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Thursday, January 18, 2007

Thu, 18 Jan 2007 18:26:29 GMT

Part One

How should government be run? This question has been posed and answered for thousands of years by hundreds of philosophers. Prominent names on this list include Thomas More, Karl Marx, Plato, Thomas Paine, John Locke, Machiavelli, and Thomas Hobbes. Of this large group, however, only three will be examined. Thomas More, who wrote Utopia, was a 16^th century philosopher who was named the patron Saint of lawyers and statesmen in the 20^th century. The second philosopher to be examined is Karl Marx, who was a 19^th century philosopher and is widely considered to be the father of communist philosophy. Finally, Thomas Paine, who was an 18^th century philosopher that inspired both the French and American revolutions, will be examined.

In 1515, Thomas More wrote his most famous work Utopia, and it is this work from which all of his political philosophy is obtained. Utopia tells the tale of a fictional traveller who describes the imaginary island nation of Utopia. The term Utopia is from the Greek ou-topos, meaning "no place", and eu-topos, meaning "good place". Utopia contains two books, the first of which tells the story of a fictional characters attempt to find the island community, while the second contains the discourse on the entire society. He starts with a geographical description of his perfect government. It is a circular island with a 500 mile circumference and 200 mile diameter. The island has 54 towns, each containing around 6 000 households. 30 households are grouped together and controlled by a Styward, and 10 Stywards are overseen by a Bencheater. The mayor of each is elected from the Bencheaters. Every household contains 10 to 16 people that are continually redistributed throughout all households to maintain even numbers throughout the town. If overpopulation were to ever occur the people would set up colonies on the mainland, and if the opposite crisis of under population occurred the colonial people would be called back. Subsequently, natives from the mainland are invited to be part of the Utopian colonies. In Utopia there is no private ownership, as everything is stored in warehouses with people requesting what they need. Houses have no locks, as they are rotated between citizens every 10 years.

Industry in Utopia is dominated by agriculture. Every person in Utopia must participate in farming for two years at a time, with men and women participating in the same work. Citizens must also learn one of the essential trades; weaving, carpentry, metallurgy, and masonry. Each trades person wears a certain type of dress with no fine clothes being manufactured. Every citizen that is able must work, therefore there is no unemployment, and the working day is significantly reduced to 6 hours a day, however, many willingly work longer. Scholars in Utopia become the ruling officials or priests, and are picked during their primary education for the enhanced ability to learn. Education is encouraged for all other citizens during the leisure time.

Utopia uses slaves, with each household having 2. These slaves are either Utopian criminals, or from other countries and are sometimes released for good behaviour. Criminals are weighed down with gold chains made from the communal wealth. Gold is also used to amke chamber pots and other such items, thus giving the Utopians a dislike for the substance. Gold is only useful when trading with other nations.

Utopia is a welfare state with free health care, state supported euthanasia, priests allowed to marry, legalized divorce, illegal premarital sex, and slavery for adulterers. Meals are taken in a communal hall with different houses being responsible for meals at different times. During meals the administrators and the old receive the best food. Travel in Utopia requires a passport, and those without passports are forced into slavery. There are no lawyers in Utopia, as laws are made simple so everyone can understand them. Gambling, hunting, makeup, and astrology are all discourage in Utopia.

Several forms of religion exist in Utopia, included moon worship, sun worship, ancestor worship, and monotheism. All religions are tolerant of each other, with only the atheists being hated by the Utopians, since they do not believe in a supreme justice in the after life. The atheists are not banished, but instead encouraged to talk to priests until the atheist is proven wrong.

Women in Utopia receive a high level of equality. They are allowed to participate in the military and allowed to join the priesthood. However, while enjoying these advantages, women are still considered subordinate to men as all women confess their sins to their husbands.

Karl Marx was wrote the Communist Manifesto in 1848 with the aid of Friedrich Engels. This writing influenced the entire course of history, especially in the 20^th century. In the Communist Manifesto Marx states that capitalism will collapse in all industrialized nations. He believes this because the capitalist system has a small percentage of the population controlling much of the wealth. This group is called the Bourgeoises. The other portion of the population, the largest part, is the working class with very little of the wealth, also known as the Proletariat.

Thomas Paine was a political philosopher, pamphleteer, and agitator of the 1700s. His words and writings inspired both the American and French revolutions. Paine came to America in 1774 with Benjamin Franklin. After working as a writer for a paper in Philadelphia, he wrote his pamphlet Common Sense in 1776. This pamphlet called for the complete independence of the United States of America from the British commonwealth. Paine believed that it was ridiculous for an island to rule an entire continent. It also called for a strong federal union in the new nation.

Part Two

Thomas More’s Utopia describes an island with a 200 mile diameter and 500 mile circumference, however, this is geometrically impossible. A 500 circumference would require a diameter of 159.15 miles.

Part Three

Government, this topic has been debated by nearly everyone throughout history. Policy, economics, laws - nearly everything involving government has also been debated. This includes which form is best. Some say socialism, democracy, authoritarian, communism, or even anarchy.

As state above, nearly everyone throughout history has had their own thoughts on how government should be run. This includes myself. The best type of government is one that is actively involved with every part of public life while at the same time, making reasonable decisions that benefit the greatest number of people. Government above all needs to serve the best interests of the people it governs. This means that government takes actions which cause the greatest good for the greatest number of people, not the actions that receive the largest vote, or that certain groups wish to happen. Governments should also take control of the economy, because economics without government involvement lead to exploitation of the working classes. Another thing that governments must do is promote equality for everyone. Finally, governments must establish social assistance programs. If any government were to completely fulfill all four of these goals efficiently, it would be actively involved in the public sphere of its people while taking actions that benefit the greatest number of people. This would result in the ideal government to which all others are compared.

Government must serve the people in the best manner that it can. This means that all actions that the government takes must benefit the largest portion of its people. Governments must not take actions that receive the most votes, unless of course this action causes the greatest good for the greatest number of people.

Bibliography

"Common Sense (pamphlet)". Wikipedia. January 17, 2007. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. January 18, 2007. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Sense>

Downs, Robert B. Books That Changed The World. Chicago: American Library Association. 1956

Logan, George M. And Robert M. Adams, ed. More: Utopia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1989.

Marx, Karl and Friedrich Engels. The Communist Manifesto. New York: Bantam Books. 1992.

"Utopia (book)". Wikipedia. January 14, 2007. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. January 18, 2007. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utopia_%28book%29>

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

Wed, 14 Jun 2006 12:56:42 GMT

In a supported opinion essay of AT LEAST 5 paragraphs outline how the application of developmental theories can be used to improve parenting skills. Refer to at least 3 of the following theorists in your answer. 35 marks

1. Maslow

2. Freud

3. Erikson

4. Piaget

5. Mead

Remarks: Unless you are a very concise writer, 5 paragraphs may not be sufficient!

Friday, June 09, 2006

Fri, 09 Jun 2006 01:16:56 GMT

In 1917 many events were happening that were changing the world. World War I in Europe between the Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy) and the Triple Entente (France, England and Russia) was fully underway, and it was during this year that the battles of Vimy Ridge and Passchendale were fought. U.S. President Woodrow Wilson cutoff diplomatic negotiations with Germany. There was also another major event that occured during this year: the Russian Revolution. First, in Feburary of 1917 the people of Russia overthrew Czar Nicholas II and ended the Russian monarchy. Later that year in October, the Bolshevik party led by Vladimir Lenin revolted against the temporary rulers and overthrew the standing government. Lenin and the Bolshevik (Communist) party then established a new communist state and ruled "for the worker".

Therefore, without the October Revolution of 1917 the USSR could not have become a superpower after World War II. There were five major factors that influenced the way in which Russia became a superpower after World War II. First, the economic changes that occurred because of the Russian Revolution. Secondly, the lack of opposition to Lenin's government, which was caused by the Russian Revolution. Third, the USSR, after the Russian Revolution, changed from a country supporting the upper and middle classes into a country that favoured the workers, thus furthering Russia's industry. Fourthly, the way that the Russian Revolution affected the everyday life of the people; the revolution made the average person's everyday life more work filled and laborious, thus allowing for more production to occur, this furthered Russia's power. The Russian Revolution also put Russia into the world's forefront, making it gain global notice, which was the final step towards becoming a superpower after World War II. It is because of these changes that occurred because of the Russian Revolution that the USSR was able to become a superpower after World War II.

After the revolution that instated Lenin and the communist party as rulers of Russia the USSR was able to become economically sound, thus leading to the USSR becoming the superpower it was during the Cold War and after World War II. Prior to the revolution towns faced economic devastation as towns were half empty and hungry. There was also rioting, industrail strikes, and monetary inflation. Industrial production before Lenin's revolution was down to 15% of the 1914 level. Railways were also broken down in Russia. Industrial workers dropped from 6 million to 1.5 million by 1917. However, all of this changed after the Communist Party took over Russia. Lenin instated the New Economic Plan after seeing how the country had failed without capitalism. (Fitzpatrick, 87) Lenin had a great understanding that complete communism would not work in the Russian economy as the economy was too far in debt to be saved without the return of private industry. (Ibid) Therefore, Lenin created the NEP, which stated that; 1) all land was owned by the state, 2) free trade was allowed for small producers, and 3) state capitalism was permitted in order to attract foreign trade with the fully capitalist nations. The NEP took control over all large scale industry while allowing small businesses (under 10 employees) and farms to operate privately. The NEP also allowed the privatized farmers to increase production. (Webber, 13)

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Wed, 10 May 2006 13:23:16 GMT

Research Question: What are the influences for adolescents to engage in sexual activity?

Rationale: I am conducting this study because I have recently been wondering why my peers and myself feel a need to engage in sexual activity. Some of the people I have talked to have said that sex has come from being bored and a lack of things to do in Belleville. I wondered, could that be true? What about people from big cities? Do they feel the same way? I have also heard of a lot of sexual experiences occurring while under the influence of alcohol and drugs. Well, is what I’ve heard true? With all these questions in my head concerning why teenagers are having sex I found it necessary to pick this as my topic for my ISU. The five major influences that I thought would impact teenage sexuality were biology, community, media, peers, and family. By asking questions based on my research on each of these influences I will hopefully find the role that each of these topics play in influencing teens to have sex.

Analysis: I will analyse my data carefully and take in consideration that people may not answer truthfully to all of my questions.

Tuesday, May 09, 2006

Tue, 09 May 2006 13:34:37 GMT

Bah! I hate doing school work in class! It is.... how the Spanish say... el stupido! SOOOOO BORED! And I have a test next period in world issues. Anyway, everyone go see Mission Impossible 3 and Quills. Very good movies. That is all.

Post Script

Alex thinks I'm handsome.

Sunday, May 07, 2006

Sun, 07 May 2006 00:17:30 GMT

So it's another Saturday at home with my two newest best friends Jose Cuervo and Captain Morgan. What a boring life a lead. At least they keep me from calling Alex. As for her I don't know what is going on, but I can't take much more of it. She needs to make her mind up. This whole thing is making me miserable, I can't stand it. I just want her back, you know? It's been the longest, what... 9 days of my life with constant hurting, in every way, emotionally; psychologically, and physically. Anyway, if anyone reads this on Saturday night (May 6) wanna hang out? Sorry to make you guys read this but I needed to vent.

Friday, April 21, 2006

Fri, 21 Apr 2006 17:17:51 GMT

Primary (5)

Conway, Kevin. “Solutions to the Global Water Crisis.” The International Development Research Centre. November 2, 2003. Government of Canada. April 10, 2006.

Kevin Conway is a professor of Epidemiology and Public Health and Yale University. Other publications of Conway’s include _____. Obviously the article is credible as Conway is a professor on the subject. The article examines the issue of solving the global water crisis through local solutions. He suggests that harvesting rain as one option. Conway also makes states that the world’s aquifers should be protected and recharged. ______________.

Evans, Kyla. “World Summit on Sustainable Development: Freshwater”. July 2002. World Wildlife Foundation. April 20, 2006. <http://www.ramsar.org/wssd_wwf_water.htm>

Kyla Evans is _____________. The author comments on the freshwater crisis currently facing the world. Evans then gives statistics to support this. She then states the this must be changed. Evans gives four ways

Secondary (3)

Maich, Steve. “America is Thirsty.” Macleans. November 24, 2005. 26 – 30.

Steve Maich is a Canadian writer who works for Macleans magazine. He has also worked for the National Post, Bloomberg News, and the Halifax Chronicle-Herald. Thus making this article credible because of the vast number of writings published by a different number of sources. The article covers the topic of America’s current crisis with its depleting water resources. ______________ Maich is considered to be a conservative writer, so his bias in this article his clear – he is in favour of selling water to America.

Tertiary (2)

“Water – Water as a Precious Resource: Politics of Water”. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. April 18, 2006. Wikipedia. April 19, 2006. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water>

Wikipedia is the world’s free online encyclopedia. Any other can contribute facts to any topic. This means that the work may not be completely credible. The part of the article used is about the politics of water.

“Water”. World Book. Ed. Dale W. Jacobson. 22 ed. Chicago: World Book, Inc., 2002.116-132.

From the World Book, this obviously shows the credibility of the source. This source gives information about water in general, water in our daily lives, nature’s water cycle, water supply problem, city water systems, fresh and salt water systems, and water and its significance to the development of history. The information that was the most significant the information about the water supply problem.

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

Tue, 18 Apr 2006 13:37:51 GMT

Bibliography

Bower, B. "Absent Dads Linked to Early Sex by Daughters-Where’s Poppa?" July 19, 2003. March 2006. </">www.findarticles.com>

Garriguet, Didier. "Early Sexual Intercourse". Health Reports. Vol 16, No 3 2005. Ottawa, Canada

Kornreich, Jennifer. "Sibling Influence, Gender Roles, and the Sexual Socialization of Urban Early Adolescent Girls." February 2003. March 2006. </">www.findarticles.com>

Lorrane, Ali. "Choosing Virginity". December 9, 2002. EbscoHost Research Databases. CSS Lib., Belleville, ON. March 2006.<http://search.epnet.com>

Parents, Peers, and Pressures: Identifying the Influences on Responsible Sexual Decision Making. September 2001. March 2006. </">www.naswdc.org>

Parents Influence Age of Teenage Sex. August 2002. February 2006. </">www.bbc.com>

Schvaneveldt, Paul. "Academic Goals, Achievement and Age at First Sexual Intercourse: Longitudinal, bidirectional influences - statistical data included". Winter 2001. March 2006. </">www.findarticles.com>

Somers, Cheryl. "Adolescent’ Perceptions of Reasons for Postponing Sexual Intercourse." Fall 2004. American Secondary Education.

Werner-Wilson, Ronald Jay. "Adolescent and Parent Perceptions of Media Influence on Adolescent Sexuality". Summer 2004. EbscoHost Research Databases. CSS Lib., Belleville, ON. March 2006.<http://search.epnet.com>

Works Cited

1. Garriguet, Didier. "Early Sexual Intercourse". Health Reports. Vol 16, No 3 2005. Ottawa, Canada

2. Parents, Peers, and Pressures: Identifying the Influences on Responsible Sexual Decision Making. September 2001. March 2006. </">www.naswdc.org>

3. Parents Influence Age of Teenage Sex. August 2002. February 2006. </">www.bbc.com>

4. Schvaneveldt, Paul. "Academic Goals, Achievement and Age at First Sexual Intercourse: Longitudinal, bidirectional influences - statistical data included". Winter 2001. March 2006. </">www.findarticles.com>

5. Kornreich, Jennifer. "Sibling Influence, Gender Roles, and the Sexual Socialization of Urban Early Adolescent Girls." February 2003. March 2006. </">www.findarticles.com>

6. Somers, Cheryl. "Adolescent’ Perceptions of Reasons for Postponing Sexual Intercourse." Fall 2004. American Secondary Education.

7. Werner-Wilson, Ronald Jay. "Adolescent and Parent Perceptions of Media Influence on Adolescent Sexuality." Summer 2004. EbscoHost Research Databases. CSS Lib., Belleville, ON. March 2006. http://search.epnet.com

Adolescents today are believed to be having more sex, more often, with more people, the only thing that there is not more of is use of birth control. Or so it is believed. However, this is not often the case. While there are many studies being done on which kids are having sex, there are not many on the influences of all adolescents to have sex. However, once the topic is looked into it is evident that there are five major influences on teenagers to have sex; family, peers, media, biology, and community. These five influences combined are the reasons why adolescents do or do not have sex.

The influence that family has is a large one. Twenty percent of kids with poor parent child relationships have sex by age fifteen. (Garriguet) Along with this child aged twelve to fourteen listed their parents as the biggest influence to not have sex. (Parents, Peers...) The influence that parents have also extends to teens in later years as 32 percent of teens say they seek help from their parents, and 80 percent say that their parents have at east some influence. Of the two parents fathers have the bigger influence on their daughters as the teen pregnancy rate for girls who father’s left before they were five years old is eight times higher than those who father is still around, while it is three times higher if their fathers left between six and thirteen. Small things that parents do also impact the age at which parents influence sex. Teens are more likely to have sex before the age of sixteen if their parents smoke, drink heavily or do not wear a seatbelt while driving. Along with this, parents who communicate openly with their children are likely to prevent early sexual activity. (Parents Influence...) There is also a correlation between education and sexual activity, as adolescents with well educated parents who offer a lot of educational material are less likely to have sex. (Schvaneveldt) Parents are not the only members of the family to influence adolescent sexuality, siblings have their share of influence as well. Little sisters with older brothers are more feminine, and therefore believe that they have less control sexually. Along with this little sisters with older brothers tend to have strong parenting values, which may lead to teenage pregnancy as they feel that they are ready. However, if the little sister lives with her older brother there may be a protective influence making girls less likely to become intimate with older boys, thus creating a smaller age difference between themself and their partner on their first sexual experience. It also appears that siblings learn from the mistakes made by older siblings as adolescents without older siblings are two times more likely to have early sexual experiences. (Kornreich) This statistics provide the evidence that makes family an influence on teenage sexuality.

Along with the family, peers play a role in influencing adolescents to become sexually active. When hanging out with friends adolescents try many things, like smoking. However, things like this lead to sex as 27 percent of males and 28 percent of females who tried smoking by twelve or thirteen have sex before fifteen. (Garriguet) Along with smoking, alcohol also has a profound impact on sexuality, as 25 percent of all sexual experiences involve alcohol. Since adolescents start to drink because of their peers, this is another way peers influence sexual activity. During times of need 61 percent of adolescents consult with friends, which means that they have a huge impact on how adolescents think. (Parents, Peers....)April 18, 2006 Adolescents also influence each other not to have sex as well as have sex. A study of adolescents who do not have sex say that 13.1 percent of them are influenced by their peers to not have sex. (Somers) All of reasons are how peers influence adolescents to have sex.

Along with peers, the media influences teens to have sex. Television is the largest media device in the 21^st century. 98 percent of all teens own a television, and 70 percent own more than one. Along with this 70 percent have cable and 51 percent own a computer. It is because of this that some teenagers may succumb to media influence. Females are also more likely to succumb to media influence as they spend more time paying attention to the media than males do. (Werner-Wilson) That influence that the media has on sexuality is very significant as 56 percent of all television shows have sexual content. The internet is also plays a large role in media influence. As stated above 51 percent of teens have computer. With the combination of the internet and computer nearly 25 percent of all teens have seen pornography on the internet. (Parents, Peers...) It is because of all this that the media influences teenage sexuality.

Not only does media influence, so does biology.

Along with biology, community plays a role in influencing teenage sexuality. In Quebec eighteen percent of teens have had sex by fifteen while in Ontario only ten percent have had sex by fifteen.(Garriguet)

Many things influence teenagers to have sex. Family plays the largest role in adolescent sexuality. Along with the family, adolescents’ peers also influence them. A third influence in teenage sexuality is the media. Biology plays it’s role in influencing adolescent sexuality. The final influence for teenagers to have sex is the community or society in which they live.

Sociology/One Year

Mon, 10 Apr 2006 13:31:10 GMT

First real update since last year. This one is probably going to be just as boring as every other one. Currently I sitting in sociology and I'm done my work while Alex isn't and she is looking like she's working on it either - no surprise! So I'm bored, that's why I'm on here. Hmm... what else is new? Oh yeah it Alex and my one year anniversary today! HAZAA! One year of hell down, and about 60 years left until I die. Just kidding, I love you Alex.

WHAT!? A Kick in the face, that's my present!?? You son of a bitch.

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Wed, 22 Feb 2006 14:33:22 GMT

Update Doug Geez!!!!

DONE