9. December 2011 by student.

Gender is an important part of today’s society. Since the time we were four we knew whether we wanted a “girl” toy or a “boy” toy from the golden arches. Many people feel pressure to conform to what society views as feminine and masculine. I think the media uses gender to it’s advantage in a negative way. All little girls grow up and want to be Cinderella or Snow White and be rescused by this handsome and usually rich prince. Little boys watch these movies and are forced to believe that’s how men should act. One of the most handsome and desirable men in Disney is Gaston from Beauty and the Beast, he was “handsome” and rich and the epitime of a manly man. Women flocked to him even though he was a jerk.I think these ideals are handed down and can kind of shape the culture for children today. Children don’t have a lot of positive role models and I think it’s a major social problem that needs to be addressed soon before we breed more “helpless” girls and “mean” boys.

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9. December 2011 by student.

Many issues in our society are discussed with much concern. The constructive conversation on solutions and causes of social problems may be discussed. One, social issue that we have in our society that isn’t talked about as much or rather when the topic is brought up, the disgust is there. Some might say they are not human beings or they are extremely sick? The sick part too many psychologist is true. What is this sickness that causes issues in our society? Pedophiles are a problem in our society that must be regulated, because of the damage it does to children. Now, many of you might feel sick to your stomach, because the thought of the actions of a pedophile is unfathomable.

            What is a pedophile? Many people’s idea of a pedophile is slightly incorrect, because of change of definition and misunderstanding of these people. One misunderstanding that many people have is linking pedophiles and predators. According to Dr. Herbert Wagemaker, a certified board psychiatrist describes a pedophile as a person having sexual desires with children. These children have to be prepubescent for the person to be considered a pedophile. If the child isn’t prepubescent then the person is considered a predator. A pedophile in most cases would completely mentally and physically cut him/herself off from the child when they reach puberty.  Also, according to many psychologists this is considered a mental illness.

            The harm to the child being manipulated by the pedophile may serve psychological issues for the rest of their life. The children subjected to this abuse may also suffer from relationship issues and become an abuser themselves.

            There has been a solution to the problem such as, tracking pedophiles, raising awareness, and even chemical castration which doesn’t work, because the relation that most pedophiles carry is based on power. This power trip comes from manipulating a child into sexual behaviors. A system of sex offenders from predators to pedophiles is another solution. The links below provide some substantial reading material if you want to know more.

http://www.cpiu.us/statistics-2/

http://www.sexlaws.org/node/3987/print

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9. December 2011 by student.

Have you ever bullied or been bullied? If you have bullied or been bullied then you should know how bullying feels like. Bullying is very negative and creates major problems for our society. Nothing good comes out of bullying. It could very well change or ruin a person’s life. In fact, it does ruin many people’s lives. Kids can be mentally scarred if they are teased often. Even worse, they could be killed or fatally injured if the bullying gets extreme. There are many causes for bullying which must be taken care of before bullying can be stopped. T.V. violence, families in poverty, and mis-teachings are just several of the many serious causes for bullying. Bullying must be stopped or prevented no matter how long it will take, it is a deeply concerning matter. Bullying does not always have to be childish play, it can be extremely violent. People may be bruised, injured, or even killed. Kids under bad influence may turn very violent. Parents, relatives, friends, T.V., music and pictures may all influence people, especially when they are depressed or are in a lowered state of mind. Violence on T.V. is a very big influence, particularly the wrestling and fighting shows. Also, T.V. shows are quite readily available for anyone to watch. Kids may try “moves” on people at school because they believe it’s cool. As well, cooperation from childrens’ parents is important, some parents actually encourage their children to fight to look cool or don’t teach them properly. Kids must take their own initiative, as well, they must find out what’s wrong and what’s right for themselves sometimes. Many kids don’t take bullying seriously. However, when a real incident occurs, they are unprepared, shocked, regretful, or dead. Bullying must stop, for it is destroying the lives and futures of many innocents, perhaps not killing them, but ruining them. People may end up physically distorted, paralysed, or dead because of bullying. Aside from physical harm, there is also mental harm. This is equally as destructive. Kids may become extremely depressed from being bullied. As a result, they may refuse to eat, become suicidal, or in return bully other kids to make themselves feel better. Although some of these examples of effects may not seem too serious, they really are. Commonly, there are incidents where bullied students go to school and slaughter many people and eventually kill themselves. For example, several weeks ago Killarney Secondary School had an angered student come to their cafeteria with a knife looking for someone. Dozens of innocent kids have been killed in these types of incidents because one or several kids bullied a student. Most of these incidents occur because a group of kids thought it was cool to bully, or just to show off. These peer pressure incidents caused a great deal of harm and suffering. However, peer pressure is just one of the many reasons bullying occurs. Disfunctional families, being bullied, bad moods, not being taught rights and wrongs are, as well, causes for bullying. As bullying runs amuck, many people will lose their morale, self-confidence, and determination. These people will become lost in despair and may find themselves bullying others which will only create more problems. We must put a stop to bullying. The results of bullying are all negative and very serious. In reality, many bullied people end up with seriously physically injured because people to do no know the extents of bullying. As well, other bullied people may remain in suffering and cower in their homes in fright of bullies. Many of these people have disorders which will “eat” at them till they die. If people are not aware of the potential consequences of bullying, they may have their lives ruined or shattered, or even worse, live to see their family or friends suffer. This bullying must be stopped and prevented before more lives are taken.

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9. December 2011 by student.

It is true that discrimination is rooted in human nature, but where does society learn to discriminate? Babies are not born to discriminate, yet as they grow they learn to. When first born, everyone is “neutral” so to say, and their childhood experiences influence who they grow up to be. Throughout a child’s life, agents of socialization such as family, friends, peers and culture will directly or indirectly teach them how to discriminate. These agents of socialization surround the child during their first few years and that is how they first learn about the world. “Discrimination should emerge at about age 4, when children apparently have a well-developed sense of group or social identity.” (Fishbein 38) This explains that children by age four are able to make connections and apply what they have learned or what they have been taught. Children also learn how to discriminate through observational learning. They often replicate what they see; therefore if they see someone they look up to acting a certain way, chances are they will mirror that.

Experiences as a child can stay with individuals and can shape their outlook towards others. When applying Erikson’s theory, if a child witnesses discrimination and does not resolve the issue, they carry it on into adulthood. By the time an individual is in their teenage years, they will be able to make distinctions among people based on their own experiences, feelings and teachings. This is important since in stage 5 of Erikson’s Theory, individuals are developing their own identity as well as forming social relationships. This involves choosing who their friends are and often times by doing this, discrimination takes place. Therefore, society and socialization are to blame for teaching children how to discriminate, making it a learned behaviour.

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9. December 2011 by student.

Poverty does not have one clear definition. It is a complicated, multi-faceted concept. For this essay the term ‘poverty’ will be used to mean a lack of access to basic resources including food, clean water, sanitation, education and capital. The term ‘absolute poverty’ signifies a population that is living below $1 (U.S) a day; therefore over 1.2 billion people on Earth are living in absolute poverty. ‘Relative poverty’ is poverty within a country. Although New Zealand has a high human development, there are still people within the country who are relatively poor, compared with richer people in the country. These relatively poor people are not living in absolute poverty but can be considered poor and are therefore living in ‘relative poverty’.

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9. December 2011 by student.

Gambling addiction is a serious problem that destroys millions of lives every year. Pathalogical gambling is no less dangerous than a drug or alcohol addiction. Gambling addictions have the power to strip individuals of everything they hold dear, including morale as well as will to live. Serious cases of gambling addiction can have wide spread and devastating effects on the both the addict and their loved ones. A gambling addiction can start just like any other addiction. Just like drugs or alcohol it all begins with one high. Only with gambling that one high is just one win. The progression of gambling addiction can vary greatly depending on several factors. One part of how a  gambling addiction seems start is based towards the kinds of games played. Many people who play more strategic and what they call skill games like poker tend to move at a much more slower rate than those who play quick, immediate gratifying games like slot machines or video poker. These players will progress at a much faster pace normally. Gambling addiction has 3 main stages. They are the winning stage, the losing stage, and the depression stage. A gambling addict will experience these three stages through they’re progress towards pathological gambling. The winning stage of gambling addiction is often considered to still be “fun”. Gambling begins to be a part of life as the gambler starts to enjoy the high or escape that gambling gives to them. The gambler also begins to talk about his or her gambling experiences more often, as winning streaks, or a big win become justification for more gambling.The behaviors we see of someone in this first stage are small subtle signs of a decent into a compulsive gambling addiction. The losing stage of gambling addiction is when problems begin to become more obvious and the euphoria of winning has now begun to diminish. The depression stage of gambling addiction is the stage when the gambling addict sees more extreme depression and anxiety. This comes from mounting financial pressures and continued gambling loses. The gambler will become increasingly isolated from friends and loves ones and they will be desperate to have a change of luck with their gambling. While gambling may have been the escape to begin with, once it has become the very source of depression and anxiety, many addicts begin to drink or abuse drugs as an “escape” from their first escape. It is at this point everything becomes the equivalent of a nightmare. My solution to this problem would be the obvious. If we know someone we think has a problem it would be best to address it during the winning stage. Although the signs may be subtle if we have any inclination of a problem it would be best to address it then. Casinos should also be aware of repeat customers, people who show up everyday and do not know when to stop. Although there are hotlines for help a great way to regulate this would be to have casino security head and dealers know what they are looking for. For families this can be very hard to point out because everything seems great if the person comes home winning. Generally in dog tracks and casinos it is normally a very family environment in the sense that everyone knows the dealers and the security heads because they are always rotating tables and positions. These employees must be made aware of how to search out a pathological gambler and know when to tell them it is enough. Giving month long suspensions could help with people who refuse to listen as well as working with other local casinos. Suicide is a very serious issue and for it to come from something so minute as gambling I feel like it is safe to say casinos could be taking much bigger steps to helping moderate this social problem.

Michael Simons

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9. December 2011 by student.

Last week Chicago Newscaster Robin Robinson did the world a favor and told us that Santa wasn’t real. This as you can imagine caused uproar the size of Texas. What the big issue was that she said Santa didn’t exist and this could’ve offended parents and upset their children. I’m ok with that. It’s understandable that you want to maintain your children’s innocence as long as you can. But the part of this tale that really “grinds my gears” is the fact she had to apologize on air after she had made what she felt was a true statement that had validity. Granted the forum might have not been the best choice but the point being why sorry? What did her saying sorry do for anyone? Did the children’s belief of Santa return once those words were uttered? Did mom and dad get to skip that potentially awkward discussion? I was happy when my mom told me the TRUTH. Truth is an important thing and for someone to fill their children’s head that a make believe man, comes down the chimney and drops off presents when in reality its mom and dad working two jobs and saving money to put presents under the table. BTW Ms. Robinson’s statements were made during the late news (9:45pm to be exact), we all know how many young children are up sitting up watching the news at that time.

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9. December 2011 by student.

I dont think its fair Govenor Rick Scott is requirering a drug screen for those undergoing welfair recipitents. This plan is an attempt to save the states money. Whom is applying is required to pay for their test, which is roughly twenty to thirty dollars. As it is the unemplotyment rate is high. who has extra money to pay for a test. their applying because they need assistance. It is said those who pass their test, the state has to re emberse their money. Its proven the plan isnt working. About two percent of welfair recipitents have failed. So really is the state saving money? The state will owe about 28,800-43,200 mounthly in reimbursements to those who test drug free.  This just shows welfare users in Florida are less likely to be drug users. My personal opinion I feel like he is saying poor people are more likely to use drugs. http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2011/08/24/303133/drug-testing-welfare-recipients-could-line-rick-scotts-pockets-but-it-isnt-saving-florida-much-money/

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9. December 2011 by student.

Cell phones are fastly becoming one of the most accident prone devices in our country. Most adults who drive admit to have engaged in distracting driving behaviors. According to a HealthDay poll from November, 2011 we see that more than 2,800 American adults who responded to the poll gave the following results. Answering a text takes away your attention for about five seconds. That is enough time to travel the length of a football field. While teenagers are texting, they spend about 10 percent of the time outside the driving lane they’re supposed to be in. About 6,000 deaths and a half a million injuries are caused by distracted drivers every year. Talking on a cell phone while driving can make a young driver’s reaction time as slow as that of a 70-year-old. Over 1/3 of drivers have sent or received text messages while driving, and 18% said they do it regularly. 36% percent have read a map while driving, and 10% do it “sometimes” or “often.” About 13% of adult drivers have surfed the Internet while driving. Results of the poll showed that younger drivers were more likely to engage in distracted driving. Men were more likely to drive while drowsy, drive after drinking, read a map, use a GPS system, and use the Internet. Approximately 86% of drivers said they ate or drank while driving at some point, and 57% said they do it “sometimes” or “often.” Although some of these statistics are hard to be stopped many have ways to fix them. Aside from the obvious answer that we should all be more responsible I think there is a great solution to solving one of the biggest problems, the use of cell phones in a car. One of my few ideas to eliminate the use of cell phones start with mandating when we can use it. All cell phones come with a optional GPS tracking device. This is something that can be checked or unchecked on modern day android phones. With phones being as savvy as computers now I think it isnt hard to ask these cell phone companies to leave GPS tracking on phones without an option of removing it. The next step will be to automatically shut GPS tracking off of our cell phones when the phone see’s that the car has been in motion for more then 2 miles. The next step would be very similar, all phones will automatically covert to airplane mode once in motion for more then 2 miles. Airplane mode will prevent any calls or text messages from coming in aside from emergency calls, it will also disable GPS, and Internet surfing. There are few ways to make people stop using their phones while they are driving directly but I do feel that this is one that should be considered. Another solution to help mandate this abuse of the privilage to drive would be to not allow for a driver to have an android or iphone if they are caught texting or web browsing while driving. With that said I think all states should have it illegal to drive and talk unless it is on a headset or bluetooth. We have many states like New York who already follow the policy to ticket those caught talking on their phones while driving but becuase of the people who just dont care we need to start to remove that privilage from those who make it dangerous to the people around them. This would not be a hard concept to follow. If someone is ticketed for texting or web browsing online, or even swirving while talking on the phone, these people would have their cell phone carrier notified with the police report and their accounts would be suspended for atleast a year. With the way we are so absorbed in technology these days I think it would be safe to say that if someone was removed their precious phone for this long they would hopefully learn from their mistakes.

Michael Simons

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9. December 2011 by student.

Over the last ten years the U.s. Postal has lost nearly 29% of its first-class mail by volume. Nearly 250 postal centers are on the verge of closing, that is over half of the postal centers around America. Sadly, many quaint little post offices with tremendous character will soon be gone. Character aside, these post office closings will account for 28,000 jobs being cut.(Washington Post) What was once considered a “good job” is soon to be extinct. How many more “good jobs” will be lost in the near future? How long will it take to see the effects of buying items made in China, and not demanding home grown products? We are seeing these effects now. Realize what the purpose of STIMULUS is, to stimulate OUR economy, not the THEIR economy. Let us not lose something else as special our United States Postal Service.

Jacquenese

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