The GP News Blog: Society

Showing posts with label Society. Show all posts

Thursday, August 13, 2009

at 7:54 PM | 0 comments | Education, Health, Society

Teaching Kids To Accept Being Different

Children don’t have the same filter between their brains and their mouths that adults do, and if you need evidence of that, just think back to any moment of embarrassment caused by your child’s ultra-honesty. It’s one thing for an adult to see someone who is obese and think, he’s fat, but children are more than likely to point and say in a loud, non-indoor voice, Wow, Mommy, he’s fat!

Read this interesting article.

Call That Justice

Every day, tens of thousands of children around the world wake up behind bars. Many of them will have committed no offence. BBC investigates children's rights in justice systems around the world. In a hard-hitting three-part series called ' Call That Justice', BBC uncovers a global scandal about the neglect and abuse of children's rights within the justice system, around the world.

Capital Punishment

The question as to whether or not it is morally acceptable for the state to execute people, and if so under what circumstances, has been debated for centuries. The ethical problems involved include the general moral issues of punishment with the added problem of whether it is ever morally right to deprive a human being of life.

To learn more about various issues related to capital punishment, click on the URL below.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/capitalpunishment/

Exploring the Concept of National Identity

What is 'National Identity'? Why is important? Is it relevant in today's word? What are some important concepts, keywords and phrases involved when we talk about 'National Identity'?

»» read more

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

at 11:27 PM | 0 comments | Ethics, Religion, Science, Society

Animal Rights?

Rational argument about the right and wrong way to treat animals is made more difficult by the deep love that many of us feel for animals.

For philosophers it raises fundamental questions about the basis of moral rights.

To learn more about the issue, click here http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/animals/

Is Abortion Ethical?

The abortion debate asks whether it can be morally right to terminate a pregnancy before normal childbirth.

Some people think that abortion is always wrong. Some think that abortion is right when the mother's life is at risk. Others think that there is a range of circumstances in which abortion is morally acceptable.

To find out more about this debate, visit this site http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/abortion/

Shifting Legal Boundaries : Gay Issues

Find out more at these sites:

http://www.yawningbread.org/apdx_2007/imp-308.htm

http://safesingapore.blogspot.com/2007/05/straits-times-forum-letter-whether.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/gay_divide.shtml

About Euthanasia & Death

Links to help you learn more about euthanasia controversy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Kevorkian

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6710643.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3143112.stm

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/13163/an_overview_of_the_debate_over_euthanasia.html

Diet Wars

Americans spend $40 billion a year on books, products, and programs designed to do one thing: help us lose weight. From Atkins to Ornish and Weight Watchers to South Beach, today's dieters have a dizzying array of weight loss programs from which to choose -- yet the underlying principles of these diets are often contradictory.

In "Diet Wars," FRONTLINE examines the great diet debate. Viewers follow FRONTLINE correspondent Steve Talbot, whose discovery that those "few extra pounds" have put him perilously close to the clinical definition of obesity prompts him to evaluate the myriad diets now available to overweight Americans.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/diet

The Age of AIDS

On the 25th anniversary of the first diagnosed cases of AIDS, FRONTLINE examines one of the worst pandemics the world has ever known in "The Age of AIDS." After a quarter century of political denial and social stigma, of stunning scientific breakthroughs, bitter policy battles and inadequate prevention campaigns, HIV/AIDS continues to spread rapidly throughout much of the world, particularly in developing nations. To date, some 30 million people worldwide have already died of AIDS.

"It's a very human virus, a very human epidemic. It touches right to the heart of our existence," says Dr. Peter Piot, executive director of UNAIDS. "When you think of it, that in let's say 25 years, about 70 million people have become infected with this virus, probably coming from one [transmission] ... it's mind blowing."

The Merchants of Cool

They spend their days sifting through reams of market research data. They conduct endless surveys and focus groups. They comb the streets, the schools, and the malls, hot on the trail of the "next big thing" that will snare the attention of their prey--a market segment worth an estimated $150 billion a year.

They are the merchants of cool: creators and sellers of popular culture who have made teenagers the hottest consumer demographic in America. But are they simply reflecting teen desires or have they begun to manufacture those desires in a bid to secure this lucrative market? And have they gone too far in their attempts to reach the hearts--and wallets--of America's youth?

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/cool/view/

News War

Drawing on more than 80 interviews with key figures in the print, broadcast and electronic media, and with unequaled, behind-the-scenes access to some of today's most important news organizations, FRONTLINE correspondent Lowell Bergman examines the challenges facing the mainstream news media, and the media's reaction, in "News War," a special four-part series.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/newswar

Can You Afford to Retire?

The baby boomer generation is headed for a shock as it hits retirement: many of them will be long on life expectancy but short on savings. The two main strategies for funding retirement -- lifetime pensions and 401(k)-style savings plans -- are in serious trouble.

In "Can You Afford to Retire?" FRONTLINE correspondent Hedrick Smith ("Is Wal-Mart Good for America?") investigates this looming financial crisis and the outlook for middle-class Americans. (more) »

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/retirement

Living Old

For the first time in American history, "the old old" -- those over 85 -- are now the fastest growing segment of the U.S. population. Medical advances have enabled an unprecedented number of Americans to live longer, healthier lives. But for millions of elderly, living longer can also mean a debilitating physical decline that often requires an immense amount of care. And just as more care is needed, fewer caregivers are available to provide it.

In "Living Old," FRONTLINE investigates this national crisis and explores the new realities of aging in America. (more »)

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/livingold

When Kids Get Life

The United States is one of the only countries in the world that allows children under 18 to be sentenced to life without parole. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International report that more than 2,000 inmates are currently serving life without parole in the United States for crimes committed when they were juveniles; in the rest of the world, there are only 12 juveniles serving the same sentence, according to figures reported to the United Nations' Convention on the Rights of the Child.

In When Kids Get Life, FRONTLINE producer Ofra Bikel (The O.J. Verdict, Innocence Lost) travels to Colorado to profile five individuals sentenced to life without parole as juveniles.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/whenkidsgetlife

The OJ Verdict

On October 3, 1995, an estimated 150 million people stopped what they were doing to witness the televised verdict of the O.J. Simpson trial. For more than a year, the O.J. saga transfixed the nation and dominated the public imagination.

Ten years later, veteran FRONTLINE producer Ofra Bikel revisits the "perfect storm" that was the O.J. Simpson trial. Through extensive interviews with the defense, prosecution and journalists, FRONTLINE explores the verdict -- which, more than any other in recent history, measured the difference between being white and black in America. (more) »

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/oj/

More Resources

Was Justice done in O J Simpson Case ?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O.J._Simpson

http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/Simpson/simpson.htm

http://www.cnn.com/US/OJ/

http://www.courttv.com/casefiles/simpson/

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6165254.stm

Burden of Innocence

Clyde Charles spent 17 years in Louisiana's state penitentiary at Angola before DNA testing finally cleared him of the rape for which he had received a life sentence.

Frederick Daye, Neil Miller, and Anthony Robinson each spent 10 years in prison for crimes they didn't commit before they were finally exonerated.

And Ron Williamson spent 11 years on Oklahoma's Death Row for a rape and murder he didn't commit. At one point, he was just five days away from being executed.

When these men walked out of prison, they were greeted by media cameras (including FRONTLINE's, in the case of Clyde Charles), jubilant family members, and triumphant attorneys. Hopes were high. Yet when FRONTLINE found Charles three years later, he was jobless and homeless, living in his car. And he is not alone. Charles is one of hundreds of wrongfully convicted prisoners -- the most celebrated being the approximately 130 cleared by DNA evidence -- who have found that re-entry into society is much more difficult than they ever expected.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/burden

Homosexuality & Singapore

A raging debate in the parliament and various web forums discussing whether we should make homosexuality a crime or not.

To read some of the interesting viewpoints which may give you some insight into the different local perspectives, follow the links below.

http://www.keep377a.com/ http://www.keep377a.com/

http://www.straitstimes.com/STI/STIMEDIA/pdf/20071023/ThioLeeAnn.pdf

http://www.straitstimes.com/STI/STIMEDIA/pdf/20071023/Siew%20Kum%20Hong.pdf

Corruption in Afghanistan

How corruption affects a country...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/specials/1516_assignment/page23.shtml

Escaping the Caste

On caste system in India

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/specials/1516_assignment/page30.shtml