many people are of the view that children would be able to able cigarettes over the Internet while underage smoking is banned in the country. They feel that due to the Internet's inability to find out the true age of the consumers, children can indulge in some harmful activities such as smoking and drinking. A survey was conducted among college students to find out if they ever bought alcohol from the Internet sites. While 100 percent of the females said they had never bought alcohol over the Net and 5 percent of male students admitted to have purchased alcohol on the Internet. 36 percent of the males said they had not been asked for an I.D. when buying age-restricted material on the Net. But they majority agreed to have purchased some adult material from the Net, which raises the question of safety for children again. Is it possible for children and teenagers to buy age-restricted material on the Net? "
Tags: indecent, material, negative, protection, sex
Abstract A paper which explores the process of infants' speech development, including understanding of words and the fragmentation process. The paper defines the term 'speech perception' and discusses various studies done in the field and their findings. It discusses research areas related to the topic and summarizes briefly each information source.
From the Paper "The experiment however brought to light the fact that when infants begin to produce speech they end to use variety of "labels" for same or similar things. Hence, any beautiful woman would be his/her mother and any man is the father. Any four-legged animal is doggy etc. Jusczyk's study also indicates that infants often try to confirm their identification through affirmation from parents. Hence, even if they label certain objects, they often turn around for confirmation. The outcome of the study confirmed that infants reserve the meaning of mommy and daddy specifically for their parents. There is no doubt about the fact that they learn to identify these two objects in their memory right from a young age."
Tags: perceptual, motor, e, Discovery, Spoken, Language
A discussion on the consequences of cybercrime on children and the ways in which we can make children safe from sexual predators without harming them in the process.
Abstract This paper proposes a research project on a field of cybercrime that is of particular concern to parents and all of those who are concerned about the safety of children: The exposure of children to pornography through the Internet and the far more serious problem of children's becoming involved in the production of pornography through contacts that they make when surfing the web.
From the Paper "The statistics concerning the incidents of cybercrime are alarming indeed in no small measure because of the myriad ways in which home computers have become integrated into every aspect of our lives. Computers seem to be always on and always available to children and because of this many adults do not remember how vigilant they in fact should be. The following are some important statistics to be aware of:
?1 in 3 households have been intruded upon through the internet. (National White Collar Crime Center)
?Online child pornography/child sex exploitation is the most significant crime problem confronting the FBI that involves crimes against children. (FBI Innocent Images National Initiative)
?There was a 1,264% increase in the number of cases opened over the last four years. (FBI Innocent Images National Initiative). "
This paper discusses the long-term influence parents have on the development of their child, the effect the environment has on this relationship and the consequence this child-context interaction has on the child's further adjustment to the environment
Abstract The paper demonstrates that child-context interaction that begins as bonding at birth and continues through the first four years of a child's life is a strong factor in the child's ability to adjust to the environment and will effect the child for the majority of his life. The author presents research showing that if children have close and healthy relationships with their parents, these children will do better in adjusting to different environments including difficult neighborhoods and schools. He shows how the family's culture and the neighborhood in which they live also can shape child-context interaction.
From the Paper "As the mother and child work together to find the missing puzzle piece, their ability to think and problem solve will be developing. Most of the time the way a child interacts with one parent will be different than when both parents are available. The relationship with mothers are usually nurturing while the relationship with the father is more realistic. They want to be strong and not cry when they get hurt when they are with their father. However, if they are with their mother and they fall and hurt their knee, they want to cry and get a band-aid. The child learns ways to interact with others through the interactions between child-father, between child-mother, and between child-both parents."
Abstract This paper is a frank and candid narrative of typical teenage emotional storms and of how this teenager, the writer, weathered one of those storms. It describes the teenager's need for a solid and secure family environment.
From the Paper "The teenage years can be wrought with psychological trauma; a combination of peer and parental pressures weigh on the developing young person. I was no exception and experienced the difficulties of adolescence as early as ten years old, when my parents first showed signs of separation. I remember talking to my best friend in the mall one afternoon. She told me her parents were getting divorced. At the time I thought little of it, for several of my other friends? parents had already been divorced for years. But for some reason I made a confession: my parents had been fighting a lot, and it was my biggest fear. If they got divorced, I wouldn"t know whom to live with. If they got divorced, it would have been because I"ve been talking back too much, because I?m rude and belligerent. Basically, I feared that my world would be shattered."
Abstract Following a tour of productions lines in Asia, the director of Huntingtons, a clothing company discovered most of the work was being performed by child labor. This paper presents some of the findings of his report. It looks at the spread of child labor in the textile industry across Asia and the dangerous precedent it is setting. It shows how the institution of global ethics could eradicate this problem.
From the Paper "Child labor is a persistent problem throughout the world, especially in developing countries. Africa and Asia together has over 90 percent of total child employment. Child labor is particularly rampant in rural areas where the capacity to enforce minimum age requirements for schooling and work is lacking. Children work for a variety of reasons, the most important being poverty and the induced pressure upon them to escape from this dilemma. Though children are not well paid, they still serve as major contributors to family income in developing countries. Schooling problems also contribute to child labor, whether it is the aloofness of schools or the lack of quality education, which spurs parents to enter their children in more profitable pursuits. Traditional factors such as rigid cultural and social roles in certain countries further limit educational realization and increase child labor."
Abstract This paper examines the phenomenon of child labor. Statistics are provided which highlight this problem. The writer details a history of this practice, looking at its causes and consequences. Literature which deals with child labor is presented - namely Charles Dickens in his many novels. Finally the paper examines this problem today and what can be done to reverse this trend.
From the Paper "In the late 1700's and early 1800's, power-driven machines replaced hand labor for the making of most manufactured items. Factories were springing up everywhere, first in England and then in the United States. The owners of these factories found a new source of labor to run their machines ? children. Operating the power-driven machines did not require adult strength, and children could be hired more cheaply than adults and by the mid-1800's, child labor was a major problem."
Abstract This paper defines various forms of abuse and focuses on sexual abuse on children. It looks at the effects of this abuse from many different angles. It begins by examining the emotional effects which are expressed in the form of traumatic sexualization, stigmatization, betrayal and powerlessness. It also explores the developmental effects, both short term and long term. The paper concludes with a look at "Megan's Law" which requires local authorities to inform a neighborhood if a convicted child molester lives there.
From the Paper "Child sexual abuse involves a broad range of sexual behaviors that take place between a child and an older person. These sexual behaviors are planned to erotically stir the older person, commonly without concern for the consequences, choices, or outcome of the behavior upon the child. Definite conducts that are sexually offensive frequently involve bodily contact, such as in the state of sexual kissing, touching, fondling of genitals, and oral, anal, or vaginal contact. Nevertheless, behaviors might be sexually abusive even if they do not entail contact, such as in the case of genital exposure, verbal force for sex, and sexual abuse for purposes of prostitution or pornography."
Abstract This paper considers Section 51A Chapter 119 Massachusetts General Law which deals with notifying the authorities in cases of suspected abuse, and places personal liabilities on professionals, such as teachers. The paper considers the complication of the law and its implementation.
From the Paper "The law has been written by man to protect man from man, however when the laws were first written at no time did man believe or feel that man would harm a child, however over the centuries man has become more perverted and corrupt, as such new laws have been provided and implemented to protect our future generations from abuse and harm by adults. "
Abstract This paper discusses sexual molestation of children. It provides a review of pertinent literature and quotes statistics relating to sexual offenders and victims. The paper outlines a proposal for a research, the purpose being to discover if females who are sexually abused before puberty are more likely to become sexually promiscuous when they begin the pubescent stage compared to females who were not sexually abused before puberty.
From the Paper "Child sexual abuse, CSA, is said to occur when children experience sexual contact with an adult or an older child through coercion or deceptive manipulation at an age and stage of development at which the child does not posses sufficient maturity to understand the nature of the acts and therefore are not able to provide informed consent. Physical force is often not necessary due to the fact that the perpetrator is likely someone with whom the child has a trusting relationship and who is in a position of authority over the child (Arcus 1998). "The type of sexual contact may involve intercourse, touching or fondling the genitals or secondary sex organs with hands, mouth, or objects, or being forced to perform sexual acts with another person" (Arcus 1998). A child may be coerced into disrobing and exposing themselves, or watching adults disrobe or engage in sexual activity, thus contact may not involve actually touching the child."
Abstract This paper discusses much of the controversy surrounding definition what is a nuclear family. This paper examines whether or not the family as we know it, has disappeared. The paper looks at the affect that the changing role of women in society has had on the family. The paper also looks at some other factors that have contributed to the redefining of the family, including divorce and the rise of single-parent homes, the increased visibility of non-traditional families and the role that the media has played in this question.
From the Paper "Why must working mothers shoulder all of the blame for the supposedly doom's day outlook that the world is going bad? This begins to sound like stereotypical scape goating. The 1992 election was a perfect example of this type of unsupported biased opinion. Dan Quayle openly condemned the fall from traditional roles by Murphy Brown as setting a bad example for our youth. The subject of "family values" became one of the most heated debates of the campaign. Had Mr. Quayle actually read the statistics, he would have realized that marriage rate has gone up and down many times in the twentieth century and that we were not at low point when he made those condemning statements."
