Animal Testing Essay Example for Free

Animal Testing Essay â€Å"If you want to test cosmetics and drugs, why do it on some poor animal who hasnt done anything? They should use prisoners who have been convicted of murder or rape instead. So, rather than seeing if perfume irritates a bunny rabbits eyes, they should throw it in Charles Mansons eyes and ask him if it hurts.† ― Ellen DeGeneres, My PointAnd I Do Have One. None have ever thought about when he or she buy a cosmetic product that they are contributing to the agonizing procedures animals have to endure to bring the finished product to their use. Each year in the United States an estimated 20-70 million animals, from cats, dogs and primates, to rabbits, rats and mice suffer and die in the name of research. 92% of the drugs that passed for animals during testing did not pass for humans, and therefore many animals have been hurt, scarred for life, or even put to death for nothing. Animals should stop being the lab-rats for testing products because, many animals are hurt and die during the agonizing procedures they are forced to endure while testing without anesthetics to ease their pain with horrible environments to live in , medical testing on animals is an outdated practice that has it flaws and is sometimes false and misleading, finally animal testing is archaic and many other options to test drugs and products are optional instead of using animals. Animal testing provides inaccurate results that are also misleading. There is a 92% chance that drugs that pass animals will not cope or work the same for humans for various of reasons. One of these reasons is that animal systems are far different than a humans ( immune system) . Human disease does not happen in animals, it is usually artificially created, therefore not so similarly the same as the actual disease, just something a bit similar in characteristics. An example of this is if the air outside your house was a similar compound to oxygen, but not quite, would you risk your life and go outside? Likewise, animal testing always has its flaws. For example, in a repeated animal study failed to show t he similarities between cigarette smoking and lung cancer. As a result of this effect, it slowed down the public warnings about the dangers of cigarettes, regardless of a huge amount of human data available at that time. Similarly, some experiments such as stroke research with rodents caused false conclusions, misleading research and wasted funds and manpower (time). Of the 25 drugs which reduced the effect of stroke in rodents, not even a smudge of it worked in a human patient . Certainly medical testing on animals is very inaccurate with many flaws. In general 104,000 animals during testing each year were used in research that was either painful, distressful, or both with nothing to ease their pain and they of course got hurt. If the animal had been severely hurt during testing they must undergo countless surgeries that are painful, and sometimes without anesthetics. In addition to add to the pain , animals are kept in harsh environments during testing such as, clear or white plastic boxes about the size of a shoebox for small animals like the mouse and about a box 2 times the size for larger animals like guinea pigs. Not only are animals kept in such small concrete boxes, usually more than two animal live in one box. The effects of this are potent, because this increase the chances an animal can catch disease from one another and increases the chances animals can attack one another, shown in 1960s studies scientists made . If animals do not die from testing, they gain permanent effects, such as blindness are used in more than one test if the animal pass the conditions to be experimented on. God loved the birds and invented trees. Man loved the birds and invented cages. Jacques Deval, Afin de vivre bel et bien Many scientists say if animal testing is banned how will medical research continue? Are we willing to sacrifice millions of sick and dying loved humans, who have families and complex emotions, for the sake of a bunch of mice who will only live a year or two anyway? However, the answer to this question is no, because there are many other ways to test drugs. One such way is microdosing (in virtro technology). What is microdosing you may ask to yourself? Microdosing is is a technique for studying the behavior of drugs in humans through the administration of doses so low they are unlikely to produce whole-body effects, but high enough to allow the cellular response to be studied. This technique is fairly safe to humans , and a better approach than killing innocent animals with horrible results. Microdosing is also cheaper, faster and much more accurate than testing poor animals. Thus, animal testing is a dreadful technique scientists use to test drugs and cosmetics on. The negative effects of this technique outweigh the positive effects. There are many other techniques to study drugs that are more beneficial and cheaper than animal testing and most importantly, no one is hurt in the outcome. Treat animals as if they are humans since they are living souls too. Try to put yourself â€Å"in their shoes.†

Do School Uniforms Really Serve a Purpose? Essay -- Education School U

In the past school uniforms have been a requirement for private schools only, however; the number of public schools requiring uniforms is growing rapidly (Brunsma). Every parent wants their child to feel safe while they are at school. This is just one of the many things that implementing school uniforms into public schools will do for students (Maxwell). School uniforms have also been proven to be a key asset in keeping gang colors and symbols out of schools (Maxwell). The requirement of uniforms has also led to a decrease in violence and theft due to expensive clothing and shoes, helped to instill a sense of discipline in students, a reduction in the number of distractions for students, and helped give the students a sense of community (Maxwell). Uniforms have also helped to blur the lines between rich and poor students, and helped to make it easier for school officials to identify individuals on campus that do not belong (Maxwell). Implementing school uniforms into today†™s public schools will help to reduce all of these problematic situations, and help the students to feel safe. One controversial point in the debate of school uniforms is the cost. Many are quick to say no to uniforms because they will cost too much for the parents. In response to this opposition, President Bush instated tax breaks for school supplies including uniforms (School Uniforms). Many states have also stepped in to help reduce the cost of uniforms to parents by offering additional deductions (School Uniforms). In addition, some school districts offer uniform vouchers to low-income families (School Uniforms). School districts have also been found to accept charitable donations from groups and individuals to help families purchase uniforms (Ma... ...reenhaven Press, 2005. Opposing Viewpoints. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 28 November 2010. Huss, John A. â€Å"The Role of School Uniforms In Creating an Academically Motivating Climate: Do Uniforms Influence Teacher Expectations?.† Journal of Ethnographic & Qualitive Research 1. (2007): 31-39. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 23 November 2010. Dohrman, Margaret. â€Å"Uniforms Don’t Stifle Creativity.† St. Petersburg Times [St. Petersburg, FL] 1 October 2010: 12A. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 28 November 2010. Goodnough, Abby. â€Å"Crew Supports Having Pupils Wear Uniforms. â€Å"New York Times 9 March 1997, Late Edition (East Coast): New York Times, ProQuest. Web. 29 November 2010. Creech, Stephanie. â€Å"BOE Gets Lesson on School Uniforms.† Wilson Daily Times [Wilson, NC] 7 February 2009. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 28 November 2010.

Internet Child Porn Essay

According to UNICEF, the United States and Somalia are the only two countries that have not yet ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. However, Somalia currently has no legally recognized government and cannot ratify anything at all, leaving the United States as the only country that still does not agree with it. The Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution, and Child Pornography reports that Bill Clinton did not submit it to the Senate for deliberation and ratification. Perhaps he was too busy with Monica Lewinsky, and maybe the Republicans under Bush were too busy in airport restrooms like Senator Larry Craig. But perhaps Obama can do something about it. Child abuse through internet pornography is growing. In fact, the United States Department of Justice approximates one million children in the United States alone, who were victims of pornographers (Levesque 65). Indeed, tougher internet child-pornography regulations need to be enforced because it continues to be rampant, digital technology has made it easier to proliferate, and the graphic pornography is increasingly becoming more brutal. Internet child pornography is rampant and increasing. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) asserts that â€Å"approximately 20% of all internet pornography involves children. † It is a â€Å"growing crisis. † The Internet Watch Foundation also reports that since 1997, internet child pornography increased by approximately 1,500%. Furthermore, internet child pornography is growing because it generates high revenue. Roger Levesque, in Sexual Abuse of Children reports that child pornography is a multi-billion dollar business. It is also one of the fastest growing internet criminal segments (Ferraro, et al. ). The growth and high demand for it is fueled by addiction, just like illegal drugs. As Ryan Singel of Wired reports, â€Å"Internet pornography is the new crack cocaine, leading to addiction, misogyny, pedophilia, boob jobs and erectile dysfunction, according to clinicians and researchers testifying before a Senate committee Thursday. † Pedophiles are addicted to child pornography, which they use for personal sexual arousal, trading with fellow pedophiles, training for future child abuse victims, or inducement for child prostitution (Crosson-Tower 208). Consequently, the high demand for addictive internet child pornography increases child abuse cases. As, the Guardian reports, â€Å"Demand for child pornography on the internet has led to an increase in sex abuse cases. † It also adds, â€Å"many paedophiles acknowledged that exposure to child sex images fuelled their fantasies and played an important part in leading them to commit physical sexual offences against children. † Unsupervised children using the internet naively are â€Å"groomed for abuse while accessing chat rooms. If the victims take the bait, they become part of future pornographic productions. The increase in popularity of social-media internet sites such as MySpace has increased these chances, whereas in the past, kidnapping by total strangers made it more difficult for pedophiles to capture victims. Moreover, the Internet Watch Foundation through the Associated Press reports that â€Å"Child pornography on the Internet is becoming more brutal and graphic, and the number of images depicting violent abuse has risen fourfold since 2003. Marlise Simons of the New York Times also reports that â€Å"even babies and infants were peddled via the Internet and other media to clients in Europe, Russia and the United States. † Indeed, the Internet facilitates the distribution of child pornography. In the section â€Å"Law Enforcement Efforts Against Child Pornography Are Ineffective† of Philip Jenkin’s book At Issue: Child Sexual Abuse, he points out â€Å"overwhelming evidence† that child pornography â€Å"is all but impossible to obtain through nonelectronic means. The US Department of Justice also reports that because of the Internet’s â€Å"technological ease, lack of expense, and anonymity in obtaining and distributing child pornography,† it â€Å"has resulted in an explosion in the availability, accessibility, and volume of child pornography. † Furthermore, in 2001, â€Å"There are estimated to be one million pornographic images of children on the internet, many of them featuring children from third world countries being abused by affluent sex tourists from the west† (Wellard 26). UNICEF also reports that â€Å"a single child pornography site receives a million hits a month. † In order to receive that much Internet traffic, organized crime groups use sophisticated computer technology to evade detection. Pornographers can send viruses to unwitting Internet users without their knowledge to gain control of their computers, which can be transformed into file servers that can remotely store images and videos of child pornography for downloading later. This happened to Michael Fiola, an unsuspecting man in Massachusetts who was wrongfully charged for possessing child pornography. As Matthew Healey of the Associated Press reports, â€Å"Of all the sinister things that Internet viruses do, this might be the worst: They can make you an unsuspecting collector of child pornography. † After a virus infected Fiola’s laptop and downloaded heinous pictures and videos into his computer, his employer discovered it through the internet bill, and he â€Å"was fired and charged with possession of child pornography, which carries up to five years in prison. He endured death threats, his car tires were slashed and he was shunned by friends. † But he and his wife â€Å"fought the case, spending $250,000 on legal fees. They liquidated their savings, took a second mortgage and sold their car. † Eventually, charges were dropped after prosecutors confirmed the defense findings. â€Å"It ruined my life, my wife’s life and my family’s life,† says Fiola. These sophisticated techniques emanates from hidden internet levels, where 50,000 to 100,000 online organized pedophiles, one-third American, gather together, as asserted by Jenkins in his book Beyond Tolerance: Child Pornography Online. With the advent of web-cams and digital photography and video, even from cell phones, home-made child porn is now easy to produce. Peer-to-peer networking, wherein internet users can share files with each other instead of downloading it, along with the use of data encryption, file division and passwords, also makes any illegal porn difficult to detect, as reported by the Internet Watch Foundation. Truly, law enforcement is weak in battling child porn. As of 2008, the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC) reports that 93 out of 187 countries do not have child-porn-specific laws. And out of the 94 that do have anti-child-porn laws, 36 do not criminalize the possession of child pornography. And according to Interpol statistics, only 1% of child-porn abuse victims are located each year by law enforcers, as reported by Emily Friedman in ABC News. Furthermore, violators found with images of post-pubescent minors, even if it is illegal, are often not prosecuted (Wells, et al 277). Currently, China has the most effective method in the war against child pornography. Right now, the US uses highly inefficient methods. To mitigate its image as the porn search engine of the world, Google develops software to fight child porn. In 2008, Google adapted software for its search engine to track child porn that is available through its search engine, as reported by Maggie Shiels of BBC News. The FBI also posts hyperlinks on the World Wide Web that advertise child porn. Then they raid the homes of internet users who click on the links, as Declan McCullagh writes in CNet. Moreover, the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOPP), established in 2006, attempts to target the assets or finances of organized child-porn rings, as Jamie Doward from the Guardian reports. But China simply blocks all porn and American social-media sites from the Internet. China is known very well for its internet censorship and harsh penalties for drug trafficking. Drug use in the country is one of the lowest in the world. As Reuters reports in December 2009, â€Å"The Chinese government has run a highly publicized campaign against what officials said were banned smutty and lewd pictures overwhelming the country’s Internet and threatening the emotional health of children. They also add that â€Å"China has banned a number of popular websites and Internet services, including Google’s Youtube, Twitter, Flickr and Facebook, as well as Chinese content sharing sites. † Jennifer Guevin of CNET also writes, â€Å"Google acknowledged last year that the Chinese government asked it to disable a search feature with the goal of censoring pornography. † In response to CNET’s report, Myles Taylor, a reader, commented, â€Å"I wish we’d take some pages from their book and start cracking down on child pornographers, pedophiles and such. † In conclusion, law enforcement on child pornography is too weak and tougher regulations need to be implemented to combat this crisis. It would be very effective and simple if the US government were willing to simply block all porno and social-media-sharing sites from the Web, but the US First Amendment would prohibit that. However, unless US lawmakers do something drastic, such as revising the US Constitution, shoppers will continue to see the photographs of missing children on milk cartons, reminding them that their child could be the next victim of thousands of pedophiles simply waiting for the next opportunity.

Will Electronic Technology Make Printed Books Obsolete

Will Electronic Technology Make Printed Books Obsolete? The world has gone through a lot of technological advancements in the last hundred years. Scientists have even managed to construct an air vehicle and successfully ride it. The invention of the computer was another important landmark in the human history. The Internet has come along and radically changed the methods of human communication. Scientists call it the Information Age. However, will innovative technologies ever replace the book or the written word as a main source of information? This is quite an interesting question that is often asked when some new invention is made in technology. When television was invented, most people prophesied that the radio would become obsolete. Nevertheless, all those prophecies have failed. When computers became popular, many people feared that it can decrease the number of work places. They thought that this new machine would eventually replace human labor. However, we all know that computers have created more jobs, and technicians are finding new applications for computers every day.