Jeff Becker's Class: September 2009

PAPER TOPICS BY ENGL 122

Raquel Gomez

Research Questions:
1. What are the negative effects on the U.S. child welfare system?
2. Is the child welfare system relatively working on assuring the wellbeing of foster care?
3. How common are physical, sexual abuse and even murder in the foster care system?

Interesting fact/quotes/ideas:
1. “More than 900,000 children in the United States were victims of abuse or neglect in 2003. Most of the cases involve neglect, but 19% involve physical abuse and 10% sexual abuse.”
2. “Not a single state received a passing grade last year when the U.S. Health and Human Services Department (HHS) completed its review of state and local child welfare systems, and 16 states did not meet any of the seven federal child-care standards used to evaluate the programs. But the first eight states given follow-up reviews met all their initial targets for improvement, says Wade F. Horn, the department's assistant secretary for children and families.” F
3. “The consensus is: Where we can, we should protect the family,” says Fred H. Wulczyn, an assistant professor at the Columbia University School of Social Work and a research fellow at the University of Chicago's Chapin Hall Center for Children. “Where we need to place kids in foster care, we should proceed to permanent placement — such as with adoptive parents — as soon as possible.”c

Next Step/ Resources:
Sallady, Robert, “Battle Over the State’s Foster Care System has kids in Middle,” The San Francisco Chronicle, Jan. 14, 2004, p. A4. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wants to overhaul California's foster care system but has angered child-welfare advocates by proposing budget cuts and overturning revised rules designed to help children escape homelessness or group homes.
Jones, Richard , “New Jersey Failed Basic Checks As Boys Starved, a Report Finds,” The New York Times , Feb. 13, 2004, p. A1. Four boys found severely malnourished had been systematically starved by their adoptive parents while child welfare workers failed to make even the most basic checks on the boys over a dozen years.
Kaufman, Leslie , “Abused Mothers Keep Children In a Test of Rights and Safety,” The New York Times , Nov. 28, 2003, p. A5. In what some call a dangerous experiment, a federal judge in 2002 barred city workers from removing children from a parent just because the parent was a victim of domestic violence or because the parent failed to protect the child from witnessing abuse.

Research Questions:
1. Is it reasonable to confine thousands of animals indoors to produce abundance supplies of affordable food?
2. Are factory farms or CAFOs a great negative effect on animal welfare, public health and environment degradation?
3. Are confined animal agriculture methods inhumane?
Interesting fact/quotes/ideas:
1. Americans eat more meat than any other nation: 218 pounds per capita in 2004, up from 190 pounds in 1980.
2. “U.S. regulators are beginning to restrict non-therapeutic use of antibiotics in animals. In 2005 the FDA banned Baytril in poultry because it may promote drug-resistant Campylobacter bacteria. Campylobacter afflicts some 2 million Americans with diarrhea, fever and cramps and kills 50 every year.”
3. “Some large food purchasers have heeded the warnings. Since December 2005, McDonald's has required that suppliers not use antibiotics that are important in human medicine for growth promotion.”
4. “A single dairy cow produces more than 20 tons of manure annually, and a hog can produce more than two tons. According to the Sierra Club, livestock operations generate 500 million tons of animal waste a year.”

Next Step/ Resources:
Deardorff, Julie, “All is not well with antibiotics in the food chain,” Chicago Tribune, Aug. 6, 2006, Sec. Q, p. 8. Three types of Asian vultures are teetering on extinction, primarily because of the use of antibiotics in cattle. The decline of South Asia's vultures is the latest side effect of what medical groups say is a growing global health threat: the unbridled use of antibiotics in food animals.

Meyer, Ann, “A growing market for natural foods; Demand for organic goods creates room for some alternatives,” Chicago Tribune, July 17, 2006, p. 3. Some old-world foods are cutting edge again, as consumers clamor for organics and other natural products.

York, Michelle, “Hen Activist Says the War On Cages Will Go On,” The New York Times, May 7, 2006, p. 40. An animal-rights activist acquitted of burglary and other charges after sneaking onto the Wegmann's commercial egg farm in Wolcott, N.Y., to film conditions where 750,000 hens are caged said his group would continue to pressure the popular regional supermarket chain to stop caging hens.

Research Questions:
1. Does the easy access to contraception increase the rates of abortion, teen pregnancy and divorce?
2. Is it an ethical right for medical professionals to refuse to participate in contraception prescriptions according to their personal opinion on the issue?
3. Is any kind of artificial contraception wrong itself?

Interesting fact/quotes/ideas:
1. “According to a December 2004 report by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), contraceptive use in the United States “is virtually universal,” with more than 98 percent of sexually active women of reproductive age having used “at least one contraceptive method” at some point.”
2. “According to James Trussell, director of the Princeton University Office of Population Research, nearly half of unintended pregnancies (47 percent) occur among the small group of women who have unprotected sex.”
3. “Aside from questions about Plan B's appropriateness for young teens, the FDA also has dragged its heels in making Plan B available without a prescription for women over 16.”
4. “Many analysts agree that pharmacists' right to follow their consciences must be balanced against patients' right to have legal medications.”

Next Step/ Resources:
“In search of Plan C; Conscience clauses: The fight over the morning-after pill,” The Economist , April 9, 2005. A growing number of pharmacists — from liberal California and Massachusetts to more predictable Louisiana and Texas — are refusing to dispense prescriptions for birth control and morning-after pills, saying it is against their beliefs.

Davey, Monica, and Pam Belluck , “Pharmacies balk on after-sex pill and widen fight,” The New York Times , April 19, 2005, p. A1. In a growing battle over emergency contraception, at least 23 states have passed laws or are considering measures dealing with the question of whether pharmacists should have the right to refuse to dispense drugs related to contraception or abortion on moral grounds.

Japsen, Bruce , “Rx-filling mandate backed by AMA; Contraceptive denial prompts resolution,” Chicago Tribune , June 21, 2005, p. C1. The American Medical Association voted on June 20 to put its weight behind legislative initiatives requiring pharmacies to fill valid prescriptions following recently publicized refusals by pharmacists opposed to dispensing the morning-after contraceptive, called Plan B.

JR Greger

1. Baseball
How have steroids changed the game of baseball?
Do steroids have any side effects?
What are some of the reasons for using steroids?
How has baseball changed since the game was created?
What rules have changed and which ones have stayed the same?
How has the sport transferred to what it is today?

2. Movies

Does the MPAA get the movie rating right all the time?
What classifies a movie to be rated R?
How big of an influence do Hollywood movies have on society?
Why are 58% of all films rated R?
What are some things that happen behind the movies that people don’t know about? (Million dollar advertising, etc.)

3. Video Games
How have video games become so popular over the years, and what makes them so interesting?
Have video games had social side effects on the people who play them?
When you think about technology video games are one of the first things that come to mind, how did this happen? Can you blame video games for influencing people to commit violent

Jaime Lugo

Topic: Movie Ratings

Interesting facts/Qoutes/Ideas:
A. Valenti says. “It warns parents in advance about what's in a particular movie, but ultimately, parents are responsible for the behavior and conduct of their children — not the ratings system.”
B. The MPAA and National Association of Theater Owners (NATO) established the rating system in 1968 solely to inform parents about whether movie content is suitable for children.
C. If the DGA is so concerned about artistic integrity, it should work to make those personally supervised versions available to families who want to see them.

Research questions:
A. Should parents hold movie ratings accountable for what their children watch?
B. Has movie ratings worked effectively when rating movies for children and family members?
C. Are theaters strict enough when admitting children to the proper age ratting when not accompanied by an adult?
D. Have movies and video games been a bad influence on children?

Next Steps/Sources
A. Sullivan, James , “Could Fake Violence Actually Be Good for Kids?” The San Francisco Chronicle , Oct. 28, 2002, p. D1. Some psychologists think that media violence may help children work out unhealthy urges in a safe way.
B. Waxman, Sharon , “Directors Berate Ratings, Seek New System for Films,” The Washington Post , Sept. 15, 2000, p. C1. A group of Hollywood directors says the current rating system fails to provide parents with enough information to choose films suitable for their children.
C. Elder, Robert K. , “From '8 Mile' to 'Jackass': Parents, Children and the R-Rated Dilemma,” Chicago Tribune , Nov. 15, 2002, p. C1. With movies like “8 Mile” and “Jackass: The Movie” capturing the attention of young children, parents are again asking: How young is too young for R-rated fare?

Topic: America's Border Fence

Interesting Facts/Quotes/Ideas
A. "A fence is a clearly proven technology that, when deployed properly and used in conjunction with other enforcement strategies, clearly works," says Dan Stein
B. The Border Patrol made 1.2 million apprehensions in 1992 along the entire Southern border and about the same number in 2004.
C. Americans often take their neighbors — both to the north and south — for granted, even though the Mexicans and Canadians are more important to the U.S. economy than is generally realized.

Research questions:
A. Is the fence a useless investment since immigrants will find other ways to cross illegally.
B. Will the fence only increase the death rate and dangers of people who intend to cross.
C. Will the fence reduce the economical relationship between its neighbor countries.
D. What effect will this fence have in the environment?

Next Step/Sources
A. Irvin, David, "State Aliens Contribute More Than They Take, Study Finds," Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, April 5, 2007. Arkansas' illegal immigrant population contributes $158 per person more to the state budget than it takes out from social services, according to a group of demographic researchers.
B. "From $2 Billion to $30 Billion in a Blink," editorial, The Miami Herald, Nov. 21, 2006, p. A20. Costly border fences, whether real or virtual, are not an effective substitute for substantive immigration reforms.
C. "Fence Foolishness," editorial, Fort-Worth Star Telegram (Texas), Dec. 8, 2006, p. B8. Building a fence along the U.S.-Mexican border represents an undiplomatic and xenophobic affront to the neighbors to the south as well as other countries.

Topic: Marijuana Laws

Interesting Facts/Qoutes/Ideas
A. The National Organization to Reform Marijuana Laws (NORML) argues that no one has ever died from an overdose of marijuana but that 50,000 Americans die from alcohol poisoning and another 400,000 die from cigarette smoking every year.
B. More than 755,000 marijuana arrests were made in 2003, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation — a number that has nearly tripled over the past 15 years.
C. Diane Monson had been using marijuana since 1999 to treat her chronic back pain and spasms.

Research questions:
A. Is marijuana a substance that should be legalized for a medical purpose?
B. Will the legalization of marijuana increase crime rate?
C. Is marijuana more or less dangerous than alcohol and cigarettes?
D. Can we benefit financially legalizing marijuana by including taxes?

Next Step/Sources
A. Leinwand, Donna , “Growing Danger: Drugged Driving,” USA Today , Oct. 22, 2004, p. 1A. Police estimate that at least 1.5 million people drive under the influence of drugs each year — and rarely are prosecuted for it — but a growing number of government and law enforcement officials are pressing for laws that target drugged driving.
B. Kohn, David , “Researchers Find Drug High a Potent Field of Inquiry,” The Baltimore Sun , Nov. 1, 2004, p. 1A. A decade ago, scientific studies of cannabis drew snickers and jokes, but now many scientists think marijuana-like drugs might be able to treat a wide range of diseases, far beyond nausea and chronic pain and including Lou Gehrig's disease and Parkinson's.
C. Schlosser, Eric , “Make Peace With Pot,” The New York Times , April 26, 2004, p. A2. Schlosser argues that the current war on marijuana is a monumental waste of money and a source of pointless misery for patients who could benefit from its medicinal effects.

Ashton DuBois

Topic: stopping genocide

Interesting facts/ quotes/ ideas:

A. “Ten years ago, nearly a million ethnic-minority Rwandans died in a government-planned massacre”. Since then black Africans have been killed and raped by the Arab militias, as well as have their villages burnt to the ground. With all these killings there have been an estimated 50,000 dead and 2 million in dire supply of food and medicine, by the United Nations. The only hopes people of Darfur have are those who help with the refugees.

B. The United States government has failed to recognize that in many countries such as Sudan and Rwanda that it has in fact been the effect of genocide.

C. In July of 2004 the “United Nations Security Council passed a U.S.-drafted resolution giving the Sudanese government 30 days to disarm and prosecute the Arab militias or face unspecified sanctions.” In that same year “Under the International Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the United States and other participating countries are obliged “to prevent and punish” genocide, although experts say the 1948 treaty is not specific about what that entails.”

D. It has not only been hard for our government but as well as committed activists to admit the genocide in Sudan.

Research questions:

A. Has/ is the US doing enough to protect the genocide in Africa?
-does the US have the power to do so?

B. What exactly does the word genocide mean and does it mean different to others?

C. Is there anything to prevent genocide?

D. who else has the power to stop such a thing?

E. Are people informed enough about the subject?

Next steps/sources:

A. Power, Samantha , A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide, Perennial, 2002. A former journalist in Bosnia argues that American presidents rarely consider it in their political interest to stop genocides even when they know about them.

B. Amnesty International , “Sudan: Darfur: Rape as a Weapon of War,” July 19, 2004; www.amnestyusa.org. Rape, abduction and sexual slavery of young girls is being used on a mass scale by Janjaweed Arab militiamen to intimidate black Sudanese, but Amnesty stops short of calling it genocide.

C. Human Rights Watch , “Darfur Destroyed,” May 2004; http://www.hrw.org/reports/2004/sudan0504. The human-rights group concludes that Sudan has been working hand in glove with the Janjaweed militias attacking villages in Darfur and urges the U.N. to step in.

Topic: preventing teen drug use

Interesting facts/ quotes/ ideas:

A. “54 percent of American kids use an illegal drug before high school graduation.”

B. “More than 80 percent will have used alcohol, and nearly half — 49 percent — will have smoked marijuana, according to an annual University of Michigan survey of teen drug use.”

C. There are many programs that all young children are educated about to tell them about drug use such as DARE.

D. ecstasy is the most used drug within high school seniors and the percentage of them using the drug is quickly rising.

Research questions:

A. Has programs preventing drug use worked?

B. Is there anything more that high schools or even middle schools and elementary schools can do to keep the drug use percentage low?

C. Are consequences at schools for drug use enough?

D. Are drugs used more now or back in the 1900’s

Next steps/ sources:

A. Jonnes, Jill , Hep-Cats, Narcs, and Pipe Dreams: A History of America's Romance with Illegal Drugs, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999. Jonnes, a journalist who specializes in drug-related issues, presents a comprehensive history of drug abuse in America, from the widespread use of cocaine in the 19th century to the crack epidemic of the 1980s and '90s.

B. Leinwand, Donna , “'Date Rape' Drug GHB Making Inroads in Nation's Club Scene,” USA Today , Jan. 28, 2002, p. A1. Leinwand examines the growing popularity of GHB, a depressant that is also used by sexual predators against unsuspecting young women.

C. Piccolo, Jennifer , “Parental Guidance Helps Reduce Drug Use Among Teens,” The Washington Times , July 20, 2001, p. A12. Piccolo examines the latest research, which shows that parental involvement can dramatically improve a teen's chances of remaining drug free until adulthood.

Topic: How America eats

Interesting facts/ quotes/ ideas:

A.” While individuals cut down their consumption of red meat at home by 11.1 percent between 1981 and 1986, they increased their red-meat eating in restaurants by 1.3 percent.”

B. “While meals at home that included dessert dropped 13 percent, dessert consumption in restaurants rose 18 percent.”

C. The main reason for bad eating habits is confusion

D. It is believed that people have cut back on red meat, eggs, butter and cheese because of ads heard about cholesterol and what it can do to your health.

Research questions:

A. What is the main reason why people do not go on diets and live a healthy eating habit?

B. Is there such thing as being too healthy with diets?

C. Are there certain reasons why people diet the way they do?

D. What kinds of foods have been taken out of most homes for healthy eating?

E. How do you know if the foods that you eat are healthy or not?

Next steps/ sources:

A. Brody, Jane, Jane Brody's Nutrition Book, Bantam Books, 1987.An extremely useful guide to healthy eating by New York Times columnist Brody. Her enthusiasm for such high-carbohydrate foods as leftover rice for breakfast may be hard for some people to stomach, but her treatment of recent scientific debates is fair and easy to read. Contains useful nutritional labels

B. Cohen, Leonard A., “Diet and Cancer,” Scientific American, November 1987, pp. 42-48. In a sense …modern people are living in a biological time warp: their Stone Age physiology contends daily with a 20th-century diet to which it is poorly adapted,” writes Cohen in this summary of research examining links between the modern diet and cancer.

C. Levenstein, Harvey, Revolution at the Table: The Transformation of the American Diet, Oxford University Press, 1988.Between 1880 and 1930, according to historian Levenstein in this entertaining history. Americans made a radical departure from huge, meat-dominated feasts toward the higher, more varied meals we are familiar with today. “By the time of the Great Depression,” he writes, “the basic ideas of the Newer Nutrition—that vitamins and minerals were essential to stimulating growth, protecting good health, and even prolonging life—prevailed in middle class America.” Nutritionists bent on health reform urged the change, but it took root because food industry advertising capitalized on health concerns and because modern women were eager for a less laborious approach to cooking.

Jason Powell

Issue #1: Animal Rights
Questions:
• Has factory farming affected the spike in animal flu epidemics?
• What is the meat industry’s effect on current environmental crises?
• Should meat and dairy products be labeled accurately according to the chemicals and processes involved in their production?
• Does the popularity of organic and healthy food create a socio-economic gap due to its vast expense?
Facts:
• Large Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (factory farms) defined as having 1000 animal units (1000 beef cattle, 700 dairy cattle, or 2500 hogs larger than 55 lbs.) represent 10% of factory farms but control half or more of total animal inventory in some sectors.
• In 1950 21.9 million cows produced an average 5314 pounds of milk per cow. Now 9.2 million cows produce 18204 pounds per cow. Half as many cattle produce nearly four times as much milk.
• The global livestock industry produces more greenhouse gas in the process of keeping it going than the entire transportation sector of the global economy.
Sources:
• Livestock’s Long Shadow: Environmental Issues and Options. By Henning Steinfeld. The UN Food and Agricultural Organization.
• Organic Inc. Natural Foods and How they Grow. Samuel Fromartz.
• Beasts of the Earth: Animals, Humans and Disease. Torrey L. Fuller, M.D. and Robert H. Yolken, M.D.
Issue #2: Funding and the Arts
Questions:
• What is the line between art and pornography?
• Does the government have the right to “Sanitize” artistic expression for the sake of the public and tax money?
• In a country with freedom of speech, can anything be considered “politically unacceptable?” (Cite an NEA congressional issue concerning poetry in 1985)
• Is art beneficial or essential to a healthy society?
Facts:
• In the late eighties and early nineties the NEA (National Endowment for the Arts) faced severe prohibition against funding art which could be considered “obscene” and the definition of the word “obscene”
• In addition to being “obscene” artworks had to lack “serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value.”
• The legislation against the NEA was resultant from an NEA-funded art show featuring photographers Robert Mapplethorpe and Andres Serrano, whose pieces were considered both pornographic and blasphemous to some viewers. Robert Mapplethorpe is also known for his celebrity portraits, most notably Arnold Schwarzennager.
Sources:
• Congress and the Arts: a Precarious Alliance? Edited by Margaret Jane Wyszomirski.
• Why We Need the Arts: 8 Quotable Speeches by Leaders in Education, Government, Business and the Arts.
• Arts Funding: Is Boosting the Status of the Arts a Wise Investment? By Charles S. Clark.
Issue #4: Human Rights and China
Questions:
• Should the US intervene in the affairs of other countries when Human Rights are being violated? Would this best be done economically, by individual corporations?
• Could Communism ever exist without Human Rights and free speech problems?
• Should the US intervene (or have intervened) in occupied Tibet?
• Is Western-style Democracy fool proof for every country in the world?
Facts:
• China prescribes the death penalty for ridiculous offenses like tax fraud and “undermining public unity.”
• China maintains a one-child policy that often leads to forced abortion and human trafficking.
• China imprisons more journalists than any other country in the world.
Sources:
• China’s Changing Political Landscape. By Cheng Li.
• Interview with former Ambassador Wu Jianmin. Margaret Warner, PBS.
Neil Duncan

Topic: Afghanistan
Interesting facts/quotes/ideas:

A.The Afghanistan-Pakistan conflict —“Af-Pak” in diplomatic parlance — poses a witch's brew of challenges: fanatical Taliban and al Qaeda fighters, rampant corruption within Afghanistan's homegrown police force and other institutions, not enough Afghan National Army forces to help with the fighting and a multibillion-dollar opium economy that supplies revenue to the insurgents.

B.A total of 21,000 additional U.S. soldiers to fight the insurgency in Afghanistan and train Afghan security forces, plus other strategic resources. By year's end, U.S. troop levels are expected to reach about 68,000.

C. The Taliban are “the frontrunners for al Qaeda,” said Richard Holbrooke, Obama's special envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan. “If they succeed in Afghanistan, without any shadow of a doubt al Qaeda would move back into Afghanistan, set up a larger presence, recruit more people and pursue its objectives against the United States even more aggressively.
Research Questions:
Should the U.S. remove their presence in Afghanistan?
Should President Obama create a defined exit strategy?
What is the impact on the U.S. from remaining in Afghanistan?
Given the history of Afghanistan being the “graveyard of empires”, what is different about the current situation and is the U.S. pursuing the right strategy?
Next Step/Sources:
DeYoung, Karen, “Obama Outlines Afghan Strategy,” The Washington Post, March 28, 2009, p. A1. President Obama's strategy assumes the terrorists who planned the Sept. 11 attacks are devising more plots.
Dilanian, Ken, “Poppy Farms Pose Dilemma,” USA Today, March 31, 2009, p. 6A. Profits from poppy farming fields have fueled the insurgency in Afghanistan, but destroying the fields is likely to be just as helpful to the insurgents.
Lubold, Gordon, “US Troop Buildup in Afghanistan Could Be a Defining Moment,” The Christian Science Monitor, Feb. 19, 2009, p. 1. President Obama's decision to deploy an additional 17,000 troops to Afghanistan will either reverse the deteriorating situation or burden the administration with a war with no foreseeable end.

Topic 2: Military
Interesting facts/quotes/ideas:
A. “Team cohesion and concentration on missions would suffer if our troops had to live in close quarters with others who could be sexually attracted to them,” four former high-level commanders said in a Washington Post op-ed last April. “There is no compelling national security reason for running these risks to our armed forces.” They and more than 1,000 other retired general and flag officers had signed a letter advocating retaining the ban, they said.

B. More than 20 nations, including Great Britain and Israel, allow gays and lesbians to openly serve without any detrimental impact on unit cohesion. Believe me, our heroes in uniform are the best fighting force in the world, and just as professional as those of our strongest allies. What's more, we serve alongside these allies in numerous missions throughout the world every day.

C. Service in the Israeli Defense Force is mandatory, but deployments and housing conditions are not comparable to that of America's military. Germany has conscription for both civilian and military duties, but homosexuals serve primarily in civilian capacities. The Dutch, Australian and Canadian forces represent countries with social cultures far more liberal than ours. These forces primarily deploy for support or peacekeeping missions that depend on the nearby presence of U.S. forces. Most homosexuals are discrete, but American gay activists are demanding special status, mandatory “diversity” training and “zero tolerance” of dissent in order to enforce full acceptance.

Research Questions:
Should homosexuals be allowed in the military?
To what capacity should homosexuals be allowed, if any, to serve in the armed forces?

Next Step/Sources:
Bender, Bryan, “Obama Seeks Assessment on Gays in Military,” The Boston Globe, Feb. 1, 2009, p. A1. Obama wants the Pentagon to study the implications on national security of overturning “don't ask, don't tell.”
Shalikashvili, John M., “Gays in the Military: Let the Evidence Speak,” The Miami Herald, June 19, 2009. Although the military remains a traditional culture, that tradition no longer requires banning open service by gays, says the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. “There will undoubtedly be some teething pains, but I have no doubt our leadership can handle Bumiller, Elisabeth, “In Military, New Debate Over Policy Toward Gays,” The New York Times, May 1, 2009, p. A14. Evidence suggests that most West Point cadets oppose allowing gays to openly serve in the military.it,” he said.

Topic: Stem-cell research
Interesting facts/quotes/ideas:

A.Those who say that the use of those embryos for research is the equivalent of murder, I believe also probably say the same of the discarding of embryos that are not going to be used — that it represents 8,000 or 10,000 murders a year.
B. Those of us in the Senate and those across this country who have lost loved ones to some dread disease — Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, heart disease, diabetes — understand that the urgency to do the research to find the cures for these diseases really must be pre-eminent. So many in this country are very concerned that we move forward on stem cell research and try to find ways to unlock the mysteries of juvenile diabetes, ALS [amyotrophic lateral sclerosis], Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and so many more.
C. According to California's Rand Corporation, 400,000 frozen blastocysts have been stored since the late 1970s, and the couples who created them are no longer likely to use them.
Thus, say ESC-research supporters, conducting lifesaving medical research on ESCs harvested from the embryos is justified because the blastocysts are otherwise slated for eventual destruction.
Research Questions:
Is stem-cell research something our country should support?
What is the main point of contention in the stem-cell debate?
Next Step/Sources:
King, Warren, “Stem-Cell Fight Isn't Over,” The Seattle Times, July 25, 2006, p. B1. Democratic U.S. Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, both of Washington, pledged to work for new stem cell legislation after Bush's veto.
Ackerman, Todd, “Scientists See Value in Both Embryonic, Adult Stem Cells,” The Houston Chronicle, July 20, 2006, p. A6. Scientists say both embryonic and adult stem cell research are important, criticizing President Bush for calling into question the “hype” surrounding embryonic stem cells.

Jillian Frimml
Topic: Birth Control

Interesting facts/quotes/ideas:

Since ancient times, women have tried to prevent unwanted pregnancies after unprotected intercourse. As early as 1500 B.C., they were advised to try sneezing, hopping, jumping or dancing. In early 20th-century America, the makers of Lysol and other household disinfectants and detergents advertised their effectiveness for “feminine hygiene.” Even douching with Coca Cola was rumored to interfere with conception, in the late 1960s.

Since the 1970s, however, physicians have known that large hormone doses taken soon after intercourse actually can prevent pregnancy. “Oral contraceptives have been used 'off label' as emergency contraception by at least 225,000 women in the United States,” according to the American Pharmacists Association.

‘Pill’ Is most popular contraceptive:

Birth-control pills are the most popular non-surgical form of birth control in the United States. Overall, 62 percent of American woman ages 15-44 use contraception. Among non users, 7.4% had unprotected sex in the past three months.

Research Questions:

1-Should the Plan B pill be available as an over-the-counter drug?

2-Should minors be allowed access to the Plan B pill without parent consent?

3-Is it morally wrong to take birth control pills?

4-Should Pharmacists have the right to refuse to dispense drugs related to contraception or abortion on moral grounds?

5-What are the pros/cons of using birth control pills?

6-If a teen is on birth control, does this make them more sexually active? And thus put them at a higher risk to get and STD or pregnant?

7-Should a new Plan B pill be developed that is better and safer than the first?

8-Should birth control pills be provided as a service to people who cannot afford it?

9-Should birth control be offered for a lower cost to other countries that need them?

Next Step/Sources:

Davey, Monica, and Pam Belluck , “Pharmacies balk on after-sex pill and widen fight,” The New York Times , April 19, 2005, p. A1. In a growing battle over emergency contraception, at least 23 states have passed laws or are considering measures dealing with the question of whether pharmacists should have the right to refuse to dispense drugs related to contraception or abortion on moral grounds.

Stein, Rob , “Pharmacists' Rights at Front Of New Debate; Because of Beliefs, Some Refuse To Fill Birth Control Prescriptions,” The Washington Post , March 28, 2005, p. A1. Some pharmacists are refusing to fill prescriptions for birth control and morning-after pills, saying that dispensing the medications violates their personal moral or religious beliefs. Their refusal is triggering pitched political battles in statehouses across the nation as politicians seek to pass laws either to protect pharmacists from being penalized — or force them to carry out their duties.

Topic: Evolution, Science, and Creationism

Interesting Facts/ Quotes/Ideas:

The Kansas Board of Education is likely to vote in September to replace the state's newly updated science-teaching standards with a revised version that plays down evolution and rejects the idea that science is a search for “natural” explanations only. The change would open the doors of biology classrooms to supernatural explanations of human life and origins, including the increasingly popular concept of “intelligent design” — the idea that life is so complex it could only have been created by an intelligent being.

According to a June 2005 Harris Poll, 55 percent of Americans want schools to teach more than just evolution. And at least 70 percent of the people in Minnesota, New Mexico and Ohio oppose teaching evolution only.

But Leshner says intelligent-design proponents have clouded the issue by calling their idea a “theory,” thus equating it with the “theory” of evolution. But in science, “if there are no data or tests, it's not a theory,” he says. Evolutionary scientists can produce confirming evidence of many kinds to support their theory, he points out, but intelligent-design theorists cannot.”

In a current debate in Dover, Pa., for example, many supporters of intelligent design, including the Discovery Institute, where Behe, Dembski and Johnson are fellows, have refused to back the local school board's push to require the teaching of intelligent design as an alternative to evolution. “I don't think [intelligent design] should be taught in the sense of a teacher standing up and telling a class that this is something we know to be true,” says design theorist Behe. “But I do think that it could be very good pedagogically to teach it with evolution and other theories of origins.”

Research Questions:

1-How will teaching creationism effect a child’s family religious beliefs?

2-What are the pros and cons of teaching evolution? Of teaching creationism?

3-Why are people against the teaching of intelligent-design in schools?

4-Is there a scientific basis for creationism?

Next Steps/Resources:

Dean, Cornelia, and Laurie Goodstein , “Leading Cardinal Redefines Church's View on Evolution,” The New York Times , July 9, 2005, p. A1. Cardinal Christoph Schonborn's Op-Ed article in The New York Times reiterates the growing chasm between the Catholic Church's views regarding evolution and those of the scientific world.

Flam, Faye , “$1 Million For Science to Discover God's Plan,” The Philadelphia Inquirer , April 6, 2002, p. A1. Investment banker Sir John Templeton hired 15 scientists to further investigate whether God created the universe for a purpose, or if the cosmos is a product of an accident.

Nussbaum, Paul , “Evangelicals Divided Over Evolution,” The Philadelphia Inquirer , Mary 30, 2005, p. A1. Evangelical Christians are split over whether the theory of evolution and a belief in God can coexist.

Schonborn, Christoph , “Finding Design in Nature,” The New York Times , July 7, 2005, p. A23. The archbishop of Vienna negates recent claims that the Catholic Church finds no problems with the theory of evolution, reaffirming the church's view of intelligent design in nature.

Topic: Right to Die

Interesting Facts/ Quotes/Ideas:

Terri Schiavo lay in a “persistent vegetative state” for 15 years until she died on March 31 after hospice staff removed her life-sustaining feeding tube. Schiavo's case touched off a wrenching, nationwide debate that continues in political, legal and medical circles over when, if ever, to withdraw life support from patients unable to express their own wishes. Many advocates and experts used the case to emphasize the need to write a “living will” and designate a “health-care proxy” to help make such decisions, but only a small minority of Americans have taken either step.

Some in Congress want to make it harder to remove life support. But others say that no legal changes are needed and the issue is, in any event, for the states, not the federal government. Meanwhile, the U.S. Supreme Court is preparing to hear the Bush administration's attempt to effectively thwart an Oregon law legalizing physician-assisted suicide — a law twice approved by the state's voters but strongly opposed by right-to-life and disability-rights groups.

Research Questions:

1-Should physicians be able to assist a patient’s decision to die?

2-What are some of the major legal issues involved for the patient, hospital and family?

3-How long is long enough before doctors decided to pull the plug?

4-Should a family be able to assist a patient’s decision to die?

5- Who defines who is fit to live and who isn’t?

6-What if a patient wishes to die and the family doesn’t agree, but the patient cannot give their opinion?

7-How much does it cost a hospital when a patient is in a state like that? What happens to the family and their finances if they cannot afford to keep their loved one like that for very long, or if their loved one was in that state for a long time and the family now has a huge medical bill? Who covers it?

8- Do hospitals have the right to pull the plug if they feel the patient is not getting better? If the patient doesn’t have the money to cover them?

Next Steps/Sources:

MacDonald, Jeffrey , “Faiths Vary on Life-Or-Death Care Choices,” The Christian Science Monitor , March 29, 2005, p. 3. Across and even within religious traditions, views differ sharply on end-of-life questions.

Roig-Franzia, Manuel , “Catholic Stance on Tube-Feeding Is Evolving,” The Washington Post , March 27, 2005, p. A7. Theologians disagree about whether the pope altered Catholic tradition by saying feeding tubes are “morally obligatory” for most patients in vegetative states, but the position has given Catholics a new calculus for end-of-life decision-making.

Belluck, Pam , “Even as Doctors Say Enough, Families Fight to Prolong Life,” The New York Times , March 27, 2005, p. A1. Families once fought to get hospitals to allow their loved ones to die without extraordinary measures. Now hospitals often find themselves pitted against families who want to keep their relatives alive, contrary to the advice of doctors who believe it is time to stop treatment.

Cohen, Eric , “What Living Wills Won't Do,” The Weekly Standard , April 18, 2005. The nation has deluded itself into believing that living wills ensure that everyone defines the meaning of life for herself until the very end.

Daniszewski, John , “World Watching, But No Consensus on Ethics of Death,” Los Angeles Times , March 26, 2005, p. A22. Many developing nations don't have the medical resources to keep patients alive indefinitely, but in developed countries the question of when to allow patients to die has been argued for decades.

Julie Gross

Topic #1

Adoption

Research questions

1. How many children are in Foster homes around the country?

2. What are the problems faced in foster homes today?

3. Would adoption help with population control?

4. Can there be stricter background checks for people who adopt kids?

Chart of children being maltreated

r20050422-atrisk.gif

Bibliography
These are articles about child welfare and other stories about children
Campbell, Joel , “Encourage Access to Juvenile Courts: The Time Is Right for Lifting Juvenile Court and Child Welfare System Secrecy,” The Quill , Aug. 1, 2004, p. 36. A leader of the Society of Professional Journalists' Freedom of Information Committee argues that one way to improve the child welfare system is to let the news media into juvenile courts.
Colloff, Pamela , “Life and Meth,” Texas Monthly , June 2004, p. 120.Methamphetamine is destroying families in East Texas — an epidemic child welfare authorities worry could spike foster care rolls nationwide.
Humes, Edward , “The Unwanted,” Los Angeles Magazine , Jan. 1, 2003, p. 64. The reporter exposes a dysfunctional Los Angeles children's home.
Rockoff, Jonathan D., and John B. O'Donnell , “A Failure to Protect Maryland's Troubled Group Homes,” The Baltimore Sun , April 10-13, 2005. In a four-part exposé, the authors reveal child abuse, neglect and even death within Maryland's state-supervised group homes for children.

Next step
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Child Abuse and Death
Barnhardt, Laura , “County Says It Didn't Find Evidence that Dundalk Boy's Life Was in Danger,” The Baltimore Sun , March 17, 2005, p. 1A. Baltimore social workers visited the home of 3-year-old Roy Lechner Jr. more than 150 times in the two years before he died of suspected abuse.

Contact Material

Child Welfare League of America
440 First St., N.W., Washington, DC 20001
(202) 638-2952
www.cwla.org
America's oldest and largest child welfare organization advocates, suggests standards and educates welfare workers.

Topic #2

domestic animal abuse

Research questions

1. What is considered animal abuse?

2.How many dogs and cats are abused each year?

3. Why are animals being abused in household homes?

4.What are some ways people can prevent animal abuse in homes?

Facts

r19960802-animals.gif

Bibliography

Weiss, Rick , “Cause Celebre Conflict: It's AIDS Research vs. Animal Rights,” The Washington Post, June 15, 1996. Weiss examines the growing opposition to the animal rights movement on the part of AIDS activists. Groups like ACT-UP and the AIDS Action Council have joined with more traditional foes of the animal rights movement, like biomedical researchers, to fight attempts to take animals out of the laboratory.

The Next Step

Herreid, Clyde F. , “Case study teaching in science: A dilemma case on animal rights,” Journal of College Science Teaching, May 1996, pp. 413-418. With varying degrees of success,20students have challenged the traditional use of animals in the classroom. The relationship between animals rights and biology labs is discussed.

Contacts

Animal Welfare Institute
P.O. Box 3650, Washington, D.C. 20007,
(202) 337-2332.
This educational group opposes cruel treatment of animals used in research. It seeks to curtail animal experimentation and favors research methods that rely on non-animal subjects whenever possible

Topic #3

judicial system

Research questions

1. What are the percentages of people in jail? example violent offenders, sex offenders, and drug offenders

2. What forms of rehabilitation are there for drug offenders?

3. How many prisoners are there in this country?

4.How many prisons are there in this country?

5. How do states make money off of prisoners?

Facts

U.S. map detailing cut-off age for juvenile court typically 17.

Bibliography

Cambria, Nancy, "Teen Offenders Get Help," St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Sept. 14, 2008, p. C1. Cambria reports on a sophisticated rehabilitation program for juvenile offenders

The next step

"Hamilton County Prosecuting More Juveniles in Adult Court," The Associated Press, Ap ril 6, 2008. The number of juveniles prosecuted in adult court in an Ohio county has increased by 46 percent in a four-year period.

Contacts

Center for Juvenile Justice Reform
Georgetown University, 3300 Whitehaven St., N.W., Suite 5000, Washington, DC 20057
(202) 687-0880
http://cjjr.georgetown.edu/index.html
Trains juvenile system administrators and advocates policies and laws that focus on rehabilitation.

ENGL 122-402

Genya Tolmatsky

Topic: Animal Testing
Interesting facts/quotes/ideas:
• Knowledge gained from testing on animals is untrustworthy and cannot be applied even to the same species/breed of animals.
• “According to a poll commissioned by The Associated Press in November 1995, two-thirds of all Americans believe that animals have just as much right to live without suffering as humans do. Two-thirds of the respondents oppose the use of animals in cosmetics Previous HittestingNext Hit, while 59 percent say it is “always wrong” to kill another creature for its fur.”
Research questions:
• Should animal testing be allowed in scientific research?
• Are there alternative ways to animal testing?
• What happens to the animals once testing is complete?
Next steps/sources:
• Masci, D. (1996, August 2). Fighting over animal rights. CQ Researcher, 6, 673-696. Retrieved September 21, 2009, from CQ Researcher Online, http://0-library.cqpress.com.skyline.cudenver.edu/cqresearcher/cqresrre1996080206.
Pro/cons of animal dissection and vivisection, is it still necessary?
• Munro, Neil. "Animal Testing Battle Focuses Anew On Apes." National Journal (11 July 2009): 8-8. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. [Library name], [City], [State abbreviation]. 21 Sep. 2009 .
Discussion of animal rights versus animal testing.
• Swami, Viren, Adrian Furnham, and Andrew N. Christopher. "Free the animals? Investigating attitudes toward animal testing in Britain and the United States." Scandinavian Journal of Psychology 49.3 (June 2008): 269-276. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. [Library name], [City], [State abbreviation]. 21 Sep. 2009 .
Study conducted about how Britain and the United States feel about animal testing.

Topic: Euthanasia
Interesting facts/quotes/ideas:
• Those who support euthanasia argue that it is often that people are afraid of dying alone or in pain.
• Humphry says. “I want as little Previous HiteuthanasiaNext Hit as possible. But . . . there will always be some cases, perhaps 10 percent of [terminal] cases, where the doctor at a certain point just runs out of things to do.”
Research questions:
• Should assisted suicide be permitted in the United States?
• Should those who perform assisted suicide be tried in court for murder charges?
• Is there a legal right to die?
Next steps/sources:
• Schotsmans, Paul, and Chris Gastmans.. "How to Deal with Euthanasia Requests: A Palliative Filter Procedure." Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics 18.4 (Oct. 2009): 420-428. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. [Library name], [City], [State abbreviation]. 21 Sep. 2009 .
Provides analysis of the practice of euthanasia.
• Bilsen, Johan, et al. "Medical End-of-Life Practices under the Euthanasia Law in Belgium." New England Journal of Medicine 361.11 (10 Sep. 2009): 1119-1121. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. [Library name], [City], [State abbreviation]. 21 Sep. 2009 .
The practice of Euthanasia in Belgium
• DOUTHAT, ROSS. "A More Perfect Death." New York Times (07 Sep. 2009): 1. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. [Library name], [City], [State abbreviation]. 21 Sep. 2009 .
The Montana Supreme Court considers legalizing assisted suicide.

Topic: Sex Education
Interesting facts/quotes/ideas:
• Sex education courses do not seem to reduce/prevent the risk of teenage pregnancy, or higher the use of contraceptives.
• Many argue that Sex Ed classes provide information that you’ll use throughout your entire life.
• “One scene in particular shocks them. In the middle of the young man's Spanish exam, his girlfriend walks into the classroom, dumps the squalling infant into his arms and disappears. The movie presents a grim future for the new daddy: Rather than going to the first-rate music school to which he has been accepted, he ends up scooping ice cream after graduation to support his new family.”
Research Questions:
• Do Sex Ed classes provide any type of benefit to the students?
• Are Sex Ed classes being taken on too early?
• Do all schools approve of Sex Ed classes?
Next Steps/Sources:
• Makenzius, Marlene, et al. "Male students' behaviour, knowledge, attitudes, and needs in sexual and reproductive health matters." European Journal of Contraception & Reproductive Health Care 14.4 (Dec. 2009): 268-276. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. [Library name], [City], [State abbreviation]. 21 Sep. 2009 .
Talks about how more Sex Ed classes are needed
• Marhefka, Stephanie, et al. "Perceptions of Adolescents’ Sexual Behavior Among Mothers Living With and Without HIV: Does Dyadic Sex Communication Matter?." Archives of Sexual Behavior 38.5 (Oct. 2009): 788-801. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. [Library name], [City], [State abbreviation]. 21 Sep. 2009 http://0-search.ebscohost.com.skyline.cudenver.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=44189906&site=ehost-live
Does Sex Education matter when it is developmentally appropriate?
• ERLANGER, STEVEN. "U.N. Guide For Sex Ed Generates Opposition." New York Times (03 Sep. 2009): 6. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. [Library name], [City], [State abbreviation]. 21 Sep. 2009 .
Guidelines proposed to help reduce HIV infections in the younger generation.

Angel Bell

Eng 122-402

Research Pt 1

Interesting Facts/Quotes/Ideas:

A. As I said on the Senate floor on July 28, 2003, “much of the debate over global warming is predicated on fear, rather than science.” I called the threat of catastrophic global warming the “greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people,” a statement that, to put it mildly, was not viewed kindly by environmental extremists and their elitist organizations. Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla.

B. Studies show that people acquire attitudes toward smoking as children, long before they try their first cigarette. It has been consistently found and is well accepted that parents, siblings and peers are the most powerful influences in shaping one's attitude about cigarette smoking. Smoking-related beliefs are primarily learned through interpersonal experience with family and friends… The more a person's parents, siblings and friends smoke, the greater the likelihood that person will become a smoker.… Richard W. Mizerski

C. -In state prisons in 2002, only 8,400 prisoners (about 0.7 percent of the total prison population of 1.2 million) were serving time for possession marijuana, and only half of those were incarcerated for a first offense. Prison is not a realistic risk for American marijuana users unless they also are drug sellers. Drug trafficking, including the sale of marijuana, is a serious crime deserving of stiff punishments.

-During the past decade, more than 6.5 million Americans have been arrested on marijuana charges

-Scott Bryant had just settled down to watch TV with his 7-year-old son on the night of April 17, 1995, when 13 Wisconsin sheriff's deputies burst through his front door looking for marijuana. Bryant, 29, who was unarmed, was shot and killed as his young son helplessly looked on. Police seized less than three grams of marijuana in the no-knock raid.

Research Questions:

A. Although Sen. James Inhofe describes some “so thought environmental issues” that do not contribute to climate change, what about other issues such as increased flooding and drought, as well as disruption of agriculture and water systems?

B. Even though there has been no evidence to indicate that advertising causes people to start smoking, shapes attitudes towards smoking, or helps maintain cigarette use, has there ever even been a study done on the effects of smoking rates without advertizing? What about morals and promoting a product that continues to keep death rates climbing?

C. Why is there so much violence involved in the apprehension of marijuana possessors? If it was controlled by government wouldn’t less people be in jail for trafficking? As well as also lessening violent arrest made against marijuana possessors?

Next Steps/Sources:

A. Center for Health and the Global Environment
Harvard Medical School. 401 Park Dr., Boston, MA 02215
(617) 384-8530
http://0-chge.med.harvard.edu.skyline.cudenver.edu/

B. American Medical Association, Council on Scientific Affairs, “The Worldwide Smoking Epidemic: Tobacco Trade, Use and Control, Journal of the American Medical Association, June 27, 1990.

C. National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws

1600 K St., N.W., Suite 501,

Washington DC 20006-2832
(202) 483-5500
www.norml.org

Brittany McGhee

1. Child Abuse

Interesting facts/ quotes/ ideas

o “According to recent estimates supplied to the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) by the American Humane Association, one million children are the object of neglect or abuse each year, and 2,000 to 4,000 die from circumstances involving abuse or neglect.”
o “Parents who mistreat their children are portrayed usually as being insecure, dependent individuals with little self-confidence and few friends.”
o “Dr. C. Henry Kempe and his associates at the University Of Colorado School Of Medicine described the “battered child syndrome” as a “clinical condition in young children who have received serious physical abuse, generally from a parent or foster parent.”
o “One type of child abuse that many physicians are still either untrained or unwilling to diagnose is that of sexual molestation.”
o “Sexual abuse of children is perhaps the most offensive category of child maltreatment, and is still taboo as a topic of conversation for many persons. Very little research has been done on the subject. One of the most comprehensive studies was completed by the American Humane Association in 1969.”

Research Questions

o Are researchers overlooking sexual molestation?
o What can be done as a society to decrease the percentage of abused children?

Next step/ issues

o “Child Soldiers of Misfortune,” Chicago Tribune, June 25, 2001, p. N12. When he was fresh-faced and barely pubescent, 13-year-old Jimmy Tamba was abducted by rebels in Sierra Leone and forced to fight in a bloody civil war. It was kill or be killed — so he killed.
o Children's Defense Fund
25 E St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20001
(202) 628-8787
www.childrensdefense.org
CDF addresses abuse, teen pregnancy, gun violence, housing, and other issues affecting poor children.
o Defense for Children International
P.O. Box 88, CH 1211, Geneva 20, Switzerland
(+41 22) 734-0558
www.defence-for-children.org
Investigates sexual exploitation of children and other abuses.
o “Out of the Mouths of Babes: Child Abuse and the Abuse of Adults,” Nation, Feb. 12, 1990. Article describes an investigation by two Memphis reporters into the “hysteria” surrounding 36 cases in which children told of adults molesting them and of satanic rituals. Of the 91 people who were arrested and charged, only 23 were convicted, mostly of lesser charges. The lives of many of those subsequently released have been destroyed nonetheless.
2. Violence in the Media

Interesting facts/ quotes/ ideas

o “A government-sponsored study has indicated that television viewing from childhood onward may be harmful to certain persons. But the study was vague on specifics. TV industry leaders, asked at a recent Senate hearing to comment on the study, said they had been reducing the violence content of children's shows and would reduce it more.”
o “The years during which TV viewing became a universal pastime of young and old were also years of rising social disorder, mounting youth crime, assassinations, street violence, urban riots, school rebellions and campus uprisings. There was evidence everywhere that children and youth were giving vent to aggressive impulses to a much greater extent than in the past. While the causes of the social disorders were recognized as diverse and complex, the questioning often turned to one totally new element in the environment of American children: television. It was hard for many concerned persons not to believe that daily exposure to so enticing a medium during the growing-up years, beginning typically at age two or three, could fail to affect the personality formation, attitudes, concepts of right and wrong, and behavior patterns of the first TV generation.”
o “From its earliest days, television has fed children a steady diet of Westerns and often-violent animated cartoons. Over the past few years, youngsters have also been exposed to increased levels of sexuality on the screen - from sly innuendo or titillating glimpses of skin to nearly explicit bedroom scenes and sex-filled music videos.”
o The effects of viewing violence on television have been debated since the 1960s. Today, according to Kunkel and others, most researchers in the field accept what Kunkel sees as the “unequivocal conclusion” that viewing violence “contributes to real world violence and aggression.”
o But some in the industry continue to dispute the conclusion. “There are lots of intervening factors,” says Weinman, a former sociology professor. “It is very problematic to say even if there is a correlation that there is causation.”
Research Questions
o Is violence in the media a direct effect of violence in children?
o Are television shows too violent and sexual for kids these days?
o Are children’s shows corrupted with violence non-intentionally?

Next step/ issues
o Goldin, Lorrie, “Sex, Violence and Nature Shows,” San Francisco Chronicle, Aug. 28, 1996, p. A19. Goldin argues that nature shows, such as National Geographic specials on PBS, are loaded with sex and violence and should not be used to fulfill the FCC's rule on educational programming.
o “A Little Light From the TV Set,” Los Angeles Times, July 30, 1996, p. B6. An editorial supports a proposal requiring television stations to air a minimum of three hours of educational programming for children each week, noting, however, that a clear definition of what constitutes such programming is lacking.
o Bash, Alan, “Some popular kids TV based on sinister violence,” USA Today, Sept. 20, 1995, p. A1. Some of the most popular Saturday morning kids TV shows contain “sinister combat violence” and pose more concern that most prime time series, a new study by UCLA's Jeffrey Cole finds.
o MediaScope
12711 Ventura Blvd., Suite 248, Studio City, Calif. 91604
(818) 508-2088.
This nonprofit group seeks to promote positive social and health images in entertainment, with a particular concentration on reducing portrayals of violence.
3. Death Penalty
Interesting facts/ quotes/ ideas
o Critics and opponents of the death penalty are warning that capital trials and sentencing hearings are so riddled with flaws that they risk resulting in the execution of innocent persons.
o Most Americans still favor the death penalty, but support has declined in the past five years. Critics point to documented attacks on the reliability and fairness of court procedures in capital cases. They claim too many death sentences are reversed on appeal and that flaws in the system, including inadequate defense counsels, create an unacceptable risk of executing an innocent person. Supporters of capital punishment say legal safeguards are adequate and that no innocent person has been put to death in recent years. The changing climate can be seen in the enactment of state laws to limit the death penalty and in cases before the Supreme Court, which is set to decide whether it is unconstitutional to execute mentally retarded offenders.
o The Constitution of the United States forbids “cruel and unusual punishments” and constitutions of most states have similar provisions. No court has ever upheld the contention that the application of the death penalty violates the prohibition of cruel punishment.
o Executions in 1984 brought to 3,859 the number of persons put to death under state authority since national reporting began in 1930. Between 1967 and 1977, no executions took place while the courts and state lawmakers struggled to devise constitutionally acceptable death penalty statutes.
Research Questions
o Should the mentally ill be faced with the death penalty?
o Is the death penalty cruel and unusual punishment?
o Why has there been a decline in support of the death penalty in the last years? Is it affecting society as a whole?
o Is there more justice done with penalty by death or by incarceration?
Next steps/ issues
o Powell, Michael, “In NY, Lawmakers Vote Not to Reinstate Capital Punishment,” The Washington Post, April 13, 2005, p. A3. A New York legislative committee rejected a bill aimed at reinstating the state's death penalty, citing wrongful convictions.
o Coen, Jeff, “IQ Knocks Out Death Penalty,” Chicago Tribune, April 20, 2004, p. 1. Illinois Judge Kenneth Wadas eliminated the prospect of the death penalty for defendant Randall Jarrett, finding him to be mentally retarded after he scored a 75 on an IQ test.
o American Association on Mental Retardation
444 N. Capitol St., N.W., Suite 846, Washington, DC 20001
(202) 387-1968
www.aamr.org
The largest and oldest organization devoted to mental retardation and related disabilities.
o Death Penalty Information Center
1101 Vermont Ave., N.W., Suite 701, Washington, DC 20005
(202) 289-2275
www.deathpenaltyinfo.org
An anti-death penalty organization furnishing analysis and information on issues concerning capital punishment.

Phil Gust

Topic: Computers – Cyber Socializing

Interesting Facts/Quotes/Ideas:

A. Analysts insist Internet socializing strengthens online AND offline relationships.

B. “The traditional human orientation to neighborhood- and village-based groups is moving toward communities . . . oriented around geographically dispersed social networks”.

C. Meeting potential romantic partners online is “a numbers game,” and the Web lets you search for geographic proximity or mutual interests across a wide variety of potential dates.

D. There's little disagreement that dangers can lurk on the Internet. However, many analysts note that, even as Internet socializing has burgeoned, sex crimes have been decreasing, and data do not indicate an increase in sexual predation due to teens going online. “There is no evidence that the online world is more dangerous,” says Justine Cassell, a professor of communications studies at Northwestern University.

E. In the past year and a half, legislators in several states, including California, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Texas and Virginia, proposed requiring online dating sites to conduct criminal background checks of all prospective members or prominently inform users that they do not conduct such checks.

Research questions:

A. Does regularly announcing our activities or moods on social networking sites pose a risk to us?

B. Should potential employers be allowed to use these sites as a way to judge whether we are good potential employees?

C. Should schools/libraries be allowed to block these sites?

D. Are these sites creating more of a social gap between us, or is it bringing communities closer?

E. What are the risks of online dating, if any?

F. Are kids more at risk than adults?

G. Should the online communities have more control over who joins them by doing background check on new users?

Next Steps/Sources:

A. Kloer, Phil, “Site Offers Truth About Personal Ads on Net,” Chicago Tribune, Aug. 7, 2005, p. B3. Truedater.com allows online daters to post reviews of anyone they have dated from a variety of sites, depicting what that person is really like as opposed to his or her personal ad.

B. Center for the Digital Future
University of Southern California Annenberg School, 300 South Grand Ave., Suite 3950, Los Angeles, CA 90071
(213) 437-4433
www.digitalcenter.org
A research program investigating the Internet's effects on individuals and society.

C. Sharos, David, “Internet Safety Fears Spark Education Efforts,” Chicago Tribune, May 8, 2006, p. 8. Law-enforcement officials, school administrators and software companies have begun to address social-networking issues, including pedophiles trolling for youngsters on the Web and the sharing of too much personal information by minors in chat rooms.

D. Apophenia: Making Connections Where None Previously Existed
www.zephoria.org/thoughts/
News, data and commentary on the social Internet by social-media researcher Danah Boyd.

Topic: Publishing Industry – Future of Books

Interesting Facts/Quotes/Ideas:

A. “Suddenly there was a sense in 2008 that an e-book program was something a publisher couldn't be without,” says Michael Bhaskar, digital editor at publisher Pan MacMillan in Britain.

B. Despite rapid growth, sales revenue generated by electronic books, whether read on a laptop, Kindle or cell phone, still accounts for only about 1 percent of the $11 billion adult trade book market in the United States, estimates Michael Smith, executive director of the International Digital Publishing Forum, a trade association.

C. The proposed settlement permits Google's Book Search engine to make entire copyrighted books available online for a fee and to show up to 20 percent of a copyrighted text at no charge. Google will keep 37 percent of the revenue from online book sales and advertisements that run next to previews of book pages; the remaining 63 percent will go to authors and publishers.

D. Some in the industry think 2009 will be the year that changes all that, with the introduction of the Kindle 2.0 and DX, the availability of Kindle books on the iPhone and Google Book Search's deal to provide millions of books to the Sony Reader. A new, lightweight, large-format reader, which feels like a plastic sheet of paper, Plastic Logic Reader, is due for commercial release next year.

E. E-book retail sales last year increased 68 percent over 2007 to an estimated total of $107 million, according to the organization. But that doesn't include some of the largest publishers that have been reporting triple-digit growth, according to Smith. Nor does it include library or higher-education sales, sectors that both boast twice the electronic sales of trade publishers. Meanwhile, Overdrive, a leading seller of e-books to libraries, logged 10 million downloads in 2008.

Research Questions:

A. How might this effect the bureaucracy in schools and their bookstores?

B. Would it be possible to carry only ONE e-book reader that contained all of your college textbooks?

C. Is there an environmental factor in this? Could going to an e-book reduce your carbon footprint?

D. Is it possible e-books will inspire more of the younger generation to read?

E. Does this change how the industry works as a whole? Can joe schmoe avoid the publishing houses all together and sell his book online in an e-book format on his own?

Next Steps/Contacts:

A. Harmanci, Reyhan , “Google, Trade Groups Settle,” The San Francisco Chronicle, Oct. 29, 2008, p. C1. Google has agreed to pay $125 million to start the Book Rights Registry to compensate authors for providing online access to their books.

B. Bonenti, Charles , “Publishing Your Novel in Minutes,” Berkshire Eagle (Massachusetts), March 8, 2008. The Espresso Book Machine automates virtually every aspect of book production.

C. Institute for the Future of the Book
74 N. 7th St., #3, Brooklyn, NY 11211
www.futureofthebook.org
Think tank experimenting with future forms of the book in New York and London

D. Association of American Publishers
50 F St., NW, 4th Floor, Washington, DC 20001
(202) 347-3375
www.publishers.org
Principal trade association for the publishing industry.

Topic: Health Care Reform

Interesting Facts/Quotes/Ideas:

A. A top goal of Democrats' health-care plans is to get everyone covered by health insurance. Despite the existence of Medicare and Medicaid, more than 45 million Americans today lack health insurance. Meanwhile, health costs that rise far more steeply than the gross domestic product (GDP) threaten to price even more people out of coverage.

B. Over the past century, most industrialized countries have launched health coverage for all by “pooling” risk — i.e., requiring residents to make regular payments into a national insurance system. By means of such a “risk pool,” the cost of illness or injury, which for most people is both temporary and highly unpredictable, is spread across the entire population — only a few of whom are ill at one time — and across one's lifetime. Such “risk spreading” protects the sick and injured from the added hardship of high medical bills when they are suffering.

C. Health costs have grown faster than the rest of the economy for decades, an unsustainable trend for any economic sector, says Michael Chernew, a professor of health-care policy at Harvard Medical School. “A higher percentage of our raises every year goes to health care,” he explains.

D. “Your wallet will take a big hit” under any Democratic plan, said Bernadine Healy, health editor of U.S. News & World Report and a former director of the National Institutes of Health. “By law, you and your family will be required to have health insurance,” and “taxpayers will also shell out whatever it takes to help those who can't afford coverage.”

Research Questions:

A. This has been in the works for decades – Will the government and the people come up with a solution that everyone buys in to?

B. Is it fair to spend OUR money on health related issues that are brought on by irresponsible people, ie. the treatment of drug addiction?

C. Will the new solution cause a rationing of health care and keep some people that desperately need treatments from getting those treatments?

D. Will the already declining interest in family practice doctors be affected if salaries are determined by the government run healthcare systems?

E. How will the current healthcare infrastructure be affected if hundreds of thousands of people that don’t normally go to the doctor suddenly have insurance and start going?

Next Steps/Contacts:

A. Mankiw, N. Gregory, “The Pitfalls of the Public Option,” The New York Times, June 28, 2009, p. BU5. A public plan without any taxpayer support essentially becomes a nonprofit company offering health insurance.

B. Heid, Kermit, “Single-Payer Health Care Has Better Record,” Salt Lake Tribune, July 11, 2009. Administrative costs for single-payer systems in the United States are about one-third of the costs for private insurers.

C. Gosselin, Kenneth R., “Cost of Treating Uninsured Keeps Going Up,” Hartford (Connecticut) Courant, June 10, 2009, p. A11. The cost of hospital stays in Connecticut for uninsured patients has increased by more than 40 percent since 2005, even though the number of such patients has declined

D. Alliance for Health Reform
1444 I St., N.W., Suite 910, Washington, DC 20005
(202) 789-2300
www.allhealth.org
Nonpartisan, nonprofit group disseminating information about policy options for expanded coverage.

E. Physicians for a National Health Program
29 E. Madison St., Suite 602, Chicago, IL 60602
(312) 782-6006
www.pnhp.org
Nonprofit group advocating for single-payer national health insurance.

Karina Barron

Topic: Violence in Schools
Interesting Facts/Quotes/Ideas:
A.” Civil-rights and child-advocacy groups say such codes have led to too many cases of harsh punishment for relatively minor violations, sometimes sending youngsters out on the street where they get into worse trouble. Critics also charge that black students are far more likely to be punished for similar misconduct than whites under the zero-tolerance approach.”
B.” In Chicago this year, for example, a student was accused of stabbing a teacher, blinding her in one eye. http://0-library.cqpress.com.skyline.cudenver.edu/cqresearcher/document.php?id=cqresrre2008021500 - NOTE[5]In February, a female student at Louisiana Technical College in Baton Rouge shot and killed two other women in a classroom before killing herself. And rowdy or bullying behavior undermines learning and drags down teacher morale in classrooms around the country.”
C. Bonding with the students is important. They have been using the zero-tolerance approach inappropriately by suspending and even expelling students for disruption and disrespect.
Research Questions:
A. Is the Zero Tolerance policy fair to all students?
B. Has this policy succeeded and actually made schools safer for students and staff?
C. Is race and ethnicity the cause for this violence?
Next Step/Sources:
A. Diamond, Laura, "Gwinnett Vote Set on School Discipline: Clearer Policy Proposed to Address Racial Disparities," Atlanta Journal-Constitution, May 6, 2007, p. 5D. Schools in Gwinnett County (Atlanta) are considering making discipline rules more uniform and consistent in order to reduce the number of infractions, especially among blacks.
B. Flesher, Jared, and Alexandra Marks, "Should Students Be Allowed to Carry Concealed Weapons?" The Christian Science Monitor, April 18, 2007, p. 2. The shootings at Virginia Tech have reignited a debate as to whether students should be allowed to carry concealed weapons on campus.
C. Education Commission of the States
700 Broadway, #1200 Denver, CO 80203-3460
(303) 299-3600
www.ecs.org
Maintains extensive online resources on education policy.
D. Elias, Marilyn, "At Schools, Less Tolerance for 'Zero Tolerance,' " USA Today, Aug. 10, 2006, p. 6D. Zero-tolerance policies may be promoting misbehavior and making students more anxious

Topic: Children’s Television
Interesting Facts/Quotes/Ideas:
A. “Children's television is not a charitable enterprise, however, but a business, and a lucrative one. Advertisers spent nearly $1 billion on children's programming in 1996. Animated programs accounted for about $688 million, or 76 percent of the total. Educational and instructional programs pulled in just $1.4 million. “There's money to be made in kids' entertainment,” says Cyma Zarghami, senior vice president of programming and general manager of Nickelodeon, a children's cable network.”
B. The average kid watches more than 2 hours of television and about half actually have a television in their bedroom.
C. As years pass sexual content and violence on the television increase. There is also a decrease of educational programs for kids and a rise of entertainment programs.
Research Questions:
A. Are children seeing too much sex and violence on television?
B. Does watching too much violence and sex on TV have an effect on children’s behavior?
C. Should advertisement during children programming be reduced?
D. Will the revised television program ratings system help families monitor children's viewing?
Next Step/Sources:
A. Goldin, Lorrie , “Sex, Violence and Nature Shows,” San Francisco Chronicle, Aug. 28, 1996, p. A19. Goldin argues that nature shows, such as National Geographic specials on PBS, are loaded with sex and violence and should not be used to fulfill the FCC's rule on educational programming.
B. Mifflin, Lawrie , “Pied Piper Of Cable Beguiles Rivals' Children,” The New York Times, Oct. 29, 1996, p. C13. Today, the boundaries for children's TV extend far beyond Saturday mornings, and the menu includes much more than cartoons. And, despite the best efforts of ABC, CBS, Fox and other broadcasters, their shows for the under-12 age group keep dropping in the Nielsen ratings while viewership for the cable network Nickelodeon keeps steadily rising.
C. McWhirter, Nickie , “Mastering the Remote Control,” Detroit News & Free Press, June 15, 1996, p. C6. McWhirter comments on PBS President Ervin Duggan's proposal of an enhanced voluntary ratings system for children's TV programming, saying such a system wouldn't be necessary if parents would just watch TV with their kids and use the on-off switch.
D. Center for Media Education
1511 K St., N.W., Suite 518, Washington, D.C. 20005
(202) 628-2620.
The center, founded in 1991, was one of the lead advocacy groups that negotiated the agreement on the new TV program ratings system.

Topic: Prostitution Debate
Interesting Facts/Quotes/Ideas:
A. “Behind the scenes, however, fierce debate rages about the best plan for limiting the harms of prostitution, which include drug addiction and minors being forced into sex work.”
B. What is known is that around 90,000 prostitution arrests occur in the United States annually, with sex workers, not their customers, making up the overwhelming majority of those arrested.
C. Sex is available any day and any time through internet and cellular phones. “The Internet also helps bring escorts together, reducing their social isolation — a big problem for sex workers — says Koken.” Clients are usually married men with children in the 40’s age range.
Research Questions:
A. Should prostitution be legalized?
B. Should the prostitute be jailed or the john, if not legalized?
C. Should only escort prostitution be legalized and not street prostitution?
D. Should Congress make the anti-trafficking law more applicable to the domestic sex industry?
Next Step/Sources:
A. Bazelon, Emily, "Why Is Prostitution Illegal?" Slate, March 10, 2008, www.slate.com. Some advocates say legalizing prostitution would increase the options for women who don't have many to begin with.
B. Meyer, Josh, "Spitzer Rare Only in That He Got Caught," Los Angeles Times, March 15, 2008, p. A10. Local authorities lack the necessary resources to take down high-end prostitution services and end up focusing their efforts on arresting prostitutes on the streets.
C. Vargas, Theresa, "Immigration-Linked Prostitution Cases Pose Challenge," The Washington Post, March 7, 2008, p. B1. Officials debate whether illegal immigrants working as prostitutes should be considered criminals or victims of sex trafficking.
D. Prostitution ProCon.org
www.prostitutionprocon.org
An educational Web site providing information and commentary on the sex industry, including updated summaries of prostitution laws worldwide and a list of experts.
Marc Lee Denny
Three topics that I had thought might be of interest to me where of interest off me to discuss and write about are (1) is the UN effective in it’s policies and procedures, (2) is AA an effective way to stopping addiction, and (3) are prisons revolving doors and/or dumping grounds for the mentally ill. I found interest in these topics from recently watching Frontline and Penn and Teller’s Bullshit. I was how ever having difficulty using CQ tracker and the other library recourses, so far anyway. I am not sure if I need to search using different keywords or need to narrow down my topic search.
I found myself questioning the UN and what exactly they do and how much you can get away with diplomatic immunity. This is when I saw Penn and Teller talking about how the UN is bullshit. They found that when the UN has sent in “peace keeping” troops in to a nation that the soldiers act un-ruled and abuse there power, and is documented cases gotten away with rape and murder of innocent citizens. None of the soldiers where held accountable for there actions due to diplomatic immunity. The UN was created by China, The United States, Russia, France and the UK in after WW2 in order to stop wars between countries, and to provide a platform for dialogue. Has the UN been effective in stopping wars and providing dialogue? Has the UN looked out for the world or only in the controlling interest of the big five?
There is a really good frontline episode that I saw recently about mental health care in prisons. In the 1980’s president Ronald Regan shut down many of the mental health care facilities in America including one of the biggest here in Colorado, Ft. Lupton. Many persons with mental health issues were then forced into the private sector and private health care, health care which they could not afford or easily access. Ever since there has been a rise of mentally ill in prisons, and once released returning to prison for the health care.
Is Alcoholics anonymous an effective treatment for addiction? It was created by the western Judeo-Christian church, and borders on the lines of a religious cult. AA calls alcoholism a disease. AA receives monies both from church and state. Over 80% relapse and return to drinking. Wright, K (1997) "Shared Ideology in Alcoholics Anonymous: A Grounded Theory Approach". Journal of Health Communication, Volume 2, pp. 83–99 “Another study found that an AA program's focus on self-admission of having a problem increases deviant stigma and strips members of their previous cultural identity replacing it with the deviant identity.”
Ashlee Tackett

Topic One: Sexually Transmitted Diseases:
1. The Bush administration says that abstinence is the only 100% way to avoid stds.
2. The United States has the highest rate of STDs.
3. Public health officials say that the abstinence only talk deprives children of crucial, life-saving information.
Question: “Should children be given condoms as part of their sexual education classes?”
Next Step/Contacts:
1. Brody, Jane , “Abstinence-Only: Does It Work?” The New York Times , June 1, 2004, p. F7.
2. Daruvalla, Abi, and Jeff Israely , et al., “Risky Business,” Time International , June 3, 2002, p. 68.
3. Lauerman, Connie , “Lack of Education, Risky Behavior Put Teens in Danger,” Chicago Tribune , Sept. 1, 2004, Woman News section, p. 1.
4. Brody, Jane , “Fact of Life: Condoms Can Keep Disease at Bay,” The New York Times , Jan. 21, 2003, p. F7.
Topic Two: Aggressive Driving:
1. 2/3 of last year’s auto related deaths are blamed on aggressive drving.
2. Many cities are making changes such as more narrow streets in an attempt to slow down aggressive drivers.
3. Many drivers carry weapons such as knives, baseball bats and guns in their vehichle.
Question: “Can police officers and state officials help regulate the aggression on the road?
Next Steps/Contacts:
1. Beamon, Todd , “Cabdrivers Face Off in Traffic Dispute; One Person Injured, Car Windows Shattered After Two Men Pick Up Tire Irons,” The Washington Post, May 23, 1997, p. D1.
2. Benning, Victoria , “On Route 50, A Move to Calm Traffic; Residents Advocate Methods to Slow Cars,” The Washington Post, Jan. 16, 1997, p. 1
3. Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety
750 1st Street, N.E., Suite 901, Washington, D.C. 20002
(202) 408-1711.
4. Surface Transportation Policy Project
1100 17th St., N.W., 10th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20036
(202) 466-2636.
Topic Three: Homosexuals in the Military:
1. Under the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Policy homosexuals are banned from the military unless they hide their orientation.
2. The Don’t Ask Don’t tell Policy was a compromise law put in place in 1993 to lift the ban on homosexuals in the military.
3. No matter the years spent in dedication to the military if it is discovered you are gay the military will dishonorably discharge you from the military because it violates the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell Policy”
Question: “Is the “don’t Ask Don’t Tell Policy” morally ethical? If not how can it be discredited?”
Next Steps/Contacts:
1. Garcia, Malcolm, “Kansan's Discharge Heightens Debate on ‘Don't Ask, Don't Tell’ Policy,” Kansas City Star, Feb. 16, 2009, p. A1
2. Bender, Bryan, “Obama Seeks Assessment on Gays in Military,” The Boston Globe, Feb. 1, 2009, p. A1.
3. Center for Military Readiness
P.O. Box 51600, Livonia, MI 48151
(202) 347-5333
4. Palm Center
University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106
(805) 893-5664
www.palmcenter.org
Michael Sanders
1. Topic: Music
A. “Debates over hip-hop have taken place mostly within the black community. Some of hip-hop's fiercest critics, including black intellectuals and entertainers, argue that hip-hop presents a caricature of black America that damages how young black people view themselves and how they're viewed by others.”
B. Gangsta rapper David Banner defends his "dirty south" rap style and misogynistic lyrics, arguing that hip-hop has been used as a scapegoat for society's problems. "Gangsta rap is just a reflection of America," he says. (Getty Images/Erik S. Lesser)
C. Music in general has affected people’s lives in different ways. I will present a good argument that it’s not just hip-hop.
Research Questions:
A. What are the effects music has on people?
B. Is it a difference in the effects from hip-hop and other music?
C. Is the African American youth the main target or has it expanded to White American youth as well?
D. Who’s the blame?
2. Sex Offenders

A. Oklahoma became the fifth state to impose the death penalty for sex crimes against children. (South Carolina had enacted its law one day earlier.)
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1977 that the death penalty was disproportionate in cases involving the
B. “It's not about the overall rate, it's about wanting to make sure that events like this don't occur,” says Lieb.
C. I think sex offenders get off easy.
Research Questions:
A. Do sex offenders get off easier than drug dealers?
B. Should sex offenders be castrated as a sentence?
C. Are sex offenders treated fair?
D. What are the effects of sex related crimes?
Greenblatt, A. (2006, September 8). Sex offenders. CQ Researcher, 16, 721-744. Retrieved September 22, 2009, from CQ Researcher Online, http://0-library.cqpress.com.skyline.cudenver.edu/cqresearcher/cqresrre2006090800.
Katel, P. (2007, June 15). Debating hip-hop. CQ Researcher, 17, 529-552. Retrieved September 22, 2009, from CQ Researcher Online, http://0-library.cqpress.com.skyline.cudenver.edu/cqresearcher/cqresrre2007061500.
Turner, Judith. "Music therapy." Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine. Thomson Gale, 2006. NA. Academic OneFile. Gale. Auraria Library. 22 Sept. 2009
.
Topic #1: Prison Overcrowding
Interesting Facts/Quotes/Ideas:
A. "In Georgia, some prison inmates are housed in trailers; in New Jersey many live in tents; and in North Carolina, hundreds of prisoners don't even remain in the state -- they were sent to rented cells in Rhode Island.
Faced with such crowding, state corrections officials might be encouraged by recent action in Congress. “The toughest crime bill . . . in American history,” as Sen. Phil Gramm, R-Texas, calls it, breezed through the Senate on Nov. 19, 1993. The bill was passed 95-4 in the wake of public outrage over the murder of 12-year-old Polly Klaas, abducted from her home in California, and the roadside shooting of basketball star Michael Jordan's father in North Carolina. In both cases, violent offenders free on parole were linked to the deaths. In the Carolina case, chillingly, defendant Daniel Andre Green had been released from prison early due to overcrowding."
B. “In many parts of the country, you have to make a reservation to go to jail,” says Rep. William J. Hughes, D-N.J., who specializes in prison issues on the House Judiciary Committee.

“Overcrowded? Underfunded?” asks an advertisement in a corrections journal. Try portable, modular correctional housing units.
C. "Nationally, the prison population has grown by 102 percent since 1983, but violent crime still rose 40 percent, notes the Sentencing Project. A National Academy of Sciences panel last year concluded that increased incarceration had “apparently little effect” on crime. “While average prison time served per violent crime roughly tripled between 1975 and 1989,” the panel said, “reported levels of serious violent crime [remained at] about 2.9 million per year.”
Research Questions:
A. Why are the courts releasing dangerous inmates because of overcrowding? Why not inmates that are in for something like corporate fraud? They are not harmful to people.
B. What are some solutions? Build more prisons? Create a different form of punishment for criminals? Force early release inmates to some sort of civil or national duty, like join the military?
C. Are prisoners who get released more likely to commit crime again?
D. Is America the only place where this is an on going issue? If so, why? If not, Where else and why?
Next Steps/Sources:
A. “Alternatives to prison,” Futurist, January 1994, pp. 53-54. Overcrowded prisons and the ineffectiveness of probation have prompted judicial authorities to turn to alternative measures. Day fines, intensive supervision and electronic monitoring are among proposed alternatives.
B. Curtin, John J., Jr. , “The Crisis in Corrections,” ABA Journal, May 1991, p. 8. Prison overcrowding threatens safety in and outside of the correctional facilities and diverts money from more beneficial domestic programs, Curtin writes.
C. Aduba, J. Nnamdi , “Overcrowding in Nigerian prisons: A critical appraisal,” Journal of Criminal Justice, 1993, pp. 185-191. The special characteristics of the Nigerian prison population are examined, and “overcrowding” in Nigerian prisons is discussed.
Topic #2: Obesity Epidemic
Interesting Facts/Quotes/Ideas:
A. "The percentage of overweight American children and teens has more than doubled in the past decade. Moreover, two-thirds of the adults are either overweight or obese, and at least 300,000 Americans die each year from obesity-related diseases. The reasons aren't hard to fathom. The U.S. food industry aggressively markets high-fat, high-sugar, super-sized foods. Modern communities encourage driving rather than walking. Physical education is being dropped by schools even as fattening snack foods are welcomed onto campus. And children are spending more time playing computer games than sports. The question for policymakers is whether the weight gain is just a matter of individual responsibility, or whether a society that makes it so easy to get fat should be retooled. At stake is not only the health of millions of Americans but also $117 billion in annual health-treatment costs."
B. "But when it comes to the reasons why so many are overweight, the blame gets spread far and wide. The human body was genetically designed to store fat so it could weather famine and other once-common deprivations. Given that biological propensity, many question whether contemporary American culture and lifestyles — the result of a combination of individual, societal, commercial and political decisions — have made it too easy for people to gain weight."
C. "More than 44 million Americans are now considered medically obese, reflecting an increase of 74 percent since 1991, according to a recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The rates are highest among the poor and the less-educated. “These increases are disturbing and are likely even underestimated,” said Director Julie L. Gerberding. “More important, we're seeing a number of serious health effects resulting from overweight and obesity. If we continue on this path, the results will be devastating to both the health of the nation and to our health-care system.”
Research Questions:
A. Why must we Americans consider obesity an "epidemic", along with Polio, or the flu? Obesity is something we can prevent.
B. Why are parents becoming less concerned with what types and amounts of food their children are consuming on a daily basis?
C. How come Physical Education in the school systems is no longer important as it used to be before?
D. Again, why is this only a problem in American society?
The Next Steps/Sources:
A. Brink, Susan , “Phys Ed Redux,” U.S. News & World Report , June 3, 2002, p. 50. More and more schools are cutting back on or eliminating physical education entirely, despite concerns over obesity in students and other weight-related problems.
B. Hellmich, Nanci , “Atkins Diet Meets With Success,” USA Today , Dec. 10, 2002, p. D1. New studies show that some dieters lose more weight on the Atkins plan than more conventional low-fat diets, but critics note that other research indicates that the Atkins diet may increase the risk of kidney stones and bone loss.
C. Brownell, Kelly D., and David S. Ludwig , “Fighting Obesity And the Food Lobby,” The Washington Post , June 9, 2002, p. B7. Food-industry lobbying groups have a vocal presence in food legislation and dietary issues — activities that draw disturbing parallels with the tobacco industry.
D. Brody, Jane E. , “Fighting the Lessons Schools Teach on Fat,” The New York Times , April 16, 2002, p. F7. Because schools are offering children more exposure to junk food and less opportunity for physical activity, parents need to encourage better eating and exercise habits.
Topic #3: Teaching Morals and Values
Interesting Facts/Quotes/Ideas:
A. Thousands of schools in more than a dozen states are participating in a new movement to teach values in schools. Leaders of the “character education” movement point to moral decline among America's youth - evidenced by rising rates of teen pregnancy and youth crime - as the main reason schools should teach values. The programs, which vary greatly depending on the school, have provoked relatively little controversy locally. However, both conservative Christians and civil libertarians see the potential for schools to impose ideologies contrary to parents' values. Leading character-education advocates contend that schools can teach such basic values as respect and responsibility without wading into controversial areas like abortion, sex education and homosexuality.
B. Since White beefed up the school's character-education program in 1992, pregnancies have plummeted from 12-15 a year to one this year; thefts and fighting have dropped, too. The gains are impressive for the predominantly African-American school, where 70 percent of the students come from single-parent families. Jefferson's ninth-graders score above grade level in reading, science and math on national standardized tests. The school boasts the best junior high attendance record in Washington.
C. More than 90 percent of the public favors public school teaching of such specific values as respect for others and hard work, according to a 1994 poll. But when pollsters asked about character education in general, 39 percent of the respondents thought that teaching values and ethical behavior should be left to parents and churches.
D. Yet even at Sheridan, where children are overwhelmingly from well- off, professional families, Riddleberger has become increasingly concerned with students' moral sense. “I saw that kids were taking less and less responsibility for their behavior,” he says, “blaming others and making excuses” when teachers reprimanded them. “I saw the teachers hardening their responses by thinking of longer lists of rules.”
Families are spending less time with children, surveys show. As a result, Riddleberger says, parents are missing opportunities to deal with moral issues as they come up - recognizing a child's act of honesty explicitly and saying, “That was a decent thing to do.”
Research Questions:
A. Why does it take teachers to help children develope morals and values? Why not the parents?
B. Is this a good or bad thing?
C. What kind of parents do we seem like if we are in need of someone else to teach or children these aspects of life?
D. At what point do have to teach our children something on our own? Are we a nation who is incapable of doing this?
Next Steps/Sources:
A. Bates, Stephen , “A textbook of virtues,” The New York Times, Jan. 8, 1995, p. A16. Henry Huffman, the assistant superintendent of schools in Mount Lebanon, Pa., is the moving force behind the district's efforts to teach children about courage and other moral values. Huffman says the question is not whether the schools should engage in character education but how they should do it. The way that Huffman introduced character education to the Mount Lebanon schools is described.

B. Michael , “Religion part of every class in curriculum,” Denver Post, Oct. 1, 1995, p. A14. The principal of St. Thomas More school in Denver says “A Catholic education is not different because they have a religion class every day. It's different because everything we say and do is permeated by Christian values.” Education in Denver's Catholic schools is discussed.
C. Bennett, William J. , “The national prospect: A symposium,” Commentary, November 1995, pp. 23-29. Bennett discusses how moral decline is undermining America's traditional confidence about itself, its mission and its place in the world.
D. Cumming, Doug , “Building character,” Atlanta Constitution, March 20, 1996, p. B1. The “word of the week” program at West Point Elementary takes 10 minutes every morning and covers 34 positive traits such as punctuality and cleanliness in a year's time. It has transformed the troubled Troup County school into Georgia's showcase for a movement called character education.

Yasmin Barre

Topic: Islam
Interesting Facts/Quotes/Ideas:
A. “Muslim women who wear the veil are not aliens,” the 24-year-old suspended bilingual teaching assistant told reporters in Leeds, England, on Oct. 19. “Integration [of Muslims into British society] requires people like me to be in the workplace so that people can see that we are not to be feared or mistrusted.”
B. “Muslims feel they are on center stage, and everybody is Muslim-bashing,” says Anjum Anwar, the council's director of education. “They feel very sensitive.”
C. Ever since September 11, 2001, Muslims have been looked at differently for example as a terrorist.
Research Question:
A. Why is it a problem for Muslim women to wear their scarf at work and school?
B. Why do people look at Muslims differently after 9/11?
C. Why do American people call Muslims terrorists when the USA itself destroyed Iraq?
D. Can Islam ever be compatible with western values?
Next Steps/Sources:
A. Jost, K. (2006, November 3). Understanding Islam. CQ Researcher, 16, 913-936. Retrieved September 22, 2009, from CQ Researcher Online, http://0-library.cqpress.com.skyline.cudenver.edu/cqresearcher/cqresrre2006110300.

Topic: Women and Human Rights
Interesting Facts/Quotes/Ideas:
A. In Kenya, 300 boys at a boarding school rape 71 girls in the girls' dormitory. “The boys never meant any harm against the girls,” the vice principal explains. “They just wanted to rape.”
B. A common practice in much of Africa subjects girls to painful coming-of-age rites involving the surgical removal or alteration of their genital organs. Defended as “female circumcision” by proponents of the practice, it has been condemned as “female genital mutilation” by the United Nations and human rights organizations around the world.
C. Known as “female circumcision” by its proponents and condemned as “female genital mutilation” by its detractors, the practice is a common coming-of-age rite in about 28 African countries and a few countries in the Middle East and Asia, including Egypt, Oman and Yemen.
Research Questions:
A. Why can a woman deserve the same rights as a man?
B. Do women deserve full human rights?
C. Why is it okay for females in Africa to be circumcised?
D. why do man have more powers than women?
Next Steps/Sources:
A. Cooper, M. H. (1999, April 30). Women and human rights. CQ Researcher, 9, 353-376. Retrieved September 22, 2009, from CQ Researcher Online, http://0-library.cqpress.com.skyline.cudenver.edu/cqresearcher/cqresrre1999043000.
B.http://0search.ebscohost.com.skyline.cudenver.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=44069240&site=ehost-live

Topic: Gay Marriage
Interesting Facts/Quotes/Ideas:
A. Supporters of same-sex marriage say gay and lesbian couples need and deserve the same symbolic and practical benefits for their relationships enjoyed by heterosexuals.
B. B.“We have a child. We own real estate together. We have wills. We have health-care proxies. But we have no legal relationship to each other,” Julie explains. “That's what we're trying to change with the marriage case.”
C. C.“We favor the tradition of a one-man, one-woman marriage,” says Connie Mackey, vice president of the Family Research Council, a Washington-based Christian organization. “We reject the attempts of the gay community to foist its agenda on the general public.”
Research Questions:
A. How does gay marriage affect tradition or religion?
B. Should gay marriage be allowed?
C. Why do people have a problem with gay marriage?
D. Should gay couples race kids?
Next Steps/Sources
A. Jost, K. (2003, September 5). Gay marriage. CQ Researcher, 13, 721-748. Retrieved September 22, 2009, from CQ Researcher Online, http://0-library.cqpress.com.skyline.cudenver.edu/cqresearcher/cqresrre2003090500
B. GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian & Gay Studies; 2009, Vol. 15 Issue 4, p583-609, 27p
Bianca Munoz

Cosmetics
- Should animals be used for cosmetic testing?
- What are the ingredients used on cosmetics?
- Are cosmetic ingredients harming our skin?

Interesting facts and qoutes
- "parlty because cosmetics present fewer hazards and partly because f.D.A lacked the authority."
- " Cosmetics were the last to come under government supervision."

Sites used
- Shaffer, H.B. (1964). Cosmetics Safeguard. In Editorial In Editorial research reports 1964. (Vol. I). Washington: CQ Press. Retrieved September 22, 2009, from CQ Press Electronic Library, CQ Researcher Online, http://0-library.cqpress.com.skyline.cudenver.edu/cqresearcher/cqresrre1964061700. Document ID: cqresrre1964061700.

Welfare
- Is welfare helping people get their lives straight?
- Should the government stop giving welfare to people?
- How much is welfare used?

Interesting facts
- "About half the welfare recipients who left welfare in 1996 and 1997 had lower household incomes in the year they left — more than $50 a month lower — than their last months on the rolls, according to a study based on a national sample of more than 30,000 households."
-
"About 40 percent of former recipients who have left the welfare rolls are not working, leaving welfare officials scratching their heads as to how they are surviving."
-
"the nation's welfare rolls have dropped by more than half from their peak of 5.1 million families in 1994."

Sites used
- Glazer, S. (2001, August 3). Welfare reform. CQ Researcher, 11, 601-632. Retrieved September 22, 2009, from CQ Researcher Online, http://0-library.cqpress.com.skyline.cudenver.edu/cqresearcher/cqresrre2001080300

Race and discrimination
- Are jobs still discriminating against non-white people?
- Is it okay to separate the disabled students from the normal students in schools?
- Should illegal people be given papers?
interesting facts and qoutes
- "Today the global economic crisis now wreaking havoc on millions of American households is hitting while the first black president is in the White House and the national debate over illegal immigration remains unresolved."
- "Others warn that hate crime statistics aren't reliable where immigrants are concerned."
Sites used
Katel, P. (2009, May 8). Hate groups. CQ Researcher, 19, 421-448. Retrieved September 22, 2009, from CQ Researcher Online, http://0-library.cqpress.com.skyline.cudenver.edu/cqresearcher/cqresrre2009050800
Maggie Tice
Topic: sexually transmitted diseases
Facts/Quotes/Ideas
1. The United States has the highest rates of sexually transmitted diseases out of any industrialized nation Sexually active youth make up almost half the new cases of infections every year.
2. Around the world half of HIV infections are affecting women, and more women are getting infected then men every year.
3. Recent studies found that teens who took the abstinence pledge had the same rate of STDs and pregnancy as those who didn't. Most likely it’s because they were less likely to use contraception the first time they had sex.
Research Questions
1. Is abstinence only sex education effective in preventing STD’s and pregnancy?
2. Should schools provide resources for teens to obtain condoms, birth control, and get tested?
3. Should it be the choice of the parent, student, school, or government in concern to providing effective sex education to students?
Sources
1. Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Is abstinence the best approach to prevention? December 3, 2004 • Volume 14, Issue 42
2. Preventing Teen Pregnacny, Is better sex education the answer? May 15, 1993 • Volume 3, Issue 18
3. Shaffer, H. B. (1972). Contraceptives and society. In Editorial research reports 1972 (Vol. I). Washington: CQ Press. Retrieved September 23, 2009, from CQ Press Electronic Library, CQ Researcher Online, http://0 library.cqpress.com.skyline.cudenver.edu/cqresearcher/cqresrre1972060700. Document ID: cqresrre1972060700.
Topic: Obesity
1. Obesity is the “fastest-growing cause of illness and death in the United States,” U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona said early this month. It is associated with at least 300,000 deaths a year, causing more than 30 obesity-related diseases, ranging from heart disease and stroke to arthritis and breathing problems.
2. Obesity is the “fastest-growing cause of illness and death in the United States,” U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona said early this month. It is associated with at least 300,000 deaths a year, causing more than 30 obesity-related diseases, ranging from heart disease and stroke to arthritis and breathing problems.
3. Industry observers estimate that fast-food restaurant sales accounted for about 20 percent of the $87 billion Americans spent on food eaten away from home last year.

Research Questions
1. Does family income have any direct ties with obesity?
2. Who is responsible for an obese child, the parent, school, etc?
3. Does ethnicity correlate with obesity?
Sources
1. Leepson, M. (1978). Fast food: U.S. growth industry. In Editorial research reports 1978 (Vol. II). Washington: CQ Press. Retrieved September 23, 2009, from CQ Press Electronic Library, CQ Researcher Online, http://0-library.cqpress.com.skyline.cudenver.edu/cqresearcher/cqresrre1978120800. Document ID: cqresrre1978120800.
2. Greenblatt, A. (2003, January 31). Obesity epidemic. CQ Researcher, 13, 73-104. Retrieved September 23, 2009, from CQ Researcher Online, http://0-library.cqpress.com.skyline.cudenver.edu/cqresearcher/cqresrre2003013100.
3. Worsnop, R. L. (1997, September 26). Youth fitness. CQ Researcher, 7, 841-864. Retrieved September 23, 2009, from CQ Researcher Online, http://0-library.cqpress.com.skyline.cudenver.edu/cqresearcher/cqresrre1997092600.

Topic: Ethics and War
1. A nobel laureate economist and a federal budget expert linked the economic downturn to the war and calculated its eventual total financial cost at $3 trillion and possibly even more, plus the tens of thousands of Americans and Iraqis killed or wounded.
2. About 80,000 of the 697,000 American men and women who served in the Persian Gulf during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm say they suffer from the broad range of ailments known collectively as Gulf War Syndrome. The most common symptoms include joint pain, fatigue, headache and memory loss.
3. A recent study of PTSD among veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, noted that up to 17 percent of Iraq veterans were exhibiting signs of “major depression, generalized anxiety or PTSD” but that only 23 to 40 percent sought mental health care because of fear of being stigmatized.

Research Questions
1. Is the use of depleted uranium in the Iraq and Afghanistan war’s a war crime?
2. Are veterans getting the benefits they were promised?
3. Is there a reason for the Iraq war?
Sources
1. Triplett, W. (2004, November 19). Treatment of veterans. CQ Researcher, 14, 973-996. Retrieved September 23, 2009, from CQ Researcher Online, http://0-library.cqpress.com.skyline.cudenver.edu/cqresearcher/cqresrre2004111900.
2. Jost, K. (1995, July 7). War crimes. CQ Researcher, 5, 585-608. Retrieved September 23, 2009, from CQ Researcher Online, http://0-library.cqpress.com.skyline.cudenver.edu/cqresearcher/cqresrre1995070700

3. Katel, P. (2008, April 25). Cost of the Iraq war. CQ Researcher, 18, 361-384. Retrieved September 23, 2009, from CQ Researcher Online, http://0-library.cqpress.com.skyline.cudenver.edu/cqresearcher/cqresrre2008042500.

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