Rh Bill

St. Jude College School of Art Science and Education Manila A Term Paper Submitted as a Requirement For the Subject: Philippine Government and Constitution Submitted By: Jim Waine C. Averilla Karissa Helene B. Salvador Submitted To: Diosdado B. Lopega March 27, 20 HISTORYAccording to the Senate Policy Brief titled Promoting Reproductive Health, the history of reproductive health in the Philippines dates back to 1967 when leaders of 12 countries including the Philippine’s Ferdinand Marcos signed the Declaration of Population The Philippines agreed that the population problem should be considered as the principal element for long-term economic development.Thus, the Population Commission was created to push for a lower family size norm and provide information and services to lower fertility rates. Starting 1967, the USAID started shouldering 80% of the total family planning commodities (contraceptives) of the country, which amounted to US$ 3 Million annually. In 1975, the United States adopted as its policy the  National Security Study Memorandum 200: Implications of Worldwide Population Growth for U.S. Security and Overseas Interests (NSSM200). The policy gives â€Å"paramount importance† to population control measures and the promotion of contraception among 13 populous countries, including the Philippines to control rapid population growth which they deem to be inimical to the socio-political and economic growth of these countries and to the national interests of the United States, since the â€Å"U. S. conomy will require large and increasing amounts of minerals from abroad†, and these countries can produce destabilizing opposition forces against the United States. It recommends the US leadership to â€Å"influence national leaders† and that â€Å"improved world-wide support for population-related efforts should be sought through increased emphasis on mass media and other population education and motivation programs by the UN, US IA, and USAID. Different presidents had different points of emphasis.President Marcos pushed for a systematic distribution of contraceptives all over the country, a policy that was called â€Å"coercive,† by its leading administrator. The Cory Aquino administration focused on giving couples the right to have the number of children they prefer, while the Ramos presidency shifted from population control to population management. Estrada used mixed methods of reducing fertility rates, while Arroyo focused on mainstreaming natural family planning, while stating that contraceptives are openly sold in the country.In 1989, the Philippine Legislators’ Committee on Population and Development (PLCPD) was established, â€Å"dedicated to the formulation of viable public policies requiring legislation on population management and socio-economic development. † In 2000, the Philippines signed the Millennium Declaration and committed to attain the MDG goals by 2015, including p romoting gender equality and health. In 2003, USAID started its phase out of a 33-year-old program by which free contraceptives were given to the country.Aid recipients such as the Philippines faced the challenge to fund its own contraception program. In 2004, the Department of Health introduced the Philippines Contraceptive Self-Reliance Strategy, arranging for the replacement of these donations with domestically provided contraceptives. In August 2010, the government announced a collaborative work with the USAID in implementing a comprehensive marketing and communications strategy in favor of family planning called â€Å"May Plano Sila. † Summary of criticismOpponents of the bill argue that: (1) â€Å"The world's leading scientific experts† have resolved the issues related to the bill and show that the â€Å"RH Bill is based on wrong economics† as the 2003 Rand Corporation study shows that â€Å"there is little cross-country evidence that population growth im pedes or promotes economic growth†. (2) The bill takes away limited government funds from treating many high priority medical and food needs and transfers them to fund objectively harmful and deadly devices.The latest studies in scientific journals and organizations show that the ordinary birth control pill, and the IUD are abortifacient to 100-celled human embryos: they kill the embryonic human, who as such are human beings equally worthy of respect, making the bill unconstitutional. (3) US National Defense Consultant, Lionel Tiger, has shown empirical evidence that contraceptives have deleterious social effects (abortion, premarital sex, female impoverishment, fatherless children, teenage pregnancies, and poverty).Harvard School of Public Health scientist Edward Green observes that ‘when people think they're made safe by using condoms at least some of the time, they actually engage in riskier sex', in the phenomenon called â€Å"risk compensation†. There is evid ence for increased risk of cancer (breast, cervical, liver) as well as significant increase of risk for heart attack and stroke for current users of oral contraceptives. The increased usage of contraceptives, which implies that some babies are unwanted, will eventually lead to more abortion; the orrelation was shown in a scientific journal and acknowledged by pro-RH leaders, (4) People's freedom to access contraceptives is not restricted by any opposing law, being available in family planning NGOs, stores, etc. The country is not a welfare state: taxpayer's money should not be used for personal practices that are harmful and immoral; it can be used to inform people of the harm of BCPs. (5) The penal provisions constitute a violation of free choice and conscience, and establishes religious persecution.President Aquino stated he was not an author of the bill. He also stated that he gives full support to a firm population policy, educating parents to be responsible, providing contracep tives to those who ask for them, but he refuses to promote contraceptive use. He said that his position â€Å"is more aptly called responsible parenthood rather than reproductive health. Economic and demographic premises The Philippines is the 39th most densely populated country, with a density over 335 per squared kilometer, and the population growth rate is 1. % (2010 Census), 1. 957% (2010 est. by CIA World Fact Book), or 1. 85% (2005–2010 high variant estimate by the UN Population Division, World Population Prospects: The 2008 Revision) coming from 3. 1 in 1960. The 2010 total fertility rate (TFR) is 3. 23 births per woman, from a TFR of 7 in 1960. In addition, the total fertility rate for the richest quintile of the population is 2. 0, which is about one third the TFR of the poorest quintile (5. 9 children per woman). The TFR for women with college education is 2. , about half that of women with only an elementary education (4. 5 children per woman). Congressman Lagman states that the bill â€Å"recognizes the verifiable link between a huge population and poverty. Unbridled population growth stunts socioeconomic development and aggravates poverty. † The University of the Philippines' School of Economics presented two papers in support of the bill: Population and Poverty: the Real Score (2004), and Population, Poverty, Politics and the Reproductive Health Bill (2008).According to these economists, which include Solita Monsod, Gerardo Sicat, Cayetano Paderanga, Ernesto M. Pernia, and Stella Alabastro-Quimbo, â€Å"rapid population growth and high fertility rates, especially among the poor, do exacerbate poverty and make it harder for the government to address it,† while at the same time clarifying that it would be â€Å"extreme† to view â€Å"population growth as the principal cause of poverty that would justify the government resorting to draconian and coercive measures to deal with the problem (e. g. denial of basic services and subsidies to families with more than two children). † They illustrate the connection between rapid population growth and poverty by comparing the economic growth and population growth rates of Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines, wherein the first two grew more rapidly than the Philippines due to lower population growth rates. They stressed that â€Å"the experience from across Asia indicates that a population policy cum government-funded [family planning] program has been a critical complement to sound economic policy and poverty reduction†.In Population and Poverty, Aniceto Orbeta, Jr, showed that poverty incidence is higher among big families: 57. 3% of Filipino families with seven children are in poverty while only 23. 8% of families who have two children live below the poverty threshold. Percentage of population living below poverty line (2003). Darker areas mean more poverty. Proponents argue that smaller families and wider birth intervals resulting from the use of contraceptives allow families to invest more in each child’s education, health, nutrition and eventually reduce poverty and hunger at the household level.At the national level, fertility reduction cuts the cost of social services with fewer people attending school or seeking medical care and as demand eases for housing, transportation, jobs, water, food and other natural resources. The Asian Development Bank in 2004 also listed a large population as one of the major causes of poverty in the country, together with weak macroeconomic management, employment issues, an underperforming agricultural sector and an unfinished land reform agenda, governance issues including corruption. Criticism of premisesOpponents refer to a 2003 study of Rand Corporation, which concluded that â€Å"there is little cross-country evidence that population growth impedes or promotes economic growth†¦ population neutralism has in fact been the predominant school in thinking among academ ics about population growth for the last half-century. † For example, the 1992 study of Ross Levine and David Renelt, which covered 119 countries over 30 years (vs UP study of 3 countries over a few years). The RAND study also said that a large population can promote growth given the right fundamentals.Thus, they refer to the HSBC 2012 projection for 2050 that the Philippines will be 16th largest economy due to its large growing population, and those whose populations are decreasing will suffer decline. In his Primer which critiques the bill, Economist Roberto de Vera refers to Nobel prize winner Simon Kuznets's study which concludes that â€Å"no clear association appears to exist in the present sample of countries, or is likely to exist in other developed countries, between rates of growth of population and of product per capita. Julian Simon compared parallel countries such as North and South Korea, East and West Germany whose birthrates were practically the same but whose economic growth was entirely different due to different governance factors. De Vera says that â€Å"similar conclusions have been arrived at by the US National Research Council in 1986 and in the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) Consultative Meeting of Economists in 1992† and the studies of Hanushek and Wommann (2007), Doppelhoffer, Miller, Sala-I-Martin (2004), Ahlburg (1996), etc.The other Nobel Prize winner who expressed the same view is Gary Becker. De Vera also states that from 1961 to 2000, as Philippine population increased almost three times, poverty decreased from 59% to 34%. He stressed that the more probable cause of poor families is not family size but the limited schooling of the household head: 78% to 90% of the poor households had heads with no high school diploma, preventing them from getting good paying jobs.He refers to studies which show that 90% of the time the poor want the children they have: as helpers in the farm and investment for a secure old age. Instead of aiming at population decrease, De Vera stressed that the country should focus through education on cashing in on a possible â€Å"demographic dividend†, a period of rapid economic growth that can happens when the labor force is growing faster than the dependents (children and elderly), thus reducing poverty significantly.In a recent development, two authors of the Reproductive Health Bill changed their stand on the provisions of the bill regarding population and development. Reps. Emerciana de Jesus and Luzviminda Ilagan wanted to delete three provisions which state that â€Å"gender equality and women empowerment are central elements of reproductive health and population and development,† which integrate responsible parenthood and family planning programs into anti-poverty initiatives, and which name the Population Commission as a coordinating body.The two party-list representatives strongly state that poverty is not due to over-population but because of inequalit y and corruption. Opponents also refer to the statement of the Federation of Free Farmers that history teaches about the economic advantages of a large population, and the disadvantages of a smaller population. The Wall Street Journal in July 2012 said that Aquino's â€Å"promotion of a ‘reproductive health' bill is jarring† since it could lead to â€Å"a demographic trap of too few workers.The Philippines doesn't have too many people, it has too few pro-growth policies. † Opposing the bill, Former Finance Secretary Roberto de Ocampo wrote that it is â€Å"truly disingenuous for anyone to proceed on the premise that the poor are to blame for the nation’s poverty. † He emphasized that the government should apply the principle of first things first and focus on the root causes of the poverty (e. g. poor governance, corruption) and apply many other alternatives to solve the problem (e. g. giving up pork barrel, raising tax collection efficiency).They a lso point to the five factors for high economic growth and reduction of poverty shown by the 2008 Commission on Growth and Development headed by Nobel prize winner Michael Spence, which does not include population control. Status Legislature On 31 January 2011, six different bills were consolidated into a single RH Bill which was then unanimously approved for plenary debate by the House Committee on Population and Family Relations. On 7 February 2011, the bill was scheduled to go before the House Appropriations Committee. 6 February 2011 the bill was endorsed by the House Appropriations Committee with amendment and referred back to the Population Committee for finalizing the language. President and Cabinet President Noynoy Aquino during the presidential campaign said that it confounds him why he is always associated with the RH Bill and reiterated that he is neither an author nor a co-author, much less did he sign the committee report regarding the bill. He said that â€Å"he will fully support the crafting of a firm policy that will address the serious problem on population. At the same time, Aquino said that â€Å"artificial contraception was a matter of choice and conscience and that health professionals who fool people into using artificial contraceptives should be penalized. As a Catholic, Aquino said he himself was not promoting artificial contraception but believes that the government should be able to provide it to Filipinos who ask for it. † Aquino stressed: â€Å"I’m a Catholic, I’m not promoting it. My position is more aptly called responsible parenthood rather than reproductive health.According to Rina Jimenez David who is pro-RH, during the â€Å"Women Deliver Philippines† Conference held September 2010, Dinky Soliman, Aquino's Secretary of Social Welfare and Development, said that â€Å"choice and access† constituted the keystone of the Aquino government’s policy, reiterating the administration’s support for the pending reproductive health bills. On December 2010, the Cabinet and the CBCP agreed to have a joint campaign providing full information on the advantages and risks of contraceptives, natural and artificial family planning and responsible parenthood.They have established a technical working group for this purpose. They also agreed that government will not be an â€Å"instrument to enforce or violate the conscience of the people about these issues. † However, by April 2011 the President has given his full support to the entire RH Bill in a speech at the University of the Philippines and promised to push for its passage even at the â€Å"risk of excommunication. † Compromise and alternativesSenate President Juan Ponce Enrile, Congressman Roilo Golez and Buhay party-list separately filed bills that seek to restrict abortion and birth control use. These bills have been seen either as a nullification of the RH Bill, its alternative, or as a way of achieving unity among the populace, since the RH Bill proponents have stated their concern in preventing abortion. Presidential candidate Gilbert Teodoro or Gibo suggested a cash transfer from the government to individuals wanting access to family planning methods, whether natural or artificial.The individuals can then make use of the cash they receive to purchase birth control devices they may choose, thus guaranteeing freedom of choice. The Loyola School of Theology and the John J. Carroll Institute on State and Church Issues issued 9 â€Å"Talking Points† on the RH Bill. Among other points, they proposed a study on the meaning of conception in the Constitution, and if it means fertilization, abortifacients â€Å"are to be banned even now and regardless of whether the RH Bill is passed†.They also proposed â€Å"parallel programs for providing information and training, one for Natural Family Planning (NFP) and another for artificial methods of family planning†. Columnis t Jose Sison of the Philippine Star criticized this: â€Å"a Catholic School of theology has actually proposed in public, the use of tax payers’ money to train Filipinos to employ methods that are objectively and intrinsically evil† and cites â€Å"empirical evidence and scientific proofs confirming the harmful and evil effects of contraceptives to individuals and to society. † Recent eventsIn September 2010, Aquino during this visit to the US reiterated his stand that he is in favor of responsible parenthood and respects the decision of each couple as to the number of children they want, and if they need the government support for contraception, then the government will provide it. This statement has created a furor as Catholic church leaders say that Aquino has sold out the Filipino soul in exchange for some â€Å"measly† aid from the United States. The President of the Catholic Bishops Conference said that there can possibly be an excommunication of th e President if he continues on with his stance.Pro RH Bill Senators encouraged the President to be steadfast to do his duties towards the state. The President's spokesperson Edwin Lacierda explained that the President â€Å"has not changed his stand† and is reaching out to the prelates and said that the President himself has not made any decision in support of the Reproductive Health Bill as he is still studying the document. Lacierda said that the Executive Branch â€Å"is not involved in the passage of the RH bill, saying the measure's fate rests solely on the legislative branch. â€Å"Filipino Freethinkers, an association of agnostics, atheists, progressives, etc. , who have been very active in the fight in favor of the RH bill, stepped up the pressure, creating more controversy that fired up renewed interest in the bill on both sides. On 30 September 2010, one of the freethinkers, Carlos Celdran staged a protest action against the Catholic Church, holding a sign which r ead â€Å"DAMASO† – a reference to the villainous, corrupt clergyman Father Damaso of the novel Noli Me Tangere by Filipino revolutionary writer Jose Rizal – and shouting â€Å"stop getting involved in politics! A fan page, Free Carlos Celdran was created in Facebook, which generated 23,808 fans in 24 hours. Francisco Montalvan of the Inquirer said that in the end the Damasos are the scheming, corrupt and deceptive people, implying that the â€Å"pro-death advocates† are these, while the Cardinal Rosales who started a nationwide fund for the poor is very far from Damaso. Meanwhile, the Imam Council of the Philippines, the top leaders of the Moslem population which at 4. M constitutes 5% of the Philippine population, declared that they are against contraceptives since using them â€Å"underestimates God,† and â€Å"makes one lose morality in the process. † During the first public hearing on 24 Nov, the chair of the Committee on Population ha ndling the bill said that there is no instruction from the Speaker of the House to expedite the bill. Upon the call of anti-RH congressmen, the Committee Chair decided to refer the bill also to the Committee on Health, since the bill is about Reproductive Health.Leader of the pro-RH group, Elizabeth Ansioco, said that the bill is doomed if it is referred to the Committee on Health. Anti-RH Deputy Speaker Congressman Pablo Garcia said the members of the Committee on Health know of the WHO announcement on the carcinogenicity of combined estrogen-progestogen oral contraceptives. House Speaker Belmonte said that Congress is not likely to rush the legislation of the bill and will tackle it in plenary early next year. Belmonte said it is better that highly contentious bills be given more attention.On 3 December, the Senate cut the proposed budget of P 880M for contraceptives down to P 8M for condoms since other contraceptives violated the Constitution's ban on abortifacients, and Senator Tito Sotto III said that his constituents never asked for contraceptives. On 27 July 2012, the Speaker of the House decided to put to a vote by 7 August 2012 whether the debates have to be terminated. In response, pro-life groups and the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines have decided to call for a â€Å"Prayer Power Rally†, on 4 August 2012 at the historic Edsa Shrine.Meanwhile, 6 co-authors of the bill withdrew support, with the head of the minority group of the house declaring that 8 of their group are withdrawing their previous support for the bill. Congressional approval and presidential assent At 3 in the morning on December 13, 2012, the House of Representatives voted on second reading in favor of the bill with 113–109, while five representatives abstained. In the upper house, the Senate voted on December 18, 2012 to pass the bill on second reading with 13–8, while Senators Sergio Osmena, III and Lito Lapid were absent.On the same day, both ho uses passed the bill on the third and final reading. Members of the House of Representatives voted 133–79, while seven representatives abstained. The Senate registered 13–8, the same result as the second reading. On December 19, 2012, both versions of the bill were passed to the Bicameral Committee to produce a final version to be signed by the President Aquino. The committee quickly passed the bill in just one session.It was transmitted back to the House of Representatives and the Senate, which both ratified the bill, with the Senate voting 11–5 in favor of ratification, and the House of Representatives voting via voice vote. On December 21, 2012, President Aquino signed the bill into law, codifying the bill as Republic Act No. 10354, otherwise known as the â€Å"Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012†. News of the signing was announced by House Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II on December 28, 2012. Reactions Averilla, Jim Waine C. Philippine Government & Constitution I used to support the RH bill. But finding out the truth behind it, neither would you. I believe this law will put the Filipinos at risk of extinction because at its very core, the RH law is an extension of a secret, global conspiracy, a western attempt, to apply principles of eugenics on unsuspecting, inferior populations in order to prevent them from the human evolutionary process, at the end of which would, at the highest point, call forth the â€Å"master race†. The truth is in our hearts, we just have to listen to it.At first my interpretation of the RH bill led me to think that it was just a bill meant to help educate the uninformed about ways to prevent them from fornicating their way to a very bad financial situation. My ignorant mind devised some simple points as to why the RH Bill was right. I thought: 1. Minimum wage of a non-agricultural Filipino worker is P404. 2. If there were 20 working days in a month, the average minimum w age earning Filipino would earn around P8000 a month. 3. In average that person ate food on a regular basis, he will spend about around P70/day on food.There are 20 days in a month, so I guess that would equal to P2100 a month. 4. But if this person had a partner, he might want to feed her too. Feeding her would cost another P2100 a month. 5. P8000 – P4200 = P3800 6. If this person and his wife rented a home, or used electricity and bathed from time to time, the amount left from his salary would be significantly reduced. Lets say their utility bills and rend amounted to P1800 7. P3800 – P1800 = P2000 8. P2000 is a lot of money, but I don’t think they should have more than 3 children right?Babies need milk, diapers, toys, immunity injections, baby medicine, etc†¦ 9. From this let’s deduce that babies cost money. If babies cost money, I theorized that having more babies would cost more money. And from this data, I see that a person who spent a lot of m oney on children, but I didn’t earn a lot of money, would soon be broke and unable to provide for both himself and his children. Another word for broke situation is poverty. 10. I believe that a person can avoid being poor by making less babies. So, I thought that steps should be taken to inform people about this very little known fact.I also thought that the government should make contraceptives accessible so that people who don’t earn a lot can properly manage the little resources that they have. That’s why I supported the RH Bill. But now I know that I was wrong. I believe that the issue of the RH Bill is not a religious issue. â€Å"The RH Bill is wrong because it assumes that the Philippines is overpopulated. † -I agree. I, myself, have observed that the Philippines is not overpopulated. In fact, if you use your common sense and think about it, you will realize a few things: 1. We are not overpopulated!Look at the mountains, the jungles, the caves an d the ocean floor. There are no people there! 2. If we were really overpopulated, we would have trouble traveling. But if you go to EDSA, there’s no traffic. When you ride the MRT, it’s not packed with people. 3. Students in public schools are well educated because the teacher to student ratio is very low. In fact, because of our low population the government can basically guarantee that all public school students are provided books, notebooks and other school supplies. â€Å"The RH Bill is wrong because it assumes that contraceptives are good for mankind and women. 1. I agree, the RH Bill/Law is not good for women because it might draw a woman away from her one, true, universal purpose – the uninterrupted production of healthy babies 2. Furthermore, the role of women in society and the universe is to make babies. That’s why God made women. That’s their sole purpose in life. They’re not good for anything else. Ever wonder why there are no w omen in the clergy? Because they’re not good enough. 3. Contraceptives would allow women to enjoy the benefits of physical intimacy while maintaining a successful and productive career, if she so chooses.That is so wrong. Only men should be able to enjoy that privilege. 4. Women should get pregnant every single time they have sex and only immoral women enjoy sex without the possibility of conception. In fact, a better alternative would be for women, in general, to follow the example made by Mother Mary – to learn how to conceive without having sex. â€Å"The RH Bill/Law will put Filipinos at risk of extinction! † 1. Population decline is just bad for nations. Just look at the countries which have a declining population – Italy, Japan and Singapore. They’re in such a bad shape.The Philippines obviously has a better economy and has a higher literacy rate than these countries. In fact, many Italians, Japanese, and Singaporeans go to the Philippines fo r work. That only goes to show that a decline in population is bad for the economy. â€Å"Our population is our biggest asset! † 1. In my opinion, people should make as many babies as they can because the population is not a problem. In fact, the more babies a person has, the more assets he has. Forget real estate properties, stock investments, or Jollibee franchises. The real secret to increased wealth is babies. 2.If you have 15 babies, you’re practically wealthy because babies are assets 3. If you need money, you can sell them 4. If you can keep them alive until they can walk, they can one day beg for money in the streets – they’re going to have to anyway because there’s no way in hell you’ll be able to provide for all of them on your own 5. If ever a person is not able to feed the 15 babies he made, it’s the governments fault, because it’s the governments sole responsibility to make sure that every Filipino baby is fed. 6. The best way a person can contribute to this country is to contribute to its population. The RH Bill/Law is wrong because it assumes that reproductive education and contraceptives will effectively reduce cases of abortion. † 1. Reproductive/contraceptive education will have no effect on the number of abortion cases. In my opinion, these abortion cases will not lessen because women will continue to have abortions regardless of whether they are pregnant or not. 2. Abortions cannot be prevented. It’s just something that women naturally do. Like shopping, for example. â€Å"The RH Bill/Law is wrong because it will make people participate in extra-marital and pre-marital sex. † 1.The RH Bill/Law will practically encourage our people to engage in immoral activities. 2. We must protect our moral values and reject the RH Bill. Because, currently, not a single Filipino engages in pre-marital sex or extra-marital sex. Well at least this is what we believe until to this day . 3. The root cause of extra-marital and pre-marital sex is one’s exposure to contraceptives. There is just something in contraceptives that people find very arousing. 4. In western countries, men lure strange women into bed by shown those condoms. 5. If we ban condoms, absolutely no one would engage in premarital or extra-marital sex. The RH Bill/Law is wrong because it assumes that parents don’t teach their children about sex. † 1. The truth is that parents talk to their children about sex all the time. It’s so not awkward. The dad usually tells his children how he takes off all his clothes, does a sexy Tiger growl and makes sweet, sweet music with their mother’s body. 2. Also, a father usually advises his daughter that if she’s going to have sex with her boyfriend, she should use a condom. Sometimes the father even drives the daughter to the boyfriend’s house and waits for the couple to finish 3.Filipino daughters don’t have sex without the father’s permission. Unwanted pregnancies or teen pregnancies never happen to Filipino girls. That’s why we do not need the RH Law â€Å"The RH Bill is a conspiracy. † It’s all lies, all lies Salvador, Karissa Helene Philippine Government & Constitution It is very much unfortunate, disappointing, and alarming that nobody in the mainstream media talks about the negative, unintended consequences of the fascist Reproductive Health bill, now called Responsible Parenthood bill, on the country’s business sector, particularly small businesses.I reject this legislative proposal primarily because it’s anti-reason, anti-individualism, and anti-capitalism. In other words it is against individual rights, liberty and economic freedom. This is just one of the many aspects of the bill– that it can negatively impact the country’s industry, particularly small business establishments that employ millions of professionals and skil led and even unskilled workers. Let’s take a small cafeteria, canteen, or publishing house near your place. Think about the small establishments and bar and restaurant stools in malls and many places in the metro.These small businesses that put two to ten or so people will be one of the main targets of the RH bill supported by some misguided, mediocre hippies who are mostly schooled and professionals. Yet nobody wants to talk about this issue. It’s as if these pro-RH bill hippies and fanatics think that wealth is created by wishful thinking, that is, by simply passing an intrusive, rights-violating bill purportedly designed to help the poor and women. What these anti-population and pro-regulation advocates don’t know is that the proposed legislative measure is itself a big insult to the poor and women.It is anti-poor and anti-women. The RH bill is a big insult to the poor because it treats them as dependent, parasites, worthless, or a leech who simply rely on ot her people’s extorted money or alms. Authors of the consolidated bill argue that one of the principal objectives of their highly moderate, anti-intellectual measure is to â€Å"help reduce poverty and achieve sustainable human development. † Still, what these political idiots do not and refuse to understand is that the government has no financial capability to deliver the promises of their measure because it is already bankrupt.The government, which is the worst parasite in this country, is not a productive agency or entity. It can only deliver some of the promised public services by using state force, like taxation, regulation, and forcible immolation of some social sectors like businessmen and health care providers. The consolidated RH law is a huge insult to women– and this is what statistician does not understand – because it considers them as inferior, ignorant, weak, having no mental, physical and emotional capability to decide on her own and to pro tect herself.It treats women as ignorant and weak because the law’s advocates believe that they need to pass a highly intrusive, unconstitutional legislative proposal to provide them the information and services they need. Also, the proposal is a big insult to every Filipino family because it treats parents as irresponsible, ignorant, weak, lazy, and having no capacity to make informed, responsible family decisions. It is stated that the law’s primary goal is to â€Å"help give parents the opportunity to exercise their right to freely and responsibly plan the number and spacing of their children. That’s the other way of saying that Filipino parents are not free and badly need the help and assistance of the state so to â€Å"responsibly plan the number and spacing of their children. † The bill’s highly mediocre and ignorant explanatory note adds: â€Å"The bill is truly rights-based. It mandates the provision of all forms of family planning, both modern natural and artificial, to women and couples as long as they are legal and medically-safe, and truly effective. However, the acceptance and adoption is the option and decision of parents and couple, particularly women. If that’s the case, why is there a need to pass the bill? The answer is because this is not what the bill is all about. In truth and in reality, it is about more political power! It’s about putting the entire business industry, medical profession and education sector under the total control and supervision of the state. In general, the bill is a BIG INSULT to the entire Filipino nation that has somehow embraced rational principles and the concept of freedom and individual rights. Those who ignorantly, naively take the consolidated bill at its face value will certainly accept the contradictory slogans.There are two sides of the consolidated bill: the fantasy side and the reality side. The measure’s fantasy side can be readily gleaned from it s highly ignorant explanatory note, which is filled with supportive statistics and some tragic information about the plight of the poor and women. They did not state how except the fact that they enumerated the bill’s nice-to-hear intents and provisions. The reality side of the measure is that all those promised, stated RH services would be covered or delivered by sacrificing, enslaving employers and health care providers.Section 18 states: Employers’ Responsibilities- The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) shall ensure that employers respect the reproductive rights of workers. Consistent with the intent of Article 134 of the Labor Code, employers with more than two hundred (200) employees shall provide reproductive health services to all employees in their own respective health facilities. Those with less than two hundred (200) workers shall enter into partnerships with hospitals, health facilities, or health professionals in their areas for the delivery of rep roductive health services.Employers shall furnish in writing the following information to all employees and applicants: (a) The medical and health benefits which workers are entitled to, including maternity and paternity leave benefits and the availability of family planning services; (b) The reproductive health hazards associated with work, including hazards that may affect their reproductive functions especially pregnant women; and (c) The availability of health facilities for workers.What does this section mean? Section 17 details the bill’s horrible fantastic scheme. So once the fascist bill is approved, any potential or aspiring employer would be covered by it, which means that he/she would be legally regarded as an indirect government employee. The employers or companies who have the capacity (with more than 200 employees) would be mandated by law to â€Å"provide reproductive health services to all employees in their own respective health facilities. This provision me ans that those employers and companies with more than 200 employees need to have their own â€Å"health facilities†, and this means additional expenses on the part of job-creators. On the other hand, employers with less than 200 employees shall enter into â€Å"partnerships with hospitals, health facilities, and/or health professionals in their areas for the delivery of reproductive health services. † Logic tells us that since employers and companies would be legally required to shoulder additional expenses, then they are justified to increase the prices of their products and/or services.Does anyone think of PRICE CONTROL? The state control of the entire medical industry is laid out under Sections 20 (Implementing Mechanisms) and 22(1) on prohibited acts. The penalty that awaits erring, non-compliant employers and health care providers could be imprisonment ranging from one (1) month to six months or fine of P10,000 to P50,000 or both. This means that any employer may be sued by his/her employees for non-compliant with the intents and provisions of the bill.Once the RH bill is approved, anyone who thinks of starting a business, whether big or small, should consider the measure’s punitive provisions, some necessary expenses, and the need to deal with government regulators. In the United States, hundreds companies left the Democratic-infested California because of the state’s too much regulations and anti-business policies. This is why I have been telling my blog readers that the bill is NOT simply about serving the alleged interests of the poor and women; it is PRIMARILY about MORE GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS.The bill is about nanny statism or BIG GOVERNMENT. Already, many foreign investors do not want to invest in the Philippines because of its high tax rates, excessive economic regulations, pro-employee labor courts, leftist-activist court justices, among others. The Doingbusiness. orgrecently ranked Philippines 148th in terms of ease i n doing business and 156th in terms of starting business. In terms of paying taxes, the country has been ranked 124th. Corporations pay a total tax rate (% profit) of 45. 8 percent! If approved, the RH bill would have the following negative impacts on small business: . It would be more difficult to start a new business considering the fact the the bill criminalizes the mere act of doing business and its regulative, interventionist provisions. 2. Employers would be forced to make additional expenses so to cover the RH care needs of their employees. 3. Since they are forced to make additional expenses, they might consider laying off some of their workers for survival. 4. Since they are forced to shell out additional expenses, they might not accept new applicants, a situation that would worsen the country’s unemployment rate. . Since they are forced to shell out additional expenses, they might consider some of the following survival measure: 1) salary cut, 2) less bonus or benef its, 3) cost cutting, 4) no expansion, 5) close business. 6. Since they are forced to shell out additional expenses, they might consider PRICE INCREASE. 7. There would be more informal sectors (unlisted, unregistered businesses) so to avoid paying more taxes and complying with government regulations. 8. Potential and existing employers would be considered a NEW CLASS OF CRIMINALS or ENEMY OF SOCIAL JUSTICE. . Those who have the money and resources would rather invest in a business-friendly economic environment like Hong Kong, India and other Asian countries. 10. Employers would simply shrug. You can help the poor without enslaving and treating businessmen, doctors and some other people as potential criminals or enemies of social progress. Think like a human being, not like a parasite! You don’t help the poor and the marginalized by supporting the RH bill; it’s both the big and small businesses that can truly help them!

Branches of Philosophy Essay

There are five types of branches in philosophy. These branches can be categories as Metaphysics, Epistemology, Ethics, Politics, and Estetics. The first branch of philosophy is Metaphysics, also known as the study of existence. Metaphysics act as a foundation in philosophy as well as the foundation of the view of our world. Metaphysics is very important to all of us as it help us to deal with reality by explaining and interpreting the world and nature around us. As you can see, without Metaphysics in our life, we will be unable to preserve our life as well as being ambiguous toward the information and knowledge around us, if this happen, we will have difficulty to live and comprehend the world. Therefore, Metaphysics is very important in our life. There are also some key elements of a rational metaphysics, one of the most important element would be reality. From a metaphysical side of view, reality must be understood perfectly and correctly because reality can be said as absolute and consistent. It has a specific nature independent of our thoughts or feelings. Besides reality, causality also play an important role in metaphysics. This is because everything happens for a reason and also an effect. Every entity has a specific nature and act according to that specific nature. Therefore, we can define that causality is means by which changes occurs, but the changes occurs depending on a specific nature. The next branch of philosophy is Epistemology, which is also known as the study of knowledge. This branch of philosophy is used to address the question â€Å"How do I know about it† as Epistemology is the study of our method or ways to acquired knowledge. It also relates our minds to reality by concerning how are they related to each other before determine whether these relationships are valid or invalid. Epistemology also encompasses the nature and construction of concepts. All mental things such as idea and emotion are also compasses by Epistemology. We need to have Epistemology in order to identify the true and false in our daily life and also the method or ways of evaluating certain things to acquired knowledge and experience toward the world around us. Epistemology is important because we will not be able to identify right from wrong as we are unable to think properly without Epistemology. On the other hand, we will be able to achieve our goal as well as acquired more understanding toward reality if we got enough degree of Epistemology. Flaws in epistemology will make it harder to accomplish anything. One of the key elements of a proper Epistemology is our own senses. Our five senses are valid and also are the only way we can gain information about the world around us. Besides that, logic help us to maintain consistency within our knowledge. Validity is determined by objectivity while concepts are abstraction of a certain details of reality. These are all the key elements for a rational Epistemology. Ethics, also known as the study of how a person acts in his daily life, is dependent on Epistemology because it is impossible to make choices without knowledge. From a fundamental point of view, ethics is a method or way to categorized and pursue our own values. Human needs Ethics to live. This is because without ethics, the whole world will become chaotic as all our action will be aimless and random as all of us are unable to decide a course of action. Ethics will not be able to completely help us to pursue our goal if rationality is ignored. We must all have a rational ethical standard at a certain degree which we are able to identify our goal clearly in order to accomplish our most important values. Every branches of philosophy have their own key element to achieve certain level of value. For ethics, it requires a standard of value to which all goals and actions can be compared to. The ultimate standard of value is none other but the value of our own lives. If a person is able to recognize his importance not only to his physical survival, but to his well-being and happiness, that certain person can be said to have a very good and proper ethics in his life. One of the subset of ethics will be the next branches of philosophy known as Politics. Politics can be defined as the study of how men should interact in a proper society and what constitute proper in life, in other words, it is the study of Force which answer the question ‘What action are permissible’. Politics can be applied to every single person or a group of people. A society is set up by Politics as politics tell how a person should act or behave within a certain society. Politics is very important in a society and even a country itself, this is because a political system in a society or country will greatly affect the individuals within that specific area. The people within that system are allowed to function or act according to the nature of the politics that is applied there. If the system is unable to work out, it will either collapse such as the Communist Russia or it will cause rebel such as in Czarist Russia. The main goal of Politics must be the faculty of reason. This is because reason is the main means of survival for a man as ones cannot survive in an ineffective environment. In a moral political system, coercion must be banned because reason does not function under it as man cannot be forced to think about what is right or wrong. Society cannot be forced to think, but, government plays an important role here as governments can objective laws and also monopoly retaliatory force to prevent one person from doing illegal things that might harm the society. The last branch of philosophy is also known as the study of arts and the sense of life which is called Esthetics. Esthetics also studies the methods of evaluating arts and also the judgment of arts itself. This branch of philosophy depends on the previous branches of philosophy which is Metaphysics, Epistemology, and ethics. It is important to study art because art existed through all of recorded human history. Human’s unique ways of thinking and evaluating makes art unique as well. A person ability to abstract the concept of art can determined the standard of one’s life as well as satisfying his personal intellectual needs. This is why Esthetics is very important as it delves into the reason why does art existed. The main key element of a proper Esthetics is none other than a person’s value judgment of the creator. With the field of ethics, these value judgments can be evaluated as well as observed because art is a selective recreation of reality.

The Main Criteria in the Choice of Medium of Articulation

Communication is defined as the â€Å"transfer of meaning† (Eunson, 2006:2). The message to be conveyed, the urgency of the message, the effect on the receiver etc determine the â€Å"preference† of the channel of communication. This essay shall argue that this is the most important criteria, in channel determination. Right Preference – Key to Effectiveness New inventions have facilitated ease of communication. Ironically though, Priestley’s Paradox explains that, the more we advance our means of communication, the less we communicate (Priestley 1957, as cited in Eunson, 2006:4).Hence, for effective communication the important things to be considered may be the message and effect (Lasswell’s model, 1948, as cited in Eunson, 2006:7). The latter i. e. the ‘effect’ of the message on the receiver, depends on which mode of communication is â€Å"preferred† over which and will make the difference between communicating effectively and o rdinarily. Especially, if the communication is meant for a limited audience, like the staff of one particular department of an office, or to a few sales- staff with inconsistent performance etc.For example, in a Human Resource Department in an office, with a HR Manager, and five assistants, communication is possible with his staff through direct face-to-face communication, or through memos, or e-mail notifications etc. The smart manager will choose the medium, depending on the importance of the message and the impact it should effect. He may convey routine ‘Monthly Target’ notices by pasting them on the Department Bulletin board, and further sending a copy of the message to each staff through the e-mail as a follow up.But, he may ‘prefer’ to send the individual’s ‘Performance Assessment Report’ through individual e-mail and then a one-to-one review. This ‘preference’ is exercised to enhance effective communication. The richn ess of media (Daft and Lengel, 1986) effected by direct face-to-face communication is ‘preferred’ to the e-mail channel, which is less effective than the chosen one. Conclusion Making the right â€Å"preference† in the choice of media to communicate is vital to being effective. Since effectiveness is the key element in any communication, it is clear that the right choices and preferences will lead to success.Bibliography Daft, R. L. and R. H. Lengel, (1986) â€Å"Organizational Information Requirements, Media Richness and Structural Design,† Management Sci. , 32, 5, 554–571. Can also be view at website Eunson, Baden, (2006). â€Å"Communication Today,† in Communicating in the 21st Century, 1, pp. 2-18. Tutorial Response 2 Introduction The deluge of technology has been incapable of preventing â€Å"Miscommunication†. This essay will briefly explain the term and analyze two problems of ‘context’ resulting in miscommunicatio n, and suggest a strategy to overcome the ‘noise’ factor.Context, Noise and Miscommunication The ‘Context’ of the communication is concerned with the following issues 1) Power and Status Relationships 2) Cultural factors 3) Interpersonal Relationships 4) Time (Eunson, 006:16). Communication derives its meaning from the context, under which it takes place. The basic tenet of communication is, to send as well as receive and is said to occur, only when understanding is achieved. This fails, when there is non-cooperation between one or more of the parties and results in miscommunication.This can be deduced as the ‘noise’ in the Sender-Message-Receiver (SMR) and the Shannon-Weaver model of communication (1999, as cited in Eunson 2006:8) because it ignores the importance of context, i. e. situational, social, cultural, etc. ‘Context’ can be interpreted differently, by the receiver, according to 1) the cultural differences, 2) status diff erences between the former and the receiver and the sender. For example, using gestures and direct eye-contact is a vital part of Western conversation; however, in the Native American cultures, looking directly into the eyes of elders is disrespectful, and gestures are hardly used.Miscommunication may occur when a young American salesman tries to convince an elderly Native American of his product, due to differing cultural contexts. An example of problems arising from the power status differences: A $100 rise in salary for performance, may impact positively on a low-level employee in the factory; while the Manager of the Production is apt to be disgruntled by the same amount. The Quinn, Hildebrandt, Rogers, & Thompson, (1991) (cited in Eunson 2006:16) model helps effectively weed out the noise factor, by strategically and judiciously preferring the channel of communication.For example, to solve problem #1 of mistrust arising from contextual cultural differences, modification of the sales strategy, by adopting a combination of informational communication and relational-communication may help. This will 1) provide the facts to the receiver, 2) win his trust; a sale may effect. And in proble #2, it is possible to build on the existing on trust level of the manager by a) improving relational communication, b) stimulating challenge by using transformational communication, to explain that money is not the only end-goal in life. ConlcusionThe study of various types of communication can help in strategic solutions to problems. Bibliography Eunson, Baden, (2006). â€Å"Communication Today,† Communicating in the 21st Century. , 1, pp. 2-18. Grice, H. P. , (1975), â€Å"Logic and Conversation†, in P. Cole and J. Morgan, eds. , Syntax and Semantics, vol. 3, Academic Press, pp. 41-58 Quinn, R. E. , Hildebrandt, H. W. , Rogers, P. S. , & Thompson, M. P. (1991). â€Å"A competing values framework for analyzing presentational communication in management context s†. The Journal of Business Communication, 28, 213-232.

Summary about the adventures of Aladdin Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Summary about the adventures of Aladdin - Essay Example Excited, he told his mother of the adventures. The widow took the lamp and rubbed it. Out came a genie that offered them all they wanted from that moment. Aladdin grew to a handsome man and wanted to marry the Sultan’s daughter. The genie magically helped Aladdin and his mother provide all that the Sultan asked in exchange of his daughter. Diamonds, forty slaves, and forty Arab warriors were all given to the Sultan. News of Aladdin’s fortune spread allover. He however, never told his wife of the magic lamp. One day, the wife gave the old lamp to a merchant in exchange for a new one and the genie was under the merchant’s service. The merchant whisked Aladdin’s possessions away and sent the princess and the palace away too. As he wept over his lost fortune and wife, Aladdin remembered the wizard’s ring and slid it in his finger. He requested it to take him to his wife. Immediately, he found himself in his palace and saw the princess and the wizard. He put some powder in the wizard’s tea, which led to his deep sleep. Form the story; one learns that misfortunes follow those that pay good for evil. The wizard refused to take Aladdin out of the hole though he had helped him get the magic lamp. As a result, the wizard loses everything and ends up as Aladdin’s servant. Another lesson form the story is that good actions always bring forth good rewards. Aladdin helps the wizard, and though he is not immediately appreciated, he ends up getting more than he

The Challenges of E Learning and How I Propose to Deal with Them Essay

The Challenges of E Learning and How I Propose to Deal with Them - Essay Example Online learning refers to such environment where teachers have no physical presence and both students and teachers have to communicate with each other using different communication technologies, such as, internet. E-learning offers a number of considerable benefits to students. Some of the main benefits of learning for students include learning flexibility, improved adaptability to technology, improved computer skills, improved time management ability, and improved communication skills. In the present world, online learning is making its ground because it is proving very beneficial for distance learners (Shepherd 2012). "E-learning with its more active and interesting opportunities is gradually replacing the traditional form of teaching† (Roy 2010, p. 1). However, there exist some problems that learners usually face while studying in an online learning environment. In this paper, we will discuss some key problems that students face when studying in online environments. The pape r will also include some discussion on the ways that can be used to overcome those challenges. 2. Main Issues Some of the main problems for distance learners in online learning environments include decreased interaction with teachers, difficulty in communication through writing, lack of group discussion, and lack of web navigation skills. All of these problems make distance learning difficult for students. Let us discuss these problems in detail and find some solutions to overcome these issues. 2.1 Communication through Writing Communication through writing is one of the main problems associated with e-learning system. E-learning system requires people to be skilled in communicating with fellows and teachers through writing because most of the communication takes place in written form. â€Å"In online learning environment, most communications will be done in written format† (Havert 2010, p. 1). As compared to traditional learning system where students can interact with each o ther and with their teachers verbally, e-learning system requires students to be more efficient in writing. Some people are not skilled in doing electronic mode of communication, such as emails and it creates problems for them as online students. Another very important think to consider in online study environments is the ability to use of blackboards and discussion boards. For example, if we talk about discussion boards, we can say that they not only enable communication between teachers and students but also provide a way to the students to interact with other students. Some online institutes make use of graded discussion boards to measure knowledge of the students. In graded discussion boards, teachers ask the students to write short paragraphs on the topics provided by them. Teachers mark the responses of the students considering the relevance of the content with the topic. Some students are not skilled in the use of graded discussion boards because of which they sometimes miss the deadlines of the discussions and get no marks allocated for the graded discussions. Solution As the ability to communicate through writing is very important for a student doing online study, therefore, students should improve their written communication skills to be successful in online learning environments. They should improive their computer skills, as well as internet skills to reap the benefits of e-learning. Moreover, it is also the

India and China traditions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

India and China traditions - Essay Example In Chinese traditions three sticks of incense denotes San Cai - heaven, earth, and people. It also denotes past, present and future. Livia Kohn in his book Health and Long Life: the Chinese Way mentions that chi or qi is in the root of everything. It is a basic material of all that we find in existence. All forms of life derive its functional power from qi. The person is healthy because of the presence of qi. Besides, qi can be regulated through acupuncture, massage and breath control. Chinese traditional medicines are also based on the thinking of qi. The concept of meditative and controlled breathing makes qi to permeate the entire body and it is synonymous with health and balance. The traditional art of Feng Shui has much to do with the flow of qi. Chi or qi is also linked with wealth, energy level, and luck. Similarly, Yin and Yang compliments each other and balances the life force. They are opposite and keep on balancing each other. These basic understandings have given birth to a certain life style to the people. Their traditional medical knowledge provides cure to the number of ailments ranging from liver, kidney, heart, lung and many more. The Confucius ideals of a perfect human being are described in the word Chun Tzu who is a perfect human being--a person who is magnanimous, mature, and respectful to others. These philosophical thinking has a significant contribution in present state of Chinese economic built-up. The modern China is built up on the principles of collaboration, cooperation and mutual respect. After reforms of 1978, the final decision maker in the Chinese market is consumer. With the advent of Chinese economy it has got intense support from the government endorsing the Confucius way of thinking giving freedom to a common man in decision making process. Current economic rise and making it the second largest economy of the world in purchasing power parity point of view has a lot to do in their old settings of environmental preferences. Ch inese economy has risen from the ashes in last 30 years like a phoenix producing a vast array of industrial and consumer goods using tools endowed by modern technology and proven management theories. India India is said to be a place of three oldest religions on this planet–Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. All these religions have further offshoots and traditions overtime. The religious traditions are highly deep routed in India and it is difficult to find any atheist in India. Indian affiliation to their religious traditions and faith is monumental. They always had full religious freedom even when the country was under the British rule. Pranayam (breathing exercise) and Yoga are two established traditions since several thousand years which has now spread all over the world in several variances. The culture of India is an amalgamation of many diverse stream of subcultures spread all over the subcontinent. Ayurved is very old Indian tradition of herbal medicines and treatment processes. Family concept has a key role to play in Indian cultures. Marriages are formed for life time and divorce rates are very low. Namaskar with folded hands is their way of greeting the people. Democratic setup in India is very strong unlike China where elections are still a far cry in the communist regime. The reason of democratic setup lies in their age old traditions of free movement and

Pros of Gay Marriage Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Pros of Gay Marriage - Research Paper Example 1). Allowing same sex couples to marry support the basic principles of American democracy. Further, by legalizing same sex marriages, same sex relationships are legitimatized. In addition, through the approval of same sex marriages, heterosexual marriages are neither harmed nor compromised in any way; but would strengthen homosexual relationships. In this regard, one contends that same sex marriages should be allowed and state legislatures should approve same sex marriage in all states. When state legislations allow same sex couples to marry, they abide by the basic principles of American democracy, to wit: â€Å"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights ... [and] that to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed† (Head, 2006, p. 3). By disallowing same sex marriages through the Defense of Marriage Ac t (DOMA), enacted by Congress in 1996, â€Å"which bars federal recognition of same-sex marriages and allows states to do the same† (NCSL:Same Sex Marriage, 2011, p. 1), the government is in fact issuing legislations contrary to the basic principles of democracy. As emphasized by Head (2006), â€Å"if we amend the Constitution to restrict rights, rather than to protect them, we set an ominous precedent† (p. 3). ... Head (2006) stressed that â€Å"state bans on gay sex were ineffective at banning gay sex, and state bans on gay marriage are equally ineffective at preventing lesbian and gay couples from having weddings, exchanging rings, and spending the rest of their lives together† (p. 4). Legitimizing their union would therefore promote values of accepting their partnership as a reality of live that exists in social circles the world over. Likewise, Jost (2003), in his article on â€Å"Gay Marriage† published in the CQ Researcher indicated that by legalizing the union between same sex spouses, children being raised by them would be acknowledged. The same article cited the U.S. Census Bureau (2000) as disclosing that 43% of unmarried couples have children, where 22.3% are same sex male couples and 34.3% are same sex female couples (Jost, 2003, p. 725). The all important question raised by Head (2006) was â€Å"if the legal institution of marriage is good for the children of hetero sexual parents, why should the children of lesbian and gay couples be punished by their government simply because of the sexual orientation of their parents† (Head, 2006, p. 5)? Laumann (2002) cited in American Academy of Pediatrics revealed the findings that â€Å"No data have pointed to any risk to children of growing up in a family with one or more gay parents† (p. 344). Finally, through the approval of same sex marriages, heterosexual marriages are neither harmed nor compromised in any way; but would strengthen homosexual relationships. The advocates of same sex marriage and their supporters have argued that legitimizing same sex unions would not affect or influence the rate of matrimony or the incidence of

Puzzler Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Puzzler - Essay Example on is: why would superior beings inform people of a forthcoming catastrophe without providing instructions on how to survive and not taking care of mastering human communication in order to ensure people understand the prophecy clearly and avoid it? If we remember the famous prophecies, e.g. those of Nostradamus, Vanga and others, as often as not they are ciphered. When it comes to prophecies, it is absolutely clear that if people do not understand the cipher, they cannot possibly prevent any mishap. Prophecies of Nostradamus are only being deciphered after the event actually happens. In one of her prophecies the blind Bulgarian prophet Vanga predicted in 1980 the death of the Russian submarine â€Å"Kursk† – the namesake of a Russian town. When she said â€Å"Kursk will be drowned† nobody could even imagine what it was all about because the town is situated very far from the sea. However, when the submarine had drowned, everyone was shocked at how the prophecy actually came true. They also say Vanga had metaphorically spoken about September 11 terrorist attacks in the USA; and again nothing could possibly have been done to prevent them as the message from the superior beings was ciphered: she said somethin g about â€Å"big iron birds† that would â€Å"kill the American brothers†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ There is a question: why don’t the prophets (who are supposed to act on behalf of superior beings yet have their ways to communicate their messages to people) make themselves clear enough to the public so that to enable them to prevent the catastrophe? Why use this cipher? However, if we ask them, many prophets would answer that they themselves do not know exactly what they are talking about, as they are not speaking from themselves but are just rendering the information sent to them from â€Å"somewhere†. This is the effect similar to â€Å"channeling† – but with a supposedly negative outcome of the events predicted. So again we come to the point where there is a certain superior

My structural engineering class Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

My structural engineering class - Essay Example Tall structures conventionally require deep foundations. The foundations can go up to several meters below the ground level. This affects the ground conditions significantly and may disturb the load distribution of smaller structures. In addition to that, exposure of a tall structure to wind loads is significantly reduced when it is surrounded with other tall buildings. This reduces the additional cost of bracing or safety equipment that the constructors otherwise have to provide to an unprotected tall structure. Although the structures in surrounding of the Burj Khalifa Tower are also tall, yet it is the tallest among all. Its height can not be compared to other structures in its surroundings. Tall structures may also be constructed in such regions where other structures are of lesser height in order to add to the beauty and usability of the area. People take pride in tall structures and see them as a symbol of pride. Tall structures become the symbol of area in which they are

The Milk Chain Essay Example for Free

The Milk Chain Essay Malawi Dairybord is a home for dairy products. Rogers has run the dairy for the past twelve years. His product is a combination of goods the items he delivers and services the delivery and associated jobs he does for customers. At the heart of operations is an information system which contains full details of all of Rogers’s 1000 plus customers, including their regular orders, special orders, where to deliver, how they pay and so on. Everyday the system calculates the likely sales of all products in two days time. Rogers adds some margin of safety allows for likely variations and passes his order to Unidairy some 150km away. Unidairy acts as a wholesaler for milkmen in Bvumbwe and surrounding areas. The following evening Unidairy delivers to a holding depot in Limbe and then takes Roger’s goods 10km to a cold store in Njuli. At 5. 30am the following morning Roger collects the order from his cold store and starts delivering to customers. This normally takes until 1. 30 in the afternoon but on Fridays he spends more time collecting money and often finishes after 5. 0pm There are several specific problems facing Malawi Dairybord. There is for example some variation in daily demand so Roger has to carry spare stock. He cannot carry too much as dairy products have a short life and anything not delivered is thrown away. Roger aims at keeping this waste down to 2% of sales. There are also problems maintaining a service during holidays, or when Unidairy has difficulties with their deliveries. Perhaps Roger’s main concern is maintaining his sales over the long term. Demand for doorstep deliveries is declining as people buy more milk at supermarkets. The number of milkmen in Bvumbwe has declined from ten in 1997 to three in 2012. Most of Roger’s customers have been with him for many years but he generates new custom delivering leaflets, special offers and carrying a range of products. Case study questions Describe the supply chain for milk Where does Malawi Dairybord fit into this? What specific activities form the logistics in Malawi Dairybord. Draw the supply chain network What are the main problems that Malawi Dairybord has with logistics?

Social Bond Theory and Deviant Behaviour

Social Bond Theory and Deviant Behaviour Social Bonds and Deviance Deviance is a term used to describe behavior that goes against the established social and cultural norms. The concept of deviance is complex because norms vary considerably across groups, times, and places. Essentially, individuals commit deviant behavior when society defines it as such. Within the field of criminology, a number of theories exist that attempt to explain why some people engage in deviant behavior, while others abstain from it. One of these theories is Travis Hirschi’s, social bond theory, which eventually becomes the blueprint for subsequent control theories. This paper will analyze aspects of social control theory and social bonds, for the purpose of seeing if they can deter deviant behavior. Social control theory focuses on how the lack of close relationships with others can free individuals from social constraints, which in turn allows them to engage in delinquency. Unlike most criminology theories that claim to explain why people offend, control theories of fer the justification for why people obey the rules (Cartwright, 2013). Social control theories focus primarily on external factors and the processes by which rules become effective. Followers of this theory believe that deviance and crime occur because of inadequate constraints. This theory also examines the lack of control a person has in relation to society and explains how deviant behavior occurs in proportion to the strength of one’s social bonding. For the most part, social control theory assumes a shared value or belief in social norms. Therefore, even those who break laws or violate social norms, share the general belief that those rules should be followed (Cartwright, 2013). Thus, the essence of social control theory is explaining conformity and the process through which people are socialized to obey the rules. The first mentions of social control theory can be found in the works of some of the Enlightenment thinkers and can be traced to the Chicago School (Cartwright, 2011, p. 207). For example, Thomas Hobbes, an English social philosopher who wrote about external restraints and the role of government in preventing deviance, can be seen as one of the roots of this theory. Hobbes argued that humans had an inherent tendency toward evil and were constrained only through social contracts and agreements with people. More often though, the origin of social control theory is connected to Emile Durkheim, who is a French sociologist and is considered as the founder of sociology. Durkheim views crime and deviance as social facts that are present in all societies and even considered crime as â€Å"normal† (Cartwright, 2013). Durkheim thought that, â€Å"social controls were necessary if individuals were to understand the boundaries between acceptable and unacceptable behavior† (Cartwrig ht, 2011, p. 207). In his view, crime serves the function of identifying boundaries for behavior, which are recognized collectively in communities and reinforced by negative societal reaction. As a result, social order is maintained to avoid disapproved association with deviant acts. Eventually, Durkheim’s theory of integration and regulation becomes the basis for Travis Hirschi’s social bonding theory, in which criminal behavior is accounted as a result of weakening social bonds. Although Hirschi was not the first to propose a social control theory, his research published in the, â€Å"Causes of Delinquency† (1969), established him as the leading social control theorist. However, it is important to note that his social bonding theory exists, for the most part, as a result of the work done by his social control theory predecessors (Hirschi, 1969, p. 212). Terence Thornberry elaborated upon Hirschi’s control theory and Durkheim’s view of crime in society, in order to create a more accurate model for describing delinquency. He agreed with Hirschi that all humans are born with deviant motivation and that if social constraints are absent, people will naturally engage in deviant behavior. However, Thornberry argues that the weakening of social controls would not necessarily result in delinquency. In other words, according to Thornberry’s interactional theory, the absence or weakening of social control is a necessary, but not a sufficient condition for delinquent involvement (Cartwright, 2011, p. 229). Laub and Sampson’s turning points theory was also rooted in Durkheim’s views, Hirschi’s social bond theory and Thornberry’s interactional theory. Laub and Sampson’s theory concluded that some social events may change delinquents from a path of crime and this event is called a turning point. Closer to the present time, Bouffard and Petkovsek conducted a study which explores the process through which social bonds work to restrain offending criminal behavior. This was primarily based on Hirschi’s social bonding theory and looks at the decision to drive drunk. All of the above mentioned theorists are intricately connected through their theories, which are based on some aspect of their respective predecessors, and their view that all individuals are bonded to society. Hirschi’s, social bond theory, looks at how delinquency is the result of weak or broken bonds between the individual and society. He states that there are four aspects of the bond, and their relationship between each other, that affect our connection to society (Cartwright, 2011). These four are: attachment, commitment, involvement in conventional activities, and lastly belief in wider social values. Hirschi defines attachment to others as the degree to which we admire others and feel affection for and identify with them. Forming secure bonds to other human beings, foster traits like empathy and respect. If a person is able to experience empathy, that person will be far less likely to engage in criminal acts that would result in someone being harmed. Attachment is especially important when it comes to the person’s parental figures. According to Hirschi, other attachments, such as school, also play a tremendous role in conventional society (Hirschi, 1969, p. 215). Next i s commitment, which can be described as the personal investment of an individual, in things such as educational or career goals, and the perceived losses suffered by involvement in deviant behavior. A person is far less likely to commit deviant behavior when they have invested too much energy and time into pursuing a goal. A sense of commitment is a grounding force that gives individuals a reason to conform to socially accepted norms and goals (Hirschi, 1969, p. 216-217). Involvement refers to the level of one’s participation in social activities such as volunteering, jobs, or attending church. There is an inverse correlation between the amount of time an individual participates in conventional activities and the amount of time they have to deviate. Therefore, involvement in activities serves to both further an individual’s bonds to others and leaves the individual with limited time to be involved in deviant activities. Finally, belief refers to an individual’s trust in society’s moral system. The individual must believe that the rules and laws are necessary and should be obeyed. A lack of belief in the system can cause individuals to be more likely to engage in deviant behavior (Hirschi, 1969, p. 217-219). Hirschi views these four aspects of social control as highly interrelated and together they form the foundation of the social bonding theory. Thornberry’s Interactional theory attempts to combine social structure, social control, and social learning theories. He began with aspects of Hirschi’s version of control theory and Ronald Akers’s social learning theory, in order to create a more integrated theory to explain delinquent behavior. He called his theory, â€Å"interactional† because it was based on the premise that crime and deviance is the outcome of interactions between an individual and his or her environment (Thornberry, 1987, p. 232-233). Thornberry selected three concepts from Hirschi’s theory (attachment to parents, commitment to school, and belief in conventional values) and two from Akers’s theory (association with delinquent peers and delinquent values) (Cartwright, 2011). The significance of this theory is that it examines the developmental changes across three stage of adolescence: early, middle, and late adolescence. During childhood and early adolescence, attachmen t to the family is the most important determinant of whether a youth will adjust to society’s rules and be shielded from delinquency (Thornberry, 1987, p. 242-243). By mid-adolescence, the family is replaced by the world of friends, school and youth culture. In adulthood, a person’s behavioural choices are shaped by their place in conventional society and in their own family. Additionally, this theory asserts that at different ages, different influences become more important for the individual (Thornberry, 1987, p. 246, 248). This theory further states that individuals with weak social bonds will form other bonds with delinquents who share the same values. Laub and Sampson developed a theory of age-graded informal social control. They predicted that those who have more social capital, quality marital bonds, and stable employment in adulthood are more likely to abstain from committing more crime, through what the authors refer to as turning points. The key component of this theory is that delinquency and crime have an inverse relationship with an individuals bond to society (Cartwright, 2011). As an extension of Hirschi’s social bond theory, Laub and Sampson discussed the concept of attachment and commitment. The most notable difference between age-graded informal social control theory and social control theory is that the former acknowledges that crime is not â€Å"necessarily stable over the life course† and that criminals can change into â€Å"normal, law-abiding adults† (Cartwright, 2011, p. 258). Laub and Sampson find that attachments or social bonds in adulthood increase some individuals social capital, leadin g to desistance from most types of deviant behavior. Furthermore, they found that antisocial behavior in childhood has a strong likelihood of continuing through adulthood across a variety of life domains. So, individuals who become attached to other people will increase their self-control and, constraints in the form of job or marriage can prevent those with low self-control from offending (Laub and Sampsons, 1993, p. 269-270). Laub and Sampson argue that the start of a criminal career occurs early in life, but emphasize that even with an established criminal career; delinquency can be interrupted during the life course. Specifically, Laub and Sampson found that kids who were involved in deviant behavior, changed for the better because they experienced an event that pulled them out of their criminal lifestyle and into a more conventional pattern of behavior. They refer to these points of interruption as turning points. Such turning points include military service, employment, and ma rriage which create social capital. This social capital then represents investment in society and will restrain deviant behavior (Laub and Sampsons, 1993, p. 272-273). According to this theory, social influences on crime can directly and indirectly, affect trajectories of crime across the entire life course. In Bouffard and Petkovsek’s paper, they tested Hirschi’s social bond theory and the impact social bonds have on crime, specifically focusing on the decision to drive drunk. Their prediction for the outcome of the study is as follows: individuals with lower levels of social bonding will not care about the severity of negative consequences involved in drunk driving behavior and these ratings of severity will decide whether an individual participates in drunk driving (Bouffard and Petkovsek, 2013, p. 5). Each participant in the study was asked questions to test the social control theory. These questions focused on attachment to the family, belief in conventional values, and religious involvement/commitment (Bouffard and Petkovsek, 2013, p. 8). From the results, they found that concepts discussed in Hirschi’s social bond theory, did in fact affect deviant behavior. Those individuals with greater social bonds were found to be less likely to drive drunk, whereas those with less social bonds had a greater likelihood of driving drunk (Bouffard and Petkovsek, 2013, p. 17). The results of this study indicate that the concepts described in Hirschi’s social bond theory actually do have an effect on the deterrence of deviant behavior. Personally, I do believe that aspects of social control theory and social bonds can deter people from engaging in deviant behavior. It is not difficult to believe in any of the aforementioned theories, especially Hirschi’s components of social bond theory (attachment, commitment, involvement in conventional activities, and belief in social values), when there are many accounts of the life stories of major criminals out in the media. Most, if not all, serious crimes (murder, kidnappings, etc) are committed by people who grew up with bad parental figures, and strongly believed that they had no place in conventional society. This tied in with Thornberry’s concept of developmental changes across various stages of adolescence. When these individual do not have a significant attachment to family during their childhood, they have already begun rejecting some of society’s rules. This coupled with Laub and Sampsons assertion that social bonds increase an individualâ€℠¢s social capital which in turn restricts deviant behavior, almost guarantees a path of deviance for that individual. Furthermore, as Bouffard and Petkovesk’s study showed, social bonds really do have an effect on some types of deviant behavior. As previously mentioned, the readings have truly convinced me that social bonds play an integral role in the decision to participate in deviant behavior. References Bouffard, J.A., Petkovsek M.A. (2013): Testing Hirschis integration of social control and rational choice: Are bonds considered in offender decisions? Journal of Crime and Justice, doi: 10.1080/0735648X.2013.814547 Cartwright, B. (2011). Social Control Theory and Developmental Life Course Theories. In B. Cartwright (Ed), Sociological Explanations of Crime and Deviance (pp. 207-209). Boston: Pearson Learning Solutions. Cartwright, B. (2011). A Control Theory of Delinquency. In B. Cartwright (Ed), Sociological Explanations of Crime and Deviance (pp. 211-213). Boston: Pearson Learning Solutions. Cartwright, B. (2011). Turning Points in the Life Course: Why Change Matters to the Study of Crime. In B. Cartwright (Ed), Sociological Explanations of Crime and Deviance (pp. 258-260). Boston: Pearson Learning Solutions. Cartwright, B. (2011). Toward an Interactional Theory of Deviance. In B. Cartwright (Ed), Sociological Explanations of Crime and Deviance (pp. 229-231). Boston: Pearson Learning Solutions. Cartwright, B. (2011). The Origins of Social Control Theory Part 1. Retrieved from online tutorial site: http://media.pearsoncmg.com/pcp/1256315303/tutorial6/tutorial6.html Cartwright, B. (2011). Life Course and Developmental Theories Part 2. Retrieved from online tutorial site: http://media.pearsoncmg.com/pcp/1256315303/tutorial7/tutorial7.html Cartwright, B. (2013). â€Å"Social Control Theories.† Criminology 104 Lecture, retrieved from Simon Fraser University on-line lecture site. Hirschi, T. (1969). A Control Theory of Delinquency. In B. Cartwright (Ed), Sociological Explanations of Crime and Deviance (pp. 214-228). Boston: Pearson Learning Solutions. Laub, J., Samspon, R. (1993). Turning Points in the Life Course: Why Change Matters to the Study of Crime. In B. Cartwright (Ed), Sociological Explanations of Crime and Deviance (pp. 261-282). Boston: Pearson Learning Solutions. Thornberry, T. (1987). Toward an interactional Theory of Delinquency. In B. Cartwright (Ed), Sociological Explanations of Crime and Deviance (pp. 232-257). Boston: Pearson Learning Solutions.

Patrick Eshun Reviewing Arthritis Rheumatoid Thesis Nursing Essay

Patrick Eshun Reviewing Arthritis Rheumatoid Thesis Nursing Essay The title of the research was Rheumatoid Arthritis Patient Education and Self-Efficacy. The main objective of this research was to describe the prevailing rheumatoid arthritis patient education offered by specialized rheumatology health care professional including nurse in the various healthcare settings in Finland. It achieves this aim by describing the level of knowledge rheumatoid patient have about the disease, treatment regime and what various types of self-efficacy care they employed in addition to the educational interventions. The major goal of this research is the applicability of the results achieved. The main goals identified included helping develop and improve patient education with people affected with rheumatoid arthritis. Moreover, it can also be utilized in nursing training programs to better the contents of the curriculum and additional courses in rheumatologic specialized nursing. Patient education is an important health promotion tool comprising a multi-level learning system. Patient accessibility to information regarding arthritis rheumatoid has mostly been through patient education program. The main aim and priority of rheumatoid arthritis education is to help patients improve self-care by increasing knowledge levels and to take absolute control of their health behaviors. After the provision of requisite information, the researchers expects people suffering arthritis rheumatoid would exhibit efficient assessment and monitoring qualities in determining the progress of the disease and appropriately manage it (Schrieber Colley 2004). The multi-professional team in caring for arthritis rheumatoid is numerous and each has a role to play during the process. For instance the physician or medical doctor makes the medical diagnosis, in charge of prescribing medications and manages the rheumatoid patients medical treatment and follow up care. The nurses in the multi-professional team play a crucial part in the education and health promotion in the lives of the rheumatoid arthritis patients. Their role is also to educate patients by advising and assist with concerns in managing their medication. They also offer nursing support, evaluates the well-being of the clients and offer emotional support for improved compliance to care and treatment plan. The pharmacist supplies the medication upon the orders of the physician or medical. They also have the duty to analyze patients other medication. In maintaining the musculoskeletal functions and ability by exercising with patients affected with arthritis rheumatoid is supported b y the physiotherapist. They help patient with light training helping improve the joint movement and functions. They also recommend and support usage of support devices and appropriate sitting, lying and lifting up techniques. Physiotherapist employs physical therapy to facilitate reduction patients arthritis pain and preserve their functioning capabilities (Working group established by the Finnish Society for Rheumatology in 2003). The role of Occupational therapist is to help in maintaining the functional working abilities by giving directives which supports skeletal joint protection and saving energy. This helps arthritis patient to return to active work life. The role of the social worker in the life of the arthritis patient is confined to domestic, economic and social issues. They seek assistance to support arthritis rheumatoid patient at home for instance shopping, household work, and so on. The social worker is aware and makes available to the patients to all social amenities and support including type of social government support and to explain the social and fundamental rights of patient with arthritis rheumatoid. The emotional well-being and mental stability of arthritis rheumatoid patients is handled by the psychologist or psychologist nurse. They offer different coping mechanisms and strategies to people with arthritis to accept and adapt well to the disease. According to Paula (2009), rheumatoid arthritis is defined as a progressive, long term, multi-systemic disease without known cause. It generally starts in smaller joint for instance joint in the hands and feet, then spread to bigger and larger joints usually resulting in disfigurement and physical disability. It causes pain, skeletal joint swelling, tiredness, malaise and morning stiffness. However, this may result in functional impairment and may lead to challenges at home and work The incidence rate in 2000 was 29people out of every 100000people was having rheumatoid arthritis in Finland, the trend decreased from the 1980 (Kaipiainen-Seppà ¤nen Kautiainen 2006.). The prevalence increases with ageing especially in the older population. It is much higher in prevalence in women compared to men with a sex ratio of 2.5:1. This means within a given population there are approximately 3women more with the disease compared one male. Hormonal reasons may explain this trend but however it i s however actual cause remains unclear. There is no precise cure for rheumatoid arthritis and as a result patient needs to rely on regular treatment to relieve the pain and to correct deformities. The treatment thus is aimed at relieving symptoms of the disease and any physical changes induced by the disease. The treatment also helps to retard the progression of the disease using both medical and alternative forms of treatments. In the early years, gold and cortisone were employed as a medical form of treatments. Currently, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication and anti-rheumatic drugs in addition to gold and cortisone which helps to decrease inflammation and pain due to arthritis. When skeletal joints are significantly damaged the only medical procedure to repair is surgical treatments (Working group established by the Finnish Society for Rheumatology in 2003.). There are several phase of life rheumatoid possess limitations. These include social functions and life, daily tasks and activities, physical contact (hugging, lifting, holding and so forth), personal and social relationships. The pain as a result of the arthritis may even cause to abandon activities such writing or scribbling, holding a book to read or even stand upright for a period of time (Whalley et al. 1997.). The psychological or mental well-being of arthritis rheumatoid patient is basically about adapting or coping to the disease and controlling the stress as a result of it. Most arthritis patient described bad emotional characteristics such as anger, frustration, depression, shame, irritation, depression, sadness, guilt, anxiety and future uncertainty as their main threats. The cause of depression is more common in arthritis patient and has no specific cause. Self-respect and adapting to the disease is widely considered to be linked to their psychological well-being. The capability of the patient to cope with the symptoms in daily life activities are very critical and numerous coping mechanisms are employed to reduce the stress related to the disease.(Melanson Downe-Wamboldt 2003.). One of the commonly used coping strategies was by spiritual or religious coping method which helped considerably in reducing joint pain, negative moods and increasing positive emotions (Keefe et al. 2001.). Basically, in the research there were two main types of education for rheumatoid arthritis patients. They are the one-to-one and group education. In the one-to-one education it offers more flexibility. In addition, information and teaching is tailored out to fit an individuals perceived needs. The patient also can influence the duration of teaching. One-to-one education maybe suitable for rheumatoid arthritis patients requiring individualized training or joint protection plans or information regarding new medication. On the contrary, group education facilitates social interaction and best for delivering information to groups of people or peers about general issues such as the disease development, treatments, exercise therapy, diet and so forth. One of the benefit of the group education could be some patients can be role models for others to learn from each other. Trust building and trusty atmosphere motivates patients to express their emotions and views about the disease and to enqui re information (Kyngà ¤s 2003, Haugli et al. 2004.). According to Bandura (1977) defined: Self-efficacy as a judgment of ones ability to organize and execute given types of performances, whereas an outcome expectation is a judgment of the likely consequence such performances will produce. It is basically ones ability and competence to complete a specific given task in order to achieve a specific goal. It basically places more emphasis on their capabilities or competencies but not concerned with the skills one possesses. In conclusion, arthritis rheumatoid is a very serious disease and is a life-long progressive disease. Currently, no cure for it has been discovered yet but however treatment to relieve symptom is available. Education to equip patient with self-care is also recommended to complement the treatment care. REFLECTION I learnt quite a great deal especially when it comes to the education and the role of the multiprofessional team in the care process. It was a great experience trying to review an article because I believe would be helpful also in my thesis.

Sexual Healthcare on Campus :: Medicine Medical College Essays

Sexual Healthcare on Campus missing works cited Forking over $40 for a consultation plus another $20 for the Plan B pill at Planned Parenthood was a small price to pay for the peace of mind it afforded her once the whole ordeal was behind her. â€Å"After a night of bad decision making, I knew it was time to make some good ones,† Lisa said. â€Å"I knew I had to get tested for STD’s and HIV, and I also wanted to take emergency contraception, just in case. I knew it would make me feel better and as they say ‘better safe than sorry.’† After the trek to the closest Planned Parenthood facility for the emergency contraception pill, Lisa, an undergrad at Northeastern University, then made her way cross town to Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) for the walk-in hours of the Sexually Transmitted Disease Unit. This is the free infectious diseases clinic MGH offers to the public. There, she was able to get tested for all STDs plus HIV for free. Had she chosen to get tested at Planned Parenthood, she would have to pay about $20 for each test. What Lisa did not know was that she could have gotten all of these services for free from the health center at her university. Most college students know they are among the highest sexually active age group in the nation. What they may not know is that this age range (18-24) also has the highest rates of sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies. They also, like Lisa, may not know exactly where to go for sexual health care. Universities, colleges and clinics around Boston have a wide, yet differing range of sexual health care options available to students. â€Å"There is so much misinformation, it just boggles the mind,† said Pamela Harris, public relations spokesperson for Northeastern University’s Lane Health Center. â€Å"It is so important that students know what is available to them.† Planned Parenthood, located at 1055 Commonwealth Ave., near the Boston University campus, is perhaps the biggest sexual health care provider in the area. However, their services do not come cheap and for college students on a budget, other options need to be explored. Many students must rely on their college’s health center for sexual health care services, and depending on which university you attend, health center services vary. â€Å"I would imagine that my school, one of the most expensive in the country, would provide everything I needed, from sexually transmitted disease testing to abortive pills in case of pregnancy,† said Alexis Eskenazi, communications major at Boston University.