A comparison essay that contrasts "Youth Gangs and Moral Panics in Santa Cruz" by Tim Lucas and "Living on the Street: Social Organization and Gender Relations in Australian Street Kids" by Hilary Winchester and Lauren Costello.
Abstract Discussing how gang activity is on the rise throughout the United States, along with the poverty that is the root cause. Comparing two articles that deal with this issue - Tim Lucas' article focuses on the general panic across America concerning the presence and spread of gangs. It explores the barriers built between the white majority and the impoverished Hispanic minority in Santa Cruz's Beach Flats area, and discusses how these barriers have affected the rise of gangs. The second article details a study in which Australian street kids were observed and interviewed. This study focused on gender relations between street kids as well as social organization and moral conduct. These two articles are compared on several grounds, this first being an assessment of the main points of each, second is an evaluation of their contributions to the literature on this subject. Next, the differing approaches to research are contrasted, as well as the results of this research. Finally, the strengths and weaknesses of each article are compared.
From the Paper "The issue of urban poverty, homelessness and gangs is a very serious one, and will only continue to gain importance as more and more of the world develops. These two articles both deal with this issue but in very different ways. Lucas tries to develop a model that can be universally applied to urban gangs, and does this through the example of the Beach Flats area of Santa Cruz. It's main conclusions are that although youth crime is increasing, there is an over inflated fear of this increase, and that it is the boundaries formed in the midst of this moral panic that the problem of youth gangs is exacerbated. Winchester and Costello's article is at the opposite end of the spectrum, in that it focuses solely on a single group of homeless children, in an attempt to understand their nature more thoroughly, but with no attempt made to provide deeper insight into the problem of homelessness as a whole."
Abstract This paper provides an overview of the film "KIDS" and looks at the issues that the film brings up such as AIDS, drugs, violence and teenage sex. The paper shows that the film's intention is not to encourage the behavioral problems that the teens in this movie portrayed, but to emphasize the importance of the role of a parent in a teenager's life.
From the Paper "In the summer of 1995 Larry Clark, an established stills photographer, shocked society with his first directed movie known as KIDS. Over the course of one humid Manhattan day this film follows the lives of a handful of teens in the streets of New York. So much controversy has arisen due to the plethora of profanity, drugs, violence, and sex that take place in the brief hour and a half movie. Within this day there are three sex scenes, occurrences of trespassing, stealing, urinating in public, and a disturbing scene where a mob of teens beat up an African American. The director used such extreme measures to force people to think twice about teenagers? activities and actions that are undoubtedly shaping our youth. Since kids are not getting enough attention from their parents they look for it in another place, with their friends. Teenagers find it fundamental to fit in with a group of friends because friendships appear to be the only way to cure loneliness. Friendships allow teens to fit in, but at the same time they can be easily influenced to do things that they would not normally do. Larry Clark portrays teenagers as violent drug abusers, who are being ignorant towards societal rules and end up living unruly lives. Obviously, not all teenagers live this type of fractious life, which is most prevalent in the inner city population. Every teenager does not do drugs and routinely walk down the streets of their neighborhood with forty's of Old English in the mid day. But the movie KIDS portrays what can happen to any teen. While parents are too involved with their jobs, inner city New York teens get lost in the hustle and bustle environment and are forced to experience reality on their own. Lacking love from their family some teenagers take it upon themselves to start doing what they want, when they want. This often results in the teen losing respect for all authority and they become inconsiderate for other beings. As they become their own parents they may get increasingly vulnerable to sexually transmitted diseases, like AIDS. All of these possible results stem in part from the absence of an authority figure in a teenager's life."
Abstract This is a personal essay that explores the concept of the perfect kid. The paper attempts to define perfection by looking at what does and what does not qualify as perfect. It looks at what factors may contribute to creating the perfect person and puts forth several possible definitions of human perfection.
From the Paper "I suppose I blushed because in my head I am not the perfect kid. Besides, what is perfection and why do I feel I have not achieved it? Do I even want to achieve it? When I think of perfection I always think of the story of John Humphrey Noyes who died in 1886. Noyes was an outspoken religious and communal leader who in the 1860's helped found Oneida Community in central New York. Noyes had some crazy ideas and wrote some outrageous doctrines regarding alternative forms of marriage, but more important to this discussion is that he felt that he had reached perfection. ?Born in Brattleboro, Vermont, Noyes was educated at Dartmouth and the Andover Seminary. While at Yale Divinity School, he announced that he had achieved human perfection and was promptly expelled.? (Author not available, Noyes, John Humphrey (1811-1886)) Will I be expelled if I reach the realm of human perfection and become the perfect kid?"
Abstract This paper examines the concept of a "third culture kid", as defined in Pollock and Van Reken's book. It explains that these children are a result of globalization and business people who travel around the world taking their families with them. According to the authors, the experiences of youths who spend a significant part of their childhood living overseas are both beneficial and challenging. These benefits and challenges are examined in this paper.
From the Paper "The authors spoke with a number of Third Culture Kid (TCK) parents about the time spent in other countries. For others who plan on going abroad or have already left, the book brings new insights and gives support knowing that one's family is not alone. It would also pay for companies to give a copy to each of its employees heading off to distant lands. For those who live in the United States, the book provides another way of looking at the impact of an increasingly global world."
Abstract This paper introduces the book and explains why it is aptly titled "The Comeback Kid". It tells how unlike Richard Nixon, the only other president to have faced possible impeachment, Clinton refused to bow out. He firmly faced opposition, charges, attacks, scandals and almost everything one can imagine in such a scenario to finally emerge victorious once more when he was elected President for the second time. The paper explains that the book covers everything from Clinton's school and college days, his activities during the period, his 12-year long illicit affair with a nightclub singer, his marijuana smoking, his refusal to serve in the army during Vietnam War, and how his wife stood by him throughout and helped him counter these charges.
From the Paper "Unlike some other biographies that focus a little too intensely on professional achievements, Portis and Allen's book deals more with the personal side of Bill Clinton. The untold story of his personal life comes to the fore in this brilliant book and the readers get a chance to see the real Clinton behind all that aura and mystery. The most important question raised by the book was if Bill Clinton could be considered suitable as a president. And concludes that despite his many failings and personal flaws, Clinton could prove to be an effective president. Bill Clinton is portrayed as a man with gifts of articulation, expression and elocution. He won the hearts of millions during his political campaigns because he had an innate ability to develop instant connection with people. For example on one occasion, while addressing a gathering of students, Clinton recited 100 lines of Macbeth from memory, leaving the audience completely breathless."
Tags: impeachment, president, america, united, states
Abstract This paper presents a brief introduction to Egbede World Outreach for Saving the Kids, a benefaction of the Edo prince Nosa Okunbor and others, often of the Nigerian elite abroad. The paper shows that the organization is typical of those that emerge in response to particular, topical developments, in this case, the news that Nigerian anti-AIDS treatment was being extended to adult cases, ignoring the countries thousands HIV positive children.
From the Paper "The mass media can give the idea that large and longstanding non-governmental organizations, or United Nations agencies, are the main source of relief or development work in poor societies. However, Nigeria's Egbede World Outreach for Saving the Kids provides a reminder of how important quite small, and privately financed projects can be. The charity's main sponsor has been Prince Nosa Okunbor, a member of a family much involved in different kinds of Christian and other Edo activism, alert to the need to invest in children in sub-Saharan Africa, as the only chance for the future."
Abstract This paper discusses and reviews the film, "The Kid Who Couldn't Miss," produced by Paul Cowen and directed by William Cowen. It discusses the style and the plot of the film and suggests that it is an entertaining and clever way to call in to question the integrity of the Ace Pilot, Billy Bishop. The paper also briefly looks at how the film notes the importance of glamorizing the biplane Aces in World War I.
From the Paper "William Cowens, The Kid Who Couldn't Miss is the fascinating account of how a brash kid from Owen Sound, Ontario, named William Avery (Billy) Bishop, became one of the leading Ace pilots of World War I. The Film Directed by William Cowen and relesed by the National Film Board of Canada does more then reiterate the experiances of one of Canada's most decorated war hero's. In a "docudrama" fasion the film brings together insightful narrating by William Hutt and World War I veteran interveiws, with clips from a 1969 staged play called Billy Bishop Goes to War. The Film The Kid who Couldn't Miss is an entertaining and clever way to call in to question the integrity of the Ace Pilot Billy Bishop and to note the importance of glamorizing the biplane Aces in World War I."
A rhetorical and semiotic analysis of a CBS news item, "Myspace: Your Kids' Danger: Popular Social Networking Site Can Be Grounds For Sexual Predators," by Sandra Hughes.
Abstract This paper presents a rhetorical analysis of Sandra Hughes' CBS news item, "MySpace: Your Kids' Danger? Popular Social Networking Site Can Be Grounds For Sexual Predators." It aims to move beyond the implicit and relatively superficial review of the text to a fuller understanding of how the text creates meaning, how it helps the reader to construct knowledge and how it sways us to take action. The paper specifically looks at how the language of this article works.
From the Paper "Visually, the story is arranged as a headline, a smaller-font secondary headline, and then twenty-two paragraphs, this for a story containing not quite 650 words. Immediately below the headlines, half of the reading column is taken up by a graphical image showing a computer in silhouette with transparencies of several young children, mostly girls, and several of them using cellphones. Below the graphic is a quote, suggesting the danger the article warns of. The effect of the graphic, the quote, and the headlines is to draw readers to the story that follows, a story that opens with three suggestive vignettes about children being approached in a sexually explicit manner on the Internet. Two of the three teenage girls described in the opening vignettes were murdered."
Abstract This paper examines the effect that divorce has on kids. Uncertainty is a big factor for kids as they grow. Studies are looked at in this paper in examining this important topic in our society.
Abstract This paper examines the rising trend of cold-blooded, ruthless slayings performed by minors. It looks at recent cases and tries to establish what is turning these children into ruthless killers by analyzing two major issues, the impact of television violence on children and the issue of kids having access to guns as related to violent crime. It reviews the rise of violence on television and attempts to pinpoint the link between viewing violence and acting the violence out as well as evaluate what can be done about the media violence problem. It looks at current gun control laws and the ease in which minors can acquire firearms.
From the Paper "In Boston, no young people have died from gun wounds in more than two years thanks, in part, to gun tracking. What has made gun tracking easier to do is the fact that the possession of firearms among teens is "chic"?that is, children are bragging to their friends and displaying handguns that make them feel important and brings them attention from others. Nearly 13,000 guns were used in crimes in New York City last year alone. Of those, eleven percent came from juveniles. Nationwide, the figure is ten percent. In Seattle and Memphis, juveniles were responsible for more than twenty percent of illegal gun crimes. Experts have proven that if you want to decrease violent youth crime, you must decrease the supply of guns into the market."
Tags: violence, television, firearms, gun, control
Abstract This paper explores the benefits of children's television programing, with a special focus on "Sesame Street". The paper provides a brief history of childrens programs as well as of "Sesame Street" specifically, from its first airing in 1969. The paper explains how shows like Sesame Street have enormous benefit in sending a great message to children of all backgrounds and cultures, evident by its translation and creation in many countries from Israel and the Palestinian territories, to Russia, China, Australia etc. The paper concludes with the writer's own experiences of watching t.v. as a kid.
From the Paper "The recognition of children's television programming as a useful tool for education has been present since the inception of programming that is geared directly towards children and their education. Within the world of children's television there are several mainstay programs which are independently recognized as the gems of educational television. Among the very cream of the crop stands Sesame Street. The program has been around for many years and has been a recognized leader since its first airing in 1969."
This paper compares and contrasts two articles that try to explain the underlying causes of teen violence: "Missing the Mark" by Jackson Katz and Sur Jhally and "Stop Blaming Kids and TV" by Mike Males.
Abstract This paper discusses how Katz and Jhally argue that teen violence is a male-centric occurrence caused by socialization that promotes violent masculinity. Males provide a gender-neutral view of teen violence that he believes is caused by parents who engage in domestic violence. It shows how both articles deal with the subject of teenage violence and avoid placing blame on teens for their troubled behavior. Instead, these articles present the idea of imitation as a cause of teen violence, but they differ on who the kids are imitating.
From the Paper "Males presents his theory of teen violence in a gender-neutral presentation. He focuses on violence in general and omits cases of shootings and mass murder carried out by male teams such as the infamous Columbine High School event. Males points to differences in occurrences of violence between different races and classes as proof that images in mass media aren?t as important as family circumstances to contributing to the violence. According to Males, "In practical terms, media-violence theories are not about kids, but about race and class. If TV accounts for any meaningful fraction of murder levels amid poorer, nonwhite youth, why doesn"t it have the same effect on white kids?? Unlike Males, Katz and Jhally, believe that trying to view teen violence in a gender-neutral fashion will blind us from understanding and resolving the youth violence problem. They point to school shootings such as Columbine, murder, assault and rape as being predominately a male phenomenon. They also argue that girls are growing up in the same environment as males, but are not responding to their situation in the same violent ways as males are."
Abstract The relationships between straight and "new" parents and gay children undergo complex social and psychological processes that lie mostly beyond their immediate emotional and social controls. This paper examines those processes, relevant theories of explaining those processes, and the positions of straight parents and gay kids in the processes.
Abstract This paper looks at the challenges faced by parents and support groups of kids with special needs. The paper begins by explaining that, as well as strong and committed parents, it often helps to have a support network, perhaps a church group or social workers to help with the task. The paper also explores specific case studies of such children and shows how the parenting unit is by far the most important for the child and the most effective at providing the care needed.
Contents
Introduction
Parent Education and Risk Factors
Summary of Findings
Literature Review
Working with Families with Disabled Children
Measuring the Impact of Social Services Aid to the Family
From the Paper "The compounding of environmental and biological risk in their follow-up of infants from the neonatal intensive care nursery (NICU) who reside in extremely poor inner city neighborhoods in Chicago. They noted that many parents from these communities appeared not to believe in the value of medical care. They felt they had received poor care in the past from providers who were not responsive to their individual problems. As an apparent consequence of these attitudes, many parents of infants in the NICU had no or poor prenatal care themselves, and they demonstrated low amounts of importance placed on caring for their infants. These parents were inconsistent about bringing their infants in to scheduled NICU follow-up appointments."
Tags: mental, retardation, education, nurse, social, work, psychology, care
Abstract This papers presents a brief review of the current state of safety in schools, beginning with statistics on the rate of crime in the U.S. school system. The paper then outlines the methods being implemented to ensure the safety of school kids, including metal detectors at all schools, less violence on TV, locker searches, and more. The writer then offers some specific examples of unsafe activity at schools and what was done to deal with it.
From the Paper "The principal of the school did not hesitate in taking immediate disciplinary action, and without the benefit of a detailed investigation, promptly expelled the offending student. The incident at Smithson High is an interesting one since this particular school had gone to a great amount of expense and effort in installing state-of-the-art surveillance and security measures in order to prevent violence. Thus, the incident serves as a case study in the purported effectiveness of such measures in promoting school safety. Further, the Smithson case is also illustrative of the inadequacy of punitive measures in controlling and preventing violence in schools. For, it is unlikely, that disciplinary actions such as expulsion succeed in preventing violence from occurring in the future."
